64 Chapter 62 - The Road Home
In the rough camp that was once the den of the Rage Queen, Feng Xi's eyes shook as she watched the previously still and listless Tang Jin begin to twitch and writhe, his convulsions only growing more intense the more medicinal soup Ao Wen poured down his throat. Towards the end, though the convulsions continued, Tang Jin no longer sputtered or resisted the soup instead gulping down like a man long starved.
"You can let him go," Ao Wen said, pulling away from Tang Jin herself. "Now it's up to him."
Moments slipped by like the grains of sand in an hourglass. Tang Jin's body began to tremble, steam rising from his flesh as an enraged snarl escaped his lips. Muscles twitched and spasmed, rich bloody energy pulsing just beneath his skin The formerly deflated young man regained his athletic physique the more the medicinal soup nourished his depleted body but the intense energy didn't stop at replenishing his lost muscle mass. Glowing golden light tinged with bloody red began to emanate from his body as muscles hardened his body gaining a more mature and predatory physique with muscles of corded steel that resembled the smooth lines of his bloodlines' namesake mountain lion. His hands twitched, golden red energy forming into wicked claws that then withdrew back into his body as the intense transformation slowly drew to a close leaving his heart pounding and robes soaked with sweat.
"What was that?" Feng Xi asked, shocked by the way the young man changed. Many subtle changes had occurred, slightly strengthening the cut of his jaw, broadening his shoulders, and thickening the muscles of his powerful forearms and legs. He even seemed to have grown two or three centimeters taller!
"Fairy Feng? Fairy Ao?" Tang Jin asked, long lashes parting to reveal deep golden eyes with slightly elongated pupils. "I just had the strangest dream," he murmured, looking around the makeshift camp and sighing with relief to see that both Feng Xi and Ao Wen were fine, though his thick brows furrowed when he noticed the sling holding Ao Wen's arm.
"Congratulations on your breakthrough Jin," Ao Wen said with a smile. "You did splendidly."
"Breakthrough?" Tang Jin asked, lifting his hand and making a fist, feeling the surging might in his more muscular arm. "I feel like… like I could fight the Rage Queen bare-handed," he exclaimed a shocked expression on his face. "Part of me almost wants to," he added, feeling uncertain at the strange thought. "It's like… like whatever happened, it got off too easy." Pointing at Ao Wen's injured arm he continued, "I want to hurt it badly for doing that to you. Really, really badly," he said as intense anger began to build in his chest.
"That, you may have to adjust to," Ao Wen said, coming to kneel in front of him and looking deeply into the young man's eyes. Reflected there she saw concern, fierce protectiveness, and anger at the thing that had caused her to suffer. Intense, but not uncontrolled or uncontrollable. "I'll be honest Jin," she said bluntly, watching his eyes closely for how he reacted. "You were badly injured and dying from a curse left by the Rage Queen's remnant energy. It wouldn't have harmed Xi or me, but it was hell on you because you share a mountain lion's bloodline. The elixir I made for you to fight the curse wasn't exactly safe, nor was it simple," she explained.
"You made an elixir? Sister Xi," he asked, looking at Feng Xi for confirmation. "Is Sister Wen an alchemist?"
"Alchemy Novice," Feng Xi replied with a proud smile. "She worked hard to bring you back. I don't think either of the novices back home could do what she did."
"What did you do?" Tang Jin asked nervously. "I've never heard of a healing elixir that makes someone feel like…" his words trailed off as he didn't know how to describe everything he was currently feeling. Good, powerful, but also angry and… strange. Ultimately he couldn't come up with a better word for the complex web of feelings rampaging within his chest.
"I made you an extra large batch of Impelling Bloodline Evolution Elixir," Ao Wen said as though such an outlandish-sounding elixir were common. "We used the hearts and beast cores of the six Blood Rage Cougar cubs to make it. Given the look of your eyes and the energy I saw from your hands, it did more or less what I intended for it to do," she finished with a smile.
"You like this teasing thing now don't you Wen?" Feng Xi said with a smile. "We're all on the edge of our seats to know what exactly your amazing Elixir did," she said with exaggerated flattery. "So tell us."
Ao Wen smiled, reminded of when Senior Brother Huang had brought her a pill he was proud of concocting and teased her into asking for an explanation. Suddenly, she understood much better why he did!
"Effectively, Jin has gained the bloodline of the Blood Rage Cougar," Ao Wen explained. "But it does more than that. If I had used a single heart and beast core, it would have provided a minor increase in Jin's cultivation, not quite enough to break through to the middle stage of Brawler but further along than he was. I wanted to do more than that for a brother who fought so hard by our side though." Ao Wen said, giving Tang Jin a look of tremendous gratitude. "I know that I wasn't the most clearheaded when I fought the Rage Queen. I don't remember all the details," she said, "but I do remember that I fought cougar rage with dragon rage and that meant I made some bad choices," she continued indicating her left arm in the sling. "But despite the huge gap in power, Jin, you came running in any way. You protected me, you protected Xi, and that deserved me saying 'thank you' with more than just words. One heart and beast core from the Blood Rage Cougar cubs wouldn't be enough for even a single-step breakthrough, but all six? Enough to propel you to the early stage of Martial Soldier. The price though is that you have to learn to live with the fury that comes with your new bloodline. I tried to guide it a bit, to balance things out with your Radiant Mountain Lion bloodline. It should leave you with more 'righteous fury' than 'murderous rage', but if you learn to master it, you should be able to pull off the same kind of rage burst transformations as a Blood Rage Cougar," Ao Wen finished with a smile.
Feng Xi and Tang Jin stood there numbly, staring at Ao Wen as though she'd grown a third eye. Wasn't this a little too exaggerated? A second-stage cultivator in a day? With a single elixir?
"Wen, be honest with me for a moment," Feng Xi said, licking her dry lips, her eyes shaking as she prepared her question. "What you did with that elixir, could you do it again?"
"For your father?" Ao Wen asked gently. "No, not that way. The Blood Rage Cougar hearts and beast cores only worked on Jin for two reasons. First, the bloodline overlap. But second, because in a sense, both Jin and the cougars were 'cubs.' If I'd used the hearts and cores of adult cougars, it might have overwhelmed him rather than providing him with power that could be mastered. But Xi," Ao Wen said gently, walking over to Feng Xi and wrapping her right arm around her. "I will take care of your father. I don't know what's wrong with him, but I'll figure it out. If it can be cured, I'll cure it."
"Thanks, Wen," Feng Xi whispered. Ao Wen had said that if it could be cured she'd cure it. Knowing that she'd faced a disease that killed half of the cultivators who received the rarest and best treatment, she knew Ao Wen wasn't going to give her false hope by saying she'd cure it without reservation but having seen her friend propel Tang Jin directly into the second stage, she had hope that her father could soon recover to his former glory.
"So now what?" Tang Jin asked, looking away from the hand he'd been flexing when he realized he'd become very wrapped up in his unexpected breakthrough and was neglecting his friends. "Sister Wen? Are you okay to head home? Do we need to find something to fix your arm?"
"I'll be fine till we get back to town," Ao Wen said, shrugging things off. "Xi needs sleep though, and as much as I hate to say it, Jin, so do you and I. There isn't much light left in the day anyway. We'll spend the night here and tomorrow we'll start working our way home. Jin," Ao Wen said giving the young man an evaluating look. "If we run into trouble, we'll need you to do most of the fighting. I can manage Wild Fang one-handed in a pinch but it's better if you just take care of things."
"I'll keep everyone safe," Tang Jin said, pressing his fist to his solid chest in a heartfelt promise. "You can count on me."
"Good man," Ao Wen said with a smile. "Xi, I'm worried that I'll roll over on my arm and hurt myself in my sleep. Think you can hold me in place tonight?" Ao Wen asked with a wink towards the haggard Xi.
"That sounds lovely," Feng Xi said, looking forward not only to the sleep she'd been denying herself but to being able to hold Ao Wen through the night as they slept. Now that Jin had recovered, her weary heart could finally truly rest.
