Chapter 10: The Wilds (6)
Sen opened his eyes and said the most appropriate thing that came to mind. “You bastard. A bit uncomfortable?”
Sen’s voice sounded off to him. He supposed that maybe he’d gone hoarse with all the screaming. Feng’s face appeared in Sen’s line of sight. The man looked like he wanted to laugh but schooled his face into paternal disapproval.
“Such language,” said Feng before the stern mask cracked. “I’ll admit that things were a bit more intense than I expected. On the bright side, the next time will be much, much easier.”
“Like I’d ever do that again,” said Sen.
Feng gave him a half-smile. “You will. Many times.”
Sen decided that the fight wasn’t worth it, not right then. “Did it work?”
Feng sniffed, grimaced, and nodded.
“It did. There’s a creek over there,” offered Feng with a gesture. “You should go and cleanse yourself.”
“Yeah. I’ll do that. Any day now.”
Feng rolled his eyes. “Trust me, sooner is better.”
“Much better. Although, I suppose you’ll need new robes. Those are a bit short.”
Sen looked down at his feet. Several inches of bare skin were exposed between the bottom of the robes and the tops of his shoes. He shrugged. It wasn’t like he could do anything about the robes.
“Is there anything to eat? I’m starving.”
With the great filth crisis finally dealt with, Sen was keenly aware of his hunger. It was more than just his stomach. It was as if every muscle and organ in his body cried out for sustenance. Feng pointed toward the small fire. Sen walked over and sat by it. Given that he’d slept for hours, it didn’t really seem fair that he was feeling so thoroughly drained. Feng came over and handed him a cup of tea. Sen took it but recoiled when he saw Feng holding out another pill.
“No!” Sen shouted. “I’m not doing that again!”
Feng shook his head. “Obviously not. There’s no point in doing that again now. Just take the pill. It will help.”
Sen gave the cultivator a look that was equal parts suspicion and doubt. Sen reluctantly took the pill from Feng. Almost as if he didn’t trust himself to wait, Sen put the pill in his mouth and washed it down with the tea. When he felt a warmth growing in his stomach, Sen very nearly started screaming at the cultivator. Yet, the feeling peaked at warmth. Unlike the last pill, Sen felt it immediately when the warmth moved to that same place near his navel. The warmth spread along those same channels and an ache he hadn’t even registered eased inside of him. Bit by bit, his muscles relaxed as the warmth spread into them. Even his hunger eased up a little.
Even so, the minute a plate appeared in front of him, Sen started shoveling the food into his mouth. Plate after plate of food appeared in front of him, only for the meat, rice, vegetables, and fruit to vanish. Sen was only vaguely aware that he was still handing some of the food off to the big cat. Something odd did happen while he was eating. While some of the food was just food, some of it captured his attention. Sen could swear that the majority of what Feng gave him felt like it had more energy than the rest. It felt like that special food shocked his fingers every time he touched a piece of it. He also felt better whenever he ate those bits and pieces. That spot near his navel seemed to slowly fill up. Only when it was full did he finally feel like he could stop eating.
“You had a hard day,” observed Feng as he tossed some blankets to Sen. “You should get some rest.”
Sen spread out his blankets while muttering about evil cultivators. Once he stretched out beneath a blanket, though, exhaustion pulled him into a dreamless unconsciousness.
