Ubel finally stood up after the earth-shaking tremor passed away. He remained vigilant for a moment, awaiting another wave of vibration or something more, possibly an attack or an alert. But what he awaited did not come. Instead, he heard the yell of Kowalski, who kneeled in front of her collapsed mother.

Quickly turning around, Ubel crawled to their side as he tried to regain his sense of balance. Kowalski did not try the same, his eyes were stuck on his mother’s now paling skin. Her breathing was erratic, Ubel did not need to inspect long enough to know her heart must have suffered from some kind of trauma to stop beating for a moment.

‘’Ubel!’’ Kowalski cried as some tears condensed at the rear of his eyes. He gripped her shoulders and rested her head on his thighs to support her, then he called out once more. ‘’You are better in treatment than me. Please help, I don’t know how to get her heart to beat again!’’

‘’Then stop talking and be silent.’’ That was the exact opposite of the truth. Ubel had the knowledge, more than he actually guessed too. But Kowalski always fared better than him in practical lessons. Yet, Ubel knew the guy couldn’t think that straight when his mother was in danger.

Kowalski shut his mouth after seeing a slight irritation on Ubel’s face, yet a flower of hope bloomed inside his heart as well. He doesn’t worry, it seems this is only some small trouble for him. His main relieving point was, Ubel did not seem as concerned as he was.

But contrary to his expectations, Ubel’s insides were messier than he thought. Ubel found it hard to suppress the anxiety and the passing yet continuous notions of She will die, you can’t treat her, you should seek help! Inside his mind. But he had to. He would be a damn fool if he couldn’t save miss Frey, especially when he identified the problem.

Yet how? That was the problem. He did not have any herbs that triggered the blood flow, nor did he knew of any techniques that could create a shock or force to reawaken the heart...another shock. Another trauma.

Aren’t they the same?

All he had to do was create another trauma that could operate the heart back to its original state, and he knew of such a thing. Qi could act as a vessel for elements, all elements in nature were in the first place pure states of Qi. That was why, although, with some special circumstances and breathing techniques, immortals could control and bend the elements inside nature.

He couldn’t imitate lightning or thunder, they were extreme oppositions of his main force water. But he could definitely try to create ripples, or soundwaves, not strong enough to burst the heart into a pool yet powerful enough to alert the nervous system. It seemed feasible, but being feasible wasn’t enough.

Do I have a choice though?

He swished the sleeves of his purple robe to his elbow and clutched the ribbons around miss Frey’s cloth. With a slow motion, he unveiled the piece of underwear underneath. Ubel gazed into Kowalski’s eyes for approval, and seeing that he did not mind, he pulled down until a part of her left chest was visible. The pinkish tinge on her slightly pale skin seemed more seductive than he supposed it to be.

Ubel did not care for that though. He put his index and middle fingers together on her left chest, a bit higher than the swaying brown nipple. Then rotating his Qi and leading it to his forehead, his third-eye opened. Looking around the house for a moment to see traces of Qi, he gelt pleased to see no huge obstruction could interrupt him.

After being sure with that, his Qi flowed into his two fingers. The steady stream of motes of lights gathered until even his polished nails were invisible from the mass of energy.

Then he released the amassed amount in little amounts from the index finger. Like a drop of rain dripping from a rooftop, they fell down on the frozen heart. Right before they crashed down, another surge of Qi spread from his middle finger and staved the condensed drop, turning it into a ripple.

The ripple scattered on the surface of the heart, then a loud cough broke his concentration.

Miss Frey let out another cough, and a few trickles of blood seeped out of her mouth. ‘’Mother?’’ Kowalski tried to lift her a bit higher to rest her head on his shoulder, but her coughs continued. ‘’Mother?!’’ Kowalski almost shouted, but miss Frey managed to lift her hand to ensure him, though her arms flailed around like a leave.

‘’I will carry my mother upstairs,’’ Kowalski urged him as he took hold of her mother by the back and legs, carrying her with no strain while resting her still body leaned on his chest. ‘’Stay down here for a moment, then...we will think something about what happened.’’ Once her mother seemed healthy enough, Kowalski’s worries also vanished the same as well. Surprisingly, for Ubel at least, his demeanor took a horrific change in turn. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it though, it was good.

At least in the two minutes of Kowalski’s absence, Ubel found the time to calm his heart and sort his thoughts. He did not know what happened, and his eagerness to let himself loose on the now chaotic seeming streets was hard to suppress. He heard some loud noises still. They were the cause of his curiosity, as well as the itch to find out. His heart shook once more as a shrill cry and a series of shouts sounded outside the door, right at the neighbourhood’s bakery at the opposite he guessed.

Then came down Kowalski, also startled by the vicious voices as well like him, and approached him with a weary expression. The tremor didn’t only affect her mother. Ubel fared much better, just a slight headache and nothing more after a few seconds. Kowalski, in turn, looked a bit pale and tired, hence his I’m done face. Then a thought struck him.

I’m fine because I’m a path finder, and he is a Qi destructioneer. Then what about other mortals like miss Frey?

His first thoughts trailed off to his grandma, to the helpless woman who possibly had no thing or person to help her. She was old, and she was weak. Weaker than even normal old, healthy people he saw in here. So she must have suffered. And knowing that she suffered did not help Ubel to stay sedated. Total opposite, even Kowalski saw the distress now painted over his face.

‘’Ubel, are you fine?’’ His voice was the same, low and pushed out of throat with effort more than it took in usual times. ‘’Ubel?!’’

‘’No, I’m fine- on the contrary, we should go outside immediately.’’ Ubel severed that train of thought before succumbing, even though it came back over and over again.

‘’We should wait here,’’ Kowalski scratched his head, unfazed by the cries now louder than ever.

‘’But we can help them, Kowalski.’’

‘’Yes! But we might even be a hindrance to rescue teams, it will be better to stay here.’’

‘’Are you being a coward right now?’’

‘’Wha- of course not! I think of our safety, who knows what is happening outside now?’’

Ubel smiled a bit, ‘’That’s why we need to go outside.’’ He then took a few steps towards the door, his hand almost at the reach of the brown wooden handle of the gate, and turned to look Kowalski again. ‘’If you fear for miss Frey, then alright.’’

‘’I prefer here,’’ Kowalski shrugged at last and let go of his fake fury. ‘’And yes, for me my mother’s safety is the foremost priority. That baker and his wife can go die.’’

‘’Oh, calm down.’’ Ubel didn’t know what kind of enmity they had with the bakery, nor did he want to inquire about it. ‘’I will take a quick look, then come back if I’m really unable to do something.’’ With that, he twirled the handle and slammed the door to the side.

‘’Ubel!’’

‘’I just wanted to do it, and it is not the type to open outside!’’ After retaliating, he took a step outside, then turned back again.

‘’Can you tell what you want in one go, please? Don’t do it in installments.’’

‘’You might want to check on your sister, too. Wasn’t she with her friends?’’

Kowalski’s face warped into horror, then anxiety. ‘’How did I forget!? And my father!’’ Ubel leaned to the smooth wall and Kowalski sprinted out the door, with eyes telling both gratitude and soothing in anger.

I can deal with that later...

Although he tried to lower the tension with that, his own worries did not lessen. Ubel knew Kowalski was right at putting forward her mother’s life over others’. That was the most suitable thing, both emotionally and rationally. Yet his attitude still pissed him off for a moment. Prioritizing something and ignoring were two different matters, and Ubel knew Kowalski’s behavior stemmed from the latter.

Taking one last glance to the inside, he whispered Embodiment, and a whirlpool of Qi appeared in front of his eyes. The slimy substance revolved on the ground, then rose as high as three meters. A foul odor, like a rotten corpse or a bloodied meat, came to the light with a huge burly body made out of pure darkness. Bulging metal like muscles, two spiked shoulder pads gleaming under the clouded sunlight and a piece of cloth covering waist down below, reaching to the knees. The attire seemed the same, Ubel didn’t expect any kind of change to the Embodiment in this short time. But disappointment was still there.

Take care of the lady. He ordered from his consciousness and the Embodiment nodded, then vanished. He felt its presence inside a room right above, and he could feel a relaxing feeling from the link between their minds. The image of the three-meter giant laying down and spreading its legs on a table seemed fitting to that feeling, and to a scary degree at that.

After handling the matter and putting his heart at ease for a moment, he, at last, left the house.

The first thing he saw was a few men, dressed in white and blue striped robes fitting to their size, a few of them even tight, running down the crowded street with medicines and pill bottles in their hands. Behind them came two different carriages with same attired people leading them, and from the faint shaking and gurgling sounds inside Ubel could assume that they filled them with the same contents in their hands.

Further below, down towards Claudius’ Last Stand, a myriad of peasants and civilians filled the streets or doorsteps. Some had a hard time standing up alone, some collapsed right there with blood trickling or seeping out of their orifices. A few also had wounds on their head, neck, wrist, arm, ankle, and every possible open skin. Perhaps the result of suddenly falling down from the shock, Ubel thought and trod towards the oncoming group he assumed to be the rescue team.

Though someone lunged at them before he could come close.

‘’Please help me, sir! My child got wounded, her eyes won’t open!’’ A woman held the forefront man, the guide or leader from the foot while kneeling.

‘’We will help, please get out of the way.’’ The man said and shook his leg, but the woman stuck stubborn. ‘’Sir! Please, esteemed sir!’’ Tears dripped down her wizened cheeks, then wetted the man’s cloth.

‘’Get out of the way!’’ He snapped pretty quick, then sent a kick. The poor woman squealed and crashed to the fence covering her house, clutching her stomach while begging ‘’Sir...please sir...’’

‘’What are you doing!?’’ Ubel approached the man, failing to restrict his fury at the event. The man cast a sidelong glance at him, then deemed him unworthy of attention and opened one of the bottles. He took two pills, green colored with auras of wood, and threw them in front of the woman.

Ubel stopped at there, his gaze still lingering on the feet the man kicked the poor woman, but did not liberate his emotions again. Instead, he followed along with the now departing group and inspected their actions. They seemed irritated from his presence, which mattered nothing to Ubel. He crossed his arms in front, then came right beside the foreleader.

‘’What is your name?’’ The man didn’t respond, then quickened his steps. ‘’Hey,’’ Ubel called again, keeping up with him. ‘’If you’re not saying, then where do you belong?’’ Frowning, man wiggled the strands of hair on his forehead, then replied with ‘’Can you not bother me? I am trying to do my work here.’’

‘’So your work is kicking civilians and secreting their medicine?’’

‘’Yes, that is my job.’’ Ubel flinched. This man didn’t seem to lie. His eyes didn’t shake nor his voice changed. Of course, Ubel wasn’t an expert of body language and detecting vile or lie inside one’s words. But his third-eye could see the movements of Qi inside a body, and when a person in front of him had lower cultivation than him, an example this man, it would be easier to see through emotion changes.

‘’You...’’ Ubel didn’t have any words to say, his eyes and lips twitched for a moment and he turned around.

‘’Don’t waste your medicine,’’ He decided, ‘’ I will help you instead.’’

His frown deepening, the man almost spat a few vicious words Ubel was unable to recount before Ubel straightened his robe. Looking at the Cindersnow emblem, previously hidden by the slender arms of Ubel, a few beads of sweat trickled down the man’s forehead. ‘’Exalted sir-’’

‘’Do you agree?’’

‘’I of course- I wouldn’t dare to refuse!’’ He blurted out and sent a few cursory glances back, the whole entourage stopped together with the man. He whispered a few words to his subordinates, who climbed the carriages and put inside all medicine and pills, then turned to look at Ubel.

‘’Sir, what would you like us to do?’’

‘’A few of you would be enough, I know your attribute is either wood or earth. You can heal better than me.’’ Ubel told and beckoned them to his side. ‘’Send back the things inside the carriages, then return here with more personnel if there is any.’’ They complied, then in a moment departed to the city hall’s route.

‘’What should we do now, huh?’’ Ubel thought for a moment, ‘’For first, let’s treat the people in the vicinity. Then we can move on your designated route. You have one, right?’’

‘’Oh! Yes, of course, we have.’’ The man said, forcing a smile.

‘’Then let’s get going.’’

*********

‘’Like this?’’ One of the younger members of the rescue team, a man at best twenty of age, queried. He held the head of an elderly man, his snow-white hair cloaking streaks of grey underneath from both sun and Ubel’s third eye. ‘’Oh wait-this should be it.’’ The young man corrected himself and slightly moved the elderly man towards up, then rested the still head on his belly.

‘’Good job. Now stay steady.’’ Ubel’s instruction sounded more like a command to the young man. Yet he complied the same. Then Ubel put his index and middle fingers together and placed them on the bare chest of the old man.

‘’Oh, he has a good physique.’’ The young man commented, ‘’He must have been a soldier or guard.’’ Getting no reply, he felt a bit disappointed but tried not to show on his face. Soon, the old man’s face regained a slight glow of healthy red and he spewed a little amount of blood like the past seven people.

‘’Are you okay?’’ Before Ubel could whisper, the young man said his previous lines. Ubel watched with amusement. ‘’Do you have any headache or loss of sensation in a limb? If so, blink once. If not, please don’t open your eyes’’

The old man stopped, struggling to open his eyes, but seemingly decided not to. He slightly tilted his head and muttered something incomprehensible. With that, Ubel nodded at the young man and called over another personnel.

‘’Alright-ho!’’ The young man shouldered the old man from the waist like a sack of potatoes and gazed at the oncoming carriage. It stopped in front, then he climbed the small set of stairs to place the old man inside. With him, there were a total of three people inside the cramped vehicle now. This meant they could send them back to the hospital any time since no more room was left. Still, he chose to take the approval of the Ubel.

‘’Sir?’’

‘’Send them back.’’ With his statement, the young man beckoned the driver and it moved on. Watching the carriage go back, he stood silent for a bit then turned to Ubel, who spoke at the same time.

‘’He wasn’t a soldier, nor a guard.’’

‘’Uh?’’

‘’He was a hunter, a good one at that,’’ Ubel said with a nostalgic smile.

‘’How do you know that, sir?’’

‘’Because I know of an excellent one-Wait, I’m coming there!’’ As Ubel finished his sentence, someone from the rescue team called over again for a grievous injury. He hurried over that site immediately, and the young man looked at him in wonder for a moment.