Blood Emperor's Lazy Doctor [Hiatus]

Inside a room filled with the scent of tea and incense. Servants shuffled nervously, covertly glancing towards the guests. More specifically the old man standing straight tugging on his beard.

Each time he stroked his beard the servants shuttered. They didn't even dare to breathe let alone cough.

It was odd how they suppressed their bodies' natural responses to ill health. Especially seeing as how the cause appeared to be a harmless old man.

Just what is it about this old doctor that causes these poor young servants to appear so fl.u.s.tered? Luo was curious which raised her suspensions even further.

'That's a query for later.' For now she let her thoughts return to a more curious matter.

Looking around the room, glancing left to right, then up to down, her finger that habitually twirled, curled inward. With a flick, a small imperceivable disturbance occurred.

The air lightened, the smoke thinned, while a strange warmth filled the room. Visibly the servants relaxed, their pale faces looked much better.

Luo wrinkled her brows. How odd.

Gathering the spiritual aura behind her eyes, she looked over each servant carefully. Fumish gas grey in color with specks of brown and green is trapped in their bodies. The unnatural sight caused a fluctuation in her eyes.

She relinquished her grip on the air. The warmth receded. The servant's moment of rest had ended, their pale countenance had begun returning.

Directing her gaze down to the ground, she focused her empowered vision on the small specks of green and brown.

Again she frowned. Those specks were unnatural. That grey gas surrounds 8 out of 10. Not only that, each one was absorbed by those in the room subconsciously.

She did not worry for herself nor for Nuyun who was cloaked by the shadows. She has the air around them both well under control.

As for Doctor Wu. She'd forgotten about his existence already.

It's already amazing she could do this much. If this weren't the lower realms, she'd be hard pressed to do this without cultivation. Even with her talent in control, be it essence or otherwise, she'd be incapable of such a feat.

"Pardon me a moment, I'd like to take a look around the grounds if that's at all possible." Waving towards one of the servants, she asked.

"It is of no problem. Please allow this one to guide you." A male servant spoke in a practiced tone. Looking to have just passed his preteens, he was barely an inch taller than Luo.

"Thank you."

Startled by her grace, the servant was a little slow at leading her out. But quickly he reverted back once the sun hit him.

Doctor Wu smirked under his beard watching her leave.

"As expected. She hasn't changed." He mumbled while sitting down.

Luo paused in her footsteps. Glancing back towards the building she narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows.

"Is something the matter?" The servant asked carefully.

Luo didn't answer right away, breathing out once she held in her breath.

"It's nothing." She stated on exhalation.

Turning back, she set her feelings aside, investigating the surrounding air..

Unsurprisingly the outside was much worse then the inside. Those specks, only one out of hundred wasn't surrounded in grey gas. Even the air itself, free of colored specks, held trace amounts of it.

It was not surprising she couldn't identify the gas. Never would she claim to have complete knowledge of everything.

What bothered her was that despite not knowing what it was, it felt-- strange. Not an unknown strange, but a peculiar strange. She just could not place her finger on it.

This bothered her.

So focused on catching that strange feeling she did not notice the curious gaze of the boy. Even so, she wouldn't be bothered by it.

The servant boy watched the little girl from the corner of his eye. When she had been introduced as that doctor's assistant, he expected her to be like the old man. An ungrateful sort with a temper.

He was surely not the only one who thought as much. Most of the other servants showed interest in her as well, albeit not obvious.

It's safe to assume most if not all were shocked. Despite their assumptions, the girl was quiet, almost like a ghost.

He himself was beyond startled to be thanked by her. Being assistant to a man like doctor Wu, one would expect much different behavior then the acknowledgement of a servant.

Perhaps even spurts of violence and total disregard of life. Or at least a snake's tongue.

"Five centuries ago this land had been nothing but a barren wasteland. Isn't that something?"

He began some light conversation.

"This one finds that to be quite mystical. To think the capital, these lush trees, and the splendid empire Emperor Jie founded was once mere dirt."

"Is that so?" Disturbed out her pondering, Luo accepted this moment to cure the headache which was brewing, as she asked.

"Does the young miss not know?" At first he wanted to make light conversation to probe the silence. Yet somehow his emotions became heated.

Luo indeed knew a little, yet wasn't very interested in learning more. But she couldn't bear to say so, the boy's sparkling eyes begging to recount his wisdom were much too blinding.

"I don't." And so she told a white lie.

"Let this one tell you. It is so! It had been that way until the arrival of five strong figures. Coming from higher lands, five men with strength tall as the sky changed these barren lands into what they are now.

Raising mountains from the dust, soaring into the air like towers. Turning the once brown earth into a vast blanket of green. Filling in craters with water swimming with life. There was nothing these mighty five could not do.

How benevolent for them to bring back life to this world? On other worlds, places where cultivators are said to outnumber the common folk, these men should be gods. Yet they came here. They used their godly strength to give us the life we now live."

"You said craters?" This was new information. Her interest had been peaked.

"Oh? Yes." He nodded. "Although the land was barren and without life. The structure of the ground dipped down. Like an enormous battle had taken place. So large, so powerful, that it destroyed the lands, wiping out everything."

"What of the lands beyond the destruction?"

Perhaps if she knew the geography, the name of this lower world might reveal itself. After all, during her wandering as Mozen, out of all the worlds visited, it had always been the Lower and sub divine worlds she'd visit more than once.

"Mostly forest. To the North, East, and West, the lands are said to have been mostly covered in trees. To the South, a small stretch of woods leading to a vast field. But of course beyond that nothing is confirmed. It's common knowledge that going any further leads to one's death."

"Mmm." Too little information, she frowned.

"Does the young miss know of the rifts of no return?" He inquired.

"Those spatial rifts just outside the tribal lands?" She answered.

"It is so. But did young miss also know that those rifts stood little chance against those five great figures. Especially the oldest of the men. It's been told that the rifts did not even dare to touch him. Just standing next to one and he was unharmed!"

"Oh? How rare." A heavenly physique? Aren't those only produced by the human royal family of Divine World Fuery? One of them is here? Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course, only our Emperor could be so mighty, so untouchable that even the heavens don't dare to harm him! They'd given him such a shield!" He spoke with an excitement that nearly had him jumping.

"Emperor Wei?" She probed.

"That is correct, Emperor Wei Jieji is the one. Living more then five centuries and counting!"

Luo tried her best to conceal her expression. Laughter tried its hardest to escape her but she would not let it.

Here she thought she was strange, perhaps a little on the weird side, but that Emperor might be the true phoenix among the two. Or dragon in his case. From Divine world Fuery's royal to a nameless lower world Emperor. Was he a prince without a right to the throne, or was he simply bored?

"Are they all still here?" If they were, she'd like to catch a glimpse of this fellow who out classed her.

"Sadly no. Out of the five, one of them passed on, An Yong. This left the emperor devastated. An Yong had been his sworn brother and those two were inseparable. At least the others remained."

An Yong? That sounds familiar, but where did she hear it from?

"Who were they?" She inquired.

"Oh young miss you don't know?" He looked over at her in surprise. Once she shook her head he was more than happy to keep talking.

"There's Lan Ridel, the emperor's shadow guard. Then Lan Shulen the crown prince's tutor who's also Lan Ridel's younger brother. And lastly," His eyes shined brightly, his voice grew a few octaves as he spoke. "Ding Daobin, the current Duke Ding and the Emperor's old tutor!"

"I take it you admire him." If not then those stars in his eyes must be illusionary indeed. He looked so much like a squirrel obsessing over a pile of nuts.

"Of course! As the oldest of the five, the shield that protected the emperor from the rifts, and a wisdom enough to teach such a great man. Who wouldn't admire him?!"

"Ah yes." She silently laughed at such a cute response but stopped suddenly.

"Wait. Didn't you say the emperor was the one who was the oldest?" She blinked in confusion. Had her own ears stopped working?

"I did?" He trembled out of his heated emotions. His voice became quiet when he bowed low. "My apologies if this one's poor speech has caused a misunderstanding. Duke Ding, he is the oldest."

Strange, she held her chin in thought.

For him to have such an ability and not be of royal blood. Perhaps his name could not be claimed? Or is it not the heavenly physique but something else, but what of the name Wei? Is it a coincidence? There's a story there, a big one and she's sure of it.

Once she meets the men in question, confirming their physiques would require just a glance.

'Wait.' She paused her steps, looking left to right. Where did the little boy go?

Turning around she found he had stopped in place. That expression of his was quite the sight to behold. Why did he look as if someone had stolen his food?

"Young miss aren't you," his words got stuck in his throat once she looked his way.

She tilted her head in thoughtful wonderment.

'Does he think I'll reprimand him?' Once she realized this, she just smiled whilst looking elsewhere.

He looked on in amazement. She truly is strange. Her dissociative behavior of not reprimanding him for his mistake, made the servant boy feel very odd indeed. Is she really that doctor's assistant?

Thinking of Doctor Wu, he couldn't stop the shiver crawling up his spine. Remembering the day he was on the receiving end of Doctor Wu's razor tongue, forced him to relive the trauma.

Like with Hong Luo, when he first met the doctor, he'd initiated light conversation. Even the topic was the same. The difference was barely two sentences out and he'd been degraded into an existence less than a fly.

That day he felt like nothing.

Luo turned back around. She'd been waiting for the boy to catch up with her but he hadn't. Now instead of his food stolen, it's his puppy? These expressions were so satisfying when compared against the block of wood, Nuyun.

"Auchew!" A shadow randomly sneezed.

"Is everything alright in there? Nothing wrong with your head?" She waved in front of his face as if he were blind.

"Ah!" Shocked, he took a step back. "Head? No? What? Sorry?"

She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders as if saying, "I hadn't said a word."

"Shall we go? I'd like to take a look at the Earth Vein, if that is at all possible. Preferably before your Duke finishes his business."

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Author's note: In case of theft. This is an original -English- novel done by yours truly [MyKataren]. This author will state here and now, oh ye thief of old, thanks for the free advertis.e.m.e.nt!

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