Cultivating Chaos Read online

  “That… sounds incredibly complicated,” Ash said. “As if this hasn’t been tested.”

  “It hasn’t. I made the pattern based on my scans of her and what was in the Hall, Chosen One.

  “The pattern is significant. This will take some time.”

  Ash sighed and put his left hand on Moira’s shoulder. Her skin was solid like stone and warm.

  Damn, she’s extremely athletic. Must be the wings?

  She flinched under his touch and then relaxed.

  “Are you ready? I don’t have much I can do to help with the pain or anything like that… I’m sorry.

  “I didn’t think I’d need medicinal supplies for something like this when we left the city.”

  “I’ll be fine. As long as I can get my magic back,” Moira said.

  A comprehensive and massive pattern spread out over Moira’s back. There were gaps in it for what looked like expansion slots, as well as broad empty spaces for other places to work.

  Most of it went from shoulder to shoulder, around her wings, and halfway down her back. The lines were uniform in width, but numerous in count.

  “Ugh… are you… are you sure, Moira? Truly sure? This… is going to make your back look as if you’ve been attacked with a knife,” Ash said.

  “Will my scars bother you in the future? Will they repulse you?”

  “Huh? No. Why?”

  “Then it doesn’t matter. Begin,” Moira said, her hands clasped to her knees.

  Ash bit his lip, then pressed the chisel tip to her skin. Slowly, he began to peel the skin from her back in the exact pattern.

  Sickeningly, her skin came off as if it were wood, with little to no resistance.

  I think I might throw up.

  “Don’t throw up on her, at least. She brought you dinner, remember?” Locke said, laughing. “That and she’s kinda cute. Maybe you can talk her into warming your bed willingly.”

  Ten

  Something tapped Ash between the eyes.

  Groaning, he rolled to the side and swatted futilely at the offending thing.

  “Wake up.”

  Ash shook his head and mumbled, curling up tighter in his blankets.

  “Ash… wake up,” said a soft voice. Fingers lightly pushed on his brow. “It is long past morning.”

  “Was up late. Let me sleep,” Ash grumbled.

  “So I see. There is an Owl woman in the camp.” The voice gained a slight edge to it.

  Cracking his eyes open, he saw Jia kneeling over him.

  “Her name’s Moira. I bought her so she wouldn’t get sent to the gladiator pits,” Ash said.

  “Her back looks like it has been freshly torn up… with a knife.”

  Ash nodded his head a bit.

  “We didn’t want to put her tunic back on yet. She’s… uh… I think she said she was meditating to gain mana. At which point she can use it to help her wounds heal,” Ash said. Lifting his head up, he looked to the last spot he’d seen Moira.

  She was curled up next to the embers of the fire. In the light of the morning, her back really did look like a mess.

  The pattern was very visible as scar tissue now.

  It was the scabs and blood that had looked terrible, last he’d seen it.

  Though it looked significantly better now in the morning light. The blood that had continuously wept from her wounds had been slightly unnerving.

  Especially since this had all been done by his hand.

  “Mana? Mana is an outlander magic. How can she use magic?” Jia asked.

  Ash didn’t want to turn and face her.

  He’d inadvertently probably just provided her with enough information to confirm beyond any doubt that he was the one who’d made the Transference papers.

  “Ash?” Jia asked. Her hand took hold of his jaw and tilted his head to face her. “Ash, did you make those papers yourself? You did not get them from someone else?”

  Her eyes were curious. Curious and filled with a trace of excitement.

  “My skills and abilities? You made them personally?” she asked, her mind quickly moving along whatever path it was on.

  Unable to lie and unwilling to speak, Ash tried to look away. Only to have her adjust his chin till his eyes were on her again.

  So much for letting me have my secrets.

  She peered at him for a moment, and then she smiled at him.

  “Ah… you are, then. Well. That is… unexpected. I… ah… so… you really did just do all those things for me. Simply for me,” Jia said, her hand tight on his chin.

  “Yeah, well, you said you wanted to do well. That you had a specific sect you wanted to join.

  “There’s no reason you can’t just… muscle your way to the top and stand out now. Right?

  “I mean, after yesterday’s sparring I can honestly say I’m not sure I could win more than fifty percent of the time,” Ash said.

  Jia let go of him and nodded slowly.

  “You also took it easy on me. I get the impression those Qi attacks of yours do more than you let on.

  “And yes. I did have a sect I wanted to join,” Jia said. “I will get breakfast started and have a chat with Moira. I think she and I will be able to learn from one another.”

  Jia stood up and walked over to the fire. Picking up a stick from nearby, she started to poke and prod at the coals.

  Stirring them to life and then adding small bits of wood.

  Ash shrugged and laid his head back down.

  From the way Jia was acting, it seemed as if she planned to remain with him out here in the valley as he trained.

  She’s going to want to spar.

  A lot.

  Which… honestly will be good for me.

  Maybe I can get Moira to teach me how to use that sword she took back with us as well.

  Still don’t have a weapon.

  Closing his eyes, Ash set about falling back asleep as fast as possible.

  ***

  “We should head back to the city today,” Jia said, shaking her hand back and forth. “In fact, it would be wise if we packed up and headed back after breakfast.”

  Ash got out of his defensive position and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Your hand alright? And yeah, you’re not wrong, I guess. Examination is two days away. A day to travel and settle in,” Ash said.

  “It is fine… just… numb. Your blocks have become considerably firmer.”

  “She’s not wrong. We’ve gained an incredible amount of experience. While our body-refining rank is still a peak four, we have much more combat knowledge,” Locke said. “And the Qi we keep nourishing with is strengthening us.”

  “Alright. I’ll wake up sleeping beauty. You go get changed into your acolyte clothes. You did say you brought them, right?” Ash asked, walking over to Moira.

  The Owl woman was dozing next to the coals of the fire. She tended to stay up a bit later than either of them and slept in longer.

  Reaching down, he pressed his hand to her shoulder and gave her a very gentle shake. She wasn’t a heavy sleeper.

  Lifting her head, she faced him as her large eyes slowly peeled open.

  Giant pupils contracted as her eyes focused in on him.

  “Mmm?” she murmured.

  “We’re going to head back into town. I need to take part in an examination. You can come with me, or we can meet up in a few days afterward,” Ash said.

  Moira’s eyelids came down, partially lidding her eyes.

  “I’ll go with you,” she said finally. “I can watch your back now. I think at this point I could fight you to a draw, which means I can help out without being in the way.

  “Still a long way off from what I was previously, though. I think it will only take me a few years to catch back up.”

  Ash nodded, then frowned.

  “Do I need to add another pattern?” he asked.

  “Not yet. I think.

  “For now, we’ll see what time brings us. It’s a very good thing my people are pa
tient. Patient and long lived,” Moira said with a rare smile.

  “Oh… are you… err… how old are you? I thought you were only a year or two older than me.”

  “I am twenty-five by my people’s standards, but I think I am closer to your age in maturity if measured culture to culture,” Moira said, sitting up slowly. “I was in my trials when I was captured. Now, shall we get going? I have only my sword to carry and I’m curious to see this examination of yours.”

  Getting to her feet, Moira moved over to the tent where Jia was breaking things down and getting a dry breakfast together.

  Ash rolled his eyes.

  Everyone was so eager for these things. Honestly, Ash just wanted to help out his family and enjoy life.

  Maybe find a wife and settle in and do nothing.

  Well, that was the plan before I dove into the cultivator path.

  Training for the sake of becoming stronger to train more to get stronger—that sounded boring to him.

  Sighing, he got up and followed Moira.

  Looking around, he realized he’d miss this place. This grassy valley hidden away.

  The valley felt like a home away from home for him.

  It had provided a place for him to hide and be himself.

  To rest.

  And recently, to train and become ever that much stronger.

  ***

  Ash, Moira, and Jia in her acolyte robes had only been on the road for an hour. Conversation was limited and seemed rooted mostly in the exam that was going to take place.

  That changed when a group of eight men rushed out from a small grouping of bushes.

  “It’s him!” said one of their number. “He’s the one that did it.”

  “When I’m done with you,” said one of the men, “you’ll be nothing but paste. Then I’ll have some fun with your women.

  “We all will. Or you could show us some face and just kill yourself now instead of making us do the work.”

  The bandits laughed at that, slowly spreading out in a semi-circle. Ash looked from one to the other to try and gauge the right course of action here.

  Most of the men had clubs, though a few seemed to have swords. Out of them all, half were cultivators, the other half simple citizens.

  Even though they were cultivators, though, they were not ranked very highly. All were weaker than himself.

  Moira sniffed and pulled the sword out from the sheath at her side. Giving it a flick of her wrist, she seemed to know well how to use it.

  “These are the same as those we killed,” she said, moving in close to Ash’s right side.

  “You killed bandits? From this group?” Jia asked, her hands moving into a defensive pose.

  “Well, two. They were fighting what looked like a merchant’s group. We intervened and I… I killed one.

  “Moira killed another. Two ran off,” Ash explained.

  Setting his feet, Ash brought his hands up in front of himself, getting in line with his center.

  “Why did you not kill the other two? Never leave an enemy alive if you do not have to,” Jia admonished. “Especially if they can come back. Foolish.”

  “Yeah, well, that doesn’t—”

  All eight men rushed them, three of them with actual bladed weapons and the rest with clubs.

  As quick as a thought, Ash activated his Qi Thorns and Battle Cultivation, and set his Spring Step to store energy.

  Targeting the three in front of him, Ash threw three quick strikes toward them. Each received a Qi ball and chain, which Ash attached to himself at his belt.

  Then in a strange thought, he planted two Qi balls into his belt and tried to attach the chains to Moira and Jia.

  One of the bandits in front of him dropped to the ground in a heap.

  Unmoving.

  That happened last time, too. Should probably look into it.

  That left him with two more to deal with.

  Normally, Ash did his best to fight his foes at an angle. To limit their ability to strike at him. He didn’t want to fight them nose to nose in any way, shape, or form.

  Dealing with two wouldn’t let him do that.

  The two bandits attacked him at the same time. The one on his right was significantly faster than the one on his left.

  Must be a higher cultivation.

  Moving in close to the bandit on the left, Ash dodged into his attack. At the same time, he knocked away the club of the man on the right with one hand while driving a blow into the man’s kidney.

  Moving low, Ash stepped out of the falling attack of the slower man. Spinning as he went, Ash whipped his left fist around in a hook, blowing through the bandit’s defense and blasting a punch into his gut.

  Taking two steps away after passing the two bandits, Ash checked the rest of the fight.

  Jia had locked two into defensive stances, her abilities flowing smoothly and quickly as she attacked in waves.

  Moira had her hand leveled in front of herself. A giant rod of metal stuck through the chest of a man directly in front of her. Two other men were locked into place, their feet in prisons of what looked like slag iron.

  Looking back to his own opponents, Ash let out a quick breath.

  The slower of the two bandits was gasping for breath, hunched over himself on all fours.

  Ash moved to the right to engage his last standing opponent.

  “Destructive Palm B—”

  Before the man could finish shouting, Ash had launched a kick into his ribs.

  With the sound of crackling bones, the man stumbled backward, dropping his weapon.

  Was he trying to shout an ability or something?

  “It’s a low form of utilizing an ability. Making hand signs and calling out the name of their technique helps them channel it.

  “Somewhat of a moot point for yourself,” Locke offered up, seemingly reading his mind.

  A thought for later.

  Moving forward, Ash stepped up behind one of the men Jia was fighting. Flicking out a punch to the side of the man’s stomach, Ash followed up by grabbing the man’s head and launching a Spring Step attack with his knee.

  Letting go of the man as his face rebounded backward from the strike, Ash looked to the second bandit.

  Jia had taken the sword away and buried it in the man’s chest. Shoving against the hilt, she sent him tumbling to the ground.

  Both Ash and Jia turned to Moira.

  The Owl woman was working her blade back and forth across a downed opponent’s throat. The other two were already dead as well.

  Ash felt strange. Like his body was overly light. Overly light and bursting with energy at the same time.

  Brushing his hand across his belt, he dismissed all his Qi chains, then deactivated his toggled abilities.

  Moira got to her feet and pointed her blade at the three men Ash had put down.

  “Kill them,” she said. “They’ll only come back again later if we don’t take care of them now.”

  Jia nodded and walked over to the downed opponent she had been working on. Reversing the grip on her blade, she plunged it into the man’s back. Twisting it as she pulled it out, blood fountained out of the man and flooded over his back.

  Ash looked to the two men he’d put to the ground.

  We’ve already killed a man. We can do it again.

  And they said they would rape Moira and Jia.

  They deserve it.

  Right?

  Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Ash walked over to the first man. His hands were pressed to his chest, his breaths short and raspy.

  Ash reached down and peered at the sheath at the man’s side. It had two small, slim blades in the same leather casing.

  Unhitching the sword belt, Ash pulled it off the man and pulled out one of the handles.

  It was a butterfly sword, with a wide belly for chopping and slashing.

  Holding it up to the inside of his wrist and measuring the distance to his elbow, Ash found it was almost the perfect size for himself for a
n inside measurement.

  Glancing to the man he’d taken it from, he wasn’t even sure if the man knew what the blade was for. There was no way it would fit the man in an inside or outside measurement.

  Ash nodded to the man.

  “I thank you for the blades,” he said. Hesitating for a second, Ash then moved forward and pushed the blade into the fallen bandit’s chest. Right where his heart should be.

  The blade pierced so easily that it made Ash feel uncomfortable, skewering the heart. Pulling the blade out, Ash moved to the second man. Moira kicked him to his back and then put one taloned foot over the man’s neck.

  Gritting his teeth, Ash slid the blade into the ribcage of the would-be murderer and rapist.

  “Wipe the blade clean,” Jia said, indicating his weapon. “Let’s loot them and be on our way.”

  Ash swallowed, barely managing to not throw up again. His head felt hot. Like his mind was swimming in a haze.

  A heartbeat later and the befuddlement was gone. Replaced with a cool, fresh feeling.

  Except that he still felt oddly full. Like he’d eaten too much.

  Pulling the blade out of the dead man, Ash looked to the third. The one who had fallen from his Chained Leech Blast.

  The man was unmoving.

  And very much dead.

  Frowning, Ash shook his head.

  So, if I strike someone with this who is without Qi, a citizen, they simply die?

  Definitely a concern.

  Taking a moment to clean the blade on the dead man’s tunic, Ash sheathed the weapon properly. Then he belted the butterfly sword belt around his waist.

  Jia and Moira had finished up rooting through the pockets of the men and were already heading back down the road.

  Moira paused long enough to look into the bush to see if they had left anything behind. But soon, all three travelers were back on the road in truth.

  Unsure of what was going on with himself, since he still felt as if he’d eaten a feast, Ash turned his attention inward as they started down the road.

  Into himself.

  He found his Dantian writhing. Churning Essence and Qi in equal measure, and condensing it into the same Qi Ash had normally.