Fighting to be Kind in a Cultivation World

Chapter 45: A Positive Solution

Chapter 45: A Positive Solution

I ready my automatic healing, so that if Im struck unexpectedly, I will be able to instantly start healing. Stopping in place, I turn to look at the woman.

Actually, I dont think Ill be able to help you, young lady. Additionally, it looks like something has come up and I have to be somewhere else at this point.

Turning on my heel, I spin in the other direction.

Briskly walking away, I leave the young lady in shock. A quick scan around reveals the woman not leaving that spot, confused and dismayed.

She begins walking towards me, but seems to lose confidence, biting her lip in frustration.

A twinge gets at me, but I stay fast to my decision.

I cant risk this.

Especially, since it didnt seem like a lethal STD. Just extremely disabling. Which in a less organized group, could lead to starvation, but I dont get that feeling from this gang.

I continue walking down the alleyway, now extending the scan back to the group of women.

They havent moved either.

While maintaining that, I extend the scan a distance in front of me.

Oh no.

There is another group, now positioned on the other side of the alleyway.

A quick distance pulse shows that there are others closing in on the sides.

Theres no way to break out of this blockade, without revealing my abilities, or being even more suspicious than I already am. Shit.

Okay, Im going to have all the surrounding insects come underground below me and stay right here. That way, if things get bad enough maybe I can either pull off a mini-Gong or escape underground. Push comes to shove; I tame any big creatures that come after me underground.

Actually why havent I done that yet? Question for another time, though.

With that thought, I position myself in the center of the alleyway junction. Looking left to right, as if Im lost.

In actuality, I use this time to bring even more insects and other creatures under my control a small distance beneath me.

A directional pulse reveals the blonde young lady having an intense discussion, with one woman in the original ambush group. After their discussion ends, they all begin heading over here. Im now completely surrounded, with only a quarter of the women hidden in the nearby area showing themselves.Thê source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

I turn behind me to face the approaching group. As they approach, I fix my eyes on the blonde young woman. She seems somewhat embarrassed and at the prodding of the woman next to her, she walks forward.

Im sorry for stopping you and the pushiness, Senior. My friends are really sick, and even if you arent able to help, could you take a look at them?

Here. Some of my friends are here, so you can see that this wasnt a trap or anything.

She waves back at a woman in the back and three women on carriers resembling stretchers are brought out. Laying them on the ground in front of me. I take the time to use my intuitive scan to get a general idea of whats going on.

The woman nervously nods, glances at one of the women, and heads back into the alleyway.

They brought plenty of the ingredients and additional tools for alchemy. Of them, is the mortar and pestles, as well beakers, tubes, and a cauldron with some kind of heat source below it.

With these, I was able to get right to work. I used my instinctive low-tier scanning to help figure out the best way to work the ingredients.

As I continue, my movements start to become more and more proficient and I begin mixing in different ways, allowing for different parts of the concoction to react differently.

The ingredients are simple, but if mixed incorrectly can have the opposite effects. Im not totally sure how it works, but it appears to be because there are slight elements of qi in each of them that need to be balanced and react in certain ways. Thats not even considering the chemical reactions between them and their other properties.

Without knowing the specific ways and pressure to mix them, it could be only slightly beneficial, at best, or kill them painfully at worst.

I can hear a gasp during this process, which causes me to look up at one of the woman in the original ambush group.

She appears to be unassuming and average, but a brief glance at her hands shows that she has worked with chemicals and ingredients regularly.

She must be an actual alchemist. Or at least have knowledge of its techniques.

Looking back down at my work, I continue to synthesize small elixirs of sorts. This takes a good 20 minutes of work. After I finish distilling the last solution and pouring it into a bottle, I look up at the young woman.

Am I okay to give these to the women and give them acupressure treatment?

This time, instead of looking at her boss, she looks at the woman who gasped earlier. The woman steps forward and reaches out her hand to me. Do you mind if I test it?

I nod my head and hand them to her.

Feel free to use a bit for your testing. I made a bit more than was necessary, in case there was any spillage. She gives me a strange look, but takes the bottles. I wonder how shell be able to tell, especially without using it on someone.

She actually pulls out what appears to be a talisman with black swirling ink upon it, the first Ive seen in this world. At first glance, it appears to be a paper with normal words on it. However, as I look closer, the words turn into pictures that are seemingly swirling within themselves.

I can tell from this and my intuition, that this talisman is meant to determine the efficacy and purpose of an elixir. The result still needs to be interpreted by a skilled alchemist, though.

With a slight bit of apparent concentration, the talisman lights up and she pours a single drop onto it.

The drop shines a bit and the whole talisman shines a bright, throbbing, bluish green. She freezes in place, almost in shock. After a while, her head nods slowly, like in a trance. Okay, I have no idea whats going on, but I assume thats a good thing.

After a tense moment from everyone, she slowly puts talisman down and bows her head to the ground.

Senior, I am sorry for doubting you. Please please heal these ladies with this elixir and whatever else you may need to do. Many women in the group suck in a breath of cold air, now looking strangely at me.

Even the boss seems to have a different look at me, at these words.

Well. Im still unfamiliar with the nuance of the term, Senior, for this culture, but it seems like this is quite significant.

Im going to try to not think about what is going on too much. Let me just heal these ladies and get out of here safely.

If I can.