"Sister Su," Jin Wuya said from the side. "Are you sure your Virtue isn't 'Courage?' I couldn't imagine trying to find my way forward without the help of my sect. You're not only working to expand your sect's methods before you even become a Soldier, you'd even consider leaving your sect to follow your path. I, I don't possess a fraction of Sister Su's courage."
"Really?" Su Xiang said, taking a seat next to the young woman. "This is your first time in the wilderness, isn't it? You were hurt so badly," she said softly, looking at the other woman's bandaged hand. "But you still stood up to help rescue Brother Fang. I think, if courage is a Virtue, getting up when you've been pulled down takes much more courage than finding a new way when you're still standing up."
"I still have a long way to go before I can stand equal to Sister Su or Senior Brother Zhang," Jin Wuya said, looking down at her own hand. "But, since we have each other to rely on, I promise, I'll do my best. As much as this hurts, I'm glad I came."
"I'm glad to hear it," Wu Ling said, rejoining the group and passing around several large cups of tea. "Here, this is a restorative tea, one of my Aunt Hyacinth's recipes. It's no substitute for an alchemist's concoctions but Brother Yu is…" Wu Ling's voice trailed off as he nodded in the direction of the young scholar.
Yu Jinqi hadn't stopped working since the battle. Even when they moved to their new camp, Su Xiang had to prevent him from tripping or bumping into trees as his mind was lost in thought. Now, he had pulled several texts and scrolls from his cosmos bag and set them all out on the grass while he read, referenced, and cross-referenced each source. In his hands, his quill never stopped moving as he compiled, calculated, and refined a recipe to help Fang Lin.
"I've never seen Brother Yu so driven," Zhang Buyan said in admiration as he watched the young scholar work. "I'm sure he'll solve things for Brother Fang."
Eventually, with a hut complete and Fang Lin resting as comfortably as he could be made, Yu Jinqi stood up from his work as though struck by a bolt of lightning hurled from the Heavens.
"Brother Xiong, I know what I need, could you… Brother Xiong?" Yu Jinqi asked, blinking as he looked around, realizing that the sun had already started to slip toward the horizon and that he'd spent nearly a full day in research.
"Brother Xiong is still at the battlefield, he's processing the wolf carcasses," Su Xiang informed the young Scholar. "He said that it's smelly work and he would only bring back what we needed."
"What we need, but he doesn't know," Yu Jinqi muttered. "No, I have to go tell him what I need, I have to…" Whatever he'd been about to say was lost when the fatigued alchemist tripped over his feet and landed in a heap among his books.
"Brother Yu," Su Xiang said, dashing to the young man's side. "Brother Yu, you've worked hard," she said, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and the faint tremor in his movements as she helped him sit up. "Write out what you need. I'll bring the list to Brother Xiong. You," she added, brushing the grass from his hair and settling his robes back in place. "You go see Brother Ling for some tea and take a nap. You need to rest yourself before you can help Brother Fang."
"No, I should start now," he insisted. "I should…"
"You should listen to Sister Xiang," Wu Ling said firmly, emerging from the hut where he'd just finished giving Fang Lin some weak tea. The young scholar had yet to wake, but as much as he'd been sweating with the pain, Wu Ling felt it was better to at least give him tea and thin soup if he could manage it rather than waiting on Yu Jinqi to do so.
"I'll tend to Brother Fang for now," Wu Ling promised. "I've cared for my mother for many years, I can care for him. Sister Xiang will fetch what you need, and when you wake, you can begin his treatment. If you're too tired to walk, you're far too tired to perform alchemy."
"Y-you're right," the exhausted Scholar finally admitted under Wu Ling and Su Xiang's withering stares. "Here, let me write out everything I need," he said. A few minutes later, he hesitated before passing the list to Su Xiang. "Leader Wu, I, I have a concern about this Elixir," he said somewhat stiffly.
"You don't have to be formal with me Brother Yu," Wu Ling said, taking a seat next to the scholar and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Tell me your concerns."
"No, I, I respect you as our leader Brother Wu, and most importantly, Brother Fang acknowledged you as such," the young alchemist said slowly. "Because his soul has been injured, I dare not wake him forcefully."
"If I had come to his home, I would have consulted his parents for permission to administer this Elixir," Yu Jinqi explained. "But he has neither parents nor family with us on this journey, so, as the leader he acknowledged, I'm asking you to help me decide what to do."
"Just tell me," Wu Ling said, keeping his tone light. "We can decide together."
"I intend to use three parts of the Red Mist Wolf to form the base of this elixir. I'll need the saliva glands and the lining of the stomach to counteract the toxin in his wound, but I also intend to use the heart of the beast to harness its regenerative properties," he explained. "The healing capabilities of the Red Mist Wolves are extraordinary and Brother Fang could use that help to restore his leg."
"I understand so far," Wu Ling said, nodding along. "What is your concern?"
"If I do this, it's very likely that it will force him onto the Martial path," Yu Jinqi said softly. "In the worst outcome, he'll lose his existing cultivation and he'll need to recultivate from the beginning as an early-stage Brawler. He won't lose his cultivation to the point of becoming mortal, but it would be a disaster to a Scholar."
"The best outcome," he continued. "The one I'm trying to produce, is that once he becomes a Novice, he'll also become a Brawler at the same time. It will make his breakthrough to the second stage twice as hard and if he intended to open a path as a Mystic or Artist instead…"
"I understand," Wu Ling said. "Has he ever mentioned any plans for a second path? Do you know if he's ever been tested for his aptitude for other paths?"
"I don't know," Yu Jinqi said, looking to Zhang Buyan to see if he'd heard anything but the bearded man only shook his head.
"It might not be a bad thing," Zhang Buyan offered. "There is a path available to those who study both formations and the sword. My ancestor left the southern continent because his talent for the sword was greater than his talent in formations. The main branch of the Zhang family to the south, they are mostly scholars."
"My ancestor cultivated Sword Formations and he came north seeking the Paragon Sword Sect to enhance his mastery of the sword," Zhang Buyan said. "When he failed to enter the sect, he settled here instead of returning home."
"If Brother Fang chooses to learn the Sword, I'll speak to my grandfather about allowing him to see our ancestor's manual," the burly man offered. "He suffered these injuries fighting alongside us. If his path is altered because of it, helping him find his way is the least I can do to give thanks."
"I think you have your answer, Brother Yu," Wu Ling said, giving the other man's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Make your elixir. Do your best to help him. I know you wouldn't suggest this if there was a better option."
"We, we can take him home," Yu Jinqi offered, wanting to make sure that Wu Ling considered every option. If he felt like he'd hidden something from Wu Ling and that he would have decided differently, Yu Jinqi didn't think he could live with himself afterward.
"I'm sure his family would pay for a more renowned Alchemist to treat him," the young alchemist said. In fact, he was aware of the fact that it had taken a renowned Master Alchemist for Fang Lin to awaken in the first place which gave him greater confidence that his family would pay for one again if they needed to. "It's just that by the time we get there, his life can be saved, and his cultivation, but he's almost certain to lose the leg."
"Cultivation can be regained with effort," Wu Ling said. "I've seen how my mother suffers with wounds to her limbs that cannot be healed. I wouldn't wish it on my most hated enemies, much less Brother Fang. Make your Elixir. If Brother Fang has resentment for it, I will bear the responsibility."