Treatment

  Joe stumbles on the hill before collapsing with a loud thud. Dust clouds flutter down on the village, signifying the fall of their guardian spirit. Gasps can be heard as Elanor leaps up to the top of the hill.

  "You know I suck at healing," Elanor quips, glancing over her shoulder at the bush.

  "Well, we don't have time to send for help. So just do what you can," John replies, sighing.

  "Alright, what do I have?" the beauty ponders as she searches through her interspatial ring.

  John then looks at the man on the boulder pierced by the Stone Porcupine herb. It is quite a gruesome sight to see a human pin cushion. "Do you think they'll come back for revenge?" John asks with a sigh.

  "Probably not. Thanks to your trick, they think an upper six master is around. I doubt that they will want to pick a fight with someone like that," the fairy replies.

  Then she tips her head to the side in thought. She shakes her head before continuing, "Perhaps if they think your hurt and can extort you. But even that may be dangerous for them. It depends on whether they're idiots, I guess." When she finishes, she flips her hair in disdain.

  "If you were going to be so upset about healing the big guy, you should have tried from the start," John lectures.

   Elanor rolls her eyes and replies, "if I want lectures about proper etiquette, I'll just head back to my master." An awkward silence looms over the hill as the conversation ends.

  Gregory motions to Arron and Wilbur while saying, "we may not be able to help. But if we can, we owe it to him." The other two men nod before climbing the hill. The demonic beast has saved their lives twice now. He helps them out when they are in trouble and watches over them when they are not. Yet all they've done for the beast is feed it some vegetables. They owe this demonic beast too much.

  "Alright, you guys stitch up his wounds," Elanor says without looking at the men who just arrived. She then throws needles and threads at the men. Gregory catches them and looks at the beast. "Even weaklings like you can use that needle. So if you want to save him, don't just stand there, work," Elanor says in a monotone voice as if reading their minds.

  "What a waste..." Elanor mumbles well, rubbing her head in frustration. She then winds up her arm, her muscles rippling as she smashes her fist into the ground. The massive force forms an enormous crater.

  Elanor then takes out a pitcher, which she pours into the hole. The water doesn't stop even after the pitcher should have long been empty. The large crater slowly forms into a small pond.

  Next, she throws some medicine into the pond. "Alright, are you happy, stupid bush?" she complains. The men look at her with an odd expression but quickly continue their work.

  "Thanks for your help. I'll repay you someday. Now it's all up to him if he can survive or not," John says in Elanor's head while waving his branch.

  Down at the bottom of the hill, Marsha is looking around curiously. When she notices Laurel, she waves to the girl, "Laurel! Have you seen Donna around?"

  Laurel nods, responding, "Yeah."

   Marsha gives a queer smile before asking, "where is she then?"

  "Didn't she follow her dad?" the girl replies with a shrug. Marsha looks up at the hill, and indeed the little girl is scrambling near the top.

  The men grunt and sweat as they sew up the demonic beast's wounds. While Elanor had said it would be easy to pierce the hide, it actually took all their strength. However, the difficulty only makes them more determined to complete their task. Their eyes blaze with determination and focus.

  The tension in the air is palpable as a young girl's head peaks over the crest of the hill. "Big ball!" Donna yells in a high-pitched voice. All eyes fall on this girl covered in mud and grass. She runs over to the demonic bull's face. Wilbur turns stiff. "Donna, stay back," he calls.

  The girl ignores her dad and stumbles onto the bull's head. Joe just snorts at the girl questioningly to the relief of the men. "Big ball owies!" Donna cries as snot drains from her nose. She hugs the demonic beast's head while bawling.

  "Princess, I know you're trying to..." Wilbur tries to control his daughter before being cut off. "Owies fly away! Owies fly away!" Donna yells over and over while flinging her arms in the air. Wilbur's eyes tear up. This is something his wife used to do. He was sure that Donna didn't remember her mother. Yet now, here she is, just like her mother. Wiping his tears away, he returns to his stitching with renewed determination.

  Soon the work is done. Wilbur scoops up the girl making sure to block the view of the dead man. He is glad that she didn't seem to pay any attention to the corpse. "Alright, wimps, it's my turn now!" Elanor laughs. She grabs the bull by his horns and drags him over to the pool. She kicks the fat bull into his medicinal bath. She then claps her hands together in a job well done.

  "It's up to luck now. You guys head home," Elanor says while waving the men away.

  "Thanks, I doubt we'll ever be able to repay the kindness you've shown us," Gregory responds while bowing deeply.

  Elanor bites her lip. "Don't worry about these small things. I just do what's fun," she says, pushing away the compliment.

  As they leave, Donna asks, "big ball get better?" Wilbur tousles the naive girl's hair. "You've done your best. Only the gods know when our time is up," Wilbur comforts his daughter. "I understand," the little girl agrees, scrunching her tiny fists.

  Elanor flops onto the ground lazily after the villagers leave. "Are you sure there is value in them cultivating? Yeah, peasants think it's some great feat to reach the foundation stage. But to most cultivators, they're still mortals at that stage," she frankly says while twiddling with her hair. Then, after a bit of thought, she adds, "you're not going to tell me some garbage like you were a foundation stage cultivator in your last life, are you?"

  "Of course not, I wasn't much, but I was from a respectable clan. Even a weakling won't be that much of a garbage person," the bush retorts, shaking his limbs angrily. "I wasn't a talent like you reaching such heights at a young age. Still, I was competent in the bottom six expertise when I was cut down," John tells the beauty while sighing.

  Elanor yawns as she responds, "Competent? That's pretty garbage, old man. Still, you didn't answer my question."

  "Yeah, my talent wasn't much good. You could've probably beaten me as you are now with out issue. Still, I want them to be able to stand on their own two feet. If only a little," he says, his branches drooping sadly. He gently waves at the girl continuing, "no one can force you to continue, though. If you truly think there is no value to it, then let them die here alone and scared."

  Elanor gets to her feet and pats her bottom to remove any dirt. "When you put it like that... I guess I don't have the heart to stop," she states. Then, turning away with a seductive hair flick, she sways down the hill.