Xiao Xiao had sorted and cooked the whole friggin boar by the time I had entered the bunker to settle for the night, "How are you feeling" she asked still setting feast on the mat and setting up the plates and cutlery.

  I gave her a grudging look and sighed "I feel better than before," and looked her in the eye " but at least I want an explanation of what just hit me for I won't be entertaining the thought of being abruptly done in by you, what if it had killed me?

  She just shrugged" The soup is based on big sis Cao Wan'er, amaranth, sage and basil if done appropriately could cleanse the body of hidden maladies that even the body cleansing phase couldn't provided that it was done before body refinement."

  No, it won't kill you elixir soup was milder than the original iteration that big sis Cao Wan'er created which was a pill and it did not kill them though some went wrong and got lasting injuries but not you, no you even came back looking better.

  That night I ate peacefully and actively used my ESSENCE SWALLOWING ART for a very long time to breakdown the vital Qi from the food I ate and I does have a side effect of both reducing the amount of body ejected wastes to the latter and maximizing food intake and absorption and slept during meditation.

  **************

  The tension in the forest was so thick that it could be cut by a knife, as the quintet laboriously trudged through the forest feeling uneasy. the scent of blood on them mars them as potential preys for the forest predators. Their young miss's life hung by a thread, the boars hit took a lot out of her and is by the heaven's grace that she hadn't croaked yet.

  Cao Peng’s sharp voice sliced through the oppressive silence. "Move faster! If she dies, our lives might as well be worse than death. No one dares slack off!"

  The young miss's protectors exchanged nervous glances but pushed forward stoicly, their exhaustion was evident but do not have a choice but to keep on. Shu Lin, the second strongest in the group gritted his teeth as he carries their young mistress. feeling her breath becoming shallow by the minute.

  "Oh ancestors in the afterlife please be benevolent with us and let the young miss survive" he inwardly prayed

  "Boss," one of the lackeys muttered, "she’s getting worse. The city is still far—what if we don’t make it?"

  Cao Peng snapped his head around, his glare silencing the man instantly. "Xin Heng! Check her condition," he barked.

  Xin Heng crouched beside the young miss, her hands glowing faintly as she assessed the situation. Her face darkened with worry. "Her vitality is fading... If we don’t find help soon—" She trailed off, her voice cracking.

  "Fei Hong!" Cao Peng barked again. "Scout ahead. Find anything—anyone—that can help us!"

  Fei Hong gave a mock salute. "On it, boss." His attempt at levity was a thin veil for his own anxiety as he disappeared into the shadows, leaving the group in uneasy silence.

  Minutes dragged into what felt like hours before Fei Hong returned, his face pale and his chest heaving. "Boss! Huff... huff! There’s a bunker up ahead. Two people are there, but..."

  "But what?" Cao Peng snapped, his patience wearing thin.

  "The woman there," Fei Hong stammered, "she saw me, boss. I swear she locked eyes on me even though I was hidden. And you know my competence in my being sneaky but there was a another in the same clearing... he’s just sat there, cultivating as if nothing in the world matters."

  The group stilled, exchanging wary glances. Cao Peng’s brows furrowed in thought. "Are you saying they’re dangerous?"

  Fei Hong nodded vehemently. "Yes, boss. I’m sure of it. That woman, she’s no ordinary guard. And the man—he gives me the hibbie jibbies, he's different of the darker color, too dark I swear boss I've never seen a man like that before in my life."

  Cao Peng sneered, a dark glint in his eyes. "Dangerous or not, they’ll help us. And if they refuse..." He let the implication hang, his confidence even after the accidental injury of the young miss is left unshaken. "Lead the way, Fei Hong. Let’s see what these people are made of."

  The group moved cautiously toward the clearing, their breaths steady but their minds on high alert. The sight that greeted them was almost surreal—a serene figure sitting cross-legged, cultivating in perfect tranquility and will occasionally comp on the food near him in big bites, that alone made them flinch with a question manifesting itself in their mind.

  "where the heck did all that food went to?" the answer became obvious when he finished what could have passed off as a buffalos thigh in less than two minutes and promptly resumed his meditation

  Beside him stood a woman, her sharp eyes locking onto the approaching group before they even emerged fully from the underbrush.

  "Very well then, everyone since you came to this humble maid's abode, why don't you come out here and partake in the feast of which this maid charitably prepared for you all?"

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Cao Peng stepped forward, his voice firm and commanding. "We are not interested!, lowly maid! but right now our young miss urgently requires your assistance. Help us, and we’ll make it fast."

  The woman’s expression didn’t waver. Instead, her lips curled into a small, knowing smile. "Make it fast huh"

  "Bring her forth that we may diagnose her ailment," she said evenly, her tone cool and measured. "But I warn you, if your intentions are less than honorable, you’ll regret it."

  "That's not for a mere maid to decide" Shu Lin said with a hint of contempt towards the 'maid'

  Shu Lin shifted uncomfortably, the young miss still limp in his arms. Cao Peng smacked Shu Lin behind the head. " Shu Lin we don’t have time for pissing contest. Then he cupped his fists "Senior we are the disciples from the DA HAI clan, do help us and the clan shall owe you!"

  Xiao Xiao who had been planning some future transaction with the clan grinned and went to fish out a contract paper .The dark skinned man cultivating opened his eyes slowly, with his gaze calm and piercing.

  "It baffles me how y'all just came here and start making demands as if your ancestors were the ones who owns the heavens," he said lackadaisically, curiosity plain on his face. "However, I'll magnanimously let my maid examine her for a price of course." he continues with his spiel

  Cao Peng narrowed his eyes but nodded. "Please do name it, senior."

  Xiao Xiao smiled faintly. "We’ll discuss it once she’s stable. For now, step aside." She put some herbs into the pot to brew a concoction, hands glowing a dim prismatic light as she began to work. The quintet could only stand aside watch, hoping the placed their bets right or they're fucked.

  Hua Lei simply closed his eyes to continue his ESSENCE SWALLOWING ART without sparing them another glance, he has a bigger fish to fry other than berating some pompous dolts, he has been working hard to create Qi drops and currently was at around 209 Qi drops .

  Once he makes around 256 Qi drops he'll be able to reach the 5th level mid-phase of the internal Qi refinement he'll be able to create a puddle solidifying his foundation the shit about this method is that you'll only be able to use the realm at which foundation you've solidified.

  This means I'm nerfed!, I'll only be able to use the power of early phase while I'm at mid phase, this goes on until I reach peak phase where all will be balanced and I will only be able to use the full force of my Qi then.

  Xiao Xiao had already finished with the medicine brew she gave the group of disciples the brew which was brought to the girl and fed to her, at that instant color came back to her pale face and some of her bruises was visibly fading.

  "Give her half an hour, she'll recover" Xiao Xiao said as she finished giving her the medicine brew to drink. in less than fifteen minutes DaHai Xiu'er was visage transformed from pallid to ruddy, then normal by then she had opened her eyes and her fever had subsided.

  The DA HAI clan disciples were getting ready to leave and then "Hey everyone, it seems that y'all are forgetting a tinny-winny crucial tiny detail" the group froze in their tracks, "Dare we ask senior?"Cao Peng ventured.

  I simply side stepped the question gesturing to Xiao Xiao I spoke "The price"

  "The price?" Cao Peng repeated seeming to have forgot the deal they made when trying to heal the Injured girl

  "Feigning forgetfulness in front of me, is unwise, Xiao Xiao!"

  They tried to pull out their weapons to prepare for assault when a the world seemed to bare down on them and they froze in their tracks, some with their weapons still sheathed, some halfway being drawn but no one dared to move in that clearing.

  'Spirit Refining!' They all thought in unison horror upon their face, meanwhile Xiao Xiao leisurely brought out a pristine white paper with runic glyphs on it. The paper brought out was a peak profound grade spirit paper which has the power to even bind a Sacred Souled to his or her word, of course before the binding it has to be written on paper.

  Now here is my terms I, Xiao Xiao have done my best in not just stabilizing the injury of the young miss of the DA HAI clan DaHai Xiu'er, but have also healed most of the hidden maledictions to her body suffered by her to the best of my effort and current resources thus I, Xiao Xiao using the spirit of the earth and forest as a witness... she then dripped a drop of blood on the contract, something vast and ancient seemed to stir slightly.

  ************************

  Elder DaHai Tuo who was sent to retrieve the group of kids after the jade bound to the alert talisman situated in the branch clan shattered and got the shock of his life midway deep within JIAO XIONG jungle as he was moving as fast as his movement technique could make him

  Almost there just hold on some he muttered while pushing his technique to the limit not sparing his Qi expenditure at all, after all there's recovery pills to depend on to refill his vital Qi, the mission of retrieving the young miss is paramount.

  The young miss is from the main clan came to the branch clan due to the news of the battle that occurred thousands of lis away from the borders of the DA HAI district, coming here to temper herself in battle, there has been a trickle tide of independent masters and cultivators coming to the forest to try their luck scouring the battlefield hoping to luckily encounter some discarded but useful treasure.

  'What could have gone wrong was it a bandit attack or maybe they met a dire beast or what really, Heavens forbid if they encounter an independent cultivator their chance of leaving alive will be close to null if they by chance offended the person.

  The presence that sprang forth was getting stronger and stronger but it does not seemed to have anything substantial to it, ancient and ephemeral is the only thing that can qualify the aura.

  'Maybe they discovered an ancient artifact and battle erupted while securing it' the man suddenly showed an expression of joy tinged with greed, he was going to make sure the branch clan secures it for the young miss, hopefully she will be able to put in good words for the clan and elevate the clans prestige amongst the rest of the other branch clans.

  For recently their position in the main clans purview has been shaky at best it's high time they'd rectify that and he'll do that in one move couldn't help but feel a bit complacent with this of his plan in operation.

  He knew that whosoever can quickly bring forth a superior force to bare in crucial times usually win to him this is the clans victory in the bag and he was still in his thoughts and on top speed before he was caught off guard as a fair and slender hand caught him in the throat.

  "I've been waiting for you to arrive!" the young girl who caught him in the neck grinned and said with a glee that chilled his spine, struggle as he might the hand didn't budge, he was overpowered, the only thought in his mind was how did he walked into trouble trying to do his own thing on the side, regardless he must survive this encounter.