Chapter 107: Chapter 105 - Striking Sparks
Not much more than an hour after the attendees of the banquet had entered the gardens, Ao Wen returned with Wu Lin to rejoin the festivities. With Zhang Bai's withdrawal, an empty seat had appeared at the high table, creating a convenient space for the other Alchemy Novice to join them.
"So tell us Alchemist Ao," the City Lord said loudly enough for the room to hear once the banquet had resumed. "How are the injured? Will everyone make a full recovery?"
"Brawlers Tao and Chen should recover easily over the next two weeks," Ao Wen explained after taking a deep swallow of fruity wine. "The bodies of Brawlers are resiliant and a few broken bones won't keep them down for very long. I do hope, however," she added with a smile, "that there are charming young ladies waiting for them at home who can make sure they drink the medicinal tea I'll be sending them home with for the next few months. Recovering enough to return to battle is one thing," she explained. "Cleansing all the lingering hidden hurts is a different matter entirely. Proud young men quit their treatment early too often."
At a table toward the back of the hall, a thickly built young woman not many years older than Ao Wen stood nervously. "Big Brother Xiong always tries to be too strong," she said, heart heavy at the injuries she'd seen her elder brother sustain in the pitched battle. "But if he doesn't drink his tea, this little sister will sit on him until he does!"
"Chen Xu, sit down," the girl's mother hissed, face turning red in embarrassment. Most folk in the hall, however, laughed good naturedly at the family's antics, happy to see that awakening to the path of cultivation hadn't pulled Chen Xiong away from such a loving family.
"What about Alchemist Wai?" City Lord Zhang asked, smoothly moving the conversation to the place most people felt true anxiety about. His wounds had looked horrible when he'd been carried from the hall and many were afraid the consequences for the man would be dire.
"Alchemist Wai will be fine with six months of bead rest and one to two years of convalescence," Ao Wen said mildly, choosing to ignore the shocked gasps of the assembled townsfolk. "A piece of his cauldron imbedded itself deeply in his bowel, while several other pieces of shrapnel from the table were logged in the muscles of his thighs. Because he chose not to engage in body cultivation, his recovery time will be longer than our young Brawlers. At the same time, he actually inhaled the flames of his exploding cauldron, drawing flaming energy into his lungs and allowing it to rampage within his chest. For the next six months, he shouldn't circulate his energy at all until the wounds to his body have had time to heal. After that, he should be able to recover his cultivation as though nothing had happened within twelve to twenty four moons. I've provided fellow Novice Wu with detailed treatment notes to care for his master over the next few years," she said, giving her professional opinion and ensuring that the townsfolk understood that while Alchemist Wai Dan would make a full recovery, he would do so because of the treatments that Ao Wen provided.
"I see," the City Lord said, stroking his long beard slowly. Inwardly, he worked hard to suppress a grin at the news. Ao Wen's retribution had been severe, but depriving a cultivator of a year or two of cultivation wasn't so heavy of an injury as to creat unforgivable enmity between them. Better, however, it would allow him to reopen dialogue with the Consortium about a replacement for the alchemist who had long shirked his duties in Turning Leaf town as the most senior member of the Consortium present. "I suppose I'll have to trouble Alchemist Ao to stand as our Turning Leaf's head alchemist until the consortium can send a replacement then," he said warmly. "The health of our people is in capable hands," he said with a slight bow.
"City Lord Zhang," Long Ma said, standing from his place at a nearby table. "Isn't it inappropriate for an Alchemy Novice to occupy such a position?" As the town's head alchemist, Ao Wen would become untouchable until the Consortium sent someone to take Alchemist Wai Dan's place. That process could take months! Long Ma had patience delay putting his plans in motion but not that much patience! Not after being frustrated at so many turns.
"It is unusual to say the least," the City Lord agreed. "But Alchemist Ao has proven herself capable at many things. After all," he said with a large smile. "We've just seen a demonstration of her concocting standards that are every bit as high if not higher than Alchemist Wai's."
"Have we though, my Lord?" Long Ma pressed. "Certainly we've seen her bravery, her shrewdness, and how merciless she can be to those who offend her," he said with a placating expression towards Ao Wen even as his words cast her as a ruthless villain. "But we have no idea if this so-called 'Dragon's Tongue Firebreath Elixir' even works. Some might believe that the whole thing was a sham to destroy Alchemist Wai's cauldron," he insinuated.
"Snakes should mind their forked tongues," Ao Wen said sharply, looking down at Long Ma from the high table. She'd long suspected that this so-called 'Dragon Soldier' was little more than a descendant of Flood Dragons but being this close to him, the aura he wore practically shouted his nature. There wasn't any True Dragon blood in his veins and the way he strutted about calling himself 'Dragon Soldier' was an insult to True Dragons like her adopted mother Cong Houzi.
"I beg your pardon?" Long Ma said, genuinely taken aback by the young woman's barbed comment. Who in Turning Leaf town dared to address him as a snake? "If this Dragon has offended…"
"Stop," Ao Wen snapped. "You're even less of a dragon than I am," she chastised sharply. "The greatest insult to Dragon kind is that Flood Dragons have convinced half the world to treat them as more than overgrown river serpents. You can be proud of your bloodline, anyone can," she said, looking over many of the common people as well as the common cultivators present. "Even a Snow Sparrow can become a mighty cultivator. But a person can't steal glory that belongs to someone else to ascend the heavens. Soldier Long should know not to put on airs in the presence of people who have spent years with True Dragons."
"Young lady," Long Ma began, his face darkening.
"Celestial Fairy," Ao Wen corrected, her tone becoming fierce and a touch haughty. "The appropriate form of address to a core disciple of the Sacred Flame Celestial Temple is 'Celestial Fairy', or you may address me as 'Alchemist', but don't assume the mantle of a wise elder when you're less than a millennium old," she said derisively. "You don't have the qualifications. Now, for the elixir, since Soldier Long demands a demonstration," she paused, looking around the room. "I wonder if Chef Tang would be willing to sample this elixir? I'm sure that Patriarch Zhang can indulge us with a suitable barrier to target," she added with a dark smile.
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