"I have made a deal with this child's protector. No one is to touch him, understood?"
Nox and the rest of the kobloids nodded, but they couldn't shake off the strangeness of the situation. They looked at Thorian with furrowed brows and raised eyebrows.
"The deal I have made is very beneficial for us. Don't worry."
With those words, Thorian made his way inside the cave, knowing that there was no use in explaining himself further. The cavern was dimly lit by the outside light, leaving its corners filled with shadows and darkness. Thorian sat down in one of those shadows, placed the sleeping child on the ground next to him, and began meditating in a lotus position.
This is the best time to cultivate Qi. I will need to wait for my mana to fill up either way.
Thorian practiced his breathing technique, and for the first ten minutes, the Ether in the air had difficulty entering through his Qi paths. Despite having undergone a cleansing the previous day, his channels were still more clogged and filthy than those of a typical human practitioner.
Minutes slowly passed, and Thorian was able to use the surrounding Ether to clear his channels. It was only after an hour had passed that a small droplet of Qi reached his dantian.
With the Qi having reached its destination, Thorian could do what he hadn't been able to do the day before: circulate it through his meridians.
I should start with the Vermillion Bird. My fire powers will be unmatched if I can strengthen that meridian path.
Using the two drops of Qi that Thorian had gathered, he pushed them toward the entrance of the Vermillion Bird meridian. However, no matter how much he tried to force them to enter, the path was clogged beyond repair.
This is frustrating. I can't dig through this filth even with two drops of Qi?
Thorian cleared his mind and continued his breathing pattern to calm his emotions. Since circulating the Qi internally was out of the question, he could just focus on gathering more of it.
Once again, Thorian pushed the surrounding Ether through his external paths. With them already slightly cleared, the process became much smoother and faster. In the hour he had left to cultivate, he was able to gather another two droplets of Qi.
As Thorian opened his eyes, the first thing he checked was the child beside him. The boy was still sleeping soundly.
Display panel
Ding Status Panel Race White Kobloid Level 11/15 (exp: 27/180) Class Magus Level 11/20 (exp: 13/180) Lifespan 40 years Cultivation realm Qi Gathering First Stage (31.6%) Stats Strength 21 Agility 31 Constitution 10 Mana 25 Qi 4 Free Points 0 Skills Minor Moon Boost (Passive) Fireball (active)
That's not too bad of a growth. Hopefully, I can start with Qi circulation tomorrow.
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After two hours of meditation, Thorian felt refreshed. His mana was replenished, and he no longer felt fatigued. He stood and turned around, only to see Nox and the kobloid looking at him with scrunched noses and furrowed eyebrows.
Wait… Oh no, not again.
A couple of sniffs under his armpits were all he needed to understand the severity of the situation. His body and the ground below him were covered with the same black goo that had stuck to him the day before.
“I will be going to the lake," Thorian announced to the two, pointing at the child on the ground. "You two keep an eye on him. Don't let anyone hurt him; he is still needed for my exchange later."
With that order from Thorian, he made his way out of the cave while the kobloids looked at him with furrowed brows. The reason for their wrinkled noses and narrowed eyes was quite clear.
Thorian rushed through the forest with ghostly steps, his speed comparable to that of the kobold. In less than fifteen minutes, he reached the lake where he had baptized Nox.
Thorian couldn't enjoy his bathing session for long, as the meeting time with the old man was drawing near. After a few minutes of scrubbing the goo out of his fur, he walked out of the lake and hurried back to the cave. Thankfully, the child was still soundly asleep, with no one disturbing him.
Good… If they couldn't even handle such a simple task, they would truly be undeserving of my protection.
Thorian carefully picked up the child and looked at Nox and the kobold, who were resting along with the other kobloids. Their eyes were threatening to close as they dozed off.
"Nox, kobold, wake up," Thorian's voice sent shivers through their bodies before they automatically stood up and shook their heads. "I need you two to help me bring those sixteen axes. I can't handle them all by myself."
"Axes?" Nox asked in half-awake confusion.
"Yeah, we need them to build the village," Thorian replied but did not explain further. The two didn't inquire either and just followed him out of the cave.
The path to the meeting point was clear in Thorian's mind, and he had no trouble guiding the two. After twelve minutes of walking, Nox and the kobold were wide awake, and they reached their destination.
As they crossed the bushes, they saw a figure at the edge of a small cliff. The old man frantically stood up and looked at them in fear before his expression shifted into hope when he saw the child in Thorian's arms.
Thorian attuned his ears to the environment before asking the old man, "Did you bring the sixteen axes?"
"Y-yes," the old man hurriedly leaned down and picked up a large piece of cloth filled with axes. The makeshift bag was made of layers of clothes and fabric, all of which had different colors.
"Please, take them. There are sixteen axes, just like you asked," the old man laboriously handed the heavy makeshift sack to Thorian, who opened it right away. There were indeed sixteen axes inside.
Thorian sighed deeply before grinning, "Good, you have done your part of the deal."
There were a couple of seconds of awkward silence before the old man tilted his head and nervously asked, "So, you will let us both live?"
"Of course, that was our deal," Thorian responded with a smile before his expression turned serious. "However, if you go back to the city right now, you will cause me a lot of problems. You see, I can't have humans know about my existence this early."
"But what about our deal?!" the old man reacted with a scream before primal fear took over his actions, and he cowered back.
"Our deal was that I would let both of you live," Thorian stated as a matter of fact. "And I fully intend to honor that deal. I just ask you to wait a few hours until the sun sets before you go back; that should be more than enough."
The old man looked at Thorian with a doubtful expression, "Will you really let us go when the sun sets?"
"Yes, I will," Thorian stated simply. "I will even escort you right to the gates of the city. No harm will come to you under my watch, I swear upon my name."
Hearing those words calmed the old man as he slowly lowered his guard, "Okay… we just need to stay for a few hours. Is little Roo alright? Is he hurt anywhere?"
"Look for yourself," Thorian handed the child to the old man. The young boy was dazedly going in and out of consciousness as the old man held him in his arms and checked every inch of his skin.
"Thank God. Thank God you're alright."