Chapter 147 - The Dangers Of House Hunting

By the time Ao Wen made it back to the Lapis Lantern she'd managed to shed her anger and frustration at how her meeting with Understudy Lau had gone and replaced it with eager anticipation for how Feng Xi would react to the gift she'd brought back. Ultimately, her meeting with Alchemist Ma Xiaohua had gone very well, her shopping trip had been successful and her meeting with Understudy Lau hadn't ended in disaster even if it did set a high bar for engaging his services. It had been a very good day even if it hadn't been a perfect one. 

Stepping into the dining room of the Lapis Lantern, however, provided a stunning sight that shouted how differently things had gone for Zhang Bai and company. Tang Jin seemed to be in the worst shape with the orange sleeves of his robes rolled back to his elbows and thick bandages covering his hands and forearms. Zhang Bai looked slightly better but moved slowly as though he'd strained many muscles or had injuries hidden under his robes that were sensitive to the slightest movement. Of her three companions, only Feng Xi looked completely unharmed. 

Shuli clearly wasn't one to miss an opportunity and she hovered next to Zhang Bai feeding him succulent pieces of stewed goat meat while he slumped in his chair. Likewise, two women had settled on opposite sides of Tang Jin including the woman named Lingling who had glued herself to him when they first arrived. While the attention seemed to fluster the young man, he clearly wasn't objecting to it either as he alternated taking bites offered by each of them. 

"What happened to you?" Ao Wen said when she reached the table. "I thought you were just looking for a house to stay at."

"It's my fault," Tang Jin admitted readily. "One of the houses we found a listing for was haunted by the vengeful spirits of a family that was murdered there," he explained. "I thought that since we were all second-stage cultivators, we could handle a few spirits and if we could clear the place out then the price was excellent." 

"Jin, have you ever fought spirits before?" Ao Wen asked, lowering her brows as she looked at him. "Give me your hands, let me see the wounds," she demanded, shooing one of the women away to take a seat next to him. 

"Soldier Tang was very brave," Shuli praised from beside Zhang Bai. "When his bright blade had very little effect on the dark spirits, he rushed at them with his claws extended. He even tore two of them apart before they could draw close to Understudy Feng and I. He truly fought to protect all of us," she explained. 

"It was still foolish," Feng Xi countered from her seat. "The two dark spirits that Jin tore apart reformed less than thirty breaths later. Bai managed to put up a series of barriers that held the spirits back long enough for all of us to escape but he had to pull injuries to his own body for them to last long enough for us to dash from one building to the next on our way out."

"Hssss," Ao Wen uttered with a sharp intake of breath once she removed Tang Jin's bandages. Both of his hands and forearms were covered with dark blue marks in the shape of handprints as though something had clung fiercely enough to his arms to leave bruises. The marks, however, weren't bruises but lingering energies from the dark spirits that had tried to restrain him when he struck out with his claws. Worse, while bruises were slightly warm to the touch from the inflammation of the flesh, Tang Jin's injury was incredibly cold, and left untreated could result in the flesh dying before spreading rot to the rest of his body. The wounds inflicted by spirits were not to be taken lightly! "Do you have more injuries like this?" Ao Wen asked, looking directly into Tang Jin's eyes as though daring him to lie to her and conceal an injury. 

"One on my back around the left shoulder blade," he admitted. "And another long one where an arm passed through my waist as a spirit tried to drag me back into a room."

"What about you Bai? Do your injuries look like Jin's?" Ao Wen asked, looking at Zhang Bai more gently than she looked at Tang Jin. By everyone's account, this really had been Jin's fault and Zhang Bai had done what a good elder brother should in helping to recover from the mistakes of their youngest companion. 

"Similar," Zhang Bai admitted. "They aren't as dark of a blue and the skin doesn't feel as cold to the touch as Brother Jin's does but it still doesn't feel like any wound I've ever suffered before."

"You're all incredibly lucky to have survived with such light injuries," Ao Wen said as she moved from inspecting Tang Jin to Zhang Bai, taking his pulse and assessing his condition. "I can purge the nether energy with purifying flames but you're both going to need to drink a foul concoction first and you'll spend the night and tomorrow sweating out the remnants of the ghastly injury," she explained. "Jin, I think you've learned the lesson you needed to, but from now on, you talk to me before you go anywhere dangerous. Vengeful spirits aren't uncommon on large battlefields and while I don't have techniques to put them to rest I've learned enough about them to know that we should have stayed well away from them," she insisted. "I won't tell you that you can never face dangerous things, but sometimes I'll want to be with you in case things like this happen, and sometimes I may be able to help you avoid some of the dangers." 

"I understand," Tang Jin said, looking dejected at being scolded but understanding that he truly deserved it. 

"Foolish or not, I'm proud to hear how you protected Xi and Shuli," Ao Wen said, resting a hand on the young Soldier's shoulder. "You have a true heart of a Mountain Lion and you do your bloodline proud. One of these days, some woman is going to be very lucky to gain your favor and your protection," she said with a wink and a meaningful glance at the two women tending to him. "Now, I'm going to prepare a few things before I purge the nether energy from those wounds," Ao Wen added. "If you need to make arrangements for someone to care for you tonight and tomorrow, it would be good to do that now. You two will be sweating furiously for a full day so having someone who can bring you plenty of weak tea to drink along with cool cloths for your heads and a steady supply of mild soups and congee tomorrow will be a good thing."

"We'll take good care of Soldier Tang," Lingling said, stepping close to him eagerly while the other woman nodded like a hen pecking rice in agreement. 

"I'll be happy to tend to Young Lord Zhang," Shuli promised. "I'll let the kitchen know what we'll need them to prepare for tonight and tomorrow."

"Good," Ao Wen said with a smile. "Xi, keep me company while I prepare a concoction for these two? Once I've taken care of them, I have a surprise for you." 

"The way today has gone so far, I could use a pleasant surprise," Feng Xi said, moving from her seat to wrap her arms around Ao Wen's arm. "I'll tell you all about our day and you can tell me all about yours. We can even have dinner in our room if you'd like." 

"Xi, that sounds perfect. Let's get these two taken care of so I can give you all the attention you deserve," Ao Wen replied, giving her love a tender hug before pulling her away to their room. Thankfully, while Tang Jin and Zhang Bai's injuries were serious and needed to be treated immediately, they weren't complicated or difficult for her to address and she wouldn't be delayed in giving Feng Xi her gift for too long. Nothing would be allowed to get in the way of the pleasant end of the day she'd been looking forward to since she found the perfect gift for her love!