Chapter 8 Fate

Hou sprinted down the mountain. Each step sent painful shocks up his legs and each breath he took burned deep in his lungs. He had already long pushed past his physical limits, and yet he could not yield if he wanted to see his father alive again. Slowly the trees began to thin until he could finally see the mansion's outer wall. Hou practically dove through his secret passage and sprinted towards his father's room.

As it was now late into the night the only one with his father was his mother. She sat motionless alongside the bed, her hand gently resting on his father's chest. Reminiscent of renaissance artwork on earth these two sat illuminated by the moonlight, his mother gazing down at his now grey and sickly father. Hou could tell his mother was exhausted, likely from supplementing his fathers qi so that he could continue internally combatting the poison.

"Mother! I have something that can help father!" His mother looked up with a jolt.

"What do you mean Hou? Even your fathers advisor the mad poison dragon couldn't tell what was afflicting him."

"I can't explain right now but I can help father you just have to trust me." His mother just sat silently gazing back down at his father. 

"You trusted me once before you just need to trust me once more and I promise I can bring him back to us."

"Ok Hou. Go ahead."

"Thankyou mother"

Hou quickly sat beside his father. Assuming a lotus position he thought of his furnace and there it appeared. It radiated golden light that illuminated the small room. His mother was shocked at the power Hou was producing but she held her tongue so as not to disturb the treatment.

Hou held his hands in front of him with his palms towards the furnace. Slowly he began to channel his remaining qi into the vessel. However, it wasn't enough. The stream of qi crackled in and out of existence creating an inconsistence flow. While he was searching deep within his dantian for any reserve power Hou began to feel a warm sensation radiation from his back. As the warmth wrapped around him he could feel his qi surging forward. Sensing this he realised his mother must be channeling her qi into him through his back so that he could complete his work. 

The stream, strengthened by additional qi became smooth and enveloped the furnace. A hand extended from the furnace and grasped the crystal flower inside Hou's robe while at the same time more hands gathered water and some other basic medicinal ingredients from his father's desk. 

An orb of liquid formed in the air with the herbs swirling inside. The fire that had been holding each ingredient surrounded the ball and began to heat the water. Just as beads of sweat started to form on Hou's forehead the herbs began liquifying from the combination of qi and spiritual heat. In order to finish processing the pill the fire had to be precisely controlled or there was the risk of the whole batch being wasted. Slowly, Hou lowered the homogenised liquid into the furnace while carefully monitoring his flame. Focusing qi into just one eye he observed the intensity of the spiritual heat coming from the furnace allowing him to make minute adjustments to the flame. 

Then came a voice transmission "Hou I don't have much more qi you have to hurry." Despite having already spent hours tending to his father his mother had still managed to help him this much. He wouldn't let this chance go. Bringing up the temperature slightly would increase the pill formation speed but also increased the risk of burning. Hou didn't have time to waste considering each option though and so he began to increase the size of the flame. 

Gazing into the centre of the furnace Hou could see the pill taking shape. The liquid began condensing as a think skin formed around it. This was the most crucial moment. He had to make sure to seal in all the medicinal properties or the medicine wouldn't be effective. 

Carefully, carefully, carefully, Hou thought to himself. He brought the fire up and around the forming pill ready to make the seal. As the skin met its other side the seam began to close with the assistance of spiritual heat. It was the last few millimetres when Hou felt the qi emanating from his back suddenly stop. A noxious black smoke erupted from the top of the furnace as the stream of qi once again became turbid. 

Hou quickly covered his mouth with his sleeve and reached into the furnace. He prayed that he had managed to complete the pill before the reaction went awry. Feeling around inside he grasped a spherical object. That was a good sign Hou thought. As he lifted it from its birth place a light emerged with it. The bright white light drowned out every ounce of darkness in the room and for a moment his fathers breath seemed to steady with the smell wafting from the furnace alone. 

He'd done it. Hou approached his father and opened his mouth. He slipped the pill in and pressed up on his fathers jaw to help him chew and swallow the medicine. Almost instantly a rosy colour began to replace the sickly grey of his fathers skin, and within minutes Hou could tell that his father's breathing had returned to normal and it wouldn't be long until he had made a full recovery. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Looking up, he could see his mother was standing behind him with a tear in her eye. 

"Go rest my darling. I will watch over him from here."

Hou turned around and hugged his mother tightly. The silence of their embrace broken only by the sudden snoring of his father. As he stifled a laugh Hou looked at his mother one last time before heading back to his room to rest. 

The Poison Immortal or as he was known to those around him Zhi Tang floated above the Tang clan's fortress home. While he recognised the architecture he couldn't recognise the surrounding geography. How strange he thought. In life he'd roamed far and wide gaining reputation as a martial artist so he was pretty certain there was no where in Jianghu that he didn't know of. Even if the family had to move he at least should've had some idea of where they went. Odd, very odd, he continued. 

As the progenitor of the Tang clan he naturally went in to check on the current patriarch. Hovering parallel to the floor the Poison Immortal looked over the shoulder of Qiang Tang as he worked. He could see that carefully arranged on the desk was a picture of each of his children. A fitting image for a man of the Tang clan where family should always come first the poison immortal mused. In a flash the patriarch drew a dagger and slashed through his ancestors ethereal body.

"Must have been imagining things. Age makes you paranoid I guess *tsk*" Qiang Tang said to the air before sitting down. 

Impressive thought Zhi Tang. To be able to sense his presence meant the current patriarch was someone with powerful martial arts and an acute sense for spiritual energy. A man with deep faith in both the clans martial arts and his family. The perfect patriarch for the Tang clan.

Satisfied with his snooping, the Poison Immortal returned to the young boy who had contracted him. Seeing the boy sleeping soundly in his bed Zhi Tang was also satisfied that the next generation had talent to continue on the families legacy.