Chapter 230

  Legend of the Sage Alchemist (XII)

  "I swear upon the High Heavens that, whatever I shall experience in the year henceforth, I shall divulge to no other soul for as long as mine remains conscious. Shall I tarnish or break this Oath in even the most minor of ways, may the Heavens smite me, body, heart, and soul."

  ... wow.

  No hesitation.

  No, seriously, my jaw was currently on the floor. I'd barely finished my sentence before he spat out his--dude! This is your soul we're talking about here! And the oath he made is even stricter than I asked! He basically implied even if he accidentally divulged something as simple as, 'This one time I went to the mountains with this guy and these kids...', while drunk, he'd be immediately obliterated from the face of the world.

  ...

  Once again: wow.

  Does this guy have no self-preservation? Or are centuries of life really enough to dull your senses so much that any sign of fun and adventure is enough to make you throw caution to the wind?

  Damn.

  Cultivators be crazy.

  "What? You didn't think I'd make it?"

  "... the ease with which you did leads me to believe you somehow know that, even if you break it, nothing will happen."

  "Ho ho. I may be arrogant and wild," he said. "But Heavens still reign above us all, child. Oaths broken very much anger the skies. I'd seen it with my own eyes--a bolt of lightning as thick as a lighthouse cleaving from the blue firmament and ripping asunder the reality itself, all so to smite one sinner."

  "Haah. Yeah, whatever. Let's go," I said, feeling just... tired. So, so tired. "I need to introduce you to the kids and tell you what you'll be doing for the next year."

  "The kids? You're a Father?"

  "Worse," I said. "I'm a Master."

  We made our way out, where the madame and old Gu were waiting, pacing around nervously. When they saw me emerge alive and well, they both sighed in relief, guilt evident in their eyes.

  "Master Lu, is everything alright?" old Gu asked.

  "Yes, everything's fine. Let's go back," I said.

  "My, my daughter. Will... will she be fine?" The woman stopped us, a look of worry on her face.

  "She will live." It wasn't me but rather the old alchemist who chimed in, in his patented dismissive tone. "Will need a lot of vitality medicine and will probably never be able to bear children or cultivate, but she will live."

  "Thank you." She bowed deeply. "If you ever need anything, anything, please come and find me. I have already arranged with Master Gu the payment and the gifts; though I know they are not enough, as I would have given the world itself for my daughter's life, I cannot selfishly gift the Clan's treasury."

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  "Your daughter's lucky to have you."

  We made our way back in relative silence, with the old man Gu eyeing me with a thousand questions. However, he never dared voice any of them.

  Lao Shun--as he introduced himself--followed behind us in silence, his eyes closed the entire way back. It was as though just the mere sight of these slums would be a stain on his mind, so he didn't even bother looking.

  "I will arrange for the payment and the gifts to be stored inside a ring," old man Gu said as we walked through the gateway of the sect. "Let me know if you need anything else, and I shall immediately have it arranged!"

  "... you've become a star, young child."

  "H-huh?" I glanced back and saw the old Alchemist smirking.

  "The word has already spread that a stranger came in and helped save the Madame's daughter. And he did it all asking to never be revealed."

  "... what are you talking about? Are you just making things up?"

  "No. I simply have vastly better hearing than you," he shrugged. "Sage Alchemist, they call you."

  "..."

  "Even the most Senior members of the Tower dare not call themselves 'Sages'."

  "..."

  "Maybe you should set up a rivaling Alchemy Tower and make yourself a Sage Master."

  "Haah. I should have made you swear an Oath to not utter a single sound for the next year."

  "Ho ho ho. You probably should have."

  Why do they all laugh like they're a freakin' Santa? I honestly don't get it.

  Regardless, I shuffled my feet and headed over to our house. I hadn't actually spent that much time with the kids since coming to this place, which resulted in a small amount of guilt. If I had any Creation Points, I'd have a way to make it up to them, but as it stands--no, wait, don't I have a living pill-concocting furnace right next to me?

  Riiight.

  This is gonna be fun.

  "Master!"

  "Master, you're back!"

  "Welcome back, Master."

  The kids shot out of the house as soon as the fence gates opened, with Dai Xiu being the fastest. Ever since the first time she hugged me, whatever barrier she had in her brain had completely collapsed, so she no longer held back, immediately tossing herself at me and tightening her clutches.

  She'd grown quite some ways taller from the little gremlin that she was when I first saved her from that pit of hell; honestly, give her a year or two longer, and she'll probably shoot well past me, too.

  ... I won't end up the shortest, will I? Dammit, I will. I so, so, so will!

  "Ha ha, I'm back. Did you guys behave?"

  "Of course," Wan Lan said. "I didn't let them out of my sight."

  "Good job, Wan'er. I knew I could count on you."

  "Aah! Master!! Do you really think we'd misbehave?" Dai Xiu asked, pouting.

  "With all the love in my heart," I said. "I always assume you'll misbehave, Xiu'er."

  She pouted even further as the others laughed.

  I glanced over at Lao Shun to invite him in when I saw a rather... comical sight.

  The dude's jaw was hanging. Like, swear to God, he had to have dislocated it 'cause you could shove a bowling ball into that thing with how wide it is. His eyes were bulging, and his entire body was shaking.

  "Hey, are you alright?" I called him out, finally seeming to awaken him from his haze.

  "... no wonder you made me swear an Oath," he said. "What exactly are you doing, young man? Raising an army to take over the world?" It wasn't a joke or a jest, but a genuine question.

  "Hm? Master, who is the ugly mister?" Ah, Light. I can't wait for you to finally develop a nice little filter in your brain. Chances are, though, it's already there... she just chooses to ignore it.

  "Ah, this is Master Lao," I said. "An alchemist that will be staying with us for the next year. If you have any pills you want concocted, ask him--he promised that, for as long as he stays with us, he'll be our pill furnace."

  "Really?!"

  "Really."

  "Yaaaay! We have our own pill furnace!"

  "That's our Master! Why would we waste Spirit Stones on buying pills when we can just have a personal pill furnace?"

  "..." The old man's eyebrows were twitching hard and fast, and I'm betting he's regretting ever accepting--okay, I gotta stop. "Hey, where is Long Tao?"

  "Right here, Master," I winced, nearly yelping, when I spun around and saw him leaning against the fence, a strange smirk on his face. "Once again, you brought home something interesting."

  "..."

  Haah.

  Days of peace... will they truly ever come?