Gao Deng Luo, the former councillor of Three River City, lounged on the throne while City Lord Teng stood subserviently at his side. He sneered as he looked down at the empty throne room.

  The doors groaned as someone pushed them from the other side and his eyes went wide. He leapt to his feet and rushed to the bottom of the stone stairs. After brushing off his robes he stood still and waited.

  To his great relief, it wasn’t his elder cousin who entered the throne room. Gao Shan terrified him to the core and he’d been ruthless in his handling of the city. He feared the fate that awaited him upon his return to the Gao Clan’s ancestral home in the Black Rose Swamps.

  However, if he was able to perform well while Gao Shan was here in the city, his cousin might report as such to the patriarch. As his first disciple, Gao Shan’s word held weight with the man and might revert any punishment that had been planned.

  Simply relying on the word of another to decide his fate wasn’t a favourable outcome though, so Gao Deng Luo was also making plans of his own. One of the city guards entered the throne room, striding up to the former councillor and bending a knee.

  Every single man, woman, and child in the palace had either been killed or placed under the control of the Gao Clan members using puppet poison or in the case of the more powerful cultivators, slave gu. They still operated as though nothing had changed, but they now danced to their master’s tune.

  “What news?” Gao asked the guard.

  “Young Master, an unknown alchemist has begun selling a miracle healing pill throughout the city, undercutting all of the Gao Clan’s operations. The citizens report that it is far more effective than any other pills despite being a fraction of the cost. If the product continues to sell it may put some of the smaller fronts out of business,” the guard reported, his eyes glazed over and dull.

  Gao Deng Luo kissed his teeth, stomping back up the steps towards the throne. He stopped in front of the seat, glancing at the padded chair before turning back to the guard with a flick of his sleeve.

  “What is the name of this mystery alchemist? Or are you so incompetent that you failed to bring me any actual information?” he snapped.

  The guard remained unmoved, showing no trace of emotion on his face. His mouth moved stiffly as he replied. “Young Master, there is no guarantee that the information is true, but the chief alchemist of the jade cauldron association did give us a name.”

  “Well, spit it out, fool. I could slow cook a dozen pigs by the time I learned anything useful from you!”

  “Zhao Dan.”

  The former councillor roared in fury, slamming his fist into the nearest stone pillar and leaving a sizable indent. Chunks of marble clattered against the ground and tumbled down the stairs while the guard stood unperturbed.

  “Why is it always that bastard? Every time I have him in my grasp, the cockroach finds a way to slip through my fingers. Is he the illegitimate son of the heavens and the laughing buddha!?” he hissed, blood dripping from his fingers as he clenched his fist.

  He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, opening and closing his bloody fist. After a few breaths he walked back down the stairs until he was standing face to face with the guard.

  “Tell me about these supposed miracle pills,” he demanded. “Our Gao clan products should have people hooked, so how was he able to draw so much attention in such a short time? In fact,” he slammed a fist against his open palm, “How does he even know alchemy?”

  The guard stood as if frozen, an unmoving statue. Gao Deng Luo paced back and forth while shaking his head and muttering obscenities.

  “It doesn’t even matter. Gao Shan is a despicable, irritating bastard, but there is no way Zhao Dan can stand up to him. Even if he skipped half a dozen stars in the Qi Gathering Realm while sucking on heaven’s golden teat…” he mumbled.

  He continued pacing in this manner for as long as it took to eat a meal, muttering and shouting while making odd gestures. The guard stood there, eyes dull, without moving.

  Suddenly, Gao Deng Luo froze on the spot. He tipped his head back and began to cackle like a street beggar who just discovered he is descended from the jade emperor himself.

  “I don’t even need to get my own hands dirty. I can simply let the bastard’s hubris rot him like a festering plague. I’m a genius,” he exclaimed. “All this time I cursed Gao Shan’s arrival, but his shadows are exactly the tools I need for this task.”

  He turned and strode out of the throne room with a flourish of his robe. As he passed the guard he paused for a second. Resting his chin in his hands, he stared at the immobile guard.

  Then, he suddenly delivered a sharp backhand slap to the man’s face. A red welt formed, but other than to stand upright once more the guard didn’t react.

  “Go and find my cousin’s shadows for me. Tell them to come to my chambers immediately,” he ordered, smirking at the results of his handiwork.

  ****

  I was getting the hang of alchemy, each experiment and pill refining that I completed improving my overall grasp of the vocation. I doubted I would ever wholly dedicate myself to it, as it was but one path of healing not in complete alignment with my own talents. However, it would certainly be a powerful asset to my cause.

  I had secluded myself for longer than I’d planned, taking four whole days to improve and streamline the process of refining my healing pills. It was worth it; my efforts had borne fruit and now I could produce far more pills in each batch.

  I had not managed to increase the quality further, meaning the finished product was Martial grade, Average quality when I began mass production and started distributing it among the citizens of Three River City.

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  To begin with I was producing batches of five pills at a time with a fraction of the ingredients I had used at the beginning. That meant I could produce around two hundred pills a day if I worked nonstop.

  I was happy to do that to begin with. Finding a way to offset production could come later. For now I simply wanted to spread the healing pills.

  I used Xiao Cui’s blossoming business as a ladder to reach the heavens in a single step. She already had the women of Three River City flocking to her doors each day, so all I needed to do was offer a few pills for free to her earliest customers at sunrise.

  Once the effects had been proven, I set myself up across the lobby and now there were two meandering queues that ran out of the clinic door each day and night; one for magic stamina drugs and the other for my healing pills.

  I was making a lot of money despite pricing my pills at just five coppers per pill. I could’ve priced them even lower, but the mind was a strange thing. People didn’t trust miracle cures that came too cheap.

  I managed to strike a balance between making it affordable for the commoners while still not being so cheap as to sow doubts to its effectiveness. As such, the demand for my pills was even greater than that for Xiao Cui’s tonics.

  Of course, this was only the initial wave. Once people were cured of their ills they would not need my medicine for a time, but sickness was an inevitability of life. For mortals, at least.

  Cultivators could avoid the common afflictions, but they often suffered wounds of a far deadlier nature. For me that was a curse and a blessing. I’d been able to soar ahead in my cultivation by healing stronger and more injured cultivators, but I remained dismayed at the brutality of this world.

  For now I was satisfied. The first small step of my path had come to fruition. Since arriving in this world in this body I had struggled to find meaning and understanding amongst death and suffering.

  My goal was to bring about a revolution of healing, though the bounds of that goal were wider than I could’ve first believed. While my personal goals had shifted to the development of my spiritual techniques and the advancement of my physique and cultivation, bringing this small change in Three River City was a great achievement that I was proud of.

  Of course, there was still a long way to go with these pills. Figuring out how to mass produce them outside of my own body to begin with.

  Doing that would allow me to increase production and allow it to continue even when I turned my focus back to my other goals. Spreading distribution beyond Three River City would hopefully come next; allowing everyone living in the territory of the Cloudy Falls Sect and perhaps even the Celestial Jade Empire to receive these wondrous pills.

  Those were all far off dreams, only drawn a little closer through my own work. For now, I was happy to distribute the pills in Three River City. As I handed over pills and collected copper coins, I thought ahead to the evening.

  It had been a while since Wang Bao had been captured at my hands. City Lord Teng Shi had promised to deal with the man himself and any consequences that arose from his actions.

  I knew Councillor Gao was behind him or at the very least working with him, but whether or not the city lord would deal with all the corruption in his court remained to be seen. I planned to travel to the palace and check for myself.

  Now that my cultivation was above that of even the city lord, I had nothing to fear from anyone in this city. Only the hegemons above them could still bring me trouble.

  For the time being, I had pushed the Cloudy Falls Sect off my back. However, in order to do that I had left them an invitation to seek me out again if they needed. That had been a dangerous play, but one that could still serve to benefit me in future.

  Keeping the sect away from the city was the better plan, attempting to deal with things quietly. I would compromise if need be, but I would ensure that little Cui had her vengeance at the very least.

  ****

  I paced through the streets of Three River City with a furrowed brow, muttering to myself. When I’d visited the palace, Captain Kang had met me at the outer gates.

  Since the incident with Wang Bao he had warmed up to me a little, though his hostility remained. The incident at Nine Paddy Village would forever mark me as a criminal in his mind, even though cruel retribution had been delivered on the villagers long since.

  What I found strange however, was that upon greeting me, Captain Kang didn’t have a trace of hostility or hatred in his eyes. In fact, he’d welcomed me with a smile as if we were old friends.

  That had felt odd at the time but in my haste to discover Wang Bao’s fate I had not questioned it. Unfortunately, Captain Kang had refused my entry to the palace, citing the business of the city lord.

  While I was marginally more powerful than Teng Shi, I wasn’t a fool. Taking on everyone in the palace to force my way in would either end in my death or all of theirs. Either way, I wished to avoid shedding blood. Except the blood of those who deserved it.

  I found myself questioning everything about the interaction as I strolled through Three River City. Something had been very odd about the captain’s behaviour. And it wasn’t only Captain Kang.

  All of the guards had moved like robots, stiff and unwieldy. Of course, I couldn’t discount my heightened perceptions as a five-star Qi Gatherer. The movements of most people looked like the flailing of a drunken pig to me now, but I couldn’t put the encounter out of my mind.

  Somehow I ended up at Granny Yu’s shop. I stood outside the overgrown wooden frame of her shop and stared at the myriad species of moss and ivy that made it their home.

  A sense of calm fell over me as I inhaled deeply. The spiritual energy around this place was less erratic than in the rest of the city. Whether that was an accident of nature or by design, only the old woman herself could know.

  The shop was closed. I suspected Granny Yu might be inside nonetheless, but I had no reason to disturb her at this late hour. She would probably be furious with me for interrupting her rest.

  Instead, I made my way back to the clinic, mulling over the day’s events continuously. What had caused the change in the captain’s behaviour? The city lord had told me he had everything in hand, but there was a nagging feeling in the depths of my consciousness that refused to go away.

  ****

  I took a deep gulp of the rich bone broth, the potent flavour of the chicken and pork bones simmered overnight washing over me like heavenly medicine. Xiao Cui was flourishing as both a cook and herbalist, as well as a businesswoman.

  Many things had gone wrong in this city, but she had prevailed nonetheless. I wondered if the source of my frustration was that I had begun to outgrow this small city, while there was still unresolved business to handle before I could consider moving on.

  “Something is bothering you, master,” little Cui declared as I put down my bowl.

  Village Head Wei looked between us before standing up and excusing himself from the table. I turned to my first disciple. I wondered if even that decision had been a mistake, taken in haste when I didn’t truly realise the difference between a mortal and a cultivator. The battle on Jagged Sword Peak had changed me in more ways than one.

  My spoon made a soft clunk as I let it fall into my empty bowl. “You are right, little Cui. Though there is more than one problem that rattles around inside your master’s head,” I replied with a chortle. “You shouldn’t share my distress. Let’s celebrate the success of your business instead. You are flourishing as an herbalist. I imagine you might one day have all of this city in your hand. Perhaps even the region.”

  I raised my cup of wine in toast. She blushed, embarrassed at my praise. She looked as though she was about to respond when a sweaty Yu Chun slammed open the door, panting as she stood with a hand against the kitchen counter.

  “I went back to the blossom parlour today, to make sure my employees hadn’t been misbehaving in my absence,” she said, pausing to take breaths between her words. “Instead, I found my oldest friend stricken with illness. His body rotted from within. They told me he took one of your pills. The ones you guaranteed were safe, Sir Zhao.”