Chapter One Hundred And Fifty - He wants names

The whisper of the touches over his wounds caused both hints of pain and shivers of something entirely different. His heart was beating so loudly in his chest it was as if giant drums had been erected by his ears and hit soundly. The breath within his lungs seemed trapped, but this didn't cause him to panic. Instead, his nose felt stuffy and his eyes damp and reflecting the swelling emotions within him. This was Jin Li caressing him with such care and attention. The same Jin Li who liked to bully him with words and dominate him with actions. The same Jin Li who demanded his obedience and stole his meals. The same Jin Li who had threatened him on more than one occasion, yet whose oddly thoughtful actions made him fall for him regardless of the bad points.

The girls had gone and the bone regrowth pill had been delivered and duly taken. A simple rice porridge with salted vegetables had also been provided and eaten and now just the two of them were alone in the room within the Healer's Hall. Jin Li's own emotions were mixed and he couldn't quite identify them all, but there was definitely the stirrings of anger and the hated feeling of helplessness, which simply angered him more. He did not reveal this though, but it was quietly simmering below the surface.

"Does it hurt?" He asked as he noticed Leon wince. Those new glasses were also a cause for those unrecognised emotions, for while the depths within those eyes could no longer be hidden from him, they also were not hidden from anyone else. It left a bitter and sour tang within his stomach that he did not care for.

Bone regrowth pills were never taken lightly. They were not the miracle pills their name suggested, simply regrowing the bone that had been fractured or broken until it was good as new, but it was a sensation that could only be described as a sufferance of internal 'pins and needles' that seemed without end.

Leon did not lie; "It's unc-comfortable."

One of the long, slender fingers slid down the side of his face and beneath his jaw and rested firmly there, while Jin Li's thumb completed the pinch. "You now going to explain to this Lord what actually occurred." His voice was not kind when he spoke, but as firm as his hold on Leon's chin.

Leon sighed; this was the usual Jin Li he knew. "S-some students were unhappy w-with m-me and sought m-mischief. Only, their p-p-prank went w-wrong. There w-was an explosion." He noticed the lines of Jin Li's face harden and felt sparks flicker along his skin where they touched. It did not hurt, but it did cause him to gasp aloud. "J-Jin Li!"

The martial artist loosened his grip and moved his hand away before taking a deep breath to control his storming cultivation. "I. Want. Names."

"The T-Teachers are d-d-dealing with the c-culprits," Leon quickly stuttered as he grasped Jin Li's arm with his good hand.

Jin Li leaned forward until he was close enough to share breath with the boy beneath him. "Names." He demanded, quietly.

"I d-d-don't kn-know," Leon confessed, blushing and turning his head to one side. "They c-c-come from M-Maimai's father's sect and are en-n-rolled in the outer school, b-b-but I d-don't kn-know them. Seeking r-revenge, it's t-too t-t-troublesome."

"Tch," Jin Li tutted, crossing his arms stubbornly about his chest. If his small alchemist thought that he feared the connection these small fry alchemists had with some sect, he was too naive. Also the sects he knew of would place their reputation above troublemakers, there was a chance that those who had hurt Leon would not be able to hide behind the sect's name. Besides, these brats brought retribution upon themselves and Jin Li would be happy to provide it.

"Jin Li," Leon said softly and reached out once more. Jin Li savoured the warmth of his small hand and once more marvelled over the expressive eyes no longer hidden behind a thickness of cheap glass.

"Rest," he advised Leon. "This Lord will see you to our dwelling once the Healer's allow it."

Leon smiled, the curve of his lips matching the curve of his eyes and causing Jin Li's heart to dance. "En."

A few days later, seven students were sent home from the Ascending Mountain Institute in disgrace and bitterness. The Teachers had accepted none of their excuses and advised them that there was no point reapplying to the schools in the future. They found this difficult to accept and as they stopped off in Julip Town, they drank and complained amongst themselves as well as exaggerated truths in order to make themselves look and feel better, before decided on the web on which they would weave their excuses once they returned to the sect. Feeling smug, they left the bar to head for an inn, but were attacked, each beaten until their skin was covered in various painful bruises and each were also left with a broken arm and a single bone regrowth pill for their continued sufferance.