Chapter 25: Relief Hut in the Mountains.

The first winter after the martial sage showed up in the Lockheed estate, Iris took a short leave of absence. Her goal was simply to locate more sources of pure qi used to recover her cultivation. Within that same winter, it had left the quiet noble more depressed than one would expect. Once however, her stepsister encouraged her, there was no reason to hold back.

Valentine had not known exactly what she was doing. For some reason beyond her own ability to understand, she decided to chase after someone. If her father knew he would be angry, after all what kind of noble went to others?

Despite everything she wanted to know about Iris Xin. The girl wasn't just a quirky maid to her anymore. It scared her a little just how much she was doing, but once she had decided it seemed that there wasn't any hope to stop.

"The roads are treacherous my lady, thanks to the winter weather. I'm afraid to say that it will take far longer than we thought to reach our destination." Sara had been happy to give up the spot of lady in waiting to Iris but found that in their interim separation, the duchess quietness had lost some of its edge.

"I see." Normally the quiet would make her stand on pins and needles, but today it was more of a hard floor instead. Sara only knew that the lady had someone she had to find. With little time to fish for details, there were already wild rumors across the entire estate. As a noble herself, this whole thing reeked of searching for a lover that one's parents didn't approve of.

Lady-in-waiting's were often a means for lower noble families to attach, join factions and gain support from higher ranked nobles. Sara had been no exception as a counts third daughter her prospects were not great. Despite her maid uniform, the girl hardly ever actually did servant work, it was more of assisting her in daily matters than any cooking or cleaning.

"Do we know who we are looking for?" Hesitantly Sara broached the topic, hoping to get some details, but the silence deafened her and after a short wait, muted her as well.

Clanking wheels and creaking suspensions and a lightly bumpy ride made the trip itself unpleasant. In her heart, Valentine finally felt like a duchess's daughter, willful and prideful. She secretly hoped she could stay like this forever since it was such a joyful felling.

Mabey she could even give her lady-in-waiting a kiss- hug, a hug was reasonable and not ignoble in the context, greeting a person one hadn't seen for a few days. Wondering why her thoughts always got so strange when it came to Iris, the time slipped by to her meandering thoughts.

Iris for her part, was waylaid in the mountain wilderness. A quick shelter and a small fire had been enough for her, but the snow kept falling. She stayed put waiting for the weather to clear. Local geographical points were most likely to contain sources of pure qi for her to use. What pitiful qi she was able to gather had started the process of rebuilding her foundation. She planned to find a few items which should be enough to do her foundation and hopefully enough to regain her gilded orb status.

Unlike her employer, Iris had no thoughts or concerns for the heir. She was fond of her and found her quiet softness pleasant to be around. Wild as the martial sage was, her employer went along with her whims and her overfriendly attitude. There was also the other important fact when it came to the duchess heir.

World class thighs. Lady Lockheed had them; her skin was also in a class of its own. Iris spent hundreds of years cultivating to gain that kind of delicate smooth springy skin. Some people just had it too good in this life. Martial cultivation often improved one's appearance, leading to such description as fairies, elves, dolls, or other such monikers. It took bone metamorphoses to change underlining structures, common for those who were vain enough or those reaching for the top.

Such procedures were not without risk, if one failed, they could end with unfixable shattered bones. Iris had suffered such pain thrice to support her towering nascent soul.

Distracted by such idle thoughts, minding the gently fallen snowstorm, Iris continued her search after the sky had cleared.

Valentine pursed all the way to the town at the foot of the mountains, hiring a guide to track down her wayward maid. In another incredibly bold move, she chose to follow the guide into the winter wonderland.

Leaving everyone but her pair of escorts, the small group of four made preparations and set out at first light.

Valentine was out of her depth not just for her own crazy actions, but for the raw difficulty that hiking threw mountains. Forest at this altitude and season lacked underbrush, but the foot or more of snow was not a light trek. There were several watch posts, for monitoring conditions in the mountain pass, and a few relief huts.

"Since the girl isn't lost yet, we can start with the relief huts and work to the watch towers, Sir"

"Reports were that she was looking for low valleys, does this help?" The guide made a short show of pondering before answering.

"If that's the case than we should follow the trails. If they are looking in valleys most have paths that go near them. We can check towers, hitting the huts in order…sir."

Guides and others who lived out on the fringe didn't have the ingrained manners and deference to nobility. While most nobles would be offended, Valentine felt that the effort to add an honorific was enough. Her guards were aware of the breach of decorum but since they didn't have operational expertise, they allowed it since the lady saw no harm.

While Valentine wanted to ask questions there wasn't breath for it, nor could she bother someone who was working. Instead, she just focused on her steps and took in the strange snow filtered scenery. Reaching the first hut the noble had a strange sense of pride.

Falling over three times, getting stuck twice, however she made it without compliant.

The guide even mentioned that she did better than most!

Aside from warming and resting in the relief hut, the small group checked several of the valleys. The snowstorm had covered any tracks and the group had no choice but to continue forward.

Watchtowers were not fit for most individuals, bearing no stairs, constructed of unprocessed logs. Unguarded by her noble status and the fact she was wearing pants, Valentine dutifully climbed the tower. It was for the sake of image, not because she wanted to be the one to locate Iris.

There were a lot of things to think about when one climbed a roughhewn ladder, the noble worried about her skirt forgetting that she had thick woolen pants on. From her eventual vantage point, the girl looked out stunned by the still beauty of the snow benched trees. Ridges revealed dark wet stone of strange rocky shapes. Narrow elevations and ledges made towering snowdrifts, and insidious caves. Muted rivers still trickled hidden underneath edges of ice and slush.

Had the noble never chased her maid she would have never seen such a sight.

There was no sign of Iris or tracks of any person, so despite a large amount of trepidation the guide and noble left the watch tower and continued to one of the large valleys.

The second watch tower was further ahead and beyond it, there was brilliant column of fire that pierced the cold sky above.

Sending a guard back for help the three pressed on. Considering Iris might be in danger, the fatigue was mostly ignored. The strain was to much, despite the noble's desire to power through and rescue her maid. Half walking half being dragged, her guard practically carried her in the direction of the flame pillar.

Even if they made good time, the fire had long since faded. What failed to fade was the sheer damage done to the surrounding environment. Scorched earth steamed as snow and ice melted in contact with it. Trees stymied to never grow again with their ashen trunks. In the center of it all was the torn shattered form of Iris Xin.

Even when her mother passed, her heart didn't stop like it had for this girl. Burns and blood seemed to be everywhere, her body was as cold as the ground around her. Whatever last reserves she was hiding, Valentine used to break away and stumble to the prone women.

Why do the rocks have icicles but the trees did not?

Despite all the terror and worry for her maid, it was this that came to mind, quickly than fading like snowfall on a warm day. It wasn't the only one, between her ineptitude at how to help her to strange day to day concerns, her whirling mind a nexus of thoughts.

"You have to be okay, you're the rainbow sage, right?!" Words spilled out as she didn't know about the frozen tears streaming down her face.

"Why are you always doing what you want?! I'm the noble here! Why didn't you stay well?! That's what I ordered when you left" Sobbing she couldn't see but was yanked back by her guard while the other pair of men moved to check on the girl.

"Your ladyship, she's alive we need to get her to shelter!" Unable to respond properly, the guard looked at the guide and told him to grab her legs, before ordering the noble to follow.

Iris for her part had not yet regained awareness nor heard the questions posed by her employer. Therefore, she was unaware that she was dragged to one of the relief huts placed on a hut, striped of most her clothes and bandaged as best that could be done.

Once the wounds had been dressed the fire made, Valentine dragged a chair, and seated herself by the bedside. Staring at her dark night hair contrasted by stark dressings. Worried she stood vigil, eventually falling to exhaustion.

Pharmacists, pill druggist, apothecary's, all did great work to keep those in the cultivation realm within the mortal coil. They also enjoyed a mote of protection by most civil parties, as they tended to save first ask questions later. Given her age, when Iris finally awoke, there was no concern of hers that some men might have seen most of her body.

It was more on the fact that there was a redheaded girl asleep in her chair next to her. For a moment her guard was down, and the girl was open mouthed drooling on herself.

"So much for noble prestige." Iris muttered kindly. Taking stalk of herself, it appeared she lived. Unlike previously, the reactivation of her foundation caused flames from the heavens to wrap around her. Siting up she recognized the hut she was in, with frosted windows and a roaring fire in the fireplace.

"Foundation rebuilt, looks like this trip was a success." When she moved to sit up, pain acks and searing suffering flashed across her entire body. Her blanket fell forward, and the small slip she wore to preserve her modesty hiked up with the movement. Arms, chest, abdomen legs all had deep burns covered lightly with dressings to prevent her from causing more damage to herself. Whatever strangled whimper that she made was enough to wake the noble beside her.

"Your awake, how…" For a moment the taller emerald eyed girl stared at the smooth sleek health skin and found herself swallowing hard. After which it occurred to her, finally, that the whole thing was shamelessly immodest.

"Cover yourself, why are you always so shameless." Muttering to herself as she fixed her blanket and covered her up.

"I'm glade your ok." Noble Valentine said even softer than before, not knowing that foundation-based hearing was enough in a room where the only noise was a crackling fire. Humoring the poor noble, as well as in tremendous pain, the martial sage kindly let the girl fuss over her.

"What happened?" Asking after gently placing her hand on her forehead to check if she was feverish. After a moment to clear her thoughts, martial sage gave a brief rundown of the events.

"I was waiting out the storm before I found a highly cultivated pinecone. There were also some rocks and a few other things. I had enough so I found a good spot in the woods to absorb them. Then…There was, fire when I rebuilt my foundation." Iris paused rolling over the nature of the strange fire in her head.

"Tribulations…but why as fire?"

"Tribulations?" The word didn't make sense to the noble, as there wasn't a direct translation for standing against the Dao or the heavens in the noble realm.

"Task god can't assign probate?" The foreign phrase fell out and Iris was quick to realize that she didn't get it.

"To cultivate is to stand against the entire world, when one attempts to break through, a test is made."

"I didn't think that it would happen at all." It was clear that the noble brushed it all aside.

"Be more careful" Noble huffed and an intrinsically warmth filled the sage.

"Thank you for taking such good care of me." Slightly feverish, her face was flushed, fire light casted shadows with pitiful bandages. The winter wonderland had placed everything as a fantasy. Closing her eyes, she rested peacefully unaware what her simple thanks had inspired in her bedsitter

Though the noble would never admit it, it was that moment she fell in love with the soft smiling face of the martial sage.