Chapter 231

  Legend of the Masked Children (I)

  "... you did what?" That was me, living out a cliche I haven't lived out in over fifteen years of my life, all while accompanied by a comical expression and the tone of voice that belonged more so in a sitcom than reality.

  But... it was my reality.

  "I enrolled the kids into the competition." That was Long Tao, confirming rather dismissively what I thought was him just trying to make my blood pressure rise.

  Honestly, if I wasn't certain he could bend me in half like a cotton pipe, I'd have smacked him right here and now. What do you mean you enrolled them in the competition?! Weren't we leaving this place and heading north as soon as possible?!

  "... why?" I gritted my teeth and asked.

  "The rewards are nice," he said. "And they can finally let loose a bit."

  "And did you consider what kind of scrutiny that will invite on us?"

  "Very much so," he glanced over at me. "I believe I told you this before, Master, but as long as you stick with us, there will hardly be moments of peace."

  "No, no, I very much understand that," I said. "What I don't understand is why you went out of your way to interrupt one of those few rare moments of peace on purpose?"

  "The rewards are nice."

  "..."

  "Don't be a worrywart," he shrugged. "You have that token that was given to you by the Mountain, no? Even if there are some Holy Lands Elders here vying for the kids, you can just flash the token and they'll leave you alone."

  "You really think they'll leave us alone?"

  "Well, in the city, at least," he flashed a grin. "Once we're outside..."

  "Which is where we'll have to be. Unless you all manage to increase the mastery of the Art of Survival..."

  "Not any time soon, I'm afraid," he said. "It'll be fine. Fun and fine, even. We've enjoyed a relative peace for a while now." Did we? Did we really?! "That alchemist, by the way."

  "What about him?"

  "How'd you get him to follow us?"

  "... my grandfather taught me the ways."

  "..."

  "What happened with the vine?" I asked.

  "There was someone presiding over it."

  "A Sage?"

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  "No, of course not," he shrugged. "Though, my curiosity about them has truly reached its peak. They're also one of the reasons I want the kids to compete."

  "Why?"

  "We're not strong enough yet," he said. "Not even remotely, I don't think. And there's only so much that can be accomplished by peacefully cultivating and friendly sparring; steel is not forged by a gentle caressing."

  "Haah. Fine. You and your family really will be the death of me, won't you?"

  He cracked a smile as I left, exiting out into the open space.

  It was evening, and the raging music was still ongoing--somewhere in the central hall, there were festivities that I excused myself out of by saying I was tired, all because the word had already spread that Master Gu as well as the 'Sage Alchemist' he invited had managed to cure the Young Lady Zhu's condition.

  ... when the hell did I become a Sage Alchemist? Of all the undeserving titles...

  Now, I obviously considered dabbling in alchemy if for nothing else but my background. I thought that there'd be a connection there I could 'abuse' to speedrun the ranks. But... there really doesn't seem to be one.

  I mean, aside from the fact that the general prep for the medicine is loosely similar, there's little else. Alchemy, at its core, is still very much magic--it's as much about utilizing Qi to properly extract, bind, combine, and whatever else as it is about knowing the right mixture of herbs.

  Speaking of herbs...

  I barely recognized any of them.

  I mean, the 'standard' ones existed here, too, and were used in alchemy to a degree, but having looked over some of the recipes for even the most basic pills, the vast majority of them used herbs that I've never heard of before in my life.

  Was I, a 40-year-old man, going to sit my frumpy ass down and memorize possibly thousands of new herbs, as well as all their unique properties?

  Hah!

  Hell no.

  As such, my dreams of becoming an actual Sage Alchemist were swiftly abandoned.

  "Hey, kid," ugh.

  "Just call me Lu, please. No, even call me 'Hey, you'. Just don't call me kid."

  "Sure thing," I feel it. "Kid." There it is.

  "What do you want?"

  "Aren't you going to tell me?"

  "Tell you what? To get lost? I thought I already did."

  "Ho ho. Tell me about where on earth you found your little army."

  "... you're a smart guy," I said dismissively. "You'll figure it out." His eyebrows began to twitch for a moment as he coughed.

  "I'm not that smart--"

  "Wow! Are you really so desperate to know that you've humbled yourself?!"

  "..."

  "It may snow in the middle of summer, it seems."

  "Will you just tell me?"

  "What do you think?"

  "... haah."

  "The kids will compete in the Gathering," I said. "Maybe you can figure something out watching them?"

  "They will? Why?"

  "Beats me," I shrugged. "They're kids. They want to show off, I suppose."

  "Aah, to be a passionate youth, indeed. Very well. I will try to discern their origins. Maybe we can bet on it?"

  "..." Alright, seriously--I thought it was me rubbing off on the kids with the whole 'betting everything' mindset, but no, this just seems to be the default setting of the people in this world. Or, at least, the cultivators of this world. Everyone's just so damned obsessed with betting it's not even funny anymore.

  "Go rest, Lao," I said. "And concoct me a few pills to quell headaches."

  "Why? Did you tire yourself out putting on that show?"

  "... no. The sound of your voice is hurting my head."

  I noticed the trend a few months back, even, but it's growing even more pronounced recently--I've been turning snappier and snappier. To be fair, that was kind of who I was back on Earth; it's just that the fear has put on a tight filter on me ever since I came here. Now that the fear has loosened, so have my lips.

  It's one thing to do it occasionally and in small doses, but I fear if I truly let myself go, that's just going to become my new default, and, well, that might yet be the stupidest thing I'd do in this world.

  Retiring to my own little bedroom, I sank into the bed, lying down. I wasn't going to sleep, not really--I noticed that, unless I force myself to, I rarely get tired these days even after not sleeping for a week. But it's a habit, a ritual, and one so deeply engraved in my bones that I'm finding it hard to abandon.

  ... though I've put on a protest, I am actually kind of curious to see how the kids will perform. I assume they'll win with ease, but what if I'm just severely underestimating regions outside of the 'starter zone'? What if the 'scaling' is so massive that the kids will actually struggle?

  Haah.

  Great.

  Now I'm looking forward to it, too...