AIR Chapter 163-165

Chapter 163

Three dragons and a dog played in the pond. 

Though if you asked the dog, he would say that he was just chasing some rather strange looking worms. 

The forest air was cool and the wind rustled through the leaves and Tob chased after something that only it could see. Nai couldn’t see them for some reason. He hadn’t bothered to ask why. Nai was a person after all, even if she did smell like an animal for some reason, she had the definitive shape of a human. 

And humans just missed things. Tob could smell the flavor of stew a person had last night off their errant farts. He could even tell them the spice mix. 

Humans however, would bite through bread not knowing it had already gone moldy. 

So Tob ran, chasing the worms into the forest and jumping about as he did so. 

The dragons played with the dog, floating above him, then beneath, then behind, laughing at every snap and silly little turn the brown black dog attempted. They were having fun. 

They were each a different color. One was fat and red, the other blue and skinny and the last one was green and short. And they did not have wings. They weren’t those types of dragons. 

“Fatty Red, why does this beast get to leave so often? Isn’t he limited like us?”

“No Little Green, he’s a dog. His kind are like beasts who aren’t beasts. They’re too much like man for us to call them beasts.”

“Wrong,” said the blue dragon. “He isn’t one of us, he’s just a mortal beast who happened to awaken his qi.”

Little green tapped Tob’s nose lightly before flying up and over his head, getting the dog to stand up on its hind legs to reach for him. 

Then he dived down and through the dog's legs and poked him on the tummy. 

Tob fell onto his back, rolled over and barked. 

The dragons laughed and the somewhat intelligent dog chased after them, carefree and alive. 

Somewhere, his owner stalked. 

********

Mackie Roblind Vest was the best merchant to have ever lived and if you said otherwise you’d be wrong. At least that’s what Mackie would tell you. 

It was a strange business, telling people that you were the best merchant to have ever lived. In Mackie’s mind, that was a threat. Being a good merchant didn’t mean you had good wares or good prices, but that you had a good amount of money. 

But there was no such thing as a good amount of money. That was a myth. It was like having a good amount of life or a good amount of freedom. Sure there was an amount that was satisfying, but you could always use more. 

That was the way Mackie saw it.

So to Mackie, being a good merchant meant always having money and always having even more money on the way.

Mackie emptied out his wallet onto the counter. 

Well, it was the village wallet, and he was giving them the exact change and savings he’d gather from buying and trading out in the greater region. 

But he had been out for a few months and during that time he had used the chane, then earned it back many fold, but Chin let him keep those profits. That was their deal. 

But now Mackie was thinking even bigger. He had ideas.

There was now a constant stream of cultivators, merchants, people, and most importantly, trade coming through the town. Mackie’s job had been traditionally important. While bulk orders of certain necessities could be placed via light towers, certain delicate needs needed to be purchased by an expert barginer. 

He bought small but important medicine that the alchemist would use. Expensive herbs and potions, books and valuables. He told other small-time merchants of his small town and explained to them how to join the caravans to traverse the Great Desert Strip during the rainy seasons. 

He would buy expensive spices and herbs and travel all throughout the region, sometimes for months at a time. A few years ago, he was out for a whole, having made enough money to gather his own caravan and came marching in with an exotic assortment of goods. Seeds and beasts from the Hidden Viper, books from the Flower Sword, and ale from the Raging River. 

But that was all changing now, the focal point was about to shift. Everyone would be coming here. He wouldn’t have to wander anymore. He wouldn’t have to search for the medicine the old lady alchemist requested.

He was becoming unimportant. 

Mackie smiled. He liked that. He always came back to the village, because that was where his people were and his people needed him. 

Now, they didn’t.

This was his last turn in, his last emptying of the wallet. 

And was he ever grateful? 

As a village native and a personal employee of Chin, he was able to cut some rather lucrative deals. First, he had bought some property in cultivator town. He had constructed a stall near the center of the place and he had bought out a few pieces of land on its outskirts. But his most important purchases were, of course, the ones no one knew about. 

He bought up a good chunk of the main street between cultivator town and Oasis Village, along with several other small areas; areas that Mackie felt would be worth something once everything got bigger. 

Chin still thought the division between Oasis village and cultivator town would last. The two places were technically a few miles away from each other and had very distinct economies. Cultivator Town served cultivators. It served the powerful people that came here for their many reasons. 

And while Oasis Village fed and cleaned those people, the separation was there only in name. Anyone with a decent eye could see how the people of the Oasis Sect stayed within Oasis Village. People knew the immortal wandered there. 

It was only a matter of time before the two fused and became one, and when that happened, the few miles of road that went from Oasis Village to Cultivator Town would become the most lucrative spot within the valley and Mackie could only dream of the income. 

Mackie closed the door and went outside. Things had changed a lot in his absence, which was strange because his home was the one place that didn’t change at all. But now it was different. It was a new, budding metropolis. 

“Mackei,” Medin said to him as he left Chin’s house. “Won’t you stay for a snack?”

“Oh no, Miss. I’ve eaten.”

That was the only response you could give to Medin Chin. If you said, I couldn’t impose, she would make you impose. If you said, I haven’t got the time, she would say health is more important than a schedule. If you said anything other than, I’ve eaten, you would find yourself at a dining chair, groaning as your belly grew ever bigger. 

But the limits of the human stomach were something even Medin couldn’t conquer.

“Well, that’s good then. Tell me, have you seen a baby crawling around?”

“A baby?” 

“Yes, small, fair skinned, wears a headband, maybe with a dog?”

“N-- no. Has someone lost their child? Should we get Chin? The whole village can help look if someone’s lost a--”

“No, no. She’ll be fine. I’m sure she’s hiding somewhere. Just let me know if you see her.”

“The baby?”

“Yes.”

Mackie looked around, waiting for Medin to explain the joke. But when the older woman just turned and walked back into the kitchen, he was left puzzled. 

“A baby?” He asked himself. 

Somewhere hidden from view, a small little baby laughed. 

And as Mackie left the building, a baby with the stealth of the night followed in his footsteps.

Chapter 164

Nai stalked the new man through the ever winding streets. 

Over her various days of being alive, possibly weeks, maybe even months, she had learned one truth. 

Money ruled the world. Money gets you treats. Money gets you trinkets and money even gets you even more money. 

It was a strange thing and Nai wanted to learn more about it. So today, she became silent and followed this merchant person around in silent observation. 

She understood the concept of money. It was a placeholder, a replacement of value. You couldn’t bargain for everything. Bargaining relied on the idea that you had what someone else wanted and that they had something you wanted. But what if you wanted what they had and they didn’t want what you had?

What then?

The answer was money. It was important because everybody wanted it and because everybody wanted it, you could bargain with it for everything. 

Even toys and treats. 

She had tried the usual process of gaining money. She had applied for a job, but Medin had laughed at her attempts. She had even got to Chin, the man who made her father, the thirteenth rank god,farm. But even he had just patted her on the head and given her an apple. 

But this man, this fellow Mackie seemed to make money out of thin air. 

And she would learn his dastardly technique and understand it. 

Her headband swayed in front of her, but it didn’t limit her, not like it used to. Bill had lowered its effects bit by bit. The more she could control her own strength, the more of it she got to use. 

Her aura flattened, and her knees gently touched upon the ground. 

A few paces away were a group of dwarves, small little men pounding pavement into place. 

“Come on lads! Three fourth rank spirit stones for expanding the streets! That’s what Mister Chin said, and guaranteed land near the edges of cultivator town. We have to finish this by the end of the week and maybe we can get a few more jobs around the area!”

“Oi!” The other dwarves nodded. 

They were all around the third rank, and were a small clan of fey who had fled the Hollow Echo’s territory a few years back. 

Nai didn’t care to know that, but Chin had been talking about it during dinner. 

“Is it really fourth rank?” One of the dwarves asked. 

“That’s what he promised us, and he is a disciple of the Immortal after all.”

“Fourth rank spirit stones?” Mackie chimed in. 

He had also been listening in on the conversation, along with Nai. Mackie straightened his robes and unfolded his sleeves as he stepped over to the trio. 

“Well then, you fellows are about to be very well off indeed. What’s the plan after that?”

“Who’re you?” One of the dwarves retorted. 

“Who, me? I’m just a merchant is all. I know Chin, he’s my employer.”

“Is he now?”

“Yes, in fact I’m the main merchant and peddler of this village.”

“And why would this village need a merchant or peddler? They’ve got merchants coming in from all over,” the more suspicious dwarf spoke. 

“Well we do now, but it was mostly quiet before then. We had nothing but the Rainy Season to rely on for trade and even then, it would only be bulk sales, nothing specific.”

“Well I suppose you’re out of a job now?” The dwarf with the oldest face said. 

He was the one leading the group. He was aged and sprayed with the occasional white hair. The wrinkles on his skin were mixed with various scars and burn marks and he wore a thick qi beast hide all over him. It bent like cloth but it was as hard as armour and it covered everything except his face, and even then you could see the excess pelt round his neck. 

It could easily be pulled up to conceal everything but his eyes. 

“Yes, but… ah I see. No, I still have my money, I was just curious as to what you would do with your property?”

“Nothing to concern yourself with stranger,” one of the dwarves said.

Mackie gave them an empty shrug. 

Nai didn’t understand. He was a mortal but they were still suspicious of him? Why? It was like worrying about a mouse stealing your shoes? How could a mouse lift your shoe and what would they even do with it?

After Mackie was a good distance away, she heard some of them curse. 

“Damn humans,” one of the dwarves grunted. “I hate the way they look at us.”

“He did say he lived here, and he was a mortal,” another dwarf replied.

“And? They’re all the same. Mortal, immortal, they all treat us like shit. I just want to make enough money to head back to our home.”

“You’d need an immortal spirit stone to traverse that far, you know.”

“I know. I can settle with this for now but I can’t stand these tall bastards. Nothing more than watered down elves.”

Nai listened for a few moments longer before following along with Mackie. 

His aura projected disappointment. He had kind intentions for those dwarves but they had misread them. Were the lands of the Hollow Echo truly that disgusting?

Nai frowned, but set the idea aside for now. 

For now, she would concern herself with her own issues. 

The dwarves were wrong. It was peaceful here. They would feel it. They would see it. 

And so she followed, until Mackie made a turn and started to make his way to cultivator town. 

Then she had to follow from a distance. But that was fine. She could smell everything within the village and Cultivator Town and hear a pin drop from within it as well. 

Something instinct took over Nai’s body as she stalked the money man. 

Shadow to shadow, wall to wall. She knew her weight, her balance, her abilities, and she could crawl across a hundred feet in an instant without being seen. 

And she had to be careful here. Here, her chances of being sensed were much higher. She could feel the fifth ranks in the distance, and not just the ones she knew. 

These were foreigners of other sects. 

And the tension here was tense. The mortals that were native to this village were left alone but the people that weren’t still had to worry about the consequences once they left here.  

Here, face was still alive. Here, power still mattered. 

Nai could almost taste the congealed mass of politics and pride growing here. 

She didn’t understand it, but it was still uncomfortable. All these auras, all this tension, it was something she had never experienced before. 

She did not like it.

Chapter 165

Mackie quickly learned one thing about Cultivator Town, and that was that he didn’t exist. 

Not like a person should. A lot of these cultivators were decent, some of them could even be called nice, but most just looked through him.

The mortals here were still almost nothing to them. Yes they couldn’t be harmed but that was because of the immortal. The mortals themselves were nothing more than protected beasts, pets of an immortal. 

He had seen this out in the regions. Some mortals were favored by cultivators. Concubines, servants, some families dedicated themselves to waiting upon cultivators and got high respect among mortals for it. 

And cultivators would see those mortals as nothing more than mere possessions of another cultivator, and that’s what he was here. 

Mackie shrugged. In his experience, there were two things that cultivators respected, one was power and the other was power in a more liquid form, otherwise known as resources. 

Another reason to pursue wealth. 

He headed into the biggest building there was, which in this case was a brothel. 

“Hold on,” said a half dwarf lady. “You a married man? Because if you are, you have to bring your wife in to approve. Last time we let a married man in here, the wife threatened to kill him with a branding iron. And she would have to if we didn’t stop her.”

“Uh, no. I’m not a married man, I was simply hoping to talk to the person in charge of your finances if possible.”

“Why?”

“Curiosity!” Mackie replied. “I’d love to invest here if at all possible. And I could help you attract more customers and increase revenue but that’s if we come to some kind of agreement. If not, I completely understand!”

“We’re not looking for any of that right now Mister…?”

“Mackie, Mackie Vest.”

“Vest? I know a Vest.”

“Yes, its an old family here in the village. I’m Medin’s cousin, if you knew her.”

“Yes, I remember her. Well, sir, if you're not here to buy then I’m afraid we can’t help you.”

“I’ll buy,” Mackie smiled. 

“You will?” 

“Yes. What are the prices?”

“Well, prices range from person to person but generally the rank is important as well as the--”

“The lower the rank the less expensive the experience, yes?”

“Yes, and--”

“The more wanted the man or lady the more expensive they are?”

“Yes--”

“Do you have a menu? A portrait of every available person, perhaps? You know I went to a brothel in the Raging River’s capital city, Floodscape City and they had a full page portrait of each person along with their personalities and specializations. Wouldn’t cost much to get that done. I’m assuming you have specializations as well?”

“Specializations? Well we have people who can do things--”

“No, not just do things but enjoy doing things, you understand. Some want to push, others want to be pushed. The brothel in Floodscape City was called the Bursting Dam--”

“You went into the Bursting Dam? I thought they only served cultivators there?”

“Yes, I visited not as a customer but as a supplier. You see I had some wonderful ointments straight from the Hidden Vipper and they were very eager to try them out. But that’s besides the point. What I’m wondering is how are your sales? Your returns? Do you build profiles for your customers? Do you schedule? How about health? You should have at least a second rank alchemist here concocting cleansing pills and what not. What about cleaning? Fluids? Maybe three alchemists then. And how are the beds? The lighting? I’m sure you have a myriad of rooms available to the varying needs that people have.”

Magney, the half dwarf, just stared at the man, eyebrow cocked and mind racing.

She was at the fourth rank. She had seen scammers, thieves, despicable merchants, and a myriad of inscrutable fellows. 

“What are you on about?” She grumbled. 

Madame Rose suddenly appeared from around the corner. 

“Hello there Mister Vest. I’ve been listening in on your conversation, did you say you had been to the Bursting Dam?”

“Yes.”

“And they did all these things?” 

“Well not all of them. But yes, they did most of these things.”

“Well, I know some of the people working there, but I wonder, how did you learn about all of this? It seems strange for you to know their inner workings while only being a seller to them, no?”

“Yes. Well, I did pay a bit for the information. I had a first rank fellow buy himself a night and ask one of the women about it.”

Madame Rose’s face tightened.

“Yes… but why?”

“Curiosity.”

“Really?”

Mackie nodded and continued to inspect the place.

“Yes. Now I assume all the people here are willing? I don’t think old Bill would allow anyone to be forced into this type of job.”

“Oh, yes. Everyone is willing. Some leave, some come, but we never have a violent moment. I will make sure of it.”

“Good, now do they have preferences?”

“Preferences? Well everyone is fairly capable of playing whatever role--”

Mackie shook his head. 

“No ma’am--”

Madame Rose’s eyes twinkled at that word. 

“I mean preferences in terms of what they’d like to do. You see, if you create characters and roles that your people like, then you can market them better and have regular customers. And while I don’t doubt your hygiene, if you had an alchemist here that could make a good gas disinfectant, then you could market yourself as the cleanest brothel in the region.”

“I see, yes. But why? We’re the only brothel within this town and I don’t think--”

“Yes, but you aren’t the only brothel within the region and I assure you, higher ranked men would come to see a brothel that had region wide renown. And with the soon to be bustling growth this town will see, its only a matter of time before a region wide opinion of this place is made. They might say, ‘Oh the brothel in the Oasis Sect? Its nice, but it doesn’t even have a name.’ You have to get ahead of these kinds of things ma’am.”

“Yes,” Madame Rose said with a tinge of desire. 

Magney couldn’t believe her eyes. This man, this strange merchant man who came in and suddenly started giving them advice, had seemingly piqued the interest of Madame Rose, in more ways than he knew.

Madame Rose grabbed him with a look Magney had never seen before. 

“Yes, I’m sure we can implement all of that, but what about you? You’re compensated?”

“Well, what about ten percent of all new profits I bring in for half a year after the costs of renovations have been paid for?”

“Only?”

“Yes, well I would only be helping with the initial changes but you can probably keep things running afterwards?”

“Can I?”

“You’re a fairly capable woman I think, why wouldn’t you be able to do it?”

A small elf girl approached Magney.

“I don’t believe it,” She whispered.

“You think she’s just trying to get him to lower his prices?”

“No, the price is fair, more than fair. He’s underselling us because we’re cultivators.”

“But then why--”

“I mean look at her--”

“She looks lovestruck.”

A small crowd gathered and watched as the merchant tried to negotiate a fair price, but the Madame seemed to want something more. 

They kept talking for sometime and Madame Rose kept giving him the googly eyes. Eventually, a settlement was struck. 

“Well then,” Magney said to Madame Rose. “What was that about?”

“What? He’s smart, understanding, and business oriented.”

“Yeah, but if it was only that you would have gotten a merchant man ages ago. Dao knows most of them want you.”

Madame Rose smiled. 

“I’m not in the business much anymore and I suppose I’m just comfortable with the idea of love now. It was different back then.”

Magney nodded. They were comfortable here, more comfortable than they had ever been. 

“But why him? Why a mortal?”

Rose shrugged. 

“He called me ma’am.”

“And?”

“He meant it, Magney. He meant ma’am in that old respectful tone. He knows what I am and what I’ve done. You know how people see us, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but surely--”

“It just felt nice to have to-- work for it, I suppose.”

“Well that one is as blunt as an anvil about that stuff.”

“Oh, yes. Maybe. But that’s what makes it more fun!” Rose smiled. 

Magney just watched as her old friend and boss headed back to her office. 

“Love? For a lady of the night?”

They normally settled down with each other. Regardless of how much people wanted them, they rarely saw them as anything more than entertainment.

Magney shrugged. Love rarely made any sense, anyways.

Next batch of chapters are in editing jail. They'll be out tomorrow.