Too thin shell → dissolve too fast, refill hits too early, a small sharp feeling at the wrist.Too much refill → warm push that makes hands tingle, test subject wants to move too fast.Bad mark (shallow notch on second ring) → separation step hangs, paper assay shows a gray rim that does not clear.We made one of each on purpose. We ran paper tests. We also did live tongue touch with a flake the size of a seed so we could feel the onset without taking a full pill.Yin wrote FAILURE SIGNS in a box:“Fast dissolve = tingle = not safe for tired bodies.”“Over-refill = eager hands = bad for brittle meridians.”“Bad mark = hang at separation = gray rim; fix mark depth.”We then ran a correction pass: “Fast dissolve = tingle = not safe for tired bodies.” “Over-refill = eager hands = bad for brittle meridians.” “Bad mark = hang at separation = gray rim; fix mark depth.”I marked the discarded slivers with a cross and put them in a bag labeled “trash.”And then we had the final problem to sol

The envoy looked through the glass at his people and then back to me, slight concern in his eyes. “Your Highness, do you perhaps have anything else you can do to help them?”“I do.” I reached with my Chi towards the Spirits, ready to try and manually remove the taint. What I found made me frown, but before I could verbalize that to the envoy, the courtyard bell rang three short notes. Then someone pounded up the stairs. One of the other researchers skidded into the lab door.“Report,” Yin said.“Ten people, the ten Your Highness and you took to experiment, Miss Yin,” the researcher said, panting. “They’re—” He swallowed. “They’re not right. Sensitive to the air. Irritable. One’s gone bad. Sir—”“Which post?”“North ward infirmary. They asked for you.”I didn’t waste a breath. Yin grabbed her kit, and I grabbed onto her, using my Chi to move to the infirmary immediately. The air had the stale taste of old miasma someone had scrubbed hard but not fully cleared. The ten rested on cots, t

Granny Lang arrived while I was swallowing. She didn’t knock. She never knocked. She came in with a basket, set it down, and began pulling out wrapped packets and a cloth bundle. “You look pale. Sit. Drink.”“I’m fine,” I said.“Drink,” she said again.I drank. It was hot and bitter and then a little sweet.She turned to Yin, clearly knowing the situation already. Or maybe she’d been lurking near the door and heard the conversation I had with my master. “What did you feed them?”Yin told her.Granny Lang listened, lips pressed together, then snorted. “Children. You cleaned the house and left the doors open.”I blinked. “We did.”“You made them smooth,” she said, tapping a knuckle against my forearm. “Smooth is good for a moment. Then wind comes in. You need a light film to hold the shape for a few days. Even mortals know how to grease a joint so it doesn’t seize when dust gets in.”“A seed ward that sticks to the channels. Essentially what my master said.”Granny Lang let out an offen

I looked down at the book as I noted my plans. The page already held neat rows of tasks and arrows connecting them. The ink had dried unevenly where my pen had paused over certain words. The Divine Tree’s leaves would naturally have to be mixed with the bombs. Bombs, lasers, and the Divine Tree leaves together?Perhaps that combo could damage the evil god. Maybe even kill him.I would need to look into that, get some references. Maybe even talk to Matriarch Shie more about it, I thought, though I wasn’t sure if she would know. The easy way would be to talk to my master and Granny Lang, but was I really willing to hurt them with this knowledge?I noted the idea down anyway. I had to tell Yin to add those leaves in. After that, I had to try testing these leaves and see if I could use them as batteries. If I connected them to the Divine Tree, could they potentially restore Matriarch Shie’s and my master’s cultivation? Hell, if they can restore cultivation, can they grant cultivation to m

The city that used to be a village, now quiet and dominated by the distant tree that kept the worst thing from walking, while its lesser spawn still needed to be cut down every day.“Knowing you, my lord, you probably don’t want to hurt them. But I assure you, not telling them would hurt them even more than if you were to just confess. And weren’t you the one who always says that it’s better for many people to think through a solution than for a single person to do so? Then wouldn’t it be better for you to come clean to your master, to Yin, to your loved ones? Many are great and knowledgeable people, surely you could try to come together with a solution with them? One that doesn’t rely on concealing the truth of what you face?”I didn’t answer immediately. I set the pen down across the top of the book and moved the inkwell two fingers to the left so I wouldn’t knock it over. “What would I say? If I gather them and tell them this, what do I say that doesn’t tear something open before w