Cultivator in a Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Four - A Foundation of Fate

"Feel the earth beneath your fingers.  Sense the granular soil skin, the hard flint bones, the compact yet soft chalk hidden beneath.  Consider all this, then imagine it merging.  Take the traits required for the foundation of what we are creating; it needs to be compact, hard, sturdy yet breathable.  We don't wish to harm the life with in the soil, though we need to take away a section of their habitat, so take the time to inch away the soil as you bring together the flint, stones and chalk..."

Chang Min murmured all of these words into Cole's ear as his hands lay spread over the ground, his eyes seeming unfocused yet his body was taut with concentration.  Sweat beaded upon his forehead as he took the instructions to heart and attempted to follow through with what Chang Min had told him.  Slowly, he felt the change beneath his fingers, felt the damp soil shift away to be replaced by a cold, hard surface that was about a handspan thick and thrice that deep.

He gasped and staggered to his feet.  The foundation he'd created was only around half a metre long, yet he felt as if he'd drained all of his strength on this one section.  He glanced back at the several metre length that Chang Min had already created before renewed admiration filled his eyes.  Chang Min's ability should have intimidated him, but he only felt pride in the fact that his lover was this amazing.  No, not his lover, his husband.

"Ah, I thought it would be all like, whoosh!  Out comes a wall!" muttered a young soldier nearby and was cuffed in response by his older comrade.

That person glanced over and said apologetically; "Ignore him.  He's newly recruited.  Captain sent him over as he has the uncanny knack of sensing undead close by."

Chang Min simply smiled, almost reflecting that of his old Master as he looked at the youth.  If he was not wrong, then this boy had a spirit root that had manifested in this unique way.  Spirit roots were unpredictable compared to other roots after all.  "It's of no importance," Chang Min replied after a moment.  "I could indeed just 'whoosh' and summon forth a wall.  However, there are a few consequences of such actions.  Summon soil, a pile of dirt will appear, summon rock and a rock formation will form.  Neither will have the desired appearance of a strong wall.  And if I move the earth from below the ground to the sky in the shape of a wall, then I will disturb the balance of the earth, the most immediate consequence of such will be tremors, which might in turn compromise the stability of the existing walls and structures not to mention the existing complexity of the ground beneath your feet."

"Oh," the boy blushed realising that his simple thoughts were a little on the naive side. 

The other soldier just laughed and told him a simple story of his old grandfather who thought building a wall should also be a simple matter.  So he tried to build a wall without foundations in the garden but the pressure of the soil it was supposed to hold back caused it to eventually collapse.  The youth laughed along with him, stopping a few seconds later to point out a group of undead mice hurrying towards them from the nearby field.  The soldiers paled, aiming their weapons only to find, in the next heartbeat, that many of the mice had sank into a pit filled with sharp stalactites, ending their existences.  The rest were dealt with by crossbow bolts and fire, for the most part, under some more guidance of the boy. 

The youth was praised by his fellow soldiers, his pride rising until a shadow swept before him, wielding a blade.  A green-grey body cut in two slid off of the metal of the sword as if in slow motion, the undead mouse that had sped towards its targets using the power of the wind, no more.  "Don't let down your guard in the future," Chang Min instructed the boy, quickly humbling him.  Chang Min did not offer him sympathy, instead rushing over to Cole to check if his man was alright. 

"I'm fine," Cole reassured him, pointing out the flint stones that had been reshaped by him as he'd thrown them at a couple of the rodents.  Both were killed by him.  However, he'd emptied his reserves in doing so.  Chang Min placed his hands upon Cole's chest, assured by the warmth of his body, even as he gently poured a little of his spiritual energy into him.  Cole almost groaned in comfort.