Gunsoul: A Xianxia Apocalypse

Chapter 59: LaChair

Jared LaChair’s clinic was unlike what Yuan had expected from a Flesh Mansion Sect cultivator.Instead of a chapel of flesh built from the backs and spines of harvested slaves, it was a mere office located in one of Battletown’s poorest districts far away from the slave market. Glowing bars set into the ceiling nearly blinded Yuan with harsh light when he walked inside while rows upon rows of shelves were filled with bottled body parts and harvested organs. The room was cleanly pristine and free of bloodstains, while strange devices boasting arms equipped with saw blades, needles, and other surgical implements sat in a corner. That alone surprised Yuan, as few self-respecting Flesh Mansion Sect cultivators would rely on machinery.

A look at Jared LaChair told him that the man differed quite a bit from the likes of Gayak and Elder Polio. Yuan might have mistaken him for a Metallist at first glance due to his implants. The mutant stood on four legs of flesh near a table and extracted organs from a dead, doglike spirit-beast with six metal arms equipped with various surgical tools. The cultivator’s torso was a smooth mass of red flesh covered in dozens of eyes, with the remains of a bandaged head atop the shoulders. It turned in Yuan’s direction when he heard him enter his clinic, his nose pointing at the Khan’s bracer on his arm.

“I’m not affiliated with the Flesh Mansion Sect’s racers,” Jared said almost immediately with a gargled voice coming from his chest. Others must have visited him before Yuan in

“There are options,” Jared said upon sensing his unease. “A powerful Long spirit could cure her, and there are artifacts out there that might do the same. If the worst comes to pass, Mordiggian can consume her core.”

“And turn her into a Scrap,” Yuan replied without enthusiasm. He knew it was hypocritical since he had been one not too long ago, but becoming a Gunsoul had since opened his eyes. Holster would be prevented from doing so many incredible things… and becoming a Scrap meant being preyed upon by cultivators.

No, no, he was letting his feelings cloud his judgment. Removing Holster’s core wouldn’t have to be the end of it. Yuan worked for years to gather enough cash and contacts to buy himself a pill. He had far more resources now, and strength to spare. He could find one for Holster’s sake.

“Could she develop a new core after her old one is removed?” Yuan asked. “By taking a pill?”

“No,” Jared replied, dashing his hopes. “Her body will be so spiritually weakened it will be unable to form one even with a qi infusion, bar the intervention of a powerful spirit or force. I wouldn’t risk it."

Of course it couldn’t be so simple. Nothing ever was.

Nonetheless, Yuan refused to give up. Something deep inside his bullet-core compelled him to find a better option; one that would let Holster keep her powers without robbing her of her future.

He would give her the life he always wanted and never had.