Chapter 150 - Deducing the recipe.

"For fuck's sake," Xin cursed aloud as he finally squeezed into the hag's root pod, panting. He had spent the last half-hour carving a way inside for himself, leaving him almost drained once more. 

Master, I think your meteoric blade has dulled. That's unfortunate…

"Don't you worry, beast. It's a trusty weapon, Divine Sword sect know their stuff. It's nothing our smiths won't be able to repair."

The spirit nodded internally.

"Let's take a closer look." Xin hunched through the wooden "floor", covered in a thin layer of slimy matter, and approached the hag's workstation, peering inside.

The cauldron was filled with a porridge-like mass, snot-green of colour, with brown lumps of raw concentrate floating around, mineral secretions smeared all over its walls. Whatever it was that the hag was trying to refine here, it was now botched. 

Curses. Xin slapped his thigh.

Master, what dao shard do you think it was?

"I'm… not sure. I'm not a proper refiner. What's this?" Xin saw a nail on the wall with a large worn-out cloth hanging from it. A rug? No.

A bag of holding. Interesting. Xin took it down and opened it.

A putrid stench immediately assaulted his nose, tearing up his eyes and making him cough into his fist.

"Fuck!" Xin snapped the bag shut. He recognized this unmistakable smell — wood path alchemical waste! And so much of it, too… That bag must be rank two!

When Xin worked in a lab, they also produced waste, yet even with the efforts of four workers combined, working for a full week, they wouldn't be able to fill the bag that spacious. And the elements inside wouldn't be so intense, either.

Master, does this mean what I'm thinking?

"Of course. The dao shard was rank two." Xin scooped up some concentrate from the cauldron. "Baihu, could you grant me another Celestial Vigil?"

Not without sacrificing my vital essence. I fear it would be too hard for you to replenish afterwards, so I advise…

"Stop explaining yourself, I trust your judgement. Let's do without it." Xin focused on the scoop's contents, lit up by his rather dim lantern.

Doesn't seem like a dual element shard. Even if she planned to corrupt it later, this original version is of pure wood element. Yet what does it do?

The mixture smells potent, acidic, and has a jelly-like consistency — likely includes animal or human fat. Which means…

I don't know…

Master, you're beaten! You need to sleep and…

"Shut up." Xin cut the beast off again. He wouldn't be able to sleep with this matter unresolved, anyway. He pulled out his tweezers and started rummaging through the cauldron's contents.

He soon managed to catch out some strings of dissolved, finger-length plant matter, but he failed to identify them. The mixture itself was clearly toxic, but not acidic enough to dissolve the scoop or the tools. Given the recipe's use of heavenly and earth qi infusions, it was probably refined using a pseudo-core method, which means…

I don't know. Fuck me. 

Xin slapped his knee, then kicked the pod's "wall." This information could be crucial, yet his ignorance left him out of his depth! He'd gorged on knowledge for more than a decade, yet couldn't deduce a rank two dao shard from its semi-product! A recipe this pronounced and potent should be easy to identify, even if one wasn't a refiner, yet here he was, stumped.

Are my past few years of slacking to blame? Xin sighed and flopped on the demoness' desk. It creaked loudly, but held his weight.

He then lit up the pod's "ceiling," raising the lantern toward it. Interesting. There's no ventilation here — she either kept the root open or sucked the fumes into the bag of holding, or even into her core itself. This means she didn't use much fire, right? She likely used ember crystals. Which means…

I don't know! Fuck. Xin waved his hand angrily, and accidentally sent a glass object crashing into a wall, shattering into a hundred pieces, covering it with a massive ink stain, slowly running down like…

Xin didn't finish the comparison, as a bright thought flashed in his dogged mind. How could I miss this? Ink pot! She was writing something.

He sprang up and looked at the desk. Aside from a few minor alchemical tools scattered around, it was empty! And nothing underneath, too! No quill, either… Curses. What if the recipe was in her core, and was ruined by the explosion?

No, it's unlikely. She probably destroyed it to keep her knowledge safe — wrote it down, memorised it, then burnt it or tore it to pieces…

Xin sat down again, disappointed, yet this time his bum produced a splashy sound.

Huh? He stood up and reached for his back, touching something thin and paper-like.

Oh! Agitated, Xin carefully unstuck it and shed some light on it.

It was a sheet of low-quality paper, its middle part erased beyond recognition — Xin's clothing was covered in slime from climbing into the pod, and his bum smeared it all over the text! Outraged, he almost used Woodcutter's Downswing to cut the desk he was standing in front of in half, yet recomposed and smiled instead. 

I'm such an idiot, I focused so much on deducing the recipe that I forgot about other clues!

Don't be so harsh on yourself, master! Please read the paper, mayhaps we can still salvage something from it?

"Right." Xin nodded. He was embarrassed to admit how much he appreciated the totem's company. After all, he didn't consider it a "person". 

Xin started reading, the paper's writing turning out to be rather crude and unrefined, devoid of any calligraphy:

"To the decrepit old whore:

I've sent everything you needed. Now do your part. We need the shard by next mid-week at most, and you know what happens if you fail to deliver. Pinecones should be attached.

I'm organising a lab for you here in the city, prepare some rank one inheritance variants and…" The writing became smudged here, as this was where Xin's gooey buttocks had landed. Half a page later, it continued: "Stop chasing after these nomads and refine something from a mortal village instead. K will give you some leads." It seems the hag was a recipient, not an author of this letter.

Having finished it, Xin felt a mix of astonishment and embarrassment. It was such an important piece of intel, yet I ruined it by accident! What if my son dies because of this now?

No. The totem is right. I'm too hard on myself. I did great and pushed myself to the limit, so now I'm drained and prone to blunders. I'll analyse the letter tomorrow, I need a rest now. But where?

Wait, now that I think of it, I don't feel any qi drain inside this pod. Strange. Roots are known to absorb the energy from their surroundings — after all, it's their purpose in life. But I'm not about to question my good fortune. If the only alternative is walking back through the forest's "safe" area, I'd rather sleep here.

Except… I don't know how to open the root if it's closed, and I suspect it might regenerate overnight. By the ancestors, this is tedious.

Xin covered the "wound" he'd made with his meteoric sword in acidic metal path materials to scorch it, then stuffed his backpack into the hole. It wasn't a perfect seal, so the room would still be lightly ventilated. The stench inside the pod was nauseating, but it was still better than walking outside and dodging traps again.

Wasted, Xin wrapped the hag's bed with his own plaid, covered himself with another one, drank the remnants of his water and sank into sleep.

It was early dawn when he woke, and to his surprise, he hadn't been disturbed, not even by his own dreams. His manic energy had been replaced with a sense of calmness, and aside from a slight headache and a few minor inconveniences, he felt almost as good as new.

Feels good, being young. 

Reinvigorated, Xin searched the pod for loot, yet to his surprise, he found nothing of significant value. The hag's instruments were rather shoddy, and her bag of holding's internal space would dissolve any moment, rendering it useless. Disappointed, he crawled outside and breathed in some fresh air, his throat sore and nose snotty, both from cold and fume remnants he inhaled.

He then approached the bear carcass, and a large cauldron storing its organs nearby. Sadly, it was a big pile of waste now — the organs were all soaked in a blood path material mix, which quickly turned unbalanced without the hag's supervision. He'd have no bag of holding or conservants to transport so much material before it spoiled, anyway.

Xin sighed and squatted in front of a mossy stone and snacked on more dried meat, trying to gauge the situation.

It seems I was right — the demoness was indeed under external pressure. Someone with enough influence and resources had asked her to refine a specific dao shard, but for what purpose? And why seek her out, specifically? She was a subpar alchemist, that is clear, so what could she do that some shady city alchemist couldn't?

Either the demoness possessed unique knowledge, or the buyer wanted to be especially secretive. Hmm…

A forbidden wood path dao shard, perhaps?

Every path had its own banned dao shards and techniques. Some were too dangerous, some too inhumane and some required resources production of which could disrupt whole ecosystems. 

On the surface, wood path was known as one of the tamest, its wielders usually stereotyped as peaceful and gregarious, yet its history wasn't without road bumps. Over its long history, it gave rise to numerous demonic offshoot paths, spawned a dozen invasive plant species, and gave birth to several new fungal and plant-based diseases, claiming the lives of at least tens of thousands of people.

No wonder Carnivore Grove inheritance was banned, Xin thought. 

If the demonic faction obtained its high-ranked breakthrough methods, they'd drain forests into husks to break through en masse, even if half of them became alchemical fiends as a result. And if someone cultivated its plant men methods without proper care, a few lost "sheep" would be enough to spawn feral armies that would be a nightmare to root out.

Yet Wu Xiaoyun still entrusted me with this knowledge… Xin's chest tightened when he remembered the young woman: her warmth and friendliness, her endless gratitude and belief in his character, something that he himself lacked. Yet now that Erdeni was with his child, he was afraid to look into sister Xiaoyun's eyes. They never even dated, not even speaking of proper romance, yet Xin felt like he'd betrayed the girl's trust, even cheated.

Master, don't be so hard on yourself! Didn't you say you don't see her this way? Even if a small part of you was attracted to her, it wasn't enough to tip the scales! And with lady Erdeni, you love her dearly! There's nothing to be ashamed of, such is life!

"Can you stop speaking unprompted? I am tired of your advice." Xin scoffed.

Of course I can, even if your words injure me gravely! Just order me and I'll stop.

"You mean no harm, I don't like the idea of ordering you around. Just stop lecturing me, you're two weeks old or something."

Of course, master. I'll stay mindful of your feelings in the future.

"Somehow it's even worse that you didn't argue! You're perfectly adequate, but by the gods, you vex me lately!"

But you've enjoyed the Justice Claws I gave you, haven't you? Xin felt the totem make a cub-like expression again. 

"Oh, so the previous one manipulated me to overtake my soul, and you'll scowl to goad me into praising you? Annoying, but a good change nonetheless. Let's get back to work."

Yes, master! The Baihu was quick to let go and agreed momentarily, its voice eager.

"You know what I think? If she was indeed refining a dao shard, it must have been very important. A combat shard is unlikely to be of such importance, no matter how strong. Must be utility type."

Utility? Sounds vague.

"Stop wasting human qi talking and listen, beast. The hag's patrons' faction likely lacks a wood path rank two master, why else would they need this granny bum? Remember how they asked her to write up some inheritances? Means she was the best they had.

Still, everything points to them being rich and powerful — they're making their own lab, recruiting people, and their threats were enough to intimidate her into action in the first place. It's unlikely that the shard she was making was to boost her combat ability — why would they spend so much effort making their thrall stronger? I have another theory — they have resources that could help them convert their vast resources into some sort of benefit. It's wood path, after all, I wouldn't be too surprised."

Xin thought in silence for another minute.

"Hm, remember the letter? It said 'pinecones included'. That dissolved plant matter I caught, could it be pine needles? That would make those brown lumps floating around pinecones. That's two pine-based ingredients, which can't be a coincidence. Whatever that dao shard was, it was pinecone based."

And we're in the Yellow Pine forest! 

"Exactly! It's hard to deduce the significance of this clue, though. What I can do is speculate further on the dao shard's nature. Pine trees are used for man-made forests, they're adaptive and fast-growing, beloved by lumberjacks yet oft hated by foresters. And for a good reason, too — as you've seen for yourself, even a mundane pine tree can be invasive, yet yellow pines could kill any regular forest. This one's not regular, though."

Xin felt a warm sensation in his chest, and a pleasant tingling flowed through his head — it was so good to be in control again! His mind was in a flow state once more! He felt the conclusion bulge and prepare to burst, he only had to ride the wave to reach it now!

"Listen! Yellow Pine forest! Pines! What was the demoness' specialty? Vinemen! And what kind of shard would be of such immense value? What could transform materials into something of immense value?" Xin remembered the Young Mantis. A poor rank two like him assembled an impressive squad by letting his insects roam the land, then gathering them into a swarm. What if someone did something similar in the secrecy of the Yellow Pine forest, and with a better method? The results would be immense!

Master, you think they were preparing to raise an army here?

"Of course, have you seen those vinemen rhizomes she had? Imagine a shard that can produce something like this, but with pine-based plantmen! Let's call them pinemen for now. A shard called 'pinemen king', or 'pinemen tuber mother', something like this. 'Yellow pine king', perhaps?

Plant these rhizomes all over the forest in droves, let them grow naturally and you've got an army on your hands! They can partially grow underground, and with Border Guard patrols scarce, no one will notice until it's too late!"

The totem meowed, astonished. That sounds serious! Glad we prevented it!

"But what should I do now? Guess I should hurry back to Erdeni and tell her she's safe. Going to Zadana to collect the bounty wouldn't hurt, either. Should somehow avoid that Mistborn fencer, though… And once we are done with that, what comes of my and Erdeni's relationship?" Xin felt his heart tense up, yet another spiky thought surged up, repressing all others.

Wait! He was so stunned he was no longer speaking out loud. The men I killed in that forest, that water path master and his disciples, are they connected to this? A new organisation pops up, planning to recruit people and help them break through, all mysterious and secretive. And now the demoness shows up in the same area, trying to refine a shard to produce an army? Coincidences exist, but my intuition is telling me this isn't one. I'm not just paranoid, I stumbled on something big by accident!

Xin started walking around the glade, agitated. What do I do, what do I do… Whoever these people conspiring are, they aren't from our sect — our administration knew where I was going, so they wouldn't send these people into the same forest to get ambushed by me. And would they let the demoness ambush our caravan, if that was the case?

Very unlikely. Unless? Xin felt a sense of paranoid dread creep up, then looked at the hag's ring with his sect's insignia. Unless there is indeed a traitor in our sect! Rumours are, we're about to start claiming this forest for ourselves in a few months — was someone about to plant an ambush army to encircle our squads?

Let's not jump to conclusions! This army could be raised to be used elsewhere, the hag could have attacked the caravan out of her own volition, and just be an agent other factions in the region used — and this mysterious organisation could be just that, a mysterious band of renegade mercs trying to profit off a wartorn region. 

Was the Young Mantis's attack a coincidence, too, then? When lady Meiling set up a caravan full of seeds, led by two loser masters, was it sabotage or her being pitchy with resources? And that arranged marriage offer of hers, was that her attempt to bail me out of this arrangement, as she saw value in me?

Curses, am I losing my mind or is this making too much sense? Xin leaned his elbow on a tree, breathing heavily. How deep does the rabbit hole go, and is there a rabbit hole in the first place? 

Xin scoffed. Life is funny, isn't it? Feng Chonglin was right, I am out of my depth, I am not yet equipped to handle the games these cultivators play. If I blunder just once, I'll be squashed like a bug. My next move will decide the fate of so many people — what should it be? Xin squatted down again and thought.

Thoughts surged and flashed, discarded by hundreds to refine a dozen, and out of all these, he finally squeezed out a conclusion, his eyes dry from lack of blinking, his forehead sweaty.

I need to go to the Border guard fort, and I need to get a flying sword!

Author's note: I'll try to release 1 chapter a day for several days from now on. I'm really burnt out from editing the early chapters for a RR release, it's quite tedious and unrewarding, so I decided to come back and write some new chapters instead. Hope you enjoy them.