Chapter 260- Churnings of the past

Churnings of the past

The old Master of the House groaned in contentment as the young girls worked their magic. Shifting his lower fatty cheeks on the chair, his eyes fluttered closed as they faced the stone ceiling. The crumbled robe lay on the floor slab, as the pairs of soft, warm hands caressed and massaged over and under his thin armless vest.

The once previous muscular arm was now flabby with age, smoothening and wrinkled. The folded flesh hid the outline of a tattoo imprinted on his arm.

"Maybe we should take this to the bedroom."

The rotund old man croaked a purr. The balding head lay home to scattered black spots of different shapes and sizes, which dotted his wrinkled face. Under the cracked lecherous lips, housing the spaced teeth, grew a dying white beard. Like aging wisps, it extended down to the folds of his raised belly. A blackened tongue smacked and watered the parched lips with dripping saliva, causing the fine hairs to raise on the fair necks of the attending beauties.

Before the suggested horror could unfold, a knock on the large door echoed across the hall. Groaning, the ancient leader bid the welcomed service to an end. Clothing himself, he watched the shaking rears of the girls' retreat.

"Don't fret my pretties, tonight we will continue..."

Seeing the trembling hips on hearing his words disappear into the side entrance and then close the door, he snickered. Reseating on the high chair, he smoothened his robe. A commanding tone then drifted from his mouth.

"Come!"

One of the decorated, thick front doors creaked and then shut tightly. A tall but slightly pudgy, middle-aged man entered and strode across the hall to below the chair. The visitor bore similar facial features to the old man gazing down at him.

"Father, my sworn brother in the Military has sent word. He says the convoy should arrive and camp outside the south gate. The entry procession and reception will occur in the morning and evening of the next day. He has managed to secure an invitation for us."

"Good, good. We must use it wisely. I will go since we must show respect."

The old man replied while sighing. Given the shortage of invitation letters, he could only attend alone.

"Father, you need not hustle yourself. I can represent the House."

"Bah! You? Do you know the importance of this reception? Can you wrestle your way among those old conniving coots from the other houses and clans? Don't think I have forgiven you for that shame from last time. You tried to woo a merchant girl and ended up losing to some small peddler."

The old man snorted while continuing.

"I told Spade back then that if I ever caught that woman, I would devour her and her family whole. You and your sworn brother, have much to learn. There are many ways to stir up a woman's skirt. When you learn them, then you will be entrusted to these matters."

The head of the house chided. This news and invitation allowed him access to mingle among the higher class of nobles. In a gathering where even some of the most ancient and reclusive clans in Frost City willingly attended, it opened the doors of opportunity.

"What about that sworn brother? Will he be attending?"

The son shifted his foot while looking up to the speaker.

"Yes."

"Humph, no wonder you also want to attend. Look at him, he is fortunate he can remain a Captain in the Military after that stunt of his all these years. Luckily, he has his family to cover for him. I can't believe how even a bastard son of the Wu Clan possesses such influence in the Military."

The old man snorted. He devoted an entire life in gathering wealth and contacts, but his fingers never penetrated the iron walls of the Military. One could only fathom the power of true clans and houses.

"That man back then was supposed to die in the demon beast raid. Nobody expected a lowborn group like them to become Sersens. Even when we brought down the convenient laws of the Military they escaped. Since then the Military Commanders have kept prying into our business."

The son grumbled angrily. The mentioning of the past touched a sore spot. If not for the intervention of Clan Wu, the Military investigation would have placed their heads under the gallows. Even though Clan Wu raised their hand, the incident could not simply be swept away. Four captains were demoted, and a Commander joined the front lines.

"Well, at least I see you have learned your lesson since then."

The old man muttered while glancing at the closed wooden side door. Sighing he leaned on the chair. The reception would require him to be at his utmost best. The trembling chicks behind that door would have to wait. At least until he returned in hunger...

***

Chu watched the frothing man wheeze and splutter while sprawling different poses, on the floor. Each heaving, rumbling exhaust belched a mixture of saliva and yellow liquid out his mouth. Then choking for breath, he twitched when inhaling again. The glassy, bulging eyes faded slowly with each intake.

"Turn his mouth to the side so he can breathe easier, Franny. Did he drink a health potion?"

Chu asked while glancing at the colored puddle forming near the man's mouth. His eyes fell on the open medicine kit next to the girl.

"Knuts found him shaking in the room. When I arrived, he was struggling to talk as if being strangled. We forced down a spoon of health potion but he seemed to get worse. I gave him a dose of antidote potion but nothing changed."

Franny reported while scrutinizing the man. The burly frame of Knut kneeled beside her, as his bulging arms easily subdued the flailing patient. He saw Knut raise the man like a straw puppet as the resident nurse chugged another spoon of potion down his mouth. Chu witnessed the man vomit the costly liquid a minute later.

The situation deteriorated slowly until with a final gasp, the former bandit passed away. Franny dropped to the side with an exhausted look. She had tried everything she knew yet the outcome lay before her. Friend or foe, her consciousness received a blow. Chu placed a hand on her slumped shoulder and provided a reassuring squeeze.

"You did all you could. If he could have lived, you would have saved him for sure. Rose, help Franny gather her equipment and take her to the infirmary. Tell Ms. May what happened. Knut, have someone help you cover the body and send it out on a wagon for burial. Don't let the newcomers working in the fields see it."

Chu ordered. With the room partially empty, he sat on the table while stroking his chin.

"Lucy, after the initial dose. Did this guy receive any more?"

"No. Ishara said we should leave him alone. Toll and Knut handled his security while ensuring he was fed."

"Yup, after knowing we worked for the Tower, this guy just ate like a cow and fattened up nicely. Who knows he would kick the pail."

Glancing at Miki, his mind meditated for a second on her words. Frowning on losing the train of thought, he picked up on another topic.

"How about the last bandit? He didn't pass out nor show any changes when he took his diluted potion right?"

"No, since that spell of dizzyness that day, he is moving just fine. I think I see some wrinkles disappearing from his face though. And he does look a little sprightly than expected."

Miki replied while surveying the corpse on the ground.

"Ok, let's write this down as after-effects of the potion. Keep monitoring the last survivor. If he shows no signs of falling sick like this one after a month, we will feed him another dose of the same concentration he drank before. I want to see if by gradually drinking the potion there will be any side effects. Hopefully, nothing will happen to him."

Chu decided. If that level of dilution proved safe unlike this one, he planned to take it a step further. Ishara said the one cup was enough for a Hakim and another had no effect. By finding the safe dilution for humans, he could feed on the potion until satisfied.

His only concern lay in the fact he had no idea what to look for to know they had reached the maximum quota where drinking more would have no change. The ideal situation was if he could sort this out before leaving for Frost City. If nothing happened to this bandit, the next step would be to test it himself. Only, then would he be willing to share this potion among his group.

The most dreaded situation would be to drink this potion to only drop dead a year later. Or, to develop some uncurable side effect. His intention to surprise the Thomas family with this unbelievable potion crashed into pieces. Now he knew the reason pharmaceutical medicines required extensive time to undergo approval. Chu sighed while shrugging his shoulders.

When he fortified his castle and ruled over a town, he would then market a watered-down, age-defying potion. Life after that... hehe.

Controlling both the media and medicine across the Empire. As a previous working-class man, Chu didn't ask for much. All he wanted was a little slice of the pie or a cut of the dream. What a slice indeed...

***

"Hey, why didn't I see you in the fields?"

Chu's fingers froze over the basket to steaming bread. Blinking while ignoring the countless excuses popping in his mind, he feigned ignorance.

"What do you mean? Didn't you wheel out a wagon load of farmers and villagers this morning? I figured you had enough helpers."

"A farm can never have enough hands. We cleared the rocks from the new fields and did some tilling on the old. I have you rostered for tomorrow morning so I'll wake you when I'm getting up."

Clod said while drowning the contents of his stomach with water.

"No, good heavens, please don't wake me when you're getting up."

Chu refused the offerings of this roommate. Circling to try another tactic, he pressed an inquiry.

"But we have so many workers. The resting period is over. Let's put them to work."

"We don't have extras."

Clod stated.

"Pine has launched the Industrial Complex. All skilled and even unskilled workers are busy there."

Miki explained. Chu turned towards this young so-called general of his.

"Un-skilled workers?"

"Anyone who can wield a hammer or drag a slab of lumber are up there."

"All of them?"

"Elder Pick has the rest digging out the wall foundation on the north side. He, Clod, and Pine have been scrambling workers among themselves."

Chu blinked before questioning,

"And the villagers?"

"Either working for them or participating in the construction in the village."

"Blacksmiths?"

"Busy clanking out pickaxes, shovels, and nails."

"Jim and the lumberjacks?"

"Busy transporting logs to the worksites. We don't want strangers finding out about the goblins."

"Women?"

"Cooking, cleaning, and knitting. Some are also in the fields. We need to prepare for the next batch of arrivals."

Chu sighed as he ripped a small bun to release its buttery aroma. His lips barely touched it before he placed it down on his plate.

"Hey, why aren't you, Dyna, or Lucy rostered on Clod's schedule of pain?"

Miki tilted her head while strands of glossy hair cascaded over her shoulders.

"We can't. Ms. May has us out hunting to restock the smokehouse. Not only that, but Chief Drey is paying top coins to help fill his very own village meat-house."

Chu sighed after listening. As he suspected, this project gobbled up his manpower in a flash. The support groups required lots of hands to keep his workers functioning. He did plan ahead in ordering grains but he did ignore the need for protein.

"Hey, what about Ming?"

He asked. Miki grinned a wolfish smile.

"Well, with everyone busy, somebody had to clean the stables right? For some reason, Shine designated him and Toll for the job"