Dragon of Rochester
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Story 10 - The Spy Who Rocked Too Hard (Part 33 đž)
🕑 Added 2024-07-21 00:33:31 +0000 UTCAuthorâs Note:
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Part 33
With a slap to the side of my new cauldron, six yellow and purple colored pills flew out. I caught them in a jade bottle and then stoppered it closed. With that, I finished concocting the Giggling Painless Killer. A poison that was more like an anesthetic than an actual poison. Of course, as with any painkiller, too much could kill, but the right amount might be beneficial.
This particular one was used to make beasts incapacitated, either for capture or killing.
âHold on a second!â Noxious Fangstrike took the bottle from my hands and studied the pills inside it. He frowned.
âAre you sure youâve never concocted these?â
I rolled my eyes. âYou watched. You even corrected my actions when I was about to use the whole Azure Fire Cherry instead of just the pit.â
He huffed. âItâs just too hard to believe.â
I scoffed.
His gold eyes narrowed at me. âDo you really not know that your movements make you seem like youâre a master pretending to be an amateur?â
Fuck. Well, I was a master, but I hadnât pretended since this was my first time concocting this.
He had even given me helpful instructions before I did something the way an alchemist would have and not a poison master.
I clasped my hands behind my back. âWell, I am aâ.â
ââgenius. Youâve said that already. Multiple times.â His golden eyes became unfocused like heâd taken emotional damage. âIâd warn you to not get too full of yourself, but I think Iâve learned more from you today than you have from me.â
I coughed. Oh, that. During the prepping process, I had accidentally shown him how to make some of the poisons stronger. Oops.
But that wasnât my fault. The recipes were obviously missing a key method due to sect secrecy. At least that was what it looked like.
Actually, this seemed like a good time to fuck with him.
Very seriously, I looked Noxious Fangstrike in his eyes and said, âThatâs because if I say Iâm the second-best alchemist in the world, no one else would claim to be first. You see, Iâve traveled back through time to save the knowledge of the poison masters from complete destruction.â
We stared at each other for a second.
Then I pointed at him. âHah!â
He coughed and his cheeks turned red. âWhoâd believe such nonsense?â
I nodded. âYouâd have to be really gullible.â
âI definitely didnât think you were telling the truth! Actually, I was merely considering if the alchemist who saved little Dread Lotus might not be right in the... well, never mind.â He gestured toward the door. âGo play with my niece. Sheâs been yelling at me for the past two hours to let you return.â
That meant that my band was ready! Perfect!
âIâll come get you when the peppers arrive, so youâll have a few days at least.â
***
While I was on my way back to the practice grounds, Little Spring joined me on his flying sword. âSister Linlin!â
I nodded. âHow did everything go?â
He smiled. âIt went well!â
The kid definitely meant that heâd planted the spying tool without getting caught.
âI decided to pick up a better weapon while I was there.â He pulled out a spiritual sword that was a half-step away from sky-rank. It had the smell of a newly forged item.
I scanned it with my divine sense and nodded. âLooks serviceable for you. Good choice.â
::Sister Lin! Iâd still like us to make a new one together once Iâve been cured.::
I hesitated. ::We can do that. But, maybe it would be better if I returned your motherâs heirloom.:: While I could produce stronger attacks with it since its rank was higher than my guitar, it wouldnât be long before I could forge something of a similar quality for myself.
He shrugged. ::Neither of us can wield it right now since there are cultivators here who saw it at the convention. Iâd feel better if you kept it in case there is an emergency and you need it.::
This thoughtful brat. ::Sure, but let me know if you ever want it back.::
::I will.:: As he put his hand up his long sleeve, he looked like he wanted to say something else.
While I wanted to let him, we were almost at the practice grounds, and I still hadnât asked him to help.
I pulled out Ghostyâs necklace and tossed it over.
His eyes grew wide, and he practically scrambled to catch it.
::Itâs about time we make an attempt to cure Ghosty McGhostFace.::
His eyes visibly sparkled. ::Do you think theyâre ready?::
::They do and theyâre ready to try. But I canât place a necklace by itself in front of them without looking really suspicious, so Iâd like you to watch us while wearing it.::
He nodded seriously, then paused. âAh, Sister Linlinââ
I flew into the sound-isolating formation, landed, and faced my band members who were still practicing.
::What?::
He came to a stop next to me. His shoulders relaxed. ::It can wait.::
The three musicians stopped playing. Each of them wore a very determined expression.
âAre you ready to show me how youâve improved?â
âYes, bandleader Linlin!â
Muahahaha!
âExcellent!â I patted the kid on his shoulder. âSenior brother Verdant Spring is going to be our audience today if youâre ready.â
Dread Lotus put her drumsticks together with a clack and crossed her arms. âWhy?â
Thankfully, Iâd already come up with a good excuse.
âIsnât it better to start playing with an audience early on? Performing for others is the main point of spiritual music, after all. Itâs how youâll eventually make spirit stones and contribution points.â
Azure Melodic River casually held her keyboard against her waist like a basket. âActually, at our realm, we mainly obtain points by going on sect missions.â
Dread Lotus nodded. âOur Golden Core seniors are the only ones who earn anything by playing for injured Nascent Soul cultivators. They even perform for those outside of the sect, helping to increase our overall resources.â
I crossed my arms. âWith healing songs this powerful, who do you think youâll play for?â
Dread Lotus smiled with a little too much excitement. âThis will definitely stir up the sect.â And she sounded like she was here for it.
The other two went silent as they realized that the Dao of Rock would allow them to compete for profitable healing work with their seniors. Frankly, seeing them like this was fucking priceless.
âSo, which of the five songs should we practice first?â Azure Melodic River asked.
âHow about Three Fires Light the Way?â Gold String said.
That one was an original fast-paced ballad by Red Moon Melody. She wanted to create a song about losing herself to her internal trauma, coming to terms with it, and slowly finding a better way forward with the help of her band members. She used the imagery of getting lost inside a dangerous secret realm and having three flying spiritual torches light the path to safety. It was a shockingly beautiful and surreal song.
I hoped that it would help Ghosty through his own trauma.
âAlright.â
âActually, bandleader,â Dread Lotus said, âBefore we subject Little Verdant Spring to our playing, why donât we do a playthrough of each song to make sure we perform perfectly with you here?â
The others nodded.
Damn. That was too reasonable. I was too eager to help Ghosty and almost pushed my band into doing something that would make them uncomfortable. We could afford to take some time to get it right.
The kid tugged on my sleeve. âThereâs an area over there where I can train. Iâll wait until everyone is ready.â ::My current strength is still hard to control.::
Ah, this brat. I must have done something right as a teacher if my students eagerly trained when I put them in a position to slack off.
I raised my hands. âFine. Weâll practice the whole set first.â
***
âSister Lin,â Gold String, said after we finished all 5 songs, ârespectfully, how are you fine?â
âWhat?â I looked around. Everyone, including Dread Lotus, who had been through body cultivation, drooped like mortals who had been lost in the desert for hours.
I scowled. âWell, first of all, I didnât use my full strength. This is just practice. I didnât realize this much would be so hard on you all.â
Actually, I may have pushed them a little to make sure they had enough in them to heal a Nascent Soul. And they did!
âAre you kidding?â Azure Melodic River said.
âI take it that youâve been using your spiritual energy to your maximum this whole time?â
Dread Lotus took out a spiritual fan from her ring and used it to cool herself. âWe had to if we wanted to keep up with you.â
Ah. Oops. âYou three played so perfectly that I almost forgot that you only learned these songs a day ago.â
Gold String coughed. âBut how are you performing so well while using so much less energy than us?â
âYou just haven't had the years I have to find ways to use less while achieving the same result. Think about it! Not only are you playing a new instrument, youâre doing it perfectly and at a Foundation Establishment level. To get here so quickly costs something, and that is spiritual efficiency.â
They looked at each other.
âYouâve done well. Beyond what I expected.â I threw each of them a recovery pill for musical cultivators that I made with Noxious Fangstrike between poisons. It wasnât my usual quality work, but it was still better than most Foundation Establishment Alchemists could do. âTake a break for two incense sticks worth of time, then weâll play for Senior Verdant Spring.â
âYes, bandleader!â
***
Off to the side where he wouldnât be able to hear our practice, Little Spring used Drunken Swordâs style to train. He was surprisingly good at it.
From the way he swung toward the open ocean, I could tell that the kid was trying to control his strength. He kept lessening the amount of energy he used, making the strike thinner and smaller.
Now that I thought about it, he was still missing a signature attack. One that would look different enough from the Indomitable Will Sectâs sword techniques that no one would suspect us. A powerful technique that could use the volatile and potent energy he now had. And not some fucked up bullshit from that manual Bloody Crimson Sword Edge left behind for the kid. I wouldnât trust anything in that book.
I waited until he finished a set. âWant to learn something new?â
He jumped. âSister Linlin?â
I pressed my finger to my lips and looked over at my band members. Gold String was meditating while Dread Lotus said something with a grin to Azure Melodic River.
The keyboardistâs face turned bright red. She quickly popped a pill and started to rotate her cultivation base.
They definitely werenât paying attention to me at all.
âUsually I wouldnât teach you this, but weâre in a difficult situation. And it helps that you recently acquired enough energy to pull it off.â
He nodded. âIâll learn everything youâre willing to teach.â
Frankly, this was a technique I currently didnât have enough energy to use, which fucking sucked to think about. It was originally a Golden Core equivalent sword technique, but it wasnât exactly Indomitable Will Sect standard.
::You remember Thousand Cuts?::
He nodded.
::The goal of this new technique is to do something similar, only, it creates sword Qi that looks like a storm of golden flowers.::
::How is that possible? Can you show me?::
::No. Well, a little.::
I held my hand out for his weapon and he handed it over. I moved into the starting position, and through the twelve other steps that made up the technique.
He frowned. ::It doesnât look that impressive.::
I nodded. ::Frankly, it takes too much time. The Indomitable Willâs standard techniques are several times better, at least. But, it is still a very beautiful attack, and itâs one you can use at your realm without backlash.:: While it could be performed by someone with Foundation Establishment quality energy, the amount needed to pull it off was the equivalent of a mid Golden Core Disciple.
I went over each move again and discussed the meaning behind each one and how they stacked on top of each other to build something. It was a deeply philosophical technique.
The kid initially practiced each part without using energy. As he trained, he became faster and faster until he was almost a blurr.
::Enough. Show it to me but use your sword Qi this time.::
::Yes, sister Lin!::
As he moved, the tip of the sword drew a line of golden Qi in thin overlapping arcs. The last of the twelve moves caused the lines to condense. Then he thrust his sword forward. Sword energy in the form of golden flowers blasted out toward the ocean. Once the petals lost momentum, they drifted down and disappeared like fireworks.
âIt's called Blossoms in the Golden Tempest.â
It was a stunningly gorgeous technique, which was why I had decided to learn it in my past life. Though Iâd never used it in an actual fight.
Frankly, the beauty that was hidden in this world, like this technique, was why â even if I fucking despised some aspects of this dumbass authorâs Xianxia â I would never want to go back.
::How was it?:: He looked at me with hopeful eyes.
::You need to practice more. Once you have it mastered, it should be three times larger and five times more powerful.::
His white, husky ears drooped.
I was positive that his adorableness was now weaponized.
::But it was incredible for your first success.::
He beamed.
I glanced back at my band, who stood up and started practicing again. ::Looks like theyâre done with the break. Letâs finally play for Ghosty!::
Authorâs Note:
Thank you all for reading! You are the best readers a writer could ask for!
So, I had an idea to create this comic snippet from this image I rendered out when trying to get images of Little Springâs sword hilt:
Iâd been meaning to have Little Spring get his own signature move for a while now but hadnât had an idea of what it should be, and this gave me the perfect one. I have also been reading the really amazing manhua, Return of the Blossoming Blade on Webtoon, which also helped make my decision.
Especially since giving him the Explosive Wolf technique would be a little on the nose.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Iâll try to get the next one to you on or by Saturday next week!
Comments
Diego Rossi
And I have completed my backlog again. Thanks for the good work and the smile you bring to my face.
Dragon of Rochester
Thank you!!! đ„°
Dragon of Rochester
Thank you! đ„°
Riking
Very good comic, wow
Pete
That comic looks nice
ScarletIce
I think it says something about cultivator culture in this world that Little Spring can shoot off an attack like that in front of the other band members and they don't even care enough to spare it a glance.
Green0Photon
Wooo update! I'm ready for the final healing attempt đȘ
![[Image Link]](https://i.imgur.com/muF4mtb.jpeg){kind=link}