Chương 67: A comfortable life has a price

The evening was completely new to Blick. The cheering crowd, the shared food and drinks, the kids riding goats around the arena in some kind of race with wrestling involved. Blick was essentially the guest of honor and people constantly made their way over to talk with him before moving on and sharing whatever they found interesting with their friends. It wasn't long before he saw the bird overhead. Whatever it had been busy with that afternoon must be finished and it came in fast before landing right beside Blick.

He took a minute to stare at the bird…

"Does he seem bigger to you Chris?" He asked the young man who was now smaller than the bird. The boys eyes were wide at the giant animal that looked in his direction before snapping its head out to catch the piece of cooked meat Blick threw its way.

"Don't worry, he only catches furry critters and fish. He hasn't hurt a single person… well aside from …" Blick looked over to Clarance who was shaking his head vigorously.

"… never mind. He won't hurt you, but he probably won't let you pet him either." The night continued on until the kids were falling asleep in their parent's arms and the families went home one by one. The first to leave was Beth and her escort. The little girl had fallen into a coughing fit not long after climbing on Blick. After the two left Clarance had told Chris to go play with some friends while he explained. The family was lost to some unknown sickness. The young girl is the last and the youngest.

The old man is just an elder who took her in after he had helped the parents when they fell ill and now was helping the girl. He had a drop in his core and over the years had become comfortable with daily mana treatments to keep the sickness slow. It was never enough to stop it. Her mother died not long after giving birth to her. Her father lasted another two years. The stand In grandfather had essentially been supported by the family and now by the village.

He doesn't work, he spends all his time carrying the little girl around and making sure she has the best life she can.

"Life is not fair Blick. Some of us just get lucky. If she's lucky she will survive for another ten years or so. And there isn't a thing any of us can do for her. So we all pitch in to help however we can." He shrugged with clear sadness on his face.

"Have you tried sending for help from the capital or a larger city?" Blick asked not understanding why they wouldn't have thought of it.

"We live out here, far away from the hustle and corruption of the larger cities. We have no money to pay someone to come out. And we don't have anyone who could take her that far and bring her back safely. Nobody who's rich or strong enough anyway. The city folks wouldn't take that deal." Blick sat and considered what that said about the humans in both the village and the city. This place was much safer and more comfortable than the city he had spent time in. The people seemed happier and more social too.

But they sacrificed resources and knowledge in turn. A simple life doesn't allow for a complex people. Anyone with the drive to learn mana arts or a super useful skill set would inevitably make their way to a larger town or even city. That left a hole in the safety net these people had built for their unluckiest members. The opposite side of that formula was the city people who sacrificed a simple worry free lifestyle for the faster pace and higher quality stuff.

Blick knew what kind he preferred, but he also knew there were so many people out there who would never choose the life he happily lived. There was a balance in the society much like the ecosystems out in the forests on either planet. The city needed the farmers just as the farmers relied on the city. Neither worked well alone. But they didn't work well too close either. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"I guess it takes all kinds." Blick stated before the two turned back to watch the antics inside the arena. Children and teenagers wrestling goats and adults laughing while sharing food and drink in small groups. The next week was spent helping various families with the heavy lifting tasks. People were kind and helpful towards the furry man who didn't ask for any form of payment and just asked questions about the work. His curiosity was rewarded a hundred times over and he was happy with that price.

He kept finding himself at the home of Beth and her guardian. He helped a few times with menial tasks the old man guided him through and he played with the little girl. The second week he was waking up on his own before Clarance came out to the barn. He also decided to spend more time with the young girl. One day he asked the old man if he could take over the mana infusions. It was an awkward minute as the man considered the task before he asked Blick what his cultivation was at.

The man nearly fainted when Blick gave him an honest answer.

"You can give it a shot, but it's not like healing a cut." The old man confirmed the plan. While the girl slept wrapped up in a blanket lying across Blicks lap he received instructions from the old man. Starting with a slow steady push into the girls back between her shoulder blades. Focusing on purifying the blood instead of healing the wounds. And finishing with a focus on strengthening the muscles just below the lungs the old man called a diaphragm.

"I do this each night and every time she sleeps. I'm not sure she even knows I do it. She has a bunch of energy for a couple of hours afterwards, but she doesn't last as long these days. She's already breathing steadier. Your mana is potent. Today she will probably play harder than most. Thank you." Two more weeks passed in a blur as Blick discovered his bird was flying up the mountain two or three times a day and coming back a bit larger each night. It was growing at an alarming rate.

Blick understood the very first night what was happening, but the humans didn't seem aware. Almost like they weren't paying any attention. And that honestly may be the truth. He asked Clarance one morning if here was anything higher in the mountain.

"I wouldn't know son. Nobody has climbed much given the sharp drops and caverns. It would take some cultivators with climbing gear to explore up there and we haven't ever had a reason to. Why?"