"You were so close, Mr. Darma!"
The Formation Suppressing Scroll suddenly deactivated, and pressure enveloped Darma, bringing him down to his knees.
"Argh!"
Darma coughed out blood. He was keeping his organs in their place using his Qi all this time, but as soon as the pressure assaulted him, he lost control for a moment. He also had to continuously use his core to resist the Suppression Formation.
Ken got up from the ground and straightened his clothes slowly before approaching the kneeling man. He blocked a punch earlier with his sword but was still thrown back by the sheer force behind it. From a quick assessment, he estimated his injuries as one fractured rib.
"Not fighting anymore?"
"How did the formations reactivate so fast? How can the scroll be consumed in less than 8 minutes?" Darma asked in frustration. When he tried to resist the formation enough to stand up and fight, he'd instantly cough out blood. The fight was over, there was nothing he could do anymore.
"Do you want to know?" Ken asked as he stood right in front of the man.
"I do."
Ken leaned forward, his lips only a few centimeters away from the man's ears. "I'm also a sixth-rank formation master, as well as a sixth-rank alchemist," Ken whispered, causing the man to open his eyes widely.
"You… you lied about your age! You even lied to your subordinate, she told us you were only 8 under the effect of different truth drugs!" Darma stuttered and shouted at him. He would never agree to believe an eight-year-old could achieve what Ken just described.
"I'm not just eight. I'm eight and a half already," Ken said with an upset tone. The half was important.
Darma almost vomited blood after hearing the second half of the sentence.
"Anyway, don't tell the others. Let it be our little secret," Ken smiled and chopped at the side of Darma's neck, disrupting the blood flow to his brain and rendering him unconscious. Ken had plans for him, but he had to clean up the mess first.
"Yuri, are you all right?" Odette ran out of her hiding spot and went to check on Yuri.
"I will survive, the healing pill is great. I just need some rest," Yuri calmed her down. They didn't know what they should do next. They always followed Tiffany; they left the Osirisus Kingdom only to follow her, and now the woman who had been their leader for decades had died.
'They lost their sense of direction without a leader. Those two can't think for themselves and require someone to follow. They'd make good subordinates,' Ken decided. He remembered their despair and panic when Tiffany died. They didn't even fight without a leader despite having a good chance at winning against a heavily wounded cultivator.
"Odette, help Yuri to one of the rooms upstairs to rest while I take care of Maria's injuries. We will deal with the aftermath when everyone is out of danger and their conditions stabilize."
"Yes, Young Master," Odette lowered her head and supported Yuri as the latter stood up. She had contradicting emotions toward Ken.
On the one hand, he has always been sincere, and he even helped them after they attacked him, but on the other hand, she partly blamed him for the mess they found themselves in. Everyone was alive before they met him, and then it changed drastically in 24 hours. Now most of the group was dead.
---------
Three hours passed since the battle was over. During those two hours, Ken tended to everyone's wounds. He first healed Maria who was in the worst condition and still didn't regain consciousness.
He carried her to a room on the second floor. He created there a sixth-rank Healing Formation that facilitated the natural healing process and fed her with sixth-rank healing pills.
Bone Repairing Pill that actively healed the fractured bones, Skin Renewing Pill that could be either used to help the skin regain its vigorous youth or to heal skin wounds such as burns. There were also pills for her heart and lungs.
He remained there for 15 more minutes to control the Qi moving in her body, boosting the pills' effects with his Alchemical Qi.
Next, he provided the same treatment to Yuri, stabilizing his wounds and making him heal at a visible speed.
"You are safe and will be in perfect condition within a week or two. I must go to tend Darma's wounds now, he is in dire straits, and someone must keep an eye on him. I also need to tend to my own injuries, I've fractured a few ribs and suffered from a few internal injuries due to Darma's heavy hits. I will leave you two to rest," Ken talked to Yuri and Odette and left the room.
Silence remained after Ken left until Odette finally broke it.
"I've been accusing him in my heart for everyone's deaths, yet he takes care of a woman who betrayed him, you, and a man that tried to kill him, all before he is treating his own injuries. The truth is that we brought on ourselves our own doom when we tried to abduct an innocent child, and now we are paying the price."
Odette confessed her feelings of depression. She let her negative feelings toward Ken go at that moment.
"You're right, I've been feeling the same, yet he always puts others before himself even when they want to harm him. He is still na?ve, and his kindness might cause his downfall eventually. However, perhaps we should learn something from him; isn't he completely safe while those who want to harm him are dead or injured? The heavens must be keeping him safe themselves."
Yuri said with a deep sigh. He felt lost, and he could not picture the future in his mind.
"What should we do next?" Odette echoed their mutual thoughts.
"I don't know. Let's see what Young Master Ken has to say after everyone rests."
"Okay."
Their way of thinking only proved Ken's opinion of the two.
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When he was done with Yuri, Ken carried Darma to another room and treated him as well. He took the storage ring from the alchemist just to be safe and remained in the room until the man would wake up.
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