Cultivator in a Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter Fifty One - A Third Root

"Hey, I haven't seen Nathan around the garden all morning," Harry commented, after being summoned into the kitchen by the delectable scents of pumpkin stew drifting through the lower rooms of the mansion. Actually, there was often delicious smells emanating from the kitchen in these past few days, especially as Autumn began to brew vinegars and yeasts, boiled fruits with sugar to make jams and slowly dried herbs, tomatoes and chillis in the remaining heat of the sun. Not to mention the meals she dished out for them. They did not know how long these good days might last, but they, for the most part, were exceedingly grateful to have them.

Tyler was cleaning Tupperware in soapy water and lifted his head to glance out of the window, before frowning. Not seeing Nathan pottering around the garden was unusual. "Maybe he is in the greenhouse?"

"All morning?" Harry asked, lifting up the balanced lid of the large stew pot before receiving a tap on the hand by the current queen of the kitchen. He sheepishly replaced it.

"Nathan is with Master," a helpful voice chimed as Chang Min too could not help but follow his nose and approach the kitchen. He'd never smelled such tempting dishes as what Autumn provided. In Eld Dein, he had lived on whatever food he could harvest or forage and often he had suffered hunger. He'd also never managed to raise his cultivation level above the body tempering stages of quaternary to senary (4 to 6) thus he still required sustenance even after awakening in this world. The army base had provided food, but it was usually along the lines of one bowl of staple rice, pasta or potato and one bowl of boiled or stir fried vegetables or a soup. "They are on the roof," he added as his eyes followed the steaming bread rolls being removed from the oven along with toasted pumpkin seeds.

"...is Nathan trying to cultivate?" Tyler asked after a moments pause. Ren Zexian had originally attempted to teach all of those with abilities to cultivate, however he'd been admittedly stubborn and Nathan... well.. if it didn't involve plants...

"En," Chang Min replied with a bright smile, oblivious to the exchange in glances between Harry and Tyler over this fact.

"What's cultivating?" Autumn asked as she placed numerous bowls upon the table. It was a mixed collection of porcelain that had been gathered from the village, along with plates, cups and cutlery. They didn't expect to grow in numbers too soon, but they still prepared for it.

"Gathering the energies of the world to strengthen one's self," Chang Min replied, simply. "As we cultivate, we strengthen our bodies, our minds and our souls." Autumn sent a look of confusion towards the two other men in her kitchen.

Tyler was kind enough to translate; "Ren taught us these meditation techniques and I'm not sure how it works but our abilities have become stronger. Like, I used to only be able to make water, but now I can also make ice." As if to prove this point, he produced several misshapen ice cubes in his hand before sliding them into a glass.

"How nice for you," a voice called out, not quite able to hide her resentment. Jonah patted the arm curled about his own with gentle affection, trying to soothe his woman as they entered the kitchen together, closely followed by several others. Arthur's stomach rumbled loudly. Tyler turned away, grabbing a tea-towel as an excuse to hide the obvious disdain on his face. It seemed Brooke was still unhappy that Ren Zexian couldn't teach her to create water from thin air.

"Lunch will be just a few minutes longer," Autumn mentioned, trying to ease the atmosphere. "Would someone be able to go and find Lucy?"

"No need," Dexter smiled as a swirl of black smoke formed and grew in the kitchen, quickly morphing into the shape of a hound and his small rider. A heartbeat later, a roll vanished from the tray as did the smoke leaving nothing but a cheeky giggle and indulgent smiles.