The transition was proceeding a lot more smoothly than Jin Huang had expected. Instead of a kick in the pants and some pleasantries, several elder-level figures were obediently escorting him outside the premises. They’d obliged his every request to see various workshops he would miss, as well as to collect many books he’d forgotten to read before he had to leave. They’d even allowed him to take many ingredients that might not be available on the outside. Unlike his brothers and sisters, he wasn’t being evicted. No, he was being relocated to a remote workshop with top-notch facilities. Anything to keep him happy.
And happy he was. He took the opportunity to visit all the places he liked most. The best workshops. The mess hall. The library. The observatory. In fact, he visited many places he’d never seen before. It was like a massive tour of the facility that continued for a full four hours. Their patience eventually thinned, and now they were pressing for him to leave.
Reluctantly, he left with them. He sighed as he looked back to the academy, to the many friends he’d left behind. Too many friends to count.
“You don’t need to see me off,” Jin Huang said to the elders who stood around him nervously. “I’m perfectly aware of what’s going on. I’ll set up my own workshop in the city.”
“Are you sure?” one of the elders said. “We hate to inconvenience you, but due to budget cuts, we’ve been forced to relocate your workshop. But I promise you, the one that’s waiting for you is a good one. It would put the best workshop in the academy to shame.”
“No need,” Jin Huang said. “I can support myself without any problems. Unless… you want to accompany me while I look for a place to rent?” His eyes brightened as their eyes dimmed.
“We’d love to, but the academy is very busy right now due to the influx of new members,” one of the elders said hurriedly.
“These are very trying times,” another said. “I’m sure someone with a reputation like yours will have no trouble settling himself in. But these new members are young and inexperienced. It’ll be like herding cats.”
“I understand,” Jin Huang said, sighing. “I’ll miss my friends. They’re all very dear to me.”
The third elder’s eye twitched. All the young man’s friends had already left the academy. He didn’t have many of them, since aside from his disciple brothers and sisters, no one dared talk to him. He was a dangerous individual with a fierce reputation, as innocent as he looked.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine without you,” the elder said. “Perhaps they’ll come visit you in the future.”
Jin Huang’s eyes brightened. “That’s right. Once they’ve grown strong enough, they’ll be able to travel outside to see me. Why didn’t I think of that before?”
The elder smiled. “It’s been great working with you. I’d shake your hand, but I have a cold.”
“So do I,” another said.
“As do I,” the last one said. “It’s been going around. Terrible thing.”
“Not a problem,” Jin Huang said. “See you soon!” He skipped off merrily and began his search for his brothers and sisters. A few minutes later, he felt something squirming in his blood.
I miss them, a voice said.
As do I, another said. It’ll be lonely without them.
“It’ll be fine,” Jin Huang said out loud, causing people on the streets to look at him as though he were crazy. “They’re young, inexperienced. This will be a good opportunity for them to experience life and all its wonders. I left them in all the best places in the academy, so there will be countless cultivators for them to interact with, as well as an ample supply of medicinal herbs.”
I hope so, another voice said. Like the others that had spoken, it was a living poison that lived inside his body. Jin Huang had been creating and raising a brood of them for the past five years, and coincidentally, they’d just gained the capacity for independent thought. Well, as independent as possible with Jin Huang as their master. Without him, they would wander about, looking for hosts to infect, things to consume, and energy to draw on. Nothing too big, or they’d certainly be detected and destroyed.
It was a good day. A new beginning. Jin Huang smiled as he saw Zi Long and Yue Bing in the distance and waved at them. He’d been spending a lot of time crafting poisons, so it was probably time to focus on something he’d neglected. Like alchemy or his cultivation. There were too many things to do, and so little time. That would all change once his helpers grew strong enough to help him.
Fortunately, living poisons grew quickly.
Ling Dong wiped sweat off his brow as he examined his latest piece of work. It was a small red medallion crafted from a strange ore he’d found in the fissure. He’d made it for the dragon turtle, and it had taken him a long time to figure out what to make for it. With his new artifact, the dragon turtle would soon be breathing fire, just like any self-respecting dragon should.
Small violet runes were tightly interlinked with fiery red ones. He had to admit that finally learning formal runic arts had helped his demonic smithing. Intuition could only go so far without knowledge, he realized. With this new runic knowledge, his abilities had increased by leaps and bounds.
As he stored the medallion, Ling Dong heard a soft knock on the door. That’s odd, he thought. People didn’t usually come so late. Most guards came at dawn at the end of their night shift, or at dusk at the end of their day shift. It wasn’t a real dawn and dusk, but the artificial dawn and dusk projected by the giant clock tower in the middle of the city. Still, it was the middle of Haijing’s night, a time visitors rarely came.
Ling Dong opened the door and
