Chapter 95 - Making Announcements

Feng Lieren's arrival had created such a stir that even the arrival of Elder Dong Yu of the Holy Light Abode and Inspired Poet Shiren Qifa of the Loose Cultivator's Association failed to create any waves. It wasn't until the arrival of Independent Alchemist Wai Dan that people caught a whiff of explosive powder in the air and perked up in their chairs, many eagerly anticipating the drama that was sure to follow. 

The esteemed alchemist moved with a surefooted spry step that all but shouted his Jadeite Crag Goat bloodline. Close-cropped hair framed a face weathered by hours spent beside the flames of a cauldron with a beard kept short enough to avoid dipping into concoctions or flames alike. A faint green sheen could be seen in his hair and bushy brows that twitched with every glance about the large room, eyes meticulously noting down every person and expression before the short man moved from the entrance towards a seat at Long Ma's table. Beside him trailed Wu Lin looking increasingly awkward as he felt waves of displeasure radiating off his Master's short figure. 

"Just awakened didn't you say Long Ma?" the alchemist spat as he took his seat next to the imposing figure of the Soldier, showing no intimidation about the nearly quarter of a meter difference in their respective heights. "Just awakened and cured Feng Lieren?"

"I suspect a trap," Long Ma replied, tugging at his beard. Nothing else made sense. "This girl is being pushed out to dance and sing while some hidden Master or Grand Master that's been tutoring her lurks behind. Nothing else makes any sense," he whispered. "Perhaps we'll see the real Master soon."

Before the alchemist could reply, the hall hushed as the hosts arrived at last. The City Lord, his wife, and two concubines, all seven sons, both daughters, and even the City Lord's younger brother the Independent Scholar Zhang Yao, his wife, and all three of their children had come to attend the grand event. Where most cultivation families sent only their family head and two or three additional family members, the entire Zhang family had arrived to welcome their new Guest Alchemist! As if such a large family of cultivators didn't attract enough attention, the announcement of the doorman set off another wave of exclamations when he announced Wan Yue as a Novice Historian! 

While not every member of the Zhang family sat at the high table, the City Lord, his wife Ju Tse, concubine Wan Yue, and eldest son Zhang Bai already created an impressive lineup. It did, however, confuse the gathered townspeople. The high table had places set for nine yet the Zhang family only occupied four. Could it be that the Guest Alchemist had such high status that they demanded more seats at the high table than the host himself or were cultivators already seated about to receive invitations to dine with the esteemed Master? Across the great hall, several eyes twinkled, eagerly awaiting an invitation. 

"Gentlemen, Ladies, Fellow Cultivators, the Zhang family is honored by your attendance at today's event that promises to bring great change to our humble town," the City Lord Zhang said smoothly, cupping his hands humbly towards the assembled crowd. "Today, I have several announcements to make and people deserving of recognition with bold tales to be told. I hope you will be patient a bit longer as some announcements must be made before our new Guest Alchemist joins us," he explained with a wide smile, savoring the building anticipation in the room. 

With a twitch of one hand, lacquered nails flashed signaling servants at the side to open a door and bring in a bulky object covered by a large sheet. Whatever lay beneath the sheet was large enough and heavy enough to require two burly servants to maneuver it into place before the high table, waiting for the City Lord's announcement to unveil the first surprise of the evening. 

"Nearly half a moon ago, Soldier Feng Lieren devised a bold plan to eliminate a looming threat from the Thundercloud forest," he announced, giving the first piece of glory to Feng Xi's father. "Despite his crippling injury, Soldier Feng has never taken his mind off the defense of our Turning Leaf town and when he learned that several Blood Rage Cougars had been chased from their usual territories he suspected the birth of a Rage Queen deep within the forest. Not only did he suspect that a Rage Queen had emerged, but that she had recently given birth to a large litter of four or more cubs! Were such a force of spirit beasts to move towards Turning Leaf come spring, countless mortal townsfolk and numerous cultivators could have died before an organized hunt could take them down," the experienced lord explained, building momentum with the crowd as the story unfolded. "Rather than wait, he dispatched his own daughter, Understudy Feng Xi along with newly awakened Brawlers Tang Jin and Ao Wen to scout places where the Rage Queen's den might be, and to eliminate any cubs they encountered if possible."

Standing with a cup in hand, Fei Leiyu raised a cup of wine in salute. "For a father to send his only daughter on such a mission, Patriarch Feng has this Fei's admiration. Truly he has never turned away from keeping Turning Leaf safe," he praised, drinking the cup dry in toast and sitting only after Feng Lieren matched the gesture from his seat. 

"Indeed," the City Lord acknowledged. "Had the party led by Understudy Feng Xi returned with news of the location of the Rage Queen's den, this Zhang would have likely called upon Soldiers Fei and Long to exterminate the threat before it could descend on us. The young, however, are seldom ones to turn to their elders at the first sign of trouble and these youths, it happens, are truly extraordinary." With a wave of his hand, the sheet fell away revealing the stuffed and mounted snarling head of the Rage Queen. Throughout the hall, gasps and exclamations of shock rippled with several mortals in the further seats standing to have a better view of the defeated beast. 

"In recognition of their victory, I invite Understudy Feng Xi and Soldier Tang Jin to join the Zhang family at the high table!" Applause met the announcement as few could disagree with giving two seats to people who had done something so dangerous to keep the city safe from such a dire threat. Others looked confused, however, looking around the room to locate the missing third member of the party of young heroes. Where was Ao Wen?

"Bravery alone, however, is not enough to come back alive from such an encounter," the head of the Zhang family continued. "In fact, Soldier Tang nearly met his death on the mountainside after suffering a severe head wound from the beast's lashing tail. At the same time, to land a killing blow on the beast, Brawler Ao shoved her left arm directly into the beast's open jaws, nearly losing the limb in the process," he exaggerated slightly. "Even worse, the lightning storm had begun before their fight with the Rage Queen began, leaving them stranded on the far side of the Thundercloud forest, unable to return for help."

"How did they make it back?" someone from the crowd asked, unable to contain their curiosity. 

"The answer to that is, perhaps, the very reason a Rage Queen emerged in the first place. A thin crack in space that connected ever so slightly to a different mortal realm where time moves much more rapidly than here," the City Lord explained, telling a version of the tale that he and Ao Wen had agreed on in advance. "Of course, the details of that realm were unknown to our heroes when they discovered it but without the ability to return home, Brawler Ao ventured into this foreign realm in search of help. I will spare you the details of what she encountered in that realm and out of kindness to her, I ask that you all restrain your curiosity. Suffice to say that the horrors she encountered aren't the sort that should be wished on one's worst enemies much less a newly awakened cultivator of such a tender age. Once there, however, she learned that no help could enter our realm from the one she had fallen into. If she wanted to find a way to rescue her friends, she would have to learn to heal them herself. While three days passed for Feng Xi and Tang Jin, three years of intense training and hellish war passed for Ao Wen," he explained, lowering his head and speaking softly at the end. Few in the hall had seen anything resembling a real war but many of them had read harrowing accounts in the histories of their kingdom or novels written by those who had experienced such horrors. The images they conjured of a single young cultivator thrown into such dire straits shocked and horrified many of them while others couldn't help but wonder if they would go so far for a friend who was known to have been hostile towards her not that many days before they left on their hunting mission.

"Since her return, Alchemy Novice Ao has demonstrated that there are always mountains beyond mountains with alchemy skills at a standard that exceeds anything this City Lord has seen practiced outside of the large sects. Her treatment of Tang Jin allowed him to break through to become perhaps the youngest Soldier in the history of Turning Leaf. Following that, she used materials from the Rage Queen and other treasures to concoct a custom elixir of Extraordinary Grade that allowed my beloved Wan Yue to correct a serious cultivation deviation and after many years of stalled cultivation to become a Novice Scholar. Without both the bravery of these three heroes to slay the beast and Alchemy Novice Ao's tremendous skills at elixir refinement, my dearest Wan Yue might have never realized her dreams of advancing cultivation along with the rest of our Zhang family. In recognition of both her contributions and her skills, this Zhang is proud to welcome Alchemy Novice Ao Wen as the Guest Alchemist of the Zhang family," he announced, gesturing for the doorman to open the doors one last time, revealing Ao Wen and her parents behind her to the thunderous applause of the crowd.