Before Jared could answer, a guard sprinted back clutching an ornate jade vial. Alice snatched it, uncorked the lid with reverence, and tipped a perfectly round tonic pill into palm. A rich aura spilled into the night.
“My friend, this is my prized tonic pill, swallow it and your injuries will knit in moments.” Whispers rippled through the onlookers, few had ever glimpsed such a treasure, let alone seen it given away.
Jared glanced at the glowing pill, then toward Kishor. Kishor offered a firm nod. “Accept it… She means you no harm.”
Jared murmured thanks, lifted the pill to his lips, and swallowed.
Warm, surging spiritual energy cascaded through his limbs, dulling pain and stitching torn flesh with startling speed.
“Better?” Alice asked, leaning forward like a mother hen, desperate for his approval.
“Much,” Jared replied. “Thank you, Madam Pudge…”
“Madam? Spare me the titles!” She waved a meaty hand. “A hero to Kishor is a friend to Alice Pudge!
“From this day onward, anyone who dares trouble you in Swordmaster City will answer to me,” added, thumping chest with pride.
Turning to Kishor, expression melted into unexpected softness. “See? Fate introduced us the hard way. Your young friend has backbone… I like that! The three of us are family now!”
Color crept into Kishor’s cheeks, but offered no objection.
Corin, Lyra, and the others stared at the absurd tableau in front of them, caught between laughter and disbelief.
What seconds ago had looked like a death sentence now spun on a single entrance, Kishor, and the revelation that and Alice shared some tangled, almost familial history.
Alice bustled over, cheeks flushed with excitement, pressing a vial of healing pills into Corin’s palm while bowing with surprising grace. She ordered servants to sweep away the wreckage, then peeled off a fortune in celestial gems to reimburse every damaged stall, a gesture as lavish as it was swift.
Realizing the spectacle was over, the cultivators who had gathered drifted off in restless clusters, already whispering the day’s events, tales destined to rattle through Swordmaster City for weeks.
Thus an earth-shaking clash ended in a manner at once ridiculous and strangely perfect, the curtain falling on carnage that somehow became camaraderie.
Jared watched as Alice fussed over Kishor, girlish giggles completely at odds with towering frame. Kishor looked like a warrior trapped in a velvet net, unsure how to escape all the attention.
While Alice busied herself planning a feast, Jared saw his chance. He gave Kishor’s sleeve a quick tug and nodded toward a shadowy hallway.
Kishor caught on, gave a sheepish smile, and followed.
“Kishor…” Jared whispered, curiosity burning in his eyes, “What exactly is going on between you and Madam Pudge? She looks at you like a bride watching groom…”
The big man stiffened as though pricked by a needle. His gaze drifted to the busy, broad-shouldered figure in the distance. Guilt, helplessness, and a hidden ache colliding behind his eyes.
After a long silence, exhaled, voice low and rasping. “It’s a long story… She and I… We grew up together…”
“Childhood sweethearts?” Jared‘s Jaw dropped, the phrase clashed so violently with Alice’s current image that his mind struggled to compute it.
