Depthless Hunger

Chapter 69: The Truth about the Blackblood Physique

The next morning, they were both still alive. Kai was shocked at how refreshed he felt and decided he had the Aquagorgon to thank. No one had attacked, Zae Zin Nim was breathing peacefully, they had been successful... and he really needed to piss.

Once nature's interruptions had been taken care of, Kai considered his next steps. Taking care of Zae Zin Nim had been his highest priority before, so the question now was how to balance it. She hadn't bled more during the night, so he hoped that her condition wouldn't worsen on its own. Leaving her alone for too long felt wrong, but realistically there wasn't much he could do for her.

Would she be upset to wake up alone? Or would she be disturbed to open her eyes to find him looming nearby?

Technically they had only one objective: gaining access to a mana pool. But that wouldn't be easy and she was in no condition to take advantage of it, so he set that goal aside. He needed to find out the truth about Razzagah and the Corinin clan. As much as he hated to believe that Inafay's clan could be corrupt, there was no way to make their decision to send mercenaries seem honorable. If it had really been about illegality or permit nonsense, they would have stopped Razzagah with official agents of the city instead of faking a bandit attack.

Finding out more about that conflict would be useful... if he had any leads. After the whole journey with the wagon and then the fight, Kai was in no mood to talk to anyone. He decided that his first priority should be strength. No matter what he ended up doing or who he faced, he would need power.

Kai sat and cultivated through the early morning, but eventually reached his limits. Since there was still no sign that Zae Zin Nim would stir, he decided it was worth the risk to venture downstairs. First he examined the whole inn from inside and outside, checking for potential weaknesses. It was sound enough, though there was nothing that would stop Barroguk or the Krysali mercenary from breaking directly through the walls.

That confirmed, he returned to speak to the innkeeper. "I'm afraid that we've made a mess of the room."

"Oh, we expected as much with hunter business." The middle-aged woman nodded to him cheerfully. "Don't worry, you're paid up. Perhaps some dry sheets?"

"Yes, that would be nice."

"And another bath, I assume? You, uh... look like you've seen better days..."

For the first time since the fight Kai actually looked down at himself. His clothes were torn, splattered with mud from the riverbank, and covered in both blood and dark bile. His hair, which had been getting longer for some time, was a chaotic mess around his head, and he had a ragged beard. The innkeeper was a consummate professional, to have delivered him a huge bathtub the day before and then politely greeted him looking like this.

After a soak in another large tub, he felt human again. They had also left out clean clothes, which he chose to believe was a complimentary gift instead of an insult to his former outfit. The tunic was too tight across the chest and the pants not quite comfortable, but they would do. Now he wouldn't shock anyone if he tried to talk to them.

Staying close to the inn, Kai began gathering what information he could. From various patrons of the tavern next door, he learned that Rayakan was rife with clan scheming. What Razzagah had claimed was true: the Corinin clan ruled with an iron fist, or perhaps a gold fist given their economic domination. The Orgoron clan seemed limited to the Hunters Guild and the Lantrians were indeed much weaker in the city. Good to know, though of course Razzagah wouldn't have lied about anything so easily verifiable.

Aside from the usual matters, there was a surprising amount of simple gossip. He'd always heard that southern Goralia was soft, spending their time on fancy balls and celebrations. The way people talked about them, they sounded more like battles. Given how much the city was controlled by trade, who made an impression at a party might actually be more important than who had the strongest hunters.

Not that it was irrelevant. Kai couldn't get information about mercenaries as easily, but eventually he struck up a conversation with an older hunter at the bar. The woman didn't want to talk about clan politics until he started asking questions about mercenaries, then she had a lot to say.

Apparently the Corinin clan had made a splash by hiring two powerful hunters to enforce their affairs. Of course Barroguk Clanless was one of them; he had been thrown out of some city further south and come here to make his fortune. The Krysali mercenary turned out to be named Iroaki of Philaster. She was less notorious, but had attracted attention when she defeated one of the strongest Orgoron hunters.

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Now their enemies had names.

Both of them were almost certain to have survived, and presumably rejoined the Corinin clan. The question was whether they would come after him again. Even though the two elites had kept the upper hand during the battle, they might resent how it ended, or Iroaki might be angry about the crystals that had been destroyed. If he understood crystal cultivation, her strength had been permanently reduced.

Otherwise, all Kai accomplished was eating. He was absolutely starving, so he took advantage of the tavern and ate his fill. The day had stretched on, so he simply went through his old exercises alongside another round of cultivation before falling asleep.

In the middle of the night he woke, slightly restless. When he started to get up, he saw Zae Zin Nim's eyes glittering in the moonlight. She was almost entirely dark, just a shadow in the bed, but he could see that she had turned on her side and was watching him.

"Kai..." Her voice was hoarse, but not as weak as he'd feared.

"Are you alright?" He came to sit on the bed beside her and she didn't shy away.

"I need... to sleep more. But I thought... we should talk."

"You can rest all you need. I can tell you about the rest when you're feeling b-"

One of her hands wrapped around his wrist, gripping tightly. "Not about that." Here in the darkness, she seemed so different, at once far away and less guarded than usual. "You should know about what happened to me. You've done all this... it's not right that I never told you."

He remained silent and just held her hand.

"I used to be a celebrated young cultivator. Extremely lucky, by your standards. I naturally possessed an expansive dantian, which meant I would develop more slowly, but have higher limits. As I cultivated, I developed dense meridians, which can move more qi, but slower. I kept up or surpassed my peers, but everyone knew that it would take years to see my full potential. Do you see where this is going?"

"Everything is trading off short term gains for long term potential," Kai said. He realized that he was rubbing the back of her hand and wasn't sure if he should stop. She nodded, nestled deeper into her pillow, and continued speaking.

"When I came of age, my rivals... we call it a cursed blessing. The Blackblood Physique is a path that's usually used for those who are rising too quickly. They suffer greatly, but temporarily. Then when they break through, they have deeper reserves. And so..."

"Every single aspect of your essence was slow. You couldn't break through to recover from the Blackblood condition, and I'm guessing it stopped your cultivation."

"Yes. My sect would have spent many resources to help me, but that was the diabolical stroke." Zae Zin Nim pulled her hand away from his, only to hold it before her face and stare. "The Blackblood Physique isn't a disease, so it can't be cured. They couldn't remove it without permanently ruining my body. The best they could offer was medicine to manage the symptoms, and it soon became obvious that I wouldn't be able to advance."

"And so you fled here." Kai nodded as the pieces fell into place. "Just to find a Class, or because you were being targeted?"

"My rivals tried to assassinate me back home. I doubt they would follow me here. But Kai... I need to awaken a Class. You've staved off my condition longer than I'd expected, but I need a permanent solution."

"What about the crystal cultivation from the Krysal City States? You got a good look at it during the fight. There are some similarities, aren't there?"

Zae Zin Nim scoffed, thankfully not emitting any black bile. "An inferior version of the cultivation I know, reliant on accumulating crystal wealth. Worthless." Abruptly her scorn became an intense stare and her hand squeezed his. "I saw you fight all the mercenaries. Monstrous and human power together. But you struggled to master it, didn't you?"

"Yeah. It's nothing like anything I've trained before, and there was a skill at the end..."

"You may be walking a totally new path. It has incredible potential, but it will be difficult." Her dark eyes bored into his. "I swear to you, if you help me break through, I will repay my debt. I will use every scrap of power and knowledge in my possession to help you master your new power. Get me to the mana pool. Then we can unlock these secrets."

"I..." Kai swallowed, unsure what to say. Before he could find the words, Zae Zin Nim's concentration seemed to fade. Her hand grew slack in his and she slumped back against her pillow. When she spoke again all the intensity was gone and she mumbled the next words.

"And we should go to Krysal... I want one of those floating crystals... No more walking... no more stupid wagons..."

She seemed to be falling asleep again, so Kai eased off the bed to avoid waking her. Just when he started to walk away, she spoke again.

"Sometimes I think... your life was even worse. I could have acted differently, but there was nothing you could have done. And yet there was no self-pity... no weeping... I'm glad I met you, Kai. Please..." Whatever she had been about to say fell into mumbling.

Kai turned back, only to find her fully asleep. He watched for a while, then slipped into his own bed. Given his recovery and training, he had expected to fall asleep immediately, but instead he lay awake thinking about the politics of the Cloudspire continent.

Then suddenly it was morning, the sun was burning his face, and people were shouting at the top of their lungs.