Chapter 94 - Guests Arrive

For the past quarter of a moon, the rain in Turning Leaf town had rarely paused. It alternated between thunderous downpour punctuated by the flicker of lightning and a gentle misty drizzle. Earthen side streets in poorer areas of town had become slick with mud and even on cobbled roads, vast puddles could stretch half the length of a block and filled the ruts left by generations of wagons. Neither sun nor stars had been seen clearly for days and building shaking peels of thunder kept many folks on edge, unable to sleep peacefully through the night. 

Yet despite this, in the northern stretch of town, an aura of festive joy had begun to emanate from the resplendent manor of the City Lord. Formations blazed with emerald spiritual energy creating a tortiose shaped dome over the manor to repel the rain and muffle the sounds of thunder. Paper lanterns had been hung throughout the grounds, clustered along walkways and in the many gardens of the estate. Hand pulled rickshaws and horse drawn carriages formed a steady line delivering guests in stately outfits to the manor one after another. 

Most of the people arriving belonged to the small but vibrant community of cultivators residing in Turning Leaf town however several mortals from wealthy or otherwise notable families could be seen dotting the occasion along with the mortal children and consorts of notable cultivators. Any person or family who received an invitation to attend a banquet hosted by the City Lord did everything they could to not only attend but put significant effort into the occasion. The announcement that the Zhang family was welcoming a Guest Alchemist led many to speculate that a person of great status and ability had come to Turning Leaf at the invitation of the Zhang family. Making a good impression on this famed alchemist could be worth far more than the gifts they presented this night, potentially creating a life-changing opportunity to those lucky enough to earn their favor! 

Within the manor, guests were led to private gardens or opulent drawing rooms to await their turn to enter the banquet hall. Mortal guests were seated almost immediately with none to announce them and few to notice their arrival. Custom demanded that at gatherings like this, guests were seated by seniority of cultivation rank with lesser cultivators arriving before their more accomplished seniors. The mightiest of cultivators would be announced as they entered, arriving only when a sufficiently large crowd awaited their august presences. In Turning Leaf town, that meant any cultivator at the second stage or higher had the right to be received with considerable fanfare. Similarly, even cultivators who hadn't broken through to the second stage could be honored if they belonged to prominent enough families. In some cases, however, the precedence of cultivation made for odd-sounding declarations. 

"Presenting Soldier Tang Jin," the loud voice of an elaborately dressed doorman echoed in the great hall. "Accompanied by his father Patriarch Tang Qui and members of the Tang family!" 

Striding into the grand hall, Tang Jin did his best to project confidence despite the embarrassment of being announced before his own father. Next to him, his diminutive mother Yao Ya beamed with pride, her snow-white hair and fair complexion contributing to a radiant halo that drew the eyes of everyone present. "My Little Jin has become quite the man," she said with a radiant smile. "Husband, do you see how the young ladies are gazing at our boy? Perhaps we'll be welcoming a grandchild into the family not long from now," she added in a teasing tone. 

"Mother!" Tang Jin hissed, his ears burning. "You know I won't be staying in Turning Leaf once spring comes!" 

"We know," Tang Qui laughed as they took their seats near the head table. "Just stick with your friends, they're good for you and they'll do a good job of keeping others from bothering you," he said, not wishing to see some attractive lass latch onto his rising star of a son before the young man had a chance to set his own path. Turning Leaf had truly become too small to restrain such a Mountain Lion but that didn't mean there weren't people who would try to tame him among the many casting covetous gazes his way! 

"Announcing Soldier Fei Leiyu and the Fei Family," the doorman called, as a refined young couple with several mortal children entered the hall. 

"Husband, do you think it's true?" The woman clinging to Fei Leiyu asked through long lashes as she gazed up at her dashing husband. Tu Zi held one hand over her swollen belly, pregnant once again with twins. This marked her fifth pregnancy in fifteen years and only the second pregnancy had resulted in a single child, Fei Haoyu. The others had all been at least twins with the previous one resulting in triplets! 

"I heard a rumor that this Alchemist produced an Extraordinary grade elixir as a greeting gift for the City Lord's wife and that they're considered some kind of Holy cultivator from one of the large sects, maybe even the main branch of the Holy Light Sect," Fei Leiyu replied as they led their gaggle of children to their seats. "If it's true, they might be able to adjust your bloodline to let you break through and become a Wanderer." 

"I hope so," Tu Zi said as she eased herself into her chair. "I don't mind having a big family like this, but I hadn't realized that cultivating the word 'Mother' this way would keep passing my cultivation gains onto our children! I'm glad to see them flourishing but I wish I could make progress myself before we have our next ones." 

"Announcing Dragon Soldier Long Ma, Patriarch of the Long Family, accompanied by the Long family!"

Heads turned to see the famed late-stage Soldier entering in his resplendent blue on blue robes, his presence flooding the room like a rising tide. Beside him, a stunning beauty who nearly matched Long Ma for every one of his one hundred and seventy-five centimeters stood gracefully detached, a pair of pre-teen children following closely beside her. If one didn't know better, one might mistake the woman for Long Ma's wife rather than his sister-in-law. The children bore such a striking resemblance to their imposing uncle that they could easily be mistaken as his own children. In truth, for the past eight years since the death of their father Long Ming, Long Ma had done much to care for them and his fallen brother's widow, even offering to take her as his own wife. Teng Shien, however, remained loyal to her fallen husband, vowing to love no other man in this life no matter how Long Ma courted her. 

Under the gazes of the assembled cultivators, they took their seats beside the boisterous Fei family in silence, eyes focused on the doors as anyone entering after them represented the pinnacle of power in Turning Leaf town. Given his own status as a near third-stage cultivator, Long Ma expected that the next to enter would be the head of the Loose Cultivator's Association whom he'd not yet been able to meet with and he hoped to pull the man into his circle even if he did question the value of an Inspired Poet that had cultivated himself all the way to the third stage on verse alone. 

"Announcing Soldier Feng Lieren, Patriarch of the Feng Family, accompanied by Understudy Feng Xi and members of the Feng Family!" 

All conversation in the hall stopped as every pair of eyes swung toward the entrance in amazement. Feng Lieren hadn't attended a gathering at the City Lord's manor in years! Rumors even said his cultivation had regressed to the late stages of Brawler, but he was being announced as a Soldier and announced after Long Ma at that! 

At the entrance, Feng Lieren took measured steps forward slowly, supported on one side by his wife Ye Kexin and on the other by a recently fashioned cane. His frame lacked the aura of power he'd carried as a Soldier on the cusp of becoming a Warrior but the pride he'd carried in those days had returned in full force. Gone were the sunken eyes and hollow cheeks, the frail hands and unsteady movements of a time just weeks ago. Behind him, Feng Xi radiated pride and joy at seeing her father's return to public life in the town he'd worked so hard to protect. 

"It's good to see so many familiar faces," Feng Lieren said in a clear, resounding voice. "My thanks to Soldiers Long and Fei for all they've done to protect Turning Leaf these past several years. Given a few more weeks of care from the Zhang family's Guest Alchemist, I should be able to help relieve the burden you've carried in my place for so long. Until then, I hope the heroes gathered here can share some of their stories of great hunts that I've missed over our meal tonight," he finished with a warm smile. 

His words landed on the assembled crowd like a stone thrown by a catapult! He'd recovered due to the treatment of the Guest Alchemist? Feng Lieren's crippling illness had been known to the people of Turning Leaf for many years. That his disease exceeded even Independent Alchemist Wai Dan's ability to treat and required the invitation of a Master Alchemist if he hoped to recover had become an accepted fact! Did this mean that the City Lord had invited an established Master as a Guest Alchemist to treat Feng Lieren? Wasn't that kind of favor as good as proclaiming the City Lord's intention to name Feng Lieren as the Deputy City Lord? If not, what else could it mean? 

At his table near the high table, Long Ma worked hard to keep the surging waves within his heart from playing across his face in an unsightly expression. How could this have happened? He'd been assured that there was no recovery from the Blood Iron Dust once it had been ingested in Feng Lieren's weakened state! Even with a cane, it shouldn't be possible for this man to be standing much less carrying the aura of a Soldier! Clearly, he hadn't fully recovered but if he continued receiving treatment as he said, a full recovery seemed certain. This couldn't be allowed!