Chapter 6: Ginseng

As the sun was setting, Alphonse entered into the wolf's den. The wolf's den is a cave made of a dark grey rock with a smooth surface. The entrance is around eleven feet tall and nine feet wide. As Alphonse walked in he could see several ledges that had various herbs on them, though none of them had any use when it came to cultivation.

Alphonse snuck deeper into the cavern until he finally reached a large deposit of herbs. 'Is it here Prism?' Alphonse asked.

{Affirmative.} Prism responded.

'Wait... How am I going to leave the cave with the ginseng while it's emanating spiritual ki?' Alphonse thought to himself. 'I'll have to be fast.' Alphonse thought to himself as he looked for the ginseng. After a few moments of searching, Alphonse found the ginseng and started running for the exit.

Alphonse quickly reached the entrance of the cave and began running to the city. 'Where's the wolf?' Alphonse asked Prism.

{A few miles away, it appears they do not hunt far from their den.} Prism responded. After around an hour, Alphonse made it back to the city and entered. As Alphonse walked through the crowd of the market he avoided people to the best of his ability and wound up in an alley.

Alphonse sighed as he sat against the wall of the alley. 'This should be helpful, at least a little.' Alphonse thought to himself as he looked at the sky. 'It's getting late and I have no idea where to hide this thing...' Alphonse thought to himself as he looked around. 'I can't give it to Tatsumi Yu, who knows if he'll give it back, I can't trust anyone...' Alphonse thought to himself as he picked up an empty sack from the alley.

{Do you have a plan?} Prism asked.

'I think so... I need to think it over some more...' Alphonse responded. Alphonse put the ginseng into the sack, then rolled it up. 'This should help me hide the ginseng, now I just need somewhere to sleep.' Alphonse thought to himself.

{Why don't you take Tatsumi Yu up on his offer?} Prism asked.

'First, I already denied his offer once, second, I don't know if I can trust him or Tatsumi Sarah, and third, I can feel their hostility. In this era, the sins of the parents are pushed to the child so to speak. Tatsumi Jiyomu died because Raeloph executed him, Tatsumi Sarah knows it was unjust, and since Raeloph is dead, his actions are pushed to me.' Alphonse responded.

{Ah, that does make sense... Though it is a bit unjust...} Prism said. Alphonse nodded in agreement. Alphonse walked around in the alleys looking for somewhere to rest but found no suitable locations.

'It's already dark, I mean I wasn't planning on sleeping, but still... Whatever, I'll just wait around on a rooftop.' Alphonse thought to himself as he jumped onto the roof of a building. 'I can also last a bit longer without food, though I would prefer to have some...' Alphonse thought to himself as he held the ginseng close to him. 'This is my ticket to a better life...' He thought to himself as he laid down.

(The next day)

'Should I ask him?' Alphonse asked Prism.

{Well, that Tatsumi fellow likely knows at least a little, so that would be beneficial.} Prism responded.

'Yeah, but I could also ask the rich guy about cultivation levels as well.' Alphonse said as he sat up.

{His name is Xiao Shi, and you should be calling him sect leader, but you do have a point you would ultimately gain more knowledge from a more reliable source.} Prism said.

'Alright, I guess I'll have to ask sect leader, or whatever his name is.' Alphonse thought to himself.

{Sect leader Xiao Shi!} Prism said sternly.

'Right.' Alphonse responded.

(The next day... Again...)

{Alphonse, are you ready to go to Tatsumi Yu's house?} Prism asked.

'As ready as I'll ever be.' Alphonse responded as he began walking towards Tatsumi Yu's house. When Alphonse arrived, the carriage was already at the house. 'This early? This guy must've been itching to get us in his sect...' Alphonse thought to himself as he knocked on the door. After a moment, Tatsumi Yu opened the door.

"Ah, Alphonse, lord Xiao Shi was just talking about you." Yu said. "Please, come in." Yu said as he motioned Alphonse inside. Alphonse entered and saw Xiao Shi sitting with Min Li next to him.

"Hello. Alphonse was it?" Xiao Shi asked. Alphonse nodded. "You are quite a quiet person, why is that?" Xiao Shi asked. Alphonse just shrugged as he walked towards an empty seat. Once Alphonse was at the chair he looked at Tatsumi Yu.

"May... I sit... here?" Alphonse asked. Yu nodded and Alphonse sat on the seat. Xiao Shi cleared his throat.

"Anyway, Min Li also knows how to identify wounds, both old and new so she will be checking on the children and ensure they are both at their peak performance, even scars will be revealed, and I am confident that with your magic, Tatsumi Yu, any injury will be healed!" Xiao Shi said. Min Li nodded as she stood up.

"Who is going first?" Min Li asked.

"Sarah." Tatsumi Yu said quickly.

"Alright. Sarah, come with me." Min Li said as she began walking towards another room. After around two minutes Min Li and Sarah exited the room and entered the common room. "She has a few light scars and scratches, but other than that she's fine." Min Li said. "Alphonse, come with me." She said as she once again began walking to the other room.

Alphonse followed her to the backroom. "Strip to your undergarments, then I will proceed with the scan, though with how you fought with me I doubt there will be many wounds on you." Min Li said. Alphonse did as he was instructed.

"Any wounds or scars on your body will glow, different colors represent the different levels of danger each wound poses, white is the least and black is the most, the in-between colors are purple, red, blue, yellow, and green, if you have any of those I will tell you where they are in the order" Min Li explained.

Min Li moved her hands in front of Alphonse's face and a small light appeared in front of her hand. After a few seconds, lights started to appear one by one, each one being a different color. After five minutes, Alphonse's entire body, excluding a few parts of his head and face, lit up. Min Li's expression turned from shock to terror after a few seconds.

"How are you alive?!?!" Min Li yelled loudly. After a few seconds Xiao Shi and Tatsumi Yu ran into the room.

"What's going on!?" Xiao Shi asked in panic as he looked around the room. "This child... Is he alright?" Xiao Shi asked.

"I-I don't know!" Min Li with terror in her voice. "Whatever this child has been through, it was a lot..." Min Li said softly. After the lights dimmed down they inspected looked at Alphonse and saw scars all over his body. "I didn't even notice those." Min Li said.

"Are there any internal wounds?" Tatsumi Yu asked.

"That... That's an entirely different scan, but at this point, I think it may be necessary..." Min Li said.

"Wait, no need..." Xiao Shi said as he walked to Alphonse. "I brought a healing pill in case anything like this happened, though I didn't actually expect anything quite this bad... Child, eat this." Xiao Shi said as he handed a gumball sized glowing orb to Alphonse.

"S-sect leader, are you sure you want to spend so much on him?!" Min Li asked with a shocked tone.

"Don't worry, I am certain it will be worth it, after all, he is already at the half-step foundation stage." Xiao Shi said.

"R-right..." Min Li said as she looked at Alphonse.

"Are... You sure... I... Can.... Have this...?" Alphonse asked. Xiao Shi nodded with a warm smile. "Really...?" Alphonse asked as tears appeared in his eyes.

"Hurry, these wounds will only hinder you." Xiao Shi said. Alphonse put the pill in his mouth and bit it. "It is chewable, so if you want to eat it instead of swallowing it that is fine." Xiao Shi said as tears began to flow down Alphonse's face.

After Alphonse swallowed the pill, all of his wounds started glowing as they faded. "Thank you..." Alphonse said as he began crying.

"Is something wrong Alphonse?" Xiao Shi asked.

"I-I... I just haven't... Been given much kindness..." Alphonse said through his tears.

"That doesn't make sense..." Tatsumi Yu mumbled. After a few moments, Alphonse calmed his tears ad began speaking.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to cry..." Alphonse said as he looked down in embarrassment.

"It's normal for children to cry, do not worry." Xiao Shi said lightly.

"I forgot... Most children my age would laugh and cry... But I can't even smile at any of my memories..." Alphonse mumbled.

"You were the chief's son, how do you have no happy memories!?' Tatsumi Yu asked abruptly with a slight amount of anger in his voice. Min Li and Xiao Shi looked at the two with confused expressions as they could not hear Alphonse when he mumbled. Alphonse looked at Tatsumi Yu for a moment.

"Awakening..." Alphonse said pathetically. Yu's expression changed from being baffled to being confused.

"So he got stronger? That's it?" Yu asked.

"You know what happens if you fail to preserve your mind." Alphonse said as he grabbed the old sack with the ginseng. "By the way sect leader, I got this for you, I found it in a cave." Alphonse said as he threw the sack to the sect leader.

"What is it?" Xiao Shi asked.

"Look inside to find out." Alphonse said as he began to put his clothes on. Xiao Shi unraveled the sack and looked inside.

"Did you get this from a beast's den!?" Xiao Shi asked with a shocked expression. Alphonse nodded as he exited the room and entered the common room. When Alphonse entered the common room he saw Sarah just sitting and waiting.

"Wh-what happened?" She asked.

"Nothing major." Alphonse said lightly. Sarah looked at Alphonse with a confused expression.

"I don't believe you." She said.

"Alphonse, did you sustain those injuries from the beast den?" Xiao Shi asked as he entered the common room. Alphonse shook his head.

"Then where did you get them from?" Min Li asked.

"I'd... Rather not talk about it..." Alphonse said.

"We need to know if there is something threatening the survival of our disciples, so tell us already." Min Li said.

"You won't have to worry about the cause of those injuries, he's dead." Alphonse said as he got up and left the building. As Alphonse left the building Min Li's expression became shocked.

"Prism, mind connection off." Alphonse said.

{Disconnecting} Prism said. {Why did you do that!?} Prism asked angrily.

"B-because... I... I don't want anyone to see my thoughts..." Alphonse said as tears formed in his eyes.

{It's your memories, isn't it?} Prism asked. Alphonse nodded as he laid down.