A Mission Home

The River Sage smirked looking at the disbelief easily read on Xing Lei's face, sighing lightly she had swept to her feet crossing the room and swinging her pipe down towards his head. With an arched brow she witnessed his hand intercepting the pipe, a dry withered look leveled her way. "What, you believe your Master unable to teach you?"

Xing Lei shook his head, "I'm sure you can teach me alot, in matters that would corrupt my own Dao. Thanks, but my path trumps the sect path."

Lifting her pipe away she shook her raven haired head, "So set in your alien ways, you outsiders are always like this. No respect for the world you invade. Here's a nugget of wisdom for you my student, at worst a whore is expected to cut your throat for money or have a disease, few outsiders worry when the prostitute they hire is studying their weird ways."

Xing Lei snorted watching her, "So they're doing more than selling their bodies him?"

"Of course, as you've likely discovered the Heavenly Rose staff stretches quite far, hiding behind the oldest profession it makes keeping tabs on you outsiders quite easy. Look at the jail we made, before my pupil screwed things up it was doing a wonderful job of keeping outsiders like yourself pacified. Those that proved to have the desire to rule the world were smuggled in there and the peace maintained."

Xing Lei frowned, "So the Heavenly Rose is...?"

"An organization built to handle individuals like yourself, the oddities, the super beings, the alien. We keep an eye open for those that exist outside the norm and ensure they don't threaten our world or its stability. Since you helped me, however indirectly, rather that assigning one of our disciples to you, you instead were offered a chance to help." The River Sage smiled and rolled her shoulders, "Plus we don't have any kobolds in our ranks yet and we need a capable agent in the Savage Lands of the west."

Xing Lei eyed his chair before sitting down watching the woman with a frown, "So it's not so much I'm skilled but instead you need a local to moderate my homeland?"

The River Sage clapped energetically, "Ah so smart, that's exactly it. Besides do you have something better to do?"

Xing Lei nodded, "Training, I'm still too weak for my liking."

River Sage sighed rolling her eyes looking at the shorter kobold, "What do you need?"

Xing Lei blinked tilting his head, "Oh planning to help this 'oddity' get stronger?"

River Sage shrugged, "You are my student so it does go part and parcel, I just hope you're one to repay favors, so spit it out, what exactly do you need? But as a note, if you ask for the virginity of a demigod I'm tossing you off the mountain, from the peak."

Xing Lei thought a moment then flexed his hand, a piece of hide popping into his hand, using his claw he scratched a list into it before handing it over. River Sage looked it over slowly then leveled a disbelieving gaze his way, "This is all you need? You don't even list mithril or dragons blood, the beast blood quantity is a touch difficult but should be obtainable. What's with all the mundane herbs?"

Xing Lei nodded, "The blood I need for training, the herbs help slightly but I'm also an alchemist, once my main training is done I need to improve my heart flame, dedicated usage is the best route for that."

River Sage tsked rolling up the hide, "Give me a few days, in the meantime, I want you to train with our enforcement division. Learn or improve on what you can, if any of those shits give you trouble mention my name, they'll fall in line." Turning she saw herself out leaving Xing Lei to wonder if it had been that easy? He had figured joining a sect would help, but seeing the type of sect this was he had figured their methods would be useless to him. Still... he'd have to be careful, if this place hunted reincarnates like she said, he was probably already under careful watch.

True to her word it was several days later when a handful of barrels were delivered to his home along with a few crates of herbs, looking them over he was pleasantly surprised, for a sect of sex crazed deviants at least the upper management seemed capable. Not for the first time his thoughts drifted to the mountains master, to keep River Sage and hundreds of perverts in line meant he or she was particularly talented.

Settling in, Xing Lei divided his days between training and teaching. Until the sun rose high into the sky he would submerge himself in the beast blood, mixing in a few complimentary herbs to enhance the absorption, after the sun was high he would head to the enforcement division where he was reunited with Calissa, the halfling woman took to the training like a fish did to water. Xing Lei often found himself duelling her in the practice spars. After a simple supper he dedicated time to practicing with his heart flame, while he would need spirit cultivation to truly improve its quality, the drain on his stamina was a great exercise for his willpower.

The steady schedule drew out the days, Xing Lei could feel eyes watching him intently, still he maintained his training. It was almost three months later when he broke through to the seventh rank of body tempering, it had surprised his watchers when the mortal tribulation had descended upon him, most believing the gods were dead set on smiting the kobold since he had spent the day looking like a withered corpse, his scales flaking off as his body tried to consume itself.

The agony Xing Lei had went through had deterred many who wondered about this blood training, seeing how the user suffered a fate almost as crippling as a flesh eating disease, they were I'll at ease about pestering him for the technique. Still, he had survived it, appearing for supper looking almost like a younger version of himself, the dullness of his scales was gone, his body now sported shiny onyx black scales, the ridges on his back and tail were sharper, more defined and his strength shocked his watchers, such to the point Calissa had needled him for the technique, he had resisted at first but eventually relented, donating the first two tempering formula to the sect.

While this seemed like empowering would be future troubles, he knew he was only a few short months from practicing his spirit cultivation, at that point the body tempering would no longer be such a large issue, and that training he had no intention of sharing. Smiling to himself, Xing Lei relaxed in his hut that evening refining herbs that would be his early pills, it had been a long time coming, regaining the core of his old strength was within reach. Looking out over the town below he stretched, his bones crackling loudly. Two more ranks then it was time to claim his status as a cultivator.

The next day however saw Calissa outside his door, a pack on her back and a second tossed to him, "Come on, we're summoned for a mission Lei, gonna have to cook your ass later."

Xing Lei caught the pack with a frown, "Why me?"

Calissa shrugged stomping off, "Who knows? I just get the orders scale butt, I don't issue them. Come on, we need to move out, from what I was told there's an aberration in the savage lands we have to investigate, likely why we got teamed up, it's your old stomping ground after all."

Xing Lei frowned and locked up his abode running after the quick moving halfling, much like their combat training it would seem she also excelled at tempering, it wasn't long ago he handed over the formula and she was already rank two, "Any word on who or what we'll be going after?"

Calissa shook her head leading the kobold down the mountain, "No info, we've gotta meet with an informant who knows more in Ulak."

Xing Lei grinned, "Ottar?"

Calissa pulled up short and glanced back at the wide grin on the kobolds face, "Aye, Lord Ottar reclaimed Ulak from an orc bandit group last year, the place is being rebuilt proper by the dwarves now, apparently the orcs were fighting over some sort of treasure so the elves and dwarves took the infighting to purge those moron green skins."

Xing Lei's smile soured, "The elves? Are they still there?"

Calissa shook her head, "They're focusing on redistributing the old Ironhand lands, they left it to the dwarves to rebuild the fort, when it's done they'll lend archers and mages to man the walls and administrate the place, Lord Ottar seems to favor his tavern over lordship but it was bestowed by his people."

By this time the pair was moving through the town proper, it was the first time Xing Lei had left the mountain. He was rather surprised that he wasn't being challenged or chased out, rather the populace seemed to ignore their presence, paying him less mind than they did Calissa. The halfling herself wasn't impressed with the attention leveled her way, two rather well dressed men stopped her at one time to find out how much she was. A short scuffle later, Calissa walked away from and alley whistling a tune, Xing Lei shook his head, not so long ago that was him flexing muscle tossing would be thugs into an alley and beating them soundly, it was rather refreshing to see he wasn't the only one who did that particular practice.

Calissa lead them through the city to pickup some additional rations and supplies, one of which was a weapon shop to get herself a pair of fine steel fist daggers, while she could have requisitioned them through the monastery of course she was more of the mind to buy her own gear, at least that way she could ensure it came from a merchants good stock, not a cast off damaged product donated to the Heavenly Rose. Xing Lei took this opportunity to replace his spear, the one Ottar had 'donated' to the kobold had been badly damaged in his fight with the drow, so this was a good chance to replace it.

The merchant was all too happy to show Xing Lei his private cache when the kobold dropped a sack of coins upon the mans counter to well show he had funds. Sadly none of the available spears were overtly special, rather he went with a flexible option with a mithril head, it had cost him most of the sack he had shown the fellow but at least he was once again well armed, fists were fine for battles amongst people but in the few years since he made the wish the beast population should have seen some rank ups, if such were true if he could get some rank two or rank three materials it would further reinforce his alchemist training.

Leaving the city, Xing Lei was treated by Calissa to a rather novel experience. From the savage land to Ironhand he had ridden a trade caravan roughrider wagon, hardly a transport of comfort, but it had been awhile since he had made use of a transport carriage. The halfling chuckled and casually crossed her fuzzy feet, relaxing in the cushioned interior. As a Heavenly Rose disciple walking everywhere, while convenient, did not show off their prestige. When given a mission her teacher had told her it was best to act ten feet tall and fart thunderbolts.

Xing Lei shook his head and wondered what sort of teacher Calissa had to put it that way but soon settled in watching the landscape roll by and questioned his companion about the journey, while a good portion would be by carriage they'd have to take a boat at one point, the savage lands was cut off from their current location by an inland sea, the waters were usually calm so it was more a novel route to take rather than skirting the shoreline. Calissa herself wasn't thrilled by the sea trek, most halfling, by her own experience, tended to get sea sick easy but considering a boat had already been charted she was doomed to leave the more trusted land route.

Settling in Xing Lei looked into the distance, returning to the savage lands so soon? He had thought he would return some day, just not this quick, he'd have to swing by the tribe and see how his blood had taken the place, if his son or daughter was not running the place he'd be shocked...