Cultivating Chaos 4 -CH5- (Patreon)

Ash turned and looked to the door as it opened.

He already knew it was Locke and Rou returning. He could feel their Qi the entire time they were within range.

The fact that this place was just about barren when it came to Qi made it that much easier for Ash to see everyone, and everything. What little Qi there was gave him a near perfect picture of his surroundings at all times.

I wonder if I’m technically more powerful here due to the Qi limitations.

Probably.

“Probably,” agreed Locke and closed the door behind herself. She set down the large backpack after shrugging it from her shoulders. Rou did the same and piled it up with three other backpacks that were in the corner of the room. “In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.

“And before you say it, yes, I know. If an eye for an eye makes everyone blind, than you’ll cut everyone’s fingers off and learn braile. I agree whole heartedly. Also, you two look awfully cute.”

Rou was standing over Ash by this point. Hands on her hips and staring down at him and Hui.

The latter was curled up in front of him in the bed. Just about against his chest and front, in fact, with her head nestled under his chin.

Hui’s fingers were interlocked between Ash’s. Even now after having cried herself empty, then passed out, she was circulating Qi through him.

Using him as a cultivation tool, really.

“Well, that’s better,” Rou said critically. Bending over at the waist she laid a hand gently to Hui’s jaw. Her thumb pressed to the other woman’s brow, her fingers lining up with her jaw. “Much better, actually. Her Qi has settled down. It’s considerably more pure now. Cultivating with you has offered her a considerably smoother path.

“I admit I was somewhat concerned for her given how… wild… it was all inside of her. I had to use my own Qi to heal her as hers was too chaotic to actually work very well.”

“She cried herself out,” murmured Ash. He’d tried to slip away a few times already, only for Hui to stir partially.

An eye would open to peer at him until he settled back down or she’d snuggled in firmly into him till he was practically submerged beneath her.

“Yes… as someone who was afraid of anything and everything, I’d say I completely understand her,” Rou commented, her kind blue eyes moving to meet his. She gave him a warm and radiant smile then. “I also completely understand seeking solace in a certain young man. One who just… clears away the worries and problems put down in front of the path. Makes perfect sense to me.

“We’ll just have to keep an eye on her. She’s… not well. Or at least not physically well. Whatever happened to her damaged her deeply. At the level of her psyche and mind.”

Grinning, Ash once again felt deeply indebted to his Qi-healer. Without her in his life, he’d have had a great many more difficulties. A great many that he probably couldn’t have solved on his own.

“Given how she refers to herself that seemed rather obvious,” Locke teased with a laugh. She was right behind Rou now. Grabbing the smaller woman by the shoulders, Locke held onto the Qi-Healer with some obvious force.

“Look, Ash, it’s how you and Rou do it. Though you hold her hips way more roughly,” Locke blurted out while staring down at Ash. She was indeed positioned behind Rou as she often had him do.

Rou was red-faced and had frozen up completely.

Locke released her, moved past her while planting a kiss on the redhead’s cheek, then collapsed into the bed behind Hui. Pushing herself up against the beautiful woman’s back and posterior, Locke then put her arms around her and grabbed onto Ash.

“So, we talked to a lot of very lonely men. We have information and likely a simple direction,” Locke said as if she hadn’t just done anything at all.

“Locke Sheng,” hissed Rou who was now standing upright. “I will tolerate your antics in private like this as I know you mean well. I even know you care for me in a strange way given how I can see the distinct Qi lines between you and Ashley.”

With an actual obvious flinch, Locke had a wince on her face before hiding her face in the back of Hui’s head.

“I know you hide it in your flirtatious banter but you view me sexually at times in a way that Ashley does,” Rou continued, not stopping. “But I’ll not tolerate you treating me like that. If you’re going to… going to try and tempt me to the other side as you mentioned, than do it correctly.

“Do you understand me, Locke Sheng? Wife to wife, I need to hear a response from you.”

“I’m sorry, Rou Sheng,” Locke said into Hui’s hair. “Ash was feeling very romantically inclined to you in that moment and I couldn’t stop myself. It’s not as bad as it used to be since I’m not in the Hall but I still feel everything he does.

“He was thinking some really forward and fun things about you and how much he wanted you.”

“I… fine. I understand. I accept your apology,” Rou relented with a sigh. Then she reached down and laid a hand to the back of Locke’s head. “I know you suffer under a burden for Ashley’s sake and I forgive you. Please fight against it as best as you can.”

“I will, I’m sorry,” Locke mumbled, still pressed into Hui who was unbelievably sleeping through all of this.

Rou clicked her tongue and then looked to Ash.

“Romantically inclined, hm?” she asked.

“You do so much for me,” Ash explained with a shrug of his shoulders. “You’re a beautiful woman inside and out.”

“Well… thank you. Now! As to what we learned. Locke Sheng, please explain to him. And pull your head out of Hui’s hair. Let her sleep,” Rou commanded and then pulled at Locke’s earlobe.

“I’m letting her sleep,” grumbled Locke, but she did pull her face out of Hui’s hair. “There aren’t any cultivators down here. They all move to the upper levels. Those floating buildings and the islands above them. They all move upward.

“The Qi is denser the higher you go. So their positions are determined but how high up they are. Even the most basic of cultivators move into the buildings that act as ports to the upper areas. Everyone down here is citizens.

“Other than the Qi-lord who owns this area, cultivators don’t come here. Except even the Qi-lord doesn’t remain here He only visits and then leaves. They have citizens who run this city for them while they stay far above. The city exports some things upward and imports things downward.”

Ash nodded his head, that all made sense.

It also gave him a plan that was somewhat stupid in a way but might work.

He’d already experienced proof of his sudden idea working previously as well.

“What if we redirected Qi?” he asked, looking at Locke directly across from himself. “Could I put down a number of formations to redirect and channel Qi down here? I’d rather stay among the citizens and let the cultivators remain above.

“I’ll just put Qi-chains to you all and feed you Qi constantly from myself and what I pull in. If I need to, I can just drain some Sheng Stones and use those to empower us.”

“I mean, yeah? You could do that. All of that. Though… eventually the cultivators would realize the draw is shifting and start to move down this way,” Locke countered.

“That’s fine. That’d be more than enough time for me to do what I wanted. Once the formations are down, and hidden, it’d be too late for anyone to stop me,” Ash insisted. “If I’m going to punch a hole out of this realm, then I need to begin storing up Qi.”

“Sounds like a good starting point,” Rou agreed. “By the way, there is an ‘outside’ here. This city backs up to a wasteland of broken things and wild animals. People venture out there to kill them for resources.

“It runs all the way to the edge of the prison. Which is just a smooth flat wall that extends all the way out above, below, and to the sides. This whole thing is a gigantic cube.

“It’s like they took a massive bite out of a city that included a deal of surrounding area. But not the entirety of the city, just most of it. Then enclosed it.”

“Yes, a big enclosed cube,” confirmed Locke.

“Perfect,” Ash said with a grin. “That sounds like a perfect place to put up some formation boundaries. If we make it all the way to the wall, I could even put down a self-replicating formation that’d crawl it’s way to the top.”

***

Standing in one of the few open plaza, Ash was quietly watching the stalls and the people moving in and out of them. Most people were buying and selling food and simple household objects.

Nothing was out of the ordinary or anything that’d generate curiosity in him.

This was entirely expected given that this was essentially a city of citizens without any cultivators. No one who needed Qi would be here.

Ash could certainly agree that there really was no point at all for a cultivator to be here. The amount of Qi that was free floating was non-existant.

Or at least it would be if Ash wasn’t always pulling everything toward him.

There was a fresh stream of Qi always moving toward him from above. Falling down upon him as a refreshing rain on a hot day might.

“Ashley, those people keep watching us,” warned Hui.

Looking toward what Hui had indicated with a tip of her head, Ash did indeed see several young men watching them. Except they weren’t any trouble at all and wouldn’t be.

“They’re just admiring you, Hui,” Ash replied and went back to his people watching.

Locke and Rou were currently moving to the far side of the city to put down the last of his formation papers he’d enchanted.

All they had to do was drop it on something that wouldn’t be moving anytime soon and then put down the transference paper that’d hide the formation directly on top of it.

Ash and Hui had already completed their own mission and planted down three other formations in the city. They were realistically just killing time at the moment.

“They’re just watching you, Hui. It’s because you’re too attractive,” Ash answered without thinking further about it. It wasn’t a situation that concerned him.

Hui was incredibly hard not to look at even for him.

“Oh. I understand. My face is very attractive. I have great features,” Hui said without any modesty. “My drawbacks were always my figure, skin coloring, and family.

“Then again… that’s who Xiaohui was, I suppose. I’m Hui. Hui has a great figure according to Ashley. You often look at Hui the same way you do Locke and Rou. Locke is equally as… differently figured as Hui.”

“More or less,” Ash agreed with a chuckle.

He knew that by and large a slim, pale, and pretty woman was the cultural preference. Ash was very much an outlier in that.

“Hui is pleased that you have an interest in her beyond that of a weapon,” stated Hui.

“Hui, I say this out of care for you, but I think you need to figure out who and what you are,” Ash murmured, his eyes following a young boy as he exited the crowd. He had taken something from a young man that was perhaps a year or two older than Ash. “It’s obvious from how you refer to yourself that you’re not quite sure. That or we really need to sit you down and have daily therapy sessions.”

“I… ah… yes. I will… think on what you’ve said,” whispered Hui. “Hui is Hui. I am Hui. It is hard as I see myself as two different people now. Xiaohui, who died in the sewer, and Jian Hui Sheng, who you took to hand as your weapon.”

“That’s fine. I’m not trying to rush you. Take your time and think it through. I just wouldn’t feel correct if I didn’t point it out.”

“You’re a considerate owner. Hui thanks Ashley for his care of his weapon. Hui looks forward to your continued care.”

“Did you just ask me to spoil you?” Ash asked with a laugh, glancing at Hui. She had a faint blush to her cheeks and she was, for one of the first times he could think of, not staring at him.

“Yes. Spoil Hui and treat Hui as a prized weapon,” she answered after a pause.

“Yeah, yeah. Hone Hui’s edge till she’s a blade that rings,” Ash said as he watched a group of older boys follow the younger one down an alley.

“Yes. Hone Hui’s edge. For a craftsman to do their job well, they must sharpen their tools.”

Ash pushed off the wall he’d been leaning on and moved to follow after the boys. His curiosity was peeked after he’d seen the look on their faces. They didn’t have only ill intent coloring their features, but what Ash felt was murder.

Having suffered his own trials and tribulations as a young man often at the hands of others, Ash felt himself being moved into their momentum. Even if he really didn’t want to, he felt he needed to insert himself.

Hui moved in to quickly stand on his right. Her hands clasped one within the other as she moved. She had a fluid grace to her now that was constantly being refined.

Ash also knew beyond a doubt that she circulated her Qi continuously. Cultivating life to death and back again.

“She’s on the edge of a double tribulation. To put herself right at the starting point of an Empowered Mortal,”Locke advised him. “We’re done here, by the way. We just finished. We’ll be heading back to the room now. Though I might stop along the way and shop just a little bit.

“Just a little. My husband was generous with my allowance and I want to see if I can’t find anything that’d fit him, too.”

Dork. It isn’t an allowance.

“My husband loves me and made my allowance infinite,” countered Locke.

You goon.

Ash got the impression Locke began laughing out loud at that. Ash pushed it to the back of his mind and turned down the alleyway that the boys had gone into.

Following along Ash realized that this wasn’t a good idea for anyone who wasn’t expecting trouble. He could see ahead that it grew narrow and darkened.

With several places that one could easily ambush another.

“Hui smells blood,” Hui said and then forcefully pushed herself in front of Ash, though she didn’t stop moving forward. She kept walking and let her hands move to defensive positions in front of herself.

Now that she’d said it, Ash could smell blood, too.

A great deal of blood, actually.

More as if he’d stepped into a butcher’s shop than a back alley.

Up ahead, Ash could see two of the boys he’d seen on the ground. A third was standing upright, but there was three that were missing.

The one standing had been the younger boy that’d pickpocketed one of the people in the market. He had a had to his side and a great deal of blood had splashed down along his leg. His other hand held a bloody knife.

Of the two on the ground, it was obvious they were dead. Their throats had been cut outright. Most likely by the knife of the one who was standing.

Looking up, the young boy met Ash’s eyes.

“I worked so hard,” he said in a somewhat disbelieving tone. “I worked… I worked hard. I tried. I really did. I did all I could to get to this point and it wasn’t enough.

“It still… it still wasn’t enough. The heavens do not favor me. It might take ten years to hone a blade, but for me… heaven is high and the emperor far away. I am unseen.”

Slumping down to their knees the young boy could be described only as crestfallen. As if the world had just ended and he was left with nothing in front of him.

“Is that so?” asked Ash curiously. He wasn’t about to step into the middle of a situation where this young boy had clearly killed to others and been stabbed in return. “And what would you have done if you had more time? If the heavens had seen you?”

“I’d have killed my sisters rapist, instead of being killed by him,” whispered the boy as he began to totter from side to side. Several more seconds passed before he fell backward and lay unmoving on the ground.

Ash clicked his tongue. His first involuntary thought was to heal the wounded by and then look into what he’d said.

Except in that direction lay getting involved in a situation that didn’t have anything to do with him. That he’d be subjecting him and his people to a situation that they had no value in.

Hui turned and looked to him with an empty gaze. She didn’t seem to care either way about the situation but was looking to him for instruction.

To her, there were probably three corpses here, not two.

Maybe this is what I’m always being warned about.

That I’m just guarding a tree stump and waiting for rabbits. Rather than going out and finding them myself.

I need information on that back-streets and from the uglier parts of this city. Given how this played out, that boy is as street urchin as they could be.

Ash walked over to the young man and pulled out a very low grade medicinal pill. It’d be more than enough for a citizen to recover from a mortal wound. It’s efficacy would be certainly less to a cultivator which meant it’s value was much higher in the here and now, rather than holding onto it for himself.

With a firm pull, Ash tugged the boys mouth open and dropped it down into their mouth. Making sure to push it under their tongue.

Then he put his hand over the top of the wound and kept the pressure on. It’d only take a few minutes for the pill to dissolve. All he had to do was to make sure the boy didn’t die until then.

“Should I assist, Ashley? Hui can feel death coming for him,” asked Hui.

“I… uh… sure. Come. Help me keep him alive. We’ll see about using him for our own ends,” Ash requested with a smile for Hui.

Coming over, Hui wrapped herself around Ash from behind and put her hands atop his own. He immediately felt her begin to cycle Qi through him once again.

A minute passed in silence as Ash tried not to think about how warm and soft Hui felt against his back. It was quite honestly beyond the point of distracting.

She was an odd mixture of Mei and Na and it left him wanting both.

“You, who’re you?” asked a thin voice.