Unintended Cultivator Vol 14: Chapter 24 – Volunteered
“Did you show them the heights of alchemy?” asked the amused mistress of the orphanage.
“Not really,” said an unconcerned Sen. “But they all got things they needed, and that’s what matters.”
“You should always do alchemy like that,” said a bright-eyed Falling Leaf. “That was fun to watch.”
Sen was sure that Auntie Caihong and Fu Ruolan would have been horrified by the display he had put on and called “alchemy.” There had been fire, lightning, thunder, towering pillars of water, writhing shadows, and so much more that had exactly nothing to do with alchemy proper. It hadn’t helped that the children were so excited by the display. He kept trying to outdo himself. When it was over, he’d handed out the prepared elixirs to all of the children to help avoid feelings of jealousy. Sen even had to admit that the entire thing had been fun. The sheer frivolousness of it was such a sharp contrast to how he usually used qi. Maybe cultivators would be less irritating if they were frivolous a little more often, thought Sen.
Now that the fun was over, though, he turned his mind back to the necessities. The children who would be coming with him were packing their few possessions, including Ling Yun and his sister, Bao Yu. Neither had given a family name, and he hadn’t asked. Now, he had to decide on the best way to transport them. The fastest way would be to carry them on qi platforms. Unfortunately, he was well aware that they would quickly grow bored with that. He also knew that he would end up carrying them. It wasn’t that his guards couldn’t each carry a child. It was that they would object to carrying them, since it would inhibit them from protecting him. He didn’t know what they imagined they would protect him from, but they were very earnest about it.
Of course, him carrying them would make it difficult for him to react to any threat that might show up. He didn’t expect to encounter a threat, but one could still show up. They hadn’t killed every spirit beast this side of the mountain, after all. There could also be some nascent soul cultivator out there who stayed in secluded cultivation and didn’t like what he’d been up to. Again, not likely, but not beyond the realm of possibility. He supposed that he’d just have to have them ride some of his shadow constructs. It would slow them down a little, but would leave him and his guards free to act immediately should a problem arise. Staying on the constructs would also give the children something to occupy their attention.
Taking them in carts and wagons had, oh so very briefly, crossed his mind, but that was simply too slow. Now that he was this close to home and only needed to make one more stop, he was getting impatient. Truthfully, if he could get away with not stopping at the capital, he would. That just wasn’t possible. He needed to make an appearance to show his support for Jing if nothing else. Also, by then, the children would need a day or two to run around, break expensive things, and make nuisances of themselves in the palace. Behavior that Sen had no intention of curbing. The chaos would be good for all those bureaucrats and nobles.
Instead, Sen decided to do transport the children in a way that would keep them occupied. That was how they all found themselves standing outside the city gate and staring at a group of shadow constructs. For his guards, the shadow constructs were nothing new. For the children, they seemed to inspire equal parts awe, terror, and curiosity. Sen decided that some explanation was necessary, or they might never get moving.
“These,” said Sen in a loud voice, “are my shadow pets.”
He studied the children’s faces as he said that. He’d chosen the word pets very intentionally and was gratified to see that it had worked. The fear faded while curiosity took deeper root. Nodding internally, he continued.
“It’s a long way to the capital, and even farther to my sect. Making you walk there would be mean. So, my shadow pets are going to carry you there. Ling Yun,” he said, pointing at the boy, “why don’t you climb onto this one. Show them how it’s done.”
He made a gesture that did nothing while commanding a large wolf construct to come forward. Ling Yun stared at Sen with an expression that simply screamed, Are you out of your mind? I’m not getting on that thing! Sen struggled to keep a straight face, but he persevered and emerged triumphant. When Ling Yun realized that Sen meant it, he trudged forward. He also looked around wildly for someone, anyone, to come and save him from the crazy emperor who wanted him to ride a wolf made of shadows. No one stepped forward to be his hero. Everyone else just looked relieved to have avoided being volunteered for this task. The young man hesitated next to the shadow wolf.
“You need to show your sister and the other children that it’s safe. I’m counting on you,” said Sen in a quiet voice.
That earned him another look. One that said, I know what you’re doing, and I don’t like it, but we both know I can’t say no. Taking a deep breath, Ling Yun pulled himself up onto the shadow wolf and settled himself. Sen ordered the construct to walk around for a little while. He thought the boy might actually scream when that happened, but Ling Yun mastered his fear pretty fast. Probably because the wolf was moving at a very gentle pace. Once the other children saw that Lin Yun didn’t get eaten, they started moving toward the other shadow constructs with their eyes shining.
After a lot of test rides, Sen eventually got all of the children mounted onto the shadow constructs. He was careful to make that each construct had a pair riding it. There were generally a younger child and an older child who’s job it was to watch them as they travelled. He’d also grabbed a few soldiers and a few cultivators to go with them. The soldiers were there to help keep an eye on the children. The cultivators were there to alert him if the soldiers said it was time to give the children a break. He checked his storage rings to make sure that he’d safely stored all the children’s belongings. Then, taking an almost perverse glee in it, he left the city with precisely no ceremony.
It took two hours for Sen to realize that having them ride the constructs would only be marginally faster than simply loading them onto wagons. There were countless stops for the children to relieve themselves. They couldn’t really ride the constructs for that long before it got uncomfortable. He eventually called the whole thing to a halt. He made two large constructs, constructed something that looked a lot like the back of a wagon, and hung it between the constructs. When he had them all load into that, he honestly couldn’t tell who was more relieved. Him or the children.