Chapter 8- Merits, Earned and Otherwise

Tian collapsed backwards, gasping in air. Advent of Spring howled into action, dragging in great gulps of qi with every breath and desperately trying to replace the overdrawn vital energy.

Oh. Oh my very good grandson! You have done something remarkable here.

Tian didn’t have the energy to respond. Everything hurt. His hair hurt. His toenails hurt. He could feel his meridians fluttering, not about to collapse but a whole lot closer than someone who had to build them from scratch would care to see. Nothing mattered but pulling in qi and restoring his vital energy. He could hear mortals quietly murmuring. He did his best to ignore them. He didn’t succeed.

“The rest of the Immortals from the Temple arrived. Looks like they are clearing out the city.”

“With the giant crane here, that should go fast!”

“Do… do you think-”

“The immortal is recovering. Whatever he did taxed him. Look at his sister standing guard. Little Treasure is fine. You might not be if you disturbed him.” The last two voices were bare whispers, but to an immortal, they might as well have shouted. The armored noble and his wife? Probably. Tian asked himself how he felt.

Like someone with enough vital energy to not fall over and die right this second, but no bets on the second after that. But, hell, he could talk. Kind of. “Let them approach, Sister. Just the family, no cultivators.” Tian murmured. “Please and thank you.”

“Why are you speaking to me like I’m some kind of outsider?” Liren grumbled. “Okay, you two can come over. Come see your boy.”

“Because I memorized politeness and when I’m tired I just repeat the words without thinking. Sorry, Sis.” Tian murmured.

“I know, I know.” She sighed. “Alright, my brother is fine, just exhausted. Don’t jostle him, but he can probably answer your questions. Your boy is… better than fine.”

“We thank the immortal for his life saving favor!” There was a sound of repeating thuds. Tian wished he couldn’t recognize the sound of genuflection.

“Please stand.” Tian kept his eyes closed and his voice soft. Advent of Spring usually ran without his attention, but his fragile state had him nervous. Eating too much after you have been starving is often a mistake, after all.

“How could we? Immortal is the savior of our son! Please, accept our bow!” Tian thought the man’s voice sounded like someone who received more bows than he made. Well, that was normal for a noble.

Tian opened his eyes. The whole family was kowtowing. The crane flapped into the shrine and gently headbutted him. Tian reached up and softly stroked her head.

“Please. Rise. Really. Madame, he should be safe enough to touch now. I’m told a mother’s hug is very reassuring, and when he wakes he will need a lot of reassuring.”

“Heroes truly come from the young. Man, woman and Crane, immortals descending on my Bluestone City to save it at the final moment.” The noble stood. Tian shook his head quickly.

“It was that Martial Uncle who truly saved the day. We juniors merely did as we should.” Tian knew that the Heavenly Person senior was listening, even if the nobleman did not. His work on sensing attention hadn’t been for nothing. “This little daoist is called Tian Zihao. This is my martial sister Hong Liren. Might I have the pleasure of knowing the honored sir’s name?”

The rote words flowed smoothly, practiced and repeated since he first learned them under the parasol trees in West Town Temple.

“I am the Bluestone Count, Jin Wushong. This is my city.” His smile was wan. “What’s left of it.”

“It’s bad, but it could be worse. The monsters quickly converged on this shrine.” Tian hesitated, then asked. “I mean no disrespect, but… is there something in particular about your son that would make him worth an immortal heretic launching a citywide campaign of destruction to ensure his death?”

The count turned white, but spoke calmly enough. “I don’t think so. He is my heir, for what that’s worth, and we are a pillar family of the Kingdom. Certainly his loss would be an immense loss of face for the Emperor, and by all accounts, very unlucky for the region.”

Tian wanted to shake his head. None of that sounded like enough to motivate a deathsworn assassin to go undercover as a tutor for who knows how long, nevermind all the resources that went into the monsters.

“Pillar Family?”

“Ah… we were one of the families that supported the Founding Emperor when he turned the fallen Kingdom of Wu into the Broadsky Kingdom, received the Mandate of Heaven and ascended to the imperial throne. My many times grand uncle was a rather senior minister in his service, and we have been serving the Kingdom ever since.”

Tian did some quick math in his head. “Fair to say you are a big family?”

The count’s mouth twitched. “Fair to say. To the point where we have family rules requiring branches to be split off and considered separate families at a certain point.”

Tian nodded. “Go see to your city, Count Bluestone. I will cultivate here and keep an eye on your boy. When I am strong enough-”

“When you are strong enough, Brother, you will continue to sit and cultivate. We aren’t in the desert. They have their own doctors here. They can do without you until you regain your full strength.” Liren butted in, her tone brooking no argument. Tian sighed, but did what he was told. He really was shaky. And he knew better than most he couldn’t save everyone.

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It took another hour for the boy to regain consciousness. Tian was startled from his cultivation by the Madame’s cry, and the boy’s sobs. Eventually, there was another round of thanks, and then questions.

“Immortal Tian, why are you glowing? And the Immortal Sister is glowing. And the crane is glowing a bit too. I’m not glowing, and Mom’s not glowing. Do all immortals glow?”

“Pardon? Glowing?”

“Yes, you are glowing the brightest, but all of you are glowing.” The little boy, whose child name was Jin Treasure, nodded seriously. Tian took a closer look at his eyes. Black irises on white sclera. No signs of anything strange.

Have him look inside the shrine. Quick, we need to find out if I’m right before that Heavenly Bum interferes!

“Right about what?”

“Little Treasure, please look inside the shrine. Is it glowing?”