Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 240: Master!

Chapter 240: Master!

I could feel the Reaver’s body trying to regenerate as quickly as I was sapping the energy. In fact, one of them even managed to stagger to his feet, trying to get to me.

"I can feel you," he grunted, struggling to put one foot in front of the other. "But you have underestimated us."

He wasn’t wrong. This was nothing like how it was before the rain. The last time I had fed from a Reaver, I could barely get enough energy out of five of them to keep me going. Now, it was like I was trying to catch my breath while standing under a waterfall.

Their power continued to pound into me. It was no longer healing me. Now it seemed like it was doing more damage than being empty was.

’Send some into the trees and forest,’ hissed a voice in my mind. Startled, I looked down to see the head of the viper coming out of my skin. Its tongue scented the air, finding the Reavers where they hid in the darkness. ’You don’t have to take it all.’

It was no longer a matter of wanting to take it all but rather how to turn off the tap.

’Stop taking it into your body and let it flow out,’ hissed the viper again, this time turning its head so it was staring at me in disgust. ’Think like a tree.’

It took me a second to understand what the snake was trying to say. The tree had roots coming out of it where it shared power with the rest of the forest. Could I do that? Or would the power just go back to the Reavers?

Willing to take the risk, mainly because there was no other option, I stopped pulling the power into my core and let it flow down my legs until it pounded into the ground.

Looking back, I could see this being the moment shit hit the fan, but being caught in the center of the vortex, I couldn’t see the bigger picture.

Instead, I watched as the roots of the trees, grass, and plants around me reached forward, trying to take in the power I was sending out. The ground beneath my feet rippled, sending me and the guys a bit off balance.

"Steady," grunted Bin An Sha, his hand never leaving my shoulder. "We have you."

Nodding my head absentmindedly, I watched as the roots started to swell.

’More,’ hissed the viper, and I could hear pride in his voice. ’They can take more.’

Once again, nodding my head, I pulled more of the Reaver’s life force into me before sending it down into the land.

And once again, the roots under my feet swelled.

Looking out, the cement highway that we were on was no longer a bridge of darkness amongst the light. Instead, I couldn’t see it at all.

Everything shone like it was the middle of the day as the energy I was taking out of the Reavers went back into the world.

The vitality of everything around me sparkled, and I couldn’t help but share in the joy of the plants and trees around me.

"Nice try, bitch. But I see you now," grunted the Reaver as he pushed through the trees until he was facing us. "You aren’t strong enough to take us on."

"In case you fail to see what is going on around you, let me show you," interrupted Rip, letting go of my hand.

He stalked toward the Reaver, and I felt a moment of panic as he left. But even though he was no longer touching me, it didn’t matter. Like the Reavers, I could feel every step that Rip was taking away from me. I was still connected to him, even if we weren’t touching.

Realizing that it wasn’t limited to just Rip, I sighed in happiness. I could feel all of my guys as I continued to send a small stream of energy into them. All aches and pains, the tiredness they were experiencing, were gone thanks to the energy now coursing through them.

"Holy fuck," sighed Si Dong. "Do you feel that?"

"Kind of hard not to," replied Fan Teng Fei. He needed even more energy, so I poured some more into him, watching it disappear as soon as it hit him.

No longer caring about the threat in front of me, I cocked my head to the side and narrowed my eyes as I continued to give Fan Teng Fei energy, only for it to disappear. What the hell was happening?

Was he poisoned, too? Was that what happened?

-----

Fan Teng Fei was only partly paying attention to the rest of the guys, the majority of his concentration going on his space.

"I have never seen anything like this," grunted the old Monk as he appeared in front of Fan Teng Fei. His staff was in his hand; the metal rings jingling as the ground of the temple trembled under their feet. "What on earth is happening?"

"I don’t know," grunted Fan Teng Fei as even more energy poured into him. It then went into the world around them, pushing back the shadows at the edge of his vision. More green space appeared as the temple building in front of them shook.

The monk was silent, not able to form words as the two of them stood side by side, watching the buildings starting to grow taller. Wind chimes rang through the air, sounding cheerful as the bamboo forest on the outskirts of the temple grounds grew bigger and brighter.

"This is a miracle," grunted the Monk. In the countless centuries he had guarded this place for his descendants, he had never seen anything like this happen. The holy space was expanding, its potential now unlimited.

"It’s my woman," smiled Fan Teng Fei. He might not know how she was doing it, but he knew it had to be her. He could feel her essence in every gust of wind and every inch of the ground.

The monk nodded his head. "No wonder she is your treasure," he replied as the grounds continued to expand as more and more energy flowed through Fan Teng Fei.

"She isn’t my treasure because she can do this," sneered Fan Teng Fei. "She is my treasure because of who she is on the inside."

"Of course," waved the older monk as yet another floor was added onto the temple building.

Clouds formed as a gentle mist of rain fell, causing even more growth in Fan Teng Fei’s space.

"Master!" a small little boy with a bald head and orange robes sprinted to the older monk before flinging himself into the monk’s arms.

"Pei Pei? You’re here?" gasped the monk, looking at Fan Teng Fei with tears in his eyes.

"I’m here, Master! And you’ll never guess what happened!" exclaimed the boy as he bounced up and down in delight. "The fields! The fields are back! We can plant food again!!"