Taking Root

A scene of a burning village flashed in Jack's mind as he pushed the Moon Step to its limit and started sprinting through the streets of the Haechi Tribe town. After a few turns, he got frustrated and jumped up on a roof of a house.

He flashed across the rooftops of the stone houses towards his company.

A minute later, Jack reached the outskirts of town and saw the company's Light Orb shining in front of his house. What looked like most of the company stood gathered around the light.

In a few quick jumps, he hit the ground running and approached the gathered people while yelling "What happened?!"

The crowd turned around as one and looked at him with relief visible in their frightened eyes.

Kuang Bindun walked out of the group and said "The White River family men came here and started ordering us to follow them." He looked around at the gathered people and added "We fought back when they tried to force us."

Jack swallowed his worry and asked "How did it go?"

Kuang Bindun shrugged as he answered "It could have gone worse, and it could have gone better. They didn't use their weapons and neither did we. Most of us got bruised a little, and some people got a bloody nose or cuts and scrapes. Only Maolong had his left arm and a few ribs broken."

Jack felt relief flow through his body before his brows furrowed and he stated "I saw blood on the White River family members' robes."

Kuang Bindun nodded his head and glanced over his shoulder at the center of the crowd.

He turned back with an amused smile on his lips and explained "Maolong charged straight at them when they started threatening some of the rookies. He had two of them down on the ground and coughing blood before the rest ganged up on him. By the time the rest of us joined in on the brawl they broke a few of his bones. When we separated from them, they threw a few threats at us and retreated."

Jack chuckled as he knew that his fiercest fighter would do something exactly like that. He patted Kuang Bindun on the shoulder and walked through his people to the center of the encirclement.

There, Bai Maolong sat on the ground and took careful breaths through his gritted teeth while Shi Furui took care of his wounds. A few other members of the company stood bandaged already and Jack knew that Bai Maolong insisted that Shi Furui look after them first.

Both of them looked up at the newcomers and nodded to Jack in greeting. Shi Furui looked back down to continue wrapping Bai Maolong's ribs and asked "Do we have to move again?"

Jack shook his head and answered "No, not for a while, I think. I managed to convince the Haechi Tribe to accept our expansion plan and they made the White River family back up. Some of the White River family members might come here to learn from me in the future, though."

Shi Furui nodded his head in silence and finished tying off Bai Maolong's bandages. He took a large gauzy bandage and started tying it around Bai Maolong's neck and left arm to make a sling.

Jack knew that Shi Furui wanted to ask him additional questions, but they both knew that they needed a more private place.

Bai Maolong suffered through Shi Furui straightening his arm with a jerk and only allowed a few blinks to show his pain. When he got a hold of his breath he looked up at Jack to say "I'll get the dogs next time. They just used their advantage in cultivation to take me down. I can feel the breakthrough coming soon; I'll teach them a real lesson when they come back."

Beads of sweat gathered on his brow as he talked, but he ignored them and continued with a smile "You just have to teach me better techniques."

Jack returned the smile as he said "Don't worry; we'll finally have time for that now." He looked at the people gathered around them and added "Everyone will have time to train and improve in peace. For tonight, go back to your houses and get some sleep. We start bright and early tomorrow."

The members of the Immortals' Lament gave various responses, from subdued cheers to sighs of relief, and dispersed.

Jack helped Shi Furui with getting Bai Maolong back to his feet and whispered "Where's the old man?"

Shi Furui glanced towards the house in which old Long stayed and whispered back "He came out of the house when the White River family members came, but he went back in once the fight started, and stayed there."

Jack shook his head and instructed Shi Furui and Kang Bindun to escort Bai Maolong back to his house while he started walking towards old Long's house.

On the way there, he spotted Tong Huakun running towards him so he turned to meet her.

"The Chief sent me to check on the state of your company, but everything looks fine here." She said when she stopped in front of Jack and extended a hand.

He looked down at it and asked "What's this for?"

Tong Huakun looked a bit annoyed as she answered "You told me that you need to shake hands when you make a deal. Our Tribe and your mercenary company just agreed on cooperation, doesn't that require a shaking of hands?"

Jack chuckled and clasped her hand in a firm grasp. "It sure does." he stated while they shook hands vigorously.

Once they finished shaking, Tong Huakun looked at the quiet houses in which the Immortals' Lament stayed and asked "So, what happened with the White River family?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders and answered "Nothing much, just a little scuffle. My men took care of it." He looked in the direction of the Chief's house and asked "Should I go back there? I did leave a bit abruptly."

Tong Huakun glanced in the direction Jack looked and said "No need, the Chief told me that you should come see him in the morning so you can work on the minor details of the cooperation."

Jack nodded his head and assured her that he would come. When he thought that Tong Huakun would go back to her home, Jack saw her hesitating about something.

He cocked his head to the side and asked "Could it be that you're considering joining the Immortals' Lament?"

Tong Huakun's eyes widened while she shook her head and said "It's not that. I decided to stay back in the Tribe to work with you and act as a guide on the hunts, but I don't want to leave my people."

After hesitating for another second, she squared her shoulders, looked straight at Jack's eyes, and asked "Please do not betray the faith that the Haechi Tribe puts into you. I don't believe we can take much more."

Jack's face turned serious as he placed his hands on Tong Huakun's shoulders and gazed deeply into her eyes while he said "I will do everything in my power to help. You have my word."

He stepped back and a smile replaced his serious expression when he added "And I still remember your promise."

Tong Huakun laughed at him, and after talking about details on who to take the Haechi beasts for skinning and horn removal, they separated.

Jack waved goodbye to her and continued on his way to old Long's house.

When he got there, he didn't bother with announcing himself and just walked in through the leather curtain.

Inside the house, old Long sat on the floor surrounded by leathers, while a bottle and two cups waited on the flat slab of rock in front of him. On the left side of the one-room house, the three former assistants of old Long's lay in their makeshift beds and pretended they were asleep.

Jack took one glance at them and ordered "Get out."

Almost instantly, the three threw their covers aside and hurried past their new boss into the night. Jack glanced over his shoulder and added "If I sense you anywhere near the house you will run laps around the town for the entire day tomorrow."

A scrambling sounded from the outside as the three former assistants ran to get out of Jack's sensing range.

Old Long watched the show with amusement and annoyance fighting on his face before he emptied his cup and said "Come, boy, sit."

Jack did just that and emptied his prepared cup. When he looked back at old Long he declared "We need to talk."

Old Long's brows furrowed as he refilled the two empty cups and asked "About tonight?"

Jack smirked and shook his head before he said "No, I didn't expect anything more than what you did tonight." He raised his cup in a salute and downed it together with old Long.

"I need to send you on a trip." He added after he placed his cup down for its third refill.

Old Long's eyes narrowed in suspicion and he asked "What kind of trip?"

Jack tapped his cup with a finger and answered "Tomorrow I'll take the Haechi beasts to get processed by the Tribe. Once the first hide is ready, you will take it to the Tribal Assembly and take the first ship back to the White River Outpost. I will only give you enough Spirit Stones for the trip and a letter you will take to the Wu Armor Store."

Old Long's face darkened and he asked "What about my savings and the Star Bag?"

One corner of Jack's mouth rose in a mocking smirk before he took the bottle and poured some wine for himself. When he emptied the cup he questioned "What did I do so far to make you think I'm gullible enough to let you leave to the other side of the River with those?"

Old Long glared at him for a few seconds more. Once he saw it wouldn't do him any good, he sighed and took the bottle to pour himself a drink.

"Should we not avoid the White River family for now? What do you expect to get from this little stunt?" he asked after he emptied his third cup.

Jack shrugged and looked in the direction of the White River. He thought for a while before he said "As long as you avoid the Unbreakable Fortress, you should be fine. Depending on the response the letter has, you might have to approach other stores and see if they want to work with us."

He looked back at old Long and added "While you're there you should see if you can find out a bit more on the White River family's dealings on this side. Also, try to get in contact with independent merchants willing to sell food, metals, and wooden furniture to us."

Old Long studied Jack for a few seconds before he said "You are expecting a lot from me, boy. I expect to get excellent compensation for this."

Jack smiled and poured them both a drink. When they downed them, he declared "If all goes well we'll all get more than enough, old man."

Old Long snorted and grumbled "No such thing."

They spent the next couple of hours discussing everything that needed doing and drinking.

When Jack exited old Long's house he felt a bit hazy so he started operating the Beast Recovery Method and called the distant former assistants to come back.

With a smirk at their ruddy faces, Jack started walking back towards his house. He still had to write a letter for Wu Angrui and her father before he could get some rest.