《A Sojourn of a Transmigrated Housewife》 1 Prologue Hana heard a long ringing tone that woke her up from her sleep. Her head was still aching as she opened her eyes. Her vision cleared up; she looked around in confusion. It was quite dark. A bit to the front, there was a bright light shining through a gap.She groggily walked to the hole and peered through. Lush greenery filled her eyes. The cawing of birds and scary noises of animals could be heard near and far. She froze. [What the hell?] [I just came out from 99!(1) What''s going on here?! Is there something wrong with my vision??] There''s still four shopping bags on both of her hands, full to the brim. She threw them down in agitation. She rubbed and rubbed her eyes, many many times until they turned slightly red. When reality sets in, she trembled and anxiously took out her smartphone to check for the time and date. It''s just 1.15 pm and the date was still the same. She looked for signals while dashing left and right. To her horror, her hopes were dashed ruthlessly! She didn''t gave up! She moved around some more and tried harder, covering every inch of the dark space. It''s because she knew she need to let her hubby know. Their daughters were in the car when she went shopping just now! Although the engine was on and the window was opened a little to let in fresh air, if she''s gone too long, they would be terrified. Suddenly, when she was wondering around. The signal on her smartphone flickered! She stopped and immediately write a message. She sent both using LINE(2) and the traditional instant messaging to her hubby. Mama: "Ayang(3), emergency! I''m lost! Don''t know where I am. I''m in front of 99 and now it''s in the middle of a cave in some sort of forest. Kids in car in front of 99. Come home immediately to get them. Now" When she saw ''read'' appeared, she felt so relieved. She checked her traditional IM. The message failed to be delivered. It was unsent. She calmed down and try to sort her mind. Hana realized, the only spot she can send her messages was the location she appeared just now. It was a kind of node. It turned out, the signal was too choppy and weak, only a little bit of internet leaked through. Every time she tried to call out, the call failed due to the weak signal. She was worried. It was because her internet was the prepaid type, is it still possible to top up here? If not she would only have about 20 days before the account go into passive mode. She waited in agitation for her hubby to reply. She knew he must be truly agitated and tried to return home as soon as possible. .... Arash received a message while he was still finishing up the proposal on his desktop in the office. It''s already lunch time but he stayed for a while to finish it up since it''s almost done. He knew that the message would be from his wife. It''s about time they reached home after fetching their eldest daughter from her kindergarten. He glanced at the clock in his desktop and lifted up his brows. She must''ve went shopping a bit. If not they''ll reached home before 1.00 pm. His wife always messaged him when she returned from somewhere everyday without fail. She said its a kind of a safety measures. He acquiesced his wife''s tendencies since it did give him a peace of mind when he knew she''s safe and sound when he''s not around. He swiped his smartphone gingerly and read it. Instead of the usual "Already at home niii(4). Having lunch with the kids" with an attached photo of their food or the cheeky smiling kids eating to make his mouth watered, it was a shocking, mind numbing one. Mama: "Ayang(3), emergency! I''m lost! Don''t know where I am. I''m in front of 99 and now it''s in the middle of a cave in some sort of forest. Kids in car in front of 99. Come home immediately to get them. Now" He immediately tried to call Hana repeatedly but got out of coverage notifications every time. He believed this was not a joke as his wife will never play around on this issue. He made his mind to return as quickly as possible.He saved his work and dashed to the train station while messaging his boss for an emergency leave. His mind was already filled with questions on what could happened to his beloved wife, Hana. Author''s Note: (1) 99 = There''s a chain minimart in Malaysia which is called 99 Speedmart. People love going to these stores due to the wide distribution, convenient location and fair price. (2) LINE = an online messaging app similar to Whatsapp under NAVER. It has cute stickers. (3) Ayang [sound: are-young] = short form of ''sayang'' which means ''love''. A pet name between Hana [sound: ha-nah] and Arash [sound: are-rush] (4) niiii = a noise and expression usually added to the end of English sentence/question. It is to express the dragging of the sentence/question without the needing of a reply. Its a short form of ''ini'' which means ''this'' 2 How an Aunty with Shopping Bags can Survive in the Wilds? Hana sat on the dirt floor in a crossed leg position while waiting for Arash to reply. She could see that the signal was unstable without any patterns to it. So she typed as much as possible and sent the message repeatedly until she can see a small tick appeared. A small tick signified that the message has been send through. With ''read'' appearing by the side, it showed the sender that the recipient already read the message. Mama: Ayang, after saving the kids, convert my number to line number. Can''t watch youtube for survival tutorials nihhh(1), so later you must help to write for me and place it in Notes k(2). 1. what to do to survive in the jungle 2. how to start a fire 3. how to defend in the jungle. Don''t call the police, I don''t think I''m abducted. Nobody and nothing around. Let me check first and see how. Only 1 spot got internet lahh(3). So can''t move around. I''ll come back to you after 2 hours k. Don''t worry. Hana really needed the tutorials, period. She''s like any other city dwellers who used a gas stove and sometimes an induction cooker the whole 30 plus year of her life. Where can she ever test her prowess in kindling primitive fire, without a lighter to boot? The loud sounds of animals meant that she might be in the wilderness for her first time! Not knowing where she was, and who or what else that might crept up suddenly from the darkness, she was terrified. Hana could even hear her own heart loudly thumping in her ears. Thump thump! Thump thump! A soft alert from her smartphone jolted her like a startle bird but immediately soothed her anxiety when she realized what it signifies. Her hubby''s reply was finally here after five agonizing minutes. Papa: Are you okay ayang? I''m on my way back. I took a taxi from the train station directly to 99. It''ll take about 50 minutes. I''ve called the owner of the 99 branch in our town. They will let the kids know and wait inside the car. I''ll send the tutorials as soon as possible when I''m done. Be safe no matter what. Hana was feeling terribly worried for her daughters. However, once she knew her hubby was on the way back, she felt better. At least her daughters were in good hands. Her head felt a bit lighter. She knew a big part of her stress was not from being in this unknown place, but rather on her unattended children. Subconsciously, all moms were like this. Family over oneself. Hana did not realized that this mindset has been ingrained in her since she carried her first child in her womb. Right now, her stress greatly allayed, she begun to prepare herself for the inevitable. She must survive to return home! As straight forward as she was, she knew, to survive, it will be to secure a shelter, food and water. She walked to her four grocery bags and checked all the items she just bought. 2 bottles of 1.5L drinking water (its actually for hubby) 1 pack of fine grain sea salt 1 pack of curry powder 10 nos A grade eggs 1 pack 1 kg siamese fragrant white rice (to make porridge for her baby) 1 pack of instant noodles (pack of 5, curry flavor) 1 pack of her favorite fragrant rice bihun(4) 1 pack of 1 kg wheat flour 1 pack of her favourite tausa biscuits (pack of 8) 1 pack of twiggies(5) (pack of 2) 1 pack of 3 in 1 instant teh tarik(6) (12 sachets inside) 1 comb of bananas (got 8 bananas) 1 bag of potatoes (4 tubers in a bag) 1 pack of chicken stock cubes (got 12 inside) 1 pack of chicken sausage (10 sticks) 1 pack of twisties(7) 1 disc of belacan(8) 1 Adabi herb pouch(9) 1 roll of clingwrap 2 extra empty grocery bags She then checked her handbag; 1 cute purse with the fortune cat design containing: 1 large capacity powerbank and wire 1 booklet of cards containing IC, driving license, 3 medical cards, a credit card and ATM card small amout of cash and shillings lots of receipts a small notebook the size of a palm a pen 1 diaper 1 mini wetwipes 1 baby napkin A terrible headache ensued. Her second daughter was just shy from two years and still hadn''t weaned off. Her papa will surely get a headache tonight. She went to buy groceries earlier in the hopes that this weekend they can just phytoned themselves(10) at home without going out, enjoying a purchased movie while munching junk food when the kids are asleep. The amount of food was ample for one to two weeks for her family of four. Since she was alone, she can stretch it to more than a month''s time, provided she found a proper water source. She was thankful for buying so much stuff this time. Normally she just bought a pack of eggs with a loaf of bread. If she was stuck with only eggs and bread, she can only survive for less than a week before needing to find other food herself. Following her habit that likes organizing and to do list, she sorted out the food based on perishable dates to know which to eat first and which to eat later and wrote in her small notepad. She wrote her long term and short term goals. Then listed down all the characteristics of the surrounding. Perishable time Within one week Twiggies (2 pcs) Bananas (8 pcs) Chicken sausage (10 pcs) Within one month Eggs (10 nos) Tausa biscuits (8 pcs) Potatoes (4 tubers) Within 3 months None Within a year Rice (1kg) Instant noodles (5 packs) Wheat flour (1kg) Bihun (500g) Teh tarik (12 sachets) Chicken stock (12 cubes) Curry powder (400g) Salt (300g) Twisties (1 packet) Never expires Belacan (100 g) Adabi herb pouch (1 pouch) Short term goals (Day 1) 1. Scout surroundings for information and geographic location 2. Find water source 3. Find tinder, twigs and logs for fire making 4. Find things for defense Long term goal Return home! Hana rearranged all the food items she purchased using Arash''s credit card into different bags according to their expiration time according to the list in satisfaction. Proper food management was needed in order to segregate the food source to its maximum without sacrificing on the nutritional value and taste, and this was what she''s good at (and this includes all the competent housewives out there). As long as there''s no dangerous animals around, this aunty will be able to survive in the wilderness. She adjusted her spectacle with determination. Who says an aunty cannot survive in the wild with just shopping bags? Author''s Note: (1) nihh = same meaning with [ini] which means ''this''. Got many variations such as ni..niii..nihhhh..nih..an addition for the sake out sound making (2) k = okay (3) lahh = Malaysians love to add ''lah'' in all their English sentences. Similarly its for the sound. (4) bihun = vermicelli made from rice flour. The one this aunty likes is the one made from high quality Siamese fragrant rice flour. A bit expensive and very chewy and delicious as compared to the conventional ones. A level lower compared to the ones made from sweet potato flour for making japchae, a Korean noodle dish (5) twiggies = a kind of mini cakes that kids love. (6) teh tarik = pulled milk tea; very popular in Malaysia. Usually you get from the mamak stall with roti canai or nasi lemak. Now already got 3 in 1 version haha. I liked from Lipton (7) twisties = a irregular shaped snack make from corn flour. (8) belacan = fermented shrimp block used by everyone in Malaysia. Usually to make sambal belacan, a kind of spicy sauce eaten with rice and grilled chicken/fish. (9) Adabi herb pouch = also known as ''sup bunjut adabi''. A small pouch containing a variety of Asian herbs for making soup (10) pythoned themselves (mengular in Malaysian language) = means to be lazy and just laze around all day on the bed doing nothing. Similar to the pythons after a big meal. 3 Exploring the Cave with a ‘Cincai’ Attitude After the burning passion died down from Hana''s eyes, she kept the notepad and pen inside her pants pocket. She was actually wearing just a simple yellow baggy short sleeved t-shirt with a loose faded blue jean and a long sleeve sweater to cover her exposed arms. Very aunty looking. Can''t expect much on grooming from an aunty who just finished cooking simple lunch prior to fetching her kid. The additional long sleeve sweater was added to prevent her arm from getting an unsavory tan from the harsh tropical afternoon sun. Right now, she has four bags full of foodstuff at different expiration time, two extra empty shopping bags made from cloth, 1 handbag, shoulder length, and 1 purse. She placed them neatly at the side of the cave wall. She set a buzzing alarm to notify her after exactly two hours and placed it in her other pocket. It''s time to observe the future dwelling properly for any potential hazardous conditions! She made one clean sweep inside the cave. It turned out to be deeper than she imagined. After about 500 meters in, she finally stopped and did not dare to go deeper. It was because, as the cave got deeper, it got narrower and at the 500-meter mark she needed to bend down to proceed. The tunnel had reduced to just the size of a full-grown man in a bent position. The interior of the cave looked like a funnel with a mysterious end. [This won''t do, there''s no way this aunty will go inside that suspicious looking tunnel. I watch too much horror movie that even I know that curiosity kills the cat okay.] Hana shrugged her shoulders. [Anyway, I''m also too scared to proceed with just the flash light from the smartphone. Whatever.] She looked around and started to move boulders from the surrounding to stack and block the tunnel. She was tempted to roll a big ass boulder to block it, but she''s not strong at all. She even needed to ask her hubby to open a jam bottle. So, it can be imagined how big a stone she can rolled to the mouth of the opening. The higher she stacked, the smaller the stones got. [Oh my. This is too laborious... worse than vacuuming the whole house three times...] She stopped to catch a breath after clumsily finishing the deed and to admire her achievement. This is an F. [Damn..damnit... With a slight push, a snake can slither through. Of course, bigger animals will fare much better. Aiyoo..looks so ''cincai'' one!!(1)] She checked her smartphone. It''s nearly two hours already, but she still didn''t do squat! She sat down and think hard for a long time. [Hmm...lets just packed the stones with some soil on top!] Hana grinned with satisfaction from her idea. But then she deflated. [Err.. Too tired already.. Lets put it off for later lah. At least its blocked a bit now. Hihi.. (2)] [Aiyahh (3)..why this aunty so fickle one (4)!] She then looked up and flashed her smartphone upwards simultaneously to check the ceiling of the cave. It was far high up that she cannot see the wall! She noticed a faint sound of whistling wind coming through from the top. It seemed that there''s some ventilation up there. This means she won''t be poisoned from carbon monoxide when she makes a fire inside the cave later. This is a great news! Some stalagmites and stalactites can be seen hanging on the walls and on the floor of the cave besides several boulders. [There''s no bats right? They''re so ''geli''(5)..eww..] The entrance of the cave was so small. It was now blocked by boulders of varying sizes. There was a narrow gap at the side of the cave. It was about 3 feet in width and 4 feet in height, just like a window at the level of the chest. Hana needed to bend a little to look through the hole. She wondered in her mind, was it manmade or natural? It''ll be very dangerous if this cave opening was manmade. She carefully wriggled herself out through the hole while chanting, "Don''t collapse on me... don''t collapse on me... I don''t want to die like inside Final Destination..please.." When she finally stepped out of the cave, she brush off the dust from her sweater and proceeded to look around. Is this finally the time for this aunty to show her skill? Author''s Note: (1) cincai =roughly done without perfection (2) hihi = laughing sound (3) aiyahh =something like a sighing sound all Malaysians used. it has several varieties; aiyoo, aiya, mehhh (4) ...one = no meaning. Malaysians always add ''one'' at the end of the sentence. Google "manglish" to hear the nuance (5) geli = disgusted or squeamish 4 The Competent Hubbys Survival Tutorials After walking a few steps while admiring the beautiful lush greenery, her smartphone buzzed. Hana smacked her own head for forgetting that Arash must be really worried about her and retreated back into the cave while sighing. Although she really wanted to look around first, she can''t let her hubby worried for nothing. She returned to the marked spot, sat down, and swiped open her trusty smartphone to check for messages. After a few minutes, messages continuously came in. Her face was illuminated with the soft light from her smartphone. She didn''t dare to switch on the torchlight function for prolonged period lest it will eat up too much battery. While waiting for the messages, she went to her sorted food stash and get herself two bananas, one pack of tausa biscuit and a bottle of water. She was super starved. After all its already 3.00 pm and she still didn''t have her lunch. She only had a small bowl of oat cereal that morning. While munching on the food, she started reading up the messages; Papa: These guides I made for you ayang; 1. How to start a fire with nothing and by using your spectacle 2. How to find water source from observing animals in your surroundings 3. How to make your own chisel and hatchet 4. How to make ropes and weapon from nothing 5. How to make potteries with D.I.Y. kiln I think the potteries are a must for you honey... I don''t think you have the strength to cut trees or kill beasts for food. So, you must make containers which are fire resistant and waterproof so that you can cook food in case you need to stay there for a long time. Hana''s eyes misted from her hubby''s efforts to help her. He achieved so much in just two short hours as compared to her. So productive! She was very impressed with her hubby''s efficiency. One need to know that it was not as easy as copy and paste some text. Most probably, Arash must have read quite a number of articles and watch videos before constructing an easy-to-understand text tutorial for his beloved wife. A lack of diagram increased the difficulty level for understanding something that has never been explored before. So, without diagram to support the explanation, it would really give a first-time reader a hard time to imagine how it should really be done. Hence, the need to rewrite a guide to elaborate each information precisely, while describing each step more colorfully. Truthfully, Arash did all these partly from extreme worry for his wife, and another part was truly due to love. Arash was scared that Hana might be shivering in cold because she could not light a fire while surrounded by dangerous-looking wild animals! It was too vivid in his mind! His face lost all color when he imagined the scary scene. Hana knew how much effort her hubby must have gone through for her. Especially while juggling with pacifying the children. She was truly thankful. As always, Arash never failed her. Such a competent husband! She felt ashamed with herself for being so wishy-washy. She had nearly zero progress to report. Mama: Thank you ayang. Love you niiii..I''ll do my best so that I can survive and find a way back home. Papa: Love you too. Check out the surrounding as soon as possible. Together, we can decipher your location and I will try to find a way to go there and save you. Mama: I will ayang. I need to fine the water source soon. It''ll be hard to do the number 1 and number 2 (1) without ample of water. Papa: Do you have a container to keep water? Mama: I have two bottles of drinking water but I won''t use just for the sake of washing myself. I''ll try to find something usable after this. Anyway, I still have some wetwipes haha... Papa: Not funny. =___=|||| be a bit serious. You''re in an emergency situation you know... Are you sure there''s no one else around? Later block the cave entrance before going to sleep okay? Don''t take things lightly as you always do. Danger could be anywhere anytime in any form. Stay alert. Mama: Okay. Don''t be angry T.T Noted with thanks. I will definitely remember your advice. Truthfully, not a single shadow can be seen. But I''m still not sure. What do you think of this matter, ayang? Papa: It''s extremely fishy and bizarre. If you found people, don''t immediately got close. Observe first. We don''t know they are friends or foes. They might be the reason you''re stuck there. Mama: Duly noted ayang. I will be extra careful. How about the girls? Are they crying? Have they eaten? I''ve cooked their favorite chicken carrot soup just now. Papa: They''re fine. They just ate and are still a bit upset. I''ve pacified them to sleep. They''re tired and got a bit of a scare. Don''t worry too much. I''ll handle things from this side. You just focus on surviving. Mama: Thank you ayang. Let me settle everything fast. I''ll get back to you tonight about 9 or 10. I need to survey around as soon as possible. Papa: Be safe. Safety is priority. Be back before dusk. Usually dangerous animals come out at dawn and dusk. Take care. Hana looked at the clock at her phone. Now is 3.25 p.m. Hana set another alarm at 5.30pm. She toughened her cowardly heart and proceed to move outside. She planned to settle all her objectives for today after reading up the precious tutorials. These were the embodiment of her husband''s love and hope for her safety. She can''t lose to her competent hubby. Most importantly, she can''t fail him. Author''s Note: (1) number 1 and number 2 = toilet stuff, 1 is from front, 2 is from the back haha 5 Surveying the Wilds with Just a Pen, a Notepad, and 2 Shopping Bags Part I From afar, a pretty aunty with spectacles was walking around aimlessly in circles near to the cave opening while looking up into the sky. She seemed to be in her mid-30s. Her spectacle was the frameless type and considered out of fashion nowadays as people prefer trendy frames from Korea. Behind the pair of spectacle was large almond shaped eyes with dark brown irises that sparkled with determination. Of course, this lady is none other than our main protagonist, Hana. Right now, she was energetically looking for direction by observing the cute birds flying in the sky. In one of Arash''s tutorials, it was stated that one should observe grain-eating birds'' flight path in the evening to have a chance to find a water source. After finish looking for meals during the day, they will fly high towards a water source. If they fly low, they''re going to return home after eating and drinking. It usually happens during dusk. It does not apply to birds of prey because these birds usually got their water source from the moisture contained in the meat they ate. Hence, they became thirsty very rarely. Fortunately, a small area not far from the cave opening was clear from layers of tree canopies. At least Hana''s eyesight wasn''t impeded from the lush growth just a few meters to the front. Her hands were busy collecting kindling and branches while she moved around observing her surroundings. As a housewife, her skill to do simultaneous work at the same time was top notch. Her first objective right now was to look for a drinkable water source and at the same time try to find suitable rocks to make a chisel. It turned out, among all the utensils one must have in the wilderness, the number one most essential item to make would be the chisel. It must be a bit thick, with a sharp edge on one end. When attached to a short strong branch, it will turn into an axe or a hatchet, which would be good for cutting. When attached to a long branch, it could function like a shovel, which would be good for digging. As itself, it could be used for cutting and scoring. It''s just that, in terms of cutting, without proper inertia from a swing, the strength backing it will be slightly lacking. Basalt rocks were said to be ideal for making chisel simply due to their high density and in abundance, which means, you can get them anywhere. One of the tutorials said to get basalt rocks ideally from a stream or a river and try to shape it by lightly bashing it to other rocks from different angles. The main rock will fragment and chip slowly into a chisel. One just needed to persevere and did a little bit of trial and error. Hana didn''t even know how basalt rocks were supposed to look like. Arash explanation did not help much. She only knew they looked like gray rocks. She will just go with the flow and decide when the time comes. Today, she was going to spend time preparing shrubberies for a proper bedding, collect enough tinder and kindling for making fire, and make a chisel before going to bed. All this must be done while looking for the water source. Time was quite limited for all these tasks. [So many hard labors to do...] Hana felt so dejected when she thought about it. She sighed lightly. She checked her smartphone for time. It''s already 4.00 pm . It''s already so late. Surprisingly, it did look like its 4.00 pm, with bright blue sky sparsely filled with cumulus clouds, just like floating white cotton candies. She only had 1.5 hours to complete all the tasks. She was starting to worry. Suddenly she saw a cute chubby-looking bird! It looked like a song bird in Chinese paintings. Its feathers were fluffy whitish yellow, contrasting the extremely blue sky. Its wings have blackish highlights at the tip, complementing its black speckled puffy chest. The beak was scarlet red, with black beady eyes. Hana spotted the bird easily. It was diving lower and lower into the rainforest just ahead of her. She kept her phone and quickly produced the notepad and a pen. While she walked quickly, she counted her steps and wrote direction of arrows in it. She tried her best to maintain a rigid direction so that she could retraced back her steps. Hana was just like a clumsy bear. Her movements had startled a lot of insects and small animals. Due to her desperation, she did not even realize it. Very quickly, she already forgotten Arash''s advice. She was very negligent of her surroundings, only focusing on the fast-moving bird. After about half an hour''s time, she was already gasping for breath. She slowed down to a stop when she saw the bird perched on a large rainforest tree with buttress snake-like roots, warily looking at her. It looked intelligent. Hana grinned at the bird while making her most honest-looking face, "I mean you no harm lil birdy. I want to share your water source only." She took out some crumbs of the tausa biscuit from her pocket and scattered them on the forest floor. It has never occurred to Hana that one day she need to curry favor with a little bird to gain benefits. How pitiful. Thank god she did not throw the leftover biscuit flakes. The bird kept on looking warily at Hana. Hana kept quiet and tried to stop moving in order not to startle the bird away. After a few minutes, the bird hopped from the high branch and landed on the location of the crumbs and started pecked on them. She kept on standing still. After a while, it flew away in a different direction. Hana followed the bird for another five minutes before she heard the sound of water flowing. It turned out that the bird had purposely misled her before. Silently thanking the bird, she observed her surroundings for the first time. 6 Surveying the Wilds with Just a Pen, a Notepad, and 2 Shopping Bags Part II The forest was similar to the FRIM (1) rainforest she''d seen during her university years that she has done little bit of trekking before. It meant she''s still on the equator, hopefully either Malaysia, the place where she lived, or even worse as far as Brazil or Congo. This is the first clue that she had on the location, so she written it down in her notepad. Hanging lianas can be seen in between trees. The ambient of temperature was about 25-degree Celsius or so, the temperature of the air conditioner which she always regulated during afternoons at home for her girls. It was also quite dark due to the tall canopy of trees covering the sunlight. It was a miracle that she did not lost sight of the bird just now. Most of the bigger trees got buttress roots with a bit of light greenish moss on top. Each tree was as large as three to five grown men holding hands together in a circle. So, it can be imagined how big was the root network. Hana nearly stumbled a few times when she was pursuing the bird just now. The rest of the forest floor was full of dark rotten leaves, probably shed by the big trees. Smaller normal looking trees can be seen nearer towards the water source, replacing the large canopy-like trees. Thick shrubberies of many shapes and sizes interspersed between those trees. She can''t actually see where the water source was. She could only infer that it was supposed to be somewhere in front of her since the sound of water came from up ahead. Hana carefully searched for a dried tree branch to be used as a precaution. Only God knows what''s living inside those shrubberies. The unknown enemies were the worst kinds. If this forest is truly a virgin tropical rainforest, it meant that there will be a high probability to encounter dangerous animals whose having their daily dose of water intake near the stream. Tiptoeing closer, she could see the stream was somewhat shallow, she can see protrusions of rocks between theflowing body of water. It was about seven meters wide with slow moving clear water at the edge. Nearing the middle, the water got darker that shows it is quite deep. Some fishes can be seen jumping around amongst the rocks. They looked absolutely delicious! Some parts of the natural embankment were sandy, while others were full of different sizes of rocks. Some places were inhabited by numerous trees with roots directly extending into the stream from both sides. She made a noteto ask for some DIY fish trap from Arash later. Her sausages and eggs won''t last long. As Hana observed down the small stream, she realized after about 400 meters, the water dropped down as a waterfall, though it wasn''t that glorious-looking. The height was also not so high, just about a one-story house''s height. It seemed that her location was somewhat on an elevated location. She might be on a small hill or the side of a mountain. Hana pondered bewilderingly. While she was walking just now, she didn''t feel any elevation uphill or downhill. It felt quite leveled. However, when she was digesting the information she observed, she saw a hornbill (2) amongst the trees! It was the black and white type with a big yellowish red beak! This is typical to Malaysian and Indonesian variety! [Banzai(3)!] She was silently celebrating as she had seen these birds in a number of local zoos and the famous Bird Park (4) in KL (5). She might be in Malaysia! Feeling elated, Hana took her time looking for suitable rocks to bring back. She loaded four pieces of rocks about the size of a single to two fists combined, all at different shades of gray. She had to test them first in her cave dwelling. She hoped that one of them would be the sought-after basalt rock. Beside the stream, she saw a big tree with lots of greenish and yellow fruits hanging. Isn''t this the undried version of ''asam gelugor'' (6)? She was so happy when she identified this tree. The ''asam gelugor'' tree usually grew in the wilderness of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The fruits looked like fist sized mini yellow pumpkins hanging on a tree branch. She quickly collected the dropped best-looking overripe fruits. Just four of them was enough to last a lifetime . In Malaysian cooking, everyone just use a thin dried slice of asam gelugor for a big pot of curry, asam pedas or sambal (7). The fruit needed to be cored and sliced thinly in a vertical fashion before being sundried prior to usage. So, even one asam gelugor fruit will last a very long time, much less four. Moreover, although Hana knew there were a lot fruits hanging up in the tree, there was no way for her to pick the ones on the tree. It was way too high up! She then sat down on one of the rocks and jotted down all the information she has gotten for today. The tree branch she had in her hand had long been forgotten. It was time to return and gather some more dried kindling to experiment on fire making. Anything else can just wait for tomorrow. She carefully retraced back her steps while collecting dried branches along the way. The river stones were safe inside of one of her shopping bags, which was hung on her shoulders. She also found a cluster of banana trees and tried her best to pried off three big leaves from them. She left the banana fruits untouched since she still has lots of bananas left in her shopping bag. Every time she found a useful tree or location, she will jot it down in her notepad beside her recorded steps to make a rough map for her future reference. The 5.30 alarm buzzed in her pocket when it was 3/4th on her journey to return to the cave. Hana increased her steps a little faster. Although it was just 5.30, the surrounding was already quite dark; she could see only up to three meters in front. The darkening hours brought along a cacophony of wild animals'' hooting and growls. Hana was getting scared. She got so jittery until she jumped up at the sound of herself stepping on an unfortunate dried twig and fall tumbling down with all the dried branches and banana leaves she was carrying. "Adoiii!" (8) The branches and banana leaves fell on her head and buried her within. When she finally managed to emerge from within the instant miniature canopy, her face paled instantly as she came face to face with a snake! As it was already dark, she could not discern its color or type. [Maybe it was a friendly black snake? What should I do.] Her heart thumped as loud as a drum as she tried to think for a solution. [I know, in the movie, the main character will always look the snake at the eye and the snake will slither away.] As she tries to look the snake in the eye, the snake shot towards her as fast as lightning and bit her sprawling opened toe! Hana blacked out. Author''s Note: (1) FRIM = Forest Research Institute Malaysia. Its a forestry research institution in Kepong, Malaysia, with a recreational waterfall inside with public access. google ''FRIM waterfall Kepong'' (2) hornbill = a breed of toucan birds localized in the Borneo and Sumatran area in South East Asian region (3) Banzai = a Japanese celebratory exclamation very widely used. (4) Bird Park = KL bird park, a park full of free-flight birds in KL. It''s like a humongous cage where you can walk inside to observe the birds. Its a really nice place to go in KL. (5) KL = Kuala Lumpur. The heart of Malaysia. (6) asam gelugor = a very sour fruit used in many cooking. Scientific name: Garcinia atroviridis. Also known as brindleberry or Malabar tamarind. (7) curry, asam pedas or sambal = different Malaysian dishes. (8) Adoiii = ''ouch'' in Malaysian language. 7 First sNot So Friendly” Encounter The 9.00 pm alarm jolted Hana awake. She was momentarily confused, why was she in this pitch-black surrounding with a faint sound of grasshoppers and crickets nearby? [Where am I? Did I fall asleep on the floor or something? Why is there sounds of insects nearby?] Hana tried to recall her memories absent-mindedly. As her hands were fumbling at the ground to look for her spectacle, suddenly she froze. She had touch something scaly, cold and a little wet. [Ohhhhhh...goddddd...help this aunty...] Previous memories resurfaced as Hana felt a slithering feeling from her palm to her left arm. There was even a coiling motion on her arm towards her upper biceps. The motion stopped just shy from her shoulder. Terrified as she is, she got goosebumps all over her body as she tried hard to avoid making any movement for a good 30 minutes. She was in total darkness and in utmost fear. Her heartbeat sounded so loud in her ears. The background sounds of animals increased her agitation even more. They sounded so close! Several colorful expletives came out from her mouth silently. Hana had thought that the previous experiences inside the cave and in the rainforest was just an extra realistic nightmare. She knew how wrong she was now as she could feel something scaly wrapping her arms firmly. She tried to move her arms shakily. The little reptile did not budge. Surprisingly, the alleged culprit did not weight much at all. She tried to move her arm in a larger motion. It still did not move. It''s as if it were sleeping. Hana was too scared to pull the little snake away from her like how she had seen it done by those snake experts on Discovery channel. She knew that it will only made the snake pissed off at her. She just prayed and prayed silently that the snake will just continue to sleep or go away on its own when it got bored. She didn''t want to be bitten again. Although the pain on her toe was not to be reckoned with, the feeling of fear what''s make it much worse. As Hana did not know what to do, she try to observe her bitten toe. Her spectacles that she tried to find before were actually right there on her face . If not, she wouldn''t be able to see anything at all. As her eyes are already familiarized with the darkness, she can see that the wound on her toe was tiny and ragged. This and the fact that she was still alive showed that the snake shouldn''t have any venom. It turned out that she had fainted from the extreme fear just now. If the snake had venom, she''d already in the embrace of God by now. [Wuuuwuuuu (1)..I really hope I won''t get any infection. I want my hubby...] Hana patted her agitated heart with her other unoccupied hand while shedding some tragic tears. Right now, she felt like she was the unluckiest person on earth. She felt sorry for herself. Such a melodramatic aunty! [I can''t take it anymore. All this in one day... I''m going crazy!!] Hana buried her face in both of her hands. She didn''t care anymore. If the stupid reptile wanted to bite her, then just bite. Whatever. She slapped her face hard using both of her hands to squeeze in some courage to her already fragile little heart. She looked at her trembling fingers in the darkness and her eyes fall to her wedding band on her right ring finger. Although it was very dark, and she could only see a tiny glimpse of her wedding ring, she knew it was there on her finger. Just like her family. Although they are not in front of her, they are existed and was fraught with worry for her somewhere out there. [No!! I must not lose myself here. Arash and my daughters are waiting for me.] Hana''s love for her family has once again bring her spirit up. She glanced at the sleeping little snake she decided to ignore it and continue to return to the cave. Slowly, she got up and regathered all the branches, banana leaves and bags. Thankfully, she just needed to maintain the same direction. Arash was not here to pamper her like usual. So, she can only steeled her heart and moved forward on her own. Every single second in the wilderness at this time will increase the risk of facing another danger. After walking around 5 minutes, she finally arrived at a small clearing where she first saw the song bird. A ray of gentle moonlight spilled on the clearing illuminating her path, calming her heart. She finally found the inconspicuously hidden entrance at the side of the hill-like boulders after carefully searching for it. Hana forgot to mark the location of the entrance and currently it was quite hard to find it as it was dark. [I need to put some landmark that only I know tomorrow.] Hana sighed in relief. Hana did not realize that the snake had detangled itself from her arm and entered the cave before her when she was still fumbling around in darkness. When she finally entered the cave, she immediately dropped all the things she collected at the side of the wall. [Eh?! The snake is gone! Banzai!! I must block the entrance immediately!] She immediately grabbed whichever rocks and boulders near her and stuffed the entrance until full. A good 15 minutes later, a breathless Hana was beaming with satisfaction when she placed the final rock at the last noticeable gap. She immediately went for her smartphone and swiped open the flashlight and placed it on the cave floor facing upwards. Immediately, the whole cave became very bright. Brighter than it usually was during the day. As Hana turned around she saw the small snake was waiting patiently directly behind her as if to compliment her for her hard work to close the cave entrance. She was so dumbfounded until she forgot to scream. Hana stepped to the left. The snake slither to the left. Hana stepped to the right, and it slithered to the right. "Shooooo! Shoooo!!!" She picked tiny pebbles and threw gently near it. She was too scared to offend the reptile with a big stone as she might get bitten again. The snakedid not move at all and continue observing Hana with interest. She sighed and gave up. "What do you want? I''m so sorry I''ve stepped on you just now. You have even bit me just now right. So, we''re even now. Please stop harassing me." The little snake tilted its head to the side like a cute dog trying to ask for a bone. It did not move however. Three black lines appeared on Hana''s forehead. [Is it trying to act cute or what?] The notion was super absurd! Hana never learned anything about snakes. She only knew the body language of cats. So, she was stumped as she could not understand what the snake wanted. She took the time to observe the little snake. It was about 3 feet long, shiny black in color. What amazed her was the tiny red color jewel at the center of its eyes. It was hexagonal in shape. What''s more ridiculous was the horn-like single protrusion a bit higher from the jewel. The horn-like thing was silver in color when illuminated with the flashlight from her smartphone. Hana got a headache. Although she did not know much about snakes, she was very sure she never heard such characteristics on a snake in Malaysia. Is it a new undiscovered breed? The little snake seemed to be highly intelligent; when Hana seemed agitated, it kept quiet and did not move. However, when Hana wanted to move away from it, it stopped her by blocking her path. When Hana was still deep in thought, the little snake quietly slithered and jumped towards her! It immediately coiled on her wrist this time. She screamed from shock and nearly fainted again. She was so scared when it used its long reptilian tongue and caressed her inner wrist. What she didn''t know was this little snake has imprinted Hana as its mother. It tried to pacify her and reassure her that it meant no harm. It even tried to act cute. It was confused as why this being was getting more agitated from its actions. It gave up and slithered down slowly after a while. It moved a little to the back of the cave and stayed silent. Hana was still in an emotional overdrive from all the shock she received today. The actions of the little snake were like the cherry on top. Perfectly finalizing her nightmarish experience for the day. When there''s no more movement from the reptile, Hana took a long breath. [What is wrong with that snake? Is it mental or what? It should be thankful that I''m afraid of it. If other kid did this prank on this aunty, I''ve already spank his bottom hard!] Hana was a little angry and speechless with the snake''s behavior. She then realized that she still didn''t treat her bitten toe. She sat down randomly beside her shining smartphone and looked at her toe properly. The blood had dried up for quite some time already. Hana went towards her stashed item and got herself a bottle of water and one sheet of wet wipe. She poured a tiny bit of water on her toe and proceeded to gently wiped the injured location. Well, that was the best that I could do for now. Hopefully I will not get any infection. She suddenly remembered that she needed to at least inform Arash that she was okay. The 9.00 pm alarm which jolted her awake before was a reminder for Hana to contact her hubby. They promised to message each other at around 9.00 to 10.00 pm. Now it is quite late. She switched her location to the special spot and then she typed a short message saying she was alright and she will contact him later when she has finished. She didn''t wait for a reply. There''s still so much things to do. She left her smartphone at the site with its torchlight opened and started gathering firewood to build a fire a few steps in front of her smartphone spot. This is the time for this aunty to show her campfire-building skill. Author''s Note: (1) Wuwuwuuuu = a not-so cute crying sound 8 Adopting a Stray upon a Campfire Hana was physically and mentally exhausted when she began experimenting on making fire. [It was totally nonsense to make a fire using a spectacle during night time. Fortunately, Arash had also supplied me with the traditional method of starting fire.] The first step is to make an indentation on a piece of dried wood with a sharp stone. Second, use another dried stick and placed it on top of the indentation. and the last step is to rub both hands away in a front-back motion which will result in the rapid twirling of the stick. After a while, the friction will create some heat and sparks which will then turn into fire. Hana could visualize the step-by-step method since she had seen something like it on tv a couple of times. As the scene keep playing in her mind, she ultimately developed an aversion towards it. Why? Of course, because it was real hard work with actual muscle needed!! Those people on tv looked so suave and cool, but she knew they must have used a lighter or something when the camera was not rolling! Furthermore, she didn''t know how long actually they took to start a fire primitively. [It won''t be that long right? It seemed quite simple.] Hana tried hard to cheat herself to no avail. Arash knew his wife wouldn''t be able to utilize this method, but he just included it in since it was the most basic method around for reference purpose. He didn''t know Hana wasn''t able to make fire before night time. She had wasted too much time outside. How could she have known that she would spend most of her time outside of the cave and fainted on her very first night here? Slapping her face to recollect her spirits, Hana went to work resolutely. She gone through all the steps needed and used some dried wood dust she scraped from the same wood as a tinder. She continued rubbing the tinder front and back until the tinder started to smoke. Eager for success, she immediately placed it on a larger amount of wood fibre and enclosed it in. Slowly, Hana blew on the wood fibre until the smoke got thicker. "Cough! Cough!" Her eyes and her nose started to water. It was very painful being seared by the wafting smoke. Hana patiently fed the smoking wood fire with small number of twigs and kindling. She tried to build it into a bigger fire. However, the small flickering flame extinguished as soon as it appeared. Hana was distraught with sadness. After taking a moment to calm herself, she obstinately tried again and again... .... Few hours later, a fire was lit at the middle of the cave. Hana was so tired; she felt like she couldn''t lift a finger with her palms felt sore and chapped. In the end, her success was all due to her secret weapon, stacks of paper receipts from her shopping spree!!! Thank goodness she had so much paper receipts in her handbag. As it turned out, making fire was no easy matter at all. She would not manage to do it if not for the paper receipts. In all the web novels she had read before, the fire was built with just a single sentence. Preposterous! Give me back all my spirits stones!! She dragged the banana leaves she brought back beside the roaring fire and lay down in exhaustion. [I want to sleep ni..so tired] Her eyes were getting cloudy. She was nearly entering the La-la land (1). The atmosphere was getting quite cozy, just like picnicking beside a campfire. Only short of some grilled marshmallows and sausages. That''s what peeps on tv grilled over fire anyway. "Grumblee...grumblee" Her not so cute slightly flabby stomach made a loud sound. It asked to be fed. "Sighhhhh..." Hana rolled around like a sloth for a few more minutes. She sat down tiredly. She walked weakly towards her bags and took two bananas and a pack of sausages. [Even if I don''t have marshmallows, I still have some good ol''sausages.] She pierced two pieces of sausages; each on a single stick she selected from a pile of dried branches she collected beforeand stabbed the other end of the sticks on the cave floor near the fire, grilling it slightly. She didn''t place it inside the fire to prevent it from being charred. The snake sneakily slithered nearer. Its black beady eyes glowing with anticipation. It even held itself a foot high and swayed left and right. Hana got a strange feeling that the snake was hungry yet happy. This was really confusing. She couldn''t understand why she perceived the snake''s action that way. She sighed, then proceed to pierce another sausage on a stick to be grilled together. [I''m such a nice aunty!] It was 2.30 am in the morning when she finally sat on the spot to receive the blessings of internet coverage. She munched on the bananas and casually swiped open her smartphone. Message after message entered. Arash has messaged more than 20 times starting from 4.00 pm. Each one was filled with concern and worry. It continued even after she informed him that she was okay at around 10.00 pm just now. It stopped an hour ago though. [He must have fallen asleep. Pity him.] She quickly typed her experience of the day in a concise manner in the hopes that they can together find out her location. She also included her conjectures. She still doesn''t abandon hope from being rescued by her hubby, just like a real princess. Hana laughed bashfully. The little snake tilted its head when it heard Hana''s laughter. [Eh! There''s a reply! So soon!] Papa: I thought something happened to you ayang. I was very worried. Mama: It''s alright deary..on my way back I encounter a slight problem. I fainted for quite some time. Thought you''re asleep. Papa: I am waiting for you lahh..I''m super worried ok.. That was so dangerous! What happened? Mama: I encountered a snake when I nearly reached the cave. It''s a very weird experience. Don''t worry, I''m sure it is not poisonous. Please check for me these characteristics. Shiny black scaly body. Beady black eyes. Ruby-like hexagonal stone in between eyes. Silver horn-like protrusion a little higher from the ruby. Papa: Are you kidding? It sounded like a pokemon nihhh Mama: I''m not. Actually, I''m considering adopting it. Papa: What?! You said it''s a snake dowhhh (2)..it''s not a dog or a cat. It''s dangerous! Mama: Already been bitten. Not dangerous. It''s the non-venomous kind. This snake followed me everywhere. I think it liked me. I''m just going to treat it like a stray cat. Arash didn''t reply after that. Hana assumed her hubby must have fallen asleep. What she didn''t know was that, Arash was too speechless with his wife''s easygoing attitude towards an animal who had even attacked her before. She plucked the sticks of grilled sausages from the fireplace and threw one towards the snake. It immediately gobbled the sausage fast! Hana was quite amused watching the snake ate. After it finished eating, it coiled and jumped out towards her like a spring! Hana yelped from surprise again but was not that afraid this time. She covered her face with her free arm while the other was holding the grilled sausage stick. The little snake landed on the wrist of that arm and immediately coiled itself, just like an exotic black bracelet with a ruby on top. She hesitantly patted the head of the snake. The little one made a cute hissing sound of contentment. Hana sigh again for the n-th time. [This cute thing. So clingy... Where does it come from...] Hana suddenly felt her atmosphere was quite good. It was like camping by a campfire. She even got an instant companion to alleviate her loneliness. She came to a decision. "I''m gonna call you Kuro (3)." Author''s Note: (1) La-la land = dreamland (2) dowhh = a short form of ''aduh'' which means ''ouch''..added for the sake of sound making in local slang..no real use. (3) Kuro = means ''black'' in japanese. Very generic name. Hana, you''re so cincai! 9 What? Not Another Ridiculous Encounter??? After she finished eating her dinner by the fire while accompanied by Kuro, Hana was too tired to move; she desperately wanted to sleep. She groggily charged her trusty smartphone with the powerbank she brought along. She fell asleep there and then with drool frothing at the corner of her mouth. This aunty is so defenseless!!! Without anyone feeding the fireplace with dry branches, the embers burned dimmer after a while. Insects and arachnids slowly creeped out from their hiding place at the nook and cranny of the cave. Insect sounds were getting louder; without the presence of fire, they became bolder. Kuro silently slithered away from Hana''s wrist and began its royal hunt. The sausage was too little for its tummy. It planned to make a clean sweep while filling its tiny belly. This way, it can help its new mommy cum mistress to sleep better without all that noise. It turned out, Hana got herself an automated insect repellent cum house guardian. .... Arash did not fall asleep after his virtual rendezvous with his wife. He was too worried about her. He knew his bumbling wife best. Although she is very competent in her wifely virtues which included house management and rearing children, on other matters she usually faced them with a halfhearted cincai(1) attitude. It was somewhat due to his own fault. He doted on her too much until she became too lax and less vigilant. He had been managing all the external affairs all this while, shielding his wife from outside harsh elements. He quickly came up with a list of new guides for her and DIY methods to make practical items. It was nearly 6.00 am when he realized he needed to get to work. [Ah I''ll just ask for another EL(2) again today.] He shrugged. Arash knew Hana must be sleeping without a care. He truly hoped nothing will hurt her during her sleep, especially that suspicious snake. He himself had never slept in a cave before. Heck, he never even went outdoor camping before. Sighing heavily, he finally searched the name of the peculiar snake his wife naively picked up. After spending quite some time searching, Arash massaged his glabella(3) depressingly. No matter how he rephrased and searched in several search engines, he couldn''t quite find the right answer. It turned out there were several snakes with nose horn and supraocular(4) horns, but there was none with embedded crystal on them (except for jewelry of course). Only one snake has a single horn and crystals. Nonetheless, the location of the crystals were different. Yup, you guess it right, dear readers. I choose you, Dragonair! Arash nearly puked blood. [What pokemon Dragonair your sister!] He threw his smartphone on the bed in frustration and went to lie down beside his two little girls. [I need some rest. This is too absurd.] He closed his eyes for a short nap to gather energy to handle the kids and continue helping his wife later. He will never give up. .... Hana woke up abruptly when she heard a shrill scream of an animal very near to her. The fire had long been extinguished. It was total darkness. Goosebumps could be felt on her skin. Hana panickily fumbled for her smartphone everywhere. When she found it, she immediately switched on the flashlight and placed it upwards. Immediately the cave lit up like daylight. She picked up a palm size stone that she found nearby and vigilantly walked to the source of sound. It came from the back of the cave where she forgot to properly seal the small tunnel. Feeling dread, she inched herself forward with a stone on her right, and the smartphone cum flashlight on the left. Then she saw a fox-like creature with white fur being coiled tightly and savagely bitten by Kuro! Hana straight away gave 100 Likes to this brave little pet of hers in her heart. She saw Kuro in a new light. Although small, Kuro is really like a bird''s eye chili(5)! The foxcreature was way bigger than Kuro (although it was smaller than herself, ehem ehem.. a bit shy shy here). It looked like it came from within the tunnel, already wounded. It forced itself through the stacked boulders. Hana made a mental note to fix and strengthen the blockage as soon as possible (which is after breakfast haha). "Good boy, Kuro. Don''t kill it." Kuro slowly untightened its body grip on the creature. The creature tried to attack Hana! "Aiyooo!!!! Go away!!" Hana jumped to the back in reflex and fall on her butt like a ''spoilt mango'' (6). Seeing its mommy fall, Kuro got so angry that it strangled the creature''s throat until its face turn blue. "Don''t Kuro!!! Leave it alive...It is just scared" Hana coaxed the little snake. It''s a miracle that the snake actually understood her words. Hana still did not realize this. Hana approached the creature to observe it better. It has already passed out. She can only see the white of its eyes now. Its pink tongue lolled out with a little bit of froth from the strangulation. She checked its breathing from its nose. She could feel some air going in and out. Sighing, she checked for its injuries. It seemed like its front and back leg were twisted in a horrible angle. She suspected that they''re broken. It even had a big raw scratch marks from its left eye towards its right cheeks in a diagonal direction. Every scratch mark was deep and oozed with nearly dried purplish blood. [Is it poisoned?] She thought worriedly. [Surely this was not due to Kuro. Kuro''s bitemarks were seen everywhere on its body. However, those were just shallow bites. Furthermore, Kuro was not poisonous.] Hana feared the animal that might be hunting this fox creature. This strengthen her resolve and let her overcame her laziness. She immediately piled rocks on the opened tunnel again. She then used her hands to scoop the damp soil from the cave floor and packed the tunnel until firm. Finally, she gathered the remaining unused branches and made a big fire next to the blocked tunnel to increase the rate of drying faster. Surprisingly, the time for Hana to lit up the fire has reduced significantly. Really, when there''s a will, there''s always a way. The rate of branches being consumed was high; it was not enough to sustain the fire from burning for a long time with that kind of intensity. "You stay here and guard the fox thingy. I''m going to get more dried branches to feed the fire. I won''t be gone for long. I''ll just be in the vicinity of the cave okay." Kuro lightly nodded. Hana was dumbfounded. This time she did see the little snake cutely nod. It implied that this little one understood her complex instructions. [So cute!! So intelligent!] Hana was shocked but very pleased with her new little pet. After a minute, she finally managed to adjust her mind back to her main tasks. Hana removed the stones blocking the cave entrance. Gentle sunlight spilled in. This was an excellent ambient to bring the children to play at the playground, she lamented in her heart. [I missed them so much.] She pushed her fleeting thoughts away and immediately scavenged for dried woods and branches. Since it was quite early, all of them have a slight moisture on top from the early morning dew. She dragged them in forcefully and dry them for a little while near the fire before feeding them to the roaring fire. Thick smoke appeared which nearly choked her. She dragged the fox creature on a banana leaf she used as a sleeping mat, then continued dragging the banana leaf to the cave entrance. She could not carry it out since it was too heavy. Mind you, her limit was only 20kg, two packs full of rice(7). [My old bones! Aiyoo... My back will hurt a lot after this...this is definitely not just 20 kg] Feeling the aching pain on her back, Hana just stayed there cross-legged and begun washing the injuries on the fox creature with her wetwipes and a small amount of her drinking water while grumbling in her heart. Although she was unwilling and a bit scared, she still got softhearted. No choice. The creature was too cute and cuddly. Hana stared intently at the fox creature to determine its species. Its body was as big as a grown German Shepherd. The whole body was white as snow with banded shallow vertical gray stripes on the surface. Its face and body were akin to the bug eating hyena, the aardwolf, with long muzzle and big pair of ears, except that the color and the size were way different. She saw an article of the adorable fox-faced hyena in the kid''s version of Readers Digest subscribed by her hubby for her girls before. They were supposed to be light brownish in color with black stripes on the body. The size was also wrong. It was supposed to be just as big as an adult cat. However, the most ridiculous thing was its two white antler-like horns on the side of its temples. It really resembled the Rudolf antlers(8) free giveaways from Baskin Robin''s ads she saw in the old newspaper a few days before. It was cute and not majestic-looking at all. It also absurdly reminded her of a certain midget reindeer doctor working on a jubilant pirate ship. She always had some soft spot for Mr Tony Tony Chopper!! [Is it a mutated albino aardwolf? What did it eat to get so big?] Hana chuckled gleefully while gently caressed the soft fluffy fur. If it did not seem so ferocious, she would''ve subconsciously cuddled it to death! Just like a big plushie. She took some straight branches with the intention of binding its broken legs. Kuro vigilantly tightened its hold so that the creature won''t accidentally move and hurt its mommy. Hana adjusted the creature''s broken legs and bind them up one by one using the strips of clothes from her inner t-shirt firmly. [Ahhh My lucky shirt. Who''s going to compensate me for a new one. If there is more cuter animal got hurt in the future, am I going to resort to clothes made from leaves later...] Hana grumbled in her heart again silently while expecting to see more cute animals. Her bad habits of loving furry animals and collecting plushy toys silently coming out. After she finished her first aid, she went out to collect dried bushes. All of them were already dried since it was nearly afternoon. She placed them on the now-dried muddy tunnel blockage and lit them up some more! She stoked the fire to continue burning harshly for another hour to strengthen it. She finally felt at ease and released a relieved sigh. .... The creature opened its eyes. The horrible black snake was still on its body. It started to squirm and wanted to continue their previous duel. "Stop it! You''ll get worse!" It looked to the source of sound. This being emitted a strange smell. It then realized that it felt a little better from its previous condition. This being must''ve help it. "Shiro!" It tilted its head in confusion. [What does Shiro means?] "I''m calling you Shiro. Non-negotiable. It doesn''t make a difference to pick one stray or two strays since you are so cute." The being make a fawning funny look. It felt the damnable snake''s unhappiness as it kept on feeling confused. Whatever. It will just stay put for the time being until at least it got better. Author''s Note: (1) cincai = half-hearted attitude/not being serious (2) EL = emergency leave (3) glabella = the spot at the center of one''s eyebrows. We think some people call it ''niwan palace''? not so sure tho (4) supraoccular horn = horns appearing on top of eyes on snakes (5) like a bird''s eye chilli = [Malaysian translation: kecil-kecil cili api] means, although small, but brave/strong/courageous. In those contexts. In Malaysia, the smallest chili, which is the bird''s eye chili was the hottest as compared to other bigger sized chillies usually used (thai chili, cayenne chilli). (6)like a spoilt mango = [Malaysian translation: macam pelam busuk] try throw an overripe mango and see. haha. definitely won''t bounce. especially not graceful-looking. (7) 20kg, two packs of rice = For readers with non-rice as staple food info. The largest regular sized rice packaging for consumer in Malaysia was sold in 10kg per pack. (8) Google this and you can see what I mean!! https://www.loopme.my/post/free-rudolph-headband-with-baskin-robbins-cake 10 BF* Mom’s Pligh Note: BF refers to ''breastfeeding''. It is a generic term in the BF community. When Hana finally solved the problem of safety on her own ''backyard'' and the new ''forcefully'' adopted pet, it was nearly noon. The sun was already high and yet she still did not eat and drink anything for breakfast. Her thoughts were preoccupied with a new kind of problem until she had forgotten about hunger. Her bosoms were suddenly full of intense stinging pain. It started during her first fire-making experience. However, the pain was very dull, so she resolutely ignored it. When the pain flared up so much to this point; she realized her negligence. However, in her defense, too many things happening one after another until she had no choice but to delay on other things such as caring for her own body. "Ahhh...adoiii (1)...damnnnn.." Hana''s uninsured mouth (2) started spewing sets of colorful expletives. She had no way of venting her frustration besides this. Hana stopped bothering about anything and lied down in exhaustion and pain on the cave floor covered with banana leaves. Kuro watched over her worriedly but didn''t know what to do. Hana gave it a glance and thought, [thank goodness this little fellow is an animal. If not, how am I going to undress without a care in this open space?] She removed her torn yellow shirt and finally her bra. Her bosoms were swollen with purplish shade. She was scared looking at her own chest. The breast pads she was wearing were soaked with milk and had the smell of rotten milk. Hana wrinkled her nose and threw them aside. The stinging pain on her bosoms indicated that she was finally having the painful engorgement typical to breasfeeding moms. It occurred due to the hardening of milk fats inside the mammary glands from untimely feeding. If unattended, the pain will be so unbearable until she will get a fever. Worst case scenario, they will be infected and developed into mastitis. There was only two ways to reduce the swelling; one was by massaging until the lumps broken down, or, two, use warm water for a prolonged period on the affected area. The most ideal way was to use a warm shower head and focused the warm water stream while massaging gently. Obviously, the hardcore massage method was accompanied by an unprecedented pain. She had heard stories by the professional postpartum masseuse retelling her about her experiences with many new moms crying from pain when they opted for the specialized massage technique. It was nothing obscene or even sexy, just raw pain and suffering. The masseuse reminded Hana again and again not to be negligent with her personal hygiene and to make sure to breastfeed until both bosoms were empty everytime to prevent unwanted pain from infection. Breastfeeding moms never had it easy as contrary to public''s general impression. Hana could only massaged herself while gritting her teeth hard. She sweated profusely while trying her damnest to withstand the pain. The pain was akin to a blunt knife jabbing continuously from the inside. She needed to massage the affected area until they became soft and pliable while removing the milk excess. After a while, milk sprayed out like a water hose! "Aiyo!!!" Hana sat up abruptly and fumbled for her yellow shirt and covered her chest. Then, she lied down again as she kept on massaging for a good half an hour until the milk pressure reduced. She didn''t want to stain her pants with milk and she hated bowing while pumping the milk out. It will only increase her waist pain all the more. Right now, the problem was, she did not have access to clean warm water and even a proper container to boil water over a fire. At least, if she had some warm water, she could soak a napkin in and turn it into a hot compress to apply on her bosoms. Then she won''t feel so much pain like now. Hence, Hana planned up for today to find bamboo trees to make temporary containers if time permits. Making potteries took time even without making the kiln first. The flow of milk had been reduced to a steady white stream. It was a waste not to collect it. She got up and went to her food stash. She planned to find a suitable container. [Which one should I use? Anything would do, as long as it can retain liquid.] After a short contemplation, Hana emptied out the prepacked plastic of her favorite tausa biscuits. There''s 7 individually packed tausa biscuits left. Hana sighed while stuffing another one pack into her pants. The rest she kept back inside the shopping bag. She took one of the chocolate twiggies(3) and started to eatbefore continuing pumping the excessive milk into the tausa main packaging. The three-finger sized chocolate sponge cake was filled with chocolate cream, making it quite excessive in taste for Hana''s own palette, but was very popular with kids, including her first child. After three quick bites, it was gone. The prolonged pain made Hana''s eyes teared up. Hana kept on staring at the accumulating milk sadly. It reminded her of her little one at home. Her daughter must''ve cried so hard day in day out. She was very clingy to Hana and treated her mom like an instant meal; when she wants it, it means she wants now. It could happen during meal times, shopping time, driving time and even toilet time of her mom. Hana persisted as an on-demand fully BF mom (4) because she heard that children that were fully BF will be much healthier, with less health complications, and extra smart. True to the news, both of her daughters rarely got the sniffles and fever, as opposed to other children. Even her hubby agreed to the claim as he saw his work colleagues frequently taking EL when their children got sick. However, the downside was her children became extra clingy until she didn''t have any personal time for herself at all. It impeded her from finishing a lot of work properly. Fortunately, she was not working outside, only focusing in raising her children well. She truly revered all the working moms who persisted on raising a fully BF baby, the commitment she needed to place on pumping everyday was worthy to be respected. She knew it was very painful. She had tried a few times. She kept her prized Medela pump(5) well although she rarely used it. Everything got the pros and cons. It depended on oneself to choose which conditions suited them better. She kept pumping diligently until she felt they were emptied out well. She can''t afford to make the same mistake again. What if she got down with fever from this? She would suffer bitterly. Hana was scared thinking about it. The milk flow stopped when Hana managed to empty out both of her bosoms. She got a third bag full of milk now, what to do now? She tried offering some to her new pets. Kuro tried it dutifully, but it only drank a little out of courtesy. It''s stomach was still full from last night''s hunt, presumably. Hana''s latest pet, Shiro just ignored her existence which hurt Hana''s feelings. [Ungrateful wretched. Wait for my revenge. When your health get better I''m going to tickle you to death!] Hana grumbled unhappily in her heart. Although she herself was thirsty, she couldn''t muster herself into drinking her own bodily fluid. She still didn''t reach the level of hardcore recycling. Not just yet. Or not ever hopefully T_T . Kuro the little snake was minding its own business when it saw Hana was doing much better. Its black beady eyes will sometime glanced at its mom''s movement. [The white liquid tasted quite bland], it thought. It didn''t understand the concept of milk as it was essentially a reptile. So, after a few sip, it politely refused. His new mom looked quite hurt with its action. Kuro felt quite guilty. It didn''t know that small action would''ve hurt its mom''s feelings. Will she not like it anymore? [I should''ve drink more. Maybe she''ll be happier.] Funny, how a snake could infer so much from an unhappy expression from Hana. Kuro, you''re thinking too much! All of a sudden, Kuro felt its head became a little heavy. It stopped in its track when the pain escalated. It felt like its head was going to explode! Its black beady eye turned ruby red; as red as the ''jewel'' on its forehead, making the impression that Kuro became a three-eyed snake. Its vision blurred, and it could see a different view from its eye! It was still the inside of the cave, but the vision was more elevated; it was also slightly fuzzy intermittently, as if lacking signal. Kuro looked at Hana''s direction and he finally understood. He had a shared vision with Hana! Hana was clueless, grumbling unhappily at a corner of the cave while doing something. She didn''t realized Kuro has been looking through her eyes. Kuro was elated! It was one step closer to its mistress. It looked at the white liquid and finally comprehended. That white liquid which came from its mom contained its mom''s life essence. With its own special body constitution, it easily developed the higher level telepathic connection with Hana. That was the only explanation. From Hana''s eyes, Kuro could see that Hana didn''t know what to do with the leftover milk. She just left it at a corner of the cave among the rocks after placing a layer of clingwrap on the tausa packaging. [I must have it all!] Fire burned in Kuro''s red eyes. Author''s note: (1) Adoii = ouch (2) Uninsured mouth = [in Malaysian language = mulut takde insuran], literally means the person can really talk ''honest'' words (usually in a bad way) without feeling any remorse to other people''s feelings. (3) Twiggies = a three finger-sized sponge mini cake by Gardenia. Got three flavor; vanilla, chocolate, mocha. See example from the link (http://www.gardenia.com.my/Twiggies.html) (4) on-demand fully BF mom = a generic term for a mother who breastfed her child when the child demands for it at any time. Usually these moms don''t store their milk in the freezer because their milk output is proportional to the baby''s need. (5)Medela pump = its a brand for a breast pump. Got many versions. Mrs. Mooncat likes it the most haha. Google ''Medela breast pump'' to see the image. 11 What Could We Make with a Chisel? Hana drank one of the water bottle until finished and yet she still felt so parched! [I shouldn''t have eaten sweet things!] Hana regretted her choice internally. She felt uncomfortable all over her body. The sweet chocolaty sponge cake debris stuck in between her teeth like glue. She never knew that brushing her teeth was a luxury.Her bosoms were still aching with pain as she placed the milk containing package gently between a few rocks just by the side of her food stash which she covered the top lightly with a layer of clingwrap. She rummaged her handbag for a toothpick but to no avail. When she was about to lose hope, finally she found an unassuming bobby pin in between the pockets. The pin was not inventoried together since she had missed it before. "Yes!" The shameless aunty had let go all manner of elegance and squatted down while attempted to modify the bobby pin into a makeshift toothpick. Kuro''s concentration was broken as it was startled by her sudden shout. [Since I can''t floss, at least I can try to clean my teeth with this pin.] Hana grinned happily. [It''s reusable too.] She picked her teeth while squatting beside her food stash while trying to decide what to do with the milk. [What should I do with the leftover milk?] She sighed while slipping the bobby-pin-turned-toothpick into her jeans. Her mind thought of many possibilities. The most direct usage was by using it in cooking, making cheese, soap or even candle. However, all those items needed other ingredients to make it happen. She didn''t have the heart to throw it away. She sighed deeply and felt a shiver running through her back. Hana realized she was still topless. She quickly fetched her milk-stained yellow shirt and put it on again. Although it smelled, at least her body was covered from the chill. [Let''s start working! I still have half a day to do something. One who doesn''t work doesn''t eat.] She checked her notepad first and skimmed through the inventory. The food she consumed was negligible; she still had lots of stuff. [I think I can splurge a bit for dinner today provided I can get my hands on some bamboos.] She had seen merchants selling lemang (1) during Eid''s festival (2). Arash even bought some in the past. It meant that it could be used to contain things inside, not just glutinous rice (3). She desperately wanted some soup to warm up her belly. She went through all the goals she had written previously; Short term goals (Day 1) 1. Scout surroundings for information and geographic location - half done! 2. Find water source - done! 3. Find tinders, twigs and logs for fire making - done! 4. Find things for defense Long term goal Return home! Hana sighed again, for the n-thtime (4) of the day. A lot of action items were still open. She felt like such a slacker. She added on some new goals and a new objective. Short term goals (Day 2) 1. Scout surroundings for information and geographical location - half done 2. Find water source - done! 3. Find tinders, twigs and logs for fire making - done! 4. Find things for defense 5. Make a chisel 6. Make water container 7. Make a cooking pot with clay 8. Forage rattans to make baskets 9. Make fish trap at river Long term goal Return home! Today''s goldengoal Eat soup for dinner! [Wahhh..so many things to do...] Hana cringed unhappily. She was always an unmotivated person especially when it came to physical activities. However, this time, her determination has been fueled by her final objective of the day as she was already bored eating sweet things. She went out of the cave dwelling and sat down on the forest floor in front of the cave where it was brightly lit. With that, she could save some energy from not needing to kindle a fire. It was too exhaustive anyway. She also didn''t want to waste the battery by switching on her smartphone''s torchlight all the time. She brought out the four different shades of grey flat stones and tried to knock them with each other. She found out, the deep gray one chipped of in a flaky fashion. So, she stopped harassing the rest and focused solely on this single gray stone. She knocked it carefully at the edge until it formed a sharp end. Finally, after a while, her first primitive tool was completed. She has taken quite some time as she worked out a little bit of finesse to adjust her strength and angle to achieve the shape and size she wanted according to her ideal chisel in her mind . It was a trapezium shaped stone the size of an opened palm. The thickness of her homemade chisel was just at about three fingers. The rest had crumbled to shards of flaky debris and small unrecognizable stones. By the time it was ready, Hana''s spirit already reached an all-time low. Her back ached too, adding to her discomfort. She wiped her forehead with the corner of her torn smelly yellow shirt. Her shirt stuck to her body and the smell of rotten milk lingered in her nostril making her brow creased. She tried her best to ignore her body odor in vain. [I desperately need a good wash! I smell like Arash''s old fermented socks! Damn!] Back on earth, her beloved Arash sneezed loudly as he thought that his wife must be missing him so much. Such an innocent sweet man. Hana brought the newly made chisel with an empty water bottle inside an unused shopping bag with her and directly walked towards the stream she found yesterday. She didn''t forget to jump into the cave to fetch her girl''s napkin. [It''ll be good to have a bath later too.] Hana eagerly anticipated the bath more than finding bamboo trees. She kept on comparing her written notes with the surrounding to find her way. Yesterday was a hectic day. While following the songbird, she wasn''t able to survey the trees around. While returning, it was already dark, hence she missed some noteworthy landmarks and useful trees. She walked carefully while poking her surroundings with a long stick she picked up casually before. Attacked by a snake once was good enough. No need for a second time. Kuro was snugly coiled on her wrist as usual; Hana was unaware when did this cheeky little snake climbed to her wrist as its weight was next to nothing. Shiro was staying at home. After a thirty minutes'' walk following her written note, she found some rattan and bamboo clusters a little further to the left of her walkthrough. Not far ahead was the stream she found yesterday thanks to the munificence of the little songbird. Hana randomly choose a small bamboo within her scope of observation and started to repeatedly score under one of its segments using her newly made chisel. Time was tight. She could not effort to waste any. One of the tutorials said to repeatedly scored the whole side of the bamboo branch just like when one was using a conventional saw to break it off easily. Chopping or hacking were not good methods to cut bamboo. Hana felled two 5-6 feet bamboo trees as her hands started to feel numb from overuse. She then persistently scored all the bamboos into their respective segments. [Soup...soup...soup!!!] The same word reverberated in her mind as Hana desperately tried psycho-ing (5) herself. Hana cut three before the segments to make closed containers and the other seven she made them opened on one part, closed on the other part. She planned to make three temporary cooking pot, three water filters, and the last four into water containers. Finally, when it was getting darker, Hana managed to finish her present tasks. She immediately filled up the bamboo segments inside her spare shopping bag after layering the inner bag with soft big leaves to prevent tearing. Hana observed her surrounding to ensure there is nobody and no animal near her. She even asked Kuro to keep guard for her before undressing herself and sat at the edge of the stream. The water was slightly cloudy, but she could still see the shallow bottom.However, the temperature was freezing cold! Hana got goosebumps just by exposing her flesh to the water so imagined how she can bath in that condition! Firstly, she soaked and washed her smelly yellow shirt and her undies. Then, she washed herself properly until she felt fresh and energetic again. Hana couldn''t take the cold anymore, hence she stopped after a short while. After all, she had was used to warm shower anytime at home. She wiped herself well with the napkin she brought along and re-wore her wet yellow shirt after she wrung it to her maximum capacity. She re-wore her unwashed jeans without the clean undies. She just kept them in her shopping bag. She finally realized that Kuro was gone. What an unreliable guard, she grumbled. After she was finally finished tidying herself, she filled her empty bottle with water from the stream. She then started to forage some wild onion trees and ironweeds from the side of the stream. There were a lot of them. [This location is a treasure trove! Just yesterday I got some asam gelugor (6).] Hana foraged the ironweed herbs happily. Although she knew the herb can be brewed into tea, she never dared to forage around her residential area where there were plenty of them. She had seen a worker spraying herbicide everywhere! She was also lucky to find some garlic herbs among the bushes; however, she only took three small cloves and leave the rest for later use. She heard the angry cawing of birds too although she hadn''t seen any. She must''ve disturbed their nest. Hana decided that her next biggest project after making potteries will be making a small herb garden in a fenced yard. Although the stream was near and not hard to forage for herbs, she couldn''t prevent other animals from eating the herbs she regularly used even when she was foraging them sparingly. When she has her own garden, she could transplant all the herbs, weeds and trees that she liked. She also took note of the number of fishes in the stream. They were not afraid of Hana at all when she was bathing just now. They curiously swam near her but not quite within her reach. If not, Hana would''ve catch a fish or two for grilling later like a martial artist that she watched in television last time (hehe it good to dream once a while right). When she went back, she planned to make another chisel with a long handle to be used for digging earth. It would be good to make a fish trap over here. She knew she would never catch a fish with her own hands or even when using a fishing rod because she had never done any fishing activity before. [When can I get my superpower duh 12 What a Good Deal! An aunty with a snake on her wrist walked back happily with one bagful of bamboos, and another bagful of kindling. The herbs foraged were wrapped inside a big leaf and placed together with the kindling and the water bottle. This time, Hana''s trip was smooth sailing. She managed to return to her cave dwelling before dark. She even did her number one and number two business in a hole she dug at the edge of the clearing not far from the cave. Before, she was too scared and hold them in for so long until finally they didn''t want to come out! What a plight! She used a long stick and hammered it in with a stone to mark the location so that she won''t accidentally step on her own crap. Shiro lazily opened one of its eye when it saw Hana entered and closed them back. The cave was colder than outside but safer. Hence, Hana never thought of moving out for the time being. She patted Shiro''s head with a doted expression. Shiro rolled its eyes and ignored her while Kuro was seething with jealousy. Hana grinned and patted Kuro''s head and caressed its little horn. "You are cute too Only not fluffy enough haha I wonder, what is the usage of your horn?" Kuro, being eager to please Hana, enthusiastically slid down from Hana''s wrist and made a really comical swaying movements; from left to right, from right to left. It''s like it was dancing. Hana clapped her hands in delight! What a great showmanship! [This one is soo cute lahh!] Suddenly, a small blue lighting sparked on the surface of the horn. It zapped the floor in front of Kuro. The cave floor was not scorched contrarily. Hana blinked. [Was that a spark of electricity???] "..." They stared at each other for a minute. Hana snapped out of it and gave Kuro a clap. "Practice well my beloved Kuro! I want you to generate this energy in a constant state as soon as possible. No need to be strong at all." Hana picked Kuro up and give it a kiss on the jewel location. Kuro was delighted! The weak electricity generated gave Hana immense hope and make her excited. Note that, there was a new ''beloved'' word in front of Kuro''s name. [Finally, I found a way to charge my powerbank! Banzai!!!!] Hana was in a super good mood. Kuro noticed that Hana was greatly impressed with its electrical performance and thus eagerly showed off again by aiming at a different side of the cave wall. This time, it generated a gentle current for a period of time. It still didn''t understand the significance of its ability towards Hana. Hana rejoiced with Kuro''s performance. She quickly took out her smartphone to time the electrical current generation. She didn''t go too near since she was worried her smartphone might be affected somehow. Kuro stopped his ''attack'' after about 20 minutes. Through Hana''s rough observation, she could see the output current was not stable; the blue lightning flashed a couple of times during the ''attack''. "My little genius, try not to fluctuate your currents okay. Practice more. This will become your most important job." Hana squatted down beside her pet and gave it another encouraging pat on the head after she slipped her smartphone into her pocket. After thinking for a while, Hana added, "Try tuning down the intensity of your lightning attack as much as possible, then prolong it more, and make sure to be able to aim the attack with absolute accuracy." After all, she didn''t know how strong was Kuro''s electricity. If Kuro zapped her powerbank to kingdom come, she would be heartbroken and killed herself. It was her only means to stay connected to her love out there. Hana took a short stick and drew ten dots with descending sizes side by side on the wall, akin to a dart target practice point. Only, they didn''t have multiple rings, only 1 circle each. The smallest was a dot the size of her pinky fingernail. "When you let flow your electricity, aim at the circle. When you manage to aim at the smallest circle and maintain your output for at least an hour, it meant you''ve succeeded." Kuro nodded vigorously. It made Hana smiled satisfactorily. "Do you have anything else to show me?" To Hana''s surprise, Kuro nodded again. [Wahhh.. This little snake is so resourceful. What else can it do? Generate flame or ice maybe?] Hana''s imagination started to run wild. Kuro stood still and raised its head a foot high. Hana could feel the snake was concentrating. Hana waited in anticipation. Suddenly both of its eyes turn red! Hana was amazed. She waited to see the effect. After two minutes... "..." Hana watched Kuro intently. "..." Kuro watched Hana with utmost concentration. After ten minutes... "..." Hana watched Kuro patiently. "..." Kuro still didn''t move and continued watching Hana with utmost concentration. Its red eyes were slightly pulsating. After fifteen minutes... Hana can''t stand it anymore, so she gave a big clap to Kuro. "Marvelous! Excellent my dear! What beautiful red eyes! Red is my favorite color. How did you know?" she smiled sweetly. Hana used her strategy to praise her kids to show Kuro her appreciation. It truly was beautiful. It''s like looking at three beautiful rubies instead of one. "... " Kuro was dumbfounded. [Did she not feel the connection? Can''t she see through my eyes?] Kuro''s spirit had fallen to a new low. It thought that its mommy would notice the new shared vision. It made a sighing sound. Hana quickly went over to pat its head apologetically, seeing how dejected it had become from her fake delight. Both of them felt really awkward now. [Doesn''t matter. I''m sure she understands soon enough.] Kuro vouched in his heart. It dejectedly slithered to the cave wall and continue practicing its electricity attack currents. It was still confused by Hana''s instructions to lower the intensity and increase the attack time by the hour. It doesn''t really make sense. Hana sighed looking at Kuro''s back profile. It must''ve been disappointed. It didn''t know that Hana had truly accepted it and placed it at the most important place in her heart. Besides its high loyalty, its ability as a powerbank charger alone had made it a super win. Not to mentioned, it was a super lovely and cute pet too. Furthermore, she still didn''t realize until now on its ability as a house guardian and insect repellent! What a multi-purpose powerbank charger! What a good deal! 13 Egg Drop Soup Hana was very satisfied with Kuro''s versatility. What she didn''t know was why Kuro became so attached to her although they just met. Kuro just felt her smell was especially familiar; however, it could not pinpoint what was so special about this being. It just brazenly forced itself on her like how she forced herself on its adversary of affection. Grrrr..Kuro felt angry thinking about the obnoxious Glacier Mirage Fox. Yep, it knew what that thing was. As a native of this rainforest, it could not understand why that arrogant fox could appear here of all place. This side was supposed to be his domain. No other ancient beast should have encroached into his place. Although it was considered young in its own clan, it was already 300 plus years old. The only difference was, it has just woken from a 100-year slumber after cultivating its latest bloodline ability. It knew there was a cave at this location but never checked what was inside since it was pretty sure no other animals or beasts dared to enter its ground. That bastard should''ve been in the north where it belonged! Kuro fumed. Oblivious to the internal struggle of her snake pet to kill off its rival, Hana cleaned up the surrounding of the cave with a bunch of dried leaves bonded together with a tree fiber. She hummed lightheartedly and placed the single bird egg she got from Kuro inside the egg carton, replacing two eggs she took out together. Kuro''s heart was bleeding when it looked at the eggs in Hana''s hands. So big! I can''t lose next time! Quantity over quality! Kuro vowed that it will get so much bird''s egg for Hana until she couldn''t eat anymore next time! Again, this jolly aunty did not realize she had hurt her pet''s self-esteem just by simply showing her AA grade with omega-3 eggs (1). We should not blame her as to her knowledge, snakes are not that intelligent with complex emotions. She stoked a small fire and built up on it until it became stable. This time, from rubbing the dried stick to make smoke appear on the tinder to a full legit fire only took her an hour, a far cry from them fire making experts, but hey, so much better than her initial three grueling hours. It turned out, practice did make it perfect. She used a stone to pound two sticks into an ''X'' position on the left and on the right to support the bamboo canister she made before. She then hacked from the top part to make an opening; just like an elongated half cylinder bowl. Hana carefully poured in some water from her water bottle inside, not wanting it to spill on the fire, lest the fire stoked with great difficulty was extinguished by her action. She then added crushed chopped garlic into the water, two pinch of salt, a small pinch of chicken stock cube and some sausages. She used her own medical card for slicing the sausages to tiny circular pieces. She left the credit card alone; who knows when she will find civilization? At that time, the credit card might be handy. She placed bamboo opening side up and let the water came to a boil. Hana prepared another set of the same mixture on another opened bamboo canister. When the one on the fireplace started to boil, she picked it up carefully with soft leaves on her hands to avoid being burned and placed it carefully on the cave floor between two stones so that it won''t roll over. She immediately cracked an egg inside and stirred slowly while the soup kept on bubbling before adding in some chopped wild onion leaves inside. "If only I have some corn starch. The soup will become thick and more delicious" she sighed. She left the readied soup and proceed to make another one. Kuro and Shiro were curiously watching Hana''s antics. They did not understand what Hana''s action signifies. Kuro slithered slowly towards the readied soup and tried to go inside the bamboo bowl. "Stop it! You''ll become boiled snake. It''s too hot" She used a stick to fling the little snake away. Kuro''s feelings were hurt. It slithered to a dark corner while Shiro showed a schadenfreude grin. When both soups were ready, Hana drank hers while blowing on the surface of the soup, a mouthful over a mouthful slowly. The refreshing chicken stock infused soup was balanced with the green onion''s tanginess. The silky strands of the eggs and chunks of sausages made the soup even better. If only I can get some carrots, celery and cauliflower! She felt her insides warmed up. Not eating warm things for a night and a day had made Hana felt uncomfortable before. But now she felt so much better. Truly, an egg drop soup for the soul! Kuro and Shiro watched Hana''s blissful expression and started to swallow their saliva. "Come over guys! Another one for you. Share okay." Both of them pounced at the egg drop soup and licked the bamboo bowl clean. They have fallen in love with the delicious water this being made! Our mommy has magical hands! Hana chuckled softly when she watched the two kids ravenously drinking the soup from trying to outdo each other. So naughty. The soup was just a basic soup any Chinese aunty ought to make. The method of making the soup can lead to many variations of cooking such as the Sa Hor Fun (2), the Kueyteow Kungfu (3) and even the Mee Ladna (4). If one can find mock shark''s fin, it can easily turn to shark''s fin soup. However, the most crucial ingredient is missing; the soup thickener. It could be corn flour or even flour mixed with a little water. It''s alright, the taste was good enough. Only the texture was compromised . As a child of a Chinese descend father and a Malay descend mother, Hana had no prejudice to any kind of cooking. Her palate was wide and without reservation. She loved heavily spiced Indian food and yet she also loved the light scented and refreshing Chinese cooking. Her love for Malay food was unprecedented especially the traditional ones which were beginning to disappear. She had also tried Japanese cooking, Korean cooking, Western cooking and even Middle Eastern cooking. All have their own appeal. This can only happen when she had time and money (come from Arash of course lol) to try them out one after another in the kitchen as a housewife. She planned to eat well although she was stuck here. That was the only way for her heart to be at ease. Shiro really liked Hana''s cooking. At the beginning, it planned to disappear as soon as it can move. Now, however, it convinced itself to stay a little while longer so that it could sampled new surprises. Kuro however can''t have enough of the soup. It wondered if it got more eggs, will its new mommy make some more soup? Kuro thought as its saliva coming out from its cute mouth. Author''s note: (1) AA grade with omega-3 eggs = Eggs were enhanced with additional added value like ''lutein'', ''omega'' etc to differentiate them from the normal eggs. It''s not just about the sizes anymore (AA, A, B, C). Its because a lot of Malaysian cooking used eggs in nearly every one-meal-dish. (2) Sa Hor Fun = Large flat noodles in thick soup like the one in this chapter (3) Kueyteow Kungfu = medium flat noodles which is fried first in eggs and corn/rice flour before soaked in similar soup (4) Mee Ladna = noodles in similar soup with added dark and light soy sauce 14 Hana’s Childish Conjectures Letting the kids swimming in their own daydreaming, Hana opened the LINE chatting app on the special spot not far from the fireplace. While waiting for the chats being connected, she took another gray stone and proceed with making a new chisel. The new chisel would enable her to work on the soil near the stream area and turn it into a fish trap. This idea came as she had seen a particular Youtube video a few days before her transmigration on how to make a fish trap by digging a hole near a water source. It is a pity she couldn''t load Youtube here. It will make her life a lot easier. Sighing, she will try it out the next time when she goes to the river as she need to confirm that the stream embankment conditions was suitable. As for other (more savage) ways to get meat, there''s no way she was going to catch a game and slaughter it herself like on TV! All the meat she had ever cooked were either from supermarkets, the town''s night market (1) or the wholesale market (2)! The smartphone beeped a few times to indicate that the chat has been connected, and messages from Arash entered non-stop; Papa: These are new DIYs for you love; 1. How to make potteries using termite mounds (3)(Author: Yes, you read that correctly 15 One Step at a Time On the other side of the unknown world, it was already around ten at night but Hana kept on tossing and turning on the dried leaves overlaid with multiple large banana leaves. The banana leave''s midribs were hurting her back. She still couldn''t sleep. She missed her latex double layered memory foam bed. She was so sleep depraved these days and was welcoming this long awaited rest. However, when the time was ripe, her body just couldn''t shut down. She felt her mind was so active and her body was aching everywhere. She had never do this much hard labor in her thirty plus years of her life. Pounding gently on the sore spots at her shoulders, she kept on thinking about her conjectures. Despite her hubby''s light admonition, she felt that she was right. Just called it women''s intuition. Whatever it might be. She just couldn''t explain why. She could never win an argument with her hubby. His was always backed by facts and figures, while hers was more on feelings and self-proclaimed sixth sense. What she knew was, right now, she was pretty hurt by Arash''s rebuke. Truthfully, Hana knew she sounded childish and absurd. However, this time, she was backed by facts, not just intuition; all the geographical indications showed that she didn''t go anywhere at all. She was worried, tired and frustrated. She knew her geography was just so-so (1). The worst was her physics. To invent or solve some mechanical problems, besides calculations, physics is a must. That was her hubby''s forte. Even if a clue or a solution was found, she might not be able to comprehend it. This was what troubled Hana the most. She was a biology person rather than a physics enthusiast. She was afraid that she had actually found an answer or a solution in front of her but failed to notice its significance due to her ignorance. She took a deep breath and sigh. She remembered, Arash always said, [Do not think too much ahead. Solve the problem at hand first. One step at a time. You will only stress yourself out.] Now was not the time to think too much. Deal with the present situation at hand first. Hana looked around for Kuro; suddenly she felt Kuro was the only one who could make her smile. Nonetheless, Kuro has long gone somewhere, probably hunting for small critters to eat while the aloof Shiro was by the cave entrance, silently relaxing with its eyes closed. However, its ears can be seen twitching to the left and right once a while. Hana sat up and stopped herself from disturbing Shiro; she immediately busy herself. It''s better to do something productive rather than lying around doing nothing and moping around. She updated her item''s list while roasting the tip of three six feet sticks she dragged home after settling her ''numbered business'' earlier today; Perishable time Within one week Twiggies (1)* Bananas (6) Chicken sausage (6) Within one month Eggs (8) Bird egg (1) Tausa biscuits (6) Potatoes (4) The foodstuff from a year''s away perishable dates were not touched, so Hana didn''t amend anything from there. Hana planned to reserve those items as long as possible and focus only on consuming the short-lived items first. She added a new category, "Foraged items", to classify her recent bountiful harvest after amending the numbers of food items on the list. Foraged Items Asam gelugor (4) Ironweed (3) Wild onion (1) Wild garlic cloves (1) Additional entries were added into her item''s list. She felt proud of herself for making a number of ''homemade'' stuff. Her homemade stuff only consisted of food related items and crafts only before this. Even her beloved Arash was not a handy-kind-of guy. Items 1.5 L water bottle (2) clingwrap (1) diaper (1) mini wetwipes (1) baby napkin (1) chisel (for cutting trees) (1) chisel (for digging soil) (1) bamboo container - open (7) bamboo container - close (1) makeshift ''spear'' (3) The second chisel has been completed some time after her chat with Arash. She attached the chisel at the end of a long five feet solid stick and tied it up sloppily with a number of tree fibres she collected. It didn''t look great, but at least it could last for a while before tearing. The end where the stick and the chisel met was hacked a little using the previous hand chisel so that the new trapezium shaped chisel could be partially inserted in before being tied together to increase firmness. This time, this chisel was a little different. It was 1 foot in length, flat, with the shape of a midi skirt. This kind of chisel will be useful for digging soil to make fish traps or plant trees later, if her dream of making a garden patch could be realized before she return home. It will have the function of both a hoe and a shovel. Hana liked everything that was multipurpose. Sorting out her priorities, she planned to make a clay pot and a simple filter using some of the bamboo containers for access to clean germ-free and particle-free water. Her water was getting less and less, but there was so much to do before she could prepare a makeshift water filtration system for safe consumption. Right now, she was down to the last half bottle although she had been very thrifty until bordering to dehydration. Hana touched her dried lips. Breaking out from her thoughts, she took the lightly roasted tip of one of the long sticks and rubbed the charred parts on a flat stone. She re-roasted the tip again and redo a couple of times, alternately rubbing it again and again until a sharp cone-like protrusion was made. Her wrists were getting sore again. "Sigh..let''s continue later-lah. (2)" Hana talked to herself in a whisper. She lie down again and tried to catch some sleep. As the fire getting lower, Hana fall asleep in between her endless worries, the same as her other half. Author''s Note: (1) so-so = average (2) -lah = Malaysians love attaching ''-lah'' to the ending of their sentence, just like ''-ni''. It''s just a sound. *the numbers in bracket here (and the rest of the food/item list) represents the number of item present, not a footnote as in the sentences. 16 Making Potteries like a Boss Hana wake up the next day feeling super exhausted, tired and sticky all over. She could feel her drool drenching half her face. As quickly as possible, she wiped the residue off haphazardly so that no one could see. After a moment of clarity, she finally realized there is no one else here. If only Shiro and Kuro could talk, she would''ve knew how much noise she made after she fall asleep last night. It was like a primordial savage beast bellowing non-stop from inside the cave. Shiro and Kuro shot each other a knowing glance. In their heart, they complained why this being is not cute at all while sleeping. At least during the day this being looked quite decent especially when she was cooking like last night. Both of them smacked their lips as they remember their last dinner (Do snakes even have lips?). All the noise has attracted several wild beasts but had been disposed by both of them using grisly means. Well, at least they filled their stomach over the night. The food this being makes was delicious, but too little. They didn''t know that Hana had been quite generous with them since in her eyes, these strays should''ve just eaten kibbles a.k.a. dry pet food. She treated them like children, with children''s stomachs. Hence, the portion of half of an adult per pet was given. It can''t be helped, as Hana don''t have experience raising magical pets. And the sizes of both Kuro and Shiro did not help; they just looked like any ordinary little snake and dog she''d seen. Hana drank a few gulps of water and used only a handful to lather her face to make herself felt fresher. The sourish bitter taste inside her mouth was purposely ignored. She sorely missed her mouthwash. [So much dried saliva. I must''ve make quite a scene last night...] Hana blushed. Thank god they were just animals. If not, she won''t know where to hide her face. All her dignity will go down the drain. She didn''t realize her pets'' intelligence level were quite high. Oh dear.. After finish refreshing herself, Hana reviewed her goals from her notebook first and amended the date. Short term goals (Day 3) 1. Scout surroundings for information and geographical location - half done 2. Find water source - done! 3. Find tinders, twigs and logs for fire making - done! 4. Find things for defense - done (sharpened burned shaft) 5. Make a chisel C done! 6. Make water container 7. Make a cooking pot with clay 8. Forage rattans to make baskets 9. Make fish trap at river Today''s goal (ehem! Yesterday''s goal ok) Eat soup for dinner! C Success! She happily crossed the succeeded goal of yesterday and wrote today''s chores based on her goals while eating two bananas. What to do today (Day 3) 1. Make water filters using bamboo canisters 2. Make a fish trap 3. Forage some lianas/rattans 4. Find clay sand for pottery making 5. Forage for tinders/twigs/logs After another swig of water from her water bottle, she immediately moved out from the caves. Hana brought along with her another two bananas, one tausa biscuit, and the last twiggies she had in her inventory. She also brought along one empty water bottle which she transferred half of the water from the last bottle. Right now, she was left with a quarter bottle of clean water. She felt an impending crisis coming. Although water shortage was not an issue, clean water free from pathogens for consumption was her first concern. She was scared to get sick in this forest since she didn''t have any basic medication. Her GIT (1) was quite delicate since she was young as she could easily gotten stomach problems when eating random unhygienic food as compared to others. She filled all her provisions of the day into one shopping bag and suddenly remembered she needed to bring along some charcoal. She scooped out all the coarsecharcoal she could find from the fireplace she made for two nights consecutively and filled them inside one opened bamboo canister to the brim. The charcoal will be an important component in making a water filter. It can absorb impurities and germs easily. She didn''t forget to bring one uncooked sausage. After a short contemplation, Hana threw in the whole roll of clingwrap together as well.She intended to use the sausage as bait if she had the time to make a fishtrap. As for the clingwrap, she was not sure of its usage, but she had a haunch she might need it to wrap the completed bamboo canisters to prevent all of the filter material from falling out later. Well, better be safe than sorry right? Hana walked out briskly towards the stream with a sure gait this time; on her left shoulder, a shopping bag full of things, on her left hand, the supposed homemade ''spear'' for self-defense, and on her right, the newly made chisel with a function of a hoe. This time, she had so much to do and she needed to double up! As she sighed, she really wishes that she could have something that can help her carry all of these items, a shopping trolley would be a heavenly item here. ... Hana glanced at her smartphone. It was already 8.30 am. Kuro the snake who silently followed her all this while disappeared into the trees as usual. Hana knew that the little guy might need a little time to do some personal stuff. She just shrugged it off. She immediately started to look for a suitable location to make a fish trap. She walked along the stream to find a strategic location and started digging when she reached just beside the stream a little bit upstream. She started digging the soil about one feet deep and use her hands to smoothen the clay-like sand, making into a v-shaped channel. Hana''s heart pained as she teared the sausage and sprinkle the meat pieces inside the hole, and some on the mini channel itself. She had no choice; this was the only meat in hand which she could use as bait. The water from the stream did not enter the hole, but just touched the edge a bit. The channel has a slight inward slope towards the hole. She then plucked some tree branches and camouflaged the hole from the sides. She prayed silently for the fish to be stupid enough to enter the tiny hole. ... After two hours of setting up the fish trap, she walked downstream for ten minutes and reached a location with smooth clay-like sand beside the stream. Yes, it took two whole hours. You''ve seen it right. Others would need less than 30 minutes for that. Hana was in fact, weaker than the average Joe. This was because, she always found ways to skip PE when she was young, and skip exercising when she got older with a myriad of excuses. Slowpoke was her middle name. Now, she had no choice but to step out and performed muscle work to survive. Probably she need to change her middle name now that she works so hard to survive (Lol, the Author just joking 17 Water Filtration is a Painstaking Business After all the hard work, Hana decided to take a short break and ate up half of the provision she brought with her. The bananas were a no brainer; she just chomped on one of them like a hungry ghost. However, she agonized on choosing between the Tausa biscuit (1) and the Twiggies (2). [Should I go for the Tausa or the Twiggies?] She seriously pondered in her mind. Previous experience on eating the sweet Twiggies made Hana''s opinion swayed towards the Tausa biscuit. However, her habit to save the one she likes most for last made her seriously contemplated. At that moment, she heard faint rustlings of leaves quiet near to her. Hana hold her breath as she subconsciously turned around and saw the same colored song bird she encountered on the first day of her arrival. [Aiyoo! Make my heart jump-lah! There it is, my lucky angel.] She smiled lightly and whispered to herself, "Tausa it is then." Last time, the bird seemed to like the biscuit a lot. She would peel more flakes for it this time. She sighed rather emotionally while looking at her Tausa biscuit. A Tausa eaten meant a Tausa less. Right now, there''s only five left of this delicious Teluk Intan''s (3) morsel. She wouldn''t know when she could have another chance to eat a Tausa biscuit ever again when this batch in her belonging finishes. She pulled apart the pink wrapper and bit into the soft yet flaky bun-like shaped biscuit. It didn''t taste like a bun or bread, nor like a biscuit; it was more like a crumbly layered croissant, except that the texture was not the same at all. The top was glazed with egg white and sprinkled with sesame seeds. This one was her favorite, filled with melted caramelized sugar. Another one would be the mungbean grainy filling and the dried red bean filling. Actually, Tausa referred to the standardized flaky biscuit with mungbean filling, but Hana just don''t care and generalized all with the same name. It''s real name was supposed to be Heong Peah (4). [If only I could just microwave it, it would''ve tasted much better.] Hana lamented while closing her eyes and savored the taste. Hana intentionally left large pieces of biscuit flakes and collected them inside the wrapper while she was eating. She could feel the little intelligent bird watching her every action with curiosity. After she finished her humble lunch, she drank half of the water she brought along to push down all the sweetness and crumbs sticking in between her teeth. She casually broke a small dried branch a few meters away and immediately started picking her teeth like a hobo while sitting cross-legged. No need to pretend to be delicate. Nobody to show one! (5) Hana poured the contents from the leftover wrapper beside her. She intentionally spread it a little wide, so that it could compel the little bird to summon its courage to come down from the trees like last time and eat. She had a really good feeling towards this little bird. It was pretty magnanimous to her before, so she will return the favor when she can. The little bird seemed to understand Hana''s intention; she hopped down gingerly and started pecking on the crumbs. Hana smiled and left the little bird alone. She needed to double up her effort as there were still lots of things to do. After lightly stretching her aching waist, she moved to a big cluster of bamboo trees and ambitiously choose a thick one this time. The bamboo canisters she made yesterday were unsatisfactory; their diameter was too small. Even for cooking, they were not suitable. It''s time to make the base of a water filter! Her eyes shone with determination! .... Scoreeee scoreee... scoree... Faint scoring sounds were immersed in the distant animals'' cawing and yowling. She went to the left, she went to the right, she went all around the bamboo. She tried hacking with all the strength she could muster when she saw a small tear appearing on the scored surface. She was sweating all over. It took Hana two whole hours to bring down this one bamboo tree. It was so big with a height of about 15 meters! When the bamboo finally fell, it was as if there was a big earthquake as she ran away for safety. It was not funny to be buried underneath a tree you worked so hard to cut down. The bamboo tree looked like one of the most senior bamboo as compared to the rest. Hence, the diameter was quite large as well, about the size of a regular medium sized bowl. [Maybe I could even find a baby inside?(6)] She laughed it off with a twinge of trepidation in her heart, as she remembered the folklore she heard when she was small. In that awful story, the baby grew into a rapist and killed off his adopted parents before seizing their kingdom! So scary TT__TT She peeked through the bamboo opening and patted her heart. [Good thing! No treacherous baby inside!] The ones that she cut yesterday were just the size of a small cup opening. She counted the number of segments on this bamboo and was pleased to find that she managed to earn herself with 32 segments of bamboo. Each segment was about 45 cm or 1.5 feet long. It could last her a while. Hana felt a sense of accomplishment. If in her previous daily life, there''s no way she could do this. At worst, she will give up and pass the baton to her hubby to continue. She needed to brag this to her hubby in message later lol. Hana sat down and started to calculate the volume of each segment of bamboo to determine how long her filter should be. She decided to make three filters with two segments each. The filter particles will fill up two third of the filter, and another one third was for filling up the stream water. All three-volume added up together will equate to 3 liters, an extra liter more than the total of water a human need daily. Hana diligently scored the bamboo into three bamboo canisters, with the length of two segments and used a sturdy tree branch to break the segments apart. The rest was left to the side for the time being. She didn''t dare to use her homemade spear since it was a tad bit skinny to her liking. She was quite suspicious with its durability and its ability to protect her in times of emergency. Since her mind was flying around thinking about nonsense stuff, she broke the segments consecutively without even thinking. "Thuck!" She accidentally broke the last segment! [OMG..what am I doing?! Aiyooooo!] Her plan was not to break the last segment barrier and only poke a hole at the bottom but due to her carelessness it happened. Tears started gathering in Hana''s eyes. A moment of carelessness ruined all her hard work of the day. She felt like punching herself. She put a stop on what she was doing and started to contemplate to salvage the situation while rubbing off her teary eyes. She went through all her things and observed for a solution. Her sight fell on the clingwrap in her shopping bag. [Hmm... Is this considered heaven defying luck?] Hana pondered while grinning. [A few layers of clingwrap will do the trick! It''s even easier to poke small holes later.] In a way, she made things easier for herself. Hana brought along the clingwrap as a backup to be used as a replacement for ropes when she needed. She could gently cut them into two long strips and twisted the plastic into strong pliable rope. That was her original intention. Since everything was quite alright, she finished up puncturing all the segments swiftly. Hana found a shallow location inside the stream and placed all three soon-to-be filter base following the stream''s current. She searched for suitable rocks and placed them on top of the bamboos to prevent the bamboos from being washed away by the stream''s current although it was quite unlikely since the flow was quite gentle. However, it''s better be safe than sorry! As the stream automatically washed away any residues or sap from the bamboo segments, Hana went on a mission to collect different sizes of pebbles, gravels, and sand to make her filter. Hana selected pebbles the size of an adult''s thumb as the largest particle. The next ones were as large as a pinky nail. Another level was course sand, and lastly very fine sand akin to the clay sand she used before. While sorting the pebbles, a light ''twinkle twinkle little star'' tune was hummed unconsciously by Hana. This tune was her daughters'' favorite song when they went to sleep. She missed them so much, she sighed sadly. It took a while for Hana to fill up four bamboo canisters with the different filter particle to the brim. These were the original bamboo canisters she made yesterday. She needed to ferry all these things into her cave dwelling and construct the water filter in-house. She was afraid that she could not bring in the bamboo filter in a vertical manner through the humble cave ''door''. It was truly a tad bit too little. It was more appropriate to call it the cave window than a door actually. She lamented on when she can find a way to broaden her cave door for a short second. If she tilted the bamboo filter, the filter particles could mix up or even worse, all would come out littering the floor. At that time, it would just be like crying over spilled milk, as she won''t be able to do anything about it except for waiting for a new day and find a new batch of filter particles. The layering of the pebbles according to the size was important in achieving the gradual filtering effect. Proper water filtration was serious business! If she did it half-heartedly like she did on other jobs, she will get sick very fast. In this wilderness, getting sick was akin to putting one foot into your grave. Hana''s loyal smartphone buzzed, indicating that it was already 4 pm. She needed to wrap up fast so that she could get back in time before the surrounding got too dark. She will think the methods later as the most important thing right now was to go back. She started to pack up the bamboo canisters filled with sand and gravel into her good old shopping bag. Then, she filled up the empty water bottle with water from the stream. [Too many things to carry. Pity this old bone.]Hana decided to prioritize on the things to bring home. The rest would be left to be fetched on other subsequent trips or the next day The fire was nearly extinguished, yet Hana did not continue to feed it. Earlier, she wanted to fire her potteries before going back, but she changed her mind now. It was safer to do it at her own dwelling. Hana had learnt her lesson. It''s better to settle things outside when it was still bright. If not, she might experience an encounter with another ''Kuro''. And this time, it might not be a naive sweet little clingy snake, but a real, vicious one. .... Hana packed up really fast this time. After she filled up the remaining spaces in both shopping bags with some empty extra bamboo canisters, she carefully picked up her dried censer-like cooking pot. Unfiredpots (7) were very fragile since they did not bond well yet. She left all her sticks; as she has no more extra hand to carry the rest. Just like that, she brisk-walked sluggishly towards her cave dwelling, using the exact same steps she used before. This time she was desperate to reach early since she needed to make at least three trips to carry everything over. Author''s note: (1) tausa biscuit = mungbean filled biscuits. Also known as dragon balls. It was said to originate from Penang, a state in Malaysia. This link got very detail info on the kinds of biscuits (https://www.malaymail.com/s/1332741/penangs-iconic-dragon-balls-and-other-biscuit-treats) (2) twiggies = the sweet sponge cakes kids love from previous chapters (3) Teluk Intan = a location specific to the pink-wrapped biscuit Hana is eating (it was written on the packaging haha). Heong peah biscuit bakers were generally spread around Ipoh (Teluk Intan is near Ipoh) (4) heong peah = directly translated as ''fragrant biscuit''. Our fave. Haha. Interested to know more, you can check out this link. It''s not ours, but very informative. (http://thinkfoodthoughts.com/how-to-eat/battle-of-the-fragrant-biscuit/) (5) Nobody to show one! = The "...one" is a local slang Malaysians love to add to their English sentences just for the sake of sound. It doesn''t really means number one haha. (6) Maybe I could even find a baby inside? = It''s a Malaysian folklore about a baby found inside a bamboo by a king that turned invincible and tyrannical when he grew up, "Anak Buluh Betong". Google this if you want to know (https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anak_Buloh_Betong). Its in Bahasa Malaysia though 18 The Hardworking Little Snake Part 1 Let us return to the time when Kuro had separated itself from his mistress. At the beginning, Kuro had established itself as its mommy''s guardian. From the moment it acknowledged Hana, it would not leave her side. However, now Kuro was distraught by its own feelings. Last time, it left Hana unaccompanied just for a short while to hunt for a gift (In case you don''t remember, it''s the tiny egg). But since it has eaten the delicious but too little meal, Kuro had a new aspiration in life; it must find all the delicious things that was known to it for its mommy to turn it into more delicious meals (Author: Seriously Kuro 19 The Hardworking Little Snake Part 2 The Silver Banded Eagle Monarch lazily opened one of it closed eyes. Contrary to Kuro''s hope, it did notice one of the eggs at the fringe of his territory falling from its nest again. It closed its eye again with an unperturbed expression. Its subjects at the lowest tier were quite dumb as usual. They must have not secured the eggs properly inside the nest. Even worse, the nest was made sloppily. These birds didn''t need this king benevolence. He made a harrumphh sound and internally grumbled. I''m not your sister''s slave to save every single little egg. If the ones from the top falls, maybe I''ll consider. Whatever. Two days ago, a couple of eggs from the mid-tiered nest had already fallen down the other side of the mountain due to harsh wind. Even then the Silver Banded Eagle Monarch didn''t even blink and let them be. How can a single egg on the lowest-tiered nest make him move right now? It didn''t even warrant an extra glance from it. As for the eggs'' parents, they won''t dare to confront him about the incident. Not when it would mean killing themselves by questioning their monarch. All this while, The Silver Banded Eagle Monarch was quite tyrannical; no other eagles could question its authority. Although many of them were unsatisfied with it, they couldn''t do a single thing since it was the strongest eagle in the flock. It continued cultivating with the resources scattered around its nest while waiting for the others to return to give half of their share. With food and cultivation materials delivered to its doorstep, it didn''t need to do anything at all except wile away doing things it liked best. Life is great! The Monarch chuckled gleefully. .... With that, our lucky but ignorant little Kuro had survived the greatest threat to his life and was successful in snatching one of the egg from the Silver Banded Eagles territory. It didn''t know it was almost caught but were saved by the bird king''s nonchalant attitude towards its own lower subjects (well, not just yet). The bird king truly didn''t notice the presence of the snake; but it was only because it didn''t even try. It was very sure that no other beast would encroach into its territory, especially a weaker one. The brown egg rolled beautifully downwards without encountering any obvious obstacles. It was as if it glided on a body of water. Before it hit any sharp protrusions or big boulders, it unwittingly glided to the side as if being steered by something. As the brown egg rolled to a stop inside the many bushes at the foot of the mountain, Kuro had already devise a method of transport for it. There was no way for it to swallow the whole egg. It was too large and too fragile. He could only try his best to drag it home. Although Kuro''s appetite was quite substantial, and it was able to finish up a big animal, its strong jaws could actually tear the meat piece by piece just like tearing off tissue paper (1). So, it might accidentally damage the egg rather than swallow it if he tried. From here, one would''ve realized, its ''attack'' on Hana was actually a friendly shallow little nip which lacked any murderous intent. So, what would the solution be? Kuro moved towards the egg with determination and wrapped its own lower body in a circular fashion at the lower-half part of the egg. This way, it could doubly act as the damper to cushion the egg when it moved. It was basically the same method it used to drag the egg to the edge of the nest. Since it was successful then, it should be successful again now. The first few times, the egg slipped from its body. Kuro was so exasperated! It can''t help it! Both its scaly body and the egg were smooth with no friction. Hence, it couldn''t grip the egg well. Kuro wandered how did it managed to drag the egg out before in one swift (snail-like) move? When it tried to grip tighter, the egg simply popped out from its coiling body from the top again and again. It tumbled left and right, making Kuro slightly panicky. It quickly followed the egg and tried again. Thank goodness the area was lush with greenery. The grass and leaves helped cushioned the naughty egg from breaking. Kuro tried hard to get the egg to stay inside its coiling body with frustration. It dragged the egg covertly while trying its best not to make sounds that might attract the bird king. In the midst of tumbling and dragging, it finally managed to leave the boundary of the bird''s territory, however it was unsure of the bird king''s true detection range. .... About an hour later, Kuro heaved a relieved sigh after it had acclimatized with the new method. Feeling good about itself, it prepared to start its journey home when suddenly, long and shrill shrieking sounds were heard from the air! Kuro looked up and saw two angry eagles the size of a full-grown cow plunging down towards him from the air! Both of the bird''s eyes were red with fury when they saw their missing egg in the grasp of a tiny insignificant black snake. Rewinding back on what has happened a couple of minutes ago, the Papa bird and Mama bird had returned to their nest after offering what meager harvests they obtained from their hunts, only to find one egg was missing. It was even the biggest one! Mama bird was so furious, she urged her spouse to confront with the Bird king. After a short quarrel, they took flight and seek audience with their monarch only to be slapped with a wind attack in response. The king didn''t even explain as it snorted in contempt towards the bird couple. Harboring internal injuries from the attack, the saddened couple took up upon themselves to fly around the clan''s territory in a bid for finding out the fate of their treasured egg. They had even nurtured the egg with all the energy stones they had so that this descendant of theirs could help them leap up through the ranks and build a new nest in a more gloriously elevated positions. When they saw their eggs being poached by a small black snake, both of them had lose whatever shred of sanity they had and immediately pounced! .... Kuro gave a short huff. It was slightly annoyed with its inability to carry the egg before. However, after practicing again and again and finally succeeding, these birds came and disturbed it, breaking its concentration and its jubilant mood. It gently uncoiled itself from the brown egg and nudged it to the side. It activated its innate skill and transformed into a fifteen-meter-long black serpent with a half meter long silver horn! Kuro''s scales were slightly erected diagonally from its body. Each scale was translucent-black, with the shape of an elongated leaf. The end of each scales were razor sharp. The singular horn on its forehead were emitting crackling blue electricity. When the birds saw this scene, they knew with their internal injury, they had kicked against a steel board (2). However, they simply couldn''t stop their plunging motion towards the gigantic snake. They hardened their resolved and accumulated their internal energy at their claws and beaks to attack the poacher resolutely. It was a do or die attack! When their physical attacks nearly met with the snake''s eyes, the electricity generated from the snake''s horn suddenly zapped them both into petrification. Both birds fall to the ground while emitting a barbecued chicken smell. They had lose their gamble and it costed them their lives. If Hana was here, she would''ve asked Kuro to season the birds first after cleaning their internal organs before eating. It would''ve been a feast. Kuro lowered its gigantic head and with a swoop, swallowed both dying birds, leaving no feathers behind. Tsk! Tastes so flat! (3) It clicked its tongue unhappily. It quickly resumed it mini size again and recoiled itself on the egg. It needed to move away as fast as possible. Two low level birds were okay. He knew he was not up to par with the bird king yet. If not, he would''ve robbed all the eggs in the stupid birds'' territory. It then slithered forward as fast as he could by moving the upper part of its own body forward. Although Kuro''s movement was quite fast, it was not as fast as before where it could jump from tree to tree. From afar, the little snake looked like a fast-moving snail who was infused with nitrous oxide in its DNA (4). It didn''t occur to Kuro to move in its original form at all. It could''ve hold the egg in its gigantic mouth and moved ten times faster. In its mind, its cute self was the best, as it knew, even this cute mini self was too much for Hana to handle. It didn''t want to be disowned by its mommy. As the sun was getting lower, the hardworking little snake slithered forward with determination towards its mommy''s cave dwelling. It knew she must''ve return home by now. It truly hoped she was alright. It had left her defenseless for the whole day. It hope that she will be happy with her presents. What a hardworking little fellow! Super sweet and sensible right. 20 A Remedy for a Broken Hear Hana''s first return trip from the stream to her cave was uneventful. Thank goodness! As she become more familiar with the route, she managed to reach her destination just within fifteen minutes. It was only a few days ago when Hana needed more than thirty minutes when she followed the song bird. As weird as it was, practice do made Hana better at directions, in some sense. She wondered why she needed Waze (1) every time she drove about before. Hana placed her first ever cooking pot gently in the middle of her cave dwelling, just beside the fireplace. The fireplace spot at the center of the cave had become unintentionally fixed; it was opposite Hana''s Internet special spot. She then moved out all the items she brought back from her day''s work and placed them at the cave wall in an organized manner, all according to the types. Hana worriedly looked at the digital clock on her smartphone and decided to risk it and make another round. This time she dashed through the woods with her heart in her mouth, as the surrounding was getting dimmer. This time Hana placed the flower-shaped flat stone she used as potter''s wheel before inside her shopping bag horizontally. It was truly quite tricky. The base of the bag had become wider and made both the pannikin shaped mug and gourd-shaped water container relatively safer from being accidentally squashed by her sweaty armpit. However, her shopping bag wasn''t looking too good; it looked like it could tear anytime. Hana wanted to cry. [Please don''t tear...aiyo..I only have you to help me..] She carried the last big pot she made with both hands while placing the shopping bag''s handle through one of her arms. It was so damn heavy! It wasn''t even properly dried yet. She had underestimated on how heavy a large pot made from clay could be. She was so used to thin steel pots until she had neglected this point. She glanced at her homemade spear with mixed feelings. There''s no way she was going to make another round after this. After some hesitation, she left her other things. [There''s always tomorrow! They won''t go anywhere anyway.] She suddenly remembered Kuro and was anxious. Yesterday, the little obedient pet of hers appeared just beside her out of the blue when she''s on her way back, so she thought it''ll be the same for today. But not today. She peeked through the bushes but couldn''t make out anything. She didn''t dare to call out to Kuro. Full darkness nearly descended, and she was scared of the forest sounds as they got louder. [Aiyaaaahhh..that boy ahh! Wait until you return! I''m going to grill you!] She prepared herself to pinch the little snake''s body when she meet her pet later. Regrettably it didn''t have a butt to be spanked. Hana became irritated due to her fear. She hesitantly walked back to her cave in a fast pace while carrying the big pot in both hands and the shopping bag. The cacophony of sounds got to her as she got more and more nervous with every jittery rushed steps. Nearing the end, her foot got stuck to one of the buttress roots! "Aiyo!" Hana lost her balance! The big clay pot she held with dear life smashed to the surrounding roots. She only managed to save the potteries inside the shopping bag. Hana was dumbfounded. She just stood there unmoving for a few seconds. All the scary sounds drowned out and she heard a heart-rending sniff. Unsurprisingly, it originated from herself. Warm tears flowing down from the corner of her eyes while she kept on sniffing sadly. It was too trying today. Hana forgot her fear at that moment and squatted down. She took out another empty shopping bag and shakily collect the broken pieces silently. Thank goodness her other pots in the shopping bag were okay. Hana gave a sorrowful sigh and continued her journey. This time she was extra careful when maneuvering between the large snake-like roots. Before entering the cave, Hana heard a soft rustle amongst the dried leaves on her left. She yelped subconsciously! "Wahhh!" A small black head with a red ruby peeked through. Hana patted her fragile sorrowful heart. "WTF Kuro! Don''t jump me like that! Where did you go all day?! I''m going to-" Hana was shocked speechless by the big ass egg the little snake brought back until she forgot to continue her words. Kuro was partially coiled on a brown egg speckled with silver dots. The egg was the size of a football! Did it steal the egg from an ostrich? Hana went to help carry the egg for Kuro as soon as she placed both of her shopping bags inside the cave. "Is this for me?" Hana''s eyes were sparkly. Kuro nodded while observing Hana''s crying face worriedly. "You Thank you Kuro What a lovely surprise! Such a good boy! You made my day, Kuro. I''ll reward you after this." the heartache from the broken pot was washed away by her little pet. Hana caressed Kuro''s head fondly. She was deeply touched. It must be hard on him to get the bigger-than-itself egg and carry it from who knows where. [Yay! I did it!] The cheeky little snake thought. [Hmmph! I give you an S+ egg! Better than those AA eggs.] "We''ll eat a bit later today okay? Mommy wants to finish up the water filter first." Hana tried to explain to her pets. Kuro nodded passionately while Shiro that arrogant twerp just ignored her. Hana drank a mouthful of water prior to eating her last banana and her chocolate flavor Twiggies. Since Kuro neared her, she gave him a bit of Twiggies after a gentle rub on his ruby but didn''t offer any to Shiro. She reminded Kuro to practice her electricity generation afterwards. Kuro nodded happily and made a swift vomiting motion on Hana palm as it tried to wriggle the hand touching it into an opened position. A beautiful sparkling stone the size of an index finger nail was placed on Hana''s palm. He made the winning starry eyes to Hana. "Oh my goodness! Such a beautiful crystal! Is this real ruby?!" Hana was over the moon. No women can resist the allure of a gemstone. Such a sweet sensible child! Hana was really happy until tears stream down her face again. She rubbed it off with her sleeve. This little snake had successfully soothed her broken heart and made her spirit so much better. It''s not that she was a materialistic person. She knew it must be unimaginably hard for the little one to find such rare stone as well as the egg to lift her mood. Its thoughtful mind was what counts. Shiro snorted contemptuously and looked the other way. What a good ass kisser! The fox didn''t realize it was quite upset being left out. .... Markisah stood atop a branch at the top of a tall tree, in between the canopy of leaves, as she observed the unknown being entered the cave with a black snake. She heaved a relieved sigh when she saw the being became happy again. Just now, she saw how the being struggled walking through the forest and broke the thing it worked so hard for. It even cried. Markisah''s home was quite a distance from here. She liked to venture this region because there was a fruit tree she loved growing not far from here. In her daily routine, after she had her fill, she would stop by the Crystal-veined stream for a sip before returning to her home. Although it was far, she felt that it was worth it. Last time when she saw this being sloppily following her, she got a bit annoyed and confronted it to stop it from continuing. It''s because she couldn''t sense any hostility from this unknown being. It''s her first seeing a creature so big, yet so docile and nonthreatening. The food the being gave her was surprisingly delicious; it was a new kind of taste that she had never tried before. As a reward, she finally gave in and led the way for it to the stream. Today, she spotted the creature in passing, so she followed it to the same spot beside the stream. She could see the creature disturbed the peace of the forest by changing the stream''s flow and tearing down the vegetation. It even dug the soil at the stream''s region and went to play with it by making lots of strange things. In confusion, she tried to approach it to stop it from continuing. Although the snake was the Lord of the land around here, the source of the stream was owned by a different Lord altogether. It was unwise to anger another Lord who didn''t befriend you. As Markisah was thinking on how to convey her message, she saw the being noticed her. Markisah was pleasantly surprised when the creature shared its food with her again; this time with an increase portion. She was not stupid since she could see the being ate very little. After she ate, she wanted to tell it but still couldn''t find the right method. They both spoke different language after all. It dragged until she saw the being walking back. Most probably it wanted to return to its dwelling. [Maybe next time.] She thought. [The landscape doesn''t change much. I bet the Crystal-veined stream Lord didn''t notice.] As she was thinking deeply while following the being from a distance, she saw it fell down. It must be painful because she could see water leaking from its eyes. She felt very bad inside for not being able to help. Seeing the action of the snake to cheer the creature, Markisah thought, she would give it a nice present next time to make her day. She was not sure what kind of tragedy could''ve happen on the next day as the creature was extremely clumsy. She should just prepare in advance. Markisah shook her tiny head and eyed the creature''s home one last time before she flew away. [I''ll look for it again tomorrow with a present.] Author''s note: (1) Waze = a traffic and nagivation app widely used in Malaysia 21 A Really Beautiful Day Part 1 During the half an hour break, Hana keep on hugging her gem-containing palm with starry eyes while watching Kuro practicing its electric generation. If only she could set it on a ring! It would''ve looked dazzling beside her wedding band. Hana reluctantly kept aside the gem in her pant''s pocket as she wanted to continue preparing her filters. She tried to plan out the water filtration system requirements in her notepad and all the materials that she might need to prepare; for example, a water reservoir as a receiver, filter particles, the freshly scored filter body, etcs, so that she won''t miss out anything. Once this has been completed, she will proceed to design the layout. While she was writing in her notepad, she silently acknowledged her oversight on today''s activity, especially on material preparations and planning. If she had sat down and planned properly first before embarking, she wouldn''t have brought extra baggage to and fro but still did not achieve her objectives. She should have focused on one task at a time and prioritize, as making the fish trap at the beginning was simply too time consuming. She was eager to have more food variety rather than water; her most basic necessity which was dangerously low at the moment. Her bad habit as a food addict probably contributed to this decision. She knocked her head lightly while sighing; Arash used to do this when she forgot her priorities. She also overestimated her capabilities, forgetting that she was not used to perform high intensity physical jobs. Most of her time previously was filled with cleaning her 900 square feet apartment, trying out new recipes once a while, bf-ing their baby, teaching their kid worldly and spiritual information and reading web novels, with the occasional shopping spurs, online and offline. It was a super sedentary life. Even when she was young, her aversion to sweaty activities (which will cause her to have smelly armpits) had prevented her from choosing girl scouts. She only chose Red Crescent Moon(1) to learn a bit about first aid and get the necessary curriculum credit for a pass. She always came out with reasons to skip the activities when it involved marching and the like. She sighed when she was thinking about her uselessness. [I need to step up my game. I want to live long enough to meet up with Arash and the kids!] She shrugged and lightly slapped herself on both of her cheeks until they reddened, forcefully injecting some illusionary chicken blood into her veins. [First things first, let''s settled the pots!] She scurried to her pots and checked them one by one. It turned out, only the pannikin felt totally bone dry. The other two potteries were not wet like before, but they were still not entirely dried up. It made sense as the pannikin was the smallest pottery she made. Hana sighed. She knew she needed some more time to let the two pieces of potteries to be dried up first before firing them. If not, they might crack when being fired. Her hopes of using them by tonight were prematurely dashed. [Well, at least I could slowly burnish(2) these pots first to make them nicer.] The dejected aunty lightheartedly commented in her heart to appease herself. .... She successfully made two fires in record time this time around. All her training that she has done before has made her a great fire starter as she grinned proudly to herself. Regrettably, there''s no one around for her to boast. Such a pity! The first one was made on her usual fireplace, while the other second one was a bit further away. She fired her earthen pannikin and its cover with the fire built further away. She made sure to feed the fire well as they burned strong and constant. Only half an hour was needed for her to settle the arrangement for firing her pannikin. Now, she only needed to leave it inside the large fire while she minded her own business. This time, Hana sat down at her favorite spot, while Kuro came and nestled on her lap. She just smiled and continue to swipe open her smartphone and informed her hubby briefly that she had returned. Old habits die hard. She still kept on reporting her whereaboutsevery single time without fail. She needed to let him know she had return to the cave safe and sound for today as early as possible. If not he would worry incessantly. However, she didn''t wait for a reply, and continued with her work. There''s simply too many things to do. Once everything was done, she would be able to leisurely chat with her love. After that, she started inspecting the three chosen bamboo canisters. Both sides were opened due to her carelessness. She started wrapping one side of each bamboo with a clingwrap. [How many layers should I make? Is three enough?] She pondered. In the supermarket, usually the wet items will be wrapped with two layers. So she should choose three to be safe. However, she was worried that the weight from the filter particles will push down the clingwrap and in the worst case scenario, everything will come out from the bottom. After hesitating for a while, she finally settled on four layers. She made sure she wrapped each canister tightly and covered a large margin on the sides as well.After that, she made ropes from twisted strips of clingwrap and tied each wrapping for added assurance. After all three canisters had been secured properly, Hana started pouring in bits of crushed charcoal inside one of the canister first. The charcoal''s porous characteristic will act as a final defense; adsorbing unseen microscopic impurities and chemicals from the water. Then she poured in large pebbles, a slightly smaller pebbles, course sand, and lastly fine sand in sequence. Each type of filter material was at the same height to each other. While pouring in all the filter particles, she made sure the bamboo canister was straight, so that they will set evenly inside, forming layers after layers. The first simple filter was done! [Banzai!] She throwed herself some imaginary confettis! :D Hana placed her first completed filter gently at the side of the cave wall and used some stones to make sure it did not roll and fall down. At the bottom of the bamboo canister where the clingwrap was placed, she lined with some fresh banana leave segments so that the clingwrap will not get damage and the surface in contact with the cave floor won''t get dirty. Next, Hana prepared the second filter with the same sequence and placed it beside her first bamboo canister filter. When the second one was done, she then realized the filter particles were not enough to make a third filter. [Two is enough for now I guess.] Hana shrugged helplessly. She left the last bamboo canister by the side of the cave wall for the time being. [Well, what to do now? The pot that should be the receiver was already broken ni...sigh...] She looked at the once biggest claypot she made which were in pieces now sadly. She knew now why the biggest pot was so easily shattered. It wasn''t even leather-hard(3) dry yet, as it was still considered a greenware(4) due to its size. Maybe it was fate. She made a mental note to use the shattered clay shards to remake a new pot later. One should not waste as the material was quite limited. [For the water receiver right now, I can only improvise. If I delay some more, I won''t have clean water to drink by tomorrow morning.] She was down to her final quarter bottle of water now. She had felt quite dehydrated since she had reduced her daily consumption significantly. She felt parched all the time now. Hana pondered for a while, then she took out her notepad and pen. She started to sketch a possible water filtration system by finding answers for the following questions; 1. How to maintain the filter canister in a vertical position stably while being suspended? 2. How to let the filter water flow into a receiver pot without spillage and contaminated with outside particle? 3. Is it possible to make the receiver to have a simple valve so that it can turn into a dispenser? For the first question, she knew, to let the filter stand stably, she needed to build some sort of skeletal rack for support. However, as she had never made one herself, she really wished that Arash was here so she could left everything to him as usual as she sighed. Author''s note: (1) Red Crescent Moon = (lit. translation: Bulan Sabit Merah) it''s the local equivalent of St. John where you learn how to treat people with first aid. (2) burnish these pots = refer to smoothing the surface of the pots using blunt object by rubbing on surface of pots (3) leather-hard = partially dried pots, leaving about 15% water content (4) greenware = undried pots, still have very high water content, so it will be very fragile 22 A Really Beautiful Day Part 2 After pondering for a while, she finalized two diagrams; one, a simple rack made of stones and bamboo strips to suspend the filter securely, the second one, was a proper rack when she obtained enough items to build it. For the other two questions on contamination prevention and making a valve, she will have to leave it to her competent engineer-hubby. Without the necessary tools and materials, she felt that she was not competent enough to think of a solution. Her habit of relying on Arash resurfaced without her realizing it. Rummaging her bag, she found her small prized homemade chisel. With this she can start immediately. [Let''s test the waters first!] Hana wanted to try making long bamboo strips from her leftover bamboo she salvaged on her first day. The ones cut down just now were simply too large; her hands were full with making potteries. She didn''t have enough time to process the bamboo completely into shorter segments. It was still there by the stream. She added a new objective to her to-do list in her notepad for a reminder. The ones she already processed a day earlier were a tad bit too short and skinny; the bamboo she felled was smaller by half compared to the last one. It had smaller diameter and shorter segments; unsuitable for making a permanent rack since it was smaller than the filter itself. Hana knew she needed to redo the filter rack after she processed the leftover large bamboo tomorrow, hence, she already prepared a second diagram of a rack for it. But right now she must make do with whatever she had since she needed water to drink urgently. She used a stone to pound on the back of the chisel to cut the bamboo vertically into two parts. Surprisingly it was not that hard. Cutting horizontally was harder. After a slit was made following the grain of the bamboo , she can tear them apart easily with her bare hands. She tried again by cutting each parts again into two using the same method. So now she had four strips! "Aiyoo...this caveman method is so tiring...my fingers are sore...wuwuwuuu.." Hana whimpered wretchedly. Shiro sighed in its heart. [You just started!] He raged. Just like that, Hana kept on grumbling like an old aunty while making more bamboo strips. She made ten quartered bamboo strips from two and a half canisters. The last halved bamboo canister was left as is. Once done, Hana stood up to survey a suitable location inside the cave. It must be beside the wall so that it won''t impede traffic. Hana won''t forgive herself if she inadvertently kicked her prized filters. It took so much hard work. Hana choose to place the filter on a rock about one feet high from the ground. She then placed the filter aside and proceeded to drag larger rocks to sandwich the filter on the left and right side. "Urghhhhhh!!! So heavy! I hate this!" Hana blubbered unhappily again. Watching this, the loyal little Kuro shaking its head and went near to Hana and started pushing the big boulder from between her legs. Hana suddenly felt the boulder became weightless and her foot tripped against Kuro tail! "Aigooooo! Watch out Kuro!" She just realized it was her "just recently praised little pet" that was between her legs! She didn''t manage to evade and fall down directly on top of Kuro. Kuro realized his mommy was falling. It immediately slithered to the side haphazardly and jumped towards Hana. He coiled his lower body on Hana''s left wristand yanked her body together while landing on the nearly two feet rock they were pushing before. Hana''s falling momentum was broken. She was suddenly pulled to the frontand fall face down on the rock! "Wahhhh!!!" She was so scared that she screamed so loud in panic! Damn! It''s better to fall to the side rather than to the front! Hana''s distress face was so evident on Kuro. It immediately slithered down from her wristand coiled itself on the big stone to soften Hana''s fall using his own body. It flexed itself and its tiny body bulked up as thick as a human arm. It suddenly looked like a fat black worm as compared to its sleek slender elegant body before. As Hana closed her eyes in fright, she only felt like falling on a rubber-like texture on her chest. She felt relief before starting to open her eyes and bristled in fury. By that time, Kuro already changes back its slender body back. [This little kepochiiii!!!!] (1) She wanted to scold Kuro. A myriad of emotions fleeting through her face. She knew it just wanted to help. When she fell, it did help her prevent any injuries. Kuro was staring at Hana with his black beady eyes, acting cute as usual, conveying ''Praise me praise me'' attitude. Hana deflated and sighed. [Forget it. It''s unintentional.] Hana rubbed Kuro''s head and said, "Thank you for helping Kuro. Next time please tell mommy first before you start doing anything okay?" The childlike snake nodded vigorously. Hana knew that her pets were intelligent. The only thing was the problem with communication. They seemed to understand even complicated sentences from her, but she herself couldn''t perceived what they said unless it was clearly shown using gestures. So, it was actually a failure on her end rather than theirs. She got no right to scold others when the problems originated from herself. She need to learn how to communicate with them more effectively as she sighed. Together, they resumed pushing the big stone to Hana''s intended location. Hana''s work became smoother. She just needed to adjust the direction and Kuro will do the rest. Hana was pleasantly surprised with Kuro''s strength. It was not proportionate with his size at all. After a while, two larger stones were placed on the left and right side of the one foot smaller stone. One filter was placed on the smaller stone while being sandwiched by the side of the larger stones. She tied premade bamboo strips to the body of the filter horizontally; about three of them. Then, Hana collected appropriate sized stones and stacked on the left and right side of the filter, clamping the jutted out strips on both side. When she felt that the filter stabilized, she started filling a little bit of water she fetched from the stream inside her water bottle earlier today. Then she can only patiently wait. The water flowed into the filter and stagnated on top. Slowly it seeped through while being filtered from the fine sand. It went down layer after layer and finally passing through the charcoal section. After a while, water seeped out from the tiny holes Hana punctured on the bottom part of the filter. It flowed through the half cut bamboo Hana placed as the water receiver and was collected into a random small plastic bag Hana acquired from her stash. Hana inspected the water by shining her smartphone''s torchlight. It was a bit cloudy with blackish specks as compared to before. Hana knew it must be the unsettled dust from the charcoal. She did not gave up and repoured the collected filtrate into the filter again. Like this, she repeated the same motion a few times more. On the fourth time, the water became crystal clear! Hana was very happy! [At last! My water filter is operational!] "Banzai! Kuro, we did it!" Hana carried Kuro and twirled two times happily before getting giddy. For once, she felt today was a really beautiful day. Author''s note: (1) kepochiiii =[k-po-chee] busybody. It derived from the word "kepoh" or "keyboh" which refers to chicken''s anus. As it pass its motion, it kept on clenching intermittently like the mouth of busybody aunties who likes to gossip. Right now it had been generally accepted by everyone locally as ''busybody''. "-chiii" is just an addition that Mrs Mooncat loves to add which implied "little" to the word. Hence, it becomes "little busybody". 23 A Deserving Reward Hana filled the rest of the water into the filter. Originally, each filter can support 1 liter of water each time totaling up to 2 liters per run. It will be good enough for daily consumption. Just barely. However, due to her actions on cleansing the filter particle several times, she only had about one liter at hand. Even if her other filter was set, no water can be poured in unless she went out to fetch some from the stream. No way she''s doing that in the middle of the night! She was dreaming that in the future if she can stock up a lot of water in the cave, she can even take a luxurious bath at the cave anytime instead, not just for drinking!! She shrugged as reality hits. "Better than nothing right, Kuro." Kuro peeked at Hana blankly, not understanding what it was about. Hana didn''t explain and just smile while rubbing her pet''s ruby. Recently she has developed a habit of rubbing the little pet''s head. She can''t help it, the little one really knows to care for its elder''s wellbeing and feelings. Hana felt that she had made the best choice ever for adopting the little reptile. She took note the time it took for the water to finish flowing through the filter; to know the time beforehand, she could calculate for the flow rate and can plan up a lot of things first without wasting time. When she knew the filtration rate slowed down significantly, she would know that she needed to replace her filter then. One just needed to calculate by dividing the amount of water poured in with the time used to know the amount of water dispensed per second as a basis (1). Hana went over to observe her burning pannikin. The last step was to let it cool down gradually. After that, it needed to be immersed inside water overnight to prevent it from cracking easily when using on an open fire. Hana got the tips from a claypot seller. Since then, no stone bowl or claypots she had broken from overheating or from large temperature difference. Well, some did break from being kicked by her cats. They even broke her precious Vision''s glass cookware (2); the set gifted to her by her coursemates. She loved those so much for their sentimental values and still bore a grudge on her cats for that. On certain things, this aunty can be very petty! Hana was feeling happy right now although she was tired. She planned to retire early today after fulfilling her promise to Kuro by making a nice dinner. Although the pots were not done yet, she still had the closed bamboo canister. It''s the last one though. Hana used the chisel and cut the closed bamboo opened into two symmetrical pieces. She planned to make some egg drop soup again on the side with a dish of scrambled eggs as thanks to the hardworking little snake. She fetched the plastic bag containing the filtered clean water and poured into both opened half cylindrical ''bowl''. The bamboo bowls were already placed on top of two leveled rocks on the side. Fire was gently brewing at the bottom; Hana treated the unused bamboo strips from before like chopsticks and picked up some burning charcoal from the still-burning fire for the pots to make an instant smaller fireplace. Using a discount card as a kitchen knife, she julienned the leftover garlic leaves and two sausages thinly. When the water in the bamboo bowls started to bubble, she placed in half of the ingredients in each bowl and a pinch of chicken stock cube and salt. This time, she opened a pack of instant noodle and break it in half. Half each. For the little ones'' bowl, Hana broke the noodle into quarters so that it won''t be too long before placing it in. She kept the seasoning and plastic aside. While both bowl simmered slowly, Hana prepared the fire for her second dish. She collected some more still-burning charcoal and firewood and placed them at the side where she propped up the flower-shaped flat stone she used as a potter''s wheel before horizontally. Yep, it''s not broken dear readers. The stone had a slightly reddish sheen and the surface was actually glossy with thin brownish lines decorating the surfaces in the shapes of rugged waves. The edges even had a slightly translucent effect. It was quite peculiar. It reminded Hana of expensive premium ceramic wares. Only someone like Hana won''t notice the peculiarities. How can one "coincidentally" fetched premium ceramics from inside a river in the middle of the forest? The first time she saw it, she knew she wanted it to be used as a tava, something like a circular flat hotplate. Being a potter''s wheel was just treating it as a multi-purpose object. It even was slightly curved in. Hence, when the curved side faced up, anything cooked on top won''t easily side off. Hana lavishly broke four eggs into the instant noodle plastic wrapper. She then pumped in some milk and mix them well carefully. When she felt that the ''hotplate'' was hot enough, she poured in the milk and egg mixture on to the pan-like hotplate, leaving a quarter of it for the egg drop soup. After that, Hana quickly julienned another piece of sausage and threw it into the puffing egg mixture. Hana took a new set of bamboo strip and vigorously scrambled the puffing egg mixture until it was nearly done at the bottom but was still jiggly at the top. She lightly sprinkled a bit of salt on top and carried the whole hotplate down on to another set of stones she prepared earlier like a table. They were about one foot high. The stone ''table'' was comprised of several stones arranged closely together to support the flower-shaped flat hotplate and two bamboo cylindrical bowls. When the food was done, Hana called Kuro and Shiro to join her. Kuro leapt to the air and landed on her lap while Shiro ignored her. However, from its gaze, Hana knew it did wanted to eat. "Be good and come over. If not, I will give all of it to Kuro if you''re not hungry." Hana went over and tried to rub Shiro''s head, but the fox evaded her touch. Seeing Hana''s sad expression, Kuro slithered to Shiro and dragged the poor fellow by its paw. The one that was not broken of course. Hana blanked out for a while and sweated. [Erm..this little one is a bit extreme.] Shiro reluctantly joined them after being forced by Kuro to that extent. It limped itself forward on its own to save the last bit of dignity it had and sat beside Hana, surprisingly. Hana was happy everyone in the family joined in. As usual she told both of them to share the soup. They fought for it as Hana take her own sweet time drinking the warming soup. [Ahhhh...good food defines good life...] She started scooping the scrambled eggs studded with sausage pieces into her mouth. [Mmmm...so soft and yummy...] [Yet again, why do I feel that I''ve become a cannibalistic Holstein milking cow???(3)] Hana lamented. Just a day or so ago she vowed not to drink her own milk because she felt yucky drinking her own body fluid. Then again, not having access to dairy products really made her felt unwell; scramble eggs without milk really won''t do. Why not just close one of her eyes (3) and pretended it came from a cow name ''Hana''. When both Kuro and Shiro finished the soup with noodles, they eyed Hana scooping the scrambled eggs longingly. Hana laughed. "I''m just waiting for you guys to finish up. I need the bowl back." She scooped a quarter of the eggs and placed it back. "Eat up." As Kuro wanted to jump in to join the eating frenzy, Hana stopped him and called him to her lap. "Mommy''s already full. Eat here. All of this is your reward." She rubbed his head and let him eat directly from the flower-shaped hotplate which has cooled down considerably. Kuro looked at the yellow jiggly goo studded with sausage; Hana only touched a little bit. He was delighted and grateful. It was so worth it. Hana smiled and continued eating her unfinished noodle egg drop soup. She explained to Shiro why she rewarded Kuro to prevent it from having unpleasant feelings. Kuro did good in increasing the household resources, thus he was rewarded. However, not doing anything doesn''t mean she won''t feed them. It will only lack incentives. Without meritocracy and healthy competition, one cannot move forward in life. Such was Hana''s ideal, which was handed down from her parents. Hana wondered whether the fluffy white fox understood what she said. She knew it was still hurt so it can''t go out. But it was unfair if she didn''t reward the little snake for his hard work. She hoped that this will spur the cute fox into a healthy ''sibling rivalry'' with the sweet little snake. She needed all the help that she could get. Like that, the three unlikely family members finished up their dinner in a somewhat merry feeling. Once Hana finished her dinner, she took some pictures and several amusing wefies for records. She giggled while browsing her smartphone''s gallery. The normal family pictures had turned interesting since she came to this side of the world. After Hana took a swig of plain water from her water bottle, she bid them good night and started to lie down and rest. Kuro came in and snuggled at her bosom while Shiro returned to the opening of the cave, napping near it while guarding it at the same time. She gently hummed a goodnight nursery rhymes she always sang to her baby as she drifted to sleep. [Hmm..It seems like I''ve forgotten something. Whatever. I''ll think about it tomorrow.] Author''s note: (1) amount of water dispensed per second as a basis = this is a formula for flow rate. Volume (in liter) over time (in second). It''s a legit formulae Mrs Mooncat always use during her uni years. (2) Vision''s glass cookware = An above average glass cookware brand, very sturdy, rarely breaks from heat. But if you throw it down of course it will shatter (laugh). (3) close one of her eyes = (lit. translation: pejam sebelah mata) a Malaysian proverb which means, be flexible. (4) Holstein milking cow = it''s the cute Dalmatian black and white pattern dairy cow from the Dutch provinces that usually graces our milk carton box. 24 Ultimate Engineer Daddy It was already midnight when Arash was wearily waiting for Hana''s message by the sofa in the living room. This was the third day he took leave from his company. His boss was sounding more and more constipated; work has been piling up and he was the one who needed to cover his subordinate''s ass. What made things worse was Arash didn''t explain what was happening. Not entirely anyway. Nobody would''ve believed him if he said his wife was gone and got stuck somewhere unreachable. If he tried to explain, they will either think that his wife ran away, or she was kidnapped. Then, all sorts of problems will reach their front door. His boss suspected that their whole family went on a spontaneous vacation without consideration while he cooked up a weak half assed excuse for a cover up. Arash would not bother anymore as his boss mindset has already been fixed. He can only accept his boss'' anger later. [Truly hope I won''t get sacked for this...sigh...] Arash ''s mind was actually occupied with something more complicated. All this while, his wife took care of his and the children''s daily necessities and he never interfered. She also took care of their children without external help. So, when an emergency like this came, he didn''t know who to send them to as he never employed a babysitter. The third leave was meant for him to sort and reshuffled his daily routine to be in line with the kids. He woke up very early this morning to arrange many things. He went to meet up with the kindergarten owner and opted for a full day schooling plus daycare. The owner recommended another establishment to care for the baby since the baby was too small. Arash was skeptical with it, but he tried to meet the owner of that establishment too. There were a lot of cases of childcare abuse in their area (1). Hana and Arash were terrified to send their children over as most of those abuse resulted in deaths was due to negligence. The newspapers reported them almost daily. That was why they decided to segregate their job thoroughly; Arash at work, Hana at home. All this while, many had raised an eyebrow from their arrangements. Some were shocked and sighed pitifully at Hana. While others blamed Arash for preventing Hana to go to work. Most of the people assumed the worst and linked them with chauvinistic male dominance and oppression. Arash stayed strong and prevented all the negativities from reaching his beloved wife. He knew she sacrificed a lot from their arrangements. Hence, this time he needed to step up to cover his wife''s part and become the ultimate engineer daddy. "Wahhh!! Wahhh!! Wahhhh!! Mom! Mom! Mommy!" Arash snapped out of his reverie when he heard his little one cried for her mommy again. The baby kept on crying nonstop until she got tired and fell asleep every day before the cycle continued again when a new day arrived. This had happened since Hana''s disappearance. He felt sad. He never knew his little daughter was this colic (2) before. She was a very mild tempered baby, rarely cried and most of the time giggled so much while saying "papa..papa..I lup you". Hana taught her that just to make Arash happy. He carried the baby and tried to coax her patiently while getting a bottle of formula he haphazardly prepared for her. Thank goodness, their first child wasn''t woken up by the loud sound. Since their baby drank milk on demand (3), they had never freeze any extra milk before. Now, he had no choice but to provide her with formula milk. Fortunately, the little one was not picky. After that, he continued finding several contacts to get a suitable trustworthy babysitter for his little one. He truthfully explained his child''s condition to prevent any unwanted problems from arising. A lot of babysitters declined as they didn''t want troublesome kids. Arash nearly lost his temper from the ongoing headache due to those people''s rude disposition. [My daughter is a nice girl! What do you expect from an un-weened baby who suddenly lost her mom?!] Fortunately, after searching high and low, he managed to meet up with a prospective babysitter; a Madam Lisa. He felt that this lady had the impression that the mother of his baby daughter had passed away. She had high empathy and seemed very caring. He didn''t try to correct her though. Her establishment had many professionally trained staff. He was satisfied with the environment and the staff to children ratio when he went over for a look this afternoon. Two babies per staff. It was considered very high quality with extra attention. There was even a play school session for the babies every day. Hence, the fees were significantly higher; three times more than the average fee for sending a child. Fortunately, what he didn''t lack was money. Although he didn''t own any kind of extra business, his has a high paying job. The catch was the long hours. They were very thrifty; mostly splurged on child education and high quality food ingredients. No branded items, no extra cars or assets; everything at the bare minimum. Hence, his savings were quite substantial. Now was the time to use it. [Anything for her...as long as she''ll be properly cared for.] Lament Arash while sighing. He truly hoped their baby would be able to adjust to a new environment soon. He didn''t know when his wife will be coming home. Arash looked around the house. The house was a mess and the kitchen was unwashed since the day his wife disappeared. The pots from Hana''s last cooking session were still there on the stove. The sink was nearly full while the wet leftovers had started emitting unpleasant smell. Ants were crawling on the kitchen floor since nobody mopped it after the children spilled their food during each meal. His hands were already full just by handling the girls while helping Hana with the tutorials. He had never once complained since he doesn''t want Hana to worry. He knew, in Hana''s eyes, he was like a sturdy rock, supporting her fragile heart. Arash needed to play the part or else, his wife might lose hope. He knew how weak-willed she was; he had courted her for eight years before getting married. This year should be their tenth year anniversary. Sigh... tomorrow I will get a cleaner to clean up the mess. Too tired to bother already. Thank goodness tomorrow was the start of a two-day weekend. He had two additional days to arrange everything well. He gently tapped his smartphone and checked the LINE application. Still no response. He tapped on the smartphone''s gallery and browsed through the family pictures. Surprisingly, he had very little of his wife''s photo. Most of them were dominated by their children''s cheeky smiles. It must be his wife''s work; she loved to swipe his phone for taking the children''s picture since his smartphone''s camera has higher resolution than hers. His eyes turned red and misted thinking about his wife. [Hope she is doing alright today.] In between his worries, Arash fell asleep on the sofa. Author''s notes: (1) cases of childcare abuse = true cases which causes deaths. There''s too many to count. The latest was the case where a 5m old baby stashed into the freezer of the babysitter after she caused the death of the baby and made a false police report saying he was kidnapped. Mr and Mrs Mooncat were horrified by the news. Due to that, the government enacted a new policy regarding on "in-house company childcare services" very recently. Will it be properly implemented? Only time will tell. (2) colic = the case when a baby will keep on crying usually due to ''wind'' in the tummy, but not necessarily. There are some babies who will keep on crying nonstop without reason. That is also known as colicky babies. The parents could only persevere. Usually when they grow a bit older, the crying will naturally stop. (3) drank milk on demand = the baby gets whenever she wanted it, either day or night. A quick question to the young readers, do you guys know, a mom can actually feed their babies while she lie down in a side sleeping postures? (laugh) This posture can alleviate back pain and let the mommy rest well even when feeding during night time. It''s great for co-sleeping. 25 A Dangerous-looking Goofy Smile Both Arash and Hana were asleep at the same time; although they were separated by time and space. These soulmates not just synced in their likes and dislikes; even their consciousness turned off at the same moment. However, both have different experience through the night; Arash''s sleep was disturbed by their little baby daughter''s intermittent sobbing while Hana''s sleep was so smooth; she was smiling in her sleep. She dreamt that all her experiences were a dream and she was laughingly retelling the story to Arash and their eldest daughter while she was feeding their baby at breakfast. Everyone was having a good time. However, all good things must come to end. As morning came by, she suddenly opened her eyes and she was greeted with the inky darkness mixed with the earthy smell of her cave dwelling. When she realizes that all was nothing but a dream, her eyes misted as a few tears streaked down from the corner of her eyes. Kuro, the ever loyal little pet was by her side looking at her worriedly. It slithered to her face and rubbed his cheek at Hana''s cheek, carefully avoiding his horn, lest he might hurt his mommy. "I''m okay. Don''t worry." Hana breathed in a few times to steady herself and rubbed Kuro''s head dotingly. She wiped away the tears streaking down her face while switching on the torchlight function on her smartphone. Kuro slithered off to the side and started its daily training with its electricity diligently. Hana focused on her pet''s training for a short while and exclaimed admiringly in her heart. The little one had improved a lot. It was not long until it could display its prowess as Hana''s personal charger. Hana moved her sight towards her second pet and found it lying lazily at the usual place. She shook her head and wonder when this fluffy one would stop resisting her advances. She stretched her stiff body a little. Ah..it''s already morning again...is it the fourth day already? Hana finally remembered what was wrong from yesterday. She had forgotten to contact her hubby before she went to sleep! She panicked and quickly opened the chatting app to load for Arash''s messages. As she left her smartphone on the special spot, she went about making a small fire as soon as possible. She can''t always depend on her smartphone for a light source. Hana contemplated for a moment on a solution for this as her deft hands busily rubbing a piece of dried wood to light her tinders. [When I have time, I need to find some beeswax to make some candles.] Candle making wasn''t that complicated as long as she had the main ingredients at hand. But the real issue was how to obtain beeswax without angering its inhabitants? Well, the naive aunty had not thought about it yet. It was super easy to purchase some from the craft store before, so it didn''t occur to her it was going to be the nightmare of her life if she attempted her idea later. A short while later, Hana''s small fire was lighted at its usual spot. Hana went over to her vertically standing filters and observed for a while. They looked stable. The water accumulated also looked crystal clear. Hana took some water to gargle away the unpleasant feel in her mouth and went over the cave door/window to spit the water out. She rubbed Shiro''s head as she moved past her second aloof pet. The disgusted water splashed a little into Shiro''s eye. It unhappily rubbed its eye using its white furry paw. It flexed its claws out unintentionally from annoyance but keep it back after being stared down threateningly by the black snake, as if daring it to make a move. As usual, oblivious to the internal strife between her two pets, Hana gingerly took the rest of the water collected from the filters and filled them into a closed bamboo canister. She placed it diagonally beside the fire to let the water inside boiled before she had the courage to drink it. While she waited for her filtered water to boil, she grabbed two bananas and a pack of 3 in 1 instant teh tarik(1). She chomped them down while checking her smartphone for Arash''s messages. Surprisingly, after the initial loving greetings, he had not spammed the chatbox. Hana knew Arash must''ve known she forgot again and patiently waited for her response. Hana adjusted her face''s angle, centralized her irises and made a puffy monkey cheek to make a funny face. She called for Kuro to pose together with her and snapped an interesting comedic wefie for Arash. She habitually sent over the picture, knowing it would fail. It uploaded sluggishly like a snail, pausing intermittently for a long time. Hana just ignored the uploading process as usual and continued messaging her hubby about her day yesterday after she apologized. She shared her plan on the rack she was going to build today for the three filters and Arash''s opinion on it. Today she needed to complete the filter rack, ferry back those extra bamboo canisters and check on her fish trap. She truly hoped to get some fish. It wasn''t easy eating the same thing day in day out. After she finished pouring out her heart into the chatting app, she waited and waited, but Arash''s reply wasn''t coming in. [Is he taking revenge for yesterday?] Hana was sure her hubby was not a petty person. [Maybe he was busy with the kids and all.] Hana convinced herself cheerily. She decided to return early today and messaged Arash again before she started on the permanent filter rack building. She left her smartphone on the Internet spot and when over to her stash of things. While flipping through her notepad, she went through her objectives as usual and updated her inventory list. She needed to prepare well today before going out. She can''t afford to make the same mistake again. She didn''t realize the goofy wefie of her and Kuro was successfully uploaded! .... Arash''s were awake quite late today. When he woke up, he saw their first daughter cooing her agitated baby sister. "It''s okay. It''s okay. Shhhh...shhh.." She patted her baby sister''s butt in a rhythmic motion gently like how Hana used to do. The agitated little one drifted back to sleep after a few minutes of whimpering. She was still sleepy. "Pity Papa. He is very tired. You''re a good girl right? Right? Mama''s not here, but I''m here." She caressed her little sister''s head affectionately. "Mama said, if one day mama is gone, I must take care of Papa and you." She planted a light kiss on her little sister''s forehead. Arash was touched by his five year old daughter''s sensibility. [Our daughter had grown up so fast ayang...] When his girl realized her papa was awake, she excitedly jumped on him and urged him up. "Come on papa! I got something to show you! We got a message from mama!" His daughter whispered audibly beside his ears. Both of them tiptoed together to the living room. Last night, when Arash was awake a couple of times, he had move to sleep beside his daughters. Once there, the excited girl took her papa''s smartphone on the coffee table and leaped on his lap. In front of Arash''s unbelievable eyes, his daughter expertly typed in his smartphone''s password and navigated towards the chatting app. [Kids these days are amazing!] He lamented. When he was at this age, he was just a snotty brat who loved to climb trees. There''re no such things as gadgets. He enjoyed video games when he was slightly older; it was in his primary years (2). "How did you know how to open Papa''s phone?" Arash was curious. He never taught his daughter his password. "Mommy teach one (3). She said if got migincy (4) can use phone one. See Papa, I even know how to call you." She answered proudly. [I knew it.] Arash chuckled. He usually helped his daughter open the kid''s educational game app all this while. He never knew his help was not needed. "Papa, papa! Lookie here! Mama funny face with cute little thing. What is this Papa?" His girl showed Arash his smartphone. Arash was astonished! A picture was delivered from the other side! As he observed the not-so-nice looking face his wife made for him, his gaze drifted to the menacing black entity beside Hana. His hair stood up and goosebumps appeared. The sleek black reptile was circling its body around Hana''s neck while a foot of its upper body lingered very near to Hana''s cheek. The silver horn was like a unicorn''s, but sharp and threatening. The eyes look evil. The forked tongue was even touching Hana''s cheek! Sharp teeth were seen from the half opened mouth. The snake looked really dangerous! Not at all adorable as what Hana used to tell him every single day! Arash didn''t know that was Kuro''s attempt at making a goofy smile to accommodate his mommy''s urging. "Papa, papa, papa! You okay? What animal is that?" His daughter''s urging broke Arash''s reverie. Arash cleared his throat, "Ehem, it''s a snake sweetie." "Really? Why did it have a horn then?" His daughter asked confusedly. "It''s a special breed one." "Ah!" As if was struck by an epiphany, his cheeky little daughter showed a comprehending look. "It was so cute! Papa, I want one!" Arash sweated with his daughter''s twisted understanding of cute. [Like mother, like daughter.] Unbeknownst to Arash, his daughter had accidentally forwarded the picture to his wife''s family chat group on a different chatting apps while she was fiddling with the phone. .... A shocking picture was sent to ''Family Ribena'' (5) group by Mem Shaza''s son-in-law, Arash. It was the picture of Hana dying as she was being attacked by an exotic never-been-seen dangerous-looking black snake. The chat group burst into a frenzy of messages by Hana''s mother, brothers and sisters. She had come from a big family. A lot of them were worried about Hana as they realized that they had not seen her reply in their chatgroup a single time in the past four days. While others believed she was pranking them. Before, they had assumed she might have used her hubby''s phone to reply for both of them (she did that a lot of time). The replies were short and perfunctory; as if Hana and Arash were super busy with something. When the chat group finally calmed down, the participants realized Arash nor Hana didn''t reply a single time to their questions. This elevated their worry to an unprecedented level. Mem Shaza (6) tried to phone her daughter, but only receiving an out-of-service notification. She then tried calling her son-in-law. However, because everyone was trying to do the same thing, the calls clashed with each other and none came through. Another reason was, the cheeky daughter of theirs had unassumingly muted Arash''s smartphone while she was playing with it before. With the incoming of multiple calls and Arash''s forgetfulness to charge his phone, the already low battery smartphone on the coffee table finally switched off without any of them knowing. At that exact time, Arash was busy cooking a simple chicken porridge for both of his girls. After an awkward moment of mutilating the poor bird into pieces, he transferred all of the meat pieces into a boiling pot of water. He remembered, Hana said to put in a slice of ginger and a few cloves of garlic to remove the chickeny smell(7). Some carrots and cauliflower were a must to make it a balanced meal. When everything was boiling nicely, then add some washed uncooked rice. He was thinking, how much rice should he put in? Feeling confused, he just added one small cup of washed rice into the simple chicken soup. After everything was done, he let the porridge simmered under the lowest fire and washed his hands. "Who wants to bathe raise up your hands!" Arash jokingly asked her daughter while hanging the apron at its intended place. Raising up her hands enthusiastically, she elatedly said, "Me! Me! Me!" while jumping up and down. A crying sound came from the bedroom. [Just in time.] Both of them held hands and went to the bedroom together to fetch the little one before going to the bathroom. As the porridge simmered gently, Arash was monitoring the kids playing with bubbles in their respective tubs while remaining oblivious to the storm brewing in the chat group. Author''s note: (1) 3 in 1 instant teh tarik = a popular pulled milk tea in Malaysia. There''s instant ones now. We loved the Lipton brand. (2) primary years = Malaysian basic education system was divided by two; primary level (7 - 12 years), and secondary level (13 - 17) (3) Mommy teach one = (....one) is a local slang when Malaysian used English. It doesn''t have a meaning. (4) migincy = since the daughter is 5, we made her words filled with errors intentionally. It''s from the word ''emergency'' (5) Family Ribena = "Ribena" is actually not a real family name. Attaching ''Ribena'' to a name brought the meaning ''childish'' as it is named after a kiddy drink by the same name (its a berry grape-y flavor drink very popular with kids). (6) Mem Shaza = "Mem" is a shortform of ''Madam'' used generally when shown respect to an elder (woman) who''s usually very imposing. "Shaza" is an arabic name. The Malay ethnic in Malaysia used Arabic names to name their kids, very rarely they would use Malaysian language. (7) chikeny smell = this one was self invented by us haha. There''s a raw chicken smell that''s not so nice lingering in porridge if one didn''t cancel it out with ginger. That''s also the reason why most cooking use ginger in many kinds of dishes. Oh yes, let us write down the meaning of the names according to appearance; (1) Hana = (Arabic: boundless rezki/sustenance), (Japanese: flower), (Korean: No.1) (2) Arash = (Arabic: a figurative ''throne'' where God stood while observing His subjects) (3) Shaza = (Arabic: fragrant) 26 A Storm Provoking Wefie Part 1 Hi! Sorry to disturb your reading :) Mrs Mooncat had made an Instagram account huhu (laughing bashfully)..Do follow me if you have one too ;D (mrs.mooncat) Short advertisement... (close face with both hands while blushing) Mr Mooncat: Don''t act cute, you''re so old already =_=;; *********************** Arash was looking for his smartphone while he spoon-fed his little one with some porridge. She was cooing happily while spraying some of the porridge to her papa''s face. That''s what happens when one blew raspberries in tandem with eating mushy things. Arash just chuckled it over while wiping his face with a tissue. At least she ate half of it. He was already satisfied with that. These few days, the little onehad not eaten properly. [I haven''t charged my phone since yesterday. Last night the battery was already low.] His absentmindedness was quite severe especially on little things such as these. Last year, he had already hurt Hana''s feelings by making a blunder for not wishing her on their ten-th year anniversary. After numbers of years being married, he still didn''t understand how a woman''s mind worked. As they had discussed where to celebrate the day before, he thought it was clear as day that he had remembered and only waiting to bring her to a nice restaurant that night. However, Hana was crying by evening, and they nearly cancelled their date night just because of an unspoken greeting. A long and passionate kiss (with a diamond-studded golden bracelet) had remedied the situation at the end of the day. Even after so many years, Arash was still amazed by his wife''s sensitivity. He was going to give the bracelet as a surprise after the date night concluded. It was a very rare moment for them to be together as they shamelessly asked Hana''s sibling who lived two-hours away from their house to take care of their children for five hours. So, when it came to little things, Arash had always took for granted and asked Hana where ''this is'' or where ''that is''. Hana will always have an answer for that. He habitually turned to ask his elder daughter this time. "Sweetie, did you see papa''s phone?" While spooning the porridge and scrunching her brows together, the cheeky little girl made a contemplating look. "Forget again? You put on the coffee table in the living room. Isk, isk, so forgetful one." Clicking her tongue, she made a sagely gesture and sighed. Arash blinked. [This girl, she really knows how to act like the elder.] He decided not to be petty and pretended not to notice the little girl''s sighing. He stopped feeding the little one and went over to the living room. [Ah, it''s already empty!] He shook his head bitterly. He had not read Hana''s messages properly, only seeing the picture at a glance before. He was planning to reply to Hana once he had settled the kids and let them watch some TV. He immediately charged his phone. [Well, it only needed one to two hours anyway. I''ll find something to do first after this.] When he entered the kitchen again, he had seen the little one dropped all the porridge on the floor after smearing some on her own face. There were bits of carrots on her hair and her nose while the newly changed pink frilly shirt had turned to white with speckled of orange hue. His eldest was crying while her hair was being yanked by her baby sister''s porridgey hands. He could already infer what happen. The big sister wanted to help with feeding her baby sister when their papa was gone. However, her benevolence had backfired. The naughty little one must''ve yanked the porridge bowl and threw it to the floor before playing with her sister''s hair. He was very proud of his eldest for not retaliating. Heaving a heavy sigh, he said, "Stop it now! Let''s take a bath again!" He made an imposing look to both of his kids. He wondered how Hana did this every single day. He now understood why his wife''s mood was so stormy when he came back from work every day. [I miss you dear wife, I must double up so that you can come home sooner.] He shed tragic tears internally while maintaining a strict facade outwardly in front of their kids. Now he knew he didn''t have to worry. There''s plenty of things to do to fill out the two-hour charging time. .... It wasaround noon when Arash finally had the time to switch on his smartphone to read his wife''s messages. The hired helper was doing her job cleaning up the four-day old mess created by them dutifully. He can only sigh when he recalled what had happened a few hours ago. After the kids bathed again, he had dressed them with new sets of clothes. Then he let them watch some suitable kiddie TV programs. However, both of them fought over the remote because the elder one wanted to change the channel, while the little one just wanted to nibble on it. They had messed up the cramped living room and finally broke the TV remote. While he tried to repair the remote, the kids went for the colorful permanent markers they found from who-knows-where and scribbled on the white colored matte terracotta flooring. As Arash haphazardly stopped them and gave them a set of crayons and drawing blocks before continuing, he saw the little one nibbled on the crayons. When he stopped her, the crayon had already been quarter-eaten. Thank goodness he managed to forcefully fish out the residues from her mouth. The little one was actually hungry again. So Arash cut some watermelon cubes for both of them after he successfully repaired the TV remote. He threw in some milk cookies and a bowl of chopped dried fruit yogurt to stealthily filled them up. This time he spooned the yogurt to both of them intermittently. He knew Hana would be angry if she knew how cincai he did for their kids'' supposedly ''lunch''. He had no choice; the helper was still in the middle of cleaning. They would mess things up again. After finish eating, Arash helped to wash their hands and let them continue to watch the TV programs harmoniously for a short while until they fall asleep hugging each other. Arash carried them one by one and let them continue their afternoon nap in the bedroom. In his heart, he really hoped they will sleep a bit longer. He was extremely exhausted. He wondered how Hana did this every single day. The bitter but also sweet memories were broken by the nonstop vibrations that were generated on his palm as notifications after notifications entered. Arash sweated. What could possibly happen in the span of four hours of disconnectivity? Arash quickly swiped opened the call history to check. There were tens of miscalls from Hana''s family. Seeing the miscalls, he knew something must''ve gone wrong. He checked the Family Ribena''s Chatgroup to find out what had happened. Seeing over 200+ of unseen messages, he scrolled back to the first unread message to go through. Lo and behold, he saw the ''controversial'' picture of his wife with her new pet snake being uploaded by his account. Arash sweated profusely as he was thinking what excuse he would need to tell Hana''s family. At this moment, he really wanted to spank his eldest daughter''s butt to kingdom come. After he finished reading the last bombardments, he decided that he cannot escape the storm and answered briefly with a ''It''s complicated, will brief you all after this. Hana is fine and cherry. That''s our newest pet. Tonight, she''ll reply.'' He had no choice but to push the storm to his beloved wife and hope she will have a better idea to answer. [Hope Hana can come out with something.] He tried to justify his actions to no avail. After all, she was the one who''s the culprit. Who asked her to take that kind of easily misunderstood wefie. If it''s a normal selfie, they could brush it off as a prank. Afterwards, he didn''t forget to review the bamboo shelf his wife was going to make later. He also added a step-by-step method to establish a herb garden for his beloved wife. As he was typing profusely on his smartphone, he could hear the inaudible grumbling of the helper while she was scrubbing the scribbled floor with toothpaste. The soda bicarbonate paste she made didn''t work too well. The stains were still there. Arash could only cleared his throat apologetically. He will add a few more ringgit (1) to recompense the helper later. With an obvious tremble, he dialed his strict mother-in-law''s number to give a full account to her after amassing enough courage. It happened after two cups of coffee and twenty push-ups. .... Ma''am Shaza was distraught with worry. She couldn''t swallow the spicy herb-grilled catfish with rice and a little sambal belacan (2) that she liked so much. She didn''t even touch the quartered boiled banana heart (3) she took. She called for the waiter to transfer her food into a plastic container as she planned to continue slowly at home. She disliked spending so much time in this restaurant. It was very crowded although it was slightly after lunch hour. A lot of people was eyeing disapprovingly for her seat as she was eating so slowly. It has been five hours since. The couple still didn''t respond to their query in the chatgroup. After settling the bill at the counter, she drove home. It was a small bungalow with a traditional Malay style architecture veranda made from wood. The traditional parts were made from the prized Chengal wood (4). She had spent quite a hefty sum to decorate the traditional architecture with traditional flora carvings. It has a low triangle shaped roof with carved wooden beams supporting it. A colorful mosaic stone four-step stairs were connected to the traditional wooden veranda. Beside the stone stairs was a big covered urn filled with water and a wooden scoop made from polished coconut shell attached to a three foot long polished bamboo stick. The ornate scoop was a souvenir from Hana when they went for a short vacation in Sarawak a few years back. As the car entered the parking lot, her phone rang out with a song implying an incoming call. She immediately turned off the engine and walked in while answering the phone. She left her sandals at the very bottom of the stairs, washed her feet with the water from the urn, and wiped her feet on a fluffy cotton rug before climbing the short stairs into the veranda. She sat on the patio chair at the veranda while placing the leftover lunch before concentrating on the phone call. "Assalamualaikum mak (5). Arash here." "Waalaikumussalam! Haa Arash! I''ve called you so many times! Why did you let that girl buy a dangerous pet?! Don''t you guys already have four cats, two goldfish and a tortoise? Seriously? Don''t pamper her so much!" Ma''am Shaza immediately reprimanded her favorite son-in-law. She was fond of this son-in-law of hers for the longest time. If not, she wouldn''t have easily agreed to hand her daughter to the boy. He took care of her daughter well. Sometimes, a bit too well, until she became so pampered. She was dizzy with her daughter''s attitude of not wanting to work. She had studied so hard until obtaining a doctorate, but after that she just stopped everything and became a housewife. Her supposed academically centered carrier flown out of the window once she declined the generous work offers from the local universities. She could only sigh with the couples'' decision and didn''t interfere, though her heart was uneasy with their arrangements. She was a single mother and had singlehandedly educated her six sons and daughters in a Spartan manner to ensure their success. Her husband was a Marine. He died abruptly from an unknown incident. It was top secret military thing and she didn''t even get to see his corpse. It had left her with a broken heart. Thank goodness she was working. With the compensation from the military, her husband''s lifesaving and her earnings, she was able to successfully schooled all her kids to universities without much problems. Some of them were bright enough to be sponsored overseas with fully covered scholarships which soothed her heart immensely. Although Arash was a good man, she didn''t want her daughter to feel too secure. Anything could happen in the future. Even if divorce didn''t happen, accidents or death of the breadwinner of the family will significantly impact her daughter''s little family, just like her late husband. They needed to be ready for any of the inevitable. "Explain in detail! Do not leave a single word." Ma''am Shaza commanded imposingly. The silence on the other side worried her a lot. She felt that there was a lot to be explained by her son-in-law. She knew he was a grounded person. He would never let Hana do anything dangerous. Arash took a deep breath and prepared to tell the truth after a moment of consideration. He needed to adjust his wording accordingly. If not, his mother-in-law might get a heart attack. Author''s note: (1) Ringgit = it''s the malaysian currency, RM (Ringgit Malaysia) (2) "...spicy herb-grilled catfish with rice and a little sambal belacan.." = this is a standard menu that the Malay ethnic likes to partake. (3) boiled banana heart = (Malaysian language, jantung pisang) it''s the heart of a banana tree, dark purplish in color and use to be eaten as salad with sambal belacan. It''s nothing special, everyone eats it haha. Must be boiled first okay, never eat it raw. Go for the soft inner part. (4) Cengal wood = an expensive hardwood localized in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. It got similarities to ''Teak'', often dubbed as ''Malaysian Teak''. (4) "Assalamualaikum mak" = [Assalamualaikum: sound:Us-sa-la-mu-are-lie-comb] It''s a standard greeting which means "peace be upon you" which is a standard greeting which means hello, ''mak'' means ''mother'', the short form of ''emak''. The standard answer is Waalaikumussalam, which means "and unto you be peace". 27 A Storm Provoking Wefie Part 2 Hadi (1) showed a frustrated look as he kept on dialing on his smartphone for the n-th time. His wife approached him and consoled, "Enough dear, when they read the message, they will reply." "The thing is, Bro Arash had replied.That means he had read his phone. But I still can''t contact him!" Hadi still didn''t believe Haziq''s (2) and Hasna''s (3) theory of saying that the picture was photoshopped. He knew his lil'' sis was proficient with using the latest Photoshop software and had doctored quite a number of amusing pictures in her free time. But this time, it was so seamless. The picture didn''t give any clues to doubt its authenticity. The picture was only added with filters to make the subjects stood out as the background was too dark. As a digital artist himself, he believed he knew a doctored picture when he sees one. This one is no doubt authentic. His other siblings didn''t know anything. As the eldest in the family, he needed to get to the bottom of this before the couple offended their mom again. She was very strict with them and will unleash her wrath on all of them regardless of who upset her first. It was collective punishment she employed since they were young because they were too naughty and unruly. It had taught him that, he, as the eldest, must be responsible to all of his siblings, correcting their wrongs as early as possible without waiting for their mother to act on them. It has led Hadi, as the eldest brother in the family to be like a father-figure to the rest of the siblings and matured faster. It also developed Hadi''s sense of responsibility to a higher level as compared to his other siblings and peers. Even now, as all of them already grew up, he still stood tall and continue his job as the eldest. He had cleared up a couple of his siblings'' immature mistakes before. Especially Hana, who was pretty cheeky although she already had two children. He sometimes wondered, when she will truly grow up. His thought was interrupted by an incoming call. [Finally!] He thought his sister or Arash had finally accumulated enough courage to give him an explanation. Reading the name of the caller on his smartphone''s screen, he trembled incessantly. As he answered the call, he realized he could hear the sobbing of her strict mother retelling him about his brother-in-law''s story about their missing sister. It took a while for him to coax his crying mother. It was a first since the death of his father for him to hear weakness and fragility in their mom''s usual imposing behavior. He felt really worried over both his mom and his little sister. Once he ended the call, he immediately fetched for his car keys. "Dear, I''m going to Bro Arash''s house for a while. Lock the gates. Give me a call if there is anything okay." He didn''t want to waste anymore time. It''s going to be a four hour''s drive to and fro. He needed to double up. His bewildered wife gave a nod. "Be good." He kissed her forehead before she fetched both of his hands to habitually kissed after holding them lovingly (a). "Careful on the road. Don''t speed. Although you worked in the police department, you''re not a police officer." She reminded her hubby again. Sometimes, this hubby of hers was more spirited then the real officers. It worries her a lot. He was supposed to be in-charge on digital cybercrimes as well as a digital artist in the police department. This was the highest tolerance her mother-in-law could accept. Hadi''s wife knew her mother-in-law didn''t want her son to end up like her late husband. Hadi coughed awkwardly and bid her goodbye. Inside his car, he gave a quick call to his fourth sister, Hasna, who stayed the nearest to their mom, to return to their mom''s house to sooth her. If their mom collapsed alone in that house, he won''t be able to forgive himself. .... Humaira found it funny that her elder sister pranked them with that picture. She chuckled lightly in the library while she huddled for warmth. She was finishing up her post-doc studies with the final article. When this one was done, she can finally say bye-bye to this god-forsaken cold region and returned to the bosom of her favorite tropical climate. With a speedy finger, she reposted her sister''s picture in all social platforms she was registered with. She typed a fun caption gleefully, "In the process of being stunned by a Pokmon." In less than an hour, her post had gone viral as it had been retweeted, reshared and reposted so many times due to its unique and funny nature. It has garnered 300 thousand unique shares within two hours. The netizens discussed on the authenticity of the picture and the species of the snake. They were arguing about the emergence of a unicorn-like mid-horned snake which had never been seen before. If it''s not fake, it''s a new undiscovered species! At the same time a hot debate on the jewel-like stud ensued. Majority of the netizens brushed it off as a Photoshop gimmick. Some argued that it was real, while others felt angered by the notion that the snake owner was abusing it with add-on 3D make up. Another faction even claimed that they had proof that the owner had undergone a cosmetic surgery to permanently add a jewelry to her pet snake. Each statement was worse than the one before. The trending of the picture had caught the interest of a few snake enthusiasts and specialists to the snake pet in the picture. Some naturalist and environmentalist fanned the flame demanded the release of the unfortunate snake into its natural habitat. While others were inquiring the whereabouts of the owner herself, expressing interest in purchasing it. When Ma''am Shaza gotten a forwarded message from her aerobics class buddies featuring her own daughter, she nearly fainted from shock. #Shocking news! Cruelty towards Animals! A Malaysian had been killed by her own exotic breed pet snake! The woman was allegedly abusing her pet by embeddening foreign objects via surgery. It has sparked the rage of the netizens worldwide. Naturalists and environmentalists were fighting to gain the freedom of the poor snake from its abusive breeder. If you have more information, contact the hotline below. #ReleaseThatSnake #AbusiveOwner #NeedDivineRetribution When Humaira finally noticed the storm brewing from her irresponsible post, she was so scared that she immediately removed it and closed all her accounts. However, it was a done deal. The damage was done. She could only find her big bro to settle this issue immediately. She tried to call her reliable big bro, but to no avail. Unknown to her, he was driving towards Hana and Arash''s house to demand a face-to-face explanation for making their mom cried. [Bro Hadi...where are you.. ] TT_____TT Now, Humaira was the one who wanted to cry. ... Author''s note: The names depicted in this chapter was an example on how the Malay ethnic in Malaysia synchronized the names of their children. They can start with the same alphabet, the same sound, or the same phrase. They do not have a family name but were connected to their father''s name with a Bin (for guys) and Binti/bt (for girls). Bin/bt means son/daughter of. For example, Hadi''s name might be "Hadi Zaujan bin Miskon Shafiee". Hadi is first primary name, Zaujan is middle name, bin (son of), Miskon (first name of father) Shafiee (second name of father). Hadi''s daughter, example, Seha, might be known as Faseha Solihin bt Hadi Zaujan. Look how it connects. A short trivia :D Recently, the names of the younger generations had gotten longer and longer. Later when they need to fill in forms, confirm not enough boxes one (laugh) Name meanings: (1) Hadi = [Arabic: leader] (2) Haziq = [Arabic: smart] (3) Hasna = [Arabic: beautiful] (4) Humaira = [Arabic: blushing cheeks] (a) habitually kissed after holding them lovingly = this is the way everyone in a family shakes hand over here. We grab with both hands, not one, and we don''t actually shake, more like grab each other''s hand warmly. We will kiss the hand of the elder or the ones we respect. Eg, children to elders, or wife to husband. It signifies filiality, love and respect. You don''t grab your friend''s hand and kiss it, they''ll feel super gross and awkward. The kiss is also not a real kiss, just a light touch. Strangers warrant the normal handshake, or none at all, depending on genders. 28 The Teh Tarik Effects Rewinding backwards a little, the culprit who innocently started the problematic chain event by sending the controversial picture was casually munching on the last of her bananas while waiting for the water to boil. She had not realized she was going to be a hot internet celebrity in a few hours'' time. A notorious one at that. The ''pitiful and abused'' snake pet was merrily ''kepochi-ing'' itself on Hana, wanting to see what else she was eating. It was no longer interested in uncooked natural food. Hana chuckled amusingly, "Nothing else here except this." She showed the banana she was eating to Kuro. "Want some?" The cheeky little snake flailed its head to the side a few times indicating its objection. The amusing gesture made Hana laughed as she stroked Kuro''s head. "You''re too cute. Just like my girl." Hana smiled happily. Kuro cocked its head to the side in a confusing manner. The gesture reminded Hana of cute little Corgis trying to please their owner with a charming stare. Hana swiped open her smartphone and went to the Gallery. She showed the picture of her eldest daughter to Kuro. "This one is my first daughter. She''s as smart and as cheeky as you." Kuro watched the picture of a little girl with twintails who resembled Hana a lot. In the picture, the little girl was wearing star studded pastel blue leggings with rainbow colored unicorn short sleeve shirt. Kuro memorized the picture by heart. Anything important to its mommy was important to it too. Hana swiped a few times and showed the picture of her little one. "This is our youngest. Barely two." Her smile was tinged with bitterness as her eyes misted again as she observed the picture a moment longer. The little one was wearing a pink romper with a matching elastic pink frilly headband with tiny roses. The smeared orangey pumpkin carrot puree covered parts of her clothes and face. Kuro nodded haphazardly when it saw the changing of its mistress mood. It slithered to Hana''s lap and gave her left cheek a tiny peck. Hana laughed while she rubbed away the tears gathering her eyes. "And this one is your papa." Hana showed Arash''s picture to Kuro. As she stared lovingly at her husband''s picture, she said, "He is the handsomest, most dashing, charming, charismatic and competent man ever! I know you''ll definitely like him too." Kuro nodded vigorously in agreement as it memorized the intelligent face of a short haired bespectacled man with a tiny goatee in the picture. Anything mommy said must be true. At this moment, Hana didn''t realize she was indoctrinating her beliefs in the innocent little snake via brainwashing. She could finally see water vapor coming out from the opening of the bamboo canister. [The water is finally boiling!] Hana was elated. She immediately took the hot canister using thick leaves and poured some hot water into the new pannikin. After she emptied it out once, she poured the hot water again inside. She just eyeballed the quantity to be around 1.5 cup and add in the yellowy sachet of teh tarik. Immediately, a lovely aroma wafted out, warming her heart while making her salivate a little. [Persevere! Persevere!] She knew if she took a sip now, her tongue will be scalded. She inhaled deeply and said to her favourite pet, "This is mommy''s favorite, teh tarik. It''s deep, smooth, milky and frothy, just like the real ones made in the Nasi Kandar restaurants by the anneis (1)." The adjectives describing the taste of the flavored water confuses Kuro. It was too good to be true. It didn''t look tasty at all! The color and texture were totally different from the flavor water with bits and pieces of tasty morsels Hana made for it yesterday. This one is murkier and light brownish. It reminded Kuro of the dirty water in rivers during rainy season. Kuro was extremely skeptical this time although it trusted her. After a while, Hana grabbed the large mug-like pannikin with both of her hand and slowly blew on the surface of the beverage. The instant pulled tea only covered a one sixth of the overall volume of the pannikin. After all, she did make the pannikin a bit larger as it can doubled as a bowl for soup. She took tiny little sips and sighed contentedly. "Perfect." Hana was over the moon as her tensed up muscles relaxed. The magical feeling of something warm and fuzzy travelling slowly from her mouth to her stomach made Hana sighed contentedly. Kuro was so curious! Hana''s expression made it eager to try it too. When Hana realized her strange little pet''s intention, she placed the pannikin on the cave floor to let the little one have a sip while held her chin thoughtfully. Kuro took a sip cautiously. It could taste a very strange combination in its mouth! The brownish flavored water had a refined creamy sweet yet deep taste it couldn''t describe well. It completely overturned its initial aversion to the beverage''s color. [My mommy is a sage!] It was very impressed with its mommy''s knowledge on food. Every single food it tasted gave it a sensational overdrive. Hana was laughing when she saw Kuro quivered a little after its first sip before it started to sway intoxicatedly. It was very comical. She wondered whether the tea functioned like alcohol towards the snake to make it danced like that. When she saw the little snake wanted to gobble up her teh tarik, she reminded it not to drink too greedily. It''s still hot after all. "Kuro, do you know, where I come from, there''s a milk tea pulling competition?" She generously shared an interesting trivia with her accommodating pet. "They use two mugs, just like this." She showed the pannikin to Kuro while continuing, "Then they poured the tea from one mug to the other, pulling the distance further and further away. Of course, without spilling it. After a few times on introducing air into the milk tea via pulling, the tea will be served with a bubbly light froth on top." Hana showed the weak froth forming on the top of the instant tea. "However, the froth is bigger and more magnificent then this haha." She concluded her story while smiling as she realized Kuro was too focused on the tea rather than her ad-hoc lecture. Shiro peeked from far away but maintained its aloofness. It pretended not to care but hoped that their mommy could give it some. However, Hana totally forgot about the poor not-so-little fox. She was too engrossed with Kuro and the cup of tea being consumed by it. For the second time, she felt so grateful for buying so many things before she was stuck in this place. The audacious snake finished up more than half of the tea. Hana just smiled and took a new sachet to brew a new cup. She drank up the beverage happily but was suddenly reminded by her other fluffy pet. Shiro was making an unhappy face and didn''t want to turn its face towards the being inside who already forgotten about it. However, Hana could see its gray nose was expanding and shrinking, greedily taking in the teh tarik aroma. Even the tongue was out with more saliva accumulated at its mouth, threatening to spill out. [Sigh... such a tsundere (2)...] Hana shook her head. With an apologetic smile, she placed her pannikin in front of the fox and move back to her regular spot. Shiro peeked inside the mug and was glad to see some brownish liquid. It was curious too. Hana had left a third of the instant pulled tea for it. Its heart softened a bit more for this being, for the n-th time. [When I''m well enough, I will be useful to her.] It quietly promised in its heart. Finally, Hana has inadvertently unlocked the aloof fox''s heart with a cup of Teh Tarik. Author''s note: (1) Nasi Kandar restaurants by the anneis = [sound: Are-nays, plural] it means ''brother'' (annei/anneh) in Tamil (language of the Indians in Malaysia). So, it''s like you call the waiter ''Bro'' or the cashier ''Bro''. Nasi kandar restaurants were developed by Malaysian Indian Muslims usually originates from South India during the olden days. They were known as ''Mamak'' (older men) or ''Mami'' (older women). So when someone said, "Let''s go to Mamak pekena teh tarik sedas", it means ''let us dine in a nasi kandar restaurant and have a cup of teh tarik''. (2) tsundere : as a reminder, it meant an aloof person who is actually warmhearted inside. 29 Are Fishes in This Area Idiots? Seeing Shiro happily lapping on the "pulled" milk tea or Teh Tarik, Hana went over to organize her stuff. When she saw Kuro trying to move towards Shiro, she pulled it back towards her. "Enough Kuro. It''s Shiro''s share. Let it drink in peace okay sweetie." Kuro acquiesced while hissing happily from his mommy''s attention. [Who cares about the stupid fox when mommy loves me so much.] Looking at both Kuro and Shiro, Hana already know what she should make next. They needed their own personal bowl! Maybe if she reduced the size of the claypot, she could make additional bowls for them? After pondering for a while, she rejected the notion. Right now, clay was precious commodity. If she ran out of clay from the nearby stream, she will need to travel further down the stream. What if she encountered any large ferocious creature then, can she even run? Merely the thought of it already scared her as she shivered meekly. At this point, this wimpy aunty had forgotten the prowess of her absolutely loyal snake pet. We couldn''t blame her, as the little intelligent guy only knew how to act cute in front of her. I know! I''ll make them some bamboo bowls! We got plenty of them by the stream. She quickly moved out with Kuro after rubbing Shiro''s fluffy white head. This time, the proud fox willingly let her touch its head, even nuzzling back a little while savoring the touch. Hana was greatly surprised. [Is this the power of teh tarik?] She made a mental note to share the popular beverage to both of her pets when she drinks some later in the future. [Shiro is such a tsundere(1).] Hana smiled amusingly. She knew she shouldn''t push it. If she took the thigh when it just offered its shin (2), the delicate balance could be broken and returned back to square one (3). Both of them, a smelly aunty and a small black snake, moved in tandem towards the stream with a light gait. Every step of the way had a bouncy feel to it as the positive aunty was in an extra good mood. All the traces of sadness from yesterday were effectively wiped away. Another reason was the presence of her snake pet. Hana didn''t realize she had totally relied on Kuro for safety. She felt totally safe with the little lovable snake by her side. All the caution ingrained into her by Arash''s incessant naggings had gone down into the drain. Along the way, she even found a lush turmeric herb cluster! How lucky she could be! (Author Note: Little that she knows that the heaven had a way to reward her when she was wrongly accused in the storm at home 30 When Organic Catfish meets Turmeric Tubers Kuro panicked when it saw its mommy fell! It immediately inflated itself and supported its mommy''s head so that she won''t get a concussion. It knew its mistress'' head was her weak spot. She could die if it didn''t help her from the fall since its mommy was so very fragile. After it placed Hana''s head gently on the forest floor, it slithered around her body to check for problems. [Aha! There was a fish stinger on her palm!] Kuro pulled out the venomous stinger with its mouth, but it made the condition worsened as the blood splattered everywhere and kept on flowing for a while. Kuro was very worried. It didn''t know what to do when it noticed the palm swelled bit by bit as its mommy was losing her consciousness. It went to the stream and sucked in a large amount of water. Slithering back to its mommy''s side as fast as possible, it sprayed the water from its mouth towards Hana''s injured palm to clean the wound. It then ''kiss'' the injured location in attempt to stop the bleeding. Hana was currently drifting in and out of consciousness as she felt a warm feeling on her injured hand. She opened her heavy lidded lashes to see her beloved little snake trying to treat her using its own means. Her heart felt warm inside as she gradually calmed down. She knew she won''t die from this tiny little thing. She did hear about catfishes'' ability to sting but had forgotten all about it due to being too excited when reeling in her harvests. Her head became clearer and she felt so much better gradually. Whatever little Kuro had been doing, it was effective. Unbeknownst to her, Kuro was actually very poisonous. Its clan was famed for their highly lethal venom in the beast community. Nobody would willingly offend them if necessary. Although Kurohad left its clan long ago to establish itself on its own, the surrounding beasts still remember and revere the young snake beast''s prowess. Some stupid beast ignorantly pissed it off and was immediately disposed. Since then, they could only submit to it; stepping back a pace to give it a personal territory for it to play to its heart''s content. Hence, to Kuro, the venom of a small unassuming fish was just a small white bean thing (1). While extracting the venom, Kuro inadvertently tasted Hana''s blood. As Heaven fated it, the familiar feeling was getting stronger, as the bond between it and Hana consolidated perfectly. Kuro nearly couldn''t stop itself as it accidently sucked in a little more without endangering Hana''s life. As it understood the properties of the venom and in turn released the counter-antidote into the same puncture wound, it reminded itself to be more careful in taking care of its fragile mistress. The venom was actually not harmful to any of the beasts around; it was super low-leveled. Yet, its mommy couldn''t even take it. The wound automatically closed after a short while after Kuro licked it with its forked tongue. It turned out that Kuro''s saliva had healing properties! Kuro vengefully went to the flopping fish and bit its head off in fury! The top part of the fish was pulverized into meat paste before it spat it into the stream. It tossed the lower part back into the trap hole in disdain. Kuro made a murderous hissing sound and all the fishes in the trap froze in fear. Some even died on the spot due to fear!! Kuro then fetched out the dead ones with its mouth. None of the surviving fishes dared to move. Then, it coiled itself beside Hana''s head and waited patiently. It placed its head on Hana''s cheek and made a soft hissing sound, as if it was singing sweetly into Hana''s ears. Kuro waited and waited. .... Fifteen minutes later, Hana was trying to open her eyes when she was blinded by the sun. She kept on blinking while looking up at the beautiful clouds in the sky. She just realized she was lying face up beside the earthen fish trap she made. She could barely remember a soft hissing ''Twinkle twinkle Little Star'' tune beside her ear. Looking at her healed hand, the missing stinger and the dead fishes around, she realized that it was her ''magical'' Kuro that helped her once again, as usual. Turning to the side, she realized Kuro was looking at her just beside her head. She smiled and kissed its presumably ''nose'' location. "Thank you, sweetie. I don''t know how you heal my hand, but I know it''s you." Kuro swayed to the left and to the right in elation. Chuckling, Hana sat up and saw a few dead catfishes in various sizes placed in a neat line a few meters away from her. None of them were flopping. She patted Kuro''s head and added, "I love you so much Kuro!" She took a long stick and cautiously prodded the dead fishes before touching them. She had learnt her lesson. One can never be too careful. Once she confirmed that each one of the fishes were deader than dead, she carefully carried each one to the edge of the stream to wash them and tried to gut it and remove the gills and internal organs using a sharp stone she casually found at the stream. Thank goodness these catfishes didn''t have scales. If not, her work would be doubled. It was real hard work! The stone was not up to par in sharpness, but Hana persisted until all fishes were cleaned well. She even made three to four diagonal deep gashes into the soft yet firm bodies of the fishes on both sides. An hour went by just like that. Kuro patiently waited for Hana at the side, worried that she might collapse again when it stepped out. It was a wonder nothing happened to her when it was not around these couple of times. When Hana asked its help to find a vine, it happily obliged and returned with a string-like vine just a few minutes later. Hana was speechless but happy with her pet''s efficiency. She didn''t know it did that because it was reluctant to leave her defenseless even for a short moment. As usual, she patted Kuro''s head lovingly, "Good job sweetie." She stringed the fishes from their gills to their mouths and tied them on a nearby tree. There was a total of six catfishes; two of them were as big as her shin, while the other four were about the thickness of her fatty arm. The smallest one which had finned her before was gone; Hana looked everywhere and just assumed Kuro took a bite as a reward for helping her out. She was so pleased while she hummed a cheerful song under her breath. She had already forgotten her plight just now. What made her happy was the weight of the fishes. They were heavier than two fat whole chickens! It meant that the fishes were probably more than five kilograms even after they were being cleaned! Such fat fishes! Organic to boot! Organic well-fed catfishes were all the rage now. Even the normal ones were around RM7/kg! So expensive! For a kilo, one could get about three tiny catfishes, where the restaurants will charge about RM5 each. Bloody strangler ! (2) Hana knew she had hit the jackpot as of now. She happily scored some more bamboos with her chisel to ferry them home in her other shopping bag. Surprisingly wasn''t that tiring today. After she filled her bag with a few empty bamboo canisters, she bundled up the longer ones and tied them using the leftover vines Kuro gave her before. These bamboos were as long as four segments each. "Urghhhhhhhh! Urghhhhh! Urghhhhhh!" The not-so-cute aunty dragged the tied bamboos with one hand on the uneven ground while making laborious breathing. The little snake was following her worriedly at her back three paces away. Tiny creatures, fowls and birds were scurrying away from her clumsy intrusion. As usual this aunty made quite a scene. Hana was already on her way back. She dragged the bamboos with her left hand while bringing along two bagful of bamboo canisters and fishes on her left and right shoulders. After she placed all the items inside her humble cave, she went out again for a second trip. This time Hana dug up some more turmeric tubers from the turmeric herb tree clusters she found on the way. The fishes in her possession were a lot; her previous haul was not enough. The turmeric tubers looked like irregular shaped fat hairy yellowish slugs. The size and shape were just like old ginger, only the color, smell and taste were different. [Huhu, so many turmeric tubers! I can even continue with my beauty regime over here.] She grinned happily thinking since she was going to make a second round, better she helped herself a little bit more. Today was already the weekend. It''s her turmeric tea consumption day. At home, she always uses traditional methods to maintain her beauty. One of the many uses of fresh turmeric was for internal beauty and health. She had a routine of drinking a glass of soaked raw fresh turmeric in a glass of warm water weekly (3). It stemmed from her habit after her postpartum treatment (4) from her second childbirth. Hana figured since she had the resources, why not just continue with the practice even though she was trapped over there. After she fetched two bottles of water from the shallow stream and cleaned her body with a small napkin dipped in the cold water, she went home happily. .... Author''s Notes: (1) a small white bean thing = [lit. Translation: kacang putih], it''s an informal saying which means ''too easy''. (2) bloody strangler = [lit. translation = cekik darah] a malaysian proverb with the meaning "greedy" for charging too expensive a price for something (3) drinking a glass of soaked raw fresh turmeric in a glass of warm water weekly = this is a traditional beauty regime Malay lady used. Can only works when used fresh ones, powdered ones don''t work, and you can''t drink more than once a week. (4) postpartum treatment = after childbirth treatment. Over here we have a strict wellness regime for 44 days consisted of hygiene, eating, and wearing. 31 The Heavenly Turmeric Grilled Catfish "Come over here, Kuro, Shiro!" Hana sat cross-legged in front of the still-burning fire in her cave dwelling. Hana suspected that Shiro had been feeding the fire to make sure it kept on going, because the clump of dried woods she collected at the side had reduced in size significantly. Hana was very pleased with Shiro''s proactiveness. This is how it should be! Hana used one of the discount card from her handbag and tried hard to scrape the skin of the turmeric tubers. She then placed the peeled turmeric tubers on a washed shallow flat stone she fetched from who knows where. So unhygienic but what choice she had otherwise! Using the blunt side of her prized chisel, she pummeled the turmeric tubers into a mushy pulp gently. "This is a turmeric tuber. We mix it with a little salt and rice flour to make an excellent basic marinade for meat things." Both heads of Shiro and Kuro cocked to the right into really cute confused poses. Why did their mommy explain all this? While Hana mixed a few pinches of salt into the turmeric mesh, she continued to squeeze the pastle-like stone on the pulpy bright yellow mixture. "The turmeric will alleviate the fishy smell, the salt will increase the taste, while the rice flour will make the meat crunchier when fried." She sighed. She just remembered they don''t have any oil. [It doesn''t matter! The catfish is fatty and oily enough on its own!] She noticed the duo''s confusion and laughed, "Why? Confuse where can we get the rice flour? There isn''t any la dearies, we make do with whatever we have okay. It is still super delicious like this. Truly!" She tried to convince her pets. The duo blinked awkwardly. [Of course not! We''re confuse why you tell us all this la mommy! We only want to eat, we don''t care how it''s done!] Hana slathered the turmeric-salt mixture on all of the fishes generously, including their cleaned cavity and in between the incision that she made on the bodies, one step at a time. Then, she gently placed the marinated fishes on the reddish flowery-shaped flat stone she fetched from the shallow stream, layered with the turmeric leaves. Hana had already stamped the flat stone as her personal plate cum tava (1). The ''tava'' can only accommodate three medium-sized catfishes out of four! The two big-ass fishes were too fat and long! The last medium-sized one couldn''t fit in too. [Aiyoooo! What should I do?] Hana looked around. What can she do? The fishes were too much to fit on the single tava-like flat stone. Hana sighed. [Maybe I could make something like a griller (2) from the bamboo strips?] She pondered deeply. After she placed the pink stone tava on the fire, she took one of the smaller bamboo canisters and ripped them to large strips partially. Then she clamped the last two fat fishes with the final medium size marinated catfish in between the partially ripped bamboo strips. The ends of the strips were clamped by a flattened hollow bamboo ring before being tied up with some vines. It took her quite some time to complete all of this and she even hurt her fingers with the bamboo fibers. "We do it this way so that the fishes won''t fall off. We need to turn the fish a bit from time to time." Hana explained to her pets automatically while her hands deftly moved to adjust the makeshift handheld griller. She made sure both kids see what she did properly. Her explanation stemmed from her habit of explaining about recipes to her hubby all the time. She couldn''t stop herself from doing the same thing to the unfortunate snake and fox. Hana made a new fireplace just beside her tava. This time, she used only red hot burning charcoal she transferred from the other fireplace. She placed two halved bamboo poles over two stones, directly above the ground across the charcoal fire and then carefully put the clamped fishes on the halved bamboo pole. Hana carefully turned the bamboo grill from time to time atop the suspended halved bamboo poles. She must ensure that no direct fire came in contact with the fishes to avoid them being burnt to blackened charcoal bits. The fishes on the tava by the side were pan-grilled in a different manner; there was no need to truly control the fire too much. The fishes weren''t burnt since they were protected by the turmeric leaves. When Hana wanted to flip the fishes, she just added a new set of turmeric leaves to stick to the other side of the fishes. Just like this, the eyes of a small black snake, as well as the eyes of a large doggy-sized fox, tailed the movements of the flipped fishes from time to time. Their eyes went from the hotplate to the griller, to and fro, again and again. As the tantalizing aroma of turmeric-scented grilled catfishes wafted into their olfactory, saliva automatically came out from the corner of their mouth. They never realized fishes could smell this damn good when cooked! Hana kept on flipping the fishes on the tava occasionally on her left hand, while turning her bamboo grill on her right, just like an expert self-proclaimed chef. These fishes have tender meat and easily cooked, so the time needed to grill them was not long at all. Normally they needed less than 15 minutes depending on their sizes. Bigger ones needed longer time. She knew it was done when the fat started to drip on the burning charcoal igniting small fires, and the skin of the fish turn crisp. "Finally done!" Hana was satisfied with her grilled catfishes. [If only I could make some sambal belacan (3) and forage some ulam (4), this lunch will be perfect!] Hana lamented. She didn''t dare to use her tiny pack of rice so soon. What if she''ll be here for a long time? Rice would be a luxury. When food was scarce, she might need to use the rice to make a watery congee (5). Doing this will stretch her ration longer since a cup of cooked rice was equaled to about three rounds of congee. She chuckled amusingly when she saw both of her pets swallowed their saliva in synchronization when eyeing at the turmeric grilled catfishes. Hana took two big turmeric leaves and cleaned them. Then she placed one big catfish on each leaf, then a medium sized one each. Hana settled for the two medium sized ones for herself. Even this was considered too much for her. She used to eat a single small sized one at home. As she placed the soft flesh with crispy skin of the catfish into her mouth, her saliva rained down and even leaked from the corner of her mouth. "OMG!!!!! This is too good!" She exclaimed excitedly! The fishes tasted much better than she usually knew! If she could, she would''ve given a thousand Likes for this and make a special post to promote this fishing spot! [Is there something special with the water of the stream? Wild-caught organic catfishes are really different!] Hana wondered while eating happily. The tender flesh melted in her mouth while the crispiness from the skin provide a pleasurable contradictory feeling in her mouth. Both of her pets nibbled their own portion a tiny bit at a time, afraid that once the fishes were gone, the pleasurable taste inside their mouth will become a history. [Mommy is the best!] They cheered in their hearts. Even a simple fish can turn into something so delectable. At this moment, Kuro regretted not getting more fishes from the trap. If there was more, their mommy would''ve made even more for them! As Hana leisurely ate her own fish while sitting cross-legged on her internet spot, she swiped open the LINE app to check on her hubby''s messages. A number of messages entered. When Hana read through, she shivered all over her body. "Oh, nooo. T_T " ... Author''s note: (1) tava = as a reminder, a flat hotplate (2) griller = just a normal handheld grill dear reader (3) sambal belacan = a dipping sauce made from chillies, belacan, and lime/tamarind paste (4) ulam = local herby vegetables usually eaten raw with sambal belacan (5) congee = watery rice porridge 32 Tiding through a Figurative Storm Part 1 Hana read the message written by her beloved Arash detailing all the destruction done by her unassuming funny pictures. She blinked her eyes multiple times to ensure that she read the message correctly.After a while she looked blankly at her snake pet and slapped her own forehead. "Aiyoo..aiyoo..aiyoo..so stupid..so stupid." She grumbled under her breath. The delectable grilled catfish suddenly didn''t taste as great as before. It was just a funny no frills picture specially taken for Arash''s eyes only. A mixture of colorful expletives threatened to come out from the foul-mouthed aunty, but she managed to take a deep breath and held it in. She started typing wholeheartedly. Arash must''ve been in a pinch. She needed to be responsible with her mistake and help Arash''s to manage the consequences. What she was most afraid of was her family lodging a police report accusing her beloved husband with foul play or something. Her big bro Hadi was a bit paranoid; always suspicious of everyone and everything! Only she could calm him down when he is on panic mode with her ''happy go lucky'' attitude. .... Arash just got out from his hard earned relaxing bath and was getting ready to bring the girls to the mamak restaurant (1) not far from their house for an early dinner. He managed to complete a few tutorials for Hana and took the bath while the kids were still dreaming in their afternoon-evening nap. Thankfully nobody was awake throughout the time. He had waited and waited but no response came either from his mother-in-law or his wife after the big truth disclosure that afternoon. He guessed that his mother-in-law must be in quite a shock and needed time to digest. He just hoped that she won''t accuse him of lying. He truly can''t prove himself except for physically showing the messages between him and Hana. A sudden harsh knock sounded on the front door broke his daydreaming. "Knock! Knock! Knock!" "Anyone home? Bro Arash, are you in?!" He could hear the urgent but harsh tone of his brother-in-law from the front door of his apartment. He felt unhappy with the harsh sound since it could wake the kids from their slumber prematurely. Opening the door, Arash was met with the aggressive Hadi. "Where is that girl?! How dare she make our mom cry?! That joke is too much!" He pushed Arash aside and went in to check every room of the house. Arash scrunched his brow in silent anger. His brother-in-law was too much; he was simply too rude. However, he let Hadi checked every room and accompanied him in silence. However, once Hadi wanted to open the master bedroom harshly, Arash held his hand in a firm grip and made a silent gesture. He then opened the door himself and showed to Hadi. Inside, the two little girls were sleeping soundly, snuggling with each other. The loud noise from before didn''t even woke them up. They must''ve been quite exhausted. Hadi was stumped for a short while before he managed to calm his mind and understand the situation. He closed the door quietly while trying to find the right word to apologize. However, no words came to mind. He could only stare at Arash apologetically. Arash sighed. "Bro Hadi, come over to the kitchen for a cup of coffee." Hadi grunted in agreement without saying a word while he followed Arash''s steps towards the kitchen. .... Hadi blew the steam from the coffee mug while sighing. The 3-in-1 Ipoh White Coffee (2) had calm him down further. Hadi looked at his brother-in-law and wonder, how did he know his personal preferences. Arash even brought out a bag of Ngan Yin''s salted unpeeled peanuts (3) for him. That was his ultimate favorite. As he opened the familiar red peanut bag, he unconsciously took one after another, peeled the shells and throw the nuts into his mouth mechanically. He only realized his actions when he cannot fished anymore peanuts from the bag. He regretted making a mess on the kitchen bench while finishing off someone else''s peanuts. It has been spotless before when they initially sat. He saw Arash''s cool and unperturbed expression, as he busied himself with his own cup of coffee. It looked like he was concentrating hard on the coffee and pretended not to notice Hadi''s uncomely behaviors. This made Hadi feel thankful to Arash for being tactful enough to save his face. "Em, Bro Arash, can you be truthful and tell me where Hana went?" He asked quietly while suppressing his bashfulness. He tried his best to observe his brother-in-law''s body language to determine how true the words spoken would be. He knew Arash was going to answer with the same tale he told Mem Shaza before. He just wanted to see for himself how Arash retold the story. Arash responded with a defeated tone, "It must''ve been Mak who send you over, bro. What I''ve told Mak is the absolute truth. You can check my phone for Hana''s messages." He passed his smartphone after he launched the LINE chatting app without further explanation. Hadi took the smartphone and read through the messages from five days ago until present carefully. Arash added, "If Hana lied to me, it meant I lied to you. However, I doubt that. I love her, and she love me. You can attest to that yourself." He spoke with conviction. In his heart, he believed his wife 100%. His wife''s disappearance was very sudden. Besides that, their little family had been very harmonious, and they were very much in love with each other; the chances that Hana left him and the kids was nonexistent. If she was unhappy at the very beginning, she would''ve told him face-to-face. They had never had problems in communication before. In the off chance she really did want to run away from home, she would at least take the children with her. They meant the world to his wife. Hadi stared into Arash''s eyes, trying to validate the truth. True, these two lovebirds had been together for so long. They''re even each other''s best friend before they became lovers before. At one point, his sister was totally smitten with her ''best friend'' until he was so worried they might elope if their strict mom didn''t permit them to get married. Author''s Note: (1) mamak restaurant = Its the same Indian Muslim restaurant known as Nas Kandar Restaurant, where you can get a cup of teh tarik (2) 3-in-1 Ipoh White Coffee = a popular milk coffee from the Ipoh region, now comes in 3-in-1s and different flavor (3) Ngan Yin''s unpeeled peanuts = a very nostalgic brand of peanuts with a big ''thumbs up'' as the mascot cover on the peanut bag. It is red in color (besides the hand of course). Now the peanut size had reduced significantly. During 10-20 years ago, the peanuts were really big! Mrs Mooncat''s dad loved to break the pod and eat them so much while making a mess. 33 Tiding through a Figurative Storm Part 2 An alert sounded on Arash''s phone in his palm. Lo and behold. He finally got to see the messages delivered by her cheeky sister real-time! Mama: Ayang, are you alright? Did they bully you? Please don''t be sad. You know, my family has always been the super ''passionate'' kind. Bear with it with a nod. Just make sure don''t flame their anger. If they didn''t believe you, travel to my mom''s house personally and show your phone. She will overwrite everyone else''s accusation. After all she''s the queen dowager of the Ribena clan right? *wink! wink!* By the way, make sure not to confront Bro Hadi first before talking to Mak okay. He''s super paranoid. Even if he believes our story, he might blame you for not taking care of your lovely wife well hehe Also, thank you for the tutorials, especially on the shelf! I just drag some bamboos from the stream. After finishing lunch, I''ll be starting on the shelf. Your suggestion on the elaborated filter rack cum shelf is very useful! Love you so much honey *blowing kisses* How did you know I was going to make a small garden after this? Are you not planning to come and save meeeeeeee...these are all long term arrangementsssssssss.... Also, I can''t believe I got sting by a catfish just now! Thank goodness Kuro help me. Also, the ones we bought from the market didn''t have stings! So preposterous! Droves after droves of messages entered the chatting app in one go. As Hadi read through the messages, a myriad of emotions gone by. At first, Arash could see green veins beeping at the side of his brother-in-law''s temples, signifying his increasing anger. He braced for the inevitable! Then suddenly it turned to wonderment, and lastly everlasting worry. Hadi passed back Arash''s smartphone, "Hana just replied." Before Arash could read the message, Hadi got up from the chair. "Thanks for the coffee. I gotta get going Bro." "Eh? You''re going so soon?" Arash couldn''t believe that his brother-in-law was going back just like that without questioning Hana on the phone. It was even the perfect time since Hana rarely stayed engaged to her phone since she was trapped over there. He was expecting to be interrogated harshly. "Today I got night shift. Send my greeting to that girl. Tell her to message her mom. She''s worried sick." Hadi suavely took dignified steps towards the front door. He still felt unwell but amused remembering how his sister trash-talked him in his face. He wondered how much Hana ''praised'' him to Arash before this. "Wait Bro Hadi!" "What? Do I need to spell out that I won''t be charging you for slander or anything? I know the law from the back of my hands. I''ll find her using my own means too. Nobody blames you." Hadi spoke magnanimously. He felt a bit guilty for barging into Hana and Arash''s little apartment and making a scene just now. He could only say these words to save the last bit of dignity as the eldest in the family. "Er..no. If Mak wants to message Hana, she needs to download the app we''re currently using." Arash replied bashfully. Hadi nearly fall down. He cleared his throat and asked Arash to share the app to the main Ribena Chatgroup so that everyone could download it and talked to Hana themselves. "Another thing bro.." Arash stopped him for the second time. "What else?" Hadi was getting impatient. He was holding on his shame with an utmost difficulty, making a stern expression. "Hana is busy all the time because she needs to do everything herself from scratch. I will appreciate it if everyone tried not to bombard her with too many things. She only checked her phone at night. This time is a rare case. Please understand and show your support. She''s scared, alone and being harshly scolded won''t solve anything but hurt her already fragile constitution." Arash said with a pleading look. Hadi was silent for a moment and later sighed deeply. "Duly noted." He turned away and leave. .... Arash heaved a sigh of relief. Hana''s eldest brother was not that flexible; it was either white or black, it will never be gray. He was glad that Hadi didn''t make a scene. Handling Hadi took a lot of his energy. He knew this kind of person needed a soft approach. If he fought back, they will surely fight it out with harsh words. Hana is right. A cup of the right coffee will surely tame the uptight brother. If add peanuts, the probability of success will increase another 30%. Arash was glad he stocked up on 3-in-1s and peanuts to calm a raging storm. It was really cost effective as he chuckled to himself. .... While walking towards his old dark blue Proton Saga (1), Hadi swiped open his phone and noticed several internet calls by his little sister from oversea. This one was cheekier than Hana. He had a headache pulling the reins on his unruly siblings. It was hard to fill in a brother cum father-figure role when the shoes he needed to fill were so large. To him, his sisters will always be little girls even how old they have become. What else this time? He wondered with exasperation. A call at this time meant his sister''s mess might be too big for her to handle herself. He sat inside his car and return his sister voice-call before he started on his journey back home. If he had waited, only after two hours he would be able to entertain his sister. Listening to the not-so-good static-filled call being connected, he immediately spoke, "Yes Humaira, what is it? So eager to contact your bro. There must be something?" He could hear faint sniffing noises from the other side. Feeling alarmed, he immediately requested for a face-to-face call to check on his little sister. After a while, the familiar cheeky face of his little sister was shown on his smartphone. Though the internet signal was not so good, he could see the slightly puffy eyes and tear-stained chubby cheeks. "What happen to you?" "Bro, I''ve been trying to contact you for the longest of time!" Humaira felt relieved since her bro had finally answered her calls. She was beginning to panic; if the unlikely pic of her elder sister was viralled until it reached their mom, she''s doomed! "Bro..bro.. you must help me.." Tears filling her eyes, she made sure Hadi noticed all of it before she switched back to voice-call and continued with a watered down tale of how she ''inadvertently'' turned her big sis into a notorious internet celebrity in just 2 short hours. "People keep adding ridiculous captions on the pic I posted. I''ll forward you the latest one." She forwarded the most recent one she had. It was given to her by her roomie, not knowing she was the culprit who disseminate the picture first. Her roomie even said that the girl in the pic look a bit like Humaira which made she sweated a bucket. Hadi ended the call after Humaira managed to make him promise to help. He downloaded the picture, knowing that he would see the same picture of Hana with the notorious snake beside her, for the n-th time of the day. It was truly the same picture, but with an added caption; #Shocking news! Cruelty towards Animals! A Malaysian had been killed by her own exotic breed pet snake! The woman was allegedly abusing her pet by embeddening foreign objects via surgery. It has sparked the rage of the netizens worldwide. Naturalists and environmentalists were fighting to gain the freedom of the poor snake from its abusive breeder. If you have more information, contact the hotline below. #ReleaseThatSnake #AbusiveOwner #NeedDivineRetribution "Oh, shit." How was he going to tide the storm brewing inside their mom when she saw this? Hadi felt being duped by Humaira. She was effectively pushing her shits on him to face Ma''am Shaza! He PM-ed his naughty little sister and berate her inside the message with the additional note of ''come clean with our ma'', ''beg for her forgiveness'', ''you won''t smell the scent of heaven if she won''t forgive you'' (2), etcs.However, he did also explain how to remedy the situation to his sister. Hadi massaged his temples after he placed the phone on the phone-holder and connected the wire to the charging station. After a short ten minute of readjusting himself, he dis-attached the phone from the charger and made a call. "Hello, maccha (3). Yes. Remember when I save your ass last year. I need you to return that favor now bro..." He explained his situation to the speaker on the other side. When he ended his call, he breathed in relieve. That should settle it. Next, I''ll try to tide through the other storm. He shook his head. It was really tiring being the eldest. .... Author''s Note: (1) Proton Saga = a national branded car, well, early this year, it was sold to china eventually. sigh. (2) ''you won''t smell the scent of heaven if she won''t forgive you'' = this stems from the saying ''heaven is under the foot of a mother'', which means, we have to respect our mother in order to go to heaven. So, if you make your mom so angry, you can''t even smell heaven, let alone to be eligible to enter it. (laugh) (3) maccha = no, its not the green tea flavor, my dear friends. In Tamil (indian language prevalent in Malaysia), it means "brother-in-law" (I''ve clarified this with a dear close friend of mine). It was meant to be a call between best bros. Not suitable to be use in a female-male friendship. It means the brotherhood was so tight until he''s at the level of family (brother-in-law) to you. 34 Roti Tissue versus Nan Cheese Three hours after the revelation of a shocking news of a certain pet snake being abused by a certain demonic owner, a statement was made by the previously closed account of the person who first posted the picture. "I am deeply sorry for the controversy arising from the picture I posted. It was a digital art made by a talented friend who loved Pokmon since long ago. It has no relation to any real person and/or animal, dead or alive. The animal in question was certainly not abused since it is just a digital graphic in the first place. Thank you." The response from the crowd were lukewarm at best; the post was totally ignored. Netizens loved drama. They rather mindlessly shared an interesting click-baits rather than a grounded reality-based truth. The post received very few likes and were not reposted extravagantly like the one before. Some netizens even bashed the post for fun. Not long after, they then realized the viral picture which were posted in forums and shared in social media were systematically deleted, one by one. It garnered another round of public outrage! Who has the gall to do this?! Some who saved the picture into their personal cloud account also found the particular picture was inaccessible! The moderators and administrators of the social media sites and forums deny their involvement and push it to illegal hacking activities. Hadi browsed through a number of influential forum sites with high traffic and popular social medias to observe the effect of his call. [He is so hardworking! Efficient!] Hadi gave a thumbs up to his buddy in his heart. It seemed that he needed to tapau (1) his buddy a nice dinner later today. Which one should it be? Roti Tissue (2) or Roti Nan Cheese (3)? He knew the guy had an unhealthy obsession with roti (4) besides anything eggy. Offering him expensive steaks will only make him offended; well, because he''s a lacto-ovo-vegetarian. Until now he still couldn''t fathom how the guy could turn so big when he''d just been munching on vegetables and eggs. Maybe because of his unhealthy lifestyle. The guy sat in front of his desktop nearly 24/7. On other times, he''s a true blue couch potato; always find ways to avoid Hadi''s invitation for a day out in the sun. A new trend swept the internet world after the intentional deletion of the pic, now known as ''Abused Pokemon-like Petsnake''. Pet owners were starting to go to the extreme to groom their pets with added accessories. Cat shirt or Dog sweater were things of the past now. The first picture in Instagram showed a ginger cat being partially shaved and crowned with a yellowish metallic head accessories and a twirly extension for a tail, with the caption {I have a Meowth!} not forgetting to credit Hana''s pic, saying it was a God-sent inspiration. Shortly, a pale purplish ''Rattata ''appeared, then a macro-pictured green ''Caterpie'' with its iconic Y-shaped black antennae hit the internet world. Hadi could only face-palmed. [The internet world is really a ridiculous place!] He changed the gear while sighing helplessly, knowing that it started from his very own family member. While he was driving home, Hadi was thinking how to explain all of these issues to their mom later. .... "Wake up guys! Who wants to go eat outside!" Arash cheerily woke his daughters up after all the hubbub. Hearing the word ''eat out'', his eldest jumped up and down and said, "Me, me, me!!" while flailing her arms from left to right while dancing on the bed. The drowsy little sister was awakened with all the noise and copy-catted her sister''s action without knowing the significance, while chiming like a parrot, "Me..me...me!" Arash only laughed and asked them to get ready. They rushed to Hana''s makeup table and asked for some grooming from their daddy. Not knowing what to do, the cheeky eldest one taught Arash what to do with a ''holier-than-thou'' attitude which pissed him off internally. It was basically a brush of hair, some hairclips or hairband, a little bit of petroleum jelly lip balm, and a sweet fragrant hand cream. They drove to the nearest mamak restaurant and choose a seat under the fan. The weather was swelteringly hot as usual; a normal environment without aircond. Without deodorant, the armpits will easily sweated only after a short ten minutes. That was why Hana hated eating out (although she didn''t skip on wearing deodorant). Thus, the girls rarely ate out. They were very excited and would sometimes climbed on the table to dance. It was a headache, especially if Hana was alone without Arash helping with ordering and backup. Arash caught himself thinking of his wife again. He stopped himself so that he could focus on the kids. He still didn''t reply Hana''s message, but he was sure it''ll be alright after the kids had their fill first. Arash checked the time. It was nearly five, yet the weather is still so hot. Shall I just tapau and eat at home? He pondered with a wavering heart. However, when he looked at how excited the kids were, he quickly extinguished that thought. Since Hana was away, this was one of the rare moments they looked so happy and excited. "What do you want to eat dear?" Arash asked his eldest. "Roti Tissue!" She made a number one sign while looking left and right for the anneis. It seemed that she wanted to immediately order from the anneis herself. Arash was speechless! "Hey, don''t order yet. Let''s discuss. Roti Tissue is just like a dessert. Although it is crunchy, sweet and delicious, it is unfulfilling. Why not you go for Roti Nan? Let''s get your favorite, Roti Nan Cheese. How about that" Arash counter-offered with a more fulfilling version of savory based bread. The little girl thought really hard as if her life depends on it.She was muttering under her breath while considering the pros and cons of the choices. "Hmmm...hmmmm.." After two minutes of making the same sound with a serious expression, she re-countered Arash''s offer, "Let''s order one Roti Nan Cheese, then a Roti Tissue by the side for everyone to share?" with a twinkling pleading eye. Arash made an exasperated look! "Okay! Deal! But you have to finish up at least half of the nan before you can eat the roti tissue okay?" She nodded triumphantly while making the ''good'' sign with both hands. Arash called for the annei to take an order. "Two Roti Nan Cheese, One Roti Tissue, one chicken tandoori, and one Mee Goreng Mamak (5), two warm water." "Oh! One pink juice (6) please!" The cheeky girl added. Both the annei and Arash looked at each other speechlessly. ... Author''s note: (1) tapau = takeaway. A standard local slang originated from Chinese. Everyone use it, nobody said ''takeaway''. (2) Roti Tissue = A thin and crunchy bread shaped into a cone. It is sprinkled with course sugar on the inside and doused with condensed sweetened milk on the outside. super sweet, crunchy, and delicious (laugh) (3) Roti Nan Cheese = A soft doughy bread filled with cheese the size of a personal pizza, usually cooked in the ''tandoor''. So, it was actually excellent when paired with tandoori chicken. (4) rotis = you guess it right, it means ''bread'' (5) Mee Goreng Mamak = stir-fried noodles, mamak-style. It had soft fritters inside, a bit on the spicy side. If cooked right, it''s delicious! (6) pink juice = no, it is not the pink guava juice, its known as ''Bandung'', a cold drink made from the rose-scented flavor (known as syrup, usually red in color), and evaporated milk (white), condensed sweetened milk. To go another level, usually people add grass jellies known as ''cincau''. So it became Juice Bandung Cincau. 35 Connection Hana was waiting for Arash''s response, but nothing came in after her ''sagely'' advice together with the haphazard daily report of the day. She scratched her head in confusion. [Is he busy with something? I thought it was already late. The kids should be asleep. He should be free right now.] She pondered. She had a bad premonition as her womanly sixth sense kicked in. She couldn''t find the mood to finish up the delectable grilled catfish in her ''plate''. There was a quarter to go while the other fish was not even touched yet. It was really not her thing to eat so much ''meat'' without the accompaniment of rice. She was after all, the rice bucket of the family. Even Arash ate less rice than her. She could maintain her not-so slim figure only from the routine breastfeeding regime. At one time, Arash even bought less tasty brown rice to help curb her excessive obsession for white fluffy fragrant Siamese rice. Looking at her pets sitting side by side while eyeing for her grilled fish, she smiled and gave in. She pushed her plate in front of the kids, "Share please. I hate it if you guys fought for these. We have ample of fish. Tomorrow mommy can make more. Who didn''t listen will have to sleep outside." She said sternly. There was one thing which could rub the mellow over-the-rainbow Hana the wrong way, just like when one touched her ''reversed-scale'' (1).It''s when anything she owns was being fought over by the kids seriously resulting in injury. She hated when her family members fought for something that should be shared. It effectively drove her into lava-like rage mode. Her husband always compared it to Super Saiyan mode (2). He would say, "Don''t make your mom turn on her Super Saiyan mode!" as a warning to the kids when they became too unruly. Through its connection with its mistress, Kuro knew she''s being serious. It hissed to Shiro. Shiro immediately became meek and obediently follow Kuro''s arrangement. Kuro didn''t dare to take a bigger part for itself. It bit off half of both fishes and left the rest for Shiro obediently. Hana was agape! She realized she had saw something amazing! She saw Kuro communicated with Shiro! And the best thing was, Shiro understood its hissing. This was something revolutionary! Inter-species communication! She knew Kuro understood her. Now she knew they understood each other. But did Shiro understood her too? "Shiro? Do you understand what I''m saying?" She asked after it finished its meal. Shiro looked at Hana with a confused look. It cocked its head to the side, effectively making it way cuter than a corgi pup. Hana couldn''t stop herself from pouncing on the cute aarwolf-lookalike! "Aiyoooo!!! So fluffy! I think I''m gonna die!" Hana squealed in delight while saying the famous quote of a certain kid who loved unicorns. She buried her face blissfully onto Shiro''s white fluffy neck as she encircled both arms around the head. She could feel Shiro''s body tensed for a minute before it slowly loosened it muscles. The jolly aunty had forgotten how well the reindeer-horned white fox had tangled with the super strong Kuro. She would''ve been seriously injured if Shiro defended itself out of reflex. Without her realizing, Kuro was waiting just two steps away just in case the wretched fox forgot and flexed its claws on their mommy by mistake. This morning''s incident was enough! Hana had wanted to do this for the longest time. However, Shiro had been very defensive, she wouldn''t dare to spook it lest it really would run away when its leg got better. Shiro reminded Hana of a stray cat she rescued few years ago after being abused for so long. Right now, at home, the cat was fat but extremely active, super naughty, but extremely loving. The cat had been edgy, very vigilant, and stressed out. All of them worked together to help the cat overcame its trauma. It took more than five months. She really hoped Arash didn''t forget to care for their other ''kids'' at home. As she hugged Shiro''s white fluffy neck happily, she asked again, "Can you understand me Shiro? Thank you for letting mommy hug you." She smiled at the confuse-looking fox. .... The confused fox was trying to understand its mistress'' request. The talkative being didn''t even gestured anything to Shiro. She just said things slowly with an infatuated expression. [Even how slow you try to say it, I won''t be able to understand! We speak different languages!] Shiro was helpless. When it turned to the snake for guidance, the snake pretended not to see it. It was slightly angered by the snake''s pettiness. It knew the snake dislike it when their mistress acted chummy with it. It didn''t help that the aunty was fondling the bushy fox''s fluffy neck in extreme eagerness bordering on sexual harassment. It could see the mood of the snake was getting darker as their mistress was getting more and more excited. Truthfully it was getting a bit annoying. Too much touching. Shiro was exasperated internally. It sighed. It hesitated. Once it committed to Hana, it would be a lifetime of attachment. After a moment of rumination (while looking at its mistress star-studded eyes full of infatuation), it finally chose to follow its mistress wholeheartedly. At least, she had saved it during its weakest moment. She wouldn''t chuck it off just like that. Maybe. "Nip!" Shiro bit Hana''s fondling left hand. "Ouch! Why did you do that for?" Hana yelped. She was more surprised rather than in pain. The pain was akin to being lanced by a glucose-checking lancet. Shiro ignored its mistress act and quickly chomped the bleeding index finger in its mouth. Finally, the connection was made. ... Hana saw the fox froze as its eyes glazed over. It shuddered a little. Hana was slightly guilty for being a little harsh on the sensitive fox. She thought she had hurt the fox''s feelings, and it started to retreat from its first few steps. Admittedly, she had been a tad bit carried away. Once the aloof fox gave a bit of its calf, she had gone for the thigh (3). Hana let the fox continue biting her finger. After all it was not that painful. She hugged the fox with her other arms and stroke the top of its head while soothingly murmured to it. "It''s okay, it''s okay. I''m not hurt. Sorry for shouting just now. Mommy was shocked. Mommy knows you didn''t mean to hurt me." Kuro had unknowingly glided to Hana''s arm, ready to strike Shiro if it suddenly attacked Hana. Noticing Kuro''s presence, Hana stroke Kuro''s sleek body too to calm the snake down. "Mommy''s okay. It''s okay..." Kuro was a little over-protective. But she knew it because it cared about her so much. She was truly happy for that.It''s like they were connected, although it had only been four days since they met. Sometimes, she felt ridiculous with the current development. Even love at first sight took a longer time for it to work. Nonetheless, this new little family was what made her move forward from wallowing in sadness. She still missed her hubby and children immensely, but at least now she received some love from this side to propel her forward. Author''s note: (1) Reverse scale = if you''re not a Chinese lightnovel reader, you might never come across this term. It was the most sensitive spot of a dragon (the Chinese version). Behind the reverse scale is the heart where the weakness was located. So, whomever touched its reverse scale will invoke terrible wrath from the dragon (2) Super Saiyan mode = If you don''t know this, please just go and drown yourself in tonnes of cake. It''s the alien superheroes from planet Saiyan who powered up by turning into a golden hue with a suave spiky gold hair to match. So macho. It''s Mr and Mrs Mooncat superheroes. During our childhood, we were more exposed with these rather than from the Marvel series. (3) "..gave a bit of its calf, she had gone for the thigh" = as a reminder, a Malaysian proverb with the meaning of taking more than what was given to you, shamelessly. It has the same meaning as given an inch, asked for a mile. 36 When an Aloof Fox Surrendered Its Heart Part 1 Shiro was overwhelmed with the feelings of warmth transmitted through its connection with Hana. It now understood the genuine adoration its mistress felt towards it. It was even laced with care, concern and love. How was this possible? They had just met! It even attacked Hana upon meeting her for the first time. It was the first time it felt wanted and loved like this. Life on the run was harsh. It had been constantly attacked before it finally managed to get away from its pursuers. Unknowingly, it closed its eyes to savor Hana''s touch and connection. Her presence felt like the warm sun on a frozen solid ice field. [Ahh...this was what it felt like to be loved.] It now understood why the snake felt bitter with Hana''s infatuation towards it. Kuro had worked hard for it, whereas Shiro received it before it even did anything for Hana. It felt grateful its mommy didn''t throw it away and patiently waited for it. It would''ve missed out on the best thing in its life. What it didn''t know was Hana''s infatuation for it was mostly due to her extreme obsession towards a wide range of animals (especially furry ones) and their corresponding fluffy plushie images. She had a natural inclination towards these things since she was a toddler. Although she liked them, her strict mother had prohibited her from indulging herself. This didn''t stop her at all. Years of suppression only resulted in a dam being broken once she fell into the embrace of her loving hubby. He doted her with lots of live animals and plushies. The ones they can''t afford to own, he brought her to see them in zoos, safaris and aquariums. Hence, this beautiful misunderstanding had led them connecting at a spiritual level. Such a sweet and naive fox. You''ve been had 37 When an Aloof Fox Surrendered Its Heart Part 2 As she lazed around, she remembered about her pets. Kuro would almost always climb up to snuggle with her at least, Hana suddenly realized the cave was empty. [Aik? The kids are gone?] Even Shiro went out. She was a bit downhearted with this fact. She thought her pets will stay beside her and ease her unhappiness. She walked to her usual spot with a heavy heart and lay down upon the campfire. [It''s time I message Mak(1).] She took a deep breath and try to instill some courage in her heart. She swiped open her smartphone and checked from the contact list. True with her speculation, Arash must''ve asked her mom to install the LINE chatting app. Her mom''s contact appeared in the list. She started typing with apprehension. [Hope she won''t be too worried and angry T.T.] ... "Snake, take it slow. I want to help too." Shiro growled to the black snake. It knew the wretched snake purposely increased its pace to leave it behind as it limped hurriedly. The OKU (2) needed to exert itself a little harder to catch up. The snake shot from tree to tree leisurely in a rapid pace while eyeing its new ''comrade-in-arms'' unhappily from the corner of its eyes. The forest had become dimmer as the sun was getting lower. "Come on! It''s not like I want mom to cuddle me! It''s annoying to me too!" Shiro complained sheepishly with a blush. However, since it was so bushy, it was hard to notice. "You better shut up! Be grateful mom accepted you, you ungrateful wretch!" Kuro shot back with a snarl. The fox was really rubbing salt on its wounds. If not for its big body, perfect for carrying things, it would''ve left it long ago. Shiro sighed defeatedly. True, it did enjoy their mom''s touch (only slightly as it tried to convince itself repeatedly). It gave it a weird belonging sensation it never felt before. However, it would never admit to anyone, including itself. They moved towards the bamboo grove beside the Crystal-veined stream Hana used to score the previous grandpa bamboo. It only took around three minutes for them. Hana was indeed too slow. Kuro had tolerated her because it just loved staying close to her. It''s like strolling through a garden leisurely. It brought immense joy to Kuro. That was why it didn''t mind at all. "Have you checked how much do we need?" Shiro limped around the bamboo groves. There were several clusters. It didn''t know how to choose, and how many. "Shut up. Let me check." Kuro had stopped moving and danced in a trance. After a few second, both of its black eyes turned crystal-crimson red, just like the core on its forehead. It took a peek through Hana''s eyes with all seriousness. The aunty was busy flipping through the pages and comparing the picture she drew with the written message on the flat black rectangular thingy. However, it couldn''t make any sense with the drawing. Did it need to count the vertical sticks? How about the horizontal sticks? Kuro was getting a headache. The sticks were so many! "From the small drawing, I could see..." It abruptly stopped its train of thoughts. Is that what I think it is? "See what?!" Shiro was getting a bit impatient with Kuro. It had waited for Kuro to continue but it seemed distracted with something. Shiro turned at its back to see what was catching Kuro''s attention so much until it ignored this handsome fox just like that. [What was that? Isn''t that a type of Primordial Spiritual Herb?!!] Kuro immediately shot into the bamboo groves! [I must catch it before it gets away!] The tiny spirit herb flashed and disappeared. It reappeared again ten steps away as it flashed again, leaving a green glow as its shadow. Kuro kept on pouncing at the fast moving spiritual herb again and again but to no avail. [It was so damn fast! How sneaky!] How did it not realize the presence of a spiritual herb in its own territory? Kuro didn''t turn into its real size because it didn''t want to destroy the trees and the beautiful riverbank with shallow stream. It knew Hana loved this location and frequented it every single day. She would suddenly bend down and picked random vegetation and stones before playing with them to her heart''s content. The nests of fowls in the bushes by the stream could also provide a steady flow of eggs for its mommy. The most important thing was, these things had the potential to turn into delicious food by its mommy''s hand! A good thirty meters later, Shiro was done waiting! It let loose a cleaving wind attack in the direction of the fleeing spiritual herb with a swipe of its claw. "Zeeeeessssss!" A flash of a single wind blade passed by the slippery teleporting spiritual herb. Every single bamboo tree in the attack path including the spiritual herb was cleanly cut into two. Kuro was four steps behind the mischievous herb. It dissipated the attack by launching a few of its erected diamond-hard black scale. Shiro turned silent. Its ''brother'' was actually way stronger than itself. It now understood if the snake wanted it dead, it would''ve died ten times over. Its desire to show off a little had been dampened just like that. With this, the establishment of hierarchy was confirmed amongst them, even without words. Shiro sighed in its heart. It vowed to cultivate more diligently to overcome its new ''brother'' to establish dominance later. The two ''brothers'' looked at the dead spiritual herb. "The top part for you, bottom part for me." Kuro spoke to the overwhelmed Shiro after pausing for a moment. "Deal." Shiro acquiesced. Then they looked at the surroundings. It looks like a chicken fight had taken place, with an enormous amount of fallen bamboos littering the now flat space. Kuro shrugged. [At least mommy will have enough bamboos to play with for a while.] ... Hana just finished chatting with her mom. She felt slightly warm inside. Her mom was nagging at her for the longest time. But she knew, it stemmed from being overly worried over her well-being. She had repeatedly explained to her mom she didn''t ran away from home to convince her. What was there to ran away from? She was having the best moment of her life living with Arash. Well, she was a little bit stress from managing the kids, but it didn''t count much. Which parents didn''t face the same thing? She was fortunate that Arash was not the standard chauvinistic Malay guy who asks dear wife to serve her like a Lord while he worked. That was so lame and outdated. If it happened, she had run back to her mom at the very beginning. She was even being forced to cooperate with big bro Hadi so that they could pinpoint her location as soon as possible. Ma''am Shaza told her, what was the use of a son who worked in the Police Department if he couldn''t at least save his own little sister. Hana didn''t know whether to laugh or to cry with her mom''s absurdity. She made it like it was so easy. Her case was not the usual kidnapping case, it was more like being spirited away. Pity bro Hadi. Hana could only sigh and agree to her mom''s imploration. She had to promise that she would try her best to work things out with him later when he contacted her. Hana worked hard to please her mom and explained that she was okay. It was not so bad. The pet was not dangerous at all. Hana didn''t dare to tell her mom that she actually had two pets. The other one was bigger and had menacing-looking big sharp teeth. She was scared her mom will ask her to throw the pet away. Did she think it was so easy to throw away the pet she had painstakingly woo with all her heart? Her mom won''t understand its appeal. She had to meet the super adorable fox face-to-face to understand her feelings. She heard movements outside her cave dwelling. She leisurely walked out to greet the kids. They sure know how to play so long and leave her alone over here. They should''ve brought her along! Hana planned to sulk a little to teach them a lesson. Once she was out, she was greeted with an astounding scene until she blanked out for a short while. There were a lot of bamboos at the back of Shiro! There was even some supported by its antler-like horns! (Author: Remember, Shiro looks like an overgrown white fox with antlers? *laughing*) The bamboos on its back were tied with numerous vines. At the top of the bamboos tied with vines, Kuro was coiling leisurely while it lifted a foot of its upper body. Hana could actually sense Kuro''s smugness and Shiro''s unhappiness. [My lovely Shiro is being treated like a plowing buffalo(3)!] Hana had been reduced to tears of suppressed laughter. She didn''t know whether to laugh or to cry with Kuro''s mischievousness and Shiro''s naivety. Its willingness to help her had been manipulated by the cheeky Kuro. Hana wondered how the both of them maneuver through the forest with those bamboos over them. Didn''t Shiro got stuck in between trees or bushes? Hana was very impressed and amused at the same time. "Thank you so much dearies. Thank you." She went to hug Shiro (while took a bit of advantage on it as usual) and kissed Kuro''s head. "I don''t know what to say. It must be hard on you." She smiled happily. She was so touched. She thought they went out to play and forgot about her. Now she knew she''d been petty. She had already forgotten to sulk. Even if they went out to play, what''s wrong with that? Ultimately, they''re just children in Hana''s eyes. "Let''s just place the bamboo here. We''ll drag them slowly inside okay." The opening of the cave was truly too small. Shiro could never be able to go in with the burden on its back. She really needed to find a way to widen the cave door a little. The cheeky snake helped taking down the stacks of bamboo by tearing the vines holding them. The green bamboos of differing sizes tumbled down and rolled to Hana''s foot. Hana helped took off the bamboos adorning Shiro''s head. When Hana placed the bamboos on Shiro''s head down on the forest floor, she felt a nudge at her back. She turned to inquire to the fox and found it was gesturing at the inner part of the bamboo poles. Not understanding what was Shiro trying to tell her, she blindly rummaged in between the bamboos and found a cone-like shaped thing. It even emitted a slight green glow in the dim surrounding. Although night time hadn''t fully descended upon them, the lush forest reduced Hana''s vision significantly. "Eh? What''s this?" Hana carry the cone-like thing upwards and observe it quizzically. "Is this for me?" The white fox nodded slightly. "Thank you, sweetie pie." She ruffled Shiro''s head affectionately. Regardless of what this was, the fact that the fox took the first step to give her something made her very happy. It reminded her of her eldest daughter''s first present for her, a broken marble pebble. She still treasured it until today in her jewelry box. Such a sweet child. Hana lamented her luck; first, a loving snake, then a sweet fox. This present signified a deeper meaning behind it. Sweet Shiro had finally surrendered its heart to her wholly. ... Author''s Note: (1) Mak = a Malaysian word which means mother. There are many variations (ibu, mami, mak, mama, bonda), all with the same meaning (2) OKU (Orang Kurang Upaya). It''s a standard abbreviation for people with disabilities. In Malaysia, they are registered and given a card which gives them several privileges such as purchasing house, medical attention, and of course, parking space. 38 When an Aloof Fox Surrendered Its Heart Part 3 A shadow flashed passed by out of the blue! Kuro was trying to squeeze in front of its mommy with the lower half of the spiritual herb in its mouth. It was not happy to be overtaken by the sly fox! It thought that the fox had eaten its share of the Primordial Spiritual Herb! Kuro felt anger brimming inside it when it saw how happy the duo was. Both of them were excluding him! Grrrr...for once, the fox had beaten it in currying favor with their mistress. [This won''t do! What if mommy loves the sly fox more than me again?!] Kuro was starting to panic. It nearly started to hyperventilate in worry. "Easy! Easy! Don''t push yourself!" Noticing something wrong with her pet snake, Hana quickly scooped it up with one hand to check on it. The greenish thing in its mouth was bigger. Hmm..is it a fad to give a present every time they went out or something? The simplistic snake was finally happy from its mommy''s attention. It gave the spirit herb to Hana before jumping down again. After that, it faced Hana with its award-winning starry eyes saying "See see my present is bigger and better" while swaying comically as usual. Not knowing what to say, Hana knelt on the ground and petted Kuro''s head again. "Thank you for the lovely present dear." She looked at both green things. One was cone-like and smaller, while the other was larger and cylindrical. [Just like the top part of a radish.] She whispered in her heart. Hana got an epiphany! She placed the cone-shaped one on top of the cylindrical greenish thing vertically. "I knew it! It''s a fresh bamboo shoot! Yay!" Hana''s delight was infectious; it was genuine, unpretentious. Her simplistic happiness radiated in her soul, as it was sensed by her two pets. It made both Kuro and Shiro happy. Finally, our mommy understood the value of the Primordial Spiritual Herb. Although it seemed like the spirit herb were not that valuable, maybe about two hundred years plus, it was good enough for their mommy''s weak constitution. If she ate it all, it would strengthen their mommy''s basic strength and spirit to a higher level. Then, they won''t feel so worried all the time. "Hmmm this seems to be a good opportunity! What shall I make? Bamboo shoot acar? Or masak lemak bamboo shoot? Or bamboo shoot curry? (1)" Hana already started pondering on recipes to try out. However, a lot of things were not present, she needed to ask whether the kids can find some supplementary ingredients before she could select the right recipe. It could doubly served as a reward for them. "First, no matter what, I need to clean and boil the shoot first before doing anything. If not it will get spoiled after five hours." Hana talked to herself while using her index finger and thumb to fiddle with her chin absentmindedly. She had already forgotten the task at hand; namely pertaining the numerous amount of bamboo poles at her feet. She kissed both pets before keeping the prized bamboo shoot in their cave dwelling carefully. Hana could perceive that the shoot must be something precious to both of her pets, just like when a kid treasured their one and only cola-yogurt flavored lolipop (2). She vowed to make it the most delicious dish ever to show her appreciation to the kids. If she got the right ingredients that is. ... It was already dark outside by the time they settled everything. The two ''brothers'' were watching Hana arranging the bamboos together and measuring them. They knew what she was making but couldn''t fathom its usefulness with all the trouble they had gone through. Previously, Hana absent mindedly went on to laze on her favorite spot while typing something on her smartphone after she kept the bamboo shoot inside of their ''home''. The forgetful aunty had totally forgotten about the bamboos the ''brothers'' had painstakingly transported when she was distracted by the notification on her smartphone. Kuro had to nudge her and remind her about the unattended bamboo poles outside. After face-palming herself, she smiled apologetically to the kids and resumed her work outside. Together, the three of them pushed the bamboo poles towards the outer wall of the cave. At the same time, Hana checked the bamboos and selected some of them to be brought into the cave itself. ... "Srakkkk..Srakkk..Srakk.." The faint sound of bamboo poles being scored by the feeble aunty reverberated faintly in the dimly lit cave. The aunty was sweating profusely while she was diligently performing a scoring motion, just like when one used the conventional manual saw powered by one''s own muscle. The snake and fox were lazing nearby, following the aunty''s clumsy hand movements with their eyes, to and fro, to and fro, to and fro. Hana was still on her first bamboo pole. She had selected the bamboo that was the most similar in diameter and thickness with the five ones she already had. Another one, then the main skeleton of the rack will be good to go! Suddenly, the tip of her loyal but short-lived chisel cracked slightly! Hana stopped for a second to observe the overused homemade working tool worriedly. Ah! Please be good and don''t crumble yet! Hana prayed hard. If the chisel broke, she needed to make a new chisel from scratch first. It would take so much time! Hana took a deep breath. She resumed her scoring movement, albeit a little gentler this time. However, it was useless to not exert energy when performing such task. The bamboo couldn''t be cut if like this. So, she increased her hand strength a bit. "Prak!" The chisel crumbled in her hand. Tears gathered in the corner of Hana''s eyes, threatening to spill again. She didn''t say anything and pulled up her knees to her face. She buried her face while hugging her knees sorrowfully, trying to calm herself to no avail. [It is so sickening! I hate thisssssss!] She screamed loudly in her heart. She cursed and cursed and cursed savagely inside, careful not to spill any out. It was unhealthy to let kids listened to too much cursing. They could pick them up easily. Unknown to Hana, the ''brothers'' heard everything loud and clear. They could feel how depressed their mistress was. The choices of words were very creative and colorful. Some were so abstruse until they couldn''t comprehend the meanings. Truthfully, they didn''t actually understand Hana''s language. They understood the meaning radiated from her spirit regardless of what language she spoke to them as a medium outside. While saying the words, she actually conveyed the meaning in spirit form to them in real time through their established connection. ... Shiro saw the snake went forward to try comforting mommy. It slithered from her back and climbed to her shoulder. It stayed close and rested its body to her cheek in its effort to give her some body contact. Shiro looked at its own prized claw for a short moment and sighed deeply. Its claw was large, translucent white, hard, yet flexible; perfect for the chisel''s substitute. These claws were what made it survived from the prolonged attacks from its pursuers. Once broken, it could take up to a hundred years to heal itself; unless it ate a natural treasure. Shiro took a glance at the Primordial Spiritual Herb it gifted to Hana previously. It was lying carelessly in one of the shopping bags, together with other fresh food ingredients. Natural treasures such as that could shorten the time for it to regenerate its claw. Shiro took a deep breath. It brought one claw to its mouth, the one on the index ''finger'' paw. This was the strongest one. It flexed its claw, bit hard and pulled! The claw came off with splashes of purple blood coming out from the injured wound after it exerted an enormous amount of strength. Even Shiro couldn''t break its own claw. It could only pull it off from the roots. It endured the pain silently and limped to Hana''s side with a trail of blood following its movement. After sniffing its precious mistress'' head, it lightly nudged her. Its claw was more precious to it than the spirit herb. It knew she needed the herb herself, so it won''t ask for it. There will be other opportunities to recover its claw in the future. It couldn''t take it anymore. Hana''s emotion was flowing into her like an ocean and overwhelmed it tremendously. It was the aftereffect of the direct spiritual connection formed between it and its mistress. It was sure the snake felt it too. As long as it can stop her from feeling so sad. Nothing else mattered. ... Author''s Note: (1) "Bamboo shoot acar? Or masak lemak bamboo shoot? Or bamboo shoot curry?" = these are bamboo shoot dishes. Bamboo shoot is known as ''rebung'' in Malay language. (2) cola-yogurt flavored lolipop = there''s this duo flavored spherical lolipops by Chupachups which is insanely popular by (older) kids due to their interesting combi flavors 39 Fox-claw Mini Kitchen Knife Hana lifted her tear-streaked face when she felt the gentle nudge on her head. She knew Kuro was on the other side of her cheek, trying to cheer her up. The touch could only come from the adorable Shiro. As Hana lifted her face to look at Shiro, she was shocked with the purplish trail of blood on the cave floor. She immediately looked everywhere to find where did the fox hurt itself. "Why are you bleeding now dear" She exclaimed in sorrow as she saw its bloodied paw and related the bloodied claw-like thing in Shiro''s mouth. She gently took it away and placed it on the floor beside her before giving Shiro a tight hug. [Why am I so useless! Even my pet hurt itself to help me.] The tears in her eyes increased in intensity as it rained like a broken dam. Anybody who see it would''ve understood Shiro''s selfless intent of replacing the crumbled chisel with its own nail as a cutting tool. She couldn''t waste Shiro''s good intention. She must treasure it well. "Thank you, sweetie. I''ll use it well." She held Shiro''s cheek with both hands and placed her forehead on its nose in mixed feelings. She was extremely touched and happy, but at the same time she felt guilty. It must''ve hurt badly. She stood up and took a small amount of water from the water filter leaning on the makeshift rack carefully. She then looked everywhere for her baby napkin cum ''towel''. "Can you fetch that napkin over Kuro dear?" She immediately squatted down beside the white fox and checked on its paw gently. ... Kuro was baffled by Shiro''s determined action. Now, it had seen the fluffy white fox in a new light. Previously, it thought the fox was just leeching on Hana''s goodwill. So, it exacted a small revenge on it when it finally offered its help for once. Now it felt slightly guilty. Kuro quickly dashed towards the towel its mommy used to wipe her own body and pass it to Hana with mixed feelings. Hana had never treated it with her own personal towel before. Should it try to injure itself next time? It shook its head multiple time with the ridiculous notion. If it got hurt bad enough and the fox was out too, who would be able to accompany their mommy in her daily playtime inside the dangerous forest? She was weaker than a chicken! Even chicken would know how to run when sensing danger. Hana was so senseless that it feared she would freeze in front of danger. She wasn''t even sensitive to incoming danger as she walked blindly without fear in a few occasions. [Forget it. The dumb fox deserves the treatment. It did well this time.] Kuro tried its best to contain its unhealthy dose of jealousy. It knew how precious the claw of a glacier mirage fox and how hard it was to cultivate a new one. Although Kuro won''t admit it, in its heart, it already considered the fox as part of their family and trusted the fox to care for Hana''s safety when it needed to go a bit far from their home. ... "How do you feel now dear?" Hana wiped the injury with her napkin soaked with plain filtered water. She wiped it carefully while observing the wound. The thick blood has crusted and showed signs of self-healing. The blood dying the napkin was diluted into the shade of light purple. She was anxious as she didn''t know that was simply Shiro''s original blood color. The fluffy fox whimpered a little and kept quiet. Hana could sense its nonchalance towards pain. She rubbed its fluffy head dotingly and went to fetch a piece of antibacterial wet-wipes in her handbag. She then continued again; wiping carefully with the wet-wipes this time. She could only do so much. There was no iodine or alcohol lying around to treat her pet''s wound. She wrapped the wound with the pieces of cloth she had from her inner yellow shirt. Afraid it could get infected, she used another clean wet-wipe to cover the injured part before she bound the wound carefully. Hana took this opportunity to check on the homemade cast she made on Shiro''s left hind leg and its left front leg. She had once learned some first aid from Red Crescent Moon, but treating animals was really not her forte. Normally when the pets at home looked somewhat listless, she immediately pester Arash to ferry them to the nearby vet doctor. [Woah! Surprisingly the broken bones seem to connect well. Isn''t it just about 3-4 days? What high speed recovery! Do I have a knack to be a vet?] The aunty praised herself incessantly inside her heart. She gently felt the bone structures underneath all the fluffy fur with her hands and found the discontinuity was gone. Her face was plastered with a happy smile. She opened the cast made from random branches tied with her own teared yellow inner shirt. She never thought that Shiro would get better just a few days later, if not she would''ve reused the yellow cloth bandage rather than teared a new one to bind Shiro''s paw injury. "Try to walk a little sweetie." She ushered the fox to walk. There was still a slight limp on its hind leg. The front looked absolutely fine. Hana gave herself an illusory pat at the back. Now was the time for checking out Shiro''s gift for her. Hana walked up to it and carefully hold on the blunt end. It was evident that the claw had been yanked from its roots since a clump of purple blood covered the blunt end. The claw was actually slightly large in proportion when compared to Shiro''s body size; about the size of a fruit knife. For the size of a fully grown German Shepherd, the size of the claw should only be about one-third of this. Nonetheless, to serve as a kitchen knife, the size of this claw was still considered unsatisfactory. Hana hesitated a bit on how to use such a small ''knife'' to cut the bamboo. However, she knew she had to use it somehow to give some face to her pet (1). She didn''t want her pet felt its sacrifice was in vain. Children''s feelings were as fragile as glass. Hana sighed. Alright. Let''s make a handle first before anything. Even if the knife couldn''t handle the bamboos, she planned to keep it close to her for self-defense. Hana washed the yellow fabric she used on Shiro''s cast and tied the knife on its blunt end with a piece of wood. After all, with lack of materials, it''s good to recycle. 3R spirit (2)! Hana got ready and squatted down inelegantly in front of the bamboo clusters. She chose a different one this time just to check on the knife''s sharpness and strength. "Huh!!" She grunted while pushing the knife with as much force as she could muster to start the familiar scoring motion. The knife cut through the bamboo just like hot knife on butter! It didn''t even stop and cut down the wood she placed under the bamboo together for support. It also went down into the cave floor until only the handle was left. She nearly fell face down on the knife too but was saved by the protective little snake as usual. It jumped lightly like a spring and slightly pushed Hana on her shoulder before landing suavely on her lap, awaiting some well deserving praise. "Thanks sweetie." She stroked Kuro''s head distractedly with a blank expression. Returning to her senses, she had finally understood the quality of the homemade knife. [Danggggg! This is super sharp!] Hana sweated in fear. Her fingers would''ve been cut off just with a gentle touch! However, she was not overly shocked with the sharpness of the knife. It reminded her of the one knife she longed for when she visited an expo before. The kitchen knife was so sharp but costed more than RM500 (around USD125) per piece.She could only bitterly swallowed her saliva; she had no courage to ask from her hubby for such expensive knife when she already had a set of four knives which function well to this day at a fraction of the cost. Hana took a deep breath, feeling slightly overwhelmed. She was lamenting on how the world works. She got her dream kitchen knife made from a claw of a fox when she got lost somewhere in the forest, of which forced her to sleep on a cave floor without indoor toilet, constantly protected by a tiny harmless looking little snake. She silently vowed to be mentally prepared for new surprises ahead. If not, her heart won''t be able to take it. Her life right now was like a roller-coaster with an explosion of surprises after surprises nonstop every single day. Hana fetched the same bamboo again to cut. This time she controlled her strength to carefully cut the whole circumference of the bamboo. She was pleasantly surprised to find how easy her work could be with a good knife in hand. The knife went through the bamboo pole just like when one was cutting a banana, smooth and easy; no scoring needed. This time, Hana was set to make herself the new shelf. In fact, the aunty was so pumped up, she planned to build a few things besides the shelf; as it seemed that the bamboos outside was truly quite a lot. [Those kids really love me.] Hana chuckled to herself in happiness. [How about I built something for them as well after I finish all the major things.] Hana pondered while looking at the bamboo. She would love to return their devotion. She hadn''t even realized whatever she''d normally did was enough for her pets. Such was the behavior of a true mother-like figure, albeit a rather clumsy one. ... Author''s Note: (1) give some face to her pet = in Malaysian language (short form is BM), there really is a proverb "give face" although Mrs Moon is not sure it''s a local thing or a standardize one. It has the same meaning of "preserving the dignity of the other party", same as the ones use in c-novels. (2) 3R spirit = based on the government 3R policy, Recycle, Reduce, Reuse. There''s even a popular song about it on pro-gov TV when Mrs Mooncat was little. Now Mrs Mooncat isn''t sure since she didn''t have time to watch TV anymore 40 Requirements for a Sturdy Filter Rack cum Shelf Hana quickly end her wild thoughts and started by cutting the bamboo pole to match the length of the first five bamboos she had prepared previously. Then, she stood up and surveyed her surroundings. [This side would do!] She moved away all her cluttered foodstuff on the floor to the side and started measuring using her arms and feet (1). She used a charcoal to mark six positions on the dirt cave floor just beside the cave wall. If one connected the marks, one would find an elongated slightly bent rectangular shape being formed, where two marks would be adjacent to one another at a distance of one arm''s length. These points would be the foundational base of the rack. After she was satisfied with the positioning, she immediately dug into the marked position by loosening the earth with the short claw knife. [Oh my, it was just like scrambling jello. So easy!] Hana happily loosened the earth while humming happily. For once, she felt making this DIY shelf would be much easier than an IKEA''s shelf. Truly, the mentality was what mattered. Once she finished, she planted the base of each bamboo poles vertically on all six location. She then measured the length between each pole horizontally from one point to another, while jotting down the information into the self-drawn diagram. After spending some time to calculate the number of bamboos needed, she walked out of her cave dwelling to choose the right bamboos to be brought in. It was already extremely dark. Hana just illuminated the outside of her dwelling with her loyal smartphone''s torchlight facing upwards. This time, she ferried long medium sized bamboo poles of the same sizes inside with Shiro''s help. The aunty was in a positive lighthearted mood at the moment. Her work had never felt easier with her pets giving full cooperation and her new mini kitchen knife being so sharp and sturdy. She could now fully understand the concept of how ''clothes makes a man''. It turned out, it should be ''how a kitchen knife makes a housewife'' instead. Once enough amount of bamboo poles was ferried in, she stopped Shiro and proceed to slice the bamboo to half each. She then measured and cut the according to the length written in her notepad. While she was cutting the bamboos, she asked Kuro who was practicing its electricity to forage some more sturdy vines for her. The sweet little snake obliged happily, eager to be of help to its mistress. Once the halved bamboos were done, she started making smaller strips now. Surprisingly, our ''lazy-to-the-bone'' MC was striving hard this time. She did so well until she made a whole bundle of strips in a trance. Our aunty was actually ''savoring'' the new knife. She did exactly the same thing when she received her knife set from Arash nearly ten years ago. At that moment, she had cooked heavily for two whole weeks. In a way, she was showing the gifter how she loved her knife by using them wholeheartedly. A loud dragging sound disturbed Hana from her trance-like work, making her turned her face towards the cave entrance in panic. Ohhh it''s just her snake pet dragging a whole bunch of rattan-like vines! The sound made was due to Kuro forcefully pulling the big bundle of vines pre-ordered from its mistress inside. The vines were stuck at the entrance. Hana, with Shiro by her side, stared blankly at the comical action of the snake. It pulled once, it pulled twice, it pulled trice! The vines finally came through while the hardworking snake tumbled in together.It flew through the air and landed suavely on Hana''s lap, just like a gymnast showing off its moves. Kuro raised its head high, expecting a praise from its mommy. Hana chuckled lightheartedly. The little one was so funny and hardworking. Kuro always went for the extra mile with each of her requests. It made the little snake extremely adorable and cute. Huffing a pleasant sigh, Hana said sheepishly, "What can I do without you guys by my side...", as she rubbed Kuro''s head dotingly. Hana didn''t realize she had only used half an hour to produce so much bamboo strips for the skeleton of the shelf. She started to peel the vines to finer strips to bind the bamboo strips later. She couldn''t just use her clingwrap rope forever, it won''t be enough. Hana planned for a shorter-lengthed rack on the left side of the shelf while she made a larger one on her right. The shelf she made was a two-column segmented shelf, with a double bamboo poles as the middle skeleton. This was so that the left side will accommodate the two filters, while for the right side will be used to keep her sundry things and other foraged materials in an orderly manner. For the left side which will house the filter bamboo canister, the horizontal poles must be closer to each other to support the body of the filter. The filter must also be suspended at a sufficient level; not too high and not too low. Too high will make it difficult for her to pour water at the top of the filter. If the filter was too low, then, she must make a small water reservoir. The small water reservoir needed to be wide to contain more water within, which will take up space. Moreover, dirt could easily enter a short and small water reservoir as compared to a taller one. Once all the necessary items were prepared, Hana enthusiastically made her first ever filter rack cum shelf. She started to tie halved bamboo poles from the bottom to the top systematically, totaling up to four horizontal rows on the right side, and three horizontal rows on the left side. On the left side, the three rows followed the bottom first pole, bottom second pole, and the highest pole. Hana purposely left the third pole out because it will be easier to place the filter into the rack later. She then added an extra row on the left column in between the first and the second bottom pole to secure the soon-to-be housed filter. After measuring the diameter of the filter canisters, she added a few centimeters and affixed three more vertical poles to make a snug square housing for both filters side by side. She then added some horizontal bamboo strips at the same level of the second horizontal row with the intention of stabilizing the vertical poles. [Shall I test this structure?] She thought excitedly. The rest of the rows just needed some bamboo strip weavings to complete them. Hana felt that she needed to test the integrity of the structure first before doing anything else. At this point, if mistakes occurred, she could still undo them. Hana took the first filter from the makeshift filter rack carefully by gently cutting the bamboo poles she used to hold the rack together. She sliced horizontally twice, from top to bottom, to retrieve the first filter. Filtered water leaked through, but Hana paid no mind to it. She immediately transferred the filter to the other filter rack by sliding it into the housing from the top. Hana let go of her hands a bit at a time, afraid that the whole structure might tumble down if she was not careful. "Huhhhhh..." She was relieved when nothing happens. She went to fetch the other filter and placed it beside the first one. Just to be safe, she tied the filters together with some vines. Feeling elated, she wiped the accumulated sweat from her forehead with the end of her yellow shirt while exclaiming happily. "Yay! It''s done!" She immediately calmed down after a moment of happiness. The shelf part was still unfinished. It was too early to be happy. She needed to double up a little. After that, Hana arranged long strips of bamboo horizontally on each row; around four strips each and tied them up one by one with a thin layer of vines. Then she took some more bamboo strips and weaved from the opposite side, just like weaving paper mats during craft session when she was a kid. She cut off the leftover jutted strips with her knife when the whole level was done. Hana was very satisfied; when she ran through her knife, she felt almost no resistance. It was akin to cutting butter with a hot knife. Half an hour later, the jolly aunty had finally finished weaving bamboo strips on all levels on the right side of the shelf. For the left side housing the filter, Hana only added two halved bamboo poles at the highest part of the shelf, totaling up to four bamboos. It was better to use that part to hang dried ingredients or even the meager amount of clothes she had after a good wash. The lowest row of the left side was layered with more bamboo strips horizontally as they were important to support the weight of the filter and make them suspended midair. Hana looked at the small mini knife in her left hand fondly. Truly, with a good knife, everything became easier. Hana realized she had finished making a regular sized DIY double-columned shelf by herself in about one hour. [It''s a miracle! Arash must be proud of me 41 Establishing New Goals Note from author: Do listen for this song to set the mood before you start reading 42 A Sudden Epiphany After a moment of contemplation, Hana finally decided to prep the bamboo shoot gifted by the kids using her pannikin(1). Looking at the burning pots, she realized she wouldn''t be able to use those so soon. She needed to soak them overnight first before she could use them on open fire. Additionally, it could only be done once the potteries have cooled down totally after the fire treatment. Using her new knife, she started peeling the bamboo shoot gently, adjusting her finger strength until she found the right condition to perform her work. She felt like she was cutting through a piece of crispy potato chips; it was very light, hence she needed to be extremely gentle. It was totally different from a normal bamboo shoot where one needed a little bit of strength before one could peel them well. Hana then proceeded to cut the shoot into tiny slices, about three old version fifty cents (2) stacked together. When it was smaller in size and thickness, it will take less time to boil them through. Since Hana''s pannikin was small, she estimated that she needed to boil the shoots in four batches consecutively before she could finish boiling them all. Therefore, if she cut them into large sizes, the boiling time would be significantly lengthened. After she had boiled all the bamboo shoots, Hana could just keep the remaining shoots submerged in the boiled water if she couldn''t finish them all in one sitting. After a week or so, the boiled bamboo shoots would ferment and become tastier. After fetching water from the filter with her cleaned pannikin, she immediately placed it on the usual fireplace a few paces away from the burning pots. Looking at the ferocious fire, she felt a little regretful for not bringing back more catfishes. If not, she could''ve smoked them right now just by the fire! Reading her mind, Kuro and Shiro looked at each other and communicated with their eyes. Shiro slowly retreated a few steps and disappeared into the woods, while Kuro claimed Hana''s lap for its own as usual. ... Water from the pannikin had boiled for a short while. Tiny bubbles appeared and popped continuously as Hana sprinkled in a pinch of salt in. She stirred the salt infused boiling water patiently until it dissolved properly. After that, she added the cut bamboo shoots a bit at a time to prevent them from spilling from the small pannikin. It was really hard working with a small-sized ''pot''. Afterwards, Hana looked everywhere for a suitable bamboo canister amongst the piles of leftover bamboo poles she left at the side. She needed to be ready to transfer the boiled shoots with the water inside after a short while. The heat treatment on the shoots was a little longer than blanching, but not too long until the texture was affected. So, Hana needed to double up with her preparation. [Aha! This is a good size!] She smiled happily when she found a bamboo with a large diameter. She cut the opening nicely and carved the opening a little so that the top part could fit the body part of the bamboo and functioned as a closed lid, just like enzyme-substrate lock and key feature. She tested the new bamboo lid and found it to fit snugly with the bamboo canister. Feeling satisfied with her handiwork, she then made a few of the same canisters. It could be her future ''water bottle'' or container of many other things later. Hana poured the boiling water together with the bamboo shoots into the first bamboo canister. She left the bamboo shoot ''soup'' cooled off at the side without closing the lid. Once she had balanced the bamboo securely in between rocks, she took the next batch of water from the filter for the second time. She then repeated the same action again, adding some cut bamboo shoots once the water boiled. Hana was worried once she realized she had overused her water supply after she completed the fourth batch. She knocked her head repeatedly. [Stupid me. I''m running out of water again. Next time I will make a few trips to fetch water from the stream.] She was a little reluctant to make the repeated trips, but hey, she would brave the extra mile for the sake of making delicious food for herself. No problemo! Suddenly, she heard a sound at the direction of the cave entrance. Shiro entered the cave with a bunch of catfishes inside her familiar shopping bag slung on its neck. All the fishes had stopped moving as well. They were even sufficiently cleaned from grime and dirt. "Woahhhh! Shiro! How did you know?!" Hana exclaimed, part in excitement, part in wonderment. Her excitement stemmed from her sudden epiphany about her telepathic connection to her pets. This time, it was clear as day that she didn''t spell out her inner thoughts about making smoked fish from the fire treatment of her potteries. It meant that they could read her mind! Hana now understood how these cutiepies could understand her ''language'' all this time. She concentrated on Shiro and faintly heard something foreign in her mind. It was very faint, whispery, and easily ignored; even the buzzing of mosquitos was louder. Hana''s eyes widened once she comprehended the vague sound. It''s a very light non-gender oriented clear sound was heard. [Express delivery for you, Mom.] Shiro was looking her way with a smile in his eyes. A different adolescent male voice resounded in her ears faintly. At least she thought it was in her ears, although it actually happened in her mind. This one sounded clearer after she focused more on the sound in her mind. [Mommy, I was the one who asked Shiro to get the fish. I don''t have limbs to help you with. I''m so sorry T.T] Kuro tried to explain himself to his mistress for not helping out. He knew if he brought back the fishes via swallowing and vomiting, Hana wouldn''t accept it. Hana turned to look at the little black snake on her lap as he looked up at her with sad starry eyes. She had been too dense to realize the obvious. Kuro must''ve tried communicating with her so many times since the beginning but was totally ignored by her. Simply because she never entertained the notion of telepathic-communication and didn''t think to try. Those were gimmicks from ''lightnovels'', whereas she, as a grownup, tried not to be too childish. It seemed that she had been too close minded. Hana closed her eyes for a moment to let reality sink in. Once she tried, she found two blurry lights in her mind. She instinctively knew they were the consciousness of her pets existing within her which linked her directly to her pets. [Thank you, Kuro, Shiro, for everything. I heard you loud and clear.] Both Kuro and Shiro''s eyes lit up with delight with their mommy''s direct telepathic communication. Especially for Kuro, he had been extremely touched as she finally responded. [Ahh..Shiro, a question.] Hana asked hesitantly. [Yes, Mom?] Shiro tilted his head inquiringly. [Are you a boy or a girl?] Hana asked while grinning sheepishly. The cute fox''s voice appeared quite androgynous in her ears. She didn''t think that she should flipped the fox up just to check its real gender, right? So right now, she needed to make sure before anything else. Both Kuro and Shiro blanked for a minute. Twitching his lips while trying his best to maintain his dignity in front of Kuro''s sarcastic grin, Shiro finally answered. [Boy.] ... Author''s Note: Hi guys, Mrs Mooncat would like to clarify something. This chapter is the transition between nongender oriented pronouns describing our favorite pets, Kuro and Shiro, as Hana had finally determined their gender. (laughing) From here onwards, both pets will be noted as ''he/him/his'' as it was clear that they were boys. Another thing is, all italic wordings (or in webnovel, in [brackets]) are sentences in the form of telepathic conversations or inner thoughts depending on the situation. +++++++++++++++ (1) Pannikin = as a reminder, a big cup or a small-sized personal bowl one usually used for beverage or soup. (2) three old version fifty cents = The old Malaysian''s fifty cent is about one inch in diameter. Now it is the same size as the 20 cent shilling. 43 The Power of Cuteness The bamboo shoots were finally ready. Hana closed the lids happily once the boiled bamboo shoots had sufficiently cooled down. She then cling-wrapped the opening part for spillage prevention. She was very satisfied with her work. It gained her five canisters of bamboo shoots, ready to be cooked anytime. The bamboo shoot brought back by the kids was after all, quite large. The best thing was, these pre-treated bamboo shoots'' shelf-life has extended to about six months. Hana took her sweet time to gut the fishes to remove their intestines and grime on a banana leaf while humming the Punjab song. It seemed that the aftereffect of the song was still prevalent. Kuro and Shiro were bewildered from Hana''s actions of keeping the spiritual herbs after cooking. They thought she was going to eat them soon. Instead, she went about to clean the fishes. [Mommy, why are you not eating the herbs?] Kuro watched Hana intently. "Oh dearies, that is not considered cooking. That''s just prepping!" Hana smiled and talked aloud without lifting her head. Her hands were still busy doing their jobs. She was still unaccustomed with talking in her head. So, she would just spoke aloud to all of the kids'' queries. It turned out these boys were quite chatty. They were eager to strike a conversation with her at every turn. Once she truly listened, she realized, they might truly be boys. True to being boys, Hana could even detect quite an intense ''sibling rivalry'' going on with the two. [Too cute!] She loved becoming the center of attention to her kids. It made her felt so loved. "I am going to make a nice dish with this bamboo shoots. But I need some additional ingredients tomorrow. Help me find them okay?" She implored while making a cute face and winked at her pets. [Sure, mommy.] Both of them replied with gusto while nodding vigorously. "Before anything, Shi-chan, go and get me some clean water by the river. Ku-chan, get the water bottles and accompany your brother." Hana nonchalantly flung out instructions after instructions like how a mother should be. Sensing their reluctance, she asked, "Is it hard to work together? Or won''t you let Mommy wash these fishes with clean water before Mommy marinated them? Who''s going to eat them later hmm?" [..But, but, it''s dangerous leaving you alone here.] Shiro replied timidly after a short pause. [Yep, yep.] Kuro nodded readily. "Nonsense! I''ve been here for four days, nothing has happened..." Hana''s words trailed off. She then realized Kuro or Shiro had been with her all along every single moment. She had never been truly left alone. Were they actually guarding her 24/7 silently She sighed and conceded. Maybe what they said have a grain of truth in them. Who was she to question them? They were the real inhabitants of this place. "Alright, Kuro can stay. Shiro, come over." She unscrewed both water bottles and tied two vines attaching both bottles to each other and slung them on Shiro''s neck with her bloody hands. The actions made the bottles bloodied with fish blood. Hana was quite unhappy. [Tskkk, now, the bottles will smell fishy. Where is all the free hotel soaps when you need one?] She grumbled in her heart. "Sorry to trouble you so much, Shi-chan." She stopped herself from rubbing his head but gave a kiss to his nose dotingly. "Off you go now. Please return as soon as possible okay. Don''t forget to rinse the bottles a little. They''re icky when they''re bloody." ... Half an hour later, Hana was already napping in the embrace of her fluffy fox happily while hugging the black snake in front of the still burning potteries. The fishes were attached to strong rattan vines and were hung on a makeshift simple rack (1) made from thick bamboo planted into the cave floor, just a bit further away from the fire. However, the smoke touched the fishes directly when it was on its way upwards. Once a while, Shiro bowed a little and used his antlers to push more wood into the fire without needing to move away from his mistress. Currently, his heart was full, and he felt a slight fluttering in the pit of his heart. Hana''s request of snuggling together caught him by surprise. However, he then realized he really loved the feeling. Shiro''s rest had never felt so heartwarming as this. Kuro was wondering in silence while snuggling in Hana''s arms. [What about dinner...] ... A new day has begun as Hana reluctantly opened her eyes in the dark and habitually tried to reach her phone to check what time was it. Her charging smartphone showed a Sunday, 5.30 am; it was the fifth day already. She stretched her arms and neck a bit before trying her best to drag herself out reluctantly; the blissful feelings from a fluffy cozy bed was too appealing. It was so much better than memory foam. From today onwards, this sleeping arrangement must be permanent! She somehow must coax the lovely bushy fox to let him serve her every night! How should she bribe him so that he will serve her willingly? While Hana was thinking, she added more wood to the dimly lit campfire. Surprisingly, the fire kept on burning a low orange color, adequately warming her up slightly due to its proximity. She realized Shiro was not warm at all as a mammal should be. The fox was actually slightly colder than her, while Kuro''s body heat mimicked the surrounding, just like a normal reptile. Hence, the fire was quite important to warm her up. The raging bonfire consuming the dried clay pots had already gone out. Hana was not sure for how long, but it might already be a few hours. This was because no heat radiated from the leftover ashes. Hana tried to touch the pots gently. They were slightly warm to the touch. [Great! Once the sun is up, the treatment for the pots can take place!] Hana was full of positive vibes today. The catfishes from last night had been sufficiently smoked. Seven of them altogether. Hana poked the body gently and found the external skin had formed a hard leather-like skin and were glistening with oil, most probably from the fishes themselves. Catfishes'' flesh was known to be quite fatty. It was a good indication showing that the moisture content had reduced. The fishes could be kept a few extra days without getting bad. [Mommy..hungry..] Hana was startled by Kuro''s voice in her head as she routinely pumped out the leftover milk from her body into an empty bamboo canister. She turned around and saw the cheeky little snake as he tried his hardest to act cute. [No dinner last night. Please?] Kuro was eyeing the hanged fishes the whole night but didn''t dare to steal some. He knew Hana would''ve reprimanded him and might disregard him out of anger. So, he had sneakily went out to hunt for food once he was sure Hana was sleeping deeply. He also didn''t forget to generate a tiny amount of electricity and placed his horn on a tiny silver square attached to a thick rectangular-shaped box for half an hour as per Hana''s instruction before he went out to hunt. He had done the same thing two days in a row already as he found that Hana placed a very high importance on that particular task. Hana had told him to perform the ''charging session'' gently on her black powerbank every night once he had finally mastered the art of high precision, low voltage he diligently practiced on the cave wall before. Although Kuro knew his acting might not yield anything, he persisted. The cheeky little snake still tried his luck, just incase. Who knows if he might actually get rewarded? He was absolutely sure that Hana didn''t know he already ate quite well outside. Shiro was in a worse condition. He didn''t dare to move since Hana used one of his limbs as a pillow. [Pity the hungry fox.] Kuro laughed naughtily with a trace of schadenfreude in his heart. "Awwww", Hana started to fawn over Kuro''s cuteness as her heart melted like cheese over fire. She then realized she had done something wrong! A wave of guilt colored Hana''s mind as she smacked her own head. She had totally forgotten about dinner! She didn''t understand how she could forget something so important in her life! What she didn''t know was, she had sipped some of the water boiled with the Primordial Spiritual bamboo shoot last night. She had even sampled a few pieces of the boiled spiritual shoot. Her intention was very evident as a cook. She just wanted to make sure the boiled ''soup'' was not too salty since it will affect the overall taste after fermentation. She tried the shoot pieces to make sure they have been cooked sufficiently and didn''t have the raw taste anymore. If overcooked, the crunchy texture will be gone, and they will become too soft. The small amount of energy from the Primordial Spiritual herb had nourished Hana''s body in its entirety and rejuvenated her well until she didn''t feel hunger anymore. Her body''s condition was even below an entry level martial artist, hence, the sudden boost really fill up the aunty''s appetite well. Hana''s first time consuming spiritual herb was as anti-climactic as that. "Ohhhhhhh..So so so sorry guys!" Hana scooped Kuro up and caressed his head guiltily. As the little snake slithered to her arms and curled itself there, Hana went over to hug the pitiful limpid eyed fox and gave him a good rub on his head. Kuro had forgotten Hana was a sucker with cute animals acting pitiful. She will fall for the act 99 % of the time. Once her fear for snake diminished, she found that Kuro was extremely adorable. She chose two biggest and juiciest catfishes for the kids and plated them on a banana leaf each. "Have a go, dearies." As the two ''brothers'' ate voraciously, Hana said, "Let''s go to the stream together. There''s so many things to do today." She patted Kuro''s and Shiro''s head intermittently with doting eyes. She didn''t plan to eat anything. Somehow, she still felt slightly full. [What miraculous catfishes!] Hana kept on praising the catfishes. Hana''s misunderstanding continues... ... Author''s Note: (1)The fishes were attached to strong rattan vines and were hung on a makeshift simple rack = attached to strong rattan vines and were hung on a makeshift simple rack = This is not the same shelf Hana made from previous chapters. It''s just a simple one. Mrs Mooncat will illustrate this shelf for patrons in Patreon. 44 Kuro’s Dilemma [What are we going to do today, mom?] Kuro asked with curiosity as they were walking in the shady forest. Their mommy was always full of ideas. All of them were usually about food, so he was quite excited to know Hana''s unique plan and ideas. Currently, the three of them was walking towards the stream early in the morning. Shiro decided to follow them after they have closed the entrance of the cave with a big boulder. Courtesy of Kuro. He wanted to show his prowess to Hana and used his tiny body to forcefully push a really big stone-like structure not too far away from the cave and let it sit in the middle of the cave doorway cum window. As usual, Hana was so speechless until her jaw hit the ground. Additionally, Shiro came forward and started to use his good paw to nonchalantly destroy the base of the cave doorway cum window with a few casual swipes. He even took the initiative to make it slightly squarish, resembling a proper door. Hana was still unaccustomed with her pets'' prowess. So much strength packed into such tiny anchovies bodies (1)! They''re like superheroes in animal form! At least the pet superheroes in movies used advanced gadgets. These little ones were more like Superman. Now, there was no need for Hana to struggle through the hole, as it already resembled a door. She could move in and out leisurely while standing. Hana gave a 1000 likes to her two pets in her heart. She would''ve tweeted it in her account to boast. Hana gave both of them a hug while jumping happily before they resumed their journey to the nearby stream. "We have a few things to do, guys. Firstly, we need to submerge these pots into the stream. Half a day will do." [Why??] Both Kuro and Shiro voiced their question simultaneously in her mind with a perplexed look. "Because they will get stronger. It is something about their pores. If we didn''t do this, the ongoing rapid heating and cooling will make the pot crack easily. Mommy didn''t know how it is done, but mommy had tried it at home before. It works!" She smiled at her pet. [How about the small pot last night? I saw you just use it after it''s done.] Kuro asked inquisitively. Hana blushed and cleared her throat, "That was an emergency huhu. You see? I did bring it along too. Let''s just immerse everything together!" As they reached the familiar stream, Hana and Kuro tried to find a good spot to submerge the pots and secure them with large stones in the hopes that the potteries won''t be swept away. Shiro was watching them from the riverbank. After she finished arranging them, she went to check the fish trap. It was full again! [What is wrong with all these fishes? Seriously?] This time, she could see different kind of river fishes inside too. It made her so happy especially when she saw a fat pink tilapia (2) the size of a football struggling with the rest of the catfishes, fat silver catfishes, snakeheads, climbing perches and a number of eels inside. It''s her favorite! Unknowingly, her saliva drip at the corner of her mouth. [That is one fat fish. It will be divine to grill it to crisp and dip the soft white flesh with some sambal belacan (3). Some ulam (4) and rice is a must too. Should she open her small pack of rice today?] Hana pondered seriously. [Mommy? Mommy?] Kuro called Hana. Their mom suddenly zoned out after she looked inside the fish trap. He was worried about her. "Hah? Yes? Sorry. Haha." The klutzy aunty covered her ''blurness'' (5) with a bashful fake laughter. She really hoped the kids didn''t read her mind. She won''t be able to maintain her dignity as a mom if they knew she zoned out and think about food out of nowhere. A half smile crept on Shiro''s lips as he had been taking great attention and focused on their mom''s action and mental connection. Hana was just like an open book when she wasn''t filled with cautiousness. One just needed to focus to realize what she was thinking. Shiro had even caught a glimpse of how a grilled tilapia with sambal belacan, rice, and ulam looked like in Hana''s mind. Even his mouth started to water inside, as he tried his hardest to gulp it down and pretend not to notice, since that was what Hana wanted. [We really need to help Mom find all the things she need.It will be a boon even for us.] Shiro directly talked to Kuro using his mind. It was one of the perks of connecting to the main host; all recipients could telepathically communicate with each other if they wanted to. [You''re right on that part, Fox. Kuro agreed as he also noticed the same projected image from Hana. The white rice looked familiar, but of a different color. I''ve seen it somewhere. I''ll find a way to get them for Mom soon. However, that fat pink fish looks like one of the many offspring of the Crystal-veined stream Lord. Should we let Mom cook it?] [Your call, Bro..your call.] Shiro shrugged. He didn''t really care. After all he was not a native of the rainforest. Who cares about societal obligations or anything. What he knew was that the fish could make Hana''s constitution stronger. If he could eat some, the flesh of the fish could slightly help himself too. ... Kuro was in a dilemma. Eating the tiny fish would probably resulted in them eternally becoming an enemy with the Crystal-veined Stream local Lord. However, it would definitely help Hana''s constitution tremendously. The other body of water was quite far from where they lived, even to Kuro''s standard. He knew if he told Hana, Hana would refrain herself from eating the fish. After living with Hana for a few days, he was beginning to understand how Hana''s mind worked. She would only eat animals or vegetables with no consciousness. If she found that a highly intelligent sentient being was served as her food, she would be extremely appalled and might even cry with sorrow. She might even start fasting to atone for her sins (6). Such was how a normal person who had never hurt insects and was scared of cockroaches would behave. She even nearly fainted when seeing her own blood flowed out during blood donation drive. Occasionally, Kuro would see Hana''s memories in the form of nightmares. That was also the reason why she treated Kuro and Shiro like human beings but could still eat fishes caught in the stream. She treated them just like she treated her own pets at home; like her own children. About the spiritual herb, she didn''t know squat about it. She just thought that it was a normal, slightly more delicious, fresh bamboo shoots the kids harvested for her while getting the bamboo poles. As long as nobody talked about it, their mom won''t know a thing. Kuro steeled his heart and planned to just let nature follows its course. If they have to face the retaliation of the stream Lord, worse come to worse, he''ll just work together with the fox to murder that fat fish. They''ll have more high energy fish flesh to be cooked later too. Win-win situation. ... Author''s Note: (1)tiny anchovies bodies = yeah..anchovies are tiny right? Usually a local will associate someone who''s small with either ''hot chili pepper'' or ''anchovies''..if it isn''t true, at least it happens in mrs. Mooncat''s family (laugh) (2)tilapia = a pink colored fresh water fish (3)sambal belacan = as a reminder, a hot+spicy dipping sauce usually eaten as accompaniment of fried/grilled fish with rice (4)ulam = fresh herbs/vegetables usually eaten raw or sometimes blanched (5)''blurness'' = it doesn''t follow the standard meaning of ''blur'', it meant something to do with a sudden moment of ''dimwitted-ness'', it''s local thing 45 Kuros Wrath "Ku-chan! That fish is so big and fat! Could you catch that one for Mommy?!" Hana exclaimed excitedly. She signaled her lovable pet to fetch that particular fish from the fish trap. She had learned her lesson of not biting more than she could chew; she didn''t want to be stung again out of nothing. Yesterday''s experience was quite dreadful and painful. If Kuro could do it, why not just let he showcase his ability to his heart''s content. She would gladly give her moral support to the fullest! Kuro obediently went down into the trap hole and hissed. Many other fishes surrounding him pulled away but some were still frozen with fear and died on the spot. However, the pink fat fish turned its snout towards Kuro and started to retaliate! In front of Hana''s eyes, it released a single bubble filled with clear water and directly jumped in. After that, the bubble floated midair with the fish within as it released an intimidating growl towards Kuro. At least that was what Hana could perceive. The growl sounded like the throaty growl of a Chihuahua; strange, but absolutely adorable. Hana was dumbfounded with the fish''s reaction as her mouth opened wide into a big O! If a fly entered her mouth right now, the shocked aunty won''t even realize! Her worldview had been widened again. It''s her first time seeing a fish capable of moving on land in a bubble! It was even extremely aggressive! Before Hana could come out from her shocked state, the floating fish started unleashing a lot of bubbles to the surrounding as it concentrated the bubbles at its foe. The scene was beautiful, just like when someone playing with a bubble gun at the beach. The bubbles refracted the sunlight making them filled with shades of rainbow. Hana was unconsciously tempted to touch the floating bubble as one of it came near. Before her finger managed to touch the bubble, Shiro quickly scooped Hana with his antlers and throw her at his back as he retreated in a flash. A loud explosion occurred once the bubbles started to collide with each other, or when it touched any surfaces including the leaves. Hana sweated in fear when she saw the bubble, she tried to touch blew up a big boulder not far from where she stood before. Hana was extremely worried with Kuro''s safety right now! [Ku-chan! Are you alright?!] She shouted in her mind nervously [It''s alright, Mommy. That sneaky snake won''t be hurt with this kind of weak attack.] Shiro tried to reassure his mistress. The bombardments of explosion were finally over, revealing an incensed Kuro! As Hana patted her nervous heart in relief when she saw her pet snake was unhurt, she felt a rapid lowering of temperature around her. For the first time ever, Hana saw her lovely innocent-looking snake pet hissed murderously at the floating fish in front of him. Kuro was extremely fierce and menacing. All of his adorableness was gone, revealing a chilling aura to the surrounding. She was scared witless with this side of Kuro. She didn''t know that Kuro became so livid at the fish because the bubble attack nearly harmed his mistress just now. If the bubble managed to strike his mistress, she would''ve died! Hana had not realized that she had just brushed with death and thus remained clueless as usual. Thank goodness Shiro was swift enough. [You. Are. Dead!] The snake hissed ferociously. Both Hana and Shiro heard the meaning behind Kuro''s aggressive hiss in their mind as they involuntarily shivered. He dashed towards the floating fish and used his mouth to tear the barrier-like floating bubble with ease. The fish tried its hardest to retreat and conjured a new bubble before it jumped into the second newly made bubble in an attempt to avoid the snake''s frontal assault. With a fraction of a millisecond, Kuro followed through with another deadly lunge. The fish tried to slip away again, but this time, Kuro manage to bite the tip of its tail. Kuro took less than a second to inject poison into the body of the treacherous fish! Once the fish realized it has been poisoned by the deadly snake, it panicked. The fish wriggled hard and yanked its tail off Kuro''s mouth and jumped into another bubble it simultaneously conjured up. This time, it moved directly towards Hana''s direction without hesitation! It''s going to attack the being on top of the white fox. That being seemed important to the snake. It needed a weak hostage who couldn''t retaliate but was important enough for the snake to give up on his attack. Realizing the fish''s intention, Kuro''s rage shot into an all-time high! All thoughts of serving the fish to his mommy has gone down the drain as he was overwhelmed with bloodlust. [The shitty fish is really asking for an early death!] A loud deadly hiss resounded. The soundwave made all the fishes inside the fishtrap not far from their location burst into a gory death like popping balloons. Hana closed her eyes in fright as she froze up in fear at the incoming fish! ... Ara was extremely aggrieved with the current situation. She was now poisoned by the snake attacking her out of nowhere. She knew she was still not dead right now because the snake might want to use her for something. If not, she would''ve been dead right at the moment the deadly poison was injected into her dorsal fin. She was still unsure, why these people were disturbing her out of the blue. She was just minding her own business without disturbing anyone. Last night, she found this pit full of fishes at the fringe of her great-grandpa''s territory after she ran away from home due to some petty misunderstandings between her and her great-grandpa. Her great-grandpa had scolded her quite gravely when he knew she had gone off his territory without his consent. She did it because she heard the last special ingredient she needed to make into a medicine for her great-grandpa was at that location. It was her first time being scolded so badly, which hurt her heart terribly. Hence, she sneaked out during her great-grandpa''s deepest meditation session the next day. She knew once her great-grandpa sunk into his meditation state, he couldn''t be easily roused, lest he would receive an internal injury. Her actions will certainly make her family fall into a state of panic! Then, when she returns with the medicine in her fins, great-grandpa would certainly understand her intentions, forgive her and dote over her again like before. Once she went off again in the direction of the final ingredient, she saw a number of fishes moved towards a certain direction as if being coerced. Out of curiosity, she peeked through a seemingly dense overgrowth of leaves and found the fish-filled pit. Feeling elated for the sudden windfall, she just jumped in and cleared out all the delicious snacks, since she planned to take a short break after all. However, after a short while, she realized that the fishes kept on coming in automatically. Hence, she took a short nap and waited. A few hours later, the pit was full again and she feasted well. She felt very fortunate to come across this treasure trove. She planned to make the pit her personal treasure chest. However, after another short nap, she was awakened by a foreign noise as she came face to face with the notorious snake in front of her. The snake was like a celebrity figure around this area. Nobody wanted to cross him. Only unintelligent animals who didn''t know better had dared to enter his territory, and as predicted, didn''t live to tell the tale. Although the snake had not been sighted for a few hundred years, her great-grandpa had warned every family member not to enter the territory of the black snake repeatedly during every family meeting. She had acquiesced her great-grandpa''s instruction all this while, as she took great effort not to go on land where the snake resided. But the snake still attacked! She felt very wronged with the whole thing. Did she need to lay her life on a platter without retaliation when the snake attacked? She was unwilling to die! A second of fast-thinking made Ara realized she needed to do something to save her little life. Don''t look down on her small size. Although she was the smallest and the youngest in the family, she was also the most gifted and was blessed with a quick mind. That was one of the reasons why she was the precious doted one in her family. She did realize that the snake''s behavior was highly affected by the being sitting on the white fox. [I need to make that creature my hostage!] She braced herself and shot towards Hana with a do-or-die attitude. ... 46 I Love Mommy just the Way She is Xsmas & Wedding Anniversary Special Release 26th December 2018 - Mr and Mrs Mooncat 9th year anniversary :) Mr and Mrs Mooncat Rant Corner Yep..it has been that long..I feel like time really flies..before, during our anniversary, we would especially go for a special getaway or a fancy restaurant etcs..but now, what we really wanted was privacy and a small window of release. Can''t wait on binge-eating junkfood and anime marathon watching XD As responsible parents, we of course can''t do such things in front of kids (and mr mooncat was so busy with his work day and night). Since the eldest kitten was with her grandma, the little one just needed to be coaxed to sleep before we can do what we want yay! (evil laugh) OOhhh..Mrs Mooncat hope something unexpected won''t turn up..really needed this break XD (omg, I''m raising a flag!) O__O|||| Happy reading! ####################### Chapter 46: I Love Mommy just the Way She is Hana was so scared! As the fish got nearer, she realized it seemed bigger than before. She held on Shiro''s antlers with a death grip while closing her eyes and screamed in panic. The action of the fish reminded her of a certain movie containing a murderous genetically-modified great white shark trying to hunt for its prey, showing off its gleaming sharp blood-stained teeth. The worse thing was, this predator could travel on land too, just like a creepy manga she once read by Ito-sensei. However, if it was seen by other people''s eyes, it looked like a fat pink roundish fish the size of a football leaping through the air towards the scaredy-cat aunty. From a third person''s perspective, it was quite a comedic scene to behold. However, in Hana''s eyes, the scene before her was too scary! She had never been hounded by a fish before! She could almost hear the background music of "Jaws" playing softly as her heartbeat beating loudly as she closed her eyes to brace for the attack. She could feel Shiro''s muscles tensed up under all those fluffy white fur as he prepared himself for the incoming fish''s attack. Unknown to her, Shiro had seen Kuro just a step behind the fish. Hence, he chose to believe in his brother''s ability to stop the incoming fish. Nonetheless, if something happened, he could always maneuver away to save their mistress in time while attacking the fish head-on. ... Hana waited for the clash to come, but nothing happened. After a few seconds of waiting, she breathed deeply to give herself some courage before she opened her eyes. Kuro was directly in front of her, blasting the bubble sphere with his electrical attack. Since water was a really good conductor, the fish inside was electrocuted badly. Once it lost its consciousness, the bubble automatically burst, as it flopped to the ground. Hana heaved a relieved sigh while patting her weak heart. Kuro slithered towards the fish as he wanted to give it the final death blow. "Stop, Kuro. Don''t hurt the fish. It''s still alive right?" [No! That stupid fish wanted to hurt you, Mommy. If the bubble touch you, you would''ve died, Mommy.Then, what''ll happen to me? I''m so angry! Let me kill it, please?] Kuro sent over his thoughts while making a very pitiful face, with his shiny watery eyes and all. All the traces of murderous intent were gone just like the wind. Kuro''s words made Hana realized she had nearly harmed herself with her naive attitude. She sighed at her own gullibility. Hana scooped the snake up and gave him a hug. "What can I do without you." She knew her pet snake really cared for her. However, the fish didn''t attack her first. It was unintentional. She was the one who wanted to touch the stray bubble. Her mild personal experience had clouded her judgement. The second attack from the fish came from personal preservation. Hana understood that the fish could read the situation and had judged that by attacking her, it would have a chance to survive Kuro''s attack. It meant that the fish was extremely intelligent! "Let''s not be hasty okay?" She stroked Kuro''s single horn dotingly. "Is this fish special? Like you and Shiro?" Hana needed to clarify this with her favorite pet. Kuro and Shiro looked each other. A second later, both of them nodded sheepishly while bowing low. "Why didn''t you tell me? We could''ve avoided all this if we could just reason out with the fish." [We could defeat it. It''s not strong at all, Mommy. Its flesh is delicious and is good for you.] Kuro sincerely came clean after a moment of silence. He tried his best to look extremely pitiful. Unknown to Kuro, his award-winning action did tug at Hana''s heartstrings again. This aunty''s defense was really low. "Awww...it''s okay. Mommy is not angry with you. Thank you. However, next time, please tell Mommy first, okay?" Kuro nodded while he silently celebrated in his heart. "Well now, do you know anything about this fish? Is it possible that it could have a family member who''s stronger than my lovely Ku-chan and Shi-chan?" [Em..I think this little one is one of the Crystal-veined Stream Lord''s younger generation.] Kuro answered sheepishly. "Hmm? Crystal-veined Stream Lord? What is that?" Hana tilted her head to the side, unable to comprehend Kuro''s answer. [It''s the owner of this stream, Mom. This stream is known as Crystal-veined Stream.] Shiro added from the side to help Kuro clarify. "Seriously? And you guys let me covet the family member of this stream''s owner?" Hana was disappointed with the kids'' judgement. She had read enough Xianxia stuff to know that once they killed this little one, more will come later, until finally, the big boss will show itself. No! She can''t let this happen even if both of the kids were strong enough to oppose the big boss. Her idyllic calm days will be over if it happens. [If myself and the fox work together, I''m sure we can kill off the Crystal-veined Stream Lord..] Kuro''s words trailed off once Hana gave him a hard stare. "No means no! Do you want me to spank you? If you continue this folly, Mommy won''t care about you anymore." Hana folded her arms and pretended to be angry as she turned to the other side. Kuro slithered slowly and begged for forgiveness with tears in his eyes. [Mommy, I''m sorryyyyy..please don''t abandon me..I love you..don''t leave..I won''t kill it. So sorry..] Hana scooped the snake and brought him to her eye-level, "Ku-chan, Mommy loves you too. Sometimes, killing is not the answer. Maybe it is something that you used to do. But Mommy dislikes gory things. Let''s just all be friends together, okay? The more the merrier. Don''t provoke others if they didn''t provoke you first." She stroked Kuro''s head dotingly. "Mommy will not abandon you, ever. Once Mommy finds a way to return to Daddy, you and Shiro are coming with me. Of course, if that''s what you wanted." The little black snake lit up with delight as he replayed the word, "Mommy loves you too" many many times in his mind and the rest of the sentences sounded like a music to his ears. Beside Hana, Shiro was feeling touched too. Hana''s sincere words made he feel wanted and loved. [Let''s just follow whatever Mom''s wants. We don''t have anything to lose.] Shiro sent his thoughts directly to Kuro in private. [Yeah. Gosh, why is she so kind... I don''t understand She could''ve gotten stronger faster if the whole hoard come over...] Kuro complained a little. His way of doing things has always been simple and sweet. Kill or be killed. Devour or be devoured. That was the cycle of life over here. He had performed his fair share of ruthless killings to get to where he was right at this spot. If not, with lack of intimidation, other beasts would''ve intruded his territory as they liked. [She must''ve come from somewhere peaceful without any killings whatsoever. It is understandable. If not, she won''t treat us like this, just mere spirit beasts.] Shiro answered quietly. Kuro pondered Shiro''s words seriously. [True. I love Mommy just the way she is] ... Author''s Note: (1) Ito-sensei (Junji Ito) = A mangaka who writes and draws horror mangas. It was pretty scary to Mrs Mooncat. We had tried the ''Uzumaki'' and ''Gyo'' manga. Fans of horror manga should try them out. The story about fishes with legs is known as ''Gyo''. 47 Establishing Trade with a Gullible Fish Ara blinked her cute red eyes in confusion as the vision of the clouds came into her view after she regained consciousness. She tried to move her fins but to no avail. They felt heavy and lethargic. It''s not just because she was above water, the poison invading her body was finally full blown. She wondered why she still didn''t die yet. She couldn''t even conjure up some water to moisten herself. "You''re awake?" The voice made Ara directed her gaze at its source. She couldn''t understand what was spoken by the creature who was sitting not far from her. The black snake watched her with menacing eyes while the white fox showed a wary expression. "Can it understand me, guys? Translate for it please." The creature scooped Ara up with both hands and brought her to the creature''s eye level while the two animals accompanying it gasped with worry. Ara was only double the size of the creature''s hand. Since she couldn''t struggle, the creature was able to carry her up easily. "It''s alright. The fish can''t even move right? It''s not dangerous." The creature tried to appease the two worrying spirit beasts. The snake came over and started translating on the go while the creature spoke to Ara with a warm smile. Ara felt very suspicious with this weak creature. She couldn''t even sense a shred of energy fluctuation from it. It only meant two things; either it was an extremely weak being, or an extremely strong existence with a large strength disparity compared to her until she couldn''t detect anything at all. She knew the snake and the fox accompanying the large creature were in the latter category. She leaned more towards it being a weak thing, if not, why did the two spirit beasts beside the creature kept on trying to protect it left and right? However, it made Ara confused, how did this weak being managed to make the beasts bow down to it and treated themselves as overprotective followers? "Hi, little one. My name is Hana. I would like to apologize for what my child did to you. It''s all just a misunderstanding. If you understand what I said, blink trice." Ara listened to the snake explaining what the creature said and finally blinked trice while feeling dumbfounded. [What does it mean, ''my child''? Is this being the famed Imperial Lightning Serpent Monarch''s Queen? Something didn''t feel right.] Ara didn''t know Hana''s habit of addressing all her pets as her children as she treated them just like one. Hence, the fish became more servile and down to earth. Although she might feel suspicious, it was better to be careful. Moreover, it was unwise if she accidentally offended the snake''s elder, if the creature was one. She observed how happy Kuro was when the creature introduced him as its child. His tail writhed to the left and right in merriment. It made her became wide-eyed and tongue-tied. "Alright, Ku-chan. Give it the antidote." [Seriously Mom?!] The brothers exclaimed together in Hana''s mind. Before Kuro and Shiro could continue, Hana gave them a stern no-nonsense look. From Ara''s point of view, Ara watched with gleaming eyes on how the creature stared down at both of its meek subordinate/children before the snake slithered over and drip his saliva on Ara''s tail unwillingly. [This creature is so powerful.] Ara thought in her heart. Ara did not know that the snake was even unwilling to lick it as how he usually treated Hana. Slowly, Ara regained the ability to move her tail and fins. Hana knew she needed to take the first step to gain the trust of the fish. She didn''t want to make an enemy out of the locals in the area. Her pets were too feisty. She could only sigh and shook her head in dismay. Regardless of how big in size they were, their minds were akin to toddlers of five to six years. Hence, Hana felt the responsibility to maintain social networks of the surrounding inhabitants fell on her own shoulder.If not, they would make enemies left and right! Hana didn''t know her sweet little Kuro was actually a local tyrant in the area. "This fish trap is made by us. It is ours. That is why we mistaken you as our haul." While exhibiting her sincerest smile, Hana explained slowly to make the cute pink fish understand the root of their misunderstandings. She realized the pink fish might''ve stumbled upon the fish trap and stayed inside to feast on the free-flowing fishes. Understanding Hana''s explanation, the little fish felt unwilling. Who didn''t like free food? Hana noticed the intelligent fish''s unhappy expression. Deep in her heart, she lamented the intelligence of the animals around her in awe. It was her first to see some sort of expression on a fish''s face. Surprisingly, it reminded her of a number of sea related animation characters. [Too similar!] She exclaimed internally. Suddenly, the aunty was struck with an idea! If they''re so intelligent, it''ll be great to establish some form of trade with them. It''ll be easier for Hana to obtain difficult-to-find fresh water based ingredients later. Additionally, she won''t have to crack her head figuring out Arash''s tutorials to make new seafood-trapping devices. Thinking about this, it had renewed Hana''s enthusiasm to ''gently'' coerced the seemingly naive fish into doing her bidding. "It''s not that you can''t have any of the fishes inside this fish trap. However, you will need to barter the fishes with us for something of equal value. As long as every morning you leave a batch of fishes for us, you can harvest the rest any time. I won''t be calculative with you, right now, what I want the most are freshwater prawns with noticeable two big blue walking legs. It usually inhabits deeper rivers." Hana shrugged. She wanted to try her luck. Letting someone else get the prawns for her will make her save more time on making a specialize prawn catcher. Ara stayed silent for a moment to contemplate. After a while, it let off a few bubbly sounds. Kuro interpreted the fish''s response directly to Hana''s mind. [How much do you want? It''ll be quite difficult to gather.] [Yes! The bait has been taken.] Imaginary confetti were drowning Hana''s vision at the moment. "I''ll be fair, at least six freshwater shrimp the size of my hand, for a batch of fish you consume." She calculated that a batch of fishes will be about equaled to the price of a kilo of freshwater prawns.Usually six prawns the size of Hana''s hand will be about a kilo, with about RM70 - RM90/kg. Since a kilo of catfishes was around RM7/kg, 10-15 kilos of catfishes will amount to the same value of a kilo of freshwater prawns. It''s a win-win trade. Depending on the prawns caught, both parties could slightly benefit more than the other. Hana didn''t plan to be so calculative. As long as she didn''t have to catch the prawns herself, she''s good to go. Hana added, "If smaller, you must add more, if bigger, you can give less. Take it or leave it." Hana tried some hard selling she learned from the uncles from the night markets. [Fine.] Kuro faithfully interpreted the fish''s response to Hana. "Next time, we might request some other items. You can also suggest something you have for trade later." Hana smiled happily while making her most sincere-looking face. Out of nowhere, the fish produced a shiny circular object from within her mouth and placed it on Hana''s palm. It emitted a soft green glow. [How about this? Do you like it? It''s very pretty. This is for last night''s compensation. But I only have one right now. If you want, I can give you more, free of charge.] Hana''s jaw opened wide. It was a really big pearl! The luster, the uniformity and the size! This was AAA grade! Hana didn''t know whether to laugh or to cry. This was more expensive than the prawns she requested. She would probably get a few kilos of prawns with this single pearl. She hesitated to take it. However, deep in her heart, she really wanted it. No woman could fight their instinct of favoring shiny beautiful things. [Mommy, just keep it. It has no value for the fish.] Kuro lied smoothly. It knew the fishes didn''t really treat this shiny thing as precious, especially this one. At best it could only be treated as a toy or a collectible to a rich descendant of the stream Lord. The amount of spiritual energy was also very low. However, Hana needed this more than ever, since she had no spiritual energy at all. Just by keeping close a significant number of these shiny balls would''ve helped strengthen Hana physical constitution by quite a bit over time. "If that is so, thank you so much. Yes, I would love to have more of these. They''re so pretty!" Her eyes shone with happiness as she pocketed the pearl into her pants. Suddenly, she got an absurd idea, "If you can get me ten of these round shiny balls, I won''t be calculative with you, I will deduct one prawn, alright? However, initially, at least I must get six prawns." Since these were just toys for the gullible fish, why not just gave it to her who appreciated them more? She laughed craftily in her heart. The kids were having a hard time maintaining a solemn expression on their face. Their mommy who was so upright just now was conning a little fish for the sake of a few shiny balls! This had affirmed the brothers'' conviction to find more shiny things for their mom besides miscellaneous food ingredients in the future. The fish nodded happily, thinking that it had profited from their arrangement. She had so many of the round shiny balls in her treasure box since she loved to collect those. It meant that she only needed to catch six prawns and exchange the rest of the fishes with the shiny balls. So simple! She had begun to like the creature already! So magnanimous! Since both of them had finally struck a deal, there''s nothing else to do anymore. Hana squatted down beside the stream and gently placed the fish into the stream. She patted the fish''s head gently. As it entered the stream, Hana asked a final question, "What is your name?" A bubbly sounded came back. "Ara." ... 48 A Little Birds Precious Gift New Year Special Release 1 January 2019 Chapter 48: A Little Bird''s Precious Gift Markisah has been waiting for a long time for the extremely clumsy creature to appear again. She knew if she waited long enough, the creature would''ve appeared by the Crystal-veined stream. Somehow, the creature loved the stream so much. It spent so much time at the vicinity of the stream during the majority of the day. Today, as usual, she hovered around the stream area, trying to find the shadow of the creature from yesterday, before resuming her journey to fill up her belly. However, she coincidentally saw from afar the creature was being attacked by the descendant of the Crystal-veined Stream Lord! Since she was so far away, she could only bitterly shake her tiny head and hoped that the snake could rescue the creature in time. She was quite fond of the generous being and would like to get acquainted with it. True to her hope, the snake had saved it at a timely manner. Markisah heaved a relieved sigh and continue flying towards her favorite spot. After flying for more than an hour towards the south west direction, Markisah entered a secluded gigantic valley. Inside the valley, she went straight to an area which was elevated higher from the rest. However, it was not so high to be called a mountain. Over here, somehow, the normal canopy-like trees localized to a rainforest did not invade the valley or the surrounding hilly regions within, instead they were occupied with strange stunted trees sparsely. In certain locations, especially on higher grounds, herb patches interlaced with wild flowers could be found everywhere. The surroundings were covered with a slight whitish haze which gave it a surreal feeling. It was a sight to behold. Although this region was very far from where Markisah came from, she will always return to eat fruits from here when she got the chance. She had stumbled upon this beautiful place unintentionally tens of years back. At that time, she was injured and stayed for a few days. After nursing herself back to health with random nibbling of herbs and fruits, she found that she became more aware about herself. It was an indescribable feeling! Since then, this place had been her secret hideout, her go-to favorite place. Even her bird friends were unaware of it. Markisah landed on a hardwood medium sized lush tree. She lurked for a while and found what she was looking for. It was a bunch of light yellow fruits on a branch, cleverly hidden in between the leaves of the tree. The fruit from this tree was the one which gained her current awareness. Years of eating them made her ability to think to become much better. She could even count the number of fruits on the tree until one hundred. However, that was Markisah''s current limit. She started nibbling on one of the yellow fruits with her scarlet red beak with a happy expression. It was really delicious. Once finished, she bit on the pith and flew down to an empty location and planted it carefully after loosening the soil a little. She had done the same thing for so many years until there were so many similar-looking trees in the vicinity. She repeated her actions after finishing three of the fruits before she was full. After a short contemplation, she plucked the branch with largest yellow fruit and held on the branch in between her beak before she flew again in the direction of the Crystal-veined Stream where the creature likes to hang out. She hoped that this precious fruit could show her sincerity to befriend the creature she was fond of. Furthermore, she thought that the fruit will help to cure the cluelessness of the creature. The being really needs it. After all it did help her gaining her current intelligence. ... It was a few hours after Ara, the fish was gone. The aunty whose intelligence was being looked down upon by a tiny bird was busy instructing her two little pets like a boss. Once she knew how strong they were, it was stupid for her to work herself so hard. The snake and the fox were moving everywhere at the partially cleared bamboo grooves from yesterday''s destruction. They were clearing the area and digging out the leftover roots of intact bamboos. Kuro used his strong jaw and pulled out whatever roots left and flinging random boulders to the side while Shiro was busy digging the base of random large trees at the fringe of the cleared location and cutting them nonchalantly with his wind attack into long wooden stakes. He looked like a sushi master slicing on a big tuna expertly. Hana provided them with instructions and diagrams by relaying them straight from her mind. Previously, she was extremely appalled by the gory deaths of all the fishes inside the fish trap and was slightly upset for not being able to bring back any fish home this time. However, after a few minutes have passed, she could see a number of fishes entering the fish trap in a steady flow. Feeling incredulous, she could only shake her head while smiling at her windfall. Really, she felt being favored by the heavens in some way. It turned out the bloody smell had enticed the other fishes to enter the trap in droves. While waiting for her immersed pots and the stupid fishes to fill up the fish trap again, she pondered on her next ''agriculture'' project. At the beginning, she was planning to clear the area outside her cave for planting. However, with how far the water source was located, she would have to travel again and again each time she needed to water her plants. That would be extremely tiring to this aunty! Hence, once she had seen the cleared area, a thought has entered her mind! This place will be perfect for her little garden. It was very near to the stream. Since she will frequent the stream every day, she could easily water her plants here. Their activities were interrupted by a flapping of wings behind Hana. The two brothers started bristling their scales and fluffy furs when Hana calmed them down with a stern stare. [Gosh, why are they so fidgety!] She was so helpless with their extreme over-protectiveness. She didn''t know it was all because she was extremely weak. A puff or a snort from a random spirit beast in the area would''ve KO-ed her just like that. "Hello little birdy? How are you?" Hana squatted down beside the familiar little yellow bird, afraid of scaring it away. Both of her boys were rolling their eyes at her thoughts. In this forest, even a seemingly harmless plant could be potentially dangerous for her. The little bird cocked its head in a lovely manner and placed a yellow fruit on the ground in front of Hana. It chirped cutely a few times, flapped its black highlighted wings and hopped to the back. Kuro narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the bird''s actions. "Is this for me? Are you sure?" Hana was slightly startled with the little bird''s gesture. She turned her head to look at the brothers toiling at the ground not far from her to get a confirmation. [She said, it''s a present for you. It''s beneficial for your mind.] Shiro''s mouth twitched a little at the veiled insult. It implied that the bird was looking down on their mom''s intelligence! Hana brushed off the negative thoughts of her pets and gratefully smiled, "Thank you so much little one. We''re friends, right? May I know your name?" Regardless of what the little bird thinks of her, it meant well and even had come all the way to give her this fruit. Kuro sent over the meaning behind the friendly chirp unhappily. [It said its name is ''Markisah''.] Hana introduced herself while smiling pleasantly at the cute little bird, "You can call me Hana. These two are Kuro and Shiro. They''re nice. Don''t be afraid of them, okay. If they bully you, tell me. I''ll spank them for you." Hana joked with the bird while the snake translated every word unwillingly. Markisah was slightly startled with Hana''s word but was extremely pleased with it. "Thank you so much, little Markisah." She went over slowly and picked up the fruit. She was extremely happy that she was well liked by animals in this forest. She had always love animals since she was young. Hence, when a lot of animals started befriending her left and right, it left her with a sweet taste in her heart. There''s really a silver lining in every cloud! Observing the slightly oval yellow fruit intently, she realized it was a Bidara fruit (1)! No blemish on the surface, the size was as large as a tennis ball, implying that it was of a premium grade. She immediately went to the stream to wash the surface of the fruit and directly bit the fruit in front of her pets before they could stop her. The fruit was crunchy with a slightly sweeter note than she was familiar with. She made a happy expression while eating. It was truly tasty; just the right level of crunchiness. The little bird on the side was feeling happy seeing how Hana trusted her and ate the fruit without hesitation. After Hana finished up the fruit, she gently kept the pith in her pocket and thanked the bird again. She didn''t know why, she felt a pleasant icy feeling in her head and her mind felt clearer. She even felt that the voice of Kuro and Shiro in her head were easier to be heard than before. Or was it just her imagination? From here, she knew that the little bird had given her something incredible. Hana was a little embarrassed for not being able to return the little bird''s precious gift since she had nothing to be eaten on her person presently. She invited the little bird to come over her cave dwelling later tonight. She would try to find something that her little friend might like. ... Author''s Note: (1) Bidara fruit = it''s the Malaysian word for "Indian Jujube". It''s very different from the usual jujube from china. It tasted just like a crunchy sweet apple with a peach-like pith inside. 49 Shiros Little Garden The sun was rising little by little from the east side as the gentle rays slowly penetrated the little idyllic stream. Shiro stopped what he was doing for a short while as his gaze looked up. Since the area Mom chose was in between the starting line of the thick canopy-like large trees and the stream, Shiro only needed to clear a few giant-sized trees to make a somewhat rectangular-shaped clear area, devoid of large stones and tree roots. He observed the hardworking little snake at the side, toiling hard to pull off an especially stubborn gigantic root and shook his head. His new ''brother'' fondness towards their Mom puzzled him immensely. It was bordering on obsession. He was helpless to be the object of envy by the snake when Mom favored him a little too much. Meanwhile, their mom was dipping her toes into the cold stream while teasing the little yellow bird with black speckled underbelly. However, her hands did not stop from making long bamboo strips using his claw as a cutting tool. Seeing how Mom liked her new knife so much, Shiro felt extremely pleased. He really did the right thing back then. Never once did he ever regret parting with his claw. Moreover, he still had nine others. After Shiro had cut down the bark of the trees into several long three metered stakes, he started loading them bit by bit on his antlers and placed them at one side of the cleared area. He knew what must be done after this as he had seen it in his mind when Mom explained before. These stakes will be used as a barrier surrounding the new patch of cleared land. However, he needed Mom''s help to prop up the long stake upright while his brother, Kuro needed to push down from the top. [Mom, Kuro, I''m done over here.] Shiro called the others telepathically to come over and help with the barrier installation. Both Kuro and Hana came over to help placed the first stake. The little yellow bird had made herself at home on Hana''s head. It seemed like they had become bosom friends from the short interaction. Shiro lamented on Mom''s lack of vigilance again. That was one of his biggest concern, apart from Mom being too weak. One day, it can cost her life. No wonder the bird gave her the mind clearing spirit fruit. Regardless, he vowed that he will be there to help Mom in times of need if one day someone dared to hurt her. Shiro stepped aside while letting Mom propped up the first stake. She had become slightly breathless from it. The stake was only as thick as Mom''s calf. It shouldn''t be that heavy right? As Kuro pounded the sharpened tip of the stake inwards by jumping once, Mom stopped him when the stake''s height was reduced from three meters to about two meters. Just like this, the duo repeated their action systematically throughout the whole perimeter of the cleared land. The stakes were embeddened with a gap of about three to four inches to each other. Shiro was a bit perplexed with the gap between each stake. Won''t little animals enter? Before he could even ask, Mom had answered to explain, "The gap will be compensated with the bamboo strips. After this I''ll weave the strips in between the stakes. So, you don''t have to cut so much trees anymore." She ruffled Shiro''s head dotingly. Both brothers (plus one bird) were reduced to speechlessness. [There was something wrong with Mom''s way of thinking!] Cutting more trees were easy peasy for Shiro. He didn''t even need to expend more than a drop of his strength. Whereas, the weavings in between the stakes will be extremely laborious for Mom. Again, Mom must have forgotten about their prowess as she was trying to lighten their burden as usual. Her good intention was unnecessary, although it did touch Shiro''s heart. [Mom! No need to add burden to yourself. You should''ve explained why you''re making so much bamboo strips again just now.] Kuro''s word resounded in their minds. Shiro didn''t know whether to laugh or to cry with Mom''s selflessness. She was too nice. She''s treating them as helpless little lambs though she already knew how strong they could be. There''s no need for her to work so hard making the long bamboo strips. She could''ve just laze around and play with the bird rather than tiring herself for no apparent reason. Blushing deeply, Mom acquiesced their imploration and let Shiro cut more trees to fill in the gap with the appropriate sized stakes. She closed her face with both of her hands to hide the embarrassed look she was having. Both of the boys were laughing in their heart with their mom''s cuteness. Shiro shook his head while smiling before continuing his work. ... Hana desperately wanted to burrow her head into a hole somewhere from embarrassment! She blamed on a traditional gardening video she coincidentally watched once upon a time ago. The traditional fences were made with bamboo poles and weaved with bamboo strips. She suddenly realized that the guy who made the fence was lacking raw materials. She had taken the information at face value. After Shiro finished cutting the trees into stakes, again, they added more stakes to fill in between the gaps surrounding the cleared land area while leaving a single one-meter gap facing the stream for a gate. Using the leftover bamboos from the bamboo strip making, Hana crafted a simple door by making holes on the sides of the two outermost stakes framing the gap using her favorite knife and slotted in horizontal bamboo poles in between the holes. With the adhoc design, the ''gate'' will function just like a sliding door made from bamboos. There was no need for latch or locks. A slide was all it needs to open the gate. Once the gate was done, they entered the compound and started to condition the upturned soil into tidy fluffed soil for future plantation. Of course, the boys did all that by themselves while being monitored by Hana. Although she still has the chisel meant for agriculture, she knew she was too incompetent. Adding her up will only slow down the speed of work. While the boys were working hard, Hana squatted down and burrowed her hand into the black crumbly soil. It was naturally rich in compost and full of cute fat worms tangling together with dried withered leaves. She had read about the conditions suitable to grow plants, and the loamy soil in her hands held all the necessary characteristics; loose, porous and full of nutrients. Since the location of this garden was very near to the stream with the addition of Shiro clearing up the large trees blocking the sun, the little garden got ample of sunlight. Hana was thankful to God for all of these positive factors. She walked to a corner of the garden nearest to the gate and fished for the pith of the delicious Bidara fruit she ate that morning. Under the gazes of her two pets, she used her bare hand to make small hole and placed the pith inside. After covering the top part of the hole with some soil, she arranged several tiny stones in a circle to mark the location of the bidara pith. "This will be our first tree. Hope it could grow big and strong!" She exclaimed positively. After that, Hana went all over the place and transplanted a number of herb trees she thought to be useful not far from the first spot happily. By afternoon, she observed her handiwork happily, "Garlic trees, turmeric trees, green onions, ginger, vietnamese mint, selom, wild taro trees. This location is a real wonder!" She praised her treasured garden with a smile. She had found a new objective this time. When she found more herb trees later, she would transplant them immediately. Like this, once she needed something, she didn''t have to search high and low again. ... The little family stopped working around noon. Kuro and Shiro started to laze around under the shade of a tree, a moment''s relief from the harsh sun, as they observed their mistress busily grilling marinated catfishes over a small fire she expertly made not too long ago. Hana adamantly said she wanted to have a picnic by the stream as she proudly showed her salt-turmeric paste combo she brought along with a grin. The kids fetched seven fishes for her as she laughed with their absurdity. They looked so greedy until it was almost too cute! From the beginning until the end, the little yellow bird didn''t fly away. Instead it stayed faithfully either on top of Hana''s head or on her shoulders, curious with every single thing she did. Hana used her new kitchen knife to gut the fishes and cleaned them by the stream before slathering them with the salt-turmeric paste. It was so easy when a good knife was in your hand! She only took a short ten minutes to process everything before she started grilling while gloating in delight. Hana was an expert in finding an excuse to be happy amidst sorrow, a seeker of silver linings. That was one of the reasons why this aunty could be so full of positive vibes all the time. Once the grilled fishes were done, the kids scurried over with a fawning face to receive their due rewards. As usual, Hana plated three fishes on clean sheets of banana leaves each while she took only one for herself. She tried to offer some to her bird friend, but it refused vehemently. Not feeling disheartened with the bird''s action, she planned to give it something else once they return to their cave dwelling. [Markisah must be a hardcore vegan.] She shrugged and started eating. While nibbling on the fish, Hana said, "Shiro, you''ll be in charge of this little garden from today onwards." Perking his ears up happily, the adorable fox nodded. Suddenly he paused and thought worriedly, [Err..do I need to plant trees then?] He looked at his two paws and pondered. It seemed that he needed to be able to utilize his front paws just like Hana did it. Should he practice walking with his two hind legs after this? Author''s Note: (1) "Garlic trees, turmeric trees, green onions, ginger, vietnamese mint, selom, wild taro trees" = these are names of local herbs. You might''ve known some of them. 50 Hunting for Freshwater Prawns After the delightful lunch, the little "happy family" went into the stream for a bath. Hana expertly stripped off her clothes, rinsed the sweat stained inner garments together with her yellow shirt and hanged them over a branch jutting out from a tree nearby. The location was perfect for drying clothes since it received direct afternoon sunlight. Hana wasn''t worried since she already has a clean sweater on standby once she was done bathing. She didn''t wash her jeans but just placed it nicely on a large rock, also directly being hit by sunlight not far from where she was bathing. Even if she couldn''t wash it, she hoped the bacteria would be killed off from direct sunlight. It was just a tiny hope of an aunty who didn''t want to be bare down there in the woods. A few days in the wilderness had taught Hana to use her garments wisely. Now, she would alternately use her yellow shirt and her sweater as clothes so that she could always have clean garments. Her only worry was for her jeans since she didn''t have any spare. The jeans was already dark grayish blue in color with some patches of brown stain of dirt after 4 days of no washing, contrasting its original color. Usually Hana didn''t wash her pants so frequent even when she was at home. But since she got here, the pants were exposed with dirt, sweat and grime all the time, it changed color so fast. Hana could only shake her head in despair. There''s no way she would go pant-less in this kind of environment. She was too scared of all the creepy crawlies. She''d rather wore dirty pants all the way until she found a good solution. Hana shrugged off her momentary worry and dipped into the cooling stream beside her fox and her little black snake encircling her neck. She was quite confused why the bird acted so chummy and stayed on the top of her head even until now. She just hoped that it didn''t poop on her hair. That was her biggest worry (of all the things in the world lol 51 Location Map Markisah flew towards the ''brothers'' as they were talking softly to each other at the riverbank. While their mom took the time to dozed off under the tree after she came out of the stream, they''ve quietly moved a few paces away so that they won''t disturb her.?They were actually discussing about the herbs listed by Hana previously, checking with each other for additional information. Bits and pieces of words describing the variety of herbs made both of them dizzy. Markisah heard the soft whiny sounds of "too many..", hissings of "how about bushes on the north side.." and even "let''s persuaded her to omit.." and laughed lightly. These spirit beasts were just too funny. "Guys, I think I know one of the fruits she''s looking for. Are you interested to know where?" Markisah chirped cheerily as she flew by and landed on a tree branch not far from Hana''s two pets. She had a good impression on these odd ''brothers''. They''ve treated Hana like a precious fragile treasure that she was. Since she liked Hana a lot, she liked how they treated her so well. Hence, she planned to help them a little. Additionally, she was rather interested with the ''meal'' they were talking about. The duo''s reaction was a tad bit too unusual. It only served to intensify the curiosity of the inquisitive Markisah. The two boys looked at each other for a short moment and finally asked the same question in sync, "Where?" Feeling amused with their reactions, Markisah hopped down from the tree branch and landed on the dirt floor not far from the boys. She started to scratch away the dried leaves on top of the forest floor exposing an adequately clean dark earth. Then, she used her beak and draw something using her beak. Surprisingly, this little bird started to draw a simple map! The brothers'' jaw were wide open in surprise. She continued scribbling lightly while being observed by the duo. Once it was done, she stopped and flew up a meter high to observe her handiwork before nodding in satisfaction. "Currently we''re here." Markisah landed down and drew an ''X'' on the map. "If you move directly towards the south-east region opposite this stream in a straight line, you''ll reach my hometown. It''s a really big tree. You won''t miss it. We called it the Tri-colored World Tree. From there move south for a day in a straight line. You''ll reach the coastal area. I''ve heard my friends told me tales of the coastal area in that region. I''ve heard of the fruit Hana mentioned before. I remembered they told me there was so much trees similar to what Hana called the ''Coconut Tree'' over there." Markisah shrugged. "However, normally, everyone prefers the green one, not the old brown one, though. The water inside tasted better." Markisah was truly confused with Hana''s preference. She heard that the water from the green fruit tasted much sweeter than the one with the brown fruit. Since it was so hard to get, no intelligent bird would actually go for the brown one. Both brothers kept quiet and conversed telepathically to discuss. "Hmmph? What is this?" Suddenly a shadow came by from behind. It turned out Hana was finally awake from her sweet short nap. In her heart, she was shocked by the scribble on the forest floor. It really looked like a map! She asked Kuro, "Did you draw this, Ku-chan?" Kuro shook his head in denial, [Nope, Mommy. It''s the bird. She''s telling us where the ''coconut'' you mentioned is located.] "Where is it?" Hana was slightly excited with the notion. Coconut trees are really useful in many ways, not just its fruit. Her hand fished for her smartphone and snapped the picture of the scribble. [The bird said it''s pretty far. I think it might take a few days from here. After all, not one of us could fly directly to the place. Kuro answered exasperatedly. Mommy, if?you really want it, I can go. But, can you please wait and not cook anything without me present?] Kuro blinked cutely. He really couldn''t stand it if Shiro got fed with delicious things without him present. He had calculated in his mind the distance of the said location. It might actually take more than a week for him. After all, it was impossible for him to move in a straight line like a bird. "Don''t go." Hana''s answer startled the animals in front of her. "If it''s so far, there''s no need. I want you to look around in this region slowly. I''m sure there''ll be some although it won''t be in clusters like at the beach." Hana realized she could listen to her favorite pet''s thoughts as long as she concentrated hard enough. A week was too long for her. Just for the sake of one to two coconuts, she couldn''t possibly make her lovable pet traveled so far! That would be child abuse! Reading Hana''s thoughts like an open book, Kuro was touched again. [It''s okay, Mommy. It''s not that far.] "Nonsense. Let me think of a better way, okay." Using an imposing tone all mothers always use to exert dominance (although she was way weaker than a chicken), she stamped out Kuro''s resistance in a flash. She tapped her index finger on her chin repeatedly while thinking. "Markisah my good friend, I need your help. Do you know where I lived?" The bird nodded while blinking her eyes. After all it was not a secret that Hana met her in front of Hana''s cave dwelling. "Can you place the location of the cave I lived in on the map? If there''s any other notable location which you feel important, could you add it in?" She spoke hopefully. A map was the largest clue which could help her determine her location. She could try sending in through repeatedly until finally it''ll be uploaded. Since the previous controversial picture could be uploaded, why not this one? Her brother Hadi would''ve find her location in a jiffy if her hubby couldn''t. The little bird hopped towards the previous map and added the location of Hana''s cave inside. She then added more points at the surrounding that she knew, including her hometown. Her beak paused for a short while as she pondered, [Shall I point the location of the hidden valley?] After a short contemplation, she brushed it off from her mind. Nah. It''s still too early. She still couldn''t trust her new friend yet. After all, she had never even shared the location of her secret place with her other friends at her hometown. Seeing how swift the little bird sketched the map for her, she felt extremely lucky. Who would''ve thought by befriending a bird, you could get a map? Hana could only thanked her own good luck happily. Once the bird was done, she quickly snapped the picture of the map a few times, trying her hardest to make it the clearest. "Thank you so much, little Markisah. Can I asked for another favor, please?" The shameless aunty started asking for the extra mile while grinning bashfully. The little yellow bird made an extremely realistic exasperated expression and gave a nod after a moment. "Do you know how a coconut tree looked like?" Kuro answered on the bird''s behalf.?[She didn''t know. She told us she had only heard of the fruit from her friends.] "I see." Hana smiled and cleared a small portion of the forest floor just beside the completed map. She took a short stick and drew a double elongated line with long spines at the top. She added long droopy slightly curved leaves on the spines and a few circles where the spines and the elongated lines met. "This is how a coconut tree should look like. The coconut trunk is long, thin and straight, with horizontal scars on the surface. It should be dark brown in color. And the top crown was full of long spines with green leaflets, also known as coconut fronds. The fruits are in a bunch. Some are green, some are brown. I need the brown ones. It''ll be good to get a whole bunch. Please help me identify the tree as you fly around the top canopy. Naturally, I''ll compensate you well once I''ve done cooking. Please?" Hana presented her most self-proclaimed award-winning smile she had. She couldn''t believe she still needed to curry favor with the same bird for the second time. However, if thickening her own skin could net her the ingredients she needed, then why not? It''s not like it''ll be free. After a short contemplation, the sweet bird nodded helplessly again, for the third time, "Alright. Let the snake follow me from ground. You guys just wait for us at your home. Once we got the fruits, we''ll meet up at the cave." Hana nodded happily. It was so worth it befriending intelligent animals around here. Life could never become easier than this! Author''s Note: Map from Chapter 51 will be available in our Patreon account to the public on the day the chapter is unlocked to public/released on webnovel to commemorate our journey reaching the 5 series. Cheers guys! Weeeee~ 52 When a Bird Worked Together with a Snake The sun started to tilt towards the west slightly when another ''strange'' team moved forward from the stream''s region. As a yellow colored bird with puffy white chest and black speckles dusted over it flew swiftly in the air in a circular motion at the top of the seemingly never-ending tree canopy, a small inconspicuous black snake was keeping up by shooting at the middle branches of trees in between the understory layer of the rainforest. Once a while the presence of the emergent tree layer made the bird flew higher to prevent unwanted trouble. Years of living in these parts made the little bird to be more cautious and alert towards danger. The emergent layer of the rainforest was usually the home to large predatory birds who has no qualms to catch her as a snack. Markisah was trying her best to comb the top part of the canopy carefully bit by bit from the stream''s area outwards. She divided the location into imaginary blocks and flew above them in a clock-wise route. This method was suggested by Hana. She said by doing this, Markisah won''t miss a single location. Since her new friend said there would be some, she would try to believe her this time. After a significant amount of interaction, she noticed that Hana was not as clueless as she thought. Maybe her spirit fruit had finally done its job to help her new friend significantly. She felt good thinking that she had increased the survival chances of her new friend. Since she flew in a methodical manner, she had come across several trees with similar-looking crown as was explained by Hana easily. However, those trees'' fruits were different in shapes and size as the ones drawn to her. From there, she knew that those were not the ''coconut'' she was looking for. She needed to complain to Hana later. Evidently, Hana''s description was a tad bit too inaccurate. The little bird didn''t know that the ''crown'' drawn by Hana was a feature representing the palm tree families. Hence, any kind of palm trees might have the same kind of crown, including a coconut tree. After flying for quite some time, she had seen a likeness which conformed to Hana''s explanation! Due to the canopy being quite high and dense, the crown of the tree was partially covered by other trees snugly. Only a few strands of leaflets jutted out from the top. Markisah chirped loudly, "Little Snake! I think I found it! Over here!" From between the branches, a pair of predatory eyes were gazing hungrily at the ''plump'' yellow bird. ... Kuro was tens of meters away from Markisah''s present location. Hence, he could barely hear the faint chirping of the bird as she descended straight towards the tree she mentioned. After all, the top of the canopy and the middle understory was quite far from each other. He tried his best to slither as fast as he could towards the sound. Once he was near, his sixth sensed blared loudly as he detected the presence of murderous intent. Although the intent was not meant towards him, he knew it was directed at the yellow bird high above! At an obscured tree branch, he saw a black shadow flashed by in the direction of the descending bird. Kuro similarly pounced forward in a hurry to intercept the creature. In his mind, he could already see the aftermath of letting his mommy''s new friend died on his watch. Most probably she will ask him to stop dangling on her arms for good, or even worse, disown him. ... Being in elation had dulled Markisah senses for once and made her noticed the incoming attack slower than a fraction of a second than usual. From the corner of her beady eyes, a large predatory dark brown bird approached at a high speed! Markisah reflexively dodged upwards as a black snake shot into the sky at an even higher speed and bit on the neck of the attacker accurately. The large bird managed to catch a few of her prized tail feathers as Markisah chirped with pain laced with unwillingness. Simultaneously injecting a paralyzing agent into its bloodstream, Kuro generated a small amount of electricity to finally knocked the bird out before they naturally plunged downwards following the pull of gravity. The little black snake expertly landed on a large tree branch with his new prey in his mouth. He placed it nicely like hanging a piece of rag on a clothesline. The bird twitched periodically while it lay fainted on the tree branch, most probably due to reflex from its muscles reacting to the mild electrocution. Markisah sweated in fear. If she had turned her head a little slower, she would''ve lose her little life; not just that bit of luxuriant feathers. She felt glad that she was on the same side as the snake. At the same time, she was extremely appalled from losing her beautiful tail feathers. In her short life, she had been most concerned with her beautiful tail feathers besides the mind cleansing spirit fruit. Now her butt horrendously looked like a chicken. "Are you alright?" Kuro hissed in a questioning tone from the top of the tree canopy. A sigh came by as she replied, "Yes. Get the coconuts now before I change my mind." "Change your mind? About what?" "The worth of befriending you lot." The little yellow bird snorted and flew away towards Hana''s cave dwelling, leaving the snake to perform the task of bringing back the brown fruits. It was none of her concern anymore since she had done her part, even risking her life for it. Right now, she needed to claim her compensation for her deeds. Kuro shrugged at the little bird''s insolent antics and shook his head with disdain. The bird had already forgotten that he had just saved her life. This kind of ''friend'' was not worth keeping. He will definitely report the bird''s behavior to his mistress later. Looking at the unconscious bird of prey, the little snake grinned as he already knew he won''t return empty handed. It was perfect as a gift for Mommy. He was sure Mommy knew how to cook a bird since she can cook a fish, right? ... The little hardworking snake choose the coconut bunch containing the highest number of fruits before ripping the base of the dark brown bunch with his mouth. He then expertly caught the falling coconut bunch with his jaw before jumping down with ease through the tree branches just like an acrobat. Landing perfectly with a ten point score, it placed the fruit bunch down and fetched the unconscious bird from one of the tree branches not far away. Kuro painstakingly tied the bird''s legs with a random twine he fetched from the immediate vicinity before he dragged the unfortunate bird together with the coconut front bunch with his jaw while humming the immensely popular shark-related children''s song (1) under his breath. He couldn''t understand why the song kept on circulating in his mind until it sometimes interrupted his concentration. He could only blame his Mommy for it; although she didn''t sing the song out loud, her mind kept on repeating the song again and again when she was doing something monotonous. Naturally, both him and Shiro heard the song loud and clear in their minds all the time since they''ve been linked up. Kuro slithered towards their cave dwelling with ease as his eyes darted around looking for the rest of the ingredients. Unfortunately, he still couldn''t find what Hana wanted among the bushes. The little black snake sighed deeply. The dish Hana promised might not be ready by today if like this. He wondered, will Mommy make something else as a replacement? ... Markisah flew in the direction of Hana''s cave until she was sure the snake didn''t pay any attention to her. She then changed her direction towards her secret valley. Although it would take a long time, she planned to push for it. She had actually seen the fruit known as ''chili'' over there, although she had not tasted it before. Markisah purposely throw a tantrum to shake off the snake tailing over her before she could go make her journey. Her secret was too precious to be shared to these new friends. However, she could share a chili or two. Author''s Notes: shark-related children''s song = to people who might not come across the song (which is impossible since it has been viewed 2bil times haha), you can listen to it here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqZsoesa55w) 53 Learning from the Best Happy CNY from Mr&MrsMooncat! A beautiful, luxuriantly bushy white overgrown fox with an antler, was blinking his eyes repeatedly while looking blankly at a mid 30s aunty squatting down in between the bushes in a not-so cute manner while digging for something. The fox had a lot of questions swirling in his mind but refrained from asking questions. He knew Mom must be doing something important right now just by looking at her serious expression. The ''strange team'' of a snake and a bird were gone for quite sometime already, but Hana was still here, strolling around looking for something, before she started squatting down and digging the earth. After ten minutes of waiting, Shiro finally could stand the silence and asked his mistress telepathically, [err Mom, are you taking a dump? This is not a really good location.] Hearing the pleasant androgynous voice in her mind but with not so-pleasant remark, Hana nearly sprained her ankle and fall, but was quickly supported by the white fox from the back. She gave a full-of-grievance look to Shiro as he bowed down guiltily, [Sorry. I really thought you''re having an emergency there. Just reminding that this is where you like to pick your herbs.] "Of course not! I too remember where to take a dump and where not to. Obviously, I''m finding herbs to use for cooking later." The shameless aunty surprising knew how to blush with the misunderstanding as she flicked the snout of the adorable fox. "I''m trying to harvest some lemongrass, my dear. The problem is, lemongrass herb and a normal looking grass looks just the same in my eyes. I can''t differentiate them. What I can do was digging at all the look-a-like grass to check." Hana shrugged. [Is it important? Can we just omit?] Shiro tilted his head questioningly. He didn''t know his unconscious action made him look extremely cute. She cannot help but fawn for a few seconds before recovering her regal status of a mother, Hana cleared her throat, "Yes, it is. Sweetie, some optional things we can omit, but some others are extremely important as they played a significant function in a cooking. For example, the usage of lemongrass. Lemongrass had a nice lemony scent that will offset any fishiness from marine produce. If you''re planning to cook something with fish, prawns, squid or shell things, some lemongrass is a must." [What if we don''t put in? What will happen?] "Some people, like me, can''t eat food with strong fishy smell and taste. It will just kill my appetite." Hana smiled gently at the inquisitive fox. He reminded her of her highly inquisitive eldest daughter. She kept on asking questions non-stop all the time until Hana got a headache finding an acceptable answer which could make her five-year old mind understand. [But I''ve seen you''ve eaten your fair share of fish before this?] Shiro asked again telepathically, not understanding why Mom became so picky all of a sudden. She was even quite ravenous last time. Hana nearly fall down the second time. She vengefully smeared some soil on Shiro''s snout, "No need to nitpick too much-lah, Shi-chan." It was quite hard to deal with an innocent child. Hana tried to explain the usual practice from her hometown to the fox, "Usually, for grilled or fried things, it was enough to just smear or rub some turmeric paste to remove fishy smell. The salt is for enhancing flavor. However, lemongrass can also be added into the marination base before grilling to enhance the aroma, besides other additional ingredients." Hana shrugged and didn''t continue to explain what the other ingredients were lest it might spur the fox into a searching frenzy to compete with his ''brother''. Moreover, the number of ingredients needed was not little. Since she couldn''t actually get them and made a more complex marinade paste, it''s better to cut things short, for now. Hana smiled, and patiently continued, she actually loved to talk about cooking and ingredients, "For soupy dish, we just need to smash or bruise the base of the lemongrass a little so that the fragrant will come out before tossing it in the soup. I intend to make a soupy dish tonight if all the ingredients can be gathered today. If not, maybe tomorrow. After all, we have so much eggs in hand. Eggs are delicious too." As Hana was talking, she managed to yank off the base of the plant clusters. To her delight, it was a bunch of lemongrass! To reconfirm, she cleaned off the base from dirt and sniffed deeply after she pressed it a little hard. She then nodded in approval, before placing it under Shiro''s nose, "Smell this. This is a lemongrass. Refreshing right? It''s the scent of a lemon minus the taste. In the future, I will leave harvesting for lemongrass to you, sweetie." Hana gathered a bunch of them happily while humming a children''s nursery rhyme about ''finger family'' (1) under her breath. Next, she started foraging for galangal tubers and onion bulbs once she identified them. Every time she worked on a new herb, she would explain to Shiro in detail in the hopes that in the future later, she could pass the troublesome job of herb gathering to her faithful pet. "Try to smell this one... Long slightly thin bunny ear shaped leaves. Good for tomyam and coconut soup." " Try to smell this one... Important in all kinds of cooking that Mommy knows, try to find more to transplant to our garden. The more the better. Got different size and colors too. Delicious when caramelized properly." " Try to smell this one... Good smell. Taste good in hot broth with seafood." " Try to smell this one... " " Try to smell this one... " The enthusiastic aunty was so excited she had cited the function of more than ten herbs she found around the stream bank area before she realized she had really derailed from her original intention. Shiro''s eyes were spinning from the sudden influx of unnecessary extra information into his mind. Only when Hana snapped her fingers in front of his eyes that the unfortunate fox''s eyes regained some focus. Hana apologized and asked Shiro to accompany her to transplant some more tree herbs she found just now. Now they have rows of new herb plants. Once they were done, Hana prepared to return to their cave dwelling with the pots. She tied up the opening of the pots with suitable vines and placed them on Shiro''s back. She only carried the lids in her shopping bags. Inside Shiro''s mind, he could only lament on Hana''s extensive knowledge on this subject. He''s lucky to learn from the best. It seemed that their Mom was not as clueless as he thought. Only, her knowledge was limited to an extremely narrow range. It was something very alien in his life. [Is this considered inheriting Mom''s knowledge?] Shiro felt somewhat enlivened, knowing that the snake won''t get this precious information since he was not around. Hence, both aunty, together with her white fluffy fox sashayed in a good mood towards their cave with style. ... Hana routinely checked the messages from her smartphone after she put down all of her items and started a small bonfire like a boss. After five days in the wilderness, fire could be started just with a flick of a finger, of course figuratively ?. After all, our aunty is not a magician. [I''m so awesome!] The aunty snorted arrogantly but accidentally sucked in a plume of smoke which resulted in a terrible coughing fit. After haphazardly drinking a few gulps of water and washed her face with the rest, she cleared her throat bashfully and pretended nothing had happen in front of the fox. After sitting cross-legged on the floor, Hana felt something wasn''t right. It wasn''t as comfortable as before! [Aha!] She stared hard at Shiro with hungry eyes; especially at those bushy white fur under its neck! Her doting smile turned sly. Since she had been spoiled by Shiro earlier today, she planned to indulge again as long as the adorable fox didn''t explicitly pushed her away. Patting the ground with her left hand, while waiting for messages to enter her phone, she called for Shiro, "Come, come, over here sweetie. Rather than sitting over there, you should sit here and let me lean on you a little more. Mommy''s body is aching everywhere. Mommy need the comfort of your body to let me feel much better." If others heard what the shameless aunty said, they would''ve called the police, thinking that something like sexual assault on children might''ve been happening next door. Realizing that she had been talking like a certified paedophile, Hana cleared her throat and added while laughing sheepishly, "You won''t be molested. Mommy just needed something soft to pad my aching back." She pounded her back tragically. Shiro gingerly came over while sighing in his heart and sat behind Hana. Hana just leaned her full weight on Shiro''s fluffy stomach and sighed in happiness. Perfect. "Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!" So many messages entered simultaneously as her smartphone continuously beeped and buzzed for a good one minute. Since her whole family had known about her predicament some time ago, Arash had shared the info on how to contact Hana. Her phone getting lively was within her expectation. Once the messages entered, Hana choose to read the ones from Arash first, and then from her mother, second. She just ignored the rest for the time being. She then realized she didn''t receive Arash''s response because she forgot to check her phone from being too engrossed with making the filter shelf, prepping the bamboo shoots and potteries. After having some intimate conversation to appease her worried hubby, she turned to conversing with her mom. In her heart, her strict mom was always the best in many aspects. She needed to learn some basics on traditional cooking methods since there was no microwave, ovens, airfryers, double sided pans and electric griller. Everything must be done the old school way. Even the standard store-bought ingredients needed some adjustments before she could replace them with something else. Most importantly, she was having trouble finding chilies in the area. She needed to know what could replace chilies in her cooking as they were key ingredients in her upcoming soup. Hence, it''s extremely logical for her to learn from the best! Thank God, the standard cooking method of using a gas stove, an induction cooker and a wood stove were just the same! While waiting for Kuro and Markisah, she planned to learn ad-hoc as much as possible from her mom. ... Kuro had reached the hiding place where he hid a lot of eggs (2) he snatched from the inhabitants of the bushes beside the stream embankment. It was not that far from the little garden they had just constructed earlier today. However, since he was successful in obtaining the large egg from the silver-banded eagle territory, he had disregarded the eggs he collected totally. Now, he decided to keep the unconscious brown bird here first. After thinking deeply during his journey towards Mommy''s cave dwelling, he came to a decision to keep the bird first in his secret stash. Right now, Mommy already have the spirit herb to cook. He was sure the little fish would''ve fulfilled her promise and brought the agreed amount of prawns that Mom wants by tonight or tomorrow. Since they already have so much food, why not fattened up the brown bird first and choose a different day to give her as a present once Hana was tired of eating freshwater produce and spirit herbs? The more Kuro thought about it, the stronger he felt his decision was correct. Feeling positive, he tried to drag the bird from the top part of the dead tree trunk. He pulled and pulled the bird in but the bird simply couldn''t fit. It was too big. [Hmm, what shall I do?] After pondering for a while, Kuro suddenly remembered how Shiro and him worked to widen the cave door this morning! Although he couldn''t widen the opening of the dead tree trunk, lest the action would''ve destroyed the whole thing, he could easily create a new one from the ground around him! [Mom is such a genius! The stupid bird is wrong!] He still felt quite slighted with Markisah''s gift earlier today but could only begrudgingly kept it to himself after seeing Hana''s hard stare towards Shiro. As such, the sweet little snake made a dirt tunnel from the base of the dead tree and dragged the bird inside. He was careful not to aim at the middle of the tree trunk so that he won''t inadvertently broke the eggs. After all, those eggs will be a ration to fatten up the bird before it could be used as food ingredient. After that, he slithered out and pushed a big boulder covered with moss to close the tunnel entrance. [Yes, I''m so clever!] Unfortunately, of all things, Kuro has gotten Hana''s bad habit of praising herself. Like mother, like son. ... Author''s Notes: (1) finger family = one of the most popular kid''s song on YouTube together with ''Johnny Johnny'' and ''Baby Shark'' haha. It has so many variety. Anyone who have a toddler would''ve seen the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCka94jeGTk) (2) .. hiding place where he hid a lot of eggs.. = refer to chapter 18 before Kuro went to steal egg from silver-banded eagle 54 Re-negotiation Ara had finally reached Hana''s favorite spot beside the stream where the fish trap was located. Peering in, she was delighted to see it being filled up again so soon. The temptation was oh so great. After a bout of inner struggling, Ara finally managed to stop herself from jumping in to clear up the morsels. She needed to pay off her debt first! She then realized the geography of the embankment was a little different; there was a weird rectangular-shaped region which was not there before. She immediately conjured up a big bubble before jumping in. Gently, she navigated herself within the bubble around the area with her catch in tow behind her; one bubble filled with live prawns and another filled with the meat of the dead crawfish. Ara floated over the enclosure with curiosity, believing that Hana might be inside. However, no signs of the aunty or her two pets could be seen anywhere. Only a row of random vegetation could be found at the edge of the enclosure. [Where could they be?] After waiting for the trio for some time, she shrugged and continued deeper. Although her great grandpa advises had stopped her from venturing in before, she had been acquainted with the owner himself, surely the advice should be considered void. After aimlessly floating around for a while, she finally detected the snake''s aura not too far ahead. Ara increased her speed to catch up to the snake. She knew wherever the snake was, his ''mother'' would''ve been nearby. ... In the middle of the cave with a man-made looking rectangular ''door'', an aunty was cheerily humming yet another kiddie song under her breath while typing rapidly on her smartphone. This time it was about a unicorn named Snowbell (1). She can''t help it as she was doing it unconsciously. Shiro, who was the unfortunate aunty''s personal makeshift sofa, was suffering silently from the brainwashing procedure, desperately trying his best to block it out but to no avail. Gone were all the 90s songs she used to hear during her teens, or the top chart pop and ballad singles her hubby used to serenade for her to woo her over. What was left was the remnants of her little ones'' favorites back home. Part of it was due to a deep longing she felt towards her children. Although she had pushed all her negative feelings deep, Shiro knew how hurt and sorrowful she felt under all that cheerful facade. As such, he kept mum and let his mistress do as she likes as long as it won''t endanger herself. Currently, our main protagonist was acting like a tyrant (or a spoiled child) by using the unfortunate fox as a pillow for supporting the upper half of her body. She placed her left leg on her propped up right knee and rhythmically twirled her dangling toes absentmindedly. She had finally gotten all needed information from Ma''am Shaza (2). At least, just enough for making the dish tonight, if little Ara was able to catch a few prawns. Hana was still feeling slightly guilty for sweet-talking the gullible fish. But hey, at least she had spared her life, right? Anyhow, since she''s the descendant of the stream''s taukeh (3), it''s like asking for a slightly expensive meal from an heiress to a multi-million-dollar company. In her heart, she questioned about the little fish''s upbringing; the little one had not been educated adequately about the evils of the world. Her elders must have kept her inside a greenhouse. She shook her head disapprovingly while purposely forgetting that the shameless aunty herself was the one who was leading the fish by her nose. All for the sake of some pearls. A loud sound from outside had broken Hana''s thoughts as she lifted up her sight towards the cave''s naturally opened door. Lo and behold, her darling little Kuro was moving forward towards her while dragging two big coconut bunches in his mouth. Through their connection, she could feel how happy the snake was when he lay his eyes on her. She could see more than ten brown coconuts dangling on one bunch while the other bunch housed around four green coconuts. As usual, the sweet little snake had gone above and beyond to please his mistress; since he had forgone the plan to give the brown bird as a gift, he had doubled back and ripped another small bunch containing green colored coconuts. He remembered the little bird said the water inside the green colored coconut was delicious. Surprisingly, behind Kuro was Ara, with two large bubbles in tow. Hana was shocked with the sight! This little fish is a bit too productive (and suspiciously too eager)! It had only been a couple of hours! She greeted her with a friendly smile as she stood up from her cozy plush ''sofa'', "Welcome, little Ara, to our humble abode. Thank you for delivering your part of the deal in such a short notice. I''m impressed! You''re absolutely amazing!" Hana didn''t skimp on showing the fish with lots of praise. She knew, kids loved to be praised the most, and it didn''t cost her a dime, except a few drops of saliva. Hana took her time to walk over to the cave entrance to greet these hardworking little ones. On her way towards her new guest, she held her hands towards Kuro and beckoned him to climb over. Kuro left the coconut bunches on the cave floor as he expertly jumped and slithered up towards her face. He then twined his body loosely on Hana''s neck like a necklace. Hana gave her a kiss on his cheek which delighted him immensely. [Excellent job, sweetie. Thank you for the extra green coconuts!] She relayed telepathically to her pet. He deserved a good genuine praise. Hana then noticed in a separate bubble, a cut up humongous prawn-like thing. It was even bigger then the largest lobster she had seen in the market of her hometown. "Woah! Is this for me too? So big!" Kuro quietly interpreted Ara''s bubbly conversation directly into Hana''s mind, [She said it is part of the deal. She''s asking if it is equivalent to seven prawns. She had caught eleven only.] [Hah? Eighteen?! I said six before.] She stopped from face-palming herself. [Ohh no..what will happen to my precious pearls] TT____TT The fish needed to be taught a little bit of basic math after this. Hana resolutely planned to get the pearls by hook or by crook. [Don''t worry, Mommy. She said she had to pay the debt of eating another people''s property first.] Kuro was trying his hardest to stop himself from laughing at the naive little fish. If she didn''t tell the truth, nobody would''ve known how much she had eaten. She could''ve gotten away scot-free. His magnanimous mistress wouldn''t even care to do anything. [This little one is very proper! Excellent! Good job, parents!] A naive parent could only produce naive children. Their future won''t be too bright if nobody ''enlighten'' them. The shameless aunty cleared her throat slightly while smiling bashfully to herself, [I''m such a good person.] "Little Ara, you''re saying this is the quota from your last snacking session? So, are you still planning to eat the fish in our fish trap in the future?" [Yes. I''ll prepay you with the shiny balls when I get the chance. Once the amount is insufficient, just leave a message at the fish trap. I''ll bring them some more.] Ara quickly explained her favored condition to Kuro as he translated in real-time. She hated doing odd jobs. Giving out pearls will be the easiest. Only, she needed to figure out how to get them quietly and return here without being caught by her great grandpa. The activation of the Lifeguard Scale must have prompted her great grandpa to exit his meditation forcefully earlier. She had purposely suppressed her presence to the lowest level and had even gone on land, hoping that her great grandpa wouldn''t be able to find her. The ''kind and helpful'' aunty explained in detail this time so that the little fish won''t get confused again. "I''ll explained again, six prawns for one batch of fish. One prawn equals to ten shiny balls. Hence you need to give sixty shiny balls for every batch of fish you consume. Right now, as per our previous agreement, the amount of prawns had already exceeded what we need, which is six. We don''t need anymore prawns for the time being. Do you have enough shiny balls to pay after this? You can replace with something else if you don''t have enough shiny balls." [Don''t worry, she has thousands and thousands of it. She is just too pure!] Shiro chuckled in their heads. After a short pause, Ara conversed with the snake for a moment as he hissed back a couple of time in response. The amount was extremely large if she started snacking without control. She hoped to find other alternatives which could reduce the amount somewhat. [Mommy, she was asking if she could replace the pearls with low tier spirit crystals! Say yes! It''s very very valuable! Even the fox and I can use that to get stronger!] Kuro hastily relayed the new information. Spirit Crystal! It was a premium spiritual item only given access to the descendant of the Crystal-veined stream Lord. The Spirit Crystal lode was where the nest of the Crystal-veined stream Lord was situated. No beast had ever emerged after they tried to breach into the Lord''s grounds. [How precious is it?] Hana asked telepathically in order to judge the appropriate pricing. [A thousand times more precious than the pearl!] Kuro excitedly exclaimed inside their heads. Outwardly, nothing seemed to budge the snake''s stoic expression. He even portrayed a bored look. Hana lamented on Kuro''s talent in acting. Definitely five stars, Oscar material. Hana nodded graciously and turned to Ara with an honest smile, "Yes, we would like some crystals. I just love sparkly things although I don''t have any need of them. As you see, my dwelling really needed a little face-lift. I plan to decorate my dwelling with the promised items. Friendship price for you! Three batch of fishes will equal to one crystal, alright? No need to drag hundreds of pearls for them." Ara made a contemplative look while the trio were on tenterhooks. If the deal could go through, they''ll definitely will strike it rich! They''re just like loan sharks as they smile sweetly at their victim! "Sure. I got a couple of it. It''s a deal." She bubbled out her words while being translated by Kuro in delight. "That''s good. Come, come, little Ara. Stay for dinner. I''ll prepare something special for everyone today." Hana was in an extremely good mood. For once, she had won a one sided million-dollar deal. Although she didn''t know how it could benefited the kids, looking at how excited the both were, she was sure it was something very precious for them. She planned to give the crystals to the boys when she received them in the future. ... Ara wasn''t sure how much training crystal worth. From how her great grandpa explained last time, they seemed quite precious, but she still had a few left. She shrugged off the unpleasant feelings she was currently experiencing. She still has more than half from last year''s birthday gift. So, it won''t hurt to spend a little if she ate too much later. Carrying too much pearls at one time will expose her to her clan members easily. It looked at her new friend, the creature known as Hana. She knew Hana preferred the shiny balls more from how she acted. She wondered, why she would easily accepted her new terms of exchange if she like the pretty balls so much? Did she like sparkly crystal as well? That must be the reason. Naive little Ara didn''t know, there was practically no Spirit Crystal outside of the walls of her clan grounds. Even a single crystal emerged, it will be highly sought after and had sparked bloodbaths after bloodbaths due to its ability to assist spirit beasts in their cultivation. Little that she knew that the unpleasant feelings she was currently experiencing stemmed from her subconsciousness alerting her of the possibility of being taken advantage on. ... "Oh yes, can I stay here for a while? I have some trouble at home and need to be a way for a few days." Ara asked shyly after mustering up her courage. Hana smiled ''sweetly'' after she listened to Ara''s request from Kuro, "No problem, dearie. You are always welcome here. Feel free to stay as long as you like. For you, it will be only one crystal per day to cover for food and lodging. " ... Author''s Note: (1) unicorn named Snowbell (by Blippi) = a fun unicorn themed song sang by a dude with a cap. Our kittens love it so much wahaha (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCgcaTk3CdA) (2) Ma''am Shaza = as a reminder, Hana''s mother (3) taukeh = big boss or owne 55 Mystical Potent Chili and a Taste of Coconut Apple! "Two coconuts, three lemongrasses, an inch of galangal, an inch of turmeric, two tiny onion bulbs... What else do I need. Oh yes! Salt, asam keping (1) and some chicken stock!" In the middle of the cave, three different animals were observing Hana every movement as she arranged the herbs she needed to use on her favorite pinkish ''tava'' cum plate. The unlikely combination was a small black snake, a fluffy white fox, and a pink football-sized tilapia fish, suspended inside a bubble filled with water mid-air. At first, when Hana brought out her favorite plate, Ara gasped with surprise. She didn''t know her great grandfather''s protective treasure parts could be used in such a way. She smiled and make a mental note to bring Hana some when she brought the pearls over in the future. The aunty was busy checking four slightly rotten-looking mini pumpkin-like fruit on her shelf with an exasperated look. A few days of dilly dallying had made these unfortunate fruits show signs of deteriorating and mouldy at certain areas. [Damn, I should''ve slice them and sun-dry them earlier.] She mentally face-palmed herself. Some parts were still salvageable; hence the aunty wasn''t really bothered. There''s always tomorrow to pick a few more. This time she promised herself to immediately process the fruits once she got them. No more dilly dallying. The four asam gelugor (1) could''ve easily provide her half a year''s supply if she had processed them properly in time. Hana sighed, "We''re lacking chillies." She fondled her chin while thinking back to her mom''s suggestion to omit the spice during their earlier chatting session. [I''m sorry I couldn''t find it, Mommy.] Kuro whispered guiltily. [However, I did try searching high and low for it for quite some time when I was handling the coconuts.] "It''s alright, sweetie. Maybe next time. After all, if I put some chilies in, I''m not too sure you guys can handle the heat or not. For first timers, it might pose as quite a challenge." Hana chuckled lightheartedly while sighing in her heart. Without chilies, the ''kick'' she loved in the dish she''s going to make won''t be there. "Challenge completed!" A loud chirp resounded from the cave opening. In her beak, Markisah was holding a green branch containing two tiny green chilies and one red chili. The catch was, the chilies were translucent like gems, and emitted a soft white light. ... Hana scrunched her brow while she turned the peculiar green chili in her palm again and again. It was around one and a half inch long, and a little chubby; just like a slightly fat pinkie. The color, texture and size were right; the bird''s eye chili she used frequently had the same morphology. What bugged her the most was the translucent crystal-like nature the peculiar chili exhibited although the texture was soft when she tried to pinch it lightly. There seemed to be light emitted from within. She could even see the seeds suspended within, lightly connected to the vein-like structure in the middle of the chilli. Actually, it looked beautiful; just like an ornament. She had heard about counterfeit viral plastic chilies (2) but had never seen chilies in gem form yet. Additionally, in jewellery stores, there was no depiction of chili; only of flowers, fruits or animals. This was a first for her. [Can this thing really be eaten? Is it being genetically modified? A mutant maybe?] [Mommy, the bird said she was not sure. She had seen this ''chili'' you mentioned in a very remote location and plucked them for you. She herself had not tasted it.] Kuro helpfully added after observing Hana''s hesitation. [If you don''t want it, you can just toss it away, you know.] [Aiyahhh. How can I do that? She''ll be super hurt. You sure she said she plucked them off a tree branch and not pick them randomly somewhere on the ground?] [Positive.] Both Hana and Kuro were discussing telepathically while the aunty was pretending to arrange her other cooking materials and piling rocks near the fire to make a stand for her pot after placing down the ''chili'' Markisah brought back. Hana didn''t want to hurt Markisah feelings for being too blunt. Additionally, the bird had disappeared for more than three hours after Kuro returned. It meant that it had spent that amount of time to fetch the spice for her. So, as usual, the thick-skinned aunty gave all the dirty works to her faithful little snake to maintain her pristine image in the eye of their new friends. Kuro did his job so well by covering all his bases while asking; the bird didn''t even suspect that the aunty was the one who wanted to know the details. She was even getting increasingly aggrieved from all the over-the-top interrogation, which deepened her contempt towards the overly suspicious snake. Since Hana had confirmed that the chili did grew from a tree and not an ornament, she braved herself and pulled off the cap from the top of the chili and giving it a lick before her two pets could stop her! [Even if the chili is stolen from someone''s backyard laboratory, I still need to confirm the taste! Eating one shouldn''t have affected us too much!] Hana could only turn her imaginative mind towards sci-fi for explanation. A few seconds later, the brash aunty suddenly shed some tears. "It is chili." It was even a few levels hotter than the bird''s eye chili (3) she used at home. [Then, why are you crying, Mom?] Shiro whined worriedly while sending his thoughts over. "It''s a little hotter than expected." Hana laughed shyly after a few hasty gulps of water. It was common practice to taste the cap of a chili to judge the level of hotness. This time it was the hottest she had ever tasted. She just shrugged it off positively and thought how lucky she was. Since it''s so hot, there was no need to put in so much to achieve the taste she likes. Usually, she needed a handful of bird''s eye chilies for a pot of soup of this size. Now, she only needed to use one chilli. All four animals made a quizzical expression, implying that they didn''t understand Hana''s plight. Seeing their expression, the scheming aunty was eager to start cooking so that they could taste what does it means to burn your tongue but couldn''t stop eating while sweating your armpits out. ... Hana start off with prepping the coconuts. First, she needed to find a way to turn the coconut into coconut milk. At home, it was way easier with the invention of a blender. God bless the smart dude who made her life easier. She just needed to buy fresh shredded coconut flesh from the grocery shop and blend it a little with water. After that, she only needed to squeeze the murky mesh with a napkin to get all the milk out. The milk was the base for her coconut soup. But now, the million-dollar question was, how to shred the coconut? While she was thinking hard, her hands automatically cut off the husks of two brown coconuts in a languid motion. Since her knife was so sharp, she couldn''t even feel the slightest resistance. Just a few seconds were needed to clean off the husks of two coconut shell. She then cut off the middle part of the coconuts and pour out the water into her already prepared pannikin. Very little water came out, which made Hana smiled a little wider. Once she cut the coconut into two parts, she plucked out a plum sized white ball from within and gave it a bite while grinning, "You see this? It''s the best part of an old coconut. Yummy! Tastes just like a water chestnut! At home, we called it ''tombong kelapa'' (4) or coconut apple." Munching sound resounded as she noisily chewed the delectable morsel. The ''apple'' was partially spongy and partially juicy as the juicy parts retained a slightly sweet aftertaste from absorbing the coconut water. The first bite was akin to biting on cotton candy with coconut flavour. Her actions made the others salivate. Naughty Hana ?. After taking another bite with satisfaction, she broke off a tiny bit to her two pets as usual to feed them. While feeding Kuro and Shiro, she asked her guests, the bird and the fish, "Do you guys want to try too?" Both the bird and fish nodded vigorously. Hana laughed and broke a tiny part to the two animals. She tossed one to the bird as she flew upwards and catch it midair. The fish came near and made a bubbly incomprehensible sound. Hana just dipped her right hand into the watery bubble to feed the fish directly before giving her a gentle pat on the head. [These animals are too cute!] Hana was amused. She tossed the rest of the coconut apple into her mouth and continued scraping out the white meat out from the shell using the fox-claw knife. It was so easy! Once she scraped out all the meat from one coconut, she started on the second one. To everyone''s disappointment, no coconut apple was found this time. Hana smiled, "It''s alright. Later, when we need more coconuts to cook, we can always try our luck again. Not all mature coconuts will have tombong inside, dearies. By the way, if the tombong is smaller, it is usually crunchier as it didn''t absorb too much coconut water yet. It''ll be absolutely delectable!" She herself had not eaten tombong kelapa for a very long time since the invention of instant coconut milk in the market. On the rare occasion of her going to the market for real shredded coconut, all the coconuts were already opened and drained off their juices. She was pretty sure all the tombongs has been hogged by the coconut seller. She only had a faint memory of it when she was little. Madam Shaza had given her some after the first harvest of the coconut tree planted for her. After the minor distraction, she continued preparing her coconut shavings, she collected all of the hard coconut meat that she had carefully loosened using the edge of her favorite kitchen knife and scooped them into her only cooking pot and called for Shiro. "Sweetie, I want you to knead gently, using your claws only. Be gentle. Do not break my pot. And especially make sure no fur enter the coconut flesh, alright?" Hana had no choice; she could only use Shiro''s claw as a ''blender''. Shiro tilted his head to the side with a confuse look, unaware that his adorable gesture made Hana nearly unable to control herself. Mom, how to ''knead'' something? He had not come across the word before. It sounded very foreign. He only knew claw, slash, cut, swipe or bite. Hana knocked her own head while laughing sheepishly, "You just need to press and squeeze the white flesh using the edges of your claws. Or just move your claws in random motion like this." Hana wriggled her fingers in front of Shiro to show him how it should be done. She added, "The objective is to grind them as tiny as possible so that Mommy could press out the milk afterwards." She rubbed the fluffy head dotingly, "Can you do it?" [Sure, I will have a try then.] Shiro nodded after practicing the wriggling motion a few times. "Oh! Wait wait! Let me clean your claws first!" The aunty quickly stopped the bewildered fox from proceeding and took out a precious piece of her antibacterial baby wipe and gently cleansed the claws with plain water. Fur and hair inside a dish is a major taboo! "Proceed with caution." Hana reminded Shiro while feeling worried for her only cooking pot. [I can only believe in him now.] ... Author''s Note: (1) Asam keping (also known as asam gelugor) = as a reminder, brindleberry (2) counterfeit viral plastic chilies = a lot of fake imported agriculture product entered M''sian market. If you unfortunately bought a pack, the chilies had a very glossy plasticky layer with a slight mush inside. However, Mrs Mooncat had only ever heard of it as Mrs Mooncat prefer green bird''s eye or green thai chili for cooking. (3) bird''s eye chili = a type of chili that all Malaysians typically use. It was as small as bird''s eye (0.5-1 inch), tasted fiercer than cayenne (3 inch) and thai chili pepper (1.5 inch). We called it ''cili kampung'' [lit translation = village chili]. For taste, Malaysian will use either fresh Thai or Bird''s eye. For garnish, we use fresh cayenne. Sambal is usually made from boiled and blended dried chilies (usually as much as a pot of chilies) sauteed with a lot of blended onions. (4) tombong kelapa = also known as coconut apple, during early stages it was crunchy, later stages, the texture turned spongy. This part will turn into a new coconut tree emerging from the matured coconut fruit (that is if you don''t break the coconut and it eat haha) Additional random chatter by the authors; The info about tombong kelapa is real. Mrs Mooncat had thicken her face to ask for some at the groceries since it had been too long. It took a few days as it is truly depended on luck whether we could get it or not..and yet we did! The grocer thought Mrs Mooncat had bouts of pregnancy cravings and went for the extra mile for us..he didn''t even charge us anything.. (face-palm, I know I''m quite chubby...a little hurt over here..) 56 A Serious Q&A Session??? Kuro was slithering to the left and to the right anxiously while observing the duo working a bit too close to his liking on the ingredients just beside the campfire. The bird and the fish could see a faint uneasiness in his eyes. They bewilderingly looked at each other as their heads were filled with the same question; what is wrong with the snake? As Kuro slithered everywhere around the cave, he didn''t breach Hana and Shiro''s working area. While Shiro worked on the coconut flesh diligently, Hana was taking her time cleaning up the other ingredients on the plate one by one; peeling the onions, scraping the unsightly parts of the turmeric and galangal tubers, bruising the lemongrasses, salvaging a few pieces of asam keping and discarding the rotten parts. Once all ingredients were processed, she washed them slightly and then sliced them thinly. She then piled them back on her tava plate neatly, differentiating each ingredient. Ara couldn''t stand Kuro''s aimless slithering and bubbled out her dissatisfaction, "What is wrong with you?! Sit tight at the side and watch calmly, won''t you?! Your movements make my head spin!" The bird at the side nodded eagerly, indicating she totally agreed with the newfound acquaintance. The short moment of meeting each other in the cave was not spent in vain. They had chatted with one another and found that they were quite taken with the other; an unlikely pair of kindred spirits. This was the first time both parties befriended a few differing species at one go. It felt good to gang up on the notorious snake and they knew he cannot do a thing to them. Unintentionally, Hana''s presence had upset the balance of the rainforest ecosystem. Predators and preys intermingled with each other to establish friendly connections. Although currently the connections were rather strained and insincere, it could''ve never happened in normal circumstances. Both Ara and Markisah would''ve been eaten on the spot without question. Kuro glared at Ara menacingly. "Busybody!" He spat the words at the fish angrily. Ara rolled her eyes upwards, unperturbed. She knew the snake won''t dare to hurt her due to Hana''s verbal protection earlier today. It felt good to be on the superior side. She could totally boast to her clan members for three days and three nights about this. She sniggered inwardly with a disdainful gaze aimed at the snake. Kuro was extremely unhappy with how the fish behaved. He could practically read her insolent thoughts. In addition to that, Hana still didn''t ask him for help and only used Shiro. He felt that his position in Hana''s heart had been threatened; downgraded even. Kuro was not aware that it was out of consideration that Hana didn''t ask him to help out for the time being as he had toiled hard to get the coconuts for Hana. However, not doing anything had made him felt useless. If Hana knew what he was thinking, she would feel so exasperated! Kuro, you''re thinking too much again! The aunty was peeking at the three animals while doing her work once a while. When she found that her beloved snake pet couldn''t take it anymore, she sighed and call him over. Only some work will appease this hardworking little one. "Kuro, come over." She gestured for Kuro to come to her side. Delighted, Kuro sprang and landed on his mistress lap happily. [Mommy, I thought you would never call for me.] Kuro widened his eyes and made an absolutely adorable but sad look. [I can do that too.] He turned towards the fox and gestured with his snout. [You just put in all those white things inside my mouth, and I can make it happen faster than that fox. Really!] His bad habit of sibling rivalry flared up again. Hana blinked her eyes a few times to rid of Kuro''s over-the-top cuteness attack while sweated, "Err, no thank you, sweetie. I''m good." There''s no way she''s going to let the coconut milk to be laced with snake saliva! Hana tickled his neck dotingly just the way she would please a cat before gesturing towards a football sized boulder at the far side of the cave. "Can you see that small blackish boulder at that side? The one that is just a bit bigger than a coconut?" Kuro nodded vigorously. "I don''t care how you do it, turn it into a mortar and a pestle. (1)" She sent over the image of the traditional kitchen utensil via telepathy. At the same time, she made a rough sketch with size approximation on the spot on her notepad and pass it to her favorite pet. "Make sure that the circular part inside must be smooth just like the texture of your skin." She left the snake with the task, not bothering if he managed to make the item or not. She just wanted Kuro to feel useful. Common practice in making the turmeric coconut soup, one must pound all of the spices together with a mortar and pestle. However, Hana''s mother-in-law had a habit to chuck everything in. It turned out just as fine and delicious. The key was to make sure to use ample amount of fresh coconut milk and not skimp. Hana didn''t even plan to pound the ingredients at all. However, if the mortar and pestle were done, she would have an additional kitchen utensil to use in the future! [Mom, I''m done. Is this how you want it to be?] Shiro showed a pasty white fine mesh to his mistress. Hana''s mouth made a big ''O'' for a few seconds. The mesh was so fine like it was being pureed! Too efficient! Once she recovered, she gave a thumb''s up to the white bushy fox. "Excellent job!" [Now, it''s time to sieve it!] After a few seconds of hesitation, Hana took out the baby napkin she used daily as a towel and sighed. I can only use this for the time being. Hana poured the white watery paste on to a big heart-shaped leaf carefully. Sweat beaded her forehead as her nervous heart beat a pace faster. If she wasn''t careful, everything could fall on the floor. She can''t afford for that to happen! At the moment, she felt a little regret for not making more than one pot for cooking. It was an oversight on her part. [Phew, thank God it didn''t spill!] She rejoiced in her heart once it was done. After making sure the watery coconut paste containing leaf was secured, she rinsed the insides of the censer-shaped pot with clean water haphazardly to rid of any dirt and coconut shavings. After that, she placed her towel lightly on top of the pot to everyone''s confusion. Even Kuro stopped doing his job to observe his mistress'' peculiar actions. [Why is she placing the cloth she used to rub her own body on the cooking pot? Is she going to dry the pot too?] All their heads tilted to the left in synchronization. Noticing everyone''s attention on her, Hana gave them a toothy grin and spoke in a clear voice. Their attention had effectively sparked ''Teacher Hana'' mode. "For mature coconut flesh, we can harvest the milk by squeezing this mesh out using a piece of cloth. Any kind of cloth can do as long as the liquid can pass through and the leftovers stays inside. Later, a white and thick liquid will come out of the cloth. That is the coconut milk. (2) It is inherently different than coconut juice. You can make a lot of things with this." In another time and place, what Hana did was so disgusting that it will spark a huge rejection from everyone who saw it! They won''t even have the appetite to eat her cooking! Nobody would ever use the same piece of cloth one used to wipe one''s own body in the kitchen! However, these kids before her didn''t have the concept of hygiene. At least not at the standard of a normal human being. They were just curious little creatures! A resounding chirp made Hana looked at Markisah. Kuro helpfully interpreted, [She wanted to ask a question, Mommy.] Hana nodded, "After this, anyone who wanted to ask a question must raise their hand.." Hana paused after pushing her spectacle up on to the bridge of her sweaty nose using her index finger and cleared her throat. She looked at the snake, fox, bird and fish and chuckled lightly at her strange ''students''. "fin, paw, wings, whatever you have actually." A wing was raised high. Hana pointed at Markisah and said, "Yes! Student Markisah! Speak!" "Chirp chirpppp chirppppppp chirp!" Hana sweated after pausing. Kuro helpfully whispered, [Can I have the leftover clear water from the coconut?] Markisah had aimed for the clear water from the very beginning. Markisah''s friends at her hometown had never shared some with her, only telling tales to whet her desire. Hana had poured whatever she could get inside her pannikin and left it just like that. So, she thought it should be alright as long as she asked for it. Hana sighed. That''s not a question related to coconut milk. "Sure, you can." The fish flapped her pectoral fins a second later to grab the aunty''s attention. However, only a lot of air bubbles came out. "Yes, Ara." [What did she say just now?] Shiro answered telepathically, [If you don''t plan to eat the white things after whatever you''re doing, can you give it to me to try? It smelled good.] Hana face-palmed internally. "Yep, you can try if you like. But you need to know that it''ll be tasteless since I''ve extracted all flavors by milking out all the liquid inside." Ara made a back-flip within her suspended water bubble happily. [Hana is so accommodating! I really like her! She didn''t even charge me this time!] Hana longed for an intelligent question from the crowd and looked hopefully at her two boys. The hope of a mother shone through her eyes, sending obvious signals saying ''Ask me, ask me''. Shiro looked at Kuro while Kuro blinked back at Shiro. The black snake then sprang up and down. After all he didn''t have any limbs to be raised up. [Mommy, I have a question!] Delighted, Hana nodded with expectation, "Shoot!" She knew that her beloved little snake would''ve focused well on her preparation and was dying to ask a constructive question to deepen his understanding. [Can I drink the white milk from the coconut once you''re done?!] Kuro asked eagerly with great expectation. Since the fish could get the residue, he''s intelligent enough to know that the good stuff will be inside the white liquid expressed. Dark clouds loomed over Hana''s head. She shouldn''t have hoped too much for a bunch of five-year olds, "No!" Author''s Notes: (1) mortar and a pestle = a thick bowl-shaped container (mortar), usually made from either stone or wood, and it comes with a pestle, a heavy, blunt-ended tool made of the same matching material. The pestle is used to crush or grind things inside the bowl-shaped mortar. Essentially, it''s a traditional version of a dry blender. We in Malaysia usually used it to make thick sambal belacan dip all the time (it is considered an extra effort since the widespread use of blender for a more watery version of sambal belacan) (2) coconut milk = not to be confused with the colorless coconut water present inside the coconut. It is the essence from a mature coconut meat. The method to extract coconut milk is real, it can be used just like in the novel (if you''re so lazy, you can just use a strainer and squeeze the coconut puree with your palm after you blend). 57 A Delightful Freshwater Prawn with Bamboo Shoot in Turmeric Coconut Soup Part 1 This time the aunty didn''t dare to have any expectation over the animals anymore. Although all of them were intelligent, they were like naughty little toddlers; their motivation was elsewhere. They did not even paid any attention when she was explaining just now. It pricked her heart a little, but she did her best not to show it. She poured the watery white coconut meat mesh into the pot lined with the one and only baby napkin she had. She then gathered all the edges and twisted them together. White milky liquid came out of the twisted napkin and drip down into the cooking pot again. Hana added some plain water to the dried mesh again, kneaded with her right hand vigorously, and redo the same action again to squeeze out all the leftover watery coconut milk. Slowly, the fragrant milky liquid filled up to half of the five-liter cooking pot. Without even doing anything, the coconut milk had already pulled the curious gaze of the little animals to it. [It looks just like Mommy''s milk but smelled different!] Kuro pondered. He had silently finish up all the milk expressed out by his mistress twice daily without sharing a drop with Shiro. It was his secret for enhancing the telepathic connection between him and his mistress. Although Hana knew of Kuro''s actions, she just pretended not to notice. After all, if the milk wasn''t consumed within four hours in room temperature, it''ll be spoilt. Evidently, her other pet didn''t express his dissatisfaction, so it should be okay. If they started to fight over it, then she would''ve asked them to share. Truthfully, she was glad her little snake appreciate the milk. Hana just attributed Kuro''s gluttony as something normal. She knew during the Indian celebration in her hometown, her Indian friends will visit the temple and offer a bowl of milk to the snakes living at the temple. It was even the same in Tamil movies. So, Hana had formed a preconception that snakes like milk (1). Once her coconut milk base was done, she gave the leftover to her new friend, Ara. She took out six out of eleven live freshwater prawns from within a suspended water bubble beside Ara while marveling on its mechanism. [I really need to take good care of my relationship with this fish. She is veryuseful.] After all, where can you find a suspended water tank to store your fresh seafood like this? She made a mental note to ask help from her friend to address the issue of how to keep her other seafood inside her cave later. Hana cut off the tip of the shrimp''s head while they were alive and remove the long beard together nonchalantly just like an experienced butcher. After that, she stabbed the back of each shrimp and pulled out their gut cleanly after making a long incision. She didn''t de-shell the shrimps as she liked them to stay intact. It was slightly gruesome, but she had done the same thing at home a million times until her hands worked on instinct. The pitiful prawns struggled for a while before they died on a clean sheet of banana leaf where Hana left them. Once the prawns were done, she walked up her homemade shelf and took one canister of pretreated bamboo shoot filled bamboo. [All ingredients are here! Now let''s start cooking some spicy turmeric coconut soup!] Hana placed the coconut milk containing pot on the makeshift campfire stone stove after reducing the ferocity of the fire. If not, her coconut milk soup will turn grainy as part of the milk could turn into coconut oil from the excessive heat. While stirring gently nonstop with a bamboo strip, she put in the ingredients on the tava plate one by one. Julienned onions, galangal tuber, turmeric tuber, a slice of asam keping and bruised lemongrasses entered the slowly simmering pot one after another. Gradually, the creamy coconut soup turned yellowish from the addition of turmeric tuber slices. Hana called for Shiro to help her stir while she carefully made a small incision on one gem-like green chili. The translucent quality of the chili gave the illusion of bright green liquid present within the chili. Due to that, Hana who used to pound a handful of chili pepper for a pot of soup to max out the heat readjusted her method out of caution. Once the incision was done, she tried to squeeze the ''juice'' out. To her surprise, some juice did come out (2). She immediately dripped it into the main cooking pot and chuck in the rest of the chili in. A plume of smoke wafted out as a spicy sensation clouded everyone''s eyes! The little animals were so shocked as they made quite a ruckus! Whiny sounds interlaced with hissings and loud panicked chirps echoed inside the spacious cave. It was like a poison AOE attack (3)! "Relax, relax, guys! It''s nothing." Hana tried her best to calm everyone down although her eyes were watery too. "This is just a small price to pay when one wanted to eat good food. Sambal making fume is much worse than this. It''s just shows that Markisah''s chili is very potent! Excellent grade! Thank you again, Markisah! Come come, you guys go out first to get some fresh air. Once you''re okay, you can come in again." Hana laughed in her heart while observing the animals'' panic antics. She ushered the animals out and returned into the cave to complete her cooking. She seasoned the whole pot of soup with half cube of chicken stock and a generous pinch of salt. After a while, she tasted the concoction and readjusted again. Once it achieved her intended level of sourness, spiciness and hotness, she poured in a canister of thinly sliced bamboo shoots she prepared yesterday. "Stir..stir..stir.." The aunty''s hand never stopped stirring the yellow tinged soup gently. Tiny bubbles could be seen at the edges of the pot. Once a while, Hana used a stick to prod the build-up of fire beneath her pot to stop it from getting too strong. Madam Shaza once said that while cooking ''masak lemak'' (4), one couldn''t be distracted and stop stirring under a low fire so that the soup will be smooth and creamy. "Finally! The main ingredient!" Hana hummed under her breath while moving her head to the imaginary song in her mind (although it was loud and clear to her pets, they were thankful that it was just random humming this time).While one hand kept on stirring the milky yellow soup, another one fetched the prawn and put them inside the pot one by one. She then sprinkled in a bit more salt to adjust again once the balance was off. A sweet seafood aroma permeated the cave intermingled with the previous spiciness. Hana herself didn''t realized it as she was immersed in all the cooking fume. Outside, Kuro and Shiro took a deep breath and sighed while thinking, how could something that smelled like poison would be so alluring this time. Immediately, they re-entered the cave only to see Hana scooping the soup with a ladle made from connecting a bamboo stick to a coconut shell. The cooking pot was already placed on the cave floor layered with several random young leaves. "Hahhhhh.. Perfect..." The aunty sighed with emotion after a small sip. There was no need to adjust again. The mixture of tastes had reached the level of harmony she was looking for. She can''t believe she had cooked a proper dish in the wilderness. The only thing lacking was a plate of rice to complement the dish. [Mom, is it done?] Shiro''s pleasant androgynous voice had a rare hopefulness to it. "It''s done guys! Everyone, come over!" Hana cleaned up three more halved coconut shells and some banana leaves. First, she placed the leaves in front of Kuro, Shiro and Ara. Then, she placed the three coconut shell bowls on the leaf, but a little bit to the side. Hana scooped some bamboo shoots together with the soup and poured it into each coconut shell bowls after she placed a braised prawn each on the banana leaves. The unhappy Markisah raised up her feathered black highlighted wings. "Hana, how about me?" she chirped with grievance. The coconuts and chili did come from her, why didn''t she get one? "Patient, patient, little one." Hana smiled. Even without being translated, Hana knew what all the unhappy shrill chirps were for. Hana choose one large bamboo pole and started to trim it into smaller parts languidly. In a matter of seconds, she had made two identical bowls! They looked like steam buns baskets. "One for you, one for me." She placed a bamboo bowl filled with bamboo shoots and thick yellowish soup in front of Markisah. She knew the little bird won''t be partaking any meat, hence she just served the little one with a bowl of bamboo shoots. Finally, the aunty ladled a bowl of bamboo shoots-filled soup inside another bowl and placed it in front of her. After that, she took one gigantic soup-braised prawn for herself. She sighed. These ingredients could''ve easily costed me a fortune. What great natural treasures. [These little ones didn''t know their worth.] Gently, she blew on the soup''s surface and slowly slurped the steaming hot soup with great satisfaction. After a second, her face turned slightly red, but she just sighed again in relaxation and continue. Unknown to Hana, she was the one who didn''t understand the true value of the spiritual herbs she had wantonly used in her cooking. Once all the animals saw Hana had started eating without obvious repercussion, they started to dig in cautiously. Shiro and Kuro had no doubt with Hana''s cooking, only a little worry about the addition of the ''chili''. Hence, they immediately pounced on the delicious-looking braised prawn in front of them once Hana looked just fine. ... Author''s Note: (1) snakes like milk = scientifically, it''s not true. But seeing them in Tamil movies is true...haha (2) some juice did come out = take note that, real life chilies don''t have ''juice'' suspended inside. It is totally safe to cut them and use (laughing) (3) poison AOE attack = to older readers who might not come across this term, this is a game term, "Area of Effect", which meant it''s a widespread attack targeting on multiple recipients by engaging towards the surroundings area (4) ''masak lemak'' = It is the Malaysian name for this dish. All cooking made from coconut milk-turmeric base is known as ''masak lemak'', this one should be masak lemak cili api (bird''s eye chili) rebung (bamboo shoots) & udang (prawn). Lemak means fat, as in fat (coconut milk) from the coconut. If we cooked the coconut milk for prolonged period of time at high heat, we will get oil out of it. That''s how old people prepare oil themselves for cooking before the commercial oil come to be. =================================== P/S: Additional Announcement! We''re already over 50 chappie but the review number is still not enough, hence we still don''t have an established rating..so sad.. So, we''re going to offer a deal to you guys! Help us review ASTHW please~ Once the required number is up, we will gift you guys an extra chapter since we''re in such a good mood haha..don''t say we''re stingy XDXD Sorry, we have to add here, Webnovel provided such a small space for ''Creator''s Thoughts'' 58 A Delightful Freshwater Prawn with Bamboo Shoot in Turmeric Coconut Soup Part 2 Announcement from Mr and Mrs Mooncat (2) :) Sorry to intrude on your reading huhu. For those who might''ve missed last week''s announcement, we''ll say it again. Do help us rate and review ASTHW! Once the required number of reviews is up, we will gift you guys one extra chapter the following week when a formal rating is established :) Don''t forget to gift us some of your spare stones too (bashful) Jiayou jiayou!! Go Go Go XD Additionally, our other fanfiction novel, Glory of the Witches had finally reached its finale! It''ll be released tomorrow, Tuesday 12 March 19, 0900 GMT. Do try them out! The full final chapter has a link to ASTHW and is only accessible in our Pat reon account for free. You must read at least that last chapter to know how it connects to ASTHW haha. We omitted that part from Webnovel''s release. Pledge with us to show your support Mrs mooncat feel lonely here TT________TT Mr mooncat: Aiyooo, trying to act cute again! Shy2-lah, you''re so old already ============================ Chapter 58: A Delightful Freshwater Prawn with Bamboo Shoot in Turmeric Coconut Soup Markisah looked at Hana''s complexion and judged that it was not so bad. It was a shade redder than her usual tan complexion. Markisah looked at her own bowl of soup; the thick yellowish white soup had an unmistakable slight green tinge. It was very faint, yet still noticeable to her discerning black beady eyes. The scent of the soup reminisced of the scent of coconut; mellow and rich. Yet, it was blended with a spicy scent. Markisah didn''t want to lie to herself; she did feel worry with Hana''s wanton use of random ingredients in this concoction. However, Hana''s happy complexion made her feel somewhat compelled in trying. Even the two snake and fox were already eating with gusto. She finally dipped her beak into the soup to fetch for a piece of bamboo shoot. She still didn''t dare to taste the soup. Her eyes widened with disbelieve! [It''s a spiritual herb!] Immediately a small amount of spiritual energy entered Markisah''s body invigorating her. She felt like a bird who can conquer the world! Although just a small amount from a tiny piece, it was very potent! She saw the astonishment of Ara beside her as their gazes interconnected. Immediately, she felt extremely touched and grateful. No one in this forest was generous enough to share their own stash of spiritual herbs. Almost all of the time, they will guard them with their lives, privy from any thieves. At most, they will share a portion with their own descendants. Often, a big fight with high mortality will occur when a spiritual herb was found. She thought that she was generous enough in gifting the mind cleansing spiritual herb, but Hana was more than that! After all the spiritual herb she gave was just a few years old. It had only absorbed a tiny bit of spirituality from the land. Hana''s spiritual herb was so rich it might be more than a hundred years old! Maybe two! Hana smiled by the side while observing everyone in front of her. The small group was sitting in a circle while eating together. "Try out the soup, little ones. I''m sure it''ll be something new to you all." Hana chuckled under her breath. She did realize everyone didn''t have the courage to drink up the soup. Markisah hesitated for a moment but finally dipped her beak and brought it upwards in a bid to swallow the soup. A gushing warm and spiciness sensation entered her throat! For once, Markisah''s eyes teared up unwittingly (1). Nonetheless, the spiciness was not so intense as it were mellowed out with a creamy rich coconutty infusion. A slight sour taste had surprisingly balanced out all the flavors extremely well. If only one ingredient was present, it would''ve been too strong and unnerving. Now she understood why Hana added so many ingredients inside. She was trying to balance savory, salty, spicy and soury taste together! A beak of soup became two, then three, four, five.. Markisah could feel her body getting hotter and hotter inside as warm vapor emitted out from the top of her crown. She could almost feel that her bones and muscles felt denser slowly with each piece of spiritual herb she gobbled up together with the soup. It was actually Markisah''s first time eating spiritual herb which could strengthen her constitution. Without realizing it, Markisah was already hooked on with the novelty of the taste and its effects. It was the first for her. She gobbled down the soup ungracefully while feeling the nourishment it provided. She soon realized the soup itself had a high amount of two different spiritual energies inside with differing attributes. [The chili is a spiritual herb too!] She didn''t notice since all the energy was confined in the peculiar spiritual herb''s body as nothing was leaked out within it and gushed out in liquid form into the soup, making the soup richer in spiritual energy. The fiery energy was a little virulent, but since the spiritual herb was still very young, the effect was not that apparent. ... Hana was lost in her own world while she slowly ate her share of spicy turmeric coconut soup. The familiar tingling sensation had reminded her of her beloved soulmate, Arash. He loved masak lemak so much because his mom really can cook the dish very well, hence the raised bar. Hana''s own masak lemak couldn''t be compared to her mother-in-law''s. She sighed dejectedly. Suddenly, the spicy soup didn''t taste so divine. Before even eating a single piece of bamboo shoot, she had placed her newly made bamboo bowl down. Seeing how happy the kids were when eating the big prawn, she took two more from the pot and plated them in front of Kuro and Shiro. She loved it when the persons she cared about appreciated her cooking. That included her ''sons'' and her newfound friends. Hana peeked into the pot. [Only one was left in the pot now.] She shrugged. [It''s alright, there''s five more suspended inside Ara''s bubble. As long as I have leftover soup, I can just braise them in when the need arises.] Hana started peeling her own prawn with her fingers and slowly bite into the succulent morsel. A mixture of savory and sweet flavors reminisced of premium freshly caught seafood gushed into her mouth, tantalizing her taste-buds. The prawns were cooked just right; not too short or too long, as the meat was still supple and bouncy, while absorbing the flavors of the spicy soup. The amount of meat from a single prawn had satisfied her immensely; it''s like she had eaten a whole chicken''s thigh with its drumstick together. She took the head of the prawn and started sucking out all the delicious creamy flavors of the prawn roe! "Mmmm! So good!" The prawn''s ''foie gras'' was packed with flavor and tasted so much better than all the prawns she had ever eaten! [This must be because it was extremely fresh!] The aunty was very convinced with her deduction as this was the first time she ate something freshly caught like this. Her gaze over Ara had gotten softer. The hardworking (yet gullible) nouveau riche fish is a keeper! In the aunty''s heart, she had ''significantly discounted'' Ara''s future transactions. Seeing Hana''s method of eating, Kuro and Shiro had immediately felt stifled and regret. They had just gobbled the second prawn a moment too soon. Hana took her time with the prawn''s head before placing the shell down with satisfaction. Once she resumed eating the bamboo shoots, the familiar fulfilling feeling resurfaced a moment too soon. She had only eaten half of her bamboo shoots. [Weird. Why do I feel full again?] Hana looked to the leftover prawn shell on her banana leaf and turned to look inside her bowl. She was positive that she wasn''t full yet when she ate the prawn, only feeling satisfied from the meatiness of the prawn. However, once she eaten the bamboo shoots, she immediately felt full. [Boys, why do I feel full after eating the bamboo shoots? Did you guys feel the same too?]She asked the boys suspiciously. [We don''t. It''s a bit too little, Mommy.] Kuro replied telepathically. [Am I sick then?] Usually when she was about to get a fever, the initial sign was losing her appetite. However, she felt fit like a bull! The contradictory feeling made her worry for her wellbeing. She knew she had weak GIT. Eating wild foraged goods and freshly caught seafood might gave her an upset stomach later. Her little lactobabies (2) weren''t too efficient with the lack of Yakult (3) around daily. [Nahhhh. Mommy, you''re thinking too much again. You''re just full because the herb is packed with energy. It has nourished your body well. If you can''t eat anymore, just stop. You can eat some later after the feeling of fullness subsides.] Kuro helpfully added to appease his Mommy''s unnecessary worry. Granted, the spiritual herb was a tad bit too strong, but eating a minute amount at a time was not dangerous. Hana cocked her head to the side. [Is it like ginseng? I can''t take ginseng, it''s too heaty. I usually get sore throat after even a small amount.] Both brothers glanced at each other with complicated gazes. Shiro added with confidence. [I guess you can say it like that. But, no worries, your throat won''t get hurt. You just need to sleep it off.] Hana blinked her eyes a few times as she noticed something else going on behind her back. She narrowed her eyes and gave them a hard stare all moms will exhibit when they''re scrutinizing their kids into submission. [Really now?] Both brothers started sweating and answered nervously. [Really.] A few minutes passed by as both parties wouldn''t budge with their stand. Ara and Markisah kept mum at the side and ate obediently as they noticed the tension in the air. They could feel electrical charges clashed between the usually mild aunty and the whimpering brothers. Surprisingly, her demeanor was akin to a domineering asura, while the brothers'' imposing natures were suppressed gradually. In their hearts, they knew they need to be on Hana''s good side to exert dominance over the tyrannical brothers. Such was the strong intuition of females, regardless of their species! A short moment later, Hana sighed. Alright then. Surprisingly, the aunty relented this time. She knew they wouldn''t harm her. This time, they had adamantly stood their ground. Hana gave them an approving thumbs up in her heart without leaking anything from her consciousness. She felt proud as a mother should when one saw her child remained firm on his own decision for the first time. If they didn''t want to divulge their dirty little secret, she''ll let it go this time; they must have a pretty solid reason. Hana had an inkling of what''s going on but was not too sure of it. After all, natural treasures of thousands of years with absurd effects only existed in c-novels she loved so much. The duo heaved a relieved sigh. It''s not that they were lying to their mistress, it''s just lacking a tad bit of additional information only. They were afraid Hana would stop eating the spiritual herb once she knew it being sentient. However, they''re actually underestimating the aunty''s tolerance. As long as the plant couldn''t communicate with them, she would''ve been fine with it. She would''ve treated it like a slightly clever fish who could evade a trap. She''s a pretty cincai person. ... Hana''s eyelids were getting heavier as her sights getting more and more blurry. She placed the half-finished bamboo bowl down and scrunched her brow. Her head was aching terribly. Usually, what she felt right now was due to her being stubborn, not wanting to sleep when her body needed it. She took out the smartphone from her pocket and swiped it open tiredly. [Oh? It''s just 8 pm?] "Guys, I''m a bit tired. Please help yourselves. Our home is your home too..." Hana''s voice was getting softer as she felt her head was swimming underwater. She needed to finish delegating everything before going to sleep first! "Kuro, close the lid of the soup. If hungry, you guys can finish up the shoots and the last prawn, but not the soup. Later, we can just add more shoots and prawns inside if you like. No need to re-cook the soup again..." Without finishing was she was going to say, Hana fell unconscious to the side. Shiro managed to support the aunty''s head in time with his furry paw. He then gently adjusted himself and let the aunty laid down on his body as he crouched beside the fire. Kuro went forward without a word. He slithered on Hana''s shoulder and ultimately coiled around her neck protectively. "Better behave yourselves, wenches. Be glad Mommy likes you. Just stay anywhere in here but don''t ever come close. If I see any of you come forward, I will eat you there and then." He hissed menacingly. Ara and Markisah shivered when listening to Kuro''s threats laced with hostility and cautiousness. All the sweet drippy banter he had with his fox brother were nil at the moment. Both brothers were with one mind in the matter of Hana''s protection. "And don''t ever touch the spiritual herb again. It''s for our Mommy." He added. Shiro wordlessly consented with Kuro''s arrangement as he grimaced, purposely exhibiting his glimmering white sharp teeth. The air filled with tension as both parties stared down each other from two sides. "Krohhhh..krohhhhh..yummy...rice.." Kuro and Shiro nearly fell down as the loud sounds echoed in the cave. A heavy blush crept on both brother''s face as they face palmed themselves internally. They had forgotten Hana''s terrible snoring habit. The tension had broken down as a light atmosphere permeated the cave. Light drizzle started outside as Hana started to shiver like a little pup. She adjusted into a fetal posture subconsciously while murmuring, "So cold...brr..cold.." [The effect of the spiritual herb is quite slow.] Kuro commented. [True. Maybe because she ate too little. We need to force her to eat a little more next time.] Shiro added. [You''re right, Fox. But not too much. Her body is still too weak. Eat a little of the soup and readjust your body temperature to help Mommy stay warm.] [Noted, Brother.] Kuro slithered down and helped to make the campfire bigger while Shiro adjusted himself to hug Hana properly. He then drank some soup from the pot given to him by Kuro to help increase his body temperature from the fire properties of the chili spiritual herb. Hana smiled and sighed in her sleep. It seemed that she''s having a sweet sweet dream as her body was slowly strengthened by the spiritual herb she consumed. ... Author''s Note: (1) Markisah''s eyes teared up = yep, bird did have tear ducts. It''s just that they don''t do emotional gigs. It''s a natural means to clean their eyes from dust. However, if an intelligent sentient one..hmm Mrs Mooncat will let your imagination run wild for a sec ait 59 Where is My Great Granddaughter?! Deep inside the lair of the Crystal-veined Stream Lord, in the middle of the night, the whole clan was in an uproar! The crystal clear waters atop the northeastern mountain were soaring in large waves akin to a maddening thunderstorm in the middle of the ocean. Thunders rumbled and lightning flashed repeatedly at the top of the mountain as if highlighting the fury of the strongest Spirit-rank-Lord in the vicinity. Heavy raindrops as large as soy beans fell, further burgeoning the already harsh waters of the main spring. The main spring was the water source of the Crystal-veined Stream and the private pool of the Spirit-lord. All living beings inside, regardless of fishes, reptiles nor freshwater crustaceans were trembling in fear while prostrating on the ground inside the spacious main spring where the Lord reside. Their numbers were in the thousands. Some were within the watery pool while the others littered the shallow edges and embankment. The weak ones spurted blood from internal injuries while the stronger ones were desperately withstanding the Lord''s might with all they got. A large shadowy figure, the size of a hill was emitting an imposing aura in the darkest part of the spring where it was the deepest. Two large red eyes, as big as lanterns shone inside the waters, illuminating the faces of everyone in front of him. The anxiousness in his heart had transformed into an amalgamation of extreme worry and seething anger. Until this moment, his beloved great granddaughter has not been found yet! The mischievous little descendant of his was very bright; always full of ideas. She was quite infamous for randomly causing trouble everywhere instead of cultivating. However, she did have a tiny semblance of propriety and knew how to please her elders. That was how she had managed to circumvent from being harshly punished every single time. He knew more than half of the elders doted over her secretly. He was one of her victims too, but he tried hard not to show it. Until the event of three days ago. He had fume up in rage and reprimanded her badly after she had forsaken the ultimate clan rules. No amount of secret appeals from the elders had budged him from punishing her by severe beating! He even prohibited others from giving her food and cultivation material just so that his message will be delivered loud and clear. What would happen if the beasts out there ate his lovely little granddaughter?! Or worse, ravaged her?! Unbeknownst to him, he was the main culprit who had spoilt his own great granddaughter too much. To his dismay, his spontaneous hard ''schooling'' had backfired! The naughty girl had run away! And worse, she might''ve come across a mishap somewhere out there; scared and alone. If she died, he won''t be able to forgive himself! "Where is she! Where is that rebellious girl!? How can you not find her anywhere?!" A loud bellowing sound, as strong as thunder, laced with spirit suppression increased the fear in everyone''s hearts. A wizened old-looking gray catfish came forward and stood beside the fuming Lord. "Remain calm, my Lord. I have dispatched all of our clansmen to check the whole length of our territory and we still couldn''t find a trace of Lady Aranyella. However, we have discovered something of importance. Come forward." He gestured over at a huge snakehead fish. "Reporting to the exalted Spirit-Lord. I am but a puny servant who lived at the edge of your Lordship''s territory. Earlier today, I had felt a surge of energy reminisced of your glorious powers at the lawless zone and had come forward to pay tribute. However, what I could find was bloody waters at the side of an inconspicuous tree roots dipped inside the stream water and some of these lying broken on the riverbed." He took out the familiar shards of ''tava plate'' Hana loved so much. Everyone gasped! The refined lifeguard treasure of the Spirit-Lord! They didn''t know one of it was bestowed to the naughty descendant! This was a declaration that the missing offspring has an exalted position in the clan; groomed to be the successor of the Spirit-Lord. They now understood the graveness of the situation. "After that, this humble one immediately embarked on a journey to the main clan''s grounds to inform your Lordship. On the way, I''ve met with the exalted Grand Elder Watershade and was brought here." He gestured towards the old catfish beside the Crystal-veined Stream Lord and started prostrating again. Silence ensued. "Very well. Elder Watershade, reward him with one spirit crystal." Everyone gasped again. Avarice gazes were shot at the young snakehead fish as he went forward to receive his reward nervously. A spirit crystal! It could help him evolved into a High-leveled spirit beast in one go, jumping two levels! "Whoever snatch this young one''s treasure will receive retribution directly from me!" The booming voice spoke again. "Young one, cultivate inside the main clan''s ground until all the essence of the crystal is finished before you go back." "Yes, your Lordship." The young snakehead prostrated gratefully. In his heart, he had affirmed his loyalty yet again towards the Lord. The avarice gazes reduced significantly as the young snakehead fish was taken inside after he divulged the position where he retrieved the Life-guard Scale residue. "It seems that I need to take action myself." The large shadow emitted a strong spirit and reduced its size significantly while the catfish followed his example while bowing low in deference behind it. Both of them moved together towards the site with grave expressions. ... "We''ve reached the location spoken by the young snakehead, Lord Tittua." Elder Watershade moved his long whiskers to indicate the location. Right now, he was just the size of a regular large catfish Hana use to eat from the stream, a hundred times smaller than his own original form. The Crystal-veined Stream Lord was about the same size. They''re currently at the outer region of their territory. The catfish could only shake his head while sighing. This was the lawless region, outside of the Lord''s jurisdiction. "She had repeatedly told me she was looking for a herb for me. Do you think she''s telling the truth, brother?" The Crystal-veined Lord whispered in dejection. No decorum needed to be upheld out here. They were brothers-in-arms for as long as he could remember. Watershade was beside him when he wrestled away the spirit crystal spring from the previous local lord a thousand years ago. The elder sighed again and stated matter-of-factly. "The little one did manage to make some interesting poultices with the cultivation materials supplied to her instead of using it for cultivation. Although her talent in cultivation is high, she had not spent enough time for it. She is very different from the other younger generation. Very gifted, although in a different way. There might be a grain of truth in it." The Crystal-veined Lord sighed deeply and went forward to investigate the location. He casted a profound bloodline art towards the region. Slowly, the debris of the detonated scales moved together and reformed into organized scales. Some were destroyed so thoroughly, he discarded those away apathetically. He coughed out some blood from the exertion. His injuries from forcefully exiting his cultivation worsened. Watershade went over to support his liege, "Don''t force it, Lord Tittua." Lord Tittua held his fin up to stop Watershade. "It''s alright. I need to do it. I need to know if she''s alive or not." He removed out three tiny purple colored crystals from his mouth, shed off a few large scales and a drop of blood. As they merged into the organized scales, they formed transparent purplish links with each other. The repaired Lifeguard scale shrunk to the size of a single scale of a fish, with a slight purplish gleam to it. Lord Tittua tapped the surface three times with his left pectoral fin, and a record of what Ara did at the moment she was attacked surfaced in motion picture just like a 3D film! The particles used as the replay was Lord Tittua''s personal spirit energy he had stealthily imbued on the live saving treasure. After viewing for a while, the Crystal-veined stream Lord was relieved. His great granddaughter was still fine. How come she didn''t come home after that? And what was with all the little prawns she towed left and right? Was it because she was so hungry until she had become such a miser? He suddenly remembered he had let his great granddaughter starve and felt ashamed with himself. Watershade was observing his Lord''s relieved expressions as it suddenly turned into a myriad of colorful expressions a couple of times in a row. It was a mixture of anger, anxiety, worry, relieve and a tinge of shame. He knew this brother of his doted over the little one a little too much and understood what was going on in his mind. He just kept mum at the side and waited patiently for his brother to sort his feelings out first. He has always been a reliable leader to their clan since the very beginning. A moment later, Lord Tittua activated his spirit sense and covered the land with a hundred kilometer radius! He wanted to find his great granddaughter as soon as possible! The transparent spirit-imbued energy covered every inch of water, underground, land and air, as it passed through a number of high leveled spirit beasts, alerting them into cowering fear. Finally, it reached Hana''s humble cave dwelling after a few seconds. Before the spirit sense could penetrate through, the slumbering Kuro opened his eyes and retaliated! The red ''ruby'' just below his singular horn shone bright like a blaring traffic light as he narrowed his gaze in anger. [How dare the old smelly fish intruded upon my territory!] ... 60 Triple Suspicions Kuro quickly covered the whole cave with his powerful spirit sense and even gone as far as making multiple layers to prevent the intruder from peeking through. Although he knew he wasn''t as strong as the smelly old fish in terms of cultivation levels, his spiritual sense wasn''t too far behind due to his higher tiered bloodline. He even sent over a silent warning to the old fish in the form of psyche attacks though they were not meant to hurt. Unbeknownst to him, spending a week with Hana had mellowed out the notorious little snake. If it was the old Kuro, he would''ve spent all of his energy to attack the Crystal-veined stream Lord even if it costed him his life. Kuro''s actions had prevented Lord Tittua''s spiritual sense from penetrating through and bypassed the cave dwelling. ... Lord Tittua faced suddenly turned serious as an illusory psyche attacks bombarded his mind all of a sudden! Lord Tittua immediately pulled back his spiritual sense and visualized a sturdy psyche wall in his mind to fend off the attack. Surprisingly, the attacks weren''t strong at all as they crumbled like fragile glass, but they were unmistakably laced with silent anger. "The devious snake has gone out of his hibernation!" Lord Tittua exclaimed in surprise to the elder beside him. "Has it been 300 years already? His previous closed door hibernation was around that long. He wakes up much earlier than expected this time. Peculiar." Watershade added. "Did you find Lady Aranyella''s whereabouts, my Lord?" "I haven''t. Ara shouldn''t be able to travel so far. No matter what, that snake is really suspicious. That snake didn''t permit a scan on his cave and had fought back." "He has been quite difficult since before, my Lord. Nonetheless, it is quite improper for us to barge into the young one''s privacy. Anyone else would''ve been offended. If it''s before, the boy would''ve attacked with all he got even with a slight provocation. The hibernation this time had done him well. He must''ve learnt a profound art from his distinguished bloodline memory as well as cultivated his bearing befitting his noble stature." Watershade praised Kuro with appreciation. "True. Anyway, there''s no way Ara would''ve been eaten by the snake, right? I have continuously reminded everyone not to step on land, especially on the snake''s territory." Lord Tittua tried to convince himself to no avail. His fins started trembling. The notion got clearer by the minute. The burgeoning worry made the Crystal-veined stream Lord coughed again and puked some more blood. Once a strand of suspicion had taken root, it spread like a tumor, unable to be wiped away anymore. "Take it easy, my Lord! I''m sure she will be all right. Let''s visit the snake tomorrow at a more suitable time to inquire." He tried his best to calm the agitated Lord. It was unwise to form enmity with the snake especially when the Lord was currently severely injured. Unwillingness clouded his eyes. "Even if his closed door cultivation had yielded him with greater power, he shouldn''t be stronger than me." "Remember what he did last time before he established his base here. Moreover, his background is profound and unfathomable, his bloodline is of a more exalted status. It''s unwise, my Lord. Please reconsider!" Watershade tried again with a solemn expression while prostrating. After a few moments of silence, the Crystal-veined stream Lord answered quietly, "I guess you''re right. Let''s wait for tomorrow. Before that, we need to keep looking for that naughty girl! Maybe she''s just a little further down the stream, moving towards the great sea." Lord Tittua and Elder Watershade swam towards the outer ridge of the stream. They even went to other branches of rivers around the area and finally the sea. Every single freshwater spiritual creature kept on looking for the pink football-sized fish the whole night. Some were genuinely worried, while others cursed under their breath for the extra trouble. ... "Can you feel it, stupid fish?" Kuro inquired quietly beside the snoring Hana. He was gazing at the trembling pink fish inside the water bubble. The water was heaving chaotically following Ara''s trembling. Obviously, she had detected it too; her great grandpa''s aura. "If you implicate my Mommy, you''ll know what will happen to you." He added another warning. The spiritual sense sweep from the Crystal-veined stream Lord was especially strong this time, showing how desperate he was. It didn''t look like he had given permission for this little fish''s adventure. Shiro opened one eye and closed it back after a meaningful stare at the floating fish. Even Markisah flew away and perched on a boulder a bit further away from her to give a silent declaration that she didn''t want to be implicated with the fish''s actions. Ara cleared her throat slightly and kept quiet, not responding to Kuro''s insinuation. Deep in her heart, she knew she needed to double up to ask help from Hana for the main purpose for coming on land. The spiritual herb for her grandfather. ... Hana''s sleep was especially deep this time. She wasn''t sure whether she was dreaming or not; she was currently floating in a total darkness with two twinkling lights suspended on air like stars. One was bluish white, while the other was especially bright, large and dark red in color. It somehow reminded Hana of Kuro''s beautiful ''ruby'' on his forehead. Surprisingly, she felt very calm even though she disliked darkness. It was as if her inner-self was at peace. All that she could recalled was at the beginning, the cold had stopped her from falling asleep deeply, but a sudden warmth from outside enveloped her, as if she had been bundled up inside a thick blanket. So cozy. As she eased comfortably into a deep sleep, she suddenly woke up at this empty space. Suddenly, she could feel a small fire slowly brewing in the pit of her stomach. It got warmer and warmer, but surprisingly, it didn''t hurt like a burn at all. It just made her felt a slight discomfort from the heat; like immersing herself in a hotter than usual shower. Thankfully, the heat intensity stopped from increasing just shy from her tolerance level. The ''fire'' then spread to encroach her entire being at a snail''s pace. After a really long time, the warm sensation reached the ends of her four limbs. Hana starting to panic as she felt like a pressure-cooker, brimming with pressure and hot soup together, just waiting to explode if the lid was prematurely opened. After a while, she took a deep breath and relaxed as she knew that whatever came next was beyond her control. After all, it was just a dream. A dream of being pressure-cooked. What a novel experience. It was a first for her. She wondered, was this how the pretty ladies who were refined into pills inside a pill furnace felt like before dying or being saved by the suave heroes. Will an OP hero leap into her dream and save her from being ''refined'' too? Now, the aunty was anticipating the outcome of her nonsensical dream! After a few minutes, she started to count out of boredom. One C two C three.. Where are you, bro? I''m tired of waiting already! After approximately ten minutes (or her six hundredth count), nothing happened. Hana still felt the same heat coursing through her whole body without any other additional effects. This is such a weird dream. So slice-of-life! No action at all! The aunty whined unhappily. She missed the good ol'' times when she became a superhero who fought for justice. It certainly beats being the damsel in distress! (Author: Of course, only in Hana''s dreams 61 When a Clueless Aunty Meets a Clueless Fish "Ah, it''s just sweet little Ara." Hana gestured for her new fish friend to come closer with a smile so sweet that made the fish involuntarily shivered all over. Moreover, the little pink fish was too afraid of both of Hana''s pets. She shook her head rapidly and made a gesturing expression towards her while flapping her left pectoral fin instead. Hana sighed, stood up and walked up towards Ara. She felt a little reluctant to leave the comfortable spot. "What is it, m''dear? Don''t be scared with Kuro and Shiro. They''re nice and sweet but just a little bit too shy, thus couldn''t express themselves well. They''ll come around soon." Ara tilted her whole body to the side while making a blurred expression. She then replied with a "Ploppp..plop..plooooppppp" sounds. Hana turned to her two pets for help, but both of them were still asleep. She didn''t want to disturb them. Little did she knew that the two boys were wide awake and was giving Ara their threatening gaze behind Hana''s back. "I want to ask for your help. It''s extremely important to me." Ara tried her best to explain to Hana but to no avail. Desperately, she begged the snake with limpid eyes, "Please, Snake, can you let her know?" Kuro ignored the fish and pretended to sleep when Hana turned around to check again after she felt like she''d been stared at from the back. Heck, giving the fish an inch didn''t mean that she could ask for a mile! After all, they only have a shallow business relationship from each other. He felt that the fish wanted to ask something out of line, especially when he could detect the Crystal-veined stream Lord''s presence a few hours ago. Kuro didn''t want extra problems knocking on their doorstep. Feeling dejected, Ara turned away and sulked at the corner. Hana felt concerned yet so helpless with the little fish''s tantrum. [Can''t she just wait for the boys to wake up? Is it that important?] After thinking hard for a short while, she went over to the bubble and squatted down beside it. She slowly inserted her hand into the water bubble and patted the fish''s head. Hana''s action made the two vigilant boys gasped, afraid that the fish would lash at her out of grievance. However, nothing happened. Only the sounds of childish sobbing could be heard in the boy''s ears. Hana slowly turned the fish around to coax her. Half of her upper clothes were already wet from the water bubble. She then placed her index finger inside Ara''s mouth and showed her a biting and a sucking motion, encouraging her to try it out with a smile. From Hana''s back, the brothers were unable to see what''s going on as they tried their best to peek at what Hana was doing. Kuro was preparing to connect with Hana and see through her vision when the bite came. "Ouch!" Hana yelped in pain as she let the little fish sucked her blood. "Stop it right now, dumb fish! Spit it out!" Kuro hissed in anger as she leaped forward to attack Ara. Seeing the leaping Kuro, Hana quickly hugged the pink fish to protect her. As Kuro rushed over, Ara descended into a state of panic! She instantly sucked in a lot of blood in defiance. She knew Hana would protect her at the moment. If she didn''t grab the opportunity given, she would definitely regret it later. From how the snake was being over-protective with Hana''s blood, it might mean that it had a profound effect she desperately needed to communicate with Hana without the need of an uncooperative medium. "Stop it, Kuro! Mommy let her do it!" Hana was a little afraid of this savage side of Kuro. He was simply too intense. Granted, it was out of protectiveness towards her, he should''ve asked first before attacking. What will happen if he mistakenly kills someone in the future? The little black snake landed on Hana''s head gently while glaring at the nervous fish. [Why did you do that for, Mommy?] He gently licked Hana''s injured finger with his red forked tongue. Hana felt a tingling sensation as she saw the tiny jagged wound on her finger closed up at a rapid speed obvious to the naked eyes. [Miraculous! I thought so.] She patted Kuro''s head dotingly. Thank you, sweetie. She had been thinking from the very beginning, why the two boys could understand and converse with her telepathically while they obviously didn''t have that ability beforehand. Both conditions happened after she was bitten by them. Although, no blood oozed out when Shiro bit her, the unmistakable pain akin to being lanced by a lancet was very real. Blood should''ve come out if only a little. Because of that, she had an inkling that Kuro had the ability to instantly heal her wounds. She did feel her blood being sucked out on both occasions, although only a tiny bit. All these instances had given Hana the courage to try out her conjecture. Additionally, she sensed that both her boys had a deep animosity towards her new friends. Hence, she let Ara sucked a little of her blood for easier communication. She only had to invest a little bit of pain. [Yay! Now, all of us can talk with each other over here!] The aunty cheerily knocked her left temple. [Isn''t it right, Ara?] She turned to the fish and asked, hoping that it would work. [Yep yep yep!] Ara answered happily while flapping her dorsal fins with delight. Kuro and Shiro face-palmed themselves in their heart! (Author: if only they have real palm!) Hana and Ara didn''t know the significance of the blood-drafted pact at all!!! The blood pact was a permanent connection between a spiritual beast to the main spirit host. It had a bigger and deeper meaning. If Hana exerted her dominance and asked Ara not to return home, Ara would be compelled to do so instinctively. However, Ara was not a nobody in her clan. The presence of the Crystal-veined Lord he felt last night could attest to that. If the fish wasn''t an important offspring to the clan, the Crystal-veined Lord wouldn''t come down from his own little pond himself. It was rumored that the owner of the Crystal-veined stream was a cultivation maniac who''s reluctant to appear in the outside world. Kuro himself had only seen him once from afar a few hundred years ago. He especially knew that the exalted Crystal-veined Lord wouldn''t stand to let his descendant to be subjected to Hana''s every order and whims! The duo''s cluelessness was at an unprecedented level! Right now, the clueless aunty might as well be subjecting herself to a possible reprisal from the Crystal-veined marine life clan due to this! A war could be coming their way! [We have a very big problem here. Both of you didn''t know what you''ve done.] Shiro lectured the clueless duo who were blinking their eyes innocently while he sighed deeply. Kuro was shaking his head while having a headache. Should they really relocate immediately? Hana brushed them off with a chuckle, "Like what your Papa always says, when trouble comes, deal with it at that time. Don''t waste your emotion and energy dwelling on things that might or might not happen. You''ll be happier that way. Furthermore, if someone didn''t pretend to be sleeping, none of this would''ve happen, right?" She gave a suspicious sidelong glance at the two boys. It''s too coincidental for the boys to wake up and berate the little cute fish after she made it bite her before. The boys bowed low, not answering. They were ashamed of themselves for not being there for their mistress when she called for them. They were looking at only one side of the situation. [Ehem..ehem.. Testing.] Hana tried to isolate her conversation to only her two boys. She looked at Ara and she still made that large hopeful eyes. [Can you listen to me now, Ara?] The little fish didn''t have any reaction towards Hana''s question. Relieved, she continued, [Now, now, you boys no need to be depressed. It''s my own fault. I know you didn''t want me to busybody help someone else left and right while I myself is this weak right? Let''s just listen first to her request. Maybe it''s not as tough as you imagine. We might even benefit from it. Don''t forget that she''s our golden goose!] [Mom, she''s a pink fish, not a goose.] Shiro added helpfully. [I know that! I meant literally. Anyway, after listening to her request, we can still choose to agree or disagree with it, alright.] The two boys nodded in agreement at the same time, like two adorable twins 62 Termite Mound Mushroom Part 1 It was slightly before dawn. The sun was not up yet, but the rays were gently peeking through. The sky was purplish gray in color with tiny stripes of white light. Most probably, dawn will arrive soon. However, the rainforest was still shrouded with inky darkness due to the thick canopy covering the top part of the forest. The sounds of the forest were louder than usual as Hana shivered slightly when a damp stray leaf brushed over her face as she ducked over a low branch. Her feet were already uncomfortably wet from the morning dew. It felt squishy inside her sandals. She was feeling slightly regretful for agreeing to the little fish''s request. Rewinding back a few hours before they embark on this adventure, the little fish had said that she was looking for an aromatic white herb which was supposed to grow in the vicinity of where lightning had once struck. The herb was said to appear only once a year during this time. If she missed this window of opportunity, she might not be able to concoct the medicinal pellet for her dear great grandfather. Since she herself had never seen it with her own eyes, she was unsure with the appearance of the herb. She only heard about it from an old senior who passed by a few weeks ago and felt inspired. It was said to have the ability to calm the spirit and increased the attunement with nature. The properties of the herb were what she needed to complete her Water Barrier Advancement pellet! Once Hana heard about the little fish described the herb she was looking for, it struck her with a name. The termite mound mushroom (1). She had never eaten them because they were not sold in retail due to its special features and scarcity, but the mushrooms went viral for quite some time during its harvesting season once a year. One could only buy it through serendipity, as the illusive fungi only lived for five days in a year. It was sold on the roadside on random rural roads by villagers who went picking for them at dawn in bushes or palm oil plantation sites with termite mounds nearby, hence the name. It had a few other names; the Yearly Fungi, or the Lightning mushrooms. The young ones will then arrogantly upload their great finds in social media while bragging happily. It left a deep impression in her. She wanted to eat some of it too T.T! Once again, she had seen Ara in a new light; the naive little noveau-riche was a pharmacist who can make medicine! She was totally impressed! She had heard the fish bragged that she was already fifty years old this year! However, Kuro had poured cold water over her head by whispering in her head that it was equivalent to a six-year-old in Human years. She face-palmed herself and shook her head. She nearly fell for it again! She though they had befriended a valuable pharmacist. It seemed that this girl might as well be a dangerous quack doctor. However, the existence of the termite mound mushroom was real as far as she knew, though she was unsure it will be as precious as how Ara described and whether this forest will harbor some or not. She had asked for Markisah''s help to draw a scaled down new map on the cave wall. She then asked for Ara to add in the location she had gone through in the map. Kuro also contributed by adding two places which has been struck by lightning. However, he had never cared about trivial termites, hence he hadn''t notice any. At the moment, the small entourage was moving towards the first place indicated by Kuro together. Hana adamantly wanted to follow because she was afraid the kids might choose the wrong mushroom. Poisonous mushroom could send everyone into the hospital after an hour of consumption! There''s no hospital in the vicinity, only a single hopeless quack doctor whose credibility was greatly questioned! She didn''t know that her own little black snake could neutralize any kind of poison easily. Until today, our oblivious but cute aunty only know that her pet was too adorable and harmless. She had selectively brushed off the confrontation between Kuro and Ara just yesterday afternoon. [How much longer to reach that location, Ku-chan?] Hana asked telepathically while evading a large twisting buttress root. She was too afraid to talk loudly inside this deep dark forest. [Just a little more, Mommy. You can do it.] Kuro encouraged his mistress. He was in a better mood once he realized the effect of the spiritual herb Hana cooked last night can be seen on her vigor. The aunty''s stamina was so much better than yesterday. She hadn''t realized she had traversed for more than ten kilometers already. Her limit was usually capped at one to two kilometers before she collapsed from exhaustion. Kuro was leading the way as he was the only one who knew the location. Meanwhile, the others were crowding around the aunty, leading her forward while protecting her at the same time. [Hop on my back to get some rest if you''re tired, Mom.] Shiro offered. [Aww, it''s alright Shi-chan. How can I burden you with my weight?! You''re even lighter than me, you know.] Hana blushed in shame. She still remembered the first time she had dragged the wounded fox. The boy was only about 20 kilos. She was more than three times heavier than him! Exactly how much? No one knows except herself! It''s a lady''s secret! Everyone blinked speechlessly. They wanted to say it, but afraid to hurt the aunty''s feelings. She''s the weakest one in the group and the one who dragged the overall travelling speed down. As usual, the sweet little snake gave a hard stare to everyone present when their mistress was not looking to stop them from talking sh!t! ... Meanwhile, two floating balls of water bubbles were moving from within the waters of the Crystal-veined stream towards land. Lord Tittua was tracing back his lingering spirit sense to find the location of the snake''s lair. He was puzzled for not detecting the snake again. After following the traces left behind, he stopped in front of a small cave with a strange entrance. However, the entrance was blocked with a stone about the same size as the entrance. Lord Tittua wanted to enter but was stopped by Watershade, "Lord Tittua, remember, we''re not starting a war over here. A little constraint please." Entering someone''s lair without permission was considered a very big slight, especially if the other party was considered a lord-level spirit beast who owned the land. It will be considered as a challenge to wrestle away that piece of land. That was what the snake did previously in order to carve a small territory he could own in a new locale. He was very overbearing and blood-thirsty! Lord Tittua repressed his aura, tuned himself down. Watershade moved forward and spoke from outside the cave entrance, " Lord Lightning Serpent, we would like to seek an audience to grace your abode! The great Lord Emperor Crystal-veined Stream wishes to meet you." Although the young snake was not a Lord level spiritual beast, he wasn''t far from it. It wasn''t wrong to flatter him with the title. Watershade was the one responsible to maintain cordiality with numerous experts in the vicinity. Both of them waited for a few minutes. They looked at each other. Lord Tittua gave a nod towards Elder Watershade. The catfish emitted a ray of azure energy from its two whiskers at the stone blocking the cave entrance. He tried to examine the inside of the cave when he encountered a restriction which will warn the snake if it was broken. This is will not prevent them from entering, but it will alarm the snake once it was broken. "Lord, I believe the snake went out. He laid a restriction as an alarm here. Shall we wait for him?" Lord Tittua paused to consider the options, "No. We still need to check with the others. Aranye''s presence here is just a speculation. If we only focus here and no other place, we might miss some spots. If no news from others by this evening, we''ll return here again. I''m sure the snake will be here by that time." With that, the aunty''s little entourage narrowly missed the confrontation with the strongest existence in the area. ... Hana was getting tired as her face was getting paler from exhaustion. Moreover, this was not just a walk, it''s a fast-paced jog! She nearly stumbled several times when her foot was tangled up with random roots along the way. Coupled with the dim atmosphere, she could barely see where she was going. Little that she knew that her eyesight was getting much better and she could see clearer that before. After her smartphone went momentarily missing when she stumbled for the first time, she didn''t dare to use it to torch her way anymore. She could only follow Markisah''s bright yellow feathers a few paces in front of her. She eyed Shiro''s back longingly but steeled her heart. She had said courageously that she won''t take advantage of the poor fox before, it''s too late to shamelessly ask for a ride again. [Are we there yet?] Hana asked again for the n-th time while panting a lot from exhaustion. Before Kuro could answer, her vision was suddenly blinded by sunlight. Author''s Note: (1) Termite mound mushroom = it''s real. Also known as [cendawan busut/kulat tahun/kulat petir]. The ones in Malaysia usually grew around Jan to March, depending on the location. Mrs Mooncat had never heard anyone artificially cultivating them yet. All mushrooms grew wild and handpicked by villagers or palm oil estate owners and sold on the roadside. 63 Termite Mound Mushroom Part 2 Hana stopped moving as she open her eyes to curiously survey the new environment. They had just exited the thick forest canopy. The little critters surrounding her paused their steps as well. Apart from Kuro and Markisah, the other two also hadn''t reach this part of the forest. Shiro''s background remained a mystery, as he wasn''t a local of the tropical rainforest, while Ara never left the stream due to her great grandfather''s orders. Both of them were also looking around curiously. Hana was in a trance with what she saw. In front of her was a big *ss charred tree stump. The size of the stump was as huge as a 600 sqft apartment!!! Even the land was slightly blackened and devoid of vegetation. However, from the rotten parts of the stump, she knew that the lightning must''ve struck the tree a long time ago. Bushes appeared tens of meters away from the blackened soil. The shattered upper part of the dead stump strewn everywhere as signs of decay were shown on the splintered tree branches. In between the rotting debris, Hana could see pristine white phallus-shaped mushrooms colony (1) budding on the slightly damp forest soil in huge numbers! It was like a mass of white tombstones in a mini graveyard (2). Hana furrowed her brow to dispel the eerie thoughts and focused on the main problem at hand. [Is this the right mushroom? Aren''t these a little bit too large?! The one she saw in the social media was just a fraction of this size!!!] Yes, the mushrooms did have the same embarrassing profile she knew. However, they were as big as two bowling pins stacked together! "Ara, please confirm. Are these what you''re looking for?" The little fish was hesitant for a moment. "Truthfully, I''m not too sure. Can we just harvest some and try them out first? I will know once I take a bite." While Hana was conversing with the fish, her cute little snake hopped towards Hana and slithered around her wrist habitually. She stroked his head dotingly while he purred in contentment. Once he was satisfied with the physical reward, he explained enthusiastically in the public telepathy channel where everyone was present safe for a certain chubby yellow bird. [Not too far away from here is the Crystal-veined stream, but we''re more towards the downstream area. He gestured with his head. However, following mommy''s speed, we''ll need at least the amount of time Mommy needs to soak in the water yesterday.] All of them blinked and looked at each other. That was a little bit too long! Around half of the time they needed for this journey. Hana laughed awkwardly without commenting. Ara quickly added, "Let''s just harvest a few and be done with it!" "Wait, wait! We need to make sure it''s the right one! A termite mound mushroom colony is bound to appear near a termite mound. Check for the vicinity first while checking the mushrooms. If there were indications of insects or animal bites, it means it could be consumed." Hana suggested worriedly after she heard Ara''s intention. Hana waited with Shiro while the three animals went on three separate directions. After a while, Hana heard Ara''s voice in her head. [Hana, I''ve found a small earth mound over here. There''s even an entrance! Should I go in and check?] [No!] Three simultaneous voices resounded at the same time. Hana made a weird expression. [How can a fish the size of a football enter a termite mound? It should not be that big right?] She started walking towards Ara''s location out of curiosity but was stopped by Shiro. [Mom, please just wait. We need to make sure it''s safe.] Hana sighed and acquiesced while rubbing Shiro''s head. You guys are thinking too much. [I''m okay with little insects. As long as there''s no cockroach around, I''ll be fine.] However, to appease Shiro''s worry, she changed her direction towards the mushroom colony. The aunty called for the rest to help harvest as much mushrooms as they can carry happily. It''ll be Hana''s first time eating this type of mushroom, and she was eager to get home and stew them! Obviously, a big portion of the harvest will be hers! ... Kuro was vigilantly looking around while his mistress, the stinky fox, the stupid bird, and the gullible fish were working together to pull out the sixth mushroom from the ground. Each mushroom was only about half a meter to a meter tall each. However, once they unearthed it, the root even reached around two meters long! Even his mistress kept on gasping in awe. Kuro didn''t feel right. Usually, even a single unripe spiritual herb would have a guardian protecting it. These were large clusters! He had a feeling the ''termites'' or whatever creatures were just keeping these herbs until they matured and will soon realize a bunch of thieves were stealing their food! Kuro scanned the surrounding with his spiritual sense and noticed a humongous underground hive deep within the earth crust. He detected faint movements underground and in between the bushes tens of meters away. The movements were systematic and in huge numbers! Dozens of creatures appeared within his spiritual sense simultaneously. Their heads were larger than their bodies as they crawled rapidly with six legs. [Sh!t! It''s the Elemental Fiend''s Colony! We''re being surrounded!] "Everyone! The Elemental Fiends are here! We need to move now! We will be surrounded soon!" Shiro quickly abandoned the mushroom and forcefully pulled their dumbfounded mistress to sit on his back. She was still clutching the mushroom unwillingly with one hand while the other one was holding five other mushrooms tightly. "Leave it, Mom! Let''s go!" All of them retraced their steps backwards haphazardly at high speed. Since Hana was on Shiro''s back, their movements were smoother. Hana was going to argue with them when she saw the ''elemental fiends'' with her own eyes as they flanked their retreat! She was so shocked and scared, she nearly let go the precious mushrooms! They were glossy pristine white and as large as a motorcycle each! Their two antennae harbored blue colored electricity! Their mandibles were curved, long and sharp! As they flexed them, the sounds of knives grinding were heard. What''s scary was they were in the hundreds! "Aiyooo! What termite?! Those are monsters! Wikipedia lied to me, goddamn it! Faster, faster, Ku-chan! Go this way!" The group changed direction and moved to left immediately. They were then hounded by a group of black colored elemental fiends with green fire coalescing on their antennae. The spiritual insects were already waiting for them at that corner! The black elemental fiends attacked them with flamethrowers blasting out from their mandibles in synchronization. Meanwhile, the very front row pounced towards Hana''s group, directly attacking them head-on! It was a strategic attack! They didn''t even have time to evade! Kuro immediately jumped off his mistress'' wrist and enlarged his body into the size of a full-grown man. Right now, the little snake looked like a ten-meter-long anaconda with sharp protruding black scales. He slammed his tail and crushed the incoming fiends easily. At the same time, Ara floated higher and blasted the incoming flamethrowers with high pressure water gun from her mouth. Once the fire was extinguished, Kuro followed through by jumping into the fray and twisted his body on top of the elemental fiend army before they managed to rearrange themselves. The spiritual insects'' exoskeletons were crushed from the immense weight and razor-sharp scales. Kuro immediately morphed into his adorable form and slithered through the still-shuddering dead bodies rapidly. Behind the black elemental fiend army were reinforcement from a red colored fiends! "Guys! We''re nearly surrounded! Not far behind us, a group of purple colored elemental fiends are also coming!" The little bird nearly cried as she shouted at the rest to alert them. Knowing Hana for a few days had place her life in jeopardy multiple times in a row. "We need to break through this encirclement before anything else! When they swarm over us, it''ll be over right away!" Hana tried to calm herself. She clutched the mushrooms tightly and instructed Kuro, "Ku-chan, since we have engaged with this group, we will follow through from here. Clean up our way straight at rapid speed!" Kuro''s eyes lit up with delight, "Yes, Mommy!" It''s the first time Hana had shown a semblance of rationality during dangerous moments. Additionally, their mistress was a natural leader! "This way, everyone!" The group jumped through the spiritual insects'' corpses and broke through the encirclement. ... While they were on the run, the elemental fiend army kept on pursuing them relentlessly. Hana instructed Ara to encase the mushrooms inside a double layered water bubble; in the middle was air, outer layer was water. She suspected that they were following them from the scent of the mushroom. She then took out her clawknife and cut one of the longer roots into three pieces and instructed Markisah to fly in a different direction with Kuro tagging along on her feet as protection. They then separated into two groups. True to Hana''s speculation, the monstrous ''termites'' did follow the scent of the stolen spiritual herb. Although the smell had reduced a lot, a wisp still lingered as they followed the trail with determination. Markisah had brought the elemental fiends towards the river''s direction. She then tossed the final piece across the river and washed her feet before doubling back. Kuro silently praised the quick-witted bird as he saw her way of doing things. With this, the danger to Hana''s group would be minimized. ... Hana, Ara and Shiro was moving in a straight line further in. The problem was, all three of them didn''t know the way! However, the good news was, no more scurrying sounds were heard behind their backs after some time. They then kept on moving forward for an hour or two in the same direction before Kuro and Markisah finally caught up with them. They never felt so glad! Ara washed all them well with a gentle water gun as per Hana''s request. The aunty was still a little paranoid. Just in case, some spores still lingered on them. When they were finally nearing their cave dwelling, the sun was already on their heads. Even their bodies had dried on their own. From this experience, Hana quickly realized she needed a mount more than anything. She made a mental note to properly ask how to tame more mount-worthy animals from Kuro in the future! There''s no way she''s going to ride on her beloved Shiro everywhere! He had officially become Hana''s sleeping pillow. Making him her mount would be unfair to him. "What a roller coaster ride! Let''s snatch some more together tomorrow!" Hana exclaimed enthusiastically. Everyone looked at each other and laughed together. ..... Author''s Note: (1) white phallus-shaped mushrooms colony = these are the ones usually eaten in Malaysia. Check out the link to see pictures and article about the mushrooms although it''s in M''sian language (http://myagri.com.my/2018/01/cendawan-busut/) (google: cendawan busut) (2) white tombstones in a mini graveyard = The tombstones in a Malaysian Muslim community looks like long rectangular white stone with a diamond/triangle/dome-shaped head on top, if you''ve never seen one. Just check out the link for a look. It''s a picture from one of the blogs we''ve come across. (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UAIDd3Mcrm8/VZpy_-Gwf9I/AAAAAAABccY/6CLlGX7BSQc/s1600/Copy%2Bof%2BDSC01219.JPG) (google: kubur islam) 64 A Pot of ‘Free’ Mushroom Soup Tastes More Delicious! Everyone was sitting in a circle around the campfire while indulging themselves with some warm turmeric coconut soup in bliss. Sometimes, a low chuckle, an obscure plop-plop sounds, a merry hiss and a happy growl could be heard intermittently. The small family was chitchatting about their adventure telepathically with each other. Only the little yellow bird was left behind. However, she didn''t even notice as she was concentrating on her own bowl of soup with infatuation. Hana scooped the bamboo shoots into her mouth slowly as she sighed in contentment with every bite. Even the little bird was copying Hana''s action. She was really smitten with the wild flavor of the infused spiritual herb. [What? You''re an ice-attribute? Do you have those fancy powers like creating blizzards and stuff?] Hana inquired Shiro excitedly. Who had known that she had really entered the land of a Xianxia fairy tales like in the webnovels she always read online! The dense aunty finally realized why the fox''s fur didn''t turn warm even after so long. It''s like wrapping yourself inside a fur coat extracted from the fridge. [Haha.] Shiro laughed awkwardly. His androgynous voice was so pleasing to the ear, Hana though that this fellow would''ve make it big if he could be a singer in her world''s international entertainment industry. Alas, his voice was exclusively for her only. The thoughts left a sweet feeling in her heart. [I''m not that strong yet, Mom. One day, I''ll be able too, I promise. Right now, a little of ice manipulation attacks, wind cleaving attacks and simple swipe with these is all I have.] Shiro explained humbly. [Mommy, mommy, ask me, ask me!] A young boy''s voice traveled into everyone''s head. Everyone sweated with how the shameless snake was acting cute. [Yes, Ku-chan. How about you?] Hana entertained her little pet as how she would to a five-year-old. [Actually, I''m not just lightning-attributed, I''m a healer and also a poisoner. No one else can cure my poison. If you have cuts anywhere, my saliva will do the trick!] He said proudly. [Really? OMG! Why didn''t you tell me, sweetie! You scared me to death! I already told your Papa you have no poison! If he knew, he would''ve asked me to throw you out.] Hana was extremely surprised while she chuckled lightly. However, she was not afraid. She knew the little one loved her so much. Moreover, he was so gifted with so many abilities! This little one kept on giving her a number of startling surprises! [It''s alright, Mommy. Technically, you didn''t not lie to him.] You didn''t know. He said smugly. [Another thing is, my psyche is stronger than the average old degenerates around this area. That is why I was able to link up to Mommy. You should be able to do the same from your side too, Mommy. After all, we already shared a very strong link. In the future when your psyche is stronger to withstand the burden, you can even use my physical ability, you know. Actually, as long as you''re a bit stronger, you can already share my vision as I could share with yours.] He added enthusiastically. A bombshell. The noisy public telepathy channel suddenly became quiet. That was so much sensitive information! Hana was in awe with Kuro''s capabilities! Hana didn''t know Kuro had been eager to tell her for the longest time. He just didn''t have the right time and place. From the information, everyone had finally understood the main culprit who initiated the blood pact contract frenzy, and how he could do it with ease. The blood pact only works when both parties were willing. In this case, they''re pretty sure Hana must''ve been unwilling at the beginning! After all, the aunty didn''t understand serpent language! How could she know about the snake''s noble intentions? The most important thing was, he had made the aunty as the main host, and he, the initiator, at the subordinate level! Everyone was dumbstruck with Kuro''s actions! Hana was very touched with the revelation. Without meeting Kuro, she might''ve been too scared to even go anywhere. She would''ve cried and whimpered in the darkness of the cave until all her powerbank battery ran out even before being rescued by her own family. When she finally had the courage to venture out, she would''ve died from being attacked by random animals in the forest! Hana turned to Ara to ask. [How about you, Ara? I know what you think. Although we''re not a family, we''re already considered as close friends, right? Friends don''t keep secret from each other.] She smiled ''sincerely'' to the little pink fish. [Errr.. I can wield water-attributed attacks, like the bubbles from before, and water guns.] She divulged her abilities after a short pause. After all, she had not cultivated diligently and focused more on medicine. [Anything else?] [Hmm... I''m also know a little bit of medicine. I can make a little healing poultices and spirit stabilizing pellets.] She said embarrassingly. Hana chuckled. [Have you let anyone try your medicines all this while? How potent was it?] [Er, no. Nobody was willing to try although I have perfected the recipe. Everyone ran away when they see me.] Ara said dejectedly. Hana nearly let go of her own bowl. ... "The leftover soup is a bit too little already." Hana ruminated in her mind for a while and came up with a novel method to finish up the leftovers! She will use the thick soup as a marination base! Once the idea had formed, Hana couldn''t shake it off from her mind. She immediately stood up to start preparing. Although the coconut turmeric soup just now was fulfilling to her, she knew her pets were still hungry. Why not just try out the new idea and see how it goes? She took the cut up gigantic crawfish meat from one of Ara''s bubble and marinated them inside. After that, the busy aunty transferred the marinated crawfish meat to a cleaned banana leaf. Hana took another piece, cut them into cubes, and this time, she marinated them with a pinch of salt, and similarly placed them beside the leftover coconut-soup-marinated meats. Once she cleaned the pot, she poured in water, a little bit of chopped garlic and shallots, two pinches of salt and half cube of chicken stock to make a simple clear soup base for stewing mushrooms. Once the base soup came to a boil, she grabbed the diced mushroom cubes and chucked them into the soup. Since they have five big ones, she was not worried there won''t be enough. Only half of a single mushroom had filled the three-liter soup to the brim. They were too big! She had given one mushroom to the eager Ara as she silently went into a corner of the cave to do her own thing. She was satisfied with their gain. Being chased around by gigantic colorful termites was totally worth it! Once the mushroom soup had wilted a little, she scooped some out into one coconut shell bowl for Markisah. Then, she added in a little bit of diced prawn meat inside. Kuro had tactfully told her that she couldn''t eat the crawfish. It was because the crawfish''s meat was too potent in energy. It was like a super strong extra potent ginseng! Only Shiro and himself should eat them. The little fish might eat one or two bite before it''ll be too much even for her. That was why she made the soup for herself, Ara and the not-so-vegan Markisah. Once the simple soup was done, Hana started making bamboo skewers from the leftover bamboo poles she had. She then alternately pierced the crawfish meat marinated with plain salt and the ones marinated with the coconut soup. After that, she grilled them over some embers until a delicious smell filled the cave. Surprisingly, the meat took a long time to be ready. Hana gulped her saliva and tried hard to withstand the temptation! She really had to restrain herself with all she had! ... As usual, everyone was sitting around the fire except for Ara, eagerly waiting for the next meal. Hana plated the ''shrimp'' skewers and mushroom-prawn soup for Kuro, Shiro and Ara. She only served mushroom soup for herself and Markisah. Ara seemed busy at the moment, hence, she told everyone else not to disturb her, but still left a portion of food on her usual spot. Hana started eating the soup a mouthful at a time, until she fetched for the mushroom for a taste. The first bite gave her a mild combination of succulent-sweet-savory flavors in her mouth. It was absolutely delicious! Hana lamented on her own luck. Is this pot of termite mound mushroom tasted the same as the ones back home? If they were this fantastic, the hype would''ve been bigger. Or was it because it was ''free''? That''s why it was so delicious? ...... 65 A Quack Doctors Lamen Ara was feeling downhearted after the idle chat with the family of three. The aunty''s honest words wounded her heart like a sharp knife stabbing and twisting without mercy inside her already fragile feelings. She knew she was just a mere amateur in medicine making, especially with no teacher and all. She had never heard any spiritual beasts who could cultivate medicines before. If not, she would''ve done all she could to shamelessly cling on the spiritual beast''s leg in question. Her great grandfather had sputtered his saliva countless times, saying how useless her aspirations were. Only the grand elder had silently supported her endeavor by giving extra resources for her to play, ehemm, experiment with in secrecy. However, her passion was real! She had poured her time, energy and cultivation resources into this field for a long time. Of course, ''little problems'' did occur at the beginning of her endeavor. Because of her, many clan members from the younger generation became very sick and some even had shown a decrease in cultivation progress after they were tempted enough to try out her so-called medicine once upon a time ago. However, she had since then rectified the problem and made a solution! Nonetheless, since that day, no one was willing to try her medicinal pellets and poultices anymore. [A bunch of cowards!! Everybody only take a few days to recover and the most is just a few months. What is the fuss about it?] She wept in indignation after recalling the hurtful event. The crux of the matter was, no one was willing to sincerely befriend her anymore from that moment onwards. She was avoided like the plague. The brave ones only gave a curt nod or a superficial smile to appease her. The opportunists kept on trying to gain some small benefits from being around her. She knew she had screwed up big time. She was deeply hurt by her peers'' intentional avoidance. The final straw that broke the camel''s back came when she had been unanimously ostracized by every single one of her peers when she became close to their elders too out of necessity. It was done in order to avoid being punished from not cultivating properly. The cold stares were hard to endure, and her heart were filled with bitterness. In truth, she was a very talented cultivator. With her half-hearted attempt at cultivating to satisfy her great grandpa''s vanity, she had still performed well enough to be on par with her peers of the same generation. This had further incensed the jealous bunch! She wanted to prove that she was more than a golden child (1) of the elders. She will prove it by successfully making the Water Barrier Advancement Pellet she envisioned in her mind. Her mind returned to her workbench (which was a big piece of cleaned banana leaf) which was graciously provided by Hana as she continued working on the mixture of herbs and ground crystals. ... "Is she not coming to eat?" Kuro signaled at the silent fish at the obscure corner of the cave. "Let her be. I think, I''ve been too blunt and touched her sore spots when we''re talking about each other''s abilities." Hana sighed deeply. "This child, didn''t she know, I''m the most useless person in this group?" She shook her head and smiled. "You young ones are so talented! Time is on your side! Do the best in whatever you do. You''ll then realize the world will be in your grasp as long as you work together! If you want it, you need to will it! If you will it, it will be yours!" She casually gave an empowering speech she copycatted from a certain puffin con-artist. The animals'' eyes around her shone in enlightenment. Hana still hadn''t realized the impact of her casual speech upon the campfire to the spiritual beasts around her. Only after many years later when the ripple effect had ended will she knew how big an effect it did to them. In line with their grandiose aspirations, they will drag the aunty along while sweeping a storm along the way. Of course, that will be further down in the story. "Say, why don''t we catch a few termites to be our workers?" Hana chuckled as the idea sprung in her mind while she was eating the lovely mushrooms. Isn''t it great to have some animals who can make fire for them? Hana won''t need to tirelessly make one every time she wanted to cook. "It won''t work that way, Mommy. Elemental Fiends lived in colonies with elemental pools within their underground cave network. You will fail to wrestle away the rights to enslave... err, to take them under your own wings due to the presence of the three Elemental Queen-mothers and Kings. These were the real masterminds of the hive. The others are only small-time grunts who didn''t have their own will. They are just slightly better than standard ferocious animals. This bird here, she''s slightly better than them due to the spiritual fruit." Kuro explained while gesturing to the furious little bird. He was speaking telepathically while hissing the words at the same time. If others were present, they could only see the tiny snake made random hissing sounds. He did know about the famed Elemental Fiends. However, they rarely surfaced. The last few times he frequented the area before his hibernation, he had not detected their presence. Most likely they had just built the colony during the time he slept. Hence, the Queen-mothers shouldn''t be too strong yet. However, their numbers were too numerous. To truly catch some of the fiends for their own, they needed to totally destroy the hive altogether to sever the link from the Queen-mothers to their workers and soldiers. He wasn''t confident that he could protect their mistress while performing the deed, even with the help of his ''brother'' and the gullible fish. The bird was useless altogether as she didn''t have any battle prowess. She could only serve as a scout or a guide. "Which one do you prefer?" He entertained her to know her preference. "It''ll be good if we can catch some who can make fire. I''m too tired of making fire multiple times a day. Uh-uh, no fun." Hana puffed her cheek cutely. "None of you are fire-attributed. If not, we don''t need to catch any." She blinked her eyes with anticipation after she think about the fiery green black termite. "The black Elemental Fiends'' green fire is noxious. It''s not suitable as fire. Enough of it will make us suffocate inside this cave." Kuro explained patiently. "I think the red ones have yellowish fire!" Ara added while gobbling her soup without looking up. Kuro and Shiro stared hard at her but she hadn''t realized her ''helpfulness'' had worsened the situation. Hana ruminated for a moment when suddenly she clapped cheerfully after she placed her bowl down. "Then, why not we catch all the Queen-mothers? Doesn''t it meant that we own the whole colony? After that we can use any type that we like!" The four animals were silent while they look at each other. Shiro answered slowly with caution as he looked meaningfully at Kuro, "I think that could work, though it would require more detail planning." Kuro sighed exasperatedly before he gave a nod. He was sure their mommy would''ve wanted to join the operation. He would need to think how to proceed with the capture without endangering their mistress. "Great! Let me think of a plan! Give me a minute to discuss with your papa after our meal time later!" Hana chuckled enthusiastically. The aunty hadn''t noticed her change from a typical weak mindset. She had gotten a kick from personally experiencing the adrenaline-inducing adventure this morning. Hence, she felt that it was possible as long as a proper plan was laid out with precision. That will need Arash''s fine-tuning after she think through the main frame of the plan. The other four were amazed with the jovial aunty''s response. "Is Hana for real? She wants to plan the operation?" Ara asked them. "You stupid fish, shut up. It''s your fault first for giving her random ideas. And never ever question our mommy''s ability again! And what''s that rudeness by calling her by her name! Insolent fish. From now on call her Mistress! Understand?!" Kuro hissed angrily at the frightened fish. Being verbally abused by the mean snake, Ara could only blink back unseen tears from her large eyes as she whimpered silently in grievance. She was just trying to be helpful to strengthen their relationship, but it backfired. [What did I do to deserve this] At the end of the day, the pitiful gullible fish still had not understand why she was treated badly by the two brothers.. ... Author''s Notes: (1)golden child = [Malaysian language: anak emas] a local proverb indicating a child or person who was particularly favored (heavily until it is so obvious) when compared to his/her peers. 66 Breakthrough-inducing shrimps Skewers Part 1 Mrs Mooncat''s Rants: Many thanks to our reader, RolandThe4th for the review! We hadn''t had one in a long time. So happy! This chapter is dedicated to you! The new phase starts from now :) This month''s illustration in Pat reon features our beloved Glacier Mirage Fox, Shiro! All May chapters was up since 3rd May a few days ago for our patrons. =.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.= After Kuro finished four skewers of grilled ''shrimps'', his eyes glazed over as his consciousness was suddenly pulled within. His ever-present aura was rapidly subdued within him uncontrollably. If anybody was paying attention to his black beady eyes, they would be able to see a faint image of lightning within. The ruby red ''gem'' on his forehead was slowly lighting up. [Am I finally able to break through the persistent bottleneck?!] Kuro was feeling incredulous as he observed the changes within his ruby-colored core from within. After an accumulation of energy from wanton pillaging last time, he had gone into closed-door hibernation two hundred years ago to break the tough barrier. However, an unknown feeling had prematurely pulled him out from his hard-earned preparation, as his breakthrough process was halted halfway. All the energy accumulated had dissipated away and he had to bitterly start back from square one. Fortunately, the backlash was surprisingly minute. After that, he met Hana; a creature that he was deeply attach to, without apparent reason. Since he needed to start accumulating again from the beginning, he had postponed his endeavor just to accompany his mistress. Who knows, just after about a week, the amount of energy was already reaching the maximum! It was an unexpected boon for him! The little snake felt what he did in terrorizing the locality for the sake of advancement was a mean joke! It was even done for years! And here, just a few bites of random spiritual herbs and high energy meat, suddenly he was good to go. It was not even funny. Little that he knew, even if he had eaten all the spiritual herbs all over again it will never be the same as Hana''s ingenious treatment through cooking. Kuro pushed all the random thoughts away and started preparing his heart for the upcoming tribulation. The energy from within the ''shrimp'' skewers were swarming into his core like a tumultuous tide ramming the shores again and again! He knew it won''t be long before the heaven''s tribulation descended. A faint crackling of thunder was heard from within his body as a small spark of lightning surged through his unihorn, shocking everyone into stupefaction. Everyone around the fireplace was so nervous, they stopped eating to stare, wondering was the tyrant snake going to show his true colors? They clenched their bowls tightly, protecting what''s left of the soup. Kuro was abruptly jolted from Hana''s concerned voice, "Ku-chan, are you okay? Tummy ache?" [Oh no! Mommy is here!] He had just realized he was not alone anymore. Everyone around him will die from the bombardment of heaven''s tribulation if he didn''t move away! He immediately slithered out of the cave haphazardly and transformed into his full thirty-meter long black serpent! "Guys, I''m on the verge of a breakthrough! Mommy, don''t come out of the cave!" Hana was so shocked when she peered outside from the back of the cave. Kuro had slithered away as fast as lightning into the depth of the forest in a bid to distance himself from the cave. He was out of time! A few seconds later, loud crashing sounds of trees being smashed and trashed were heard as a gigantic black snake with erected translucent black scales emerged out of thin air around a kilometer away from Hana''s cave dwelling. Kuro''s form was even bigger than this morning! He was humongous! The clouds above him darkened rapidly as harsh rain started to fall. Blue-colored lightning bombarded Kuro''s body one after another directly above his head as the cloud roiled and surged like a torrential ocean during a severe rainstorm! Kuro writhed and trashed about as he endured the lightning strikes. He hissed in pain as his skin was getting roasted and burned, but he tried his best to persist! The arboreal rainforest trees were further smashed and flattened from the strong impact of his breakthrough! While everyone was watching Kuro, suddenly, a white silhouette ran out of the cave. Based on Hana''s telepathic connection, she knew that it was Shiro. [Shiro, are you okay?!]Hana asked telepathically with a worried expression as loud lightning strikes numbed her eardrums. It felt like the end-of-days had descended. It was really scary. If her beloved furry pet was struck down, she won''t know what to do. [Don''t worry, Mom. I''m having a breakthrough of my own now. Stay back.] Shiro replied telepathically as he was moving away from the cave. He knew, even without a tribulation descended over his head, their Mom would not be able to withstand the uncontrollable cold air emitted from his body. He might kill her unintentionally. He moved to Kuro''s left, at a safe distance from the lightning bombardment as the air around him dropped in temperature and started to turn hazy, following wherever he went. His body didn''t enlarge, but his aura was slowly burgeoning until it stopped only a silver from reaching Kuro''s intensity. [Damn, only half a step more before I can match Brother''s power. What a pity..] Shiro sighed. He knew the extra boost that he needed was not present in this tropical region. Alas, the requirement to trigger the tribulation was not met. And now, he could only watch his brother transcend into a Lord with a tinge of bitterness in his heart! Hana was so astounded by what happening in front of her eyes until she fell butt-first and just sat quietly on the floor. Little Markisah was shuddering on her shoulders while peering through the door. [Isn''t this the famed breakthrough in Xianxia novels once a spirit beast had breached a threshold?!] She ruminated over the scant information given to her into a shocking conclusion.Fear slowly turned into excitement! The accumulation of premium grade food they''ve eaten must''ve been the reason. The energy from the ''shrimp'' skewers must have been the final straw that broke the camel''s back! Was this truly due to her cooking? Hana really wanted to confirm this. Hence, she turned to the little gullible fish and flashed a most sincere, encouraging smile before started to coax her, "Ara, eat up the shrimp skewer now and see! Who knows you''ll achieve a breakthrough too! As easy as pie! You can do it! Make your great grandpa proud." Hana encouraged the dumbfounded little fish. She had stop eating the soup after she felt the appalling aura of the two brothers. They were very strong! Just a little bit weaker than her own great grandpa! "Is it okay?" Ara hesitated. "Sure, sure. Kuro reminded, just two bites will do for you." Her words were sweet and encouraging yet, they were suffused with mellowness and confidence of an elder who knew what she was doing. Though Markisah may want to correct that the aunty sounded a little bit like a demon, tantalizing children to do bad deeds. However, after she think about it some more, the two brothers were living proof in front of her. If there was a shortcut to cultivation, she''d gladly took it! She''ll have more time for experimenting on medicine making afterwards! The innocent Ara was finally convinced. She took a leap of faith and obediently bit twice from her own skewers! She had selectively forgotten her grandpa advice that breakthrough need to be done in isolation, away from others, for security reasons. A breakthrough could not be rushed. A breakthrough needed meticulous preparation to succeed. A sweet yet fragrant meat with mild spice assailed her olfactory. She closed her eyes to savor the succulent meat of the grilled marinated crawfish expert. "Ahh..so sweet and succulent.." ... "Ahh..the snake is in the middle of a breakthrough again. Such a talented little fellow." Elder Watershade could feel the surge of energy between the heaven and earth pulsating and converging into the snake''s territory.They were already on their way to the snake''s nest. The agitated lightning and the darkening sky concentrated at one point while the rest of the sky was clear and bright as day. This was an imminent phenomenon of a high-level breakthrough in this rainforest. The last one was his Lord''s own breakthrough during the early establishment of their clan a thousand years ago. "He had just gone through a hibernation breakthrough days before. It''s a little bit too fast this time. Did he not consolidate his strength properly?" Lord Tittua commented at the side while scoffing. "The young ones these days sure are having it easy!" The old Spirit-Lord still remembered how he toiled with his brother-in-arms to obtain the Spirit Crystal lode for the sake of advancement. Once they succeeded to obtain the prized resources, they had managed to breakthrough and later established a clan together. He was not too fond of the boy, but he agreed with his sworn brother''s claim on how talented the boy was. Secretly, he agreed with the boy''s way of doing whatever it took to advance to a higher realm. He himself was in fact, stuck on the Lord level for more than five hundred years now. The bottleneck to a Count was especially tough! The bitterness from failing the recent breakthrough due to his own great granddaughter''s ''interference'' was still fresh in his mind. Even his internal injuries were not fully healed since he was too busy looking for that naughty lass. A sudden surge of icy cold winds blew in their direction as they stared at each other with wide eyes. "Another breakthrough?!" "Whose aura is this?!" Lord Tittua could feel a foreign icy aura at the same vicinity as the snake! He was sure the creature who''s experiencing the second breakthrough was a non-native of the rainforest. Icy winds were something that never appeared in this hot and humid region. At least not under his jurisdiction. Lord Tittua felt a sense of foreboding from the current development. Two different experts of nearly the same cultivation level experiencing a breakthrough at the same time! One of them even triggered heaven''s tribulation! This indicated that the breakthrough was a major one! He knew the boy was already an Ancient-Noble. It only means that now, he had stepped into the threshold of a Lord, similar to himself! Additionally, that boy had brought in an expert outsider at the level of his clan''s Grand Elder! Although the boy had just advanced, the fact that the boy''s Ancient bloodline was a whole grade higher than him meant that he could wholly contend him on his own.In a way, the boy''s prowess was already on par to his clan''s. A fight for the Spirit Crystal lode was inevitable in the near future! Then, to the shock of the old spirit beasts, the final breakthrough happened. The aura was much weaker but was extremely familiar to both of them! Extreme delight was seen in Lord Tittua''s eyes. He had finally found his doted great granddaughter. He had forgotten his anger and worry over his beloved great granddaughter. He just wanted to be at her side right at this moment! "Aranye is over there!" The two old spiritual beasts dashed forward! ... 67 Breakthrough-inducing shrimps Skewers Part 2 Hana laughed like a crazed aunty who''s gotten the best discounted meat after a fight with the other aunties in the supermarket! She had ''fortuitously'' made her pets (plus one ''friend'') evolved into stronger creatures! It was extremely satisfying. It felt like playing a certain game where evolving occurred with enough food and experience collection. "I''m so great!" The aunty shamelessly praised herself. "Sorry, Markisah. I don''t think you should try the skewers." She patted Markisah''s head with a smile when she saw Markisah eyeing Ara''s leftover skewers. And I thought she was vegan before. She chuckled under her breath. She still remembered Kuro''s comment about the little bird previously. Without asking Kuro''s opinion, she wasn''t going to make the bird suffer unnecessary trouble. ... Ara was silently absorbing the energy between the heaven and the earth right outside the cave door. Since the two brothers were further out, she wasn''t affected by the turbulent weather phenomena. The intensity of her breakthrough was milder too. The energy from her meal flowed everywhere within her body, tempering it as it moved along. It even acted as a precursor to redirect some of the nature''s spiritual energy funneled by the brothers to enter her own body. Hence, she had indirectly benefited from their breakthroughs. After a while, her bones, her muscles, and even her fins and scales were saturated thoroughly. The access energy finally surged to a single point inside her consciousness. They rotated at a rapid pace and coalesced into a dense multi-faceted circular aquamarine gem. She had finally made her own water-attribute core! The size of the aquamarine core was as large as a sesame seed inside her brain where all her powers were concentrated. However, it wasn''t over! The leftover energy from the two bites of shrimp skewers coupled with the excess accumulation of the natural spiritual energy were continuously absorbed by the newly formed core for quite some time until the core enlarged into a pea-sized core in one go before the energy was finally depleted. With the presence of the water attribute core, a sustainable energy circuit had been forged within her body. Now, the powers within her will circulate in her body in a loop autonomously and slowly re-enforced her core to become stronger over time. As her core grew, the power concentration will increase. In turn, she will be able to utilize high level water-based techniques with high arcane energy requirement! She opened her eyes slowly and lamented, "Such a wondrous shrimp skewer. Maybe almost the same level as my pill.I need to get the recipe from Mistress."Ara shamelessly compared. While the aunty was making the skewers before, she was engrossed with experimenting on the lightning mushroom spiritual herb while sulking at the corner of the cave. Hence, she had missed the whole process. As the gullible little fish pondered over how to request for a recipe, she had not noticed the scant amount of Hana''s blood Ara previously absorbed resurfaced undetected within her body, silently. Faint glimmering tiny runes appeared within the blood as they penetrated through Ara''s newly forged energy circuit. The blood traveled in her body following the path of the energy circuit until it reached Ara''s new core. Once it arrived at the core, it immediately fused itself with the core. Faint runes appeared within the aquamarine core, as if they were swimming freely within. Ara looked behind her to see the two not-so-friendly brothers still going through their own breakthrough process. She started later than the brothers but managed to end her breakthrough before them.Their prowess will surely get a whole lot stronger than before after this! She thought she needed to firm up her relationship with the aunty a little bit more, so that one day, she can even restrain these strong spiritual beasts by sucking up to the aunty. If not, her safety will be compromised once she makes a small mistake and offend them! ... Kuro was immersed in an insight he had finally unlocked within himself. As he confronted the last of the heavenly lightning strikes, the susurrus of profound whispers he had faintly heard since he was awakened from his previous hibernation had finally gotten clear enough for him to ponder upon. The susurration was in the form of profound aged old ancient chants, forgotten by time; fragments of a cultivation technique buried deep within his ancestral blood. Yet, deep within him, he finally realized he knew what they meant. It''s like unlocking a long-forgotten memory. Slowly, he repeated the chants and immersed his inner self in its wonders. He was not aware of the battered body being repeatedly tempered by the lightning strikes again and again as his soul concentrated on the now enlightened cultivation technique. His beautiful translucent black scales cracked and fell bit by bit. His body was wounded and charred at many places. Yet, he persisted within the eye of the storm. Slowly, his scales fell one by one as sounds like the shattering of heavy glass was heard. His skin started to shrivel and loosen... ... Hana was observing her beloved pet from within the cave worriedly after the initial excitement was over. It had been more than two hours. The last few lightning strikes were especially terrifying; each strike was as thick as a water tank back home, deep blue, approaching to black in color. She felt the atmosphere around her being charged up, even when she was safe within the confines of the cave. It was hard to imagine what her adorable little Ku-chan was currently facing. Kuro wasn''t showing any signs of waking from his enlightenment. As the lightning strikes were getting harsher, she had not seen him retaliate a single time. [Was this how an animal around here level up? Will he be okay? Following the little one''s injury, he''d be a fried delicacy if this keeps continuing.] Such were the many questions swimming inside the aunty''s mind. However, she was powerless to help her pet at all. She knew how insignificant she was at this moment. Even one of the smaller lightning strikes would''ve turned her to dust. Even if Kuro perished, she wouldn''t be able to do a single thing. [It''ll be okay, I''m sure it''ll be. The handsome bros in those novels took days to break through their limits.] Hana tried hard to appease her heart to no avail. She did not forget that some of the side characters failed their breakthrough sessions and were plagued with health issues afterwards. All of the sudden, a strong wave billowed over like tsunami! With the gigantic wave, two large fishes appeared in front of Kuro and Shiro midair. The one slightly in front was a gigantic pink tilapia with two scarlet red glowing eyes and a single white horn in between them. The scales on its body was as huge as a large serving plate each, partially translucent, with faint dark red lines on top. The tilapia was as big as a two-storey building! A silver-colored catfish with snowy white whiskers was slightly behind the tilapia. It had a body as big and long as an airplane! The two fishes rode the waves like two marine-gods! "ARANYE! SHOW YOURSELF NOW!" ... 68 First Confrontation Shiro could feel his frost core absorbing the energy of the heaven and the earth rapidly before it prematurely slowed down. He had successfully made a minor breakthrough and advanced from a high-leveled Noble to only a half-step Noble. He had not expected that he couldn''t breached the threshold of a Noble to a Lord even with ample amount of energy he had within him. He sighed deeply. He knew there was nothing that he could do at the moment. His previous clan of Glacier Mirage Foxes had always performed their advancement in an extreme cold environment. It turned out that the natural environment has a significant influence on spiritual advancement of a frost-attributed spiritual beast. He knew this was his limit for breaking through in a tropical region where the natural frost elements were nearly nonexistent. Additionally, it was widely regarded that a spiritual beast with an Ancient bloodline always had an additional, tougher barrier during breakthroughs. He pushed away all the unnecessary thoughts within and started to inspect himself. Powers were brimming inside his muscles and bones, underneath all the fluffy white furs. His core''s size nearly doubled as the frost-blue circular ''gem'' grown to the size of a walnut. He nodded with contentment laced with gratitude to his mistress. So miraculous. A few days with his Mom had earn him a ticket to a minor breakthrough, where previously he had spent more than fifty years to breach a minor bottleneck. Even then, he was considered a genius who cultivated really fast. A small inconspicuous stubble had appeared on his paw where he had wrenched out his strongest claw for Hana. He smiled knowingly. As what Mom always said, good deeds will always be repaid accordingly. In a normal condition, he would''ve needed tens or in fact a hundred plus years for his claw to return to its previous glory. But now, it was only a few days later after he gifted his claw for Mom''s use. The Heavens really favored him since he attached himself with his mistress. His eyes narrowed as he felt two unfamiliar hostile auras nearing the region of his brother''s breakthrough! "ARANYE! SHOW YOURSELF NOW!" A loud soundwave bombarded the cave where his mistress was in. He immediately released a shrill high-pitch howl and canceled out the energy of the soundwave successfully. Although the soundwave was not meant to harm anyone, as it was meant for Ara herself, it was still strong enough to make his mom bleed to death from her seven orifices (1) if not countered! As usual, oblivious to the near-death experience, Hana excitedly questioned Ara who was hiding behind her back, "Is that your great grandpa?! Wahhhh, so grand! Just like a pink whale!" Ara nodded, but still too terrified to come out. "Elders, please refrain from coming closer. My brother is in the middle of his breakthrough. Another step, I will tear the little fish at the back right here, right now." Shiro spoke with a placid expression laced with hostility. The anger from the soundwave attack previously had sparked his anger towards the spiritual beasts in front of him. Although they were stronger than him, he had an effective leverage! Anyone would''ve recognized the kinship of their new tag-a-long friend-for-benefit to the gigantic pink tilapia fish in front of him. They were practically the same species! He took a step forward and appeared in front of the outsiders, protecting his brother and the cave behind him. His small figure was a stark contrast with the two gigantic fishes riding on intimidating waves, however, his Ancient-leveled aura was holding up well from the intentional suppression. "Humph, little outsider, who are you to talk to me like this?! Only the Lightning Serpent boy has the rights to directly speak to me!" Lord Tittua''s displeasure was evident as his Spirit-Lord leveled aura rose intimidatingly. Although the young outsider in front of him had a more exalted bloodline than him, this was more about a sovereign of a land talking to another sovereign of the neighboring land. There was no place for the subordinate to interject and become a busybody! The boy''s position was naturally beneath his Lordly self! Additionally, he was still a whole level higher in cultivation than the young fellow! The insolent way of speaking was on par to the tyrant snake! He increased the pressure on the white fox to teach him a lesson. The turbulent waves billowed chaotically before the water had taken pole-like shapes, directed at the white fox, threatened to attack. Elder Watershade was silent as he stood behind his Lord, however his brow was scrunched up slightly. A fleeting of anxiety flashed by his eyes. He realized that they had started out with a wrong foot. If their precious princess was really under the custody of the young snake, the boy and this young outsider might really hurt her! Shiro felt the suppression as his bones creaked, threatening to break to pieces. However, he knew he needed to stand his ground just for the fact that Mom had established a bloodpact with the fish. He knew that the expert in front of him will definitely flew into a rage once he noticed the irreversible brand on his precious kin. Purple blood started to leak from the corner of his mouth as he withstood the assault. His antlers glowed with a white light before the air around him started to freeze at a rapid pace, freezing the billowing gigantic waves in front of him. "Old fogie! What do you think you are doing to my people?!" A menacing amplified hiss resounded! As the last bit of shriveled skin fell from Kuro''s gigantic body, two large bat-like dark red wings appeared behind his back! Kuro''s advancement into a Lord-level ancient beast wasn''t just a quantitative change in his prowess, but a qualitative change as well. Additionally, a new cultivation method was also comprehended. It turned out, the key to access that particular cultivation method within his bloodline was surviving the second tempering of the heavenly tribulation lightning! He flew to the side of the white fox to confront with the two fishes while spreading his wings wide, intimidating the two fishes with his hostile aura! A fight was inevitable! He knew he could defeat the stream lord now with his brother by his side, especially after breaking through. However, he hadn''t factored in the grand elder''s presence! To succeed, one or both of them might be direly injured. As long as either of them didn''t lose their lives, he was resigned with the outcome. Hence, he needed to be careful to preserve their lives! He knew whoever was left with even a little bit of strength will be able to take good care of their mommy, especially when the two strongest existences in the vicinity was exterminated. Suddenly, the two boys heard within their heads. [Come on, wrap it up with the greetings! I''m excited to meet Ara''s grandpa! Call him in for a cup of tea..eh! We don''t have tea. Hmm, I still have some skewers left. Come on, let''s chat inside! Don''t forget to be polite to the elders, okay.] They nearly tripped and all the imposing pose were gone all of a sudden. Both Lord Tittua and Grand Elder Watershade were tensed up and was getting ready to be attacked by the two formidable young fellows but had blanked out when their imposing aura just dissipated into nothingness. They were rearing to go all out just now! Lord Tittua and Grand Elder Watershade were blinking their eyes and they look at each other with a lost expression. What was going on over here? Should they initiate the attack then? Kuro cleared his throat after showing a helpless look, "My mistress invite you elders in for a snack. Please, this way." He bowed slightly with a servile attitude and flew towards the cave as the white fox slowly followed him along. However, an unmistakable hostile air was still permeating in the surrounding. It was obvious that the two spiritual beasts were having a hard time suppressing their hostility. As Kuro flew along, he slowly reduced his size into a finger-thick little black snake with tiny fluttering red wings. They were so shocked with the insolent snake sudden 180 degrees change! [A mistress?!] The two elders were looking at each other with a knowing glance! Another expert! It must be someone with a formidable power that it could subdue the snake! Which spiritual beast could it be? So daring! Hmph, this expert must''ve taken his great granddaughter as a hostage! If not, how could the little girl appeared on land? However, what was confusing was their great granddaughter''s breakthrough. If she''s a hostage, how come she was allowed to increase her prowess? There must be something more to it, as both Lord Tittua and Grand Elder Watershade contemplated silently. ... 69 The Wrath of the Crystal-veined Stream Lord Hana was busily flurrying around finding her best cutlery and cleaning up the cave; an anticipation of welcoming important guests! She was immune to all the hubbub outside. After all, she knew the kids were always quite loud when they started to show off in front of each other. She had sent Ara away to receive her great grandpa in after telling him to be more polite and apologize. She knew they needed some alone time to straight things up between them before they could all sit together in harmony. This abrupt visit was like welcoming the guardians of her sons'' friends to get to know each other. She must leave a good impression! With that, the elders would be at ease leaving their kid in her protection from today onward. Another thing was, Ara''s guardians would''ve been stinking rich! Being in their good graces wouldn''t do her wrong at all! "The plates are over here, and the bowls is here. Hmm... Do they need a glass of water when they can conjure up water by themselves? No need, no need." The aunty was talking to herself animatedly as a yellow bird observed her from the side. When she cleaned up the mess left behind by the kids, she came across the left over ''shrimp'' skewer made from the marinated crawfish meat Ara had eaten before. There''re about three bites left. Should she toss it away? It''s not nice to let others ate leftover from someone else. She gulped her saliva after a whiff. [Damn. Can''t I just have a very tiny bite? Just for a taste? She was very much tempted by the notion!] [Just a tiny bite! Then, I''ll ask Ara to finish it up! I''m sure she won''t mind. Huhuhu..] After hesitating, Hana bit a tiny portion of the skewer. A tiny bite won''t be detrimental, she thought; just like when u eat a very tiny bit of chilli as oppose to a big bite. Immediately, a sweet-savory taste tinged with a slight saltiness mixed with spiciness invaded her olfactory. She slowly savored the taste while chewing a few moments longer before swallowing. [This is so good! I''m such a great cook! Pity, I only dare to taste this much.] She praised herself incessantly with pride. She actually loved this mystical place where she can get fresh premium-grade food ingredients for cooking. It''s the silver lining that made her stay positive. Somehow, deep inside, she longed to stay a little longer so that she could sampled out many more wonderous things. That tiny bite had suddenly made Hana felt extremely bloated! She felt pain crawling her entire body, like being bitten by thousands of ants as she passed out! ... Lord Tittua followed Kuro and Shiro''s back while the elder moved a step behind him. As they were getting closer, Ara was waiting tens of meters outside the cave. She was trembling like a little leaf being blown in all directions. Lord Tittua observed his great granddaughter while chuckling in his heart with happiness. He was glad she wasn''t chained or anything. It might be a show of goodwill from the opposing party. Ara''s previous breakthrough just now had wiped away all the worry and anger he felt towards her. [She was so afraid! So cute!] He peered into his great granddaughter''s consciousness to observe the aquamarine spiritual core she had just manifested. Suddenly he noticed a faint foreign rune written in an unknown language swimming inside the core! Although he didn''t know what was written on them, he was extremely familiar with them! He immediately observed her soul and noticed half of it was missing! The stunned expression of her great grandpa had frightened Ara greatly. She swallowed her saliva and whispered slowly, "So sorry for running away, Great Grandpa. As I said, I was looking for this spiritual herb.." "AUDACIOUS!" An angry shout reverberated in the forest. It was so loud and overbearing, the resounding echo had made the critters, ferocious animals, and reptiles went into hiding, and the numerous panicked birds dispersed simultaneously from their nests in a fifty kilometer radius! A number of high-leveled spiritual beasts, namely the Silver-banded Eagle Monarch, the Queens and Kings of the Elemental Fiends, and a few more hidden experts around the area could feel the sudden burst of hostile spiritual sense! The wrath of the Crystal-veined stream Lord had badly shaken a kilometer radius of rainforest around them, as if a 7.0 richter scale earthquake! The grounds were displaced while the large chunks of rocks, trees and debris floated into the air. Ara was so scared with her great grandfather''s sudden outburst, she quickly floated to the back of the two brothers. At the exact moment the two boys had detected Lord Tittua''s might laced with extreme rage, they had instantly worked together to make a spiritual barrier and covered the whole cave where their mistress and a bird were staying. Shiro had been spurting mouthful over mouthful of blood in the process as he was already badly injured from the previous standoff with the Crystal-veined stream Lord. After all, Lord Tittua was much stronger than them. Lord Tittua was in an extreme rage! How dare the existence inside the cave enslaved his one and only pure-blooded genius descendant! He wished to tear the creature and sunder it into smithereens right here, right now! The worst of the worse was it was the life-and-death kind! Once that spiritual beast dies, it will bring along all of its contractual beasts with it, either to heaven or to the pits of hell! The shout portrayed the extreme unwillingness from the Crystal-veined stream Lord''s side, as he knew he couldn''t do anything to release Ara from enslavement. If he killed the creature inside the cave, it was effectively killing his own poor little great granddaughter too. Their lives were already tied at the soul-level! Watershade was trying his best to calm his agitated Lord, "Stay your hand, Lord. Please calm yourself! Aranyella will be injured if you continue like this! Let''s discuss this first!" He exhorted a few times while glancing worriedly at the little pink fish, hiding behind the two spiritual beasts'' back. He felt a pang of bitterness from how she behaved, as it was obvious, she had stood by the outsiders instead of her own family members! Was the princess of their clan a lost cause? He had placed such high hopes and expectation on her. A shivering little yellow bird flew out of the cave when she realized the mighty pink fish had calm down and judged he wouldn''t have any episodes of outbursts again anytime soon. She chirped nervously at the brothers, "Guys, something happen to your mistress! She is unconscious!" ... Author''s Notes: (1) seven orifices = namely the two ears, two eyes, two nostrils and one mouth. Basically, internal injuries depicted in xianxia novels always had blood gushing out from these seven orifices (laughing) 70 Mishap Kuro and Shiro immediately rushed into the cave, feeling flustered all over! Inside, they saw Hana lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood. Tiny cracked lines had appeared on the pores of her scorching red skin, widening slowly while more precious blood was seeping out from the wound. Her yellow shirt and dirty pair of jeans were already soaking red. "Her body is going to explode! How is this happening?!" Kuro panicked as he asked the fumbling yellow bird. "I don''t know! Just now she looked just fine. But then she ate a tiny bite of Ara''s skewer. A very tiny one. After that she fell and went unconscious. I went to find you brothers when I couldn''t wake her up!" Markisah answered worriedly. "Brother, do something! Can you extract out the food she ate?" Shiro was in his rare moments of agitation! He was helpless to save their mommy. "There''s not enough time! The tyrannical energy had already entered her bloodstream. The energy from that meat is too thick and potent for her! I should''ve explained to her thoroughly!" Kuro was flying in a circle in trepidation. He was at his wit''s end. Seeing Hana dying without being able to do anything really hurts. Ideally, he was the one who was the closest to their mommy, where they had shared a deeper level of connection. Through their connection, he could find a way to help digest all the excess energy. However, at the moment, their mommy''s situation was in a precarious state! She would die any second now! He needed to find a way to stabilize Hana''s condition long enough so he could help her find a way to digest or expel the abundant of invasive energy out! The Crystal-veined stream Lord watched dumbfoundedly at what was happening in front of him. [Is this the creature who enslaved my little Aranyella?! She is weaker than a chicken! She will die in a matter of seconds from implosion due to over abundant of energy! Oh no!] Lord Tittua looked at the worried Ara. She didn''t realize her life was tied with this extremely weak existence. Once she dies, his beloved great granddaughter will die too. Suddenly, he saw Ara floated forward. She pried open the aunty''s bloody mouth and inserted one of her self-made pellets. Lord Tittua sweated in fear as he remembered the ''prowess'' of the pellets which nearly crippled nearly a third of their younger generation. It smelled and looked the same! "What are you doing, Aranyella?! You''re only going to make it worse.." His words trailed off when he saw the fissures on the aunty''s skin stopped propagating before it flared again a minute later. "Stupid fish, hurry feed her more with that thing of yours!" Kuro urged her as he prepared to link up with Hana to help her from within. He made a weird dance and zoned out immediately. It seemed that he had suddenly entered hibernation. The white fox walked in front of Hana and Kuro. He stared at the stream lord with hostility. Even without a spoken word, Lord Tittua knew that the fox was very vigilant with him due to their previous confrontation. "At ease. I will help as well. The life of the creature is irrevocably tied to my little Aranyella. I will do my utmost to not let her die." At least for now. He added in his heart. ... Hana stared at the surrounding blankly. [Where am I? Why am I here?] Just moments ago, her whole body had been in an extreme pain. It was so painful that it felt as if she was going through the pain of giving birth to her first daughter again. The worst thing was, the pain kept on going without ebbing even for a second until she felt she couldn''t hold on anymore. At least, during labor, the pain came in waves where she could take a breather in between the incoming painful contractions. This level of pain was overkill. The pain was akin to a searing molten magma travelling through her whole body starting from her abdomen, then her upper and lower body, and finally saturated on her limbs. She felt that she had fainted from the excruciating pain, but she wasn''t sure. However, she had been yanked into this familiar darker than black empty space all of a sudden. All the torturous pain disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if it was a figment of her imagination. This darkness felt as familiar as her dream last night. It was the dark space with two large stars she ended up in. Except that, there was an additional inconspicuous aquamarine colored tiny star a little far from both the red and ice blue ones. Hana was stumped. The previous time it was in her dream. However, this time, she clearly remembered she was doing house chores before she was assaulted by an unbearable pain! However, she was very sure she saw a glimpse of a long black scaly tail physically ''pulling'' her into this familiar dream just now. [Kuro, is that you?!] Hana shouted loudly as her voice echoed into the dark ''night''. She had an inkling this was not a dream at all. She walked a few paces and peered left and right within the dark space, couldn''t make heads or tails of what was happening. She was sure the one who saved her from the excruciating pain was her beloved little black snake and no one else. No answer. This time, she saw the red star blazing and pulsating slightly. It was larger and clearer than usual. After some hesitation, she decided that she would walk towards it. She felt that she had been walking and walking and walking without end for a really long time. [This is really far. Even my window shopping at IOI Mall (1) was never this long!!] Hana sighed as she nearly gave up! A very faint yet familiar male voice reached her ears. [Mommy, please. Respond. Link up with me...I need you to connect to me now...] The red star pulsated with every faint word delivered to her ears. Hana''s eyes got wider as realization dawned on her! [The red star is Ku-chan!] She showed a determined look before she dashed forward and ran as hard as she could towards the little red star in her ''dream''. .... Shiro was walking to and fro in worry as he observed the now dormant black snake. His whole body had suddenly glowed a shade of reddish light. Additionally, the red light in his black eyes and external red core were pulsating following a strange rhythm. It had been two days! [Did he succeed? Did Mom connect to Brother in time?] He turned to look at their mistress. At the beginning, the little fish kept on feeding her with her homemade medicinal pellets one after another. After a while, the Crystal-veined stream Lord sighed and pushed the little fish aside and singlehandedly took over. Their mistress was currently suspended in a big water bubble conjured up by the Crystal-veined stream Lord in the middle of the cave. The water bubble was filled with hundreds of Ara''s medicinal pellets floating freely everywhere. She was still quite bloody but her condition had stabilized thanks to the effect of the pellets. Her blood had made the crystal clear water murky. However, this time, the Crystal-veined stream Lord himself had taken the extra mile to help save her; obviously he has the ability to prevent Hana''s progressive injuries from exacerbating. He had externally suppressed her injuries using his psyche by forcefully holding the tissues together in all locations simultaneously. It was an emergency measure to curb her incoming implosion but was not a permanent solution. It needed an extreme finesse and precision. If the Spirit-Lord overused his psyche, he could squash Hana to death immediately. Nonetheless, the crux of saving their mistress still falls on Kuro''s effort from within. Now, they were just waiting for Hana to reach out to Kuro to initiate the profound art spoken by Kuro. Suddenly, Hana''s body within the water bubble emitted a faint red light! Her messy bun hair unraveled itself and billowed inside the water like living snakes writhing around, slowly encasing the water bubble from view as it grew longer and longer by the minute. [The link had finally initiated!] Shiro released a relieved sigh. ... Author''s Note: (1) IOI Mall = a big mall in Puchong, a location quite near to KL in Malaysia. 71 Lightning Emperors Divinity Soul Special Extra Release As Hana ran forward with all her might, she held up both of her hands high, as if to catch the faraway ''star'' with her hands. She wasn''t sure why she was doing it, but the star didn''t look that far anymore. What was so bizarre was her steps. It was slowly ascending in elevation, as if she was climbing stairs in midair. Hana didn''t even realize her own unusual movement, as she continuously focusing on the pulsating red star with extreme concentration. After she had ran for a really really long time, she finally reached the glaring red star, where she saw the familiar shadowy figure of her beloved little snake swimming inside in the midst of all the light. To her delight, the little red snake had sprouted cute maroon-colored wings. Towards the end of Kuro''s breakthrough, Hana hadn''t had the opportunity to observe him as she was busy cleaning up the cave in anticipation for welcoming Ara''s guardians. Hence, she wasn''t aware of Kuro''s new feature. She immediately reached out happily and hugged the star with all she got while closing her eyes from the intense glare. In her embrace, the red star slowly fused inside of her and disappeared. Hana was floating in midair as she now emitted a red hue. Simultaneously, both Hana and Kuro''s consciousness succumbed into an ethereal state. [Mommy, I have been waiting for a long time.] Hana saw him as a gigantic shadowy black snake with red wings. He was like an apparition. His current ruby red eyes were as large as her own body. She looked at her own body and was surprised to see herself in a faint shadowy form too. [Geee..sorry, I was strolling before. It is still a weird dream. Are we in a dream? I still need to prepare to welcome our guests you know.] Hana easily diverted from the main topic. [Mommy, remember, you had eaten the skewer. You''re now in extreme danger and may die. Please let me help you tide through this.] Kuro pleaded Hana to stop her from talking nonsense as it was a time-sensitive matter at the moment. Hana realized the large scarlet red eyes were glistening with water. Her pet was crying. From how serious Kuro was right now, she could infer that she was in serious trouble. [What should I do?] Hana slapped her face and answered seriously. [Follow my lead, follow my chants, and let me merge with your soul. I will guide you along the way as long as you let me.] Hana blinked back helpless tears. [How? I can''t really follow what you mean, Ku-chan.] Hana was nearly crying with the Xianxia-ish abstruse words by her own pet.What chant? What soul? She didn''t know anything at all. [Relax, relax. Ease into it with an open heart. Just concentrate and Mommy could hear it soon.] Kuro soothed Hana gently, like trying to coax a little child. Due to her immense trust in Kuro, she quickly eased herself and try to relax. Slowly, she could hear a very faint whispery sounds being repeated and unknowingly fallen into a trance. Strangely, she did not realize that she did not hear the profound chants from her ears but from the inner depth of her body. Little that she knew that they were the abstruse chants which was always lingering in Kuro''s mind. Only after his recent breakthrough he came to understand what the chant was for. It was the opening chant to cultivate the soul of a lightning serpent. The Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul. .... [Ahh.. I see..] Awed with what he saw, Kuro gasped in realization once he finally saw Hana''s soul with his own eyes. Only when Hana had synced completely with his soul, was he able to enter Hana''s Soul-hall domain with his true astral body. He quickly pushed away all distracting thoughts and focused on the most immediate task at hand. He needed to modify Hana''s soul to bear a semblance to a Lightning Serpent''s soul. Only when Hana''s soul bore the runes inherent to a Lightning Serpent could he performed the soul-cultivation method in her stead through establishing a Soul-link. The overwhelming energy will then be expended to nourish her soul while the threat to her life would be lifted gradually with the diminishing energy. However, he was currently out of time, as his mistress'' bodily functions were collapsing rapidly, approaching a threshold where it would be beyond repair. Kuro continued to chant in the aged-old language he could barely understand while lashing his psyche to carve profound incomprehensible runes directly on Hana''s shining soul in a bid to draw the same natural runes he had within his own soul one at a time. It was his first time doing such a thing. He was extremely careful, as the soul of his mistress was so tiny, and as fragile as glass. She was just too weak. Nevertheless, he was an expert in soul-related techniques, and could only proceed with caution. He himself wasn''t sure whether he could succeed or not. The Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul cultivation method he unearthed from his bloodline was one of a kind and was meant for lightning serpents only. Although it was present in all lightning serpents with pure bloodline, what was strange was, he had never come across anyone being successful in cultivating it to the end in his previous clan grounds. Due to that, not much information could be gleaned on what to expect when the full mastery was achieved. Since lightning serpents were already naturally endowed with a very strong soul power, in time, the unique cultivation method was phased out as the majority felt that there was no need for it. It was then replaced with other more advance spirit and body cultivation methods others unlocked through their cultivation journey. The soul cultivation was plainly slow and the benefits would be less apparent than the other types of cultivation. However, it was less physically and spiritually demanding and only required one to repeat the chant in concentration while focusing the resulting energy into one''s own soul. He had gone through all the techniques he had and felt that the body and spirit cultivation techniques he had were unsuitable for Hana since she wasn''t inherently blessed with a lightning serpent''s physique. He can only take his chance with the new soul cultivation technique he just obtained during his recent moment of enlightenment. As long as all the energy could be digested, Hana would be safe. Although Hana''s soul was weak, it was the most beautiful he had ever seen. It was glowing beautifully lighting the mundane and murky colors of other spiritual beasts'' souls. As a lightning serpent who excelled in soul power and psyche attacks, he had faintly felt it from day one. As the final rune was carved in Hana''s soul, Kuro braced himself. [Please ignite, please!] Finally, the runes on Hana''s soul flickered slightly before they shone bright. Kuro felt relieved. He quickly followed through with the remaining verses of the chant with caution to observe the effect. It was slow, but he could see the newly rune-covered shining soul was finally responding to the effect of the chants. Once a cycle was completed, a tiny amount of spiritual energy was successfully absorbed by Hana''s soul! He was finally able to make his mistress cultivate the soul cultivation method. It was an unprecedented feat! No other species were given the privilege to learn the profound cultivation methods of other spiritual beasts, especially one from an Ancient bloodline such as the Lightning Serpents. All bloodline inherited cultivation methods were strictly guarded by their respective spirit beast clans besides the concerns on suitability to other beasts. His mistress was the first. He knew he would die as a traitor if his clan knew about this. He observed Hana''s soul lovingly as how a filial son would to his mother. Hana''s love for him was so immense, he couldn''t bear to part with her anymore. Should she succumbed to death''s door, he would gladly follow with an open heart. After all, he was the precursor of all this. He immediately controlled Hana''s soul as gentle as he could to start absorbing the accumulated rampaging energy in the hopes that Hana''s bodily function won''t fail from the over exertion. The runes on his own soul brightened; they were the mirror image of the runes artificially carved on his mistress'' weak soul. ... Inside Hana''s body, her soul was strengthened progressively. Day after day passed by. The energy inside her body reduced bit by bit as her hardworking pet snake helped her soul to digest the energy at a snail''s pace. This was because he was using Hana''s entry-level soul to digest an immense amount of energy. It was like asking a six month old baby who was just introduced with solid food to finish up two pounds of barbecue lamb shoulders. It was an impossible feat! Unless, the mother helped the baby by pureeing the food, diluting it a couple of times before mixing it up with milk (1). That was what Kuro did at the moment. He had patiently directed Hana''s soul to absorb the energy while encouraging the excess ones to be expelled out of her body. He then recycled the energy again before they could exit her body and restarted the absorption process. Kuro was unwilling to waste even a single bit. Opportunity do come hand in hand with calamity. This was equally a chance for his mistress to strengthen her soul to an unprecedented level! Once she did, she will be able to use a small fraction of his ability! It could increase her chance of survival even when he was not by her side! From outside, Hana''s increasingly long hair inside the water bubble had blocked the vision of others. Nonetheless, most of them could still sense her beating heart, hence they were not bothered with it. Elder Watershade had left the cave dwelling on the second day, leaving Lord Tittua alone to assist Hana. There were too many things to be done besides the regular administration works. The search party for Ara had been called off a few hours later. Lord Tittua had been carefully observing Hana''s condition in a tensed state everyday ever since. A small mistake, then he will also kill his own descendant. At that time, it was too late for regret. Only when Hana''s internal healing process started on its own a couple of days later, he had cheered in his heart. Gradually, his hold over Hana''s injuries were lifted. On the seventh day, Hana had finally opened her eyes. ... Author''s Note: (1) ... mixing it up with milk = please take note, for first timers with their first baby, when introducing your baby with solid food during the 6th month NO MEAT should be given okay. Start with (very watery) pureed banana or avocados. Meat are usually introduced around 10 months to 1 year, and the most friendly kind of meat for a first timer is fish, followed by chicken. Never give seafood or eggs until after 1 year. (yes, this is a disclaimer from mr and mrs mooncat haha) 72 A Hopeless Husband’s Worrying Hear Arash had just finished bathing the kids and fed them before he sat on his favorite spot in exhaustion. He was eagerly waiting for Hana''s messages. His eyes had dimmed as he could feel a strong sleepiness assaulting him. He persevered as much as possible and tried his best to stay awake. Today, Arash was feeling more tired than usual, as their normally independent eldest was a little clingy; she wanted to be spoon-fed too although she was fine eating by herself during the day in kindergarten. It did not help when the little one was very cranky all day long. No amount of coaxing could make her feel better. She kept on throwing tantrums during bathing, feeding and clothing time. It was a real struggle to put on her diaper. He was glad he had managed to stop himself from giving in to his anger and slapping the little one. Arash had thought that by this time, the little one would''ve become accustomed with the absence of their mommy, but boy, how wrong he was. He hadn''t had a good night''s sleep from the first day since Hana''s absence. It has started to take a toll on his work performance as he kept on making mistakes after mistakes during drafting a few proposals. Thankfully the deadlines were far away so he has more time to amend them. Arash sighed deeply. [She hadn''t text me since yesterday. Most probably she forgot again or fall asleep too soon. I hope she will spend more time with me today.] Arash missed Hana dearly. He had never felt so alone before. He had been courting her since their schooling days. From total disregard filled with arrogance, to utter head-over-heels, then, to utmost loyalty and passion. He had worked extremely hard for countless years to win her over. Hana had been the sun of his life, brightening it up with her fiery passion, as he was the rain for her sensitive heart, soothing it when it threatened to combust into a meltdown. Together, they complemented each other wholly; two pieces of the same whole. He did not have any friends outside of work as she was and still is his only best friend. He had gladly skipped networking with colleagues over mamak (1) and futsal (2) just so that he could spend his limited time at home with the love of his life and their naughty daughters. Nevertheless, like other young parents, their time together to indulge in their like-minded passion for Japanese animes and mangas has dwindled to almost zero. Arash couldn''t even remember what was the last title he watched with her. However, they did occasionally manage to squeeze some time to enjoy the fleeting romantic conversations when the kids were finally asleep. Arash waited and waited while wallowing in the memories of his wife''s laughter and excited banter over buying furry plushies. He would text his wife with, "How''s your day, Ayang (3)?", then followed by, "I miss you", then after an hour, followed by, "Are you alright?" He had left the kids playing with each other in the living room, with the coffee table moved to the side to avoid accidents. They were playing, fighting, making up, and fighting again, while he waited absentmindedly with a deep longing in his heart. Feeling bitter, he finally opened the Webnovel application and read up a few updated chapters without focusing on the contents. Reading all the young ones overcoming challenges in a new world reminded him again of his poor wife who was stuck in a foreign unknown forest. [Where are you, my love. I need you.] He felt deeply sorrowful. His wife was the total opposite of those young heroes he read. He still couldn''t grasp how it could happen. If it was not for watching ''Spirited Away'' (3) and reading transmigration related stories, he wouldn''t even entertain the notion at all. Nonetheless, as a responsible, grounded person, he must not be swayed by random unfounded thoughts which has no proof. He had even rebuked his pitiful wife before over the issue, which had left a bad taste in his heart. These few days, he had filled his waking moments in making tutorials after tutorials which he thought would assist his wife in some way. It seemed that she was going to stay at that unknown place for some time as he had not the slightest idea where the location of the map she painstakingly sent over. She even said a bird had drawn the map for her! He doubted the reliability of the map in his heart but did not brought it up with her, as he didn''t want to sour the conversations between them again. He had passed over the map to Hadi without letting his brother-in-law know who had drew the rough map on the dirt floor. As a digital analyst in the Police Department, his brother-in-law was in a better position to trace Hana''s whereabouts rather than this useless husband of hers. Who knows, he might find some important clues! Honestly, these days, his stance had started to shake. A snake with charging capabilities. A fox with an antler. A bird who can draw a map. [Don''t tell me after this a flying fish right.]Arash thought bitterly to himself. Within a week, his wife had adopted so many new strays just because they were cute! What world-shaking bombshell she was going to share with him later? He anticipated it greatly with mixed feelings. If only he was beside her right now. He had never entertained the thoughts that his wife was delusional or she would lie to him. "Papa, Papa, she bit my nose!" A teary faced girl jumped over his lap and whined sadly, waking Arash up from his reverie. Arash massaged her nose dotingly, "Painnnn, buang! Painnnn buang! (4)" He made a throwing motion, signaling the ''throwing'' of pain away after blowing the red nose a little. "You see, all good and well now, right?" The little girl nodded. Her aggrieved expression had lessened significantly. The little one was crying while rolling left and right, throwing a tantrum. She was unsatisfied from Arash purposely ignoring her. It was a silent punishment for the naughty little girl who was always heavy-handed to her big sis. "Enough, both of you. Let''s go to bed." Arash sighed, bent down and carried the naughty little devil. "Don''t bite your big sister again next time, okay?" Arash hugged her tightly with one hand and held the hand of his eldest on the other hand. Together, they sang the ''Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'', ''The Goodnight song'' and ''The Goodbye song'' before retiring to bed. Arash was wondering whether Hana was able to make the turmeric coconut soup she talked about the other day. It reminded him of his own mother''s turmeric coconut soup. He swallowed his saliva. [Let''s go to Bro Masthar''s smoked duck stall(5) next weekend with the kids.] He made a spontaneous decision. Although his mom''s turmeric coconut soup was simply divine, he was too afraid to return to his parents'' house without Hana. It might spark a bad impression on his poor wife(6) and a lot of unsavory gossips. After all, oldies had so much time to spare, they''ll go all out for an ''onion session''(7). He knew all the onion aunties who had a vile mouth in his parents'' hometown like the back of his hands. They''re just waiting to pounce on any gossip to make it bigger! While coaxing the kids to sleep, he added a new reminder for next week''s agenda. He hoped Hana would reply soon. Little did he knew that at the exact same time, his wife was facing a life-and-death situation which will persist for days to come. ... Author''s note: (1) mamak = as a reminder, restaurants which sells a variety of rotis and nasi kandar which are frequented by Malaysians of all races without discrimination (2) futsal = a variant of small scaled football, usually played indoors. The male co-workers in Malaysia usually played this game after work for bonding time. Other games are the usual badminton and bowling (3) Spirited away = an excellent movie anime by Ghibli about a girl spirited away into the realm of ghost and spirits; lighthearted, charming and intriguing. If you haven''t watch it, you should. (4) Pain buang = ''buang'' means throw. That''s what we always do to stop our kids from crying after a fall or a minor injury. It works (laughing). Don''t forget to put medicine where necessary. (5) Bro Masthar''s smoked duck stall = A humble eatery in Kajang (a location in Selangor state, Malaysia) who focused on serving super delicious smoked duck/beef/quail/catfish cooked in very spicy turmeric coconut soup (Itik Salai Masthar was the name of the stall) (6) bad impression on his poor wife = Around here, if you''re a married couple, but only one of you go back to parent''s hometown, the parents will assume your marriage had problems, especially after a few times consecutively. (7) ''onion session'' = a local slang which means heavy gossiping. It stems from the word ''membawang'', or ''-ing, onion''. Usually ladies in a group will cook together during an event. Since Malaysian cooking use a lot of onions (really, a lot), they will sit in a circle and peel the skin together while gossiping about unsavory happenings. These aunties are usually called Makcik Bawang, or Aunty Onion. 73 A Helpless Brother’s Determination "Ting!" A faint notification sounded on Hadi''s smartphone. Hana''s eldest brother immediately stopped working on the image of a bank robber suspect to check the message immediately. The sound was dedicated for family members only, and they only contacted him when there was something important. His family knew how busy he was all the time, working in the Police Department. Hadi hoped that it would be something new about her missing sister. He had done all he could and even checked the security cameras within the minimart his sister frequented and the public security camera from outside. Although there was none installed directly outside the minimart, he had painstakingly used his connection to tap into multiple cameras around to check. The only clue of a foreigner his sister had bumped into was gone once he checked that no such person was registered in the local college nearby. He had been distraught with his inability to understand how Hana was gone just like the wind in between the minimart and the outside doorway. A clear picture of a hand drawn scrawl on a dirt floor was shown in the picture with a headline, "Hana''s rough location. She sent it over just now. Please help check this map, Bro Hadi. Appreciate the help. - Arash" The map depicted a river-like line from the upper right corner to the lower left corner, with a number of clustered misshapen triangles on the upper right side where the line originated. A single tree on the lower right, and a dot in the center with an ''X'', presumable where his sister resided. A cluster of misshapen rectangular shaped landmark was above the ''X'' position. That was it. Hadi nearly fell from his seat! [It was like a three year old drawing! This da*n thing is just too obscure and even without a scale! And what''s with this kindie-like tree here? I thought she was in a forest with an abundant of trees right now?! How is this tree being singled out over here?] Hadi felt an incoming severe migraine. He knew that news of a map was hard to contain, even how ''cincai'' it was. This will escalate the hope of their mother. Nonetheless, he still called up another friend of his and sent over the picture out again with a sigh. [I really hope we can get something out of all this farce.] ... As what Hadi has predicted, few days later, a distraught Ma''am Shaza called her eldest son in the middle of the night. As soon as he answered with trembling fingers, his mother was already yelling while in between sobbing. "Did you find the location?! Hana has not been answering my messages at all this couple of days! She didn''t even message Arash! Do something! How''s the map doing? Tell me now!" Hadi clenched his palm tightly with helplessness. He wasn''t home for a few days since he received the map image from his brother-in-law, as he stayed together with his friend to witness his friend''s working on matching the location based on all the information he had accumulated and roughly triangulate the most probable location. He too had tried contacting Hana a few times to ask more about the map but to no avail. To Hadi''s expectation, not a single match could be found. [What can you expect from a 3 year old drawing?] He complained helplessly in his heart with bitterness. However, after some fine iteration by excluding certain factors out and rotated the map''s orientation multiple times, thousands of matches emerged. This had further increased Hadi''s headache. After spending some time browsing through the list, he was stupefied to find a familiar name. It was the locality of Arash and Hana''s little hometown, including the surrounding state area and mountainous natural water reservoir area. He had just given the list to Arash and informed him of the peculiarities before continuing on the wild goose chase. He wasn''t going to give up from this! Nonetheless, he knew his mother was going to explode anytime soon. After weighing the options, he answered with cold hard facts. "Mak (1), please forgive this useless son of yours. I can''t find her, yet. However, I won''t give up. Please be patient." Silence. "USELESS!" The call was ended just like that. He immediately dialed his little sister''s number in bitterness to give her a heads up of their mother''s turbulent temper. [Sigh. True. I''m such a useless brother.] Hadi sighed helplessly. ... It was a hot Saturday; a time where the tropical sun shone the harshest. A humble open-air popular eatery known as "Itik Salai Masthar" was packed to the brim with local diners eating their heart''s out. Some newly arrived ones even had to wait for a turn to get a table. In between the sweltering heat, a group of young men were playing cheerful songs at the side to lift the mood of the customers while collecting donations for a religious school. A little boy was sweating all over while eating beside his mother. He curiously looked around and saw a miserable-looking grown up man on his right. The man was with two cute girls by his side, presumably his own daughters; one was a toddler, similar to himself, and another one was way younger. What awed the little boy the most was the man''s action of pouring a bowlful of yellow colored soup with a slight green tinge atop his own white rice with a sorrowful look. The little boy stood near his mother''s ear and whispered, "Ibu, (2) that uncle (3) pour the whole soup into his rice! It''s like a flood lah! So terer! (4)" "Shusshhh! Don''t look at other people while you''re eating. Very rude, Che'' Mat (5)!" His mother was spooning herself with a piece of smoked duck with rice while making a satisfied-looking face. Different from the sad-looking man a table to his right, his mother only spooned out the extremely spicy gravy a few times and added some kicap manis (6) to her own rice to mellow out the heat. The man was spooning his elder daughter with a mix of rice with fried chicken while the little one was playing with cucumbers. After that, he spooned himself after adding a dollop of sambal belacan to the rice ''flood'', intensifying the hotness of the rice-smoked duck-turmeric coconut soup combo. The tables around the man gasped simultaneously with reverence in their eyes. A streak of tears went down his face. The man was suddenly crying. A group of young buskers jamming at the side inadvertently paused their ongoing song as the singer had choked on his words. They too were observing the strange man from a few meters away while performing. Che'' Mat went over with a bottle of kicap manis and nudged the uncle gently, "Uncle, if it is too spicy, you can have this kicap. I''m sure you''''ll be alright." He tried to advise the man. Arash rubbed the boy''s head after he wiped his tears away. "Thank you, kiddo. It''s not that spicy. It''s within my limit. I cried because I remember that my wife loved this dish so much." He smiled gently to the concerned boy, feeling a little touched by the genuine care reflected in his clear eyes. "Ahhh..." All the uncles and aunties around nodded with a knowing glance. Sympathy clouded their eyes. [So young, so pitiful. Even have two daughters he needed to take care by himself.] Someone went over and placed an RM5 carrot-milk juice on Arash''s table. He squeezed Arash''s shoulder, "Take it, a treat for the kids. Be strong, Bro." Arash blinked his eyes in embarrassment as he realized what all the customers around him might have been thinking. He had been a little bit too emotional just now as his wife has not contacted him for a week. The worrying had been eating at him from the inside. He nodded slowly in silence without saying a word. The buskers suddenly changed their song into a popular heart wrenching song by a local artiste, Kaer. A mellow serenade accompanied by a beautiful piano tune seeped into the crowd with an encouraging bittersweet tone filled the air as the diners solemnly enjoyed their meals on a hot Saturday afternoon, beneath a yellow canopy. Listening to the song, several diners'' eyes misted as they catch a few extra glimpses of the unfortunate man with his two daughters. Sinaran mata cerita segalanya (Your eyes speak of every) Duka lara terpendam (hurt and hidden sorrow) Memori semalam (from yesterday''s memory) Tinggal segala cinta (leaving all the love) Tiada kembalinya abadi kasih kita (our eternal affection will never return) Kau bawa bersama (as you have brought it along) Mimpi indah mekar (a beautiful dream) Saat cinta bersemi (of blooming love) Sedetik asmara syurga selamanya (a moment of amorousness, heaven forever) Pergilah rindu ku hilangkan diri mu (Please go my beloved, never to appear) Tak sanggup menanggung derita di kalbu (Unwilling to contain the suffering in this soul) Pergilah sayang ku (Please just go, my beloved) Bermula semula semangat cinta ku (Please start over, spirit of my love) Membara kerana dia (blazing over him/her) Tiada niatku (It is not my intention) Maafkan daku duhai kasih izinkan ku pergi.. (Forgive me, dearest beloved, please allow me to leave) - Izinkanku Pergi by Kaer Azami(7) Three black lines appeared on Arash''s forehead as he listened to the serenade. It was a truly beautiful song but it''s about how a deceased lover encouraged his beloved to move on! It''s like a curse to kill his wife! Arash quickly finished up his meal and immediately brought his children away. A moment longer, he might just punch the well-intentioned busker. The other diners watched Arash leave with pity in their eyes. The man must''ve been too sad. He must''ve rushed out to weep in his car. They lamented on the fate of themselves and their partners; how long will they be together before the Creator took their loved ones away? Will they be ready? ..... Author''s Note: (1) Mak = as a reminder, it means mother, short from ''emak'' (2) Ibu = mother (similar meaning to emak, some Malaysians prefer using ibu) (3) the uncle.. = Arash is not the boy''s real uncle. In Malaysia, anyone older will be called as an ''uncle'' or ''aunty'' eventhough the young one who greet the person only meet him/her for the first time. (4) So terer! = terer means awesome, contrary to the real meaning of ''terror''. (5) Che'' Mat = the boy''s name, it''s like when you add -er or -kun or -chan to a name to make it more endearing. Usually to kids. Sometimes it persisted until the person grows older as it''ll be a permanent nickname (6) kicap manis = no, it''s not tomato ketchup, it''s a unique flavored malted soy sauce. It''s sweet, salty and somewhat more umph. Don''t know how to explain. Usually eaten with rice (a tiny bit only to enhance flavor). Popular local brands are Kipas Udang or Jalen(google: kicap lemak manis cap kipas udang) or read the comments section here (https://100comments.com/habhals-cap-kipas-udang-sweet-soya-bean-sauce/) Some are in English. From here you guys can see how obsessed Malaysians are with this local brand of kicap lemak manis haha. The taste is totally different with the light soy sauce or dark soy sauce/molasses. (7) Izinkan ku Pergi by Khaer Azami = a sweet heartbreaking song. We translated the song as near to the meaning as possible. We didn''t translate the whole song because the verses repeat themselves a lot, so we only took the important part. Though it didn''t sound so nice in English, it flows well in Malaysian language. Follow this link to listen to the song and feel the sorrow of the diners haha. Highly recommended! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRYPheSlaJ0) (Google: Izinkan ku Pergi Kaer) 74 Lord Tittua’s Mixed Feelings Hana''s heavy eyelids lifted groggily. She was in confusion. She knew she was in a precarious situation from Kuro, but at the moment, she was suspended inside a murky dark brownish water! A sudden realization made her struggled hard! [Did I die?! Oh no! I can''t swim!] She opened her mouth to shout for help, but the disgusting putrid water rushed inside, choking her. A lot of stray hair billowing within the contaminated water entered her mouth and gagged her further. The aunty''s panic level increased three notches at one go. She flailed her arms and twisted her body in a bid to release herself from the imaginary hold she felt engulfing her. She didn''t know what to do as she can''t see what really happened from the obstruction of her own hair within the water. [Somebody, anybody, help Mommy!] She bombarded the public telepathy channel harshly as she called for her little pets for help. Hana had forgotten she was miraculously breathing in water, albeit at a very slow pace. If not, she would''ve passed out and died a few moments afterwards. She didn''t notice that a few paces away, Lord Tittua had been floating near her as he controlled her breathing to prevent her from drowning while being immersed in the medicinal water bubble. He had even conjured a small blob of air for her in front of her nose just to keep her alive. Ara''s great grandfather was looking at the unsightly struggling creature within the bubble with disdain. A monkey like this was not even fit as a snack! He could only sigh and shook his head in exasperation. How did this pathetic creature even con his little girl into its life-bound slave?! If not for his little Aranye, he barely managed to restrain himself from chopping the creature into ten thousand tiny pieces and fed it to the fishes! The human-sized murky water bubble ruptured together with the unfortunate frightened aunty. She yelped disgracefully and closed her eyes, praying that it won''t feel too painful. As Hana nearly reached the cave floor, a flash flitted by and stopped directly below her. The loyal Kuro had inflated his body to cushion Hana''s fall. With that, the Crystal-veined stream Lord floated away without making a sound. Seven days of observing the creature had made him aware of this creature''s weakness. At this rate, that worm will die with a moment of inattention! And his beloved Aranye will follow its footsteps. He was appalled with the current circumstances and was trying to find a possible solution to this predicament. ... "Aranye, did you know what you have done?!" Lord Tittua berated Ara outside of the cave in seething anger. He couldn''t believe it. He had only admonished this little daredevil one time for the sake of teaching her into a more prudent descendant. Alas, it had backfired and made her become a slave to some random bug. His face was making a myriad of unpleasant expressions. At last, he just sighed while gently patting Ara''s head with his large pectoral fin. The girl was already shedding tears. The words he wished to throw on her face were cut short. He didn''t have the heart to tell the little girl she had been con into enslavement. "It''s alright, little one. Can you tell me what happen?" Lord Tittua swallowed his near-erupting anger and merged the water around him to his great granddaughter as an expression of love and forgiveness to appease the little one''s fear of him. Previously, both him and his great granddaughter were too preoccupied with the little worm''s condition. Only at this moment when the worm managed to pull through that he dared to relax and inquired about the whole story. Feeling relieved from her great grandpa''s efforts to coax her, Ara finally felt courageous enough to explain animatedly without leaving a single detail. Lord Tittua''s face turned black with the amount of pearls and spiritual crystals involved in the transaction! It was blatant extortion! A moment of panic appeared in his eyes when Ara talked about being attack by a crawfish. It finally dawned on him that his great granddaughter had unintentionally crossed path with a solitary hidden expert. Without the Lifeguard Scale, Ara would have lost her life! His face turned complicated when it reached the part where the creature generously gifted high quality herb concoction to his great granddaughter while treating her with care and gentleness. His face turned ashen when it reached the climax where they were chased after hundreds of Elemental Fiends. It finally settled on gratitude when it reached the part where the creature advised his great granddaughter to eat the high energy meat formulation to stimulate the condensation of Ara''s monster core in order to make him proud. Ara produced a gleaming white ball as large as a plum in front of Lord Tittua. A strong aroma suffused his nostril as he felt the bottleneck inside of him loosened a little. Lord Tittua''s eyes went wide with disbelief! "Gramps, this is for you. My one and only Water Barrier Advancement Pellet. The herb Mistress had gotten from the Elemental Fiends for me really was the crucial component. I manage to make only this one after experimenting several times while waiting for Mistress to get better." She handed the pellet over while looking down sadly. "Do you have the courage to try my pellet?" Her voice trailed off. She didn''t dare to lift her face lest she would be confronted with Lord Tittua''s rejection. Lord Tittua sighed again with mixed feelings. "Of course I will. You have gone through all this trouble just for me." And even become a slave for the sake of my advancement. He had extrapolated the chain of events to reach the final outcome in bitterness. He was the reason behind his great granddaughter''s current predicament. If only he listened and dispatched experts to help Ara out in finding the herbs she wanted, none of this would''ve happened. [Maybe this is the will of the heavens.Although this creature called ''Hana'' is weak. She is very generous to her own people. It''s a blessing in disguise, I guess. Before I can find a way to break the slavery contract, I need to make sure it survives first. The unreliable snake and the fox could not guarantee its safety.] Lord Tittua was silent as he ruminated over the information he had obtained while Ara floated at the side obediently. With all the problems she had created, she didn''t dare to interrupt her great grandpa''s train of thoughts. "Come, return to the clan right now." Lord Tittua had finally decided. "But..but..about my debt to the mistress.." Ara bowed while biting her lips after Lord Tittua gave her a hard stare. She even called the bug ''Mistress'' again and again! "The clan will pay your debt for you. I will take care of it. No need to be concern with it." "Err. Then, can I come and eat some more snacks once a while here?" A green vein popped up on Lord Tittua''s head. "As if, there''s no good things to eat at home! Ara, you''re grounded until you finish consolidating the power of your core! No excuse, no buts! If you keep on playing around with useless things again, you shall never come to this place ever again!" He gave an ultimatum to the little aggrieved fish. Lord Tittua softened his voice and changed his tactics a little, "Go home now. Once you''re stronger, you can at least stand up to the snake and stop him from bullying you, right? Then, I''ll be more than willing to let you come visit this place again." Ara''s eyes brightened up as a sudden realization dawned on her, "You''re a genius, Gramps! Please let me say goodbye first." ... Hana was feeling slightly disoriented. She kept on lying down on Kuro''s body while trying to readjust her bearing. A little girl''s voice sounded in her head as the cute pink fish floated to her face. [Mistress, I need to go now. I come to say goodbye.] [Is it? Do come over again in the future. Our door is always open for you, Ara.] Hana smiled at the sweet little fish. She could perceive the little one''s sadness. She pulled her close and hugged her. She was already wet, it''s alright to add a little more. [Be a good girl. Listen to your great grandfather. He always think what''s best for you. All caring elders are like that. Even me. I loved Kuro and Shiro immensely, but when they make a mistake, I still reprimanded them. Why? Because I want to ingrain what was right and what was wrong into them. In the future, they will automatically know, even without me advising them. Did you get what I''m saying, Ara?] Ara nodded hesitatingly. [It''s alright. Just remember what I said. In the future, you will naturally understand. Give your grandfather a chance. He had come all the way here just to see you. That means he was worried over you.] She patted Ara''s head. [Oh yes, about our discussions on marine products, shiny balls and crystals, have you explained to your great grandfather properly?] Hana added cautiously. If the stream boss didn''t want to honor Ara''s deal, she couldn''t do a thing. However, unbeknownst to her, her unintentional crude contract had sealed the deal. While tying the gullible fish to her life, the Crystal-veined stream Lord didn''t have a choice but to help her too. In a way, the trade was the best excuse for him to expend the clan''s treasury to help increase Hana''s constitution and hopefully preserve her life a little longer. [Yes, I did. Someone will come and pay Mistress in a few days'' time.] The trio were rejoicing happily in their hearts without leaking anything outside. [Good, good. What sensible child. Come, let me hug you one last time before you go!] Hana squeezed the little fish happily and peck her on the cheek while holding her breath. [Oh yes, can you make the water bubble over here permanent?] Hana suddenly thought of manipulating the little fish one last time before she goes. They might not meet for quite some time after this. Hence, she wasn''t shy with asking a few extra helps for her own comfort. [Erm, my power was not strong enough. It can only persist for a few days.] Ara blushed as she suddenly realized on her inadequacy. She really needs to double up so that she can help Hana in the future. She hadn''t realized her already-changing mindset which was influenced by the slavery life-and-death soul contract. [Let me get my great grandpa to help you!] The Crystal-veined stream Lord came over begrudgingly and made three floating water bubbles for Hana and co. He even gone as far as threw a small crystal shell-like item with a tinge of purplish light to Kuro. It was beautiful; just the size of Hana''s thumb. Lord Tittua with his great granddaughter, Ara, left the cave dwelling as they floated towards the direction of the Crystal-veined stream. Ara was shedding tears silently while being observed by her great grandfather at the side. He knew she had been singled out in their clan due to her quirky activity. He hadn''t interfered for the fact that he wanted her to stop and focus on her cultivation. Alas, his great granddaughter was as stubborn as he was. She had endured tens of years of loneliness from the lack of camaraderie. He realized this was the first time she had found genuine friends. It wasn''t just about the soul-binding contract. He turned around one last time at the cave without saying a word as his eyes showed a myriad of mixed feelings before they continue on their journey home. ... 75 Lifeguard Scale Kuro observed Lord Tittua''s back with a determined look. [I will surpass this old fogie soon. Just you wait and see.] As intelligent as he was, he could guess what was running through in that old fellow''s mind. Who would be willing to submit himself or his family member as a lowly slave, bound to die on a whim of his master? He needed to be so strong until no creature could ever harm any one of his persons. Not even the ones who harbor any vile intentions whatsoever. He will decimate them all without mercy. At the moment, he will continue to tolerate the existence of these few seafood, even needed to accept their mercy, but not for long. Kuro slithered inside the cave with a mixture of emotions as he brought with him the Lifeguard Scale with his mouth. Accepting this shell-like scale was akin to bowing low to the old fogie and accepting his pity. It was also a silent declaration saying that Shiro and himself were not competent enough to protect their mommy. [Mommy, this is for you.] Kuro placed a beautiful translucent shell-like thing on Hana''s palm. Oblivious to Kuro''s internal turmoil, the aunty was elated as usual, when confronting with beautiful sparkly things! She took the tiny scale and turned it around to admire its beauty. If only she had the necessary tool, the beautiful shell will be most beautiful as a pendant or an earring. [Try to drop a blood on top of it.]Kuro advised. "No!" Hana paled and adamantly folded her arms. She was hiding her fingers under her two armpits in agitation. The beautiful scale fell on to her lap. Kuro and Shiro made a bewildered look. But why, don''t you like this, Mom? Shiro asked inquisitively. Such precious treasure couldn''t be bought if one wants it. It could only be gotten through serendipity and fruitatious encounter such as now. It will be a pity if Hana didn''t want to accept it. He thought that she looked to be eager to own it before. But why the sudden change of heart? "I.. I.. I''m too scared to prick myself.." Hana''s voice trailed off as she blushed bashfully. With a voice as tiny as a mouse, the aunty asked the help from her two beloved pets, "Help me prick my finger, pretty please?" Only God knows how hard the nurses in the public hospital tried to draw blood from this aunty everytime during monthly pregnancy tests. It was a horrid experience for both parties involved. Kuro nearly crashed down while Shiro slipped. They looked at each other helplessly, as Kuro moved forward and said to the aunty. [Mom, lookie over there! What''s that on your left?!] "What?! What?!" the jittery aunty was distracted for a friction of a second. Kuro took the opportunity to draw blood from the scared aunty absentmindedly and helped her dropped the dripping blood on the shell, lightning-fast! "You!!! Ku-chan!" Holding her now-bleeding finger, she exclaimed in shock and apprehension with a tinge of an aggrieved expression. [I just did what you want me to do, Mommy. Is it wrong? Are you unhappy?] Kuro made a sniffing sound filled with sorrow. He slithered over the injured finger and gave it a healing lick. The tiny prick disappeared just like that without a trace. If Hana didn''t notice the tiny prick and blood from before, she would''ve thought it was just her imagination. Hana was so speechless, she didn''t know what to say. She deflated and gave the sweet little snake an apologizing look. "You''re right. Thank you, Ku-chan." Kuro beamed with a dazzling smile. Their mommy was the best. She will always give up from putting up a fight when being confronted with his pitiful super cute looks. The pretty scale, now doused with red blood slowly floated up from Hana''s lap, garnering the trio''s attention. Slowly the red blood disappeared from the scale, as if being absorbed, as the scale revealed again its beautiful crystal-like flat shell-like shape. The purplish color got a little intense as a soft light emerged from it, making Hana gasped. Hana held out her palm to hold the ''shell'' as it slowly levitated downwards to land slowly on the center of her palm. However, before she could admire its beauty, the ''shell'' sunk into her palm and disappear! Hana went blank for a moment, before it shifted to an aggrieved look. Kuro tried to explain to his mistress gently. He knew she liked beautiful sparkly things and was feeling sad for its disappearance. [Mommy, that is not a gem or a shell. It''s a precious defense scale, personally refined by the Crystal-veined Lord. It is known as the Lifeguard Scale. It didn''t disappear. It is still there, only it has assimilated with your body. Once a danger approach, it will help to protect you automatically. It is very valuable.] "Really?" Hana asked hesitantly. [Really.] The cute fox nodded while chiming together with the little black snake. The bird was nowhere to be seen as she had return to her own home a few nights before. [But I want to admire it a little longer. So sad. Whatever. It is still a nice present! Ara''s great grandfather is such a nice fish. I didn''t even thank him yet for helping me. Ara''s family sure is generous! It is very rare to see a wealthy person generously gifts random people everywhere. Usually these rich tycoons will be super stingy! Huhuhuhu!] The aunty''s mood was jolly again. The two boys were speechless with how fast she shifted her mood around. They looked at each other to urge one another to open their mouths by telling the aunty the truth about the soul-binding slave matter. Once she knew, she could read Ara''s grandpa''s intention like an open book. However, after a moment of pushing and pulling, they decided to keep mum of the real reasons behind the Crystal-veined stream Lord''s ''generosity''. It was better to delay it a little bit. If not, their Mommy will get depressed again. [How do you feel, Mom? We''re so worried.] Shiro approached her with a concerned look on his face. Her lovely white fox was still as adorable as usual, with his cute Y-shape antlers and bushy tail. Somehow, she missed his fluffiness greatly because it felt like she had been trapped for years within that dream-like world, only accompanied by her loyal Kuro. However, looking at Kuro''s current physiques, she just realized that the little snake had grown up a little. He even had additional features. This sudden realization made Hana stupefied. "How long was I out?!" She really hoped that she was not unconscious for months! She stood up and nearly fell back on Kuro again. Hana just realized her hair was so long and heavy! It was sweeping the floor, tangled with soaking dirt and smelled funny. She was so shock! Panic welled inside her heart as she started to hyperventilate! " I need a plastic bag! I need a plastic bag!" She was using both of her hands to fan herself while breathing rapidly in panic. [Calm down, Mommy! Calm down! The sun had risen seven times only. Not too long! Be at ease!] Kuro tried his best to pacify the hyperventilating aunty. "Fox, go hug her! Help her out!" He immediately meditated to connect to his mistress in a bid to control the rapidly beating heart. He was afraid it might burst! A few minutes later, Hana sighed. "Much better. So sorry for the trouble, guys." She blushed bashfully. A second there, she thought she was out for months or even years like in the c-novels. If it happened, her family out there must think that she had died and might even already moved on. While she thought along this line, she felt like her world was crashing down as her hopes of being saved was smashed to smithereens. She wasn''t even sure whether her hubby had converted her phone number to the monthly payment style. If he didn''t, the fact that she couldn''t receive proper signal might mean that her number was already void. Disconnectivity from her beloved for eternity had made her so scared for a second there. Hana suddenly remembered her condition when she woke up. She was drowning in water! She remembered very clearly that her phone was in her pocket during her previous predicament. "Did anyone save my smartphone?!" [I did. No worries, Mom. Your treasure is well taken care of.] Shiro tried to calm the agitated aunty. While sighing in relief, Hana absentmindedly wiped her dirty wet hands on Shiro''s pristine white bushy tail as it was treated like a handkerchief. She needed to make sure her hands were dry and clean before using her precious smartphone. Although Shiro scrunched his brow unhappily, he quietly endured. Hana immediately stood on the internet spot and fetched her precious smartphone so that she could message Arash immediately. To her surprise, the smartphone was still on even after a week! She asked, "How is it that my phone is still full?" [Ah..because you cherish it so much, we had tried to attach it to the rectangular thing when it suddenly became dark around three days ago. Since nothing happen after two days, we tried to push whichever buttons present.] Shiro explained bashfully. He didn''t want to remember the embarrassing moments anymore. "Thank you, guys." Hana gratefully thanked her two sensible boys and quickly typed a message to her beloved Arash. She missed him so much.. ... On the other side, the familiar sound of messages entering Arash''s phone made him haphazardly checked with hope reflecting in his dim eyes. He had just finished buckling his two kids to their own car seats and was preparing to drive home after the awkward lunch in the hot eatery. Once he read the message, his heart immediately soothed, and his eyes turned bright again. Arash hadn''t realize he was drowning in tears of relief. The one week of disconnectivity had made him feel like he had lost his soul. [Thank God... Thank God... Thank God.] He closed his eyes as he sincerely thanked to God as many times as he can for letting his wife lived through the ordeal. At the end of the day, Arash did cry inside his car as what has been speculated by the other diners. ... =.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.= Mr and Mrs Mooncat''s Announcement: A great start to a great month! We have an announcement to make. We have written a bonus extra chapter for our tier $5 patrons and above; a side story. Why did we post the chapter only for our $5 subscribers? 1 - The side story isn''t going to disrupt the main ASTHW storyline 2 - It actually disturbs the current vibe of the story, unimportant, and unnecessarily needed inside the main story; some might arguably said it is too much information and feel disturbed instead. 3 - As thanks to our loyal readers; tier $5 are subscribers who opt for bundled early releases each month, hence, we''re pretty sure they''ll be very interested with additional side story rather than feel appalled by it and dismissed them as fillers If you''re interested to read our bonus chapter (and the whole of the month''s chapter), join our like-minded little community and be our tier $5 patrons! We''ll be thrilled to see you! In the future, sometimes, there''ll be additional sides stories too, but not everytime :) As notified previously, besides this public chapter, all other early-access chapters will be released on the 3rd, just two days away Cheers! 76 What??? Is that all you think about??? Hana took a moment to observe herself properly after messaging her beloved Arash. She knew he must be going crazy with worry. Since there was no mirror, she could only check her body just like that to make sure she didn''t turn into the Hulk or something. She would cry if she suddenly got those ugly abs! [Extremely long hair like a disheveled Asian Rapunzel.] Check! [Extremely long nails like those horrifying Japanese or Korean ghosts. So scary] +_____+||| Check! [Smell like a sewer mixed with cat litter.]Check! [Still fat but less than usual. Being sick for so long has its own benefits.] The aunty sighed heavily while pinching on the extra fat on her flabby tummy and thigh. Well, better than a horrifying bulky greenish abs. Hana swiped open her smartphone and open the picture taking app. She removed all preset beautifying filters and turned the camera towards herself, intending to look at her face properly like a mirror. A stunning light-tan face with dark brown eyes reflected back from the smartphone''s screen. She adjusted the spectacle on her face in disbelieve, and finally took it off and placed it on the cave floor. [Hmph? Is that really my face? Why the clear bright skin? Just like boiled egg (1)! No more pimples, freckles and discoloration! Did I forgot to turn off any of the filters?] She tapped the surface a few times to check the setting and then increase the camera''s sharpness. [It is true. My pores can''t be seen! They''re gone! Just like the 18 year old me!] [No more neck pain!] Check! [Not even the stubborn back pain! Yay!] "BANZAI!" Hana''s sudden elated shout had shocked both Kuro and Shiro. As the cherry aunty took the napkin cum towel from the bamboo rack while humming, she paused and called for the kids, "Let''s go for a bath!" [Wait, Mommy! Don''t you want to check your overall strength and other attributes?] Kuro asked with a concerned look. He can''t believe that Mommy was prioritizing on bathing before confirming her own upgrade. "Later-lah, later-lah." She fanned her left hand while making an impatient look. "I smell like a toilet. I hate it! Anything else can wait for later." The aunty skipped away towards the stream happily while leaving the baffled little black snake. He was feeling bitter for slogging hard for the past seven days. To Hana, the greatest boon for the prolonged ''medical'' treatment was on her smooth bouncy cheeks and the total disappearance of her back pain. She felt like she can conquer the world! ... As all three of its inhabitants were away, a faint cracking sound emerged from within the empty cave. On the lowest level of Hana''s bamboo shelf, a tiny crack has appeared on the largest egg (2). The ''ostrich'' egg started to siphon the leftover medicinal water drenching the cave floor as well as the leftover soup in the cooking pot. After all the water was gone, half of the cave floor had turned slightly muddy and messy. Finally, the egg stopped making any movement and returned to its dormant state... ... "Scrub..scrub..scrub" The faint sounds of scrubbing were mixed with faint cawing and shrieking of birds and tiny critters at an obscure corner of the Crystal-veined stream. Under a shaded tree with tree roots protruding in the shallow waters, Hana was scrubbing herself with a bundle of soft young leaves vigorously as she partially immersed herself. Obviously, the leaves were fetched by her little hardworking pet snake. The filth and dirt from her body was so thick, it had clouded the translucent waters into a murky one. Even the playful little fishes who was so curious and unafraid of her before gave her a wide berth. The aunty really needed a proper loofah, period. The two brothers were with her inside the water, halfheartedly joined in the ''family occasion'' after much of the aunty''s insistence. Kuro was swimming around the aunty happily while using his tiny wings as pedals while Shiro was sulking away three meters downriver from their location. Apparently, Shiro''s presence inside the warm water had reduced the temperature significantly. As usual, it was Kuro''s bullying that made him conceded after seeing their mistress shivering beside them just now. However, despite their antics, Hana was blindly going through the motion without realizing her surroundings yet again. Her mind was preoccupied with remembering the ridiculous condition of the forest outside of her cave abode. Once she stepped out of the cave just now, the sun hit squarely on her face. As she opened her eyes at the glaring lights, her mouth made a big O. A destruction of an unprecedented level bared upon her eyes as the originally luxuriant vegetation, regardless of majestic arboreal trees with buttress roots, to the smallest humble insignificant weed were nonexistent! What replaced the nonexistent trees was a wide space filled with horrific destruction like the aftermath of a tsunami. Even the geography of the surroundings had changed slightly. Hana''s cave was supposed to be slightly elevated yet obscured from vision. Just a few meters ahead after exiting the cave was supposed to be a small clearing where she used to do her number one and number two before being crowded out by extremely large ancient looking trees. However, now, their humble home had been ''elevated'' up by at least one-storey worth of stairs. Just another step, she would have fallen from the high ''pedestal''! It was the aftermath of the boys'' advancement coupled with the unexpected confrontation with the Crystal-veined stream Lord. From where she was standing, she could faintly see the stream she frequented in between some sparsely populated trees. Previously, the thick natural canopy had hindered her sight. She had made unnecessary turns here and there to reach that stream before. Not knowing how to get down from the steep mini-hill, Hana had to mount on her fluffy white fox to help her down since the elevation was very vertical. Even if there were safe steps to climb down from, she wouldn''t be presumptuous enough to think that she will attempt such a descent. She had zero experience in wall-climbing! Looking at the ruined foliage, her heart had been so agitated as she think of her own little garden. She immediately dashed to the location, followed closely by her two guardians. She was so worried over all the herbs she had painstakingly transplanted over. It took her less than five minutes to reach the stream''s area, while before, she needed at least half hour. In a way, by clearing the forest, a ''shortcut'' had been unintentionally made. Additionally, Hana''s increased strength and stamina had helped her maintaining her speed for so long. She hadn''t realized she had turned from a figurative snail to a cheetah. Once she reached her destination, she was horrified to see a part of the wooden enclosure was torn apart! After a hurried investigation, they had found that the little garden within were just fine. Even the fish trap was well preserved and as usual, full to the brim with different kinds of freshwater fishes. With the level of destruction nearby, this level of problem was insignificantly minute. With the help of the two kids, she could repair the wooden fence immediately after she had her bath. "Sigh, all the banana tree clusters, they were gone now. What a pity. If I know this would happen, I would''ve harvested the young bananas earlier. At least I could make curries and banana chips from them." Alas, it was too late for regrets. She could only venture further out from the perimeter of destruction to look for other useful edible plants later in the future when it wasn''t enough anymore. Thankfully, at the moment, she was not short of food yet. She had ample of clean water without needing to transfer any from the stream, courtesy of the Crystal-veined steam Lord himself. She also had stable supply of marine source. In fact, for someone such as her to be missing for more than two weeks, she had been extremely well-fed, with a roof on her head, two guards for safety and the ability to use fire. She should''ve nothing to complain. The only problem was her vegetable intake had lessened significantly, preventing her from going to the toilet at least once a day routinely. Not being able to expel the bad mojo from her body had made her increasingly unwell from day to day, though the condition didn''t warrant significant attention from her. However, the long-term ''treatment'' had effectively remedied her conditions perfectly. The previous discomfort was long gone, together with the stubborn back pain she had since her first child had been born five years ago. Once she washed away all the stubborn dirt and grime diligently, her clear skin was revealed underneath. Although it was still tan, she felt that she was a shade lighter than usual. Besides that, it felt so smooth! It reminded her of her own soft hands during her teens. Years of toiling in the kitchen, laundry and cleaning had made her skin turned a dull color with the texture turning rough from the chemical treatments. [Is this the famed internal cleansing after the first cultivation?] The aunty was a little excited. Although she wasn''t really sure about the whatever cool-sounding ''Lightning Divinity Soul'' spoken by Kuro, what she knew was it sounded very Xianxia-ish. So exciting! A housewife who chanced upon a cultivation method to transcend immortality! She had not read something from that theme yet, Hana took note that she needed to record all her works well so that she could write them out in the future once she had returned. After enough daydreaming with fanciful ideas of the future, Hana cautiously trimmed her fingernails using the clawknife she brought along while humming the Japanese blue cat robot OST under her breath. If she wasn''t careful, her three segmented fingers could turn to two! What''s worse was a reduction of ten fingers to nine! Aiyoyooo, no can''t do! As she observed her long nails, an inspiration dawned upon her! [Aren''t these long cuticles could be repurposed into needles?] She looked at her own shabby wet clothes, hanging on one of the branches and sighed. It only took two weeks for them to look so worn out. They won''t last forever. She needed to use these to prepare a contingency plan for her future modesty! She would never condone to wearing leaves and twigs to cover herself! ... As such, the aunty continued to fuss over her overall appearance as she cleaned herself. Her over-consciousness was due to her inherent natural reaction as a woman who was in love. She was afraid if she becomes too different, her family, especially her beloved Arash, won''t be able to accept her when she return to them in the near future. A slight upgrade was just like an addition of natural filters on herself, which she loved most. However, if she suddenly turned a different shade, or had additional arms, fangs or tail, she won''t be able to accept it. Her joyousness in regard to her appearance was a thousand times more than her significant improvement of her overall constitution and strength. What??? Is that all you think about??? Other fellow transmigrator MCs would''ve facepalmed with this aunty shallow (but ehem ehem practical) thoughts. This was because she had not developed the sense of urgency to stay alive, thanks to the presence of her little pets who always shielded her from rain and storm. Her days were spent in a honeymoon-like dream without worry for her own livelihood. Additionally, her heart strongly believed her family would be able to find her and save her without her doing anything. In the very near future, our dear Hana will quickly notice how wrong she was Author''s Note: (1) ..just like boiled egg = this comparison of beauty is very synonym with Malaysian language writings (the traditional way). The flawlessness of the skin is compared to peeled boiled egg, the brow is compared to the spurs of a chicken (haha, really, mrs Mooncat won''t kid you guys), and the shape of the face is akin to the shape of a betelnut leaf (narrow heart-shaped). That is the idea of beauty from the olden days. The color of skin range is very wide, from ivory (tusks of elephant/putih gading), to beige (sawo matang C majority), to dark brown (hitam manis). There are no such things as a reference to jade-white skin (laughing). (2) largest egg = remember the egg Kuro stole from the lowest level of the silver banded eagles'' nest? 77 The Chasm between a Noble and a Lord A few hours later, a refreshed bespectacled aunty walked towards the edge of the ''tsunami''-affected area while deep in thoughts. A white fox with a pair of antlers followed closely behind, while a little black snake curled loosely on her neck like an ornament. She was wearing a slightly damp but clean yellow shirt and faded blue jeans. The extremely long hair had been braided multiple times to reduce the length, finally combining into a single braid. Now, her heavily braided hair only reached her thigh; half of its original length. She had tied them up with clingwrap plastic spanned into pliable tiny ''ropes''. Although she had wanted to cut it originally, at the end of the day, she still felt fondness towards her new long hair, especially when it was so thick and glossy after a good wash. It reminded her of hairs from shampoo commercials on TV as well as the princess stories that her daughter love so much. She never had such a beautiful hair before as it was very challenging to maintain. As she walked, her heavily braided hair swished to the left and right. Her posture was upright and full of confidence; the heavy weight of her hair was unnoticeable. "You said I should''ve become somewhat stronger? How strong? Like a Superman? Or like a Saiyan?" She asked her pet snake seriously while observing the ruined surroundings. [Who is Superman and who''s this Saiyan, Mommy??An expert stronger than me? Anyway, you need to test it out yourself, Mommy, as I''m not too sure. After all, you had absorbed the essence of a peak-leveled noble spirit beast which was slightly weaker than the me before my breakthrough. Although it was only a bite, you would''ve died from the over-abundant of energy. Puff! Just like that, you would''ve exploded into bits and pieces of shattered flesh!] Kuro made a puffing motion with his mouth and flapped his wings to imitate how flesh exploded and scattered as he detangled himself from Hana''s neck. Hana could feel goosebumps appearing on her arms and neck as she shivered slightly. [Thank goodness!] This time, the aunty had learnt her lesson. She would definitely listen to the kids'' advice especially when it is about new materials and ingredients. The environment around her was familiar, but not, at the same time, making her judgement to be extremely inaccurate most of the time. [Anyway, don''t worry. I''m pretty sure I have helped you absorb every ounce of it.] Kuro explained proudly as if he had done an excellent job. His eyes habitually asked for pampering from his mistress. After getting a good rub on his head, he continued. [However, I have mostly used the energy to nurture your soul through the Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul cultivation technique due to your very weak constitution. The strengthening of your body was from the indirect effect of the residues only.] Hana turned an inquiring gaze towards the frolicking little black snake in front of her, "Peak-leveled noble spirit beast? Is that how you guys categorized your strength level?" She suddenly realized she had no inkling of the word ''peak noble spirit beast''. It was the first time she heard exclusive information about wild animals in this vicinity. Her pets had never explained, as she herself was not interested to know more. But now, the situation had made her aware of powerful existences in this forest. She really needed to know more about them. After all, knowledge was power. "Anyway, what is the differences between a spirit beast and a normal wild beast? Aren''t you all spirit beasts?" A train of additional questions spilled from Hana''s mouth as she was getting more interested to know more about her boys. Since they were willing to explain, why not clear every up right now. Kuro answered after he took a moment to organize his thoughts. [Around here, generally all creatures are segregated according to their strength levels and bloodlines. Creatures who couldn''t utilize the spiritual energy from the heaven and earth are just wild beasts. All spiritual beast could use the spiritual energy in some way. The strength of a spiritual beast is based on how many times it succeeded in transcending the heavenly tribulation. Because it was really hard, only a very small number survived, earning themselves the adulation and respect of the masses. The survivors of a single heavenly tribulation are hailed as a Noble.] Shiro added from the side helpfully. [Aside from the wild beast, the most common bloodlines are the Spirit bloodline. A beast with this bloodline has the ability to tap into the spiritual energy from the surroundings and absorb it into its own body. That was why all of us are known as spiritual beasts in general.] [Some rare spiritual beasts have inherited traces of special bloodlines from their lineage that enabled them to have special abilities specific to their species. Some higher tier and ancient bloodlines have the ability to store inheritance inside their bloodline which can only be accessed when certain requirements are met. Even bloodlines have grades too. The highest bloodline known to me is the Primordial Ancient bloodline. Once upon a time ago, the first ancestor of my clan was a Primordial Ancient Five-tailed Terra Glacier Fox. For me, I am a Mirage Glacier Fox with high level ancient beast bloodline, just a hair away from Brother''s peak level ancient beast bloodline. I''m not sure who his ancestor, though.] Kuro rudely cut through Shiro''s explanation to boast about himself in front of Hana while flailing his lower tail. He was hovering beside Hana while flapping his tiny maroon-colored wings. Hana secretly found that his action was very endearing and adorable. [I am a Lightning Serpent, Mommy. As you can guess from the cultivation technique I imparted to you, the Lightning Emperor was the first of us all, as he was the one who created the cultivation technique. Lightning serpents'' main ability are electrical based while we innately possessed very strong soul power which were naturally refined by our own lightning. Previously, both the fox and I are Nobles, spiritual beasts who had gone through heaven''s tribulation once. Now, I''m already at Lord-level after successfully passing my second heavenly tribulation, similar to the Crystal-veined stream Lord.] [Naturally, since the old fogie had stayed within the Lord-level for a long time, he is undoubtfully stronger than us, but since our bloodline was on a different level than him, our actual strength was not that far off from him. Thus, if a fight is inevitable, we are sure that we can fight into a stalemate or even win if certain conditions were met. We can even fight for the spirit crystal lode, if you want, Mommy. It''ll be very beneficial to you in the future! Seriously!] Kuro snorted with disdain when he remembered Lord Tittua''s disgust towards their mistress. If Mommy gave them the green light, he''ll storm the place, right here, right now. Hana immediately knocked her brazen little pet''s head several times lovingly, "Don''t you dare. We''ve fleeced them enough. It''s better to obtain resources without a fight, right? We''ll find more ways to milk out as much crystal as we can from them, okay? No need for violence. If it doesn''t work, I''ll think about it. We needed a proper risk-assessment first." Kuro nodded happily before he continued after a short rumination. [Anyway Mommy, simply put, a Lord-leveled spirit beast is one tier higher than a Noble-leveled spirit beast. Although it was just by one, there is a huge chasm between a Noble and a Lord as it was separated by a major heaven''s tribulation. It can be seen from the fact that there is only one Lord-level beast in this area, which is the Crystal-veined stream Lord. I heard that in this area, the Crystal-veined stream Lord is the only spirit beast to transcend to this level around a thousand years ago, hence his ability to dominate over the crystal-lode at the peak of the mountainous area. Now there is two Lords!] Kuro proudly twirled around the aunty. "I see, I see. Surprisingly Ara''s great grandpa is actually so old huh. His meat must''ve turned tough already. Tsk, tsk. Just like pension-chicken. (1)" Kuro and Shiro sweated from listening to Hana''s comment. [..What''s a pension-chicken?] Shiro asked after a while when he saw Hana was thinking hard about something without explaining anything. "Oh, where I lived, chickens were divided into two types. The layers are the ones whose function are to lay eggs everyday. The broilers are the ones reared for their meat. So, a pension chicken is an old layer chicken which is being slaughtered and sold after it cannot lay eggs anymore. Their meat was sooo tough and rubbery due to its old age! But my late old man likes it a lot. Hence, we had to eat every year during special celebration. It''s a nightmare." Hana shook her head in dismay while drowning herself in memory lane. The aunty added, "One time, our mom pressure-cooked the meat because she took pity on us little ones, they got into a fight because of it. Once he passed on, we can finally eat normal chicken!" Hana shrugged absentmindedly with the cheeky remark. Kuro and Shiro nearly slipped again. This aunty sure knew how to trash-talk random people. Even her late father was not spared from her vile tongue! Thank goodness she didn''t commented like this in from of the Crystal-veined stream Lord! Author''s Note: (1) Pension chicken = yeah, the sale of pension chicken is real. Some people likes it, some don''t. There are many kinds of chicken sold in Malaysia. The standard meat chicken (broilers), the black chicken (Chinese love this to make herb soup I think), the kampung chicken (free-range chicken, very good for soup), the organic chicken, the pineapple chicken (I don''t kid you, they''re fed with pineapple and tasted quite good. The meat was slightly sweet, and a little chewy than normal chicken haha, just started trying them last two months), the prebiotic chicken..and the list goes on. The difference didn''t come in the form of subspecies, but in the way the chickens were reared or fed. 78 Posturing One’s Awesomeness Hana suddenly turned around and seriously scrutinized Shiro as she suddenly realized about something. It made Shiro felt extremely restless with the penetrating gaze; he felt like his fur had been shaved off, leaving him bare and disgraced. [Why did Mom look at me so seriously, this time? Is it because I smell bad? I''ve made sure I washed thoroughly just now..] Shiro turned to his own tail and consciously sniffed it again. Hana was the one who smeared smelly things on him before. [Or is it something I say which had offended Mom?] "Oh yes, Shi-chan, you''re saying you''re a Glass Mirror fox? What sort of fox is that? I thought you''re a giant overfed aardwolf. You know, the one who ate bugs and lived in the Savannah." Hana chuckled mirthfully. "And why did you have ''mirror'' in your name?" She had not known Shiro''s species before. Even when she heard about it, she still had never come across the term. The name was quite cool sounding. Shiro nearly fell down from hearing what the Aunty was asking as three black lines appeared on his forehead. [Since when my name got any glass or mirror?! And what are glass and mirror?!] With an exasperated expression, Shiro tried to calm himself and smiled awkwardly. He was still getting used to the aunty''s trash talking and was trying to focus his thoughts. A faint mocking laughter can be heard at the side, coming from the little black snake, which added to Shiro''s dismay. [Ehem, it''s Glacier Mirage Fox, Mom. Glacier mirage foxes had the ability to manipulate ice and ice-related vapors.] Shiro shook his fur slightly. They puffed up slightly as tiny whitish glittering particles emitted from each end. Upon closer inspection, the tiny particles were tiny ice crystals imbued with spiritual energy. [Mom, look up.] After he explained to Hana, he continuously emitted an intense chilly air from his body. The air moved upwards and enlarged into the shape of a translucent shiny concave. As the sun shone upon the chilly ''air'', the concave undulated slightly. Suddenly, the bare sky had been covered with an image of a realistic tree canopy; a carbon copy of the rainforest nearby. "Woahhhh! So OP! So cool! It''s a camouflage technique!" To a plebeian like Hana, it was a grand magic show. With this, her worry was reduced greatly. The scenery in the sky was too open as their abode lay in the center without a single cover. What if some other strong animals came over? She had read enough novels about OP divine beasts wreaking havoc just simply because they didn''t have better things to do and had found a conspicuous target to toy with. [That was why, no outsiders ever seen us.] He talked animatedly before his voice in Hana''s mind trailed off. Hana could sense his changing mood into a broody one with solemnness, sadness, anger, confusion; all mixed together. Shiro wasn''t willing to continue any further as he looked away with dispirited eyes. Hana sighed internally as she rubbed Shiro''s head. She immediately changed the topic as she walked forward and squatted down near a large crumply-like shriveled ''cloth'', "Is this your molted skin, Ku-chan? Can I have it?" She held it with both hands and used all of her strength to flap it to check the real size and length. Being properly flapped, the skin was tens of meters longs, with burns and gashes at some parts. However, most of it was intact and in decent condition. It was really big and long! Just like a huge roll of unique-textured cloth! Kuro was speechless for a second, but manage to answer, "Sure, Mommy." The aunty took out the clawknife and tried to cut the shriveled skin a little. However, it only left a faint white trace. She deflated while sighing. She then tried to stretch the material with all she got. It was actually quite pliable. [A pity... If only I could cut it, I could even turn all this into a simple hammock with leftover materials to turn into swimsuits, innerwear or something...] The aunty sighed again dispiritedly. Kuro chuckled amusingly while observing his mommy''s antics. [Mommy, allow me. Kuro slithered towards Hana''s arm which held the knife and spit his saliva over it. Smear it well before trying again.] Hana hesitantly used two fingers and cautiously smeared Kuro''s spit on both sides of the blade. The aunty then tried the same thing again on the shriveled skin and found that she managed to cut the material easily this time! Her eyes shone with delight in the midst of her pets'' confusion. She then bundled up the shriveled skin happily and put them aside. She could already envision her next project! A few moments later, the aunty started to twist her waist, bend down and touch her toes and twirl her arms seriously. She then cracked her neck left and right and stretched her hamstring in a most exaggerated manner. She did the series of motion trice in front of her pets, who were currently so confused, their mouths were agape, feeling speechless yet again. Once the aunty was done, she made a satisfied nod and started walking to a partially disintegrated uprooted timber as large as three adults holding hands together not too far away from her pets. She positioned herself well and pushed the large timber with all seriousness! "Urghh! Urghh!" The aunty''s not-so-nice grunting voice resounded loudly. Kuro and Shiro looked at each other in exasperation with a big question mark in their mind. [What are you doing this time, Mommy?] They asked together with synchronization; a tinge of helplessness in their telepathic-voices with their Mom''s random antics. [Nothing. You asked me to gauge my own strength before. Now, I''m just testing my strength while clearing the place a little. I want to make a nice straight path from our house to the river. Don''t worry about it, leave everything to me!] Hana answered confidently in between her huffing and puffing. She planned earlier to show off a little to her pets. The big shattered tree trunk was not moving at all. Hana struggled with all her might until her face turned red. Two minutes later, her pets sweated as they saw she slipped and banged her forehead on the tree in front of her. The aunty stood up with a red swollen forehead, and an extra-aggrieved look. "You guys tricked me. You said Mommy should''ve gotten stronger." She rubbed her forehead while puffing her cheek. "I thought I''ve become as strong as Goku(1)." Her voice trailed off as it turned into embarrassment. Now her whole face had turned red like a melon when she thought about it. [To think that I finally had a chance for posturing in front of the kids] Both kids were speechless and nearly fell! Their mommy had really overestimated her own progress. Although she felt very healthy and brimming with power, her previous sloth-like nature had made her actual strength to already hovered below average of a normal woman. At this moment, her constitution had only reached the condition and strength of slightly above a healthy male at his prime age. Instead, her soul had undergone a qualitative change altogether; becoming more tangible within her, with vestiges of soft multicolored light surrounding it. Her soul''s strength had soared to five times more than a normal human being. It was even stronger than some of the average low-leveled spiritual beasts. However, only Kuro could directly see the progress of her soul. Even her other pets were unable to. Unfortunately, this level of soul strength was thousands of miles apart from Kuro''s prowess, but Kuro could see their mommy''s potential in this area. She squatted down dejectedly while drawing circle after circle with her index finger, exhibiting an extremely pitiful sight... ... After all the drama, the small family of three worked together until late into the evening. Since the shade of the arboreal trees were nonexistent on their work ground, they had ample amount of sunlight to complete their work on clearing the surrounding. At the end of the day, just before the sun disappeared from the horizon, the aunty did achieve her goal; a cleared up location surrounding her naturally elevated dwelling, although not the way she imagined (Author: Not so soon Hana, you''ve just started, can''t let you be so OP haha). She had even managed to lay down a tiny path paved with stones directly from her house to her favorite spot beside the stream. The stones were from the shattered boulders in the vicinity, carved by herself and Shiro into pretty flat grayish steps, arranged loosely like an aesthetically pleasing mosaic. The other large debris were segregated according to their type. Most of the tree barks were further cut into large stakes and were made into a loose ''fence'', encircling the open area, just like Shiro''s little garden beside the stream. The only difference was, it was much larger in space and were loosely placed at the boundary of the destruction as ''territory marks'' rather than a barricade to keep animals away. The leftovers were placed at a corner of their ''land'' to dry before they will be used as firewood perpetually. From today''s work, she realized how big a difference her strength and stamina had been. It wasn''t as exaggerated as her favorite Saiyan idol, but at least she felt that she was as strong as The Rock! Well, minus all the unsavory bulging abs. It was a pleasant surprise for her. At least she could carry a few boulders and a bundle of bamboo poles on her shoulder with ease now; more importantly, minus the back pain. The trio returned to their cave dwelling with a light gait on their steps, with one lady posturing her awesomeness with carrying a bundle of bamboo poles on her shoulder!!! .........Stats Update ....... Character = Hana (before) Strength Level = 0.3 Overall Constitution = 0.5 Soul Level = 1.5 Spiritual Level = nil Character = Hana (after) Strength Level = 1.2 Overall Constitution = 1.2 Soul Level = 5.0 Spiritual Level = nil Note: Stats Compared with one Normal Healthy Male Adult Human (1.0) Author Note: 1. Goku = the protagonist of Dragonball by Akira Toriyama. Mr Mooncat asked Mrs Mooncat to add, incase got readers who didn''t know (I seriously doubt that) 79 A Flickering Hope A not-so dainty hand pushed away a low branch with lush leaves to the side, revealing a not-so young woman with a geeky frameless spectacle. The woman''s head was full of random stray weeds and leaves, making her looked like a little bush. Hana emerged from between a thick thicket while munching on a white plump delicious-tasting Tarap fruit(1). She kept on grabbing another piece of the soft aril from within the already opened fruit, placed inside a shopping bag hung on her left shoulder. The texture of the soft flesh was akin to overripe banana, but the taste was similar to the sweetest of mangosteen. Hana nearly purred in delight with every single bite. "This is so delicious! Guys, why are you refusing to eat something so delicious?" Hana couldn''t understand the little ones'' vehement rejections. She had long attributed them as omnivores; able to devour just about anything as long as it''s delicious. The aunty spat out the grape-sized seed and placed it inside the bag. She planned to boil all of them later tonight. Right behind her, Shiro was trotting with an elegant gait while observing the surrounding with caution. Kuro had flown a little higher to comb through the upper parts of the tree to protect Hana from any hazardous encounter from above. [It''s okay, Mommy, we''re good.] Shiro answered curtly. Normal wild fruit was unappealing to the two brothers. They were only interested with spiritual meat and herb with the only exception was their Mom''s cooking. "Suits you." Hana shrugged. She was still feeling the bliss of discovering the Tarap tree not far from their home, but at the same time, feeling quite conflicted. Although she didn''t know how a Tarap tree looks like, she had the fortune to buy and taste the fruit once she went to Sabah (2) a few years back. It left an indelible impression on her before. She knew, although Tarap fruit grew in tropical region, the fruit had never appeared on the peninsular, only on the Borneo''s side. The animals and fruits around were a strong indication that she was in her own home country. But a few glaring discrepancies had already appeared, especially the presence of the beautiful white fox with antlers beside her. Kuro''s presence can still be attributed to undiscovered new species from deep in the tropical rainforest, but not this little bushy one. Even if he came from somewhere far, it won''t possibly be another continent, right? Hana had also tried to look for traces of humans or any kind of civilization, but still nothing. She kept on coaxing her heart by saying she hadn''t explored far enough. Hana had high hope on the map Markisah drew for her.Nevertheless, it had been some time since she had sent over the map, but neither Arash nor Hadi had said anything about it, making her somewhat helpless. In her heart, she was quite confident with the ability of these two most competent men in her life. She knew she won''t be here for long! Anytime now, his beloved dressed suavely in cool crisped shirt and slack would''ve descended in a police-owned heli directly in front of her cave and save her! A white stallion is so old-fashioned! [I still feel that we should try taking over the spirit crystal lode, Mommy.] Kuro''s coaxing broke Hana''s train of thoughts as it entered the public telepathic channel. Hana looked upwards around her but hadn''t been able to locate her pet''s position. He must be pretty high up in between the tree canopies. The little black snake hadn''t given up in trying to convince the aunty many times over even when she had said no last time. [True, true. Then, you can eat more nutritious food than this ''tarap'' thing.] Shiro chimed in; yet another supporter to the militant idea. Both of them were extremely unhappy with the marine clan up north. Hana sighed inwardly and purposely ignored the duo''s coaxing. It was very morally wrong to do that! They didn''t even do anything to them. Additionally, there''s just the three of them here. Two fists could never contend against four hands and feet! How were they going to storm through a whole clan of marine lives without backup whatsoever?! The kids were being preposterous! Several days had gone by, and no news came from Ara''s side. It seemed that their little fish friend, Ara, wouldn''t be coming anymore, which was a little regretful. The trio felt that the Crystal-veined stream Lord must''ve stop Ara and planned on reneging on their trade terms which had made the boys extremely incensed. Hana could only sigh as she remembered how she had tried her best to stop the brothers from storming Ara''s home multiple times. After all, she knew they''ve been a little hard on her, manipulating the little one wantonly before. She too, realized, she must''ve left a very bad impression on Ara''s guardian before, getting herself extremely sick for prolonged period of time suddenly, while having the guardian extend a helping hand even before they were introduced properly to each other. Hana had tried her best to appease the boys before they begrudgingly acquiesced their mom''s request on not finding trouble with the marine clan. Hana distracted her two pets with a variety of seafood simmered in different kind of soup daily, though she herself was getting tired of eating freshwater products. Kuro and Shiro were delighted to see a variation of soups made with braising silver catfishes, prawns, little crabs and sometimes eels served on different days. Even the soups tasted differently; sometimes sourish, sometimes eggy, and sometimes spicy. Hana would usually cook the food enough for two sessions of eating; for dinner, and breakfast. For lunch, she would make simple things like boiled cassava or random fruits and packed them inside banana leaves where she would eat during a short break outside. Little Markisah would drop by daily to give her a number of mind cleansing spiritual fruits and spiritual chilies and stayed for dinner before returning to her own home somewhere unknown to the aunty. Hana routinely moved between her rainforest abode and the beautiful Crystal-veined stream daily after her previous near-death experience. Her days by the stream was filled with transplanting whatever herb trees she could find, watering them, and educating her two pets about them. From the initial sparsely populated garden, the varieties had increased multiple times. Even her tiny Bidara (3) seed had sprouted a mini tree with tender young leaves which gladdened her heart. The aunty had built up enough of her own courage to step out from the cleared ''disaster zone'' to forage for wild fruits and edible shoots with her pets. After all, she''s already as strong as ''The Rock'' at the moment, which somewhat puffed up her confidence significantly. Sometimes, she''ll bring back a couple of fruits and edible shoots. Sometimes, she brought nothing back. Surprisingly, she had her fair share of wild durians, cassava trees where she could get the shoots and the tubers, cashew fruits, nuts and shoots, and even bunches of rambai fruits (4). She was very ''wealthy'' at the moment. Typically, in the late evening when Hana and co. finally returned home, she would make dinner which comprised of grilled seafood and a pot of random soups daily. Sometimes, it would be several grilled catfishes, climbing perches, and sometimes, even tilapias. However, she was careful to check with her pets to make sure they were normal fishes and not one of Ara''s clansmen. She truly hoped the two brothers didn''t lie to her just for the sake of eating more delicious high-energy marine produce! She didn''t want to incur the wrath of the Crystal-veined stream Lord. She had an inkling that their relationships seemed somewhat strained, though she wasn''t sure being sick had warranted enough to produce ire from the other party. The poor aunty didn''t know she had really touched the reverse scale of the stream Lord by ''enslaving'' his little genius descendant. Besides that, everything else wasn''t going well. After dinner was the time for her to spend with her beloved hubby as the kids will go out to do their own thing alternately. They never left her alone, not even once. Arash had flatly refused to plan out with her a relevant method to subjugate the gigantic termites. Hana could only shake her head when she was reminded by the tiny altercation between them. For once, her darling supportive soulmate opposed vehemently on her radical ideas. He kept on prattling about ''weak mindset'', ''resolve like weed'' and so and so, which felt like a slap to her face, since it was essentially, true. He had not believed her when she said she had become stronger in body and in mind. Additionally, even if she did, he questioned her resolve and timidity. He was worried she would''ve gotten a panic attack during the operation if something suddenly went amiss! He even challenged her to write down the cultivation chant to proof that she was currently cultivating a Xianxia-ish technique she had gotten from her pet snake! How could she write something that even she herself could not understand? Only with the help of Kuro was she able to perform a complete cycle! And that was only in her ''dream-world''. She wasn''t able to do it by herself yet, either in her dream or when she was awake. Arash shook his head in dismay when he remembered his conversation with his wife. She dared to ask him to make a plan to catch giant termites for her after her near-death experience a couple of days ago?! Was she crazy or what?! After fuming in anger at his wife, he instantly regretted it. He had just promised himself not to hurt her feelings, but lo and behold, he did it again! He couldn''t stop himself. His wife''s story-telling sessions daily had always made Arash felt extreme worry for her. Sometimes, reading his wife''s ''adventure-of-the-day'' would make goosebumps appeared on his skin, which reinforced his believe in forcing her to stay put in one place and just wait for help. From how she told him, she didn''t even realize that danger was near on multiple occasions! She''s sooo, soooo, dimwitted, too easygoing!!! He was the one who got flustered all over! [I''ll treat her right tonight. No more getting angry out of nothing. Without me helping her plan, she won''t be able to proceed with her ridiculous ideas.] Arash promised himself as he looked at the watch. It was time to go back and fetch the kids from the nursery and kindergarten. Arash opened the new group chat ''Family Ribena II'' specially made for his wife in the new app in passing to check for updates. Everyone had downloaded the app and remade a new family group chat for Hana''s sake, but she barely replied anything at all. Arash shook his head again with his wife''s insensitivity. She should''ve realized they did that because they were worried for her and hoped to hear from her. But his little wife totally ignored the group and had perfunctorily replied once a blue moon. He was worried their relationships will get worse due to this. Thank goodness she hadn''t neglected contacting her own mother. He heard that she was seriously ill before. He knew Ma''am Shaza must''ve thought that her daughter had encountered a life-threatening mishap and had broken down due to heartache. ... Hana sighed and looked upwards towards the beautiful open sky at edge of the Crystal-veined stream as her pet snake landed on her shoulder and habitually encircled himself on her left arm. Chilly winds blew amongst the bushes, making a serene-sounding melody which appeased her heart. [It is nearly dark. I need to go back.] She whispered in her heart melancholically. Suddenly she felt so down. She thought she would be happy learning a cultivation method. She thought she would be happy talking to Arash after not being able to contact him for so long. But she didn''t. She only felt the urge to cry, but she suppressed it deep inside. She squatted down and washed her sticky fingers silently. The last of the Tarap fruit''s arils had all entered her stomach. She washed her face, picked around ten different types of fish from the fish trap and cleaned them efficiently. After she was done with the fishes and washed her hands again, she moved slowly on the newly made mosaic path to her sojourn under the gradually suppressed twilight, as the darkness slowly descended. She will contact Bro Hadi directly tonight and clearly ask about the progress of the map after dinner. Hope that there''ll be some good news. Maybe this time, she''ll finally be happy. ... Author''s Note: (1) Tarap fruit = a local fruit around the size and shape of a football. The insides is like jackfruit where you can get a lot of grape-sized arils with seed enclosed in soft and white delicious flesh. You eat the flesh (taste like mangosteen), boil the seed and eat too (taste like nuts). In one fruit will have about 20++ arils. It''s about RM20 per fruit for the football sized ones (at the time Mrs Mooncat bought them). Scientific name: Artocarpus odoratissimus (2) Sabah = a state in Malaysia, it is located on the Borneo Island. Top half of Borneo is occupied by Sarawak and Sabah, states of Malaysia, while another half harbors Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Sipadan Island, a renowned diving spot in the world, was located at the tip ofSabah, ( https://asiadivingvacation.com/blog/6-facts-about-sipadan ) (3) Bidara = the other name of the mind cleansing fruit (4)..wild durians, cassava trees where she could get the shoots and the tubers, cashew fruits, nuts and shoots, and even bunches of rambai fruits = all are tropical trees where you can really find them in the jungle if you know how to identify them. wild durian - a smaller version of the conventional durian. Usually with bigger seeds, less flesh, and more tart in taste (D24 is all the craze now and is extremely expensive, known as Musang King/Fox King variety) cassava trees - we ate the shoots around here, but must blanch first to remove the sap. Even the tubers must be boiled. If the uncooked tubers is sliced thinly, dried, and milled, it will turn into tapioca starch (use for thickening soup, add to fishballs, etc). Usually old people like to eat boiled cassava tuber with fresh grated coconut and a tiny bit of sugar and salt mix together. cashew trees - we ate the shoots too, no need to blanch, quite minty and delicious (and expensive haha), we can eat the fruit but not too much (red in color), and the nuts must be baked/roasted before you break the pod and eat the cashew nuts inside (its poisonous to eat raw, please take note) rambai - a kind of sweet and sour fruit that arranged itself like grapes (but only 2 panel and quite long), white yellowish in color, texture-wise is like..hmm...can''t explain..langsat or dukung, never found the exact equivalent from a Mediterranean fruit 80 Soul-link: Sharing of Senses Ahhh..feeling much better today.. Such a nasty fever. Mr. Mooncat had to take EL to take care of Mrs. Mooncat and the rest of the kittens (it never happen in the 10 years we are married, this is the first). Thank God it''s going to be over soon. Next week is a nation-wide school holiday. So, we''re bringing the kittens to Langkawi for a short trip. Yay! Anyway, thank you for the concern, guys. We will try out RolandThe4th''s suggestion in the future :) For readers who had been waiting, we truly apologize. (kowtows) Arc 10 focuses more on Hana''s endeavor with her newfound abilities. It already started in chapter 79. =.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=.=. Chapter 80: Soul-link: Sharing of Senses Hadi: I''ve tried my best but couldn''t get a definitive location! What could you hope from a crude map like that?! And why hadn''t you contacted me sooner?! The first sentence she got from her eldest brother, was a harsh scolding. Hana couldn''t blame Hadi. He had tried to contact her for the longest time, but she didn''t respond. After her ''treatment'' session, she had only managed to contact her hubby and her own ailing mother. She did contact her other family members, but it was through a group chat, where she only left perfunctory general sentences once or twice, saying she was alright. Hadi had been subjected to a lot of pressure from their own family to help Hana, but it turned out the person who was in the middle of the predicament was being very unhelpful. It had made Hadi to be discontented, enraged and bitter. Who was the one who needed help here? Why was it like he was the only one who was working his butt off over here?! Hana: But, it''s real. I''m 100 % sure it is. No clue at all, Bro Hadi? Hadi: Do you know how bad I was reprimanded by Mak before? She nearly got a bout of a heart attack from getting too angry with me because I couldn''t find you! Hana: .... Hana didn''t know what to say. She knew she was guilty as charged. She and Arash had agreed not to disclose what actually happened during her MIA session. She just told everyone she was suddenly too sick to move and needed a long time to get better with no medication and all. She sighed and accepted whatever was thrown to her. It''s a form of apology to her big brother who had done a lot for her. If she had told them she nearly died, the effect would be a lot worse. Hadi: I''ve found the best experts to help us. We''ve worked really hard while you''re sick before. The match was more than 3000 isolated forest-based locale! Can''t you make the map a little more detail? Anyway, how far have you walked? I''m sure you wouldn''t have walked the whole way to chart out the stream and went to the mountain, right? Did you get the map from an aborigine from your location? Can you get anything else from that person? Usually, aborigines would have a connection with a nearby ranger. They''re not totally disconnected from the outside world. The barrage of questions was only greeted with a lengthy five minutes of silence before an answer which had made Hadi''s eyes and mouth turned round arrived. Hana: ...er.. it was from a bird friend of mine. Don''t worry, she quite intelligent and I believe her. Hana decided to come clean. If there''s really an aborigine around, she too, know how to ask for help. However, not even a shadow of a human was seen even after she had expanded her exploration range. Hadi: .... Hadi fell from the swivel chair and nearly threw his smartphone in the dustbin. Some co-workers stopped to glance before returning back to their own work. He scrambled back up into his seat with a darker than black face after he fetched his phone on the floor. Hadi nearly blew his top off from feeling incredulous and anger at the same time. Hadi: WHAT?! Hana: .... Hadi: I''m gonna pull off the search now, Sis. I''ve wasted a lot of experts'' time for this. I nearly got roasted by my superior! You need to find me more tangible info first before I''m going to help you again. At least give me a map drawn by a human!!! ... Hana wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall from the corner of her eyes. As usual, her big brother was very harsh with her. After a few minutes of silent crying, she took three deep breaths to calm herself and turned to her worrying pets with a determined resolution in her eyes. "I have decided. Let''s subjugate the Elemental Fiends'' Queen as soon as possible. I need them to chart out a good map this time." ... [Mommy, are you ready for today?] A young male''s voice entered her mind as the bright red star pulsated following the rhythm of Kuro''s voice. This has become a routine in Hana life as she entered the empty dark space adorned with three multicolored stars inside her ''dream-world''. Hana had been cultivating diligently every day after the short outburst with her elder brother a few days ago. She had skipped going out for adventuring and only spent two hours to fulfill her daily needs, pushing out all distractions. The rest of the time, she would sink into a deep sleep to enter her dream-world and cultivate the strange cultivation technique. After ascertaining her unwavering will to subjugate the elemental fiends, Kuro had asked her to cultivate the Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul cultivation technique more vigorously as one of the pre-requisites before planning the operation. The goal was for her to unlock the initial level of a skill within the cultivation technique, the Soul-link, when her soul cultivation progressed to reach the required level. According to Kuro, the Soul-link technique initial success will manifest when the soul-linkers were bestowed with the ability to sync with at least one of the five senses of linkers. Inevitably, when the skill was fully matured, full synchronization of all five senses will be possible. The skill will then further evolve into a new stronger form, which Kuro promised to tell her when the time comes in the future. Kuro had divulged that the telepathic connection between their mommy and him was already strong enough; he had been able to share Hana''s sight. By right, Hana should be able to do the same. With the sight-synchronization achieved, only Kuro needed to go out to scout for information without the need to bring Hana along. Hana could tap into Kuro''s vision while being in the protection of Shiro, devising strategies, while being safe and sound in the cave. However, after she had tried so many times, it just didn''t work that way. So, the issue might be due to Hana''s own deficiency; either her weak constitution as a whole or her weak soul power. That was why the aunty needed to cultivate diligently while partaking nutritious spiritual herbs during every meal. She had skipped on seafood and only ate stewed mushrooms and bamboo shoots with a little salt alternately every day. Although she was unhappy becoming a temporary vegan, she didn''t complain as she herself didn''t want to waste so much time preparing food with low nutritional value extensively. During each sleeping session, Kuro had asked her to hold the ''ruby'' shard Kuro had given her on her left hand, and the beautiful greenish pearl Ara gave her on the right. At the moment, both Hana and Kuro viewed the aunty''s sleeping sessions with utmost importance, as they found that only during these times were Hana able to cultivate, just like when Kuro performed his own cultivation-hibernation session. In the dream-world, Hana made herself comfortable and sat in a lotus position just below the red pulsating star. She then took a deep breath to adjust her condition. Truthfully, she loved this cultivation technique, where she would be able to hear a most enchanting unique song sang by Kuro during their so-called ''cultivation session''. [I''m ready, Ku-chan. Let''s begin! Love the song! So new-age! (1) Come on, come on, sing for Mommy, you little superstar!] Hana joked lightheartedly. She genuinely loved the ''song'' Kuro was teaching her. They would hum together, and her heart will feel so light and full. She felt at peace listening to the unknown song. The song was not in words that she could understand. It was like the mashup sounds a snake makes at differing pitch mixed with a variation of other low-toned hum and layered droning. The song''s style cleverly melded the sound of nature with the sounds of serpents. It would''ve been a big hit for new age fans like her worldwide. After a short pause (and a light exasperated cough), the song started, and Hana happily followed through as the song slowly nourished her soul while closing her eyes. Unknown to her, the red ''star'' above her moved on its own and merged into her astral-body. Hana floated gently in a lotus position while emitting a bright red light as she succumbed into an ethereal state. Her long braided hair in real life, was untied and bellowed gently, as if thousands of snakes moved following a strange pattern around her. Her natural pastel-colored glow was suppressed by the red light emitted from her astral-body after it fused with the red star. At the same time, the spiritual herbs she had eaten daily nourished her outer body, tempering it gently while the ''ruby'' shard and the greenish pearl in her hands slowly dimmed as the session progressed. ... Unknown to Hana, during the short pause, Kuro had been so speechless with Hana''s jokes, he had lost the connection established with his mistress. After clearing his throat a little and returned to being serious, he reconnected into the shared consciousness within Hana''s ''dream-world'', her Soul Hall domain. In the center of the hall, laid his mistress'' soul, suspended midair. He purposely neglected the other two partial souls hovering at the edges of the Soul-hall and approached Hana''s soul for the second time. At this moment, he could physically see how Hana''s soul looked like. The initial tiny bean-sized translucent bead had burgeoned into a quail''s egg''s. The size was still so small, he could''ve extinguished it just with a puff. Instead, he coiled his spectral body around it protectively. Within the translucent bead, the soul-pact ownership rune hovered within, while on the surface, the newly carved up artificial Lightning serpent''s innate runes, bestowed to Hana from Kuro were glowing with a blinding white light. The rune swimming within Hana''s soul was actually a soul-pact ownership rune for enslavement, an arcane innate art Kuro had as all other Lightning Serpents do. Kuro had given Hana the ownership rune, rather than the soul-slave rune, an unorthodox method that never been done before. He himself wasn''t sure why he did that the first time when he drew Hana''s blood. He just felt it right. The truth about his ability in the soul department and the new soul-cultivation method had not been divulged cleanly by Kuro to Hana. In truth, the ability to perform a Soul-pact and Soul-link was an innate ability of Lightning Serpents. No other spiritual beasts could perform the arcane skills. However, since he had altered Hana''s soul artificially to reflect a Lightning Serpent''s soul, with enough time spent on cultivating the Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul, she could tap into the soul-based innate ability of his species. Theoretically. A few days later, Hana had shown signs that a rudimentary soul-link was slowly manifesting! He now understood why Hana couldn''t consciously connect to him and use his sight previously; he had missed this point altogether. A proper soul-link would never be established if the main host of the soul enslavement blood-pact didn''t have the required skill. All this while, all hosts would''ve been a Lightning Serpent rather than other creatures, hence, such problems had never arisen. Hana''s soul emitted a soft mixture of pastel-colored light around it, which perplexed him the first time he saw it. He was too preoccupied before to save Hana''s life, but once she was in a safe zone, Kuro had so much time to observe his mommy''s soul intimately. He had noticed that the light strangely contracted and expended following a certain unknown rhythm, as if Hana''s soul was breathing. Based on his knowledge, all souls were usually uni-colored, without emitting any kind of rays or light. But his Mom''s... not just the beautiful color, it even emitted a kind of soft fragrance every time it ''beats''. The fragrance was what his soul was deeply attached to. So peculiar. Now he knew the reason behind the premature exit of his hibernation-cultivation session. Hana''s presence, or he could say her soul presence, was truly the reason behind it. Although he had not been able to realize it until now. Though now, he finally knew the peculiarities of Hana''s unique soul, he still could make heads or tails for what it entails. There were too many inexplainable things regarding his Mistress and himself. Kuro decided to push those thoughts to the back of his mind for the time being. .... Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Time passed by slowly within the Soul-hall domain. Kuro could physically see the rapid growth of Hana''s soul with every completed cycle of the soul-chant. Surprisingly, Hana was very compatible with the soul-cultivation method, especially after the artificial innate runes were carved on its surface. Although only a rudimentary level of Soul-link had manifested between them, the effect was astounding! Once his mistress was finally able to consciously link her soul to his willingly, her soul grew so fast. Even his own soul didn''t grow that fast under the same chant! As the shimmering pastel-colored light bathed Kuro''s spectral body, his soul felt being nourished at the same time. Being in the proximity of the light had a nourishing effect on his own soul! Hence, he had obtained twice the amount of progress from a single chanting session, though a lot lesser than his mistress herself. Kuro carefully read the ancient chants as slow as he could so that Hana could follow the ancient words spoken properly without error. The words were difficult, especially for someone who couldn''t speak ancient serpent language. A wrong word could result in a most horrifying backlash! He knew Hana wouldn''t be able to withstand the injury to the soul! It will be a thousand times more painful than a physical injury, and even harder to recover from. The loyal little snake threaded the waters as careful as he could be; knowing that this cultivation method should only be accessible to Lord-leveled lightning serpents; strong souls which has been tempered twice by the heavenly tribulation. He knew the both of them were playing with fire but this was the fastest way for her to get stronger. Moreover, he believed in his mistress'' ability! ...... Author''s Note: (1) new-age = a music genre with aesthetically harmonious melodies encouraging on spiritual transcendence and physical healing. Enya, Yanni, and Kitaro are Mrs. Mooncat''s favorite new-age artiste. You can listen to a sample of a new-age song by googling the names above. 81 Aras Longing A young snakehead (1) swam through the underground tunnels within the Crystal-veined spring while he lowered his eyes every time he encountered some other fishes. The aquatic lives will either snorted with disdain or ignored the young snakehead altogether once they realized he passed by. Initially, he was very confused as to why the sudden change in atmosphere. As someone who was new to the clan grounds, he had been very careful not to offend any of the big shots around here. He knew he couldn''t withstand the repercussions once some Young Masters over here wanted him ousted out or even dead; he had no background or connections whatsoever over here. But now, he already knew why. The young snakehead could only sigh with helplessness as he slowly swam forward into the many little tunnels to reach a spacious room-like space; making his presence as small as possible. Or should he said it was more of like a hall? In the middle of the hall-like room, a pretty pink fish with regal features and beautiful wavy tail, which reminded him of transparent billowing seaweed, was tossing and turning on a large two-meter flattened crystal bed. Every time he looked at the ''bed'', he would''ve gulped his own saliva. His reward for finding this princess was only a thumb-size of such crystal. When his eyes moved a little higher to lay upon the little beauty over the ''bed'', he became a little dazed, just like every other time. Her pinkish scales were symmetrically arranged, with a gloss to them, tinged with bluish light. Her dorsal fin atop her body was a darker shade of pink, with purplish-blue spines. Her lateral line was silver, with a bright gleam to it. She was the embodiment of perfection in every way. The pretty fish was flapping her transparent graceful pectoral fins tragically and wept in a spoiled manner, "Wuwuwuwuuuu...Chomper, you''re finally here. Where have you been? I haven''t finished telling you about Mistress. I missed her so much..." The spoiled little princess was whining again to him for the n-th time. Once she opened her mouth to speak to him the same ol''thing again for the n-th time, her enthralling beauty evaporated from the young snakehead''s eyes immediately as he showed a helpless expression. "Young Miss, you must stay strong and be patient. Please continue to cultivate diligently. The Clan Head already said that you''re free to go when you''ve done consolidating your core." Chomper had tried hard to coax the willful princess. It had been a few days Chomper had been bestowed the position of an attendant to Princess Aranyella. By right, he should be elated with the sudden elevation of his status, but the strange atmosphere within the clan''s ground started from that exact moment. Before, he had been treated cordially, and even sometimes, quite favorably by the other Young Masters of the clan due to his helpful and servile personality. But then, the princess finally came home, huffing and puffing with discontent. Her return marked the start of an undisguised ostracization by the public, especially from the younger generation; it was even obvious to his eyes. He, as the princess official attendant, finally experienced the same level of ostracization from the rest. He immediately lost the budding connection he made with the others. After acquainting himself with the princess and tactfully asking about it, he finally understood that the beautiful princess is a big-time troublemaker and a poisoner at that! He had fin-palmed himself when he knew! [What have I gotten myself into?!] The princess herself had the biggest immunity due to her ability to suck up to the Elders of the clan. But he was totally a nobody! All his life, young Chomper had always been extra careful not to offend anyone. He had done all he could to gain favor from the rest of the Young Masters, or at least not incur any hate from them, and even covered all the misgivings of his new charge. The effect was subtle, but he could already see some results, which appeased him. At least he was not insulted directly on the face. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. If only the princess would remain a good girl, stay put, and cultivate as she should. He would be so glad and kowtowed to the nine heavens. Instead, nine out of ten times he was here, the princess will waste her time wallowing in sadness on her ''prized'' bed, saying ''Mistress this'', ''Mistress that''. Chomper could only push his misgivings within and tried to coax the little princess again as he softened his voice, "Young Miss, I''m sure the Mistress missed you too." "Really?" The glaringly bright eyes assaulted his senses, but he persevered. "Really. Would you like for me to help you send letters maybe? Or presents? I''m sure the Mistress will be happy." Chomper offered with feigned enthusiasm. "Ahh... Mistress didn''t know how to read bubble language. Hmm... I wanna see Mistress. The last time she was so sick too." The princess was beginning to shed crocodile tears and whimpered pitifully. Chomper quickly added, "It''s okay. Just send the Mistress a present first! I can go on your behalf and check on her for you. I can even relay your message if you want. As long as you stay put and diligently cultivate here, Young Miss!" Ara''s eyes shone brightly with happiness. A subtle mischievous light within disappeared before the young snakehead was able to notice the anomaly. She loved it when she could get whatever she wanted with these crocodile tears. She couldn''t stand it if Mistress forget about her after a few days. She needed to make her presence felt even if she was not there inside Mistress'' cave-dwelling. "Hmm..how about some spare crystals and pearls. Oh! I should pack extra All Cure pellets! Let me refine some of them now! Chomper, you go and borrow the shell from Gramps Watershade!" Ara excitedly chattered with a crazed light in her eyes. Chomper sweated profusely within as he heard the taboo ''poison'' spoken by Ara and could only hope that the princess'' Master was strong enough to withstand the poisonous pellet! At the moment, no one else except the Clan Head and the Grand Elder knew of the effectiveness of her medicated pellets. The notorious reputation of her handmade ''poison'' was still prevalent within the whole clan. Ara shooed him out before she slammed a large clam to close the opening to her sanctuary. From outside, he could hear a lot of cluttering sounds and maddening whispers from his charge. The beautiful spoiled princess had suddenly turned into a passionate mad scientist. The change was so vast until Chomper was speechless. [If only her passion for cultivation is like this.] Chomper sighed and shook his head helplessly before he swam through the darkened tunnels toward the Grand Elder''s chamber. ... "It must be hard on you, Little Chomper." Grand Elder Watershade patted the head of the young snakehead fish while sighing gently. Chomper was so nervous but was glad within. Only the heavens knew how troublesome the little princess of the clan was. All the pent up grievances he suppressed inside evaporated into nothingness. The veiled intent within the Grand Elder''s caring words showed that he knew exactly what Chomper had gone through, from the unfavorable public opinion to accommodating the willful princess'' attitude. "Is it alright for me to go on land to meet this Mistress of the Young Miss?" Chomper still remembered about the highest order from the clan; never to tread on land as it was forbidden. He couldn''t just sneakily go out without the circle of Elders'' consent. Even if the Young Miss could disobey them, he didn''t have the guts to do it. He was just a nobody who had chanced upon a windfall from spotting the Young Miss'' whereabouts previously and was duly rewarded. Similarly, he could be kicked out easily too with a slight mistake. Only the Grand Elder seemed to be more amiable than the rest, hence he timidly took his chance after praying to the heavens a million times. Elder Watershade coughed lightly, "Sure. The Clan Head had already entered seclusion for the time being, so I''ll make the decision on his behalf. Use this to keep whatever Little Aranyella wanted to give to the Mistress. It''ll be somewhat proper." The Grand Elder passed a pristine-white bi-valved shell the size of the thumb to Chomper. At the base of the shell, there was a tiny purple-colored gemstone embedded on it. "This... What should I do with this, m''lord?" Chomper asked with a bewildered expression while receiving the tiny white shell with his mouth. He was after all a new addition to the clan''s main grounds. He was ignorant in a lot of things. Elder Watershade sighed and smiled while patting the little one''s head again. Truly, the ignorant was surely blissful. Anyone else seeing the white shell would''ve been shocked and questioned his decision. It was an apt decision to use the clueless young snakehead for the transaction. "This is a Pillage Void Shell. No matter what, keep it well. There was a tiny transaction going on between the clan and the princess'' Mistress. The clan''s compensation was kept within this shell. You can ask Aranyella to add whatever she wanted to give to her Mistress by filling the first layer. No matter what, you must pass this shell only to the Mistress. Not the snake, nor the fox." Elder Watershade explained seriously. He had tried his best to extort as much as the clan''s spare resources to be passed to Aranyella''s master. He really hoped the creature could get adequately stronger faster to ensure its own safety. Before that, hopefully, the Lifeguard Scale could serve as a backup to preserve its little life. "I will protect it with all I got, Grand Elder." Chomper vowed solemnly as he realized the graveness of the issue from the Grand Elder''s veiled exhortations. The white shell must be something extremely precious, although the Grand Elder seemed to try to make light of it. Although he was inexperienced, he was actually extremely intelligent and could read body language like an open book. What he lacked was proper education and backing of the clan. Little Chomper swam away with deep cautiousness reflecting in his eyes as he returned to the chambers of the Waterwave Marine Clan''s willful princess. Elder Watershade watched the snakehead''s retreating figure with an approving gaze, "Send eight experts to silently protect the young one. I don''t want anything to befall the Young Miss'' new attendant and the Pillage Void Shell." "Yes, Grand Elder." A faint voice floated behind Elder Watershade as a shadow flashed by. Elder Watershade sighed lightly and murmured to himself, "I''ve done all I could to help Aranyella''s master. Hope that no big incidents would occur within this period." Only the Clan Head and himself knew the real nature of Aranyella''s master. The others believed that the Young Miss had chanced upon a fruitatious encounter with an expert and had been acknowledged as a disciple. It had even garnered another level of envy from the younger generation. Elder Watershade was helpless with Ara''s current predicament and could only help her the best that he could. He knew, despite all the misgivings the public had over her, the little girl was courageous, dauntless; never giving up her pursuit and believe, besides being fiercely loyal towards the clan, especially towards the Clan Head. They had a really good great-granddaughter in Aranyella. He believed that only time will show the little girl''s worth and efforts in the future. ... Two days later, Chomper was already on his way to the faraway remote region which was actually quite near to his previous abode. He was feeling jittery all over as he knew that crossing the tyrannical Lightning Serpent''s territory was inevitable. He might even come face to face with the murderous brute! The previous massacre before it had gone into slumber a few hundred years ago was still passed down in the clan until today as a precautionary tale! Without him realizing anything, a group of eight experts was stealthily following young Chomper to his destination. ... Author''s Note: (1) Snakehead: It''s a type of predatory freshwater fish, had the same morphology like a catfish but with fish scales covering its body (catfishes don''t have scales). Additionally, its ''face'' was quite different than a catfish. The name stems from the face looking like a snake, with a large mouth filled with row of sharp teeth. Snakeheads are aggressive fishes who ate their own younglings and loved to bully others (laughing). Mrs. Mooncat heard that the flesh doesn''t taste so good. 82 Scouting the Elemental Fiends Nes Within Hana''s Soul Hall Domain, the sound of the ancient serpent chant reverberated clearly within the void. In the middle of the hall, Hana''s translucent body suspended in midair in a lotus position. She was murmuring the chants diligently while closing her eyes. She placed both of her hands on each knee as her long untied voluminous hair billowed like dancing snakes even with the absence of air. The red ''star'' was currently merged within her, as she emitted a faint red light around her astral body. Hana was immersed in her own world, mouthing the peculiar chants with Kuro ceaselessly, while savoring their effects. The comfortable effect of the chants was akin to the feeling after a good two-hour body massage from a professional masseuse; invigorating and calming. Besides the physical effects she noticed, she had not perceived anything else. Being doubtful, she had already asked her doted Kuro last night. Kuro convinced her that the chant did have an effect on her soul. Only, no obvious signs could be seen outwardly. Although she was skeptical, she kept on persisting though it did feel like she was playing and making merry rather than doing something serious. It left a rather helpless feeling inside her worrying heart, thinking she might have done something wrong and was somehow not performing the cultivation routine correctly. Suddenly, the outermost red light illuminating her astral body undulated vigorously like waves roiling and crashing. The scattering light enveloping Hana slowly moved and converged at her forehead, bringing together the faint red light from her entire body, as they concentrated into a loosely-shaped glowing ruby-red orb at the center of her brow. Once all the red light accumulated into a ruby-colored orb, it started to spin slowly. As Hana''s astral body was bereft of the red light, the natural multicolored pastel-colored faint light slowly showed itself again. As the red ruby orb of light spun steadily, it released a thick light into Hana''s eyes! "Urgh!" An involuntary grunt was released as she felt her eyes had been scorched! It was painful! However, the pain subsided almost immediately until she wondered whether she was imagining it or not. She slowly opened her closed eyes. ... Hana was awakened from her cultivation to see the surrounding of the cave-dwelling, albeit from a lower elevation. The fire was very low, but she was seeing the surrounding very clearly. The low embers were extremely bright for her eyes but they didn''t hurt her sight. She quickly sat and turned around. However, her sight hadn''t changed at all, as it stayed stationary at the same place. Only now did she realized that she was seeing their cave-dwelling from Kuro''s angle as she remembered her doted one nestled under her neck before she went to sleep before. She finally knew she had succeeded this time. [Congratulations, Mommy. You did it!] A pleasing androgynous voice entered her mind. Shiro was looking at their mommy with a smiling expression. Both of Hana''s irises had turned ruby-red as they showed a vacant impression; they looked exactly like Kuro''s pulsating red eyes when he was performing the Soul-link arts. Nonetheless, deep inside, he was feeling down and jealous. He knew the connection between his elder brother and Mom had deepened again, at a level he couldn''t catch up in the near future. [Mom, to use your own sight, sever the connection between us just by thinking about it.] Kuro''s voice added. Hana willed for the termination of the soul-link. She could feel a thread connecting her and Kuro was cut off and she felt quite light-headed. Now, she knew what it meant to truly be connected to her pet at the soul-level. Their previous bond was actually at a very rudimentary level as compared to the current level of connection. After a few seconds, she quickly gained her bearing and her sight returned. The surrounding was actually very dim. From there, she realized the advantage of her pet''s sight. It was very useful in dark places! She tried to reconnect the soul-link again and share Kuro''s sight. After trying a few time, it worked! The trio happily cheered together! [And now, should we start on the second phase of our plan?] Kuro happily queried. [Sure. Please return to the site to scout the surroundings, Ku-chan. Oh, don''t forget to steal, err.. borrow some mushrooms if there''s any.] Hana cleared her throat and chuckled bashfully. ... Hana was sitting in a lotus position while stuffing herself with some curry-flavored instant noodles topped with cubed spiritual lightning mushrooms. The deliciousness of the meal had not distracted her at all, although Shiro was watching her hand movement intently with every mouthful of springy noodles. His eyes were full of longing, but he didn''t make any sound as he didn''t want to disturb her. Hana''s ruby-red eyes were vacant as she was focusing on the images from the other side; she was watching Kuro''s movement within the darkened forest. She had readied a pen and a notebook should she need to jot down anything. It was just like watching a video attached to a tagged animal in a documentary channel. However, this time, the graphic''s quality was way better than HD. Even in the darkest nook and cranny, she was still able to see what was there; as if she was the one slithering throughout the forest herself. It was so thrilling and fun!!! Kuro was extremely fast. His movement was akin to flashes of silent lightning as he moved amongst the trees. Sometimes he was flying, while at other times, he was slithering. Hana noticed that Kuro slithered faster than flying. Looking at how the scenery changed, Hana estimated that it could go as fast as 80 km/h, whereas while he was flying, he was just around 50 km/h. [Ku-chan, when you''re near, slow down a little. I can''t see properly when you''re too fast. Make a big sweep 360 degrees for me to have a look.] To the current Hana, Kuro and Shiro''s telepathic conversations were already so clear like they were speaking in front of her. It was partly due to the daily dosage of the mind cleansing spiritual fruit delivered daily by Markisah and partly due to her own increased soul power from her cultivation efforts. Her continual consumption of other spiritual herbs did increase her constitution to withstand the mental burden. Due to that, she had no problems conversing with especially Kuro from a long distance after a few tries. [Roger that, Mommy.] Kuro replied curtly while keeping his vigilance. Kuro stealthily approached the previous Lightning mushroom field. At the moment, a lot of the matured mushrooms had been harvested. The ones left were young ones with similar tombstone-like shaped. Nearly a hundred orange Elemental Fiends were crawling the areas; some were cutting the gigantic mature mushrooms with umbrella-like caps using their pincers, while some others were ferrying them into an opening which looked like a miniature cave. There were some standing guard and patrolling around. These Elemental Fiends were in the shades of either white, black or deep red, with a slightly larger build. Looking at the slightly tensed atmosphere, it seemed that the aftermath of their previous intrusion was still lingering. Kuro scanned underground with his spiritual sense and shared what he saw in his mind with Hana. Underneath the soil, she could see the whole nest! It was made of multiple layers of the underground labyrinth in the form of x-ray vision! Hana gasped loudly in astonishment. Partly from the new form of vision, which seemed not to originate from Kuro''s eyes, as she could only detect it within the shared telepathic channel. She realized that she could act as an intermediary and will it to share the same vision with Shiro by her side. Another part was the extensiveness of the nest; it was simply huge and complex! The gigantic termite''s underground mound was made of more than thirty layers, with each layer comprised of a naturally occurring labyrinthine network from the presence of hundreds of tunnels and deposit pockets. The shape of the mound was akin to the top segment of a sand clock; a small opening at the top where it immediately widened, then gradually reduced in size at the end. At the last level, she could see three pools crowded by a small number of insects with a slightly different morphology than the multicolored termites on the surface. Finally, beside the pools, she saw a large space harboringa slug-like insect the size of a small trailer and gaped! [Is..is that the Queen?] After a while, she asked nervously. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. [Yeah, I think so, Mommy. Why? Are we scrapping the plan?I can still fetch you a few of the fire attributed Elemental Fiends after I destroy this nest. How about it?] A slight hopefulness bloomed in Kuro''s heart. Although the Elemental Fiends were just pseudo-spiritual beasts, they can kill a Noble under a minute when thousands of them swarmed! He had heard about it before. Although he was not scared to lay waste to this new nest which had intruded his territory, he didn''t want anything to happen to Hana. To truly subjugate the whole Elemental Fiend swarm, Hana herself needed to be present to perform the soul-binding ritual with the Queen of the nest, like all other times. Similarly, the would-be slave needed to be willing, especially when Hana didn''t have the strength equivalent or above the Elemental Fiend Queen. Hana totally disregarded Kuro''s suggestion. At the moment, a few of these gigantic termites would not be enough for her to perform her own plan in the near future. At times, the aunty''s stubbornness could rivaled the old croons. [There''s something wrong. I can see that this Queen has wing buds, or is it vestigial wings?] Hana pondered inwardly. [Ku-chan, check properly for extensions. We must make sure whether the Queen here is the secondary or tertiary queen and this nest is just a satellite nest with an extension to the main nest, or whether the Queen is a new one who had evolved from an alate.] She had read a few articles about termites before. It was for the sake of her mom, Ma''am Shaza. The house she grew up in was partially made from wood, but there was an infestation of termites once. She had studied a little before calling the pest control last time. If these ''Elemental Fiends'' were truly ''big-a**'' termites, they should have the same behavior. Termites have a main queen with two other secondary and tertiary queen as a backup should the main queen dies. When the condition was right and the nest had expended well, the main queen would release alates, reproductive termite swarmers to find a new location to start a new nest. However, if that was the secondary queen, that means, there was one more queen somewhere and the main one from a distant main nest totaling up to three! While attacking the nest, they could be pincered by two other queens if they were not careful. Kuro sighed as he realized Hana wasn''t going to back down and accept his suggestion. He replied resignedly. [I think this is a new Queen, Mommy. The extent of the nest is a little smaller than I imagine. I think there should only be around tens of thousands of them, whereas a mature nest would have hundreds of thousands to nearing a million. Additionally, this location is actually my territory; around a hundred years ago before I went into cultivation-hibernation, this nest is still not here.] Kuro explained as a matter-of-factly. [I see!] Hana felt delighted. It''ll be easier like this. [However, just to be safe, do check a couple of times at the surroundings to make sure the nest is isolated.] [Roger that, Mom.] ... 83 Meeting the Young Misss Master All of a sudden, Hana was assaulted with a strong sensation; it clouded her senses and made her feel extremely unwell. The soul-link between her and Kuro had been terminated prematurely. She tried to reconnect again and again but was helpless as she nearly fainted every single time when she failed. Her lips were pale as green veins protruded on her temples. Her limbs started to shake, and her head felt heavy; as if a thousand blunt hammers were hitting her non-stop. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Seeing that something wasn''t right with his Mistress, Shiro immediately approached her with a worried look. [Are you alright, Mom? What happen?] "Suddenly I am disconnected from your brother. I tried to reconnect, but it just didn''t happen." She spoke worriedly with a frail voice. She was trying hard to stop herself from collapsing. She had been formulating her thoughts before she could give additional instruction to Kuro before they disconnected. Unexpectedly, conversing telepathically became a tad bit too painful with the continuous assaulting headache. Hence, Hana opted for speaking out loud. Shiro observed his Mom''s pale complexion and came to a realization. Hana must''ve overexerted herself. No matter what, she had just been introduced into the world of beast cultivation. Although they had tried to nourish her soul, body, and mind progressively, she was still considered a newborn in this field. It was, after all, not more than six days of vigorous cultivation with his elder brother. Connecting to Kuro for a prolonged period would''ve taxed her infantile-level mental and soul power. Even her body was showing signs of not being able to keep up with the overexertion. [Mom, I think you should rest. Please sleep for a while after a meal. Your body had shown signs of collapsing again.] Shiro spoke quietly. "Nonsense! I''m as fit as a bull!" Hana jokingly posed and flexed her biceps extravagantly like how bodybuilding contestants show off their muscles during a contest. She nearly toppled down from the severe headache but was timely supported by the bushy white fox with an anxiety-filled expression. Hana blushed and was speechless with her own shameful acts. "Err... I guess you''re right. Do you think your brother will be alright?" She asked hopefully with distress. [Ah, I see. She was just too worried about Elder Brother.] A little bit of bitterness clouded Shiro''s, innocent heart. [Don''t you worry Mom. Elder Brother is the strongest in this area, beside the old fish from last time, I guess. The Elemental Fiend''s Queen is just a low leveled spiritual beast, while the rest are not even true spirit beasts. Even if he got swarmed, don''t forget he could fly. Pretty fast as well. I''m sure he can get away if he wanted to.] It''ll be a sight to behold if the proud elder brother of his needed to run for his life. Shiro didn''t believe that other spirit beasts could harm that tyrannical brother of his even if there were tens and thousands of them. He knew that if such circumstances did occur, Kuro would have a life-saving secret art that he could use to save his life. Just like him. ... "Excuse me. Is anyone home?" The arrival of the morning sun brought about the presence of Ara''s new attendant at the edge of the Crystal-veined stream. He had floated through a pleasing-looking stone path towards the center of the snake''s lair with apprehension in his heart. Little Chomper had finally reached the lair of his Young Miss'' Master. He was looking up from the bottom of the one-story mini sword-like ''mountain''. His voice was so soft as he involuntary shook like a leaf billowing in summer. He was just a small-time subordinate, with next to no power at all, either in terms of raw strength or spiritual powers. Even the trick to traverse on land was just learned from his Young Miss. The other hidden experts around closed their faces in shame from the poor snakehead''s cowardly disposition. It was too painful to see. Without even meeting the tyrannical snake''s group, the little fish had already besmirched their supposedly mighty reputation. Little Chomper gulped in fear. He could feel the temperature reduced slightly as a beautiful white bushy creature with branch-like horns walked out from the rectangular-shaped doorway above. Its sharp eyes and menacing posture had successfully intimidated Chomper into submission. He could feel the same pressure from the Grand Elder coming from the white creature! Shiro lazily scrutinized the dark green with blackish spots fish floating in a tiny bubble from the top of the artificial ''hill''. He was quite displeased with the sudden appearance of the fish as Mom had only drifted to sleep just a moment ago. Although the fish had an ugly-looking face; he surprisingly got a tiny resemblance to his mean elder brother. However, he saw only timidity and submission in this one''s gaze. However, from his keen senses, he had already detected several other fishes and crabs staying hidden in the vicinity; those were a couple of times stronger than this little minnow. If it was not because he knew that Mom''s last slave was a fish, he would''ve caught this one and asked Mom to stew it on the spot. Ara''s status in his heart would remain a ''slave'' unless she managed to prove herself to him, especially by devotion and heartfelt will to protect and care for their mommy. He snorted in undisguised disdain. Within his eyes, these ''seafood'' were just helpless weak fowls he could strangle at will. However, he still maintained his cordiality due to the presence of the two old fogies within the nouveau-riche clan members. He scrunched his brow and asked with vigilance, "Yes? You are...?" "Ah, Exalted Sir, this little me is known as Chomper, the Young Miss Aranyella Waterwave''s new attendant." Little Chomper introduced himself properly without skimping on courtesy. "Who??" Shiro made a blank expression. Weren''t these seafood the little slave''s clan members? "You knew her as ''Ara'', Exalted Sir." Chomper helpfully reminded. "Ah, I see." Only after so long did Shiro knew the little slave''s real name. It was actually quite regal; befitting a rich princess of the Waterwave Marine Clan. Shiro could feel a slight amusement in his heart. What a name, it even sounded rich; very fitting as a cash cow for them. Shiro was laughing at others but had forgotten how cincai the name he got from Hana was. He had never divulged his previous name; to him, his previous self had already died, and he has been reborn as ''Shiro'', the guardian of his new parent and master, Hana. "And, you are here for?" "This lowly self has some little items sent over by the Young Miss; as a token of remembrance. I also had a message for the distinguished Master as per the Young Miss'' instruction." The well-oiled strings of words spoken by little Chomper were surprising pleasing to hear, making Shiro satisfied inwardly. Even his gaze had softened a little. This little minnow was more prudent than the little slave; he knew where he stood and even acting servile and humble all the way. "Wait here. The Mistress is resting for the time being. When I summon you later, then you can enter to meet her yourself." "This humble one understands. Thank you for your consideration. Little me will wait by the river if Exalted Sir don''t mind. This is because, little me is too weak to maintain the water-air levitation spell since little me is just a nobody." He bowed embarrassingly. "Hey, you weaklings! You heard him?! Come help him reinforced the water bubble, now!" Shiro spoke loudly with intimidation. Chomper froze on the spot with a stunned expression laced with fear. He couldn''t fathom why this creature acted like this. A few seconds passed by before a silver catfish with scars all over its body floated over with a disconcerted look. "Exalted Sir. We offer our deepest apology for being rude. I am known as Mekong, the head of the security escort for the Young Miss'' attendant. As per the Grand Elder''s instruction, we''re supposed to protect Chomper from the shadows." Shiro snorted, "With your level, can you do anything if I want to eat the minnow?" Shiro''s unbridled question made both Chomper and Mekong froze on the spot. The silver catfish showed an unsightly expression; this was an insult of the highest degree. However, he chose not to answer as not to offend this creature. He knew he was just a low leveled spirit beast in the eye of this foreign creature. The truth felt like a hot knife searing his heart. After all, a lot of things were at stake. He couldn''t afford to sour the connection between the princess of the clan with the expert she had pledged over as a disciple just for his pride. Looking at how the silver catfish trying hard to suppress itself, Shiro felt funny inside. Not to prolong their exchanges and just let it off, he continued, "Let''s stop it right here before things turn south. Help this minnow now, then retreat to the river. I don''t want to see any of you in our territory. Only the minnow can stay. Once he''s done, I''ll let him return." "But, it''s the Grand Elder''s order.." "No buts." Shiro dismissed the silver catfish''s words. "You think I can''t protect him? Or you think I''ll eat him?" A myriad of expressions was shown on Mekong''s face. He sighed and looked sympathetically at Chomper. [It''s the little one''s fate to survive now.] Without saying a word, Mekong opened his mouth and blast Chomper''s water bubble with the water-air levitation spell to reinforce it before retreating. He spoke to Chomper, "Little one, my water-air levitation spell can withstand for three days. Before the third day, if your business is not done, come by the river and I''ll help you reinforce it again. Take care." Mekong signaled to his other teammates and a group of seven strong freshwater soldiers followed him, rapidly retreating to the edge of the Crystal-veined stream. ... Hana stretched her body and sighed in delight as her eyelashes fluttered a few times before she opened her eyes. She had just woken from a night of sweet and deep sleep. Although she had no dreams that she remembered, she felt very refreshed. True to Shiro''s suggestions, it really turned out that she just needed a good rest. She habitually fetched her smartphone to look at the time. Gosh! She had slept five-hour straight! Immediately her eyes swept the inner cave-dwelling frantically to look for her cherished pet snake. Kuro was not back yet! Only Shiro was around not far from her, busily attending to the fireplace. "Shi-chan! Where''s your brother? Is he not back yet? Will he be alright?" Hana worriedly asked. "No worries, Mom. I''m sure he''s fine. Anyway, I think you should be able to re-connect to him to ask, right? However, at the moment, we have a guest now so that will need to wait. Come in little Chomper." A little startled, her interest was piqued when she saw a tiny blackish-green head peeked from outside the doorway. Her heart was moved as it really looked like a snake! However, when the creature timidly went inside, she could only sigh when she realized it was only a snakehead fish. Snakehead fish is a freshwater fish which can grow very large due to its bloodthirsty nature; they were the local tyrant of the river. She had never tasted the flesh, but people said it didn''t taste so good. Her heart dimmed a little as her hope to see her little pet snake was dashed ruthlessly. Gathering up her will, she spoke amiably to the little snakehead, "Hello there, I''m Hana. Anyway, could you wait a lil bit. I need to contact my little boy to make sure he''s alright and then we will talk okay." At the side, Shiro translated Hana''s sentences word by word. ... 84 Sorry, You Canst Have This Shell Independence Day Special Release! Chomper was very overwhelmed with the warm reception by Hana''s soothing and amiable attitude towards him. Her voice and her graceful nuance reminded Chomper of the Grand Elder''s elegant and noble demeanor. He finally understood why the little princess liked her mistress so much. Contrary to the Exalted One''s intimidating disposition, this creature was so sweet, soft and compassionate, akin to the legendary goddess of water. This occurred without her even knowing who he was. It meant that this goddess had this kind of temperament all the time to any creature she encountered. Although Chomper was not sure what species this ''Hana'' was, he was unperturbed by her. There were tens and thousands of higher-ordered spiritual beasts in the world; he was just a frog in a well, ignorant with the expansiveness of the world. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. He nodded in a humble manner and waited. He saw the creature positioned herself well before she started to fall in a trance. When her ruby-red eyes opened, Chomper was startled but quickly calmed himself as he could perceive the sudden change in the air density, but could not grasp what it was. After a while, the creature nodded, with a blooming smile on her lips. Her relieved expression gave a deep impression on Chomper, as he wondered what could''ve happened for this goddess to be worried over before. As her body finally relaxed, she then opened her closed eyes to reveal deep dark brown irises behind the pieces of glass shard on her face. "Sorry for the wait, little one." Hana had returned to her senses and elegantly faced the snakehead fish in front of her with a smile. The fish was as thick as her thigh, and as long as her leg; it was quite a large fish. Of course, when comparing the snakehead in front of her with two of Ara''s gigantic elders, it was considered as nothing. However, he has the cutest looking eyes; large limpid black. Hana adored these kinds of anime-like eyes in animals the most; championed by her beloved Kuro. Like always, the aunty had a tendency to find the best out of a person or a creature and focused on it. She somehow ignored the highly developed serrated row of sharp teeth within Chomper''s mouth which rather looked like a shark. "This humble one''s name is Chomper. I''m here by the will of the Young Miss, Aranyella Waterwave, Your Grace''s disciple." Remembering the blank look by Shiro, he added, "Your Grace called her Ara." Suppressing the laughter threatening to spill out as Shiro relayed the snakehead''s down-to-earth introduction with strings of flattering words in between, she nodded with a warm smile. What ''Your Grace''? What disciple? She treated Ara as slightly better than and a business partner only, albeit a rather ''good'' business partner. Besides, while she peeked a little at the row of teeth, she inwardly agreed with his namesake; his parents surely know how to name their son. Hana cleared her throat in an attempt to clear away unnecessary stray thoughts and nodded gently, "I missed Ara a lot. Will she not come to play anymore?" "She wants to! She misses Your Grace too much until it prevented her from focusing to cultivate well. Hence, even until now she isn''t able to consolidate her new core." Chomper hastily replied. Hana was quite stunned with Chomper''s reply. She wasn''t that close to Ara actually. For her to feel that way was truly unfathomable. She was asking just for the sake of it and didn''t really mean anything. "It''s alright. Let her cultivate. Tell her if she can''t consolidate her core properly, she shall forget to come over here anymore. I won''t welcome her. Only this way, she''ll be serious." Hana chuckled mirthfully. Although it sounded like a joke, Hana was being serious. From how the little girl used to speak about her great grandfather, Hana knew that the taukeh(1) was very concerned with the girl''s progress in cultivation. She had been too wishy-washy all this time, invoking his wrath. If the aunty gave her the green light, it meant she was supportive of the little girl''s attitude. It will only sour the relationship between her and Ara''s great grandfather, which was not her intention. Chomper gratefully bowed and humbly spoke, "I shall relay your thoughts, Your Grace." "Awww, this cute one, stop calling me ''Your Grace'', ''Your Grace''. Geli-lah. Just call me Aunty." Hana laughed out loud. She can''t stand Chomper''s super servile attitude anymore. Shiro scrunched his brow at the side. He wasn''t entirely supportive of Hana''s way of making every creature felt she was the intimate elder of theirs. She should exert some dominance to exhibit her superiority, not the other way around. "I can''t do that! The Grand Elder will cut my tongue! Please let me call Your Grace as ''Your Grace''. After all, you''re our Young Miss'' Master. A Master for one day is a father for a lifetime. Since Your Grace is the Young Miss'' master, we need to treat you with a higher level of respect than her. Comparing our statuses with her is akin to the light of the full moon to the tiny embers at night." Chomper prostrated rigidly with his head touching the cave floor while his whole body shook in fear. Hana was extremely perplexed with the snakehead''s extreme response. Even fishes nowadays knew how to use proverbs to flatter someone. It must''ve read a lot. She scrunched her brow in befuddlement and nodded lightly. "Alright, it''s up to you, Chomper. Please stop that and straightened up now. I don''t like it when you do that." At the side, Shiro nodded with contentment within. This was how it should be! A slave was still a slave even if the slave was a princess! Hence, the slave''s attendant should be a double-leveled slave. He was glad that the little fish knew his place. Only Lord Tittua and Grand Elder Watershade knew Ara''s true status within Hana''s group. To the others, their clan''s princess was able to obtain the acknowledgment of a master as a disciple through a series of fruitatious events. It further fueled their envy at multiple levels. Only the Clan Head was extremely worried day and night about Ara''s new ''master''. Truly, his doted great-granddaughter was just a lowly slave; without a choice but to die upon the death of her master. Only with the incessant pleas from the Grand Elder did he finally forced himself to enter seclusion again. Both of them knew he needed to cure himself from the previous grave injuries from the failed breakthrough. Only after that could he try again with the help of Ara''s medication. To Lord Tittua, it was a race against time; maybe, just maybe, he will be strong enough to release Hana''s bind on his doted great-granddaughter once he becomes stronger. Chomper swam upwards helplessly within the bubble encasing him. It was best not to offend their princess'' Mistress. He immediately spat out a tiny white shell the size of a thumb from his mouth. It floated within Chomper''s water bubble. " May this lowly servant offer this to you, Your Grace." Listening to Shiro''s translation in her mind, the aunty nodded her head and inserted her right hand into Chomper''s water bubble to fetch the tiny bi-valve white shell. It was the most common kind where one could find strewn about on a beach, except that a tiny purplish gem was embedded on its back. "Is this from Ara?" Hana happily took the cute little shell. It didn''t matter how common or how cheap it was, what matters was the remembrance of the sender attached to the gifting article. "Thank you, so sorry to trouble you to send it over." Hana thanked the young snakehead sincerely. "Err, no no Sorry, you can''t have this shell. It is not from the Young Miss. You still need to return it afterward." Chomper said awkwardly. "The Young Miss'' gifts are inside, on the first level. This shell is the Grand Elder''s." Chomper respectfully informed the aunty. Hana blanked for a moment. What first level? She couldn''t comprehend what was spoken by the fish. So stingy to be this calculative with a single pretty shell! Feeling slightly wronged, she scrutinized the closed white shell and tried to pry it open with her nails. It was so tiny, she wondered what could fit within. A mini bead-sized pearl maybe? Obviously, even after the aunty struggled for a full five minutes, nothing happened. Looking at Hana''s look filled with distress, Chomper didn''t know whether to laugh or to cry. He helpfully added, "Your Grace just need to press the purple gem at the back of the shell while flooding a little spiritual energy within." Hana whispered to Shiro inside her mind. [Eh, Shi-chan, how to pull spiritual energy to this little shell? Helpppp, I don''t know how!] Shiro nearly fell down. Suddenly Kuro''s voice resounded inside their heads. [Mommy, use your soul power. Just will your soul power to be directed to the finger you wish to use. Soul power is the primogenitor of self-generated spiritual energy within a beast. It has the same effect as spiritual energy but is purer in a sense.] Kuro had been keeping tabs of their conversation from the very beginning. Although the little minnow couldn''t pose a threat to their Mommy with the presence of the fox nearby, he still felt quite wary. [Thanks, Ku-chan. Come home first, sweetie. Mommy will cook something for you.] [On my way, Mommy. Ten minutes tops.] [Bro, get something on the way. Unless you want to eat the same thing again.] Shiro added. [Yeah, yeah. You just take care of Mommy and don''t be careless.] Hana returned to her senses and directed her soul energy to her finger through visualization where she simultaneously pressed the gem at the back of the tiny white shell. The shell opened up automatically as it spat out a beautiful luminous pearl which was bigger than the shell itself! Hana was so shocked as her eyes turned round! She hesitantly turned the shell around to see any mechanism, as the scene before her eyes had defied the law of physics! After the shell spat out the first pearl, as if a dam was broken, it spat multiple pearls the size of ping-pong balls nonstop. The pearls even nearly enter Hana''s agape mouth!!! ... Author''s Note (1) taukeh = as a reminder, it means ''big boss'' 85 Fishes around here didnst know their Maths! Before the pearls could threaten to enter Hana''s opened mouth, Shiro swiped Hana''s hand and throw the shell on the cave floor. What could he do if the pearls choked Mom to her death? That''ll be really tragic! Within a minute, around the two-meter radius of the cave floor was flooded with pingpong-sized pearls with a beautiful greenish glow. Hana guesstimated that there were more than a thousand pearls over here! How much did the girl eat until she needed to pay this much? "Isn''t this too many? Ara has cleared her debt to me before. She only needs to pay two crystals to me. Hence, the amount of pearls is actually two crystal worth." Hana took her smartphone and calculated. "She only needed to pay me with 360 pearls." Hana had recorded the trade terms she discussed with Ara on her smartphone. All the fishes the little girl ate had been paid with freshwater prawns, even with some extras at the side. She had stayed over for two days, hence, according to the agreement, she only needed to pay two crystals. Previously, they had agreed on six prawns per batch of fish, with one prawn equaled to ten pearls. Hence one batch of fish was equaled to sixty pearls. Three batch of fishes was equaled to one crystal or 180 pearls. So two crystals were equaled to 360 pearls. Unless Ara had eaten some more fishes during Hana''s ''treatment session'' without her knowledge. Or was the fishes around here had problems with simple maths? Little Chomper was a little surprised by the master''s calculative nature. He cleared his throat and tried to speak well for his own mistress, "Your Grace, this is not the payment. This is a gift from the Young Miss, as a token of remembrance. She had missed you too much, and could only think of the things that you loved most. Hence, she had taken out all these beautiful Azure Spirit Pearls for your sake. She want me to let you know, she is thinking about you all the time and hoped that you''ll come over for a visit if she took too long to consolidate her core." Looking at Hana''s touching expression, he was secretly feeling satisfied inside. As the ''rain'' of pearls slowly subsided, the tiny white shell spurted out dark greenish mud-like balls. Hana yelped from being so surprised! It looked like it was raining mini cow dung this time! With a flexibility that she didn''t know she had, she reflexively dodged a few times so that the disgusting-looking greenish ''dungs'' were not pelted on her now-beautiful flawless skin. The level of distress was very high at the moment! [Shi-chan, help me! I need an umbrella!] The aunty made a half-crying face. Shiro sweated by the side, as three black lines appeared on his head. The regal demeanor of his mom was totally gone now. As he was there the whole time during Hana''s emergency treatment, he naturally knew that the ''cow dungs'' were not feces at all. It was the little slave''s specialty medicine, the All Cure Pellets. It was considered priceless as compared to the spirit pearls! [Err, Mom. Stop it. That''s just some medicine the fish made for you. You''ve used so much of them before too.] Shiro blushed heavily under all the white fur. He cleared his throat and pretended not to see anything. By the side, Chomper''s mouth was agape as well. He was too shocked by the goddess'' extreme reaction to the poison pellets. Nothing would''ve happened if these pellets touched the skin. They will only show reactions when being ingested. What great sixth sense! Even the master herself was afraid of their Young Miss'' poisonous pellets! However, he only thought about it and pretended not to see Hana''s awkward dodging movements. "These additional medicinal pellets were freshly made by our Young Miss for Your Grace. She had gone through a sleepless night for these. Please accept them, Your Grace. Just keep them well." Chomper added hastily. His charge was quite productive; she had made a whole bunch of pellets! Nearly thirty pieces of them! He wondered how much resources had been poured into these useless things. He could only sigh deeply inside. Before Hana could say anything, Chomper continued, "The payment of the Young Miss'' debt has been transferred to the clan. From here onward, the clan will be responsible for repaying whatever the Young Miss had partaken and will partake in the future. Please check the second level of Pillage Void Shell. Simply tap the gem twice with your spiritual energy." Chomper spoke seriously and had repeated what the Grand Elder had spoken to him previously. Hana was making a weird expression this time. It was pretty suspicious! Nonetheless, she walked over to the tiny shell immersed within the pearls interspersed with some medicinal pellets and followed through with Chomper''s instruction to tap the gem twice with her minuscule soul power. Immediately, she placed the shell on the scattered pearls again to avoid being bombarded with whatever things that might come out. Nothing happened for two seconds as the trio in the cave anticipated it. Suddenly, the shell emitted a white light, floated, and spewed forth a fountain of pearls! Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. ... Kuro was a little tired. He had slithered everywhere to find a suitable gift for Mommy. He knew that Mommy was already tired of eating seafood every day, but he still hesitated to bring the brown bird along. He had dropped by to check and found that the bird nearly starve to death! The eggs were long gone. As he was too busy protecting his mommy, he hadn''t dropped by for many days already. Hence, he quickly went to the fish trap, selected a lot of fishes, and threw them into the natural ''cage'' from the burnt opened tree trunk on top. The bird was so startled and looked like it had met God, as it voraciously ate the fishes without regard. He then took a lot more fishes and threw them in to fatten it up further. It''ll be ready in a week or two. Kuro then selected a few green coconuts for everyone at home. He was already late by ten minutes from his promised time. As he slithered towards the cave entrance, the green coconut bunches dropped from his mouth as his eyes were wide open to the ridiculous occurrence inside their house! His mommy was making a funny exasperated look as she was covering her head with her hands while being submerged by a sea of pearls! It was raining pearls! Their whole cave was filled to the brim with pearls five-inch deep. Kuro blanked for a second. He knew that that girl slave they con was going to pay them with pearls, but why so exaggerated? Are they flaunting their wealth? Or are the fishes in this area didn''t know their maths?! ... 86 Insincere Dinner Invitation Hana was so exasperated with the amount of pearls within their cave as she waded through them with difficulties. It ridiculously reminded her of an extremely expensive ball pit for kids. Although the fire had been inadvertently extinguished due to the high number of pearls covering the burning logs without mercy, the beautiful greenish luminescence from the thousands of pearls had illuminated the dark cave with a rather romantic atmosphere. To the aunty''s relief, the horrendous levitating white shell had finally stopped spewing all those pearls after around twenty minutes plus. However, this posed a different kind of headache for Hana on how to store this amount of pearls. This was just crazy! This was not paying a transaction, but more on giving her easy money for free! Hana felt extremely uneasy! She knew that there was no such thing as free lunch in this world. The Waterwave Marine Clan might want something from her in return but what could it be? She was just a small existence in this foreign rainforest. She knew she was so weak that even a glance from Ara''s elders might lead her to her death, thus the inability to produce something that might be of value for the opposite party. She was pretty sure that Ara''s home must have all the good things and had no need to covet the yield of her small-time fish trap. Ara''s vibe gave herself the scent of being a super-rich ignorant silkpant! Naturally, our aunty was the only creature who didn''t know that she herself had obtained so many expert ''slaves'' who will die for her. By being alive was already a boon for the Waterwave Marine Clan; Lord Tittua and Elder Watershade had used all the cards within their power to persuade the Circle of Elders to approve of the supposed ''transaction''. In truth, it was merely an excuse to dig the clan''s treasury to help strengthen the weak little bug creature known as Hana, into a reasonably stronger entity. Usually, at this level of strength, Hana would''ve died a thousand times without the presence of Kuro and Shiro beside her. At least, Hana must have adequate personal strength to survive alone since an accident could happen at any time. Although Hana was in the possession of the Lifeguard Scale, both fishes still didn''t feel relieved; they were worried that she might be besieged for prolonged period of time, thus, exhausting the energy within the refined weapon before she could be saved in time. After all, hidden experts were like the number of clouds in the sky. She could be crossing path with a random expert today or even tomorrow! The snake and the fox weren''t reliable enough! "This is too much, Chomper! Take them back!" Hana instructed with worry. Were they going to tie her to them for eternity or what? This amount of wealth was simply too much for her. She didn''t even know what to do with all of the pearls. If the size of the pearls were around her index fingernail, she would''ve loved to string them up and turned them into a necklace, or to turn a tiny number of them into gorgeous earrings. But, pingpong size! She''ll just look like a Buddhist monk with gigantic praying beads! Chomper quickly prostrated again and said, "I don''t dare, Your Grace. I don''t dare. Please accept all these!" He was so afraid that he might be accounted for if he returned with a failed mission from the clan. Additionally, he himself was not privy of the trade terms between the Young Miss'' new mistress and his clan, and the number of treasures involved in the transaction. He was just the postman, for goodness sake! Hana looked wryly around her; it was possible to try to imitate Uncle Scrooge''s stunt of swimming within his own gold coins. She observed the still-floating white shell with apprehension before it suddenly spewed up something again to her horror! At an interval of two seconds each, a rough crystal with glowing soft white hue came out from the shell. These crystals were around three fists'' size with differing shapes. After ten crystals were out, the shell finally landed gently on the piles of pearls below it. [Is this the famed crystals heavily sought after by you two?] Hana picked one up from the pearl-covered floor to examine the pretty irregularly shaped multifaceted crystal. She asked the kids telepathically to double-check, just in case. Hana could feel a thick energy within, presumably the natural condensed spiritual energy, though she had not the slightest inkling on how to consciously absorb it. All spiritual energy she absorbed was through consumption. She wasn''t even able to finish absorbing the pearl and ruby shard given to her by Ara and Kuro after many days of cultivation. [Yes! No matter what, do accept a quarter of the pearls and all of the crystals, please?!] Kuro pleaded from the side as his tiny profile peeked through the cave entrance with a bunch of young coconuts. [Why? They''re too big and crude for me. I don''t like them.] She made a sulking expression unhappily. The boys rolled their eyes exasperatedly. [Mommy! Those are cultivation resources! You can use them for the longest time after this. Although the pearls are not nice to wear, once you''re in contact with it, you can absorb the spirituality within it directly. There''s no need to stuff yourself silly with food every single time. Additionally, for your current level, this is the best kind of resources you need.]Kuro explained enthusiastically. [Additionally, spiritual herbs and fruits are rare things. Before I meet you, I can only encounter these herbs very rarely. Sometimes, even ten years once was hard! These are heaven-sent! Please accept them, Mom.] Shiro chimed in earnestly. [How about the crystals, how important are they to you?] Seeing that only tens of them were given, these crystals must be quite precious, even for the clan. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. [Extremely. I dare say, with at a minimum estimation of three thousand of them, coupled with some fruitatious conditions, I could bridge the gap of a Noble into a Lord by invoking the next heavenly tribulation.] Shiro explained seriously. Mom already knew he was at the half-step stage into the Lord level. Hana''s agaped mouth at the moment could be stuffed with AA-grade eggs. [Three thousand?! That many?!] Shiro nodded. He didn''t add Kuro''s requirement as he was already at the Lord level since he knew it''ll be useless to frighten their mom. A higher level would''ve naturally needed higher number of quality resources. The amount will lessened if they could somehow get their paws on a higher tiered spirit crystals. Hana sighed inwardly as she looked around her. There were surely more than ten thousand pearls over here, but only ten crystals. These didn''t even qualify as a drop from the three thousand mark requirement. Nonetheless, she was sure all these didn''t come with no strings attached. She decided to thicken her face and at least accepted part of the precious treasures; at least the crystals, for her boys'' sake. Hana was still a little scared, as she hesitatingly picked up the shell and hand it over quickly to Chomper. She was afraid something else could come out next and flood them to death. At the moment, her mindset had changed as she finally knew the monstrous resources she needed for her beloved pets. This tiny thing was just like the famed spatial rings. It was the first for her to encounter a naturally-occurring item with the same ability as a spatial ring. Now she understood why the white shell was not given to her. It must''ve been the most important treasure of the clan. "I will temporarily receive these.. generous items from you, just for your sake, Chomper. Send my regards to the two elders. Truthfully, I think there''s a misunderstanding here. It''ll be great if one of the elders could come over to discuss things through." After hesitating, she said, "Send my love to Ara as well, tell her to work hard. I''ll visit sometime in the future." It''s good to add a few extra loving words to make the naive little fish feel much better and strive harder. "This little me will definitely relay your messages over. Thank you so much, Your Grace, for your kind consideration." Chomper bowed respectfully. "Ah, since all the serious things are over. Do join us for dinner will you? It''s a request." Hana smilingly invited the little fish. Her eyes glinted as she thought of something in passing. The little snakehead was bowing down, hence he had missed it altogether. However, the two brothers was keenly aware of their mom''s idea as they blinked their eyes and grin. "Pardon?" Chomper showed a blank look as he was unsure how to act with the sudden invitation. ... Hana was scrutinizing the young coconut bunches brought back by her beloved Kuro while tapping her chin seriously. Initially, she was planning to cook up something simple for their guest and be done with it. However, she berated herself internally after glancing at the chap''s fidgety demeanor. She can''t just treat the little one with a cincai attitude. After all, he represented the Waterwave Marine Clan and was also a close attendant to her friend, Ara. She must put in a little more effort. A light bulb suddenly emerged within the depth of the aunty''s mind as she was reminded by something. She narrowed her eyes. Isn''t this the perfect time to test my postulates?! The conditions felt right, and even the little one in front of her seemed as gullible as his little mistress. Additionally, if it was a success, it''ll benefit this little one greatly. The longer she ruminated over her idea, the surer she was. Hana had managed to convince herself to try her idea out on the poor chap. She weighted over the pros and cons and finally decided to test it out; the risk to success ratio was manageable. After that, she finally narrowed down a number of dishes that complimented each other in terms of their attributes. Feeling pleased with the coconut bunches brought back by Kuro, her mind whirred busily. [What can I do with these young coconuts?] She knew young coconut water was delicious as is, but she wanted to turn it into something special. It''ll be good to add additional yin effect over it while making sure it''s delicious. After all, the little one was naturally water-attributed. [Chilled coconut juice? Too simple.] [How about sweetening it? Honeyed coconut juice? Still not good enough. Hmm...] [Ah! I know! Coconut smoothie! Yesss! Klebang''s coconut shake (1)! That''ll be super delicious!] Hana then tuned into the public''s telepathy channel with a fawning expression displayed to her two pets. [Ku-chan, Shi-chan, Mommy need your help pretty please..] Both of them looked at each other knowingly while rolling their eyes. [Yeah, just spill the beans, Mommy. What do you need? We''ll help as much as we can. But no promises.] They knew the aunty''s requests could be outrageously demanding! They hoped that Hana won''t put too high hopes on things that might or might not exist. [Yay!] Jumping with joy, she went over to snuggle with her two pets lovingly. [My sons are the best!] Kuro and Shiro were feeling blissful inwardly until the lists of ingredients entered their minds... ... Author''s Note: (1) Klebang''s Coconut Shake = Klebang is the name of a place in Melaka, Malaysia. It''s about 2-3hours from KL. There''s this famous joint selling coconut water blended with vanilla ice-cream. It tasted pretty good. However the kuih2 and nasi lemak (food accompaniment) tasted horrible..aiyoooo Mrs Mooncat''s Rant: You give small-sized pearl, people will say you''re stingy. If too big and too many, people will feel so exasperated coz they didn''t know what to do with them (laughing). I remembered a Stephen Chow old movie where he acted as a detective with 0 talent for martial arts. He was the underdog of the dynasty as he saved the Emperor from being killed by an evil organization. The Emperor asked him, what would u like? He picked the biggest pearl on the Emperor''s crown! (laughing) When he brought it back to his wife, his wife was sooo over the moon, as she made a drug-like induced happy dance around him (it was just 1 single pearl the size of pingpong). It was so funny! Can''t remember the title already..we watched it on Netflix few years back to rekindle old favorites :P Anyway, support ASTHW by subscribing on Pa treon! Or treat us to a cuppa on Ko -fi! Smile! 87 Verifying a Postulate with Coconuts and Crabs Three hours later, Chomper was looking at his own plate with an anxious look. There were two strange ''things'' in front of him. The first one was a whole crab doused with a greenish-yellow gravy, with seaweed-like green clump decorating its periphery. On top of the crab itself, tiny red flakes were scattered around, giving a visual appeal to it. To his horror, the crab itself was actually a pseudo-spiritual beast! As a low-leveled spiritual beast who had barely started to cultivate, he was just a little bit better than the crab in terms of power level. And here it was, served to him on a plate, dead, and even being decorated. The ''plate'' holding the poor crab was actually one of their own Clan Head''s precious scale! He stole a glance at the real owner of the territory, the infamous notorious snake, and was jolted into an immense dread when their gaze connected coincidentally. The Lightning Serpent Lord was giving him a meaningful stare while glancing at the dish in front of him. Astute as he was, he knew he couldn''t comment or ask unnecessary things to the mistress, especially pertaining to the strange mealin front of him or he will be the next one to be ''served''. Chomper gulped his saliva nervously. Another ''thing'' that was peculiar was some white waterish slush presented in a large green fruit cut in half. There was even a tube-like soft branch at the side. Chomper was pretty confused with the arrangement. He stole another glance on his left to see a pseudo-spiritual bird looking hard at its own plate, ignoring all distractions; a small pot of soup with only the greenish clump of ''seaweed'', and the white water at the side. It had a very impatient, ravenous look reflecting in its black beady eyes. He looked to his left and saw a similar gaze from the white stranger; albeit a little restrained. "Stop looking around and be polite. The Mistress had worked hard on this. No matter if you like it or not, you must finish it." Shiro added stoically. In front of strangers, he had tacitly agreed with Kuro to address their mommy as Mistress. It was for their mommy''s sake. They must help their mommy build a certain level of reputation for her to be respected in the circle of spiritual beasts. It was for the sake of her safety after all. As she arranged the last dish in front of everyone in a circle, Hana exclaimed jovially, "Done! Everyone can eat now." ... Kuro was still a little disgruntled with Hana''s requests before. He had taken more than an hour of desperate searching to find the hive of bees and took it down for the honey that she wanted. Thank goodness that all the bees were just pseudo spirit beasts, and only the queen bee was barely qualified as a real spirit beast. Although he was very strong, the sheer amount of angry bees pursuing him nonstop had made him really annoyed. They were very persistent. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Then, he went to catch some crabs. Since they had just finished all the crabs from the fish trap, he needed to catch some by himself. Why did Mommy want to eat crabs all of a sudden? He knew whatever was in Mommy''s mind, it will surely be delicious. Hence, he took extra care to get the best crabs available. He was keenly aware that the experts from the girl slave''s clan were around, hence he purposely targeted a few pseudo spirit crabs within a group of normal crabs just to intimidate the experts intentionally since a large number of them were high-leveled spirit crabs. In his heart, he really would catch them and ask Mommy to stew them, but he was quite worried that the chap at home would''ve tattletale on him to Mommy. Additionally, Mommy''s constitution was not strong enough to consume real spirit beasts yet. So, better not burn any bridges for the time being Looking at the ugly expression of the strongest one in the group of experts with his spiritual sense, Kuro just sniggered with disdain. Nonetheless, admiring the piles of crabs tastefully heaped on his plate made him smile with contentment; although he was somewhat dissatisfied with the same number of crabs on the smelly fox''s plate too! Before he could voice his discontent, Hana quietly sent a message to the public channel. [Both of you contributed. Ku-chan, for sourcing the resources outside. Shi-chan, for helping Mom to prepare the food. So both got equal treatment. Please behave in front of the guest and don''t make me lose face.] She smiled amiably at the befuddled little fish. Little infighting within the family shouldn''t be shown to outsiders. No need to wash dirty linen in public. People will look down on you as well as your family. Hana broke the ice by starting to spoon the bracken shoots doused in the extra spicy turmeric coconut soup. Today, the spiritual chili was a little more than usual because she wanted to observe the effect on a certain newcomer over here. Additionally, she had stocked on a lot of chilies and bidara fruits courtesy of Markisah''s daily gifts. "Mmmm..." She closed her eyes to savor the distinct crunch with a hint of chewiness of the bracken shoots with contentment. She then used the tube-like soft branch placed diagonally inside the coconut fruit bowl to suck up the slurry of coconut water-honeyed milk ice cream combo like how one would use a straw. "Slurpppppp!" It was too good! The extra heat from the spicy turmeric soup had been extinguished by the cooling effect of the coconut shake. Her eyes turned bright as she now knew the value of her adorable instant ''ice-maker'' beside her. So handy! Seeing their Mommy already started eating and drinking, Kuro, Shiro and Markisah started digging in without delay. It had been many days since the last time Hana cooked properly as she had immersed herself wholly in cultivation. "Slurppppppp!!!!" They instantly fell in love with the taste of the so-called coconut shake! Sweet, mellow and rich! The bits of flavored soft fluffy ice had increased the deliciousness many times over! Even Kuro''s gaze at his younger ''brother'' had softened a lot. [Brother, good job. Thank you for helping Mommy in the kitchen.] Kuro had finally discarded his mean way of addressing Shiro with ''smelly fox'' to ''Brother'', and truly acknowledged the Glacier Mirage Fox as a family member. He realized the benefits were endless with the innate frost-conjuring ability of his brother''s. He anticipated greater deliciousness from the duo''s cooperation in the future to come. It didn''t matter if the job of becoming the ingredient scavenger became permanent! ... The timid Chomper had not started eating as he observed all the others around him consumed the strange meal in front of them. However, he knew he shouldn''t delay since the two existences on par with the Clan Head and the Grand Elder were eyeing him meaningfully. He started with the whitish slurry first, just a tiny bit, and copied how the others consumed the meal. "Slurrrrrrpppp!" His eyes turned wide as he could taste an amalgamation of foreign flavors on his underdeveloped taste buds. The rich sweetness of honey with a slight tinge of spirituality; the mellow creamy milk, and the light and refreshing flavor of chilled coconut water had invoked a myriad of feelings within him; very positive ones. He could even taste a few chunks of a sweet and crunchy fruit which immediately cleared his mind once he consumed it. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted! Coming from someone of extremely low status with a low talent, he had barely met end''s meet, living at the edge of the Crystal-veined stream which was under the clan''s territory. His diet had consisted of other ordinary fishes and sometimes insects. That was one of the reasons why his cultivation progress was so slow. Once he entered the clan''s main grounds, the quality of food became better but was still ''savory'' high-grade seafood. It was his first time tasting sweet delicious food. He was instantly in love! [It will be good if I can eat this every day.] A fleeting thought full of longing passed through Chomper''s mind as his saliva nearly fell into the coconut shake. A voice disrupted his fantasizing, "The Mistress said, not too much. Eat the main meal first." Shiro pointed to the single crab served to the fish and smirked inwardly. The minnow must''ve noticed the ''grade'' of his meal just now. Feeling conflicted and helpless at the same time, he finally reduced the water bubble to only covered his back and used his strong jaw to bite the whole crab and chew it directly with the tough skin and all. Everyone didn''t stop eating but secretly peeked at the snakehead with great interest and anticipation in their minds. Will this guy follow the precedence and went to achieve a breakthrough like all of them or was it all just purely a coincidence? Will the aunty''s postulates turn into a verified theory?! ... 88 Casting the Bai Chomper obeyed the white creature''s command instinctively and immediately gulped the whole crab with one bite! His strong jaw chewed the hard exoskeleton easily with loud crunch noises. As he licked the rest of the residues from the plate and swallowed it in, he felt a simmering fiery pain filling him up! The fish had a blank look in his eyes while his body was emitting hot vapor. A painful expression followed through as the poor snakefish trembled violently. [Is it too much for him? I thought I had adjusted well.] "Quick, help him drink the coconut shake now! Or he might be cooked through!" Hana urged Kuro with worry when she saw something was not right with the little snakehead fish. Although the meal was extremely delicious, it has a potent fire property to it; it was intentional. Hana had used three spiritual fire chilies for the crab dish to experiment with their effects on the poor snakehead. Fiery energy flowed through his body, saturating his fins, tail, and scales while scorching them at the same time. As his body threatened to combust, a cooling sensation arrived in a timely manner, giving him an immense reprieve. However, the fiery pain returned like a billowing wave again! "Feed him again with the coconut shake!" Hana sweated worriedly. As if having a mind of its own, the fiery energy bypassed the protected area covered by the yin-attributed energy and now moved within Chomper''s body to concentrate on his teeth! Chomper could feel his teeth had been going through repeated tempering by the fiery energy before he finally felt a cooling sensation countering it again! As such, both opposing energies collided again and again within Chomper''s body which served as a check and balance to one another. Steadily, the cumulative of spiritual energy permanently resided within Chomper''s body increased a few notches. The distinction between a spiritual beast''s strength was very loose in this forest. It was measured by the number of successes one survived heaven''s tribulations. In addition, spiritual beasts within the same level could be further divided based on the cumulative amount of energy they have amassed prior to triggering the tribulation of the next level. They were generally divided into the initial stage, early-stage, mid-stage and finally, the late-stage before one was eligible enough to invoke the heavenly tribulation. Little Chomper was just an early-stage spirit beast who had just advanced by a small realm in his body tempering cultivation with the help of the low-tiered spiritual crystal bestowed to him. It was his previous reward for providing crucial information on the princess'' whereabouts. After that, he was helpless to obtain any more from the clan as he was just a tiny subordinate without any notable achievement. Flattering the Young Masters had proved to no avail as he was suddenly placed under the Young Miss'' fins. Her notorious reputation had nullified all of his hard work. Observing Chomper''s condition from the eyes of Kuro, Hana could see clearly what was going on with the little fish. She ruminated on the information she got from the series of experiments she had performed. She felt that she only needed a little bit more samples to finally identify the most probable rules to achieve breakthroughs for the adorable animals around her with her cooking method. She needed more test subjects! She pushed her thoughts away and displayed a satisfied expression. Once the last traces of pain finally subsided, Chomper slowly regained his awareness and found that he had jumped through two whole levels to reach the late stage of body tempering! His fins and scales were reinforced twice, while his teeth had been refined at least trice! He was now on par with the experts following him this morning!!! Looking at the delighted but confused expression of little Chomper, the aunty revealed a most ''sincere'' and dazzling smile, "How is it? Do you like the gift I gave you?" Chomper quickly prostrated humbly with tears in his eyes. He was deeply moved with the Young Miss'' mistress'' benevolence! The sentences spoken by the Mistress showed that she was the reason for his sudden minor breakthroughs. It was even intentional. Such benevolence! "THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" No words could describe his feelings. He was very emotional at the moment. Due to his mediocre aptitude besides the lack of resources, he had lingered within the initial level for thirty years. That was also the reason why he had not been able to enter the clan''s main ground at the very beginning. He silently promised to himself that he will definitely return the favor one day. At the moment, he had resolutely firmed up his resolve to loyally serve the little princess with all he got so that she wouldn''t suffer any grievances! After all, she was the Mistress'' disciple! "Rise. Stop prostrating with every little thing." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "This humble one complies, Your Grace." Hana could see something changed in Chomper''s gaze. How could she explain it? Gratitude laced with resolve? There was even anticipation within. Suddenly, Hana got a little headache on how to handle this little one. Her ''gift'' was not too sincere in itself, hence she felt a little guilty despite the success. Chomper was in a seriously precarious situation just now. He would''ve died if she hadn''t counter the excessive fiery energy provided by the crab dish with the coconut shake. Hana cleared her throat and relayed her message to be translated by Shiro in real-time, "Is there anything else? If not, you may go back and send over my messages to the party involved. Oh, ask for three medicinal pellets from Ara, the ones she used for me. This one." Hana picked up the All Cure pellet to show to Chomper which one he should consume. She ignored his shocked expression once her intention had been retold by Shiro and continued. "You eat them one by one, one day each when you go back. Take a rest for three days during the time you partake the medicinal pellet. Say to the girl, it''s my order. Don''t forget to send over someone to let me know about your detailed condition afterward. If some problems arises, contact me immediately. Don''t wait after three days." The aunty recklessly threw out a series of instructions in the form of a prescription. Hana smile ''benevolently'' to cover the uneasiness. From Kuro''s eyes, she was able to see some internal injuries within the snakehead''s body. She was sure that Ara''s medicine would do. After all, they succeeded in helping her condition before. Chomper nodded with an expression full of gratitude. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and stopped for a good half minute. He spoke hesitatingly, "This... This humble one isn''t sure whether to speak it.." "Pray tell, little Chomper." "Once little me return to the clan grounds, most probably half of the community will detect the sudden rise in my strength level. I will not be able to hide it from the ones stronger than me, especially the Circle of Elders helm by the Grand Elder. As you know, us spiritual beasts have a very hard time increasing our level although we had long lives. Some had lived for hundreds of years, unable to even go through the bottleneck of a minor stage. Only the very talented ones like Princess Aranyella had the constitution but not the intention, which had made her the ire of many. I am not sure what shall I do. Please instruct me." He lowered his head again while hoping for this magnanimous goddess to catch his meaning. He couldn''t help this benevolent being from exposing her unique ability once he returned, which may impact her both in a positive and a negative way. The sheer number of clansmen was enormous; tens of thousands. Hence there will always be some with bad intentions. He might indirectly jeopardize her wellbeing and safety, especially when he wasn''t strong enough to help her keep the secret. Hana could feel Chomper''s veiled concern as she pondered for an extended period of time. She knew she was weak. Two fists could never contend with four hands and legs. At the moment, she only had two very strong pets by her side. But if they were continuously barraged with tens of thousands of experts, her two boys would fall too. She might be turned into a slave; being worked to death to elevate the cultivation of others. Hence, she needed to make sure someone from the clan sided with her group! Ara''s presence wasn''t strong enough as a powerhouse influence to sway the public''s opinion to act as a deterrent. [Mom, we can manipulate this condition to perfectly benefit us.] Kuro said meaningfully. Hana pondered for a moment before nodding. [True! Let''s wait and see whether the astute Grand Elder will catch the bait or not. I smell another ingenious method to get more resources while getting experimental subjects for animal testing at the same time.] Hana chuckled inwardly with Kuro at the side. Side by side, both exhibited an embodiment of a devil. Shiro was speechless at the side; he only laughed a little as he found it quite amusing. "Thank you for your concern, little one. I know what I''m doing. Do make haste and meet up with the Grand Elder first before anything else to send my regards and messages before anything else." Hana smiled sweetly before bidding the worried-looking snakehead fish goodbye. ... 89 Negotiating Terms with Grand Elder Watershade Mekong and his team had been waiting for around twelve hours by the Crystal-veined stream. It was currently night time. The blanket of stars was twinkling in the open night''s sky above the idyllic stream, but Mekong didn''t have the luxury to admire nature''s beauty. He tapped his pectoral fins together impatiently within his own bubble. Mekong felt that the little attendant might be away for many days this time; it seemed that the willful princess'' master might be planning on something. The being was very suspicious! He could still remember the day when the notorious lightning serpent stormed their clan''s territory. He had watched his comrades-in-arms being killed and eaten en masse, and his heart was still pained by the memory. Maybe, the little attendant won''t be returning at all. Nonetheless, he felt no pity for the little fish; someone like him was as many as the clouds in the sky. If he was fated to meet his end, then so be it. The little attendant could be replaced as many times as possible. The only thing was how to retrieve the Pillage Void Shell back. The Pillage Void Shell was so precious, there were only three within the clan. One was personally owned by the Clan Head, another one was utilized by the Grand Elder for managing finances and transactions of the clan, while the last and the most precious, contained half of the treasuryof the clan and was treated like the most precious treasure. It was a mutated Pillage Void Shell which appeared only once within the depth of the Crystal-veined spring. It had amassed a few millenia of spirit essence from the spirit vein before the spring was found. The one used this time was the Grand Elder''s own personal shell. He still couldn''t fathom the Circle of Elders'' decision on compensating the expert residing in the notorious snake''s nest. As he was ruminating on a number of plans, his whole team was suddenly enshrouded with the aura of an expert approaching from land! Everyone tensed up and unconsciously entered into a battle formation. Although the aura exuded wasn''t hostile, a foreign expert always strikes once a confrontation took place. Only with numbers, they could overwhelm the expert and deterred it from attacking. The expert''s aura was keenly familiar, yet not, at the same time. Mekong couldn''t shake the feeling that he knew this expert, but after thinking over the lists of comrades, he still couldn''t find the answer. Until the tiny greenish-black head appeared. Chomper appeared before them without daring to meet their gazes. He had tried his hardest to suppress his billowing aura to no avail; his advancement was too abrupt and too overwhelming. It was impossible to control his own energy outbursts when he had no time to consolidate his own strength. It needed to be done gradually and would take days or even weeks. All the experts including Mekong was slack-jawed and silent, their questioning wide eyes asked the same question; what happen in the snake''s lair? He cleared his throat and made a business-like face filled with urgency, "The Young Miss'' Mistress had an urgent message for the Grand Elder. I need to return to the clan immediately!" The team took a few seconds to recover. Some of them looked down with red faces; feeling like they have been slapped directly. They were just looking down on the little fish. Now, twelve hours later, he was already on par with them! This sudden extremely rapid progress was only second to the princess'' aptitude! Feeling shamed and humbled at the same time, Mekong answered with a tinge of respect at the little fish. "Let us escort you to the clan grounds." Not noticing the change of attitude of the team of experts around him, Chomper just nodded curtly and sped away with the ''guards'' following behind his back. He just wanted to reach the Grand Elder''s abode as fast as possible to avoid problems! Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Hours later, Elder Watershade deeply scrutinized Chomper''s uncontrolled billowing aura with a thoughtful look. However, after a few moments, he had reverted back to his calm demeanor, "Yes, Chomper, do you have a message for me from Aranyella''s Master?" Chomper astutely returned the Pillage Void shell with a respectful manner before replying, "The Mistress sends her regards to the esteemed Grand Elder and the Clan Head. She had said that there is a misunderstanding on the amount of payment provided by the clan and she wished for a face-to-face discussion." "I see." He ruminated over the information provided by the little one and asked discreetly, "And your progress.. is it due to the Mistress'' benevolence?" Chomper was quiet for a moment before he replied hesitatingly. "Yes. She had also told me to inform you first before anything else." Chomper bowed low and sweated. "I see." A curious light shone from the Grand Elder''s eyes before it faded away. "May I excuse myself?" "Did she have any message for the Young Miss?" He asked in passing. "She told me to send her love. She had also prohibited her to visit if she didn''t finish consolidating her core. She added that she''ll visit the clan in the near future, with your permission, of course." The Mistress'' message was not strictly confidential, hence Chomper just truthfully blurted it out. Elder Watershade nodded with approval and contentment. He knew Ara''s master would be someone who was full of astuteness, benevolence, and tact. It wasn''t all that bad at all. "You may go now." The Grand Elder observed the little fish swam through the underwater tunnels towards the princess'' chamber. He then calmly moved out from his own chamber with a thoughtful expression. "Get ready. We''re going to visit Princess Aranyella''s master immediately. Someone, inform the Circle of Elders to guard the clan, now. I have important issues to discuss with the Mistress." Grand Elder Watershade copied how little Chomper addressed Hana. Several attendants and hidden experts around him were so shocked with the Grand Elder''s sudden leave. As the number two expert within the Waterwave Marine Clan, he wasn''t supposed to leave the clan grounds when the Clan Head was in seclusion! To make him leave means there was something extremely important that needed his personal presence. ... "Mistress Hana, may I call you that? Did you wish to see me?" A calm and wizened voice spoke in the bubble language in front of Hana. A silver catfish with extremely long shiny silvery-white whiskers and grayish body was floating in front of Hana. Both of them were sitting on the cave floor, confronting each other. They were sizing each other up; trying their best to read the other''s intention by reading each other''s body language. Nonetheless, due to the limitation placed on the differences in their species, they had failed, rather miserably at that. Hana was sitting crossed-legged while the Grand Elder was suspended inside a water bubble. At the moment, Elder Watershade was the size of a surfboard as it was the size that he was most comfortable in. In front of them were two cups of honeyed iced coconut water. Beside Hana, Kuro and Shiro were sitting quietly on her left and right, acting extremely vigilant. As usual, Kuro acted as the intermediary, translating both languages. Hana relaxed her heart and smiled warmly. "Yes, you may. I will call you Elder Watershade, alright? First thing''s first, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for your overwhelming compensation. However, I think you might''ve miscalculated. The amount is supposed to be much lower than the ones given to us. Frankly speaking, I don''t dare to receive your benevolence." Hana spoke meaningfully. She was trying to tell the Grand Elder tactfully that she didn''t wish to be tied to the clan with this treasure. Elder Watershade nodded knowingly, "I see. Mistress Hana shouldn''t think too much about it. Truthfully, the Azure Spirit Pearls were not as precious as you think. Within the depth of our spirit spring, we artificially cultivated an enormous number of high energy Meaty Azure Freshwater clams for their flesh. It was the main staple of our clan. The spirit pearls were just the byproduct that sometimes appear within these clams. Although there were not too many, since we had reared close to a million every time the moon changes trice, we have quite the supply. Since the energy within the pearls were lower than the clams and the low-tiered spirit crystals, they were not in demand by the clan. Please accept them as a token of appreciation for taking care of our willful Young Miss. Since Mistress Hana favors the spirit pearls, why won''t we give them to you to gladden your heart? They will benefit you well." Elder Watershade bowed with humility. Unlike Lord Tittua, he sincerely believed that Hana could influence their princess into a better heiress to the clan. The Mistress was also the best candidate to instill a will to improve herself in cultivation besides experimenting on medicine making. "I see. Such sweet words! If it is so, we will accept them wholeheartedly." She understood that it was never about paying for the little girl''s binge-eating seafood by the little fish trap. These creatures were trying to build a good relationship with her by circumnavigating over Kuro. Such intelligence! Both parties knew Kuro was a tough bone to break. "How about the Spirit Crystals? Is that not precious too? Why didn''t you give more of that then?" Hana smiled amusingly. "Please don''t joke around, Mistress Hana. We ourselves didn''t have too many of them. These are what we could expend to show our goodwill." Elder Watershade chuckled. Spirit crystals were high-end commodity and the amount mined didn''t even meet the clan''s needs. He had agreed with Lord Tittua to help enhanced Hana''s constitution, but not the two experts around her! If they''re stronger than now, their own spirit spring with the spirit crystal lode included could be seized by them altogether. They were actually treading on a very thin line here. He himself wasn''t clear on Hana''s real intention and aspirations as of yet. "If so, would you care to hear a proposition from me? You''ve seen little Chomper''s current progress, right? I am not too sure whether the Elder would be interested to do some business with me in this regard? What do you think?" Hana''s bright eyes glittered, as she talked animatedly with the wise spirit fish. Elder Watershade''s eyes brightened. "Are you saying, you could artificially induce a breakthrough every single time?" Hana shrugged non-concomitantly, "Truthfully, I''m not too sure. But I need more willing subjects to test my concoction out. I don''t have time and energy to waste searching for them high and low and prefer to concentrate in perfecting my theories. However, I don''t like people ordering me around. I like to do things at my own pace. If not, it''ll disrupt my Dao heart." Hana spoke a line from a web-novel that she liked. Elder Watershade ruminated for a moment before nodded firmly, "What do you need? Tell me first, and maybe we could satisfy each other''s conditions well." Increasing the clan''s own cumulative strength was always a positive action as a whole to maintain the survival of the said clan. Elder Watershade decided to take this leap of faith. That was if the price was reasonable. "Before anything else, why not the esteemed Elder try my concoction over here? I assure you it is not a poison, nor will it induce an advancement due to the plain nature of the ingredients. It will only give good feelings." She handed over a soft hollow tube made of a vine to the Grand Elder. She added, "In my hometown, it is a must to serve at least a cup of water for guests to show courtesy and goodwill. It''ll be more ideal if there is an accompaniment of sweet things (1). Alas, we''re quite low on resources here. Hence, we can only share this much with you." Hana drank from her own cup by using another soft hollowed vine. Elder Watershade observed Hana''s eyes before he received the hollow vine with his whiskers and sucked the honeyed coconut water cautiously. A sweet and refreshing flavored water entered his mouth, as he sighed in appreciation. The slight chill had further enhanced the taste of the flavored water. He could detect a very slight amount of spirituality within the concoction and instantly understood Hana''s meaning on the lack of ''resources'' as the main problem with experimenting her research. He could faintly guess that a ferocious beast could greatly benefited from this ''flavored water'' if it was given enough of it for prolonged period of time. Essentially, this creature was actually a kindred spirit to his spiritual great-granddaughter, Aranyella. They both were gifted in something else apart from cultivation. He wondered, what could''ve happened if Ara''s mistress could get her hands on high quality ''ingredients''? ... At the crack of dawn, the two parties were finally satisfied with a secret agreement acknowledged by them and had parted ways with satisfaction. Hana waved at the Grand Elder with the sweetest smile as he floated over the paved stone path towards the Crystal-veined stream. Elder Watershade nodded with a helpless smile in return before he disappeared into the stream. He knew the news he brought back will create the greatest sensation within the clan. From it, opportunity and problems will arise hand in hand. He needed to solidify his stand in this issue. Hana''s price was indeed very steep. Nonetheless, it was extremely alluring and worth it! ... Kuro flew and landed on Hana''s shoulder. [Can we trust him to honor his side of the deal?] [We don''t have a choice. Only time will tell. At least, he is better and more flexible than Ara''s great grandfather. We need to take this gamble. Mommy believes everything will be just fine. After all, if something turns wrong, we can just leave this place immediately. At that time, once we''re stronger, we''ll return and take over the spirit crystal lode.] Kuro was surprised, as he paused to look at Hana''s face. He could feel Hana''s determination this time and delightedly acquiesced. [Very true, Mommy.] ... Author''s Note: "In my hometown, it is a must to serve at least a cup of water for guests to show courtesy and goodwill. It''ll be more ideal if there is an accompaniment of sweet things.." In M''sia, especially among the Malays, it is a must to serve something to incoming guests. If not, you''ll be considered rude. However, most of the time, one won''t ask the guests what they wanted (Like how we see in TV "Would u like to drink something? We have some juice, water, etc"), and proceed to prepare a set of warm drinks (usually sweetened plain tea (w/o milk) with some kuih/cookies at the side). Hence, most guests who don''t prefer sweet things or abstain from eating certain things will quickly inform the host when they suddenly went to the back (kitchen) after they entertain the guests in the living room for a while. For example: A: Ah, no need to prepare anything for me, Friend B! I''m currently fasting (fasting means abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset) B: Oh, really now. So sorry, I didn''t know. ... A: Friend B, no need to prepare anything for me. It''s okay. I just had lunch. B: Ah, no matter. Just treat a little tea and some kuih for your dessert A: (blush) Sorry to impose on u B: No problem, Friend A. ... Except for fasting, most of the time, the host will impose on the guest to partake the refreshment. If the guests didn''t even try a little, the guest will be considered rude and offend the host. Haha. A little lecture on nominal cultural ways of the people here. 90 A Stinking Rich Housewife! Once the Grand Elder returned to the clan grounds, it was already bright. The clan main grounds were nestled deep amongst the majestic northeastern mountain ranges, where the stream Hana frequented flows from. It was told that all the rivers and streams in this realm originated from the Crystal-veined Spirit Spring, which harbors the underwater spirit crystal lode. He noticed an unusual number of clansmen lingering at the vicinity of the clan grounds. Most of the time, everyone had the habit of entering seclusion to cultivate if they didn''t have other things to do. However, this time, he could perceive a kind of restlessness within the crowd, as they watched him passing through with fervent gazes. He entered his own chamber and issued an order for the Circle of Elders to convene immediately. Outside, a huge commotion was happening as they got the news! Anticipation, nervousness and unfounded panic were spreading silently; a lot of clansmen had noticed the strange instant breakthrough of the princess'' new attendant after a short outdoor assignment. He had become an overnight celebrity! If the princess'' previous advancement could be attributed to suppressed latent talent, then how could they explain the tiny subordinate''s sudden advancement? Almost everyone knew of the origin of the young snakehead fish during the clan-wide meeting with the Clan Lord several days ago! At that time, the snakehead fish was only an initial leveled spirit beast! Now, after a short half-day excursion, he had jumped two whole minor levels to a high leveled spiritual beast! Typically it will take at least two hundred to three hundred years to achieve that level in a clansman with an average aptitude! It would even need massive resources that an average joe could not afford. Currently, they were only waiting for the official announcement from the Circle of Elders. The new attendant had entered seclusion; most probably an excuse to stop everyone from barging in and question him. Some of the Young Masters that the snakehead had tried to befriend earlier regretted their lackadaisical attitude towards him. If not, they''re sure they could at least contacted him to get first-hand news. ... Elder Waterfall entered the natural limestone underwater cave fixed with an abundant amount of Azure Spirit Pearls adorning the ceiling to face four other elders. This group of elders was actually descendants of Lord Tittua and Grand Elder Watershade who had successfully passed the first heavenly tribulation, the glorified Nobles. Their lineage was so long and messed up due to interbreeding until they weren''t really sure they came from which generation. However, everyone knew that their colleagues will be a cousin, or an uncle, or even a not too far off descendant. Hence, there was a slight camaraderie between them as they acknowledge the origin of the blood flowing within. Nonetheless, every one of them did have their own faction. Although they were termed as the Circle of Elders, they were more like figureheads; rarely involving themselves with the management of the clan. Only when there was a very important issue which needed consent from all or when there was critical information to be relayed, will they convene. Another important role of the Circle of Elders was to act as the main experts of the clan, deterring other covetous spiritual beasts from intruding their sacred clan grounds. Hence, all five of them have their own personal space; artificial ponds with an underground abode that had direct access to the main spiritual spring. The locations of their artificial ponds were at the five points of the clan''s ground''s periphery, which acted as the territory marks for the Waterwave Marine Clan at the start of five major connected rivers leaving the mountainous regions. Almost all of the time they had were used for cultivation to better themselves, with the help of the resources from the central clan grounds. Hence, they were quite detached with the worldly affairs of the clan, unless a big mess happened, or strong intruders attempted a breach into the clan''s main grounds in search of the real position of the spirit crystal lode. The gathering of elders had occurred twice this time, which was extremely unusual, hence, garnering the attention of every clansman. Previous meetings were only done once a year when the moon shone the brightest at the summit of the highest mountain in the region for twelve times. After the main door had closed, Grand Elder Watershade immediately spoke, "Since everyone has arrived, I will announce that I have made a very important decision for the good of the clan. I have struck a deal with Aranyella''s new Mistress to help our clan''s younger generations to achieve breakthroughs." A commotion ensued. "What are the specific details? And what is the price?" Elder Waterfall immediately could see the issue. Nothing in this world was a free lunch. To obtain benefits, one must be willing to part from something in return. Watershade nodded approvingly within. The young lad, Waterfall, was the previous genius of the clan and had just been given the title of an Elder around ten years ago after successfully passing his first heavenly tribulation. Compared to the rest, his intelligence and tactfulness were impressive and will make him a key figure in managing the clan. He was quite satisfied with the lad''s astute judgment and will be a good candidate to shoulder the mantle of the Grand Elder once Watershade decided to abdicate to enter deep seclusion. Sighed, compared to him, the rest were just muscle heads; unsuitable in management. However, they did have their own ability in protecting the clan and were loyal to a fault. Waterfall would be the best choice to assist Aranyella when the time comes. He just needed some grooming and a little time to mature enough. "Aranyella''s master, Mistress Hana, is an expert in concocting unusual assist-related meals for breakthroughs. However, since her ability is still at the experimental level, she needs more manpower and resources to help her at the moment. I feel that this is a good opportunity for us! With our assistance, she could finalize her ability and be indebted to us at the same time, while we profited in the form of an increase in the number of young experts. The wealth of a clan didn''t come in the form of only resources. It was the number of experts present! Besides the five of you, we''re sorely lacking in this department. Although the Young Miss had not gone through her first heavenly tribulation, she had jumped from a mid-level spiritual beast to a half-step spiritual beast, with an added core formation! Cores are usually formed after the first tribulation, correct? All this was thanks to her master. Even her attendant was blessed with a two minor level jumps from gaining the favor of the Mistress." "Grand Elder, why don''t we just forcefully take this ''Hana'' into our custody and just asked her to work for us? Won''t it be free?" A red-eyed water-python, Elder Watervenom, asked Elder Watershade a question. It had a singular white horn in the middle of his forehead, a characteristic of Lord Tittua''s descendants. He wasn''t sure why they needed to accommodate to the creature''s whims if the creature itself wasn''t strong to protect itself. It could be used just like a slave! Elder Watershade scoffed, "Not many of you might know this, but Aranyella''s master is also the Lightning Serpent''s master! The triggered tribulation lightning a couple of days ago was from the snake''s advancement to Lord-level! Tell me, can all of us contend with him since he had reached Lord-level?!" The hall was silent as they reminisced the notorious snake''s breach in a bid to fight for the spiritual crystal-lode a few hundred years ago. Many had directly perished and were straightly eaten on the spot. If not for the appearance of Lord Tittua, things would be extremely bad. "But, if the Lord could personally act, I believe he could clean the floor with the snake''s corpse.." Elder Watervenom continued but was cut halfway by Elder Watershade. "Don''t ever think about it. At his current level, our Lord needs to pay a heavy price to have a chance. Don''t forget that there were many creatures eyeing for our Spiritual Crystal Lode. The deal is finalized. I will arrange this myself. Anyone who wished to harm Aranyella''s master will invoke the Clan''s judgment. I will see to it that you receive what is due." Elder Watershade made himself clear without mincing words while eyeing the elders one by one intimidatingly. Only Elder Waterfall seemed to truly understand his intention. He meant to tell all of the elders present that if they moved against Hana, it meant that they moved against him! He had shocked the majority of the elders. Only Lord Tittua and the Grand Elder knew how much they had offered to appease the snake and made him leave. They had given him three-quarter of the spiritual crystals they mined for the year! The snake didn''t leave because it was terrified with Lord Tittua; it was satisfied with the compensation provided by the clan that made him leave on his own volition. Elder Watershade shook his head helplessly at the naive notion. He added, "Some of you might think that our Lord has defeated the snake earlier. At that time, the snake was just a high-leveled Noble, while the Lord was healthy, brimming with vitality. He still attacked! Now, with the Lord sustaining internal injuries, and the snake''s advancement, I''m not sure who will use who to wipe the floor." A sudden realization emerged from the majority of the elders as their faces turned ugly and filled with deep horror. Elder Watershade didn''t even get the chance to explain that the snake wasn''t alone anymore; he even had another ''brother'' who was also a strong expert on par with himself. If they wanted, they could really contend for the Spirit Crystal lode, but they didn''t. Why was that? It wasn''t their nature not to snatch resources when given the opportunity. It could only mean that an existence who could influence the two experts had forbid them. There was none other than Hana herself! Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Although Hana had not said anything during their brief discussion, he could come to such a conclusion after observing all the clues. Hence, he was sure that Hana was someone who''s kind, magnanimous and benevolent, besides being strict with her own people; a very alien temperament amongst spiritual beasts. She had no intention to take over the Spirit Spring and the Spiritual Crystal lode and only wished to milk some of the resources out. Most probably for the sake of her own people. She was really a good master, especially for Aranyella. As long as they didn''t provoke her, she won''t retaliate. It was best to befriend such creature rather than making an enemy out of her. "We need to give half of our mined spirit crystals which we had collected for three moons every time a breakthrough from a single clansman is achieved by Mistress Hana''s help." Elder Watershade started to list down the agreement he had with Hana to everyone present. "We will have to supply them with whatever resources which originate from our waters once a week when the Mistress asked for it; no questions asked." "All experts which had received the benevolence of Mistress Hana could be dispatched by her during times of need if they were idling with no clan-related tasks at hand." "From this moment, all Azure Spirit Pearls harvested needed to be sent to the Mistress when the moon turns once unless she stated otherwise." "The clan will owe her three favors in the future." By the time Elder Watershade told all the compensation he had agreed with Hana, everyone in the hall had turned extremely pale. D*mn, the price was too steep! Elder Watershade cleared his throat and smiled bitterly. "I''m not done yet." "In return, we could send as many experts we want. But the catch is, they must be from the younger generation with good aptitude; the lower the cultivation, the better. When she asked for a test subject, anyone of you can put forth a candidate and wait for your turn." "Once, the Mistress had finalized her findings, she had promised to help two clan Elders to achieve breakthrough! That will depend on who she favors most." The eyes of all the elders brightened up with the last statement! Each one of the simple-minded elders vowed that he himself would be one of the favored ones. All negative thoughts finally perished. Who wouldn''t want a breakthrough? Especially these old ones who were already at a very high level. The bottlenecks were especially tough! Each one of them had persisted for tens of years or even hundreds of years but to no avail. When such an opportunity came rolling, it was almost a sin not to grab it! ... > The talk with Ara''s elder was so long, it took the whole night. However, Hana was satisfied with the outcome. Surprisingly, there was someone who was at par as her in haggling. She had been called as the Queen of Haggler in the night markets by some of the fruit selling uncles. Her respect for the silver catfish had increased a notch higher. She wondered why Ara didn''t become as prudent. Was she neglected during her upbringing since the elder was so busy managing the clan? It might be so. As her mind wandered around, her hands were working hard. She was on all fours, pressing ping pong sized pearls into the cave floor with her own strength! Surprisingly it wasn''t that laborious like her imagination. The ground wasn''t that hard at all. Around her, a quarter of the cave floor was already embedded with the spirit pearls! The aunty used the pearls as super expensive tiles! After all, she was currently a stinking rich housewife, why not splurge a little! Next month, a new batch will arrive too. Like this, even when there was no fire, the cave would still have a soft light. She envisioned a fully embedded pearls covering the floor and the walls of her sojourn. It''ll be oh so lovely! ..... 91 Did We Just Create an Artificial Immortal Abode? Hana and her pets continued ''beautifying'' their home with the excessive amount of spirit pearls leisurely throughout the whole evening. Everyone was in a good mood. The vibe of the cave-dwelling has gotten a lot more posh as the area covered with expensive ''tiles'' grew wider by the minute. Hana was pleasantly surprised when the position where she stood lit up with a soft white light when she stepped on the tiled spiritual pearls. However, when she lifted her foot, the light diminished as the weak greenish glow returned. What shocked her the most was her tiredness reduced a lot noticeably with every step on these new ''tiles''! Seeing the effect of the spiritual pearls, both Kuro and Shiro gave an approving nod; they believed that the course of action was quite apt. Even they were quite amazed by these super expensive ''tiles''. They just realized that as long as the spirit pearls were in contact with a recipient with the ability to absorb spiritual energy, the pearls will react and release a minute amount of spiritual energy into the recipient even without the recipient consciously absorbing it. Additionally, the effect was not just in the form of addition, it was multiplication! As usual, Mommy''s creative idea was always off the charts! They suspected that the Marine Waterwave clan had no inkling about this newfound information. If not, the dim-witted fishes won''t so easily gave away such precious resources. Making a small cultivation chamber full of these spirit pearls could really make a difference for creatures who just started to cultivate! Additionally, even without being stepped upon, the pearls will add a tinge of spirituality to the cave''s atmosphere. As Hana breathed in the spirit-filled air of the cave, her pores and lungs will be soaked in it. It will be just nice for her level of constitution, although, to Kuro and Shiro, it was negligible. With both effects obtained from physical contact and atmospheric-filled spirituality, their mommy''s constitution will rise even without her consciously cultivating! This was almost like cheating! Since they will have a continuous supply of spirit pearls later, Kuro and Shiro weren''t planning to inhibit their mommy''s creativity. They planned to support whatever she wished to try with the pearls. Even if the aunty embeds at all the nook and cranny of the cave, there will still be a huge amount of surplus left. "So, what do you think, guys?" Hana asked her two pets happily while twirling and dancing in a circular motion around the dimly lit fireplace. Her every step lit up following her movement. It was a sight to behold. Their Mommy looked like a cheerful fairy, albeit a slightly chubby one. "Isn''t it beautiful?" She added while making a super smug expression. "So pretty, Mommy! One hundred thousand Likes!!! You''re so awesome!" Kuro complimented her by using the words he came across many times from Mommy''s memories in the form of dreams. He didn''t forget to add a lot of flattery in between too in the hopes of scoring more affection points. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Shiro looked around and closed his eyes. He was inspired by Hana''s action. Once he opened them, he jumped to five various locations around the small cave and started digging. To Kuro''s dismay, he then took five out of ten Spiritual Crystals and placed them inside the holes of different locations. He buried them carefully and returned to Hana''s side nonchalantly. "What are you doing, Brother?!" Kuro was exasperated! There''s only ten! "Wait for it." Shiro was too lazy to explain. Both Hana and Kuro were waiting together with Shiro patiently. A few moments passed by before Kuro could feel a slight tremor in the air. Suddenly, he felt the spiritual energy thickened more than a dozen times! "What happen?!" Kuro immediately switched to his spiritual sense to see. From the five spots where Shiro buried the spirit crystals, spiritual energy emitted out even without anyone activating them. There was faint spiritual connections between each crystal. The flow of the spiritual energy within the space which was covered with spirit pearls was amplified! This level of energy! It was just a little lower from their own requirements! Kuro looked at Shiro with a questioning look fill with awe. ''What did you do'' was written all over it. "Can you guys feel it? The quality of the spiritual energy had multiplied at least fifty times, right? I''ve seen my elders did this a few times before. The five crystals are the core inside the formation. It amplified the gathering of spiritual energy from the surroundings and enhanced the effect to the spirit pearls. With this the spirit pearls could emit stronger passive spiritual energy without being exhausted too soon." Shiro smugly explained. Hana and Kuro were agape! "How long will it last?" Kuro asked nervously. "With the quality of the pearls and the crystal, about one month, before we should replace the next five spirit crystals. Hana asked incredulously, "Can you guys cultivate with this much of spirituality?" "Yes! Although a little less than desired, our cultivation could benefit too albeit slower! The good thing is if we use the crystal directly, it will be finished within 1 week but now we have two whole months!!" "Banzai!!!" The three of them flailed their hands (and head) in the air happily as they had unintentionally created an artificial immortal abode! > Since the short interlude with the Waterwave Marine Clan was finally over, and the ad-hoc creation of their immortal abode, they soon returned to their plans to subjugate the giant termite queen mother. In the short moment when Hana couldn''t connect with Kuro, he had investigated the Elemental Fiend''s nest extensively and had come to the conclusion that the nest itself didn''t have any external extension. After discussing extensively, Hana made a conclusion that they still need additional help from outsiders. Their own manpower was too low. Although Kuro and Shiro were extremely strong, there were just two of them. They needed at least another strong expert with them to realize the plan. "Where can we find experts that could or will help us out of the blue? Won''t Ara and Markisah do?" Hana asked the two boys while pouring a bowl of garlic fish soup for each of them. She wasn''t planning to eat the dish this time. Lately, she felt full almost every moment of the day. The previous five-hour sleep before meeting the delegation from the Waterwave Marine Clan had invigorated her immensely. She realized that if she didn''t perform the soul-link with shared sight, her energy won''t plummet easily. "No. We should try to find a ''real'' expert. That little fish is too weak. She could still contend against tens of Elemental Fiends if she goes all out, but the swarm over here were numbered at hundreds of thousands. Even if she used the Lifeguard Scale, the energy would soon be depleted before she would be swarmed to her death. The bird is worse! Her constitution was just a little stronger than the current you, Mommy. A single or two warrior-class Elemental Fiend could just swallow her whole." Kuro explained quietly while thinking. He had no allies in this area. It was either kill or be killed. He could name a few competent candidates, but all of those were enemies he had offended big time. He suddenly realized that what Mommy said was true; do not provoke others when you''re not provoked. If the relationships between him and the rest were neutral, he could at least request their assistance by compensating them with something in return. But who would be willing to help you when you have decimated their whole clan''s elders or eaten out their descendants, even when you could produce a treasure to entice them? Even if they were willing, would you dare to trust your backs on them, knowing that they might exact vengeance on you at any moment? The Waterwave Marine Clan was the only proactive one who still dared to establish a positive relationship with them. It only happens with the presence of Hana. If Hana was not around, they too, wouldn''t dare to be so brazen. He was too tyrannical in the past. He bowed low with guilt. His previous actions had made it hard for Mommy to achieve her goal. Hana could guess what the little snake was thinking like an open book even without reading his mind. "It''s alright, Sweetie. If worse come to worse, let''s just ask the Grand Elder for a helping hand. I''ll just add another Elder to be included into the breakthrough list." She rubbed Kuro''s head dotingly. Kuro and Shiro simultaneously answered, "No! You can''t!" More experts for the Waterwave Marine Clan means bigger problem once they finally break off their cordial relationship. Additionally, who would know whether any of the clan experts harbored resentments from his previous attack on the clan? Unless the little slave girl truly became the next Lord for the clan and had tight control of the clan''s management. However, both Kuro and Shiro didn''t dare to put any stake on it. The two sly old fogies were still alive and kicking! They were brimming with vitality to this day! If the Crystal-veined stream Lord succeeded his third heavenly tribulation, he would be an Imperial Lord! They weren''t sure they could still contend with the old spirit fish if that happens. The only option was to escape as far as possible. "Eh, I thought I heard a sound outside? Markisah? Is that you? Just come in, Dear." Hana peered at the entrance of the cave while calling out to the pretty little yellow bird with speckled chest. Nobody answered after a few seconds. Hana gestured Kuro to go outside to check. The little snake sighed unwillingly and slithered outside to check what was wrong with the bird. "What are you doing outside, shitty bird?! Stop being a nuisance and just come in!" Kuro was agape to see no bird outside; only a branch with three mind-cleansing fruit was lying on the ground just outside the cave entrance. He scrunched his brow and looked around. Since he couldn''t find the stupid bird, he shrugged and relayed what he knew to Hana while passing the mind cleansing fruits. While Hana was surprised, she didn''t think much of it. Probably the bird has urgent matters need to be attended. 92 The Arrival of Lord of Ancient Tri-colored World Tree!!! A Friend? Or a Foe?? It was nearly midnight. Shiro''s closed eyes opened vigilantly. The usual faint sounds of crickets were suddenly overwhelmed by the sounds of strong winds, heralding the incoming of a rainstorm. The violent wind picked up its pace almost immediately and started to brew. The sounds were deafening, brushing over the slight opening of the cave entrance. It was going to be the worst rainstorm Shiro had ever encountered on this side of the world. Shiro turned to look at the sleeping Hana. She was as loud as ''usual'' but wasn''t disturbed by the loud sound from outside. Shiro could only sigh helplessly with the defenseless aunty. Big Bro Ku was out tonight; it was his turn to hunt for food outside. Hence, it was up to him to protect Mom properly. Although it looked like she was sleeping, he knew she was cultivating diligently inside her Soul Hall Domain with Big Bro Ku''s help at the moment. That talented elder brother of his had already mastered the art of multitasking since two days ago as he was able to maintain a full Soul-link with Mom while moving everywhere a few hours after she entered her cultivation-hibernation state. Shiro was secretly jealous of their level of connection; Mom hasn''t reached out to him at all after the initial connection, whereas, he could see how close Mom and Big Bro Ku had become; they were progressively getting closer. Little that Shiro knows that their Mom needs to build the foundation slowly with Kuro before proceeding with her other ''children''. Even Hana herself was clueless on how to proceed with her soul-cultivation session, as she kept on following Kuro blindly. To Kuro, the Soul-link between him and their mistress was purely experimental; he was still testing things out just to make sure Hana survived while cultivating his arcane cultivation method without any hidden injuries forming or backlash. Nonetheless, Shiro knew Mom didn''t do it on purpose. She cared for him as much as she cared for his elder brother. Linked souls couldn''t lie to each other. Currently, she could ignore all distractions and fell deep into a cultivation trance because she believed in him for protection. Additionally, Mom was the kind who only envision about flowers and sunshine; too positive to a fault. He knew she had yet to truly acknowledge the danger of this world thanks to the presence of both of them, coddling her a tad bit too much. He suspected, even if there was an earthquake, she''ll still be asleep, dismissing it as gigantic hippos dancing in her dream. She had zero sense of danger! The crazy tempest outside was getting stronger by the minute. Shiro narrowed his eyes. [This cannot be natural.] Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. His instinct was telling him that something was amiss. He immediately spread his spiritual sense outside to check the surroundings as far as he could by manipulating them into fine threads. He could unexpectedly detect a pattern in the air movement. The wind originated from one direction!!! Shiro skilfully manipulated the spiritual threads to spread wide while penetrating all layers of resistance to reach the roiling of violent winds outside. It then went further into the distance for tens of kilometers until it touched a sentient consciousness! It noticed its presence immediately! Shiro''s eyes went wide! The turbulent night''s sky was not the herald of an incoming storm! It was made by a gigantic flying beast! Upon his detail inspection, it was actually a large predatory bird that blocked up the star-filled sky. It''s four black wings brought about large gusts of turbulent winds as they dispersed all the cottony white clouds to the side with every powerful stroke. All the trees below bent painfully from the immense pressure of the wind when the bird flew above them. Shiro could clearly see its large curved reddish-orange beak which was as big as himself! The flying spiritual beast was actually heading to their home! It won''t be long before it will tear through the camouflage mirage skill he had cast previously over their heads! [Sh*t!!!] It must have detected him when their spiritual sense collide! Shiro immediately flashed out of the cave and jumped on the sword-like hill. His fur fluffed as the temperature dropped around him. He released his aura intimidatingly. He cast his arcane arts in all seriousness; he knew, from the unconcealed aura of the gigantic predatory bird, it was a half-step Noble like himself! However, he wasn''t sure of the spiritual beast''s bloodline! It wasn''t suppressed by his Ancient bloodline. It could only mean it has the same level of bloodline or even a stronger one. Tiny ice specks appeared mid-air above the dome-like mirage skill. The size of the ice specks increased rapidly, from as small as a dot, to fist-sized, to the size of a bowling ball. The floating balls of ice then elongated into sharp two-meter javelins as thick as bowling balls each. Shiro started jumping in the air. An ice platform instantly appeared in the air below his feet whereever they land, until he was outside the camouflage dome. He was trying to intimidate the flying spiritual beast to change its direction. His meaning was clear; he will attack if the bird keeps flying towards him! At the same moment, the gigantic four-winged bird noticed the little white spiritual beast''s action. Snorting in disdain, it charged forward! Markisah was tens of kilometers away from the gigantic bird; she was flapping as hard as she could but could not contend with her friend''s speed. Looking at the development from afar, she was so frustrated! How did it turn this way?! She had painstakingly rushed back to bring her friend over. Her friend resided at the crown of the Ancient Tri-colored World Tree; the majestic abode for thousands of birds in the area. To some birds, it was the place they lived their whole life. Naturally, as a lowly scarlet minivet, she was allowed to perch on the lower branches of the World Tree. She had made a snug warm nest with interesting embellishments around it. It had previously attracted her friend''s interest once upon a time ago. That was when they had become friends, though they rarely met. The name Markisah was bestowed by that friend. Now, after fooling around with Hana and the others, Markisah was sure that her friend was actually a spiritual beast! She wasn''t sure whether her friend had gone through her first heavenly tribulation yet, but her distinct aura had a semblance similar to the snake, the fox and her buddy, Ara. Okay, maybe not the snake as the snake looks a lil bit stronger. Forgot to tell her that. Markisah slapped her own head with her wings absentmindedly. Anyway, because she was just a lowly bird, she didn''t know how strong her friend''s true prowess was. Nonetheless, she had once seen her friend killed a large insect the size of a small tree before eating it! So she should be quite powerful, right? That was why she was trying to pull her old buddy into Hana''s circle of friends to benefit together. Lo and behold, before actually meeting, they were currently rearing to fight! Markisah made an exasperated expression while sighing. She really hoped they won''t kill each other. One was a long-time friend of her and the other was a friend that she really cherished. Markisah just looked the other way and cleared her throat. [Well, just treat it as them getting acquainted with their fists then. Haha...] She chuckled awkwardly. The cheeky bird wasn''t going to assume any responsibility with anything. She already washed her wings clean! She even changed her flight route to give a wide berth for the two hotheads to butter each other up with extra tender-loving-care. She knew when she reached Hana''s home, the fight will be wrapped up. Hopefully. Well, if she managed to reach in time, that is. ... > Suria snorted in disdain at the white fox floating tens of kilometers away from her. The white fox must be the creature''s subordinate! As long as she defeated it, she would be able to snatch the creature known as Hana for herself! What request?! What help?! All the good things in this world belong to the ones with stronger fists! Why bother helping them out for the sake of advancement? Why not just grab it and enslave it for herself?! Although she was acquainted with Markisah, she wasn''t going to let go of such an amazing opportunity! Once Markisah appeared in front of her, she already knew that the creature truly had the ability to elevate a spiritual beast and she must grab it! Markisah had turned into a pseudo-spiritual beast in just a few years'' time she hadn''t seen her. She could even fly to the crown of the sacred Ancient Tri-colored World Tree which was overwhelmed with pressure as the higher one climbs the higher the pressure one needs to withstand. If she knew that Markisah''s transformation only took around a month, she would be so shocked until her lower beak could touch the ground! From their conversations, she suspected that the little one didn''t even know she was only half a step into an actual spiritual beast. So lucky to chance upon such a fruitatious encounter even though she did not seek it! Although she was jealous, she didn''t do anything to the little one. She had a soft spot for the intelligent one all this while and had treated her like an amusing little pet. A growl resounded menacingly from afar, "This is the territory of the Lightning Serpent Lord. Stop immediately and turn around. Step forward and all that will be left will be your bones!" Hundreds of ice javelins encircled Suria from all sides. They were rotating slowly while inching near towards her. In front of Suria, the two-meter ice javelins crowding around her were just like flimsy chicken skewers. Green veins popped on Suria''s head. [Such gall! The dog dares to speak shit to this esteemed Lord! How can it not know about this Lord?! Even the old codger fish will give this Lord some face!] "This is I, Lord of the glorious Ancient Tri-colored World Tree!!! Call the Lightning Serpent out to greet me, now!" said Suria gloriously, trying hard to maintain her regal composure. This insignificant tiny dog didn''t even enter her eyes. "Who is it again??" Shiro asked weirdly. [Do I suppose to know this pompous bugger?] He looked at the gigantic spiritual bird with disdain. What Lord?! It was bright as day that the posturing birdshit in front of him was only a Noble-level spiritual beast! It even dared to tell everyone it has already reached Lord-level? Seriously? Shiro would have hidden himself with shame if he was forced to do the same thing. Little that he knew that Suria was one of the most famous powerhouses, even long before Kuro was born. Suria was special, as she was born as the spiritual child of the Ancient Tri-colored World Tree, rendering her the respect she deserved from the other experts in the rainforest. The ''Lord'' title was a reflection of her ownership to the one and only World Tree in the land, and was inseparable from it. However, since Shiro had just arrived here, he was totally clueless about this. Suria nearly fell down from the sky once she heard Shiro''s question. [The dog is looking down on me!!!] "Such impudence! I am the Lord of the glorious Ancient Tri-colored World Tree!!! Call the Lightning Serpent Lord out now!" Stepping forward, Suria had mistakenly thought that the ''Lightning Serpent Lord'' was Hana, and the white spiritual beast in front of her was just a subordinate. She had made the same conjecture as the Crystal-veined stream Lord and Grand Elder Watershade. Due to lack of information, her misunderstanding was a notch deeper. In her haste, she had not even gotten a full account from Markisah before she rushed over. What she knew was, the unique creature called Hana was actually very weak, but special. She was mild, friendly, a little clumsy, and was not that bright. Markisah had shared a lot of unnecessary information about Hana making the four-winged mistral hornbill to form a total misconception about them. To her, Hana''s endearing quality made her a succulent juicy lamb to be served on her chopping block. Additionally, just from the title, Suria already knew Hana was a snake-type spiritual beast! Snakes were her natural prey! The white fox totally ignored Suria words, as he saw Suria taking a step forward indicating it as an enemy. As the ice javelins plunged towards her from all directions, Suria was feeling extremely infuriated! She flapped her wings to dismiss the incoming javelins around her only to notice the actual strength of the javelins. Although small, they were very sturdy! Out of hundreds of them, only a few of the vanguards were dispersed. The rest of the javelins still maintained their trajectory, trying to impale her like a pin cushion. Appalled, Suria haphazardly performed the first level of her inherited Tempest arcane arts, the Miniature Cyclone Series. She stimulated her wind-attributed core to produce eight miniature cyclones around her body to protect herself; two on the left and right of her wings, two in front of her while another two guarding her rear. Beads of sweat covered her black feathered forehead as she painstakingly controlled the miniature cyclones to operate independently around her; without the arcane arts, the cyclones could go haywire immediately and might even hurt herself. Nonetheless, the miniature cyclones formed in a timely manner; they sucked the ice javelins in and simultaneously ground them into tiny specks of ice crystals. Suria squinted her eyes in seething anger when she noticed the white fox smirked. That bug was looking down on her again! She suddenly noticed thousands of ice lances hovering around her from all sides! These lances were several times larger with a rough spiral shape; larger at the blunt end, and smaller, at the tip. The six-meter ice lances suddenly appeared out of nowhere! Even the dispersed ice crystals from the previous ice javelins were enlarging rapidly to form more ice lances as time went by! A tremor ran through her veins as she finally realized she was in front of an expert who might be more well-versed in battle than her! She could sense immense dread from these gigantic ice lances! Suria knew she had just kicked an iron board this time. If she couldn''t defend herself from this attack, she could even die. She immediately pumped in almost all of her spiritual energy within her core to defend and retaliate in return. She didn''t dare to be careless with this level of attack. ... 93 Ten-thousand Helicoid Ice Lance Shiro sneered at the stupid bird. He was just making conversation with it to delay for time. The first attack was just a probing attack that served as a distraction. His real attack was concealed by his Ice Shard Mirage skill which needed some time to be ready. This unique auxiliary arcane arts of Glacier Mirage foxes could not only hide from optical sensing and body heat detection, it could also disrupt the flow of spiritual energy signature from being detected by unsuspecting opponents. Combining this camouflage skill with their long-range frost-attributed attacks made them experts in performing ambushes on the enemies. However, the mirage skill could not shield from several unique sensing techniques and augury divination methods. Strong penetrative spiritual sense from higher leveled spiritual beasts could break the auxiliary skill almost immediately if the skill was cast individually that is. Nonetheless, when several experts cast the skill together with the assistance of the clan''s spirit gathering formation for support, the concealment was almost perfect! Thousands of spiraled Ice Lances filled the night''s sky. They started to spin at an increasing speed. An inconspicuous spiritual energy thread was attached to each blunt end of the spinning lances to Shiro''s fluffed up white fur. Since he had fine-tuned his ability to manipulate the spiritual energy for Mom''s sake, he noticed he could perform intricate manipulations from any parts of his body. Adding some modification to the ice cone attack was also Mom''s suggestion as she commented on them in passing last time. All those sufferings from endless practicing were worth it! "Just an ice cone attack? Seriously? Not glamorous at all. Sounded so cheap lah. Change, change, change!" Mom flapped her hand left and right in a most exaggerated manner. "You know what could make it cooler and better? A good Xianxia name! Mommy will think one for you! A grand one! Oh, and, do try to make them into spiral-shaped like this." Mom drew on the cave wall with a twig she randomly fetched from the fireplace. "Not too big, make the core sturdy. You''ll see the difference! It''ll be so awesome, befitting a regal Xianxia-ish name!" He chuckled under his breath amusingly while reminiscing on Mom''s trash-talking. She even renamed his simple ice cone skill! Shiro nearly expended all of his available spiritual energy to launch this attack. The ones left were enough to only support the levitating ice platform he was standing on. He needed to end the fight as soon as possible. The unavailability of the frost-attributed spiritual energy meant that he couldn''t replenish his energy reservoir easily if the flying spiritual beast could defend it and counterattacked. Nonetheless, he needed to take this gamble as he knew that the flying spiritual beast in front of him was very powerful. [Let''s see what is the difference Mom talked about last time.] He unleashed the Ten-Thousand Helicoid Ice Lance! The second Suria saw thousands of gigantic ice spiral lances swarming over her at breakneck speed, her irises turned into the size of a pin-hole; the sense of crisis was overwhelming! She knew the mini-cyclones couldn''t withstand the incoming attack. She unhesitatingly burned a drop of her blood essence and cast a high level forbidden art from her bloodline memory, Eye of Windstorm! The eight mini-cyclones around her enlarged rapidly and merged around her. They then consolidated into a gigantic cyclone with her in the center, where she was safe and sound. The ice attack from the white spiritual beast reached her as soon as she managed to wall herself inside the cyclone. The cyclone was continuously bombarded by the giant ice lances while making deafening sounds! The sounds of the collision between the two skills were so loud, it alerted all the spiritual beasts in the vicinity. Many scampered around to leave the region while a small number of them hid as deep as they can. The cyclone effectively grounded the large ice lances into ice chunks repeatedly from all sides. Suria heaved a relieved sigh but still didn''t put her guard down. Time trickled by as now it became a battle of attrition between them. Hana was suddenly awake from her deep sleep. She had forcefully exited her cultivation session as a large tremor jolted her into waking up. In her confusion, she looked around only to find no one was around! "Aiyoo! An earthquake?! Seriously!" She was lamenting on why there was an earthquake when the kids were away. Who was going to save her from her high-rise sojourn?! She didn''t know rock-climbing! Obviously she can''t climb down by herself TT___TT Feeling like crying, she immediately contacted her two doted pets via telepathy. [Ku-chan, Shi-chan! Help, there''s an earthquake! Mommy''s gonna die!] TToTT [On the way, Mommy!] Only Kuro replied with a short sentence. A sudden flap of wings alarmed the panicking aunty. To Hana''s relief, it was just her bestie, Markisah. "Markisah! Help! It''s the end of the world!" The little yellow bird sweated as she looked at Hana''s panicky demeanor while feeling a little guilty. Although she didn''t understand her, she could guess what the aunty was saying. [How could I tell her that it was the tremor from a battle initiated by my friend from my hometown and the mean fox?] Both Kuro and Shiro were away. She could only nudge her to peer out of the cave entrance to witness the clash between the fox and her gigantic friend. Hana peered outside and made an incredulous look. "Isn''t that a hornbill? What is Shiro doing?! It''s an endangered species!" Hana wasn''t happy with Shiro''s action. She could tolerate with her pets eating chickens and random birds, but not endangered ones! Shiro''s eyes lit up as he saw the effect of his improved ice cone atta ehem.. Ten-thousand Helicoid Ice Lance attack. He could feel that he was on par with the bird, but he faintly noticed the balance between their colliding attacks was tipping. He was winning! Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. [Mom is so unfathomable! Only a slight adjustment could make a big difference] He quietly pondered what else he could ask Mom and upgrade his skills. [Ku-chan, Shi-chan! Help, there''s an earthquake! Mommy''s gonna die!] TT___TT Speak of the devil! Shiro was delighted when he received Hana''s transmission. Before he could arrange the words to explain the current predicament, Mom suddenly talked with anger to him. [Shi-chan! What are you doing?! Don''t kill the bird! It''s an endangered species!] Shiro nearly fell down from the floating ice platform from hearing Mom''s harsh words. [Mom, it attacked us! It wanted to eat Big Bro Ku! Just now it was looking for Big Bro Ku! I was just defending our home!] Hana could hear Shiro whinnied while feeling wronged. The taboo words had touched her reverse scale. Any mother who heard someone was going to hurt her kids will definitely snap, even if how popular the person was, or in this case, how endangered the animal was. "Trash it until it cannot move. Don''t kill it. Let''s see who''s gonna eat who." Hana turned 180-degree; she was now rearing to give the sorry bird two tight slaps. Both mother and son totally read the situation wrongly. Shiro blinked. He grinned in satisfaction. "You read my mind, Mom. A good trashing it is." Five minutes in, Suria was panicking within the eye of the cyclone. She was reaching her limit. The energy from burning her blood essence was rapidly diminishing by time as the second level of the Tempest series Divine Arts was forcefully unleashed. Her current level of cultivation did not permit her to perform the arcane arts for a prolonged period even after she burned her blood essence for it. Once the skill loses its protective ability, she was certain she will die. At the moment, she felt a deep sense of regret. If only she listened to Markisah. Her arrogant self won''t permit her to place herself at the level of a normal spiritual beast, even how special the spiritual beast was. She was the daughter of the Ancient World Tree. Her future was bright. Now, her journey will end here due to a single wrong step. The last bit of the blood essence finally extinguished. The forbidden arts dispersed by itself as she was faced with the incoming attack of the remaining large pikes. Strangely, the pikes exploded into large chunks and bombarded her body, making her vomit blood. The huge body fell down like a meteor and caused an earthquake. A large crater as large as a small lake was formed. [Whatever it is, I will not surrender to them. I will fight to the end] Suria tried to stand up as her eyes were getting blurry. She knew her fate. Once she lost her consciousness, even if she was not dead, she''ll be the prey instead. As she nearly lose her consciousness, at the periphery of her sight, she saw a humongous snake moving towards her! Damn Markisah. The snake is actually an Ancient Lord. Why didn''t you explain properly. I have no chance at all from the beginning She could only hear a young man''s voice telling her to sleep before finally losing consciousness. .> "How was it?" Hana asked the little bird with worry. Kuro had returned with a huge hornbill towed to his tail. He was in his real form as he glided in the air elegantly while flapping her bat-like maroon wings. Her worry stemmed from fearing for Markisah''s friend''s little life. If the bird couldn''t save itself, Hana hadn''t decided if its body will enter their pot as tomorrow''s meals. She won''t know how to face Markisah if it turned that way. "She''s alright! Don''t worry, Suria didn''t die. She''s just unconscious. I''m sure when she wakes up, she''ll definitely agree to help properly this time." Markisah chirped happily while simultaneously being translated by the bored Kuro. She still hadn''t realized that she was selling her old friend in favor of Hana. She was just feeling glad that the notorious duo didn''t directly eat Suria on the spot just now. The unfortunate Suria had never met with Kuro; she was a total recluse and was not willing to leave the ancient tree except for very few occasions. Although her name spread far and wide, she hadn''t taken the time to be abreast with the information of the current powerhouses in the vicinity due to her arrogance. Naturally, she had a lack of contact with the outside world and occasionally hunted for other spiritual beasts for nutrients and energy building. Although the lightning snake was considered a ''young'' local celebrity, it didn''t quite reach Suria''s ears. The World Tree was quite far from Kuro''s territory and its surroundings after all. Hana clapped merrily. "Excellent! You''re really my lucky star, Markisah! Thank you for bringing your friend over! Now we have everyone, let''s follow the plan and move out in seven days'' time. Hopefully, she will be able to recover enough by that time.". Hana didn''t know the Lord of the Tri-colored Ancient World Tree''s true intention. She was simply happy that an expert literally falls down from the sky when she needed one. Everyone nodded seriously. In their hearts, they were extremely nervous but tried their best not to show it. They believed in Hana''s ability to strategize wholeheartedly. After being together with the aunty, they realized that her mind was more complicated than they thought and had the ability to think various creative solutions even without the help of ''Papa'' from the black rectangular treasure. She just needed a resolute conviction to firm up her resolve before making a decision to perform certain tasks. The subjugation of these Elemental Fiends was very important for their Mistress as it directly related to how she could find her way back home. No matter how Kuro and Shiro tried to connect with each other as a family, they were essentially Hana''s eternal guardians who will live and die with her no matter what. They knew that Hana needed to do this and no amount of coaxing will stop her from progressing with the plan. Her heart was deeply affected by the previous altercation between her and her real family members somewhere out there. Until now, Kuro nor Shiro still couldn''t decipher Hana''s origin and especially how did she reach their place. They too were concerned and feeling complicated about the matter. In their hearts, they sincerely hoped that Hana could find what she was looking for but they were hopeful it will not be too soon. They believed, as long as they were beside her protecting her wholeheartedly, she will be able to survive and even transcend to an extremely strong entity one day. However, if she wanted to leave, they will not stop her and willingly will follow. After all, Hana had promised to bring them along. ... The battered spiritual bird woke up a day later only to be surrounded by the intimidating duo. Under their glare, she and Hana came to an agreement while establishing some terms between the two of them. Suria was pleasantly surprised with Hana''s laid-back attitude towards her although the aunty knew she had harbored malicious intentions towards her before. She was confused but felt full of gratitude. She then realized Hana''s two guardians'' true strength. The fox was slightly stronger than her, while the snake was a whole level above her! From the beginning, she never even has the slightest chance. She was slightly bitter with her own rash actions. "You''re strong. Let''s spar again in the future. I won''t admit defeat." Suria spoke quietly at Shiro. Shiro raised a brow and answered after a short pause, "Sure. You''re not bad either." She took off towards the horizon without looking back while trying her hardest to maintain some semblance of dignity. Hana saw her flew away spiritedly and only shook her head with a smile. [Another tsun~ tsun~ here!] Hana sat in a lotus position while focusing on her shared vision with Kuro. It was two days before the implementation of the plan. Everything was ready except for a single point. Kuro and Hana were working together with their shared senses and sight while discussing deeply. Her irises were ruby red while her gaze was empty. As usual, Shiro prowled around her in restlessness while staying vigilant. Both Hana and Kuro were actually in a very vulnerable state during soul-link; a premature disruption might lead to the soul and internal body injury. Both kinds of injuries were very hard to cure as compared to physical ones. [Found it!] Hana nodded in satisfaction. [Ku-chan, check the scale of the nest before you retreat. Find the right route tonight so that you won''t get lost during the operation later.] [Noted, Mommy.] [Now, everything is in place. Only the east winds remain.] Hana pondered mysteriously with a smile. ... Authors'' Note: 1) tsun~ tsun~ = a short for tsundere 2) Only the east winds remain = waiting for favorable condition (as in fengshui or instinct). For olden days sailors, the notion was quite true. They really needed to wait for good wind before setting sail. 94 Subjugation of Elemental Fiendss Primordial Queen Mother Part 1 Two days later, at dawn when the Elemental Fiends were most active, an overpowering scent assaulted the Elemental Fiend Primordial Queen Mother deep inside the labyrinthine nest. She was presiding over the conversion ritual of a group of Warrior Elemental Fiends beside the elemental pools. The sudden appearance of the scent had triggered the Queen Mother''s anger as she stopped maintaining the ritual immediately with a wrathful expression! The smell was so strong as if the whole field of their cultivated spiritual herbs outside had been ripped apart and grounded into smithereens. Only by doing so, such strong smell could be emitted directly to reach the underground nest. Although the Primordial Queen Mother''s intelligence was not highly developed, she could still act on instinct for the preservation of her whole colony. The Queen Mother vibrated her vestigial wings in agitation as she released a strong pheromone alerting the entire nest! Someone was stealing their spiritual herbs yet again! As the spiritual herbs could only be cultivated once every year, they could face a shortage later if they did not defend their cultivated herb well. The special food source was paramount to their still budding colony! The premature death of the former Primordial Queen Mother due to tribulation lightning had also reduced the colony population by more than half. This was due to the fact that she had ambitiously faced the heavenly tribulation within their own nest in an attempt to become a Noble-tiered spiritual beast, while at the same time manipulated the tribulation lightning to establish the Lightning Elemental pool. She had bitten more than she could chew and perished. The scorching land above had served as a reminder for the current Queen to be more prudent before making any big moves in the future of the hive. Naturally, as the current Queen Mother was an aberrant in the colony; born as a true spirit beast as compared to her fellow comrades who were just ferocious beasts, she succeeded the throne as the new Queen Mother. She had finally managed to consolidate her colony around three years ago to focus on producing more General-leveled Elemental Fiends. Right now, only time was needed to let her carefully nurtured colony flourish. The Elemental Fiends were a unique existence within the tropical rainforest. The Queen Mothers had the secret to artificially create Elemental pools and pseudo-spiritual beasts, the Warrior-class Elemental Fiends. Once an alate managed to find the best ground with a hidden spirit vein within, she could transform into the first generation Primordial Queen Mother to establish her own colony on that site. Typically, a new Primordial Queen Mother needed at least two-hundred years to develop a thriving colony with the right conditions. It was in the event that no natural predators like spiritual fowls or Stone-scaled pangolins managed to find the hidden colony before it matured. Besides that, the Elemental Fiends also had their own natural enemies, such as the stronger Earth Demons. Although it seemed like the Elemental Fiends had a huge advantage to breed and spread due to their Primordial Queen Mother''s ability, they too had their own difficulties and natural counters. Hence, they were not too many of the colonies existed in the tropical rainforest. However, the previous Primordial Queen Mother in her alate form had stumbled into the area around seventy years ago and was elated to realize the absence of predators. Somehow, no other spiritual beasts dared to enter the location even after being goaded multiple times. Her beastly instinct told her that the area seemed to be own by someone, but the added security had tempted her. Hence, she had been cautious and lurked for nearly ten years before she truly started building her colony nest. Her not-so-intelligent self had not yet comprehended that the owner might be in prolonged seclusion at that moment and might decimate her whole colony once it woke up. Kuro was so preoccupied with Hana since he was awakened, he had no time to look through his territory properly. Once he knew the presence of these annoying pests, the aunty had already persuaded him to keep them as she planned to ''own'' them for various reasons. As such, although he had some spare time once Hana was better, he had not disturbed the nest. The Primordial Queen Mother devised a simple yet effective plan to surround the thieves and sent them through the colony-wide telepathic channel to the captains of each team of Warrior Elemental Fiends like how she always does to all other thieves. However, she already learned her lesson to station more troops at the same time on each side. As she observed how her troops efficiently moved towards the source of smell with her mind''s eye, she found that the strong smell was moving towards the west side rapidly after a while. She immediately relayed her next command to pursue the origin of the smell by hook or by crook! ... Tens of thousands of white, black, and dark red Elemental Fiends poured out of the small obscured opening not too far from the blackened scorched ground in droves. They moved in three large groups like angry hornets, zeroing on the adorable little snake, now, the size of a three-meter python with closed wings. In between his enclosed wings was a sealed bamboo canister with strings attached, fashioned like a double sling bag. The canister was leaking heavy scented mushroom soup from a small puncture! The black python started to attack the incoming Elemental Fiends in a frenzy with its fangs and sharp erected scales. It moved to the left, and to the right, and slithered around the spiritual mushroom grounds, vandalizing them to its heart''s content. Behind him, a trail of very angry Elemental Fiends doggedly chased him while snapping their pincers, making metallic noises, and throwing elemental energy balls in synchronization. Once they swarmed over the black python, it would retaliate by rolling its body or slapping them away with its serpentine tail. Sometimes, the black python swallowed whole tens of them before crushing the rest. Time and time again, the pseudo-spiritual beasts were scattered, but they doggedly regrouped, re-consolidated, and re-attacked the black python without reservation. Slowly, the number of Elemental Fiends burgeoned to more than a hundred thousand. Although the black python could still maneuver in between the attacks and clashes, the opening had become narrower. It suddenly turned around and slithered fast towards the west. As the thick layers of encirclement were nearing completion, a group of black Elemental Fiends shot orange-colored flames, in an attempt to inundate this brazen enemy into oblivion. To their dismay, both electric-based attacks and poison flame attacks weren''t showing any effects at all. A pair of glossy dark red wings spread wide, as the large python suddenly lunged into the sky and flew in a hurry. Behind it, droplets of concentrated mushroom soup dripped while leaving a long trail as the Elemental Fiends followed with a frenzied fervor. ... [Okay. Ku-chan, move to the next phase.] [Mommy, please be careful. No more Elemental Fiends are coming out. However, there is still around 50% of the colony present. The purple-colored ones didn''t show themselves yet. Most probably, they''re looking down on me.] [Noted, Sweetie. You must be careful too. Double back after your part is done. Do wash first to avoid these termites from noticing the soup''s odor during the operation once you reach the place.] [Alright.] A kilometer away, inside a shallow man-made cave, Hana was sitting cross-legged on the floor while observing blankly in front of her with ruby red irises; she was soul-linking with Kuro at the moment. A white fox with antler was surveying the surrounding cautiously beside her while a little yellow chubby bird was perching on the aunty''s head. Surprisingly, at the aunty''s back, a trembling snakehead fish was obediently floating as his gaze darted back and forth, not comprehending what was they doing over there. It was obviously little Chomper, Ara''s lucky attendant. Little Chomper was here, following Hana''s agreement with Grand Elder Watershade, where all experts nurtured by Hana could be used by her at will. He had just finished consolidating his own powers as it hovered solidly at the initial high-level spirit beast. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Alright, Markisah, tell your friend to start. Remind her not to destroy the nest, only incite them enough to pull out their General-class Elemental Fiends. Act like a weak bird, okay? If she''s too strong, they''ll be too afraid and might go into hiding. Try to spare some of the red-colored Warrior class ones. The rest, she can eat as she likes." General-class Elemental Fiends were the purple-colored Elemental Fiends. Different from the single-element white, black, and dark red Elemental Fiends. The purple Elemental Fiends were ten times much stronger than the rest while harboring double elements, making them extremely dangerous. Hana knew the external helper she asked for help wouldn''t be able to pull the King out, but at least, if all General-class were engaged with Markisah''s friend, they''ll have an easier time. ... Support us by reading ASTHW in scrib blehub. com or webnovel.com, vote, and review! =mrandmrsmooncat In the cave-dwelling decorated with thousands of glimmering pearls, the slight crack on the largest egg placed on Hana''s handmade shelf widened. The large egg trembled slightly as it suddenly moved by itself and rolled down from the shelf! Once it fell, two tiny feet with pink talons protruded from the large crack on the egg. The tiny feet struggled hard and had finally found themselves balanced on the large egg. Slowly the two tiny feet worked together and waddled clumsily like a drunken monk performing the Drunken Fists; sometimes to the front, while at other times to the back or to the sides. On multiple occasions, both feet didn''t cooperate well as the egg tumbled down and roll again. Where was it going? At the deepest part of the cave where the sealed tunnel was, a large number of pearls had been gathered into a mini-mountain. Hana and co. had gathered large rocks to make a makeshift barrier for holding all the leftover pearls; that was after they had finished embedding the whole cave floor. The mountainous amount of pearls emitted the brightest natural light within the cave, giving it a romantic atmosphere. After the egg with the feet struggled hard for a long time with multiple detours, it finally rolled itself to the stone barrier. The naughty feet propped the egg up and struggled to climb the final stretch of obstacle! "Piko! Piko!" A delighted chirp resounded from within the egg before it burrowed itself into the spirit pearl mountain. ... 95 Subjugation of Elemental Fiendss Primordial Queen Mother Part 2 Suria was waiting at the other side of a small hidden hill with grief not too far away from the Elemental Fiends nest. She could see a large number of Elemental Fiends chasing after a tiny black snake. Her stomach rumbled noisily as she blushed. She hadn''t eaten well for quite some time. That amount of spiritual insects could''ve made her so full for seven days, seven nights. She tried her best to locate Markisah but to no avail. Only when Markisah gave her the green light would she be able to eat to her heart''s content. She had never come to this part of the ancient forest, hence her lack of knowledge of the surrounding powerhouses, or potential easy prey. She was thinking, should she just intercept all those delicious morsels? However, after a few agonizing moments of uncertainty, her rationality stopped her from the plan; one, she was afraid of angering Hana, and secondly, her opportunity for advancement was more important than to fill this belly of hers. She shouldn''t test Hana''s patience and at least tried to cozy up to the creature as much as possible. She had a tainted record, after all. At that moment, she knew she survived on account of the creature''s whim. With a faint sound of a fluttering of wings, Markisah finally appeared. "Suria, it''s your turn now. Please bear in mind to minimize the damage to the surrounding, not to forcefully crack the underground nest, and spare the red and orange colored ones, but make them busy." Suria rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Hah, alright, whatever. So many rules! I''ll try my best." Markisah added, "Between you and me, I''d like to advise you to heed the rules placed by Hana. She will be watching your performance with her own eyes. Hence, if she feels unsatisfied, God knows whether she will help you. Just saying." Markisah remarks had forced Suria to stop her rebellious train of thoughts and to think seriously of the consequence once she truly angered the mysterious creature. She wasn''t willing to sacrifice her chance for advancement, even how fleeting the notion was. Granted, she had seen remarkable changes happening to Markisah, but her little pet-friend was just a pseudo-spiritual beast. Whereas, Suria had been trying to amass her energy to assail the glorious Lord realm but was stop short only at a half-step. Every time her energy accumulated to a certain point, it dissipated naturally to mid-tiered Noble multiple times. She wasn''t confident, but heck, at least the being promised to find a solution for her. What if, due to feeling irritated with her, the creature just gloss things over and said she can''t find a solution without even trying? Suria could feel her blood freezing as she came to this conclusion from Markisah''s kindly advice. All the annoyance she felt from the nonsensical rules immediately vanished as she vowed silently to give the best performance ever to entertain the creature called Hana. Markisah shrugged and added once she saw Suria''s determined look. "Hana had help two powerful spiritual beasts ascend through a minor and a major breakthrough just not too long ago in front of my eyes. The heaven''s tribulation descended might be too far for you to detect. Another one had been upgraded too, though in a way that I don''t understand." She referred to Ara''s core-forming breakthrough. "As a whole, in front of me, she had assisted three individuals into a breakthrough consistently. Believe that you''re making the right decision, Suria" Markisah lifted her black-highlighted left wing and made an intelligent ''three'' sign with it. "I''ll do my best. Tell Hana to observe me properly!" Suria suppressed her already subdued aura before she opened up her huge three-meter black and white wings and flew into the air in the most pompous way possible to attract the attention of whoever still within the nest. ... "Mom, the big bird has moved." Shiro observed the spiritual bird''s action with his spiritual sense. He could sense the spiritual aura from the bird, although it tried to hide it well. When the differences in strength between two spiritual beasts were nearly similar, one will not have the option to hide its real level, except with the help of external natural or refined treasures. "Finally, it''s our turn." Hana took a deep breath to calm herself before standing up. "Chomper, the double-layered air bubble, please." Hana rode on Shiro''s back while holding his antlers uncomfortably. She always felt sorry for having to do this to her little cutie. However, now was not the time to stay wishy-washy. What they needed was efficiency, and Shiro had that. If it depended on her own speed, she knew she will most probably drag everybody down with her. Chomper floated to the duo''s side and started making the double-layered bubbles. Inside was filled with air, in the middle was filled with water, while the last layer trapped the water from losing its round form. She had inadvertently thought up of this trick to hide the scent of the lightning mushroom from their previous adventure with Ara. As such, immediately, the scent of the three creatures dissipated completely. Chomper had practiced fervently for this, although he wasn''t sure what was the use. Didn''t those Elemental Fiends still have their eyes? "Please maintain this bubble well, little Chomper. Regardless of anything." Chomper nodded nervously after he was told of the meaning by Shiro, especially after Shiro added his personal words of ''encouragement''. "Shi-chan darling, Frost Mirror, please." Hana had callously called Shiro''s Ice Shard Mirage arcane skill with a simple name this time. Since it worked like a mirror and was based on ice, she just called it Frost Mirror. The water particle outside froze thinly and bent the light akin to a mirror. Some ice particles hovered in close proximity around the frozen bubble, adding up to the mirage-like effect. Immediately, the bubble vanished from view ... Support us by reading ASTHW in scrib blehub. com or webnovel.com, vote, and review! =mrandmrsmooncat "Chomper, Shi-chan, maintain both of your paces together. Never stray from the bubble. From now, please stop making any sounds. Chomper, please follow beside Shiro tightly. He will lead the way." Hana can''t stop herself from reminding both of them to work together. They were moving closer and closer to the entrance of the Elemental Fiends'' nest. The surface of the area was full of multicolored Elemental Fiends moving in a tight formation to assault the incoming four-winged Mistral Great Hornbill. Even though Hana had seen Suria''s sorry state before, she was still amazed by such a large hornbill rampaging like in a Jurassic movie! The color and the morphology were the same, but this Great Hornbill was as huge as a light single-engine aircraft with four enormous wings! Every flap will blow hundreds of Elemental Fiends midair before they were chomped down with one swell whoop. Hana was glad that the bird was purposely ignoring the orange and red-colored ones. It meant that her message had gone across loud and clear. The orange ones were the Worker-class Elemental Fiends with no elemental powers, perfect as grunts for brawny works, while the red ones were pure fire elementals; a good source of natural fire starters. She had no need for the white and black ones since she already had Kuro! Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Hana waited for an opening within the ranks of the Elemental Fiends as Shiro completed a spiritual scan and share a rough map within the shared telepathic channel. She studied the map diligently while the white fox continued to scout. Hana has requested for Shiro to progressively include more details in the map and indicated different types of Elemental Fiends by colors for easy identification once he got more information. Slowly, the chart out spiritual map in their shared consciousness turned into an imitation of a MMORG map Arash used to sneakily play in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep (Oh, she knew alright. She just pretended that she didn''t). [The purple ones are coming, Mom.] Shiro notified his mistress. Once other Warrior-class showed signs of collapsing, the Elemental Queen Mother had commanded the purple General-class Elemental Fiends to support the frontlines. Thousands of purple-colored Elemental Fiends entered the fray, complicating the situation to another level. The giant four-winged hornbill finally felt pressured and released a small part of her true prowess. In between all the chaos, the opening of the nest was finally devoid of Elemental Fiends! Hana and co. quietly rushed forward and entered the miniature cave opening. "Adjust the shape to accommodate this opening, Chomper." Chomper nodded and fine-tuned the surface tension of the bubble meticulously; it was yet again another new ingenious method to manipulate the gift of all Waterwave Marine clansmen thought up by Hana. The only thing needed was an ample amount of practice, just like Kuro''s electricity generator charging capabilities. The double-layered bubble shrunk and expand gently to fit the uneven shape of cave opening following Chomper''s manipulation of air to water content ratio and the charges within. No one knew that little Chomper actually had talent in this area !!! "Shi-chan, reinforce the Frost Mirror again with your spiritual energy at half seconds apart. Expand the coverage of the ice particles to half-meter? Let''s see whether it could accommodate the everchanging shape of the bubble." Since the shape of the dual-layered water bubble changed all the time to follow the narrow opening of the nest entrance, Shiro needed to sync with Chomper by blasting the camouflage skill fast enough at different intervals to accommodate to the change. Shiro started to adjust the amount of spiritual energy used to maintain the Ice Shard Mirage skill with finesse. The camouflage ''mirror'' flickered a few times before their presence was gone. Hana was quite worried whether their tactics will be able to fool the Elemental Fiends or not. From the beginning, the mirage concept must be accompanied by light. In this dark cave, she could only hope that the insects'' ocular prowess were subpar in favor of sense of smell. ... The sudden presence of the spiritual bird had caught the Primordial Queen Mother by surprise. She was worried that all of her precious personnel could be wipe out soon, leaving no one protecting the open grounds. She immediately connected telepathically with the rest of the Warrior-class Elemental Fiends in pursuit of the lone thief to double back to aid the rest of the team outside their nest. She could not afford for the grounds to be devastated; to grow the spiritual Lightning Mushrooms artificially, the land must have a spiritual vein, and the surface must be touched by lightning! The Lightning elemental pool formed deep inside her lair couldn''t possibly substitute the electricity-rich elements within the surface soil. The previous Queen Mother had already sacrificed her own life to produce such blessed grounds for them to thrive! She was very unwilling to let it become a waste! No matter how many times she tried to direct them to double back, not a single Elemental Fiend could actually heed their Queen Mother''s command. They had been besieged by thousands of Earth Demons, their natural enemy, at the moment. At the periphery where both natural enemies met, tens of Elemental Fiends were killed at every second as the battle became extremely chaotic! Exoskeletal limbs, mushy body fluids, decapitated heads, and broken mandibles from both sides littered the grounds as the battle reached a fever-pitched frenzy. She had no choice but to mobilize almost all of her General-class personnel to defend their nest and the surrounding spiritual herb cultivation area. At the moment, only the King was by her side, and a small group of elite Warrior-class Elemental Fiends undergoing the upgrading process into General-class Elemental Fiends. The success rate was really low, at most two to three of them out of all of these elites will succeed while the rest will fail and perish. She hoped the Generals could hold off the spirit bird''s invasion and drove it away. ... Kuro grinned in delight at his own handiwork. [I''m so impressive!] He laughed inwardly with a sense of achievement and proudly announced inside the public telepathic channel loudly. [The deed is done! I''m doubling back now, Mommy, Brother!] The notorious little snake had slithered so fast towards the territory of the Earth Demons, west of his own territory while bearing the heavy-scented mushroom soup. Since it left a trail, he wasn''t worried that the Elemental Fiends pursuing him couldn''t find where he was. Once he neared the main nest, which was in the form of a miniature hill, he threw the canister hard until it shattered. All the leftover liquid and mushroom bits were strewn on the ground. He immediately flew past the nest and burrowed himself inside damp leaves and loamy soils, effectively making him smell like rotten fertilizer. He then double-back and hid in between the upper layers of a tree, observing Hana''s plan to fruition. A group of Earth Demons approached the mushroom dish Hana made curiously. The scent was so strong, it assaulted the whole nest before, as they were sent forward by the Primogenitor Queen to investigate. The gravy stained their legs as they crawled all over it. As they were carefully picking the tiny pieces to be brought inside their nest, a large battalion of Elemental Fiends arrived! Seeing the bits and pieces of their own cultivated spiritual herbs in the grasp of their natural enemy, their senses were clouded as they finally attacked without reservation! Immediately, the small group of worker-class Earth Demon''s were killed by the huge numbers of Elemental Fiends! It provoked the observing Primogenitor Queen as she issued an order of total annihilation to these large groups of weaklings! Tens of thousands of dark brown Earth Demons flooded the area, circling the whole group of Elemental Fiends, cutting their escape path! The battle has officially begun! ... 96 Subjugation of Elemental Fiendss Primordial Queen Mother Part 3 Kuro sighed as he waited helplessly. He just got a response from Hana to stay put. Since the plan was in progress, he needed to rescue the remaining Elemental Fiends when she successfully subjugated the Queen Mother. Everyone knew that Earth Demons were stronger than the Elemental Fiends. They even had the home ground advantage. To them, the Elemental Fiends were considered as prey when no other food was available. If he left them by themselves, the tens of thousands of these Elemental Fiends would surely perish here. However, as the Elemental Fiends had very high fertility rates, they could double their population in just a few short years. There was no need to actually save them. Till now, Kuro was still unsure why Hana wanted the Elemental Fiends more than the Earth Demons, but as a good son, he''ll just follow Mommy''s teachings and instruction without fail. To him, the owner-slave soul pact was but a tool to establish a deeper connection with Hana. Hence, he didn''t mind using it even in reverse order. It was the best decision he had ever made in his short life. It was better than an in-name relationship where one could betray each other at one''s own will. He believed in the future, although he might have many more soul ''brothers'' and ''sisters'' due to their Mommy''s lackadaisical way of establishing soul-connection, he would always be her number one guardian. "Please be more useful and protect our Mommy well." He mumbled under his breath at his faraway brother. He believed in his brother''s prowess, though he had never said a word about it. Most importantly, he trusted that the too-handsome brother of his cared for their Mommy as much as him. After all, if she dies, they will die too. That was the devious characteristic of a Lightning Serpent''s Soul-pact, which had nurtured countless loyal slaves. Kuro performed the ritual movement to connect his sight to Mommy. At least he could monitor her progress and gave some counsel when needed. ... Hana moved deeper into the labyrinthine underground nest while uncomfortably riding on Shiro''s back. Imagine, when a full-grown person riding a standard-sized dog, one''s limb will undoubtedly touch the ground and flailed everywhere, knocking stones and random things. With a lack of light, Hana couldn''t even see anything clearly at all. Hence, she just closed her eyes and concentrated on the mind-map generated by Shiro through his spiritual sense. Shiro was leading them with ease through hundreds of darkened gloomy tunnels. [Mommy, open your eyes. Let me see it too.] Kuro''s voice resounded in Hana''s mind. For Kuro''s sake, Hana opened her now-ruby red eyes to let her beloved pet accompany them on their conquering adventure. Although she couldn''t really make anything out, she was sure her little black snake could see something. The trio had reached a lot of large chambers and discovered many interesting items within as they traversed deeper into the elaborate multi-leveled nest. Some chambers were full of translucent balls filled with miniature orange baby termites the size of soccer balls. In that form, Hana could only suppress the incoming cooing due to their adorableness. They also found where these gigantic insects kept the harvested mushrooms and even a large number of nursery chambers with a group of Worker-class ''nannies'' along the way. The nannies were stuffing food directly into the mouth of a slightly larger baby Elemental Fiends. Due to them being invisible from sight and smell, these nannies were not able to detect them at all. Somehow, all Elemental Fiends they encountered were orange colored. [Ku-chan, why are all these adorable termites orange in color while the ones outside are so colorful?] Since she was currently connected with the faraway Kuro, she just asked the question that bugged her mind. [Those outside are probably higher classed Elemental Fiends created explicitly for combat. These are just workers. Be mindful, Mommy. I believe you could defend yourself against one or two worker-classed Elemental Fiends, but more than that, you''ll be overrun. Like what we discussed before, remember to avoid the purple ones. Their strength eclipsed the other colored ones. Always be alert. Although their eyes are not that developed, but their hearing and scent detection are top-notch. Make sure the fish did his job well.] Kuro gave his mommy a well-intentioned reminder yet again with worry. [Alright, Sweetie.] Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. After moving deeper into the tunnels, Hana quietly instructed Shiro to make several thick ice walls as barriers. This action effectively severed the connected tunnels from any incoming Elemental Fiends that might appear from the rear without them realizing. The ice barriers were thick enough to withstand the stronger Warrior-classed Elemental Fiends from breaching through with force. At this moment, there were only less than ten levels before they reached the Primordial Queen Mother''s main nesting chamber. Hana had already dismounted from Shiro''s back as she rushed with confidence towards the intended destination together with the white fox and the snakehead fish. The last leap was just ahead! ... Support us by reading ASTHW in scrib blehub. com or webnovel.com, vote, and review! =mrandmrsmooncat As the trio had nearly reached the bottom-most part of the underground nest, the Primordial Queen Mother''s instinct sense of foreboding flared greatly. She immediately recalled for a group of elites to converge inside the Elemental Pools areas. Hundreds of Warrior-class Elemental Fiends retreated from attacking the gigantic spirit bird and started to double back into their own nest. Once the spirit bird noticed, she immediately attacked more voraciously to prevent the escaping Elemental Fiends. Tens of them got away and slipped into the nest quickly as they rapidly moved towards the desired location. Once the Elemental Fiends found a strange barrier formed, they sent the information to their Primordial Queen Mother before they began attacking the sturdy wall with their elemental powers. They found that the fire element reacted strongly against the ice barrier, though it will still need some time. The Primordial Queen Mother immediately sent over her King and two other newly converted General-class Elemental Fiends to seek out and exterminate the intruders. Finally, she was alone, save for the last dark red Elemental Fiend bathing in the greenish Poison Elemental Pool, with tens of other dead Warriors. Those unlucky ones were as strong as the successful ones. The chances of success were incredibly low. Hence, she needed to make sure this little one got through the dual element artificial treatment. ... "Mom, they are coming!" Shiro immediately alerted Hana as soon as he detected the scurrying high-speed movement with his spiritual sense. "From which side? How many? Is there any purple ones?" Hana calmed herself and peeked through the map inside their shared telepathic connection. From Kuro''s explanation, and through her observation, she realized that the purple ones were the most dangerous and needed extra attention. Shiro was silent for a while before he spoke aloud and telepathically at the same time, "Twenty-nine from the chamber connected to the tunnel at our rear. Ten are purple." "Double layer ice wall, Shi-chan. Encase the ice wall in a big water bubble of five-meter diameter, Chomper." As they struggled to breach the ice-barrier and went forward, the water provided by Chomper will extinguish the other fiery elemental attack. She estimated that these monstrous termites would''ve been scared of water since they seem to avoid them during Kuro''s and Markisah''s escapade. Both nodded and immediately cast their arcane specialized arts to follow Hana''s command. "Five, left tunnel, orange ones." "Seal it. One layer ice wall." "A hundred and fifty-five, the second tunnel on the right, right beside the back tunnel, twenty-one are purple." "Triple-layer ice wall, Shi-chan. Five-meter water bubble, Chomper. That''s quite a lot." As the duo worked together to make the water encased ice barriers, Shiro noticed a particularly strong aura coming from their front! "Incoming from the front! Three of them! Two purple ones!" "Chomper, engaged with the two, kill them if you can. If you can''t, restrict their movement. Shi-chan, fight with the last one. The last one is most probably the King. Don''t kill him, alright. After you restricted it, then you help Chomper." Hana gave a string of commands while she asked the two boys to dispel the double layer water bubble with the Mirage Frost Mirror. There was no need to be stealthy anymore. The queen had most probably detected their presence and summoned these gigantic termites to exterminate them. Her hands slightly trembled, but she hid it inside her pocket and bit her lips so as not to lose focus. She needed to succeed, no matter what! Subconsciously, she started to hum her soul cultivation chant under her breath to calm herself down. She had been immersed in cultivation for prolonged period until it had quickly become a habit. She slowly moved to the back and waited for the duo to sweep all these enemies away. She knew they were running out of time. Placing a barrier will also sever the oxygen supply inside this already low oxygen environment. ... Kuro was a little bewildered, why did Mommy suddenly start cultivating out of nowhere? To his surprise, she had managed to successfully chant by herself without Kuro''s assistance! Since Mommy could multitask, he''ll just let her be and stay vigilant for her sake. He knew she was very nervous too, and was trying her best not to panic. Nonetheless, he knew Mommy and the rest will be successful since Shiro was with them. If he wanted, the white fox could wipe the floor with these bugs in no time. What he was vigilant about were unexpected situations that could endanger their mommy''s life. Feeling unsettled within, Kuro chose to observe the situation form Mommy''s eyes seriously to assist her. He just ignored the butchering that was happening in front of his eyes and focused on the development of the other side. ... The first to arrive was the two purple colored Elemental Fiends. Chomper zoomed forward heroically and started off with an intense tail-flick! He didn''t dare to conceal his might and went all out from the very beginning. The first Elemental Fiend was thrown to the wall while the second one managed to dodge in time and countered by releasing a yellowish red flamethrower at the snakehead. Chomper faced the assault head-on with a pressurized water cannon, drenching the flammable antennae while pushing it backward several meters. The second Elemental Fiend droned angrily! It moved so fast and jumped on top of Chomper, trying to break the water bubble from the top while continuously spewing fire on him. Chomper simply flicked his tail upwards as it was immediately smashed the inner side of the tunnel where it came from. Chomper was agape! [Why was it so easy!?] In truth, all Elemental Fiends at most were just pseudo-spiritual beasts. The gulf between himself, as a high tiered full spiritual beast with a pseudo spirit beast like this purple Elemental Fiend was enormous. Only with a numerical advantage would the pseudo-spirit beasts had the chance to overwhelm other lone spirit beast and ultimately preyed over it. Decimating the nest should''ve been a walk in the park for Hana''s group. It became complicated when Hana wished to preserve as many Elemental Fiends as possible and placed all sorts of restrictions to protect the nest and the lightning mushroom cultivation grounds. Although she knew the main Queen could replenish the nest in a few short years, she didn''t wish to stay that long within this unknown forest. She hoped that she could use these ''termites'' to help her draw a very detailed map so that her family could help pinpoint her location as soon as possible. "Focus! Don''t be complacent, Chomper!" Hana barked a command from the rear. She knew the spiritual beasts around her were strong. But, victory and defeat are only separated by a very fine line; a moment of inattention could lead to grave injuries or death. Especially the snakehead fish with the anime eyes, he had shown his lack of experience in brawling. She couldn''t afford to let him got gravely injured, as he was essentially a borrowed external help. How could she explain to the Grand Elder later? Chomper gulped as he tried to adjust his mindset. At the same time, the last Elemental Fiend had finally arrived. It was double the size of the purple ones with a different feature than a regular Elemental Fiend! It was pitch black, and possessed highly developed large deep red mandibles, with four sets of compound eyes! The sharp mandibles practically looked like large twin scimitars held by a person with the curve facing inwards. As it moved the dangerous-looking mandibles, a deafening metallic sound resounded. Even its aura easily suppressed Chomper until the snakehead could not move. This guy was definitely stronger than him! "Be careful little minnow, the Elemental Fiend King was already a half-step spirit beast!" Reminded Shiro. Young Chomper had been in a slight daze from shock when he realized the incoming black Elemental Fiend was stronger than him. It made his reaction to be delayed for a fraction of a second. The Elemental Fiend King tried to snap Chomper''s body using its curved metallic pincer, but the snakehead fish managed to maneuver slightly to the side in desperation. The attack was followed with a slash using its strong front leg at Chomper''s face, which Chomper managed to evade by a hair''s breath by tilted his head. Smelling an opportunity, Chomper immediately bit the Elemental Fiend King''s leg with his sharp saw-like teeth and nearly decapitated it! The Elemental Fiend King screeched angrily in pain, and immediately retaliated by smacking the snakehead to the ground using the blunt side of its pincers. It was now aiming its large mandibles at the snakehead''s body, ready to snap it into two. At the same time, Chomper, who had fallen to the ground, had coughed up black blood after he spat out part of Elemental Fiend King''s limb. He was shocked to find that the Elemental Fiend King was also poisonous! "Shi-chan! Help him!" Hana was already shrieking in worry when she saw Chomper in dire straits! Their many exchanges were so fast, as it took only a few seconds; Hana wasn''t able to think of anything except to scream in panic. Shiro immediately swiped his claw towards the duo locked in battle. The sharp icy wind blade generated from his hurried swipe had knocked the side of the Elemental Fiend King''s scimitar-like mandible, effectively pushing them off-course. Chomper had managed to move out of the way in time as his heart thumped so fast from the near life-and-death experience. His head felt giddy as he was losing his bearing from the poison invading his system. He zoomed towards Shiro and hid behind the white fox in panic. All of his previous valiance was lost at a flick of a finger, rendering Hana and Shiro speechless as they blinked their eyes a few times. [Where did that brave fish go just now???] 97 Bring it on! The pitch-black Elemental Fiend King instantly changed his target to Shiro as it lunged forward while it snarled ferociously. As Hana squinted her eyes hard to observe the fight between the Elemental Fiend King and Shiro, her mouth didn''t stop humming the soul cultivation chant due to feeling stressed. She was afraid if she stopped, she''ll hyperventilate from a severe case of panic attack. True to Arash''s speculation, she started to feel that she was losing her composure from being pincered by large groups of Elemental Fiends from both sides. The dark and musty environment added to her dread while the sudden attack by three Elemental Fiends was too much for her to handle. She realized that only the abstruse chant helped stabilize the state of her mind from crumbling. No matter what, she was just a little housewife who was scared of insects, especially cockroaches. She was forcing herself for the sake of going home! If the men from her family couldn''t help her, she needed to help herself. She needed to chart out an accurate map, period. At least, they won''t need to blindly look for her. Her mind reflected back the heart-to-heart conversation she had with her two beloved pets once she affirmed her conviction to ask help from them to subjugate these gigantic termites. [Mommy, please just let us bring back a few Elemental Fiends for you. No need to endanger yourself.] Kuro exhorted for the n-th time. "No, I need them. I need a lot of leg work to help us chart a true map. You two are strong but are not enough to cover kilometers of areas around here. Two fists couldn''t contend with two arms and legs. We need more people to work for us. If we do it ourselves, it might take months or even years! I''m not even good with geography!" Kuro looked at Shiro with a struggling look for a moment. Shiro then nodded hesitantly. [Mommy, I think, by now, you must have noticed something.] "What is it?" Hana focused her gaze on her beloved pets, as she noticed the sudden solemn atmosphere. She didn''t understand why Kuro suddenly changed the subject. [As you know, after all of us partake in your blood, we could communicate with each other, correct? Have you ever wondered why?] Hana nodded inquisitively. She did wonder the mechanism behind their abilities to communicate with different kinds of species. Although it was very peculiar, she had believed that all animals in this magical rainforest must have telepathic abilities, which will be linked to each other by blood-sharing. Reading Hana''s mind, Kuro took a deep breath and answered. [Wrong. It is because you own us all. Own us. That is how a telepathic link manifested. Because your ownership over us is so deep, you own half of our souls. It means that, if you die, we will die together with you. Our souls you possessed will be extinguished along with you, and our main bodies with the remaining of our incomplete soul will receive a massive backlash, scattering together at the same time. Kuro explained matter-of-factly.] Hana blanked for a few seconds. Once she digested the meaning behind Kuro''s words, she was horrified with the truth! "A lie! How come?! I didn''t do anything! I.. I.. How did this happen?!" Tears fall down like rain as she hugged both of her pets tightly; her heart was full of guilty conscience and remorse. She remembered how she nonchalantly dragged the little fish in due to ignorance. She finally understood why the elders from Ara''s clan were fuming with her. "I''m so sorry, I didn''t know. I''m so sorry." Hana was so sad as she was reminded of all the occasions where she had been so reckless and nearly lose her life. Her two boys had always stood by her and save her so many times. She had not thought the connection between her and her pets was as severe as this. She had permanently deprived of any sense of freedom from her doted pets. She knew how weak she was. The longer she stayed here, the higher the probability for her to die in this unknown forest. However, she felt that it won''t be so bad as long as she had tried hard enough. She had thought that it didn''t matter if anything happened to her. At the end of the day, after some time had passed, her beloved family could move on, similar to her loving new family members over here. Looking at how sad their mommy was, both boys refrained from saying the "S" word. If the aunty knew they were mainly slaves to her, she might lose herself in severe depression. [It''s my fault, Mommy. I bestowed that ability on you. A lot of different beasts have similar skills, but us Lightning Serpents were a little too overbearing so that we could control our minions wholly without the slightest bit of rebellion.] Kuro sighed defeatedly. [I''ve once heard that our first ancestor was once cast down from the heavens, heavily injured. He had created this divine art to protect himself from his enemies by using countless spiritual beasts at his beck and call. I am sorry I made you upset. Don''t be sad anymore, pretty please? I also was not sure why I did it the first time we met.] Kuro''s black beady eyes shone bright with water glistening on the surface. It looked like the little black snake was crying too. However, deep inside, the Oscar-leveled actor wasn''t sorry. Since before until now, he felt that he had made the best decision for both of them. Their mommy''s soul had been progressing rapidly while he himself was gaining twice with half the efforts. He didn''t even need to act tyrannically like before for the sake of resources, and yet he could feel the energy needed rapidly accumulated faster than before. If he had not made the soul-pact with Mommy, he believed that she''ll die within a few days'' time. Now, under his protection, Mommy will grow into a powerful expert to survive this place, despite how many years it will take for her to find her way home. Also, if one day he was forced to leave her, he had the confidence that she will live well and even thrive in this wilderness. [Mom, please don''t be sad.] Shiro nuzzled Hana''s face within Hana''s embrace. He stared deep into Hana''s now-teary faced eyes. [We knew, and this is what we choose. To us, you are our parent, our master, our most important being. Believe that this is our own free will. You have been so good to us, it is natural for us to want to be with you for eternity. Our bonds are stronger than an ordinary family bond. It is our honor to relinquish half of our soul to you. We told you this because we wanted you to know that others won''t easily submit to you since even their lives will be deprived of themselves. It will be extremely difficult to subjugate the Queen into submission.] "I thought that I could talk reason with the Queen, you know, and make a deal with her. A few months of working for us in exchange for something. Just like a short term work-contract." Hana sniffed. As long as they could directly meet the Queen, she hoped that she could entice the Queen with the notion of advancement in exchange for working for her for a while. Kuro and Shiro were so speechless, they turned to each other and sighed simultaneously. Their mommy was very naive, extremely naive to a fault. "Mommy, what we need to do is storm their nest, annihilate any who fight back, beat up the Queen until she submits, then you can force a soul-pact on her by giving your blood. She must be willing to ingest it and let half of her soul to be transferred to you without retaliating." Kuro explained after a coughing fit. "Are you up to it? If you do, then we can proceed for the preparation. If not, let''s find another method." Hana was at a loss as she blinked back the tears from her eyes. After a full five minutes, she took three deep breaths to calm herself and slapped her face with both hands. "Bring it on!" Kuro nodded with satisfaction as he observed the timid light vanishing from their mommy''s eyes, replaced by determination. ... Support us by reading ASTHW in scrib blehub. com or webnovel.com, vote, and review! =mrandmrsmooncat Shiro''s movement was very swift; he maneuvered away from the blue lightning ball spat by the Elemental Fiend King, just missing it by a hair''s breadth. He could even feel his luxuriant white fur puffed up from the charges in the atmosphere, making him extra bushy. He adopted a defensive stance to tire the Elemental Fiend King out without truly hurting it. Once the Elemental Fiend King showed an opening, Shiro immediately released a frigid breath from his mouth. All of the remaining limbs of the Elemental Fiend King were frozen on the spot. Ice crept up and encased half of its body, stopping it from moving. The Elemental Fiend King roared and struggled hard in retaliation but to no avail. "What a hardy fellow! Surprisingly this fellow is a dual element Elemental Fiend too!" Shiro remarked. The other colorful Elemental Fiends he encountered were all single-element apart from the purple ones. However, this puny fellow had to face him of all beasts. If not for Hana''s request to preserve its life, Shiro would have frozen the fellow so well until it became an ice sculpture and shatter it on the spot. Feeling relieved, Hana started walking towards Shiro. She knew, if the pitch-black Elemental Fiend King dies, the colony will have a problem since it was widely known that a termite Queen mates with the same King for life. Although she wasn''t sure whether the Elemental Fiends possessed the exact same trait or not, she still felt the need to be more prudent when handling the Elemental Fiend King. She knew that the Elemental Fiend King was way out of its league when compared to her Shiro. As such, she was quite worried that Shiro might inadvertently kill it on the spot. The snakehead fish was hiding behind Hana at the moment. He obediently followed behind Hana while feeling a deep sense of shame. He had just been fed with his Young Miss'' poison pellet by Hana. Miraculously, he felt fine afterward; it seemed that the pellet successfully suppressed the poison to the bare minimum. At the critical moment, he had shown his cowardliness in front of the kind goddess! He didn''t know where to hide his face. To make things worse, the goddess didn''t blame him and even gave him a kindly pat on the head while giving him a relieved look. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Is it over?" Hana asked while looking at the struggling Elemental Fiend King from afar. The feature of the Elemental Fiend King didn''t look like a termite at all. It looked more like an alien insect from a game Arash loved to play. Hana felt quite squeamish deep within. [Mommy! Watch out!] Kuro shouted within Hana''s consciousness. Two purple-colored Elemental Fiends pounced at Hana from her blind spot when she heard Kuro''s telepathic call! They had stealthily made a move on Hana via the Elemental Fiend Queen''s command. In panic, Chomper had reflexively turned and jumped towards one of the Elemental Fiend with a do-or-die attitude! He managed to push one off-course as he desperately chomped down on its head to kill it. However, the other one managed to come a few inches from Hana with its sharp mandibles laid bare. Hana was in great peril!!! 98 Soul-pressure Hearing Kuro''s shout within her consciousness, she reflexively turned around only to come face to face with a purple Elemental Fiend. The Elemental Fiend''s sharp mandibles were only a foot away from Hana''s exposed neck. Its meaning was clear, it was going to decapitate Hana''s neck! Hana suddenly felt something shattering within her consciousness. A sharp pain manifested in between her brow as her ruby red eyes glowed intensely. The pain was like a sharp knife continuously stabbing at her glabella multiple times in slow motion. It was extremely agonizing. Although only a fraction of a second had gone by, she felt the pain deep into her soul. Before the ferocious-looking mandibles could snap, Hana took a step back. She could feel something was threatening to come out from her eyes. The pain was traveling from her glabella to her eyes before it burst out. Her closed eyes were forcefully opened, and a force so strong was released to the whole cave network with Hana at the center. It covered the entire labyrinthine nest and even leaked to the surface, startling both the spiritual bird and the group of Elemental Fiends who were fighting for their lives. A heavy pressure laced with the Lord-level Lightning Serpent aura immediately descended, inundating the attacking purple Elemental Fiend in front of her. It was smashed downwards savagely in a split of a second. The Elemental Fiend struggled hard in a confused manner but couldn''t move its limbs at all. It felt like it was being pressed under an unmovable mountain. Under the eyes of every beast present around Hana, she took out the clawknife from her back and severed the Elemental Fiend''s head with a pained expression, ending its life. Once the Elemental Fiend''s head was detached from its body, its warm bodily liquid spurted out and drenching Hana''s face. Hana was so stunned, the pressure pressing on everyone was suddenly lifted. Her face lost all colors as she tried her hardest from throwing up as her hands holding the clawknife shivered. [Oh no... What am I doing] Although she had done the unthinkable reflexively out of self preservation, once her mind worked properly, she felt faint. It was her first time killing another life form in such a heartless way. She didn''t know where did this level of courage came from. At that exact moment, the Elemental Fiend King leapt to the air and released a pair of translucent wings! Its body was flaming with fire. [Tripled element spirit beast!] Shiro was shocked and appalled at the same time. He had been too negligent. From their information gathering, the stronger ones would be the purple-colored General-classed Elemental Fiends with dual-element abilities. They had thought that the King would be slightly stronger in prowess when compared to the General-class ones. They had underestimated the Elemental Fiends! The ice encasing the lower half of the Elemental Fiend King''s body has been melted stealthily when all of their attention had been focusing on Hana. The Elemental Fiend King was going to attack Hana as it had identified the leader of these intruders. The lost connection was but for a split second due to Hana''s internal turmoil, which directly affected her soul. Once she got a grip of herself, her ruby red eyes flickered to life again. She turned her ruby red eyes towards the incoming Elemental Fiend King while holding her temples with her left hand. She was trying to suppress the agonizing pain she currently felt. Green protruding veins started to appear on her temples as she exerted herself again, blasting out another wave of pressure towards the Elemental Fiend King. The Elemental Fiend King was wrenched from the air and forcefully pulled down. As it fell down wretchedly, Shiro arrived and stomped on it furiously. Next, he pulled its wings off using his jaws. [Now, let me teach you a lesson you will never forget!!!] Shiro fumed with vengeance. He trashed the pitiful Elemental Fiend King as how a wolf trashing a rabbit. The little snakehead shivered with apprehension at what he saw and silently vowed not to cross the seemingly-regal-but-oh-so-ruthless spirit beast in the future. ... Similar to the snakehead fish, The Primordial Queen Mother shivered in fear as she observed her king being tormented tragically by the white creature through their telepathic channel. The beatings were so savage until the Elemental Fiend King stayed limped on the cave floor like a dead log. Shiro had made sure he trashed the Elemental Fiend King with a vengeance. He was in a rare state of rage, most of it with himself, for failing to protect their mom. Until he felt a warmth sensation on his head, bringing clarity to his soul. "Enough Sweetie. I am alright now. Remember our objective here." Hana rubbed Shiro''s head and back to calm him down. He was currently very agitated. Shiro''s breathing was very rapid at the moment, as icy breath filled the space around him from his lack of control. He stopped trashing the insolent little insect unwillingly. "Are you alright? Take a few deep breaths and calm down. I''m alright. See? Nothing happens here." Hana pulled her fluffy pet towards her and gave him a warm hug with her drenched body. She had asked Chomper to wash her with clean water to rid herself of the dead purple Elemental Fiend''s body fluid. She knew Shiro was blaming himself for the attack. The Primordial Queen Mother saw the white creature stood up on two hind legs within her senses. To her horror, it used its right paw to grab on the Elemental Fiend King''s mandibles and dragged it with them in tow. They walked languidly towards her location. She droned in apprehension beside the Elemental Poison pool. She couldn''t stay here anymore! She needed to get help from her warriors! At that moment, the waters within the pool agitated; the final General-classed Elemental Fiend crawled out from within the pool. Its previous deep red color had turned to purple, indicating the presence of dual-element within. The Primordial Queen Mother droned in relief and slowly crawled into her own nesting chamber beside the elemental pools. At least she had this one to delay the intruders while she tried to escape by making a tunnel from the other side of her nesting chamber. The final purple-colored Elemental Fiend stood guard after it closed the opening with a large boulder in an attempt to protect its Queen. ... [What happened just now, Kuro? Thank you for helping out.] Hana conversed with the faraway Kuro telepathically. She was still unsure how she had protected herself just now. Her doted little snake must have done something to help her again because Hana could feel the little snake''s aura. Since they had cultivated the Lightning Emperor Divinity Soul diligently together, she had familiarized herself with Kuro''s unique presence and could feel him anywhere as long as he was near. The telepathic channel was silent for a moment before Kuro''s voice reverberated in her mind. [It wasn''t me, Mommy.] He said quietly. Hana was shocked by Kuro''s comment. [I definitely felt your aura coming out from me, Ku-chan! How come?!] [What Mommy blasted out was soul power in the form of Soul-pressure. It was the most basic use of soul power to suppress weaker enemies. However, somehow, instead of using your own power, you managed to ''borrow'' my soul power through our soul connection. Please don''t do it too frequently Mommy! It will burden your soul and body. Your constitution was not strong enough at the moment.] Kuro worriedly explained. Hana could detect a strong level of anxiety and helplessness emitted from the little black snake''s end. He was currently in an emotional turmoil too. Hana and Shiro paused their steps as they looked at each other. Shiro was present within the telepathic conversation, as Hana had brought the conversation into the public channel from earlier on so that they could always share information comprehensively. She didn''t want to make Shiro feel left out. [Mommy, can you consciously try to exert Brother''s aura again now?] Try it. Shiro quietly spoke with a tinge of wonderment in his gaze. Hana closed her eyes and concentrate but nothing happened for the first few seconds. She suddenly remembered to chant the soul cultivation chant under her breath and within her mind, since that was what she did at the exact moment the strange energy manifested. She slowly opened her glowing ruby red eyes as the Soul-pressure manifested. However, after around 30 seconds, blood started to flow from her nose. [Mommy! Stop it now!] Kuro was so flustered, he nearly fell down from the tree canopy. [Wow, surprisingly, it''s a success, but I could only hold it for a few seconds.] Hana wiped the blood with shaky hands while chuckling weakly. For once, her confidence grew. She could finally do something for the team too and not just being a burden. She then suddenly turned around and dipped her bloodied hands inside Chomper''s water bubble to wash her hands. Both Shiro and Chomper were speechless with the aunty''s behavior. "Ah, done!" Hana admired her clean hands. "Let''s get going. The Queen is waiting for us." Hana laughed lightly. The new skill will help her tremendously. She was feeling lucky and lighthearted until the pain felt from the mental burden could be ignored. ... Kuro was silent all the way. Because he had just started to practice the new soul cultivation chant with Mommy, he wasn''t very clear of the exact effect of the cultivation method. Nonetheless, he had submerged within Mommy''s Soul Hall Domain temporarily to see a new unstable link being forged between Mommy''s soul with his soul when Mommy started to chant by herself! The new connection was made of runes from the archaic chant he taught to Mommy. As the link was chained to his soul within the Soul Hall domain, he could faintly feel his soul power was being siphoned in a barely traceable amount through the link to enter Mommy''s soul. Once she stopped, the temporary link disintegrated as the runes scattered. This is an early indication of entering the second realm of the Lightning Emperor Divinity Soul. The skill, known as Soul-empowerment, can only be used after the breakthrough, and the soul link meets particular criteria! This was big! She had forcefully achieved a premature breakthrough! By right, their mommy needed to achieve complete mastery in Soul-link before she could attempt to break a significant bottleneck before entering the next realm. The Soul-link itself had four levels of mastery; initial mastery, small achievement mastery, major achievement mastery and finally, complete mastery. He was unequivocal with Mommy''s achievement; she was just at initial mastery at the moment. After all, she had only earnestly cultivated not more than ten days! [How did Mommy do it?!] Kuro pondered with worry. Kuro ruminated over the details of the Lightning Emperor Divinity Soul within his bloodline memory but couldn''t pinpoint anything noteworthy; the words used were too archaic and ancient. He needed to know if there''s any hidden danger which could affect Mommy''s well being since she was an aberration to this soul cultivation technique. His eyes were clouded with apprehension and uncertainty, but he forcefully held it in. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Should he find a way to contact the clan he had forsaken ages ago? No! He couldn''t! Mommy could be killed if they knew! There was no one to ask but for him to depend on himself. After deliberating for a long time, Kuro decided to observe first. Once he found something untoward which could endanger Mommy, he would immediately intervene. Kuro suddenly felt that he really needed to be more diligent than Mommy in cultivating. Since Mommy''s progress was so fast, he was worried he couldn''t catch up. He needed to go through all the tribulations of the cultivation technique first before letting Mommy attempt it so that he could check for any anomaly within the cultivation technique. ... 99 Choosing between Submission or Death The Primordial Queen Mother paced slowly within her own chamber with worry. At the same time, she was sending distress signals to all of the nest inhabitants outside. Every Elemental Fiend suddenly fought desperately harder, startling the spiritual bird. The ones demolishing the ice walls increased their vigor. A lot of Elemental Fiends drowned by Chomper''s water barrier while trying their best to break Shiro''s multiple layer ice walls. The trio had not noticed the change within all Elemental Fiends behind the ice walls since the other two purple ones attacking them previously were dead. Hana killed the one that attacked her while Chomper had bit off half of the head of the purple Elemental Fiend he fought, killing it in just a few minutes later. As they walked rapidly while dragging the half-dead Elemental Fiend King, they came across three small pools of different colors emitting intense disturbance in the air above it. The first pool was filled with reddish molten lava-like substance within. The pool emitted very high temperatures until the air distorted above it. Chomper immediately made a thick layer of water bubble while Shiro froze the bubble surface outside and took control of it. The surface of the ice bubble became like glass while isolating the heat from reaching Hana. Hana was in awe at the sight. "Are we inside an underground volcano or something? Is this natural?" [Maybe. However, I am not too sure, Mom. Another possibility is, there might be a fire attributed spirit vein here.] Shiro answered hesitantly. Not too far from the Fire Elemental Pool, the second one was a pool with viscous black liquid within and produced dark greenish fume. Observing the dangerous-looking unnatural pool, Hana instantly could guess that this was the Poison Elemental Pool. This was because its color was the same as the poison-attributed black Elemental Fiend. The last pool was the most dangerous one. White lightning was spewing out from it from time to time and was too bright to be observed properly. What Hana could make out was only a ball of unstable whiteness within the glare. "What a wondrous sight! I have never seen lightning brewing inside a location like this without dispersing. It looks too dangerous, isn''t it?" Hana couldn''t fathom how could something like lightning persisted like this without dissipating. It had defied her understanding of the world and made her extremely curious to know. Hana urged the rest to move from the final pool. At that moment, something purple flashed from their side. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Shiro nonchalantly reached out with his other empty paw towards the air and grabbed without even looking. The newly advanced purple-colored General-class Elemental Fiend''s thorax was caught within his grasp. It was snarling and snapping its dangerous-looking mandible with ferociousness, making Hana and Chomper paused their steps with worry. However, to Shiro, the purple bug will remain as a soft bug in his eyes; fragile and easily killed. He could just pinch it to death if not for Hana''s incessant reminders not to kill wantonly. He looked at it in disdain but noticed that a faint peculiar aura still lingered around it. The dissipating aura made him reminisced about an absolute heavenly treasure deeply sought after by many experts! A treasure that many experts were searching like crazy for it, but lo and behold, he might just got a clue in this tiny nest! Shiro''s gaze turned serious as he utilized his spiritual sense to scan the purple bug up and down. He then quickly noticed that the faint aura came from trace amount of liquid upon the crevices of the Elemental Fiend''s exoskeleton. Before he could further analyze it, the aura has entirely dissipated. [No wonder I couldn''t detect it in other Elemental Fiends. I still cannot believe this to exist here] Shiro was shocked by the revelation from his most recent prey and straight away discussed the findings with Kuro A moment of awkward silence later, Shiro quietly put away his findings and continued their journey. He threw a lasting glance at the Elemental Pools with a thoughtful look. He had just agreed with Bro Ku to push it back first and investigate it later before reporting to Mom. Right now, they need to focus on the subjugation of the queen bug. He knew the most dangerous part was yet to come and couldn''t make himself and Mom became distracted with this finding. ... The Primordial Queen Mother droned in apprehension when loud sounds were heard just outside her grand chamber. She moved as faraway as possible from the entrance as the booming sounds got louder and louder. Boom! Booom! Booommm!!! After three loud booming sounds, the giant boulder fitted on the doorway towards her chamber, shattered into pieces. Behind the cloud of dust, she could see a shadowy figure of a large floating fish. The fish moved to the side to let a small white-colored creature with tree branches on its head to slowly appear, dragging the half-dead Elemental Fiend King on his left, and the dying General-class Elemental Fiend on his right imposingly. The white creature flared its aura domineeringly while looking down on her with disdain in its eyes, "Submit or die, right now." It threw the two Elemental Fiends in front of her. The two Elemental Fiends were not moving anymore, but she could still detect a tiny spark of life within them. However, she knew they will die in a matter of hours from their grievous injuries. "Well?" The Primordial Queen Mother couldn''t understand the white creature''s words, but from his domineering aura, she knew what it wanted. It wanted her to submit to it. From how it looked at her, she was sure she will be killed if she refused. After a moment of hesitation, she immediately lowered her head in submission willingly. Although the queen was a spiritual beast with underdeveloped intelligence, she instinctively had an inclination to submit to a stronger spirit beast for survival. A dry humorless cough sounded. "No, not me, you need to submit to her." The white creature moved to the side to reveal another timid looking creature. It was the first time for the Queen to see such a creature. Its body looked so soft and squishy; it must be a little too mushy when eaten, which was not to her liking. The creature with the long black rope-like mane had very weak aura; it nearly didn''t have any presence at all. The queen was so speechless, she looked to the left and right with her compound eyes. [Is this the white creature''s Master?!] It was simply unbelievable! She was still willing to submit to the white creature, but she will never ever submit to this soft squishy random worm! Suddenly, she roared and tried attacking the little bug-like creature in retaliation! A soundwave attack was produced and bombarded towards Shiro. Her intentions were straight-forward; if she managed to kill the fragile worm, she didn''t need to submit to it. Maybe, even the white creature will be thankful to her for releasing it from its bonds to the worm and let her go. She immediately dragged her slug-like heavy body towards the worm in an attempt to reduce the distance and launched a mental attack to stop the worm from running away. At the same time, the other Elemental Fiends pounced from the back in coordination! It''s a two-pronged attack! They had successfully breached the ice wall barriers and had stealthily blocked the intruders'' escape by sacrificing a large number of their comrades to drowning. The attacks were so well-coordinated, they happened at the same time. Before Shiro and Chomper could act, a horrifying pressure descended upon the Primordial Queen Mother and the rest of the Elemental Fiends. The pressure was domineeringly strong and pressed all of them to the ground. Some weaker Elemental Fiends started bleeding white substances from their orifices, while the ones with grievous injuries were directly squashed, including the newly-transformed General-class Elemental Fiend beside the King. The Primordial Queen Mother struggled hard to move her limbs and force herself to attack the black-maned worm. However, she couldn''t even lift her head. Only her six compound eyes looked at the creature with horror. The black-maned creature walked step by step towards her while a large translucent dome appeared out of nowhere, isolating the other Elemental Fiends at the back from the intruders and her. The King was barely breathing and was on its last breath, while the new General was already dead. "Submit, or die. Choose well, please." A ghostly looking red glowing eyes looked at her thoughtfully. The Primordial Queen Mother felt a very dangerous aura emitted for the black-maned worm, It was like a different being altogether! "Slap her for me." Two tight slaps were delivered to the Primordial Queen Mother''s face. To her, the slap was akin to being banged by a fast-moving horrifying blunt force. The first slap had made her large body fly to the left ice wall while the second slap she got midair had slammed her down to the ground directly in front of the black-maned being again. She coughed a lot of blood. All the orifices on her face were leaking white blood now. "Submit, or die. Last chance. I can always promote someone else as the next Queen." She wanted to nod, but couldn''t move at all. She tried to move her limbs, but she couldn''t. She was in a state of panic at the moment. She didn''t want to lose her life due to a misunderstanding! She gave the creature a pleading look, but the creature seemed not to understand her pitiful gaze. Obviously the aunty couldn''t differentiate between a steadfast giant termite and a crying giant termite. The creature sighed again and shook her head. "You asked for it." .... Just before Hana was going to order Shiro to beat the Primordial Queen Mother again, she heard the voice of her beloved little pet who was observing with her eyes. [Mommy? The queen bug already submitted. But she couldn''t show any reaction due to the Soul-pressure. However, don''t lift it first. Make sure to let her ingest your blood first.] Hana sweated as she heard Kuro''s reminder within their telepathic channel. Hana blushed and nearly fell. [Ah? Really ah? Aiyohh..] Hana cleared her throat and closed her eyes. She reduced the intensity and the scope of the Soul-pressure to only encompassed the area within the ice bubble wall. At that moment, Hana felt a coppery taste within her mouth, but she held it in as hard as she could. She couldn''t show a trace of weakness in front of the spiritual beast she was going to make her own. What if she retaliated during Soul-pact once it knew she was injured internally? Shiro could see Mom''s complexion getting paler. The medication from the little slave fish was working before, but she didn''t truly get better. It flared up again after she used the Soul-pressure skill again. Hana held her finger to Shiro to let him nicked it as she was too afraid to do it herself. Her index finger started bleeding with copious amounts of red blood. Her face turned paler as she looked at her own blood; she knew her phobia for blood was surfacing. She quickly brought her finger to the Queen''s mouth. .... As the terrifying pressure reduced, the Queen could finally open her excessively large mandible to receive the creature''s blood. She obediently ingested the blood as the creature kept on dripping more and more in her mouth. The ownership runes within the blood stealthily manifested and spread to the Queen''s whole body in search of her soul to conquer it. Suddenly, she could feel something deep within her soul! Her soul had been forcefully wrenched to half and taken over! The Primordial Queen Mother looked at Hana''s face unconsciously with fear in her eyes. She understood that the creature in front of her now held her life, and she couldn''t break away from it even after death! The creature finally took away her bloodied finger and placed its hand on her head. "You won''t regret it. Following me will give you lots of benefits." The Primordial Queen Mother saw the creature walked towards the dying King. It then fed the King with something. To her pleasant surprise, the King''s vitality became better in just a short while. ... "Do you want one? This medicine?" She showed the All Cure Pellet she fed to the Elemental Fiend King to the Primordial Queen Mother. At the moment, she could feel her emotions. It was filled with agitation and mostly of fear towards her. She could also feel confusion from the queen termite. [She didn''t understand us, Mom. She''s a low tiered spiritual beast with a lack of intelligence.] Shiro helpfully explained to Hana. Hana rubbed the head of the queen to appease it. Once she touched the gigantic termite''s head, she could feel the Queen''s fear increased a couple of notches. Her touch didn''t work. It only agitated the queen more. Hana directly fed the queen with the All Cure Pellet and tried to feel her emotions. Firstly, she felt apprehension, then surprise, and finally, an increasing amount of joy. Hana smiled. As the ice bubble wall was lifted, all the Elemental Fiends in the vicinity lowered their heads, led by the Primordial Queen Mother and her fully cured Elemental Fiend King. They now had a new Master. Prompted by the Queen Mother, everyone droned together in unison, "Master" was what being droned about, but Hana wasn''t able to understand anything. It almost sounded like a prayer. Shiro nodded curtly with satisfaction, obviously feeling pleased with the title but wasn''t planning to spill the beans, lest Hana will start asking everyone to call her ''aunty'' again. At first, Hana was shocked by their servile action; they had just fought each other too. After a while, she had finally accepted their prostration with ease. At the same time, her heart was so overwhelmed with their success. She could brag about this operation with dearest Arash for a whole year while lifting her nose up! Dang, that man dare looked down on her all this while. She felt so relieved as if a heavy burden had just been lifted from her chest. As she relaxed all her taut mind, her vision clouded a little. [Hmm? What happen? Did my glasses get dirty?] She took off her glasses in an attempt to wipe it on her wet yellow shirt. Suddenly she felt something wet and hot dripping from her nose before she could even wipe her glasses clean. Hana placed the glasses back on her nose and attempted to wipe the snot that might have come out embarrassingly only to see a copious amount of blood on her hand. She hadn''t realized that her ears were bleeding too. [D*mn, this is too much...] Her vision quickly becomes dark, and she suddenly lost consciousness. 101 Empress It had been more than six hours of continuous cultivation from Hana''s part. Each time the sound wave from the soul chant touched the partial souls hovering within Hana''s Soul Hall Domain, they shone brightly with differing colors. Hana was feeling so much better at the moment, although not truly healed. She had continued singing the beautiful new-age ''song'' to her heart''s content. She admitted that she did add a little here and there to make the ''song'' more tasteful. Additionally, she felt that her additions had improved the song slightly. It''s like for an originally four-star song, she had added a quarter to a half star to increase its quality slightly, making it more pleasing to the ear. To Hana, it was normal for any songs to have some discrepancies from each other. The same song sang by different artiste will always sound slightly different. Usually, the core melody will be maintained, but the other trivial parts will exhibit the artiste''s tasteful improvisation. It didn''t necessarily ruin the song. Nonetheless, not many improvisations could best the original melody of a song. However, Hana was quite confident with her improvisation. Although she wasn''t a hardcore fan of the current day music loved by the young ones, her tastes in music were more towards the older generation, which focused on finding peace and internal healing. She loved rich and beautiful soothing music either in the form of classics, opera arias, ambient music, chants, experimental music or new age. Most importantly, she was not tone deaf. She had even delved into basic music theory and could sing quite well. This was a way to alleviate stress from not having any breaks for being a full-time housewife. The laidback weekly classes were her breaks from all the chaos at home, courtesy of her beloved''s token of appreciation. After more than forty-eight hours of continuous resonance with Hana''s soul, the first few shadowy threads reached the nearest ruby-colored star. Once it touched the red star, one of the shadows turned tangible and firmly bind the red star while the rest remained unstable; flickering in an out of existence. After that, as if a chain reaction occurred, more shadowy thread-like lines extended into the void to finally connect to other stars. These threads were similarly unstable and were as fine as silk. If one could magnify the tiny ''threads'', then one would note that all ''threads'' originated from Hana''s astral body in the middle of the Soul Hall Domain were solidified from abstruse ancient runes used within the soul cultivation chant. However, the thickness of the unstable threads was different from each other, with Kuro''s red star having the thickest while the Primordial Queen Mother''s was the thinnest. After a while, all connected stars shone brightly. Kuro stopped slithering outside of the Elemental Fiend''s nest towards where Mommy was currently resting while taking a deep breath. After an initial surprise, he closed his eyes to savor this wondrous familiar feeling. He understood that the mass Soul-link was finally manifesting! He needed to see with his own eyes! He connected with Hana immediately to observe. Shiro stopped talking to Chomper and walked towards the sleeping Hana. He placed his head on Hana''s abdomen and closed his eyes with contentment. There were happiness and gratitude reflected in his eyes before he closed them. [Finally, Mom reached out to me] Not long later, the Elemental Fiend Queen slowly moved forward and laid down her large body beside Hana. She had an astonished look in her six compound eyes and closed them reverently. She didn''t dare to touch Hana, lest the white creature will attack her with hostility. Just standing beside her new mistress made her immensely satisfied. Far within the Waterwave main clan grounds, Ara stopped cultivating as she could faintly feel the presence of her mistress. She looked longingly towards the direction of the Elemental Fiend''s nest, although she didn''t know where Hana was at the moment. Although Ara didn''t understand what was happening, her agitated heart suddenly calmed down as she felt that she could cultivate better. A sniffing sound full of longing sounded, "Mistress.. wuwuwu.." She was extremely jealous of her own attendant. So jealous! Why was she still being grounded! Arghhh! All spiritual beasts contracted by Hana could feel Hana''s distinct aura enveloping them. It was warm, peaceful, and nourishing them from within; it felt like being coddled lovingly. The nourishment to their souls was very minute but was unmistakable. Apart from spirit beasts with the ability to manipulate soul power like the Lightning Serpents, there was no other way to increase one''s soul power directly. Most importantly, the nourishment was accompanied by a warm and fuzzy feeling that was beneficial for them in comprehending cultivation methods and techniques. It was especially advantageous to those who had the ability to access their own bloodline memory. Besides Kuro, who had always conquered Hana''s nourishing aura for himself every single time, it was the first time the other contracted spiritual beasts realized the advantage of becoming Hana''s important persons. Notably, the Elemental Fiends'' Primordial Queen Mother could distinctly feel her own soul being directly nourished. She was shocked at the beginning but finally could understand how her new mistress had the ability to suppress and made everyone submit to her. She herself was an insect type spiritual beast who had a unique soul that specialized in nest-wide telepathic management. The minute increment had actually increased her total control over her nest! She finally was convinced and whole-heartedly submitted herself to Hana. The acceptance triggered an instinctual dominance effect as Hana''s soul power invaded her core control and directly traveled through the existing nest-wide telepathy channel to reach the other Elemental Fiends under her. A peculiar occurrence happened to all Elemental Fiends under the control of the Queen Mother. All of their movements paused for a fraction of a second, as light gleamed through their eyes. The surviving Generals, the wounded Warriors, the Workers, and even the ones saved by Kuro; all had stopped what they were doing to turn towards the inner chamber of the Queen Mother where Hana lay unconscious. All of them emitted a soft drone as they lowered their heads. They were aware of what just happened through the nest-wide telepathic link. Previously, their submission was due to the Queen Mother''s command, but now it wasn''t so. They had truly acknowledged another being above their Queen Mother. A new hierarchy had permanently set where the Empress was at the highest. Their new Empress had firmly entrenched herself into their community. A strange string of runes had invaded their mass consciousness via the Queen Mother and had changed something within them. Everyone was startled with the Elemental Fiends befuddling behaviors, while the Primordial Queen Mother herself bowed the lowest, to the point of groveling beside the unconscious Hana. She instinctively submitted herself and her nestlings to this rare Expert as each undulating wave brought about a deeper telepathic resonance with them. Kuro found himself witnessing the splendor of the Soul Hall Domain within Hana with wonder. He looked at his own shiny astral body to find a clump of thread-like bridge attaching itself from Mommy''s astral body to his own. Within the bundle of ''threads'', a single tangible one the size of Mommy''s pinky served as the core while the others wound around it firmly. The others were still unstable, as they kept on flickering in and out of existence. He had noticed that the threads were made from the profound runes present within the ancient Lightning Emperor''s Divinity chant. The dissipation of the runes at various locations of the bridge was what made the rune-thread unstable. Kuro counted and found that there were another five other unstable threads present. However, when Mommy restarted the next cycle of the chant, the dissipating runes were immediately replaced, before runes from other parts of the thread started to disappear again. He was somewhat confused and turned around to observe the other stars in a bid to try to understand the peculiar phenomena. He then realized that every bridge connected to a star was made of six threads. However, no other stars have a tangible thread from their personal bridge like him. He nodded with comprehension. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. He now knew that the single tangible thread represented the mastery of Soul-link for the sense of sight between Mommy and him. This conformed with the fact that other threads representing senses of smell, hearing, taste, touch, and spirit were still unstable. Once the sharing of a sense between the host and the recipient solidifies, the ''thread'' will then remain tangible. Kuro couldn''t wait for the day Mommy truly achieved full Mastery of Soul-link with eagerness in his heart. [I need to help Mommy to prepare herself for the full brunt of Soul-empowerment..] Kuro pondered hard as he recalled the heavenly treasure notified by Shiro a few days back. It was always good to prepare ahead of time for the inevitable. Soul-empowerment was a double-edged sword. He knew Mommy''s constitution wasn''t good enough to support the burden from how her body automatically shut down after a few tries of performing Soul-pressure. It would only get heavier with each successful mastery of a full Soul-link with his other ''brethren''. ... Summary after 101 Chapter: ...Hana''s stats update..... Character: Hana C after the prawn skewer crisis (Chapter 78) Strength level: 1.2 Overall constitution: 1.2 Soul level: 5.0 Spiritual level: nil Hana''s Soul Cultivation: Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul Cultivation progress: Early-stage Initial Mastery (Premature Soul Link) Character: Hana C in meditation-hibernation after the subjugation of Elemental Fiends (Chapter 101) Strength level: 3 Overall constitution: 3.5 Soul level: 21 Spiritual level: nil Hana''s Soul Cultivation: Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul Cultivation progress: Initial Mastery (Full Soul Link) Kuro''s Soul threads thickness = 1.70 (1 out of 6 senses unlock) Shiro''s Soul threads thickness = 0.40 threads (0 out of 6 senses unlock) Ara''s Soul threads thickness = 0.10 threads (0 out of 6 senses unlock) Queen Mother''s Soul threads thickness = 0.03 threads (0 out of 6 senses unlock) Note: 1) Stats value is compared with one Normal Healthy Male Adult Human (1.0) 2) Thread thickness is relative and only served to be compared to each other (no quantifiable SI unit) 3) Hana does not have a system within her. The quantifiable numbers only served as a guide for readers to observe her progress 102 MIA again 10th Year Anniversary Special Release [Why isn''t she responding again?!] Inside the little apartment, Arash was walking in circles with worry etched deep into his brow. He had just finished cooing the little ones to sleep, and it was d*mn trying. A little bit more, he would have lost his temper and spanked their butts to kingdom come. However, he had managed to massage his chest and think of God before he collected himself yet again. He couldn''t fathom how Hana made the kids slept at nine every day without fail. His beloved was a super mom! Dark circles adorned his tired eyes, as unkempt stubble formed on his jaw. Arash was like a zombie; lack of sleep, worry for Hana, mind-numbing suppression from his immediate boss, his parents'' grumbles for not visiting, rearing two super active children, dealing with his in-laws, and the ad-hoc midnight study to make tutorials for his wife had taken a massive toll on him. He had juggled all these for a month without Hana by his side. The only moment of solace was when the kids were asleep and he could engage in romantic messaging with his wife, just like the olden days in university years. They had fought a little few nights ago. As usual, this d*mn mouth couldn''t just speak sweet words to the pitiful little wife, but to condemn her with a barrage of (well-intentioned) unkind words. Arash couldn''t stop himself from trying his hardest to stop Hana''s newest project! She told him she was going to subjugate a nest full of monster termites! Seriously?! She was even crying when a cockroach flew to her face! Whether the termites were real or not, or the size was exaggerated or not, he could not tolerate his beloved purposely endangering herself, just for the grand idea of making a map! He''d rather hope that she waited for him and Bro Hadi settled everything! Although Hana had not brought up the matter again, he had a bad feeling that she was purposely keeping him in the dark. This had led his mind to suffer agonizingly when she had suddenly stopped communication for three consecutive days! A barrage of questions from Hana''s family''s side added to his heartache. [You ask me, but who can I ask?] It''s not like Hana was being selective and only messaged him when she left the others hanging. He knew, even how busy she became, she would always inform him due to her habits. He also knew that she had a soft spot for her mom, Ma''am Shaza, so she won''t skimp on her too. This sudden MIA had seriously pushed Arash to the brink as he thought about Hana''s ridiculous near-death experience from a small bite of prawn skewer! Arash was akin to ants on a hot pan, agitated, worry, and erratic. He nearly flung his smartphone down when the incoming message was endless harassment from his immediate boss, and not from his beloved wife. This (colorful expletives)!!! He even harassed him in the middle of the night with work! Arash took three deep breaths and went to the washroom to take ablution. As every drip of water washed his body parts, he found that his agitated heart calmed a lot. He needed to pray to God to ask for help to safeguard his wife from harm''s way. That was the only thing that he could do besides wait. ... Madam Lisa welcomed the man into the office with the brightest smile she could muster. The forlorn look plastered upon this intelligent-looking man had caught her gaze for some time now. She knew he was a prized golden goose from how loosely he threw his money around for the sake of his 2 year-old daughter. However, she also knew that he hadn''t accepted the death of his wife yet. That woman, dying a premature death, was actually a boon for her. She knew she needed to take slow, steady steps to win over this suave-looking man. As long as she patiently stayed by his side, one day his gaze will finally fall on her. She hadn''t found a person she was compatible with for the longest time and had been very business-oriented ever since. This man had a tenderness she could not describe when he spoke of his departed wife, and his caring demeanor for his child was real. He was also very mature and grounded. All the qualities of a man she admired were squarely on this man! She longed to fill the empty shoes of the woman. However, the kid needs to go once she managed to conquer him. At the moment, she still needed to be prudent and took extra care of the little monster! That little devil was really something! She was so cranky all the time, and vicious! Madam Lisa had been bitten more times than she could think of. [Just you wait, you little runt... Once I get your Papa, you''ll know what will happen to you!] Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. For now, she couldn''t take any action. She knew the man had installed a camera-recorder on the personal effects of the little monster. It was the latest spy camera one could buy from Lazada; a simple google had revealed its function. That was why she purposely placed it openly and treat the kid with extra care to show her dedication. Oblivious to Madam Lisa''s scheming internal thoughts, Arash spoke to the daycare administrator without a slight ripple in his cold eyes. What he wanted were results that equated to excellent care for his little one. It should be proportionate with the amount of money he spent. Checking on the recordings daily had made Arash satisfied inwardly. This Madam Lisa truly cared for his little daughter, although she had been in tough positions all the time. "Mr. Arash, is there anything that I can help you with?" Madam Lisa''s motherly smile soothed Arash within. "I would like to ask for a favor. I need to do something for the whole day tomorrow, so I need someone to take good care of my daughters. Is it alright? I will pay by the hour." [Another daughter?! That woman is so productive! Hmph!] "Ah, sure! We pride ourselves on the well-being of the children here. The little one is a treasure! I''m sure the sister will get along well with me. Please don''t worry and be at ease. I will treat both of them as if my own. Believe in me. I will never disappoint you." Madam Lisa laced her words with multiple meanings, hoping that it could thaw the icy heart of the man in front of her. Gratitude filled Arash''s eyes as he saw the administrator in a new light. "Thank you! I owe you one." Arash couldn''t wait to go survey the surroundings of the town he lived in properly. He remembered Bro Hadi had told him about the peculiarity of the hand-drawn scrawl. In truth, although Arash and Hana had been residing in the town for four years, they had not explored the area entirely due to their hectic schedule. He had heard that their new town was actually a palm oil tree plantation bordered by a rainforest on one side and a dried-up tin ore mine, which had been converted into lakes on the other side. There were even real aborigines living not far from their town, though he might need to perform a little trekking at the fringe of the forest. Bringing the girls along will only complicate things. Bro Hadi''s home was the nearest to them, but it still needed 2 hours to reach on a one-way journey, and he couldn''t impose on his brother-in-law like that. Additionally, he was a little bit dissatisfied with his brother-in-law. He knew Hana must have been affected by Hadi''s harshness. As harsh as he was, Bro Hadi would top the charts. He knew Hana had directly contacted Bro Hadi before. Since then, she had been somewhat different; she couldn''t hide it well. Arash knew this was an indication she was deeply hurt. Since Bro Hadi was only content with being a keyboard warrior, he will do the legwork instead. He needed to at least investigate the more remote areas properly. Although Hana had talked about mysterious sentient animals incessantly and nearly convinced him that she might have been spirited away to another world or something, he still needed to make sure. Who knows if he could find any clues. With a copy of the hand-drawn map, a real printed map, a compass, and other newly bought camping necessities, he hardened his heart to set out as early as possible the next day. He won''t lie that he was, in fact, extremely nervous. It was his first time since university years to do jungle trekking. ... Loud rumble startled the forest inhabitants as they scurried away hurriedly. Monkey shrills, exotic birds and fowls'' shrieks and distant roars could be heard interlacing with the sounds of insects. A gray jeep broke through a dense foliage covering an obscure trail, splashing teh-tarik colored mud everywhere. It stopped abruptly as it came across a large broken branch, partially covered with greenish-black moss, barring its movement forward. Three men exited from the jeep, approached the large tree branch and worked together to move it to the side of the trail. Two of them worked almost mechanically as if the deed was as natural as breathing to them, while the last one was trying his best to follow the lead of the others. His movements were awkward, but his efforts were sincere. The two men glanced at each other knowingly but didn''t comment. "This is already the fifth time." Arash sighed while wiping the accumulating sweat away from his forehead with his left hand. He had unintentionally smeared mud on his face without knowing. The two men watching were trying their hardest not to break into a grin. Obviously, this city-dweller was a noob in off-road adventuring. Since they had been hired at a generous price, they tried their best to assist this man into the know-how of the trade. "This is quite normal, Mr. Arash. Since the trail is not well-trodden, it is not regularly cleared." The man wearing a black cap took out a map and a compass and lay it on top of the bonnet. Another man used a GPS tracker to double-checked their route. "We''re currently here. At the end of this trail, we need to switch to this trail for two more hours. After that, we need to do a bit of trekking for three hours to the aborigine village you wanted." Arash silently observed the vegetation warily. The trees adorning the trail were ancients; the trunks were so large and thick, at least two to three men needed to hold hands together to be able to successfully surround the trees. Looking at these trees reminded him of his beloved, struggling in a similar condition, but bereft of the convenience he currently enjoy; guides in the form of a trekking expert and a professional pathfinder, packaged together with transportation. He was not foolish to trudge into the wilderness without ample preparation. "Let''s proceed. I hope we could reach the area by early evening. I really need to reach home by tonight." He was already worrying about the girls at the daycare center. Although its service was top-notch, he only promised Madam Lisa that he would place the girls under her care for the whole day. It seemed that he had overestimated the time and effort needed for this excursion. He had sent a message to the kindhearted administrator but wasn''t sure whether it reached her or not. Rob was sighing inwardly at his client''s request. He was a little too optimistic. Although the whole route would take around 6 hours, that was excluding other factors. A lot of things will affect the difficulty of the course, which in turn will add more time. He had once used double the time to reach the same location before. It was nearly impossible to complete the whole route, stay for one to two hours at the aborigine village and double back to civilization within a short span of eighteen hours! He even heard that the head of the aborigine village was a difficult person. "Mr. Arash, I''m not trying to be negative here. But you must be prepared not to be assisted by the aborigines. They kept to themselves all the time and refuse to mingle if it is has nothing to do with trade. Another thing is, if it is too late, we might need to stay overnight at the village before we could return. The virgin forest is quite dangerous at night. The price will be quite hefty." He was trying to remind Arash of the might-be added charges. Obviously, if they had to stay for the night, the cost of accommodation should be borne by their client. "Alright, don''t worry about it. I''ll cover all the other additional expenses as per our agreement. Just make haste. I would like to reach the aborigine village as soon as possible." Arash could read in between the lines and could only agree since they were professionals. They knew what they were doing, and he was just a tag-along. Without them, he would be the same as his beloved, helpless to the elements of nature. He really needed to meet up with the locals who knew the land well, especially the forested area, to consult them of any hidden caves in the vicinity. Who knows, he might find some leads. With hopeful eyes, he trudged forward with renewed vigor. Even the ever-painful knee had felt a little light. ... 103 Emergency Situation The group of three had traveled towards the end of the gazetted trail and were prepared to start the last stretch of trekking to the nearest aborigine village. By this time, Arash had been sweating buckets. He didn''t feel so good as they had exceeded the time he had budgeted for the one-way trip by two-hours. He was skeptical that they could reach the village with another three-hours'' time as proposed by the guides. "Check all of your equipment. Last round." Rob turned to his client to make sure he was fully prepared. He wasn''t worried about his colleague, Mat. Mat was the best pathfinder from their small community of off-road adventuring. What made him worried was his well-off client; they had noticed that he had a slight limp on his right leg. His client must have injured himself before and was considered unfit for hard-core trekking. However, he had thought things through, and for him the three hours of trekking was really not considered harsh. He would be fine with a light pace and ample rest. Additionally, the urgency shown by his client was genuine. He believed that his client indeed had an important matter to attend to in the aborigine village. He might be a researcher of some kind; they always had this stern and worried look plastered on their faces 24/7. Rob had assisted a few such professionals, and four out of five of these people had no basics in jungle-trekking, just like his current client. Both Arash and Mat gave a solid nod before they walked into the forest in a single file. Mat led the way, followed by Arash, and their rear was guarded by Rob. They moved with caution along a nonexistent trail, assisted by their GPS tracker, a compass, and a map, a mix of analog and digital technology, while Arash struggled to learn and adapt as much as he can. Their shadows disappeared in between thick foliage and gnarled roots. ... Loud sounds of cicada had reached a crescendo at the moment as the sun had reached its peak. Although it was already noon, the forest floor was dim due to the never-ending canopy shielding off the harsh tropical sun. Arash and his two guides had trudged through the dimly lit forest for an hour by now. The nearer they were to their destination, all three of them similarly felt more positive. Although to Arash, the surroundings were just the same, he had noticed that the two guides could seemingly find all the nonexistent landmarks only known to them. "Ah, finally, we''ve reached the ancient Chengal tree. It''s still as majestic as always." Mat commented while watching upwards, most probably trying to see through the gaps of the lush leaves. The tree was slightly larger than the rest, with a circumference of six men holding each other''s hand to completely surround it. To Arash, all the trees looked just the same. He couldn''t appreciate the beauty of the foliage from thinking about his daughters and wife to adjusting his labored breathing. His lungs felt like burning. He was so exhausted but couldn''t find the words to tell his two guides since they were just breathing lightly and at ease. Arash lamented on how he should hit the gym more often after this if he intended to do more outdoor activities such as this in the future. "True. From this point, we''re a quarter in. Just a little more, Mr. Arash." Rob turned to Arash to encourage him. Arash was panting heavily. "A quarter only?" He sighed. [Does it mean there are three more hours of trekking left?!] He clearly remembered that Rob had said it should be 3-hour trekking previously. "This is considered quite good. We have a policy to reduce the pace to accommodate beginners in trekking." Rob smiled and worded his sentence politely to inform that they were a little behind schedule due to the client himself. Understanding dawned on Arash''s face as he nodded with acceptance, "Ah, I see. I''m grateful for your kind consideration." He really couldn''t go any faster. He could feel a slight elevation during their excursion, which was pretty bad for his right leg. He had silently endured the discomfort and pain along the way. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Rob realized the pale facial feature of his client wasn''t getting any better even after the short pause. He decided to help the guy out. "Let''s stop here for 15 minutes to catch our breath, alright?" ... Arash was resting over a large tree trunk covered in moss while trying his best to withstand the pain; he couldn''t be bothered with the annoying sounds surrounding him. Arash''s injured knee was hurting badly. He was totally alone at the moment. Arash sighed helplessly while feeling at a loss of what to do. Due to carelessness, he had lost his footing and fallen down after his right leg was stuck in between a particularly unnoticeable pit beside a tree root a while ago. The worst thing was, the pit was actually the home of a frightening large snake! The ferocious snake lashed at him immediately due to his intrusion. Mat, who was walking in front of him had reflexively pushed him to the side to save him and was bitten on his leg! Although Rob had managed to kill the snake in the end, Mat was in a critical condition. Arash watched Rob performing first aid for his colleague with a lump in his throat as he couldn''t move due to the intense pain. A myriad of emotions had gone by his mind at the moment, mainly predominated by guilt, helplessness, and remorse. [What am I doing?! Hurting others like this?] He was starting to doubt his decision to come into this forest. After doing as much as he can for his colleague, Rob went up to Arash and rolled up Arash''s right pants and was met with a purplish bruise. His client''s knee had swell so bad, it must have been hurting even before he fell. His face turned ugly. This was a really bad-looking sprain. Although Arash was not making any sounds, the beads of sweat flowing and the rapid breathing indicated that he was in immense pain. He immediately sprayed a coolant on the injured part. "I can''t do much, Mr. Arash. We should be able to find some ice in the aborigine village ahead to lessen your bruised knee. However, at the moment, I don''t think you could move and follow my pace. I''ll be frank. I''ve removed the venom crudely from Mat''s calf, but he truly needs immediate medical attention. We should be able to get it in the aborigine village. I''m not even sure whether we could reach the aborigine village in time to save Mat. So, I really need to hike as fast as I can while piggybacking Mat. I''m very very sorry Mr. Arash! We need to go first. Please let me!" Rob lowered his head in guilt. But he needed to do this for Mat''s sake. Between the two, Mat''s condition was time-sensitive. He had to leave his injured client in favor of saving his colleague''s life. "Just go. It''s all my fault, anyway. But please send someone over afterward." Arash lamented his bad luck. How could he not see the poor pathfinder''s terrible condition? Gratitude and guilty gushed out from within Rob. But he hardened his heart for his colleague''s sake. "The village is not that far anymore, Mr. Arash. You have two choices, either wait for help here or walk slowly to the village by yourself. Just open your compass. Follow this way straight. It''s alright even if you''re slow, you will reach the village soon, at the previous pace, it''ll be no more than 30 minutes. You might need more than one hour with your knee''s condition. Don''t worry, we will ask for the villagers'' help to fetch you as soon as we reach the village!" "Okay. You guys go ahead. I guess I will walk slowly to save some time. As I said, please send someone to meet up with me as soon as possible, alright." Arash painfully stood up and smiled weakly to them. With the parting words, Arash''s two guides vanished rapidly in between the lush greeneries. Arash felt pain everywhere as he tried to move. Even if it was at a snail''s pace, as long as he was walking, he was sure that there will be some progress. How lucky that the first encounter his wife had with a snake was with a docile one? They were even so chummy now until it made him slightly jealous. That''s one in a billion chance. How he wished he had the same luck. ... Rob''s heart lightened when the aborigine village entered his view. He immediately called for assistance from the villagers. Droves of bronze bare-chested men in shorts laced with dried leaves came over to help the two. Rob immediately told the villagers that they had another one en route, who was also injured, but not severely, which needed assistance to reach the village. The village representative immediately dispatched two men to search for Rob''s client and lead him to the village. Seeing how accommodating the villagers were to them, he felt so gratified. They even took him to meet the resident doctor stationing on the west side of their village. With the dead snake as a reference, the doctor had then procured an antivenom for Mat in time. Only God knows how fast Rob had walked while piggybacking Mat, he was practically running! Now, only time was needed to see whether the antivenom could work its magic. A soft knock resounded outside the dilapidated hut, which had been turned into a medical center. The head of the village representative poked in as he signaled Rob to come out. "Yes? Did you find Mr. Arash? He should be very near to the village already." Rob immediately inquired about Arash from the village representative. "That''s the problem, Mr. Robbie. We couldn''t find anyone of your description. So we had sent more villagers to look out for the person a little further out. It might take some time. He must have veered off the path to our village." Color disappeared from Rob''s face as he was imagining the possibility of his client dying on his watch due to negligence. Colorful expletives threatened to spill out, but he tried his best not to be impolite in front of the village representative, Pak Jaya. "I''ll join you in your search. At least I could go to the exact location from before we separated." "That will be best. We have excellent trackers to help out. We will find him sooner or later, dead or alive." ... 104 Q-chan or Emi-chan? Hana opened her eyes and stretched while yawning. Popping sounds could be heard coming from her limbs. She groggily fetched for her spectacles within the darkness, as it was efficiently passed by someone. She sighed helplessly. Since she was in this magical place, she had unknowingly fainted far too many times. She had actually never fainted in her life before due to her comfortable upbringing and tender-loving-care from her dearest beloved afterward. Heck, she had never even missed a single breakfast since childhood, so no chance of fainting over an hour morning assembly at school. "Ah, thank you, Sweetie." The aunty placed the spectacles over her eyes and habitually pushed it to the right position on the bridge of her nose with her index finger. She turned to the side to peck her beloved pet but was directly confronted by six large compound eyes the size of a football! In the gloomy atmosphere, the insect head with six eyes looked terrifying! "Wahhhhhh!" The panicked aunty was so shocked! She immediately jumped up and just realized she was lying on the floor layered with soft, fresh leaves. "Stop scaring the Mistress!" A white fox dashed over and knocked on the head of the Primordial Queen Mother. The pitiful Queen Mother made a high pitched dual-layered pitiful sound as she whimpered sadly. She didn''t understand what the white being was saying, but she knew it was angry with her. She couldn''t fathom what was happening. Was it wrong to be helpful to the Mistress? Although she couldn''t understand complex words, she could read the Mistress'' intent clearly via the newly forged telepathic link between them. "Sorry, sorry! Mommy was the one who was shocked just now. She didn''t do anything at all. Stop hurting her, Shi-chan." Hana pleaded to Shiro guiltily. She had finally regained her bearing after a while. She hesitantly walked towards the Queen Mother''s head to observe her well. The Primordial Queen Mother was nearly translucent white in color, with six emerald green compound eyes, two large main ones on either side and four smaller ones. Surprisingly she didn''t have those horrible mandibles. However, the Queen Mother''s insect forelegs looked sharp like rows of white sabers. She only had two twirly glowing antennae on her head. The structure of her face was akin to the face of a grasshopper. Carefully, she placed her hands on the Queen Mother''s face. It felt smooth, hard and cold as if she was touching on metal. The Queen Mother was quite wary of Hana''s touch, but she endured hard and didn''t react. When Hana finally touched her, she realized she was just paranoid. The touch was devoid of malice, as it was only filled with curiosity and warmth. She finally relaxed and started to enjoy Hana''s touch. A low pitch resounded from the Queen Mother, startling Hana as her eyes trailed to Shiro with a questioning look. [Is she saying something? Why can''t I understand her? Is there something wrong with the newly forged link? Is she angry or something?] [It''s alright, Mom. The link had manifested correctly, I''m very sure. She can''t talk since she was incapable of speech. For insect spiritual beast, their mode of communication was totally different, as it mostly depended on one way telepathic instructions, I think. Not too sure myself. Anyway, she is not a highly developed spiritual beast. Her intelligence is undoubtedly quite low. However, she is not hostile or anything. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it. I think this is equivalent to a purr.] Shiro''s reply entered Hana''s mind. He too, was quite speechless with the Primordial Queen Mother''s chumminess. Just a couple of days ago, she was so unwilling. Knowing that the giant termite quite liked to be rubbed on the head, Hana enthusiastically rubbed her head well. "Mmmm..what should I call you? Do you have a name?" The Queen Mother tilted her head to the side and droned a low pitch questioningly. [Primordial.. Quee.. Queenn.. Motherr..] Hana could hear the words forming telepathically inside her mind with astonishment. The voice was sweet and child-like, although slightly incoherent. Shiro was just saying that the termite queen was incapable of communicating with them due to her low intelligence. Now, she didn''t believe that one bit. It might sound far-fetched, but how unintelligent would someone be if she could manage a hive of a whole hundred and thousands-strong insect bustling with a myriad of activities at the same time? She knew she couldn''t. It needed someone with extreme management skills! Most probably nobody had taken the extra mile to get to know the species as a whole better. Most probably, this poor one hadn''t conversed with any spiritual beasts at all. Additionally, since they have an internal telepathic channel, she didn''t have to use her own voice to command for something, it can be relayed directly into the hive-mates minds. She resolutely felt that throwing a couple of bidara fruits and a little practice with the others would just remedy the issue perfectly later. Hana smiled warmly. "That sounded like a title. Let me give you a new name? Would you like that?" The Queen Mother tilted her massive head to the side in confusion. She was clueless as to what was spoken by the Mistress at the moment. She couldn''t gauge at all. In the beginning, wasn''t the Mistress was asking for her name? However, since the Mistress was moving her head up and down with enthusiasm, she just copied her movement for testing. "Primordial Queen Mother... Queen... How about Queenie? I''ll call you Q-chan! That sounded lovely and cute!" Queenie was the name of a book character used in her kid''s kindie. It was regal yet sweet. However, when Hana''s eyes fell on the Elemental Queen Mother''s emerald-colored compound eyes, she was very tempted with another name. "Or is ''Emy'' sounds better to you? I think both sounded nice. By the way, I love the color of your eyes." Hana chuckled heartily. The second-best precious stone she likes after ruby was always emerald! The aunty was now thorned between Q-chan or Em-chan! Oh, so very thorned inside! Both are good names for her. It made her reminisced her first-born''s naming discussion between her and Arash. Too many good names out there to choose from. The dilemma was real! "Q-chan?" The Primordial Queen Mother nodded vigorously. "Em-chan?" The Primordial Queen Mother nodded vigorously again. She perceived through telepathy that the up and down head movement made the Mistress'' mood lightened significantly. Both Hana and Shiro felt so exasperated and comical at the same time. The queen bug was a little too cute. Hana immediately decided on a whim. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Q-chan then!" The verdict was given with another flourishing nod. Hana couldn''t stand it and laughed out loud. She pointed to herself. "Mistress Hana." She pointed to the Primordial Queen Mother. "Q-chan." After the third repetition, she received a soft reply, repeating her words in her mind. [Mis..misstreess..] [Q-ch..] A smile bloomed on Hana''s face with praise reflected in her eyes. "Good job! Q-chan!" She even generously gave the queen termite a thumbs-up sign, showing her a high degree of appreciation. The best way to teach a blank-slate was just simple repetition and gestures, like teaching a baby. Or like communicating with locals during vacation. She knew the queen termite had understood her intention. She felt so gratified at the moment. In the beginning, she was worried about how to relay to the queen mother about her request to push everyone on the team to work together to create a map. The request was quite complicated, to the least. She estimated that she might need a couple of weeks to teach the queen termite until she could understand enough to fulfill her request. Her heart was brimming with positive energy! The day that she could return was near! She immediately turned into the public channel to make an announcement, [Everyone, welcome your new sister, Q-chan. Although she can''t really talk, Q-chan and her team are already an integral part of our family. She will help Mommy with a lot of things! Before that, I want all of you to be nice to her, talk to her as much as possible to brush up her beast language. Is it understood?] [Yes, Mom (Mommy) (Mistress)!] Three overlapping sounds reflected back to her mind. Even Q-chan at the side was a little surprised to hear other voices in her head as she turned her head everywhere in an attempt to locate where did those voices came from. Hana was glad to hear from Ara. She was wondering why Ara hadn''t tried to communicate with them remotely before. Unbeknownst to her, it was only the recently elevated mass soul-link that came with the aberration of the cultivation method which had helped her reconnect the premature link between her and her other soul-pets and allow long-distance communication. She now knew what it meant by expending her slave rune-filled blood to others, and she won''t so easily do it to others again with a cincai attitude. She knew she had to take responsibility for the multiple lives within her grasp and lived responsibly. This Aunty has finally matured a little after a few life-threatening experiences Kuro was outside the nest, observing the surroundings while perching on the largest tree not too far from where his mistress was located deep underground. From the top of the tree canopy, he could see a vast expense of land filled with a sea of trees, sometimes cleaved off by rivers and a few elevated small hills, and a large mountain range in the background. Besides that, there was nothing else. The vastness was miles and miles into the distance without any significant landmark. However, he knew the boundary of several strong powerhouses not too far into the distance. The worst thing was, all of them were his enemies. The balance of power was a delicate thing. His lovable mistress might tip this balance if her existence was known to all. The allure of advancement and breakthroughs were real, especially to old fogies who had reached a bottleneck for centuries. He sighed deeply. He didn''t dare to think about how large an area will they have to explore to chart the supposed map, and how many territories will they have to encroach while offending the local lord at the same time. There were even experts stronger than him present in some obscure corners, unknown to him. He wished Mommy will grow stronger faster. Then, nobody can stop whatever she wanted to do. [I need to make Mommy take in more sla.., ehem, companions.] Kuro pondered in silence while he schemed and planned for the future. It''s for the greater good after all. 105 The Dilemma of a Burnt Chicken Once Hana had settled the arrangement with her little pets, she immediately sunk into a deep contemplation after shoo-ing them to do their own thing. Her excuse was simple; she needed some ''me time'' to reorganize her thoughts. With worry in their eyes, all of them dispersed, leaving four red-colored warrior-class Elemental Fiends around her. They stood vigil rigidly, not knowing what else to do, except to guard their Empress with all their hearts. Hana was delighted she could save her smartphone''s battery as she had ''walking lamps'' around. She just instructed them to stand not too far from her while their antenna lit up the surrounding with their natural yellowish fire. Her loyal smartphone deserved a good rest periodically. Hana reviewed back what she had done since the first day she entered the magical forest, the animals she met, her dwindling supplies, the addition of forces, as well as her personal growth. Time flew so fast in the blink of an eye, and it has already passed a month since she was trapped here. However, she almost had no clues of her whereabouts. The future seemed bleak before, but her current success in taming the giant termites had made her regained some semblance of confidence. However, deep inside her subconsciousness, the uneasiness brewing silently had become stronger than before. If a fire-attributed elemental pool can at least be likened to the Gates of Hell in the Karakum Desert, a lightning-pool was a never heard of phenomenon. It was even impossible to exist from the very beginning unless she had dozed off during physics classes and missed important information all those years ago. Hana had subconsciously immersed herself in self-denial as she tried her hardest to push away all those stray thoughts. She tried her best to remain positive to give herself more confidence to move forward day to day while waiting for her family to get her. After all, it was just a month. She had heard that some missing people could still be found after a few years. She slapped herself again to regain some spirit while startling the nearby ''walking lamps''. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. I need to stay positive and stay strong! Aja-aja fighting(1), Hana! She immediately looked for her small notepad everywhere but couldn''t find it. Where is it?! She was thinking of updating the notepad, but alas, she must''ve left it in her cave-dwelling. Hana sighed while slapping her forehead yet again. Her sudden action made the ''walking lamps'' startled again. They stared at her nervously but were too afraid to approach her. So they''ve been pacing while droning inquisitively among themselves while glancing at her. Their actions made her felt amused as she chuckled lightly at their antics. She had not thought that these cuties were so jumpy and awkward! That''s a plus in the aunty''s eyes, as she found them quite charming and lovable in an eccentric way. She assured them with the brightest smile, "I''m alright. No worries." She stood up and patted the heads of all four Elemental Fiends. She even could feel they were jolted under her touch. Their temperature was like a warm stove! Quite nice! She would''ve loved to have them around inside her cave-dwelling later. Despite all of the lovely fluffy furs, Shiro felt like a refrigerator. Hana took out the black smartphone from her left pocket, and Arash''s face fleeted through her thoughts. I need to tell Arash. He must be worried sick. She knew she had gained quite a lot during the recent prolonged cultivation session. She could already feel the presence of her other pets beside Kuro; the recently added Q-chan included. Besides that, her cultivation session felt so much easier compared to before. Previously, not only that she needed Kuro''s help, each cycle was painfully slow to complete; one cycle could take a night to finish. Whereas now, it felt as easy as cooking Tomyam Gong using instant paste! She could complete 3 cycles within one hour. It was a tremendous qualitative improvement! However, she had been informed by the kids that she had been out for almost three and a half days! She hadn''t told Arash about her recent endeavor to prevent her from being scolded. O_____O||| She had thought it was just a short excursion; infiltrate lair, kick some giant termites'' asses, then go home by dinner-time. She swiped open the chatting app and started sending strings of messages to her beloved. Mama: Ayang, you there? Mama: Sorry, I was away for a while. I got into a little problem. Forgive me please? (starry eyes) Mama: Ayang? Don''t be angry okay? (Cute face) (Cat face) (strings of hearts) Mama: Ayang manis.. please don''t sulk... I''m very sorry... I did something that you didn''t approve of. We''ve managed to take over the termite nest! The time to draw the map Bro Hadi wanted is not far! (happy blushing face) All her messages were unsent. Hana felt miserable as her heart twisted with sadness and guilt. If the only person who mattered didn''t care about her anymore, she''d feel like dying. Her eyes started misting and her emotions began to roil uncontrollably. She waited and waited for more than 15 minutes but nothing happened. Mommy, are you alright? An adolescent male''s voice tinged with worry resounded in her mind, startling her. As usual, her adorable little snake had reached out to her to ask about her well-being. The negative emotions welling deep inside eased a little. She had not realized that her emotional upheaval was detected by everyone linked to her, as it blared like a light beacon through the public telepathic channel. But with Kuro exerting dominance as the ''Big Bro'' of the family, no one else could comment anything without his verbal consent. Unknown to Hana, her sweet pet-snake was actually quite aggressive and tyrannical towards his other ''brethren''. Only Shiro dared to fight verbally with him. Ah. Sorry to disturb you, Ku-chan. I was a little sad. Your Papa didn''t reply to my message. I think he''s angry with Mommy. An awkward silence ensued. Mommy? You''re still inside Q-chan''s home, right? Yeah, what about it? You''re not sending the message to Papa at the special spot. Kuro explained the matter plainly while blinking his eyes with helplessness. The smartphone slipped from Hana''s hand before she caught it in panic. "Oh, ya lahh.. aiyo! I''m such a klutz!" The aunty slapped her forehead hard, startling the concerned ''walking lamps'' around her yet again! ... From afar, a swarm of Elemental Fiends, the scourge of nature, had suddenly moved in a large group of a hundred-thousand-strong. Critters and birds scattered in panic, even ordinary spiritual beasts in the distance flee without a second thought. Even stronger spiritual beasts who sensed their presence from afar evaded their path to prevent themselves from entangling with the dangerous spirit insects. It was known to all that once a spiritual beast was trapped within a swarm of Elemental Fiends, their life will end without a doubt. Their tracks will leave a field of destruction upon which they trudged, and none will be spared; flora and fauna alike, spiritual or not, just like a swarm of invading locusts. However, this time, something strange was evident within this group of Elemental Fiends, unseen by the other spiritual beasts in their haste to flee; not a single blade of grass was harmed during the grand procession. In the middle of the swarm, an aunty was making an uncomfortable face while riding a menacing-looking midnight black Elemental Fiend. It was the only Elemental Fiend with the body that looked like a wasp, slim, aerodynamic, very powerful-looking. The Elemental Fiend was outfitted with three pairs of razor-sharp limbs. It had four deep emerald compound eyes and a pair of antenna blazing with reddish-yellow fire. The metallic mandibles were huge and scary-looking. Surprisingly, the size of the Elemental Fiend was just right, it was around the length of a pick-up truck, but with a narrow body like a cruiser bike. Hana was riding on the back of the Elemental Fiend King with exasperation attached to her brow. Contrary to the translucent white plump figure of Q-chan, her mate''s figure was the epitome of a savage warrior; light and stream-lined. Hana was not someone who''s that choosy with her mount. That could be shown on how she tolerated Shiro''s small back as her legs flailed uncomfortably on multiple occasions. However, Q-chan''s mate here felt like a burning metal under her butt! It felt like riding on the car bonnet at noon when the sun was blazing at its peak, roasting the poor aunty''s buttock to kingdom come. She felt almost like a burnt chicken!!! Alas, her constitution was multiple times better than before; hence, that kind of heat didn''t leave any injury except severe discomfort. Due to her humongous size, Q-chan couldn''t accompany Hana to her own abode when she announced she was going back before. Elemental Fiends'' Queen Mothers were destined to stay underground to breed besides managing their own nest telepathically. They didn''t have the privilege to walk under the sun unless the nest was in a dire condition one day. However, Q-chan insisted that Hana''s safety should be safeguarded by her mate, the Elemental Fiend King. She had drone long and hard to convey her message enthusiastically. Hana and Shiro could almost see that the king termite blushed heavily under Q-chan''s shameless insistence; everyone knew he had been trashed roughly without any means of retaliation a couple of days ago. Hence, to appease her new group of loyal serva.. ehem, comrades, she followed Q-chan''s suggestion under the objection of Kuro and Shiro. Nonetheless, Hana didn''t know that she was digging her own grave. The Elemental Fiend King was a triple element true spiritual insect. To prevent the multiple energy from clashing, his body had developed a way to partition his power. The switching of elemental energy took a little time and would be manifested from his antennae. When he prepared to use lightning-based attacks, his antenna will flicker with a wreath of electricity while the air around him will be charged. Once he calmed the element, then he could switch to a different one, the poison element, or the fire element. However, his body couldn''t turn neutral. After realizing this issue, obviously, the aunty could only bitterly choose the fire element. The poison flame from the antenna could choke her, while the electricity would just electrocute her. She wouldn''t dare. In the beginning, when she was still in the cold dark labyrinthine cave network, sitting on the Elemental Fiend King was a pleasant surprise. However, once she started traveling under the sun, then she knows how it was to be grilled over a hot pan. "Aiyoo, King-chan, I said I''m okay already. I can walk too." Hana insisted for the n-th time while showing a crying face. The Elemental Fiend King droned continuously in an incomprehensible garble and didn''t want to let Hana off his back. His true meaning was a deep concern towards the Empress, lest the Empress pitiful little legs will get tired from overexertion. Kuro was sitting lazily on top of Shiro''s antlers and glanced at Shiro. They were a pace behind the Elemental Fiend King. Bro Ku, I think Mom had learned her lesson. Can we let her off, now? Please? Shiro was pleading with Kuro on Hana''s behalf. Both of them were quite hurt just now as Hana didn''t bother to heed their advice in favor of the new recruit of the team. So they had quietly come to a non-verbal agreement not to help Hana and let her know what she signed up for. A mental sigh resounded in Shiro''s mind. Sure... Mommy sure is naive. How could she not anticipate this? We''ve done a favor for her by stopping her, but she didn''t care. She''s too nice! A disgruntled adolescent voice resounded in Shiro''s mind. Ahh, you knew how she''s like. It didn''t mean anything. She''s just trying to be nice. Isn''t it the reason why we like her too? Shiro tried to smooth things over. Although he was hurt, he was more rational and mature. He knew their mom didn''t have the slightest thoughts to favor Q-chan''s clan over them. "Stupid bug, let Mistress down." Shiro swiped his paw on the Elemental Fiend King''s head once he reached a non-verbal consent from Big Bro Ku. The Elemental Fiend King was so alarmed, he immediately ducked low. Hana took the chance to slip off the uncomfortable mount with a relieved expression. She wouldn''t dare to ride the Elemental Fiend King anymore after this. Sorry for not listening to your advice. Hana quietly sent over a private message to her two doted ones. She was feeling ashamed. Previously, Hana had promised herself not to make a judgment from her own point-of-view without discussing it with the kids. She knew her POV was considered flawed in this magical rainforest. Only with the assistance of her two pets was she able to survive and thrive well until today. But lo and behold, she had forgotten her own promise and might have possibly hurt their feelings! If not, why didn''t they voice out the problem with riding the Elemental Fiend King immediately? She would''ve agreed to their suggestion then. Hana could only hear a soft grunt from her doted little snake and a short ''It''s alright'' from the beautiful owner of the androgynous voice. She turned around and hugged the white fox and picked up to kiss the little snake. She then placed him around her neck and let it perched happily. Their mood turned for the better as they walked with a light gait towards their sojourn with a sea of Elemental Fiends trailing around them. ... Authors'' Note: (1) Aja-aja fighting = words of encouragement stemming from watching too much Korean dramas. Malaysians love using this word haha. Have the same meaning with Ganbatte (Japanese), Jiayou (Chinese) and Cayokk (a variation of jiayou, same meaning). 106 Bad Luck upon Bad Luck While our little aunty was having a blast strolling around the magical rainforest with hundreds of thousands of gigantic termites, our unlucky uncle was in a precarious situation. He had been limping forward for hours but still couldn''t find the supposed half-hour away village described by his guide before his hasty departure. Arash''s face had turned darker than black. The feeling of loss and panic intermingled with the feeling of pain were evident on his pale face. [I should''ve just stayed still just now.] Arash sighed. At the moment, Arash had finally conceded that he was totally lost. However, he didn''t lose hope. The village was supposed to be near. No matter how far he could stray off the main route, he shouldn''t be that far off, right? He paused to catch a breath while leaning on a random tree trunk. The pain on his knee was so intense, he felt that he couldn''t move forward anymore. He lamented on his situation with deep resignation. Two hours before, he had rigidly limped in a straight line towards the direction spoken by the professional guide. However, upon crossing a particular thick foliage, he fell again! There was a hidden protruded root appearing out of nowhere under his foot. Thank goodness he had not disturbed any wild animal''s habitat this time. Feeling a little positive, his eyes inadvertently looked up and saw a giant python dangling on a large tree in between the leaves. The thickness of its body was the size of his thigh! He almost had a heart attack! After retreating in haste for a few steps with cold sweat drenching his forehead, he then realized that the python might be sleeping or something. A slight protrusion on its tummy suggested that it might just have a sumptuous meal and was having an afternoon nap to relax and digest its food. Arash could feel goosebumps appearing on his arms. Although he genuinely wanted to go straight, his heart wasn''t strong enough to cross the mere short three-meters below the sleeping snake. What if it woke up and immediately fancied over this poor uncle over here? And due to that, he made an unusually wide berth to try not to disturb the python from its peaceful dream. This time, there was no other guide or pathfinder to save him from certain demise if he purposely courted death. He couldn''t afford to die in this rainforest. His daughters were waiting for him at the daycare. His beloved Hana was relying on him to save her while giving her moral support. He hadn''t even written a will yet! And he didn''t trust any living soul to care for his adorable-to-a-fault daughters with all the recent news on the pedos out there! Arash was grumbling under his breath while slapping a dozen annoying mosquitoes buzzing over his ears. Just beside the foliage was a steeper elevation. Although it wasn''t that steep, the condition of his knee didn''t permit him to go forward easily. The pitiful uncle had to resort to pulling himself up by moving from tree to tree by grabbing any dangling vines available. His exposed hands had been riddled with injuries from being hurt by thorns, sharp barks, protruded spines and even were bitten by countless insects at random. Hana would''ve burst to tears if she saw the condition of her beloved''s hands. With difficulties, Arash had limped through the slightly elevated forest floor to reach the summit. He could faintly see curling smoke in the distance. Delight filled his eyes as he knew that he just needed to go straight towards the origin of the smoke to find the aborigine village. Unknowingly, he had indeed made a considerable detour for himself. Now, what he needed to do was to carefully trek downwards. Arash pulled another dangling vine for support to take his first step towards salvation. As he leaned on the vine to reach the bark of another tree nearby, the vine broke from his weight! Arash suddenly felt being weightless before he banged his head on something hard. Everything turned dark. While being unconscious, the poor uncle rolled a couple of times downwards and banged to a multitude of random boulders and trees in succession, further injuring various parts of his body before it reached an obscure corner in between the bushes. ... Just a few minutes after Arash''s fall, a young man walked out of a dense shrubbery with vigilance. Nyatuh (1) jogged over with ease from the bottom of the mini hill to the summit in less than ten minutes. He looked around seriously while holding a makeshift wooden spear on his left hand. At his back was a blowpipe, slung diagonally by a rope from his right shoulder to his left abdomen. "Busu (2), I think I heard something from here just a moment ago!" Nyatuh turned his bronze chest towards the back while calling loudly in ancient Bateq language from the summit. "Is it?! Did you see anything?!" A faraway shout reverberated back from within the forest. Nyatuh looked around a second time. He could see a faint trail from the bottom of the small hill upwards. It didn''t look like a human trail from his eyes. However, Nyatuh had just recently joined the team since one of the trackers had felled sick and died. His knowledge and experience as a tracker were only subpar. He had just gone through the coming-of-age ceremony and was still learning the ropes from the seniors in his tribe. "Looks like the tracks of an animal being dragged. Want to alert the others to join in on the hunt?" Since the forest in these parts was devoid of rain for a few days, the moist forest floor was in a rare dry state. Nyatuh determined that there might be a ferocious beast dragging a carcass of its game through this part. If they could hunt for the beast, they could gain both the beast and its prize. Tonight would be a feast! "Stop the nonsense. Elder Jaya already promised to help find the stranded outsider. A promise made is a promise kept." A slightly older young man in his late teens walked out and called loudly back. Tembusu was scrutinizing the surrounding with a calm expression. He bent down to observe the dragging marks on the forest floor suspiciously before turning away. "There''s so much area to cover, we need to move faster. If we still couldn''t find that person, we need to immediately return to report. He might be in trouble." He sighed emphatically. He knew it was pretty hard for outsiders to survive in the rainforest, especially when the person in question was alone. The two young men had missed Arash due to their haste on finding Arash! Alas, if only a more experienced tracker was together with them, the pitiful uncle would''ve been found. What bad luck! ... A few drops of water dripped on Arash''s face, waking him up. However, his mind was still cloudy; he couldn''t, by the love of God, recall what had just happened. His whole body was in pain, and he couldn''t even move his legs! He could only see loamy soil mixed with rotten leaves in front of him. He tried to move his head to the side to find some clues but could only see darkened blurry greenery everywhere. After a few moments, realization dawned on the pitiful uncle. He had literally rolled down the small hill in a most awkward manner, while bumping into a series of random things, injuring himself in the process. A weak voice whispered, "Thank God... Thank God..." He was muttering weakly under his breath by thanking God for looking out for him. In most movies and animes he watched with Hana, nine out of ten, the character will be impaled by something sharp after rolling down a hill or something, which will end the character''s villainous life. He nodded gratefully. Might be due to him accumulating lots of good deeds through sponsoring funds for welfare NGOs. Arash was a person who was innately kind and compassionate at heart and could be easily moved to manly tears just by watching social media charity ads. As such, he had been an anonymous samaritan for these online charity organizations for years since he started working. However, this was a secret even Hana didn''t know. She would''ve grown ballistic if she knew since he had sometimes funded way too many of them in one go. They weren''t that well-off to spend nearly half of his salary for that! Arash only told Hana he funded three of such organizations which had pleased her as he knew she liked a compassionate and generous man, but of course not the extreme kind. A few more drops of water dripped on Arash''s head, clearing his mind a little and returned him to reality. He was lost in thoughts for a moment as long as he was thinking about his beloved. Currently, he knew he was sprawling on all fours, facing down. A heavy load on his back meant that his backpack was still there. Only the compass he was holding was missing. He tried to turn his body around, but any slight movement sent searing pain into him, preventing him from completing the action. He lifted his right hand, shakily to his face to see it crusted with injuries and blood. Again, he was thankful that both of his hands could still be used with very minor injuries. He started fumbling for his spectacles in the surroundings in desperation. The power of his prescription spectacles was high, a consequence of facing the laptop for far too long (and secretly reading manga under the blanket with a torchlight while he was younger). His spectacles were not on his nose, and he could only clearly see for a distance of a meter away. Further than that was total blurriness. Without a clear view of the surrounding, Arash was getting more anxious. What if there were dangerous animals around stalking him just outside of the perimeter of his vision? He won''t even know when he died. The fat drop of water hit his face again, reminding him that the long-awaited thunderstorm was coming. A faint sound of thunder followed through after a second or so. Truly, fortune does not come in pairs, while misfortune never comes alone. Arash smiled bitterly as he felt his whole body being bombarded by a large amount of water as if a high-pressure hose had been purposely aimed at him. The rain was especially harsh this time, even the thick canopy above couldn''t stop its advance. It was the kind of rain even when you use an umbrella, only your head will stay dry while the other body parts were destined to get drenched. Just a little amount of time later, Arash could feel part of his body was already submerged. He tried his hardest to move both of his legs desperately, but couldn''t. [God.. please help me...] He wanted to cry but had no tears left. Now he knew he was actually in some sort of shallow ditch. Naturally, all the extra water will flow through the channel once the forest floor couldn''t accommodate the harsh pouring rain. If he didn''t move out of the way, he might be drowned even without knowing once he passed out again. His consciousness was flickering and he knew he didn''t have much time. As such, the unlucky Arash tried his best to drag his battered body with his two good hands, inch by inch, with desperation. The worst thing was, his backpack added extra weight on his back, especially under the bombardment of the unforgiving rain. Arash had thought to abandon his bag but decided against it after a second of contemplation. After all, the supplies in the bag will play an essential role in his future survival if the search party failed to find him. The most important thing was, his lifeline was in his bag, which was his treasured smartphone. Although it couldn''t be used at the moment due to lack of signal, when the time comes, he could only rely on it to contact either his wife or the caretaker looking after his daughters. He only hoped that the impact from the fall didn''t hurt his precious smartphone. While thinking of his family who needed him, his indomitable will pushed him to stay conscious as he dragged himself for as long as he can. The passage of time was lost to Arash as he kept on moving forward on the forest floor. With the heavy rain pouring on him, his already impaired vision had reduced to only a foot in front of him. He could feel the light was dimming. [Was it because it is nearing night time?] A scary thought flashed through his mind. A deep sense of foreboding filled his mind. Once the rain stopped, and the night unfolded, the rainforest will be the playground of lethal predators. Arash won''t stand a chance, he''ll be a dead man for sure. True to Arash''s speculation, it was nearing dusk. Arash was shivering while dragging himself in a sorry state. Unknowingly, he had dragged himself for hours under the rain. His face devoid of color, lips pale, and even his sight was affected. His vitality was at an all-time low at the moment as he was struggling to keep his eyes open. After struggling for some time, he finally collapsed and lost consciousness a second time. [Hana, I''m sorry. I''m afraid I cannot take care of our children any longer..] ... Authors'' Note: Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Nyatuh (1) and Tembusu/Busu (2) are M''sian names of local trees in Malaysia (laughing).. Sorry, no idea to name the character if it''s not a cutesy one. All other names from the tribe later on will be based on natural items present in the forest haha 107 A Heartfelt Present to Dearly Beloved Mama: Ayang, I need to let you know the truth. I was away for three days because I was in deep cultivation due to a little internal injury. As I said before, we''ve conquered the nest! As of now, we got thousands of helpers to chart out the map we required. I just need a little time to train them to understand my instructions. I''m sure it won''t take too much time. The message was successfully sent after a while, but the sought after italicized ''read'' was not present. Hana scrunched her brow in worry. Where did Arash go for him not to be able to read her messages? She changed the interface to check for the day and date. It was supposed to be a weekend. He should be spending time with the kids at home. Kuro could feel the rising panic and worry radiating from Mommy in his mind. Be patient, Mommy. Perhaps Papa is busy with something, or his phone might be out of battery, and he is charging it at the moment. He tried to appease her by flaunting his in-depth knowledge of the black rectangular treasure in Mommy''s grasp. It had invoked the envy of Shiro at the side as he rolled his eyes upwards while grimacing. "Yeah, maybe so. That''s true, that''s true. My phone also always has no battery during the oddest hours of the day. Only with you present now that it had always stayed on when I want to use it. Thanks, sweetie. You''re my lucky star." Hana nodded like a pecking chicken distractedly. She patted Kuro''s horn which made him bloomed in happiness from the simple gesture while Shiro rolled his eyes yet again. Hana paused to contemplate for a while. After a moment of deep thoughts, her fingers started to type again while her eyes radiated with determination. Mama: Ayang, I''m sending over the cultivation chant. I had a breakthrough and was finally able to chant by myself. This is the proof of me not deceiving you. Please stop being skeptical and just try to listen to it, please? At least for one night? See if you could follow what I chant? Who knows if you could gain something from it. This chant is good for the soul, Ku-chan told me. It could indirectly improve the constitution of our soul. You might not get stronger physically, but your heart will be durable to any tribulations ahead. Humor me and please just listen to this little gift from me, okay? I love you and I miss you. Just treat it as me singing for you... Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. She righted herself well and sat in a lotus position, with her left hand holding her smartphone, ready to record. "Sweetiepies, Mommy will need to cultivate for a few rounds for a while, alright." Before they responded, she immediately pressed the record function and chanted loudly, startling both Kuro and Shiro. They looked at each other with a confused look, ''what is Mommy/Mom up to again'' decorated their faces. Looking at the weird posture of their mistress, passionately chanting while holding the black treasure upon her mouth, their minds couldn''t catch up to their mistress'' random ideas. Her other hand was even making a series of movements like flying. Did she get an inspiration to fly or something? And why did she nodded continuously too? Don''t ask me. The chant is from your clan... Your turn to look after Mommy. Shiro immediately walked away. He needed to manage a lot of things since the ''Big Bro'' was slacking, especially in the management field. He still needed to inquire Hana on the specifics of these Elemental Fiends clustering around their abode''s vicinity once she exited her cultivation later. There''re too many of them! He also needed to visit the Grand Elder of the Waterwave Marine Clan in person while bearing some sort of gifts to show some appreciation for their help. The spirit bird was another thing. He needed to pacify her and delay her until Hana was ready to help her deal with her bottleneck. He still needed to check on the little herb garden on his way later. Since he knew Hana, his workload had increased multiple times. A gardener. A kitchen helper. A butler. Even a pillow, ah, and don''t forget the occasional mount. While Kuro sticks to an all-time bodyguard. Shiro could feel some semblance of peace only when he thought that Mom trusted him more and relayed more critical tasks to him due to his level of maturity. Mom knows who''s the best and who helps her the most. Shiro walked away while arranging for a few Worker-classed and Warrior-classed Elemental Fiends to follow him towards the Crystal-veined stream. It was better to clear off some agendas and not blindly waiting. More tasks will only add up later. The long-awaited minions had finally arrived, it was almost a sin not utilizing these fellows efficiently. Shiro was glad he could finally get as many helpers as he wanted after this. The future felt so rosy <3 ...read ASTHW in scrib blehub or webnovel and vote/like for us to make us happy =mrandmrsmooncat Hana recorded two rounds of the modified version of Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul chant. The first round was very slow, while the second one was at an average pace. She meticulously rechecked her voice-recording and nodded with satisfaction before sending the voice-message multiple times until a double tick appeared. It meant that it had successfully gone to the other side, only waiting for her beloved to open the chatting app to receive it. That action alone took more than an hour to be completed. In her mind, she already envisioned Arash''s sweet words of apology for not believing her. Her intentions were clear; she wanted her beloved to master the heartfelt ''present'' she sent over. Who knows if he could also benefit from it. The modified chant was different than before as she could perform it herself without assistance. Hence, as long as Arash tried his best, he''ll surely be able to perform the chant competently after enough practice. Hana was slightly nervous and was anticipating Arash''s reply. However, how would she know that at the moment, her dearly beloved was severely injured while being soaked under the rain in an obscure corner of a rainforest? In fact, Arash''s experience was a couple of times worse than hers. At least she wasn''t hurt when she got lost, and life had been very fulfilling with an ample amount of food, water, shelter and an increasing amount of adorable pets to coddle. Hana waited patiently for ten minutes. Hana kept on waiting for another half hour while flipping the photo gallery in her smartphone, immersing in nostalgia. Hana prodded the fireplace absentmindedly with a blank expression for another hour. Her aura slowly got oppressive, as Kuro quickly slithered a little further away. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" A loud shout left Hana''s throat as her chest heaved heavily for a few minutes. She felt like flipping a table! (s)s ߩ Forget it. When he wants to reply, he''ll reply. I don''t care anymore! The aunty bad habits started to emerge again as she sulked while folding her arms with an extremely aggrieved look. She had forgotten that she had made her hubby waited in agitation for three whole days for her, while she only waited for less than two hours before losing her composure. Also, her absence was what prompted Arash to go on a death-seeking adventure out of nowhere. The sky was already dark as the last vestiges of the sun disappeared in between thick roiling rain clouds. The resulting rain was pouring like the heavens had just watched a particularly tragic soap opera. Yet, Hana''s abode and its surrounding territory were glowing with multiple colors of yellowish red, green and white, as if there was a festival. Not knowing what to do, the Elemental Fiends started moving and patrol their Empress supposed ''territory'' in a neat formation without anyone telling them. Their glowing antenna flickered slightly as the rain hit them, but they weren''t extinguished, as they were the manifestation of their owner''s element, borne from their owner''s spiritual energy. The Elemental Fiend King had returned to the Queen Mother''s side once he had ascertained the coordinates of their Empress'' ''nest'' and left the rest to protect the Empress. Now that he knew, he shared all the information of their Empress'' nest with the Primordial Queen Mother via telepathy while moving en route. ... The soul chant had traveled from Hana''s magical forest to reach Arash''s smartphone. A shame that the smartphone couldn''t receive the digital sound file from the lack of signal. Additionally, Arash had switched off his phone and placed it deep inside his backpack, protected by layers of bubble wraps for the sake of safety. The rain had reduced in intensity, leaving only droplets of water passing through the layered tree canopy above. A pair of golden eyes stared at the unconscious Arash from within a nearby bush. It was just five meters away from the unconscious human. With the appearance of night-time, nocturnal beasts started to emerge from their lair to hunt. The owner of the pair of golden eyes was one. It had been prowling in search of food until it was attracted by a lingering faint scent of blood in the air. Following the light scent had proved to be a correct decision as it was presented by a sizeable immobile creature in between the bushes. Easy prey! It lowered its body on all fours vigilantly and crept forward in silence, sinewy muscles rippling under the shiny gloss of black fur. It effortlessly blended with the darkness. It had to make sure this is not a trap first. It stopped and waited patiently for a full ten minutes to ascertain the condition of the prey. As a soft breeze blew from the direction of the unmoving human, it sniffed the air and perked up its ears. It could feel that the vitality of the human was very low, as its breathing was very light and irregular. It waited again for another five minutes to observe the surroundings with caution. It knew a large human nest was not far from here. It took its breath and flexed its well-defined sharp claws, eyes focusing on the prey''s jugular. At the distance of two meters, it pounced lightning fast! A hand shot out and grabbed the skin at the neck of the ferocious black creature with golden eyes. Upon closer inspection, the hand looked frail and dried up, contrary to the energy it possessed. "This is not destined for you, o little cat." Out of nowhere, a wizened old voice resounded in the ancient Bateq language. ... 108 Retracing Arash’s Steps "Did you notice anything from the tracks?" Rob asked a stern-looking bronze-chested man in his 40s. The man was squatting down to observe the barely noticeable tracks left by Arash under the harsh rain. At the moment, Rob and a group of experienced trackers were gathering at the spot where he left his client before rushing off to the village. It was quite near to the village''s west-side, perhaps just 30 minutes away with a light jog. All of them were drenched wet with a sudden rainstorm. However, nobody proposed to stop the search. Rob felt so thankful for that. The earlier they set out to find Mr. Arash''s trace, the chances were higher for him to be found safe and sound. The man squatted down to touch the surface of the forest floor and the leaves of the nearby tree. "This way. We need to be faster. The rain will wash off all tracks in a few minutes." They immediately moved at a fast pace in the darkness. ... "He stopped here and move that way. However, I''m not too sure how far. The rain is too strong." A group of drenched aborigines with powerful builds and the fully-clad Rob congregated around the lead tracker in the darkened forest. Night had fully descended upon them as they braved the harsh rain towards the second location. A few of them were holding a torch made from wood tied with rubber to light the way. The hissing sounds of water were heard as droplets of rain tried to extinguish the roaring fire from the torches. Rob held his own water-resistant torchlight and tried his best to observe the marks left by Mr. Arash. However, low visibility due to the rain had prevented him. If the tracker was not with him, he would''ve totally overlooked it. Rob scrunched his brow with contemplation. He didn''t understand why did Mr. Arash ignored his advice and changed direction. Mr. Arash must have a good reason. During the short interaction between him and his client, he had ascertained that Mr. Arash was a person who was very easy to work with and listened to advice well. He didn''t act tough as he understood that he lacked knowledge and willing to learn earnestly. Mr. Arash had given him an excellent impression before. He tried to question the tracker''s judgment, just to be sure, but his words were stuck in his mouth as his eyes immediately went wide! His torchlight had inadvertently shone towards a large reticulated python jumping from a big tree behind the tracker with its fishy maw opened wide! The aggressive python was as thick as his thigh! "Shoot!! Behind you! Move!!!" Rob shouted and dashed to the side with the tracker in tow. A group of Bateq men immediately retreated and moved into a formation. They expertly flung their blowpipes to their mouth and aimed at the attacking python. As if there was a tacit agreement between them, six darts simultaneously flew by to hit directly at the python''s head as it landed on the ground. It immediately shuddered for a few seconds before collapsing. It was a well-known fact that the darts used by the aborigines contained strong tranquilizers, although no one knew the specific details. It was the Bateq people''s trade secret. "Thank you for saving my life, Mr. Robbie. Now we knew why your friend changed his direction. Most probably, he inadvertently saw the large snake when he was on his way to our village." The head tracker explained while heaving a relieved sigh. Rob shivered slightly, not knowing whether it was from the biting cold of the harsh rain, or from the fear of brushing with death. He had passed through this particular shrubbery in haste to help Mat a few hours before. "Let''s continue." The way the tracker was looking at Rob was a lot friendlier after the incident. Rob saw three young aborigines carried the large python back towards the village as they separated from the main search and rescue team. In his heart, he was thinking while sweating. [They could really eat anything..] ... Two hours had passed by, and the rain had lightened significantly as the group of search and rescue team covered a few kilometers. Rob was getting more and more desperate behind the leading tracker. However, the tracker was very calm and composed; he didn''t let any distractions disturbed his concentration to follow the minute details left behind by the outsider. From the looks of it, the outsider might have been severely injured but still pushed forward, although in the wrong direction. He felt a slight admiration towards the missing outsider. "Did anyone of you covered this area from the first search?" He suddenly stopped and turned towards the other aborigines behind him while asking a question in Bateq language. Since Rob didn''t understand the traditional language of the aborigines, he quietly stood at the side while observing his helpers conversing with each other. Most probably, they were discussing important things about the search party. "Nyatuh and I had come to this area." A young man stood out to explain. "Where is Nyatuh?" The lead tracker had found some suspicious-looking trail and wished to confirm a few details with the first wave of trackers. Since the first wave was a broad search, they had to use a lot of personnel. A lot of young men had volunteered willingly to help, though their tracking ability wasn''t that great. However, Pak Jaya still let them since it was still quite early and the signs should be clear enough for them to detect any anomaly in the forest. "Nyatuh had gone back with the rest to help carry the snake meat. I can talk on his behalf since I am with him at that moment." Tembusu explained seriously. "How far did this track go? And did you check towards the end what was it that left this track behind?" "Only a few paces ahead. Nyatuh climbed the little hill ahead to check, but I didn''t. He didn''t see anything particular to human tracks. He just said that it was a track from a wild animal dragging their prey. We have reported it to Pak Jaya, but since finding the outsider was a priority, the issue had been put aside for the time being." The lead tracker sighed. These young ones were really something. They have mistakenly assumed the trail to be of a wild animal dragging the corpse of its prey? That''s too far-fetched! They should''ve checked it properly! The lead tracker turned and looked at Rob with an apologetic look while speaking in a heavy-accented Malay language. "There might be a sign here, Mr. Rob. The trail we''re following led to the top of that small hill, but after that, it just stopped there. This had been confirmed by one of our young ones. The trail might be of Mr. Arash, although we''re not that sure. If it is, he might be in an accident. Brace yourself alright. We''ll try our best to find him, dead or alive." He placed his hand on Rob''s shoulder to appease him. The lead tracker''s words poured cold water over Rob''s head as his face turned paler than it already was. In his career, he had never caused the death of a client, and it will stain him for good. A pang of deep guilt colored his mind and shattered his hope. ... An ancient old man with messy white grayish hair and cloudy eyes stood behind the black jaguar while holding it by its neck with one hand. He was even slightly stooped. His other hand was holding a long cane made from gnarly old wood. The fully grown, almost two-meter starving jaguar struggled to turn around and attack the offending human. It splayed its claws in full and burst with a full swipe towards the old man. A sigh resounded. "Stop seeking death." The old man evaded with a single step and slapped the attacking jaguar''s face lightly. The action immediately sent the pitiful jaguar flying before hitting the ground a few meters away. "Little cat, if you value your life, get lost immediately. I''m feeling particularly generous today." The golden-eyed jaguar whimpered with an aggrieved look. It had lost two of its precious teeth while half of its face was already swollen. Starring at the unconscious Arash longingly for the last time, it decided that its life was more important. It immediately retreated and disappeared without a trace. The old man strolled slowly towards the unconscious Arash and prodded him with his walking stick for a few seconds. He then squatted down and tried to listen to Arash''s breathing. The old man sighed again. "What do we have here... Where did this young one come from? His condition is too severe." He just came out of seclusion from the depth of the forest and was planning to head to his village. Meeting the young outsider was a coincidence. Although feeling extremely annoyed, he still saved the little outsider from becoming the meal of the jaguar. After all, their encounter was considered as fate. If he was a few seconds slower and the jaguar had already attacked the unconscious fellow, he would''ve just ignored it. He was contemplating just to take this young one to the village and conveniently tossed him at the villagers to be tended and sent off to town. However, this young one''s condition was too severe. His assistance was needed to help the boy to ensure the boy could survive even the short journey to the village. Recently, the number of city dwellers visiting was increasing. Almost all of them were noobs; they knew shit about the dangers of the forest. As such, these city dwellers had troubled his tribe time and time again with an incessant amount of problems and requests. He had voiced out that he wished for these outsiders to scram, but the younger generation in the village had begged to let them come. If they didn''t, it would be tough to get anything from town! A small amount of trade had made them immensely satisfied already. Hence, the old man let it go begrudgingly. It was better this way rather than them barging to town by themselves and causing trouble for the city dwellers. [Why am I seeking trouble for myself... ] He shook his head and lamented. He grabbed Arash by his backpack and tossed him violently over his stooped back. The old man held Arash''s thigh with one hand and walked towards a nearby boulder formation not too far from the location. Arash''s sorry state looked like a wild game carelessly being ''taken care of''. ... The old man was busily treating the unconscious Arash under the shade of a rock formation when his sensitive hearing could detect a faint sound not too far from his current location. He stopped his action and concentrated for a few seconds. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "I see. The kids are finally here." The old man could connect the dots almost immediately. Most probably, the young ones were searching for this pitiful fellow over here. Why did all these people love to brave danger when they already had a cozy home with a roof on their heads and lots of money to spend? He really couldn''t understand the minds of the newer generations of the city dwellers. [Sigh... I''m too old already...] He stood up and looked around the stony formation. At the side, Arash''s bag had been taken off and placed neatly. He took his walking stick and flung it high! The walking stick finally landed around a meter away from Arash''s body vertically and stuck on the ground like a flagpole. "Not bad, if I say so myself." The old man nodded approvingly after admiring his handiwork and walked languidly towards the direction of the sound. ... Additional announcement from Mrs Mooncat: Mrs Mooncat had made a special post in our Pat reon site in conjunction with the CNY celebration. Just follow the link below by removing the spacings (got 2 in total). Alternatively, you can jump to Scrib blehub, search for ASTHW over there, open the most recent chapter, and click the link on the ''author''s announcement''. ht tps://www.pat reon.com/posts/main-characters-33784843 109 Mysterious Elder, Can You Tell Me Where Can I Get Mobile Reception? Tanahan (1) brought the group of young villagers with him, including the outsider called Mr. Robbie down the gentle slope with careful steps. Looking at several visible signs, he could already deduce that the missing person must have fallen from the hill and might be critically injured. He hoped that they reached the pitiful man in time to help him. After a while, although the rain had washed away most signs, they managed to find a broken compass barely visible in the mud. He observed Mr. Robbie face pale expression once he showed the compass, which meant that it did belong to the missing person. Tanahan walked through the gnarled roots expertly, evading possible natural traps that could make him stumble. The others followed suit to reach the bottom of the hill. He immediately issued a search command to the rest of the villagers after repeatedly asking them to be more meticulous but fast. All of them knew they were racing against time. Just before everyone could go that far, an old man appeared out of nowhere in front of Tanahan and Rob, startling both of them. "Ehemm Ehemm, this is just old me." The ancient old man said with a stern look with both of his hands placed on his back. "Esteemed Elder!!!" All of them prostrated low immediately. Tanahan pulled the bewildered Rob to prostrate beside him with reverence. "At ease, at ease." He waived at both Tanahan and Rob to stand up. Rob felt goosebumps appearing on his arms when he looked at the wretched-looking old man. He looked so old and frail, yet was quite menacing. He felt like a little critter being observed by a dangerous predator. The old man had a wrinkly copper-colored skin and was actually wearing a shabby old shirt and a faded checkered sarong (1), just like an old farmer, nothing like an old aborigine man at all. His twig-like grayish-white hair was as messy as the nest of a bird. However, his cloudy eyes were sharp and judging, scanning him and Tanahan up and down a few times. He could see Tanahan broke a sweat and was quite fearful to meet the old man''s gaze. This kind of grandpas was not to be trifled with. They were the kind that was Hercules-like strong and could carry a large tree trunk on their shoulders with ease while clearing land. They were especially lovely and doting to their grandchildren or great-grandchildren, but extremely notorious to their own children and in-laws. Analyzing Tanahan''s respectful posture mixed with a slightly fearful look towards the old man had made Rob formed such an absurd conclusion on the dot. The awkward silence ensued for a short minute before the old man continued speaking in Bateq, "Young one, did you bring the children to find a city dweller boy?" Tanahan''s eyes lit up. "Yes, I did, Esteemed Elder. He is this person''s friend, Robbie. Robbie had just saved my life from being attacked by a python today. He is my benefactor. As such, I will do my best to return the favor by finding his missing friend." "A python you say? Humphh!" The old man flicked Tanahan''s head a few times while he endured the embarrassment of being treated like a kid. After all, he was already in his late 40s. He was the one who always reprimanded the younger generations, who would''ve thought that his turn will come so soon. He blushed heavily, but thanks to his dark undertones, his face was not that obvious. However, Rob who was just by his side, could clearly see it. He was having a hard time holding the urge to chuckle until he trembled slightly. Although he didn''t understand the exchange between the two parties in front of him, he could guess what it''s all about. The other villagers averted their gaze as to preserve the dignity of their ace tracker. Some of them were his colleagues, but the majority of them were his direct students. "You better brush up your tracking skills. Our Bateq people were once could be one with nature to seek its guidance and hear the sounds of the world. Your practice is lacking! We can''t lose our forefather''s hereditary skills! I told you not to let the kids play games so much!!!" He bowed again, guiltily, "Please forgive this useless one, Esteemed Elder. I will work harder once I go back." Tanahan didn''t try to explain the conditions and the predicament he was facing to the capricious elder of his tribe. He knew if he wanted to defend himself, it would seem like an excuse. Owning up to his own mistakes was the best course of action to appease the old man''s heart. He might even give a favorable impression to the reclusive esteemed elder. "Esteemed Elder.. err.. About the city dweller just now.." Tanahan tried to return to the main subject. He really needed to know the condition of Rob''s friend. "He''s with me. His condition is quite bad. Unless you want him dying when you carry him to the village now, you should just leave him to me. I''ll make sure he''ll be in good shape before sending him personally to the village a few hours later. You guys go back first." The old man explained expressionlessly as if he was talking about the weather. Tanahan blinked his eyes a couple of times before he could get a grip of himself. The corner of his lips twitched slightly. "Or, are you unwilling? Want him now?" The old man narrowed his eyes. His sudden shifting mood made the villagers jumped with fright. "Err..No, no. We are absolutely willing! It''s just that, are you sure it''s the same person? Esteemed Elder, is it possible for Mr. Robbie to visit the person in question just to make sure it''s the right one? Only a glance will do." Although he felt apprehensive, he still plucked some courage to ask permission to visit the sick patient for Rob''s sake. What if it''s not the same person they''re looking for?! "Nope. Can''t do. I don''t feel like helping the kid anymore if you insist. If he died, it''d be on you." The Elder casually threw a careless sentence while digging his nose with his pinky. Everyone''s lips were twitching as they looked at the Elder incredulously. This was involving the life of a living person! Why so troublesome?! The old man sighed, "Alright, did he wear dark blue shoes, a black backpack with a little red at the sides, a light blue shirt with dark blue long sleeves? The long pants were dark grayish black." Tanahan immediately conveyed the Elder''s words to Rob for confirmation. He quickly nodded while feeling relieved. "Then, no more problems. Just go back before I change my mind and become lazy to help. I''m actually a little tired and wished to go back and rest if you don''t need my help." The capricious old man started to throw some threats to chase them away. Tanahan pulled the disagreeing Rob hard and rapidly walked away while issuing an order for the others to disperse. ... Arash opened his eyes to a strange-looking environment around him. He remembered that he was slumped in between the shrubberies. But now he found himself lying face up on a hard surface. His view was dominated by a series of gigantic grayish boulders of different shapes and sizes, which provided some sort of relief from the rain. [How long has it been? Where am I?] He tried to raise his shaky hands to see clumps of greenish wet mass covering them. [Eh... What''s this?] He smelled the poultice and found that it had a pleasant herby fragrant, which reminded him of hospitals. His mind immediately clicked. [Ahh.. I see.. Somebody must''ve saved me. Thank God..] Arash was extremely grateful to God for sending over the person who saved him at the nick of time. He was convinced that it was divine providence. He tried to push himself up but couldn''t. But then he noticed that he was half-naked! [Which pervert had the gall to remove my shirt and pants away?! Da*n!] Only his dark purple boxers with pink polkadots were left on, thankfully, safeguarding his last bit of dignity. However, whoever saved him had already seen his embarrassing undergarments! His face burned a shade of pink from extreme shame while blaming his naughty wife for purposely pranking him with a series of ''cute'' designed boxers for his birthday present this year. She even discarded all of his old boxers, claiming that they''re not cute enough for her eyes. When he wanted to buy new ones, she started to sniff exaggeratedly and made an aggrieved look, making him resigned with his fate. [Thank goodness I didn''t wear the penguin-shaped one or the one with a crowd of cute doggos in space suits...] TT_________TT A myriad of expressions decorated Arash''s face as he sighed helplessly. While wallowing in the present predicament. Arash had not realized that he wasn''t feeling cold at the moment, even without clothes on. There''s not even a fire anywhere, and the boulders around him weren''t impervious to air from entering. The walking stick stuck a meter away from him was actually emitting translucent waves encompassing him within, providing some sort of protection as it sealed the exposed openings around the boulder formation. However, he didn''t notice anything unusual. "Already awake, ait? Kid, your luck sure is good." A wizened voice with thick accented Malay resounded in his ears, making him panicked. His eyes looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the voice. It was really creepy, especially when it was night time, devoid of light. An old man suddenly appeared not too far from him, startling him for good. "Aiyoooo! Gramps! You make my heart jump!" The old man chuckled mirthfully with Arash''s reaction as he found the kid to be funny. However, in Arash''s eyes, the old man''s laughter sounded very sinister. Goosebumps appeared on both of his arms and neck. "Thank you for saving me, Gramps. I owe you one." Arash spoke seriously with respect. He knew he must''ve been a burden for this little old man. He was even being nursed to health. "Shut it! What ''Gramps, gramps'' ?! I''m not your gramps! Call me Mysterious Elder!" The old man snorted grumpily. Why were all the youngsters nowadays have no respect, huh? Shamelessly calling him grandpa even when he was not this old one''s descendant! The corner of Arash''s mouth twitched a few times as he blinked his eyes and nodded mechanically. He was just trying to be nice, and it was actually a norm to try to increase familiarity by affectionately called all elders as our own grandpas and grandmas. "Good boy! Do you have anything to say to me?" The old man looked expectantly towards Arash. Obviously, he was asking for more praises, but the clueless Arash didn''t know that. After all, he had just thanked the old man before. "Mysterious Elder, can you tell me where I can get mobile reception?" Arash returned the old man''s expectant gaze with one of his own. His eyes were bright with a slight hint of fawning within. The old man nearly slipped and fell. ... Authors'' Note: Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. 1) Tanahan = stems from the word ''tanah'' which means ''soil/earth''. 2) checkered sarong = a piece of cloth, usually known as batik cloth, which is widely used by the older generation as a skirt-like garment (men or women, both will wear them), there''s no band at the waist, so one needs to learn how to tie them properly without it falling down and impacted one''s own dignity. The difference between men''s sarong and women''s sarong is in its design and length. The ones for men are usually simple checkered or lines, while for women, the designs are generally flower and animal motifs. The men''s sarong is longer and bigger. They often tied their money or wallet together with their sarong at their waist, while the women''s are shorter and livelier. Men''s sarong: https://www.google.com/search?q=checkered+sarong&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjktKOE67HnAhXacn0KHRRqBAAQ_AUoAXoECA0QAw&biw=850&bih=714 Women''s sarong: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=kain+batik+terengganu&chips=q:kain+batik+terengganu,g_1:corak:pqnzzbgzfoQ%3D&usg=AI4_-kRDUVvGl3ll0loohG9umM3wKjDqvg&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjumZOg67HnAhUBSX0KHWT-CuwQ4lYILSgC&biw=850&bih=714&dpr=1.25 110 Tok Batin Silihan "Wait, wait! If that Elder really has Mr. Arash with him, why won''t he allowed us to go and check Mr. Arash''s condition?" Rob was still very unsatisfied with Tanahan''s order to pull back. To him, who could be better than the resident doctor in the village issued by the government? At least the doctor would be a better candidate to check on Mr. Arash rather than the old man. Tanahan kept on walking in silence at a rapid pace. After leaving the small hill, did he only dared to open his mouth and whispered lightly. "That is the most mysterious Elder of our tribe, Tok Batin Silihan (1). We rarely saw him as he only appeared a couple of times within 30 years. Mr. Robbie, be more mindful when speaking with him. He is the oldest and strongest shaman in our tribe, even older than the current managing Elder. As long as I lived, I''ve never seen a person disrespected him, even among the older generation that seemed to be similar in age with him. I heard that he knew our Way(2) the best, and is very moody and capricious by nature. He especially disliked outsiders. I''ve personally seen him killed a mature tiger with his bare hands. I don''t know what he could do if we pissed him off the wrong way." "Seriously?! A tiger?!" "Seriously." Tanahan nodded solemnly. He truly needed to warn his benefactor from crossing the mysterious elder. "Then, who''s Pak Jaya? I thought he''s the village head?" Dread intermingled with confusion clouded Rob''s mind. "Tok Batin Silihan is actually the de-facto leader chosen by the people, but he rejected since he hated mundane things. At the very beginning, our tribe didn''t encourage the appointment of a leader as we used to discuss everything together in our small community. But the government insisted so that they could find a liaison to channel some efforts into the community. We had no choice but to delegate the tasks to our representatives. Pak Jaya is one of the Elders in charge of managing foreign affairs since he had seen more of the world than the rest of us." "Anyway, it is a boon for you and Mr. Arash. The Esteemed Elder has said that he will treat Mr. Arash; hence, you don''t need to worry anymore. We took pride in our promises, especially someone as exalted as the Esteemed Elder. He is our best spiritual healer. Usually, it was tough to ask help from him as he was the kind that won''t be moved by material gains and was truly affected by his whims. Sometimes, he won''t treat others just because he had a runny nose in the morning and felt annoyed with everything. Sometimes, it was because he slept the wrong way and hurt his neck. Sometimes he just didn''t feel like seeing your face that morning T.T " Tanahan explained further with an aggrieved look. [That is so unreliable!!] Rob''s eyes became as big as two boiled eggs. Random expletives threatened to spill from Rob''s mouth as he remained unconvinced by the elusive Elder''s medical prowess. However, with great difficulty, he collected himself and gave a weak nod. Rob reluctantly followed Tanahan with heavy steps while looking back a few times. Rob sighed and can only hope for the best for Mr. Arash as they returned to the village. Tanahan could clearly see his benefactor''s unconcealed unwillingness, but he too, had no other choice. He was indeed concerned for both outsiders, the injured Arash and his benefactor, Mr. Robbie, but did not want to enrage the mysterious elder. He had seen someone somersaulted 360-degrees for three rounds after being lightly slapped and was hanged upside down on a tree for two whole days for being insolent with this particular Elder when he was small. Even the other Elders couldn''t reason with him for the offending person''s behalf. That incident had nearly become a mental demon for him, as his legs automatically felt soft every time he saw the Elder in question. He had not told the whole truth to Rob as he was afraid that it would produce an opposite effect, where Rob would force his way to save Arash with a do-or-die attitude. "Should I report the grandpa... How dare he killed an endangered species... The tiger population had dwindled to less than 300.." Tanahan sweated as he heard Rob muttered under his breath. This guy was really seeking death! ... "Mysterious Elder, you''re so handsome and strong with a benevolent heart. I can''t thank you enough for saving me. Can you tell me how long it will take for me to be able to go to the nearby village?" Yes, spending more than ten years with Hana had made Arash''s practiced tongue oh so sweet; it was practically oozing honey. He found that his childish, yet stubborn wife could be easily persuaded with a few flatteries interlaced with comforting sweet words. And now, Arash had no choice but to use his arsenal to conquer this tsundere-like grandpa. He knew, although this grandpa seemed to act tough, he must be warm inside. If not, he wouldn''t have wasted his time helping Arash from his predicament. After he found that the elder''s face had turned dark from his previous question, Arash immediately knew he had said something wrong, although, for the love of God, he didn''t know which part ticked the elder off so bad. The elder had walked to him with a menacing look and stared at him a moment too long. Arash was given a fright and was sweating hard inside! Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The elder than suddenly shot out his hand and grabbed the walking stick. He pulled it off the ground and turned back while muttering something unhappily under his breath. Once the walking stick was pulled from the ground, Arash felt his whole body was bombarded with cold chilly air! He was practically half-naked and the cold air with faint water drizzle quickly made him drenched all over. Arash was speechless. He couldn''t understand what happened, but he knew he might have offended the elder, and the elder did something to stop protecting the space from the elements. This grandpa was truly mysterious! He must be an elusive expert of some sort like in the web novels! Hence, he quickly followed up with the next set of questions, interlaced with a few flatteries in between to appease the elder. His body temperature started to drop again and he felt like his consciousness had begun to flicker. He needed to coax the grumpy elder fast! ... Currently, Tok Batin Silihan was sulking inside. The expected thanks and praises due weren''t given by this disrespectful wretch. But at least, his tongue was not that bad. [Let the boy shiver a moment longer! Ungrateful!] He had spent his precious spiritual energy to protect the boy from the harsh environment and predators, and this was how this poor old man had been treated?! Not even a proper thanks?! (Mr. Mooncat: Gramps, he already said a few times..pity him laa..) Tok Batin Silihan had filtered out Arash''s previous words of gratitude and only focused on the term ''mobile reception.'' Hearing anything about technology ticked him badly as it was the source of rampant negligence in the younger generation in his tribe. Granted, technology had helped them in a lot of ways, but at the same time, it made these young ones lost their precious ''Way'' and indulged into outside entertainment of the world even when they were within this forest! And these outsiders were the source of evil who brings in all the technological goods! As such, he disliked all outsiders to the bone as he believed that these city-dwellers were not just the source of trouble; they were also the source of ''distraction'' for his people. He had not seen another achieving the required level of resonance with the spirit of the forest even after waiting for more than eighty years! Additionally, not even one appeared to have a spirit root within. These two were the most fundamental prerequisites to learn about spiritual healing! Tok Batin Silihan had gotten very restless, as he knew he needed to train the next generation of spirit healers to replace him so that the Way was not lost, but at this rate, he might be the last of the spiritual healer of his own Bateq tribe! This had made him erratic and in a foul mood all the time, especially when he saw all the gadgets in the younger generations'' grasp. The last time he flew up in a rage was when he asked a young man who was listening to a hand-held battery-powered radio with a set of earphones to shut it down and practice, but was squarely ignored. He deserved the two-day upside down hanging, humph!! "Mysterious Elder, I apologize for offending you in some way. It was truly unintentional." Arash''s shaky voice made Tok Batin Silihan returned to his senses after going down memory lane. Looking at the pitiful chap, he sighed and throw the walking stick again a few meters away. The walking cane stayed erect on the wet forest floor, and after a few moments, to Arash''s astonishment, he finally noticed that a concave of something transparent slowly appeared and seemed to block the incoming air and the slight drizzle. The old man walked away while huffing and puffing unhappily. "Two hours. I''ll check you back after two hours. We''ll proceed to the next round of treatment, and you can happily waltz back to the village on your own by tonight." He finally answered begrudgingly. Arash nodded gratefully. "Thank you so much, Mysterious Elder. Do you need anything in return? I''ll definitely compensate you well later." "Stop the nonsense and shut your trap! I don''t need anything from outsiders like you. I''m going out to find something to eat!" Arash quickly zipped his mouth so that he won''t continue pissing off this capricious elder. He still didn''t understand why this gramps was so angry with every little thing like his wife while having PMS. However, he still needed to thicken his face to ask the old man to send him to the village as he didn''t want to get lost yet again. It was a truly nightmarish experience for him. Once bitten, twice shy. ... As the old man was long gone, Arash was staring absentmindedly at the surrounding area while waiting. Strangely, the hospital-scented poultices spread everywhere on his injured body parts seemed to be working. The pain had lessened a lot. Arash could finally move his body and both of his legs slightly after some time. He knew it hadn''t been long at all. But the effect of the poultice was really fast! Even better than the standard medication. What a miraculous herbal remedy! He tried to sit up as gently as he could to properly checked the surrounding. Pain coursed through his injured knee like a blunt knife repeatedly jabbing at the same spot. The thick wet poultice smeared on the injured knee area fell down to the ground with a plop, revealing a much better-looking bruise. "Oh, no!" Arash slapped his own head. [Ops.. will the old gramps gets angry after this?] Arash tried to salvage the situation by bending down and scooping the herbal mash with his two hands and plopped it back on his knee. However, this time, the paste was mixed with rotten leaves and soil. ? , ? [How-lahhh, how.. Aiyooo..Will I get scolded yet again? Has I gotten the clumsy sickness from Hana..] T__T Most importantly, will Arash be able to appease the elder so that he won''t be hanged upside down from a tree? See you next time in the next episode of Drag Opss, I mean in next episode of ASTHW :P Authors'' Note: 1) Tok Batin Silihan = ''Tok Batin'' is a title which means ''village head'', while ''Silihan'' is the gramp''s name. Silihan stems from ''Silih'', which means ''change'' or ''change after change'' or ''alternate'' as in alternate between this and that. 2) The Way = yes, this is the Way from the Daoist canon, the Dao. 111 Conquering an Old Mans Heart with Chicken Masak Merah Tok Batin Silihan had expended a lot of his spiritual energy to help the little sweet-mouthed outsider. Although at the beginning he was quite irritated with the ungrateful wretch, that boy had at least rectified his way for the better. Even expending his spiritual energy didn''t feel too taxing after that due to Arash''s ''positive vibe'' affected him. Hana always said, Arash really knows how to sweet talk to old people. ???? Nobody would''ve understood his predicament since no one else had been in his shoe. With the thinning of spiritual energy from mother earth over the years, it has been tough to make any small amount of progress. He had to spend every second immersing in cultivation to catch a tiny wisp of spiritual energy at the earliest of dawn without fail each day for the sake of advancing his realm. But still, his road ahead was very long. He couldn''t see the end of the tunnel. Sometimes, this had made him extremely depressed. In this area, he might be the last of the Spirit Healers as his Master had passed on sixty years ago due to his life finally reaching the end. At the end of the day, like many other Spiritual Healers, his Master, too, failed to overcome the final bottleneck. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. As a spiritual healer, each healing session will utilize a trace amount of spiritual energy. If he became too benevolent, his spirit reservoir would never be full! As such, he had been extra stingy and wouldn''t help anyone unnecessarily unless the return was good enough. He had obtained a few tens-of-year spiritual herbs this way from his fellow clansmen. The rest, humph, he won''t even bother! Over the years, spiritual herbs had gotten rarer; it has been really trying even to find young spirit-imbued common herbs to support his cultivation. Nonetheless, Tok Batin Silihan believed in fate, karma, and oath-bound promises. Once he had seen Arash, he knew there was some sort of strange fate binding them together. The timing was too perfect as if it was prearranged by the heavens. Hence, he followed the natural order of the world to save the outsider boy. The poultices he produced has been infused by one month''s worth of spirit energy accumulation! Although it pained him deeply, he knew he couldn''t let the kid die just like that. He was sure the Spirit of the Woods would be more than happy with his actions. Perhaps, he will gain some benefits out of all this in the long run. Who knows. Tok Batin Silihan slightly panted as he walked in between the bushes under a slight drizzle of rain. It won''t be long for the rain to disperse, yet he hadn''t found anything suitable to fill in his belly. Perhaps it was due to the rain, wild critters and fowls were still reluctant to emerge. In fact, if any of them appeared, he could slap them to death in less than a second, and they could have a great barbecue afterward. He sighed and fetched a handful of wild fruits from a nearby tree the size of his thumb, not forgetting to get some extras for the wretched burden back at the boulder formation. [Sigh... I should go back to check on the boy.] ... [How should I remedy the situation?] Arash queried worriedly. He had a haunch that the tsundere gramps would''ve turned ballistic later. "Ahhh!" A lightbulb lit up in his mind! Suddenly Arash got an ingenious idea! Hana always said to him, to conquer a man, the best way was through his stomach! The old gramps went out to get food; obviously, he must be hungry. What could he net in two-hours'' time? It was not like there was a convenience store nearby. Most probably, the old gramps would''ve looked for edible wild fruits or something nearby to fill his belly. After all, they are going to the village afterward. Why bother hunting? However, Arash was different. He was very prepared for this ''camping'' trip. Very prepared. Besides other camping necessities purchased online, he had read so many survival tutorials and prepared DIY camping items before embarking on the current adventure. DIY stove? Checked. DIY fire starter? Checked. DIY camp stove fuel? Checked. He even had items to build a DIY wasp trap on the spot. But strangely, in this small place, no insects disturbed his peace, stopping him from showing off his prowess. Anyway, Arash was confident that in less than half an hour, he could whip up something decent for the old man. Hopefully, he''ll be more forgiving with a better mood afterward. He slowly got down from the stone slab and inched himself to his bag with difficulties. However, he was very amazed by his progress; he didn''t have to move like a pitiful caterpillar anymore but could use his two good legs to move forward. Arash rummaged his bag and donned a Pagoda shirt (1) to cover up his exposed upperparts. He felt immensely at ease with his slight pot-belly being covered from the public''s eyes, although it was a question who was going to watch that fair pot-belly with all the well-defined bronzed six-packs lying around in abundance. However, since our uncle hadn''t met up with all those lean and extremely fit and suave aborigines, he didn''t know he was at the bottom rung of the aborigine''s community and won''t be attractive at all to the opposite sex, except to the predators of the forest, of course. After all, there was so much meat and fat which could make one feel full for seven days, seven nights. Next, he took out his treasured smartphone, safely wrapped in a bundle of bubble wraps, and slowly checked on its condition. He switched it on to be greeted by the wallpaper of his beloved wife with his two cheeky daughters and gave it a kiss longingly before switching it off with satisfaction. Thank goodness nothing happened to this sacred treasure. He dived deeper into his camping bag and took out a cylinder-shaped homemade tuna spread can fill with cardboard and wax, an empty fruit cocktail tin can with holes at one end and an open flap on the other end, and surprisingly, a miniature deep pot. His intentions were clear, he wanted to start cooking! [Which one should I choose? The rendang flavored beef, the anchovies sambal, the chicken curry with potatoes or the spicy chicken masak merah?(2)] There was so many to choose from, he had a hard time to determine which one will suit the elder''s taste. [Spicy chicken masak merah then!] The gravy of chicken masak merah is generally made from a mixture of big onions, chili paste and tomatoes blended together besides the standard four herbs as a base. Tomatoes couldn''t be grown in these areas. It needed some altitude and a lower temperature. That was why one can only get Cameron''s tomatoes besides the ones imported from China. Nine out of ten, the elder never tasted this flavor before. Besides that, since the taste was within the range of a local, with only a tiny bit of innovation, he believed that even if the old man might not take a liking to it, at least he won''t be aversed to it. Arash diligently set the simple DIY cooking stove to prepare some rice while humming an out-of-tune ''Finger Family'' song under his breath... ... Tok Batin Silihan walked back in gloominess but his steps suddenly halted as he sniffed the air in confusion. It was the smell of rice being cooked! Additionally, the smell was so fragrant than usual! "Strange. The smell of rice can''t travel this far from the village." Rice was an expensive commodity for his people. The Bateq people main diet consisted of meats, wild herbs, wild fruits and tubers from hunting and foraging. The ones staying permanently in the main village did perform a small-scaled agriculture with the help of the government, but they mostly focused on planting sweet potatoes as their carbs. Rice could only be obtained through occasional trade with outsiders. His pace increased by following the fragrant smell of rice in the air. To his shock, he was moving towards the boulder formation where he left the injured brat! Not long later, he saw the back of the brat squatting while humming. "Sister finger, sister finger, where are you.." "Here I am, here I am, what would you do.." "Baby finger, baby finger.." Arash''s gentle hum had turned into a full volume out-of-tune song due to his good mood. "... " The corner of Tok Batin Silihan''s mouth twitched a few times while looking at the slightly jiggly plump purple butt with pink polkadots moving a little from side to side. The naughty patient wasn''t resting! Before he could switch his rage mode on, the brat turned his head slightly and gave a fawning gentle smile. "Just right about time. Handsome Mysterious Elder, I''ve cooked something simple for you. I was quite afraid you might still be hungry. Just the everyday rice with some chicken masak merah. Apologies for the impudence, I can''t bear to let my kindhearted benefactor starve when I have so much food lying in my bag." As usual, with the right flowery words, the brat had successfully thawed Tok Batin Silihan impending volcanic anger from bursting. The elder walked closer to see a pot filled to the brim with pristine white fluffy fragrant rice and took a deep breath with appreciation. Though, in his mind, he was thinking, where was the ''chicken'' being mentioned before? Arash automatically said, "Shoo, go to the side a little," while snipping open a red-colored plastic packaging and pouring it on top of the rice immediately before closing back the lid. The old man''s face turned a shade darker. "Ah, sorry, I mean, excuse me, Mysterious Elder, I need to fetch something from the bag for the finishing touch." He smiled apologetically. Tok Batin Silihan harumphed a little unhappily and took two steps back while watching what did this brat was intending to do. Nobody had dared to ''shoo'' him and go unscathed all these years. He was willingly reigning in his temper for the sake of the delicious-smelling food prepared by the brat. Arash plunged in his bag and took a shallow rectangular metal container, a tiny transparent coin-sized container, a pink cylinder container, a metal spoon, a penknife, and a small silver sachet from within his bag. The old man was so baffled with his actions. The brat had so many little things inside his bag, just like a Doraemon''s pocket! Firstly, Arash used the spoon to carefully scoop out fluffy white rice doused with the reddish-orange gravy with chunks of chicken into the shallow rectangular container. He then opened the pink cylinder container to retrieve an egg! Tok Batin Silihan, "... " O__O Arash explained while he automatically de-shelled the egg expertly. "Ah, my wife loved to make boil eggs for me when we travel. Just like the ahjummas in Korean dramas, you know. Over time, it had become a necessity for me, a habit. It tasted really good with a dash of light soy sauce." He looked at the egg nostalgically while feeling a little sad. Once he was done de-shelling the egg, he used the penknife to carve a zigzag pattern around the egg. It then opened up into a beautiful white flower with a yellow center! Arash nodded with happiness. "It turned out so well this time." He placed the two carved flower-egg in the center of the rice covered with gravy meticulously. Tok Batin Silihan, "... " He proceeded to tear open the silver sachet and drip a few drops of soy sauce at the center of the egg yolk. "Last touch." He opened the last coin-sized container. There were some prepacked toasted black sesame seeds inside! He took a pinch and expertly sprinkled on top of the rice-gravy-flower egg combo, Salt Bae style. "Great contrast!" He gave himself a big ''Like'' in his heart in satisfaction. Oftentimes, food shouldn''t just taste delicious, it must look delicious to move the hearts of the people we care about! Tok Batin Silihan, "... " "Mysterious Elder, this is for you. I made this with all my heart." Arash blushed slightly like a bashful fair maiden. His fair skin reflected the pinkish blush well and made Tok Batin Silihan really wanted to smack his face! It really sounded like a love confession to him! D*mn it! @#$#@#&*! Tok Batin Silihan tried his hardest to stop himself from spanking the brat, and only managed to curse harshly in his heart. His hands trembled a little as he tried his hardest not to do anything to the well-intentioned brat while receiving the food meticulously made for him. He took the spoon from the kid and awkwardly fed himself with a spoonful of a rice-gravy combo. Tok Batin Silihan, "... " The cold hard stare turned gentle as his brows relaxed. He took another spoon, and another, and another. After the fifth one, his harsh look had turned extraordinarily gentle and compassionate towards the sensible, nice boy. It was as if Tok Batin Silihan was staring at his own doted descendant turned long-lost disciple. "Good food, good food. How can the rice be so fragrant?" He quietly muttered under his breath. "It is because it is not normal rice. It is an A grade fragrant imported Siamese rice. Around RM10 per kilo. The normal rice is about RM3 per kilo." Arash smiled and automatically answered. "It''s my wife''s favorite." He added quietly while his eyes turned a little gloomy. Tok Batin Silihan noticed Arash''s change once he mentioned about his ''wife'' for a few times. He sighed slightly after a few moments of silence between them. "Alright, go and lie down and rest. I will come and check your condition after this." Arash nodded slightly and felt relieved as the old man didn''t say anything after he saw the condition of the displaced dirty poultices on his body. He suddenly felt that his position had elevated from a distant outsider to a dotted descendant. He was planning to eat part of the leftover rice inside the cooking pot to fill up his hungry belly. As he rummaged his bag to get another spoon, the old man continued, "Leave the rest of the rice in the pot. I''ll finish it after I eat this." Arash, "... " He was speechless. His hand reached for two energy bars inside his bag and his tumbler to sate his hunger a little. "Mysterious Elder, the last gift for you. You can eat after you finish up the rice. But if you''re already full, just keep it with you and eat when you want to eat it. In truth, you deserve all the good things in life due to your benevolent heart. But all I can give you are just these things. I don''t have anything else." He passed one energy bar to the old man with an apologetic smile. Arash was someone you really cared about the older generation and really knew how to conduct himself prim and proper. Coupled with his sweet tongue and his gentle demeanor, he had successfully conquered the hard-hearted Ma''am Shaza with ease in just a two-hour meeting to obtain Hana''s hand in marriage. The old man''s gaze turned a notch softer. The boy was really sensible! ... Authors'' Notes: 1) Pagoda shirt = an inner shirt or singlet (usually white). Although there are so many brands nowadays, once upon a time ago, the most popular local brand was the ''Pagoda'' brand. So now, even whichever brand one bought, they will still call it ''pagoda shirt''. 2) The rendang flavored beef, the anchovies sambal, the chicken curry with potatoes or the spicy chicken masak merah? = These are instant pack meals favored by Msians. They will bring these for traveling and the gravy+meats only needed to be reheat. Of course, we ate this with rice. The most popular brand is Brahim, since it tasted so good and near to the original conventional cooking. https://brahimsfoodisforsharing.com/products/ Scroll down to ''Ready to Eat Meals''. p/s: chicken masak merah can be directly translated to chicken cook red, or chicken cooked in red broth, or spicy tomato chicken. Red comes from the mixture of predominantly tomatoes and a bit of red cayenne pepper chili. As compared to many other spicy Malaysian style cookings, chicken masak merah is considered quite mild tasting (got only 1-2 chili symbol), so even slightly older children can eat this dish. It can also be modified to become not spicy at all. These are a few links on how to make one. It''s the simple version and could be easily attempted by anyone. https://www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/ayam-masak-merah~ByApwDivGqZX http://www.butterkicap.com/kitchen-lab/insanely-delicious-ayam-masak-merah This website is Mrs Mooncat go-to reference and has a comprehensive full version of chicken masak merah. Although its in Malaysian, you could translate the website and focus on the recipe only at the lowest part. Another one is in english. http://www.aziekitchen.com/2015/09/ayam-masak-merah-sedap-di-hari-raya.html https://rasamalaysia.com/ayam-masak-merah-recipe/ 112 Can You Fly? Within the boulder formation enclosed by a mysterious translucent barrier, two men were seated opposite each other in a cross-legged position. One was young and fair, with bare upper parts, while the other was old and decrepit, with sinister-looking bony fingers. The old one was facing the young one''s fair back and was moving his hands everywhere, just like performing a massage. However, the young one''s facial feature was one of restlessness and trepidation. [F*ck, am I being molested?!] Arash was having a hard time withstanding the mysterious old man''s supposed ''treatment session.'' In truth, he was used to going to a professional masseuse for an excellent rejuvenating massage session with Hana once a month. However, the old man''s ''treatment'' didn''t feel like a proper massage. It felt more like a butterfly-like fluttering of fingers touching everywhere as if they were looking for something and were still in the process of finding it. "Generous Elder, is it done? I don''t feel too well. Can we just pause?" Arash face was drained of color the longer he was ''molested'' without reserve everywhere. He was a proper and chaste person, loyal to a fault to his wife. He only let his wife touched his body, and no one else. Now, the mysterious elder had entered the sacred list. He felt like crying, but no tears came out. Was this a sick kind of revenge for messing up with the medicinal poultice? Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Arash felt violated. The old man gave a kindly smile and tried to appease Arash with a pat to the shoulder, "It just started. I can''t stop now unless you want to die at such a young age. Be obedient and sit tight without talking." However, to Arash, that smile looked like a sinister grin from a predator. He started to tremble slightly and wondered about the old man''s sexual preferences. He really hoped that the old man was straight! Even if it looked like the old man was going to die tomorrow, shockingly his grip and gait were extremely stable and full of explosive energy, just like a man in his prime. As a gravely injured person, Arash knew he wouldn''t stand a chance at all if the old man decided to succumb to his inner desires! As such, he kept on praying to God so that this old man will let him off. ... Oblivious to Arash''s wild spicy thoughts, Tok Batin Silihan was using fifty percent of his ability to scour Arash''s internal injuries, meridians, and inner spirit due to his excellent impression on him. He had not expended as much effort like this to anyone for tens of years. Usually, as long as there was a reward of herbs that he needed, he would use at most, ten percent of his means to remedy the patient''s situation. In fact, he was currently tracing out several investigative spirit runes on Arash''s back using his spiritual energy to obtain all the data he needed. Connecting to the Spirit of the Woods was a laborious process, he admitted. But, this sensible young one deserved it. If he had a girl descendant, he would marry her off to this young one to build real family ties. That was how much Tok Batin Silihan was fond of Arash. It was tough to find one so fine, proper, and sensible such as this. Although the boy was too fair, too ugly, and too flabby, he could be whipped into shape in no time as long as he stayed. Additionally, grilling him under the sun a few hours a day would definitely give him a healthy tan he desperately needed. Tok Batin Silihan lamented on his less than ideal bad rep in his own community. All the villagers of his Bateq tribe, especially the young ones, will run and hide from him once they noticed his presence as if he was the plague! So infuriating! Thinking about it made Tok Batin Silihan''s heart felt stifled! Alas, he had been too out of touch with the community as a whole for the sake of cultivation. He didn''t even know any of the current younger generations. All this while he didn''t care, since none of them had the spirit root to cultivate, which left him frustrated again and again. He only knew a few of his exemplary descendants, who were all males. Additionally, it seemed that this boy was already taken and was firmly attached to his partner. However, if only Tok Batin Silihan could read Arash''s thoughts, he would''ve slapped him and hanged him upside down on a tree, with all the painstaking goodwill built on the foundation of chicken masak merah, gone like a puff of smoke. As Tok Batin Silihan traced the last bit of runes, he could feel Arash trembled upon his touch. "Are you in pain? Is it so unbearable? Tell me where? I''ll patch you up after this." Tok Batin Silihan''s concerned inquiry made Arash trembled stronger. "Uh... I''m not sure, Mysterious Elder. I feel pain everywhere. Can we stop and let me rest? Maybe after a short nap, I''ll feel much better?" Covering his aversion expertly, Arash tried to make the elder stop for the second time. "Nonsense. It''s nearly over. Sit tight. You''ll surely feel much better after this." Tok Batin Silihan closed his eyes as he placed his right palm at the center of Arash''s back. Intangible murmurs could be heard reverberating around the boulder formation as Arash nervously tried to keep himself still. Tok Batin Silihan slapped the earth beside him with great momentum while producing a loud booming sound. His left hand sank three inches in, and a faint light started to glow, starting from where his hand connected to the earth. Slowly the soft light traveled through his arms towards his heart and from his heart to his right palm on Arash''s back. Arash could feel something cooling entered his body from his back. He panicked, but all of a sudden, he couldn''t move his body. It felt like he had been petrified. Slowly, the cooling feeling traveled from the center of his back to permeate throughout his whole body, like a wave created from a drop of stone upon a body of water. As the cooling feeling passed through each location, he felt so much better! His eyes went wide with astonishment! Unbelievable! Did he chanced upon a Divine Doctor?! Are Divine Doctors even real?! The story of a certain accomplished young master of the Tang household(1) resurfaced in his mind. ... Tok Batin Silihan scrutinized Arash''s internal body for three times. To his disappointment, Arash didn''t have a spiritual root too. His meridians were also locked, just like an average person. Tok Batin Silihan quickly transferred the channeled healing energy he absorbed from Mother Earth to repair Arash''s internal injury meticulously. He focused more on Arash''s bones since there were multiple fractures, his bowels, since there seem to have some problems there, and his injured right knee. He also helped strengthened Arash''s thighs and calves, so that the boy won''t hurt himself so bad again if he was to fall in the future. All in all, the boy''s constitution was pretty bad. It was the worst he had ever seen in a patient. It was fairly logical since Tok Batin Silihan had never healed a person not of his own tribe before. Since the main activities of the Bateq people were hunting and foraging, it was natural for them to be extremely fit. Nobody was fat in his community. After nearly an hour, Tok Batin Silihan removed his palms and exhaled turbid breath three times. It seemed like he aged a little more just after the treatment session. As Arash turned around and looked at Tok Batin Silihan''s condition, he rushed to pour a cup of water for him and even helped placed it over his lips. He could see the elder''s hand trembling while holding the cup. "Are you alright, Mysterious Elder? Do you want to lie down for a while?" He tried to help the old man but didn''t know what to do. His genuine concern warmed the old man''s heart. "No matter. Just give me some time to recover. Don''t call me Mysterious Elder anymore. Tok Silihan (2) will do." Tok Batin Silihan sat crossed legged and closed his eyes again to readjust his breathing. Arash smiled radiantly while feeling a sense of victory in his heart. Finally, the grumpy elder had lower down his guard from him and let Arash address him familiarly. "Tok Silihan?" "Hm?" "Are you a Divine Doctor?" "..." Tok Batin Silihan opened one eye and knocked Arash''s head. "I''m a spiritual healer. Stop chatting with me. I need to meditate for a while." Ten minutes passed by. Arash had so much to ask, and finally, he couldn''t contain himself from asking the most important question, "Then, can you fly? Or at least ride a sword, er.. your walking staff? Have you reach Xiantian at least?" "..." Tok Batin Silihan''s green veins slowly protruded but he tried his best to ignore Arash. "Do you have moves with projectiles like Kamehameha?" Due to Tok Batin Silihan''s refusal to answer, Arash didn''t give up and changed to a different question. He thought, maybe Tok Batin Silihan couldn''t understand his reference. After all, there existed so many cultivation systems out there. He exaggeratedly showed how a ''Kamehameha'' posture looked like in front of Tok Batin Silihan with eagerness. ''Kamehameha'' was so famous, he had not heard of anyone who didn''t know what it referred to, be it young or old. Tok Batin Silihan stood up and kicked Arash butt resentfully! "Sit quietly and wait for this old one to get better! Gosh! I nearly regretted treating you! Such a chatter! Noisy!" The kick was very mild and only made Arash rolled to the side like a baby panda. He tried his best to suppress his grin and just sit quietly like a good little boy while pondering about the wonders he just felt. His eyes glittered as his inner chunni (3) flared a little bit. It''s like when a fan suddenly found out that the Samaritan who saved him was his big-time idol! ... Authors'' Note: 1) young master of the Tang household = the MC of Returning from the Immortal World, Tang Xiu 2) Tok Silihan = Grandpa Silihan. Silihan is the elder''s name. 3) chunni = a short for chunnibyou, a mid-schooler syndrome/eighth-grader syndrome where a person was so keenly believed in superpowers from the superheroes manga/anime/lightnovel. Usually, it goes away once a person grows up into an adult. However, some did retain that belief deep in their heart (laugh). Talk about being childish XD Mrs Mooncat: Woot woot..the political upheaval which happened due to our previous prime minister stepping down without appointing his successor had been remedied after around 3-4days (which is today). There were two strong candidates, A (previous PM) and B (the supposed future PM) both got suckerpunched as the third person who did not come into the picture, C, got the post haha. All of us plebeians kept calm and go for roti canai and teh tarik as usual every morning.. (shruggg..) Read up if you''re interested to know: https://www.lowellsun.com/2020/02/24/mahathir-offers-resignation-in-malaysian-political-upheaval/ https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article240611516.html https://headtopics.com/my/muhyiddin-rises-from-the-ashes-11609439 https://www.zulyusmar.com/2020/03/muhyiddin-yassin-sworn-in-as-8th.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ZulyusmarcomMalaysianLifestyleFoodBeveragesTravelTechnologyAndNews+(ZulYusmar.com+%7C+Malaysian+Lifestyle,+Food+%26amp;+Beverages,+Travel,+Technology+and+News)&m=1 Mrs Mooncat 1st March 2020 113 What!!! The Emergence of a Secret Long-lost Descendent?! The village was roused into action once the team of trackers returned, bearing the news of the imminent arrival of their Spirit Healer, Tok Batin Silihan. As night was approaching, more and more torches were lit around the village, as if there was a festival going on. The women got into action and started to busy themselves with prepping and cooking while the men began cleaning up the village with a sense of urgency. Tens of fireplaces started to burn, and the smell of food permeated the surroundings. The air was filled with a sense of tension and worry, interlaced with intense discussions about the ''Exalted Elder'' of the Bateq community. Many aged old legends and stories were retold to the younger generations by their elders while their hands were busy with beautifying the village. Rob was currently sitting crossed-legged together with Tanahan at the back of an open space structure made of bamboo that resembled a gathering platform known as ''haya'' (1). At the very front, six old men convened in a circle while discussing passionately in Bateq. Their eyes were bright and were filled with a kind of crazed fervor, while intermittently relaying instructions to a few messengers at their sides. "What are the Elders discussing, Tanahan?" Rob inquired quietly with confusion. Even he could detect the sudden shift in the mood of all the villagers. After they returned, suddenly, everyone turned into this out of the blue, which had made him extremely perplexed. He could pick up a few words but still couldn''t comprehend the reason for the sudden commotion. "I''ve let them know that Tok Batin Silihan is coming," Tanahan explained with a low voice. "..." Rob was speechless. All this commotion for one old man? Seriously?! "So? What''s all the fuss about?" Rob made an incredulous look. "Every time he returned, he will usually hold a meeting with all the younger generation of the tribe. I heard that he was looking for a successor, but he had never picked even one after so long. After the event, he would fume and throw a terrible tantrum for a few days. One wrong move and the unlucky person could be hanged upside down from a huge tree for days without food and water. I''ve seen it a few times. The most terrible of all was to watch when the person had to defecate upside down. Imagine where all the urine and stool will then flow." As Tanahan explained more, he rubbed off the goosebumps appearing on his arms. His actions were seen clearly by Rob as he had a dreadful premonition about his client''s well being. Tanahan''s fear was genuine and wasn''t made up since even the color of his dark bronze face paled a little while he was retelling his tale. Tanahan continued in a whisper, "As such, the whole tribe will work together to appease the Exalted Elder by arranging everything nicely so as not to incur his wrath. He hadn''t returned to the village for more than ten years this time. It is believed that as long as the Exalted Elder found the apprentice he longed for, everyone will be saved. It became a significant event every time our Spirit Healer returned. Additionally, this was the only time that we can seek his spiritual guidance and help, though it really depended on his mood, whether he will entertain the person in question or not." Rob was appalled by the unruly old man! And he left his injured client to that old man to be tended to?! Rob could only light a candle for Mr. Arash deep in his heart and hoped that he won''t be killed by the old fellow. Although Mr. Arash was a nice guy generally, he was a little sluggish by nature. Maybe he had so many things in his mind all the time until he responded a tad bit slower than the rest when he was asked a question. In the beginning, Rob and Mat were quite annoyed by their client''s ''slowness'', but soon realized it was unintentional and adapted to him. Additionally, he''s a little clumsy too and easily loses his footing multiple times in a row. To someone who''s impatient like the capricious old man, Mr. Arash''s flaw could easily stoke his rage. "I need to save my friend." Rob suddenly stood up with a determined look, startling everyone present. Tanahan smiled apologetically at everyone and pulled Rob down. "Sit back. You''ve disturbed the gathering." Rob unwillingly sat back as he struggled to contain his impulse. "What if that elder of yours killed my friend?!" He whispered in worry. "Don''t worry. He already promised. He will preserve your friend''s life at the very least. Just pray that your friend won''t make him pissed off without reason. Sometimes, dead is better than living." Rob. "..." O________O ...read our work in webnovel or scribble hub to support our works, mrandmrsmooncat From afar, a fully-clothed Arash limped slowly while chitchatting with Tok Silihan by his side as they walked at a slow pace towards the village. The village was not too far off anymore, as multiple trails of smoke could be seen wafting off from every corner, and series of lights from torches were twinkling as if the village was having a festival. Someone who was lost would surely be able to find their way as the village was shining like a light tower amidst a turbulent darkened ocean. True to Tok Silihan''s promise, the gravely injured Arash could already move on his own after three hours of care. If a modern medical practitioner had seen Arash''s previous condition and his current one, they will be so baffled and took both Arash and Tok Silihan to a top-secret research institution to be experimented on. However, Arash himself was unperturbed, an effect of reading too much manga and manhua, fanfiction, and Xianxia-based c-novels. He felt that it was normal for him to get better when being tended by a reclusive expert. He hadn''t even realized how lucky he was to be favored by Tok Silihan to this degree. Tok Silihan was making a bored look while he ''harumphed'' once a while noncommittally in response to Arash''s random trivia and endless questions. However, the lack of interest shown by the old man didn''t seem to dampen Arash''s mood as he kept on chattering all the way during their long walks. As someone who didn''t talk too much, Arash''s current disposition only happened because he had switched on his fan-mode and viewed Tok Silihan as an idol in his heart. Every man dreams of meeting their idols. Contrary to the West, where Marvel heroes were revered, Arash was more exposed to the manga culture of the East, and later on, heroic light novels originated from China, Japan, and Korea. Obviously, in his heart, Son Goku was the strongest superhero in the universe as he could squeeze Captain Marvel to death with his two fingers. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Although Tok Silihan was making an exasperated bored look, if one observed well, one would notice that the old man had reduced his pace to match Arash''s movement. Additionally, he even helped carry Arash''s heavy backpack for him while letting him chatter incessantly without doing anything to him. "Look here, look here, Tok Silihan. This is my beautiful wife and daughters." Arash forced Tok Silihan to a halt by barring his path and pushed his smartphone rudely to Tok Silihan''s face. Tok Silihan sighed deeply and gave the smartphone a good look. "Too flabby. Too fair. Not to my liking." Seeing that Arash''s face had changed slightly, he quickly added, "However, the kids are quite cute." Arash held his face while feeling self-conscious as he blinked his eyes a few times. In fact, he was fairer than Hana by a few notches. If Tok Silihan said his beautiful tanned wife did not conform to his beauty standards, it meant that he must be extremely ugly in Tok Silihan''s eyes. He knew the last sentence was just to appease him, since both of his kids were as fair as him since they got his skin tone. "There must be something wrong with Tok Silihan''s eye. Ya lah, you''re so old like a dried twig already. My wife is the most beautiful woman on earth, okay." Arash mumbled unhappily under his breath. To him, only his beloved Hana could catch his eyes since they first knew each other, way back in school, until now. His wife had aged gracefully, like aged wine, becoming more alluring the older she got. He was very crossed with Tok Silihan''s careless remark but could only suppress it in due to respect to the older generation. "What did you say?!" Tok Silihan finally couldn''t stand Arash''s stinky mouth as he made a sophisticated backflip, landed on Arash''s head, and use both of his knuckles to grind Arash temples. "Ouch-ouch, ouch! Sorry, sorry!! Tok Silihan''s eyes got 2.0 vision! Sorry!" "I can''t hear you!" This time, Tok Silihan wrestled with Arash and clamped his neck with his arms while forcing Arash to smell his armpits. "Aiyoooo, help me! I''m a patient! Pity this patient! Tok Silihan, your armpit smells like fermented anchovies!!! I could die any second now!" Both of them were play-fighting while laughing. Arash came to a halt all of a sudden. "Why did you stop? Did you get hurt for real somewhere?" Tok Silihan had reduced his strength to the lowest and purposely pushed Arash''s face to his armpit to discipline his stinking mouth a little. Did he inadvertently hurt Arash''s neck? Arash coughed while blushing. "Er, Tok Silihan, your people are in front of us." They had just emerged from a faint trail to reach the periphery of the village. The hidden bent immediately opened up to the sight of a large village. Tok Silihan moved his gaze to the front only to be confronted with hundreds of villagers, with their jaws touching the ground. No one was making a sound. Obviously, everyone heard their cute banter very loud and clear. Half of them were holding fire torches and was lining up, as if they were in a greeting formation, while all six of the elders were in front with a large weaved wildflower garland, similarly with a blank look. Tok Silihan cleared his throat slightly and placed his hands behind his back, acting like nothing ever happened. He had noticed these villagers ahead of time but couldn''t fathom why the big reaction from them. He walked forward with a regal look as everyone else pretended not to see or heard anything. His actions made Arash tried hard to suppress his laughter. The old man was too cute! Against all the odds, he found Tok Silihan to be endearing in a weird way. "Pfttt.." Arash inadvertently lost his composure and let loose a little suppressed laughter. Tok Silihan immediately used his walking staff to beat his butt and let him roll on the forest floor while walking forward like nothing ever happen. He greeted the six elders in Bateq. "Why are you guys here? Nothing to do? If you have so much time, why didn''t you clean up the village ground properly? I can see a few trash here and there while I was walking here!" The moving hand holding the flower garland froze midair as it nearly reached Tok Silihan''s face. Pak Jaya''s mouth twitched a few times. The treatment they got compared to the missing outsider was like the heavens and earth! Rob and Tanahan quickly came forward with worry to help Arash and found that he was still suppressing his laughter. Arash was totally unhurt! Rob and Tanahan looked at each other with eyes full of wonder. In their hearts, both of them were wondering how could this happen?! How could they be so chummy in just a few hours together?! What''s Arash''s secret to conquering the capricious elder''s heart?! A mystery! A vibration was felt on Arash''s right hand, which was grasping his smartphone, followed by a "Ting" notification. It was followed by a string of "Tings," implying that many notification messages were received. Arash''s eyes lit up in delight! "Tok Silihan! Your village got mobile reception!" <3 Arash squealed with delight uncontrollably while waving his right hand which was holding the smartphone. Tok Silihan nearly slipped but righted his position begrudgingly. He ignored Arash and quietly relayed some instructions to place Arash in a haya nearest to his abode immediately to let him rest. He also asked the elder to call the resident doctor to visit Arash as soon as possible to give him a thorough check-up. All six elders who heard the instruction were speechless and couldn''t help but gave Arash a few extra glances since the exalted Spirit Healer showed so much concern over the outsider. Was he a secret long-lost descendent of Tok Batin Silihan?! ... Authors'' Note: 1) Haya = it is the name of bamboo huts made by the Bateq tribe. It is not in Malaysian language, as it is truly referred in the Bateq language. Mrs Mooncat: To old people, once you''ve managed to touch their hearts, you will be permanently placed in good grace. To the young ones who read our works, never forget to show respect, care, and love to the elders around you whether they''re related to you or not. Always show a high level of tolerance to them. You will be rewarded in some form in the future. It''s building good karma (wink) 114 A Five-star Settlemen Arash was busily checking his smartphone with a blooming smile over his lips as he ignored his surroundings. Just seeing a string of messages from his beloved had made his heart felt so relieved. He didn''t have the opportunity to read them before his hand holding the smartphone was pulled down multiple times. He scrunched his brow unhappily but immediately adjusted his mood. He knew he was not in the most ideal condition to read personal messages with everyone gathering around him like this. Rob, Tanahan, and a few trackers were surrounding him, checking him out with concern. "Yes, Rob? Anything? Sorry, I didn''t hear you the first time." He gave Rob a harmless warm, apologetic smile. Rob repeated his question as he whispered exasperatedly, "How''s your condition, Mr. Arash?! Did that old man torture you or anything? Are you alright?" Arash approached Rob and gave him a brief hug. He was extremely touched with the concern and guilt reflected from the depth of the professional guide''s eyes. "As you can see, I''m alright. I''m just hurt a tiny bit. Tok Silihan is a great doctor. He helped patch me up with lots of traditional herb poultices. Obviously, he didn''t hurt me at all. If anything, Tok Silihan is a really nice grandpa. Don''t talk trash about him, alright. He is a very kind and generous grandpa." Everyone''s expression was like someone who just swallowed a frog whole after they heard Arash''s comment. O_____O "And, these are?" Arash inquired with a raised brow and a friendly smile. "Ahh, all of them helped search for you half of the night before. We finally found your traces at the bottom of the hill, but at that time, Tok Batin Silihan already reached out to help you and prevented us from bringing you back, saying you could die if we did." Rob snapped out of it and quickly introduced the trackers to his client. "I see, I see. I was indeed a tad bit too hurt to be ferried around at that time. Fortunately, Tok Silihan was there. Thank you so much, everyone." Arash approached the trackers one by one, starting from Tanahan, and grabbed their right hand to give them a warm handshake full of sincerity. He made some small talk with them and finally gave each of them a warm manly hug. Everyone was enlightened by Arash''s behavior, as they formed a very positive first impression of this outsider. The outsider had treated them like a brother, even from the first meeting. Only Tanahan noticed the peculiarity in between Arash''s words. He called the Spirit Healer ''Tok Silihan''! Not, ''Tok Batin'', not ''Exalted Elder''! He even remembered that Arash had called the Exalted Elder ''Tok Silihan'' in front of his nose, and was not being hanged upside down for it! It meant that the Spirit Healer had given permission for Arash to call him as such. Mind you, ''Tok Batin'' was a title, similar to ''Village Head'', while ''Exalted Elder'' was a formal generic way of addressing an extremely honored person of the tribe. Arash''s way of addressing the elder showed deep familiarity, at the level of a family member! They even joked with each other just now! As such, Tanahan couldn''t help but feel respectful towards Arash for being able to ''tame'' the elder within a few short hours. "Excuse me. The elders asked for the outsider to follow me to his haya." A villager interjected their conversation and spoke in Bateq to Tanahan. "Where is he being placed? Is it possible to let him go to the doctor first?" Tanahan inquired. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "No need. The doctor has been instructed to visit the outsider at his own haya, just next to the Exalted Elder''s abode." The villager explained. Tanahan was left speechless! The haya used by the Spirit Healer was the best, most spacious, and clean haya they had. While the haya next to it, obviously was reserved for the other elders'' family. Placing the outsider over there meant that the haya need to be emptied out by one of the elders'' families to give way to this person. Everyone else looked at each other with a bewildered expression, safe for both Rob and Arash, who remained clueless. "Is there something wrong?" Rob inquired with great concern. The expression of these aborigines was a little out of sort as if they had gotten a piece of bad news. "Nothing, nothing. Mr. Arash, please follow this young man to get some rest. He will lead the way." Tanahan immediately relayed the elders'' instructions. Who was he to question what the elders'' dictate? Anyway, Mr. Arash was really a pleasant person with an ever-smiling face. It was hard to get angry or to have a negative feeling with such a warm smiley person. "Excuse me, I heard that there is a doctor here? Can I visit the doctor before resting? Although I feel fit as a bull, I won''t feel appeased if I didn''t at least get a check-up." Arash quickly inquired with an apologetic smile. He knew if he met the doctor, he could hurt the villagers'' feelings, especially Tok Silihan''s, for not trusting his abilities. But he really couldn''t just let it slide since he really was gravely injured a few hours before this. He was a regular person who took Omega-800, vitamin C, and glucosamine (1) daily besides cultured drinks (2) for general health; a health-conscious person who only lacked exercise. At least he must make sure he was genuinely cured. If the result was otherwise, he wouldn''t ever hold it against Tok Silihan. He had tried his best. He knew that the reason he could still be alive and kicking at the moment was due to the elder''s timely arrival to save him. "No need. The doctor will visit you in a while. Just go and rest first, okay. Your bag had already been delivered to your accommodation." Arash blinked his eyes a few times, and hurriedly thanked everyone before following the young aborigine to his own haya. He was wondering the level of treatment he got from everyone here was so high, as if they were efficient five-star hotel employees. What excellent customer service! Highly recommended! He planned to write a five-star review for this settlement in Google maps when he returns home later. They truly deserved it! Hopefully, when more people were interested in this village, it will push the government to at least connect the village to town with a basic road. It will definitely benefit both communities! A win-win situation. Arash pondered deeply. He felt that he got the best idea to repay Tok Silihan''s help. Since the nice elder wouldn''t talk about material gains, he might as well go all the way and investigate the condition of the village and try his best to connect with the right people to raise awareness and help the village to receive the help that was due. Maybe, in this way, he could make the village more accessible to tourists, hence, increasing the revenue of the Bateq people as a whole! The grand idea was pretty rosy! Poor Arash didn''t know, if he really did that, Tok Silihan will surely beat him up with a vengeance. ... Arash adjusted her bent horn-rimmed spectacles, which had just slipped from his nose. The lenses got a little crack on both sides, but it was still usable. Tok Silihan had suddenly returned it to him after he rubbed his satisfied tummy once he ate all of Arash''s cooking shamelessly. It seemed that Arash''s bribe worked quite well. The elder had been really nice, and his gaze had turned warm although he frequently flicked, slapped, pinched, and kicked Arash. Those attacks were devoid of malice and strength; obviously, Arash as the recipient of those seemingly harsh ''treatments'' could attest to them. He was in a good mood as he followed the young aborigine to his designated ''room''. Arash planned to rest for a short while to give a face to the elder who had painstakingly arranged everything for him before finding the resident doctor of the village. As soon as he obtained the information he needed from the village elders, he planned to head back as soon as possible. His girls must be so scared their Papa didn''t fetch them at the promised time. The grand ideas brewing in his mind would have to wait, as his two daughters took precedence. [Wait for me, guys! Your Papa will return to your side soon!] He spoke silently with determination. He must contact the caretaker as soon as possible after this. As long as he was fit enough, he wanted to return as soon as possible after talking to the managing elder of the tribe! ... Authors'' Note: 1) Omega-800, vitamin C, and glucosamine = standard supplements a person should consume. Omega-800 is fish oil, and glucosamine is for people who had knee problems haha (or any other joint pain). Mrs Mooncat is not recommending anything, please consult a doctor before taking anything (laugh). Usually everyone just needed a normal dose of multivitamins and fish oil. 2) Cultured drink = yogurt-based drink. Important to replenish your gut flora. Take once a day for good GIT health haha (after meals okay) 115 Quite a Technologically Advanced Village! Arash followed the young aborigine through a myriad of huts made of bamboo, towards the center of the village. Some were open-air huts, while others got walls. All of the huts were raised as high as about three to four steps and did not directly touch the soil. At a distance, he could even make out a few small brick-like basic rectangular houses. He tilted his head in confusion, and he planned to ask his guide about the specifics of the village. However, a more significant disconcerting matter irked him more than the mixture of traditional huts with brick buildings. Along the way, a lot of villagers strangely looked at him as if he was the most exotic animal. He could detect a hint of respect in their gazes too, which confused him. Arash tried his best to brush the stares off with an acknowledging nod accompanied with a warm, friendly smile. A smile had never failed him anywhere. Contrary to his expectation, most of the villagers who saw his smile hid themselves and peeked back inquisitively. Once he walked off, they would then emerged from their hiding places and started to chat animatedly with each other while giving him additional stares behind his back. Arash felt uncomfortable as he heard the buzzing chatter. He knew they must be talking about him though he didn''t understand what it was all about. In his mind, they must be laughing at him for getting lost so easily when he''s already in the vicinity of the village. "Don''t mind them, Uncle. They''re just shy. Everyone is grateful that you''re here." Even the young aborigine boy who was leading the way blushed slightly as he mumbled under his breath to appease the confused Arash. His cryptic words added to Arash''s puzzlement, but he just nodded mechanically. True to Arash''s speculation, everyone was really talking about him, but not about him getting lost, as it was just a passing interlude. They were discussing animatedly that this new outsider had mellowed out the ancient Spirit Healer! The exalted Elder had not started to find faults in anyone yet since both of them reached the village! They were also curious about how the new outsider managed to do that since all of them knew how notorious was the old Elder. They were so scared since their village had advanced by leaps and bounds this time around since the last time the Spirit Healer appeared. "Did you see that fair ugly man? What did the Spirit Healer see in him?.." "He''s soo flabby.." "He got a nice smile! So charming! Just needed some extra hours under the sun..." "He must read a lot! He sure looked like someone who is well learned." "Did you know? He was playing with the Esteemed Elder outside the village!" "Really?! How courageous!" "Is he the Esteemed Elder''s type?" "Do you think he''s the Esteemed Elder''s illegitimate son? It could be!" "Nope! I''m sure not. His sons and daughters, including his descendants, were just left like that without care! He won''t treat another son differently." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "What if he''s got a mistress?!" "Ohhhhh.." "Guard your tongue! Or you want us all to get implicated together with you?!" "Then how to explain why the Esteemed Elder cared about that man so much?! He even asked Elder Telang (1) to move out so that he could give his haya to the man!" "Seriously?!" "Where will Elder Telang''s family of five go?" "What is going on here?" "Should we treat the man as an honored guest?" "So suspicious! Is he really lost in the woods before?!" "Hey, at least when he''s here, the Esteemed Elder will always be so nice! Be grateful!" All kinds of random questions were discussed between the villagers in hushed voices as Arash walked passed them. If only Arash could understand them, he would''ve sweated big time. ... Once the aborigine left, Arash observed the bamboo structure around him in awe as he walked to a beautifully patterned brown weaved rectangular mengkuang mat (2) at the edge of the large airy room made wholly of bamboo. Although the strips weren''t dyed in the conventional bright colors he used to see, the beauty of the geometric design deserved to be praised. He flipped below the mengkuang mat to find it full of soft, fresh leaves, neatly arranged. This level of freshness showed that they were just being plucked from trees. However, not even a single leaf was wet, although he knew it was raining hard half of the night. If these leaves were as fresh as he thought they could be, it meant that the villagers had painstakingly wiped each one clean before stuffing them under the mengkuang mat as a cushion. Arash was speechless with their level of dedication. There were even two pieces of clean batik cloth, although they looked slightly worn out; one was rolled up, while the other was folded into a small rectangle. He could guess their functions; the rolled one should be a replacement for a pillow while the folded one should be used as a blanket. A small pot of an old fashioned oil lamp was burning on a table-like structure at another side of the room, also entirely made from bamboo. A bunch of fresh flowers and leaves were arranged in an empty coconut shell vase, still full of raindrops, giving the setting an ecstatically pleasing view. His backpack was just placed beside the table. The window was half-opened on another end, as a piece of wood was used to lean against the windowpane. This allowed the fresh air, which was still smelt of rain to come in. Although the room was simple, it was quite large, with a window and a doorway. A piece of dark-colored batik cloth was used over the door to give him some semblance of privacy. Arash walked to the window and peeked through it. He saw a lot of ladies busily cooking together upon a few campfires with big woks, while a lot of the younger ones were playing with phones! The older ones were using the outdated versions, while the younger ones were using inexpensive smartphones! Some were even wearing mp3s and mp4s while peeling something akin to tubers, while the older ones were tuning a handheld radio while smoking cigarettes and cleaning at the same time. He could see a simple water pump attached to a well not far away and a tall cell tower in the background! The faint sounds of a generator could be heard from afar, which meant that somewhere, there was a facility using electricity. Arash was speechless! Arash suddenly felt the urge to look up. Lo and behold, there was a tiny unopened light bulb right at the center of the room! Since it wasn''t switched on, and the low fire of the oil lamp gave low visibility, he had not noticed it before. Arash walked up to the light bulb and tried to pull the string. The bulb shone brightly and hurt his eyes! He quickly switched it off again and finally understood why it was not on previously. Arash walked back to the window and placed his elbows on the windowsill while supporting his face with his palms. He continued observing the vigorous activities happening outside while lamenting in wonder. The aborigine village was not as outdated as he thought it should. These people had been steeped with enough technological advancement and wasn''t averse to them at all. He wondered why Tok Silihan wouldn''t just tell him about the existence of the cell tower. He even felt that with the right amount of investment, this village could flourish well into a tourist hub, befitting its level of hospitality and authentic experience. The advancement of technology was rampant in the last five to ten years as of late once one of the descendants had successfully entered the political scene and had lobbied hard to fight for the rights of the aborigines. Many highly skilled ones who had traveled to a foreign country had also returned and helped in many ways for the sake of future generations. Since their village was one of the major settlements and was nearest to town, they received the government''s aid the earliest. However, a clean water source, electricity, phone signal, and internet were of the lowest tier. They still had to rely on generators and the likes, especially during emergencies, when the makeshift clinic was in full swing. The unavailability of a proper road connecting the village to town had increased the difficulty of relaying aid more frequently. Although the Bateq people seemed so advanced now, it was, of course, a minority of them, which comprised of the younger generation. Many of the old ones still believed in the olden ways and still became nomads, traversing the rainforest when the time comes. They will only return to the main village after a few months or even after a few years. Only a small number of them became permanent villagers who learned to farm and fished from the nearby river besides hunting and gathering herbs. What Arash couldn''t see was the genuine fear exhibited by the older villagers, especially to the ones who owned a ''technological item.'' To them, these items were hot potatoes in their hands, akin to contrabands, when the esteemed legendary Spiritual Healer was around. It was known far and wide that he hated these indulging decadent items that had led the villagers astray from their original Way. However, the other elders of the Bateq clan were busy distracting the old Spiritual Healer, and they knew they had a little more time to indulge themselves just a little longer. True to Tok Batik Silihan''s fear, the addiction was real. Obviously, since he had been away in the depth of the forest for more than ten years, he had not known the existence of the cell tower! The old ones kept on urging the young ones to keep all technological items but to no avail. The younger generation less than seventeen years old in the tribe kept on going with a ''one more game'' attitude, as they had only heard stories and had not experienced Tok Batin Silihan''s notoriety. They were too young before. As such, the whole community carefully concealed their concern and acted like nothing happened with a ''business-as-usual'' attitude. But still, it birthed to a strange high-strung atmosphere, oblivious to Arash''s perception. At the moment, the whole village was in a tensed state, since they could feel that they were waiting for the elusive esteemed Elder to burst. ... Authors'' Note: 1) Telang = the name of blue-pea flower tree. Used in cooking a lot to color rice and cakes 2) Mengkuang mat = a weaved mat using dried screwpine leaves. It''s a traditional craft old Msian grandmas and grandpas still did, but the younger generations were losing interest in it. Sigh. Some of the pieces are dyed before weaving, producing a lot of designs. It is quite beautiful and sturdy. Designs of mengkuang mats: https://www.google.com/search?q=tikar+mengkuang&sxsrf=ACYBGNR1lOfGqYYWKy8pjzv5kAwieE_XpA:1581909568806&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwimi6mv0NfnAhVkzTgGHa8HDJIQ_AUoAXoECAsQAw&biw=1536&bih=750 How to make a mengkuang mat from scratch made by a grandma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNJ_MPAXE74 116 I Believe You, Ayang A knock resounded outside his room, waking him up from his reverie. Most probably, a guest knocked on the bamboo hut''s wall, just beside the cloth flap ''door''. "Hello, I am Doctor Chang. May I come in?" A lightly tanned man in his early 40s with benevolent eyes entered Arash''s haya once he acquiesced the doctor''s request. Arash could immediately detect that this man was of Chinese descent. Most probably, due to prolonged exposure to sunlight, his skin tone was slightly darker than Arash. The man was wearing a standard white doctor''s coat with a stethoscope hung around his neck. He walked with a light gait while holding a large briefcase-like black bag on his left hand, where he brought along all standard medical necessities. He seemed very robust and fit, with a gentle smile plastered on his face. His black hair was a little long, but neat, as it was combed to the side. Arash immediately walked towards the doctor and raised his right hand to give him a firm handshake. He smiled apologetically. "Apologies for taking your precious time, Doctor. I''ve actually planned to visit you before coming here but was ushered here immediately. So sorry for letting you come here all the way." Arash smiled guiltily while looking around to find a place for the doctor to sit and a cup of water to quench his thirst. However, there was none around, and he was embarrassed not to be able to entertain such an important guest after imposing on him to come to his hut. The doctor nonchalantly sat down on the hut''s bamboo floor and crossed his legs with a smile. "Don''t bother. There''s no chair here." He chuckled lightly. Obviously, he was quite amused by this person''s uneasiness for not being able to accommodate him adequately as a guest. He was indeed fresh from the city, which had given him a nostalgic feeling. He hadn''t returned to his hometown for at least two years. "Can I start examining you now, Mr. Arash? I''m a little tight on schedule." "Sure, sure. Anyway Doctor, I would like to know how fit I am at the moment and whether I could immediately travel back to town after this? My kids are waiting for me. You see, at the moment, I''m a single parent. They need me. It''s the first time we had been separated this long after their mom was gone." Arash explained restlessly while sitting cross-legged in front of the doctor, waiting to be examined. Doctor Chang sighed lightly with sympathy while taking out a typical sphygmomanometer and started to check Arash''s blood pressure. "Mr. Arash, I understand your haste. But, even if you''re fit enough, the forest is a dangerous place to be in the middle of the night. The danger is real as wild animals roam around at this time. Calm yourself and contact the person you trust to handle your kids. I''m sure you can get through. The signal around here is quite good as long as you use the standard service provider. Or do you need my phone? I could lend you after this." While he spoke, he quickly scribbled down Arash''s data on a notepad. He then checked Arash''s temperature and gave him a quick once-overall look. "Did you feel pain anywhere? I heard you fall down pretty badly?" "Before, my right knee got hurt pretty bad to the point of not being able to walk. It was even swelling like a melon with a purplish color. I''ve injured the medial menisci on my right knee before and had gone through surgery a few years back. It might be due to overuse and several falls during hiking this morning. However, the elder''s medicinal poultice had reduced it a lot. I''ve never felt so light on my knees like this for ages. Can you please have a look and see if there''s any problem? Additionally, the fall was quite bad. Before, I can''t move at all when I gained consciousness." "As serious as that?" Doctor Chang was speechless! He thought this guy tripped over a tree only! Arash was immediately asked to remove his clothing and lie down on the mat so he could perform a thorough check-up on his whole body. He did take an extra second glance on the pink polkadots but pretended not to see anything. He was surprised to find this fellow''s blood pressure was great, heart rate, excellent, and his temperature, all normal. Besides faint traces of bruise on his knee, he couldn''t see anything wrong at all! He double-checked a few times just to make sure. Nonetheless, he could only come to the conclusion that his new patient was absolutely fine! Doctor Chang kept all of the medical equipment carefully with a ponderous look attached to his brow. "What medicinal poultice did the Elder use on you? Did you keep some samples? Can I have some?" The doctor spoke to him with a serious look. "Err..." .. After bidding the sad Chinese doctor goodbye with mixed feelings, Arash could only sigh. Tok Silihan had asked him not to share any of the poultices as it was a trade secret. Arash shook his head wearily and entered his haya to lie down on the mengkuang mat with a heavy heart. He knew knowledge should be shared. More people knowing meant a higher chance of saving lives during an emergency. He wasn''t keen on this side of Tok Silihan, but he had to respect Tok Silihan''s decision as he was the owner of the poultice recipe. He himself wasn''t aware of what kind of herbs were used in the poultice, but he did keep a bit of it inside a ziplock plastic bag. The moss-green mesh was placed deep within Arash''s backpack. Tok Silihan asked him to paste it on his knee again once he could rest when they reached the village. The Elder told him that there was still some efficacy left within the poultice, but was not much. It would be just enough to heal his knee thoroughly by tomorrow if he stayed put quietly through the night. Arash was just a mere mortal and didn''t know that the concoction of the poultice was the most basic kind to treat external injuries and bruises, which was known far and wide in the aborigine community. What was different was the infusion of Tok Silihan''s precious wood-attributed spiritual energy within which had a high regenerative effect on him. Tok Silihan asked him to keep it a secret because he didn''t want extra trouble. The spiritual energy couldn''t be outsourced unless one became a Spiritual Healer with a relatively high attainment in the healing arts. That needed resonance with the Spirit of the Forest beside a spirit root. Without both, one could only be a herbalist. In the village, all of the seniors were herbalists, while the majority of the adults had 50 to 80% knowledge about herbs, as it directly affected one''s ability to survive in the wilderness. Arash''s internal injuries and fractures were mended at a high price, as these injuries needed a higher level of attainment from a Spiritual Healer. Tok Silihan had never expended this level of energy on more than three counts all his life. That was the extend of his favor over this lucky uncle. If the villagers knew, they would''ve come to Arash in droves for favors to make him persuade the capricious Elder to help them in various matters. Nonetheless, Arash had missed the flash of light within Doctor Chang''s narrow phoenix eyes. With it, determination brewed within, as he planned to use all of his power to become Tok Batin Silihan''s apprentice. As he had only became a resident doctor in the aborigine community for around two years, he had not seen or heard about Tok Batin Silihan. He had volunteered to be posted in the aborigine community after the emergence of the measles outbreaks around three years back to dispense compulsory vaccination with the subsequent boosters besides conventional Western medicines to the ones in need; a compassionate and kind soul. However, a repetitive life had made him lose some of his vigorous light. As someone who had lived and interact well with the villagers for quite some time, he could see how the new Elder was extraordinarily respected by the masses and understood that he must be someone important or special. Even Mr. Arash, who was lightly associated with the Elder, got the preferential treatment! His traditional medical prowess must be top-notched! His passion for medical knowledge was rekindled! ... Arash&Hana: Mdm Lisa, I''ve got a complication at the moment. I couldn''t make it by tonight. Please take good care of my two girls. I will fetch them at the latest by tomorrow afternoon. Please let them know that their papa is settling an important matter. Apologies for the trouble, Mdm. Lisa_RCC: Noted with thanks for the info. I''ve told you many times just to call me Lisa. I''ve beginning to get worried in case something happened to you. The kids were already asleep at about nine. Do take care, alright. Arash&Hana: Thank you! Arash immediately changed the chat interface to a private one, which he only uses with his beloved wife due to the abundance of cute animal stickers. He genuinely wanted to know how she was doing. It had been too long, and his sense of longing had been deep, intermingled with a myriad of negative feelings. Four days felt like years for him and made him felt ill-at eased all the time. If only he interacted with the aborigines before he got a message from Hana, his reaction would be vastly different, an embodiment of an unapproachable, quiet man with a shallow halfhearted smile and a cold stare. At first, he read a few messages delivered around noon today. Mama: Ayang, you there? Mama: Sorry, I was away for a while. Got a little problem. Forgive me please? (starry eyes) Mama: Ayang? Don''t be angry, okay? (Cute face) (Cat face) (strings of hearts) Mama: Ayang manis.. please don''t sulk... I''m very sorry... I did something that you didn''t approve of. We''ve managed to take over the termite nest! The time to draw the map Bro Hadi wanted is not far! (happy blushing face) (strings of ants stickers) Arash''s body developed goosebumps all over! She did what?! She must''ve injured herself severely to be away for so long! He remembered she told him that the termites were as huge as motorbikes! He quickly read the next few messages with worry. Mama: Ayang, I need to let you know the truth. I was away for three days because I was in deep cultivation due to a little internal injury. As I said before, we''ve conquered the nest! As of now, we got thousands of helpers to chart out the map you guys wanted. We just need a little time to train them to understand our instructions. I''m sure it won''t be long. Mama: Ayang, I''m sending over the cultivation chant. I had a breakthrough and was finally able to chant by myself. This is the truth of me not lying to you. Please stop being skeptical and just try to listen to it, please? At least for one night? See if you could follow what I chant? Who knows if you could gain something from it. This chant is good for the soul, Ku-chan told me. It could indirectly improve the constitution of our soul. You might not get stronger physically, but your heart will be durable to any tribulations ahead. Humor me and please just listen to this little gift from me, okay? I love you and I miss you. Just treat it as me singing for you... [Voice message 1] [Voice message 2] [Seriously?!] Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. [Training termites to heed instruction?!] [Even asking them to perform a complicated task like drawing a map?! Are termites intelligent enough to be trained?] Arash got a severe headache from his wife''s random actions. He had no qualms letting her experiment on random things before, but it was different now. The level of danger his wife encountered each time she attempted something new was very high! He sighed heavily as he closed his eyes to reminisce about his wife''s facial feature to ease the deep yearning he felt in his heart. He felt like he could lose her any moment now. It was truly upsetting. However, he still tapped on the voice messages. It had been so long since the last time he heard his wife''s melodious voice. He wondered how many times his beloved had tried to send the recording over. She must have put a lot of effort for his sake. If it was before he met Tok Silihan, he will still listen to the recording to humor her, but will just take it as a grain of salt and brush it off. At most, he will just treat it as what she said, a wife singing to her husband to ease his longing. However, it was different now. Tok Silihan mythical abilities truly opened his eyes, and he started to treat whatever thrown to him seriously. To the current him, nothing was impossible. A soft and beautiful voice resounded around him. It sounded like a mashup between a Gregorian hymn, a snake''s hiss, and an aria. It was beautiful, profound, and complicated. [Ahh... What a beautiful song.] Arash closed his eyes to savor his wife''s lovely yet strange new-age song. He knew she had the weirdest taste in music but had been resigned to it. He knew she made efforts to learn to sing his favorite songs too for his sake. [Is this truly a soul cultivation chant from her pet snake?] Arash pondered while he kept on listening towards the end. He finally tapped the second voice message only to find that the song''s speed was reduced by multiple times. He could read Hana like a book. Obviously, the second recording was for him to slowly follow and practiced singing with her! He took a deep breath and tried the first syllable after the song had finished from the previous cycle. "Sraaaaahhhh...yaaa.. ahhhhhhhhhaa shhhh...mmmmm..mmm.." The sound coming out from his mouth hurt his own ears. Even the first pitch was wrong! Hana, you''re asking too much! Arash felt like crying. The song was super tough to follow! His wife should''ve known that he was tone-deaf. He could never achieve such an impossible feat! [Forget it. I''ll just loop the first recording and treat it like a calming sleeping music.] Arash laid down on the mengkuang mat and placed his smartphone just beside his head after he pasted some of the leftover poultices over his right knee. The looped recording was adjusted to the lowest volume so that it won''t disturb others. His eyelids quickly became heavy after he texted his darling wife with a smile plastered on his face. When two hearts came from the same whole, nothing could ever fill in that empty gap when the other half was not around. To the current Arash who had a deep longing for his other half, just a few short messages with two familiar voice messages from his beloved had thoroughly soothed his heart. Before anything else, he had fallen into a deep sleep peacefully. Papa: I believe you, Ayang. So sorry to doubt you all this while. Love you to the moon and back. ... 117 A Shameless Little Thing A notification from Hana''s smartphone finally resounded in the middle of the night with a full volume ''Ting!'', indicating that it finally received the message from the other side. Papa: I believed you, Ayang. Love you to the moon and back. However, the short and sweet message couldn''t be read by Hana at the moment. Hana was too occupied, as she was hiding behind Shiro timidly. Her beloved Kuro was rummaging the mountain-high sparkling pingpong-sized pearls placed at the back of their dwelling in search of unknown enemies. They were startled when the mountain of pearls started to shake, and partially collapsed all of a sudden. Although Hana had shown courageousness in the face of thousands of Elemental Fiends, she was still afraid of apparitions and ghosts, besides her number one enemy, cockroaches. She could recall a famous saying that Arash always jokingly quote when she asked him to check something out timidly. He would roll his eyes and quoted the same sentence again and again "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."(1) Most of the time, he won the debate when the mysterious sound or thing which Hana feared so much turned out to be a plastic chicken or lizard''s tail, or even just a dead cockroach with tingling feet. However, at this moment, she couldn''t stop herself! What could she do if she''s scared?! Pretend not to be?! That''s just being in self-denial! Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Hana could recall that her beloved Shiro came through the small tunnel behind their cave-dwelling, injured, and seemed to be on the run. Since it was quite near to the small opening Hana sealed once upon a time ago, her trauma kicked in! What if something vicious came from the other side of the tunnel?! What if that vicious thing couldn''t be hurt physically?! "Ku-chan, what is it?! Mommy''s so scared!" Hana inquired with a quivered voice while covering her face with Shiro''s bushy tail in an attempt to block her view. Shiro wasn''t bothered by Mom, as he stared at the lump of glowing spirit pearls with seriousness and vigilance. He could sense a powerful and dangerous aura from within the pearls. It was quite malicious that it was hiding its appearance but not its aura! He poised directly in front of Hana, attempting to shield her from any sudden attacks. He knew Mom wouldn''t stand a chance if the unknown enemy decided to attack her first. The sound of swishing and flurried movements could be heard from within the pile of spiritual pearls. "A small thing is inside! I can''t see clearly. It moves so fast, Mommy! Ah~" "Are you okay, Ku-chan?! Is it a little animal?! If it''s an animal, don''t kill it. If it''s a ghost, zap it immediately! The same with a cockroach! That is an order!" Hana blurted out a series of panicked instructions. She didn''t care what it was. If it was an animal, she would spare it; if not, she''d rather let Kuro killed and ate the thing immediately. Besides a ghost and a cockroach, she also worried that it was the sworn enemy of Shiro''s. "It''s coming out! Watch out, Mommy!" A flash of yellowish gold, as big as a rugby ball, dashed out at an incredible speed! It was making a beeline towards Hana! In less than a second, it had bypassed Shiro before he could slap it away. "Wahhh! Don''t come here, don''t come!" Hana yelped in panic. She inadvertently kicked the yellowish rugby thing away as it bounced to the nearest wall, ricocheted towards the mountainous pile of pearls, and in the process, making the whole pile crumbled down! Hana, Shiro and Kuro felt like crying! TT____________TT They had worked hard to clean up the whole place! Hana''s kick was so powerful, the golden rugby thingy bounced a couple of times around the cave-dwelling, turning the whole occasion into something comical rather than scary. By the time the inertia subsided, all three of them had loosened their nerves and looked at the small yellowish gold thing inquisitively. Hana couldn''t fathom why as it bounced around, it seemed like it was targeting her. After a series of evasion, finally, she just sighed and held out both of her hands in an attempt to catch the golden rugby thing. Both Kuro and Shiro were by her side after all. If it was something malicious, she could immediately pass the thing to them. Once it stopped in her grasp, Hana realized it was just an egg! A familiar brownish egg which was a little bigger than an ostrich egg! Hana automatically turned her gaze towards the redundant filter rack. She had not used the water filter at all after Ara''s guardians came to replenish them with levitating water in a bubble around two weeks back. It only became something like an open rack where she kept all of her food, including her recent foraged items. True to her speculation, the giant egg which was supposed to be placed on the lowest tier was gone, and the same egg was within her grasp at the moment. The only difference was, it had two golden fat chicken-like feet with tiny talons extended out from the bottom of the egg, and there was a hairline zigzagged crack around the egg. Although the egg itself was brown, it had a golden glow around it. Hana hesitantly knocked on the surface of the egg gently. "Hello? Is someone there?" Kuro and Shiro sweated. The aura of the egg fluctuated greatly. There were times that it was low, but there were times that it spiked to reach higher than their auras combined! If the thing made a move, Hana could be killed instantly! [Put it down, Mommy! It''s dangerous!] Kuro urged her telepathically. Before Hana could put the ''egg'' down, the crack opened up slightly, and Hana could see two big and round sparkling brown eyes staring at her. "Piko! Pipipipi! Piko!" A crisp and light sound came from within the crack. Looking at those adorable eyes made Hana instantly fell in love! Those were large anime eyes she loved most! Ignoring the caution spoken by her other two pets, she instantly picked off the top part of the eggshell, revealing a super adorable brownish fluffy chick with traces of gold on its wings. Just below its neck were three golden bands. It was so chubby too! "Aww... such a cutie!" At the moment, Hana had already lost herself to the little thing cuteness. She started fawning and drooling at the same time, while stars sparkled in her eyes. Obviously, the aunty had lost the battle of will (Mr. Mooncat: As if Hana has any will to resist cute things at all). This little one was a bird-shaped chubby plushie ?? Once the bottom part of the shell was removed from its body, the little chubby baby bird immediately squirmed and jumped towards Hana''s bosom. It snuggled close to Hana while closing its eyes happily, making the two brothers speechless! [Isn''t that a baby silver-banded eagle?! How come the band at the neck is gold?] Kuro remembered eating the chick''s parents a while back. They tasted so bad since they had been charred too much. He knew he had targeted the lowest tiered silver-banded eagle''s nest to steal the egg for food. A series of incidents had prevented them from cooking it. Who knows the time for it to hatch had been so soon. If he knew, he would''ve chosen a different one. At his current level of strength, most probably, he could defeat the upper tiered nests'' spirit eagles, but he knew he was still far off from the Silver-banded eagle Monarch. [Bro Ku, isn''t this the egg you brought back a while ago? Is there something wrong?] Seeing Kuro''s ponderous looks, Shiro quickly inquired. He was afraid the little thing might harm their mistress. [There''s definitely something wrong! The Silver-banded Eagle Monarch is a tyrant in his area and is a late-stage Lord-level spiritual avian. However, the peak aura coming from that brat is already entering the early-stage Lord! That brat is as strong as me! (2) D*mn it! I''ve never heard about a baby Silver-banded Eagle possessing such strength! Overall, they were low tiered beasts, the normal spirit eagles are only at the early to the mid-Noble stage. There were only a few at the late-Noble and half-step Lord stage within the nest I investigated before!] The atmosphere around the two boys was getting tenser. Kuro himself just barely entered the Lord level without stabilizing it. He had so much to do and couldn''t find time to enter seclusion for a short while to stabilize his realm. He couldn''t take it that the little chick in his mistress embrace had already step over his strength just by being born! He was pretty sure he didn''t notice any aura leaking before they left their home prior to subjugating the Elemental Fiends. He inspected the hard shell placed in between the messed up cave-dwelling and saw that it had a masking effect! The brat might have been out some time ago but had been spying at them for god knows how long! [You''re thinking too much, Bro Ku! The little thing''s aura isn''t even stabilized yet. We can still kill it now!] Kuro rolled his eyes as he looked at how their Mommy hugged the little brat almost possessively with stars in her eyes. [Do you think it''s possible now? The shameless thing had the most lethal weapon to defeat Mommy. Sigh~] [uys, this little bird is super attached to me, why-lah? It''s quite ticklish.] Despite the urgency and seriousness in Kuro and Shiro''s exchanges, the aunty couldn''t help herself from enjoying being snuggled by a fluffy, feathery little thing. It was super syiok!(3) It felt like snuggling with her fat cat at home, minus the extra feather and the occasional adorable ''pi-pi'' sounds. Every time it moved in Hana''s embrace, the two brothers felt like a tremor going through their veins. One wrong swipe or one wrong peck could end Hana''s life. Kuro''s eyes burned with conviction after he recalled what he had promised himself outside the Elemental Fiends'' underground nest. "Mommy! Take it in! Feed it with your blood now." Hana''s expression turned hard. Now she knew what it entails. "How could I did that to this precious little thing?" "Pi?" The little chick tilted its head to the side in confusion when it saw the ''mama'' it snuggled was suddenly gloomy. It flapped its wings towards Hana''s face in an attempt to cheer her up. But the aunty was knocked back by the wind generated from the gentle flap until she fell. The gentle flap felt like a full-strength slap upon her face! Hana, "..." O___O||| The ever-ready Kuro was there protecting Hana''s fall. He added once he saw Mommy''s blank look, "See? I told you. If you want to keep the bird, you must own her first so that at least you could communicate and instruct it to control its power." "But.. but... What if it felt betrayed once it knew what it meant?" Hana had a hard time deciding. But the temptation was oh so great. "I don''t think so.." He watched the shameless little thing clung to the aunty''s bosom with both of its wings wrapped around her body again, as soon as the aunty landed on the cave floor. If only the little thing was older, Kuro would''ve strangled it there and then and barbecued it just the way he had done to its parents. Hana and Shiro, "..." =______=;;; Really! This thing was so shameless! It just hurt the person it coddled with but pretended nothing had happened and continued to fondle the aunty while making a happy "Pi, pi" sound! Hana made a complicated look. Her expression changed a couple of times as she thought about future implications. Seeing how clingy this thing was to her, she felt like she couldn''t even throw it out after this. It will definitely come crawling back while making an adorable expression again and again. Truthfully, Hana felt helpless and happy at the same time seeing how the little bird was attached to her for unknown reasons. After contemplating for a while, she finally came to a decision and gave her finger to her beloved pet-snake. She closed her eyes in fear, but there was a glint of determination. Her intentions were clear as day, as all of them knew she was scared of blood. Kuro sighed and nipped her finger gently, being extra careful not to make it too painful. [This is just the first step. Must be patient.] Kuro closed his eyes and tried his best to hide his internal thoughts. To the wise little black snake, his plan had just started. He observed Hana''s frantic movements while she tried to feed blood to the shameless little thing, while his little brother busily tried to stop it from accidentally assaulting their mistress. [Bro-Ku! A little help here?] Shiro made an unpleasant expression. [Coming!] ... Authors'' Note: 1) a famous quote by H. P. Lovecraft 2) That brat is as strong as me! = remember that before advancement, Kuro was just a late-stage Noble (passed 1x tribulation). After advancement, he only becomes an early-stage Lord (passed 2x tribulation). The little bird is already an early-stage Lord in this chapter. 3) syiok = more fun than fun haha List of levels according to characters appearing in ASTHW can be checked in the link below (Mrs Mooncat''s rants included wahaha). Just remove the single space within the link https://www.pat reon.com/posts/list-of-levels-35247502 118 Little Piko-piko is Off-limits! \"Pi?\" It looked at the glistening red liquid on the creature''s finger, while tilting its head. It tried to understand what the familiar figure had been trying to tell it but to no avail. It felt the world outside the egg was a strange, scary place and full of ''filthiness''. It was feeling very overwhelmed with its surroundings until it detected a familiar scent once it woke up within its food cache. It was the first scent it knew once it gained consciousness! It was also the scent that was within the liquid that increased his constitution significantly days ago. Whose scent could it be? Hence, it tried its best to wiggle out to approach that familiar scent, only to find that it was emitted by a large yellowish creature with a long black mane. The white menacing-looking white fluffed up creature and the longish black creature with red wings at the creature''s side gave it a sense of danger, which added to its fear. As such, it tried its best to get close to the creature in front of it by instinct. After multiple tries, it finally could approach and attach itself to the creature! It found that the creature was soft and warm! True to its speculation, the creature could calm it down almost instantly! Hence, due to the pressure from the other two menacing-looking white and black creatures at the side, it tried its hardest to stick to the creature with the long black mane relentlessly. The scent emitted from the red droplet was unmistakable! It was the origin of the scent which had calm it down! It finally understood! Maybe it was related to this creature! Was it its kin? It gazes intensely at the yellowish creature''s face to memorize it after immersing itself in its aura. It had already forgotten about the red liquid after a moment of curiosity. However, it suddenly felt a kind of pressure descended upon it. It got scared and agitated as it noticed the white fluffy creature with purple eyes was staring hard at it as if it had a grudge over it! Slowly, its beak felt like being pried open forcefully! In a panic, it fought back and flapped as hard as it could! \"PIKO! PI!!\" It shrieked in panic. It saw the yellowish creature with a black mane being thrown away very far by its action! A sense of fear for the creature birthed in its heart! \"Adoiii!\" The creature yelped in pain. The longish black creature immediately caught the flying creature midair and placed it down gently. Seeing that the creature with the black mane leaked water from its face from pain, the black creature turned ballistic, and another layer of pressure descended upon its tiny body pressing it down hard on the glistening floor full of food. A white lightning strike rained on it hard and burned some of its fluffy feathers. \"Ku-chan, no! Don''t hurt it!\" Once the disorientation from being electrocuted disappeared, it saw long thorn-like white objects floating around it from all sides with the sharp-side in! They were closing in on it! It immediately attempted to retaliate, but its movement was locked all of a sudden! The longish black creature had wrapped around it and started to restrain it from moving! It could see the yellowish creature ran towards it while shouting, though, again, it couldn''t understand a single thing. \"I said, STOP! Little Piko-piko is Off-limits!\" The shout wasn''t that loud, but it brought along a kind of force upon the two creatures currently attacking it, though it couldn''t feel anything. It could only see they were struggling to overcome some sort of unseen constraints but to no avail. The ice shards fell to the ground emitting a clattering sound, while the constriction upon it loosened a little, giving it a small space to breathe. A warm hand coddled the bedraggled self to a soft, warm spot it liked so much. \"Please open your mouth, okay?\" The hand tickled its throat, then it caressed the sides of the beak gently, urging it to open. It felt so happy and secured within the yellowish creature''s embrace, and naturally opened its beak in contentment. It could feel the red liquid entered its body through its throat. Something changed within, but it didn''t know what. Everyone was staring at it while waiting for who knows what. Suddenly a new surge of feelings came over it! Was it happiness? Relief? Love? It was a mixture of complex emotions, totally new to it. This surge of emotions was confusing. These new feelings surely didn''t belong to it. It could only feel hunger and sleepiness before. It felt alien but familiar at the same time. \"Piko-piko. You''re such a handful.\" The creature in front of it smiled teasingly while rubbing its head gently. \"Pi? PIIII!\" Little Piko-piko was pleasantly surprised when it realized it could understand the creature''s intention! They suddenly snuggled happily together while being silently watched by the other two creatures. [Ehem, I''m the big bro around here. Kuro. You brat, you better listen to me. Never hurt our mistress ever again if you don''t want me to pluck all your feathers out!] A sinister message was sent over from the black creature. [Shiro here. I second what Bro-Ku said. Watch out, brat. Work well if you want to eat.] Another voice came over with a snort. Understanding the threats for the first time, little Piko-piko chirped a little with fear as Hana stared hard at the two boys while narrowing her eyes with a warning look. \"Pi-chan is just a baby. Don''t be mean.\" Kuro and Shiro evaded their mistress'' stare as they pretended to busy themselves with self-made work. Kuro scooped the pearls up and placed them back in their designated space while Shiro used his beautiful tail to sweep them off to one point, just like a professional sweeper. Both of them had suddenly become diligent housekeepers. Hana just realized she had unintentionally named her new pet without asking consent from it. After a moment, she shrugged it off with a lighthearted smile. \"Pi-chan?\" \"Pi?\" \"Go join your brothers and clean up the mess.\" The little bird adorably nodded its tiny head and hopped off from Hana''s embrace gently. This time, it took care to use as less energy as possible. In front of everyone''s gaze, it hopped into the pile of pearls that Shiro had painstakingly swept, unintentionally pushing Kuro, who had been scooping the pearls to the side, spilling everything over. It then burrowed itself in and stared at the spirit pearls in a serious manner for a few seconds. Hana was watching curiously at its antics. Why was it staring at the pearls intensely??? Suddenly, the little bird started to gulp the pearls franticly. Every time a pearl entered its tiny body, the three golden bands shore for a second before subsiding. Hana, Kuro and Shiro, \"... \" O___O They just realized they had just adopted a money-burning pearl-eating glutton! Its upkeep will be way too expensive! Was this a good thing or a bad thing?! Is it too late to cook it for dinner? ... Arash woke up the next morning feeling fresh and rejuvenated. He stretched his body languidly as a series of popping sounds resounded. The first thing he did was to fetch for his smartphone to check how much battery was left. He had let his wife''s voice on the loop for a long time to soothe his heart, and surprisingly he had the best rest for a long time. He wasn''t sure when did it stop as his phone was already shut down. He quickly attached his smartphone to a power bank and rummaged his bag for his tumbler. His throat felt extraordinarily parched as if he was going to get a sore throat. No, it wouldn''t do! If he did get one, he had to refrain from eating spicy and fried things, which will make his heart bleed with anguish. He had wanted to eat good food as soon as he returned home. A banana-leaf vegetarian meal (1) with a side of lamb Varuval (2) at his favorite restaurant would do the trick! His kids could eat roti canai (3) at his side while he savored a variation of spicy vegetable dishes with turmeric dhal soup (4) and heavenly succulent heavily spiced lamb for his meal. Truthfully, surviving on energy bars was never his ''thing'' as he preferred rice-based hearty meals. Of course, with an ample amount of vegetable sides and fruits to cover his guilty conscience. Arash''s mouth started to water. He only had an energy bar the whole day yesterday. Should he cook another portion of rice? He still had a few packets of ready-to-eat meals left. This time, he could really go for some chicken curry with potatoes. At least it had that spice he missed so much. As such, after cleaning up adequately and performed his routine prayer, he started to cook just beside the window. While cooking, he noticed the village was devoid of activities. Did they partied too hard with Tok Silihan last night and slept in late? Though the sun was not up yet, it wasn''t so early at the moment. At home, he would''ve been riding through a traffic jam to reach the train station two towns away at this moment. In about half an hour, the smell of rice wafted out of the window. He quickly prepared to pour in the prepacked ready-to-eat curry on top of the steaming rice. If Hana were around, she would''ve given him a big no-no, saying how cincai he was, but she wasn''t here to nag. So, he could perform as much short-cut as possible without being reprimanded. His wife would''ve cut and saut a big batch of onion rings in a pan until soft and fragrant before adding the prepacked meal, readjusted the taste with salt and pepper, and maybe simmered some peeled boiled eggs together with tomatoes within the gravy before serving separately with rice. Her reasoning was so simple. If just a few extra steps could increase the taste and heartiness of the meal, so why not? \"Hmph! There''s someone gratitude-less over here. Cook something to eat but didn''t invite this old man over?!\" A sudden ghostly voice resounded just behind Arash. He yelped and jumped to the side in fright! \"Tok Silihan! What are you doing?! You nearly scared me to death! Stop sneaking up on me! My heart couldn''t take it!\" Tok Silihan clicked his tongue unhappily. \"Hmm, don''t you dare change the subject. I can smell your rice from a mile over! How could you cook something so fragrant but forget to call for me?! I''m just next door!\" Arash sweated. He honestly didn''t plan to invite Tok Silihan as he thought that the elder must still be in his dreamland after partying hard last night with all the villagers. \"Er. I thought you''re asleep. It''s still very early at the moment.\" \"What early?! All the adults had gone out to hunt and forage earlier, leaving only the babes behind! You''re the only one who wakes up last!\" Tok Silihan knocked Arash''s head repeatedly. \"Ouch! Ouch! Sorry! Didn''t you guys party hard last night? Didn''t even invite me lohhhh.\" Arash snorted while rolling his eyes. He too knew how to use the guilty conscience card. To his surprise, Tok Silihan didn''t reply and gave him a piercing stare. It made him had goosebumps all over. \"Come, come. Have breakfast with me, Tok Silihan. But this time, equally shared rice. I''m starving! Someone didn''t pity a patient last night and finished up everything. He even licked the spoon and container. Don''t say I didn''t saw it, though that someone had supernatural powers. How could he stoop so low as to lick spoon..\" Arash''s voice trailed off to a lower volume as he could feel his cheek had been squeeze painfully on one side. \"Keep on being rude to your live-saver, and this old one is going to tear off that meaty cheek for good.\" \"Aiyooo... Ai.. Ai.. Sorry-lah.. So touchy-lah..\" It wasn''t as painful as it seemed. Both of them knew Arash was just exaggerating. Tok Silihan took out two sheets of banana leaves as plates for them, and Arash took out two metal cups. They sat cross-legged in front of each other and ate happily like a family. Unknown to Arash, their ''happy family over a meal'' scene was seen by a large number of young villagers crowding over Arash''s haya outside. They were peeping through the gaps in between the bamboo structures with deep interest. Until Tok Silihan suddenly banged his metal cup. Everyone ran away and hide. \"What now, Tok Silihan?\" Arash made a puzzled look. Tok Silihan cleared his throat. \"Ehem, I just need a refill.\" \"Er, okay.\" Authors'' Notes: 1) A banana-leaf vegetarian meal = a Southern Indian cuisine rice-set that comes with a bowl of rice, 3-4 side dishes of random cooked vegetables, 1 bowl of dhal soup (lentil), 1 small bowl of rasam (spiced tamarind based soup), and 1 small cup of watery fermented milk. Usually eaten on banana leaves. During the olden days, many southern Indians migrated to Tanah Melayu (old name of Malaysia) for work. Since then, all had become residents of Malaysia, and the food had evolved to suit the taste of Indian Malaysians. This one-meal-dish is one of the most popular ones that everyone loves including Mr and Mrs Mooncat <> What it looks like (the variation present are endless). Usually we will order 1 set of banana meal set each, then add some main meat dish such as chicken, lamb or paneer (Indian cheese-like dish, super delicious!): https://www.google.com/search?q=banana+leaf+meal&sxsrf=ALeKk02RF0EqmkDMSmfJ0-xN1dM8h9hIig:1585949311522&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=gr2hLtdG_2EKtM%253A%252Cx6Mpj95qDoU_wM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kT81WkHMgtRlkzy10vzXfIdWXX1ug&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjy-eDKmc3oAhWaXSsKHYxUBCwQ_h0wIXoECAoQCw#imgrc=gr2hLtdG_2EKtM: 2) lamb Varuval = It''s like a spicy and hot dry curried lamb. Don''t know how to explain, but this dish is extremely delicious (Ahh~ Mrs Mooncat''s mouth already watered..). The way to make this dish had many variation and had a slight difference from one another. These are the variations present: https://www.google.com/search?q=lamb+varuval&sxsrf=ALeKk00EyL8ZXGzzLWH5O9KZEvHO-XBzAQ:1585949866051&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjd3pbTm83oAhXNe30KHf6kBfYQ_AUoAXoECAwQAw&biw=1536&bih=750 These are two recipes that looked like the way we like to eat them (Mrs Mooncat had attempted making it a few times but the taste wasn''t right. It wasn''t the taste that Mrs Mooncat loved from the restaurant we frequented). http://www.oceanofrecipes.com/indian-recipes/mutton-fry.shtml http://myerecipecorner.blogspot.com/2010/07/mutton-chukka-varuval-spicy-lamb-dry.html 3) roti canai = Malaysia''s flat croissant bread (yep, I didn''t kid you. It''s the official name for foreigners, though it sounded really weird). This is considered a staple breakfast menu for many Malaysians. We eat roti canai with a small bowl of curried dhal added with fish curry and sambal. Another way of eating it, is by adding ''banjir''which means flood. It means, the roti canai was cut to pieces, then doused with curries on top until it floods..owwhh.. we missed it! What it looks like: https://www.malaymail.com/news/eat-drink/2015/09/06/our-5-favourite-places-for-roti-canai-in-kl-pj-klang/964691 This is how to make one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC532kMUw28 4) turmeric dhal soup = It''s actually a mild curried yellow lentil soup added with herbs, curry leaves, potatoes, carrots, and radish. The only type of ''soup'' that kids can eat since it is not spicy at all. Dhal curry can be seen in previous roti canai link as the one with the yellowish gravy (the orange one is usually fish or meat curry and the red one is anchovie sambal) Some of the variations: https://www.google.com/search?q=kuah+dal&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjz_bfAos3oAhVL2nMBHXo-B2MQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=kuah+dal&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECCMQJzICCAAyBAgAEEMyAggAMgYIABAFEB4yBggAEAUQHjIGCAAQBRAeMgYIABAFEB4yBggAEAUQHjIGCAAQCBAeOgUIABCDAVCflAhY6KQIYPOtCGgAcAB4AIABMogB4QKSAQE4mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=2bOHXrOtMMu0z7sP-vycmAY&bih=750&biw=1536&hl=en 119 A Little Snakes Grandiose Plans \"Morning, Sweetie..\" Hana groggily opened her eyes to see the shameless little bird still snuggling upon her bosom. It seemed that it had become its ''private'' nest. Piko-piko was still a baby, so she had no qualms for it to constantly snuggle close to her. After all, it just felt like snuggling a warm chicken-sized fluffy bird who was a little clingy. Honestly, it felt good as compared to coddling with her Shiro. Shiro was only perfect in warm weather. Now, her life felt complete. Walking lamps in the form of gigantic termites, a fluffed ''bed'' in the form of Shiro, and a warm bolster in the form of Piko-piko. Hana exhaled gently while rubbing the little chick''s head in a doting manner. Somehow, it reminded her of her 2 year-old at home, who was as clingy as this. Last night was really a hectic night. They had tried all means to stop this little bird from eating the spiritual pearls non-stop. Hana felt a severe headache at the moment. She felt her bankruptcy was coming soon if she couldn''t remedy the situation. The little bird will cost too much to be fed. Gone was the day to buy a pound of kibbles for her kitties at home. That alone was already equivalent to buying a kilo of chicken breasts for her family of four to eat for three days. Although Kuro and Shiro ate quite a lot, they knew how to go out and feed themselves outside and only occasionally snack at home. Hana swiped open her smartphone to habitually check for her beloved''s reply. She was too preoccupied yesterday and finally remembered. The short response from her hubby truly soothed her heart. She knew her Arash was someone who always tried his best to please her, accommodate her, and will support whatever she did, as long as it wasn''t too crazy. She was thankful for her hubby''s support and trust in her, even in times of heartache mixed confusion. She perfectly knew how he felt since she felt the same way too. She knew Arash probably only believed less than ten percent of what she said. But at least, he kept on trying his hardest to be positive and believe in her. She turned her head to her left shoulder, where her beloved little pet snake was lazily dangling and gave it a peck on the cheek. \"Ku-chan?\" \"Hmm?\" Kuro tilted his head in the right angle he knew Mommy loved most. True to his speculation, the light of fondness in Mommy''s eyes increased a couple of notches. \"Will Papa be able to cultivate with our chant?\" Kuro was silent for a moment as he pondered deeply. After a while, he spoke, \"Mommy, honestly, I''m not sure. Due to the urgency at that moment, I had to adapt your soul to be able to accept the chant. I carved a series of runes we lightning serpents innately possessed since we were born into this world. It looks a little like this.\" Kuro generated a small amount of electricity from his silver unihorn and flared it out to the air above them. Looking at Hana''s awed expression, he chuckled, \"Just a little trick, thanks to you, Mommy. Constant regeneration at low voltage.\" \"Returning to what we discussed before, I don''t think Papa could truly cultivate his soul with it. The requirement was actually to be a lightning serpent, to have the constitution of a Lord-tiered soul, and at the very least, to be able to soul-link to you. Truly, Mommy, you''re a miracle. We had taken a very huge risk to make it work. Not so sure will it work the second time.\" Seeing that the aunty had started to become gloomy, Kuro quickly added, \"But don''t lose hope, alright? Who knows? Just let Papa try. If he could sing as well as you, I''m pretty sure he could benefit at least something out of it.\" The corner of Hana''s mouth twitched a little. She knew her beloved was the exact opposite of her in terms of controlling vocal chords. After a while, she sighed and smiled. \"You''re right. No harm trying right. You''re such a treasure. Always had the right words to make Mommy happy. Thank you, Sweetie.\" Kuro beamed with delight. Hana replied to her beloved''s messages with a smile on her face. There were so many things to tell again. After she was done, she stood up and planned to prepare some light breakfast. It had been days since they had eaten proper food. \"Shi-chan, come help Mommy.\" She patted the fluffy head just beside her dotingly. ... Kuro and Shiro convened outside the cave as they whispered telepathically with each other. They had just finished their breakfast, which comprised of grilled honeyed mushroom skewers and some fresh honeyed coconut juice. It was genuinely delicious and yet so simple to make. The mushrooms were spiritual lightning mushrooms, given to them in heaps by the generous Q-chan. Their mistress was already meditating as she immersed herself in cultivation voluntarily. It seemed that she had been enjoying her cultivation time lately. They didn''t disturb her and even encouraged her because every time she did, all of them could feel that they were linked together into a massive network. Without doing anything, their soul had been tempered together with the same beat repeatedly, wave after wave. It did not just happen to Kuro, Shiro, Ara, Q-chan, and Pi-chan. Kuro and Shiro noticed all of the Elemental Fiends loitering around the area were receiving similar mass effect! [The map-making had to start sooner or later. I need these Elemental Fiends to be groomed into excellent soldiers who listen to instructions well.] [Soldiers? Why so, Bro Ku? Is it just asking for entry from a Lord''s area? The challenge was to make Q understand what they needed to do to relay topological information to her to arrange everything. I don''t think that will be so tough.] [Are you stupid?! Who is willing to let outsiders enter their territory?! What if the outsiders find all the resources they hoard and start to covet them?] [...True. Then, should we talk things through with Mom?] [Do you want her to be sad again? She had been focusing on this since the very beginning. The plan had been set long ago, do you have the heart to say to her don''t chart the land, just stay with us here for eternity, never to see her beloved again?] Shiro sighed. He could already guess how this would proceed. [Tell me what''s in your mind, Bro Ku.] [I need to leave. I need to find the heavenly treasure to help our Mommy become stronger, faster. On the way, I will meet up with Q and King to discuss this matter. They''re not as stupid and as clueless as we think. With the soul-link in place, I''ll manage to piece all the puzzles somehow. I hope that you could help arrange for them to learn and understand our plans. After that, slowly conquer the whole area around us while I was away. If they submitted, then, it''s fine, just go through their land, chart up the map, list out the strong ones, and send the Lord of the area to be a soul-slave to our Mommy. No need to take away their resources.] Shiro was speechless. \"...\" O_O How extreme can this tyrannical brother of his could be?! Seeing that Shiro was going to talk back to him, Kuro continued quickly. [Stop hesitating. Don''t be affected by Mommy''s personal sentiments. You, as a spirit beast yourself, knows how things work around here. Eat or be eaten. Kill or be killed. The truly stronger ones are further south, and a couple of them are on the east-side. We must make sure Mommy''s force will be strong enough to be able to hold them off. We must be ready. It is always better to take the initiative rather than wait to be attacked.] Shiro was quiet and had a serious look on his face. [..What if the Lords around here retaliate, Bro Ku?] [Kill off the ones who resist. Took in all the Noble-tiered and above who submitted, let Mommy enslave all of them, no buts. Ravage the land to give an example to the rest.] Kuro replied stoically. Shiro was quiet for a long time. He had a hard time to digest these radical militant thoughts. It was something that will make their Mom ballistic if she knew. She had a gentle pacifist heart and loved all animals equally, except for cockroaches. Whatever that was. [...Until what end should we go, Bro-Ku? You do know that we''re not the strongest here. It''s only a matter of time before the \"Eight Monarch\" caught wind of this, and we will have a big problem.] Kuro ruminated silently. [Make a genuine alliance with the old geezers from the fish slave girl''s clan. Find out what they want. We will try to work things out. Make sure to find a way to enslave the stupid bird''s friend from the floating tree too. We must be able to mobilize all birds and all fishes when necessary. We will have manpower on land, in the water, and over the sky. It''s a strategic three-pronged attack, which will be hard to be fended off once appropriately implemented.] As someone who always works alone, he was deeply familiar with the power of numbers. He had been hindered multiple times due to others'' efforts using such a strategy. However, the casualties they faced were not small. Kuro was a vengeful tyrant. If he couldn''t get what he wanted, he''d rather destroy them as much as possible. He had made so many enemies left and right due to this. This time, he too can use the power of numbers to attack others. Shiro hesitated. [This is such a big move, are you sure we''re not going to inform Mom about this?] [Not for the time being. I know Mommy will definitely say no. But to survive here, it is a necessity. Especially when she figured out a systematic way to enhance the level of a spiritual beast and she became so popular within this realm. The reclusive experts will pour over to come and enslave her. Only by increasing the soul-link network within her Soul-hall Domain will give her and us a chance to survive.] [How sure are you with this cultivation method of yours, Bro Ku. After all, you didn''t achieve full mastery yet. Mom only started for a month!] [Don''t look down on her. What she achieved was equivalent to a Lord''s level soul''s attribute. Not in terms of strength, but in terms of comprehension and speed. She will soar very high once she could fulfill the exact requirement of Soul Empowerment. The heavenly treasure will play a big part since she is too weak physically. I must get it for her no matter what! To temper her body the usual way will take way too long.] Kuro flew directly in front of Shiro''s face and look at his soul-brother in the eye seriously. \"I trust you to make sure Mommy is safe, and our land is secured. If she dies, all of us die. Remember that. Do your part as a member of this family. Train the shameless baby bird to be Mommy''s absolute guardian and an obedient flying mount. Make sure it stabilizes its realm properly so that it could use its full power when necessary. It will be a strong helper in our cause. It will grow up in no time as long as we feed it enough nutrients. Before Mommy could successfully master Soul Empowerment, she will need that stupid little bird.\" [Once it grows, it will be the best time to replace the Silver-banded Monarch.] Kuro added confidently as he sent tremors to Shiro''s back. His big brother''s vision was truly grand. He had been wrong all along, finding small matters to nit-pick, while his brother was looking at things from a broader point of view. His brother had always been thinking about their future survival! However, Shiro wondered, how could the increase in the number of soul-slaves affect their Mom''s overall prowess. Kuro had never explained the specifics on how their Mom could benefit from the link, the ''children'' were the ones who could indirectly benefit from Mom''s cultivation sessions. It sparked a deep sense of curiosity in him. He will need to discuss with Mom about this. Perhaps, by truly dissecting the mechanics of the unusual soul cultivation method, they could find a way to speed up the process of comprehension even more. Mom could finally link with everyone around her with ease! ... Both brothers proceed with their own tasks after the secretive talk with each other. Neither of them mentioned anything afterward. However, they became a little closer at this moment. After Hana finished the third cycle of the chant, she nodded with a smile on her face when he saw the two brothers were hanging out together harmoniously. \"They just needed some time to cozy up with each other..\" She whispered happily. She wondered how she could make both brothers treat Ara a little better. She knew the small fish had been bullied behind her back. Since Ara was already part of the family, they should''ve been friendlier to her as well. \"Maybe it''s time to visit Ara soon.\" She whispered while caressing the feathers of the sleeping little bird dotingly. ... 120 The Malevolent Demoness’ Voice "Pak Jaya, Tok Silihan, thank you for willing to meet me. I know you guys must be very busy today. I apologized for the inconvenience caused." Arash shook Pak Jaya''s hand, who just entered with an apologetic smile. It was already around nine in the morning. Tok Silihan had been lazing around Arash''s place after he gave a final body check-up to him to make sure he was okay. The faint bruises over his knee were totally gone, and he felt as good as new! Remarkably, it was even better than before he had his first knee injury. He immediately asked a favor from Tok Silihan to meet the current village representative to discuss an issue, which was the reason he came to the settlement. Behind him, Tok Silihan had been lazing around on the mengkuang mat while picking his nose with a boring look like he owned the place. He glanced with a disinterested look at Pak Jaya once, and return to his own cup of warm Milo (1). Arash had been sitting cross-legged just beside Tok Silihan and was offering him a cup of warm 3-in-1 Milo with a fawning look before Pak Jaya''s arrival. However, he shoved the Milo into Tok Silihan''s hands so that he could respectfully stood up to invite Pak Jaya into the haya. Seeing that the Spiritual Healer''s face had turned a shade darker, Pak Jaya quickly asked Arash to sit back. "Sit, sit. Don''t trouble yourself. I heard from Tok Batin that you have a problem that you need to discuss with us? We will do whatever we can to help out." Pak Jaya tried his best to contain his expression when he saw how these two men were behaving in front of him. Their level of familiarity was akin to a bias grandfather who only favors this one grandson of his while being incredibly mean to others. However, he realized that Arash didn''t purposely try to suck up to the old man. He was just a nice person who treated everyone warmly, especially the older ones. His theory had been proven when he saw Arash took another empty cup and made another cup of warm Milo for him too! [This person is such a nice fellow!] Pak Jaya felt like crying inside as his eyes slightly misted. Little him had been given the same level of respect as the exalted Spiritual Healer in front of them. Is was true that in his community, any guest should be celebrated and treated with respect. Still, it has never been the other way around. This man was soft-spoken, eloquent, and very polite in his ways. "I''m sorry if this is not to your liking, but I only had these.. basic drinks to serve to you." Arash had just boiled a small batch of water to keep inside his thermos. It was the best time to serve the elders around him. He was glad there were not that many since he didn''t have that many 3-in-1s. "Pray tell what''s your problem." Pak Jaya spoke after gulping the warm beverage. "I would like to tell both of you respected elders a story. It is a story about my wife." While Pak Jaya showed a confused look, Tok Silihan maintained his bored face. Still, his ears perked up and started to listen carefully. "Roughly a month ago, I got a message from my wife at noon. She told me she got lost and asked me to return immediately to tend to the children. I was confused at that time, since it was noon, the time for her to fetch our eldest from kindergarten by car. In the beginning, I thought she had lost her way by making a wrong turn somewhere, which was very unlikely since she had been driving the same route everyday. But she got lost after she stepped out of the grocery store in the middle of the town! She even parked the car in front of the store with our kids being left inside." "That is impossible!" Pak Jaya exclaimed. Tok Silihan narrowed his eyes as he tried to rummage his old memory. He felt that he had heard the same story a long time ago but couldn''t seem to recall clearly. "I was sad to hear that Mr. Arash, but I can''t seem to link your story to the kind of help that we can provide, Mr. Arash. What kind of help can we possibly provide for you?" "The story did not end there. Although my wife was trapped in an unknown place, she could still stay in contact with me, albeit just barely. She told me she is currently in a rainforest such as these, inside a small cave. So, it got me thinking, what if there are some caves around these areas that I didn''t know of? I hope to ask for help from everyone to chart out the location of local caves around the area and, if possible, check each one of them. I''ll hire as many as I can to check for the shortest amount of time. Just name me your price. I''ll try my best to provide payment in any form you like, even if you don''t want cash." Arash look had become sorrowful as he was thinking about his wife''s plight, alone and scared in a darkened forest. It made his eyes turned slightly red. Both elders were quiet as they ruminated over the information given by Arash. After a while, Pak Jaya answered, "Of course we can help check all the caves around the area, but is there a significance to do this? How can it be possible for your wife to shop in town and appear in an area deep in the forest? I do hope you will consider this and won''t put too high hopes.." Pity radiated from Pak Jaya''s eyes. There should only be two possibilities here. One, this fellow''s wife had been abducted and locked up somewhere akin to a cave; two, which was more likely, the wife had lied to this pitiful fellow and might have run away from home. Both conditions had very slim possibilities to be found. Tok Silihan held up his hand to quieten down Pak Jaya. "Do you have a map? Show me the location where she had disappeared." "I do, I do!" Arash scrambled to his backpack to retrieve and spread a new modern-looking map on the mengkuang mat beside Tok Silihan. He made a circle on three locations. "This is the place my wife, Hana disappeared from, at the front entrance of a minimart. This is this settlement. This is where we lived." He showed the central locations to both elders. "Hmm... I''m not familiar with all these new landmarks. Jaya, where is this place actually?" Tok Silihan asked Pak Jaya while tapping with his index finger on the minimart location circled by Arash. "You''ve been away for far too long this time, Exalted Elder. This place is just west of our village, around two-days'' walk. The last time you''re here, no development had been made. This new town is just around seven to ten years old and is the nearest to our community. Thankfully, the efforts of your little Rami(2) tens of years ago have been fruitful as our localities had been gazetted as ''virgin forest reserve.'' This means hunting and logging have been banned for outsiders. Didn''t you remember?" Tok Silihan scratched his itchy head absentmindedly and blushed a little. "Stop nagging like an old man. I did remember all of that, just need a little reminder." "So, did you see anything unusual from these locations, Tok Silihan? Look closely for me, please." Arash eagerly moved behind Tok Silihan and started to give him repeated light taps with both fists on his shoulders with a fawning look. This was a blatant attempt to flatter the old man, which earned Pak Jaya''s disbelieving look, especially when the Spirit Healer seemed to be enjoying it. "Hmm, hmm.. Left a little. Right, right, that part. Increase your strength, you wimp. Ahh~ good job. Well, since you asked in such a polite manner, I''ll look into it. Give me some time. I need to contact a descendant of mine to cross-check something. Prepare some fragrant rice and chicken masak merah as payment, alright. Those are really good." Tok Silihan turned to Pak Jaya, "Did you say the brat Ramlee (3) is in the Department of Lands or something something before? I remembered you edify him quite fiercely." Tok Silihan rolled his eyes with a disinterested look. "Yes, yes. That''s the one." Pak Jaya sweated a little and gave a fake laugh. He stopped acting when he saw the Spiritual Healer didn''t even smile. "Call him back immediately. Tell him, it''s my order." "But, but... He''s not in this region actually. I''m not sure can he make it in such a rush appointment.." "No buts." "Ahh... Tok Silihan, no rush. I''ll take some leave to come again soon. At the moment, I really need to head back as soon as possible to take care of my kids. Maybe I can even bring them here when it is safe," Arash quickly placated the elder. He really can''t stay any longer. "I see. If that''s the case, I won''t force you. Hm.. how about two weeks from now? Come back here. I''ll wait for you. In the meantime, I''ll arrange for the scouts we have to check all available caves around this area." "Thank you so much, Tok Silihan!"Arash took both of Tok Silihan gnarly hands and shook it enthusiastically, making the old man smirked. He then shook Pak Jaya''s hands too in merriment. Pak Jaya was speechless with the current development. He could smell extreme favoritism at this moment. In the village records, the Spiritual Healer had never stayed in the village for more than five days before returning into the depth of the forest, fuming with anger, every single time. Right now, he even promised this fellow he''d conscript everyone to check all caves and force one of his exemplary descendant home for his sake. The world was going to end soon~ "What are you waiting for? You already got what you want. Pack up and go back now. Don''t leave your friends behind. I still hated outsiders, you know. You guys smelled funny." Pak Jaya and Arash, "..." ... Tok Silihan returned Arash''s enthusiastic waves with a short wave of his own, a small smile attached to his thin lips. To others, that doting smile looked ever so sinister as it invoked shivers among the Bateq people. The Spiritual Healer had never actually smiled sincerely before, as his face was always adorned with an ever-present scowl. He did produce a couple of evil grins when he was distraught or annoyed, which usually followed by the hangings of people on large trees around the village. He walked back without a word into his own haya, deep in thoughts. The villagers around him, including the other six elders, did not dare to disturb his train of thoughts as they just followed him quietly like meek little lambs. Once he entered his own haya, the other villagers naturally dispersed, leaving a few young ones. They were awaiting his instructions if he ever required anything. They swapped their positions every 4-6 hours and always stayed on alert to receive any instructions from the exalted elder. This time, it will be unusually long since Tok Silihan had promised to wait for Arash for at least two weeks. Many elders wore a smile on their faces since they knew this was the time to seek guidance from the Spiritual Healer in many aspects. Tok Silihan sat on his own beautifully-decorated mengkuang mat and pondered deeply. Truthfully, last night, he had tried to enter Arash''s abode to invite him to join the celebration thrown by his people in honor of his arrival. There was so much python meat around, cooked in several traditional ways using the Bateq people''s secret recipes. He had to bring the boy along to let him taste the delicacy made by his own people. He was a little annoyed when he noticed that the boy had already slept so soon. That boy had even snored so loud. Hence, his first action was to rouse the boy up and force him to follow him to the celebration. However, as he took the first step to enter Arash''s haya, his sensitive hearing could hear a faint susurration of voice from Arash''s sleeping position. It was something he had never heard before, but it had a repelling power over him! As he forced himself to take another two steps, the unseen repel force turned into a mental attack! A malevolent being was trying to invade his mind! He could feel it! The attack was so sudden and sharp, he wasn''t prepared in the slightest. Hence, the first few attacks had injured him mentally before he could put his guard up. Through the fresh mental gap, the attack seeped in directly into his soul! He could hear a woman''s sweet yet sinister voice seeped into his mind, trying to take over his control! Whoever or whatever she was, the being was very powerful! Tok Silihan was losing his control! Sweat beaded through Tok Silihan''s face as he tried his hardest not to succumb to the baleful corruption to his mind. He felt as if his body was not his own, as it was being restricted from any kind of movement. The voice was forcing him for allegiance. Although he didn''t know what the language was, he could feel it within his soul! The voice was trying to rob the freedom of his soul! Tok Silihan immediately sat cross-legged just a few paces away from the snoring Arash. He forcefully circulates his remaining internal energy to prevent himself from being petrified as he invoked the connection between him and the deity of the Forest for assistance. He had to continuously chant for the half of the night when the sweet voice suddenly disappeared. He quickly scrambled up and moved outside of Arash''s haya, giving himself a fair bit of distance for precaution. [What was that?!] [Did this boy harbor a demoness within him?! Hmmpph... Luckily this old man still have some tricks to defeat it.] He paced back and forth outside of Arash''s haya while being observed by his people with a quizzical expression. They had been waiting for the Exalted Elder for hours to start the celebration. After considering the pros and cons, Tok Silihan joined the others and left an order for Arash not to be disturbed by anyone until he woke up by himself tomorrow. [I''ll have another look at that boy tomorrow. He should now be safe as I had defeated the demoness.] Tok Silihan had been totally distracted during the celebration and nearly hadn''t even eaten anything at all. He waited until Arash was awake and immediately headed over to see the boy. The most bizarre thing was, the malevolent sweet voice never appeared again, and Arash himself didn''t seem affected by it. The old man scanned Arash''s body thoroughly to properly scrutinize at Arash''s condition. He especially checked for Arash''s mental health to see any injuries, but surprisingly, nothing different cropped up. In fact, the brat was as healthy as a donkey thanks to his efforts. The curiosity clouding his mind was the reason why he offered to see the boy again in two weeks'' time. He really needed to know Arash''s relation with the malevolent demoness'' voice... [I will naturally understand everything two weeks later] Tok Silihan stood up after making up his mind. He needed to whip up these villagers into shape since he had so much free time now. ... Authors'' Note: 1) Milo = a sweet coco-malt beverage by Nestle loved by the majority of Malaysian. The distinct taste is different as compared to other countries. Mrs. Mooncat had tried the ones in Indonesia and the ones from Thailand, and each ''Milo'' didn''t taste the same. It turned out Nestle adjusted the taste of Milo to fit the locals of an area. 2) Rami = Name of Tok Batin Silihan''s son. The name of a tree which could be made into hemp (a kind of rope). 3) Ramlee = Name of Tok Batin Silihan''s descendant (male). This is a modern name, which indicated that the descendant had migrated out of the village and entered civilization as he received formal education. Ramlee is also the name of a legendary talented entertainer in Malaysia from the 60s (Mrs. Mooncat loved his songs). Additional info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._Ramlee P. Ramlee''s voice and his wife, Saloma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rAbt2ozrgE 121 The Capricious Elder Kicked Us Out! The group of four men was walking briskly amidst a sea of gargantuan trees with canopies connecting them together. It was already noon, and the sun was high upon their heads. Yet, the surroundings were cooling, and the temperature was fair. Three of them carried a big backpack each while another one, a bronze bare-chested man with short curly hair, carried another man on his back. His pace was a tad slower than the rest. The person being piggybacked was slightly pale, and he looked weak. However, he was adamantly holding a GPS while observing the surrounding vigilantly. Around them, a group of bronzed bare-chested men was walking while sending out signals in the form of bird sounds to each other. Most probably, they were alerting each other with information ahead. "Tanahan, I''m still unsatisfied! I understand that your Elder wanted us out, but why must we let Mat go through this ordeal?!" Rob''s indignant voice resounded in the woods, as he turned to look at his pitiful co-worker. It hadn''t even been 24 hours since they reached the village, but that single capricious elder had kicked all of them out, their client included! It really ticked him off! "We are deeply regretful of this matter. In fact, we hope that Mr. Arash could stay longer. However, this is the Exalted Elder''s order. Even Pak Jaya couldn''t rule out Tok Batin Silihan''s orders." Tanahan was carrying Mat''s backpack for him. He too felt ashamed by their lack of hospitality. They were used to entertain guests for days since it was quite hard for outsiders to reach their village. All of them would have been weary along the way and would''ve taken more than a few days to recuperate. Setting a good rep among the tourists will earn them quite the revenue too as they will bring more adventurous tourists over after that. They could also barter more provisions with them. "It''s alright. Dr. Chang had checked me before we go. No complications after administering the antivenom. I already received a referral letter from him too. I just need to go directly to the nearest general hospital after we send Mr. Arash to his car. Don''t sweat the small stuff, Rob." Mat tried to diffuse the tension in the air. He didn''t like to become a burden in the group. Pity the aborigine who had to carry him. Although he was fit and was quite small in nature, he was at least 70 kgs. It was his first time being piggybacked by others for such a long time. They didn''t even change people. Nonetheless, he could see that the young aborigine wasn''t even sweating or had a labored breath. He must be used to carrying heavy things. Mat could only sigh in helplessness as he tapped the aborigine''s shoulder guiltily. "Brother, we can stop and rest for a while if you''re tired. I''m really sorry for all the trouble." "It''s alright. I can still keep on going." The aborigine smiled jovially, revealing a series of pearly white teeth. Upon closer look, he was actually chewing on some kind of herb calmly. Arash was quiet along the way. Deep inside, he felt guilty. Tok Silihan didn''t actually kick them out. Truthfully, Tok Silihan had tried to persuade him to stay on multiple occasions. Still, he vehemently refused because of his children. No one else knew about his talk with both Tok Silihan and Pak Jaya that morning. Once the discussion was over, both elders gave out instructions to the villagers waiting outside. Lo and behold, one hour later, he was already on his way back, with everyone in tow. He knew the other two were forced out together to accompany him along the way. It was Tok Silihan''s way of showing he cared. If not, there won''t be this many villagers following them hiking for three hours, all the way to their jeep. The other two guides served as a companion to make sure he reached his home safely for the rest of the way. Looking at his own right knee, he could only sigh in gratefulness. He could match the others'' pace this time with nearly no problems at all. He wondered what did Tok Silihan do to make him feel like he had become younger internally by ten years. He really needed to find a way to transport Thai fragrant rice and the ready-to-eat meals to the village the next time he came. However, he still didn''t discuss this yet with Rob and Mat. Will they still be willing to accompany him again despite all the ordeal they had gone through with him? [It''s going to be okay.] Arash whispered internally after he took a deep breath of fresh air. He felt like he could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tok Silihan''s ponderous look was still fresh in his mind. It was as if he had a clue! He was eager to meet up with Tok Silihan''s descendant, the Ramlee fellow, or something. He felt that he could get his answer soon. Tonight, he was going to sleep with his beloved''s fairy-like lullaby again after accompanying his two little girls. He was glad that his ad hoc adventure seemed to produce some kind of results. At least, all the pain and suffering were worth it. ... "Mom, do you have a minute?" Shiro poked his head through the finely carved rectangular entrance of the cave. "Yes, sweetie? Anything?" Hana was absentmindedly playing with the clingy little baby bird. The baby bird was making its adorable ''pi-pi'' noises as it tried to nip the luxuriant tail of Markisah. Markisah had just dropped by with a hefty amount of mind-cleansing spirit fruits again. Together with that, she brought with her a single pink colored glowing leaf. Markisah was jumping around and make a series of loud chirps unhappily while looking at Shiro, "That fat creature is trying to pull my tail feathers! Tell it to stop!!!" Shiro made a weird face to the frantic bird and walked in. He expertly walked around Hana and swished his tail, to sit while enveloping Hana within with his body and tail. "Mom, the two birds are not playing. The naughty little one is trying to hurt Markisah." He helped the yellow passerine bird a little since she did bring so many sweet Bidara fruits. Shiro had been pining for some honeyed coconut water sorbet with chunks of these mind-cleansing fruits. However, they had been so busy as of late, and their stock of the spirit fruits was long gone. He already had the recipe from Mom; he could whip everything up himself later and made Mom awed and happy at the same time. He knew Mom would be very gratified when someone appreciated what she taught. "Aiyo, really?" Hana immediately caught Pi-chan''s leg and pulled the naughty little bird into her embrace. "Sorry, Markisah. I thought Pi-chan was just playing with you." She smiled apologetically at the little yellow bird. The bird was like a new perso... ehem, a new bird. After her tail had been pulled off by the brown bird, the new ones formed were extremely long, beautiful, and luxuriant, just like the bird-of-paradise (1). She even developed some sort of orangey feather crown on top of her head. Markisah was slowly turning into a full-fledged spirit avian. Everyone, including Hana, knew that, except for the bird herself, of course. Although they had communication problems, Hana will never ask Markisah to be her soul-slave. In a way, Markisah was her benefactor. She had saved her when she has shown her the way towards the Crystal-veined stream on their first encounter. She didn''t want Markisah to be bound to her in life and death. Although Hana was fickle and her conviction was like a weed, she was someone who holds dearly to personal sentiments and feelings of gratitude. "Please tell Hana the pink leaf is a present from Suria. With it, she could reach the highest tier of our sacred tree where we lived. Without it, the defensive measures will attack any intruders, no matter how strong they are." Markisah chirped with a low voice while she looked around with worry. She was worried that her words will be heard by the notorious snake. That cheap fellow was so easily offended for the littlest thing. "Anything else?" Green veins were beeping over Shiro''s head, but the pitiful bird didn''t notice. He hated when someone else acted all high and mighty towards his mistress when they were the ones asking for help. "Don''t forget to bring whatever needed for the advancement. The sooner, the better." Markisah added helpfully. Shiro was eerily quiet after that. But, Markisah could suddenly feel her blood froze when she was being stared at with a sharp gaze. "Give the leaf to me. It seemed that that pompous bird needed an extra lesson from me." "Ahh?" o___O||| Markisah didn''t know what she did that made Shiro so pissed off. She could only keep mum that she might have screwed her friend again in some way. ... "Done discussing, deary?" "Yeah, Mom." "Is there anything?" "Can I have some cuddles too?" Shiro blushed a little. It''s the first time he became quite vocal. He felt a bit disgruntled that Hana had been focusing on the baby bird all day long and had disregarded him. Suddenly he knew what Bro Ku must felt before. His position had definitely gone down a step lower, while this shameless little bird dominated the highest hierarchy. Hana smiled happily and placed little Pi-chan beside her. She gave the shy fox a five-minute cuddle and rubbed his head vigorously to make him happy. Shiro''s tail swished rapidly in happiness and contentment. Not knowing what to do, the abandoned little bird waddled off while losing its steps for a couple of times towards the already-properly stacked mountain of pearls at the back of the cave. It then immediately jumped in and feasted without reserve. Hana, Shiro and Markisah, "... " O______O "Again?!!" ... Authors'' Note: 1.\tBird-of-paradise = a species of bird with beautiful feathers. Check it out here (https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/bird-paradise) 122 A 1000 Likes-level Forest Spiri "Mom, I''ve meant to discuss with you about certain matters." After getting all the ''love'' from Hana''s warm hugs, Shiro laid his head upon her lap while savoring on the tender caress given by his mistress. Occasionally, he peeked at the glutton within the spirit pearl pile with worry clouding his eyes. "Yeah? I knew you had something to add, Shi-chan." Hana spoke while absentmindedly enjoying Shiro''s luxuriant fur. She tried her best not to be bothered by the ravenous little bird. Hana, too was worried, since these pearls were her only cultivation resources. Before, she felt like she was stinking rich, but now, at the rate of how this little one gobble up the pearls like candy, she felt like she needed to do something drastic. If not, all these pearls could be gone in a matter of a week or so. Markisah was quietly perching over her shoulder with curiosity. She was still a little confused about the new inhabitant of her friend''s sojourn. "Would you like to visit Ara? Why not visit her home for a while? At the same time, we could iron out the details about our deal with the Waterwave Clan. The deal needed to start, Mom. Their side had been eagerly waiting to send their first test subje.. ehem, their first volunteer. We have delayed enough." "I did feel that way, deary. I, too, wanted to visit little Ara. However, before anything else, we don''t have enough resources to support more experime.. er, cooking sessions. If you and your brother needed to go out to find ingredients, again and again, each time, it''d be very inefficient. The number of trials will significantly be reduced too. It will affect the overall results. We need enough data so that we could tabulate proper statistics. To get enough data, we needed resources too, besides an ample amount of volunteers." Hana ruminated for a second before answering. Hana was a science-research based student a long time ago. Although she had forgotten most of it, she still understood the reliability of data due to her own experience. With the lack of statistical software, she couldn''t implement the highly advanced experimental designs. However, she could still try the conventional way. However, the conventional approach was famed with wasting resources and time. She might need to do so many trials for years to get a reliable result! She didn''t have that luxury to complete the whole research. Nonetheless, she was willing to try for the sake of obtaining resources for her beloved little pets. "Tell me what else do you need. Maybe I could help?" "First things first, we need to decide our variables." Hana smiled. "What is a variable, Mom?" Shiro tilted his head in confusion. "For example, what is truly needed for advancement? Is it the spirituality of the ingredients? How many are needed? Its energy level and age? How about the supporting ingredients? What about the attribute of the main ingredient? Will the natural attribute of a spiritual beast be affected by the attributes of the ingredients used? Mommy can say that from Mommy''s observation, the dangerous shrimp skewer had a lower effect on you when compared to your brother. This is also a point that we need to observe. In conclusion, we needed to know what point we have to focus on as a fixed variable." The sheer number of questions had made Shiro dizzy. His happy-go-lucky mistress had such a complicated mind! He still couldn''t really catch what the aunty was saying. Deep inside, he felt a little regretful for spurring Mom into discussing difficult things with him. Since he had crossed the bridge halfway, he had to grit his teeth and go forward until the end! Hana continued seriously as her science-mode switched on, "In truth, the variation is endless. What we need to do is scope down and target what we want to know first. From there, we list down the type of main ingredients together with their attributes, that has the possibility of advancement. Then we determine the kind of cooking needed. Then, start a large scale of foraging or hunting for the main and auxiliary ingredients systematically. Then, we could finally start implementing the experiment daily and collect data via observation. Both of your spiritual senses will be very important to observe how the energy flows and how a spirit beast will be affected with each round of meal." Shiro scrunched his brow and nodded hesitantly. "..Then, how can I help?" "You need to tell me first how a spiritual beast advanced the conventional way. Is it the same for all, or got a different requirement for different attributed spirit beasts. Besides that, we need to start collecting resources." "I have an idea, Mom." "Alright. Go ahead." "How about we start planting? We determine first what cooking we will make. Limit it to maybe three to five types? Then, we make fields to plant all the auxiliary ingredients. Make them all into low spiritual-grade ingredients." "Hmmm.. that is really a good idea, but the manpower needed will be huge! Another thing is the matter of finding seeds or younglings to start the replanting process. How about the age of the plants and their spirituality? I remember that plants with spirituality are the ones with effects, right?" Hana pondered. In truth, there were so many limitations to implement Shiro''s idea. Mostly, it was due to being too time-consuming. "The manpower you need is outside, Mom. We have so many grunts lazing around getting your mental power daily for free. It''s time to use them. Additionally, the incoming new helpers from the river could be used as grunts to water the plants too. You can just sit tight and observe like a big ''taitai'' landlady (1) WAHAHA." Shiro suggested to Hana while he chuckled gleefully as he envisioned himself as the supervisor for all these lowly servants. Just thinking about it had already given him a kick. Markisah flew towards Hana''s face with eagerness, "I can help you with gathering seeds, Hana! Just let me know what kind of seeds you need. I have lots of friends! Tell her, Fox." Shiro rolled his eyes and sent over Markisah''s suggestion. "Really? Thank you, Markisah! I''ll be counting on you for seed collection later. Then, what about the spirituality of plants?" "We''ll work together to graft the same formation for our home in the fields? It''s worth trying. We just needed to discuss this matter with Grand Elder Watershade. I''m sure such a small investment will be worth it for his clan." Shiro smiled. He had truly been affected by his mistress'' positivity. "How about the time needed to grow?" This was the most crucial part. If they needed to wait for the plants to grow, they could only start cooking after a few months or even years! Kuro slithered in quietly and jumped as he naturally circled around Hana''s throat like a beautiful onyx necklace. "To the east of our land is the place of a Forest Spirit. It is very timid and loves to hide. But its specialty lies in wood-attributed energy gathering. Wherever it steps upon, the vegetation will grow just like being doused by extra-strength fertilizer. Additionally, it is super cute! I''m sure Mommy will love it! I will catch a Forest Spirit for you, Mommy, just enslave it and force it to work in the fields. Hehehe. You won''t regret it." Hana, Markisah and Shiro, "..." =_____= Shiro sighed in his heart. [This guy... He''s already scheming to start conquering the nearby areas. As long as Mom said yes, it''ll be considered a done deal.] He waited for Mom''s response while sighing again. Who was he to say anything? Bro-Ku did all this for all of their sakes. They waited patiently as Hana think through about the plan forming. It actually sounded doable this time. She had tried to think if there were any loopholes left, but for the time being, there seemed to be none. Maybe, just maybe, they could really do it? Will they be able to cultivate the land outside into a sustainable resource in the shortest amount of time? Who wouldn''t want that? "...How cute?" Hana''s eye glittered as she envisioned the cuteness of the imaginary ''Spirit Forest'' in her mind. "You''d give it 1000 likes for sure," Kuro replied confidently. "On!" Although she felt guilty, she suppressed it well, as her curiosity shone intensely. She will give all the tender-loving-care the new pet needed as compensation later. Additionally, she will just let it play in the fields and eat whatever to its heart''s content, no need to do any dangerous things. She felt that she could live with that. She will just hole herself in this beautiful sojourn for safety, hence reducing the probability of danger upon herself, and the others bound to her. Hana kept on thinking about excuses after excuses to convince herself to agree with her little ones'' suggestions. Deep in her heart, she felt quite excited to try building an artificial spiritually-imbued crop. She could possibly own cheat-like fields like Zhao Hai~???? (2) Our aunty''s weakness had been grasped adequately by her own little pet. Oh, Hana.. you''re really so helpless! ... A large spiritual beast felt tremors running through its veins. It looked upwards in confusion. The greens in its mouth slipped out as it detected something unusual in the air. [Three leaves of a different color, different shapes, and different smell fell together accompanied by a sudden gust of dark wind.] [A dark omen is descending!] [I need to hide!] The last time it saw such omen was around three hundred years ago when a Lightning Serpent rampaged in the nearby area. The smell of death lingered in its nostrils for weeks, unforgettable still, to its quivering heart. The large, yet timid creature galloped as fast as the wind in between the thick foliage. Every step it took, lush vegetation appeared and grew as fast as the eye could see. This tiny vegetation finally grew into a dense foliage, completely obscuring the steps of the timid beast. ... Authors'' Note: 1.\ta big ''taitai'' landlady = taitai is a Chinese colloquial term for a wealthy married woman who didn''t have to work and just enjoy life haha. Yes, this word is also used in Malaysia as the Chinese community was the 2nd majority of the nation. Most generic colloquial Malay, Chinese and Indian terms are used widely by everyone since everyone knew what it means. So, our local English was a little different and didn''t conform with a proper English speakers'' knowledge. Though, of course, it is during informal situations. Everyone tried their best to speak proper formal English during other times. 2.\tZhao Hai = the MC of ''Bringing a farm to another world'' XD 123 We Need to Do Something to Not Get Broke!! "Nonetheless, the most important thing is to settle that little brat. That gluttonous kid could finish up our resources before we could implement anything! Do you guys have any idea how to settle it?" Kuro sighed while signaling to the gluttonous little bird gobbling up the spiritual pearls. Killing off the little bird was not an option. Although it could be a high-class ingredient for both Kuro and Shiro, they felt that it would be a waste. It was better to groom it into their mistress'' flying mount and future guardian. The level of obedience it would show would be unprecedented, even higher than Kuro''s. A normal silver-banded banded eagle actually ate other spiritual beasts. Kuro had never heard that they could directly eat cultivation resources in the form of spiritual pearls. If this bird could eat spirit pearls, what would happen if they let it inside a spirit crystal lode? [Hmmm...] A very bold plan formed in Kuro''s devilish mind. Should he run it through with Mommy? [Nah... She''ll surely reject it.] "I think we can just limit it from eating. Say, around ten pearls per day?" Shiro helpfully added. "Will Pi-chan be alright? It looked so hungry all the time." Hana said worriedly. She was concerned with them starving the pitiful little bird. "Mommy! Stop pitying the brat! I can sense that it only replenishes its energy to evolve its internal core. It had no relation, whether it is hungry or not. Its body''s goal is to achieve the completion of its core! These are essentially your cultivation resources! We need to do something to not get broke!" Kuro explained seriously. He could detect how the internal core of the brat revolved as it gobbled up the spirit pearls. This mutant spiritual avian was not simple at all. He could even detect traces of their mistress'' scent upon it as if it was blood-related to Hana, even before the soul-link was established! It was mystifying! Before it even matures, it already had a robust constitution akin to a mid-stage Noble. At the same time, its aura fluctuated between late-stage Noble to early-stage Lord. Even its mental powers were forming at a very high rate once Mommy started cultivating. It was as if its affinity to Mommy was infinitely close to one hundred percent! For better or worse, Kuro was glad it has only an IQ of a child for now. At least it could still be ''taught'' what was beneficial and what wasn''t to Mommy. The other only reason for it to bore the scent of their Mistress was for it to absorb their Mistress'' blood in copious amount! The only occasion where Hana had lost so much blood was during the shrimp skewer incident. Maybe, this brat had already absorbed Hana''s blood beforehand. Such a scheming bast*rd! As usual, following this trail of thoughts, Kuro came to such a conclusion. He wasn''t sure what ticked him off the wrong way, but he felt very unresigned! Kuro jumped into the pile of spiritual pearls and pulled the bird out, "Ten only per day! You eat more than Mommy! Work if you want to eat more!" The baby bird was cooing sadly, but he ignored it. He even purposely tightened his hold to make the brat felt some pain. Oh, how he wished he could strangle the brat and swallow it whole! Hana chuckled mirthfully at the side, looking at the duo''s antics. At the same time, Shiro just sighed as he returned to closing his eyes and laid his head upon Mom''s lap. It''s good to have someone replacing him wrestling with Big Bro Ku once a while. He could enjoy Mom''s company in peace. "Yeah, we really should go to Ara''s house this time." [I don''t want to go bankrupt before meeting Arash. How can I boast to him how much pearls I have later? At least I need to be self-sufficient to ensure my survival and save at least a handful to bring home. We''d be extremely rich then! He could finally resign then!] Hana thought to herself positively. Hana took a pearl on the cave floor absentmindedly. It had come rolling from who knows where. Most probably from last night''s mess. She held it between her palm and sank deep into cultivation again. The light from the pearl dimmed slightly as she continued cultivating while stroking Shiro''s fur with her right hand and grasping the spirit pearl with her left. Unknown to her, all the pearls present around her gently brightened and dimmed slightly in sync with her breathing. It seemed that the spirit gathering formation placed by Shiro automatically exerted itself to pull more spiritual energy towards her. Kuro and Shiro looked at each other knowingly, and they too assertively soul-linked to their Mistress, sinking deep into cultivation... ... Far from Hana''s lovely little sojourn, thousands of Elemental Fiends were tunneling systematically, deep underground. Behind them, the Primordial Queen Mother was instructing them periodically by adjusting the routes. It was only a single tunnel, but it was wide and grand, as it could accommodate the size of the Queen Mother to slowly move within. Sometimes, they will stop when the Empress from afar would grant them the privilege of cultivating their mental powers. They would then droned and buzzed in contentment and adoration towards the faraway Empress. Everyone was with one heart towards a single objective; to be able to connect and meet with the Empress face-to-face as soon as possible. To the ones who missed the opportunity to meet the Empress, they hoped that at least they could see her once in their lifetime. Hence, led by the Primordial Queen Mother, Q-chan, their tunnel was getting ever so near towards the Empress abode. The day they could finally meet their Empress again was not far. However, at the moment, everyone halted their activity en mass to enjoy the Empress'' favor. They knew this was the best time to cultivate and grew into a stronger entity, which could then assist the Empress and the Queen Mother in various ways. ... Ara barged into Grand Elder Watershade''s chamber as he was discussing with a group of aqua-guards. "Gramps Watershade! I got something to tell you!" Her eyes shone with delight and eagerness. Her beautiful billowing transparent pink tail flapped in excitement. The lovely young miss of the Waterwave Clan had been quite depressed for a long time, but since a few days ago, it seemed as if some of her vigor had returned. Her every move was brimming with zeal. She sometimes giggled alone, to her poor attendant''s horror. Until last night. She had finally completed the consolidation of her core. As a task, she had been given a few new spells by her personal Mentor for practicing. She had been promised with freedom once she mastered all of the spells. "Yes, child. What is it?" The Grand Elder patted Ara''s head dotingly with a smile. The rest of the guards averted their gaze to give both of them some personal space. Truthfully, the Grand Elder acted more like a doted grandfather towards their princess as compared to the Clan Head. The Clan Head was a tad bit too forceful and boorish besides being stubborn. Due to that, he couldn''t get his intentions across properly. Although he too, doted upon this talented descendant of his. It was widely known that Princess Aranyella was also the apple of the eye of all in the Circle of Elders. To them, Grand Elder Watershade showed extreme favoritism towards the princess. Always give way to her qualms, making her such a spoiled bratty little young miss. Although a lot of them were jealous of her, no one had ever raised their dissatisfaction publicly. Nonetheless, nobody could deny her talent in cultivation. Even when she squandered more than half the cultivation resources by doing nonsensical projects, she was still the fastest to advance as compared to the other young misses and young masters of the clan. That was, with the exception of her own new attendant, Chomper, who was once a nobody but had suddenly rise to stardom. "Mistress is coming, Gramps! Mistress is coming!" Ara twirled around Elder Watershade happily while she danced about gracefully. Although the guards tried their best to avert their gaze, they couldn''t stop themselves from being entranced by the beauty of their fairy-like princess. "Really? How did you know?" Grand Elder Watershade smiled and asked good-naturedly. "This.." Ara tapped her head using her pectoral fin while grinning. "The Mistress contacted me personally. She will come personally with Big Bro Ku and Big Bro Shi." "Who? Come again?" The grand elder was confused with the sudden influx of new information. "Kuro, the mean snake. And Shiro, the white fox." Ara whispered close to Elder Watershade''s face. "Mistress could suddenly contact me remotely a few days ago. Since that day, I could feel her presence deep into my soul. It helped me immensely in consolidating my core. She told me to tell you she''ll be visiting in three days with a few others; hence they needed a dry surface to meet up. Please say yes, please..." Ara started to act like a spoilt little princess in front of the grand elder. Grand Elder Watershade narrowed his eyes in contemplation. It seems that the Mistress'' prowess must have increased significantly. He could guess by now how the information was relayed. [The advancement projects are starting.] Will his gamble fall through? Or will he won this and let the whole clan prosper for generations? To meet face to face meant that there was more to discuss. He always knew that the other party''s weakness was their lack of numbers. He might be able to use this fact to his advantage to barter for more privileges. [I got to keep my wits up!] He needed to be sharp to tongue-fight with the Mistress. [If not, she''ll win over all the benefits to her side. That won''t do.] "Sure. Just let them know when they entered the starting point of the Five-fork Crystal river, wait for our attendant to lead the way. If not, they might be attacked by the Elders of each river." "Yes!" Ara answered happily. She pecked the Grand Elder''s cheeks and swam off while singing a sweet tune. As he looked at the jovial and bubbly Ara, he could only sigh and smiled. Such an innocent little girl. Only he knew that he had such a high expectation over her. His expression hardened a few seconds later. With an authoritative tone, he commanded, "Mekong." "Yes, Grand Elder." "Bring at least ten others and wait for the Mistress from dawn three days from now at the Five-fork Crystal river. Bring the Mistress'' entourage into the clan''s main ground with respect and cordiality. I will handle the rest." "Yes!" The silver catfish saluted the Grand Elder and left his chamber. [I need to prepare well before seeing Mistress Hana.] He required the list of candidates who will be the very first few who wanted to try out the new revolutionary method. He knew these few clansmen''s rates of death will be higher than the rest since they would be pioneers. However, a little sacrifice is a must for the greater good. He must make sure to keep the talented ones towards the end when the Mistress nearly perfected her methods. 124 Papa, We Miss You! [I missed Papa so much.] [Why did he leave us to this aunty?] [Ai(1) feels so sad.] Aira, a little girl of five years old, looked at the analog clock on the wall for the n-th time with disappointment. Of course, she had gloriously mastered the art of counting to twenty, but reading an analog clock was still something quite mysterious to her. She was still confused between the long and the short handle on the surface of the clock. Especially when the clock didn''t even have numbers around it as usual. Although she still couldn''t make out what was the time, she could estimate that it was nearly midnight from the sounds of crickets outside. The music was incredibly near as if Mr. Cricket was somewhere in an obscure corner of the room. It sounded just the same in her Maktok''s(2) house when she visited the exotic rickety house made of wood where the surroundings were full of trees and bugs. However, she wasn''t scared because Mama had told her once that Mr. Cricket was friendly and didn''t bite. It only loved to play songs to entertain everyone. Aira rubbed her eyes repeatedly in exhaustion as she peeked at the nearby window to look at the dim driveway outside. Some cars did pass by, but none had stopped in front of the daycare center to her dismay. She tried her best to stay awake. She was afraid dearest Papa would forget about both of them. He said he was coming by tonight after running some important errands. But she had waited for so long without seeing even his shadow. Baby Aina had cried so hard until she fell asleep just minutes ago. Aira sighed and gently rubbed Baby Aina''s back. She cooed slightly and continued sleeping with tear-stains over her face. Truthfully, the strange, yet overtly friendly aunty was quite intimidating. She could feel that the concern she showed to her and her little baby sister wasn''t genuine. That cold, piercing eyes didn''t show even a glimpse of compassion even though the lips were uttering comforting words. She remembered that in so many bedtime stories by Mama every night, don''t naively believe what happens on the surface. She was exposed to so many plot twists that were so mind-baffling, with evil princes, lustful enchantress, magical talking plants monsters, and kind witches. And don''t forget the most clich of them all, a wannabe step-mother plot. It had shaped her own perspective into a more complicated one. Mama always said there were no such things as free lunch. A kind prince never falls down from a tree (unless it was a Korean drama). Of course, a kind, beautiful lady was the same. Usually, these ladies are spiteful inside but could show a serene face outside. Mama called them ''White Lotus'', though Aira wasn''t sure why. Most probably, they were obscure antagonists who will insidiously obstruct the main lady protagonist''s way to happiness through scheming. It was highly complicated; hence, Aira only understood a small fraction of it. Of course, she knew what this aunty wanted from the first time she saw how this aunty talked to her Papa this morning. Alarm bells were ringing in her head immediately! How she dressed, how she smiled, how she tucked her loose hair over her ears, and how she tilted her head a little during conversations when Papa dropped her off very early this morning. Little Aira''s eyes had turned as round as boiled eggs, as she recalled all the cues Mama had told her in so many stories about evil enchantresses! The lady was trying to seduce Papa! [Fat chance!] [Mama was still alive and kicking! Nobody could snatch away our Papa from us.] She still remembered Mama had advised her on a few occasions, beware of random overtly friendly women who had stars in their eyes when they looked at Papa! This was a classic example of such cases. As usual, their Papa was always so blur and couldn''t see what was in front of him. But Aira didn''t blame him. She knew he missed Mama very much just by looking at the panda-like shadow under his eyes and the unkempt stubble over his jaws. Mama was the one who always reminded him to shave to prevent him from hurting them from a session of smooches and playing. Additionally, it seemed like Papa was having some difficulties lately. He rarely smiled too. As such, from the very beginning, Aira had put up a wall around her and tried her best not to be coaxed by this strange aunty. In her heart, she knew that her responsibility lies in defending little Aina. She knew little Aina got the same feeling as her since her lovable (but a little naughty) baby sister was very resistant to this Aunty Lisa. Although she was scared, she stilled her heart and pretended to be cute and innocent in front of this aunty, though she wasn''t sure did the aunty bought it or not. The door to the main nap room opened suddenly, and a beautiful, long-haired mature lady with a prim cream-colored flowy dress entered the room with a slightly frustrated look. She approached Aira''s bed and sat beside her gently. She rubbed Aira''s head with a smile as Aira tried her hardest to endure. "Little one, your Dad just messaged me. He couldn''t make it by tonight. But he will definitely come by tomorrow evening. Don''t wait any longer. Sleep, okay?" "Are you sure, Aunty Lisa?" Aira felt like crying, but she tried her best to hold it in. "Yes, you can see the message he sent to me just now. It appears that he seemed to be in some kind of an accident, though he wasn''t hurt too much." The aunty took out her smartphone and showed it to Aira. Although Aira couldn''t understand what was written, at least she could still detect the familiar avatar her Papa use for instant messaging. It was the picture of Papa with their beloved Mama. Aira nodded weakly. "Okay, Aunty. I will sleep after this. Thank you for informing me." The aunty continued to fondle her head with a smile that had not reached her eyes, "Good child." "Please don''t take Aina and place it in the cot. She never slept in cots before. We always sleep together in the same bed. If not, she will start to cry again." Aira pleaded with a morose look. "Sure, sure. Take care of your little sister. Call for me if her diaper got too full. I will just be next door in the office, okay?" "Okay, Aunty Lisa." As she watched the beautiful mature woman walked by gracefully, she wiped the tears threatening to spill out and patted her own cheeks to give herself a morale boost. [Just until tomorrow! Ai will be a strong girl!] ... The next day, Aira tried her best to be obedient and helped out in soothing Aina. She stopped Aina from hurting Aunty Lisa on multiple occasions, which gave rise to a pretty good impression on her while earning herself some brownie points. The caretaker seemed to be more receptive to her after that, and she could even negotiate for a lollipop. She had a bowl of clear chicken soup with cauliflowers and carrots with rice for lunch. At the same time, little Aina was fed with a partially pureed rice porridge with the same soup since she could see speckles of cauliflowers, carrots, and pieces of chicken inside. As usual, her baby sister threw the worst kind of tantrum in front of the lady by flipping everything away, earning herself a harsh glare and a silent treatment. However, Aira could see the simmering anger within the aunty''s expression as she walked away to the pantry to prepare another bowl of porridge. Aira whispered, "Nana, you need to behave. What if that aunty won''t let Papa take us home?" "Mommm... Mama... Mama... Papa... Nana wants Papa." Although little Aina couldn''t really speak well, she seemed to understand her big sis'' intention. She started bawling again in sadness. "Shh... it''s okay. Papa is coming. Be a good girl. Be nice to Aunty." Aira hugged her pitiful little sister as her eyes misted. To prevent the same incident from happening again, Aira offered to feed her baby sister when Aunty Lisa came by with another small bowl of porridge. She then, spoon-fed the little one while singing a nursery rhyme her Mama used to sing to them to appease Aina during mealtimes. "Three little kittens, They lost their mittens, And they began to cry, Oh Mama dear, see here, see here, Our mittens we have lost. What lost your mittens? You naughty kittens! You shall have no pie! Meow~ Meow~ We shall have no pie... In no time, Aina finished her bowl of porridge, and they went to have a short nap due to Aunty Lisa''s insistence. ... "Wakey, wakey! See, see who''s here?" Aira rubbed her eyes a few times as she tried her hardest to clear off the sleepiness away. The familiar voice made her jumped with joy! As her vision cleared, she saw the center of their world sitting beside the small bed with pink sheets. His stubble had grown so bad, and he looked extremely unkempt while smelling funny. However, his familiar gentle gaze and smile soothed her heart. Aina was clinging on him sleepily while cooing in happiness. Aira jumped towards Papa and hugged his neck while crying. However, she was careful not to push Aina down from her Papa''s grasp. "Papa! We miss you!" ... "Mistress Hana, Mistress Hana, over here!" Chomper surfaced from within the deepest part of the Crystal-veined stream, not too far from them. He was flapping his pectoral fin jovially with a smile plastered on his face. The adventure he had together with Hana and co. had made him closer to them. Although he wished to stay to wait for the kind goddess to recover while she was unconscious, he had to return as soon as possible to attend to his whimsical young miss. No one would want to help her at all if he was not around. So, he bade the others goodbye after finding that they would be alright, though, nothing he could have done to help if there really was something not alright. As such, when the Grand Elder had asked for volunteers to serve as a liaison between the Waterwave marine clan and Mistress Hana''s group, he had immediately offered his service. He knew that the Grand Elder had instructed everyone to wait at the Five-fork Crystal river. But as someone who had a humble upbringing, and experienced a sudden meteoric rise, he knew, he had to go above and beyond to show his gratitude towards his benefactor. So, he appeared at the side of the stream where Hana and the rest frequented the most as early as possible, which was three days before the arranged meeting. He had actually raced to the location as soon as he received the Grand Elder''s instruction. The white fox with branches over his head gave him an acknowledging nod, to his surprise. Only the notorious black snake was still super intimidating towards him. The yellow bird fluttering around the goddess'' head and the round brown thing in her embrace totally ignored him. "Chomper? Is that you? Why are you here?" Hana was pleasantly surprised to see Chomper. She thought she had communicated clearly with Ara to anticipate her arrival three days later. Wasn''t this a little bit too early? She just wanted to check their herb garden and maybe get herself a short wash by the stream today. It was unusually heaty today after last night''s torrential downpour. "Yes, yes. It is little me, Mistress." Chomper blushed, as he could see Hana''s confused look and could guess he was a bit too eager. "I''m here to inform you that the Grand Elder had prepared an escort at the Five-fork Crystal river further upstream. But then, I was thinking, do you need help? I could arrange for a lift from this point towards the Five-fork Crystal river later." "Is it far Ku-chan? Do you know the place? Did we need Chomper''s help?" Of course, our aunty didn''t know where was this ''Five-fork Crystal river''. She planned to depend on Kuro entirely. However, Kuro himself had other plans to handle and hadn''t had time to discuss it out with Hana yet. After all, it was a three-days-later event. Kuro clicked his tongue and glared at the snakehead fish unhappily. It made pitiful Chomper shivered all over. He did hear the tales of how all the pseudo-spirit crabs were hauled carelessly to intimidate Sir Mekong and his elite team by this mean snake. Hana knocked Kuro''s head gently while laughing. "What''s the matter? Don''t be mean to Chomper, okay? He is just trying to help. Be nice." Kuro sighed and answered, "Nothing. I didn''t manage to discuss this properly with you yet, Mommy. I''m actually not going to the fish''s lair since I had something to complete. Remember the forest spirit? I had to scout for its actual location first. It could take quite some time. I don''t want to delay any longer if we wanted to start the project soon." "But, then, how are we supposed to go to the Five-fork Crystal river?" Shiro asked his brother. Everyone, excluding Kuro in Hana''s group, didn''t know the forest well. It''ll be quite dangerous without a guide. "Let''s just take up Chomper''s offer, guys." Hana vetoed everything and answered carelessly. She knew this not-so-little fish had a sincere heart and wished to help the rest in his own little way. Such a fine young ma, er.. fish. Another thing was, she was quite interested to see how this little snakehead fish planned to ''help'' them with his friends. Will they work together to make a boat for them or something? True to Hana''s thoughts, Chomper beamed happily as his anime-like eyes glistened. "I''ll personally come the night before the third day and bring along a few friends, okay?" Before Hana could reply, the little snakehead fish sped off while humming cheerily. "That one come and go just like the wind." Markisah commented while chuckling. In her mind, she was counting the number of strange friends Hana had. Of course, she excluded herself as she felt that she was the most normal one. "Hana, I had to go too. Need to arrange a few things after this for the seed collection." She flapped upwards gently and flew off towards her hometown. She needed to warn her friend that the unfriendly fox was coming. After that, she could wash her wings clean from any guilt. ... Authors'' Note: 1.\tAi = It is the kid''s short-formed name. Usually, for kids around here, they''ll call themselves with their own name and never used ''I''. Haha, finally the kids were given names after 2 years 2.\tMaktok = it refers to ''Grandma'' in Bahasa Malaysia. Mak = mother, tok = elderly person. Mrs Mooncat: Hi readers. Hoping that everyone is fine and dandy despite the raging infection outside. Always take precaution and practice the highest level of hygiene at all times. It could save you and the ones closest to you. Anyway, this chapter might be a little boring to a majority of you, but it is a must to be included to wrap up Arash''s arc perfectly. The story gave depth to Arash''s side as it was explained through the mind of a five-year old. You might think, can a mind of a five-year old be so complex? Aha, yes it does. Our kid, at five, was able to think to this level too. Of course, part of it was due to our excessive bedtime storytelling sessions. Wahaha. And that is why, to appease the readers a little, we add in a little part on Hana''s side, making the chapter extra-long. Hope it gave a tiny bit of happiness to everyone. Hugs! 125 Beta-testing an Artificial Spiritual Herb Gardens Effec "Shi-chan, what about this location? Is the position correct?" In between the large poles encircling the little herb garden, Hana had been toiling enthusiastically using her Clawknife. At the same time, little Pi-chan was rolling around, playing with the loamy soil at the side. Kuro was fluttering aimlessly with a bored look. "Yes. That''s about right. Mom, you can bury the crystal there." "Noted." The beautiful white fox with Y-shaped antlers was meditating midair upon an ice platform as speckles of ice crystals floated around him. The ice crystals were moving rhythmically following an intricate pattern. The patterns were then enlarged to point at five nodes around the little herb garden. Previously, Mom was trying to pinpoint the exact location of the node by soul-linking with him to see with his eyes. Still, she had failed miserably, to Shiro''s dismay. She had to depend on him to tell her exactly where to bury the spirit crystals at the moment to complete the Spiritual Energy Gathering formation. After Markisah had flown away a few hours ago, the four of them had entered the herb garden to inspect its condition. To Hana''s surprise, the little herb trees replanted there showed great signs of vitality. The aunty hadn''t noticed that all this while the diligent fox had overseen the garden every day for her sake. Due to his advanced manipulation of the spiritual energy from his continual practice of handling Mom''s smartphone and power bank (1), he had successfully tended the little garden with care all this while. He even secretly practiced standing on two hind legs so that he could free both of his paws just for this occasion too. Of course, sometimes, a random spirit fish sent by Ara would come by to empty out the fish trap made by Mom a few times. At that time, the pitiful fish had been forced into manual labor by watering all the plants carefully one by one. "Are we really going to use the rest of the spirit crystal now?" Kuro queried with worry. This was the last five spirit crystal they had. The first five had been used to maintain the formation within their own cave-dwelling. Granted, the formation was very effective, but they knew it won''t last that long. The last five was their contingency plan once the first five ran out of power. It wasn''t easy to get their hands on these low-tiered spiritual crystals. Even one could invoke great strife among the spirit beasts. Lo and behold, they were using five of these precious items for the sake of growing trees! "Ku-chan, my dear, it''s okay. There are no benefits without risk. We need to do this now to check how high the probability of our plan to work. Without action, the plan will only stay as a plan, unable to move forward. Isn''t it the same as your assertiveness to scout for the Spirit Forest?" Hana coaxed the grumbling little Kuro hovering over her head. Kuro blushed slightly, but of course, it wasn''t seen by anyone since his natural colors covered anything. "True... But, this only benefited the fish''s clan. It didn''t help us in any way." "Who said it won''t? Mommy is not planning to cook for them only. Of course, your share is included in future meals. Don''t worry, Mommy will negotiate again with Grand Elder Watershade and revise our terms with them. We won''t lose out on this deal. It should be a win-win situation for both parties, alright? Additionally, once Mommy managed to pinpoint the exact rules, advancing you, and your brother''s realm becomes my first priority." The little black snake nodded vigorously as he landed on Hana''s arms and wrapped himself over it out of habit. Together, Hana and Shiro toiled the land to strategically placed the remaining four spirit crystals. After that, a flood of Elemental Fiends in various colors poured into the little garden. They towed with them large amounts of pearls from the cave-dwelling inside a black-like scaly ''cloth.'' It seemed that our little aunty had repurposed some of Kuro''s shredded skin into large pieces of black cloth. These pieces of cloths just needed some patterns to turn them into garments, but of course, this had to wait for her darling Arash''s input. She wasn''t an almighty being. Sewing was one of her least favorite craft. She could only mend simple things and sew up some loose seams with basic stitches learned during her schooling days (2). The elemental fiends placed several black cloths on empty spaces around the herb garden systematically as per Hana''s instructions. Afterward, each Elemental Fiend took one pearl with each pincer, made a bee-line, and planted the pearls around each herb trees meticulously. They will then crawled back to the end of the line, queued up to patiently pick the next set of pearls. To the brothers'' amazement, Hana was able to telepathically instruct the helpers without even the presence of Q-chan, their queen mother! [How did she do it?!] Shiro was still full of questions. He felt a bit bitter that Mom had failed to soul-link to him to share his vision like how she did it with Big Bro Ku. He could appease himself by telling him that it might be due to a lack of practice. But suddenly, these lowly grunts could link up so well with her to receive her instructions! He felt so unwilling! [Stop fretting over such small matters. The link that Mommy is using is just a shallow one. It is only a basic communication link. You must remember these fiends are used to telepathic-network all their lives. This can also indicate that Mommy might have the power to override Q''s instruction in the future. These workers are listening to her willingly, and not due to any kind of mental coercion. Interesting.] Kuro whispered quietly beside the fox while pondering about something. It took them less than an hour to complete the formation layout on the herb garden. ... The little herb garden had gradually transformed into a heavenly garden once the last piece of spiritual crystal had been placed into the formation. A thin layer of green mist hovering low upon the soil, the air seemed fresher, and the surroundings became a little different. However, Hana wasn''t sure what was so different. She felt a deep level of inner peace and could relax just by breathing in the air within the garden. It was precisely the same comfortable feeling she felt in her own cave-dwelling. It was the most appealing place for painters, composers, and authors to get their daily inspiration to create. She walked over to her favorite turmeric and galangal trees to check. At the base of the herb trees, numerous greenish spirit pearls were embedded in neatly. It was a work of art! Hana circled the middle of the garden. A tiny emerald green sparkling sapling grew in the center. Around it, rows after rows of spirit pearls were organized neatly. The Bidara tree from the Bidara pith she got for the first time from Markisah had finally shown some progress. She nodded with satisfaction! Hana was still amazed by the power of numbers she suddenly had. If she was the one doing all these with Shiro (since Ku-chan didn''t have limbs to help out), she might have to take a few days to complete! At the side, Kuro was wrestling with Pi-chan to prevent that little rascal from digging the pearls out to eat. Both Hana and Shiro ignored the two and sighed helplessly. ... "What now, Shi-chan?" "Now, we can just wait for the results of the Beta testing. Although, if we could get the help of the Forest Spirit, we might gain a faster result." Shiro peeked at Kuro, who was wrapping himself lazily over the aunty''s arm after he defeated little Pi-chan and sent it into a coma with a lightning shot. "No rush. We still had three days. Sweetie, don''t go so soon. Wait for us to depart separately three days later, alright?" Hana rubbed Kuro''s little head over her arms to stop him as she noticed that Kuro was preparing to launch into the air. The little black snake with tiny maroon wings paused for a second and nodded vigorously. "Okay. Can we have a barbeque, pretty please?" Hana smiled, "Sure. Pick a few fishes from the pit. Let''s grill it here like a picnic. Shi-darling, help Mommy fetch some salt from our home, please? Mommy need to dig for a few turmeric tubers. You over there, yes, dear, you. Stop patrolling. There''s nothing around here to be wary of. Come here and help me collect some dried woods to make fire." She signaled to one of the red colored Elemental Fiends who was moving around rigidly not too far from them. ... Chomper swam across the dim underwater tunnels toward his own little dwelling. It was a small underwater cave with a hive-like cluster on the walls. In each empty hole or pocket, an inhabitant stayed still silently, either cultivating during their own free time or sleeping, after a long day of work. Chomper moved to his own ''home''. Although it was officially his bunk, he had never stayed there more than a few moments, as he was too busy attending their Young Miss. She was indeed a handful. Once the eyes were not clouded by her heavenly beauty, the reality was rather bleak. Chomper never even had the time to decorate his own bunk with personal effects due to how busy he was. However, his relationship with the others was rather good; it might be due to his sudden increase in strength besides his own down-to-earth personality. Everyone liked him, as the effects of their Young Miss'' notoriety slowly faded to the background. Actually, Princess Aranyella had offered to provide a spacious abode near to her chamber for him. Still, he adamantly declined since he truly needed some space for privacy without the presence of the Young Miss nearby. He would go insane if he had to stay beside the princess 24/7! This bunk was the bunk he was assigned to after he officially entered the clan due to his meritorious deed for providing clues in finding her. It was the lowest-tiered bunk. Chomper flipped under a bunch of billowing seaweed to reach a few superior grades Azure Clams he hoarded underneath. Not everyone could taste these delicacies as they were only served to the Young Ladies and Young Lords of the clan. Only superior grade Meaty Azure clams could produce a spirit pearl with a one in a hundred chances. As the right-hand-fish of the Young Miss, in terms of generosity, Princess Aranyella was the best. She always treated him well when it came to food and resources. Hence, the standard ration he received weekly steadily accumulated inside a large deep bluish-green tortoise shell chest at the back of his room. The three medium grade Meaty Azure Freshwater Clams he had gotten since he officially became the Young Miss'' attendant was still untouched. Chomper swam out after adjusting his mood and presented the most friendly ''smile'' he ever had and bravely made an announcement at the center of the common area of the underwater cave. "Dear friends, little me needed some help. Can anybody help me out?" Chomper looked around the dimly-lit cavern nervously. A moment of silence ensued before a few inquiring voices responded. "What kind of help?" "What can I get out of it?" "Is it a tough errand?" "What job? Can we go out of the clan grounds?" Chomper sighed with relief in his heart. He was afraid that no one could help him out after he had made such a lavish promise to the benevolent goddess of water in his heart. "I need mounts. Large mounts. The friends involved must be sufficient to support a large land spirit beast the weight of around ten thirty-year Blueberry tortoise shells. At least five to ten mounts. I''m in charge of bringing over a delegation from land to the clan grounds." He bowed a little in a servile manner. Although technically he was a servant of the first Young Miss, he never flaunted his position as he knew it was a very sensitive issue. Besides that, he was only a rookie who entered the clan, not more than a month. These colleagues of his, he had heard that some of them were already here more than a few hundred years ago. They were still here because their cultivation talent was subpar, which prevented them from climbing the social ladder. He understood their feelings. He really does. Because the previous him has a much lower cultivation talent than all of his current colleagues. How life had changed in a blink of an eye. "The reward?" A deep voice responded. "One superior-grade Meaty Azure clam for the ones carrying two main delegates. The rest will get one medium-grade Meaty Azure clam each." Surprised gasps resounded within the darkened numerous tunnels. Chomper could hear curious whispers of ''who are these beings?'' repeatedly. A mature woman''s voice interrupted the chatter, "I don''t need the clams as long as I get to carry one of the main delegates." Another wizened cracked old man''s voice added, "Me too. You can keep your clam as I don''t need it. I believe, getting acquainted with the delegates would be more precious than any clams." The old voice laughed heartily afterward. After the duos'' pledges, voices after voices echoed out the same sentiments with great enthusiasm. [Ahh, the intelligent ones had finally noticed.] Chomper was glad that he could detect a few intelligent ones among the huge numbers of colleagues in this cave. It was true that knowing the benevolent Mistress Hana will be a boon to anyone present here. After spending some time with Mistress Hana, he too already know how her mind works. The capricious goddess will definitely shower benefits upon the creature she had taken a liking to without a doubt. What his colleagues required was serendipity. However, he didn''t disclose this information to prevent havoc from happening. [Let fate decides who is going to earn Mistress Hana''s favor this time.] Truthfully, although he said he had friends, these were just superficial friends, which could only be barely counted as work colleagues. He never knew so many of them would step out and willingly help him out. Some were even rejecting the highly sought after superior-grade clams he had been hoarding. Although their cultivation talents were subpar, they were not stupid. Chomper''s smile turned genuine this time. ... Authors'' Note: 1) ..handling Mom''s smartphone and power bank = this is part of a side-story chapter entry "A Fox and a Snake''s Struggle with a Smartphone" available in Pat reon. 2) ..basic stitches learned during her schooling days = during Mrs Mooncat''s schooling days, typically at the age between 13-15 (this is early years of secondary school), we took a class known as KH ERT (Kemahiran Hidup sub Ekonomi Rumah Tangga). It was a kind of Life Skill classes where we learned the basics of changing the pipe, basic mending of clothes with needles, carpentering and soldering a simple circuit board for our first 2 years, the last year we can choose either ERT or KMT. ERT was more towards cooking simple dishes, baking using ovens \u0026 sewing using sewing machine, while KMT (usually dominated by guys) was more towards plumbing, basics of engines, electronics, and carpentering. Not sure if these classes were still in place for the current generation, or it''s already obsolete haha. It was the syllabus of more than 20 years ago, and we truly enjoyed the classes. At 16 - 17, the syllabus turned hardcore, where we started learning biology, chemistry \u0026 add maths (a branch of calculus). At the end of 17 years, we''ll have a big exam to determine either entering matriculation (a prep school for undergrad, same level as 0-level or A-level), form 6 (continuation of school for another 2 years before another big exam), or diploma. 126 The Privilege Of A Popular Socialite Markisah flew gracefully towards the crown of the sacred Tri-colored World Tree. The increasing pressure had no effect on her as she had been blessed with a Sacred Mistral Leaf, the pink leaf from the top-most part of the World Tree, bestowed upon her by her friend, Suria. The pink leaf carried a drop of essence of the sacred tree with it. Once imprinted into her using Suria''s arcane arts, she could detect a trace connection between her and the tree itself, as if the tree recognized her as one of its own. Due to that, the pressure restriction was automatically lifted from her when she entered the forbidden zone. This was the true function of the Sacred Mistral Leaf. She remembered that Suria once mentioned that there were no more than ten Sacred Mistral Leaves formed in thousands of years. Although Hana might not know it, Suria''s gift was considered extremely meaningful, valuable, and rare. It already translated into putting her future into Hana''s hand. Once Hana assimilated with the Sacred Mistral Leaf, she could attack the sacred tree as she like while the tree remained defenseless. Markisah marveled at Suria''s less-than-ideal actions and confidence (it was a polite way of saying stupid in her humble opinion). She couldn''t even hold off the fox and the snake''s attacks before. Or was it because she was THAT desperate to impress Hana? Markisah sighed as she was reminded of her majestic bird friend. Suria had been a little more formal with her now after she has been beaten up by the white fox. She didn''t treat her as warmly as before, all the jokes and teases were gone, replaced by a slightly warm tone filled with a little cautiousness. It pained her somewhat, but she was resigned to it. She knew she was the culprit who had sparked the tiny misunderstanding between them. How could she know that her jovial friend had the intention of attacking Hana? If she did, she would''ve advice immediately against it since her friend will be outnumbered from the very beginning. She felt that, in her friend''s heart, since then, her position had been further downgraded. Furthermore, she felt that she was not entirely considered as a part of the ancient World Tree Sanctuary camp anymore, just a friendly neighborhood bird. As she landed in Suria''s abode, the large four-winged spirit avian enthusiastically asked, "Did you give the Sacred Mistral Leaf to the Mistress?? What was her response?" Eagerness filled Suria''s sparkly large eyes as she waited for Markisah''s answer. She hoped that her well-intentioned, thoughtful gift could impress the Mistress while giving herself a more favorable, lofty, and grand image. Markisah had introduced Hana as ''Mistress Hana'' after the cheap snake had glared to her a moment too long. She also understood that Hana needed to be respected to prevent something like the previous ''misunderstanding'' from happening again. "Err... I need to be truthful with you, Suria. After I passed the leaf to Hana and told her exactly what you said, Shiro, you know, the white mirror fox or something, immediately took it away." "Hah?! Why?!" Suria was so baffled but tried her best to contain herself from leaping up into the leaves in a fit of rage. How dare that lowly subordinate took away the sacred leaf owned by its master?! The Mistress was indeed a lax creature to be taken advantage of! She regretted not going on her own! Markisah could read her mind like an open book as she sighed at her pitiful friend, "You should be glad you''re not there yourself. If you did, you''d be trashed again for the second time. The fox, Shiro, had said he was the one who will do the visiting. Additionally, with a menacing tone like you''ve offended him big time." "But I didn''t say anything! You were the one who talked to him!" This time, Suria felt like crying. She now understood she had somehow offended that group again. Markisah shrugged her wings gently, "I just copied what you said, letter-by-letter. You can''t blame me. Anyhow, I need to borrow some friends to help out with something for Mistress Hana. I got to go, Suria. An advice from me. Just act servile when they come over in the future. Better yet, you should go yourself to clear off any misunderstanding. Maybe, this time, they could finally feel your sincerity." She flew towards the gigantic bird and patted her head sympathetically. "Don''t worry too much. As long as you didn''t act like before and make them felt threatened, I guess you''d be alright. Mistress Hana is very kind towards any spirit beasts, especially if she deemed you cute enough." Suria cleared her throat a few times as she scrunched her brow intensely, "Markisah... " Markisah waited, but the next sentence didn''t come. "Yes, Suria. Is there anything else? I really need to get going. Just stopping by to let you know what happen." "Er.. ehem.. To Mistress Hana, am I cute enough?" Markisah, "... " An awkward silence ensued. After a while, Markisah replied cautiously, "Hmm... I am not sure. But the fact that you tried to beat up her precious mirror fox before did tick her off. That Shiro is the embodiment of cuteness to my friend. I''ve seen how she drooled over his fluffed tail. It was somewhat disturbing." At the moment, Suria felt extremely depressed. She felt that she had made the wrong move from the very beginning. How could she know that the white fox with the branch on its head was the Mistress favorite? If only she could turn back time. ... As Markisah flew down to her own hometown at one of the lower branches of the blessed World Tree, thousands of chirpings resounded merrily around her from all directions. It was as if her actions had invoked a wave of fluttering movements en masse. "Markisah!" "It''s Markisah!" "Hey, girl! We miss you, girl!" "Our beautiful belle is back!" "Our beautiful Markisah is back!" "The lucky named girl is back!" "Who?" "The one who was blessed with a name by our Lord Suria!" They have heard that this once completely ordinary little passerine yellow bird had been bestowed with a name by the Lord herself. She had recently flown to the top-most crown of the blessed Tri-colored World Tree to meet with the Lord! The story did not just stop there. The kepoh kind (1) dug out old stories where Markisah had attracted the attention of their Lord by embellishing her own nest beautifully. This had started a home-beautifying trend at the lower branches of the World Tree. As such, the majestic World Tree became more beautiful with various colorful embellishments hanging from the branches. The biggest gossip was how by gaining favor through being creative and being named by the Lord had changed Markisah''s life and turning her into an extraordinary bird. Everybody wanted to be her. They doted her, cherished her, liked her, and some even envied her. Hundreds of birds of many shapes and colors flew in excitement towards Markisah like a torrent. The little yellow minivet with black highlighted wings and speckled chest had transformed into something out of the ordinary. Her black highlighted tail had been replaced with a glossy-black long, luxuriant plume as her tail feathers; esthetically pleasing and eye-catching. Her regal orangey crown-like feathers atop her head made her more lovely than her usual features. However, her friendliness did not change. She was as amiable and as sociable as usual to everyone, the epitome of the girl-next-door. This had resulted in her becoming extremely popular amongst the avians present! "Markisah, did you just return from the Lord''s abode?" "Markisah, what did the Lord looks like?" "Is she as powerful as the one in the stories?" "Can you introduce us to the Lord?" "Can we play together today?" "Let''s all sing and dance together to celebrate Markisah''s return!" A series of excited chirps resounded around Markisah, as she just smiled it off. She answered them perfunctorily and proceeded to her main goal. "All! I have a favor to ask of you!" Before she could continue to explain, as usual, a series of chirps cut her off and kept on asking. Markisah could only shake her head while she smiled in her heart. She knew that although they were not the brightest, these little ones were full of vigor regardless of day or night, rain or shine. She had to let them blow off their steam and quietened down by themselves before she could proceed patiently. "What favor?" "Just let us know. We will help as much as we can!" "Do we get anything in return?" "Is this a job by Lord Suria?" "Can we meet her if we help out?" "I want to help! I want to help! I want to help!" After everyone''s vigor had toned down, Markisah took a deep breath and dramatically swished her tail and flapped her wings to show that she wanted to start her speech. "This deal is better than helping the Lord. Another Lord from another region wanted help to collect seeds. Any seeds that could be used for eating. If the seeds turned into delicious fruits or herbs loved by the Lord, the lucky chap would get a reward! Do you know who this Lord is? This is another friend of mine. Not a bird, but so much more generous! Even Lord Suria needed help from this Lord! Imagine! If you could receive her graces, what could happen?!" Markisah read up the speech she had meticulously prepared in her mind to help edify Hana. She needed to make this seed collection event a success to show how much she felt gratitude for the generous friend of hers. She knew, her actions this time would elevate Hana''s popularity, which she thought will be a good thing. After all, this kind of help could be gotten easily once these not-so-bright birds knew how valuable it was to be in Hana''s good books. Thousands of birds chirped in synchronization as if a festival had started! Markisah nodded with satisfaction at the effect of her speech. Although she did bring down her friend, Suria, just a tiny bit, technically she didn''t lie. It was the truth that Suria desperately needed Hana''s help to overcome her current bottleneck to step into the realm of a true Lord. That afternoon, a bizarre phenomenon occurred in the southeastern sky, tens of kilometers away from Hana''s posh sojourn. Thousands of birds hovering over the sacred ancient tri-colored tree dispersed simultaneously in all directions. From afar, it looked like someone had cracked a hornets'' nest, and thousands of them came out from their house to defend it together. However, these birds flew further and further away, until none was seen nearby. Only a few spirit beasts noticed the peculiar phenomenon happening atop the gigantic tree. Although it seemed like its residents were vacating their homes with no one left defending it, nobody dared approach the ancient floating tree at all. It was widely known that the spirit tree had a life of its own, and only allowed avians to approach it. Land animals or spirit beasts who approached its base will be attacked by a sudden gust filled with sharp invisible blades, effectively ending their lives. At the same time, their blood nourished the land at the base of the tree. At that moment, when the land turned deep red, it was the most dangerous period to approach the malicious spirit tree. Periodically, a burst of sharp vines will protrude out to suck out the ''fertilizers'' from the red earth below until the land returned to its natural color. Some said, if a sufficiently strong spirit beast died at the base of the floating tree, the holy daughter of the tree itself will fly down from its crown to feast. All these mind-numbing rumors had already made beasts with intelligence to give it a wide berth. Markisah was still perching atop one of the branches, admiring her own ''handiwork'' with satisfaction. Looking at these gullible friends and acquaintances of hers made her heart felt so gratified. She knew she could definitely produce good results upon Hana''s return from her visit to Ara''s home. After all, her networking prowess was top-notch. That was the privilege of a popular socialite like her. ... Authors'' Note: 1) the kepoh kind = busybody (had been explained in earlier chapters, but you guys might forget since it was so long ago haha) 127 These Selections are Your Water-mounts, Mistress! It was before dawn, three days later, when the sun didn''t even reach the horizon yet. Loud noises flooded the area Hana frequented besides the Crystal-veined stream. As promised, Chomper and his colleagues had arrived at the location. Everyone was so excited to see who was this land beast who had the privilege to enter the Waterwave Marine clan''s main grounds. Their clan''s main grounds were barred from outsiders for as long as they could remember. For years, no land spirit beast had entered ever since the rampage of the notorious Lightning Serpent incident ages ago. "Will they be here soon?" "I wonder how the delegates look like.." "Isn''t this the famed Lightning Serpent Lord''s area?! I thought it is forbidden to be here?!" "Don''t worry, we''re not entering the land.." "I can sense a dense location with spiritual energy here! Is there a spirit vein somewhere?!" Chomper was calm as he observed the surroundings meticulously. He ignored all the distractions and proceeded to invoke the Water Barrier Art to travel on land with ease to the horror of his colleagues! "Chomper?! What are you doing?! Come back!" "Don''t go on land! The Lord has decreed!" "Stop being foolish!" "It''s alright. Just stay there quietly and don''t move. This is the territory of the Lord I mentioned previously. I need to go somewhere to help out a little." After he explained himself, he immediately disappeared amongst the shades of trees before his colleagues could stop him. Chomper swam up towards the little herb garden. He planned to do his part by watering all the little plants as usual. Lord Shiro had explicitly mentioned that he liked an assertive person who helps out without being told. It was even accompanied by a meaningful stare. As such, Chomper will always drop by to help out with watering the plants when he was nearby or was under an errand by the higher-ups of the clan even if he had to make quite a large detour. What could our little Chomper do? He was this kind of fish who won''t ever forget gratitude. Although he lacked in cultivation talent, he had a quick mind, a firm conviction to improve himself while being humble all the way. He knew from his experience that to survive in the highly competitive clan, he must steer cautiously and have someone powerful to back him up. And Mistress Hana, the goddess in his heart, was a strong thigh to fall back to if problems arise. He was not stupid to notice that the Mistress was fond of him too, although, for the love of the sea, he couldn''t find a single appealing spot on himself. Nonetheless, he was extremely grateful to be favored by Mistress Hana. Chomper swam happily within his transparent water-filled bubble. He knew the spot of the little garden was just behind these bushes and bamboo clusters. It was cleverly hidden from the riverview''s side. However, the other side was bare. He heard that it was the aftermath effect of Lord Kuro''s advancement very recently. It seemed to happen at the same time as his own princess'' advancement, thanks to Mistress Hana''s efforts. The story was told the thousandth time by the chatty Young Miss until he could repeat it word by word. To his surprise, before he got to enter the wooden stake-like fences, he saw numerous Elemental Fiends of different colors patrolling the area. Once the Elemental Fiends detected his presence, a large number of them immediately gathered into an attacking formation! He was all too familiar with this attacking formation from his multiple clashes with these Elemental Fiends! "It''s me, it''s me. Chomper! Don''t attack!" Chomper waved his fins in panic! A red Elemental Fiend came over from within the formation. Its movement, fluid, and full of cautiousness. The glowing fiery antenna above his head moved as he droned deeply with a questioning look. It flexed its glistening pincers while producing metallic sounds in an attempt to intimidate the poor fish. Although it knew Chomper was way stronger than it, it was fearless since it had the power of numbers. It seemed that it couldn''t speak the Beast Language but was trying to ask something while showing off that metallic-like pincers of his? Chomper''s quick mind clicked as he turned himself to the side and spit a gentle nozzle of water to a nearby tree. "Just someone who wanted to help water the plants." He plastered the most sincere smile he could muster to appease the Elemental Fiend guard. However, he was still very nervous. The red ones could burn him badly as it was his biggest weakness. This chap was even brawnier than the rest, somehow. Or was it his imagination? He must be the leader of the group of a few hundred Elemental Fiends currently scrutinizing him up and down with eagerness. It made his fins tingled! The red Elemental Fiend made an understanding expression, and it droned low as the sea of Elemental Fiends parted to reveal the inner herb garden for Chomper to enter... ... Chomper was shocked. Again, the Mistress had performed a miracle. He could finally understand why there were so many Elemental Fiends guarding the herb garden at the moment. Currently, the garden was exuding more than ten times the level of spirituality where the energy of heaven and earth was packed and concentrated within. This was precisely what he encountered within the Mistress abode! Due to pausing for a moment too long, he suddenly could feel a sizzle of heat and an intrusion of his bubble water-space. It turned out, the brawny red Elemental Fiend guard tried to nudge him to continue moving forward. Chomper winced slightly due to a little pain from the pincer. Although the pincer did not injure him, the heat exuded from the pincer was very real. He nearly became a steamed fish! Chomper moved forward hurriedly. He needed to complete the task at hand as soon as possible to present his best side to Mistress Hana. ... A bedraggled aunty with messy hair was slumped on the back of a giant black snake gliding low through the air made everyone in the entourage speechless. The ''delegate'' in question was finally here. The description mentioned by the first Young Miss'' attendant was truly spot-on as they stared hard at the unsuspecting aunty. In their minds, they were thinking, ''what should I do?'' while feeling distraught. Kuro was in his original form. Only this form could support the weight of the sleepy aunty without making her fall. The dangerous protruded crystal-like black scales on Kuro''s body were closed this time, leaving him with smooth and slick skin, to prevent himself from hurting the sleepy aunty. His two maroon wings were a couple of times larger to support the aunty''s weight as she was dangling in between the wings to stop herself from falling. Beside them, Shiro, the white fox, followed with worry in his eyes. At the same time, a few hundred Elemental Fiends of various colors faithfully tailed them from their backs. Shiro did not perform his usual task as a mount simply because the aunty slipped off his back multiple times in the beginning. She nearly fell down from their elevated cave dwelling! Thank goodness Kuro snatched her mid-air in time. If not, she''d hurt herself pretty badly! Seeing such a big, dangerous-looking crowd, everyone clammed up in fear. The groups were desperately praying so that Chomper could quickly come to the rescue. A simple misunderstanding between them and the delegate''s entourage could easily result in a total wipe on their side. They nudged each other to start with the introduction, but nobody was brave enough to come forward. At last, they decided not to make a sound and just silently watched. They hoped to be introduced to the being by Chomper, but somehow, the chap was still not here after he vanished for some time. They were partially submerged within the deepest part of the Crystal-veined stream. But now, everyone agreed to submerge deeper into the waters to hide while occasionally peeked. Hana was so drowsy, she hadn''t expected to be stared by tens of marine lives, ogling her like she was an exotic animal from the zoo. Slightly wet drool stains still hung at the corner of her mouth. "Do we need to get ready now? It''s still so early, and the sun wasn''t even up yet. I''m still so tired-lah. And the waters at this time are too cold. Brrr..." Hana whined unhappily with her eyes half-closed. "Mommy, the fish''s camp is pretty far. You really need to get ready. You should take a bath to freshen yourself. Who ask you to challenge yourself to do single-finger body lifting?" Kuro lectured like an oldie with helplessness. Sometimes, Mommy was just too childish. He didn''t know where she got those random ideas to challenge herself. She even said she wanted to do a video to make her significant other happy? Kuro doubted that the sensible Papa will be amused with this random exercise-till-you-drop fad she picked up to entertain herself. Most probably, they will argue again, and Mommy''s mood will turn sour soon. Even if she wanted to try the challenge, can''t she just wait and did it after they return from the fish girl slave''s home? Of course, he knew how far it was. He could detect these spirit fishes'' movements kilometers away. They must have been traveling half of the night to reach this spot. Kuro stared at the entourage a moment longer while scanning with his spiritual sense to check their strengths. Just some minnows.. He retracted his spiritual sense almost immediately with a satisfied look. Anything that could jeopardize Mommy''s wellbeing will be a no-go for him. He''d rather send her himself first before doubling back. His stare invoked a series of tremors by the marine lives hiding within the Crystal-veined stream. The tyrannical spiritual sense almost suffocated them to death, as they experienced a series of shortness of breath. It was their first time seeing the famed destroyer of the Marine Waterwave clan grounds a few hundred years ago. No one from the group was there yet at that moment, but they have heard tales, and those gruesome tales were the kind where one gets during a nightmare. "Alaa... I just want to be like those kungfu grandmasters. Ku-chan, you''re such a meany to your Mommy today. You see, nobody is here yet. You''re too inflexible." Hana pursed her lips in a spoiled manner. It broke the tension in the air just like that. "Minnows, come out from the water. NOW." Kuro shouted with a helpless look etched to his face. The surface of the stream moved violently to Hana''s surprise, but after a few seconds it became calm again. Nothing emerged. The marine lives within were too afraid to surface. "See? No one is here yet, I tell you. You''re over-reacting, Ku-chan. Why not we return to the cave and sleep for around two more hours before coming back? Pleaseeee... " Hana hugged Kuro''s sleek body with a spoiled manner to coax him. She was really a little too tired. She didn''t blame anyone but herself as she got excited to be able to perform single-finger planking after trying it out! She had never managed to perform a proper plank for longer than ten seconds in her life! It was just too awesome! After that, due to curiosity, she tried harder and recorded her time. At the end of the day, she finally realized how fit she was! She managed to perform single-finger planking as long as three-hours straight! Mindblown! She couldn''t believe it since she was still as chubby as before too. Okay, maybe she was a little lean due to clean-eating every day, but still, no significant difference could be seen outwardly except for her facial skin, which had shown tremendous improvement. After that, she was keen to try out single-finger pushups just like in the kungfu movies. It got weirder by the second until she forgot to sleep. "Mistress Hana, ohh, Mistress Hana! Little me is here!" Chomper appeared in between the bushes not far away from them. "Chomper? Why are you here? Isn''t it a little too early?" Hana sighed. It meant that what her favorite pet snake was telling the truth. If little Chomper was already here, his friends must be here too. They must be peeping at her right at this moment but too afraid to come out from the water. "I went to help water your plants! Mistress, those lovely little greeneries look so fresh and full of vitality!" "Aww, thanks, sweetie. Heheheh. We''re testing out a new method to create our own spirit herbs. If it is a success, we can immediately start with the project soon. Anticipate my good news. Are your friends here? Why are they not coming out?" Hana tilted her head in confusion. Although she was exhausted, it wasn''t right to make someone wait. As long as she could still function, she will entertain her guests well. Hana slid off Kuro''s back after patting his head. The gigantic black snake immediately transformed into his adorable mini size and habitually wrapped himself on Hana''s arm. A large splash revealed tens of water animals in the middle of the stream! They were making a fake laugh while blushing furiously, though Hana herself couldn''t really understand what all the noises signify. A large one-meter plus diameter tortoise! A golden emperor snakehead with black patches on its body! It was even bigger than Chomper! A pink dolphin! Seriously it was pink! And it was the size of a small sampan! A two-meter golden mahseer! A group of mud-colored eels the size of anacondas! A group of one-meter crabs! A few two-meter sized suspicious-looking crocodile-like animals. And many other slightly smaller ones Hana couldn''t really figure out what they were. Hana was speechless! Was this a parade or something?! And all of these.. marines.. were scared of her adorable darling Kuro?! Seriously? Hana''s impression over Ara''s clan plummeted. It seemed that either these marine lives were a little too timid, or her Kuro was just too powerful and handsome? Another thing was, it turned out that Chomper was the smallest among them. These are all plus-size! How come their courage was not proportionate with the size of their bodies? However, Hana didn''t know how Kuro had trashed the Waterwave clan before. If she did, she would''ve shivered too. "Little Chomper, your friends... What are we supposed to do with them? Are they here to help us build a raft or something?" Hana''s lips twitched slightly as she whispered to Chomper. As usual, Shi-chan translated it out quietly. "Nope, these selections... Are your water mounts, Mistress. This humble one wasn''t sure which will be to your liking, so little me just call whoever wished to help out. Don''t you worry, all of them are strong enough to carry anyone of you." He gave Hana the brightest smile he had. Hana was sure she saw a twinkle in Chomper''s eyes. This guy was just too adorable, sensible, and functional! ... Mrs Mooncat: The marine animals depicted within this chapter are all freshwater marine animals localized in tropical countries around the equator (not necessarily in Malaysia). And it is true, the rare river dolphins in the Amazonian areas are pink in color. These are what they roughly look like for the ones who might not know. Golden emperor snakehead: https://www.umpan.com.my/info-spesies-kenali-ikan-kerandang/ Pink dolphin: https://critter.science/the-pink-river-dolphin/ Golden mahseer: https://himalayanoutback.com/golden-mahseer-fishing/ 128 How About a Little Competition, Everyone? "A mount?" "As in ride these animals to Ara''s home? Seriously?" Hana peeked again at all the marine lives floating within the Crystal-veined stream. Most of them were quite gigantic and surely could support her and her group''s weight. But, seriously, some got spiky fins where one would have to place one''s buttocks. Some had thorns and barb-like bodies. Wouldn''t her group suffer a lot in silence later? They perked up to show their best parts to the "Very Important Person (VIP)" in question. This must be the highest ''Lord'' for this territory, even stronger than the notorious serpent. And most importantly, they heard that she was mild, warm-hearted, and the forgiving kind. She was the only being that the princess of their clan will listen to; even Lord Tittua and Grand Elder Watershade didn''t get that privilege. Chomper did an excellent job elevating Hana''s status in their hearts, retelling tales of the benevolent Goddess of Water while they were traveling together. He did it to indirectly remind them to be in their best behavior and to cooperate at their one hundred percent. These volunteers finally realized that they might just step on a goldmine. Obviously, all of them wished for this being to ride them. They puffed up their chest and gave the most adorable smile they could muster to attract Hana. Although the differences in species had prevented Hana from acknowledging their efforts, she can still felt the heated gazes making her felt a tad bit uncomfortable. The corner of Kuro and Shiro''s mouths were twitching slightly. These weaklings really know how to flaunt themselves in front of their Mommy! [Who should I choose, Ku-chan, Shi-chan? Won''t the rest feel hurt then?] The aunty was having an ''oh-i-am-so-stressed moment'' on how to take care of the hearts of all the animals here. [Mom, just pick one that you like most. Shiro''s bored telepathic-voice entered her head. Make sure the one you choose must not be able to hurt you. You''re quite strong now, but not omnipotent. Although to us, these minnows are just... minnows. At the level of your strength, you still need to struggle a lot to defeat them. That is if they didn''t try to drown you since water is their home advantage. I remembered you said you didn''t know how to swim, right?] [But, but, although some are practical, some others were a little too scary.] Hana peeked at the crocodiles and eels. If Kuro and Shiro were not beside her, she would''ve started running and screaming in a panic to save herself. They looked extremely dangerous! [Aiyahh, Mommy, just throw a little competition and let them compete. Just select the winner. Don''t bother with their facial appearance. Although they might look somewhat unappealing to you, they''re not that dangerous. Additionally, Shiro will accompany you all the way, Mommy. In the worse case, he could solidify all the silly little minnows on the spot if he finds that you''re in danger. Right, Bro?] Shiro nodded eagerly at the side to give their Mommy reassurance after he got a signal from Kuro. Hana pondered for a short moment, "Hmm... what shall we do..." Hana clapped her hands to gather everyone''s attention after she took a deep breath. "How about a little competition, everyone?" ... A merry song resounded in the spacious cleared area in front of Hana''s elevated cave dwelling. Obviously, the sound came from her loyal smartphone. She had saved a few upbeat songs within for amusement even before she was trapped in this unknown land. All of the marine animals were on land inside their own water bubbles while feeling somewhat afraid. Although everyone knew the Water-barrier Art, no one had entered land for the longest time. In fact, Lord Tittua had issued a Land Restriction Law after the massive massacre by the notorious snake. Lo and behold, they were currently on the serpent''s territory, being stared down by him personally. Hana clapped her hands to call to everyone''s attention, "Alright, everyone. Let''s play a little game. Give yourself some two-meter space between each other. Stay still, alright?" Hana chuckled enthusiastically. She called for Shiro beside her and made him elevated a little bit by conjuring an ice platform on her right. "On my right is Lord Shiro. He will perform a series of movements. Everyone with limbs below must follow his steps without fail." Then she asked for Kuro to hover on her left. "On my left is Lord Kuro. He will perform movements in sync with Shiro but adapted the movement for creatures without limbs. Creatures without limbs must follow his steps properly without fail." "My people will move around between you guys." She signaled to hundreds of Elemental Fiends waiting at the periphery. "Anyone who makes a mistake will be disqualified and will be pulled out from the game. The top twelve will be used as a mount for all of us. From there, we will find the top four. Then, we will go to the next round of assessments! Are you ready!!!" No reply was heard. Hana cleared her throat bashfully. [Guys, why are you not translating for them. This is so embarrassing.] Hana closed her face with her two hands. It seemed that she was the only one who was enjoying this. "Little sh*ts. Follow the fox and my moves. Who failed will be roasted." Kuro hissed menacingly. As if understanding the cue, the red brawny Elemental Fiend''s flame atop its antenna flared up. Once it did, the rest of the Elemental Fiends of different elements started flaring up their own elemental flames as they moved to encircle them. Chomper was sweating buckets with worry at the side. He was excluded from joining the competition since he was a little bit too small to carry either Hana, Shiro, or the Elemental Fiends. The marine animals started to shiver inside their own water bubbles. They were still baffled with what was going on. In the beginning, they thought the main ''Lord'' was asking them to compete amongst themselves to show their prowess to impress her. But these arrangements caused them to be so confused. They couldn''t make out what it was all about. But what was real was being surrounded by hundreds of these Elemental Fiends! These spiritual insects could devour them up in minutes! Hana sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes to Kuro and Shiro''s surprise. [Mom, are you not showing how it is done? We''re clueless here on how to proceed.] Shiro quietly asked. [I''m showing it to you guys now. Soul-link with me now and see how it is done in the Soul Hall Domain. I wasn''t really well versed with the moves, but at least if I showed you guys from within, even if you make a mistake, it will not be reflected outside. Besides, both my darlings had different morphology, so they won''t notice. As long as they could follow you guys, it''ll be fine.] Hana explained confidently while maintaining a straight face. The chant reverberated through their telepathic connection. The rest of the Elemental Fiends automatically tuned in with fervor as they started to drone quietly in sync. This time it was slightly different. Hana tried to specifically link up with both Kuro and Shiro at the same time. Only the residues were passed to the rest. Suddenly, to everyone''s surprise, Lord Shiro slowly stood up on his two hind legs. He scrunched his brow and closed his eyes gravely, making everyone nervously swallowed their saliva. Suddenly, Shiro extended both of his forelegs slowly to his sides while opening his hind legs a little wide. Then he jumped and clapped with his foreleg at the top of his head while closing his hind legs! Our lovely white fox was performing the famed jumping jacks! Marine animals, "... " O_______O||| "Whaa... What is going on? Do we need to copy that?" They whispered to each other. Some hesitatingly started to try out the moves, especially the animals with limbs like the crocodiles, crabs, and tortoise. Finally, they realize, even the first step of standing upright was extremely challenging, especially for the heavy tortoise! TT________TT [Don''t pull them out first, dearies. Let them acclimatize first with standing up before starting the warm-up.] Hana sent her orders to the Elemental Fiends, who were about to pull out a few falling animals. Shiro was extremely ashamed of what he was doing. But he tried his best to hide it. He blushed deeply and kept on going forward with whatever Mom wanted. On Hana''s left, Kuro casually started to move his body in a zigzag manner from bottom to top. Then, he somersaulted backward and redo the steps of zigzagging his elongated body upwards. Well, that was his interpretation of jumping jacks without limbs he created on the spot. The fishes and eels looked at each other hesitatingly and slowly turned their body vertical, preparing to zigzag it upwards. They faithfully moved upwards and jumped in a somersault fashion outside their bubbles and reentered them. It was a sight to behold. "Fantastic!" Hana exclaimed while clapping her hands. In front of her, all the animals were performing jumping jacks in their own way. Some fell, and some did it wrongly, but she just closed one eye and ordered the Elemental Fiends not to pull them out. Looking at Hana''s excited face, all of them perked up and were eager to please her, doubling their efforts! The initial awkward movements became smoother by each cycle, and everyone was starting to enjoy it in wonder. They were still clueless about what they were doing! However, it felt good doing it in groups!!! "Alright! Since everyone is already on track, let''s start our Zumba session!" Hana shouted with delight. This time the response was lively with hoots and pips and loud roars! ... 129 A Grand Zumba Contest by Marine Spirit Beasts! Note from Mrs. Mooncat: To enter the mood, please listen one time while watching the video, then, loop this song for this chapter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S24-y0Ij3Y) or google this BLACKPINK - ''Kill This Love'' In a clearing under the camouflage arcane arts performed by Shiro, the Glacier Mirage Fox, a merry song resounded faintly. Although the millions of spirit ice crystals could bend light and hid the sight from being seen by an aerial view, the sounds couldn''t be blocked at all. Marine animals were struggling hard, making weird moves they had never imagined they''d performed. Besides jumping jacks, the warm-ups had increased to a few complicated movements such as bicycle crunches, lunge knee hops, pistol squats, and burpees. Some were wondering, was this some kind of mysterious arts'' posture which could make them stronger. But, indeed, they were tough! Hana was covering her mouth as she tried her best to stop from giggling. She found all the animals here to be very endearing. Even the giant crocodiles and eels became somewhat charming as they try their hardest to clumsily perform the various warm-ups. She knew that even she couldn''t perform those high-intensity exercises before. But now she was not so sure. Maybe she would try it later privately and send a video to Arash. Nonetheless, she wasn''t going to shame herself by trying in public. It was better just to act regal and composed, like the ''Lord'' that she should be as reminded many times by her pets. So, she must act it out well on certain formal occasions. After taking three deep breaths and calming herself, she spoke loudly, "Alright, everyone! I think you guys are already warmed up enough. We''re going to continue with more steps! It''s going to be a little tough for the first-timers, but let''s just go slow, alright?! Most importantly, just follow the rhythm of the song. Don''t worry about making mistakes. Once the teaching session is over, the Grand Zumba contest will commence!" Loud excited roars were heard in response. A new upbeat song was played at full volume this time, and the sweet voices of Korean ladies resounded, rapping in Hangul. Shiro started to make simple movements using his hind legs slowly while Hana instructed with the steps. "V-position! Three times!" "Side steps, left, 4 steps!" "Sashay!" "360 turns!" "Side-step, right, 4 steps!" "Sashay!" "Double kicks!" "Squat!" "Chest pump! Make it a little sexier! Come on! Three times! Move those shoulders!" Hana shouted out the instruction with fervor as she got a little excited, looking at all the antics of the marine animals. But it was simultaneously translated by Shiro as he blushed heavily under all the white fur while performing the moves. He felt wretched inside but faithfully followed the routine as per instructed by Mom. The marine animals were speechless, "... " The pink dolphin whispered to the golden mahseer at her side, "That''s.. rather intense, right?" The golden mahseer blinked his eyes in speechlessness. He couldn''t find the right words to describe these... activities. It was rather... ermm.. fun? The tortoise on the pink dolphin''s left added worriedly, "When compared to the ''jumping jacks'' move, yes, it does. Even jumping jacks were tough, how am I going to spin 360 like that with my heavy shell?" He had thought his shell was a plus for defense. Now, he was not so sure. He was at a severe disadvantage this time! What should he do? After sending the image to Kuro and Shiro on how to perform the simplest of routines she once learned in previous Zumba classes through the Soul Hall Domain, Hana smiled with satisfaction. Obviously, she wasn''t going to make those embarrassing moves in front of these adorable animals. After all, she''s already too old to dance to the K-pop beats. It would seriously harm her prestige. "Yeah, the chorus is coming! Get ready for the next set of moves!!!" "Let''s kill this love! Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah Rum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, Let''s kill this love! Rum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum" (1) Shiro swung his left foreleg up over his head just like when one was using one''s own hand. He held it horizontally while the other foreleg was placed near to his tilting face in a grasping position, just like swinging a rifle. Following the cue of the song, he ''blasted'' the imaginary rifle in style with a shake of his head. He adjusted his body''s position sideways and moved his butt in a circular motion with great flexibility in all seriousness, just like how the ladies in the moving pictures did it. After that, he, swung his hips wide while flailing both of his forelegs upwards in a circular motion at the top of his head a few times before placing them over his hips again. Most importantly, he tried his best to maintain an obnoxious expression, just like the ones portrayed by the four ladies in strange multicolored manes. That was damn tough! These lady humans really know their moves! Shiro grumbled in his mind after finally performed the steps he reviewed within the music video shared by Hana a few moments ago during their reviewing session. He was actually quite exemplary, considering he only saw the video twice before attempting the moves. Shiro just realized that Mom''s species could really perform some truly awkward movements with only those four rigid limbs. He wondered why Mom was instead just like a sloth compared to the ones in the black treasure (2). Shiro, you looked so sexy!!! Hana gave him a secret thumbs-up as the white fox blushed deeply again. He regretted asking Mom to make a competition to choose the mount. Others usually compete in their martial prowess, not in these.. awkward movements. He still couldn''t fathom how winning this competition could benefit Mom in any way. At most, the marine animals selected would be more flexible than the rest. The marine animals, "... " O______O It''s getting rather hot in here. Seriously, they need to complete those moves?! Some of them regretted they were born with limbs at this moment. The next part of the song resounded, and this time it was Kuro to show his moves. Obviously, he wasn''t willing to lose to his soul-brother. "Lucky me, lucky you Gyeolgugen geojitmal we lie So what? So what? Manyage naega neol jiuge Doendamyeon so sorry I''m not sorry Na eotteokae nayakan nal gyeondil su eopseo Asseo nunmureul gamchun chae, eh Sarangui sumtongeul kkeuneoyagesseo!" Kuro swiped his tail in a V-shape while nodding his head. He then slithered to the left suavely, made a somersault from the top, and turned sideways at 360 degrees. After that, he slithered sideways to the right, and repeated the somersault and slithered sideways to the left, before turning glamorously. For double kicks followed by squatting, he emulated it by jumping twice and followed by just lowering his body deeply. Hana clapped by the side and showered her doted one with words of encouragement. You did well, sweetie. That''s some impressive moves! Kuro beamed happily while he gave a challenging stare at Shiro, as the fox rolled his eyes upwards. At the moment, they were in sync with the tune, making the same kind of movements, but with different interpretations. "Let''s kill this love! Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah Rum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, Let''s kill this love! Rum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum" The chorus came again, and this time, Kuro twisted its body midair into the shape of a rifle, making a shot while flapping his maroon wings stylishly. He turned sideways and wriggled in a circular motion slowly following the tune, inverse to Shiro''s move. While the circular motion got larger, he raised his wings high and made a circular motion in sync with Shiro as the fox flailed his forelegs. Both of them placed their forelegs and wings at their sides in sync while nodding their heads together. Seamless teamwork! The final marching beat resounded. Kuro and Shiro started to move their left foreleg and wings and placed it over their head just like saluting. The first motion was the beginning of a series of sharp chopping movements of different angles which confused the marine animals. Although it looked so complicated, the patterns were elegant, and a feast to the eyes. Their impression of the two Lords was off the charts! Their eyes were feverish with devotion as if they have become their newest die-hard fans. In just no time, the song finally came to an end, but since it was looped, it restarted again almost immediately! "Ready, guys! The contest starts now! Halfway through, we will start to pull the ones who make a mistake out!" Hana announced excitedly. ... The catchy marching beats made all the marine animals moved in synchronization faithfully. The ones who make a wrong move were quickly pulled out by an Elemental Fiend nearby. They sighed regretfully, but at the same time, was a little bit relieved. It turned out, failing didn''t mean being executed or anything. They were just ushered to the side and could even lightly snack on the fishes trapped in the fish trap not too far from the clearing. It was somewhat relaxing and fun. These lowly marine spirit beasts had never taken it slow and enjoyed life like now. It felt slightly sweet, watching their own colleagues contesting each other without hurting each other while snacking on calorie-free food. "I wish Saras could win." A prawn-like spirit beast with a shell at its back chatted with his buddy, the brown eel. Both of them were disqualified very early in the contest due to their lack of balancing their bodies. They even fell multiple times until Hana couldn''t close one eye anymore. "Why? Sure, she''s lovely, but I think her movements aren''t sharp enough. You see, Gramps Alpy could handle it much better even with his humongous shell." The brown eel countered back and answered objectively as he referred to the only tortoise in the group. Gramps Alpy had stayed in their underwater cave the longest, was the wisest, the most hardworking, and was considered the strongest among them. That was why he was quite popular. Until the newbie, Chomper arrived. They were indeed not close with Chomper at all, but just followed Gramps Alpy and Saras'' decision. It was a kind of herd mentality where one usually followed the steps of the most popular in the group. Nonetheless, once they were here, they realized it was the best decision ever. Even without the reward of the meaty clams, they could actually enjoy their time on land with zero danger anywhere nearby. The Lords of the area was also kind enough to provide some snacks and gave them entertainment in the form of these.. weird contest. It was just like a laid back festival. Slowly, more and more animals were disqualified and were dragged out by the Elemental Fiends. By the third cycle of the song, the ones left were less than twelve. Their movements were sharp, as they got acclimatized with the beat and the moves. All of them had memorized the steps well. It was unlikely for any of them to make a mistake anymore. Hana pondered deeply as she linked up to both of her pets at the same time. We need to up the game a little. Add more moves in just like how Mommy suggest just now. The ones who become complacent and didn''t observe properly will definitely not notice. She shared with Kuro and Shiro about adding an extra step here and there; for example, added another additional flip of the head, a few additional moves while squatting, making the routine a little bit more complex than before. Kuro and Shiro were than tasked to dance by mirroring each other; where Kuro''s move predominantly started from the left, Shiro''s movement started from the right. The sudden change made most of the marine animals panicked a little. Finally, four of them made a mistake and were quickly dragged out. Slowly, more and more marine animals made some kind of errors and were disqualified, leaving only four behind. Hana purposely sent a mental order to the Elemental Fiends not to exclude anyone anymore once it reached only four contestants. Hana let these four continued until the end of the song. "..Kill this love (Yeah! Yeah!) Yeah, it''s sad but true Gotta kill this love (Yeah! Yeah!) Gotta kill, let''s kill this love!" Finally! They already determined the top four! The beautiful pink dolphin, Saras! The regal golden emperor snakehead, Mata! A surprise within the crowd, the introvert giant blue crocodile, Kolo! And finally, the star of the event, the giant tortoise, Gramps Alpy! Although in the beginning, the old tortoise''s movement was somewhat rigid and clumsy, at this moment, he definitely scored the highest! He even did a modified head-spinning, aka tortoise style using his shell. What a sight to behold! Hana was extremely impressed! ... Authors'' Note: 1) This is a song known as "Kill This Love" by BlackPink, a K-pop group. Quite popular, we might add. Maybe it didn''t reach readers from the west-side. But yeah, it''s very catchy and used heavily in aerobics and zumba sessions over here. 2) Black treasure = Hana''s smartphone is referred to as a ''rectangular black treasure'' by her two pets due to how Hana treasured it so much. 130 The Heart of a Petty Boss Arash habitually glanced at his smartwatch to observe the time as he sighed with worry. It was nearly noon, and it was supposed to be lunch break soon, but he felt he had to stay in. Although Arash couldn''t exactly see, he could felt that ominous-feelings like someone was staring daggers at him. That must be the department manager that sat a few paces away in a separate clear glass-paned room behind him. This must be the intuition that his wife always referred to as he could practically feel the ominous aura hovering around him from his back, pricking him. It made him sweat more than usual today even when the air conditioner was blowing vigorously. It did not help when he received a short message this morning, "Will be visiting my pet fish for a few days. Love you, Ayang." That short message had increased his level of anxiety a few notches upwards. Did it mean she''ll be MIA for a few days again? Will something big happen? Aiyooohhh! Putting away his anxiousness about his wife''s random actions, he tried his best to finish up his current work. After all, it was still working hours, and he shouldn''t be distracted. The root of the problem was Arash''s immediate boss, Mr. Rama(1), the manager of the Engineering Department of the private company he was working in. Mr. Rama had been an extremely challenging person to deal with for the longest time and almost impossible to please. Arash didn''t know what he did that made the old guy targeted him from a few years back. Somehow, Arash noticed that he had been assigned more work than the rest of his colleagues. However, he always made sure he was punctual and delivered his job on time to prevent himself from being entangled with him. He was just too tired to handle all the office drama, as he felt that spending his precious time at home with his three princesses was the best. Hence, all this while, the guy didn''t have anything over him, thankfully. He never told Hana about his difficulties in the office. He knew not to burden her with more worries since the love of his life tends to overthink and worry incessantly about something. To him, this was his way of shielding her from the harsh environment outside. Although he couldn''t perform kungfu acts, he hoped to be a gentleman for his dearest beloved. Everything changed when Hana suddenly disappeared around a month ago. The disappearance of his wife had impacted him severely in the initial phase, where he had to take a sudden emergency leave from work to rescue his children. That hectic evening, he needed to attend a meeting with a few international VIP clients that flew in specially to meet him face-to-face, rejecting a teleconference setting. He was supposed to be the one who will present the solution of a critical issue occurring within Project Kemsah(2). However, he had passed all his work to his colleague and informed Cheng Ho(3), the Project Manager, to represent him this time due to the emergency situation during the taxi ride back home. He couldn''t wait until the meeting finish before rescuing his children! This kind of meeting could easily take half a day! In a hurry, what he forgot to do was to inform Mr. Rama as he was too distraught and was panicking about the condition of his family. During the meeting, his no-show had made Mr. Rama panicked and shamed himself in front of all the clients as he was the only one who didn''t know what happened. He had tried contacting Arash tens of times, but his calls were ignored repeatedly. Some of them were even being canceled. He felt like he had been slapped hard on the face when everyone looked at him like he was a clown as Arash''s work was presented smoothly while receiving praise from everyone else. After that, well, there''s no after that. Obviously, it was not ''happily ever after.'' The love of his life was still missing, while his current life had been a whirlwind. Although Arash felt extremely suffocated, he tried his best to arrange for everything to fill the large gap being left by Hana. It turned out, all these years, it has been really easy for him as his wife had been handling multiple house management tasks at the same time. There were even some random miscellaneous tasks he wasn''t aware of. It took him one whole week to arrange everything and to get back on track. Then, the provocation began. Arash had been repeatedly insulted in the company-wide channel on work-related matters a few weeks back, but when it turned out false, no apology was given. The misunderstanding stayed midair, hovering publicly with his forehead being stamped as an incompetent senior engineer. Last week had been the worst as he had been placed at the lower end of the performance assessment, although he did all the extra jobs others neglected for this year''s term. The reasons given by Mr. Rama were how his inadequacy in following the timeline and taking unnecessary emergency leave impacted his work. Which were all bullsh*t. He had been delivering all his work on time regardless of staying home or at the office. He even upgraded his modem and WIFI to the maximum level to ensure smooth connectivity when it came to delivering his job on time. This is so childish! He sighed again while shaking his head bitterly. He had even tried to apologize for the previous occasion, but it seemed that he was not forgiven. So tiring! It was worse than caring for the whims of his own parents and in-laws. Was it possible for an old guy to have PMS symptoms too? So petty. Arash didn''t know what he should do. Should he confronted the old guy once more or just let it be? Arash was someone who always tried his best to avoid conflict. He preferred everyone to be civil and had always taken a step back in arguments. To him, negative emotions will only tire one out. So, why must one invests in negative feelings and burdened oneself? Regretfully, his way of thinking had been misinterpreted by many as someone mild, weak-willed, and lame. (Mr. Mooncat: Yes, the classic ''good guy'' syndrome. People will usually called our pitiful uncle as Mr. Goody-two-shoes, haha. Being too nice will only harm yourself when encountering office politics) The sounds of mouse clicking vigorously, with intermittent sounds of typing, showed that Arash had never stop doing his work, although his mind was partially debating about whether he should confront his boss and had the face-to-face talk they desperately needed to clear out any bad mojo between them. He was finalizing the review of Project Kemsah since it needed to be rolled out by this evening. His work on five other projects around South East Asia was still pending at different levels of completion. It was indeed a hassle when one had to work with so many others, though he couldn''t complain since a few of his colleagues were facing the same issues. Working in the Engineering Department had always been like this. "Arash, let''s go for lunch! It''s time." Razali from the cube opposite him called over. It was already a quarter past one in the afternoon. Most of the engineers were walking out of the office in twos and threes. "Er... I think I can''t this time around. Where are you going to have your lunch? Could you tapau(4) for me?" Arash''s eyes were still glued on his laptop. He felt that he just needed to complete this tiny part, and it needed around half an hour to do so. However, it wasn''t nice to let others wait for him. "Yeah, sure. We''re just going to tapau at the Mat Rock food truck(5) nearby. The regular fried turmeric chicken and beef with extra sambal?" "Yeah. Thanks a bunch, Razali. I owe you one. I''m not sure I could join you guys in the pantry later. If I''m not in my cube, just placed it on my table." Arash immediately transferred RM10 to his colleague. "Eh, you want some drinks with it?" Razali swiped his phone to check the notification he just received. "Nahhh. The extra is for treating you for drinks. I''m good with this." Arash showed off his blue water tumbler with a bright grin. "Haha, alright, bro. You''re the best." Once Razali and a few others walked out of the department, Arash was alone. He doubled his efforts to finish up the last part of his work while intermittently eyeing Mr. Rama. When he saw the old guy eating in his own office, as usual, he felt a gush of relief. He planned to confront Mr. Rama once he submitted the final review after this. ... A knock resounded over the door to Mr. Rama''s office while he was sipping coffee. It was strong, black, and without sugar, his daily dose of caffeine to keep him awake during the hot afternoon. His sugar level was too high for him to add sugar and milk into his coffee. For someone whose sugar level hovered more than ten, he had trouble staying alert, especially during noon, while having multiple discomforts at many parts of his body. He needed to make sure he did not forget injecting insulin before sleeping tonight. He looked up to see the goody-two-shoes appearing before him yet again. [Such a sight for sore eyes.] He whispered in his heart unhappily. "Mr. Rama, can I have a word with you?" The fair guy presumptuously entered his room even before he could say yes. He really wanted to say no to this guy, but finally, he just kept mum. What else did he need this time after shaming him publicly before? Of course, he was still extremely offended! "What else do you need. Have you finish the documentation for Project Kemsah? How about Project Sriraya and Project Temenggong-Cerapan? Still as incompetent as ever." He can''t help spouting cynical remarks at this goody-two-shoes. He really couldn''t understand why he disliked this guy since the first time he saw him. The worst thing was, his level of dislikes for him only increases as time passed by. Although this guy was competent with his work, anything else about him ticked him off the wrong way; especially his ''blur'' face, and how ''slow'' he was at responding to his queries. "Just submitted Project Kemsah''s final review in the system. Already send over emails pertaining to the details to all related personnel. The other two projects were still in pending mode. I am still waiting for the others before I could proceed. Most probably in two to three days." He was speechless! The guy did finish up his work on time again. As he didn''t know what to add next, he just dismissed him after a short scrutinizing of the newly received email, "Alright. You can go." The guy refused to go and make himself comfortable while sitting in front of him. This act alone made his temples beat a little stronger than usual with annoyance. "What else do you need, Mr. Arash?" The guy took a deep breath and spoke gently, "I''m here to truly apologize to you, Mr. Rama, for all my wrongdoings. As I said before, I really didn''t purposely left you out of the loop. I really think that I need to clear our misunderstanding out. It is truly an emergency situation where my children''s life was in jeopardy." An awkward silence prevailed in the small office room. "Are we good?" Arash added. After a few minutes, Mr. Rama replied stoically, "No, definitely no. Did you know what you''ve put me through?" Arash shook his head innocently. "Then, there''s nothing I could say more. You can just wait and see what happens next." That words alone sent a bad premonition to Arash''s mind. He knew the old man might have done something to him again behind his back. ... Again, our uncle sighed deeply as he walked out of the Department Manager''s office with a heavy heart. He failed again to ease the tension between him and the old guy. Why was he more stubborn than Tok Silihan? To him, Tok Silihan was like an angel and could be easily pleased with random food and flattery. This one was a tough nut to crack. As he placed his butt over the ergonomic office chair, he flipped his smartphone to look at the picture of his wife and his children to appease his heart. He really wanted to go back and hug his precious daughters. Only their warm touch could somehow melt all the stress away. He must remember to shave before he went off to fetch them. If not, they will become so resistant to his smooches. He placed his smartphone over his ears to listen to his wife''s sultry voice, singing the weird new-age song to calm himself. Just for one round... He closed his eyes as he imagined his beautiful yet quirky wife, and a small smile bloomed over his lips. "Excuse me. Mr. Arash, Senior Engineer from the Engineering Department?" A short internal call came through as he was snapped off from his daydreaming session about his wife. The sound of a woman with a formal tone came from the landline as Arash picked the phone up and placed it over his ears. "Yes?" "Please proceed to level thirty-five in fifteen minutes for a short meeting with Mr. Alan and Mr. Tze." Arash nearly loosened his grip over the phone. ... Authors'' Note: 1) Mr. Rama = an Indian-based name. It''s a short for many forms. Either Ramachandran, or Ramasamy, or Ramanathan. 2) Project Kemsah = It''s a random name. Usually projects were named based on the location. So it means that this work is based in Kemsah. 3) Cheng Ho = a Chinese-based name. Cheng is the family name, Ho is the given name. Nowadays, people give three-character names to their kids rather than two, if two, usually it''ll be a western name like ''Samantha Cheng''. Example of 3-character name is ''Cheng Xu Xiong'' where ''Xu Xiong'' will be the given name (this is just a random no-meaning name, Mrs Mooncat didn''t know chinese haha, don''t go and google the name). Another thing is, Cheng Ho was also the name of the first Chinese Diplomat who came from China to build diplomatic relationship with Melaka, an olden nation in Malaysia during the 1400s. He is also known as Zheng He, an official of the Ming Dynasty (though in our school''s History textbooks, he is only known as Cheng Ho) Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He 4) tapau = takeaway 5) Mat Rock foodtruck = foodtrucks selling predominantly plain rice with chunks of turmeric marinated chicken, beef or seafood, stirfried with onions, carrots and long beans, and a mean, mean fiery sambal belacan. They do have their own physical stores too, but normally people tapau from their foodtrucks. It''s cheap and no-hassle kind of lunch. Quite delicious too. "Mat Rock Ayam Goreng Kunyit" could be directly translates to "Mat Rock Chicken Fried Turmeric" Links to some reviews of the meal and how it looks like: https://www.rebeccasaw.com/mat-rock-food-truck-nasi-ayam-goreng-kunyit/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkWkxwSuel0 and yeah..it is as oily as it looks since the meat pieces are being deep-fried haha..but it tasted pretty good imho 131 Confronting the VP As a Multinational engineering company with many branches around the globe, getting a ''Meeting Expectation'' evaluation continuously after working for nearly ten years meant that his work ethics and grasp over technicalities of the numerous projects were top notch. To let go of someone with such skill and give it to other competing companies was against company policy. Additionally, this senior engineer''s salary was actually at the lower end as compared to the tasks he had been completing. It meant that, by employing this man, the company had saved a lot yearly for the past ten years. "I got a report stating that this engineer had a serious work ethics breach. I am quite skeptical about this, but the report by the manager seemed to be quite serious. After all, it is true that Mr. Arash''s attendance and the number of emergency leaves he had been taking spiked too much in this last month. If his family was truly in trouble, we could sympathize. But, if it was just a fraud, we need to take serious actions to give others a reminder. "Let''s just have a talk first and decide later. We couldn''t just hear from one side. Evaluation should come from 360 degrees." A handsome, slightly tanned Caucasian man in a suave dusty gray suit replied without moving his gaze away from his smartphone. He was the young and upcoming VP of the Project Department Sector, the prodigal son of one of the Board of Directors. He had been placed in this position three years back for the sake of learning the ropes in the company. Since then, Mr. Alan had made quite a lot of ''big moves'' within the company to improve the overall productivity by thirty percent. It involved the change of a few policies, relocation of personnel, and retrenchments. Mr. Tze nodded silently. As someone who was here to assist this young and upcoming prodigal star, he could only try his best to give counsel and advice accordingly. His position meant nothing to this young man in front of him. Although he was from another department, his livelihood was in the balance, too, since he heard that only a word from this young man could sway the CEO''s decision from HQ. He wasn''t sure how accurate the rumors were, but it seemed that this man''s ''cable'' was quite big. Mr. Alan placed his smartphone on the meeting table and laced his fingers together. "No rush. Let''s just wait and see the man himself." ... Arash was sweating buckets at the moment. Meeting both Mr. Alan and Mr. Tze was really bad news. He had heard last year''s retrenchments were being led by these two higher-ups. He took a deep breath in the lift and sprayed some freshener into his mouth before he stepped out with a calm look. Hana had adamantly told him to take good care of his dental health and hygiene, especially when talking to clients and bosses. She said it mattered and even forced a mint-flavored mouth spray into his hand. When he saw it inside his cube''s drawer, immediately, Hana''s advice came to mind. Once he thought about the love of his life, he would feel very calm and collected, as if he had been doused with a quick fix of endorphin. It didn''t matter. Arash convinced himself internally. It didn''t matter if he was sacked. He could find a new job. He had quite a sizable saving due to his immaculate way of handling his finances. It would be alright even if he was unemployed for a year or so as long as they become a little thrifty. If God wills it, he would just embrace it. In a sense, it was quite a good time for him to be there for his beloved little girls if it comes to that. Although Arash was grounded, some bits of positivity from Hana did rub off upon his person. Arash''s gaze turned serene. He knocked on the door firmly and stepped in. "Afternoon, gentlemen, I''m Arash from the Engineering Department." Arash gave a gentle smile to both persons present and shook their hands one after the other calmly. The Caucasian man with primp dark auburn hair and light gray eyes were scrutinizing him with interest from top to bottom. He felt like he had returned to the village where all the villagers were watching him like an interesting rare specimen. The Chinese-descent man standing beside the Caucasian man had a smiling expression upon him. However, it was disturbed by the little frown over his forehead. He must be worrying about something at the moment, but Arash only gave him a reassuring smile to appease him. His act startled the guy, and he finally recovered as his smile turned a notch softer. After being seated in the empty meeting room, Arash inquired, "Gentlemen, is there anything I can help you with?" Arash felt a sense of calmness from adjusting his mindset in the lift a few minutes before. He knew he might be laid off at this moment and accepted that fact readily. Both men were surprised by how composed he was at the moment. All three of them knew what this meeting should entail. "The company had received a report about you, Mr. Arash. And it was quite a harsh one at that." The light gray-eyed young man spoke first while looking straight into Arash''s eyes as if he was searching for something. Although it startled him slightly, Arash didn''t back down, and return his stare with a calm and firm gaze of his own. "Oh? I see. May I know the contents? I felt that I''ve been maligned unjustly if I am not given a chance to explain myself." The VP received a tablet from the Chinese guy beside him as he swiped a few times. "This report stated that you had made multiple emergency leaves, falsified the contents of your technical report for Project Kemsah, and abscond the most important review meeting with our VIP clients." "Is there anything else?" "It is also stated hereof insubordination and lack of respect for your superiors. The details... I''d rather spare you the details. It was quite colorful, to the least." Mr. Alan explained while swiping through the report stated in the tablet. He was quite surprised how high this report had gone up until he had to take action himself after the committee meeting. "I see." Arash smiled gently as he sighed. Both Mr. Alan and Mr. Tze looked at each other, puzzled with how the engineer responded. He was just too calm. "And, what did you think about this, Mr. Alan? Did the higher-ups already make a decision to make me leave due to this issue? Will my explanation affected the decision made?" Arash inquired calmly. The Caucasian man''s gaze turned bright as he nodded with understanding. "..The decision isn''t truly finalized per se. I might be able to do something about it. Convince me." A small smile crept through the corner of the young man''s lips. It was infinitely rare for the stone-hearted young prodigy to be moved about something. ... Arash started to explain about his predicament and his condition from the very beginning; how his wife went missing and is still missing currently, on how he had to manage everything haphazardly for his two children before returning to work. Nonetheless, he didn''t go into the details. What he truly emphasized was how he had finished his work, resolved any pending issues, and, lastly, even submitted the finalized paperwork by that afternoon. There shouldn''t be any problems regarding his performance and work. He also quoted that he had the right to request an emergency leave for emergency situations as it involved the wellbeing of his family at home. In fact, he had done more for the company as compared to his peers all these years and never argue with other personnel on any work-related issues. He believed that his service should''ve made the company value him more rather than forsakening him from a single one-sided report. In fact, rather than being made to leave, he should''ve been promoted for his service for this past ten years plus. Arash didn''t know what affected him. Might be due to the fact that he had accepted his fate to be retrenched, he had more courage than usual to explain how he had been mistreated, and how he held back, and how he had done his work well without raising any fuss. He also shared how he felt about petty people who loved to argue and how he didn''t want to waste his energy and emotions with these kinds of people. He''d instead go home and spend quality time with his family. He needed to make both persons understand his mindset rather than letting them have a false impression of him for being a wimp. He couldn''t forgive himself if he was looked down upon by these two gentlemen when he had done nothing wrong. While he was talking, unknown to all three of them, a transparent wave resonated from Arash''s left chest. The wave was as thin as paper, but it kept on pulsating gently. As the wave reached the two men, it entered their bodies without them knowing. Somehow, deep in their respective souls something unknowingly changed ... Authors'' Note: This is the general segregation in an engineering company that Arash works in for your reference; Junior engineer/engineer \u003c Senior Engineer/Project Engineer \u003c Project Manager \u003c Department Manager \u003c General Manager \u003c Vice president (Project Department) \u003c President/CEO of company 132 The Heavenly Trial of Dam Haji! "Congratulations to the top four! Excellent moves!" Hana wasn''t stingy when it came to praises, after all, it only took a few drops of saliva. The four marine animals were so happy with the compliments, they blushed slightly. However, they were quite confused since there were three Lords present to be ferried, but there were four of them. Obviously, everyone wanted to be Hana''s mount and didn''t want to carry the notorious serpent, if possible. Who knows if a tiny mistake from their parts would costed them their lives. They heard that he was as strong as the highest Lord of the Crystal-veined stream, Lord Tittua! "You must be thinking, who will carry who at this moment, right? Tsk-tsk, not just yet. The Zumba competition is just the first round! In the second round, we''re going to let you play another amusing gam.. ehem trial! Why there is four of you here? You had to fight each other. The winner will have to fight another winner, and the last creature standing will be my mount today! Passing this heavenly trial will make you rise to the heavens!" Hana joked while explaining in a lighthearted mood. Saras, Mata, Kolo, and Gramps Alpy''s eyes brightened as they looked at each other. No one wanted to fight Gramps Alpy because they knew how hard his shell was. "Relax. It''s not that kind of fight. You will play a little game instead." Hana chuckled. She called for both Kuro and Shiro and taught them about ''Lat-tali-lat". It''s a simple game where you fan one of your palms while singing the simple rhyme and stop on either the palm-side or at the back of the hand side. Since there were only two choices available, the chances to get either one was as high as fifty percent. The ones who got the same position will then fight each other. It was that simple. Originally, the simple game was for choosing a single person for something, but Hana improvised a little. Kuro and Shiro faithfully followed Hana''s instruction to show how the game was done. "Lat-tali-lat-laili-lai-tam-plom!" They worded the rhyme awkwardly and played three times, with two different outcomes. "So easy, right?! Come on, try it out before you guys truly battle it out! Everyone play together!" Hana ushered all four of them into a circle and started singing the nonsensical no-meaning rhyme, "Lat-tali-lat-laili-lai-tam-plom!" (1) It was pretty easy for Kolo and Gramps Alpy to play the game since they had limbs in the form of paws. Mata had it easier too as he only had to swish his long pectoral fin to show which side was up and which side was down. However, Saras had to resort to an acrobatic performance to show which side of her flippers she wished to choose with a bitter feeling. Imagine a dolphin the size of a mini whale flipping about just to show the upper side or the bottom side of her flipper. The rest of the marine animals could only sigh helplessly as they witnessed Saras'' extreme efforts to score brownie points in front of the main Lord. Nonetheless, Saras'' efforts were not in vain. Hana had been giggling with stars in her eyes from the very beginning as she observed the pink dolphin''s antics. She did feel a little guilty, but just a little. She felt that the struggling dolphin was the cutest among them all, either in terms of color and appearance, or its efforts. Unbeknownst to even the pink dolphin herself, she had caught Hana''s heart. \u003c3 ... Crowds were divided into two in the middle of the clearing, as tens of marine animals encircled around two groups of contestants. However, no loud noises were heard. Only occasional serious-sounded whisperings discussing something resounded from the crowd, which will be followed by a loud ''shuuushhh'' sounds from the rest. "Is that alright?" "Shushhh... You are too loud! I think that''s about right!" "There''s a trap in three more steps. I could see it!" "Preposterous!" "You are wrong. There''s a way to counter the trap. I can see it! I''m sure he noticed it too." "True. It seems that he planned to navigate around the trap." In the middle of the crowd, two groups were battling with great concentration! However, they were not moving at all as they stared daggers at each other, imaginary electrical currents sizzled from each others'' eyes. In front of them, something akin to two flat-surfaced large boulders was placed with square 8 x 8 grids on top, serving their functions as gigantic ''tables''. The two ''tables'' were five meters from each other, while the grids were colored with black dye alternately. Kolo and Saras were confronting each other with a ''table'' between them. At the same time, Gramps Alpy and Mata inhabited the other one. They were moving tiny flattened black and white pebbles across the table. Some movements were a single diagonal move within the blackened grid. In contrast, some jumped in between each others'' pebbles to capture the opponent''s pebbles. Mata was struggling under Gramps Alpy''s assault! Although Gramps Alpy was old, he wasn''t senile yet! In fact, he was the most shrewd old miser among the marine spirit beasts! Sometimes, the marine animals gasped collectively! Sometimes, they nodded in understanding in unison. Sometimes, the tension was so unbearable, some marine animals swam away in their own bubbles to whisper at a safe distance away as not to disturb the contenders, "That is really intense! I couldn''t take it! Let''s snack a little, guys." while flapping either their limbs, tail ends or pectoral fins exasperatedly. Obviously, this unique game will be quite popular amongst the marine animals once it was brought back to the clan''s main grounds later. ... Time was moving ever so slowly. Hana swiped her phone to see the time. She had an idea of letting the animals contend each other in a game of Malaysian checkers, Dam Haji (2). Supposedly, the rules for the ''Haji'' which had the same role as a ''King'' were quite lax in this one; hence, these cute animals could finish it up rather quickly. But she had overestimated their seriousness in winning over her heart. Therefore, each movement made by the contender was done after a thorough observation. No one had even produced a ''Haji'' yet even after two whole hours of playing. She could only smile helplessly with their overcautiousness. It was just a fun game and nothing more to her, yet to the others, it could become the ticket for them to change their lives. Hence, they did their very best. Only the tortoise looked quite poised and confident. Hana could almost predict the winner even before the game ended. However, what was more precious was how these animals behaved in front of her. They were just like highly intelligent human beings but in the shape of animals. Their expressiveness was one-in-a-million, Hana felt like she was in an animation with talking animals starring in the movies. Sometimes, she sneakily took a few fun pics and short videos of how the freshwater animals interact with each other. They were like children seeing toys for the first time, having a picnic, under fair weather. Except that, she knew that these animals were spirit animals; most of them were stronger than her and could pose some kind of threats to her. That was why she knew that her two doted ones were not leaving her side even for a single moment. Little Pi-chan was snoring upon her lap. She occasionally caressed its fluffy brown head as it ''piii'' contentedly in its sleep. "HAJIII!" A wizened cracked old voice resounded loudly, startling all the spectators, including Hana. Everyone started to cheer for him as if he had already won. She could almost feel that the air was charged with fervor! It turns out the tortoise had the highest intelligence among the rest. Surprisingly, he is also the most popular one! Hana nodded while smiling at the tortoise to give him some encouragement. ... It was already a long time after noon. The sun had tilted more than it intended to from its axis. Mekong had been waiting for more than eight-hours under the harsh sunlight. Even his supple and moist skin had started to dry up from prolonged exposure. "Where are they?!" ... Authors'' Note: 1) Lat-tali-lat-laili-lai-tam-plom!" = it''s an old method to single out someone prior to playing or doing something just by flipping the hands. The chance of winning (or being singled out) is about 50% and was a favorite for everyone around here. It is even easier than ''rock-paper-scissors''. Examples of how it was played can be seen through these two video; A commercial electrical appliances vid by Panasonic (0:22 - 0:30) In this short vid, this method was used to choose who''s going to do the house chores. The rest were just eye candy (chuckles) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ__rWaIsUE A Malay song by a young singer, Wafiy (0:12 - 0:30) In this song, the one who is singled out will be penalized with the soot from a wok for fun. Another part was when they did the method to choose who will go talk to the little girl (0:53 - 1:00). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPcTofbMjxQ 2) Dam Haji = a game of checkers that is slightly different than the normal checkers. The king, "Haji", when being upgraded had the power to move forward, and backward on the board. They can even jump far as long as there''s a space after the opposing contender. Basically it''s an overpowered King. haha. 133 Who Got the Bigger Cable? He wasn''t sure why, but he felt connected with this man somehow. He couldn''t understand how that Rama guy could dislike someone like this. He could only felt goodwill for this person. There must be a story behind all these. Deep down, he felt that he had to extend an olive branch for this senior engineer. If he didn''t do it, he''d be a sinner to the company. Who knows how the company could benefit in the future from this single act of goodwill. After pondering for a moment, he made an important decision and held up his hand to stop the man from talking. "I will investigate this matter personally. Your grievances are duly noted. You can return to your workstation." He laced his long fingers and placed both hands under his chin while eyeing for the senior engineer''s expression with a smiling expression, his thoughts, being obscured by the other two. The eyes of the senior engineer showed a slightly startled look, but it was gone just moments later, replaced by a calm nod. "Thank you, Mr. Alan. Truly appreciate this." Alan acknowledged his nod with just a tilt of his head. "You may return to your station. Please cc the latest finalized Project Kemsah''s report to me. I would like to have a look." "Noted, Mr. Alan." "Oh.. write a short report on the ongoing projects you''re currently working on and their stages." "Sure." ... Tze showed a speechless look. The man had briskly left the meeting room without even saying a word. He had thought today''s meeting will be filled with drama drenched with sob stories, tears, and snot to invoke their sympathy. Lo and behold, the personnel didn''t even bat his eyelid. "Isn''t that a little bit too arrogant? Why didn''t he showed even a sign of relief or at least a bit of gratefulness?" He shook his head with a wry smile. However, deep in his heart, he was happy for the man. He deserved to be given a second chance. He himself wasn''t sure why he felt so amiable towards the man, though it was only the first time for him to actually interact with the engineer up close. Tze blinked his eyes a few times as he tried to process Mr. Alan''s remarks. He hadn''t realized such a tiny detail; he just felt that senior engineer dressed neatly, which was good enough. Mr. Alan was really observant in a bizarre way. He was beginning to doubt the young prodigy''s ''preferences''. However, he immediately pushed it as far as possible to the back of his heart. Such a dangerous thought, if it was detected, will spell his doom. Mr. Alan''s ''cable'' wasn''t simple. It could be as thick as an electric pole, as far as he knew. "He must have a sizable saving and a backup plan. He wouldn''t care if we let him go. He could soar high in other places too with his level of competence." Mr. Alan added quietly while scrutinizing the report on the tablet again. "Ohhhh... Haha." Tze laughed sheepishly while sweating. He nearly dug his own grave. Tze didn''t understand why he kept on reading the same information again and again. Was he looking at who authorized the report? "Do you want me to inquire who authorized this report?" "No need. I think I already know who. Just a little minnow. Let''s see who will win this little game." Mr. Alan gave a devilishly handsome smile, though the smile did not reach his eyes this time. Tze shuddered a little when he noticed a dangerous glimmer in the young prodigy''s sharp gaze. Tze''s eyes showed signs of being surprised. It seemed that Mr. Alan was quite fond of this personnel and was planning to go all out for his sake. He had never shown any interest in other aspects of the company since he arrived from HQ three years ago. All of his decisions and actions were taken based on his own data analysis. He only weighted what could benefit the company, and what couldn''t, just like a robot. He had never taken any interest in mingling with the local personnel before. Even he who had accompanied the young prodigy from the very beginning didn''t know what he was thinking the majority of the time. He knew he had been assigned by the head branch to assist this young man in any way he can because they were nearly the same age. However, until today, he could only respectfully call the prodigy as ''Mr. Alan'', without knowing the last name! That was how distant they were even after working together for three years. It had become a sensation during the first year of Mr. Alan''s arrival, especially towards the office lady workers. However, once the retrenchment plan began, no one dared gossip about it anymore. Tze pondered for a moment as his heart felt a complex feeling. Is this a good development? The committee was actually at a 50 to 50 concerning to this Senior Engineer''s problem with the Department Manager. Although it was against the company''s policy to sack such a competent personnel, usually when there was a problem between a personnel of a lower level and a higher one, they will almost always side with the higher one instead to maintain the harmony of the office environment. Although he felt that it was wrong to lay off such an excellent personnel, he had encountered such situations many times. Initially, Mr. Alan''s interference was due to his curiosity only. He had no choice but to observe how the young prodigy planned to settle this issue. He predicted that a storm will be here again soon. ... In the next three days, a major event occurred in the engineering department. A sudden major reshuffling of personnel occurred yet again with the start of the retrenchment of the General Manager, Mr. Lee, and the Head of Department, Mr. Ramanathan. They had only been given with a two-days notice and one month''s salary as compensation! Everyone was in jitters as they were guessing, which unfortunate fellow was going to be next! Until they got a company-wide announcement for the replacement of their Department Head! It was their mellow, gentle co-worker, Arash! Even Arash himself was unaware of this development. Heck, the pieces of Thai BBQ beef slices nearly choked him after he heard the news! As he coughed and coughed to clear off his airways, he could feel penetrating gazes from the colleagues around him in the pantry. "What?! I didn''t do anything. Seriously! I''m also as shocked as you guys." Some of them chuckled lightly; Arash''s flustered demeanor was somewhat funny. The others were looking at him with a weird look. "Don''t forget to open table ya (2). Pity these bros of yours." Razali slapped Arash''s shoulder good-naturedly. He was truly happy for Arash. "Was wondering when that old fogie will kick the bucket. Who knows, didn''t have to wait for that. I thought his cable was quite big?" Another colleague whispered with a low voice. "It seems that someone around here had the bigger cable." Razali grinned as he sped off with a mug of coffee to his own cube. "I don''t have any cable!" ... "..clean up your stuff and head to the office by tomorrow to assume your post." Arash just received another call. It was a confirmation of promotion by the management. He stared blankly at the phone receiver for a few seconds, as he couldn''t comprehend what was happening. [Did that Mr. Alan truly did this to help me?] He remembered the talk he had with the two higher-ups three days ago. Opposite him, Razali mouthed the word "CABLE" again to tease him before he chuckled and return to his work. [Did I just seriously obtain such a big cable?] Arash sweated slightly. Nothing was free in this world. What will Mr. Alan want from him in the future? ... Authors'' Note: 1) T20 income bracket = In Malaysia, the household income is divided into 3 major categories. B40 (RM0 C RM4850), M40 (RM4851 C RM10 970), T20 (RM10 971 C no limit). Average income of T20 is +-RM15 000. 2) Don''t forget to open table ya = open table means to treat a person to a meal for free. Usually being said to someone who just got a job or a promotion as a form of congratulation. It isn''t a necessity for the promoted/got a new job person to really treat the one who said it. However, in our community, it is a norm for the person who got promoted/new job to use his/her first salary to treat her close family members and close friends to a meal, though it isn''t compulsory. 134 When the World is Unfair and Dolphins are Cute Cheers resounded loudly amongst the freshwater marines as the famous old tortoise showed his prowess. Gramps Alpy was grinning from ear to ear while he moved the upgraded black pebble across the ''board'' with ease. To Mata''s dismay, the shrewd old tortoise ate up multiple white pebbles at one time, leaving him with peanuts. It looked like Gramps Alpy was having the time of his life! Truthfully, Gramps Alpy had never felt so alive until this moment! He had decided to teach the new game to the others when he returned regardless of whether he succeeded or not. He knew this game will be a new sensation back at the clan grounds soon. How else can he keep flexing!!! On the other side, Saras the pink dolphin, was meticulously moving her white pebble using her snout with difficulties as Kolo sighed deeply. "Do you need my help, Saras?" "No. It''s alright. Just give me some time, alright?" Both of them were chatting quietly in Bubble language. Both Saras and Kolo were the quiet type with a mild temperament. Nonetheless, the tension between them was building up steadily, since both of them knew the significance of winning this weird yet complicated ''competition''. Their paces were the same, and even their clumsy attempts at ''eating'' each other''s pebbles were at par with each other... It will be a long, arduous fight... ... By around 3 pm, two winners were finally determined. Obviously, the disparity between Gramps Alpy and Mata was so vast, for the old tortoise to win with ease was nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone had predicted it. Nonetheless, no one expected that the fight will be over in a mere one hour! However, the fight between the beautiful pink dolphin and the brown introverted crocodile dragged for three whole hours! It was so intense until the end! Saras won with a very small margin as the checkers'' board was nearly devoid of competing pebbles! Now, they''ve seen Kolo in a new light! It turned out that the extremely quiet crocodile was highly intelligent too! He had been too low profile all this while! The socially awkward Kolo kept on blushing when intense stares were directed at him again and again. He didn''t know what to do but to just perfunctory replied with a faint voice to the incessant questions by the others. Suddenly, Kolo found himself in the center of attention, although he failed to win the competition. Saras and Gramps Alpy were already eyeing each other this time, the fire of competition burning in their hearts. They knew this was the final straw for them to win the Lord''s favor. Chomper''s tale about the benevolent goddess was still fresh in their minds. They knew this was the chance they''ve been waiting for! "No can do, Saras dear. This chance may never come again. I''m sorry. Just be a good girl and respect the elder." "Then, may the best creature wins." Saras smiled and nodded to the old tortoise in acknowledgment. The momentum was building up rather beautifully as the two contestants stared daggers at each other. The crowd was divided into two; one was the supporters of the shrewd old tortoise, while the other group was the die-hard-fans of the graceful river dolphin. "Alright!! That''s it for today!" Hana''s loud voice, accompanied by its translation from the white fox, made both Gramps Alpy and Saras nearly fell. They looked at each other and blinked their eyes in confusion. Even the rest of the freshwater marines groaned. "But... But... Lord, er, Lord Shiro, the winner had not been determined yet. Who will be the one to carry the main Lord?" Gramps Alpy, the tortoise, queried cautiously while reverently lowered his head. "No need to ask too much. The Lord has spoken. She already chose between the two of you." Shiro replied with a bored expression. Immediately all eyes were transferred to Hana. Some were full of hope, while the others were shining brightly more than the rest, making Hana oh-so tormented dearly inside. She just loved looking at those googly anime eyes the most. Hana walked down towards the two contestants as the sea of freshwater marine creatures parted to give her way. She walked step by step and was followed closely by Shiro on her right, and Kuro on her left. Particularly on her left, all the creatures gave the tyrannical lightning serpent a wide berth, too afraid that any small mistakes would costed them their lives. Kuro could only roll his eyes over since technically, they were right. However, since Hana was around, he won''t easily lash out his temper to maintain his adorableness in his mistress'' eyes. Gramps Alpy''s eyes glittered in anticipation. He knew he was the best in this round''s competition. His eyes lighted up when he saw the Hana walking towards him. However, Hana walked passed him after she patted the giant tortoise''s head with a smile. She went over towards Saras, held her breath, and immediately gave the pink river dolphin a hug! "Oh my god, I just loved pink and dolphins! And you''re the embodiment of both! How adorable!" As usual, the aunty had forgotten herself and squealed in delight as Saras tried her best to withstand the awkwardness of making direct contact with the highest Lord of the area. Kuro and Shiro eyed each other with a suspicious look. It seemed that their Mistress had been partial towards the pink dolphin from the beginning! Then what was the use of making all those nonsensical competitions?! [Mom! Is it just me, or you''ve been eyeing the dolphin from the beginning?!] Shiro inquired helplessly within their shared telepathic connection. [Which dolphin?] Ara asked from faraway. [When are you coming, Mistress? I''ve been waiting for such a long time... wuu... wuu...] Whiny sounds were heard after that. It didn''t sound adorable at all. In fact, it pissed both brothers immensely. [Shut up! We''re discussing something important over here! Little fishes go and play at the corner!] Kuro barked unhappily. [Sorry...] T___T [Stop being so hard on Ara, guys. Ara deary, we''re wrapping up already. On the way, on the way, haha.] Hana blushed, and her awkward laughter rang within their telepathic mental connection. [What can Mommy do, the dolphin is just too adorable. Beh tahan. I really, really, wanted to hug her from the beginning. I had a pink dolphin plushie just like her once. But not that big. She was as big as a manatee I saw in the aquarium once upon a time ago.] Kuro and Shiro, [!!!!!] [Why did we do the competition then?!] Kuro almost faint from their mistress'' antics. He had placed his dignity aside to assist with the competition; all for the sake of helping Mommy choose easier. Hana cleared her throat and laughed sheepishly. [I just want to see you two performed Zumba.. that was all. It has been super adorable. And Mommy is always right huhu \u003c3 The other creatures are a bonus! Really spectacular! Mommy enjoyed the performance tremendously!] A droning questioning sounds interrupted them. It turned out, even Q-chan was trying to say something, but alas, she still wasn''t good with the universal beast language. [Are you okay, Q-chan? Why are you so happy?] Hana could only perceive the Primordial Queen Mother''s mood and could understand what she felt. [Home... near... together...] Everyone within the telepathic ''chatroom'' blinked their eyes in confusion. [Okay, dear. Anticipating the good news! When I get back, let''s meet up, alright?] [You should''ve chosen the tortoise, Mom. It''s more comfortable to ride on, the most quick-witted, hence will follow instructions easily.] Shiro added quietly. He had issues with how Hana choose her mount. Dolphins were not quite ideal for a comfortable ride. [Additionally, it scored the best in all competitions. It deserved to be made into a mount. You should reconsider.] [No way. That dolphin is too cute. Besides, they need to learn that the world is always unfair. We''re not kids anymore.] Hana shrugged noncommittally. Kuro and Shiro were speechless with Hana''s attitude and could only shake their heads in dismay. A few days ago, the aunty already promised to listen to their counsel, alas, she had forgotten it altogether again! Whatever, since this was only a small matter, they could only helplessly let go. ... A large convoy moved in the middle of the Crystal-veined stream''s deepest parts, led by a tanned woman with long thick braided hair. She was riding a large pink dolphin. Her ragged, dusty blue jeans and faded partially thorned yellow shirt were gone, as they were replaced by a tight-fitting ''clothes'' that looked like a black one-piece swimsuit from her neckline to her toes. She still wore the brown sweater over the new one-piece to cover her less than ideal body shape. Obviously, this woman was Hana, who had just made a new set of clothes for herself, using Kuro''s shedded skin. She used one of Kuro''s many protruded scales as a needle and cut some of the shriveled skin into thin strips where she used as threads. The size of Kuro''s sesame seed shaped scale in his real form was about three inches in length. What she needed to do was just to trim it a bit using her Clawknife drenched with Kuro''s saliva. Her needlework was extremely sloppy, but since the material was very sturdy, after working on it for three nights, she got a fairly decent replacement for her faded yellow shirt and brown sweater. Only that, she realized the material was suitable for swimsuit-like attire rather than regular clothes. She even tried making some undergarments using the material but ultimately gave up since it couldn''t even absorb sweat! She really needed some cotton-based textile for those. Only after completing the needlework project did she start performing extreme workouts just for fun and to curb her boredom. Closely followed a pace behind her was Shiro, upon the giant tortoise, the shivering Chomper by his side, followed by nine Elemental Fiends of the General-class and a single Worker-class orange-colored Elemental Fiend; all atop various freshwater creatures. The cute little Piko-piko was tied on top of the orange Elemental Fiend as it snored adorably. Originally, the Worker-class Elemental Fiend was reserved as Hana''s mount; she didn''t want to roast, electrocute or poison her own butt again and suffer in silence. Shiro had painstakingly select the ''brawniest''one amongst thousands of them once she told him. The rest of the freshwater creatures without passengers followed at the back forming a long congregation. The freshwater creatures were careful not to submerge all twelve delegates in the stream as they maintain half of their bodies on-air and only skimmed the surface of the beautiful crystal-clear river. Hana had started feeling sore at her inner thigh area after four-hours of continuous journeying. She wanted to ask for a break, but couldn''t since she was the culprit who delayed the journey too much just for the sake of having fun. She was slightly guilty about it, but well, since the appointment didn''t have an exact timing, it should''ve been alright. [Mom?] [Yes, sweetie?] [What did you talk about with Q from before? I never knew you already could read the Queen Mother''s intention like that. I''m ashamed of myself for not being able to understand her, although we''re considered as brother and sister.] Shiro was feeling conflicted about not being able to comprehend Q-chan''s telepathic message. Was his link to Mom, and the rest was that shallow? He couldn''t help blaming himself for not linking well with everyone, including his own Mistress. [Nah. I don''t understand at all. Just pretend to understand to make her happy, haha.] Shiro nearly fell into the river. ... 135 The Arrival of the Breakthrough Specialist Part 1 The one that moved his heart the most was of course, Mommy''s embrace. He could feel that Mommy hugged him tighter than usual. She kept on whispering to him to take good care of himself, as if he was a child on his first ever journey to the outside world. If only she knew how ''bad'' he was before he entered her life, she wouldn''t even bat an eyelid at his departure. Nonetheless, he truly enjoyed being pampered by Mommy as he knew she was genuinely concerned about him. At first, he thought of visiting the Primordial Queen Mother''s nest first to convey his intentions of their future plans. However, he ultimately changed his mind. He felt that gifting Mommy with a new cute pet once she returns takes precedence. He could still discuss things through with Q-chan and her mate before he went to hunt the elusive heavenly treasure for Mommy''s sake. After all, he still needed to gather clues from them. It was naturally the right time to hunt for the Forest Spirit. Since Mommy was not around to hold him in check, he could be as tyrannical as possible. Kuro grinned evilly. He felt that he had sense the bugger''s presence not too long ago. He would have to retrace his steps back to see where did that little scaredy-cat guy was hiding. Nine out of ten that guy would''ve gone into hiding after it felt his aura from before. He had heard that Forest Spirits are the darling of nature and could perform a rudimentary level augury-like abilities to sense impending disaster by reading the signs from the world. In some sense, Kuro knew he was the ''disaster''. However, he will never give up since he had promised Mommy. The black-colored lightning serpent disappeared in the blink of an eye amongst the rotten leaves and gnarled roots within the dimly lit forest. His movement showed that he knew where he was going as he traveled in a straight line towards the territory of the pitiful Forest Spirit. Ahh.. let''s just light a candle to the poor spirit beast... ... Q-chan happily droned in an incomprehensible tone. The Mistress had praised her for her efforts! Through the exclusive nest-wide telepathic connection the Queen Mother had with the sea of Elemental Fiends, she sent over Hana''s compliment and regards. A loud high pitch drone filled the cave cavity! Everyone was extremely excited! They resumed their efforts and doubled up their speed! It won''t be long before they could reach Empress'' abode! Everybody was thrilled! Q-chan estimated that they only need another one to two days to reach their destination. ... At the Five-fork Crystal river, Mekong observed the sun disappearing at the horizon with a wretched feeling. They have been waiting for the whole day! Colorful expletives nearly spilled from his mouth, but he pushed it into the deepest recess of his heart; he would definitely suffer greatly if he insulted the princess'' Mistress openly! In the worst-case scenario, he could be executed, and his life could be forfeited! Outwardly, Mekong tried hard to maintain a calm expression. The other fifty attendants around him were maintaining a stoic expression too; their eyes were glazed as if they were not present at the moment. Maybe some of them were daydreaming or even sleeping. Fishes didn''t have eyelids after all, obviously, even if they fall asleep, no one would know. These attendants came from different Waterlords, to be exact, ten each came from Elder Waterfall, Elder Watervenom, Elder Watersprout, Elder Waterspring, and Elder Waterlake. Mekong knew that some of them would''ve been the ''talents'' sent over to make contact with the new landbeast Lord who managed to subjugate the notorious Lightning Serpent. He had heard about the new Lord''s tendency of being fickle-minded, where she only choose the creature she likes rather than the one with the most talent. The lucky princess'' attendant was one. He was even there when the guy won over the Lord''s heart to receive her favor. He was quite frustrated that he was not the one being favored by the Lord. It was self-evident that he was more handsome and more talented than the little guy! "What were you thinking about, Mekong?" A sweet melodic voice has woken Mekong up from his daydreaming session. "!!!!" The princess was just beside him, eyeing him with curiosity! Just beside her, Grand Elder Watershade was eyeing him with narrowed eyes and a stern look. The old silver catfish only gave a deep sigh after awhile, refusing to ask anything or comment. It seemed that the Grand Elder''s impression of him had fallen a few notches. "Young Miss! Grand Elder!" It really made him sobered up. The rest of the attendants finally gave a sense of being alert and sharp again after seeing the stern look of the second most powerful creature of their clan. "Silence. The Breakthrough Specialist''s convoy will arrive soon. Impudence will not be tolerated and will be punished, regardless of who your Waterlord is." Grand Elder Watershade spoke casually while addressing the rest of the attendants with a veiled threat. He needed the deal to start amiably and will not appreciate someone meddling with it. Mistress Hana looked mild and easygoing, but only he knew, behind all those warm smile lies a stubborn old croon who loves to argue and haggle for the best deal! She could turn hostile any minute with a slight provocation! So he really needed to control the environment well to be on the winning side. The attendants bowed low. Some even blushed, while some others showed a defiant look when the Grand Elder was not looking. As if he did not notice... Grand Elder Watershade harumphed lightly. Loud laughter in Bubble language could be heard suddenly. From afar, all fifty-one attendants plus the Grand Elder and the Young Miss of the Clan turned their gazes in sync towards the loud noise. They could see a creature with a black mane sitting on a pink dolphin who was swimming in a backward position! The creature was throwing little fishes towards the freshwater animals accompanying her. They will jump midair to catch the tiny fishes while making a backflip to return into the stream. Everyone was so speechless, they couldn''t say anything at all. The landbeast Lord was treating their servants like show animals! The thing was, all of them enjoyed it! Ara flashed past the rest and greeted the Mistress happily, "Mistress Hana! I miss you!" She swam over as fast as possible! Hana heard Ara''s telepathic-voice and immediately instructed Saras to turn forward to meet up with Ara only to face so many different freshwater creatures ahead! The laughter immediately ceased, and the servants kept quiet and adopted a serious expression. Although some of them were trying hard not to laugh. Ara was so fast, she appeared in front of Hana in no time and nearly collided with the pink dolphin! However, she immediately jumped out of the water and made a beautiful 10 point flip midair, and landed on Hana''s hand. Once she safely fell on Hana''s outstretched palms, she conjured the Water-Barrier Arts to be able to breathe on land. "What are you doing, Ara?! That is dangerous! What if I didn''t stretch out my hand and catch you?!" Hana berated lightly while she sighed. Last time, little Ara was about two kilos. After a month, her weight doubled! Thank goodness it was still within her ability to carry her. This chubby girl! "Mistress can just let me wallow in sadness... Wuwuwu..." Ara started to act in a spoiled manner in front of the Mistress. She can''t help it, her benevolent Mistress was one of the few who will always treat her extremely well besides the Grand Elder. Only her great-grandpa treated her harshly all the time! Everyone who heard her rolled their eyes upwards. Such a drama queen! "There, there, no need to be sad. I''m so strong now, even if your weight doubled again, I can still withstand it. Do grow big and strong, alright? Once you''re big and strong, you could help out around the house. Mistress will be very happy. Of course, with the permission of your grandpa and the Grand Elder." Hana good-naturedly rubbed Ara''s lovely pinkish head and gave a slight nod of acknowledgment to Grand Elder Watershade. Grand Elder Watershade gave a nod back. However, he had his gaze on the ten Elemental Fiends behind Hana and Shiro as he narrowed his gaze slightly. Bringing nine General-classed Elemental Fiends and a single worker-classed Elemental Fiend was a silent declaration that the aunty had gotten ahold of a new group of spiritual beasts. If she only brought just a few mixture of random classed fiends, it would mean that they just caught a few at random by destroying their nest, which was within the Lightning Serpent''s ability. But, the astute Grand Elder could detect that these purple-colored Elemental Fiends were of the top-tiered ones, as if they were the elusive Primordial Queen Mother''s personal guards! What did this indicate? The Grand Elder had come to a disturbing conclusion; Mistress Hana had just enslaved a whole nest of Elemental Fiends, including its owner, the Primordial Queen Mother! His bargaining chip had reduced significantly! The pink dolphin, Saras, was quite nervous as she swam closer to the Grand Elder, a lofty figure of the clan where she would never have the chance to approach, after she received Shiro''s instruction. Hana rubbed her head gently to calm her down with one hand while hugging Ara under her armpit with the other hand. "Evening, Grand Elder. Everything''s well, I presumed?" Hana started engaging in small talks with the Grand Elder as she smiled politely. "Evening, Mistress Hana. All is well. We have been waiting for quite a while. But no matter, it has always been a privilege to wait for a grand person such as you. Our family''s Princess Aranyella had been missing her dear Mistress'' guidance daily." As usual, the Grand Elder''s poised and elegant manner was reflected in his gentlemanly speech. Until today, Hana was still quite intrigued by the Grand Elder''s eloquence. If he had a British accent, it would be even more perfect! "What of Lord Tittua?" Hana very calmly brought up the real master of the clan. She needed to know whether her visit had been acknowledged by the Lord of the Crystal-veined stream. "Currently, he is still in closed-door cultivation, attempting to break the Imperial-lord barrier. He won''t be available for quite some time, I''m afraid. Apologies for our insolence." It was only fitting for the master of a territory to personally greet another master of another territory that it was in friendly terms with. Letting the subordinates become the representatives could mean that the other party was viewed to be at a lower standing, which was quite rude. That was why the confrontations between Suria and Shiro, and the previous confrontation between Lord Tittua and Shiro, invoked the other party''s anger. However, in the Waterwave Marine Clan, the Grand Elder''s position was unique. His power was nearly at par with the Lord, and he could become the Lord''s representative and even issued orders to be followed. The Lord was like a figurehead of the clan while he was the one who actually manages the clan and make sure it runs smoothly. "I see." She gave the Grand Elder a meaningful look. "Is he aware of our previous, emm, deal? Will it be alright?" "Mistress Hana doesn''t have to worry. We always had a tacit agreement in everything that could make the clan prosper." Hana nodded with understanding. It''s just meant that the Grand Elder''s power was on par with the Lord of the Crystal-veined stream. "May I know why these fellows are waiting here for? I thought you already sent over attendants to receive us?" "Ahh, those were personal arrangements by our eager little Chomper. These young ones are the ones that had been meticulously chosen to assist Mistress Hana with your needs during your visit in our humble abode. You could choose any of them, or take all of them in." The Grand Elder proposed languidly. He was tactfully informing Hana to abandon the low-leveled servants in favor of these new ones to serve her. Although Grand Elder Watershade didn''t place his own people within, he didn''t mind letting the other Elders'' people trying. Regardless of who the Mistress chose, it will benefit the clan greatly. "No thanks. I''m good. These cuties are enough." Before the ''attendants'' could do anything to impress Hana, she had flatly refused. She did not even try to observe them. The awkward silence between them was followed by a short nod by the Grand Elder, "Alright. As you see fit." ... 136 The Arrival of the Breakthrough Specialist Part 2 The subordinate was a small fish, just the size of a baby''s palm, extremely agile, and prompt in his job as a personal attendant of the elder. It tilted its head in acknowledgment and disappear immediately. After less than a minute, it appeared again, dipped its tiny head and relayed the information it gathered. "I see. Finally, she''s here. She disregarded our representative just like that? Humph. Inform the young one to keep on persisting. This is important for our goal." The little fish bowed low. As it about to disappear, Elder Waterfall added, "Try to arrange a personal appointment with her as soon as possible. I need to know about her disposition." The tiny palm-sized fish disappeared immediately after a pause to give a nod. ... After greeting the Grand Elder amicably, Hana and her group were ushered further in. Although she had been offered again to at least change her mount to a better one, she adamantly refused. After all, the cutest freshwater creature with a pink hue around here was only Saras besides Ara. Another thing was, she didn''t want Saras and her friends to be sent back since she was very fond of all of them. Suddenly, all the other fifty-some attendants didn''t have anything to do except just to be an escort. They eyed the rest of the servants with jealousy, a tinge of anger could be felt simmering within. Even the clueless Hana could feel that the atmosphere was somewhat strange and tensed. Her womanly sixth sense was tingling as if informing her of someone''s ill intent. It made her more vigilant as she gripped her Clawknife a little tighter under her sweater while engaging in empty talks about the weather with Grand Elder Watershade. Even Shiro had moved closer to insert himself between the two, though he tactfully placed himself a step behind. Shiro''s insolent behavior had made Gramps Alpy underneath him sweating profusely. [Mom, did you notice it?] Hana was quiet for a moment and replied telepathically with a straight face. [..Is it about how these creatures eyeing us? Are they angry because we''re late? Seriously? Why do I feel this ominous feeling oozing from them? Did they wait too long for us?] [Before, it might be so. We''ve spent too much time beside the riverbank today. But now it seems that they''re unhappy that you favored these minnows so much. The ominous feelings you''re detecting was killing intent. Remember this feeling, Mom. In other situations, if you could detect it, be extra careful.] [We need to find out the structure of the clan. A clan as big as these must have many factions. If you treasure these.. minnows.. do something for them. If not, they could be executed once we return.] [Why? They didn''t do anything!] [That''s how this realm works.] Shiro shrugs as he remembered his previous clan with a sad heart. [Looking at the energy fluctuations of these ''attendants'', they might be high level talents sent over to entice you before the real selection begins. This clan is quite prosperous to have so many talented younger generations.] Shiro commented quietly. Although what Shiro told his Mistress was only his speculation, it was infinitely close to the truth. In this realm, the strong devours the weak. The weak had no choice but to just leave it to fate to survive. It could be said that the servants brought by Chomper had snatched away the golden chance of these talented younger generations to be noticed by Hana. Chomper will still be fine since he had Ara to shield him. However, the fate of the rest of the servants was still unknown. If the opposite party was as petty as it could be, they might even face death. Hana scrunched her brow while she contemplated on how to proceed. A plan started forming in the aunty''s mind as she gave the Grand Elder her sweetest poker-faced smile with an austere gaze. Seeing the scheming smile of the aunty, the Grand Elder returned his own slightly crooked smile while he visibly shuddered. ... Presently, the landbeast Lord of the Lightning Serpent''s Territory paraded through the middle of the Crystal-veined river''s third fork, the Gates of Waterspring. A sizable number of attendants were escorting the landbeast Lord and her group. The left and right side of the river was filled to the brim with a myriad of freshwater creatures of different species and sizes, some with limbs were even observing them from the dry riverbank. As their eyes fell on the famed scourge of nature, the ten Elemental Fiends, they revealed a panic expression! They never knew apart from taming the notorious Lightning Serpent, the new Lord had also conquered an Elemental Fiends'' nest! It was a silent way of showing power! The river opened up into a somewhat large lake enclosed within a treacherous terrain with thick vegetation surrounding it, which acted as a natural defense. For other spirit beasts to go any further, they had no choice but to traverse through the lake to reach to main clan''s ground where the elusive Spirit crystal lode was said to be located. The lake itself was very picturesque, with an emerald green hue at the sides and a deeper tone in the middle, indicating that it was immeasurably deep. At the far end of the lake was a gigantic four-tiered waterfall, pouring down majestically while creating a beautiful miniature rainbow at the bottom through condensation and sunlight. The Grand Elder introduced the area to Hana, "The start of the Five-fork Crystal-veined river is where our true territory lies. However, to truly reach the inner clan''s ground, one must traverse over one of the five branched out river. This river we''re on right now will lead to the Gates of Waterspring. Similarly, other rivers will lead to different Gates. The other gates are the Gates of Waterfall, Gates of Watervenom, Gates of Watersprout, and Gates of Waterlake. Each one of the rivers harbored a Guardian Elder with the same corresponding name. These were the last defense we had to repel intruders from entering our main clan''s ground." "Fascinating! This is such a beautiful lake!" Hana''s mood was lifted with the natural beauty surrounding her. Unknown to her, beneath the deeper part of the lake, the Guardian Elder of Waterspring was observing her with curiosity as she gossiped with her followers in Bubble language. ... "Was this the famed Breakthrough Specialist invited by Watershade? Why is the aura so weak? The foreign white fox beside it is strong though. I''ve never seen this species with such a strong ice-attribute in this area." "We''re not so sure, Elder. Powerful experts could mask their powers from us low-leveled ones." "True. Should I go out to meet it? Will it be okay?" While being indecisive, Hana passed through Elder Waterspring head''s upon Saras'' back. This made the Grand Elder sighed heavily in helplessness. He couldn''t blatantly show favoritism in front of all elders, but he could somewhat guess Hana''s preferences. Him following this route was giving the elder a chance to shine and made herself known to Ara''s Mistress. He cleared his throat loudly and paused his movement, explaining a little more to grab Hana''s attention. The clueless aunty kept on getting more and more fascinated with the natural beauty of the location as she eagerly absorbed all information just like a tourist with a professional tour guide. Getting the Grand Elder''s cue, Elder Waterspring immediately surfaced with a smile etched on her lovely face. ... "..and here is the guardian of this lake, Elder Waterspring." Just as Grand Elder Watershade finished describing how the basic defense of the five Gates system worked, the water shook violently and a large three-meter orange-pastel colored aquatic spirit beast surfaced from within the deepest part of the lake! At first, Hana was quite scared, but upon closer inspection, the huge lizard-like aquatic spirit beast had a silly-looking face! (1) "Pftttt.." With a larger-than-its-body head, small eyes, mouth devoid of sharp protruding teeth and a fat body, Hana was having a hard time suppressing her laughter from its funny appearance. If she did, it would be considered as body shaming! Hana had seen this animal somewhere on the internet. It seriously looked like a Giant Salamander! But of course, a Giant Salamander was only around 1.5 meters. This was larger than a Giant Salamander! Additionally, its ability to become an Elder meant that it must be an expert with great prowess! "Welcome to our humble abode. Just ahead is the way towards the clan ground. Mistress can just call me Little Waterspring." Not understanding why Hana was all smiles, Elder Waterspring put herself in her most amiable state and introduced herself humbly. Who knows, in the future, this Breakthrough Specialist will favor her more than the rest?!" ... The news about the arrival of the Breakthrough Expert had traveled very fast! Even before Hana arrived at the clan''s main grounds, her name had resounded far and wide amongst the freshwater marine spiritual beasts! Everyone was so excited to see the mysterious expert who had subjugated the Lightning Serpent and became their willful princess'' Master! As time went by, more and more freshwater spirit beasts congregated around the entrance of the clan''s main ground to spectate Hana''s arrival! The aunty had become a celebrity even without knowing it! ... Authors'' Note: 1) silly-looking face = you guys can see the face of a salamander by googling ''Giant Salamander''. It looks quite silly and cute. It looks somewhat like Barney''s face from Barney and Friends. Haha. 137 Leaping Through Dragons Gate Although Hana was confused, she still followed faithfully to see what kind of wonders will the old silver catfish showed to her this time. Chomper added with a small voice while reminiscing the olden days, "When the little me was younger, this was the part that I failed to complete." "You''re not part of the clan before, Chomper?" Hana was surprised by the revelation. Chomper''s past was unknown to her as he was not chatty about it at all. He only knew how to talk with flowery tactful words to make all of them feel good. Even the stone-hearted Kuro was secretly affected by Chomper''s words and compliance as he viewed the little guy with a much softer gaze compared to the clueless Ara. "No. This undeserved one just entered the clan around a month ago due to a series of chances coupled with the Mistress'' benevolence." Chomper blushed as he bowed low. "Me?" Hana blinked her eyes a few times, unable to relate. "This young lad here entered the clan as a reward for finding our family''s Aranyella before. Mistress Hana''s further strengthening regime had solidified his standing to become one of the most promising younger generation of our clan." Grand Elder Watershade explained with a smile while patting Chomper''s head with one of his long silver whiskers. Chomper blushed again heavily as he swam faster to lead the congregation. "It is only luck, Grand Elder. Let this humble one lead the way, everyone." The Grand Elder smiled kindly, "Luck is also an important factor in advancement. It is undeniably your talent that led you to get the opportunity granted to you by the Mistress." Hana couldn''t hear what the Grand Elder was talking about anymore. She was so dumbfounded when she saw Chomper swam ''upwards'' with ease against the roaring currents of the gargantuan waterfall, defying gravity! It reminded her of the extremely famous term ''carp leaping through the dragon gate'' from various c-novels! The four-tiered waterfall was very high; at least the height of a multiple-storey building following the natural shape of the steep mountain as its backdrop. Although it was not as majestic as the famed Niagara falls, it was still a sight to behold. Next, the compressed four-meter Grand Elder swam upwards with ease. Hana''s eyes nearly came off. Covered within a unique air-filled weightless ''car'', Hana nervously looked around as her group started their ascent. Nearly a hundred freshwater creatures simultaneously moved upwards against the waterfall''s harsh currents, giving Hana a wondrous feeling. The ones with limbs like the tortoise just behind her, crabs, prawns, and even crocodiles climbed the waterfall just like performing wall-climbing sports but with added water resistance. Their bodies sometimes disappeared behind the splashing waters, while at other times resurfaced. Hana took out her smartphone to record the majestic sight! In fact, anyone would''ve done the same! Who wouldn''t record such a sight? These freshwater creatures essentially were swimming against the current as well as against gravity! Another step further than the famed salmons during the mating season! The group only took just around forty-five minutes to ''climb'' the waterfall at a steady pace. Once they reached the top, Hana was greeted with the sight of a picturesque small lake with crystal-clear waters at the edges, but a deep emerald blue hue at the center. The beauty of the lake reminded her of the iris of a Caucasian with a deep blue tone, extremely enchanting. Nonetheless, the lake was not as large as the Waterspring lake below, but Hana could see that this small unseeming lake must be the water-cache for the whole network of Crystal-veined stream in this area. It must be immeasurably deep, even deeper than the Waterspring lake she traversed previously. The lake was nestled within the sides of the mountain with thick vegetations and treacherous terrains around it. Beautiful colorful moss and tiny flowers decorated the edge of the waters. Hana was currently within the lake itself, but nearing to the edges, where the waterfall was situated. She was still riding Saras'' back. Her body was still dry within the large bubble; only her exposed legs were wet. Safe within the enclosed ''bubble-car'', Saras had no qualms swimming within the lake''s water itself while giving Hana a priceless underwater view! Surprisingly, Hana couldn''t see any kinds of freshwater creatures within the lake, which puzzled her. Grand Elder Watershade swam by and enlarged the bubble to accommodate Shiro and himself. He explained, with the help of Shiro''s translation by the side, "The last test of traversing against the current is known as ''Leaping Through Dragon''s Gate'', a tradition amongst us. Embarking on the long and winding path of cultivation signifies defying the heavens. One must persist on this path, although it might take countless years and endless suffering. For the young ones from outside the clan''s ground who wished to join us, this test is a tough one, but a must. It needed persistence and the will to never give up, the only values that we want from new clansmen." Looking at how Hana watched him with a weird look and a twitching half-smile, the Grand Elder asked, "Is everything alright, Mistress Hana?" "...Did you guys ever read C-novels?" "Excuse me? What''s a C-novel?" "A kind of enjoyable book filled with the things you just said. Haha. What a coincidence." Hana was having a hard time to stay serious when a large silver catfish was talking Xianxia-esque materials with a reverent look beside her. A light flashed in the Grand Elder''s eyes. "A coincidence indeed. We didn''t know anything about a book. In fact, we don''t even know what ''book'' is. Mistress Hana''s broad knowledge astounds this humble one greatly. We really need to have a discussion about this ''book'' you mentioned." "Ah? Err.. just forget about it. What I remembered is just some sporadic stuff only. I can''t help at all if it''s about providing information from those books. I just vividly remembered that some clans do practice such a method to assist them for future breakthroughs in cultivation." Hana flapped her hands multiple times with an embarrassed look. "Just a question though." "Do ask away, Mistress Hana." "Do dragons existed? Or is it just a figure of speech? Have you actually seen one with your own eyes?" She really wanted to know the origin of the test''s name. Could''ve been someone who read Xianxia books and could tame fishes at the same time? "Of course there are. I''ve seen one when I was a youngling. To be exact, it was a fight between a Water Ember Dragon with a Flaming Condor. They just passed by above us. At that time, the accompanying destruction was too terrible until we had to migrate. I lost a lot of my clansmen at that time." The Grand Elder sighed as he reminisced about the past. "Lord Tittua and I are the pioneers of our clan once we won the Spirit Crystal Lode. We''re just a new low-tiered clan over a thousand years old, with next to no legacy. However, there are stronger experts with immense strength out there. We''re safe at the moment since the value of the lode was below their expectation. Another thing is, not many knew about our Spirit Crystal lode." "I did hear about Water Dragons and Flood dragons existing in the vast oceans where our Crystal-veined stream network connects to. As you adventure further out, you must be extra careful, Mistress Hana. This realm is wonderful and full of opportunity but full of dangers. If you couldn''t carve out a piece of land for yourself, the probability for you to live will reduce very fast. You will keep on encroaching on someone else''s territory and will be attacked ceaselessly from all sides. Around here, one who enters another''s land without consent is viewed as a challenger to wrest the land from the lord of the area." Grand Elder Watershade spoke faintly with a severe gaze. Hana''s eyes were as round as boiled eggs, unable to believe what she heard from the old silver catfish. It was not about the Grand Elder''s advice. It was the fact that the Grand Elder had seen a real life dragon! The Grand Elder added, "Mistress, you need to increase your strength fast. Your special abilities, they could be a gift or a curse to you." He felt that he should at least remind this bubbly creature out of goodwill. After all, with the lack of awareness, the dangers she faced will double or even triple. Their princess'' little life was at stake as long as her Mistress was as reckless as ever. As if awakened from a stupor, Hana heavily sighed and answered, "Thank you for your reminder, Grand Elder. I will keep your advice in mind. Anyway, your place is beautiful." Hana complimented wholeheartedly as she pushed away the shock she felt deep into her heart. The view of the lake''s area was absolutely stunning. She was thinking about where should she ask the pink dolphin to land. Her back was already hurting and she needed to rest for a short moment before the meeting with the Grand Elder started. Grand Elder Watershade chuckled lightly, "We''re not there yet, Mistress. This is just one of the many entrances. Follow me." With a swift motion, the silver catfish separated himself from the main bubble and swam off into the depth of the lake. Before Hana could say anything, the whole congregation moved towards the darkness at the bottom of the lake. ... 138 You Come Close, You’ll be Frozen like that Fish! Happy Independence Day, Malaysia! The intermittent flashes of light and water bubbles obstructed her view. She nearly couldn''t see a single thing. The low visibility within the darkened tunnels had made her heart quaked with fear. The speed of the pink dolphin''s haphazard movements added to it even more. Sometimes, the large balloon-like bubble rubbed against the walls, creating a friction sound, making Hana panic-stricken. If the air-bubble burst, she will definitely die a horrible death. Hana felt like she entered a race with many dangerous turns blindfolded while staking her life. She didn''t make any noise at all. Not even a scream. What she did was pray. She prayed hard and hugged Saras with all her might. At this moment, our aunty was scared stiff, like a frozen rabbit. Oblivious with Hana''s internal turmoil, the pink river dolphin was feeling uncomfortable with the aunty''s ''over-chumminess''. Nonetheless, she just pushed it deep into her heart for her own future''s sake. Although outwardly, Hana was silent, Shiro and the Grand Elder could hear her heart thumped so fast as if going into hyperdrive! Currently, Hana and the group of nearly one hundred freshwater marine creatures were moving together within the labyrinthian underwater tunnels, expertly selecting the correct way towards the clan''s main grounds. They had to go fast since the myriad of darkened tunnels were so deep and complicated, with hundreds of turns. Every one of the freshwater creatures associated with the Waterwave Marine clan had been imprinted with an exclusive technique developed by the Crystal-veined stream Lord himself, at which they could find their way only through sight, once inducted into the clan. The clan''s main ground was connected with thousands of deep underwater tunnels as another layer of defense against intruders who yearned to take over the Spirit Crystal lode. [Mommy? Are you alright?] A soft whisper of a teenager sounded in Hana''s mind. Kuro, who was miles away detected her distress, as usual, asked with a concerned telepathic-voice. [I''m, I''m, not so okay. I''m scared of the dark, Sweetie.] Hana feel like crying. She hated darkness and speed the most. Other people get thrilled with speed, but she was the exact opposite. However, she tried her best to maintain a regal stature of a Lord for her kids'' sake. If she started losing her head and scream, she would''ve made her lovely Shiro lose face. So she had been trying hard suppressing her fear. She hadn''t noticed that everyone around her could hear her loudly beating quivering heart. [What happen? It''s going to be okay, Mommy. Shiro is beside you.] [I know TT_________TT It doesn''t work that way. Your Mommy is a wimp.] Hana started chanting under her breath to link her sight to her beloved pet snake. Slowly, her onyx-colored eyes turned ruby red. She sighed lightly in relief and closed her eyes in peace, savoring the sunshine peeking through the leaves from the other side. Slowly, her frantically beating heart slowed down into a calm one. ... [We''ve finally arrived, Mom. You can open your eyes now.] Shiro sent a mental message to Hana bitterly. He felt like a loser for not being able to help Mom with her plight. As Hana opened her eyes, Grand Elder Watershade surfaced, followed by Gramps Alpy, who was carrying Shiro, Chomper, Ara, and the rest of the freshwater creatures carrying the ten Elemental Fiends. The sleeping little Pi-chan who was tied and bundled up at the back of the orange worker-classed Elemental Fiend finally showed signs of movement. It stretched a little, and upon seeing that it was being tied up, it just wriggled a few times to be free. Once it was free, the reckless aura of an early-stage Lord resonated to the surroundings, shocking the freshwater spirit creatures. The unassuming miniature bird was stronger than the Grand Elder! It flew around bewilderingly as if it was confused on how it could appear in this strange, unfamiliar space. However, once it detected its beloved ''Mom'', it immediately dived down into Hana''s bosom, and snuggled happily, forgetting about anything else. Hana looked around as she surfaced with Saras, just in time to hold the chubby brown bird who was zeroing in on her. It was a dark underwater cave with a fresh air pocket. However, on the walls of the cave were studded with beautiful Spirit Pearls, spilling a romantic greenish glow. At the center of the cave''s ceiling, there was a large Spirit Crystal emitting a faint white glow, illuminating the surroundings with an elegant feel. The environment weren''t bad at all. It actually looked quite exquisite. Using the large Spirit Crystal as the centerpiece was genuinely artful. "Little Ara over here was the one who made this place for her beloved Mistress. She was also the one who purged air in and decorate a little. She said you''d definitely love it. Originally, we don''t have a place to accommodate land dwellers. This is also the first time we had guests from land. Apologies for the shortcomings." The Grand Elder''s gentlemanly speech resounded as usual, giving Hana good feelings. He proceeded to ask the pink dolphin to deliver Hana to a platform made from flattened stone as large as five-meter square. It looked like a tiny island, just below the large Spirit Crystal. On the platform, another smaller platform was placed in the middle. It looked like a short-legged round table. "Have a seat." The Grand Elder conjured up a tiny bubble the size of a palm and send it over to Hana. Feeling confused, Hana extended both of her hands to receive it reflexively. "We only have water at the moment. Hoping that it would suffice." Mekong came over and hand over a tiny ten inches tube-like branch which was hollow in the middle with his two pectoral fins. From seeing it, Hana understood that she had to use it as a straw. Hana feel extremely gratified, as she remembered she had served the Grand Elder with a cup of honeyed coconut juice, also with a soft tube-like branch to be used like a straw. These intelligent creatures were something else! They treated her in a cultured manner, just the way she showed them only once before. The Grand Elder excused himself for a while and asked everyone to leave except for Ara. "The Mistress had taken a liking to all of your clansmen who accompanied her courteously at our territory. Let them know that the Mistress wished for them to accompany her here at the moment. At the end of the meeting, she will select the ones she''s fond of." Shiro relayed to the Grand Elder. Hana had asked him to make all of the servants stay to protect them. Grand Elder Watershade''s eyes brightened. He asked, "How about the rest? Would the Mistress wished for these attendants to stay as well?" "No. Dismissed all of them." Shiro''s ethereal voice was ice cold. Immediately, a cacophony of discussions in Bubble language flooded the air pocket and the waters around it! The freshwater marine spirit creatures who accepted Chomper''s call showed an unbelievable expression! This! It was true! A moment of chance had arrived for them! With a single step, they could ascend the heavens! ... While the aunty was drinking the plain water happily, thousands upon thousands of freshwater marine spiritual creatures were observing her every movement curiously from within the waters! This was the famed Breakthrough Specialist! Oh, how they wished she could pick them too! Not many were clear with the conditional advancement deal struck up by the Grand Elder and Mistress Hana. They only know that if luck permits it and they were noticed by the princess'' Mistress, they could soar through the heavens too! Just like those lucky ones. Gazes of excitement, longing, and envy intermingled with one another. If only they lived inside the same water cave as the princess'' attendant! A small fish dashed amongst the densely packed water to the surface. A lot of guards were patrolling just below the waters to prevent overexcited clansmen from going near the guests. Nonetheless, it had evaded all of them expertly and jumped out of the water. Immediately, it conjured up a water bubble mid-air to approach Hana. Obviously, it was the tiny subordinate fish who wanted to relay Elder Waterfall''s message to Hana. However, before it could go near Hana, a ray of elemental ice powers struck the bubble and the unlucky little fish within, freezing it immediately. The ball of ice fell back into the water again, dampening the spirited clansmen''s vigor. They just realized that the white creature with tree branches on its head beside the main Lord had been highly vigilant and would attack anyone who came close. Shiro emitted his half-step Lord''s aura and laced it a little with anger to send a message to all the creatures below. ''You come close, you''ll be frozen like that fish'' was what he intended to deliver. He had been wary with the movements of all the creatures within the underwater cave structure and immediately shot his Ice-ray attack once he could detect suspicious movement. What if someone wanted to assassinate his precious Mistress? There were simply too many spectating below! If an ambush happens, his last resort was to freeze everything over. If that happens, he was very sure the deal Mom painstakingly made with the second fogie will definitely crumble! "What are you doing, Shi-chan?! Will the little fish be alright? You shouldn''t attack just like that. Pity the little fellow." "It''ll be alright as long as its friend help it thaw the ice and remove the ice-poison. Anyway, that little fish is way stronger than Mom. Its actions were dangerous. Your safety is my priority, Mom. I don''t care about anything else." Shiro shrugged. The guy who jumped by was a little stronger than the over-courteous minnow Mom likes so much. However, he still could deal with it with a single blow. He needed to show his ruthlessness just a little bit so that they won''t see these claws and teeth as mere decoration! ... 139 How to Leverage on One’s Own Popularity? Seeing that Elder Waterfall''s dark face had shown simmering anger as he saw his underling being attacked just like that, the Grand Elder sighed deeply. He had advised them not to do anything behind his back, and this young one still did it. So he had to bear the price of losing his subordinate. The only other person who can dispel the ice-poison was, of course, himself, since Lord Tittua was not around. No one else had reached the same height in cultivation in their clan. He had to save that little subordinate sometime soon. These elders needed to know that the only friendly creature with a warm attitude within that group was the princess'' Mistress! So, they really need to care about their manners with her. Her subordinates couldn''t permit such insolence, and obviously, they won''t tolerate any dodgy movements which could potentially harm their Master! "The white creature is a half-step Lord! Goodness gracious!" The rest of the Elders talked with each other seriously. They knew, not one of them could contend against the white creature. However, if they worked together, they could barely survive the confrontation. The white creature was as strong as the Grand Elder in front of them! The only other creature stronger than the Grand Elder was Lord Tittua, who was still in closed-door cultivation! "What''s more, observe the obscure little bird well. Its aura, can you all detect it? All of you weren''t here yet when it flaunts its aura earlier." All five Elders present observed the little bird snuggling within Hana''s bosom with their spiritual sense. As if detecting that it was being probed, it suddenly jumped upwards. It emitted its monstrous aura to suppress the insolent intruders! "What are you doing, Pi-chan? Come to Mommy! Don''t fly around, Sweetie." A soft indolent voice made the bird retracted its aura as it dived down and started to act cute again, rolling and rolling upon Hana''s lap. The tyrannical suppression was lifted just like that. Just now, all Elders, including the Grand Elder, were being suppressed until they couldn''t breathe. Although it was only for a few seconds, the taste of an early-level Lord was evident! This unknown baby bird was an expert at the same level as the notorious snake! Another new unknown expert in their ranks! The faces of all five Elders were as if they were choked with durians in their throats. Extremely uneasy. "So, what is the conclusion, Elders? Please give me some space to negotiate with her for the sake of our clan''s future! No interference!" the Grand Elder exhorted severely. The Elders looked at each other. After a few seconds of rumination amongst them, they finally nodded. "Mistress, Mistress! Look at this, look at this!" Ara twirled around Hana inside her water bubble. Although there was water just below the platform, she preferred floating around her Mistress. It felt too long! Not seeing the Mistress had made her heart felt full of longing. "Yes dear, what is it?" Hana patiently smiled while stroking the pink tilapia''s head gently. She treated Ara just like how she treated overexcited kids. One only needed to smile, nod, give them occasional praises and hugs. Not to forget to provide them with the attention they needed. Ara swished her beautiful flowy tail around, and a wave of air currents was generated mid-air. Hana could feel the air undulated in a rhythmic motion like when a stone dropped into a body of water, except that the motion was made from air. At the same time, the little pink tilapia''s unihorn glowed with a faint bluish light. "This is called Ripple. My mentor told me, if I could develop the strength enough, I could manipulate water currents. At the height of my mastery, I could even affect a large-scaled wave at sea!" Ara explained earnestly, eager to impress. It was her dream to travel to sea, though of course, her great-grandpa won''t ever allow her! It was a significant development for the young miss, since she had been neglecting training, she could only perform low-level spells. The presence of her aquamarine core had amplified her elemental-based abilities and increased her comprehension with water-related arcane arts. "Good for you, my dear. Is there anything else that you''ve learned so far besides making a little air move about?" Hana smiled good-naturedly, not realizing that her words were like a hot knife cutting through butter. Although what Hana said was from her observation, the aunty''s careless remarks obviously hurt the over-dramatic Young Miss'' heart. To her, the Mistress was insinuating that she learned a useless skill during the time when they were apart! Ara sniffed a little as her eyes misted. She felt that she had been badly wronged. What should she do to convince Mistress Hana that she''d been extremely diligent? Did Chomper reported on her before? She only lazed around a tiny bit. [Mistress, teach me how to Soul-link to you. I want to link to you like how my brothers could.] Ara whined sadly as she started to snuggle in a spoiled manner on Hana''s lap, wetting her, while simultaneously trying to change the subject. It turned out, Ara did pay attention. During the episodes where the Mistress subjugated the Elemental Fiends colony, she could finally feel the presence of the link between them. It had manifested strongly, and keep on getting firmer as days passed by. After discussing with the Grand Elder to find out what it was all about, she finally realized that she had indeed become a family with Hana. A life and death bond that was as strong as it was named. To this little gullible fish, she only felt happiness and did not felt that her freedom had been taken from her in any way. [Now? Are you sure? They were waiting for the meeting to start. What if this cultivation session took many days like before? Won''t we let the host wait for nothing?] [Mom, how about me?] Shiro''s beautiful voice resounded. [Before, you have specifically linked with Big Bro Ku, the next chance would''ve been for me. I haven''t brought it up because I''ve seen how busy you have been since we accepted Q into our ranks. How could you skip me and attend to the little fish first?] This time, even Hana could feel the bitterness within the words telepathically sent over. Hana sighed deeply and pulled Shiro close into her embrace. [You should''ve said something. I''m so sorry for neglecting you. Let me see what I could do for the both of you. Please let Chomper know that I don''t want to be disturbed until all of us exited our cultivation. Tell him that everyone could disperse for the time being. We needed privacy. However, their safety needed to be guaranteed. I want all of them.] A smile bloomed on Shiro''s face as his mood lightened. [Noted.] ... "Could you repeat again?" The Grand Elder was stumped when even he was barred from entering the underwater cave where the artificial air pocket was located. He had heard that the Mistress had dismissed everyone out except for her own people, the Young Miss, and her attendant. He thought that the lady was preparing for the meeting to start, hence his haste to join them after a little preparation. "This little one humbly apologize, Grand Elder. The Mistress requested some privacy. She was teaching the Young Miss, though I am not so sure what it is." Chomper repeated again. "I see. How many hours will it take? I will return once the private tutoring session ends." The Grand Elder nodded knowingly. He was happy when the Mistress put effort into educating the willful Young Miss, regardless of what kind of knowledge imparted to her. The willingness to patiently learn and to listen to the Elders was what counted. "Er.. This humble one am not too sure. It might need quite some time. Maybe a few days." The Grand Elder showed a blank look. "Have you checked whether it is as you said trice?" "Yes. As a matter of fact, this humble one did. Exactly five times. Until Lord Shiro was so pissed with me." Chomper bowed low with a servile attitude, with a tinge of fear still reflected in his eyes. "I see. Did the Mistress said anything else?" "Yes. She said she wants all the servants once the tutoring session ends. Make sure they are well taken care of." "All? She wants them? Are that the exact words?" Chomper nodded. The Grand Elder nodded slightly after a moment of contemplation. He understood the Mistress'' request behind Chomper''s word. "Rest assured, this Elder will make sure none of them will be touched." ... The meeting was postponed indefinitely as an order of the highest level was issued out by the Grand Elder himself. ''The low-leveled servants who have joined the princess'' attendant in receiving her Master shall not be touched at all cost'' was the decreed passed down to all clansmen. Anyone who did it will be executed! It was that harsh! The issued order invoked multiple reactions from the Yong Masters and Young Misses of the clan. Most of them were the unhappy ''attendants'' who waited for the landbeast Lord for more than ten hours in the sun only to be brushed off in favor of the servants. It had put a stop to all schemes and nefarious plans altogether for the time being. These spirit marine creatures were afraid of the Grand Elder''s retaliation once they failed to abide by the new decree. On the other hand, suddenly, all the servants became overnight celebrities!! Gramps Alpy, the most popular of them all immediately put forward his plans to popularize the new game! He named it ''The Heavenly Trials of Dam Haji''. He encouraged the masses to try out the ''mind-sharpening arcane techniques'' he learned from the elusive landbeast Lord! Leveraging on his current popularity, within twenty-four hours, 80% of the clansmen started playing the game! However, the shrewd old tortoise began to teach the other servants to wager their Meaty Clams. In the height of the ''Dam Haji'' boom, the higher classed Young Masters, Young Misses, and Elders started wagering with real Spirit Crystals! As someone who started the fad and blazed through the challengers, Gramps Alpy and his team, which consisted of the servants who entertained Hana, managed to collect a sizable amount of treasures! It was so lucrative! Nobody could touch them as they were protected by the Grand Elder''s decree. In just two-day''s time, all the clansmen had identified these group of lowly servants as Princess Aranyella''s personal faction! Additionally, they were backed by the Grand Elder himself, rendering the other from performing any foul play. The meeting hadn''t even started, but Hana''s random actions had given rise to a ripple effect, which made the whole clan go haywire! Everyone was either playing or talking about Dam Haji, the most popular mind-sharpening technique taught by the benevolent Mistress. They even stop cultivating or practicing their spells! It was like the clan as a whole stopped functioning at the moment as everyone became addicted to the new two-way technique. Grand Elder Watershade could only slap his forehead and sighed helplessly as he waited patiently for the time to meet the aunty. ... 140 Failed Soul-link Nothing happened. Then, she yanked a lot harder, but the thread didn''t budge at all. She felt no pain whatsoever, only confusion. Hana couldn''t make heads or tails over this thin yet solid thread attached to her body with no ends. It was very weird. After trying several times and nothing worked, the aunty finally gave up. After all, she could somehow feel Kuro from within the red-colored star, so she didn''t panic, only feeling slightly peculiar. Did the thread truly connect directly to her translucent flesh? Somehow, that thought led her to think about Soul-link, the technique taught by her beloved little black snake. What made her convinced was the fact that she could actually detect Kuro''s presence withing the shining red star even without Kuro purposely connecting to her telepathically. She didn''t know how else to explain this wondrous phenomenon. It was hard to describe in words. Hana took a few steps forward and caressed the red star gently as it pulsated brightly with her tender touch. She stepped into the pulsating red light to immerse herself within out of curiosity and opened her eyes to see her surroundings. However, it was not the familiar neverending hall of darkness she was accustomed to. What she could see was a foreign high-definition darkened forest floor with flitting images of something moving fast in between the bushes. That something was glowing orangy red, as if it was an infrared image. The level of the 3D images was of the highest immersive quality, just like when one was using the VR console. They only lacked sound, as if the noise was disconnected, and sense of touch. Hana came to a realization that she had proactively merged with her beloved pet snake! Slightly excited, Hana probed and asked. Is everything alright, Sweetie? A reply entered her mind. [Yeah, no worries, Mommy. I''m just a tad bit hungry. Currently hunting for food. How was everything on your side?] [Everything is fine and dandy, Sweetie. I''m trying to Soul-link to your brother.] A few seconds of silence ensued. [I see. Be prepared with the heart tribulation accompanying the syncing process, Mommy. Don''t succumb to it. You can do it.] [Ah? Tribulation? Oh, okay. Do take care, okay. Love you, Ku-chan.] [Love u too, Mommy.] [I see. That''s how it works.] She looked around to find the ''stars'' she needed. Where was the star representing her beloved Shiro and the naive little girl, Ara? Ah, one was on her left, the ice-blue one. It was only a few meters away. She could feel Shiro''s presence from the star. She turned around a few times to look within the darkened spacious Soul Hall Domain. Finally, she found Ara''s aquamarine star in a distant location. Hana walked languidly towards Shiro''s ice-blue star and merged herself within. She felt that it was only apt for her to connect to Shiro first. After all, Shiro was the closest to her after Kuro. She chanted the modified version of the Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul chant as she found that her multicolor pastel light diminished and was replaced by an ice-blue light. Nonetheless, it felt unstable, like a choppy dial-up internet line. [Shi-chan, can you feel my presence?] Nobody answered after a while. [Shi-chan?] A sudden whiteness covered her vision. It was accompanied by a frigid cold that seeped into her bones. Hana suddenly felt that she had been transported to a different location. However, it was not the underwater air pocket where Shiro was located. By right, her beloved pet fox was only beside her, hence the vision she saw was wrong altogether. Hair-rising howling of wolves could be heard at the background. It was accompanied by the loud shrieks of foxes. It sounded so close, so full of ill-intent. Hana was getting panicked. The total whiteness surrounding her was like a thick heavy fog. Even when she tried to inhale, she nearly choked. What should she do right now? She can''t even see a thing at the moment. [Shiro! Connect to me!] Her shouts were futile. Her pet fox simply didn''t answer her. Then, the tearing pain started. She could see faint images of a large group of foxes who looked similar to Shiro being torned apart by wolve-like creatures within the fog-like world! She herself felt her limbs were thorned off one by one. Hana screamed in silence, as if her voice was robbed of her. The pain was real, unbearable even. Immediately, the link backfired, as she was thrown out forcefully from within the ice-blue star. Still shivering, she exited the Soul hall Domain, feeling excruciating pain and extremely exhausted. She wasn''t sure was it due to the cold, or due to the imaginary pain, or both. It felt real, and she wasn''t even sure why she was crying. She couldn''t fathom how long she had been torn apart, piece by piece, within the dream-like ice world. It felt like an eternity. Hana opened her eyes to see her beloved Shiro placing his head over her lap, tears still streaking down over his face. His white, slightly grayish fur was painted with streaks of blood. Worried faces of Ara, Chomper, Pi-chan, and the Elemental Fiends entered her vision. The ten Elemental Fiends had surrounded her in a defensive formation, as she was still sitting cross-legged in the center, sweating profusely. The smell of iron was thick in the air. As Hana wiped off the sweat on her temples, she found that her fingers were filled with blood! "What happen?" Hana asked quietly while she moved to the side of the stone platform. She looked herself into the waters and was horrified to see herself filled with blood! [I could feel you, Mom. But I can''t hear your voice. Chomper told me, at first, you start sweating blood. After a day, you vomited a lot of blood while screaming, which prompted him to try waking you up, but failed. He then managed to wake me up, and it forcefully disrupted the link.] Hana was silent. [What were that images?] Shiro sighed sadly. [That was my mental demon. I can''t help it. I have been battling it since the day I escaped from my previous clan. The episodes had reduced a lot since I''ve been telepathically connected to the family, but this time, it came with a full force. I''m really sorry that the Soul-link failed, Mom. I don''t understand why I couldn''t sync up to you.] Hana sighed too. However, she knew exactly what it was all about. It was the heart tribulation spoken by Kuro. It just means that she needed to help Shiro to overcome it before they could finally sync properly. [It''s alright, Sweetie.] Hana caressed Shiro''s head lovingly. [It must have been hard on you. Know that we''re here for you. When you''re ready, could you tell Mommy about your past?It could be the key for us to Soul-link all of our senses.] Shiro didn''t answer Hana''s query. Nonetheless, Hana wasn''t particularly affected. It just means that the pain was still raw, and the lovely white fox couldn''t come to terms with it just yet. This must be what it means by mental demon. ... Ara had been extremely nervous as she saw the Mistress got hurt! She had been patiently waiting for her turn for such a long time already. It turned out even Big Bro Shi who was so close to the Mistress could still fail the Soul-linking procedure! She immediately floated by and pushed three All Cure Pellets into the Mistress mouth and forcefully used a little water to wash it down. She could see Mistress Hana struggled hard and pounded her own chest a few times before she could finally breathe again with ease. After that, the Mistress looked at her for a few extra seconds longer before sighing gently. Then, she shook her head and smiled bitterly. Naive little Ara didn''t know what she did wrong, which had earned her that look. It was as if the Mistress was disappointed in her! She didn''t say anything and kept quiet just like a good girl. Even she knew, now was not a good time to interrupt both the Mistress and Big Bro Shi. The situation was quite delicate! After all, it seemed that she had done something wrong again, though this time Big Bro Shi wasn''t in the state where he would reprimand her as usual. As the Mistress washed herself just beside the platform to remove all the blood stains, Chomper quietly whispered to her in Bubble language, "Young Miss! Please be more gentle the next time you give the All Cure Pellet to the Mistress. You nearly choked her. The pellets are as big as a plum, and you forced three into the Mistress'' throat at the same time!" "Ahhh... I see." Ara scratched her head with her dorsal fin with a crying face. She wasn''t sure now, will the Mistress even want to connect to her after this? ... 141 Even Fishes had Teenage Issues After around five hours of uninterrupted sleep, she immediately sat down in meditation and tried to connect with Ara. Although she was quite angry with Ara''s forceful act, she knew that Ara was concerned with her wellbeing. So, as usual, the nice aunty sighed and just let it go. Additionally, looking at that pitiful little pink fish, Hana knew she already felt guilty and hopefully will rectify her future conduct. At least, just be more gentle when helping others, and especially stop forcing others to swallow multiple bottle cap-sized stinky mudballs without consent. If one didn''t die from the ailment afflicted, one would definitely die from suffocation resulting from choking. This time, Hana approached the aquamarine blue star with cautiousness. She had a heart-to-heart talk with Ara to understand her past, inner desire, future aspirations, everything. It was more like a lengthy sharing session between a patient and a therapist. She sighed again as she recalled what she heard. Even fishes had teenage issues, eh. Hana took a deep breath to calm herself. Truthfully, she was still quite nervous. This time she was ready. She stepped into the mesmerizing shining star, and her vision blurred. Suddenly she appeared in an unknown darkened underwater cave. It was very dark, and there was only a single source of light further ahead. She couldn''t understand why she could hear sobbing sounds even when it was very clear that she was underwater. Hana sauntered to the light source and could finally make out the figure of a tiny fish as big as a baby''s palm. It was using its pectoral fins to rub its eyes. In front of it was roughly cut spirit crystals in an empty turtle shell. Hana could immediately relate this event to Ara''s previous sharing session. [I see. This must be Ara''s memory.] The little palm-sized fish used its pectoral fins like a pair of fully-functioning hands. It took some sort of stone-like tool as large as itself and hit a crystal repeatedly without relenting. Hana waited silently by the side as an observer. She didn''t know what to do but just to be a spectator awaiting the next course of event. The knocking sounds resounded for a long, long time, Hana couldn''t fathom how long she had waited for the crying little fish to compound her very first herbal medicine. Memories after memories resurfaced, all were bitter ones. Mean friends talking behind her back. Servants looking down on her. Poisoning these said ''friends'', while being misunderstood as being vengeful. The worst of all was how the little fish''s own great grandpa berated her, degrading her with harsh words and forcing her to do the things she disliked for his own vanity. From the size of a baby''s palm, the little fish grew larger a bit at a time, and more graceful as the memories flashed by. In every single one, the sweet little Young Miss grew up surrounded with her own tears and bitterness. But she persisted on. The belief that she could succeed and proved the others wrong propelled her to keep on persisting even without having a real mentor. Day and night, day and night, she didn''t stop persisting, while drowning in sorrow. The sobbing sounds continued. Hana could only sigh deeply as she saw Ara''s life flitted by in front of her eyes. This was a classic example of poor upbringing where a genius was mishandled by her own community. It''s like everyone was forcing this highly talented child to aspire to be a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer, the mainstream sought after careers, while neglecting the child''s extreme talent and passion in, say, painting, or carving. The child will grow up to be bitter and full of resentment, feeling that he or she wasn''t good enough in everyone''s eyes, or ''clever'' enough to fulfill those expectations, if the child wasn''t strong enough mentally. Thank goodness, her little Ara didn''t succumb to depression! Hana felt like she needed to give Ara a hug. A hug that the little fish desperately needed, just to let her know that she''s there for her. She approached the little sobbing fish and tried to hug her out of reflex. ... Ara couldn''t control herself. All the bitterness she felt and the unsavory memories buried deep in her heart was uncontrollably spilling out like a gush of water from a broken pipe. After watching her own embarrassing memories in a third-person view, slowly, she became too immersive within. Ara flapped her pectoral fins in panic only to realize that those fins were smaller than they were supposed to be. She looked at herself from the reflection of a pearl nearby and was dumbfounded to see her tiny self. It was her when she was just a wee babe. The one that embarrassingly cried a lot each night. Something interrupted her thoughts, she wasn''t sure what, and she suddenly zoned out. After a while, she had already immersed herself and forgotten that she was swimming in her own memories. She became the embodiment of the memories itself. She began shedding real tears and experienced her old wounds again for the second time. Cher and Ria, her bestfriends, talked nasty stuff about her in front of Brother Min, behind her back. It broke her heart. She felt betrayed since Brother Min was a senior that she liked. Since that day, Brother Min looked at her with a condescending gaze, on every single occasion, although he hid it well. Servants purposely ignoring her and didn''t help her out even when she requested nicely. She only got hushed snide comments from them. She tried to show her worth and used all of her power to convince her skeptical ''friends'' to try her newest pellet. Cher, Ria and a large number of promising young clansmen couldn''t cultivate for nearly a year after that, setting them back in their progress. Clansmen started to avoid her like the plague. A rumor circulated saying that she will poison everyone who crossed her, since she was that vengeful. Her beloved mentor sighing while shaking its head with helplessness. "Young Miss Aranyella, please stop hurting others. You need to channel your effort and energy in cultivation rather than on other random things. If you persisted, I won''t be your mentor anymore." It left without letting her explain. "You worthless lass! Stop smearing my face! Where is your dignity as the First Young Miss of this Clan?! The whole clan is laughing at you and me! Are you happy now?! Do you think you can become a healer just because you want to?! Stop wasting your time and focus cultivating! And maybe you''ll finally show your worth with all the Spirit Crystals you''ve wasted!" By this time, Ara had totally forgotten about herself as she relived the worst memories one by one. Being hurt by everyone around her was still alright. But even her own closest kin didn''t support her. She felt so alone. She felt unwanted, unneeded. Until she heard a soft ethereal faint whisper. [Everything is going to be alright. Mistress is here with you.] Ara was startled by the familiar-sounding voice, as if awakened from a stupor. She looked around her in confusion but couldn''t see anything within the darkened underwater cave. However, the darkened waters around her slowly dissolved revealing a pastel multicolored ball of light in front of her. It was shining and pulsating beautifully. She could feel the Mistress'' presence from within. Ara extended her two dorsal fins longingly while shedding tears and let the ball of light entered her embrace. The ball of light did not just stop there. It entered directly into Ara''s body. Instantly, Ara''s body emitted a bright aquamarine-colored light, oblivious to her naked eye. She felt a gush of warmth washing through her. It was filled with acceptance and concern. She felt relieved. Finally, someone truly accepted her as who she was. [I see. It is alright to want to be who I am. I am no different from the rest. Each of us has our own goals in life. Even if my clansmen forsake me, I still have my Mistress and my soul-brethren who will never leave me behind.] The na?ve little fish finally could come to terms with her mental demon. She was finally free. ... Hana wasn''t sure what she did. She genuinely felt sorry for the little gullible fish and wished to give her the warmth that she desperately needed from her family. She felt that Ara''s whole situation was just a little miscommunication and misunderstanding mixed together over the years. A little nudge in the right direction could perfectly remedy the Young Miss'' plight. She decided that once she meet with the little girl''s great grandpa, she will have a serious discussion about this. Regardless of Ara''s preferences and her estranged relationships with her peers, it was very important to get moral support from her own family members. Since she was already tied by fate with Ara, she will go all the way to mediate the relationship between the two. Suddenly, Ara''s memories dissipated, as it was replaced by its true form, the aquamarine blue star. Hana was within the blue star. She didn''t feel anymore resistance or animosity from the star to repel her out this time. However, she could see a slightly round shaped aquamarine crystal in the center of the blue star which served as a nucleus. It definitely wasn''t there before. In fact, either on Kuro or Shiro''s star, she hadn''t seen any. She wasn''t sure what she was supposed to do now but to continue chanting and wait. The nucleus became the focal point of concentration for her. As she chanted diligently under her breath, she could see runes appearing in thin air. They scattered everywhere around her at first and finally they arranged themselves into forming something like a thin thread, bundling over the nucleus within the aquamarine star. The end of the thread finally pierced the nucleus. Hana could feel a momentary connection was established. [Ara, my dear? Can you finally hear me? Did you feel the connection?] A white noise resounded. After a while, Hana heard Ara''s child-like voice. [Yes, Mistress. However, it felt different.] [It does. This is a deeper level of soul-link. Currently, I''m trying to link my senses to yours. Let''s see which sense we can sync first. Open up all your senses and tried to feel the world around you. Once you feel something clicked, let me know. In the meantime, use this opportunity to cultivate your own cultivation method. It will be beneficial for you.] [As you ordered, Mistress.] ... Time slowly moved forward as Hana whispered the soul cultivation chant for the n-th time. Hana observed the changes happening in her merged state with the aquamarine blue star representing the lovely little pink tilapia fish. In front of her, six threads linked up to the aquamarine crystal nucleus. The threads were intangible, dissipating after a while, but reformed again after being supplied with new runes, and the process kept on repeating non-stop. This must be the process of establishing a permanent link as explained by Kuro before, so she wasn''t that clueless and let nature ran its course. Two more days was needed to make one of the dissipating rune threads became solid. Hana wasn''t sure which senses did it signifies. On the third day, Hana finally opened her eyes. 142 Mindblown! However, a chilling scream from the air pocket a few days later made the whole clan jittery. "Is everything alright?! Is Mistress Hana hurt?!" Grand Elder Watershade tried to barge into the air pocket, but was barred by Ara. The previously clean air was filled with a coppery scent, a telltale of blood being spilled. He was the main host and must bear the responsibility if something untoward happened to the shrewd landbeast Lord. A war will break if the Mistress was truly hurt on their territory. The notorious serpent was excessively petty and vengeful. When he tried to force his way, the Elemental Fiends went into formation and were ready to attack. The brown bird appeared and revealed its hostile aura; the googly-eyed cuteness was all but gone at the moment. "Calm down, calm down, Gramps Watershade. It''s nothing. We will handle it. Mistress had strictly told us not to let others near her. She''s currently in a semi-closed door cultivation. Even a small disturbance could hurt her more." Ara explained while revealing a nervous look. The Grand Elder had no choice but to step back and returned worriedly to the main hall. Around three days later, an undulation of energy coming from the air pocket occurred, alerting the Grand Elder and the rest again. Grand Elder Watershade was so shocked as he knew who this aura was from. It was from their very own Princess! The Young Miss advanced a small realm again in such a short amount of time! This time, he went to have a look again, but was barred by the white glacier mirage fox. However, to his shock, he saw something unthinkable until his long whiskers jumped. "Turn back and forget what you see, Old One. We will send the girl to you when everything is done here. Don''t kepoh again." "Err, kepoh? What does it mean?" "Mind your own business." A curt reply came from the white fox. On the third day, Hana opened her eyes. Her black irises were glowing in aquamarine blue at the moment. She was still sitting in a cross-legged position with Ara hovering directly in front of her. However, she noticed something was very wrong! Trying her best to calm down, she immediately asked her beloved pet fox. [What happen, Shi-chan?! Where''s my smartphone?!] Expertly twirling the matte-black smartphone midair by manipulating the spiritual energy, Shiro knew that will be the first question asked by Mom. So, before she even asked, he had taken it out and show it off. [No worries, Mom. This treasure is fine. I''ve placed it aside. See? Very dry. I made sure not a drop of water touched it.] Hana''s breathing visibly relaxed as she sighed in relief. But she became nervous with what she did again. What was she doing sucking more water into her system?! She should''ve drowned ten times over. He returned to the main point to explain to Mom. [Yesterday, your face slowly turned slightly blue. After a while, you got breathing difficulty. We tried to wake you, but you were too deep in your cultivation, Mom. Even the girl couldn''t wake up. Shiro''s worried telepathic-voice reverberated in her mind. He continued after a short pause. The little minnow, Chomper told me, Mom''s condition was similar to a water creature accidentally losing its water bubble on land. Finally, I let Chomper immersed you in this water bubble. After that, you looked fine.] [Seriously?] Shiro nodded seriously. Hana turned to the Elemental Fiends. They were nodding too. She wasn''t sure they were just following the motion or truly meant it. Even the little chubby brown bird nodded in synchronization. It was actually quite comical. [Then, it must be true. I see.] Her mind finally clicked. She had shared Ara''s sense of smell. It equated with Ara''s special breathing style! [Ara.] [Yes, Mistress.] [How do you feel at this moment?] Silence ensued for a good one minute before a reply came. [Liberated. Relief. Thankful to you. I could feel a strong link is present right now, and it isn''t the normal telepathic connection we usually have.] [Good. Go and have a nice swim. Let me rest for a while. I need to figure something out.] [Ah? Okay. As you say, Mistress.] Ara swam away happily, feeling liberated for the first time in many years. For once, she wished to cultivate as soon as possible. She had just advanced a small realm again! Although she didn''t really understand what she learned from Mistress Hana, the fact that she advanced showed that she must be doing something right. Staying by the Mistress'' side really was a blessing for her! Hana closed her eyes. Once she opened them, the blue glow disappeared. She tried to immerse her face into the underground spring at the side of the stone platform only to get choked. She closed her eyes again and chanted, purposely selected the new bond she had with Ara, and tried the same stunt again. Walah! She could now breathe underwater! Mindblown! How did the mechanism even work?! Won''t her lungs will be filled with water? Once they did, she would''ve died from drowning! There was a total of five senses for a human being, but as Hana remembered, the thread-like rope made from the modified Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul chant produced six threads. If sight equates to seeing through the eyes of her pets, then, smell must mean using the pets'' ability to breathe in different situations besides smelling things. Hana was very eager to know what else would happen once she could sync with her pets'' sense of touch, hearing, taste and the mysterious last sense she didn''t know of. The aunty ruminated on how to leverage this new ability she suddenly gotten. It wasn''t that important with the presence of the Water-barrier Art, but still, it will be important during emergencies. Her fear towards water stemmed from the inability to breathe properly out of fear of drowning. But now, nobody can stop her! She really wanted to try diving for the longest time, and now, once she returns, there was no need to pay the VR center to experience deep-sea diving. So exciting! 143 A New Vision towards the Future of Spiritual-agriculture Currently, he had taken over Mr. Rama''s small office. Although it looked like there was a segregation between himself and the rest, there really wasn''t. It was just a squared-off section at the end of a large hall-like room made from textured gray plywood with 90 % glass pane and a standard-sized door which was ajar 90% of the time. Arash wasn''t even sure what was the use for it. To him, it was basically redundant. In his opinion, the room should be converted into a resting room for the team rather than putting him in this corner, wasting space. He heard that, in some international companies, the employees were given a high degree of freedom to complete their work. There was even some ''nap room'' to give employees the recharge they needed before resuming their work. His old cube, which was a few steps away from the room was left empty without a replacement. A ping resounded from an internal chat system on the main PC in front of him. Razali (GfE System Engineer): Everything okay, Boss? Arash (GfE Dept Manager): Fine and dandy. I thought I got a heart attack just now. Stop calling me Boss lah, brohhh. I''m gonna skin you later during the meeting. Razali (GfE System Engineer): Aiyaa, I''m so scaredddd.. You better get a full body check-up asap. Anyway, if you dare do that to your best bro here, this bro is not gonna help you buy lunch later in the future humph Arash (GfE Dept Manager): Ewahhh, insubordinationnnn Razali (GfE System Engineer): Okeh BOSS, busy here (evil face) (funny face) (waving hand) Arash (GfE Dept Manager): (Angry face) (funny face) (waving hand) Arash bent down and fetched the rubik under the table. He truly felt something jolted in his heart just now. He massaged his chest with his left hand with worry. If it was not an imminent heart attack, was this a sixth sense telling him that his beloved wife was in trouble? As usual, his adventurous wife went MIA again after the short message. It was already the fourth day. She said it''ll take at most three days. Arash felt so helpless answering his mother-in-law incessant questions on her beloved daughter''s inability to chat with her. Arash sighed and return to his own work. ... At the time Arash felt the jolt in his heart, Hana had just successfully established her second soul-link, which was with Ara. At the moment, the jovial aunty was listening to Chomper''s report through her connection with Shiro. Ara had left the underground air pocket eagerly as per Hana''s previous orders, her intentions, unknown. "..the rest of the low-tiered servants had been relocated to another chamber near to the Young Miss quarters. All of them have been accounted for." "Good, good. Excellent job, Chomper." Hana breathed out in relief. She was worried that the cuties would be hurt when she was in closed-door cultivation with Ara and Shiro. "There was nothing to worry about, Mistress. The Grand Elder had given his words. What he says, goes. in the clan, especially when the Lord wasn''t around. The Lord always entered seclusion for years at a time. That is one of the reasons why he is ahead in strength when comparing the two." Chomper whispered faintly while looking left and right. His actions were akin to spreading internal gossip to outsiders, thus revealing the flaw of the clan''s management. However, the Mistress was the Young Miss'' Master, hence, she wasn''t a total stranger. Listening to Chomper''s remarks, Hana had a crestfallen look. She just met the gigantic tilapia a few weeks ago. Did it mean that she will never meet him again in a few years'' time? She sighed helplessly and started massaging her temples with one hand while using the other to support her chin, deep in thoughts. "Shall the meeting commenced?" Chomper asked politely. He could feel that the elders had become very restless these few days. It has been delayed enough. "Yes. Please invite the Grand Elder to come over in one hour. I need to clean up a little." Hana touched the brown sweater she was wearing and gave it a sniff before gagging. Chomper blinked his eyes a few times and suppressed the sudden bubbling laughter threatening to spill. He nodded and retreated at the same time haphazardly. Finally, he could bring the news that the other party was very eager to hear. ... "Grand Elder! How''s everything? Truly sorry for the delay." Sitting in a cross-legged position in front of the ''table'', Hana started engaging in small talks with the elder in front of her, while Shiro, who was sitting beside her, translated her words immediately. A gentle smile was plastered upon her poker face, as if nothing ever happened. However, her whole body had a faint stinky bloody smell mixed with herbs, while her hair was plastered to her forehead, messy and dripping wet. Only her face and her hands were somewhat clean. Just now, the aunty had tried to dip herself inside the spring, but ultimately couldn''t due to her existing fear of deep waters. She had never entered water higher than her chest. Just thinking about the bottomless underground spring gave a shiver over her. As usual, she froze like a frightened rabbit. At the moment, she looked like a drenched chicken under the rain. Although she knew she could breathe underwater now, the underwater spring was so deep over here, she couldn''t even feel anything without being totally immersed within. It triggered a terrible panic attack, which in turn, automatically disconnected her from her link with Ara due to loss of concentration. Essentially, the aunty nearly drowned just now while she was haphazardly washing herself to be more presentable. Shiro had to rescue her while Chomper who had just returned from informing the Grand Elder, resuscitated her clumsily. It was rather embarrassing. Looking at the shrewd landbeast lord''s disheveled condition, Grand Elder Watershade cleared his throat and looked the other away, pretending not to see anything. "Good, good. We are truly sorry for not being able to supply a proper cultivation chamber for your use since it was very deep underground." Grand Elder Watershade spoke apologetically. "No matter, no matter. Next time, I''d be glad to visit the cultivation chambers mentioned." Hana laughed jovially as she flapped her hands in embarrassment. As usual, she did spontaneous things almost all the time, and this occasion was one of it. Who knew what the outcome would''ve been? "Let''s start our discussion, Grand Elder. I''ve come up with a great plan for the benefit of us both." Hana grinned lightly, trying her best to show her sincerity. "Ah... Alright. Let''s hear it out." Looking at that devilish smile, the Grand Elder immediately put his guards up. He had to chin up and stop himself from being influenced by the Mistress, losing out in the deal. "Truthfully, we have many challenges ahead, that is, in terms of raw material procurement. The selected ingredients needed to reach at least a certain level of spirituality. As you know, spirit herbs won''t fall from the sky. They needed to be sourced from the land." "True. Even deep within this underwater world, spirit herbs were very rare. Usually, all herbs with potency will always have a guardian beside it, just waiting for the day the owner could harvest it." The Grand Elder nodded his head. "Is this about spiritual herbs procurement? We do have some water-based spiritual herbs in our safekeeping. However, if it''s about herbs from land, I''m afraid we couldn''t help much, since we don''t go on land too frequent. However, you can select any of the spiritual herbs available when you needed to prepare the advancement concoction." Grand Elder Watershade felt slightly uneasy. They haven''t been collecting spirit herbs actively since they already have a Spirit Crystal Lode. Will it affect their cooperation deal? "You got me wrong, Grand Elder! It is not so! We''re currently tackling the issue from a different angle. I have been discussing with my team here and we have come up with a great plan!" "Which is?" "If we can''t source it somewhere else, why don''t we plant it ourselves?" Hana laughed heartily. The more she talked about it, the idea became more convincing. Grand Elder Watershade paused for a moment and gave a slight nod with a hint of skepticism. "Could the Mistress elaborate on how to proceed with this plan?" "To plant spirit trees, one must have a land with a spirit vein within. After that, we just need good-selected seeds and of course, time." Hana explained confidently with shining eyes. "Of course, you would be thinking, are we here to exploit your Spirit Crystal Lode. The answer is no; we have our own method to create an artificial spirit-imbued land for cultivating spirit herbs. Seeds and growth of trees will be taken care of from our side too. This is an advent to a future where spiritual-agriculture thrived! There was no need to fight for spirit herbs anymore!" Grand Elder Watershade was so shocked; his whiskers bristled non-stop. He had an unbelievable look attached to his face. Even Hana noticed his sesame-shaped eyes turned round and larger by fifty percent. His mouth made a wide O shape, and if a chicken walked in, it would''ve thought that it was a sacred cave. After the Grand Elder could finally calm his heart, he asked earnestly, "So, what do you need?" ... 144 When Fishes Became Investors Hana stood up suddenly and spoke with excitement, startling the poor old fish, "Investors. We needed investors with a strong financial background to support our endeavor!" Realizing she had overdone it, she coughed and blushed bashfully. "Of course, we knew your side had been very generous with your ''gifts'', thank you so much for that. We''re genuinely grateful. Esteemed Grand Elder needed to know that, with your spirit pearls, we have successfully perfected the method to transform a small confined area into a location with dense spiritual energy. Imagine, using only Spirit Pearls but obtained the same effect of utilizing Spirit Crystals! What if, the base is Spirit Crystals? It could definitely support Noble-tiered spirit beasts'' cultivation easily!" "Now, we''re ready to test it on a larger scale, and we needed more resources for our pilot plant(1). It will be the last step before we really started the actual large-scaled planting of spirit herbs. These spirit herbs will then be used to prepare advancement meals to the ones selected. Obviously, we won''t let anyone waste the spiritual energy by directly cultivating in this specially designated area to maintain the land''s potency. What say you, Grand Elder? Isn''t it exciting?!" "So, finally it boils down to wanting more Spirit Crystals, right? Why don''t Mistress Hana just said you want to rob us of our limited resources?" The Grand Elder chuckled lightly, but the laughter didn''t reach his eyes. "Of course not, Grand Elder! You jest! The amount isn''t as much as you think it would be. Come, come, listen to my plan first for the benefit of us both!" Hana inched closer to the floating silver catfish. With ease, she entered the Grand Elder''s water bubble and placed her arms around the Grand Elder''s back, just like bosom friends. Feeling extremely awkward with the sudden chumminess, the Grand Elder tried hard to contain himself from deflecting Hana''s touch. He knew, Ara''s Master''s constitution wasn''t that great. She could die from a simple light slap from him. He could even notice the white fox tensed up with the Mistress'' actions. He sighed. The Mistress must have been the cause of heartache for both serpent and fox, and pitied them a little at this moment. "I have been thinking about how to implement a reward-based system, you know. To make it fair for everyone. Obviously, one who doesn''t work doesn''t need to eat. They need to earn their keep. Do you agree?" Hana walked out of Elder Watershade''s bubble with ease. She sat back opposite him and lightly tap the table-like boulder. Automatically, Chomper came over, conjured some water the size of a golf ball, while Hana happily thrust a ''straw'' to drink. Talking so much made her feel thirsty, but it felt weird drinking water directly from the Grand Elder''s bubble. It felt... unhygienic. "Since we will be working for the benefit of your people, it is apt for you to keep on supplying cultivation resources as usual for their daily use, and maybe, even increase their allowance slightly as a reward. They will then use their cultivation resources to book a slot for the advancement meals. The less tested ones, or the ones with fewer ingredients, will be cheaper. The later, safer ones, will of course, costs a fortune. However, the clan didn''t have to fork out the costs, let them bear it themselves. They can even pay in installments!" "That could work." The Grand Elder nodded after ruminating for a while. His uneasiness lessened a lot. "However, Mistress Hana needed to know that the little ones you''ve taken a liking to won''t have any resources upon their persons. They are, after all, the lowest tiered servants in our clan. We rewarded resources based on merit, cultivation talents, and abilities. I''m afraid, they won''t do you any good." The Grand Elder spoke truthfully. These servants were only rewarded with clams as their main diet. Because their talents were subpar, the clan deemed them as someone that shouldn''t be invested in. To cultivate them into experts will need too high a cost, which is extremely wasteful. "No worries. The spirit crystals will move around. I''m sure of it. I will implement a Dam Haji session once in two-days time. They need to wager their resources to join. Only the ones who won a certain amount of time could be eligible to book for an advancement meal slot. I heard they''ve managed to gather quite a sum." Hana chuckled mirthfully. It didn''t matter who tried for the advancement meal. But Hana was determined to sieve them all and only give the chances to the intelligent ones. All brawns but no brains will be hard to talk to. "You don''t worry too much, Grand Elder. I''ll iron out all the details with my team first before supplying you with the rest of the information." "So, how much Spirit Crystals are we talking here?" Grand Elder Watershade asked again. He needed to at least get a definite answer to prepare for the worst. Will his move this time drained the clan''s coffers totally? If it was so, that would be unacceptable. Their clan could go bankrupt! Hana smiled politely. "As much as you can bear to part with it. Or as much as your need to gain more experts within your ranks for the wellbeing of the clan''s future." Sly. This aunty was truly sly. Her words were like a heavy-duty razor being twisted in the Grand Elder''s gut. Those words penetrated deep. "Imagine, Grand Elder. After a little investment, you''ll get a share in spirit herbs production. The young ones in your clan become experts one after another while spending less spirit crystals to groom them. A future where you can widen your turf is not far anymore! Just that leap of faith barring you from that future!" Hana was so spirited, even saliva splashed around as she spoke. She hadn''t realized she sounded exactly like someone who was trying to cheat a person into joining Get-rich-quick Scheme! Although Grand Elder Watershade tried hard to control his emotions, he was affected deeply by Hana''s enthusiasm. Anything that will benefit the clan has always been the Grand Elder''s soft spot. He built the clan together with his brother-in-arms, Tittua, from scratch, using these pair of fins (and the occasional whiskers). Of course, he wished for it to soar high and mighty even when he won''t be around someday. At the moment, although the clan had strength in numbers, they were severely lacking in high-classed experts. This problem needed to be addressed as soon as possible. That was why the old silver catfish was eager to jump into the wagon together with the shrewd aunty. He was that desperate. "How will you solve the time factor? That is the only biggest flaw in your plan." "We''re planning to ensla.. ehem, work together with a Forest Spirit." Hana pretended to laugh and lightly explained as how Kuro told him before. She won''t think too much about it. This plan was so important, little sacrifices were needed. Knowing how harsh the outside world could be, she was determined to stay alive and especially thrived! "A Forest Spirit? THE Forest Spirit living nearby?" Hana nodded while grinning sheepishly. The Grand Elder caressed his whiskers with his pectoral fin while in deep thoughts. As it was too comical, Hana telepathically instructed Shiro to snap a few pics of the old silver catfish. Ignoring the white fox''s antics, he nodded lightly, "I see. It is doable then, though I am not sure how your team was going to catch it. Lord Lightning Serpent is going to catch it, I presume? It is a very tricky fellow." "Don''t worry about it. I have absolute trust in Kuro''s abilities. Just prepare and sort out the ones that you wish to help out with the advancement and sent them over together." "This old one thought Mistress only favored the little ones from before?" "It''s good to have a little rivalry going on. It will propel the ones I''m fond of to strive harder." She tapped on her temples lightly with a grin. "Psychology." The Grand Elder was a little offended to finally understand Hana''s intentions. She explained to him with a grin that she was going to use the highly talented ones to stoke the fire of the ones the clan has given up on. However, he didn''t voice out his displeasure. It was better to give some hope to those they wanted rather than snuffed them out totally. If the Mistress was unhappy, she won''t even let the ones the clan was approved of in at all. Then, that will be a problem. Now, he needed to grind all of the hopeful talented younger generations with the mind sharpening techniques disseminated in their clan a few days ago. If not, they will lose all their spirit crystals to the servants. "Grand Elder!" "Yes!" The sudden call made the Grand Elder, who was deep in thoughts, jolted. What was it this time? "Can I have some clams too? Pretty please?" Hana grinned bashfully. ... Authors'' Note: 1) pilot plant = it is a term to be used for making something like a ''field trial''. Small scale (1 plot of land as big as 1ft x 1ft) \u003c large scale (5 ft x 5 ft) \u003c pilot plant (a football field-sized plot) \u003c Implementation (duplicate method on maybe 4-10 football fields) \u003c---these are just examples ok haha. Usually, smaller-scaled experimentation will have a slightly different result than the larger-scaled ones. Not because the results are inaccurate, but when the experiment becomes larger, the variables increased. If the experimenter didn''t control well and considered all the new variables, obviously, the results will be different. P/S: This is what Grand Elder Water Shade looks like. And yes, ''Mekong'' in the storyline is the same species as the Grand Elder. Check from the link (https://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/newshound/2011/06/welsh-angler-catches-world-record-giant-mekong-catfish/), or google (ikan patin gergasi) 145 How to Cook Clams Like a Boss The sudden request made the Grand Elder startled, but after a short while adjusting his mindset with this spontaneous request, he nodded slightly with a forced smile. He called for Chomper and sent him away to fetch the best clams they had for the Mistress. ... While the Grand Elder was entertaining the Mistress, a new directive has been hastily disseminated clan-wide! All high-leveled potentials with a three and above spirit crystals allocation per month must reach mastery-level on the new Dam Haji mind sharpening technique! No buts! Only the top one-hundred will be given a chance to follow the new advancement program in collaboration with the Breakthrough Specialist landbeast Lord! However, it was said that the real number who will be eligible for the program was much lower than the stated one-hundred creatures mentioned. Hence, everyone needed to climb the highest they could to get a chance to enroll. Again, the recently popular Dam Haji Mind-sharpening Technique soared to greater heights as it has been endorsed by the Circle of Elders! Everybody was busy with either a black pebble or a white one, practicing their moves. After a while, some guides and tips suddenly appeared where one had to purchase them with their spirit crystals. It became a lucrative business headed none other than the shrewd Alpy, the tortoise. Saras, Mata, and Kolo were always by his side, forming a clique of their own, and they do team battles now! Their winning streaks keep on going, while their blueberry-tortoise-shell chests were getting fuller with glimmering Spirit Crystals! It was the best time of their lives, but also the most dangerous one; even the ones with the lowest intelligence amongst them noticed this. They knew now that their lives were in jeopardy. If they didn''t get the grace of the Landbeast Lord, they would''ve been dead with all the resources they hoard at the moment! "We really need to hug the Mistress'' thigh tightly! (1) Never let go! If we got a chance to defect, it will be for the best!" Gramps Alpy whispered with his other three team members seriously inside his own upgraded underwater chamber. Although they''re not that close before, this event had made their lives tightly knit together. Either they lived together or died together as a team. The culprit who started the whole chained events, Chomper, was innocently serving the Mistress in the air pocket, while having the thickest immunity of all! Hence, they automatically excluded him from their agendas. The rest nodded vigorously. "But, will the Mistress receive us? Won''t it cause a strive between the Mistress and the clan?" Saras looked around worriedly while she whispered her womanly voice even softer than Gramps Alpy. "Isn''t the Grand Elder on our side?" "No. He''s neutral with the internal affairs of the clan. His only intention is for the clan to grow in strength. To him, little sacrifices don''t matter as long as the clan prosper." It turned out, the lowest level of servants had been able to read Grand Elder Watershade like an open book! It was truly unexpected! "I will do my very best, Gramps Alpy. Our lives are in everyone''s care. Let''s work together to survive this." Saras nodded. In her mind, she resolutely needed to flirt with the Mistress and permanently let the team received her grace. Hence, as Gramps Alpy said, little sacrifices don''t matter for the benefit of the team. Saras was actually a very kind-hearted dolphin, although experiences she had gone through in her long life had made her more cautious with her speech and actions. "From our side, we will collect as much Spirit Crystals as possible to make us eligible for the advancement program. I''m sure there will be some kind of payment needed. The resources of the program wouldn''t be free. The higherups are not that stupid." The silent Kolo sounded his opinion with a low tone, startling everyone. Even the introverted crocodile knew that he needed to step up in this life-and-death game. "At the same time, we need to train our own people to get better at Dam Haji. We need to rise to the top. This is a heaven-sent opportunity. We just need to maneuver cautiously." Mata added softly. "We don''t have much time. Chomper has sent words that most probably the Mistress will return to land by today. We must grab this chance and grind as much spirit crystals before we leave!" The four disappeared from Gramps Alpy''s little cave with new objectives to achieve. ... "Awww.. thank you so much, Grand Elder! These look so succulent!" Around ten clams the size of a baseball each were presented to Hana by Saras, the pink dolphin. All of them were still alive, with their tongues sticking out merrily. Hana had never seen such large clams before. So full of sincerity! "Haha, anything for our Aranyella''s Mistress." The Grand Elder chuckled dryly. "These are superior-grade Azure Meaty Clams, a standard meal for us around here. It has a hint of spirituality as one consumed it daily will have a slightly faster progress in their cultivation." "Let''s eat this together!" "Now?" "Yes, now." Grand Elder blinked and wondered how the Mistress was going to prepare everything. He remembered that her dwelling was full of random pieces of equipment for food preparation; totally different from them who used to take everything raw. "Chomper." Hana''s call startled Chomper. But, visiting the Mistress so often had made him an unspoken partial member of the Lightning Serpent''s faction, so he knew what needed to be done. Practically everyone there will give him orders. Nonetheless, they viewed him in a favorable manner compared to the Young Miss herself. Hence, he didn''t have the heart to defy their requests. Additionally, their orders weren''t harsh ones. Either help out with food preparation, water the plants, or assist in random miscellaneous light work. Chomper automatically went forward and conjured a large water bubble the size of an extra-large watermelon in front of Hana. "F1." (2) A brawny purple-colored Elemental Fiend crawled over respectfully. Upon its antenna, a blazing reddish yellow fire was burning vigorously. It stopped just beside Hana as the aunty gave it a light doting pat on the head. It was a short pat only due to the Elemental Fiend''s high temperature, but ''F1'' droned with delight. After that, the fire turned blue, and it inserted one of its antennae into the hovering watermelon-sized water bubble conjured up by Chomper. In the Grand Elder''s heart, he was quite awed with the aunty''s brain-washing abilities; making all the creatures around her love doing her bidding. At the same time, he was anticipating the Mistress secret method of preparing advancement concoction. It will be his first time seeing it live. It took less than a minute to let the water boil. After a while, Hana called again. "Dear, over here." Her own mount, an orange color worker-classed Elemental Fiend, also with a brawny physique, went over. It turned out there was something like a hidden sachet-like cloth tied to the Elemental Fiend''s body. It nestled cleverly in between the section of its thorax and its abdomen. It was made from the same material of Hana''s ''swimsuit'', Kuro''s shriveled skin. Hana untied the sachet and took out some miscellaneous items. She started throwing something like sand in the boiling water bubble, two black ear-shaped strips, and three light greenish sticks. Once she did that, she immediately called for her beloved fox over. "Shi-chan, take over." As the random miscellaneous items nearly sank to the bottom of the boiling water bubble, they froze at the same spot within, as if their movement had been taken control by an invisible hand. The succulent clams with their tongues moving around were mercilessly thrown into the air towards the hovering boiling water bubble by Hana. As if being plucked mid-air, the clams landed inside the boiling water bubble while a miniature cyclone appeared from within! The splashes were covered in time by the sudden appearance of another layer of water-air bubble around the main boiling bubble! Five minutes was all it took(3). The clams safely landed on the table, as they emitted a lovely aroma, befitting their level of freshness. The aunty suavely cooked clams like a boss! If Hana''s new cooking method was recorded and posted online, it definitely deserved more than a hundred thousand likes and shot to fame within mere minutes! Even the Grand Elder was shocked this time. He was quite impressed with the preparation method performed by Hana and co., though feeling slightly conflicted seeing how obedient Chomper was with Hana''s instructions. He served the Mistress better than he served the Grand Elder. They have seamless teamwork, as if they had done it a million times. Hana picked one of the steaming clams with her bare hand and pried its already partially opened shell wide. "Shi-chan! Aaaaaa.." The aunty opened her mouth, asking Shiro to open up. The bashful white fox opened up his mouth to receive the clam meat. His eyes brightened immediately. "It''s really good, Mom. I think you can handle this. Have a go yourself." "Wait, wait. Chomper, Pi-chan, Saras, come over and line up." She proceeded to feed them one by one happily. Chomper and Saras blushed furiously, though the energetic little P-chan was happy with whatever being given to it. After seeing everyone eating their share, Hana nodded with satisfaction and eat one for herself. "!!!" It was super fresh, succulent, and slightly sweet! She had fallen in love with the clams. Grand Elder Watershade could finally gain some insight as he observed Hana''s antics. He now understood why these creatures were loyal to her so much. "Grand Elder!" "Yes!" Again, the aunty disrupted the Grand Elder''s thoughts. It made him very displeased. Grand Elder Watershade took a deep breath to calm himself and wait for the Mistress'' request. "Aaaa.. open your mouth. This is for you. Sorry, I forgot about you just now." Everyone blinked their eyes, feeling astonished and awkward at the same time. ... Authors'' Note: 1) "We really need to hug the Mistress'' thigh tightly! = this is a common phrase with the meaning "let stuck ourselves to A in order to gain benefits". 2) F1 = fire 1. A random code name given by Hana to her loyal termite pet bcoz there are too many of them (a little trivia haha) 3) Five minutes was all it took = this is not the real cooking time for clams ya. Remember that the clams here are the size of a tennis ball haha. There are many ways to cook clams, some styles don''t even need cooking. However, this way of cooking is real (of course you have to use a pot), and we usually cook the clams in just 2-3 minutes under big fire. Cook too long, the flesh will shrink and the taste will be gone. It is called ''masak bening''. A simple cooking comprise of steeping seafood in boiling water infused with lemongrass (the greenish sticks), salt and dried brindleberry (the black strip). We don''t drink the ''soup''. Usually we discard it. We only eat the food steep within. 146 Hardworking Wet Helpers All six elders raised up either their whiskers, fins, or limbs and waved back with mixed feelings. "Grand Elder, this collaboration is quite risky. We aren''t even sure how many of the selected ones will be able to advance. Are we really going to use Spirit Crystals that wantonly?" Elder Waterspring spoke while scrunching her brow. "Additionally, it looks like this Breakthrough Specialist isn''t that reliable. She always did things randomly. What happens if she backs out from our deal? Is she reliable? What if she enslaved all of our younger generations?" Elder Watervenom added worriedly. "Silence. Trust in my judgment. The Mistress has made an agreement with me that she won''t touch any of the hopefuls. In exchange, all the servants shall be given to her as part of the deal. The servants could either stayed with her, or return to the clan, but they will be her people from now onwards. That is a very cheap deal. Only, nobody can hurt them after this. Inform the young ones. Hurting them is equal to turning hostile with the Mistress'' faction, and the Princess is the head of this faction in our clan. We must acknowledge this." "Humph. Are we even ready for the upcoming turmoil? We should be distancing ourselves and leave them be! We''re not strong enough! We need to bid our time and wait for the Lord to emerge!" Elder Waterfall added. The Grand Elder looked deeply at Elder Waterfall for a fraction of a second longer. In his heart, he was very satisfied with this young lad. Unexpectedly, he understood. Mistress Hana was an anomaly in this realm. Grand Elder Watershade could feel it. He had never seen a creature of similar species as the Mistress. With her uncommon knowledge and intelligence, coupled with the tyrannical nature of the Lightning serpent, he knew that great turmoil will befall the land soon, very soon. Even if they did not plan to be aggressive, when the real experts came to know of her existence, many will come with the intention to snatch her away. At that time, they will definitely defend themselves. The Waterwave clan, with its close proximity to the Lightning Serpent''s Lair, will surely be dragged in. They needed to increase their overall strength as soon as possible! In fact, seeing how rapid the Mistress'' faction grows, he could identify that the Lightning Serpent was already in the preparation phase. Either joined together to repel incoming unknown enemies or perish. This was an unspoken strategic alliance for the sake of survival. ... "Row, row, row your boat! Gently down the stream!" The jovial aunty was singing merrily while she was riding the cute river dolphin along the Crystal-veined river. Their home was still very far and the aunty was bored, so she taught the freshwater creatures a simple nursery rhyme to entertain herself. Although she couldn''t hear anything at all from the 150 plus freshwater creatures, Shiro told her that they were singing to the beat too, albeit in Bubble Language. "Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily," "Life is but a dream." The ones that were already used to Hana''s random actions enjoyed themselves immensely. They laughed and joked around, while being at ease. However, the new high potentials of the clan, the Young Masters and Young Misses, were very stoic, somewhat tensed, and felt disgusted with the servants'' antics. They kept to themselves and did not mingle around. As a result, a clear demarcation between the two groups was seen from the procession. Even Hana noticed this, but she pretended not to see anything. Let the young ones sort themselves out, she won''t interfere. What made her in such a good mood was the large sums of baseball-sized clams she got as a farewell gift from the clan''s Grand Elder. They were bundled up nicely in the stretchy black ''cloth'' that she tied up on her original orange Elemental Fiend mount. Occasionally, she would look up to check on the little baby gold-banded eagle flying high up in between the clouds. She could only make out a shadowy dot above her head, but that was good enough for her. She knew her little Piko-piko wasn''t just any bird. It could definitely defend itself if something happens. What she worries about was it losing its way home. Once a while, they stopped by beside the stream for a rest. Since there wasn''t a time-sensitive agenda after this, Hana took her own sweet time enjoying the few little picnics along the way, especially when the location was breathtaking. The places were so beautiful, Hana had been taking a couple of OOTD shots and wefies with her pets gleefully as she enjoyed to her fullest. It was very rare for her to venture out that far from her cave-dwelling. Hence, she admitted that she was a tad bit too excited, just like an overeager tourist. At times, she grilled some of the clams with the help of ''F1'', while at other times, she even grilled some freshwater fishes caught by some of the servants. F1 had been Hana''s personal ''fire-starter'' and ''lamp'' since the very beginning, and it had accustomed itself to maintain its fire-attribute all the time now. During such stop-overs, with the assertive Chomper as the role model, the servants took the initiatives to clean up the surroundings and prepare a proper spot for Hana to laze around without asking. This has delighted the aunty and made her dote the extremely helpful wet helpers a lot more. She even cooked extras to give to the ones who helped the most. At first, the Young Masters and Young Misses thought they were being served and were quite satisfied with the servants'' actions. However, they soon noticed that they were being ignored totally while the servants busily trying to curry favor with the landbeast Lord. It turned out all the preparations made weren''t for them at all, but for the landbeast Lord. "You! Come and serve me! My tail is dry and I need some buck seaweed. Get some for me." A blue-colored one-meter fish with razor-sharp spiky dorsal fin pulled a servant nearby and spoke harshly. He was the star of the clan; one of the top ten. He was used to being served by everyone all the time. It was his first time venturing out of the clan''s main ground. The harsh sun had made his tail and fins felt a little drier than usual. The servant stopped and stared deeply at the blue fish for a few seconds longer. "Fetch it yourself, Young Master." It glided away nonchalantly towards where the landbeast Lord was located. "!!!" All of the talented ones were shocked with the revelation, feeling extremely indignant! "Stop right there and come here! This is a command!" The blue fish barked angrily. He felt that he had lost face in front of his colleagues. His voice was so loud, even Shiro, Chomper and Ara turned to look at the commotion. Shiro turned to the aunty and whispered in her ear. As the mellow and lovable aunty heard was what being reported to her, her smiling face was all but gone; being replaced by a deep frown. Anyone who knew Hana well would know that the presence of the frown was an indication of Hana getting angry. [I dislike this kind of thing happening in my presence. It gives a bad aftertaste in my mouth. Shi-chan, inform the others. Everyone in this group is of similar standing. Nobody is high and mighty over here! You want someone to do work for you, you pay! Officially, the currency going around in our group will be spirit crystals. Better make sure they have enough if they want to instruct people here and there. Humph! Additionally, the servants they hate so much are ours!] It was very rare for the aunty to get ticked off with something. But the Young Masters and Misses had crossed her line. She was planning to make them compete so that a healthy rivalry will go on. But if the status quo was still the same as before, no progress will happen either in the servants'' group or the talented group. "Little shits! Starting from now, everyone need to work your a*s off to please the Mistress! Look at how unhappy she is at the moment! She had never been unhappy all this while. Who displeases the Mistress will be eaten and their spirit crystals confiscated! I don''t care what breed you are. All looks delicious to me." Shiro bared his fangs, and with saliva dripping, purposely licked his lips. "Nobody would know whether you died from a failed experiment, or from being shredded to pieces." Shiro grinned diabolically. All freshwater creatures regardless of being from a high caste or from the servants'' circle were horrified and made such a face, "(O)____________(O)|||||" However, the servants recovered the fastest and doubled up their efforts in flattering the Mistress! They efficiently prepared some drinks for her and Shiro, passing a soft hollow tube made from plants, and even some took a large-sized taro leaf to fan the Mistress at the side. Both Hana and Shiro were stunned with the sudden change, and tried their hardest not to laugh a few seconds afterwards. The Young Masters and Misses looked at each other with desperation in their eyes. Slowly they too took a few taro leaves each and started flapping them at the Mistress with gusto from all sides. Suddenly they became so hardworking! Trying hard not to laugh, Hana berated them for once, "Not too near, that taro leaves will make me itchy lah!" Naughty kids should be taught a lesson. ... Little Pi-chan soar high above the clouds, enjoying itself by feeling the sunshine and the breeze combined. Once a while, it glanced at the procession from above to make sure it didn''t lose sight of it. At times, the procession stopped moving, and that was when it would dive down. It knew there must be something delicious being prepared for it by dearest Mistress. This time, as it dove down, a group of wet creature enthusiastically came over and offered it with a variety of food! Delighted, it gobbled them all happily and gave these hardworking wet helpers a thumbs up! Even Piko-chan knew how to make a thumbs up now. ... 147 What is the Catch? Nonetheless, he was helpless to refuse an invitation from the higher-ups. It would be extremely rude, especially when they already arranged everything for him. Thank goodness, Madam Lisa was reliable; she easily acquiesced with the ad-hoc request yet again. He felt sorry for the gentle lady who always had to do extra work for him. A few tables away, Arash saw Mr. Alan raised his hand slightly, as a host ushered him to the same spot after checking a list on his tablet. Mr. Alan had started having his dinner. His table was full of cute delectable Japanese fusion inspired dishes. He was enjoying a piece of translucent pink sashimi (2) from a whole fish. Arash was quite surprised as he paused his steps for a second. No one else was around. Only Mr. Alan. He thought that it was the company''s upper management''s congratulatory dinner for him. That was why he forced himself to come. "Would you be kind enough to tell me who is this gentleman? He frequented our restaurant at least once or twice a week." Seeing that Arash paused his steps with a bewildering look, the restaurant''s host whispered lightly towards him. "My boss. Sort of." Arash replied after blinking his eyes a few times. He wasn''t lying. Mr. Alan was his boss, although not directly. There was still a powerful lady boss above him. Really, the world of the rich was so different. He heard that to make a reservation to dine here took weeks. And here, his own second level boss dined here like he dined in a cafeteria. He lamented on the fact that their pay grade must be extremely wide apart. A faint calming background music could be heard as Arash seated himself directly in front of his new boss after giving him a firm handshake. He wasn''t sure what to do now and felt awkward. This situation was really not like how he imagined. [Is this considered a date?] O_____O;;; Just thinking that made goosebumps appeared on his skin. Honestly, he had heard weird rumors in the company. This new VP was ice-cold towards the ladies, even to the single and available ones. It was a dangerous, dangerous world nowadays. [God, please spare me. What kind of payment does he need..] Arash felt like crying. [Ayang, help your poor hubs here. My boss is trying to flirt with me.] TT______TT Now, how should he excuse himself from this... dinner date? ... Alan was amusing himself with the man''s changes of expression on his face. The man was only wearing the company''s dark blue collared T-shirt with black jeans today. Most probably since it was the last day before the weekend(3). His black horn-rimmed spectacles made him look like a classic nerd with a fair complexion. Looking at his demeanor, he must''ve come straight from the office. What dedication. Alan appreciated the man''s efforts and was quite satisfied with the olive branch that he extended. It was one of the best strategic moves he made for the company this quarter. He was sure that this ad-hoc dinner might have made this guy nervous. What was brewing in his mind, he wasn''t sure, but it must be quite colorful to the least since the guy''s expression already changes eight times in front of him. "How''s work today?" Alan started the conversation, ending the awkward silence between them. Arash blanked for a short while before replying politely, "The clients were satisfied with the finalized paperwork after five revisions. Implementation has started the day before yesterday. Resources are in place. Our engineers, machinists, technicians, and operators are in place. I''ve submitted a report to the General Manager for this and carbon copied it to you..." Arash looked at his smartwatch, "An hour and a half ago?" He added. "I know, I''ve reviewed it just now. Let''s not talk into the details about work. How is the working environment at the moment?" "Ohh. That. Not so bad." Mr. Alan raised his left eyebrow as he placed his chopstick down. "Care to elaborate?" "Could I be truthful? Off the record?" "Go ahead." Alan grinned amusingly. "I think placing me at the corner of the department is quite irrelevant. My cube is still empty, with no replacement, but the spot I''m in was spacious enough to be made into a resting room for the team. Some might think making a resting room will encourage the personnel to misuse it and sloth around. But, in my opinion, a good power-nap could make people energetic if they truly need it. It is better than them becoming zombies and makes mistakes in their work." Arash shrugged as he talked plainly to the suave young man in front of him. Even though it was late evening, the guy still looked so prim and proper, as if he just had his bath. Arash wondered what was the real purpose of the ad-hoc dinner tonight. But since, his boss asked with a serious attitude, he would gladly explain truthfully. He had done it before, and it seemed that this young boss was a very open-minded person as he could accept suggestions from people below him. Arash too, had diminished his prior misconception about the boss and had instead formed a very positive view of him. Only, tonight''s sudden ''dinner date'' really could make people misunderstood! "Continue." "Well, we could limit the use of the room to say, twenty minutes? And maybe, for the ones who prefer coffee, providing excellent drip coffee will be good. If the personnel are happy, production usually increased. Theoretically lah." "I see. Thank you for your feedback." Mr. Alan nodded as he contemplated the suggestion. "Anyway, how about other staff? Did they treat you well?" "They did. All of us are long time acquaintances after all." Arash smiled. It truly sounded like an interrogation. Maybe, his young boss was trying to get insiders'' info from the staff side? Hence, after realizing it, Arash made up his mind to guard his tongue. It would be bad if he accidentally badmouthed someone. ... Alan waited for Arash to elaborate, but, he saw that doubt and suspicion had clouded the man''s eyes after the repeated inquiries. He finally decided to stop himself in a timely manner when a waiter came over with a menu in his hand. Arash took the menu and flipped it through before sighing. What a waste of money. He could buy nutritious food for the kids more than ten times with the same amount of price for the five-course sets. Even the standard single meal sets and ala carte were pricey. He eyed Mr. Alan''s combination to see which one he got and rolled his eyes when he saw that they were some of the most expensive ones. He was the kind who was very cincai on himself, but will buy the best for his wife and kids. "Just give me a bowl of edamame(4) and plain water." Both the waiter and Mr. Alan were speechless. "Are you sure?" Mr. Alan queried. Arash nodded calmly, ignoring their stares. He didn''t care about his image nor did he need to impress anyone. Although he had the money, he was planning to spend it to buy lots of excellent-quality rice as compensation for Tok Silihan. He had to visit the old man a week later and he didn''t plan to renege on his promise. "I am paying, you know." Mr. Alan grinned amusingly. Arash could see that he has been labelled as a miser by his boss. "Really? Okay. Please add two kids'' set besides the edamame. This one, with the little heart-shaped prawns. Add on this California rolls. They''re so colorful, the girls would love them. All these for takeaways, please. Oh, such a cute chawaimushi(5). This look so tasteful, oh, but it''s okay, no need to add, hard to carry this without destroying its beauty." Arash talked swiftly with the waiter while giving him a serene kindly smile. He turned to look at his boss who made an incredulous look. "As compensation to make my kids happy. I will meet them late because of this dinner." "Alright, go ahead." Mr. Alan recovered and chuckled. That was quite surprising. It turned out although this Arash was a workaholic, he was a family man. The waiter took the order and walked away with an amused expression plastered on his face. "Now, Mr. Alan. I would like to be frank with you. What''s the catch?" Arash asked seriously. ... Authors'' Note: 1) tapau = takeaway (just a reminder, some of you might forget) 2) sashimi = extremely fresh raw fish, served with a sauce, usually in Japanese restaurant 3) Most probably since it was the last day before the weekend = in Malaysia, on Fridays usually people wear casual smart clothings, no need to adhere to the standard shirt, tie and long pants. In government agencies, Fridays is when everyone either wear a collared T-shirt or a custom-made long-sleeve batik shirt. Batik shirt looks like this --\u003e https://www.zalora.com.my/gene-martino-men-s-batik-shirt-red-1539498.html?last_csa=similar_items 4) edamame = young soy beans (still green), plucked and steamed, also a Japanese healthy snack. 5) chawaimushi = savory steamed egg custard Although Mrs Mooncat doubt that you guys don''t know the list of Japanese food written here, Mrs Mooncat still put them in for reference. Just in case. A note here, the only three Michellin-starred restaurant that Mrs Mooncat knew is a Japanese restaurant known as Nobu in KL. However, the explanation of food here did not reflect the menu of Nobu. You can google it to see what they served and maybe visit it one day in the future (wink!) https://www.noburestaurants.com/kuala-lumpur/menus/ https://www.google.com/maps/place/Nobu+Kuala+Lumpur/@3.1566882,101.7111161,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xff573f34e99f4599!8m2!3d3.1566882!4d101.7111161 148 The Fastest to Climb the Corporate Ladder Alan was organizing his thoughts while eating. The waiter was fast. He had brought Arash''s orders immediately. The waiter filled up Arash''s glass with plain water after passing a bowl of edamame and a complementary chawaimushi to him, on the house. The waiter walked away with a smile while both Arash and Alan made a surprised expression. In Alan''s heart, he wondered why wasn''t he being given a free gift before although he frequented the restaurant heavily? This guy only complimented the food on the menu once, and he was already being given one for free? However, he understood the waiter''s sentiment. This person''s vibe was so compelling; one couldn''t help but feel only goodwill towards him. Truly strange. Anyone who didn''t meet Arash in person wouldn''t understand this enigma. He wasn''t cool, charming, or extremely good looking. He was just another average Joe. This was also the reason why Alan chose to extend an olive branch to him. A small part of it was due to being satisfied with his work ethics, while the other was due to his deep curiosity towards this unknown man. He knew himself well. Regardless of how excellent someone''s records were, and how they brought themselves in front of him, he will never be moved. Zero empathy. The biggest question was, why did the previous department manager wasn''t affected by this person? Even viewing him like an arch enemy? ... Arash was patiently waiting for Mr. Alan''s reply. He needed to know the consequences. Nothing was a free lunch in this world. There must be something the other party hoped to obtain from him. He needed to gauge whether he could accommodate Mr. Alan''s request, or to just resign and be free from any entanglements. It was better to come clean now rather than later. He already learned his lesson with Mr. Rama. Because he delayed too long, and maybe didn''t sound too sincere, ultimately, Mr. Rama viewed him as an enemy to be exterminated. However, God still pitied him and sent him this second chance to keep his job. Nonetheless, if Mr. Alan wants him to do something illegal or things that will affect his conscience, he''d rather quit as early as possible. He felt that he didn''t cross that bridge yet. It seemed that Mr. Alan was in deep thoughts as he kept on spooning some salmon roe into his mouth elegantly. He finally looked up after a while and said, "From now onwards, you will be my people." Arash blanked out for a second. After adjusting his mind and took a deep breath, he nodded. "I see. Noted." "Anything else that I need to do?" Arash queried calmly. "Climb to the highest as fast as possible." Mr. Alan added nonchalantly while eating another tastefully decorated wagyu beef strip. "Impossible. Mr. Alan should know the GfE Inc. is a multinational company own by a single family, the Godfreys. No one could hold the position of a head branch of a country without being a kin of the family." Arash already did his revision well. He also heard that Mr. Alan was a kin from a Godfrey''s branch family. That was why he was so powerful. He heard the mother company had around thirty over subsidiary companies in multiple countries around the world. Besides being asked to become a ''close friend'', this was the more logical explanation. But for what reason, it was still a mystery to him. "As long as you have the will and your work continues to be the crme de la crme amongst the rest, I will make it happen." It was Arash''s turn to show an incredulous look. "Seriously?" "Yes. Oh, and you can call me Alan. No need to add ''Mister'' to it." Not knowing the significance of removing a ''Mister'' from Alan''s name, Arash brushed it off and asked hurriedly, "Could I know what is your aim to do this?" He was already sweating. It turned out Mr. Alan was planning something big. He wasn''t sure he would be able to be a part of it. Feeling slightly cold feet, he really needed time to think this through. "It''s a secret. Just climb fast through the corporate ladder, and the answer will be revealed to you." Mr. Alan gave him a charming smile. If ladies were to see it, they would have difficulty sleeping for several nights. But, our uncle here was immune to it since he was only thinking of Hana''s smile day and night. Additionally, his boss was a male, and he was straight. "Can I think about it?" "No." Arash, "O____O;;;" "Oh, and let''s meet up at least once a week outside the office. How about next Saturday?" "No. I''m going trekking." Arash refused automatically. "Great. Then, I''ll come along." "Seriously?!" Arash was seriously astonished this time. This! What was the problem with this shameless young man?! Why was he desperately wanting to cling to him?! So awkward! He was going to the settlement again to discuss with Tok Silihan and Elder Jaya about Hana''s whereabouts. It wasn''t for fun. At this moment, he really wanted to slap his own mouth for accidentally slipping his tongue and letting this curious young man know about his activities. His impression of the young protg came crashing down, giving him quite the headache. It was such a rollercoaster. In the office, this Mr. Alan was someone who wouldn''t talk unless there was something important. He was famed for his ruthless actions for the benefit of the company. He had never heard of Mr. Alan''s outdoor activities. In fact, he heard that Mr. Alan had a mini gym within his personal office space. He had nearly never gone out unless to eat, and Mr. Tze was always accompanying him everywhere. "Send me the details, the route, and all other necessary information. I can do trekking. I''m fitter than you are." Seeing Arash made a wide O mouth until he could see the partially crushed edamame, he explained curtly. ... Returning Arash''s wave with an acknowledging nod as he excused himself, Alan chuckled lightly. Surprisingly, his new subordinate was quite funny in some sense. He found that he liked to tease the guy and see him all flustered. With an obvious helpless expression etched on his face, the guy walked away with two sets of kid''s meal, paid by him. After being bribed with food for his kids, at least he stayed and listened to the end to what he had to say. For a second there, Alan could see that Arash was considering to back off. If it happens, that would be bad. He had offended the Sullivans to put the guy there. That Ramanathan guy had quite the connection. Now, he needed to know Arash better to see whether the man''s charisma was just a fluke or was it real. After that, he would be one step closer to his final goal. ... 149 Everybody Loves Curry Flavor! Hana''s happy remarks were returned by a deep yet faint multilayered echoing drone, as if the sound came from hundreds of thousands of Elemental Fiends from very far away! The newly made cave she was standing on reverberated slightly for a full minute. From her connection with Q-chan, she knew that the sound came from all Elemental Fiends outside her cave-dwelling, inside the newly made connecting tunnel, and even from the ones at their own lair miles away! The freshwater creatures at the Crystal-veined stream were shivering in fear with the sudden hysterical outburst of the Elemental Fiends! Some spiritual beasts nearby immediately evacuated to a much further location! Both Hana and even Shiro were speechless as they eyed each other with amazement. Us all are connected... Us are here at all times. Q-chan tapped her head with her right metallic-like translucent white limb a few times. Hana automatically entered her Soul Hall Domain to observe the queen mother''s partial soul within her. The gray sparkling star was truly somewhat different from the rest of the stars in the domain. Hana went close to it and she noticed the large gray star was actually an aggregation of extremely tiny dots of light surrounding a single slightly larger one. It actually looked like a dandelion with a core. Shi-chan, it turns out, Q-chan''s soul is different from all of you! What does it mean? Hana hadn''t placed much attention on Q-chan''s partial soul within her Soul Hall Domain after subduing her last time. After that, she was busy cultivating to rapidly increased her Soul power. Before leaving, Kuro had specifically asked her to continue cultivating as much as she can and guaranteed that everyone under her care will also receive the same level of soul-nurturing, as long as she wasn''t biased. I''m unsure myself, Mom. I''m not an expert in soul matters. You must consult Bro Ku about this. However, there is no need to worry. Most importantly, Q''s clan had shown that they are loyal to you. This is good enough. Shiro answered with an opinion of his own. To him, it didn''t matter how it worked, especially when the one who knew the answer wasn''t there. As long as all of them can contribute to the wellbeing of their Mistress, it shouldn''t matter much. The answers could wait until his cheap brother came back from hounding the Forest Spirit. Hana walked outside to take a deep breath. She observed the sparkling stars decorating the slightly purplish red backdrop outside. The night was bright and wasn''t so dark today. However, it was unmistakably very late at this moment. The aunty happily retired as she used her fluffy white fox as a pillow, the brown baby bird in her arms as a bolster, and a warm ''stove'' by her side... ... The morning was greeted with the loud cawing of birds contending with menacing loud drones! The drones were especially aggressive and full of killing intent. Hana and Shiro immediately went out of the cave to see what was going on. The sky was filled with nearly a thousand birds of different colors and sizes! "!!!" The beautiful Markisah flew down from within the flock with a sullen look and approached Hana and Shiro. "Hana! I''ve asked my friends to collect seeds from around the area for you. But the presence of the large insects had made all of us worry. We won''t land unless you rein them in. What''s wrong with these guys of yours?! So edgy!" Markisah rolled her eyes at Hana''s aggressive minions. She too, loved insects; but only the ones that she could eat (1). These were a tad bit too big. Additionally, the mean snake reminded her that she could be eaten whole easily by these multicolored insects. That was why she was careful around them, and made sure she only hovered around Hana''s head for protection at all times. It was stupid to jeopardize your own life just to test whether the theory was true or not. Hana patted her heart in relief. It was because she understood Q-chan''s explicit telepathic instructions to weed off the intruders harshly. It was along the lines of ''cut them into pieces'' and ''feast upon them to show them a lesson''. Thank goodness Markisah and her bird friends weren''t too gullible and land. If not, they must await for Suria''s retaliation afterward. No more getting friendly. "Ahahaha.. They are a little too high strung. They just migrated here. So, feeling somewhat energetic." Hana laughed drily while giving lame excuses. "Ask your friends to place the seeds nicely over here, alright? I want to see myself first." Hana placed a piece of Kuro''s black skin-like material on the forest floor and patted it, indicating that the birds should place them one by one on top of the material. They were still high up on the vertical hill where the real entrance of the cave-dwelling was located while the Elemental Fiends were crowding on the open space below. Hence, the birds weren''t so afraid to come over to drop off their haul. Many colorful birds placed different seeds on the black ''cloth''. Some were black, white, brown, green, blue, pink, dual tones of yellow-orange, pink-blue, pale yellow-white, and even rainbow-colored! Hana had never seen so many different kinds of peculiar seeds in her life! After a while, the seeds pile up into a small mound of grain. Hana sieved through the seeds in search of the ones that she might be familiar with. She had been using a lot of whole herbs all the time when she was cooking at home, and did spend some time planting random small herb trees, courtesy of Ma''am Shaza''s insistence. So, at least she had a somewhat shallow knowledge on seeds. "Ah. This looks like an okra seed." The shape was the same but these little ones were black instead of greenish-gray. "This one! It really looks like water-spinach seed." Hana found a couple of dark brownish slightly squarish seeds. She had attempted sowing water spinach before after she got the seeds from Ma''am Shaza. "A star-anise!" Hana sniffed the herb and closed her eyes. However, the color was somewhat wrong. This was deep red, though it was the same in shape and carried the same smell. "These looks like mustard seeds." Hana observed the specks of black dots, but wasn''t too sure. "Ohhh.. isn''t this a nutmeg?! Lovely!" She inhaled deeply with the unmistakable scent. "Candlenut!" "Coriander seeds! I love these!" "Is this soy beans?! How can there be soybeans here?" (2) "Rice! Yay!" "..." "....." "..." The aunty was so delighted, she succumbed into her own little world, observing and counting seeds that she thought she knew. The birds were speechless seeing how happy the aunty was and waited patiently by the side. Ten minutes was gone... 30 minutes was gone, and the aunty was still playing with all the seeds. After one hour, Markisah couldn''t stand waiting any longer. "Hana, everyone is waiting." The aunty looked up innocently, and say, "So?" Markisah rolled her eyes. "Please reward them a bit? Pity them." "Ohhhhh.." Hana slapped her head. "Hahaha, sorry, sorry." She thought it was free. But, a return gift was common courtesy. After all, she didn''t know how far and wide they had traveled to choose seeds for her. It could be a few meters, or it could be tens of kilometers! Hana rubbed her chin in contemplation. How should she show her gratitude? She suddenly stood up, startling the birds into flying a few feet away. "I know!" Hana entered her now posh-like sojourn, adorned with beautiful greenish glow from the studded spirit pearls on the wall and floor. F1 was just sitting stoically in the middle of the cave while emitting its natural ''light''. She walked to her bamboo shelf and rummaged through one of the shopping bags. Really, with the outlook of the walls and resin-like finishing on the floorings, her once upon a time cave-dwelling looked like a modern high-end hall. It only lacked either a disco ball or a grand chandelier. Suddenly, the bamboo cupboard with the redundant filter really looked out of place. Only the hovering water bubble as tall as she was, was a match with the surroundings. She needed to discuss with Q-chan for some furniture upgrades soon. Hana took out a yellow aluminium-plastic pack from inside. The front was decorated with a dark brown design. She nodded approvingly. "The birds will surely love this!" She popped the bag and the aroma of curry floated around. Unintentionally, saliva leaked at the corner of the aunty''s mouth. Hana can''t help herself from taking a few pieces and popped them into her mouth. "Mmmm... This is sooooooo goodddd..." Hana looked at the packaging longingly. When will be the next time she''ll be able to eat this junkfood? Feeling deeply conflicted, she hugged the already opened BBQ curry-flavor snack (3) in sorrow for a full five-minutes, not realizing that all the birds were crowding at the cave entrance, witnessing her antics... ... The little birds were looking at each other in wonder. What was wrong with the Lord of this place? Why was she weeping over a yellowish-brown thing in her wings that lacked feathers? The most important thing was, how can this Lord be a ''she''? She didn''t even have any luxuriant feathers or fur to accentuate her beauty. She was very... bare. Was the thing she kept on holding close a very precious thing? So precious that she couldn''t part with it? Was it a treasure?! To their astonishment, the Lord walked out of the strange greenish-white cave towards them. "The ones who give me these, line up." Hana gestured to a smaller mound of seeds she separated from the large mound. The birds who strike it gold were in elation! High pitch of loud chirps from hundreds of birds resounded! The atmosphere was so noisy at the moment! "Me! Me! Me!", sounded non-stop, thought the Lord wasn''t even looking. It looked like the Lord wasn''t fluent in Avian Language. However, her benevolent smile was unmistakable; the Lord of the land was going to share her treasure with them! The birds obediently lined up in front of Hana. When there was no more space, they kept on lining up by hovering in a straight line. "Show me which seed did you fetch for me, little one." The aloof white fox with branches over its head translated after the Lord made strange soft noises they never heard before; most likely a higher being''s language. The first bird, a tiny greenish-blue hummingbird as big as a quartered RM1 apple dug through the pile of seeds to pass three tiny black seeds on the Lord''s palm. "Ah, you''re the one who got these seeds that looks like mustard seeds. Thank you, little one." The Lord used a single bony ''wing-tip'' to pat the tiny hummingbird''s head gently. Not knowing what it meant, the hummingbird bravely accepted the Lord''s pat while feeling good about itself. Other birds who were looking gazed at the Lord with a favorable impression. Such a gentle Lord. She even lowered herself by touching the body of a nobody like the little bird. Although they weren''t too bright, everyone knew their own Lord never even appear in front of them, lest willingly touching their lowly body. "This is for you." A bright orange-yellow colored irregular stick-like thing was given by the Lord to the little bird. The ''stick'' was at least half the size of the bird. The bird was looking with confusion, what should she do with it? "You eat it, little one." The Lord chuckled mirthfully, as she took another tiny orang-yellow ''stick'' from within the same pouch and placed it inside her mouth. She started chewing animatedly while closing her eyes in contentment, with a slight attachment towards the strange-looking stick. The Lord fed another stick to the white fox at her side after that. The fox chewed obediently and showed a couple of different expressions undeciphered by the birds. But ultimately, the fox looked like it enjoyed itself very much. Another bird hopped enthusiastically after the little hummingbird took its leave in happiness after a couple of sneezes. It hopped to the nearest branches and waited there. It was a chestnut-colored sparrow, with a fluffed up white chest; extremely adorable. The Lord tickled its chest slightly with fondness after giving another strange ''stick''. Strangely, this bird also sneezed cutely a couple of time before flying away. Another bird came... And another... And another... After about eighty plus birds, the Lord was still enjoying herself by playing with the exotic birds one after another! The sun was already tilting towards the horizon. The line was still there, as the birds looked at the ones who were eagerly pecking on the strange yellowish stick. They looked like they were in a daze while sneezing a few times in a row. However, they still enjoyed themselves immensely! Some who didn''t get a portion of the treasure bestowed by the Lord eyed the ones who got one with sadness and envy. They too worked hard but weren''t rewarded. Until the little hummingbird who got the first treasure invited another bird to enjoy the treasure together with it since the stick was so big. It started a chain reaction where everyone started sharing! The air space in front of Hana''s sojourn was filled with happy chirps, energetic cawing, and random sneezes. Everyone loved the intense curry flavor! It was wild and tasty at the same time; totally different from what they used to eat daily! ... Hana nodded with appreciation at the birds'' behavior. It seemed that the birds around here were quite intelligent and generous at the same time; just like her friend, Markisah. However, the aunty was feeding wild birds with junk food! If it was done anywhere in a touristic spot with an abundance of wildlife, she would''ve been fined heavily! ... Authors'' Note: 1) She too, loved insects; but only the ones that she could eat = Markisah is not a vegan, she''s a passerine bird (scarlet minivet), meaning she ate fruits, grains \u0026 insects. 2) How can there be soybeans here? = Mrs Mooncat never heard soybeans being locally grown here. All soybeans are imported from outside. Its like wheat, soybeans are more suitable for temperate climate. However, Mrs Mooncat did saw some local blogs planting soybeans for edamame. 3) BBQ curry-flavor snack = Twisties was the name, an Aussie''s product, but it seemed like it is manufactured here in Malaysia. It''s a corn-based irregular elongated shaped snack with many flavors. The one with the BBQ curry flavor is yellow-brown in color. Super delicious, and quite potent curry, I might say; really to the liking of Malaysians. Have been eating since Mrs Mooncat was a kiddo (more than 20 years ago), and we still ate some during anime/movie nights when the kids were already asleep (its not good to give kids junkfood.. don''t let them eat!) XD Twisties looks like this! https://shopee.com.my/Snack-Twisties-Bbq-Curry-65g-i.28796415.7529898705 Mrs Mooncat didn''t sell this, just a random advert from Shopee. Oh ya, Shopee is one of the most prominent online shopping platform we frequented in Malaysia apart from Lazada \u0026 Lelong.my. We can get almost anything. Even wet market stuff. But now, we got direct number of trucks traveling around selling produce directly from the nearest farms, courtesy of MCO (movement control order; a term used in M''sia for partial lockdown). So, more fresh produce delivered to our doorstep! 150 A Bird Brain Can Lead to Huge Misunderstanding It was her first time playing with a large variety of exotic birds. The last time she patted birds was in KL Bird Park (1). It was a large enclosed aviary where she felt like she had been transported into a different world filled with birds flying low over her heads. Until today, visiting the aviary was one of the fondest memories of her spending time with Arash and the two girls. At that time, she remembered she patted lots of yellow-colored lovebirds. They looked like parrots, but smaller in size, with a range of yellow to orange colored fluffy feathers. It was delightful. However, this time, she patted so many different kinds of unknown wild birds; from the extremely fast hummingbirds to the strikingly colored kingfishers to the gentle brown fluffy sparrows and the melodic hoppity hop shamas; it was a dream come true for her. Those were the only ones that she knew. The majority of the birds'' species were unknown to her. That was why it took so long for the ''prize-giving ceremony''. The aunty had underlying intentions! After a while, soft rustlings could be heard from far away. It sounded as if there were thousands of leaves flapping together or thousands of books being flipped at the same time. The rustling sounds got louder and louder until they couldn''t be ignored anymore. Hana looked up to see an incoming darkened tide encroaching over the horizon. Since it was nearly dusk, she couldn''t see too well. Was it an unknown weather phenomenon? Or migrating flying spirit beasts?! [Shi-chan! What are those?!] [Relax, Mom. We''re within the reflecting mirage mirror. They couldn''t see us. Just let them pass.] The flying spirit beasts were getting nearer. Hana finally could make out the shape of birds. At the moment, they looked like tiny ants. But, Hana was very sure those were pretty big birds. And it looked like they were coming towards them! [Shi-chan... Are you sure?] The cowardly aunty was a little nervous when the ant-sized birds were the size of pingpongs now. It seemed that all of them were carrying something, though she couldn''t see clearly what it was. [Shi-chan!] The birds were as large as chickens now. In fact, they looked more towards turkey-sized. The worst thing was they were still far away. They were just a few kilometers away from Shiro''s mirage technique. All of them were carrying something in their mouth. Something greenish-brown. "Bird, did you tell others of our location? Is that your friends?" Shiro asked Markisah urgently. "Nope, those are not my friends. I never tell others the actual location of your lair. This is the first time I brought in these nestmates of mine to contribute to the group. Stop accusing me, Fox." It seemed that even Markisah looked a little nervous this time. She too realized that the incoming large birds were coming their way. Shiro immediately jumped upwards into mid-air. Before he land, an ice platform appeared under his front legs before it disintegrated again once the back legs used it as a pivot. Just like that, he moved rapidly as if he was running on air. It was a sight to behold. The freshwater fishes and Elemental Fiends were similarly looking towards him from below; trying to figure out what he was going to do. Temperature lowered down significantly, as ice crystals started forming mid-air. They quickly turned into large one-meter ice stakes with twisted bodies. It started with tens of them. By the time the large birds finally breached the mirage he conjured up, he launched around six hundred ice stakes towards the intruders! Shiro didn''t use much power. He had gauge these fellows before he launched his attack. They were just Nobles. He could handle this much without breaking a sweat. He hoped they will turn away, or at least divert their flight route after noticing that they had breached someone else''s territory. Truthfully, he had been deeply influenced by Hana. It was a waste to kill wantonly. One should only kill to eat or to neutralize attacking enemies. A sudden familiar-looking hurricane-like gust of wind blew by, removing the ice stakes away! Shiro narrowed his gaze as he sneered. "Is that you, stupid big bird?! Want another round of trashing again?! I still remember what you said before! Imbecile!" Shiro looked around, but couldn''t see the whereabouts of the pompous four-winged hornbill. Suddenly, he was blown away by a sharp gust of wind from the bottom! The ice platform Shiro conjured crumbled into smithereens as he was smashed towards a cluster of large trees at the edge of the territory, destroying them! He had been sucker-punched big time by that stupid bird! "Shi-chan!!!" Hana started screaming in panic! Hana''s panic-looking expression shifted to pure anger! Her eyes turned glowing red, as she held both her hands up slightly. Then, she squeezed them until she could hear her own bones creaking. A tyrannical pressure pressed all the large birds down as they fell simultaneously like meteors hitting the ground in large numbers! Even Suria, the culprit, was finally revealed. She was sneakily hiding within the crowd of birds. "Crap!" Realizing that the flock of large birds were part of the Tricolor World Tree Sanctuary, Markisah immediately flew towards Hana and started to plead, "Hana, I''m so sorry! Those were part of my group! Can you stop hurting them?!" She flapped her wings in anxiety! What if Lord Suria blamed her again for not explaining properly to Hana. Unfortunately, the fox wasn''t beside the aunty, hence no one took the initiative to translate what Markisah said to Hana. The freshwater creatures were cowardly hiding inside the cave. Even Ara, Markisah''s best buddy, wasn''t willing to come out. The baby bird was sleeping soundly beside the only Elemental Fiend permitted within the posh cave dwelling. It didn''t even budge at all; a tiny stream of saliva was flowing from the corner of its beak. "Right, we should teach these hooligans a lesson. I hear you, Markisah. How dare they hurt my cute baby." Hana used two fingers to pat Markisah''s lovely head with a smile, though the smile didn''t reach her glowing eerie red eyes. At the moment, protruding veins started to appear on Hana''s temple, making her smiling face looked vicious. The mild optimistic aunty was all but gone at the moment; someone really touch her reverse scale this time. Markisah, "O______O||||" Hana walked languidly towards the edge of the ''porch'' in front of her sojourn. The area wasn''t big; just about three to four feet wide before it was cut off sharply like a vertical slope. And she jumped. Every creature around made a wide ''O'' mouth. Suddenly, a sleek, menacing-looking insect with four sets of dragonfly-like wings rushed towards her midair. Hana landed beautifully atop its metallic midnight black back, as it carried Hana at top speed towards Shiro''s location. [Da mn... I think I should migrate after this.] Feeling helpless, Markisah chase after the aunty in a hurry. She hoped she''ll be there in time to stop Hana from turning her group into meals. ... [What am I doing, making the Lord angry again?!] At the moment, Suria was proning on the forest floor with her butt sticking up. She couldn''t move; lest lifting her head up. Her large beak was embedded within the soft loam smelt of rotting compost. She was withstanding the tyrannical pressure pressed upon her back, making her prostate in such an embarrassing position. She felt her bones creaking, but not to the point of breaking. She couldn''t look around but she knew all of her vanguards were in the same position as her. They might have it worse than her since their cultivations were lower. It was true; Markisah didn''t know about her intentions. She hadn''t told Markisah anything. She remembered that Markisah once told her, she was going to run some errand for the Lord but didn''t know what it was. She waited and waited, but Markisah didn''t come up anymore after that. It seemed that she was very busy. The wait was very agonizing. Coupled with the knowledge that the white fox was coming to teach her a lesson one day, each day was filled with dread. It reached a point where she couldn''t cultivate properly! What if the Lord decided not to help her due to her rudeness?! Worse, what if the misunderstanding turned into a mental demon for her? Hence, she thought that she would take the initiative to appease both sides. In fact, Suria was here bearing gifts. After getting the information from the little fluffy ones at the bottom of the sacred tree, she dispatched high-level subordinates to quickly scour the surroundings. But since all of them were so large, it was hard to get the so-called ''seeds''. They were too tiny! So, it turned to a desperate search for something she thought of value to the Lord. Her right-wing reported back to her of a large seed with two colors; brown and green, and how tasty it was. It sparked an idea! She remembered Markisah once told her of how the Lord loved to mix and match random things into something delicious! Maybe, this time, the Lord will value these ''seeds''! Without wasting time, she ordered the majority of her subordinates to gather the dual-colored seeds as much as possible. However, once she saw the white fox made his move on her flock, she lost her cool and immediately retaliate! Who knows, the attack managed to blow the fox away! She thought it would only stop the fox from attacking her flock! After that... Well, there''s no after that. A horrifying pressure laced with a wicked aura with a tinge of murderous intent fell upon all of them simultaneously! She couldn''t believe that the Lord directly attacked them! Just because the fox fell! He wasn''t even harmed! "Everyone, this Lord will protect you! Do not falter and make sure not to be insolent!" With difficulty, Suria reminded the rest. ... "Shi-chan, Shi-chan, are you okay?" Hana was sick with worry as she dismounted from King''s back. Although her eyes were glowing red, they were moist; an indication that Hana must be crying. Hana really thought that Shiro was badly hurt. Who wouldn''t get hurt from such a fall? Again, our aunty forgot that her pet was a spiritual beast with super strength. Shiro stood up from within the rubbles and shook off all the dirt from his body. Specks of ice crystals fluttered around, and his fur became clean and beautiful again. "I''m alright, no worries, Mom." He nuzzled Hana''s head to appease her. He could hear her sobbing telepathically as his heart softened. His heart had been tangled up since the last time he failed to Soul-link to Mom. Perhaps, to Mom, he wasn''t as important as the rest, was what he thought. But now, he knew the problem must have been from his side. It might be so bad, even Mom wasn''t able to unravel it at her current level of strength. "Really?" "Yeah." "Let''s cook all of them birds. Do you want to taste bird curry? I heard it tasted just like chicken curry." She remembered she still had a packet of unopened curry powder. At least with the size of these birds, for one packet, she could cook at least a bird. For the rest, she''ll just have to source and make her own curry powder. Shiro, "O______O||||" "Err, I would love to. But better don''t. These are Markisah''s clan." "Oh? Then, why did they attack you?" "No one else attacked me except the foolish pompous hornbill. She''s there. I know she is." "Alright. I''ll squash her a few times more for you. Such a naughty, naughty bird. So petty." Hana teary face turned hard as she scrunched her brow unhappily. She thought that the bird must be attacking Shiro for revenge from coming out at the losing end during their last confrontation. She needed to teach it a lesson; one that it will remember. Being nice didn''t work for a birdbrain. Shiro was speechless for a few seconds before he recovered. "Ah. Oh. Okay, Mom." [Oh no... Oh no.. I''m dead meat.] Markisah reached them just in time to hear about turning her group into ''bird curry''. She truly needed to consider to migrate after this. ... Authors'' Note: 1) KL Bird Park = a large free-flight walk-in aviary in the heart of KL. Extremely recommended to visit. https://www.klbirdpark.com/home 149 Q-chans Proactive Efforts She would never lose her way unless she became blind. Living for nearly two months in this unknown forest, Hana didn''t just view it as her sojourn anymore. It felt closer like her real home. This place had the charm of its own, like a hidden gem or secret hole in the wall. What was missing were only her beloved hubby and daughters. Although she didn''t really focus on the huge silver catfish''s ramblings, she did remember when he said there were living dragons in this land. So many things happened in the past six days, Hana felt quite regretful for not discussing with the elder about their location before. She was too focused on coaxing the elder for the spirit-agriculture efforts. If the fish clan had lived here for more than a thousand years, they must know the surrounding lands well. Although outwardly, Hana looked cheerful, only she knew the thickening self-doubt she was feeling at the moment. The appearance of so many freshwater spirit beasts had made the usually spacious location extremely packed. Noticing this problem, Hana told Shiro to stop the rest from following her back to their cave-dwelling. Shiro instructed them to just stayed around the vicinity of the Crystal-veined stream, making themselves comfortable. After all, they were freshwater creatures; there was no need to follow her everywhere. Anything can wait for tomorrow morning. Only Ara, Chomper, Saras, Alpy, Kolo and Mata got a special pass; they could accompany the Mistress on land this time. Saras and Mata delightfully conjured up the Water-bubble barrier and followed behind Gramps Alpy and Kolo, who were crawling languidly with puffed up chests. Suddenly they felt really strong sense of accomplishment! So satisfying! The Young Masters and Young Misses started to complain noisily, but stopped themselves when they saw the colorful flame upon the Elemental Fiends'' antennas who were traveling with them flared up simultaneously. The peaceful multicolored docile Elemental Fiends suddenly didn''t look so mild anymore. Before, these freshwater creatures had been looking down on the spiritual insect since all of them were just pseudo-spiritual beasts; they didn''t have the servants'' experience, nor were they educated well with the potential dangers of a colony of Elemental Fiends. The surrounding temperatures increased, while the droning of the Elemental Fiends became aggressive! Noxious gas flooded them slowly but surely, making them slightly dizzy. Finally, Hana talked with a calm tone. But she didn''t turn around to see what was happening. Beside her, Shiro translated her intent to let the freshwater creatures knew they were testing the Mistress'' patience not just once, but twice already! Ignoring the little squabbles at the back, Hana continued her steps through the beautiful self-made walking path. She was too tired to attend to every petty children''s fight. Thousands upon thousands of Elemental Fiends were lining up neatly, welcoming her home. They made a pathway for her by arranging themselves on both sides of the straight walking path. Additionally, they did it by clustering themselves into repetitive patterns, just like rows after rows of beautifully lit colorful festive lanterns! Hana was so touched coming home to this kind of welcome. It felt like these motorcycle-sized gentle termites had been long waiting for her to return. In the public telepathic channel, Q-chan had been very quiet, especially two to three days of late. Hana had been quite concerned with the wellbeing of her cute snowy white slug-like Queenie-chan, but haven''t got the chance to directly asked her of her wellbeing. Even without using Soul-link to communicate with these huge termites, Hana could feel adoration and reverence from their gentle droning. It was totally different from when they went to ''borrow'' a few stalks of Lightning mushrooms, or when the Elemental Fiends faced the naughty freshwater creatures. At that time, the dronings were extremely loud, menacing, and filled with killing intent. While Hana took her steps one at a time along the beautiful walking path, she dotingly caressed the lowered heads of the Elemental Fiends on her left and right. Due to that, the spacious ''lane'' created by the giant termites narrowed into a thin lane where Hana could easily pat their eager heads on both sides by just stretching both of her arms. However, besides Pi-chan who was flying low, and Shiro, who was just a step behind Hana, the others were now terrified with the Elemental Fiends. From afar, she could see where her cave-dwelling was located; high atop the artificial elevated vertical ''mountain''. Hana sighed while she lamented. So many things happened in just a month plus time. Previously, all the precious arboreal greenery was all but gone as the land was left bare, hence the clear direct view. She felt that she had trudged the wilderness for a long time before she could reach the Crystal-veined stream once upon a time ago. But now, it took less than twenty minutes at a relaxed pace. The mountain isn''t so high; just around three to four levels of a building, but gosh, it was such a pain having to climb up and down daily. Thank goodness she had Shiro. Hana stopped her steps when she was twenty meters away from the elevated ''mountain'' and creased her brow. Something was different this time. There was a new hole at the base of the ''mountain''! The hole was circular and was about 1.5 meters in diameter; around the size of her previous cave entrance before it was cut into a rectangle shape by Shiro before. She couldn''t make out what was inside since the opening of the hole was a bit to the side of the mountain rather than directly at the front. Suddenly, a glowing white blob came out from the hole! It was the Primordial Queen Mother''s head! "Q-chan? How?!" Hana squealed with delight! She ran towards the translucent white gigantic termite and gave the fair termite a hug on its head! [Mis... Mistress, us make house here... see you everyday... You happy?] [Very happy! Very very happy! Hana was smiling from ear to ear, until she realized something! Q-chan! You can talk?!] [Us listen... Us remember... Us learn..] Hana was confused as to when did the Queen Mother ever listen and learn. She turned questioningly at Shiro as usual. [I guess she must be studying our telepathic conversations daily. What diligence. Shiro replied with an approving nod. He liked assertive minions. One was the little minnow with ugly teeth, and now, this white blob bug. How should he made the playful baby bird do some work too?] [Come see... Come, Mistress...] Q-chan crawled back into the little darkened hole. "F1 dear, come follow me inside too." Hana took her stove cum lantern together with her to see what was being done by the Elemental Fiends'' Queen Mother''s group. "!!!" Hana was so shocked she couldn''t say a word for a full minute! Even Shiro was quite awed and amazed! Inside, was a large cavern-like structure. It was connected directly into a deep tunnel underground. The finishing was so good, as if it was polished and spread with a layer of veneer over it. The veneer was like concrete, only it was translucent white in color, hence Hana could still see the real structure of the cave it covered. A musty muddy smell pervaded the interior of the new cave, but it wasn''t so bad. Hana still could stand it. With a little air, it''ll smell better. Hana touched the wall inside the newly-made cave and gave it a few knocks with her knuckles. It felt very solid! Good material! [What are these, white finishings?] She turned to Q-chan inquiringly. [Us spit. Make home strong... No collapse.] [Ahh... Ahahaha...] ^____^;;;; Hana chuckled awkwardly. How much spit was needed to cover all these? [Why didn''t I see such structures within your chambers, Q-chan?] Although it was very dark inside, if the walls were white, Hana would''ve noticed it immediately. [Thanks to Mistress. Us advance... Spit stronger. Advance nest.] Wow, she didn''t even know that the queen mother advanced a realm. When was it? Usually, if her pets advanced, she would feel something different since their partial soul within her will be affected as well. [I think she didn''t advance a realm. A spirit insect system of cultivation is different from us, Mom. They have their personal cultivation, and also nest level. Actually, Q is considered quite young and her nest isn''t mature yet. She must be talking about the specific upgrades towards her nest related abilities.] Shiro answered thoughtfully. Truthfully, it was just a wild guess from his side. He hadn''t come across any spirit insect before this. [Go up, Mistress.] Here. Q-chan used her excessively large mandibles to point at an obscure location behind her. Hana walked together with F1 who lighted up her way. There were really stairs beside the wall! It was a simple one; soil and boulders cut neatly into indentations which gradually rises upwards. These indentations on the wall were then covered with the whitish spit, making it extremely stable. Hana took slow steps upwards. She needed to be very careful this time since there was no handrail, and the steps were quite slippery. If she fell, it could be a really hard fall. She was greeted with a new empty cavernous space this time! [More space. Mistress can use... Us made this for Mistress. Go up.] Q-chan didn''t follow Hana up. She couldn''t due to her size. However, she enthusiastically relayed all the details in excitement to Hana through telepathy. Her somewhat incoherent words were easily understood now. Hana looked around and found another set of embedded stairs on a nearby wall upwards. She moved up curiously with F1 and Shiro in tow. "!!!" The stairs passed a layer of white spit covered earth as thick as one meter before Hana could see her familiar cave-dwelling! The walls were still the same; studded with pearls all over. However, the floor was glossed with the same veneer! It made the slightly bumpy floor which was full of embedded pearls became smooth like it was being filled with translucent white-colored resin! Hana was speechless and was extremely touched at the same time. Q-chan and her minions proactively ''renovated'' her already posh cave-dwelling into a three-storey house with resin-like finishings! Hana ran down the steps and hugged the large translucent white Q-chan happily. "Thank you, thank you! You''re such a gem!" 150 Everybody Loves Curry Flavor! Hana''s happy remarks were returned by a deep yet faint multilayered echoing drone, as if the sound came from hundreds of thousands of Elemental Fiends from very far away! The newly made cave she was standing on reverberated slightly for a full minute. From her connection with Q-chan, she knew that the sound came from all Elemental Fiends outside her cave-dwelling, inside the newly made connecting tunnel, and even from the ones at their own lair miles away! The freshwater creatures at the Crystal-veined stream were shivering in fear with the sudden hysterical outburst of the Elemental Fiends! Some spiritual beasts nearby immediately evacuated to a much further location! Both Hana and even Shiro were speechless as they eyed each other with amazement. Us all are connected... Us are here at all times. Q-chan tapped her head with her right metallic-like translucent white limb a few times. Hana automatically entered her Soul Hall Domain to observe the queen mother''s partial soul within her. The gray sparkling star was truly somewhat different from the rest of the stars in the domain. Hana went close to it and she noticed the large gray star was actually an aggregation of extremely tiny dots of light surrounding a single slightly larger one. It actually looked like a dandelion with a core. Shi-chan, it turns out, Q-chan''s soul is different from all of you! What does it mean? Hana hadn''t placed much attention on Q-chan''s partial soul within her Soul Hall Domain after subduing her last time. After that, she was busy cultivating to rapidly increased her Soul power. Before leaving, Kuro had specifically asked her to continue cultivating as much as she can and guaranteed that everyone under her care will also receive the same level of soul-nurturing, as long as she wasn''t biased. I''m unsure myself, Mom. I''m not an expert in soul matters. You must consult Bro Ku about this. However, there is no need to worry. Most importantly, Q''s clan had shown that they are loyal to you. This is good enough. Shiro answered with an opinion of his own. To him, it didn''t matter how it worked, especially when the one who knew the answer wasn''t there. As long as all of them can contribute to the wellbeing of their Mistress, it shouldn''t matter much. The answers could wait until his cheap brother came back from hounding the Forest Spirit. Hana walked outside to take a deep breath. She observed the sparkling stars decorating the slightly purplish red backdrop outside. The night was bright and wasn''t so dark today. However, it was unmistakably very late at this moment. The aunty happily retired as she used her fluffy white fox as a pillow, the brown baby bird in her arms as a bolster, and a warm ''stove'' by her side... ... The morning was greeted with the loud cawing of birds contending with menacing loud drones! The drones were especially aggressive and full of killing intent. Hana and Shiro immediately went out of the cave to see what was going on. The sky was filled with nearly a thousand birds of different colors and sizes! "!!!" The beautiful Markisah flew down from within the flock with a sullen look and approached Hana and Shiro. "Hana! I''ve asked my friends to collect seeds from around the area for you. But the presence of the large insects had made all of us worry. We won''t land unless you rein them in. What''s wrong with these guys of yours?! So edgy!" Markisah rolled her eyes at Hana''s aggressive minions. She too, loved insects; but only the ones that she could eat (1). These were a tad bit too big. Additionally, the mean snake reminded her that she could be eaten whole easily by these multicolored insects. That was why she was careful around them, and made sure she only hovered around Hana''s head for protection at all times. It was stupid to jeopardize your own life just to test whether the theory was true or not. Hana patted her heart in relief. It was because she understood Q-chan''s explicit telepathic instructions to weed off the intruders harshly. It was along the lines of ''cut them into pieces'' and ''feast upon them to show them a lesson''. Thank goodness Markisah and her bird friends weren''t too gullible and land. If not, they must await for Suria''s retaliation afterward. No more getting friendly. "Ahahaha.. They are a little too high strung. They just migrated here. So, feeling somewhat energetic." Hana laughed drily while giving lame excuses. "Ask your friends to place the seeds nicely over here, alright? I want to see myself first." Hana placed a piece of Kuro''s black skin-like material on the forest floor and patted it, indicating that the birds should place them one by one on top of the material. They were still high up on the vertical hill where the real entrance of the cave-dwelling was located while the Elemental Fiends were crowding on the open space below. Hence, the birds weren''t so afraid to come over to drop off their haul. Many colorful birds placed different seeds on the black ''cloth''. Some were black, white, brown, green, blue, pink, dual tones of yellow-orange, pink-blue, pale yellow-white, and even rainbow-colored! Hana had never seen so many different kinds of peculiar seeds in her life! After a while, the seeds pile up into a small mound of grain. Hana sieved through the seeds in search of the ones that she might be familiar with. She had been using a lot of whole herbs all the time when she was cooking at home, and did spend some time planting random small herb trees, courtesy of Ma''am Shaza''s insistence. So, at least she had a somewhat shallow knowledge on seeds. "Ah. This looks like an okra seed." The shape was the same but these little ones were black instead of greenish-gray. "This one! It really looks like water-spinach seed." Hana found a couple of dark brownish slightly squarish seeds. She had attempted sowing water spinach before after she got the seeds from Ma''am Shaza. "A star-anise!" Hana sniffed the herb and closed her eyes. However, the color was somewhat wrong. This was deep red, though it was the same in shape and carried the same smell. "These looks like mustard seeds." Hana observed the specks of black dots, but wasn''t too sure. "Ohhh.. isn''t this a nutmeg?! Lovely!" She inhaled deeply with the unmistakable scent. "Candlenut!" "Coriander seeds! I love these!" "Is this soy beans?! How can there be soybeans here?" (2) "Rice! Yay!" "..." "....." "..." The aunty was so delighted, she succumbed into her own little world, observing and counting seeds that she thought she knew. The birds were speechless seeing how happy the aunty was and waited patiently by the side. Ten minutes was gone... 30 minutes was gone, and the aunty was still playing with all the seeds. After one hour, Markisah couldn''t stand waiting any longer. "Hana, everyone is waiting." The aunty looked up innocently, and say, "So?" Markisah rolled her eyes. "Please reward them a bit? Pity them." "Ohhhhh.." Hana slapped her head. "Hahaha, sorry, sorry." She thought it was free. But, a return gift was common courtesy. After all, she didn''t know how far and wide they had traveled to choose seeds for her. It could be a few meters, or it could be tens of kilometers! Hana rubbed her chin in contemplation. How should she show her gratitude? She suddenly stood up, startling the birds into flying a few feet away. "I know!" Hana entered her now posh-like sojourn, adorned with beautiful greenish glow from the studded spirit pearls on the wall and floor. F1 was just sitting stoically in the middle of the cave while emitting its natural ''light''. She walked to her bamboo shelf and rummaged through one of the shopping bags. Really, with the outlook of the walls and resin-like finishing on the floorings, her once upon a time cave-dwelling looked like a modern high-end hall. It only lacked either a disco ball or a grand chandelier. Suddenly, the bamboo cupboard with the redundant filter really looked out of place. Only the hovering water bubble as tall as she was, was a match with the surroundings. She needed to discuss with Q-chan for some furniture upgrades soon. Hana took out a yellow aluminium-plastic pack from inside. The front was decorated with a dark brown design. She nodded approvingly. "The birds will surely love this!" She popped the bag and the aroma of curry floated around. Unintentionally, saliva leaked at the corner of the aunty''s mouth. Hana can''t help herself from taking a few pieces and popped them into her mouth. "Mmmm... This is sooooooo goodddd..." Hana looked at the packaging longingly. When will be the next time she''ll be able to eat this junkfood? Feeling deeply conflicted, she hugged the already opened BBQ curry-flavor snack (3) in sorrow for a full five-minutes, not realizing that all the birds were crowding at the cave entrance, witnessing her antics... ... The little birds were looking at each other in wonder. What was wrong with the Lord of this place? Why was she weeping over a yellowish-brown thing in her wings that lacked feathers? The most important thing was, how can this Lord be a ''she''? She didn''t even have any luxuriant feathers or fur to accentuate her beauty. She was very... bare. Was the thing she kept on holding close a very precious thing? So precious that she couldn''t part with it? Was it a treasure?! To their astonishment, the Lord walked out of the strange greenish-white cave towards them. "The ones who give me these, line up." Hana gestured to a smaller mound of seeds she separated from the large mound. The birds who strike it gold were in elation! High pitch of loud chirps from hundreds of birds resounded! The atmosphere was so noisy at the moment! "Me! Me! Me!", sounded non-stop, thought the Lord wasn''t even looking. It looked like the Lord wasn''t fluent in Avian Language. However, her benevolent smile was unmistakable; the Lord of the land was going to share her treasure with them! The birds obediently lined up in front of Hana. When there was no more space, they kept on lining up by hovering in a straight line. "Show me which seed did you fetch for me, little one." The aloof white fox with branches over its head translated after the Lord made strange soft noises they never heard before; most likely a higher being''s language. The first bird, a tiny greenish-blue hummingbird as big as a quartered RM1 apple dug through the pile of seeds to pass three tiny black seeds on the Lord''s palm. "Ah, you''re the one who got these seeds that looks like mustard seeds. Thank you, little one." The Lord used a single bony ''wing-tip'' to pat the tiny hummingbird''s head gently. Not knowing what it meant, the hummingbird bravely accepted the Lord''s pat while feeling good about itself. Other birds who were looking gazed at the Lord with a favorable impression. Such a gentle Lord. She even lowered herself by touching the body of a nobody like the little bird. Although they weren''t too bright, everyone knew their own Lord never even appear in front of them, lest willingly touching their lowly body. "This is for you." A bright orange-yellow colored irregular stick-like thing was given by the Lord to the little bird. The ''stick'' was at least half the size of the bird. The bird was looking with confusion, what should she do with it? "You eat it, little one." The Lord chuckled mirthfully, as she took another tiny orang-yellow ''stick'' from within the same pouch and placed it inside her mouth. She started chewing animatedly while closing her eyes in contentment, with a slight attachment towards the strange-looking stick. The Lord fed another stick to the white fox at her side after that. The fox chewed obediently and showed a couple of different expressions undeciphered by the birds. But ultimately, the fox looked like it enjoyed itself very much. Another bird hopped enthusiastically after the little hummingbird took its leave in happiness after a couple of sneezes. It hopped to the nearest branches and waited there. It was a chestnut-colored sparrow, with a fluffed up white chest; extremely adorable. The Lord tickled its chest slightly with fondness after giving another strange ''stick''. Strangely, this bird also sneezed cutely a couple of time before flying away. Another bird came... And another... And another... After about eighty plus birds, the Lord was still enjoying herself by playing with the exotic birds one after another! The sun was already tilting towards the horizon. The line was still there, as the birds looked at the ones who were eagerly pecking on the strange yellowish stick. They looked like they were in a daze while sneezing a few times in a row. However, they still enjoyed themselves immensely! Some who didn''t get a portion of the treasure bestowed by the Lord eyed the ones who got one with sadness and envy. They too worked hard but weren''t rewarded. Until the little hummingbird who got the first treasure invited another bird to enjoy the treasure together with it since the stick was so big. It started a chain reaction where everyone started sharing! The air space in front of Hana''s sojourn was filled with happy chirps, energetic cawing, and random sneezes. Everyone loved the intense curry flavor! It was wild and tasty at the same time; totally different from what they used to eat daily! ... Hana nodded with appreciation at the birds'' behavior. It seemed that the birds around here were quite intelligent and generous at the same time; just like her friend, Markisah. However, the aunty was feeding wild birds with junk food! If it was done anywhere in a touristic spot with an abundance of wildlife, she would''ve been fined heavily! ... Authors'' Note: 1) She too, loved insects; but only the ones that she could eat = Markisah is not a vegan, she''s a passerine bird (scarlet minivet), meaning she ate fruits, grains \u0026 insects. 2) How can there be soybeans here? = Mrs Mooncat never heard soybeans being locally grown here. All soybeans are imported from outside. Its like wheat, soybeans are more suitable for temperate climate. However, Mrs Mooncat did saw some local blogs planting soybeans for edamame. 3) BBQ curry-flavor snack = Twisties was the name, an Aussie''s product, but it seemed like it is manufactured here in Malaysia. It''s a corn-based irregular elongated shaped snack with many flavors. The one with the BBQ curry flavor is yellow-brown in color. Super delicious, and quite potent curry, I might say; really to the liking of Malaysians. Have been eating since Mrs Mooncat was a kiddo (more than 20 years ago), and we still ate some during anime/movie nights when the kids were already asleep (its not good to give kids junkfood.. don''t let them eat!) XD Twisties looks like this! https://shopee.com.my/Snack-Twisties-Bbq-Curry-65g-i.28796415.7529898705 Mrs Mooncat didn''t sell this, just a random advert from Shopee. Oh ya, Shopee is one of the most prominent online shopping platform we frequented in Malaysia apart from Lazada \u0026 Lelong.my. We can get almost anything. Even wet market stuff. But now, we got direct number of trucks traveling around selling produce directly from the nearest farms, courtesy of MCO (movement control order; a term used in M''sia for partial lockdown). So, more fresh produce delivered to our doorstep! 151 A Bird Brain Can Lead to Huge Misunderstanding It was her first time playing with a large variety of exotic birds. The last time she patted birds was in KL Bird Park (1). It was a large enclosed aviary where she felt like she had been transported into a different world filled with birds flying low over her heads. Until today, visiting the aviary was one of the fondest memories of her spending time with Arash and the two girls. At that time, she remembered she patted lots of yellow-colored lovebirds. They looked like parrots, but smaller in size, with a range of yellow to orange colored fluffy feathers. It was delightful. However, this time, she patted so many different kinds of unknown wild birds; from the extremely fast hummingbirds to the strikingly colored kingfishers to the gentle brown fluffy sparrows and the melodic hoppity hop shamas; it was a dream come true for her. Those were the only ones that she knew. The majority of the birds'' species were unknown to her. That was why it took so long for the ''prize-giving ceremony''. The aunty had underlying intentions! After a while, soft rustlings could be heard from far away. It sounded as if there were thousands of leaves flapping together or thousands of books being flipped at the same time. The rustling sounds got louder and louder until they couldn''t be ignored anymore. Hana looked up to see an incoming darkened tide encroaching over the horizon. Since it was nearly dusk, she couldn''t see too well. Was it an unknown weather phenomenon? Or migrating flying spirit beasts?! [Shi-chan! What are those?!] [Relax, Mom. We''re within the reflecting mirage mirror. They couldn''t see us. Just let them pass.] The flying spirit beasts were getting nearer. Hana finally could make out the shape of birds. At the moment, they looked like tiny ants. But, Hana was very sure those were pretty big birds. And it looked like they were coming towards them! [Shi-chan... Are you sure?] The cowardly aunty was a little nervous when the ant-sized birds were the size of pingpongs now. It seemed that all of them were carrying something, though she couldn''t see clearly what it was. [Shi-chan!] The birds were as large as chickens now. In fact, they looked more towards turkey-sized. The worst thing was they were still far away. They were just a few kilometers away from Shiro''s mirage technique. All of them were carrying something in their mouth. Something greenish-brown. "Bird, did you tell others of our location? Is that your friends?" Shiro asked Markisah urgently. "Nope, those are not my friends. I never tell others the actual location of your lair. This is the first time I brought in these nestmates of mine to contribute to the group. Stop accusing me, Fox." It seemed that even Markisah looked a little nervous this time. She too realized that the incoming large birds were coming their way. Shiro immediately jumped upwards into mid-air. Before he land, an ice platform appeared under his front legs before it disintegrated again once the back legs used it as a pivot. Just like that, he moved rapidly as if he was running on air. It was a sight to behold. The freshwater fishes and Elemental Fiends were similarly looking towards him from below; trying to figure out what he was going to do. Temperature lowered down significantly, as ice crystals started forming mid-air. They quickly turned into large one-meter ice stakes with twisted bodies. It started with tens of them. By the time the large birds finally breached the mirage he conjured up, he launched around six hundred ice stakes towards the intruders! Shiro didn''t use much power. He had gauge these fellows before he launched his attack. They were just Nobles. He could handle this much without breaking a sweat. He hoped they will turn away, or at least divert their flight route after noticing that they had breached someone else''s territory. Truthfully, he had been deeply influenced by Hana. It was a waste to kill wantonly. One should only kill to eat or to neutralize attacking enemies. A sudden familiar-looking hurricane-like gust of wind blew by, removing the ice stakes away! Shiro narrowed his gaze as he sneered. "Is that you, stupid big bird?! Want another round of trashing again?! I still remember what you said before! Imbecile!" Shiro looked around, but couldn''t see the whereabouts of the pompous four-winged hornbill. Suddenly, he was blown away by a sharp gust of wind from the bottom! The ice platform Shiro conjured crumbled into smithereens as he was smashed towards a cluster of large trees at the edge of the territory, destroying them! He had been sucker-punched big time by that stupid bird! "Shi-chan!!!" Hana started screaming in panic! Hana''s panic-looking expression shifted to pure anger! Her eyes turned glowing red, as she held both her hands up slightly. Then, she squeezed them until she could hear her own bones creaking. A tyrannical pressure pressed all the large birds down as they fell simultaneously like meteors hitting the ground in large numbers! Even Suria, the culprit, was finally revealed. She was sneakily hiding within the crowd of birds. "Crap!" Realizing that the flock of large birds were part of the Tricolor World Tree Sanctuary, Markisah immediately flew towards Hana and started to plead, "Hana, I''m so sorry! Those were part of my group! Can you stop hurting them?!" She flapped her wings in anxiety! What if Lord Suria blamed her again for not explaining properly to Hana. Unfortunately, the fox wasn''t beside the aunty, hence no one took the initiative to translate what Markisah said to Hana. The freshwater creatures were cowardly hiding inside the cave. Even Ara, Markisah''s best buddy, wasn''t willing to come out. The baby bird was sleeping soundly beside the only Elemental Fiend permitted within the posh cave dwelling. It didn''t even budge at all; a tiny stream of saliva was flowing from the corner of its beak. "Right, we should teach these hooligans a lesson. I hear you, Markisah. How dare they hurt my cute baby." Hana used two fingers to pat Markisah''s lovely head with a smile, though the smile didn''t reach her glowing eerie red eyes. At the moment, protruding veins started to appear on Hana''s temple, making her smiling face looked vicious. The mild optimistic aunty was all but gone at the moment; someone really touch her reverse scale this time. Markisah, "O______O||||" Hana walked languidly towards the edge of the ''porch'' in front of her sojourn. The area wasn''t big; just about three to four feet wide before it was cut off sharply like a vertical slope. And she jumped. Every creature around made a wide ''O'' mouth. Suddenly, a sleek, menacing-looking insect with four sets of dragonfly-like wings rushed towards her midair. Hana landed beautifully atop its metallic midnight black back, as it carried Hana at top speed towards Shiro''s location. [Da mn... I think I should migrate after this.] Feeling helpless, Markisah chase after the aunty in a hurry. She hoped she''ll be there in time to stop Hana from turning her group into meals. ... [What am I doing, making the Lord angry again?!] At the moment, Suria was proning on the forest floor with her butt sticking up. She couldn''t move; lest lifting her head up. Her large beak was embedded within the soft loam smelt of rotting compost. She was withstanding the tyrannical pressure pressed upon her back, making her prostate in such an embarrassing position. She felt her bones creaking, but not to the point of breaking. She couldn''t look around but she knew all of her vanguards were in the same position as her. They might have it worse than her since their cultivations were lower. It was true; Markisah didn''t know about her intentions. She hadn''t told Markisah anything. She remembered that Markisah once told her, she was going to run some errand for the Lord but didn''t know what it was. She waited and waited, but Markisah didn''t come up anymore after that. It seemed that she was very busy. The wait was very agonizing. Coupled with the knowledge that the white fox was coming to teach her a lesson one day, each day was filled with dread. It reached a point where she couldn''t cultivate properly! What if the Lord decided not to help her due to her rudeness?! Worse, what if the misunderstanding turned into a mental demon for her? Hence, she thought that she would take the initiative to appease both sides. In fact, Suria was here bearing gifts. After getting the information from the little fluffy ones at the bottom of the sacred tree, she dispatched high-level subordinates to quickly scour the surroundings. But since all of them were so large, it was hard to get the so-called ''seeds''. They were too tiny! So, it turned to a desperate search for something she thought of value to the Lord. Her right-wing reported back to her of a large seed with two colors; brown and green, and how tasty it was. It sparked an idea! She remembered Markisah once told her of how the Lord loved to mix and match random things into something delicious! Maybe, this time, the Lord will value these ''seeds''! Without wasting time, she ordered the majority of her subordinates to gather the dual-colored seeds as much as possible. However, once she saw the white fox made his move on her flock, she lost her cool and immediately retaliate! Who knows, the attack managed to blow the fox away! She thought it would only stop the fox from attacking her flock! After that... Well, there''s no after that. A horrifying pressure laced with a wicked aura with a tinge of murderous intent fell upon all of them simultaneously! She couldn''t believe that the Lord directly attacked them! Just because the fox fell! He wasn''t even harmed! "Everyone, this Lord will protect you! Do not falter and make sure not to be insolent!" With difficulty, Suria reminded the rest. ... "Shi-chan, Shi-chan, are you okay?" Hana was sick with worry as she dismounted from King''s back. Although her eyes were glowing red, they were moist; an indication that Hana must be crying. Hana really thought that Shiro was badly hurt. Who wouldn''t get hurt from such a fall? Again, our aunty forgot that her pet was a spiritual beast with super strength. Shiro stood up from within the rubbles and shook off all the dirt from his body. Specks of ice crystals fluttered around, and his fur became clean and beautiful again. "I''m alright, no worries, Mom." He nuzzled Hana''s head to appease her. He could hear her sobbing telepathically as his heart softened. His heart had been tangled up since the last time he failed to Soul-link to Mom. Perhaps, to Mom, he wasn''t as important as the rest, was what he thought. But now, he knew the problem must have been from his side. It might be so bad, even Mom wasn''t able to unravel it at her current level of strength. "Really?" "Yeah." "Let''s cook all of them birds. Do you want to taste bird curry? I heard it tasted just like chicken curry." She remembered she still had a packet of unopened curry powder. At least with the size of these birds, for one packet, she could cook at least a bird. For the rest, she''ll just have to source and make her own curry powder. Shiro, "O______O||||" "Err, I would love to. But better don''t. These are Markisah''s clan." "Oh? Then, why did they attack you?" "No one else attacked me except the foolish pompous hornbill. She''s there. I know she is." "Alright. I''ll squash her a few times more for you. Such a naughty, naughty bird. So petty." Hana teary face turned hard as she scrunched her brow unhappily. She thought that the bird must be attacking Shiro for revenge from coming out at the losing end during their last confrontation. She needed to teach it a lesson; one that it will remember. Being nice didn''t work for a birdbrain. Shiro was speechless for a few seconds before he recovered. "Ah. Oh. Okay, Mom." [Oh no... Oh no.. I''m dead meat.] Markisah reached them just in time to hear about turning her group into ''bird curry''. She truly needed to consider to migrate after this. ... Authors'' Note: 1) KL Bird Park = a large free-flight walk-in aviary in the heart of KL. Extremely recommended to visit. https://www.klbirdpark.com/home 152 Coconuts! Oh Coconuts! Mrs Mooncat 1.40am 7 Dec 2020 ===================================== Through her ability to sense the fluctuation of air from the surroundings, Suria could feel and hear a few creatures approaching them from afar although she couldn''t lift her head up. She knew almost all of the auras emitted; the vengeful fox, little Markisah, a foreign one which was quite strong, and a clean and nearly unnoticeable aura of the Lord. The most horrifying thing was the pressure upon her was increasing as the incoming creatures got nearer. She tried her best to calm down, but only the Sacred Tree knew how hard her heart thumped. "Is that the one that bully you? The black and white one with four wings?" Suria heard the Lord spoke. Although she couldn''t understand what the Lord was saying, it sounded like a question for confirmation. "Yes. This is the one." The unmistakable voice of the vengeful fox was like poison to her ears. She too, knew the universal beast language and could guess what was the previous question to that answer. "Okay." Suddenly Suria felt like she has been squeezed slowly with an increasing strength. Her bones started creaking loudly it felt like snapping! Finally, she couldn''t stand it and squawk with muffled breath within the stinky loamy soil. The soil entered her mouth and choked her. The almighty Lord of the Tricolor World Tree was choking and gagging continuously in a sorry state, making the rest of her subordinates sweated. What will become of them once their turn came? "Fox! You! You aren''t even hurt! This Lord is here bearing gifts! Tell your Lord!" In between her breath, muffled words came out from her beak full of dark and slightly wet loamy soil. The fox turned the other way, pretending not to hear what Suria said. "Stupid Fox! Are you trying to make me an enemy?!" Still, the white fox ignored her while making a cute face with large googly purple-hued eyes towards the Lord beside him. She could hear the Lord actually fawn over him with an ''Awwww'' tone while at the same time squeezing her even harsher! Yes, the aunty was that vengeful and petty. "Hana! Please! Stop hurting my friend! Her bones are going to break!" Similarly, Markisah was also very helpless with Hana''s actions since she knew how kind the aunty was. Additionally, she had never seen Hana so angry before. So, it was true that hurting the fox or the snake was like touching Hana''s reverse scale. She must remember this! Hana was surprised with Markisah''s fluttering over her face and looked questioningly at Shiro. Obviously, the cute yet sly fox didn''t translate what Markisah said to Hana just to teach Suria a lesson she will properly remember a little longer. Shiro sighed. Play time was over. He then proceeded to explain while blinking his large cute eyes innocently, "The bird say, please don''t hurt her Lord. She already learnt her lesson. Anyway, Mom, you should stop already. I don''t want you to collapse here. Please take care of your health." At the same time, Shiro could already see Mom''s nose was leaking with blood. The pressure was finally lifted. Hana walked towards the culprit with folded arms and a scrunched up brow. The large hornbill was still in a proning position, however, the beak had already left the soil. It laid its large head down and breathed slowly in relief. In anger, Hana forgot that the bird was as big as a single-storey house. The beak itself was nearly two-meter long; hornbills always had prominent beaks. If Suria had the intention to open her beak and bit the aunty, she will be cut into two. The other birds were a little smaller than the four-winged hornbill, but not by much. All of them radiated a Noble''s aura, though they weren''t hostile. These birds were of differing colors and species. Even Markisah had never seen any of them appearing before. Since Hana was so angry, she needed to confront this problem child and hear what she has to say. It was extremely rude to hit your own allies, especially someone who had promised you good things in the future. "Do you have anything to say?!" The soft-spoken aunty, for once, increase her voice a few notches while placing both of her hands over her hips. It sounded like a scolding from an elder to a naughty kid. She only demanded that the kid uttered a word of apology and genuinely regretted what she did after some contemplation. "Er... I didn''t do anything. The fox fell on his own." Suria added defensively. "!!!!" Everyone including Shiro inhaled sharply. This bird really didn''t know her place! Green veins appeared on the aunty''s temples. The aunty had a frozen speechless expression etched on her face. Five seconds later, it turned into a deep frown! She swung her right hand out of reflex towards the bird''s cheek! Accompanying her hand movement was a horrifying pressure slapping Suria until she rolled to the side a few rounds and vomited blood! "O_____O||||||" Even Shiro was shocked this time. The aunty really lost control of her temper with the bird. Once Hana realized she had gone overboard, she immediately asked Shiro to feed the bird with some All Cure Pellet. What is wrong with me... Hana touched her forehead with worry. She wasn''t someone who would lose her temper easily like this. Since she entered this place, she was starting to lose herself. She knew herself as someone caring who loved animals. Before, she would never ever hurt even an ant, unless it bit her kids. Cockroaches were exceptions. She will scream and ran away if she saw one, especially the one that flew to her face. ... "Stupid Bird. You should just say sorry, you know." Shiro added after Suria woke from her coma. Yes, the Lord of the Tricolor World Tree had been slapped silly until she fainted in front of her loyal subordinates. It had stained her reputation for good. "How should I know? I merely stated that I have never even hurt you, stupid Fox." "Truthfully, I''ve never seen my Mistress as angry as that. You better watch out what you say in front of her after this." At the moment, even Shiro pitied Suria a little. It turned out, if one had earned Mom''s wrath, it won''t be easy to stop her from punishing the wrongdoer harshly. This was an eye-opening event for him as he got to know Mom a little deeper. It turned out Mom wasn''t all that saintly as he thought her to be after all. She has her temper too. ... "Lord Hana, this Lord is here bearing gifts of seeds, as this regal one heard from our mutual tiny friend, Markisah, of your immediate need." Suria flapped her large wings in slow motion, showing off to everyone how graceful she was, how elegant she was. Tiny rubbles and dried leaves fluttered about as the debris stuck to everyone around, dirtying them en masse. Her subordinates looked the other way while clearing their throats. It was hard to be subordinates to such a Lord. It was embarrassing. However, it wasn''t so bad since the Lord of the Serpent''s Lair didn''t seem to notice. "No Lord-lord. Mistress. Hmphh! I''m a woman! What seed? Did you tell her, Markisah?" Removing a branch and a few stray leaves from her head, Hana asked questioningly as she turned to Markisah for confirmation. "Nope, I didn''t." Markisah shook her tiny head. The lovely crown-like feather atop her head bobbed to the side adorably. However, she froze once she saw Suria giving her an obvious meaningful stare. Even Suria''s eyes were 20% larger, without blinking. "Err... As a matter of fact, It seems that I did in passing. Ahahaha..." Markisah chuckled drily. She sounded so fake! Everyone could detect her tone and gave a helpless sigh. Nonetheless, the clueless ''Lord of the Serpent''s Lair'' couldn''t read the body language of a bird so well. Hence, they were able to pull it off, albeit just slightly. Even Shiro didn''t try to make things hard for the hornbill for once. "Okay, let me see the seeds you mentioned." Hana held her hand to the bird with a no-nonsense attitude. Suria signaled to her subordinates. Immediately, they fluttered about looking for the seeds that had fell off from either their beaks and their talons. The movement from their gigantic bodies inadvertently created gusts of wind. It wasn''t merely ''a gust of wind'' when a few gigantic trees from the nearby vicinity fell. Hana had been timely placed behind an ice barrier, courtesy of Shiro''s fast thinking. If not, the aunty would surely be flung far away just like him. Hana and Shiro gave Suria a long stare with an unhappy look etched to their faces, making Suria so embarrassed. These birds really brought more harm than good. "Er... Give us a moment. We brought it along just now. But because of the fall, we lost the seeds somewhere within these rubbles." "Oh? So, now it''s my fault?" Hana raised her brow as she folded her arms over her chest. "No, no, no. No one''s fault." Suria added hastily. Finally, the ''seeds'' were presented in front of Hana as the ice-barrier was carefully removed by Shiro. Sphere-shaped ''fruit'' the size of volleyball of green and brown were stacked high. There were so many of them! Although it looked like tiny seeds to birds with one-meter sized beaks, to Hana, they were big and heavy. "Coconuts! Oh coconuts! I love coconuts!" Hana smiled happily. Last time, Kuro had brought back some for her to use. However, she had used it to cook many things and to make sweetened honeyed drinks. Once the fruits had finished, it was hard to get more! "Where did you get these?! Is it far from here?" Hana squatted down in front of one green-colored coconut and easily slashed the top part with her Clawknife she kept on her calf. It wasn''t obvious at all until she took it out. Hana slipped it in the folds of Kuro''s skin she tied over her left leg. It turned out, doing it this way reduced the possibility of hurting herself since only Kuro''s mottled skin was able to withstand the sharpness of the knife made from Shiro''s claw. The aunty unceremoniously held up the green fruit and drank loudly in a most uncute manner. Since no one was around to judge her, she didn''t care to act polite. "...Glug.. Glug.. Glug.." "AHHHH!" Hana let out a shout after she finished drinking the whole coconut water! "What? What?!" Shiro and Suria simultaneously asked in a panic. "It''s so great to be alive!" Hana cut the coconut into two once she finished up the water in one seating. She then proceeded to dig the flesh by using a self-made spoon she carved on the spot with a block of wood from a fallen tree nearby. Now, the aunty was so good, coupled with the sharpness of the Clawknife, a wooden spoon materialized like magic within 2 minutes! Her actions were observed by Shiro, Markisah, Suria and her subordinates, and the Elemental Fiends who arrived not too long ago. They quietly waited until the Mistress of the Lair sated her desire for coconuts. New info they got at this moment. When the Mistress was angry, feed her water from the green coconut. ... 153 When a Handsome Boss Met a Cheeky Little Girl A creaking sound accompanied by a slightly opened dark gray door. Arash''s head could be seen from the door''s gap through the apartment door, looking suspiciously outside. The door really need a bit of WD-40; early in the morning, the creaking noise sounded the loudest. The neighbors on the left and right must be wide awake by now. "Who is it?" "Morning, Arash. Alan here." Lo and behold, Alan was standing there with a bright smile and full-suited light blue trekking clothes with black hiking shoes. The young man looked dashing in whatever he wore. A metallic silver Bluetooth earpiece device could be seen attached to his ear. Flabbergasted, Arash wasn''t able to reply for a full minute. After he recovered, he looked at his smartwatch and sighed. "Really? At 5.45 am, Alan?" He had an exasperated look in his eyes. Alan chuckled lightly when he saw how the guy look. 1-0. He won again. Arash was still in his white praying clothes. He was waiting for the praying time while making last minute packing. After he finished, he planned to contact Rob before moving out with the kids. This time, Mat wasn''t able to join them. Hence, Rob had arranged for some other experts to accompany them today. There were so many things to bring along this time. He had spent quite a hefty amount for this round''s visitation to fulfill his promise to Tok Silihan. "I saw in the system. You took a 2-days'' leave. So, I figure, you must want to spend more time trekking over there. I''ve arranged a team of professionals to assist us along the way." This time, Arash had a crestfallen look etched on his face. The boss knew. He was trying to move out earlier so that the boss couldn''t tag along. Later he would then give some random excuses to appease the young man. This time, he has so many things to bring and a mission to complete. He couldn''t spend all his time accompanying his boss for a random excursion. Arash''s face changed a few times before he sighed deeply yet again. "Come in. Open your shoes before coming in, please. (1) Place it here, in the shoe rack inside. If you leave it outside, it''ll be gone once you go out." Alan entered his subordinate''s house and was amazed by the clutter around. Toys and children''s books were everywhere on the floor, on the sofa, on the TV cabinet. A huge bundle of random things was piled up high on the coffee table. He had to twist and turn to make sure he didn''t step on anything. This was quite surprising. "The cleaner will be here this coming weekend. So, before that, just make do." Arash noticed Alan''s questioning look and answered serenely. He was already immune to all the mess. He signaled Alan to follow him to the kitchen island while cleaning away crumbs, picture books, and some spills on the floor efficiently. "Have a go and wait here. I need to pray and settle the kids." "Alright." ... Alan took a sip of coffee from a dark blue colored mug and scrunched his brow. In fact, the company''s logo was on the mug. Must be a souvenir from one of the company''s events. He chuckled lightheartedly as he continued sipping the 3in1. Truthfully, he only took Red Eye (2) once a while and mostly drink plain water. However, since the host had prepared for him, he will have some for the sake of courtesy. His eyes continued to trail over the whole house, Arash, and his two groggy daughters. They''re all surprisingly early risers. Alan prayed and spend some time on the maroon colored praying mat in the master bedroom. He didn''t close the door, hence, Alan could see him from outside. His face devout, as he stared deep into the emptiness in front of him. Alan could detect longing and deep well-kept sorrow from his stare. The young girl with messy chicken nest hair rubbed her eyes while yawning as she walked by to the kitchen. She took a step back to look at Alan from head to toe two times; eyes blinking with confusion. "Morning, Handsome Uncle. I thought I was dreaming." "Morning. What did you dream about?" Alan grinned and greeted back. He couldn''t help it if he''s good looking. Children didn''t know how to lie. Due to that first sentence, he formed a positive first impression on the little girl who still smelled of drool. "An actor from one of Mama''s movies came out of the screen." She replied with an extremely serious look to show that she wasn''t lying. "Well, I''m definitely real." Alan placed the mug on the table and knocked his knuckles on the tabletop. It made a hollow sound as it should be. "Hmm, true that." She nodded. "Anyway, you look like a movie star. Are you Papa''s friend? Papa very rarely brought friends back home." The girl asked again innocently. "I am, though I''m not a movie star. I''m the one who came, your Papa didn''t ask me to come." "Ohh It''s alright, don''t worry. Papa is kind. He won''t throw you out and will still befriend you even if you''re not a movie star. Ai still recommend that you go for tryouts. Uncle is more handsome than some of the ''uncles'' who sings in Mama''s phone." The little girl nodded seriously while scrutinizing Alan''s face again. She actually made a rectangular sign by connecting her thumb and index finger from both hands, and turning it around a couple of times while placing it over her eyes. "I can''t sing so well, you know." Alan chuckled under his breath as he observed this little midget''s antics. "No problem, Boss. Your face is good enough for billboard advertisement!" She nodded again, feeling extremely confident with her opinion while giving a thumbs up to Alan. However, her adorable doe-like eyes trailed off toward the unopened packet of peanuts and they turned round with dismay. "Don''t eat too much of the peanuts." She whispered hastily. "Why?" The girl looked left and right as she righted the pink towel on her shoulder seriously. She whispered even lower than before. "That''s Uncle Hadi''s stash. He''ll get angry lo when there''s no more peanut in the house. He will become very loud, just like a crazy lion. The neighbors will complain again. The worse thing is, he just needed to stare at them, and all of them ran inside their own house!" Alan grinned and rubbed the little cheeky girl''s head as he too, whispered back. "Don''t worry. I won''t. I don''t take peanuts." "Why?" "I only eat macadamias." "Oh. I see, I see. Uncle is one of those kayangan people. (2)" The little girl nodded thoughtfully. "Excuse me?" "Ai. Bathe, please. We''re late. Greet Uncle Alan (3) properly." The little girl righted herself as she did a cute curtsey while flaunting her yellow banana-patterned pajamas. "How, do you do? I''m Aira. I''m five. Pleased to meet you." After that, she ran back into the master bedroom before Alan could reply. Alan continued sipping his coffee elegantly as he listened to the hubbub of his new subordinate''s house. It was very, how could he say, boisterously loud and happening. It was true. The madam of the house was not around. Though the house had a tinge of womanly touch to it, it had been obscured by the clutter around. The nearby kitchen looked filthy with spills from cooking; a testament of Arash''s attempts at cooking something. Most probably he cooked for the kids. What made Alan raised an eyebrow was the humongous amount of eggs inside a deep pot. It looked like they had just been boiled. He knew now, the man didn''t lie to the company. As a bachelor, he couldn''t fathom how Arash could manage the two kids by himself every morning. He heard that this guy even board the LRT (4) to work daily as he lived very far from the heart of KL. Even he himself had servants to help around; specifically a maid, a cleaner, a bodyguard, and a butler. His bodyguard was outside, out of view; he had explicitly ordered his bodyguard to never appear unless it was an emergency. He will only appear as a chauffeur to outsiders. Alan''s impression of Arash increased a couple of notches again. This was a genuine man who could balance between work and family well; an all-rounder. Nonetheless, the young man didn''t know that his new subordinate''s impression of him had fallen even lower than before. It was very obvious that this was an attempt at intruding on his personal life while giving him ''spot checks'' at the same time. Nonetheless, Arash was a kind person and a sensible one. He had a very high degree of patience thanks to being ''trained'' by Hana, who always got her way almost all the time. Hence, the man knew that he must treat this new boss with a very high degree of tolerance in order to keep his job. After all, he didn''t do anything wrong. It was within his rights to take a leave if he wanted to. However, since his boss knew and even appear in front of his door so early, he must really want to join the expedition. Arash sighed helplessly as he readied his two little princesses. They still had to go to Lisa again today. ... Forty-five minutes later, the little drool-covered girl with chicken nest hair had literally turned into a sweet flower with a frilled soft pink dress full of tulips print and two hot pink cherry hair clips, complementing her outfit. Her hair was flowy black, reaching her back neatly. Her lips had a very light pink tint and she smelled of roses. Once Alan saw the girl, he couldn''t connect her with the little cheeky girl from before. It''s like the girl had a hair transplant. He knew when she grew up, she''ll be an above-average beauty. The girl must follow her mother''s looks, since she didn''t look the least bit like his subordinate. Only her skin color was the same. The little baby girl with fluffy cheeks kept on blowing raspberries and cooed in a good mood. She was placed on a babychair on Arash''s left, while the girl sat on his right. Arash thawed a frozen rice porridge with bits of chicken on the stove while he expertly added yellowy orange-colored paste into it. The smell of pumpkin wafted to Alan''s nose as he took a deep breath deeply. "Are you hungry, Uncle Alan?" The cheeky girl started asking inquisitively as she spooned a bowl of milk covered cheerios into her mouth. Her eyes, round and full of curiosity. This girl must''ve asked a thousand of questions all the time. "No." Alan smiled and answered. "Hmm... You look hungry to me. Sorry, you can''t have Aina''s porridge. Trust me, it smells nice, but tasted only so-so. Mama cooked better porridge, you know. You can have some cereal. Papa, can you put some cereal for Uncle? Pity him. He looks hungry, although he denies it. I know he is. It is common courtesy to serve something to guests. Mama said so." Speechless, Arash blinked his eyes as he looked at his boss. Was he really hungry? He planned to stop by at a mamak stall once he sent the girls to Lisa. At that time, he will of course invite his boss for breakfast. "...Do you want some cereal, Alan?" Arash cleared her throat while he asked quietly. A short awkward silence was replaced by Alan''s hearty laugh. "No, thank you. I''ve taken my breakfast shake before moving out. Please have your meal, Aira. Uncle is going to borrow your Papa for a while." "Where to?" She looked at him with pitiful eyes. Will Papa leave them again? "Papa need to go trekking. You know, to meet Tok Silihan. I''ve explained to you before right?" "!!!" The girl stood up suddenly while banging her spoon on the table. Without a word, she walked into the master bedroom and banged the door. Arash and Alan looked at each other, speechless. "She''s really something. Go, I''ll look after the little one. Just spoon this porridge, right?" "One-third teaspoon at a time. Blow first. Thank you!" Alan rolled his eyes and shoo-ed his subordinate to appease the little girl. ... Authors'' Note: 1) Open your shoes before coming in, please = In Malaysia, it is customary to be barefooted inside houses. If you enter a house with shoes, the host will be very offended. 2) Kayangan people = kayangan means heaven/elysium. This term was coined very recently. Malaysians who returned from oversea was known as ''cluster kayangan'' unofficially, since the govt helped them return from their holidays/work/studies and placed them in hotels for quarantine. They complained a lot, were ungrateful, and sparked anger among the other netizens. Hahaha.. since then, anything ''high-end'' will be labeled as ''kayangan''. 3) Uncle Alan = Alan and Arash are not blood related. Here, anyone older will be called ''Brother'' (a bit old) or ''uncle'' (much older, same level as parent) or ''grandpa'' (if very old). So, if mrs mooncat greet someone as old as a ''grandpa'', mrs mooncat will greet him as ''uncle'', while our kitty will greet him as ''grandpa''. 4) LRT = Light Rail Transit, a train. 154 Bringing Your Boss for Extreme Trekking Part 1 "Papa didn''t say that it will be today. I... I don''t want to stay with Madam Lisa. Can you let us follow?" Aira looked up to reveal a tear-stained face. She was very upset at this moment. Arash sat beside her and gave her a hug. "Be a good girl, Ai. This is important. It seems that Tok Silihan is going to help us look for Mama. So, your job is to look after Aina. Divide and conquer, like Mama always say, right. Pity Aina. Papa definitely can''t bring Aina with us since she''s a baby. Do you want to leave her alone with Madam Lisa? Who will protect Aina in our absence?" Arash asked his precious eldest seriously. He had to do this, though he felt guilty for placing the excellent caretaker in a bad light. He needed to give his girl a purpose. Aira was a thoughtful girl for her age. His beloved had trained their daughters well, though sometimes, with a bit too much random information. Aira made a miserable expression for a full minute before answering sadly, "How many days, this time?" "Not more than three. Promise." "Two pink unicorn plushies with rainbow-colored horn by the time we come home. One for me, one for Aina." "Deal." Aira hugged her Papa wholeheartedly. It will be three days full of heartache. She really hoped she could bear with it and act cutely in front of the mean caretaker. Both father and daughter returned to the dining counter while holding hands together. The sweet girl didn''t say anything after that. She became a little quiet, a little less excited. But she smiled at ''Uncle Alan'' after a while and even complimented that his ''contact lenses'' (1) suited him very well, unintentionally gaining additional brownie points from the young man. ... Arash parked his car by the side of the road where he promised to meet up with Rob. In front of him, there were two jeeps with a fully loaded cargo this time; one was gray, while the other one was matte black. Both showed signs of weathering difficult paths, with dents, scratches, and rust as ornaments. Random stickers were plastered over them; an attempt to cover the rough imperfections of the vehicles. From inside the jeeps, three persons came out to greet Arash. One was Rob, the previous professional tracker, while the other two were unknown to him. All of them looked very fit and slightly brawny. "Mr. Arash! Are you on a diet? It looks like you''ve lost some weight in just two weeks!" Rob came over and gave Arash a bear hug. Spending a short 2-day excursion together with Arash had made them bosom friends now. It was not about how long they knew each other, but how well they ''clicked''. Once a person knew Arash long enough, they will usually have a very good impression of him. "Ahaha... Work issues, work issues." Arash chuckled lightheartedly. "Ahhh... About that. My fault too. My kid used my phone to play for quite some time. After that, she played hide and seek with it. Seriously. I couldn''t find my phone half the night." Arash chuckled drily. That cheeky Aira silenced and hid his phone inside the rice container, submerged at the very bottom. Thank God she finally let up and told him this morning after bathing. "Nonetheless, don''t worry about it. I brought additional people this time." Arash patted Rob''s shoulder to appease him. Well, at least something good came out of bringing his boss along. Just in time, a group of sleek 4WDs stopped and parked beside Arash''s gray Exora (2). Ten tough-looking burly men in black suits and black shades came out, encircling a dashing young man with dark auburn hair and soft gray eyes. Anyone could see that this young man wasn''t a local. Either he''s a celebrity or the prodigal son of someone with a very deep pocket. Regardless, he looked like a stinking rich western tourist. Another older man with silver hair came out last from one of the vehicles. He was the only one who wore normally besides the young man. However, he too, looked like an out-of-place foreigner tourist; albeit one who looked poised and calm all the time. Arash, Rob and the rest, "..." They were too speechless to say anything. Arash covered his face with one hand. He was trying his best not to comment on anything. His boss was a little bit too flashy, just like a peacock. "Morning, gentlemen." Alan nodded politely to the other three, as if he was here just to stroll around. He spoke nothing else and proceeded to walk towards the edge of the forest to look around with curiosity. The men in black suits hovered around him like flies as they busied themselves with different kinds of technological devices. After a while, another man in proper hiking attire appeared and flaunted a folded chair just behind the young man as he was about to sit down. He then offered a bottle of mineral water for the young man to drink. A man in a black suit placed a watch over the young man''s wrist while he was drinking, while another one fixed something on his belt. The rest were surrounding the young man while looking around vigilantly, as if they were protecting him by keeping him in the middle. Arash and Rob looked at each other, still feeling speechless. One word appeared on their minds; efficient. The second word was ''overrrr'' (3). ... "Alright, you guys can return." Alan placed his right leg over his left while speaking without lifting his head. He was swiping through the info about the forest reserve they were going in on his tablet. His new subordinate hadn''t provided the necessary information as requested beforehand, though he didn''t blame him. Alan knew he was a bit forceful. He has no choice; he needed to get close to this man as soon as possible to observe his potential closely. "Young Master, I still won''t recommend you to go on this sudden trip. It is full of unknown variables. We lacked information. The Master will kill this old man if something happens to you. You need all of them to assist you." The old man with silver hair reproached Alan firmly. He was the only one who could simply talk to the Young Master without any consequence. The others could only keep mum, but if one removed all their shades, they too had the same look as the gray-haired old man. "Miles, I can take care of myself. Additionally, Silas will be with me. You don''t have to be worried. You guys already implanted a tracking device on me as well, right? So, what is there to worry about?" "Bear in mind, Young Master, this is the first time you entered the forest of an Asian country. It is vastly different than the one you used to back home. I am worried about the signal''s quality. It could affect your ability to contact us when you need help." "Calm down. Calm down, everyone. This is just a short trekking session. It is not a forest in the middle of nowhere. It is just a forest reserve. Can you see how fit he is and how fit I am? He was the one who organized this trekking session. There won''t be any problem. I heard it is a simple excursion to an aborigine village around thirty kilometers in after the end of the trail. Total time needed was just six hours. Anyone could do it. He has been there before. After all, this new subordinate of mine needed a little time to be tamed. This is imperative for our future goals." Light lit up within the old man''s eyes. "I see. Finally, the final piece of the puzzle, perhaps?" "Might be." Alan grinned lightly. "Alright, fair enough, Young Master. However, I will be accompanying you. Besides Silas, bring along Marco and Zidane." The old man held up his hands when he saw Alan wanted to refute. "This is my bottom line." ... "Already done with your preparation, Alan?" Arash asked the suave-looking young boss of his good-naturedly; he finally had come to terms that he had to babysit his boss in this occasion. He missed the unbelievable stares directed to him by the other bodyguards around Alan, including the old man. No one had ever shed off the word ''Mister'' from their boss'' name in the three years he''d been in this country. No one. "Yes. Let''s go." Alan observed the rest of the bodyguards in three 4WDs moving back to his villa, leaving only one for their own use, as he answered Arash''s query. Actually, he nearly never stayed in his villa and wasn''t too familiar with the surrounding. His butler, Miles, took care of everything for him. He only needed to focus on his job at the company. "Did you ever do a bit of trekking here? I mean, in Malaysia, er, Mr. Alan, right?" Rob added from the side. He was worried they brought along a totally clueless newbie again. They need to take extra precautions this time if they were newbies. Alan''s gaze fell on Rob but didn''t answer. "Good day, I''m Miles." The old man with the silver hair gave out his right hand and firmly shook Arash''s and Rob''s hand. "Mr. Alan here had a fair share of trekking as well as hiking experience, but not here, in Malaysia. He is a busy man. However, no worries, we will assist him if there is a need. Please leave everything concerning Mr. Alan in our care." He spoke politely while placing one hand over his chest. He too, was wearing an attire which was suitable for trekking, just like the other person who looked like a bodyguard. However, the other two additional bodyguards were actually wearing black suits with black shades. It seemed that they didn''t plan to change clothes. Arash and Rob looked at each other again. Well, it seemed that this might be their first excursion outside. Arash wondered how sad it must be to already stay here in Malaysia for three years but did not spend his time for vacation locally. Malaysia is one of the most sought after destination in Southeast Asia region for foreigners from afar, especially the islands like Langkawi up north, Perhentian on the East coast and Pulau Sipadan at Borneo (4). Basically, picturesque locations were everywhere! One just needed to spend a bit. Arash gaze softened somewhat; part of it was due to pity. Well, it wasn''t too demanding to bring along another small group for a short sightseeing session at the edge of his town. He could cope with that. Later, he will have to ask a favor from Tok Silihan to ask the villagers to entertain this group when they reach the aborigine village. "Alright. Let''s go, Alan. We''ll lead first, you guys followed at the back." His meaning was clear; the two jeeps should lead while Alan''s brand new posh-like 4WD followed them from the back. Like this, the first two jeeps will do all the hard work clearing paths if there''s any obstacles, while his boss could enjoy the scenery at his own leisure. "Sure. Arash, you switch place with Miles. Let Miles traveled with... ehm... these gentlemen here. You travel with me in my car." Everyone else, including Arash, "...." Rob pulled Arash to the back a bit while excusing himself from the group of stunned people. He whispered urgently, "Is everything okay here, Mr. Arash? Do you need me to send these people home? Are they imposing on you? I can call my two other friends. We could show them a thing or two!" "Ahaha.." Arash laughed drily. "No-lah, don''t worry. That is my boss over there. If you send him home like that, I''ll be fired. Who''s going to pay for all the expenses this time?" "Seriously? So young?! Does he have a crush on you?!" Rob had an unbelievable expression over his face. He sweated as the edge of his mouth twitched slightly; he couldn''t stop himself from blabbering his wild thoughts. The handsome foreigner was quite obnoxious; it was very obvious he wasn''t willing to communicate with them. However, he treated Mr. Arash very differently. It was so suspicious! "Don''t think so. Haha. Just let him be. He''s just a little eccentric. I''ll accompany him. Please take care of the old man, alright. As usual, same location like last time as we discussed." "Alrighty, Mr. Arash." ... Authors'' Note: 1) contact lenses = remember that Alan''s eyes are gray in color? In Malaysia, everyone has black or very dark brown eyes (typical Asians haha). It is very rare for someone to have light-colored eyes. Everyone who has multicolored eyes actually uses contact lenses. 2) Exora = a local low tiered MPV. Usually, people with big family will buy this one since its the cheapest MPV in Malaysian market (tax on imported car is very high here). It looks like this --\u003e https://www.carlist.my/new-cars/2020-proton-exora-1-6-turbo-ready-stock-max-loan-lower-free-tax/6851466 3) overrr = its just means too much, or too flashy. A sentence could be this way; "How do I look?" "So overrrr!" In this context, the reply implied the person was wearing excessively (too flashy). 4) Langkawi/Perhentian/Sipadan = names of a few popular destinations in Malaysia What these places look like; Langkawi - https://www.adventoro.com/blogs/adventure-news/the-jewel-of-kedah-langkawi-island Perhentian - https://www.legalnomads.com/the-perhentian-islands-malaysias-perfect-beach-destination/ Sipadan - https://www.sabahtourism.com/destination/sipadan-island/?locale=en 155 Bringing Your Boss for Extreme Trekking Part 2 "Slow down! What was the rush? Aren''t we on a leisurely excursion?" Miles complained as the occasional bumps nearly made him lose his balance. Miles had replaced Arash''s spot at the moment due to Alan''s insistence. Now, he had to travel uncomfortably with this guy known as Rob. Rob was a tanned guy with slanted eyes. He had short slightly wavy black hair, although it was extremely unkempt. All those messiness was stuffed into a black cap full of grime and sweat. Miles wasn''t too keen to be near someone who was as unhygienic as this. However, he still kept some semblance of politeness since this person was a professional in off-road adventuring. "We need to reach the village by this evening; we''ve wasted too much time this morning. If we took too long, it could be night time. It''ll be bad since there''s so much things to carry later." Seeing the silver haired old man made a blank look, Rob asked back, "Oh? Mr. Arash didn''t tell you guys? This is not just a leisurely excursion. We''re here to send some humanitarian supplies to the aborigine village we befriended last time, the Bateq tribe. Mr. Arash funded everything from his own pocket." Respect could be seen reflected from Rob''s eyes. A generous person, especially the one who was not rich, will always earn his respect deeply. Rob wasn''t sure what was the deal being struck between Mr. Arash and the village representative, Pak Jaya. But, he was very sure that the village reclusive elder, Tok Batin Silihan, really liked Arash a lot. That mysterious village elder didn''t even look his way; thank goodness. He heard a lot of nasty stuff about the old man from Tanahan before. "!!!" Miles turned to look at the professional tracker. "You didn''t know? Mr. Arash told me you guys are the additional helpers we need." Rob focused on the obscure trail ahead, missing the unbelievable stare given by the silver-haired butler. Now, it''s Miles turn to give a speechless look to Rob. He never knew they have been relegated as mere helpers now by the locals. He bet the Young Master didn''t know this yet. Miles placed his palm over his head and started to massage his temples with his thumb and middle finger. "Don''t worry, since you''re an elder, you don''t have to carry anything. Just follow us. The eight of us can do the rest." Rob laughed lightly. He was quite amused by this situation. Would Mr. Arash dare to ask his own boss to carry rice bags over while trekking? ... Due to the nice weather and the lack of obstruction along the way, Arash and co. were able to reach the end of the trail by afternoon. Everyone was in a good mood. Arash started passing boiled eggs to everyone as they rested under the shade of a humongous tree. They ate the eggs in two to three bites only, but felt grateful for the pleasant surprise. Afterward, they were even given mints to remove the bad breath from eating eggs. What thoughtfulness! Everyone gave Arash a thumbs up in their hearts, while their gaze towards Arash turned more amiable. As usual, Alan has been treated like a ''prince'' in the midst of his bodyguards. By now, Arash and his team of pro jungle-trekkers were immune to the spectacle already. "Alright, from here on out, let''s start trekking. It''s not that far. Let''s unload and carry all of them. If we left any of the foodstuff, I''m afraid the animals will be curious once we left the car, and they will start to rummage everything. Alan, could you lend me a hand? Uncle Miles, please rest at the side and leave all the tough job to young people like us." In one seating, our uncle blurted out a list of instructions to everyone including his own boss, while treating the elderly in a kindly manner. It was already in his habit to give special treatment to elders. Miles couldn''t help but feel only goodwill towards this proper lad. If only the Young Master was as compassionate as this. However, as a butler of the family, he couldn''t rest while the Young Master did all the work. "It''s alright, this old bones are still very strong. I can carry something too. However, it is improper to let Mr. Alan carry stuff." Miles tried to stop the lad from earning the Young Master''s displeasure. The Young Master had a platinum spoon all his life and would disdain being instructed by the common-folk. "You heard him, Miles. Old people can rest and let us young ones do the job." Alan patted the old butler''s shoulder as he walked past him towards the gray jeep. "What should I carry?" Miles and the rest of the bodyguards were speechless with the Young Master''s actions. They too, started helping out to unload many bags of rice. However, once they saw the number of 10kg rice bags and the prepacked meals within both jeeps, they started sweating. "No wonder you are so thrifty with your spending. Without us joining today, how do you plan to proceed with carrying all these.. provisions?" Alan asked curiously. He too, was dumbfounded with how much his subordinate spent for these random aborigines. Obviously, he knew how much exactly his subordinate earned each month; basically, the company short-changed him quite a lot with his level of work and dedication. He heard, even when the Madam of the house was still around, she was a housewife. Hence, the whole family depended on Arash''s income one hundred percent. "Ah, this is just a little something. Just a small present to a really kind elderly who helped saved my life last time." Rob rolled his eyes once he heard Arash''s comment. Most probably, Arash was the only person who thought that the eccentric elder of the aborigine people as ''kind''. He didn''t get the chance to tell Mr. Arash the hair-raising stories involving the Spirit Healer told by Tanahan before. Nonetheless, he bet that this kind client of his won''t even believe him since Tok Batin Silihan was very partial towards Arash compared to his own people. It''s like Arash was a long lost descendent or something. "I don''t usually get involved personally with humanitarian missions. I only subscribed for online contributions to different NGOs." Arash talked as he chuckled lightheartedly since it reminded him of the cranky yet funny old man with chicken nest hair over at the aborigine village. He somewhat missed Tok Silihan''s antics. "The people I hired back off once they knew they had to carry so much stuff to the village. If you guys didn''t join us, I will ask Rob to trek first to the village and asked for the villagers'' help later. Easy." He shrugged; it''s just a small matter. They could definitely accommodate him, especially when they knew all these provisions were meant especially for Tok Silihan. "Save your life? What happen?" Alan caught the first part first and was dumbfounded. He didn''t hear anything about this from anyone at all. When did this happen? "Oh, I had a fall from a nearby hill. Nearly died. The really nice elder came over and save me. Haha..." Arash explained simply as if he was talking about the weather, making the rest dumbstruck. Everyone, "..." "He got lost around here two weeks ago. We spent a day and a night searching for him. Thank goodness, these kind Bateq people helped us a lot." Rob helpfully added. He too, was still amazed by the turn of events. Usually, if newbies in jungle trekking encountered such events in the first few excursions, they''ll develop a deep trauma. They wouldn''t dare to do anymore trekking excursions after that. At least not for the first few months or even years. But not for Mr. Arash, two weeks later, he was rearing to trek again to the same place. He was truly a wonder. After a short pause of a whole minute from everyone around, Alan patted his subordinate''s shoulder while feeling speechless, "You''re really something, Arash. Great motivation." The bashful uncle didn''t say anything and changed the subject, "Let''s start carrying all these, guys. I think we can do this. There are eight of us. One person carry three packs of rice each. There will be another four who will have to divide between them to carry the ready-to-eat meals. It''s just around thirty to forty kilos of provisions." Everyone, especially from Alan''s side made an ugly expression. "I''ll double your pay, no worries. Just a little exercise." Arash quickly added to persuade the two other helpers who showed an unhappy expression. They were so buff, mere thirty kilos of provision shouldn''t make them feel tired at all; Arash heard that the young''uns who hit the gym frequently could easily lift fifty kilos of weight. However, Arash failed to understand that the added thirty kilos needed to be borned during a three to four hours of hiking! It will be a session of extreme trekking that will challenge their bodies intensely! "Arash, wait!" The uncle was already placing the second bag of rice on his shoulder when his boss called out. Alan had an exasperated look upon his face. He could never be easily moved at work. Today was the first time that Arash saw a few different expressions appearing on his boss'' face. The proud stony face was making a mixture of worried and helpless look. Just this morning, he was smiling from ear-to-ear to Ai''s antics. "What is it, Boss Alan? Do you need help with anything?" Arash made a bewildered look. He could see that the whole group from his Boss'' side didn''t carry anything yet, though they did take part in carrying the foodstuff out of the jeeps. "Give us some time to unpack. I have a bit of things to bring along too. Don''t worry, we''ll carry our share of things." Arash was silent for a second. He honestly forgot that others might have to carry their own stuff too, including his own helpers. Now he was wondering whether he made the right decision to let his boss dismissed the other bodyguards. The three bodyguards started to unload Alan''s stuff efficiently. A large 60-Liter hiking bag. This, Arash understood. He also brought a 50-Liter backpack at the moment. It was normal for kayangan people to have more things. Four five-liter water bottles. At this point, Arash already sweated. With the added four five-liter bottles, how were they going to carry the rice bags? Several metal beams... Correction, a lot of metal beams! A large roll of white canvas tarp. Several large rolls of loose cloth. Several briefcases. A small generator. A 5-Liter bottle of diesel. Insect repellent UV-light. Extensive camping cooking utensils. A ten-liter cooler box! A bundle of LED string fairy lights! A chandelier! A real chandelier! Arash, Rob, and the two other helpers were seriously speechless this time and made a blank face. O___O "Wait, wait! Alan! What are these things for?! Are you really going to bring all these along?!" For the first time ever, Alan blushed a little. "I thought this was a simple excursion. Was hoping for a nice glamping session(2) somewhere within the woods tonight. It was not wrong to be prepared. However, the extra things are Miles'' fault. I only made sure we have an ample amount of food and water." "Then, what are those?!" Arash pointed towards several large briefcases-like things. There were more than five over there! Miles walked towards the briefcases and removed one of the hinges from one. The briefcase morphed into a camping table with attached four chairs in an instant! Miles unhinged the second briefcase. That briefcase turned into a lounge chair cum bed with an extension to attach an umbrella! Miles unhinged the third one, and it turned into a squarish holder with a hammock attached! "Stop! Stop! No more! Uncle, please." This time, Arash gave Alan a deep stare for one whole minute. Alan sighed shortly after, "Alright, I''ll ask Miles to trim off some stuff. We will carry all your things first. After all, it is for humanitarian purposes. I''m a big-hearted person. If there is additional space, we''ll carry as much of our things together too." Arash gave his Boss a thumb''s up. "This is my Boss!" ... Authors'' Note: 1) Ngam = clicked well as in a kindred spirit 2) glamping session = quite a popular term nowadays; glamor meets camping = glamping haha. A lot of vacation spot offers glamping session nowadays. We once went to Phuket to experience it. It was really nice haha 156 Bringing Your Boss for Extreme Trekking Part 3 Upon closer look, they carried around three to four bags of ten kilograms of rice while having a personal backpack upon their backs. Everyone was bringing at least a total of sixty to eighty kilos per person when factoring in their personal belongings. The trekkers concentrated on their own steps, while the leading man with a black cap led the procession. Each step was careful and excruciatingly slow. The lead tracker had to factor in the group''s safety while guiding them through a much forgiving terrain to make the trekking slightly easier with all their weight. On several occasions, he paused, placed the bags of rice down, and took out his GPS and compass to make sure they were on the right track. An out of the ordinary well-dressed man and his team of bodyguards moved slower than the leading pack as they were carrying a large icebox with several bags of rice stacked on top upon their shoulders together. No one tried to ask what was inside, though they were curious; from their dried prune-like looks, it seemed that the icebox was extremely heavy even without the additional rice bags. They looked like they suffered a lot. Even the well-dressed man''s good looks were ''squished'' into a somewhat ugly grimace. A slim but large suitcase was sandwiched between the ice-box and the plastic rice bags. It turned out, they still brought together one ''suitcase'' after abandoning the other five. The two guards in suits, Marco and Zidane, had thrown away their expansive custom outer suit some time ago after they got permission to do so. They even rolled up their sleeves and loosened their black ties so that they could be more comfortable. After three hours of trekking in unsuitable attire, their sleek leather shoes showed apparent signs of wear and tear as well as covered in dirt and mud. They kept on praying that it will last until their journey home. Silas, who was carrying the front part with his superior, was silent and looked very much at ease than the other two. He concentrated on his steps properly since the large meandering roots were like naturally-occurring booby traps everywhere. Contrary to their expectations, they did not even desire to admire the lush forest and the occasional wild birds fluttering by. The weight was too much after three hours! They felt like their backbones were cracking with every step, not much to say about their lingering will. ... Secretly, he was glad when the leading guide paused his steps to check the route. Their stuff was so much that the gap between them and the others has widened significantly. Alan regretted that he arrogantly dismissed the other bodyguards. He didn''t know that Miles had taken the extra length with arranging for such an elaborate set-up and his new subordinate''s added humanitarian mission to carry provisions. Although slightly unhappy, he couldn''t say anything since he was the one who was eager to tag along. Alan was unwilling to leave the rations he had meticulously chosen behind. What can the aborigine offer later? What if they had to eat snails or dirt? Alan could still bear the lack of facilities, but he could not sleep at unhygienic locations and eat commoners'' food. Looking at the easygoing Miles a few meters ahead of him, talking enthusiastically in hushed tones with Arash next to him, he felt a slight bit of helplessness. It seemed that Arash treated him with caution and a bit of suspicion all this while. Although Arash was out of breath, he could see that Arash treated his butler with a friendly attitude. He was so polite and sincerely smiled at Miles all the time as he carried the three rice bags over his shoulder earnestly. Miles was only carrying a large bag full of vacuum-packed ready-to-eat meals with his left hand while animatedly swung his other arm around, explaining elaborately about something to Arash. As he was thinking to himself, he felt his steps jolted, and the heavy weight was gone from his shoulder all of a sudden. "Careful!" The heavy icebox fell together with the rice bags and the large briefcase! Alan turned to see that Zidane had fallen after his foot was caught in between a tree root. The others who were already far ahead paused their steps to see what was going on. "Are you alright? Could you continue?" Alan asked the brawny bodyguard stoically. Zidane nodded expressionlessly, "A misstep. Apologies, everyone. Give me a few minutes." Alan nodded stoically and waited for his bodyguards to arrange everything back. Nonetheless, Arash and Rob rushed over in a hurry. They helped Zidane up and checked his condition, even when the bodyguard objected. Rob proceeded to spray a coolant on Zidane''s ankle. "Everyone, let''s take a thirty minutes'' break. Just take a rest for a while before we continue. Let''s give some time for Zidane to recover." Arash announced. Zidane turned to look at his own superior for confirmation. It had made Alan feeling somewhat awkward since everyone''s stare was on him now. After getting Young Master Alan''s non-verbal consent, he nodded gratefully to Arash and Rob. This occasion had made Alan re-evaluated his own attitude towards his subordinates. Truthfully, he never considered these men as his real subordinates at all since all of them were assigned by the family for him. Although outwardly, it seemed like they followed his instructions, they will answer to the family''s order rather than his when they have to choose. In other words, they were more like spies who reported back to the family on whatever he did. Only Miles was considered as his own people whom he could confide in. ... Once the thirty minutes were over, everyone reluctantly stood up to continue the extreme trekking session. They helped each other to load the rice bags on their shoulders and started walking ever so carefully this time; a fall in this kind of place would make the afflicted person a burden to the rest. Alan, Silas, Marco, and especially Zidane, showed signs of exhaustion, though they didn''t say anything verbally. Their faces were pale, and they sweated like they just came out of the shower without using a towel. This time, it was more like wet dried prunes covered with bits of soaked seaweed. Surprisingly, our uncle wasn''t having a difficult time. Yes, the rice bags were heavy, but he felt it was manageable. Most of the time, he was listening to his wife''s voice with a wireless earplug on one ear as background music, while half-listening to the kind foreigner old man''s talk glorifying his talented boss ceaselessly with the other. The kind-hearted Arash had whispered to Rob to take short fifteen minutes breaks for every half-hour of trekking despite Rob''s objection. Like this, although Alan''s team was left way behind, the multiple fifteen-minute breaks gave them time to catch up. The majority of the trekkers were silent throughout the journey, except for Miles, who spent time talking a lot to Arash in hushed tones. It seemed that Miles was the only one who enjoyed the excursion and the company very much. The forest was slowly getting dimmer and visibility was getting low, though when one looked at the time, it was just around five to six in the evening. The walk continued for around two more hours before they saw flickering lights from afar within the woods. "!!!" Automatically, everyone''s pace increased. Finally, the destination was just around the corner! ... Alan was having a hard time breathing from the short burst. His guards had been slightly too eager and increased the pace too much, trying to catch up with the rest. He nearly tripped too! Their actions angered him somewhat, as he wanted them to slow down. What if someone in their team of four slipped and broke a bone? Since it was quite dark already, a misstep could mean a bad fall. Nonetheless, before he could open his mouth, a few paces ahead, everyone stopped suddenly. It forced him and his other three guards to stop abruptly too. This too, nearly made the rice bags fell from the icebox. Alan saw hundreds of fire torches filling all the spaces in between the thick arboreal trees! Holding those fire torches were a large group of bronze bare-chested men with eager smiles plastered upon their faces. How did he know they smiled? Because that was the only thing he could see reflected by the torches! In a way, if he was alone, he would think he was in a nightmare setting with a Cheshire cat''s multiple sinister smiles floated about. A decrepit old man with twig-like hair took a few steps forward with his hands behind his back, an evil grin plastered upon his prune-like face. "Tok Silihan!" ... Chapter 157 - I dont like him! He smelled Weird! "Tok Silihan!" To Alan''s astonishment, he saw his down-to-earth subordinate placed down the foodstuff in a hurry and rushed over with a fawning look. Once he reached the nasty-looking old man, he quickly walked to the old man''s back and started to flatteringly tap his back repeatedly in an attempt to give him a massage. "Hmphhh! This old one thought you have forgotten!" Although the old man had a scolding tone upon him, he was grinning from ear to ear happily while nodding his head in satisfaction. The boy still had his flair for appeasing him. He had been very agitated staying in the village for two whole weeks without anything to do except spending his time training the young ones. Speechless, the first thing that came to Alan''s mind was ''are they related'', while the second one was ''alright, THIS is chummy''. Although he couldn''t understand the language spoken (1), he could guess from their body language. It''s not that his subordinate was not a warm person; it''s just that the relationship between Arash and the people in the company was only at the surface level. For the first time ever, Alan finally could see the real Arash interacting warmly with others with his own eyes. Now he understood Arash''s efforts to complete the ''humanitarian mission''. He must be very close to these aborigines. Practically everyone had a soft look etched to their faces when their gaze fell upon his subordinate; as if he was their savior or a long lost dear brother who were here to give them money. Nonetheless, only the old man talked to Arash, while the rest seemed to give both of them space out of respect. Placing the icebox down, he prepared himself to be introduced by his subordinate to the village head. Silas provided a pocket comb, while the other two held a small pocket mirror and a handheld battery-powered portable fan. He suavely combed his drenched auburn hair haphazardly, not caring about the aborigines'' speechless stares. The wetness from the accumulated sweat gave his neat hairdo the illusion of just getting out of a bath. Quiet mumbles resounded in Bateq, as Alan prepared himself extravagantly. Usually, when he did this in public, he would hear faint giggles from instant fangirls. Hence, his confidence will always peaked! This time too, the unmistakable mumbles gave himself good feelings. He finalized everything with a deodorant spray all over his body in style! ... "..he is so ugly! Uglier by many times than our savior. Though his confidence is top-notch." A brawny mid-forties tracker added and clicked his tongue distastefully. A healthy tan under the sun was the definition of beauty amongst them. Deep copper skin was the ''in'' now. Fair-skinned was always associated with sickness and bloated cadavers. "This is the West Demon! I''ve heard stories about them! During the olden days, they burn the souls of women wherever they go." An old Bateq lady with a head of white-gray hair added quietly. It made the whole group who was gossiping became silent. "Yeah, me too. I''ve heard about this once." Another one answered. "Will he be okay? I mean, he came here with our savior after all. Stories about West Demons are just stories. What if the Exalted One kills him later? He must leave as soon as possible!" Some rational ones immediately rebuked. Although they kept to themselves a lot, their gentle nature made them easily sympathized with others, and always find ways for a peaceful solution. Their one and only spiritual healer was the only one who has an aggressive nature toward outsiders. "Don''t think so. It''ll be alright. It''s illegal killing people nowadays. The worst that could happen is most probably joining the ranks of those being hanged over trees upside down a day or two." They shrugged and nodded with each other in relief mixed with a little sympathy. At least, it was not just them facing such a fate. ... "Tok Silihan, I didn''t forget to bring you the best premium fragrant rice possible. Five bags just for you. The other fifteen are for everyone else. There''re even some ready-made dishes!" "Shut your yapping for a while." Tok Silihan placed his left thumb while grabbing Arash''s head. He scrunched his brow and looked intensely over Arash''s head, as if he was searching for something. Arash stood quietly but was feeling awkward and embarrassed at the same time. However, he was a patient man and had a first-hand experience with Tok Silihan quirkiness. He quickly relaxed and waited for whatever his idol was doing. In novels, this posture was famous for imparting martial arts; there was no need to learn everything through a book or a scroll; just let it be transferred directly through one''s consciousness. Due to that, Arash chuckled visibly, breaking the silence ensued. "Knock-knock!!" Irritated, Tok Silihan knocked Arash''s head as his concentration was broken by the uncute chuckle. "Boy, you really need to learn to stay still!" Tok Silihan berated Arash unhappily. "Sorry, sorry. Haha. Did you find what you are looking for?" Arash laughed light-heartedly. "This old one was about to get it! Isk!" Tok Silihan clicked his tongue while feeling annoyed. "Ehem, ehem." Both of them were startled and turned towards the sound of the fake cough. When Arash saw Alan gave him a meaningful stare, he quickly introduced his boss to Tok Silihan. "Tok Silihan, this in Alan. My boss from the place I''m working in. He helped me carry the provisions over. Thanks to him and his workers, we could transfer everything in one shot." "!" Tok Silihan''s turbid stare turned sharp as he scrutinized the auburn-haired grey-eyed boy beside Arash. This person was even uglier than Arash! At the same time, this person''s spirit was murky but subdued! "Why did you bring a West Demon to our home?! I don''t like him! He smelled weird! Ask him to pack up now and leave! Or else, don''t blame this old one for not being polite!" Speechless with the sudden outburst, Arash turned to look at Alan and sniffed him a little. Yep, his boss, who always smelled good all the time, stank a bit right now. But it was a typical smell from a man who sweated a bit too much. Regrettably, the deodorant spray could only partially masked the scent. What he truly needed was a real bath. Thank goodness his boss couldn''t understand Tok Silihan''s thick accented Bahasa (2). However, Tok Silihan''s body language was very clear; he didn''t like Alan. "Alright, no need to explain. I will ask my men to pitch tent just beside the settlement." Before Arash could find a polite way to explain to his new boss, Alan replied with a nonchalant look etched on his face. However, Uncle Miles and the rest of the guards weren''t looking too good. They were obviously offended by the cold treatment. "Twenty paces away from the village perimeter! This old one will start hanging people who dared to come closer! During the olden days, I stewed West Demons for meals!" O_________O|||| He said it! It was even in broken English! Tok Silihan actually knew a bit of English! Most of the villagers behind the eccentric old man closed their faces with their hands, unwilling to show their embarrassed look to the outsiders. It''s not that they''ve never welcomed foreigners from outside the country before, but those were the times when the spirit healer wasn''t around. Now, everyone didn''t dare to defend the tourists. After two weeks of suffering through the intensive training, everyone knew better. Tok Silihan snorted disdainfully and swaggeringly walked away towards the village entrance. The villagers parted ways and gave a respectful wide berth for the Exalted Elder to go through, leaving Arash dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. "Boy! Follow me! Remember your reason to come here!" "I''m so sorry, Boss. The Elder had promised to help me with something extremely important. I''ll double up and settle everything as fast as possible. If you can''t wait, I''ll arrange someone to lead you back tomorrow morning." A guilty look was plastered over Arash''s face as he tried his best to appease Alan while explaining in a soft voice. "No need to explain. Just go. I will wait." Alan''s expression was unreadable. He walked away with his people without turning back, leaving Arash in a daze and helpless. Arash sighed deeply as he observed Alan and his men walked back the way they came with all their stuff a moment longer. He then turned towards the village and walked together with the other Bateq people inside. The brawny Bateq men gave Arash warm hugs full of camaraderie one by one as they chatted animatedly with Arash. Arash smiled politely, listened, and nodded most of the time, while returning their brotherly hugs. Tok Silihan watched them and sniggered when he saw Arash turned towards the village entrance. Truly, the West Demon had a dark and murky scent he couldn''t describe well. It was better to avoid such a dark aura, lest one could be infected by it. He had double-checked Arash''s mental health and could see that he was not affected, either by this demon or the previous demoness he battled previously. But there was something that made him shocked, though he tried hard not to show it. Arash''s mental power seemed to increase quite significantly! For a person, there was no technique to improve one''s own mental strength. A person''s mental strength was considered inborn; one that was naturally born with, whether it was weaker or stronger. He definitely remembered that the boy''s mental strength wasn''t as strong as now, though this level of strength won''t manifest into anything. The boy must be practicing an obscure arts that he didn''t know. Even in the Way of the Spiritual Healers, no clear method was passed down for this. He needed to ask the boy about this Authors'' Notes: 1) language spoken = they speak in Bahasa Malaysia (BM) all the time. But Arash conversed with his Boss and colleagues in English. This is normal since English is Malaysians'' 2nd language. Almost everyone at least could understand basic English in Malaysia even if they couldn''t speak it. Because of the multiracial community over here, when in big groups with many races in an organization/function, the default language spoken will be English. Unless one is within a governmental sector, the official language will be BM whether in writing or in interaction. (this is mr mooncat''s offhand info and mrs mooncat didn''t bother to check, if it''s wrong, correct us in the comment haha) 2) Bahasa = its Malaysian language. ''Bahasa'' means ''language'' in BM. The aborigines conversed in Bateq language while they talked to outsiders in deep accented BM. Chapter 158 - Arash 1, Tok Silihan 0 Arash walked amongst the hayas and was greeted enthusiastically by nearly all of the villagers. It seemed as if everyone came out and gave him a pat on the back, a brief hug, or at least a warm smile before returning to their own thing hurriedly. It looked like they were in the middle of haphazardly cleaning the area and decorating it at the same time. "What''s the occasion?" Was there a celebration that he wasn''t aware of? Are they intruding? Rob similarly shook his head in wonder. If there was some sort of celebration going on, he would''ve known. However, the nearest festival was the Spirit Awakening Celebration, around a few months later. It was just a small occasion consists of paying tribute to the local deity that the pagan aborigines worshipped. Tanahan arrived just in time and gave both Rob and Arash bear hugs! "Of course it is to celebrate your arrival, Brother!" Tanahan laughed heartily. It could be seen that he was in an excellent mood at the moment. Who won''t be when the key to tame the capricious Elder was in front of you? "Seriously?" Arash and Rob simultaneously spoke in synchronization. Tanahan nodded enthusiastically. "Actually, this is our own efforts, just to welcome you. The Exalted Elder didn''t say anything. it meant tacitly agreeing. If he dislikes anything, he would just say it out loud." "If that is so, why don''t you guys take one bag of rice and cook it? I bet Tok Silihan would be happy!" Arash suggested. "That''s a great idea!" ... Tok Silihan had been waiting for Arash to arrive inside his haya; it was the same haya he stayed in since the day he arrived two weeks ago. Fresh flowers and beds of fresh leaves were changed daily for him. Well, at least these young''uns did one thing right. He walked to and fro more than five times while waiting. A few young ones who were waiting at the side followed his every movement with their gaze, worry clouding their minds. The Exalted Elder was getting more and more agitated. "Where did that boy go? Why is he so slow?!" Tok Silihan stamped his foot in agitation. The whole haya shook violently! The beams creaked, and an unknown gust blew over, messing the attap roof before it died down a few moments later. The young men waiting just outside Tok Silihan''s haya didn''t dare lift their heads up. Everytime someone became helpful, it would only incur the Spirit Healer''s wrath. Now, they''ve learned to stay mum and only listened to instructions. "You! Yes, you! Go and check his whereabouts now!" A boy scurried away and immediately disappeared in between the hayas. Tok Silihan mumbled under his breath unhappily. "No problem, Tok Batin. I can wait. Mr. Arash must be doing something important." A soft voice responded. A man in mid-fifties was sitting cross-legged inside Tok Silihan''s haya. He had a lighter shade of copper-colored skin with slightly grayish tiny curls. A pair of glasses adorned his black irises. He wore an earth-colored formal shirt and a pair of long khaki pants. Although outwardly he looked calm and collected, only he himself knew how shaken he was with the old man who was supposed to be his elusive great grandfather. "Hmph! You! What was your name again? You stay here quietly! Don''t you dare move an inch! I''m going to look for that ungrateful boy!" Tok Silihan stormed out of his haya, leaving the man inside. The man was quite astounded by Tok Silihan''s rowdy attitude but tried his best not to show it. He had to make sure to control his behaviors properly so that he won''t offend the Spirit Healer. ... Tok Silihan''s scary expression made every villager in a three-meter radius flee in panic to a different direction. He was fuming and looked very upset, as he thought that the boy who was supposed to join him in his haya had ditched him and disappeared suddenly. Such an insolent attitude! He even worked hard to arrange for many things for the boy! He had been painstakingly reading the spiritual signature of the forest to detect the boy''s presence beforehand daily. As he walked round and round the area in search of Arash, he finally found the uncle squatting beside a large pot while jiggling his bu?? singing random nursery rhymes absentmindedly. He was poking the fires at the bottom of the pot with a stick. The pot was as big as a meter in diameter and as deep as three-quarter meter in. There were two other Bateq men opposite Arash, stirring the content of the big pot with a large ladle each. They were chuckling under their breaths to Arash''s song. "Baby finger, baby finger, where are you" "Here I am, here I am, what would you do" Tanahan and Rob beside him were trying their best not to laugh while looking at each other knowingly. Sometimes, Arash could be so funny! However, they soon noticed the capricious Elder was behind them! His dark prune-like skin was slightly red, and his expression looked like he was going to swallow whoever crossed his path! +_________+|||| Quietly, both of them moved away, leaving the uncle alone staring at the fire and the big pot. They started lighting candles for Arash in their hearts. After all, the Exalted Elder favored him so much. At most, he will only get a slap or a punch as opposed to others who had to drink and taste their own excreta for a few days. The other two Bateq men took out the ladles and placed them over the pot with a panic expression and walked away too. "Brothers, where are you going? I think it still needed a bit of stirring. If not it''ll get burned at the bottom of the pot." The confused Arash stood up and took one of the ladle and continue stirring haphazardly, only to notice that it wasn''t an easy job! It was already so viscous! They need to reduce the fire and closed the lid soon. "What are you doing?" Tok Silihan asked quietly while fuming beside our uncle. Arash didn''t turn to look, but of course, he recognized the nice Elder''s voice, though it was somewhat lower than usual. Hence, he missed Tok Silihan''s wrathful expression. One who was ignorant was always in bliss. The Bateq men and his fellow trekkers were already three meters away from the pot and were looking the other way. "We''re cooking your favorite rice, Tok Silihan! Isn''t it fragrant? Surprise! This is my idea, okay?" Arash answered proudly while thumping his ?h?st. "We cook half bag of rice for this whole pot. I never cook this much in my life, so I was a bit scared if it got burnt loh. These men are helping me to make sure the rice is perfect to your liking!" Arash ladled out partially cooked rice to Tok Silihan''s face to let him sniff it. He had a jovial and a bit of excitement mixed in his expression. Who wouldn''t be when the knowledge he learned from Youtube was showing great results? He never knew he could cook rice the old-fashioned way, using firewood! "Hmph! Yes, a bit fragrant, as you say, Boy." After taking a deep breath of the fragrant Siamese rice, it was as if Tok Silihan''s reddish expression expired and turned normal. Arash turned around to look at Tok Silihan. He whispered softly beside the capricious Elder''s left ear, "You know, Tok, I''ve saved some boiled eggs just for you. It''s inside this pocket on the left." He patted his backpack conspiratorially while grinning. "Ahhh, I see, I see. Good, good!" Tok Silihan grinned. Everyone around them was speechless with the turn of events. The Exalted Elder could change his expression so fast! They thought that there will be a big fight between the two this time. Arash really knows his stuff! Everyone gave a big thumbs up in their hearts for making Tok Silihan happy. "Where''s the dish? Don''t tell me just empty rice?" Tok Silihan looked everywhere for the packets of ready-to-eat meals. "Got, got. No worries, Tok. Help me carry the pot down after we close the lid. Need to let it steam for at least fifteen to twenty minutes. The rest can use the fire to prepare something else after this." "Alright." Tok Silihan just grabbed the hot aluminium pot with his b?r? hands. "Careful, Tok Silihan!" Arash exclaimed with worry. The pot would burn the old man''s hand and everything inside could spill out if he let it go! "What? This is nothing." Tok Silihan chuckled arrogantly and directly carry the whole pot with one hand and put it on the soil at the side. The location where his hand was in direct contact with the large pot was smoking, but there was no smell of burnt meat. Everyone, "O____________O" Truthfully, this was the first time the trekkers and the younger generation see Tok Batin Silihan''s ''prowess''. The new trekkers were extremely baffled (oh yes, they were in the vicinity a little far from the gathering), while the young Bateq men looked horrified. They realized they need to respect the Exalted Elder and follow his instruction to the T properly in the future. What if he suddenly slapped people? Wouldn''t they just die? At the side, Arash clapped cutely after he recovered from being stunned, "Now I believe you when you said you could slap a tiger to death haha." ... Arash took a large wooden carved bowl from Tok Silihan and scooped lots of fluffy fragrant rice like a small hill. He then embedded four peeled eggs on the surface of the rice, making the others so jealous; although in town eggs were so cheap, there were none here even if you have the money to buy some. After that, he doused a full packet of chicken masak merah together with the gravy on top like a pro. For the final touch, he sprinkled some organic chia seeds on top. There was no need to be frugal anymore since he brought so much this round. So, it was a good time to make the old man happy while flattering him a bit here and there. Arash presented the humongous bowl of rice-egg-chicken chunks in masak merah suavely to Tok Silihan who was eager to dig in just beside the big pot in front of everyone. It really looked like ABC (1)! But a savory-meaty one! "Careful, it''s still hot. Oh, I forgot Tok Silihan has superpowers haha. Sorry, I ran out of sesame seeds, so this time I brought chia seeds with me. It''s a superfood and it''s organic!" Again, Arash 1, Tok Silihan 0 Authors'' Note: 1) ABC = Ais Batu Campur (Direct translation: Mixed Ice) It''s a really nice sorbet-like drink where one packed shaved ice and mixed it with rose syrup, liquid brown sugar, condensed milk, lots of nut, jellies and tiny fruits. You guys have to see a pic of it! It''s super delicious! What ABC looks like: g.co/kgs/eNFcAZ Youtube vid: youtube.com/watch?v=9eGfKSVkbM0 Chapter 159 - Glamping in Style! It was already night when Arash walked outside the aborigine settlement towards a location twenty meters away from the village. It was so easy to identify his boss'' location; the blinding light straight away gave away his position. As he walked closer, he paused his step and marveled with wonder. In front of him, he saw a mini glamping resort! The area was cleared of dirt and rotten leaves for about a ten-meter radius. Campfires were burning in the middle and on four corners; smaller ones on four sides, and a larger one at the very center. Small homemade tiki-torches encircled the whole location in a perfect circle. A large log was directly in front of the fire where his handsome young boss sat cross-legged with a motivational book in hand, looking dashing as usual. Soft jazz was floating in the background, giving a really cozy environment to the surrounding. Uncle Miles was busy grilling something akin to a beefsteak upon a stone just beside Alan, while the other three guards were standing with their hands over their backs, looking outwards vigilantly. The old butler tossed herbs and salt with one hand while using a thong to hold the steak with the other over the hot stone upon the campfire. The flat stone didn''t look natural; most probably, this was one of the ''cooking utensils'' mentioned before. The guards nodded at Arash from afar, acknowledging his presence, before they returned to observe the darkness in between the lush trees. A large dark-colored open-air tent with an attached hammock inside was visible just beside the large icebox. It was decorated with soft billowy transparent white curtains on all sides. Expensive thick rugs adorned the inner interior of the tent, giving it a rustic yet classy look. A collapsible metallic dining table attached to chairs for two was placed just beside the tent''s hammock. Wildflowers immersed in a transparent bowl accentuated the silverware arranged on the metallic dining table covered by a white table cloth. Arash was stupefied with the extravagant preparations. He blinked his eyes a few times as he couldn''t find words to describe his feelings. Alan looked up and saw Arash, "Finally here. Come sit beside the fire. What did you bring?" "Boss, we cooked this rice just now. And I thought you might have difficulties preparing the food, so I brought this along with some ready-to-eat meals for everyone. Though now I know you eat better than us haha." Arash chuckled awkwardly while sitting beside Alan. He pitied his boss who has been kicked out by the capricious Elder, but now he knew he had been wasting his pity for nothing. His boss was totally at ease and was having the greatest time of his life! "Ah, I see. I don''t actually take too much carbs, but thanks anyway for remembering. The others can eat them." Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #!_51019054110015094 for visiting. Arash stared at his boss incredulously for a moment longer before saying, "I thought you love rice?" "Who told you that?" Alan closed his book and placed it beside him to focus his attention on Arash. "Well, if you frequented a Japanese restaurant so much, of course you must love rice. The waiter told me". He chuckled drily. "You''re being presumptuous. On normal condition, I preferred a low carbs diet. Not all their meals had rice. For example, that wagyu steak. (1)" Alan defensively replied. "Ah, I see. Noted." Tired of bickering over something useless, Arash just let it go while rolling his eyes. It didn''t matter if his boss loved rice more or less, as long as he got something to eat was good enough for him. His conscience wouldn''t let him leave the group of people his boss brought along. Now, once he knew this group of people was comfortable and had ample food, he felt relieved. Feeling awkward after handing the large wooden bowl of fluffy white rice and a few unopened dishes to Uncle Miles, Arash shrugged and stood up while patting his bu??. "Well, I need to get moving. Tok Silihan needs me. I''ll arrange for some trackers to lead you guys back tomorrow morning, is it alright?" "Don''t bother. I''m enjoying my camping experience here. Just let me know when you''re ready to go back. We have enough provision to last us for about three days, no more." "Alright, as you see fit." Arash nodded. It''s good that Alan was enjoying his staycation within this forest. The brawny guards made Arash feel at ease to leave his boss out here at night. Arash took his first step towards the village before his boss stopped him all of a sudden, "Wait. A question. What''s the deal with that village head?" With all the pomp, he was sure that the weird Elder must be the village head. Arash heaved a helpless sigh, "Don''t mind him. He didn''t like outsiders from the beginning. Additionally, he told me the weird smell etched to you could be infectious. Just take it with a grain of salt. You smelled fine to me." Arash wasn''t going to lie to Alan to create more confusion. So, he told the truth but glazed it a little to tone it down. He also disliked inciting hatred. Alan paused his breath for a second longer. Even the butler who was busy grilling the meat over the hot stone stopped his movement for a few seconds longer. "I see. I think I must meet this Tok Silihan personally." Alan contemplated for a while. "Err Are you sure? You do know, right, you are not welcomed? You might make him mad. He''s very nasty when he''s mad." Arash warned his boss seriously. Tok Silihan wasn''t a nobody. He experienced Tok Silihan''s prowess often within the woods when he was being treated; slaps and kicks were just the Elder having fun lightheartedly. But once he got angry, he could slap a person flying. Rob told him all the stories spoken by Tanahan some time ago haphazardly. He knew that the guide''s message was ''do whatever he wants, be polite and obliging to the Tok Batin for your own good''. Obviously, he believed everything from the story! "I don''t care. Set up a meeting for me once you settled everything." Arash, "O____O" Arash waited for a while to see whether Alan was jesting or making fun of him, but his boss already picked up the book and continued his reading. The flickering of shadow from the fireplace made an exquisite contour over Alan''s reflection. True to his daughter''s suggestion, he too think that his boss might have entered the wrong field. He could''ve made tonnes of money with his looks. Nonetheless, based on how he has been behaving, he didn''t need to sell his looks since it seemed that he''s already stinking rich. After a while, Arash sighed and walked back towards the village, feeling defeated. Papa: Ayang, I''m so tired today trying to make Tok Silihan and Alan happy. Both of them are really troublesome (whining face). I really hope you were here. Nobody will bully me then. (crying emoji) Papa: I''m trying to find more info about your whereabouts from Tok Silihan today. Really hope there will be positive news. I can''t wait to see you. Papa: Miss you. Reply when you''re available alright. Try your best to send over some pics of the new renovation you mentioned, okay? Arash kept his smartphone inside his backpack after wrapping it with bubble wrap for safety. After the previous ''misadventure'' he faced, he knew the extra protection was the right decision. One would never know what could happen in the future. The smartphone was his lifeline, the only connection he had with his wife and his kids. Losing it was akin to killing him outright. He turned to face an older man with a familiar face and gave him a sincere smile. He heard from Tok Silihan that the man had been waiting patiently for him for some time now. Lo and behold, he ran off to help out with cooking during the short ''makan-makan'' session (2). Thank goodness, he seemed to still be in a fair mood. "I''m Arash. How do you do? Apologies for the wait." He held out his right hand and gave the man a firm handshake. "No problem at all. Hello there. I''m Ramlee. Nice to meet you. I''ve heard quite a lot about Mr. Arash from Tok Batin." The man in his 50s spoke politely in a gentle tone. "How long have you arrived?" "Just around a day before. It''s a rare occasion for our very own Tok Batin to issue a command to return." The man checked his watch and continued, "Nonetheless, I can only stay for around six more hours before returning. Got some prior engagements that needed to be fulfilled. Thank goodness you arrived in time, Mr. Arash." "I see. Thank you for your time." Arash felt guilty troubling random people for his problem. However, he felt like he had seen this person somewhere but couldn''t remember where, "May I know why are you so familiar? Are we acquainted?" Ramlee chuckled lightly, "Might be or might not be. I''ve been all over the place. If you''re abreast with the current issues, you might notice the mudslide catastrophe in a region in Sarawak. I''m handling the matter over there at the moment. The media have been all over it. Step out for a short moment for Tok Batin Silihan." "Oh my goodness! You''re that minister who handled emergency cases! Dato Dr. Ramlee (3)! I''m so sorry for all the trouble, Dato!" Alan grabbed the man''s hand and shook it passionately. He had heard about this minister who worked in the department of mines and lands. He was an exemplary government servant who was loved by the people and was extremely popular! "Stop flattering the good old nothing who never come home!" Tok Silihan snapped unhappily. He disliked being left aside like a light bulb at the side of the road. "Tok Silihan, you''re being childish. As if you always come home I heard you haven''t appeared for more than fifteen years?" Arash rolled his eyes. Tok Silihan was being petty again; he always tried to find faults in people. This person over here had contributed a lot towards the nation. He was always there to help mitigate the aftereffects of floodings in various regions during monsoon season yearly. When he said he was busy, nobody can deny it. "Who told you that?!" "Tanahan." Arash easily sold off the poor ace tracker''s name unconsciously. At one of the hayas at the very edge of the village, Tanahan, who was chitchatting with Rob, suddenly felt goosebumps creeping over his back without reason. He knew something ominous was coming his way soon. "I have extremely important stuff to do! What happens if I died early and no Spirit Healers are born after this?! The Way will be terminated in this generation! You! Ramlee! You better bring your descendants back here during the Spirit Awakening Ceremony! I need new blood to test!" "Err.. It''s not possible, Tok Batin." Ramlee automatically rejected. He already had many children and grandchildren who are used to the life outside. The most troubling was, most of them lived overseas. Additionally, he had converted with a different faith. It was impossible for him to practice the olden Ways anymore. "You!!!! Ungrateful scoundrel! You dare to defy me?!" The discussion turned rowdy as Tok Silihan stood up abruptly and pointed his index dried up chicken finger to Ramlee''s face! "Alright, alright, take it easy. Tok, take a deep breath. Please.. Stop fighting!" Ohh mann.. When were they going to discuss properly like this? The minister was going back soon too! TT_____TT Authors'' Note: 1) Wagyu steak = premium beef from Japan (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu) 2) Makan-makan session = ''makan'' means ''eat''. It means a feast/banquet, but a small informal one. 3) Dato Dr Ramlee = Dato is a title, conferred by the Sultan to a person with high achievement. It is similar to a formal title like ''Sir''. Dr is ''Doctor'', but not a medical doctor''s title, but a ''doctorateship'' from completing phD. This implies that the person is very learned, and might had widespread influence and money. Chapter 160 - Tapioca or Sweet Potato? (Part 1) "What are you going to make this time, Mom?" Mom was squatting over a mountainous pile of brown-colored coconuts while rubbing her chin in contemplation. The number of coconuts was so many, if somebody pushed them, everything will tumble down and covered Mom''s whole body. She could die or suffocate if that happens, but as usual, Mom was oblivious with the probable outcome as she stared innocently at the prized ''gifts'' given to her in delight. Shiro bet, her mind must be busy working on recounting several recipes of delectable dishes using these.. coconuts. Before, he had seen Mom expressing the juice of the white flesh within the brown coconut to get some sort of milk for her potent turmeric coconut soup. It had given him a whole new spectrum in life. What else will she be making this time? Will it be another round of delectable soup? Or were there more things that could be done with the brown coconuts? Shiro personally preferred the green ones. Nonetheless, he wasn''t picky. Anything Mom made tasted divine. The large birds really like to make unnecessary problem; Shiro saw them repeatedly arranged the coconuts in such a way that they will stay erect in a three-meter cone-shape. Although the ''structure'' collapsed a few times, they still wasted their time to make it happen. They took the whole night to build two coconut towers; a brown one and a green one! Just imagine! Shiro could only slapped his own forehead with the birds'' quirkiness. As such, today, Shiro was always there beside Mom, just to make sure nothing untoward happens to her. At least he could carry her away immediately if the coconut tower collapsed again. He knew that Mom had become progressively stronger as days passed by, but not that strong to ''swim'' out of hundreds of coconuts unscathed. The yellow busybody was not around; most probably she must be frolicking with her little bird friends. The brown baby bird was dozing off within the cave dwelling, thank goodness. The Elemental Fiends were patrolling at the edge of their territory in large numbers, while the freshwater creatures were busy tending the mini garden. As usual, the smart minnow did a good job delegating work around while maintaining harmony between the elites and the servants. Besides him and Mom, the little girl, Ara, and F1 were present not too far away. "Mommy''s going to make something for sure. But something different this time." Mom chuckled lightheartly. She was in a very good mood at the moment; Shiro saw that she was giggling happily while reading her smartphone this morning. ''Papa'' must have reached out and send something funny. Besides that, yesterday''s coconuts must be so good; the gigantic hornbill really know her stuff although she was very annoying. In fact, the large avians didn''t return after being slapped silly by Mom. They shamelessly lingered around, trying to curry favor with Mom by pretending to help out with chores. However, they only destroy more things along the way while the other wet helpers or fiends hurried around fixing them up one after another. Shiro regretted getting soft with the pompous birdbrain. Now, they became like chewing gum stuck on one''s hair. "Did the tapioca and the sweet potato grow well in our garden, Dearie?" "Yes, they seemed to be one of the easiest trees to grow. I saw that once the Spiritual Energy Gathering Formation was in place, both trees grew the fastest. Do you need me to check? What should I gather from the trees? The leaves?" "Hmm Let''s see whether the tubers formed or not? It usually took months, but who knows right? Let''s stay positive." Mom rubbed his head dotingly while giving him the sweetest smile. Mom closed her eyes and a random orange Elemental Fiend broke of from its group to scurry over towards them. It lowered its body while Mom climbed over it after she fixed a few shopping bags around its torax. "Let''s go." Shiro rolled his eyes after blanking out for a few seconds. "Mom, the garden is so near. Why don''t we just walk? You do need some exercise, you know?" "Let me be a couch potato once a while." Mom wh?n?d a bit and puffed up her cheeks cutely. She rode on the Elemental Fiend side by side with Shiro; Ara and F1 trailing behind them silently. Hana squatted down upon the tapioca tree at the edge of the little garden. The garden was so lush and very well-tended thanks to the efforts of the Waterwave clan. The air was so fresh with a tinge of sweet lemony scent; most probably the herbs around infused the air to produce such a nice scent. With the presence of mists clinging to the ground, and the ray of the morning sun gently spilling over through the gap in between the leaves, the garden emitted a zen-like feel. Tell them to go away! Mommy felt so awkward! She whispered to Shiro through their shared telepathy channel. Outwardly, Hana tried to maintain a serenely unperturbed look, though anyone who was remotely connected to her will know that she was quite agitated within. Shiro only glared a little. Above them, ice-crystal spikes were forming slowly. "Give the Mistress some space!" All the creatures scampered away but stopped a few meters away and turned to look again! Feeling a little relieved, Hana stood up and observed the tapioca tree first. Or was it cassava (1)? She wondered why this tree had fine silvery veins upon its star-shaped leaves. She remembered last time in her mom''s house, there were no such things. Was it a new variety? Was it safe to be eaten? The tree had a slim longish light brown trunk. There were circular shaped indentations on its body; a place where the previous old leaves fell. The tree was about three-meters tall; way above Hana''s height. Hana counted and found that there were about three main branches, but she knew all the branches came from one single tree. After all, when she decided to grow a tapioca tree, she only placed one small tuber she found while foraging for some ulam (2). Only, she was quite amazed at the rate of growth, since it happened about three weeks ago. "Heave, hoo!" With just one pull, Hana managed to pull the whole tree out! "I''m the next Bongsoon (3) yeah!!" Hana laughed heartily while holding the whole tree with one arm. The whole tree including the tubers could easily weight around thirty plus kilograms. The aunty hadn''t realized she had become so strong until she performed such a deed effortlessly. She was seriously impressed with herself! Inside this group, she knew she was the weakest, but not everyone knew this. Hence, no creatures around her applauded and just treated it as something that she should be able to do. After all, she was the ''Lord'' of the Serpent''s Lair. Only Shiro''s eyes showed that he was impressed slightly, but he kept to himself since the Mistress must show that she was the strongest to lead the Lair. After pulling the whole tree out, Hana broke off one small tuber and pushed it inside the same hole. "Please grow again into another tree, little one." Once she lifted up her hand, the efficient Chomper appeared from nowhere, and diligently spraying a gentle silver of water over the hole. "Thank you, Chomper-chin. (4)" Hana dipped her hand over Chomper''s water bubble and patted his head with a warm smile. "Not too much water for tuber trees. They could drown and the fruiting bodies could get rotten, alright?" Chomper nodded cutely. "What are you doing now, Mom?" Shiro asked as he sat beside Hana and licked his luxuriant white fur. He was d*mn bored since Mom didn''t need his help with anything! Hana squatted in front of the large tapioca tree, now being downed horizontally; at the leaves part to be exact. This time, she proceeded to pluck off the shoots from the cluster of leaves. She filled the shopping bags upon the Elemental Fiend''s thorax with lots of tapioca shoots while humming happily. "These tasted really good. Just needed a little bit of blanching will do. Mommy once eaten a really divine dish made from the tapioca shoots. It was superb! I heard it is a specialty in Negeri Sembilan (5). Over there, the dish was extremely popular! You need to cook it like you''re making spicy turmeric soup, but must add fermented durian and some lemongrass in. It sounded yucky, but once you tasted it, you can''t get enough!" Hana chuckled spiritedly as she reminisced about the good ol'' days. Even before she reached this place, it was truly a while since the last time she ate that dish. Because it was so easy to get, Hana didn''t bother to cook it herself, hence, she knew the theory only, but didn''t have the hands-on experience yet. She would need to see whether she could make some this time around. After all, she had so many workers now to help her fetch some obscure ingredients. "Really?" Shiro made a skeptical look. He remembered how pungent was the fruit Mom called ''durian''. He had been forced to taste a tiny bite, and seriously didn''t like it. Mom said this was not a good variety and there were better tasting ones, but he became more cautious since then. It seemed that not all natural food was considered good when Mom told him so. "Really!" Hana laughed and ruffled up Shiro''s head lovingly; obviously she could read his mind. The wild durian from last time was really leagues apart from the durians she used to eat at home. Additionally, the flesh was too little. Thank goodness she harvested quite a few and had kept the rest to ferment into tempoyak(6) for later use. It would definitely taste better in cookings rather than eating it raw. After that, she walked towards another patch herb trees. The leaves were heart-shaped with tiny Morning glory-like flower. This time, the trees were crawling trees rather than one that went straight up. Oddly, the flower also had streaks of silver on top of its whitish purple petals. Strange. It might be another new variety too. "Alright, this is enough. No need to pull the whole tree." Hana talked to herself. She hoped the tree will survive and grew well even after she took some of its tubers. She placed the tubers into another bag upon the orange Elemental Fiend behind her. Hana walked up to the tapioca tree, pulled out her Clawknife, and slashed the base of the tree. The tree was just about three inches in diameter, and the blade went through smoothly like hot knife over bu??er. With one swing of her left hand, she placed the base of the tree with the dangling tapiocas over her shoulder like a boss! Such a cool aunty! Authors'' Note: 1) tapioca/cassava = either one was the same thing. Over here it is known as ''ubi kayu'' ubi for potato/tuber kayu for wood, bcoz it looks like wood. If leave uneaten too long, it will become as hard as wood. 2) Ulam = herbs that could be eaten raw such as watercrest (pegaga), lettuce (though there''s none growing wild in a hot & wet country like Malaysia), mints, water dropwort/celery (selom) and cashew shoots (pucuk gajus) 3) Bongsoon = name of a lead character in "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon". It is a comedic korean drama. Highly recommended for releasing stress hahaha imdb.com/title/tt6263222/ 4) Chomper-chin = it is an endearment attachment. It indicates that Hana had become very close with Chomper. It is the same with attaching -chan, -tan, -chi for Japanese influence (Mika-chan/Mika-tan/Mika-chin/Mika-chi), or -er for Chinese influence. (Yue-er) 5) Negeri Sembilan = a state in Malaysia. ''Sembilan'' is actually ''nine'' in English. 6) Tempoyak = the name of fermented durian paste. We use it a lot in making a number of dishes. Chapter 161 - Tapioca or Sweet Potato? (Part 2) Hana and co. were back at the clearing. This time they were a bit further away from the green and brown coconut towers due to Shiro''s insistence. Shiro''s reasoning was simple; if all of the coconuts tumbled down, they would have to stack it back up, and it would be a pain to do that. On Hana''s left was around eight large tapiocas. Each was as big as Hana''s calf; two of it were as large as her th??h. On Hana''s left were five big tubers of sweet potatoes the size of a rugby ball each. The aunty scratched her head and sweated. These number of tubers was a bit too much. In her small family of four, she would have to use these tubers at least ten times since essentially only Arash and her could eat the tubers. She could only cook half tuber for a single eating session. If her big family came over, at least she could cook two to three times for them before she ran out of ingredients (1). Which one should she start with first? Tapioca or sweet potato? [Does it even matter?] Hana chuckled lightly. She''ll cook both! If there were a lot of leftovers, she''d just give them to her cute pets! Hana turned to the tapioca, and then her eyes went to the sweet potato. Both tasted good in their own way. One was savory, one was sweet. There were so many preparation methods she could try. However, the easiest would be by boiling both tubers and ate them by dipping in grated coconuts mixed with a little sugar. This was how her mom, Madam Shaza loved to eat both tubers when she lacked other ingredients. It was actually the most basic traditional way of eating both tubers (2). [Well, back to basics then.] "Chomper. F1. Get ready." Hana cleaned one large tapioca by letting Chomper spray a tiny stream of water while she scrubbed with her b?r? hands to remove excess dirt and soil. She then proceeded to peel the woody tuber with her Clawknife. It felt slightly awkward; Hana used to peel by using her handy pink peeler. Nonetheless, the sharpness of her knife helped her a lot, though she really had to control her energy well. If not, the tuber could be easily chopped into tiny pieces. "See? Done!" Hana brought up the tapioca tuber. It was pristine white without the outer woody skin and was about two feet long! "Ohhhhhhh.." The small birds, the large birds, the freshwater creatures, and even the higher classed Elemental Fiends made long ohhhhs as they observed the wood-like tuber turned into a white one. It was the first to many of them. "Shiro! Cut it into six parts. Chomper! Prepare an elevated water bubble. F1! Heat it at 100 degree Celsius! Everyone, fine-tune and control your spiritual energy like how we practiced." Hana blurted out a series of commands. Everyone moved efficiently to prepare a floating transparent ''cooking pot'' following their Mistress'' whims. Using an earthen clay pot was way too mainstream when you had magical pets who can make boiling water bubble midair and remotely control cooking ingredients midair. Once the aunty already knew how to leverage the abilities of her pets, why would she waste time cooking using the conventional method? The head chef was the one who gave out instructions but not necessarily had to slough to do the actual cooking! As usual, Hana threw the tapioca midair. It was controlled by Shiro in a timely manner. Shiro released miniature low-strength air blades and simultaneously cut the large white tuber into six equal parts of about two-inch each. All six pieces of tapioca landed inside the levitating water bubble created by Chomper''s Water-barrier Arts. The water bubble was just done being prepped by F1 by inserting its antennae within. The water produced vigorous bubbles within, indicating that the water was boiling. Hot air was released from around the bubble. Just like that, the tapioca pieces were left cooking as they were carefully being controlled within the bubble by Shiro. "Alright, great job, everyone. Let''s make another one for the sweet potatoes. Ara, you''re up. Need to practice a little, alright? You wouldn''t be able to fine-tune your technique with no practice." Ara nodded like a pecking chicken, but she was panicking inside! She wasn''t good with spiritual energy refinement! [It''s alright. You can do it. Mistress know you can. Shiro and Chomper will be around to ?ssist you if something goes wrong.] Hana encouraged Ara gently through their telepathic channel. She knew little Ara disliked practicing. But she needed to do it to be able to make better poultices and medicine. Ara finally found her courage and made a large water bubble above her! "Steady. Big doesn''t mean better. Stability is key. Reduce the size. Yes, again. Smaller, smaller. Yes, this size. Maintain this at all times, alright. Concentrate. You have a higher spirit energy reservoir than Chomper, but what you need to practice on is the stability and finesse in spiritual energy manipulation. With better control, you won''t be wasting your spiritual energy and could use it at one hundred percent! Imagine what you could accomplish with that during a life-and-death battle! Who runs out of energy first dies first." Hana rubbed Ara''s pinkish head as she smiled helplessly. Although Hana was talking to Ara, every creature around took note of the Mistress'' pointer reverently and commit it to memory. The ones who did not understand her didn''t waste their time and asked those who did. This was the first step to greatness! Micro-control! Shiro smiled. He was the second one in the family to receive the same guidance about enhancing control from Mom. Due to that, he improved his overall control over aerial techniques involving ice shards, javelins, or lances just within two months of practice. It was a crucial aspect but was sorely ignored by many, including him previously. Shiro realized, whatever Mom do, was for practicing Micro-control on every little thing. She called it ''being meticulous''. "Shiro, F1, ?ssist Ara please." Both nodded. F1 crawled to Ara and heat up the water bubble she made while Shiro got ready to control the incoming sweet potatoes. Hana threw two faint orangey tubers midair. This time, Shiro only sliced them into three parts each. Simultaneously controlling two sets of cooking was nothing for Shiro when he could control thousands of ice lances at the same time! The same series of steps were taken; it was precise and straightforward like before. Hana nodded appreciatively. Hana soul-linked to Shiro, Ara and Q-chan to tap into F1 out of curiosity. She wanted to observe their work within her Soul-hall Domain. Surprisingly, the partial souls of her three pets were showing signs of synchronization! All three were shimmering at the same rate! She never noticed this before! Additionally, she could see the strengthening of the pre-existing single chain she had with Ara! Even the second chain was about to form! This was without her directly merged with Ara''s partial soul. She immediately started chanting! The chain slowly appeared, disappeared and reappeared rapidly towards both Shiro and Q-chan! "!!!" It seemed that when working together like this, it brought about strong resonance between her and her pets. She had discussed this with Kuro and established a few important goals to achieve. Besides contracting more creatures as a shortcut to strengthen her soul, the other one was to form tangible links with all soul-brethren; a real Soul-link. She would know the link was permanently formed when she could share her pet''s senses, just like what happens to her and Ara. She didn''t notice this when she cooked the clams within the cave since she was too preoccupied with gaining her new ability thanks to Ara. I see. We can do it like this. I need to ask all of them to help out and cook more then. Hana chuckled mirthfully. Even she could level up just by doing the things she loved together with the kids. It''s going to be a walk in the park! [Ohh.. I''m going to be sooo OP <3 (3)] Hana was delighted with the new findings she got from the excellent cooperation exhibited by her pets. Even the clumsy Ara did very well today. She walked away from them to examine the brown coconuts. A few fluttering small birds helped fetch a few coconuts from the very top of the ''tower'' for Hana even before she could ask them for help; it seemed that her every movement was carefully being observed by everyone. What can she do when she''s the star of the show? Hana smiled jovially and thanked them; she didn''t forget to take advantage to grope, er..nah..to tickle the birds who came close. After that, she slashed the top part of the coconuts and drained the water out. "Yes!" Obviously, the aunty obtained some coconut apples of varying sizes. It was like waiting for the lottery!! Sometimes you won''t get anything, sometimes you got small-sized crunchy ones, and sometimes, you got large spongy ones! It was very delightful. Each coconut made Hana anticipate for the tombong(4) inside. She munched the white spongy ''fruit'' while peeling off each coconuts'' hard shell, leaving only the white flesh. While waiting for the tubers to cook, she hummed and collected coconuts'' flesh bit by bit. It was so easy using the Clawknife! The hard shell was akin to eggshells! She needed to be as gentle as possible to stop herself from destroying the shell together with the flesh. With enough practice, Hana was able to ''peel'' the shell while leaving the white flesh intact without breaking! The smell of cooked sweet potatoes and tapiocas wafted into the air, whetting Hana''s appetite. "Sniff~ Sniff~" Hana closed her eyes and took a deep breath in satisfaction. It reminded her of the large kitchen in Madam Shaza''s house. Nostalgic. Unwittingly, a droplet of tear rolled down. She thought that she missed Arash and the kids only, but it seemed that she missed her mom too. Ma''am Shaza was very strict, but she knew those were tough love. The creatures around talked in hushed tones before. But once they saw the Mistress shed a tear, all noise disappeared utterly, and the surrounding became stoic and somewhat tensed. Through words of mouth, they knew that if water leaked from the Mistress'' eyes, it meant that she was very upset. The nasty white Lord who seemed like the Mistress'' retainer had exhorted multiple times that once the Mistress became upset, someone responsible will be dead! However, they have tried their hardest to be useful to cheer her up and didn''t know which of their actions sparked her sadness! Should they be more proactive than this? Everyone''s heart was in their throats as they took a few steps backwards in panic. Authors'' Note: 1) her big family came over, at least she could cook two to three times = this is Hana''s own family, helmed by Madam Shaza. As a recap, she had 7 siblings (as mrs mooncat remembers haha, correct me if I''m wrong..it has been so long! 3 years to be exact) 2) the most basic traditional way of eating both tubers = during the olden days when the people were poor and couldn''t afford rice, the staple food is actually tapioca. Mrs Mooncat''s mom told her, it was the era before Independence in 1957 3) OP = overpowered, as a reminder. 4) tombong = coconut apple; a reminder, it''s the prematurely formed coconut tree within the brown coconut. The bigger the coconut apple'', less water will be inside since it absorbs the nutrient from the coconut water for it to grow. Chapter 162 - Blender-no-jutsu Chapter 162: Blender-no-jutsu The creatures around talked in hushed tones before. But once they saw the Mistress shed a tear, all noise disappeared completely. Everyone''s heart was in their throats as they took a few steps backwards in panic. Four creatures took a step forward bravely! "Mistress! Let this old one, and these other children receive your blessings! We humbly request to be your arms and your legs. We vowed that we would heed all of your commands." Alpy, the turtle, spoke courageously with a loud voice, making everyone else gasped visibly. The other three also stood their ground as they stayed in a line with the old turtle with gazes full of determination and expectation. In their hearts, they prayed to the deity of Water to bless them by softening the Mistress'' heart. Unfortunately, Hana, who was squatting while peeling the coconut husks, couldn''t even tell that the creatures were talking to her. She made a blur-looking face and blinked her eyes a couple of times quizzically when the large turtle, floating golden fish, mud brownish crocodile and the familiar pink river dolphin who loved to tag along with her approached her a bit too near. They did make cute sounds animals always made, but of course, she was a bit too busy at the moment to observe their lovable antics. "Impudence! Nobody can force themselves upon the Mistress!" Shiro spat disdainfully. He was not stupid. This turtle was the one who shrewdly turned the gears within the little girl''s clan in the palm of his paws. It was him who disseminate the ''Dam Haji'' Mind Sharpening Technique, and it was also him who reaped the most benefits before leaving. Shiro knew that their intentions weren''t as pure as what they exhibited right now. They just need a th??h to cling on, and Mom was the most ideal choice since she was very kind and accommodating. [What is it, Shi-chan?] Sensing Shiro''s unhappiness and linking it up with the four freshwater creatures who crowded around her like they wished to be cuddled and petted, Hana immediately asked him telepathically. Shiro quickly relayed the information to her for guidance. He felt that there was no need to make a soul-pact with these untalented ones. Hana held up her palm to gain the attention of everyone. She turned to look at Alpy, the turtle, then at Saras, Kolo, and finally, Mata. "Do you know what you guys are getting yourselves into?" Hana asked stoically and kept her gaze pinned at the four freshwater creatures around her one by one. "Truthfully, this old one doesn''t really know. But what we know is, at least we will live under your care safely for now. That is all this old one cares about at the moment. In return, we pledge that we will follow your orders absolutely." "Simply speaking, your lives will be linked to mine. It is a permanent bond. Once I perish, you will unequivocally perish too without question. Are you sure?" Hana added, after listening to the large turtle''s reply from Shiro. She, too, can read between the lines. This turtle and his friends just need her protection. She was generous enough to help them out before when she talked to the Grand Elder. In her opinion, it was quite a sturdy shield; they didn''t have to force themselves to truly join her and her pets. Without a pause, the four of them nodded vigorously without thinking. Feeling satisfied, Hana placed the coconut flesh she had been peeling into a pinkish plate brought over by an Elemental Fiend; everyone knew that was the Lord of the Crystal-veined stream''s sacred scale! The Mistress used it as a plate to hold stuff! "Saras, clean my hands." The river dolphin sprayed a soft stream of water on Hana''s hand after being instructed by Shiro. [Ku-chan, what do you think?] Hana didn''t forget to ask Kuro''s opinion. She knew he must be watching. [Go ahead, Mommy. Your soul power will increase exponentially with the expansion of our family. Don''t worry about their loyalty. Once contracted with the Soul-pact branding, no one could ignore your command.] Kuro added confidently from a faraway place. [I see. Shi-chan? How about you?] [Will they be an ?sset to our group? With or without contracting them, will there be a difference since they helped out already? I believe you should only contract someone powerful enough. These minnows are quite inadequate.] Shiro voiced his objection in a gentle tone. These little ones are just too weak and unworthy; they won''t be able to protect Mom at all. If Mom contracted everyone here, she would definitely die from bloodlost. There are just too many of them out there! However, it is up to you, Mom. I am enough to protect you for the time being. [Although I agree with Shiro''s opinion, there is truly a big difference in using a contracted slave than not using one. The more, the better. Mommy already noticed it, right?] Kuro chuckled lightly with an enigmatic tone. [Sorry, a bit busy here. I got to go now, Mommy. Do whatever your heart tells you.] [Take care, Sweetie. How about you, Ara?] [Mistress! I would love to have them around! The more, the merrier!] Ara answered eagerly. [..No matter... We follow Mistress...] Hana nodded silently while closing her eyes for a while. To others, it looked like the Mistress was contemplating between accepting or rejecting the shameless request of the four servants. The four spirit beasts, in particular, were all jittery waiting for the Mistress'' decision. "Alright. All of you will follow Ara and Chomper permanently from now on." The four servants, along with the rest of their friends, cheered happily! Thus, the ceremony of wrenching the souls of the four freshwater creatures to half took place immediately. It looked so dry and straightforward; the rest were unsure what actually changed with the four former servants of the Waterwave Clan. They only knew that at this moment, the four servants no longer belonged to the Waterwave Clan, but has defected to the Serpent''s Lair! They gossiped in hushed tones with each other animatedly. After a while, most servants who were close to the four creatures had formed a new goal; they need to follow the footsteps of the first four! They were practically the ''influencers'' among the servants! However, the elites only showed disdain towards the rest of the servants; they saw the defection as a form of betrayal to the clan. Although the clan deemed the servants unworthy to be groomed, it still treated them well by supplying these ungrateful ones with underwater caves of their own, and food to fill their bellies regularly. This event gave a bad taste to the elites of the clan. Gramps Alpy and co. could surely feel something changed within them after ingesting the Mistress'' blood! The most notable one of all was the appearance of voices from many creatures apart from the Mistress in their heads! They could hear the Young Miss'' soft congratulatory wishes for them and the arrogant snort of Lord Shiro. Besides that, the soul bindings were so strong, their soul had been torn to two, leaving them weak and trembling. This was what it meant to be the Mistress'' persons. They could feel the Mistress'' presence within them as if she owned their very souls and could dictate her commands using the established bonds. If the owner of their souls perished together with what she took from them, there will be a high chance that they will perish too. This shows that the Mistress wasn''t making things up. Logically, if something happens to the Mistress, even if they didn''t die as rumored, there would be some kind of backlash. Alpy analyzed calmly and came to such a conclusion. As such, since the bond had already been established, he concluded that there won''t be a chance to back off anymore. He realized that the Mistress was very kind, as she reminded them to carefully consider before taking such a big step. Alpy''s gaze softened. The Mistress was indeed one of a kind; considerate, generous, and cared about others regardless of caste and ability. He also knew that the Mistress was highly intelligent and could read his intention like a book. But she still took them in. What benevolence. The four of them knelt down (or bow down, to those without legs) in reverence. So much trust for such a short meeting; they were flattered to be valued to such a degree. They understood now why Lord Shiro was unsettled with their presumptuous request. The Elemental Fiends followed suit. The shameless Suria didn''t bow down, but she landed and closed her eyes to show respect as her other Noble guards followed her actions. "Alright! Stand up and work your bu??s off for me!" Hana laughingly hugged her four new lovable pets. Even the crocodile didn''t look so hostile now. "Let me teach you guys a new technique!" The four diligent freshwater creatures bellowed excitedly!!! Hana took out and held two more ''plates'' with pinkish shades on her left and right hand. At the same time, both boiling bubbles a few meters away popped, revealing cooked tapioca and sweet potato pieces. Shiro transferred the tubers into both plates like a magic show! "See? Our tubers are finally done." "Shi-chan, control Iceblade attack at a single axis, within a container made from ice. It must be hollow in the middle, and the attack must only move in a circular motion within the small container." A one-meter sickle-shaped ice-blade appeared within the air space at the top of everyone''s head, and it started spinning slowly. To everyone''s horror, the speed of the gigantic Iceblade was increasing. No other birds dared to fly at the moment and only watched upwards in fear. They knew what would happen to stubborn birds right now; yep, freshly ground fertilizers. "Is this correct?" Hana, "=______=||||" "No. We''re not going to grind anyone here. Reduce everything to the size of Chomper''s head at least." Hana patted Chomper''s head, who just happened to float next to her. The large sickle-shaped blade shrunk immediately. The blade was now about ten centimeters long. It moved by itself in a circular motion as if it was dancing. "This is good enough." Hana nodded. "Add the hollowed container and let it spin within. If you have problem maintaining the motion of the blade, placed a straight ice-shaft in the middle, and modeled the blade like this." Hana scribbled the diagram of her favorite modern tool, the blender. "In my place, we call it Blender-no-jutsu." Hana spoke with a straight face while trying her best not to laugh; it would be really comical to see everyone shouting ''Blender-no-jutsu'' while employing the technique later. She added while pushing the middle part of the frameless spectacles with her index finger seriously, "It has many forms and can be materialized with different kinds of elements. The key is Micro-control. I''ve once taught this to Lord Shiro actually. Due to his overwhelming aptitude with Micro-control, he was able to grasp the concept extremely fast. All of you can do it too, with enough practice and perseverance. Anything you lack, can be compensate with hard work." The whole crowd cheered loudly! The second teachings in one day! The Mistress was the best! Suria observed the Mistress'' explanation coupled with the movement of the white fox. She contemplated for a while to ruminate the concept behind the white fox''s precise control over the spiritual energy to be converted to frost elements. She admitted that she wasn''t as good at manipulating the wind elements as the damnable fox. She needed more one on one guidance if she plans to master the Blender-whatnot Technique. But, was it really okay for her to learn it and ask for direct guidance from the Mistress? It seemed that the Mistress wasn''t too fond of her after she sucker-punched the fox a little. Hence, she called for Markisah over to confirm first. "Yes, Lord Suria. How can this humble one be of ?ssistance to you?" Markisah was a little afraid of the Four-winged Mistral hornbill. It was because, the Lord had an accusing gaze upon her after she had been trashed hard by the Serpent''s Lair''s group. It wasn''t even her fault. But she couldn''t speak for herself, else she might be disowned by her own clan. "Markisah, can you go and ask, is it okay for this Lord to learn the Blender-thing technique?!" Suria didn''t want to be presumptuous again. What if he got trashed again by the Mistress?! She won''t be able to face her subordinates again. "Can, can. Hana had never stop anyone from learning whatever she taught. If she didn''t plan to disseminate to all, she wouldn''t show it to everyone over here. However, it''s up to each individual whether one can benefit from her teachings or not." Markisah shrugged nonchalantly. "Infact, she had taught me many things, I just didn''t bother to learn. I know I won''t be able to do it since I couldn''t even feel the famed spiritual energy spoken by everyone. I''m just a normal bird." Markisah flapped her wings with a ''I-don''t-care-a-shit'' attitude, which made Suria felt so indignant! That little bird didn''t even know she was metamorphosizing into a true blue spiritual avian, thanks to her freeloading so frequently in the Serpent''s Lair. Alright! I''m going to thicken my face to get direct guidance from the Mistress! Suria slapped her own face with her wings to give herself some spirit! Chapter 163 - The Savory-sweet Getuk Ubi Kayu "Alright, Shi-chan, time to use Blender-no-jutsu to grind the coconut flesh into coconut flakes!" While maintaining the operation of the ice-contraption that suspiciously looked like a big ?ss food processor, Shiro upped his game by another level by manipulating the spiritual energy using another strand of his fur to transfer the coconut flesh into the Blender-no-jutsu area of effect. It''s a one-man show! Yes, it is as the readers'' guess! Our lovable Shiro''s level of spiritual energy manipulation is approaching the ''godly'' level! He can remotely control tens and thousands of spiritual energy threads with his fur! One thread per fur! He had been practicing everyday from the first time Hana introduced the concept of Micro-control to Kuro at the very beginning of their meeting two months ago. From forty threads to eighty, from eighty to one-hundred-fifty, once it breached a thousand, he reached some sort of bottleneck. However, when he advanced a small realm, his diligence had brought him to at least fifty thousand spiritual energy threads today. Essentially, all of his outer furs could function separately as if they were alive! That was the advent of Ten-thousand Helicoid Ice Lance! It only took a minute to grind the coconut flesh into fine fresh fluffy white flakes. Hana was exceedingly impressed with the quality of the flakes; it was just like store-bought! Shiro really did an excellent job grinding them perfectly. Hana took some of the coconut fluff from within the ice container and placed it in her mouth, "Yummy!" Her eyes twinkled with joy. Fresh, airy, and juicy, but not soggy. Shiro even being extra meticulous by removing any leftover coconut shells. "Come, come, bring over the tapioca!" She turned to the purple Elemental Fiend who was always near her, "F1 deary, go and fetch me the flask with honey, and the container with salt. I''ll show you what it looks like when you reach the rack." The brawny purple-colored Elemental Fiend nodded and moved fast. Hana only closed her eyes and linked to Q-chan for a moment to reach out to F1 just to show which container should it brought down with it and brought it back in a flash. Observed by one-hundred plus freshwater creature, hundreds of birds, tens of spirit avians, and thousands of Elemental Fiends, Hana placed one piece of tapioca, a handful of freshly grated coconuts, and some honey on a plate. She broke the large piece of tapioca into small bite sizes, dipped it in the coconut flakes, and finally, a tinge of honey. Finally, the mixture entered Hana''s mouth as she savored the savory-sweet delectable tuber! "Yummsss! Such a nostalgic taste!" Ohhhh sounds resounded. The rest of the spiritual creatures finally realized that the Lords were working together to make a dish! Was it an advancement dish?! The information that they got from the Circle of Elders was quite vague. Still, they at least knew they need to use their cultivation resources to book for an advancement dish. As such, everyone gambled and brought their whole savings with them. Was it possible that the food prepared was an advancement dish?! Hana took another small piece of tapioca, dunk it into the coconut shavings and honey, and feed it to Shiro next, Ara, and lastly Chomper, making the others so jealous! Even F1 got some! "The ones who directly helped out will receive a tiny bit. This is the golden rule. If not, you have to pay. One Spirit Crystal per piece. Will it induce advancement? Is this a spiritual dish? I won''t answer. Only the ones who pay and experience it will know." Another loud ohhh filled the clearings again after the spiritual creatures heard the explanation from Lord Shiro! Everyone was super excited! One Spiritual Crystal per piece was neither too cheap nor too expensive! However, the fact that the unknown status of the tapioca thingy made no one dared to buy and risk it. After all, their funds were limited, and it seemed that the cost for a real advancement dish will make them go bankrupt if there was no option for installments! "Mistress, may I purchase some?" Gramps Alpy immediately interjected and asked. He didn''t mind since his team had so much to spare. Regardless of the effects, showing support to the Mistress'' efforts was what matters most! It was a strategic investment! "Nope. It''s actually not done yet. After I tried making a kind of kuih (1) from the ingredients, you can buy them if got leftover. If not, better wait for the next round, alright?" Hana immediately cut off Gramps Alpy goodwill, making him chuckled helplessly. It was true. The Mistress was quite fickle; at one time, she said yes, and at another time, she suddenly said no. "We have a few objectives to achieve after this. One, prepare coconut oil. Two, make balls out of mashed tapioca mixed with coconut flakes, salt, and sugar. The ball is about the size of a pigeon''s egg. Our final product will be Getuk Ubi (2), a savory-sweet deep-fried kuih." Hana stood in front of her pets and explained what they need to do next. She was excited to try making pastries for once. In the near future, she would have more hands in her team who could perform intricate things besides Shiro, Ara, Chomper, and F1. The additional four wet helpers could speed up the process a bit more when they have enough skills after mastering Micro-control. "Shi-chan, you will handle the part for making the tapioca-coconut flakes ball. Either you remodeled the ice blade to mimic this shape," Hana paused and drew a blunt-ended, turbine-like cutter on the soil where they stood. "Or, you mimicked this motion of flattening-folding-flattening with a wide yet blunt-ended force. We called this ''kneading''. Of course, you must use the spiritual energy to achieve such effect." "Nobody must come directly into contact with the food ingredients b?r?handed. I am very particular about this; whoever touched the ingredients directly with their bodies will never, ever get a turn for meal advancements! Another thing is, the food ingredients can never touch the floor, debris, soil, or any other random stuff unless it is my command." Hana scrunched her brow while she said the words loudly, sending a signal to others that she meant business. She wasn''t willing to let these wannabes in cooking spread saliva, scales, strange fishy smell, or bird poop over her precious cooking ingredients! Cooking required a high level of hygiene, and she could not tolerate a single fur, feather, or scale inside her cooking. Due to the level of seriousness injected in her speech, Shiro sent words to the other immediately, lest he missed anything if he delayed sharing the information. Everyone nodded in synchronization, just like a pecking chicken, wondering why the Mistress was so stern this time, but of course, nobody dared to question the Mistress. "Lead the others to follow you. However, the others can only use soil from the riverbanks. Only you will handle the food for the time being. Until they manage to master Micro-control to an adequate level, will they be eligible to touch food ingredients. We can''t afford to waste." "Mommy will handle making the coconut oil with Ara, Chomper, and F1. Good luck, Sweetie. Train everyone well. Remember, only soil for the rest. You can let them mix between wet soil and weed. However, the beauty of the riverbanks must be preserved. Mommy would never forgive anyone who makes holes all over the place! Whoever make our picnic place ugly, better be ready to be sent back for good." "Oh yes, make sure you don''t let the ice melt and soak the tapioca, alright. It will spoil the whole thing." Hana reminded Shiro before she walked a few paces away with her other pets. "You good for nothings!! Group up, take some soil from faraway riverbanks, and line up! I will teach you how to make Getuk Ubi! Whoever destroys the beauty of the riverbank where Mistress loves to hang out can just return to your own clan immediately, lest I will hunt you and eat you for supper!" Shiro echoed out a series of instructions laced with threats. He had no other choice but to taunt these young ones with threats since Mommy prevented him from really eating anyone. All freshwater creatures scrambled away in search for suitable soil. After a while, the clearing in front of Hana''s sojourn was filled with freshwater creatures lining up in grid form; the servants faction on one side, and the elite''s faction on the other side. They couldn''t see each other eye-to-eye anymore. But due to the restriction placed upon both factions by the Serpent''s Lair administrative, they could only stare daggers at each other at times and ignore each other at other times. In front of each of them was a pile of soil and weed at the side; both factions had a burning d?s?r? to be eligible to handle real food ingredients in the future. They anticipated Lord Shiro''s teachings with eagerness. Finally, after learning the theory from the Mistress, they could practice Micro-control! Although Shiro preferred to knead the cooked tapioca by modeling the shape of the miniature turbine for his Blender-no-jutsu, he had the responsibility to teach the others the second method too; the Gentel-kuih-no-jutsu. Although the name was weirder than the first one, it gave the same effect of intricately melding the mysterious Spiritual Energy into a more malleable form. Thus, directly enhancing Micro-control. As usual, Mom always came up with ingenious ways to improve her pets'' strength. Although he wasn''t keen on Mom teaching these minnows, he acknowledged that to build trust and a solid tie between them and the Waterwave Clan, they need to be more sincere. It can only be shown with actions rather than words. Shiro removed the fresh coconut flakes and suspended it midair. At the same time, he transferred the freshly cooked tapioca into the ''food processor''-like thing he made using a few spiritual energy strings connected to his fur. The blunt-ended turbine blade made of ice circulated slowly within the vessel, breaking the tapioca into small pieces, and finally, it turned doughy. It was the first for Shiro to see such a texture too. He needed to control his power carefully while mixing the tapioca ''dough''. Too rough, the Blender-no-jutsu could break. If too slow, it might take a while to be done. This time it was trickier than usual. Shiro had never emulated the stray spiritual energy into shapes; it has always been in string-form. He concentrated and tried a few times before he could come up with an idea how to do it. [Mom, is it alright to do it this way? I''ve never tried.] [Excellent idea, Shi-chan. Your way is doable too. Just combine the threads into shapes.] From afar, Mom gave him a wink! So embarrassing! But Shiro had promised himself that he would absolutely care about Mom''s heart. Hence, he winked back and blushed. After a while, cute tapioca-coconut balls the size of a C-grade eggs started appearing one after another! The freshwater creatures started to practice with the soil they brought over diligently. And it took days after days after days of practice. Authors'' Note: 1) kuih = bite-sized Malaysian pastries. Got too many kinds to explain 2) Getuk Ubi = ''Getuk'' means pound, and ''ubi'' means tuber. Hence, it''s a somewhat straight-to-the point name; ''pounded tuber'' will be the direct translation 3) Gentel-kuih-no-jutsu = a pun for the second method. When u knead doughball using only three fingers (namely your thumb, index and middle finger) by making a rotational movement, that is known as ''gentel'' in Malaysian-language. Kuih means pastry. There is a very high variety of kuihs in the market. We ate for breakfast, teas and as desserts. You can see the sample from the pics from this link (google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enMY921MY921&sxsrf=ALeKk00J_zMLy9LD7NX5g3GHGonk_S5SPg:1613029794045&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=kuih&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjD94qfrOHuAhVP6XMBHTmUDdUQiR56BAgeEAI&biw=1920&bih=937) Articles that talk about kuih in general (though the variety is more than this, this is just scraping the surface) malaymail.com/news/eat-drink/2016/03/27/malaysian-kuih-a-marriage-of-flavours-and-cultures/1087719 timeout.com/kuala-lumpur/restaurants/ultimate-guide-to-malaysian-kuih An article about Getuk Ubi: azirahman.com/2018/12/getuk-ubi-kayu-selera-minum-petang.html kitpramenulis.com/resepi-getuk-ubi-kayu-goreng-kesukaan-semua-bentuk-comel-macam-bebola/ The ones featured in the chapters (and is known to mrs mooncat) is as above. However, mrs mooncat couldn''t find the English version ones. This one here, also have the same name, but of a differing variety. guaishushu1.com/getuk-ubi-%E6%9C%A8%E8%96%AF%E6%A4%B0%E4%B8%9D%E7%B3%95%EF%BC%89/ Chapter 164 - When a Petty Aunty Showed Her True Colors (Important Announcement) [The more, the better. Mommy already noticed it, right?] Kuro chuckled lightly with an enigmatic tone. His glowing scarlet eyes caught a movement in between the trees a few paces away and immediately evade to the next tree on his left. Hundreds of enhanced razor-sharp sesame-shaped leaves the size of Mommy''s palm shot towards his previous location. The huge tree where he had dangled on was pierced like a porcupine. Some of the large branches fell; a testament of how strong and sharp the unassuming enhanced leaves were. Kuro smirked disdainfully. [Child''s play. The bugger was just an amateur at trap-setting.] He glided away nonchalantly while flaring out his spirit sense towards the surrounding, checking every nook and cranny. Five kilometers to the East, Kuro detected something strange. It could be another trap, or it could be the Forest Spirit itself. He needed to double up. [Sorry, a bit busy here. I got to go now, Mommy.] Do whatever your heart tells you. Kuro excused himself from the public telepathic channel before planning to shut it off to concentrate. [Take care, Sweetie.] He heard Mommy''s caring words and closed his eyes to savor them. Once he opened them again, they were filled with determination and anticipation. It won''t be able to hide forever. Kuro was determined to flush it out. After that, Mommy will know who loved her best. Amused at how her self-proclaimed ''new skills'' turned out, Hana spent more time observing her lovely white fox performing something akin to a magic show. The frost ''blender'' was awesome; Hana could imagine tens of delicacies made easy with the presence of this wonderous magical kitchen gadget. Ladies just love kitchen gadgets, regardless of using them or not. These innovations held the runner-up position just after sparkly things like pretty gems and costly jewelry. Although the base material for the magical food processor was ice, it was still very robust. It didn''t easily melt or break as long as they pay attention to control the thickness of the ice slab. But threading the Spiritual Energy into shapes and using it to knead a doughball made of cooked tapioca, well, that is really something else altogether. Theoretically, it could be done. But, knowing her insanely talented pet fox, he must be intricately manipulating thousands of spiritual energy strands at different directions at the same time! Talk about a super genius, lead character material! It''s ashamed that she still couldn''t find a way to permanently imbued materials with spiritual energy. If not, it would be pretty easy to enforce weak materials with spiritual energy sheet on the surface. Hana could use these materials to make tons of stuff like clothes, covers for bedsheets and pillows, curtains Ohh, there were so many in her mind, it made the aunty excited all over! She didn''t have to painstakingly find suitable materials to make clothes anymore in the future; any random leaves would just do. Finding cotton was hard enough, the thought that she might have to spin it to turn into cloth sent shivers through her spine. She''ll just make do with the stretchable swimsuit-like material she got from Kuro for the time being and wear rags over them to cover her dignity. Truthfully, using Kuro''s skin was just temporary. The unbreathable factor could affect her skin condition in the long term. Worst case scenario, she could develop contact dermatitis from the accumulation of sweat. [This matter is worth investigating. I must test it out sometime in the future.] The aunty rubbed her chin while contemplating the right time for experimenting it with her pets. She immediately took out her smartphone and jotted it down in her Note apps as a reminder; her tiny notepad was already full of tiny scribbles and notes, and finally, it ran out of pages. Why hadn''t she thought of jotting down using her smartphone from the beginning? She could''ve saved the pages for something else in the future. However, she did have a lot on her plate for the time being. Once the Spirit Forest arrived, and the Spiritual-agriculture efforts are in full swing, she could let it run remotely and concentrated on dissecting the properties of this new kind of energy she only heard in novels and maybe, come up with new ways to manipulate it for their own benefit. It was so boring (and stupid) to only use it for skirmishes among spiritual creatures. Such was Hana''s trust for Kuro. Once Kuro said he will get the elusive Spirit Forest, Hana believed him one-hundred percent and already arranged long-term plans. "Mistress Hana! This Glorious One wish to speak with you." The four-winged black and white gigantic hornbill appeared and interrupted Hana''s thoughts shamelessly. She felt that it was just the right time to ask the Mistress for guidance. After all, she brought along her meat shield in the form of the gullible Markisah. Beside her, Markisah flew over and landed on top of the aunty''s head playfully, not knowing that it wasn''t really a good time to disturb her friend. Usually, Hana will always welcome Markisah since she never really disturbed her and only perched upon her head. The aunty was already accustomed to Markisah''s weight; it was just like a grade M poultry (1). However, the words spoken by the spirited Suria just sounded like grating chalk over a blackboard, except that it was ten times louder! The aunty didn''t understand bird language! Meanwhile, her faithful translator was busy practicing with tapioca balls. Obviously, he didn''t plan to diverge his concentration on translating whatever the self-entitled bird wished to relay. Beeping green veins appeared on Hana''s temples as she tried her best to contain her d?s?r? to pull the bird''s feathers off. Seriously!!! What''s with screeching proudly beside her ears as if there''s no tomorrow?! Did it think it was Siti?! (2) This bird really needed to be taught a lesson! It made her feel depressed far too many times! The huge bird was far too annoying. It was really tiring confronting it. In her foul mood, she forgot that she was confronting a bird the size of a house who could peck her to death in mere seconds. "Tell me what you want this time, Suria. I''m quite busy at the moment. If it is not important, let''s put it off for later." Pressing her temples with one hand due to the headache ensued from all the unsavory screeching, Hana unhappily talked to the Lord of the Tricolored World Tree and brushed her off just like that. Suria blinked her eyes, not knowing what the Mistress meant. But, she could plainly see that the Mistress wasn''t happy and didn''t want to attend to her. "Markisah! Do something! I don''t understand Mistress'' words!" She screeched to Markisah who was on top of the aunty''s head, gaining more infamy from Hana. It looked like she was shouting at Hana directly on her face! "Stop being rude. You are not welcome here if you continue this folly. I''m just too tired to be nice." "Err Would you like me to help?" A tiny girlish voice sounded out; it was almost a whisper, since the owner of the voice was afraid of both parties. Ara was holding her transparent pinkish pectoral fin up from within the bubble, trying to get notice, but at the same time was afraid to be in the center of the confrontation. She pushed herself forward because Markisah was her bosom friend; she didn''t wish for Markisah to be ousted from the Mistress'' territory. She misunderstood the aunty''s words since it was actually only directed at the Lord of the Tricolor World Tree alone. As the aunty was linked to the Young Miss of the Waterwave clan, she naturally heard what the little fish was saying via the telepathic channel. "Yes, what can I do for you, Dearie?" Hana asked back in surprise. Obviously, the aunty didn''t know Suria was talking to her. "The big bird is trying to talk to you, Mistress." "Oh? And what does it want?" "Mar-chan, ask your Lord about the details. Please be quick. The Mistress is not in a good mood." Ara immediately turned to her best bud. She too, was influenced by the aunty and attached ''-chan'' to her friend''s name as a sign of closeness. She learnt that anyone who had the ''-chan'' or ''-chi'' attachment by the Mistress meant that she''s very fond of them and will always get extra attention. "Fast! Fast! Lord Suria! The Mistress isn''t happy already!" Markisah flapped her wings in a hurry over the aunty''s head while fretting a little. "O Great Mistress of the Serpent''s Lair! This Glorious One wished to deepen her knowledge in the arts of Blender-no-jutsu! Since Fox is blessed with the gift of manipulating ice, this Glorious One did not have an inkling on how to proceed with a wind-based inborn gift." Hana tried her hardest not to laugh after hearing Ara''s explanation. It seemed that this annoying hornbill wished to learn how to make a blender was it? "Sure. But what can you give me in return? Pay, pay. Pay me with something for the extra trouble." Hana flapped her hands in front of the gigantic hornbill. The aunty can really be quite petty with the ones she disliked. A little taken aback with the Mistress response, Suria took a step back. She closed her face with her four wings. She then pondered deeply for a few seconds. What was the thing that was most precious to entice the Mistress? "This Glorious One will be eternally indebted to you! The Tricolor World Tree Sanctuary will always be your friend!" Suria screeched confidently. Hana rolled her eyes, "Not good enough. There''s nothing tangible involved." Hana was unimpressed as she folded her arms with a bored look. This bird really lah If she thought she could sell her house together with her little servants so that she could get a one-up from this aunty over here, humph! Sorry to say, it''s not a deal. As the leader of the whatever-tree sanctuary, she must be the strongest. If she couldn''t even contend her lovely Shiro, it means that the overall strength of the Sanctuary is of the weaker level. That kind of ''friendship'' has quite a low value. They could even be a burden. "Eh?" Suria took a step back in a melodramatic horror as she felt a bitter pang flooding within; the Mistress looked down on her glorious self and the Sanctuary as a whole. From the beginning, she had been on the losing end since she was the one who needed something from the Mistress. The Mistress wasn''t even impressed with the heartfelt gift she meticulously nurtured before. The Sacred Mistral Leaf (3) given to the Mistress was not seen anywhere. It was a precious, precious treasure with defensive capabilities against wind-attributed attacks. Either the Mistress didn''t recognize the value, or she was so mighty, she didn''t need it! Sighhh~ Thinking through until this point, Suria deflated while feeling helpless; her confidence, greatly affected, "Then Do Mistress need anything? We could help you perform some tasks" She offered randomly out of desperation. "Deal! Help out with others whenever I ask you to without questions. No buts. So simple right? WAHAHAHA!" Hana, the notorious haggler, won big time! The key was an infinite number of tasks; not one, not three, not a hundred. This was not being petty, this was taking a ''slight'' advantage on naughty kids while teaching them to be better persons. "Hmm.. Hmm.." Hana nodded self-righteously. Hence, if this shameless bird knew to care for her relationship with the Serpent''s Lair and the rewards ensued, she would oblige. Hana wasn''t sure whether the bird was intelligent enough to minimally understand their deal or not, but she''ll slowly whipped this bird into shape. It needed to learn a little bit of humility, and especially stop bullying her precious, precious Shi-chan. Authors'' Note: 1) Grade M poultry = refers to grade M chickens, its usually around 800g-1kg (standard weight of a processed raw chicken w/o feathers is about +-1.5kg) 2) Siti = a short for ''Siti Nurhaliza'', a legendary singer in Malaysia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siti_Nurhaliza). This is one of the latest songs (youtube.com/watch?v=JAGNmOlMdfQ). She always sings in this nuance since she''s younger. Now, she''s at the level of 3) Sacred Mistral Leaf = remember the pink leaf Suria passed to Markisah to be gifted to Hana? Ohh..can''t remember which chapter. Anyone knows, please leave a comment! Chapter 165 - Coconut Blossom Sap Suria blinked her eyes in wonder, not understanding what was happening. It was just a simple request, but the Mistress seemed very pleased after that. Did she just hit the jackpot? "Thank goodness it worked well" Hana mused over the increasing list of tasks she had in her mind and tried to find which one she could strike off with the help of the birds. [Ahh! I know!] "Let''s go now. I need you and a couple of your large friends to help me gather some coconut blossom sap from the nearest coconut trees! Time is of the essence! Come on!" Hana signaled to Ara to tell the rest to get ready to move immediately. To make tasty kuihs, she needed sugar. Previously, she planned to make Shiro freeze some honey and ground it as a substitute. However, with the presence of these many coconuts, there must be quite a number of trees somewhere! She could try extracting some ''gula melaka''. It''s a type of sugar extracted from non-blooming coconut blossoms, also known as palm sugar. Ma''am Shaza showed her how it''s done before for educational purposes when she was in her teens. There''s nothing wrong to try! "Hah? Now? Coconut blossom sap?" Suria blinked her eyes and tilted her head to the side, unable to comprehend just what the being in front of her was talking about while feeling speechless. Even the little pink fish who served as the translator looked clueless. "Yes, now. Got a problem with that?" The aunty narrowed her eyes dangerously as her mood started to turn for the worst. Both kuihs made from tapioca and sweet potatoes needed the added sugar factor. Although she had asked her trusty Elemental Fiend to bring some honey over to complete the soon-to-be kuih, she found that trying to make palm sugar from the coconut sap quite enticing. The process itself will be quite simple. She could make the palm sugar hand-in-hand with coconut oil! The finished coconut sugar can be used for other cooking projects in the long run. "Sorry, sorry. Got it! Let''s go!" Suria immediately acquiesced and screeched for her closest subordinates for help "Great job Suria and friends!" Hana clapped her hands in satisfaction at the birds'' cooperation. In front of her, five large birds the size of about single-storey houses lined up meekly. Suria was the largest compared to the rest, as she stood in the middle, towering them all by double the size. She too, looked resigned; the strong d?s?r? to learn the new skill had made her put in more efforts to rein in her ego. They just returned from visiting the tall ''weeds'' where they collected the green and brown ''seeds''. The Mistress called these weeds as coconut trees. They saw that the Mistress tied something to each weed and slowly bent some parts of the tree, cut them, and attached a homemade bamboo canister to it. Each weed had around three to five two-feet long bamboo canisters dangling over them. The birds looked at each other inquisitively, though none of them knew what it was all about. She took about an hour to perform the tasks and asked them to bring her back without foraging anything! Where was the ''sugar'' the Mistress kept on yapping about? None of them knew. Surprisingly, through the whole ordeal, the Mistress was actually nice to them. Her orders were only to locate the place they took the seeds, flew there, helped to stay airborne so that she could do whatever she was doing to the tall weeds from Lord Suria''s back, flew back home. The other four were essentially bystanders! It turned out they were there just to make up the numbers. However, droves of purple Elemental Fiends did follow them on land, most probably for added protection. Up above, looking at the delicious spiritual insects had made the birds quite hungry. But they stopped themselves in time since these insects were the Mistress'' property. They knew the Mistress was in a good mood, just like when she drank the coconut water. It was because she was humming under her breath. They should try their best to keep her that way, no? It wouldn''t do to eat someone else''s properties unless with consent. Looking at each other knowingly, not one dared to open their beaks to ask for permission. Who knows what else the scary Mistress could do to them before the Lord could earn the rights to learn the sophisticated ''Blender-no-jutsu'' skill? "Alright. Student Suria! I''m happy with your ?ssertiveness today. Listen up well and jot down my lecture into memory!" The aunty clapped her hands jovially, ready to spill what she thought she knew to the eager hornbill. They did a good job following instructions to the T before. Now, only time could tell whether the coconut blossoms sap could come out. It''s time to fulfill her end of the deal. The five birds from the Sanctuary cheered with elation! They have steeled their hearts for more tasks. Who knows, the Lord can already start receiving one-on-one guidance from the Mistress just with a simple task given! "Ara, my dear, help Mistress translate, alright. Let''s not disturb your Bro Shi. He''s so adorable when he''s hardworking." "Yes, Mistress." Ara answered cutely. The discussion started as little Ara acted as the intermediary between a petty aunty who spouted random nonsense with a self-entitled not-so-bright hornbill Suria shed unwilling tears while wailing in her heart as she sat across a big lump of wet mud-like soil. After an hour-long lecture from the Mistress, now she had to go through some ''tutorial sessions'', arranged by the strict Mistress to help her understand better with hands-on practice. It turned out her instructor was none other than the vengeful fox. Truthfully, that one-hour lecture wasn''t enough for her; she could only understand the tip of the iceberg. She desperately injected a large amount of internal energy upon the soil in an attempt to shape it. The soil was splashed everywhere as if it was being bombed by a high-intensity sprayer! "Stupid bird! How many times do I have to tell you to practice meshing the spiritual energy threads first, then test it out! You don''t throw in a big blob down there! It won''t work! Look at the fellow beside you! Be ashamed of yourself!" From afar, the wretched fox barked unpleasant words upon her glorious self. She couldn''t rebuke, lest she could make the Mistress unhappy. She could see that the Mistress was looking her way while doing something over there. If one''s gaze could kill, the Mistress'' stare could be considered as sharp as an awl, making her feel so conscious with her performance! Suria turned to her left to see a small crab patiently lacing five fine thread-like energy in front of it from two directions. It took a glance at her and gave something akin to a merry chuckle. On her right, an eel sniggered at her blown-up soil ''kuih''. She felt like being slapped across the face! These lowly creatures were looking down on her! "!!!" Suria''s fighting spirit was renewed as she was given a wake-up call. Suria realized that she was the only creature who still didn''t manage to lace any spiritual energy thread. She was too busy feeling sorry for herself. She wh?n?d too much until she forgot to concentrate with the instructor''s demonstration. It can''t go on this way anymore, lest the Mistress will truly look down on her and her people! With a renewed determination, Suria spread her four wings and attempted to generate thread-like spirit energy from every wing-tip! Hana turned away her gaze from the pompous bird as she chuckled softly. She didn''t know how, but finally. she could feel that the bird being serious. Her suggestion for placing the ones who performed the best around her was the right one. [Let''s instill a bit of healthy competition among the kids huhu...] She needed to make sure Suria achieved something. If the bird didn''t and easily gave up, won''t she lost a really good flying-type sla.. ehem, helper? After all, the second part of sap harvesting will commence a few hours later. The bird still needed to work off her tuition fees. Hana turned back to her own work. It was time to start making some coconut oil Chapter 166 - The Hardworking Dolphin’s POV Saras floated over cautiously in between her comrades. The Mistress was calling for her; she could hear it telepathically. Around her, everyone was busy practicing Micro-control over the lump of soil-weed combo in front of them, especially her three new soul-brothers. Their aim was simple; they were eager to impress the Mistress. At the moment, only the beautiful Saras have the highest immunity apart from Chomper; hence they need to double up to show their worth. Obviously, Gramps Alpy performed the best. He was very meticulous and deft with handling hundreds of spiritual energy threads simultaneously. Once upon a time ago, Gramps Alpy had told her about himself; a lone little spirit turtle who didn''t have a connection with any of the higher-ups in the clan but was quite promising in terms of talent. He fell from grace after he crossed a petty Young Master who framed him quite miserably. He should''ve been killed. However, a kind Elder stepped in and reduced his sentence. He was turned into the lowest level servant instead since then. This happened hundreds of years ago. Such was the fate of a nobody. The struggle was bitter. That was why it was crucial to have strong backing as you will be tethering on a tightrope all the time. And rightfully so, the Mistress was the biggest th??h one could ever hope to cling on around here. After successfully entering the inner circle of the Mistress, Saras admittedly felt a great relief washing through her heart. Nonetheless, she still remembered Gramps Alpy''s advice. Regardless of winning the grace of the Mistress or not, they couldn''t become complacent. The Mistress already had many strong attendants around her. Without showing their ?ssertiveness and worth, they might be side-lined even before they got to be ?ssigned with tasks. Gramps Alpy gave her a knowing acknowledgment nod as she passed by him. Under his breath, he whispered in a low tone. "Always do your best to be in the Mistress'' good graces. Woo her if you must." Saras blushed and nodded shyly. She wasn''t as good as Gramps Alpy. She could only weave no more than a hundred spiritual energy thread, and of course, she knew her limit. She was lucky to be doted upon by the Mistress. Somehow, the Mistress found her pleasing to her eyes and she was determined to make the Mistress kept on liking her by following her instructions to the best of her abilities. Saras hesitantly neared the Mistress who was industriously peeling the fruits known as coconuts again while sitting cross-legged. She had done the same thing before riding on those large birds to an unknown destination previously, but all of them were already used up by Lord-brother Shiro who performed Blender-no-jutsu on them. He did it while explaining the fundamentals of spiritual energy attunement and manipulation to everyone present on the field. Saras felt grateful to be part of this group. It seemed that knowledge was shared freely around here without considering about caste. Such generosity. On the clan''s ground, only clan members of certain standing could enjoy such benefits. Thus, they progressed faster with the added meticulous guidance from the Elders. "You''re here already, Saras? Wait awhile, let Mistress finish this bit." The Mistress continued peeling off the outer layer of the brown fibrous husks and the inner hard shell, albeit with an increased pace. The white flesh was then placed on several large pink ''plates'', piled up a bit too high already. Attendant Chomper was there, gawking at the Mistress'' action with intense concentration, his thoughts unknown. Young Miss Aranyella joined the others practicing with soil and weeds as she shed tears of melodramatic sorrow at the Mistress'' direction. Her intentions were clear as day; she dearly wanted to join the group over here. But it seemed that she had been shot down by the strict white fox and was forced to practice making mudballs. It seemed that Attendant Chomper might have more presence here than the Young Miss. She felt that she should make herself useful and help around rather than just floating quietly by the Mistress'' side. However, when she looked at her own two pinkish grey flippers, she could only sigh resignedly with a bitter smile. These two flippers were useless. She couldn''t perform that level of intricate movements with these. Her only hope was when she could seamlessly manipulate spiritual energy thread like it was the extension of her own flippers, just like Lord-brother Shiro. [Excuse me, Mistress. What can I do for you?] Saras couldn''t endure the silence anymore. She tried communicating with the Mistress using telepathy and was glad it went through. "Ahh.. Saras, sorry, sorry. Mistress got distracted a bit. Come, come, help Mistress." To Saras surprise, she could sense the Mistress longed for a small water bubble the size of a tiny melon. Reflexively, Saras conjured up the water bubble in front of her. "Thank you, Sweetie." The Mistress looked surprised, but later a smile bloomed on her lips; an indication that she was very pleased. A water bubble was exactly what she preferred rather than a stream of water spat from one''s mouth. If felt rather unhygienic. Saras didn''t even realized she had scored brownie points from the Mistress. The Mistress immediately dipped her two hands in and scrubbed them thoroughly within the water-containing bubble while she longed for an unknown item known as ''soap''. Once done, Saras could sense that the Mistress hoped for the water bubble to be dismissed. She dissipated the bubble and dispersed the water conjured into thin air. Although it felt like a simple matter, to Saras, it wasn''t simple at all. She could read the Mistress'' intention even before the Mistress communicated telepathically to her. She too, was amazed at how attuned she was with the Mistress'' wants and needs. She could even glean over new amazing information from the Mistress'' busy thought process. She was always thinking about random things all the time as the info jumbled up into a big pile of mess. She detected a lot of familiar terms she learnt today. Things like ''tapioca'', ''getuk ubi'' and its variation, and even the orangey tuber known as sweet potatoes. Although outwardly the Mistress told others she wanted to introduce two new kuihs for all to learn and taste, it seemed that there were tens of lists in her head depicting on how to process the tubers into tasty-looking meals of different shapes and textures. [Dear, make a large bowl for me. Errr..it''s an empty bubble, but cut to half. Can you try doing that? Try, try.] It was the first time for Saras to receive such a weird request. Making a circular bubble was something that comes naturally to spirit freshwater creatures. She had never thought to alter the shape of her bubbles. She contemplated for a while and tried her best to manipulate the water-attributed spiritual energy within. A partial uneven bubble the size of a washbasin appeared in front of Saras as the lovely pink dolphin scrunched her brow in concentration. (Mr Mooncat: Do dolphins even have brows, wifey?! Mrs Mooncat: Let me do whatever I like lahh) [Is this alright, Mistress?] Hmm Hana walked around the large bubble and nodded. [Not half-bad. Add another layer of partial bubble outside, insert water in between the bubble.] The pitiful dolphin became speechless, yet she concentrated and tried her best to achieve the Mistress'' request. The second bubble appeared inside rather than outside, and it was perfectly round. The dolphin closed her eyes again, and slowly the bubbled changed its shape to mimic the one a tad bit smaller than itself. Water appeared in between the sandwiched bubbles. [Excellent work, Deary.] Hana patted Saras'' head approvingly. [Shi-chan, a hand please?] From afar, the white Lord who was busy barking commands at the spirit freshwater creatures suddenly released something akin to a fast-moving white fog towards the Mistress location. Everyone was deeply horrified! However, the Mistress didn''t even budge, but she in turn gave the white Lord a smile and an acknowledgement nod. The ''attack'' reached the distorted bubble in front of the Mistress, the greenish black snakehead and the pink dolphin. The bubble immediately froze and turned solid. The Mistress smiled contentedly. "Saras dear, prepare a proper water-filled bubble immediately. Do not let them dissipate, alright? Once the water turned cloudy, just change the water, no need to ask me." Saras finally got a job to do! She made a washbasin sized water bubble again. The Mistress nodded wordlessly and started transferring the overflowing coconut flesh from the pink plate into the water bubble first, and then, stacked them nicely within the newly made transparent bowl. [Shi-chan, is Suria ready with the Blender-no-jutsu? Mommy could let her try blending these coconut flesh for once.] [No, it''s a no go. The stupid bird is still at the level of playing with mud.] Hana chuckled awkwardly. It seemed that only her Kuro and Shiro were lead character-material; learn new skills and level up extremely fast just like in those fantasy novels. She thought that the head of a clan must be the most talented of all, hence their comprehension level would be off the charts. "Aihhh" Hana sighed deeply as she stared a second longer at the gigantic hornbill in the middle of the clearing while shaking her head. The aunty turned her attention to her own work. [Alright, Mom.] The white-furred fox walked over languidly, performed the Blender-no-jutsu in all its glory in a few seconds while letting others gaped in amazement, and sashayed back without breaking a sweat. He started to bark at the ''trainees'' strictly again as soon as he returned to observe them. Especially Suria, the dejected hornbill had been subjected to verbal abuse fifty percent more than the rest. Chapter 167 - Traditional Coconut Oil-making Looking at the cute banter between her doted white fox with the annoying hornbill, Hana chuckled mirthfully while shaking her head. Her right hand slowly fluffed up the coconut shavings as she immersed herself in nostalgia "Ibu (1), let''s buy the instant coconut milk! I don''t like making santan (2) out of these coconut shavings. It''s tedious. Let''s buy that one!" Little Hana shook Ma''am Shaza''s sleeve haphazardly as she tried to pull it towards the grocery aisle for the tiny dark-blue box labeled with the word ''Coconut Milk''. The small 200 ml box had a suave reddish-green chicken on top (3). However, when little Hana locked her gaze with Ma''am Shaza, a hard stare came back at her. Her hand automatically let go of her mother''s sleeve in fright. "" Ma''am Shaza didn''t speak a word, but her eyes were warning the little wilful Hana to behave. She had enough of the little girl''s nonsense. The babes were at home with only her eldest taking care of them. She really needed to double up. "Three coconut''s worth of coconut shavings, Uncle Maniam. One, only the white part. The other two didn''t matter." Hana listened to her mother''s hasty conversation with the shopkeeper. "Boleh, boleh (4), Shaza. Little girl, come, come." The old Indian grandpa fetched several cola-flavored toffees from within a large plastic bottle and placed them on her tiny, outstretched palms. Little Hana grinned happily as she stashed the candies inside her pocket. "Share it with your siblings." The shopkeeper whispered a little too loudly with a conspirational tone. Little Hana nodded vigorously while grinning as she dashed away happily. "Where''re your manners?! Say thank you!" A hand held Hana''s head as it redirected the head towards the old Indian grandpa. "It''s okay, it''s okay, Shaza. Kids will be kids. You were once as energetic as this too." The good-natured grandpa chuckled lightheartedly. "Aigoo, Uncle, don''t tease me!" Hana saw her mother blushed a little more furiously. "If you need help, just let Uncle know. I can ask the kids around here to deliver stuff to your house, alright?" A compassionate light shone from the old shopkeeper''s eyes. Hana peered through and she saw a hint of pity mixed in. Her mother looked at the floor as she tried to hide her expression. "It''s okay, Uncle. I can still manage." "You know, Hana, it''s not that Ibu disliked using boxed coconut milk, but it is expensive. Additionally, your sister''s coconut oil is finishing. Ibu need to make some to stock up. Pity her hair, so little. A good rub on the scalp daily will help a lot. You can see how your hair turns out." Ma''am Shaza, who was twenty years younger, filled Hana''s thoughts. She was still quite a youthful beauty in her own right, with fewer wrinkles and crowfeet at the corner of her eyes. She ??r?ssed little Hana''s thick, voluminous hair gently and sigh. At this time, Babah (5) had never entered the picture for quite some time already. Hana couldn''t remember what he looks like anymore. He was always away for long periods. One day, he just didn''t return anymore. Hana was too little to remember the hazy memories. She could only remember his warm touch, tousling her hair before saying goodbye every time since it was her favorite moment with Babah. Two weeks back, she saw her mother soullessly staring outside the window for a long time. She couldn''t understand why. In the beginning, all of them peered through the window together to see what was it, but there was really nothing out there. No one understood. She tried talking to her mother, but her mother never answered. Even her brother''s attempt at making conversation with her was to no avail. A few days later, Ibu dressed all of them up smartly. It was a schooling day, but no one was asked to go to school on that day. Some stranger drove a grey van and brought all of them to join a ceremony on a tidy field arranged with stone structures. It was a solemn event; nobody laughed, joked, or make merry. Because all of them could sense their mother''s tense mood, nobody dared to make a scene this time. It was a short event and was closed with a kenduri (6). The fried chicken was delicious. That was the only impression she got on that day. Now she knew what that event signifies as she grew older. It seemed that her Babah was with the army, though she was unclear in what division. She heard that he went MIA in one of the dangerous missions a few years back. Due to the mission''s nature of being a top national secret, Ibu didn''t even know what to do besides grieving in silence. After some time, her Babah was declared dead; leaving behind a grave without a corpse, and a heartbroken young widow with seven kids. It was the first and the last time Hana saw her Ibu sobbed upon the empty grave on the carefully manicured field full of neat rows of tombstones. Little Hana inquisitively observed her mother kneading the fluffed coconut floss inside a large tub with her b?r? hands. Ma''am Shaza stared at her for a second longer before saying, "The kneading helps release more milk. Wash your hands and come here to help out. Ibu will teach you how to make coconut oil the traditional way. Learn well." For once, Ibu let her help. Maybe, she just needed a companion. Little clueless Hana of the time happily nodded and eagerly joined her mother. They kneaded the wet coconut floss while chitchatting about random stuff. The mood got lighter and was filled with bubbly laughter towards the end. It was one of the best memories she had with Ma''am Shaza when she was younger. "Alright, take a kitchen towel. We need to strain it." "Is this good?" Little Hana took a random piece of dirty towel she picked on the floor. Well, it only earned her a gentle knock on the head. "Seriously? Take a clean one in that drawer. Choose a nice one without prints." Hana rummaged through the drawer and picked one she felt the ''cleanest'', and without any motifs on top. She passed it to her mother and observed her every action carefully from then on. Obviously, it was for the sake of earning brownie points. Ma''am Shaza observed her daughter with a faint smile etched to her face a few seconds longer and sighed lightly while shaking her head without saying a word. She stretched the piece of cloth over a washbasin neatly and place it down. After that, she poured out all soaked floss with whatever liquid present over the cloth into the shape of a small white mound. "Ibu, it''s going to spill!" Little Hana fidgeted at the side as she saw excess white liquid drenched the cloth. "Calm down, calm down. It doesn''t matter, as long as the floss didn''t spill out of the cloth, all is good." Ma''am Shaza spoke calmly while her practiced hands gathered the edges of the cloth. She spun the mound within the towel just like when one was squeezing out water from a drenched cloth. Thick white liquid with a pleasant fragrance oozed out from the squeezed cloth and was automatically collected within the washbasin. Ma''am Shaza squeezed the coconut floss containing cloth hard for the last time. After that, she transferred the white liquid into a smaller bowl and placed it in the fridge to set for about an hour. Within that one hour, little Hana has been bombarded with lectures on the goodness of coconut oil, why it was favored by the older generation, and what was the general usage of it. It then progressed to technical information on the coconut tree as a whole. The info dump was so tremendous, Hana only remembered the ensuing headache she felt from withstanding the onslaught of information at that time. Ma''am Shaza had been too engrossed with her explanation; she had gone all out to cover from the coconut fruit to the leaves, flower, and trunk. The one hour turned to more than two, the pitiful eight-year-old Hana struggled hard to maintain her focus. Hana chuckled as she remembered the nostalgic memories. She still remembered how her mom suddenly stop talking and looked at the wall clock with astonishment. To Hana''s anguish, she even berated Hana for not stopping her. Who dared to stop Ma''am Shaza when she was talking so passionately? The answer was, no one. Not even their late Babah. After that, the method was quite straightforward. They scooped out the solids separated from the refrigeration of the coconut milk, and reheat it several times until no more water was present within the liquid-solid mixture. The nutty aroma clung to Hana''s body for a few days, as if she was wearing a peanut perfume at that time. "Ibu Is she alright? Did she take her medicine properly?" The flashback down memory lane made her think of her strict mother who must be worried sick over her. She could sense that her position in her mom''s heart was a bit special. When Ibu was down, she will always find little Hana to do some activities together. Maybe that was the means to distract herself. She noticed this pattern once she was older. Worry clouded over her. Hana forgot to text her mother after she returned from the excursion to the Waterwave Clan''s ground. After all, she only greeted Arash with a short and brief message this morning. After that, one thing after another happened consecutively, making her time so packed with stuff to do. Authors'' Note: 1) Ibu = mother in Malaysian language. There''re a few variants. Emak, Mak, Bonda all mean the same thing 2) Santan = coconut milk in Malaysian language. 3) ''Coconut Milk'' and a small chicken on top = a popular brand ''Ayam brand'' for instant coconut milk. The link is what it looks like. Mrs Mooncat choose the one from Msia''s popular online shopping site, Shopee (shopee.com.my/Santan-Kotak-AYAM-BRAND-Coconut-Milk-200ml-1L-i.73949485.3524614527) 5) Babah = father (other variations with the same meaning: ayah, abah, papa, ayahanda, abi) 6) Kenduri = something like a small feast event, usually like a buffet meal (seconds is allowed, but usually people only eat once) Chapter 168 - Wistfully Staring over the Coconut Trees Ma''am Shaza patted her ?h?st slightly with fright within the empty hallway of her own house. The automated sound of zikr(1) from the clock gifted to her by her daughter and son-in-law made her heart jumped. Although she heard the noisy clock daily, she was still shocked by it all the time. However, these few times were different; a stinging pain permeated over her heart just from that small shock. She nervously massaged her own ?h?st to alleviate the pain and took three deep breaths. [What is wrong with me? Am I going to get a heart attack?] Lately, the same problem kept occurring. She has taken all her medications quite diligently. Hence, she couldn''t understand why this was happening. She clearly remembered that it started after she collapsed last time from severe fever. Although she got better after a while, the pain didn''t really go away. It worries her incessantly. [Shall I go for a whole-body check-up? But the scheduled check-up is coming up soon. Hmmm Hmmm..] Ma''am Shaza mulled over her current predicament agonizingly. Besides a little bit of high blood pressure, and her cholesterol level was borderline, she was considered quite healthy for her age. She just needed to persist for a while. Rather than going to the private sector, it was better to engage with the government healthcare. As a widow from an ex-government servant who perished during service, she still got all sorts of privileges. It was better not to waste money and wait it out. She habitually took out her smartphone to check incoming messages, especially from a new chatting apps Hadi specifically installed for her. It was for connecting her to her beloved daughter, currently lost somewhere in the woods. No messages. This time, her daughter didn''t contact her for nearly a week. Was she alright? True, Arash had told her that Hana will be away for a few days last time, but it''s more than just a few days already! She switched to the standard chatting apps to check. Her son-in-law had been very inactive in the ''Family Ribena'' group these few days too. There were no personal messages as well. Ma''am Shaza instinctively felt something was wrong and dialed her son-in-law''s number to directly talk to him. This boy, he''s a little slow sometimes. He didn''t even remember that the kids needed to hear their Tok Mama''s (2) voice too once in a while. Ma''am Shaza tolerated him because her daughter was so star-struck by the boy until she couldn''t see anything else. She too was quite afraid that her good daughter will leave her for the sake of choosing the boy. Though it sounded impossible, there was definitely a small possibility (maybe less than one percent!). The five-second wait was infuriating, especially when she got an automated out of bound message in return. Either the boy purposely switched off his phone, or he went off to areas without reception. Did he bring the kids out to secluded areas for a short vacation? Did he not know to bring them back here for once?! The longer Ma''am Shaza kept on thinking, more unnecessary negative thoughts clouded her head. Her head started pounding, and her heartbeat increased. Ma''am Shaza walked unsteadily towards the sofa in the living room and lie down while massaging her head. . "Ibu, Ibu?! Are you alright?" A gentle shake woke Ma''am Shaza up. Her youngest was standing beside her with worry etched on her face. "What time is it? Ibu dozed off. Get me a glass of water, Che''Su.(3)" Ma''am Shaza felt so parched as she tried to sit up. It seemed that she might''ve gotten comfy and napped over the sofa. "It''s just eight plus, Ibu. I just returned from the morning jog and saw you here." A hand was placed over her forehead. Her youngest was looking at her with great concern reflected over her eyes. This one looked just like her late father, making her reminisced about the past a lot as of late. "You''re burning up! Let''s go to the clinic! I''ll get the veteran card. It''s in the nightstand, right?" Ma''am Shaza nodded weakly. "First level. Help bring my phone along. I need it." "I''ll call up Bro Hadi." "No need. It''s just a little bit of fever. Once Ibu see the doctor, Ibu will get well as soon as Ibu pop in some PCM(4) and get some rest. Ibu will contact you if Ibu need anything." As usual, Ma''am Shaza brushed off the concern and vetoed the next action plans. Ignoring her youngest helpless stare, Ma''am Shaza peered outside the window and saw a row of tall coconut trees at the edge of her house''s compound, and she felt wistful. Those were planted with the love of her life to commemorate giving birth to the little ones. It was a tradition from the older generation she wished to keep preserving since she had the space and land (5). All seven trees were perfectly aligned and were jutting tall towards the sky at nearly the same height. Sometimes, coconut collectors came by with monkeys on their shoulders, asking to harvest the fruits. At that time, she got quite a few to drink, make kuihs, and some homemade coconut oil. Among all of the kids, Hana was the only one who had the passion to learn about the traditional ways and cooking methods, while the rest pursued other hobbies of their liking. That was why she was closer to this cheeky one. "They''ve grown so tall now" Ma''am Shaza lamented. Sorrow fleeted through her gaze, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. It was unknown whether she was talking about the coconut trees or her own children. However, only she knew how much she missed her children who were never home together anymore "Alright! Final part! Come over, Dearie." While making her own mother wallow in sadness because she forgot to text her, our oblivious aunty over here was merrily completing the final stage of coconut oil making. A brawny purple-colored Elemental Fiend with blazing fire over its antenna came over with a light gait. This was the lucky one who got a name for itself, F1, while earning the ire of many. It droned softly and asked to be petted over the head by the Mistress by showing some comical gestures. Hana chuckled and petted F1 as quick as she can before the heat burned her palm and grinned sheepishly. The Elemental Fiend was behaving like a docile dog who needed attention. It was quite cute in its own way. She wished to coddle it but refrained herself. F1 nodded contentedly and scurried over towards the large bubble beside the pink dolphin who inched a little further away from it. The heat emanated from it was a little too much for the dolphin to bear. Unperturbed, F1 inserted one of its antennae into the pristine white liquid within the bubble. "Gently, at first, Dear." Hana walked towards the bubble filled to the brim with coconut cream and observed critically. It was after all, their first attempt in making coconut oil. In fact, although she roughly knew how to make some, she has been taking the easier path of buying the cold-pressed ones online when she needed them. The pristine white coconut cream could fill a large ball the size of a premium seedless XXL-sized watermelon; it was equivalent to an extremely large beachball! It was expected, as she had skimmed it off from nearly one-third of the whole brown-colored coconuts gifted to her by the birds. If they failed, the wastage would be huge. "A little more, Dear." Hana addressed the purple Elemental Fiend urgently. Her meaning was clear; although the liquid had slowly changed in color, it was still far from being complete. She remembered her mother had repeatedly reminded her to boil off any excess water as much as possible to extend the shelf-life of the homemade coconut oil they made. "If we didn''t burn off all the liquid thoroughly, the oil produced could get rancid very fast." Even when the oil turned transparent, Hana insisted on continuing a little longer, albeit not too harshly. At the same time, dark brown specks formed within the transparent now-slightly viscous liquid. "Sieve the brown substance out and place it over this plate." Hana didn''t particularly instruct anyone. Shiro, who was nearby, automatically step up to help out. "Shi-chan dear, not this time. Let the juniors practice." Hana rubbed Shiro''s head dotingly as her eyes scanned around the vicinity. They paused for a second on the hardworking but clumsy gigantic hornbill who was practicing with the other freshwater creatures. It seemed that the proud bird was about to lace a few unstable energy threads together. However, she noticed Hana''s stare and lose her concentration immediately. The energy threads dissipated, causing Hana to shake her head disapprovingly while sighing. [That one really need to be whipped up into shape harshly lahhh] The aunty''s impression on Suria fell to a new low for the n-th time! "Alpy, your turn. Do it gently by manipulating the energy. I know you can already master it at least at the preliminary level. You can do it!" Hana encouraged the large turtle. The turtle nodded and walked over with confidence. The dark brown specks slowly moved with synchronization within the transparent liquid. As time went by, they gathered and formed into something like a loose lump the size of a golf ball. The dark brown sticky substance emerged out of the transparent liquid and landed perfectly on the pink ''plate''over Hana''s palm. The aunty generously gave the large turtle a thumbs up and patted its head. "Awesome! This is what it means to learn diligently! Excellent job! Keep on practicing, you''re eligible to stay beside me to help out permanently from now on." Gramps Alpy was genuinely touched by the Mistress'' remarks. He knew he''d won his gamble this time. Obtaining the acknowledgment of the Mistress just after pledging a few hours ago? Who would do that to a new recruit? The other freshwater creatures from the ''ex-servant faction'' felt their bu??s blooming, as if the achievement were their own. Although they didn''t understand what the Mistress was talking about, they knew that one of their de-facto leaders was being praised excessively. They gave a mocking stare equipped with a sly grin to the Elite faction, egging them without words. These young and brash elites felt the fire of dissatisfaction burning within. This time around, they felt like they were the ones being ostracized. It was clear as day that the Breakthrough Specialist was biased to the Servants'' faction! Hana didn''t notice anything, though her pets did. However, they just ignored the unhappy murmurs and chose not to inform the aunty. Of course they need to be more partial to their own! Additionally, training the others wasn''t part of the agreement. They only need to provide them with ''specialized meals'' when the time comes. The brats just need to pay following their budgets after fulfilling the criteria to get hold of a turn, no strings attached. Hana happily snacked on the brownish-black stuff (6) while observing the completion of their very first cooking oil. After this, she can finally make deep-fry stuff! Yay! Authors'' Note: 1) Zikr = repetitive utterance of worship, something like what you said repetitively during meditation. Now is so advance, the digital wall clock can do it for you haha 2) Tok Mama = Tok comes from ''Datok/datuk'' which means grandfather. In certain states, ''Datuk'' is not gender-biased, it is used both for grandpa and grandma. So Tok Mama is a personalized way of saying ''grandma''. 3) Che''Su = it''s not the girl''s name. It means ''Youngest'' (more info at the bottom) 5) "..It was a tradition from the older generation she wished to keep preserving.." = this is a true tradition from the olden days, Mrs Mooncat doubt that the current generation knew about this. My mom told me about this, it was being practiced in her grandpa''s generation (around 1900 or even lesser). It''s wayyy before the time when the older generation were given formal education (before Independence). To show how old is a person''s child, just look at the coconut tree planted on the day of his/her birth (laugh) 6) brownish-black stuff = it is known as tahi/taik minyak (direct translation is ''oil poo'') haha. It''s the leftover burnt dried up coconut cream. Very flavorful. We use it to add on a kuih known as ''kole kacang''. You can check it out on this link on what it looks like (bahuluberintinaz.blogspot.com/2014/10/tahi-minyak.html). Mrs Mooncat can''t find an English version one it seems. Yeah, it does looks like ground beef haha Mrs. Mooncat Short Culture Note: In Malay community, siblings were called intimately by the order of their age; First born = Long = (from the word ''sulong'' which means ''first'') = Along 2nd born = Ngah (from the word ''tengah'' which means ''middle'') = Kak/Abang ngah 3rd born = Lang (not sure the word stems from what haha) = Kak/Abang lang 4th born = teh = Kak/Abang Teh (not sure where it comes from, but mrs mooncat is known as ''Makteh'', which directly translates to ''4th aunty'' since mr mooncat is the 4th in his family) 5th born = andak (not sure the word stems from what haha) 6th born = ude/uda (from the word ''muda'' which means ''young'') Last born = Su (from the word ''bongsu'' which means ''smallest'') = DikSu (Kak/Abang = Big Sis/Bro) People will call this person depending on their positions when compared to the person involved (an example using the variation of ''Bongsu/Su); Between siblings = Adiksu (because the smallest will always be the little sister/brother. Adik translates to little brother/sister) Parents/extended family members = Che'' Su (as a reminder, che has the same connotation as ''-er'' for Chinese, and ''-chi/-chan'' for Japanese. Only use between intimate persons ie family members) From the person''s nephew/niece = Mak/Paksu (Smallest Aunty/Uncle) Take note that the real numberings are actually at 10 & there''s a slight difference between states. Older generation always have many children. (-long, -ngah, -lang, -teh, -andak, -ude, -tam, -cik, -anjang, -usu) Chapter 169 - When a Getuk Ubi Emits Spirituality In the middle of the clearing filled with spirit freshwater creatures and thousands of Elemental Fiends of different colors, a large empty spot was made at the very center. In it, a woman clad in black tights covered with a loosened faded yellow shirt stood tall while weaving her arms just like a maestro conducting an orchestra. Her thick single hair braid whipped about, although no air currents were blowing harshly around her. She was closing her eyes and concentrating in front of a large circular one-meter diameter bubble filled a third with roiling transparent liquid. A few steps away, the clansmen of the Serpent''s Lair, who were of differing species, surrounded her in a loose circle. They were singled out from the rest of the spectators. The sun was nearly high upon their heads, and the rays were especially glaring at the clearing. However, no one seemed to notice it. It was because thousands of tiny multicolored birds filled up the airspace above, blocking the rays of the sun. The larger ones were a bit further back. Everyone was observing the Mistress in silence as if they were holding their breath. Some even tried to memorize the Mistress'' movement, as they thought it might be some more obscure technique imparted to those lucky spiritual beasts. The Mistress was performing a mysterious ceremony with her ''people'' at the very center and the Elemental Fiends at the very back. The freshwater creatures and the birds were looking in awe at the increasing energy emitted in real-time by the Mistress'' faction! Besides the missing Lightning Serpent, all of them were there, in the middle of cultivating their personal cultivation methods while simultaneously performing tasks together! Even the useless chubby brown bird who was rolling in mud before joined the ceremony and stayed still for once. They respectfully listened to the susurration of unknown language melodiously spoken by the Mistress, who seemed to be in a trance. They reveled in the fact that they could feel the chants from within their very soul though they didn''t form any bonds with the Mistress! The melodious words spoken by the Mistress did not have a hint of aggression nor ill intent. However, they still had the power to coax them in the most mysterious ways. It was that powerful. [Excellent job, everyone. Let''s wrap up!] Unknown to the rest, Hana had been revising the Micro Control Technique extensively with her pets within the Soul Hall Domain. They had just completed the final weaving of a spiritual energy net together for practice. The shape was solid, the weavings were acceptable, and the overall product looked sturdy. Within the Soul Hall Domain, Hana, in her astral form, nodded with satisfaction to all the sparkling multicolored ''stars'' present around her. Her ''family'' had grown larger in such a short time. She felt somewhat touched. These cute pets were loyal to a fault and always tried their best to accommodate her whims. Only Arash patiently treated her that way before. She clapped her hands merrily to catch the stars'' attention. [Alright. Let''s start for real this time. Minimize mistakes. Aim for stability.] A few Elemental Fiends scurried forward through the masses. They appeared beside the Mistress with a transparent bag of white pearlescent ''seeds'' within. The Mistress gave the Elemental Fiend a nod, and it gently slashed the top part of the transparent bag. The Mistress plunged her right hand into the bag. She threw upwards three handful of seeds into the air, where they froze in place all of a sudden. A brown crocodile who stood on its hind legs not too far away extended its two forelegs forward in all seriousness; it was evident that it was controlling the movement of the tiny ''seeds''. Beads of sweat could be seen forming on its temples as it tried its best to focus. The princess of the Waterwave clan floated forward and sent over a miniature pillar of water towards the static floating seeds. The water pillar turned into tiny water blades as they rotated with speed in between the seeds. The seeds were grounded into specks of sand-like substance. However, some of the spiritual beasts noticed the Mistress'' frown. "Again. Alpy, Chomper, ?ssist." The Mistress didn''t open her eyes, but she spoke gently before continuing the modified Lightning Emperor''s Divinity Soul chant. She wasn''t observing with her eyes, but with her soul, as all of them were currently connected to her within her Soul Hall Domain, Kuro included, who acted as an observer this time. Since Chomper wasn''t part of her soul sla, ehem, pets, she had to articulate her words to inform the snakehead fish. Nonetheless, Chomper was already considered part of the team; this lovable snakehead fish had been performing seamless cooperation between himself and the others of the Lightning Serpent''s Lair since the very beginning. [I''m so sorry, Mistress.] Ara''s telepathic voice tinged with tears echoed within the Hall. Chomper came forward, made an enormous bubble at the vicinity of the levitating ground fragrant rice while excluding the current oil-containing bubble in front of Hana effortlessly. He then compressed the bubble into the size of an orange with exquisite control. His method was very poised, efficient, and rapid, earning a praising stare from both the Mistress and Lord Shiro. It was to be expected; Chomper had been working his ?ss off for the Serpent''s Lair and was actually the third one who was most proficient in using Micro Control after Kuro and Shiro. He gave a nod to the turtle not far away opposite him, signaling him to start. Alpy bowed deep to Hana first and to Shiro, second. The shrewd turtle knew who he had to pay attention to and to flatter. Shiro returned Alpy''s bow with a slight acknowledging nod. He stepped forward with renewed gait amidst thousands of stares without feeling nervous. A small rotary water blade with four-axis appeared over his head. With a soft puff from Shiro, the water blade turned into ice. The four-axis blade entered the bubble without bursting it and started rotating in multiple directions at high speed! Hana was really impressed with the turtle''s ingenuity! This turtle had better application sense than Shiro! The course rice specks finally turned into dust! Rice flour checked! On the side, Mata the golden mahseer fish had been working together with a few freshwater creatures, ?ssisting Shiro with meshing a new batch of tapioca with freshly grated coconut floss atop their heads. All were done remotely by melding the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth. Their cooperation needed some work, but it produced quite an acceptable spiritual energy weave. Hana helped complete the tapioca-coconut floss mixture by sprinkling a pinch of salt and some frozen course honey. She still couldn''t let go of the most essential part! She was the only person who knew how an actual Getuk Ubi tastes like after all. The result was a pile of cream-colored dough. Checked! Hot coconut oil for deepfrying! Checked! A bubble immediately appeared in front of her. It flattened down into the shape of a flat circle. Ara, who was floating nearby, showed deep concentration as she focused her all on maintaining the weird shape of the bubble. Hana''s hand landed nicely on the flat-shaped bubble as she smiled in appreciation. This time the Young Miss couldn''t make the same mistake again. Chomper, this all-rounder helpful attendant, encased three more layers of bubbles atop the original one supported by Ara without being asked, making it sturdier. Finally, Kolo carefully worked with Gramps Alpy to move the white dust towards the levitating ''table'' made from flattened three-layered bubbles. [Bring over the first batch, Shi-chan dearest. Learn well, everyone.] Hana instructed her beloved fox to bring over the tapioca-coconut flakes dough balls personally prepared by Shiro during the first round. The first batch of tapioca-coconut flakes dough balls has been sealed in a levitating icebox. Although they were placed inside a hollowed-out ice cube, the dough balls weren''t frozen. Under her pets'' concentrated stares, Hana mixed the newly made rice flour with a bit of salt and water into a thick paste excitedly atop the bubble ''table''. The mixture floated upwards slightly, forming a circular shape. This crucial part was controlled by Shiro. However, she couldn''t get over the feeling like she had transcended into a Spirit Chef from those fancy C-novels who cooked levitating stuff using chi. It was so cool! The levitating dough balls moved through the rice flour paste, coating them nicely before they directly flew into the main large bubble filled with hot coconut oil as per Hana''s instruction. Around 2 minutes later, ten perfectly round sweet-savory Getuk Ubis with crunchy yellowish crust were ferried out gently. They landed on a prepared pink ''plate'' layered with fresh young leaves. A lovely sweet yet nutty aroma permeated the air around them as everyone nearby inhaled deeply. The most shocking thing was, dense spiritual energy could be felt permeating through the tasty-smelling Getuk Ubis!!! Did a true blue advancement meal finally appeared this time?! The eyes of the freshwater creatures turned red with d?s?r?! Everyone was doing their best to contain themselves! "Behave, Little Ones. I don''t like the look in your eyes." Hana spoke firmly. The guilty ones immediately looked down worriedly, afraid that the illustrious Breakthrough Specialist could read their covetous minds. In this place, the Mistress'' words are the Law; they learned it through the hard way since they stepped on the Serpent''s Lair. "This is just the first batch. Wait patiently, and you''ll be rewarded for your patience. The ones who dared to try something not so nice, be prepared for the consequences. Humph!" Hana added when she noticed that the ones who didn''t look down had gazes full of restlessness and dissatisfaction. Either everyone was too stressed with the recent ''training'', or they were eyeing for the kuih, or both! Chapter 170 - Who Wants This Getuk Ubi for One Spirit Crystal!? Hana signaled for her team to continue; Mata ferried over the final batch of cream-colored dough his team painstakingly made with Lord Brother Shi''s guidance. The dough was purely made using one-hundred percent spiritual energy manipulation! The large dough blob landed safely on the transparent ''table''. Hana opened her eyes slowly.?? This time they were sparkling like a pair of emeralds! The color was a match with the Primordial Queen Mother''s six compound eyes! An eerie aura enveloped the area as she looked around with those beautiful eyes! At the same time, loud drones could be heard from thousands of Elemental Fiends surrounding them, making all the spirit avians and freshwater creatures shivered uneasily. The Elemental Fiends were behaving weirdly as if they were praying in a trance. Were they getting aggressive due to hunger? That notion alone made the weaker ones jittered in nervousness. They dearly hoped that the Mistress could truly rein in these hungry-looking scary spirit insects when the time comes. They were too young to die! However, the spirit birds gaze at these excited ''food'' with interest, hoping that they would err somehow. They could reap these ones like candies when the opportunity presents itself! Hana ignored all the commotion and proceeded to knead the dough using her two hands, divided it into two, then into four, then into six, then into twelve, then into twenty-four rapidly. After a while, twenty-four tiny balls of doughs were presented on the transparent ''table''. Afterward, she combined everything again into a lump of dough. Everyone was confused, and their faces showed ''What abstruse art is this about, this time?'' In the Soul Domain Hall. [Did you see how it''s done, Q-chan?] At the moment, Hana was merging with the white-greyish star representing the Elemental Fiend Primordial Queen Mother. Previously, she had asked her to join them outside, but the Queen Mother expressed how dangerous it was for her to appear in the open air, especially when surrounded by spirit avians, the natural predators of Elemental Fiends. If she dies, cultivating a new m?tur? Queen would take tens of years before the hive could operate as usual. Hence, Hana got this brazen idea to try establishing a soul-link immediately so that she could share her senses with her cute Q-chan. She pitied Q-chan, who was left alone inside the house like a hikikomori. She dearly wanted the Queen Mother to join in on the fun too. Hana wasn''t sure whether it depended on the species or something, but when she attempted to connect to Q-chan at the soul level, it happened almost seamlessly! To her surprise, they could easily achieve a true Soul-link without the need to break her heart demon to boot. Hana suspected that it might be due to the Elemental Fiend Queen Mother''s high attainment in a branch of soul-technique, which made them compatible in some way, though she wasn''t too sure specifically. The specifics didn''t really matter to her. [Yyy.. yes] Q-chan answered in a daze. Her reply came a little slow. Hana wasn''t the only one who was surprised by the link formed. Q-chan had borrowed Hana''s eyes to see the view outside and was quite overwhelmed with the new perspective! [Come, let''s redo. This time, use my eyes and Micro Control from your place. Don''t use the children. Just use your own strength for once, Q-chan. I know you can.] Hana wanted Q-chan to hands-on for once and genuinely get involved. [As you wish, Mistress We I will do my best.] To someone whose life revolved around a community, the word ''I'' was something very new to her. She revelled in her own individuality and felt deeply affected by it in a most complicated way. Q-chan''s response was getting clearer in such a short time; Hana was genuinely impressed with Q-chan''s extraordinary progress. It seemed that proximity helped a lot in improving Q-chan''s proficiency in Beast language. It was only a night and a day since they returned from the Waterwave Clan! Little did the others know that Hana simply wanted to repeat the process of making the dough balls in front of Q-chan so that she too, won''t be left behind. The kind-hearted aunty also picked the more complicated route of preparation to let everyone in the team to involve themselves in the process. She knew it will be highly beneficial for all of them as a whole, especially when working together during mass-syncing. The Mistress'' eyes turned glowing emerald again. This time, the lump of cream-colored dough automatically moved about and divided itself in the air, just above the translucent bubble ''table'' without the Mistress touching them with her own hands. The Mistress was doing nothing, but that pair of emerald-green eyes were moving left and right, following the movement of the dough lump, which was currently midair. The dough lump was divided into tiny doughballs, just like before. The only difference was, they were levitating midair as opposed to being manhandled rigorously by the Mistress on the surface of the transparent bubble table. In no time, twenty-four identical dough balls appeared. They followed the same route as the first batch; covered with homemade rice flour paste, entered the levitating bubble filled with clear oil, and landed safely on the pink plate after a few minutes. Total automation! Now, there were thirty-four Spiritual Getuk Ubis! Hana and co., "" The freshwater creatures and levitating spirit avians, "" The thousands of small birds who knew nothing, "???" They couldn''t understand the sudden, highly tensed atmosphere, but were slowly ushered to the side. Large spirit avians shamelessly replaced their location and came nearer bit by bit, hoping upon hoping. Hoping for what? Only they knew. Hana tested the waters by raising her voice and exclaimed in a dignified manner befitting the main Lord of the Serpent''s Lair, "Who wants these Getuk Ubis for one spirit crystal each!?" "SCREEEEEEE!!!!" The silence was immediately pierced by shrill screechings. The shameless birds in the sky screeched loudly with excitement! They have one spirit crystal! Although some of them didn''t need spirit food with low spirituality, their descendants definitely need them! Herbs containing spirituality were gentle for the body, highly digestible, and provide a much better absorption as compared to spirit crystals. Hence, one can only digest around ten to thirty percent of spiritual energy from a spirit crystal as compared to sixty to eighty percent from natural treasures such as herbs with spiritual energy. In comparison, spiritual energy from spirit crystals was more virulent and could potentially cause injury or backlash if the user''s level was too low. These tiny round things emitted a much gentler spirituality as compared to spirit herbs! Hana, "=______=" How shameless can these birds be? They weren''t part of the deal, nor should be within the picture at all. As opposed to the birds, the freshwater creatures were extremely quiet. Don''t they need these? So weird! [Your friends didn''t need these? Should we open to the avians?] Hana asked her pets, specifically the four freshwater creatures who just joined their team. [..Err, Mistress, you might not hear it, but everyone was shouting like crazy, saying they want one.] Gramps Alpy replied while his mouth twitched in exasperation. Bubble Language was not within the spectrum of some landbeasts'' hearing. However, spiritual beasts with s?ns?t?v? hearing senses wouldn''t have a problem. Bubble Language was just a branch of the common universal Beast Language. One who knew the Beast Language could always understand the branches of other specific languages such as the Bubble Language, the Serpent Language, or the Avian Language. It''s like a Kedahan, a Kelantanese, a Johorean, or even a Sarawakian (1) will all understand the Malaysian language since it was the primary mother language. [Ah? Really ah? Haha...] Hana laughed bashfully to cover her embarrassment. Can''t blame her for being normal and couldn''t hear fishes talk. She was just a normal aunty who likes to fight with fishmongers for discounts two months ago. If not, she''d be a fish whisperer already. An announcement was made to the freshwater creatures below and avian above. It comprised of the eligibility to buy the highly sought after ''Spiritual Getuk Ubi'', which was said to be able to boost up ones'' cultivation to a high degree! It was being announced by the Lord Shiro of the Serpent''s Lair; To be eligible to purchase one Getuk Ubi, one must have the following criteria; 1. Cultivation level must be within initial low to medium-high. Nobles are prohibited. 2. Must know how to play Dam Haji and its rules. 3. Must be able to play Dam Haji regardless of winning or losing. 4. Must pay one low-tiered Spiritual Crystal. 5. Can only buy for yourself; one Getuk Ubi only per individual. Cannot buy for others or give/sell to others. 6. No snatching is allowed. Once the announcement was made, many of the Young Masters and Misses who scorned the mind-sharpening technique immediately felt deep regret. They thought that they could buy anything with Spirit Crystals, or even buy the advancement meals from others, as long as they pay more. It seemed that the Serpent''s Lair wanted to implement a fair system outwardly, but inwardly, it heavily skewed towards the servants'' faction. The shameless Spirit Avian who didn''t know to return home were the most unlucky! They have been ousted out from fighting for the resources from the very beginning. They never heard about Dam Haji! What technique was that?! From a hundred plus freshwater creatures present at the clearing, around fifty plus was eligible, with thirty-nine comprised of the Servant''s faction, while fourteen were from the Elite faction. One other reason was the fact that the majority of the servants had lower cultivation level as compared to the elitists due to the lack of resources. At the moment, they had the Spiritual Crystals needed since all of the crystals they earned were kept by Gramps Alpy, who acted as their treasurer. The wise turtle had established something like a welfare ?ssociation to care for all from Servant''s faction by working together to earn and grow stronger together as a group. Hence, no one was worried that they might not have enough! "Hmm There''s still more than twenty-six." Hana bemused while massaging her head. How should she cut off more of them without hurting their feelings? She had automatically deducted ten Getuk Ubis from the list when considering that she had to give each one to her pets, excluding Kuro. Only fourteen Getuk Ubis were for sale. "Alright, from your group, the ones who could manifest at least one spiritual strand could come forward." Shiro at the side barked out instructions to the freshwater creatures in tow. Some looked frustrated, while others looked relieved. Hana did this to reward the ones who had higher talent with spiritual energy manipulation, or at least was hardworking enough. Truthfully, her requirements weren''t high at all. Eleven stayed in line. Their faces were proud, and they puffed up their ?h?sts high with elation. The majority of them were from the Servant''s faction. Only three came from the Elite''s faction; in contrast, their faces were dark with resentment. Hana walked over and pulled another three at random from the ones who stepped out just now. This time, she chose the cute ones regardless of their faction. A tiny mud crab with flowery designs on its exoskeleton shell, a graceful white silvery fish with shiny purplish pink eyes, and a handsome light green frog with a white unihorn. From a glance, everyone could see Hana''s aesthetical preferences and felt quite rueful why they were not born the way the Mistress would like. "You guys are lucky to receive the favor of the Mistress. Better work hard in the future. This luck might not befall you ever again." Thus, Hana instructed Chomper to be their team''s treasurer, collecting Spirit Crystals in exchange for Getuk Ubis. The snakehead fish showed how touched he was as he haphazardly obliged, earning a warm smile from Hana and even Shiro. Each freshwater creatures received their very own Getuk Ubi with deep gratitude; they carefully held their very first Spirit Advancement Meal and smell it deeply. "No worries, friends, we still have another set of Che Mek Molek coming in. Let''s just complete it in the evening, alright. I''m a bit tired. The ones who receive the Getuk Ubi, line up in grid form, ten meters from each other. The others, go to the side. I need to observe the findings of this round." It''s time to check the potency of the Getuk Ubi!!! Authors'' Note: 1) .. Kedahan, a Kelantanese, a Johorean, or even a Sarawakian = different region of Malaysia with different dialect of Malaysian language. Some dialects are very extreme until it sounded like a totally different language; Malaysians from different part couldn''t understand them unless they specifically learn, but these people will always understand the standard Malaysian language since it was taught in schools nationwide. Chapter 171 - Popular Breakthrough Specialist Fourteen spiritual freshwater creatures in various forms lined up in front of the Mistress. There were four on the first three rows and two on the last row. The rest of the spectators were pushed to the sides by the Elemental Fiends, who diligently acted like bodyguards. Nonetheless, since the spectators'' view was not affected and they weren''t hurt, no one complained. Everyone was eager to see the effects of Getuk Ubis on their comrades. A tiny light brown Nipah crab (1) with flower-like prints upon its shell held the round, aromatic kuih in its right pincer ever so gently. If it unintentionally squeezed too hard, the precious item would be snapped to pieces. It was the first time it encountered food with spirituality besides clams and was eager to try. As a low-leveled ex-servant for the Waterwave Clan, it has never been eligible to obtain a low-tiered spiritual crystal. Spiritual crystals were only for the core members of the Waterwave Clan; the Guardians, and talented direct descendants. As such, the item which it paid through Gramps Alpy with one Spirit Crystal to obtain was very precious to it. The crab took a whiff at the spirit food in happiness. It never knew its turn would come so soon. It was really worth it to practice hard previously. It actually didn''t know that buying Getuk Ubi had such prerequisites. As someone who never had the chance to learn properly due to its low standing, it viewed the learning session as something priceless and was genuinely grateful to the Mistress. The smell of the ''kuih'' was something he never encountered before, but it was not disgusting. Texture-wise, the surface was a little hard and light yellowish, with traces of transparent slippery substance coating it. It knew that the substance must be ''coconut oil'' the Mistress worked so hard to make all morning. It opened its tiny mouth and bit eagerly. Surprisingly, the texture within was not hard at all. It was soft yet grainy and creamy at the same time. The flavor note was something foreign; it heard that it was known as ''sweet''. Such an exquisite amalgamation of taste and texture! All packed in the tiny little ball. Accompanying the pleasant taste and texture, a warm flowing stream rushed into its body, warming it up, filling every nook and cranny. The Nipah crab paused its actions and quickly started cultivating while savoring the feeling in ecstasy. It felt extremely comfortable A commotion ensued when suddenly, nearly half of the freshwater creatures'' aura burst out! Most of the initial to early-stage spirit freshwater creatures jumped a small realm! Meanwhile, a tiny, unassuming mud-colored crab managed to jump two small realms! Although the advancement wasn''t truly notable, the fact that they simultaneously occurred showed that the Mistress truly could improve a beast''s cultivation! A true blue Breakthrough Specialist! Their eyes were wide with astonishment while their mouth was agape for a moment longer. If a group of flies flew in, they wouldn''t have noticed at all. Before a spiritual beast advance to a Noble, they had to progressively go through several stages to strengthen their body and spirit in preparation for the incoming tribulation. Different species followed different routes based on their own affinity and bloodline, but will finally reach the same end goal. All beasts which could utilize the spiritual energy from their surroundings will start off with an initial stage. After enough accumulation, they will then proceed into early stage, followed by mid stage. When one reached the late stage, one will already reach the pinnacle of strength one''s species could afford below a Noble. Although the Young Miss and her attendant looked weak and useless, both of them were late-stage experts of the clan! Each stage has a huge gulf between them, and one needed to cultivate diligently for tens of years within a stage before breaking through to the next one. Some even needed hundreds of years! At the same time, the amount of resources needed for each stage was huge! The clan couldn''t possibly accommodate everyone. Hence, it became the survival of the fittest where one''s personal connection and talent mattered. Naturally, the Servant''s faction didn''t stand a chance at all in the war for resources. Why were the Young Masters and Misses of the clan despised Ara so much? Part of it was jealousy towards her absolute cultivation talent and topnotch connections within the clan. Another part was due to her lack of ambition towards reaching the pinnacle of cultivation. She even had the gall to waste resources on unnecessary matters! Still, she could swagger in front of everyone else with her over-the-top melodramatic acts and reached the late-stage first without breaking a sweat! How infuriating! Hence, if one could easily traverse over their bottleneck in between each realm, becoming an expert valued by the clan wouldn''t just be a dream. They now knew they desperately needed to please the Mistress and fulfill all conditions present without question to be eligible for the next meal. The Spirit Avian Nobles stared at the Mistress for a moment longer before looking at their very own less-than-ideal Lord with a face full of longing mixed with a tinge of helplessness. Why didn''t they at least have a Lord who could help them advance through their cultivation swiftly, just like the Mistress? Should they sell their bodies to her instead? Hana took note of the little crab''s body reaction and jot it down inside a note-taking apps excitedly. Within the whole group of fourteen, five showed similar reactions just like the little crab; all five had initial stage cultivation and were of the Servants'' faction. Another two had some reaction, while the rest didn''t show any. She also observed the flow of spiritual energy rush within their bodies via Shiro''s explanation within the public telepathic channel. If only Kuro was here! She could borrow his eyes to scan through properly to see how the energy flows! Hana tapped her thumbs repeatedly as she pondered about her findings. Due to the high number of sample size in the field trials of this round, she felt that she almost grasped a pattern here, but not quite. At the end of the day, she still needed more viable data. She dearly wanted to verify her findings with Che Mek Molek soon! Suria''s eyes nearly bulged out after seeing the reactions of the weak water creatures! These lowly ones had immediately jumped through a small realm without breaking a sweat! Life felt so unfair. She had been stuck for so long as a late-stage Noble, waiting for the right moment, or a fruitatious encounter. [Wait, wait! I do have this opportunity too!] Fire of anticipation was burning within Suria''s heart once she remembered her deal with the Breakthrough Specialist. That was what brought her here in the first place! She vowed that she will do her absolute best to earn extra brownie points from the Mistress! THIS was the fruitatious encounter she had been waiting for! Now, how to make the Mistress fulfilled her end of the deal without offending her and the whole Serpent''s Lair, was the question. After thinking hard in various ways, the four-winged hornbill shook her head in exasperation! Too hard! She couldn''t be bothered to think too much. She decided to be shameless until the end! With enough sincerity from their side, one day, the Mistress will look her way seriously! She was sure of it! She thumped her ?h?st and decided to return to the edge of the clearing to practice making the spiritual energy threads. [Congratulation, guys! Its our first sales! Fourteen low-tiered Spirit Crystals! We have enough for another month!] Hana announced within the telepathic channel. Merry cheers resounded within the public telepathic channel. The group members were congratulating each other excitedly. Even Kuro sent a happy snort over through the group channel. The four new additions to the family were confused with the sudden burst of merriment. Since they were very new, they didn''t know that the Serpent''s Lair was akin to a paradise for cultivation due to the formation placed within the Mistress'' abode and the small herb garden. They have to be maintained with ten low-tiered Spirit Crystals per month at the lowest. It was, admittedly, a high maintenance, since they really only have ten previously. If the plan failed, they would lose out significantly. Once informed, they gasped in shock and wonderment with the arrangement. The Mistress really took a big risk, while the other two original core members of the Serpent''s Lair put one hundred percent of their faith on her shoulders and on Lord Brother Shiro''s Spirit Gathering Formation. In other situations, especially in a newly formed group, such trust was nonexistent. And now, they were part of such a group, feeling deeply gratified. Will all of them be as close as the core members in the future? They felt positive about the incoming days ahead just by looking at how the Mistress care for her people. Secretly, they too, begin to treat the Mistress like the Water Goddess of Benevolence in their hearts. Especially Gramps Alpy, he could foresee the Mistress'' shrewdness and excellent long-term plans for the future of the Serpent''s Lair; it will be bountiful with numerous loyal-to-a-fault strong experts appearing like mushrooms after a heavy rain. It was a good start for a new flourishing clan. And he could be part of it as one of the earliest founding members. That felt great! However, Saras and Mata had a bigger question in their hearts, and it showed on their bewildered faces. [Gramps Alpy, do you know why the big difference outside?] Saras inquired carefully. Once they gave away half their soul through the Soulpact and entered the Soul Brethren of the Serpent''s Lair, they too can communicate with each other telepathically. She mustn''t let their telepathic conversation spilled to the main channel lest the others might get offended with her thoughtless inquiry. But she sincerely wanted to know whyyyyyy! Outwardly, nobody who was connected to the telepathic channel was showing any kind of reaction. In fact, as the Mistress had retired into her abode to rest, the only one present at the moment, Lord Brother Shiro, was making a bored face while monitoring the practice outside. No trace of happiness fleeted over his facial expression whatsoever. When their gaze met, Lord Brother Shiro gave them a deep stare filled with meaning (though Saras didn''t understand what was the meaning!). They looked at each other inquisitively while suppressing the d?s?r? to chuckle. Knowing to be tactful, they refrained from asking any questions to the handsome white Glacier Mirage fox. Gramps Alpy reminded his three comrades telepathically while practicing Micro Control with a stoic expression. [The Mistress and the two Lords need to maintain a certain level of superiority towards the others. Never question why they did something like so. I believe that the Mistress is a highly intelligent individual, and she knew what she is doing. We, as the subordinates, must follow closely and support her endeavors without question.] Seeing the rest nodded, Gramps Alpy felt relieved. [Can you see what this entails, guys?] Hana asked while smiling happily inside her cave-dwelling. She was coddling the fluffy brown ''bolster'' who was already snoring after a good bath. Hana had been washing it by the stream and blow-drying it with hot air with the help of F1. It played with mud too much today. Nobody replied and waited patiently though they could guess the answer already. They shouldn''t cut off the Mistress'' excitement. Lord Brother Kuro will certainly smack them when he came home. [We spent five low-tiered Spirit Crystals for the herb garden, right? A kuih provides a low-level increment for beasts of low stages. Remember that we only use one spiritual energy-infused Tapioca tree. There''s a lot more uncooked herbs untouched! How many Spiritual Crystals could we obtain from using all the herbs there? Another thing is, as long as Mommy could find the right combination to spur higher leveled beasts, we could increase the price significantly! It''s a win-win-win situation for everyone! WAHAHAHA!] Hana was laughing in the most ungainly manner while tapping her own temples smugly. She was going to squeeze these little creatures dry. It was for the greater good! Anything that benefited her own people was the greater good! Authors'' Note: 1) Nipah crab = it looks like mudcrab, but it is not. The pincers are larger than the other one, with swimming fin at the back, and a crabcatcher get these crabs in mangrove area (nipah = mangrove palm tree) Chapter 172 - Ramlee’s Personal Fights (Malaysia Day Special Release) The aunty felt quite spent today since she was so industrious. However, it didn''t end just yet. She still had two leftover tapioca tubers left, while the sweet potatoes were still untouched. Although these tubers had been removed from the soil for quite some hours, they still emit a faint glow; an indication that the spiritual energy within was still preserved. Hana stopped her pets from processing all tapioca tubers because she planned to try processing them into flour. Tapioca flour was actually very useful in many ways; Hana used it a lot at home previously. A small amount of tapioca flour mixed with water will act as a thickener for any kind of thick gravy and soups. Hence, it was actually one of the most important ingredients in making Egg Drop soup. Mixed it with various ground meat will yield an endless variation of fish balls, chicken balls, or meatballs. In the future, she could further dry up the combined meat paste and tapioca flour, sliced them thinly, and turned them into deep-fried chips! If she mixed tapioca flour with rice flour, she could even make laksa noodles (1). Too useful! She took out her Clawknife and sliced the skinned tapioca tubers thinly while humming under her breath. Although she felt tired, as a good housewife, she was used to push herself a little bit more to settle unfinished chores. In this case, she would like to finish the final part before taking her much needed afternoon nap. The tiredness from her trip to the Waterwave Clan''s ground still didn''t diminish after one night of rest. Additionally, it was very tiring to posture as a ''Big Boss'' in front of a big crowd. Hana wasn''t used to it. She couldn''t even pick her nose as she liked. Soon, row after row of thinly sliced tapioca tubers were laid down and arranged systematically by Elemental Fiends at the topmost floor of their renovated abode. The floor had been layered with large leaves previously following the aunty''s instruction. Five fire-attributed purple Elemental Fiends became the ''caretakers'' of that floor. Instantly, the average temperature of the floor increased quite a few notches. All the work only took a short moment to complete with these handy helpers. Hana inspected her handiwork and the arrangements on the second floor. She nodded in satisfaction while feeling pleased with herself. Once dried up well, it only took a little bit of repeated grinding and sieving. She had so many workers now to help her later in the evening. That will just have to wait. She laid down happily and hugged the already snoring Pi-chan tightly before drifting to sleep almost immediately. F1 stood vigil beside her while warming her up a little by increasing the temperature slightly within the cave. Today was such a rewarding day. While the Mistress napped sweetly within her abode, the freshwater creatures diligently practiced while utilizing mud and leaves around them. This time, their passion and ?ssertiveness were akin to the blazing sun in the afternoon. Additionally, the arrogant avian Nobles landed and squeezed themselves shamelessly to try out practicing Micro Control. Lord Shiro was so exasperated, he had to bark at them to stop! They were as big as houses! These pitiful minnows were like rodents in their eyes, while others were like roaches! When they squeezed in, naturally the freshwater creatures had to vacate themselves from the clearing. After some discussion that involved shameless pleadings and exhortations from the spirit Avian''s side, Shiro finally let them join the practice session temporarily to stop them from harassing him. However, he didn''t make any promises and made these birds understand a few ground rules. Whatever the Mistress'' said, goes. Obviously, the birds could not stay if the Mistress was opposed to the current arrangement. Hence, the clearing was used in full capacity when the large spirit Avians landed to occupy some space for practice. Before anything else, some precious trees at the edge of the clearing had been ruined or rooted out from their casual flaps. Shiro looked over exasperatedly while feeling defeated. He knew Mom would be furious once she woke up. New ones hadn''t arrived yet. He wasn''t really browsing through the messages. His mind was currently elsewhere. His eyes were filled with a mixture of confusion, emptiness, and pain. It''s already morning, and the sun has been shining through the gaps of the haya rather intensely. But he wasn''t planning to go out just yet. He couldn''t sleep at all since last night as he was reminded by what happened How was he going to explain to Hana? This remained a question that he himself couldn''t answer. "Tok, please calm down. I need this gentleman''s help, and he''s unavailable after six hours from now. Please~" Arash pleaded with a helpless look as he moved to the cranky old man''s back. Arash shamelessly tapped the furious Spiritual Healer''s back diligently. It has become something like a habit to appease the elder quickly. Besides giving Tok Silihan loads of good rice, Arash could identify that the second way to flatter him was by massaging his back. Thank goodness it worked as the old man visibly stop stomping the nearly broken down haya and sat down to enjoy the amateurish back-tapping massage. He wondered, did the elder really felt anything since he''s so strong? "Humph! At least someone remembered to show their gratefulness and mind their manners towards an elder!" Tok Silihan continued to trash-talk, but he was slowly cooling down. He felt great that at least someone appreciate his efforts and tried to flatter him rather than oppose him. However, he had never let others approached his back besides this ugly boy. He couldn''t help but feel only amiable towards this fellow; he suspected he had gotten soft-hearted due to old age. He accidentally flung a clansman who wanted to do the same thing to him a few days back. It made him shocked too as he fell deep into contemplation afterwards. Arash really wanted to cry. What if the minister lose his temper in the argument and refuse to cooperate from being offended by Tok Silihan''s laser mouth? Or worse, walked away and return immediately? The heli was just a few steps away. The minister was shocked by the show as his mouth was agape in wonderment. Still, he quickly recovered and plastered an understanding signature smile that all politicians were proficient with. However, the edge of his mouth twitched just a little bit; it seemed that his ancestor had found a new favorite. They looked more like a family than him with the elder. Dato'' Ramlee cleared his throat, "Mr. Arash is right. Let''s get down to business." Without waiting for Tok Silihan to reply, he immediately called his attendant to bring in a big black canister. Inside, a few big, detailed maps of the region were unfurled and placed on the haya''s floor. Each map was the size of an A2 paper. It seemed that he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. After all, he was really out of time. "Tok Batin, let me show you the previous old map you requested." He flipped through the maps and pulled out one, and placed it on top. "It took me a while to find it. Most maps have been digitized, but since a hardcopy is better in our case, my contacts have dug deeper into the National Archive to find the originals and make a number of copies. Those originals were made way back in 1900 by the Brits (2). They are national treasures." Tok Silihan snorted unhappily from being cut off just like that by his rude descendant, but he still bent down to see the map. He scrutinized for a while and finally coughed bashfully! He didn''t really know how to read a map! It was just made of lines and more lines! He felt like being slapped hard. "Boy, take out your new map. Show to him. Both of you point to our current location and mark it. Let me see." Tok Silihan point and poked at the minister''s shoulder rudely. "I already did last time, Tok. Still didn''t remove the mark. The mark where my wife disappeared is also still there." Arash pointed to a spot with dense cluster of shoplots and houses. Dato'' Ramlee walked over to Arash''s side to see the new map with concern. It seemed that this young man really was looking for a missing family member. Nobody told him anything around here! He started making calculations and adjustments while discussing with his attendant. Finally, he made a new mark on the old map confidently. It was in the middle of a forest beside a river! It was vastly different from the current modern map! Arash scrutinized the map with a bewildered look. Although it looked like the mark was quite far apart compared to the ones on the new map, Dato'' Ramlee had explained that it was due to the scale of the map. After all, the maps he provided were more detailed ones. He also added that this kind of body of water may change or dried up with time. After all, the map was really old. However, he too didn''t understand why the elder would want to look at the geography of the areas before the development of the new town. Ramlee started describing the topography of the marked area from the old map while Tok Silihan pondered seriously, his face getting darker and darker. He then told the kids outside to call for Tok Jaya to confirm something. "There really is a cave over here previously." Elder Jaya confirmed the details with Tok Silihan, Dato'' Ramlee, and Arash once he arrived. He tapped the marked location with his index finger with confusion. It was really in the area of the shoplots. He continued, "However, it was demolished quite some time ago. I think it occurred around the time the location was developed into a town around ten years ago." Another potential lead came to an end. Elder Jaya had explained to Arash that within the last two weeks, all the Elders including Tok Batin had organized a search team multiple times. They went deeper and deeper into the forest reserve and especially checked all available caves they knew. No humans were found at all, and nothing was out of the ordinary. Although skeptical with the information provided by Arash, the ace trackers still went deep due to the Elders'' insistence. Mr. Arash was, after all, the golden ''child'' favored by their Spiritual Healer. Hearing the bad news had made Arash felt despair at a deeper level. He thought that the clue was so close. He didn''t understand why Tok Silihan put his hopes up like this. Seeing how the fellow''s eyes dimmed visibly in front of him, Dato'' Ramlee''s gaze softened. He placed his hand over Arash'' shoulder with concern, "Have you make a police report? I will try my best to use my contacts and ask around for you, if you don''t mind." This sad fellow truly missed his missing wife. He needed all the moral support to keep on having hope and faith. It was the least that he could do. Additionally, he seemed to be deeply favored by his own elder. It was so obvious since Tok Batin Silihan had never bothered to contact him at all as if treating him like he was dead. However, for the sake of this unknown man, he was forced to leave his neverending work and come here at Tok Batin Silihan''s beck and call. Oblivious to the minister''s internal turmoil, Arash nodded gratefully, "Thank you so much, Dato'' (3). My brother-in-law works in the Police Department. He tried for so long but still fail in the end. We really didn''t know where she is at the moment. We really need all the help that we can." After discussing for a while, they exchange their personal contacts. Arash promised to send over the details about his missing wife, while the minister promised to look into it once he receives the information. Tok Silihan watched the exchanges between the two in silence. When Elder Jaya looked his way, the Spiritual Healer gave him a scowl. Evidently, he was in a bad mood again. Sensing the darkened mood of the old man, the other three quickly wrapped up their discussion and socializing session. Dato'' Dr. Ramlee turned around one last time to observe the village where he grew up while feeling nostalgic. He couldn''t believe that it had been more than forty years since the last time he set foot on this land. He waved back at the man who looked so forlorn. His own great grandfather didn''t even lift up a brow. He looked back with disinterest, arms folded under his armpits, a telltale of being moody. But, surprisingly, the old man didn''t lash out like he usually does. In contrast, all the six elders were looking at him with pride and glowing eyes. He knew he was their hope for the Bateq''s future. He had been working really hard for his people. The nearest town was his attempt to hasten the Bateqs towards modernization and easier access for supplies. The constructions, education, medical allocations, and basic amenities were also what he fought hard for. He never said anything. The Elders also never mention it. But, everyone knew and were grateful to him. A small number of successful younger generations had migrated out and started living in the new town already. The proposal for making a tarred road connecting the new town to the village has been rejected many times over, but he won''t give up! One day, he will definitely succeed. It was his own personal fights. He would never rest in peace before that. Authors'' Note: Authors'' Note: 1) Laksa noodles = fat sluglike noodles made from mixture of rice flour & tapioca flour. Got two versions; the ones with more tapioca flour are very slippery and chewy. While the one with more rice flour tastes dense. Both are delicious and targeted to different ways of cooking. (lazada.com.my/products/mee-laksa-1kg-segar-raya-i2214435702-s9348885297.html?spm=a2o4k.searchlist.list.19.6129406eu8MEKV&search=1) 2) Those originals were made way back in the 1900 by the Brits = Malaya (old name of Malaysia) is a colony of the British around the 1900. 3) "Thank you so much, Dato''.." = Dato'' is not Dato'' Dr. Ramlee''s name. Ramlee is the name, Dato is something equivalent to ''Sir'' from ''Sir Henry''. Chapter 173 - There Really is a Cave "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU PEOPLE LAST TIME?!" Inside the most secluded haya, far from the villagers, six old men sat on the floor while looking down at their toes with pale faces, shivering in fear. They were in front of Tok Batin Silihan, currently on the receiving end of a harsh scolding after their most successful descendant returned, and their most celebrated guest made an excuse to retire early ten minutes ago. The Tok Batin was brimming with anger and staring daggers at them. If a glare could kill, all of them had died already. Although he wasn''t shouting, his voice contained a menacing tone. They felt like being sliced with a sharp knife with every sentence. A trace of blood flowed at the corner of their mouths, as if they were the receiving end of a beating and had sustained internal injuries. They were still unaware of what they did wrong this time. However, this level of anger was unprecedented. Usually, if the Spiritual Healer was in a foul mood, he would just torment the younger generation and spared them to give them some face. They peeked at each other in confusion, not knowing heads or tails about the matter that irked the Tok Batin so much. Elder Jaya seemed to know something, but he too couldn''t grasp the root cause. If it was about not helping the ''golden child'' enough, they felt that they had gone above and beyond this time. There was simply no reason to fly up like this. Tok Batin Silihan looked at their faces, realizing their confusion was genuine and sighed. He retracted his powerful internal energy immediately, lest he could unintentionally kill his kin. He was too embroiled with emotion that he had unknowingly injured them with an internal energy blast. "You people really didn''t know? There really is a cave at the location the boy''s lady disappeared in!" "Excuse this humble one, Tok Batin. What do you mean? There is plenty of caves around the area." The youngest Elder, Elder Lilitan(1), asked cautiously while wiping sweat over his forehead in fear. He had been an Elder for many years, but only after the Tok Batin took off about fifteen years ago. Hence, he had no direct contact with the Spiritual Healer of the clan like now. This was actually his first, and it truly wasn''t easy confronting someone so domineering. "Pang!" A slap made the pitiful Elder rolled and knocked the haya''s bamboo wall. The haya shook as if it was going to collapse. The other villagers who were fifty meters away whimpered and shook like a leaf. They knew their Elders were being ''schooled'' harshly by the capricious Tok Batin. They have gotten instruction by the Elders not to approach the said haya until all the Elders came out later. "This little one dared to ask?! You people didn''t even tell him? I told you before, the region to the west must be cordon off as a forbidden region before I leave, right? Why is there a big modern town over there?! Who did this?! I will hex that person to his death!" They looked at each other with a knowing glance filled with bitterness, but all of them zipped their mouth. If they really spilled the beans, they won''t know what would happen to Ramlee. "DO YOU KNOW OR NOT?!" Looking at the meek Elders really ticked Tok Batin Silihan off! They dared to defy his instructions! "We We''re not sure. However, after you left, a new express highway was built not far from the region. A small town soon developed. We couldn''t interfere with the works of the government." Elder Jaya only spoke half of the truth. He had to, with this level of severity. The Spiritual Healer never told any of them why the areas had been labelled as a forbidden region where they couldn''t hunt or forage. He only vaguely remembered a very old story saying that some of their clansmen had gone missing before in that same region. "Humph! These people are seeking death. Now, the boy''s lady is truly gone! I don''t even know how to help her! And this is because of you people for not warning those foreigners about the land!" Tok Silihan rambled on and on while pulling his twig-like hair in anguish. He walked to and fro again and again while mumbling under his breath under the unbelievable stares of the six Elders. It really looked like the Tok Batin was really trying hard to help their guest, but couldn''t find the solution and was agonizing over it. They lamented deeply, why did this foreigner get this level of care and devotion! He fed milk to a baby monkey while disregarded his real flesh and blood baby at home! So mystifying! It was so apparent, especially when Ramlee and Arash were together with the Tok Batin before. Many (weird) things were brewing in each of their minds, but they kept quiet and just bow low, afraid to make eye contact with the Spiritual Healer. While the Tok Batin walked to and fro, he was stomping the haya in disgruntlement. The haya shook heavily. Most probably, the foundation of the haya was jeopardized. They needed to inspect the haya carefully for repair tomorrow. Arash tossed and turned while starring at the single lightbulb hanging in the middle of the haya, unable to sleep. He unlocked his smartphone and tried to find the sound file his beloved wife made for him. Although it sounded weird, it was the only thing that could appease his saddened heart at the moment. He wasn''t sure why he even came here in the first place. He had wasted his time and everyone else''s time. He shamelessly burdened Tok Silihan and his people and abandoned his children when they need him the most for a wild goose chase. Where is she? How can I help her? God, help me. He wept in silence while listening to the strange new age song his wife enthusiastically sang. She sounded so lovely yet serious, as if she was having the time of her life. Listening to it hundreds of times in these two weeks made him able to hum along with it, albeit just slightly. Though if someone else heard him, they would say he sounded very off-key. "What''s with the long face? Want to poop?" Arash jumped to the back in fright! Gosh, this old man! Make a sound first before entering someone else''s sleeping quarter! "Tokkkk! If you keep on doing this, my heart couldn''t take it! I might die from a heart attack one of these days!" Arash patted his ?h?st while whining unhappily. He was just lightening up his mood with the help of his wife''s beautiful voice. Lo and behold, the Elder came to disturb like a lamp post. He didn''t know that his own off-key voice was the one offsetting the effect of the modified Soul Cultivation Chant. If not, Tok Silihan couldn''t even enter the haya! "Make me a cup of the brown beverage. Thirsty." Tok Silihan ignored Arash''s grumble and casually asked for a cup of 3-in-1 cocoa malt warm drink he once made for the Elder before. He swaggered over Arash''s sleeping mat and casually took over the place. The scrawny old man half lying down while supporting his head with his left hand. The other hand was busy strumming the mat while waiting impatiently. Arash sighed exasperatedly after he blinked his eyes in speechlessness. This ancestor was being too familiar! He shook his head while smiling, his hand automatically reached out to open a compartment in his hiking bag before taking out a green sachet with ''MILO'' written over it (2). He poured the content in a metal cup first. Then, he poured water from his thermos gently. Out of his expectation, no gentle steam wafted out from the cup. He blinked his eyes and held the bottom of the cup helplessly. It was cold. It seemed that it has been too long. The boiling hot water had cooled off and become tepid water only. "Oh I don''t have boiling water" Tok Silihan held the bottom part of the metal mug casually as the beverage automatically bubbled and release heat! Arash, "O________O" He had forgotten that Tok Silihan was a hidden expert. Of course, he could boil water just by touching the cup. Arash nodded knowingly. It occurred a lot in novels as well. Talking about novels, he didn''t have the time to indulge anymore. He missed those OP brothers who win in life and get all the girls. It made his life facing his ex-boss a little less stressful previously. Arash passed the cup to Tok Silihan absentmindedly. "Hey, hey. Focus, Boy. This old man is here, wanting to talk to you and spend time with you." Tok Silihan flicked Arash''s head multiple times softly. That fair forehead immediately turned red. What fragile skin! It made Tok Silihan speechless. This boy really need a good bronzing ''treatment''. His slightly bronzed-up skin due to the sun exposure was long gone after not meeting for two weeks! "Adoi, adoi!(3) Stop it, Tok Silihan. I think my brain matter decreased by a lot everytime you did this! I need it for my job!" "By the way, what was that sorcery you had been hearing all this time?" Tok Silihan tried to ask while acting nonchalant. He now knew the ''demonic whisperings'' before was just a recording from Arash''s mobile phone! Thank goodness the boy didn''t wake up while he was fighting with his life to obtain freedom from being mind-controlled! He would lose so much face! "Ah! That''s my wife. Doesn''t she have the sweetest voice?" Arash added cheerfully. After a while, his mood turned cloudy. He remembered today''s outcome and felt depressed again. He sighed deeply as he missed Tok Silihan''s bulging eyes and dried-up lips. "Tok Is there really no way to detect where my wife is? She''s alive. I believe she is really lost. She won''t leave me and acted like this. She''s loyal to a fault. She loved me and the kids very much. There''s no reason to act this way because she is the kind who will dump painful truth over one''s face without regard. She never lied to me for the past ten years we''re married. So, there is a very slim chance for her to lie to me about something as important as this. Please help me, Tok. Please." Without other people present, Arash''s poker face crumbled away, revealing his true feelings. His eyes turned red and teary. He even sniffed a little as his fair cheek flushed from being too emotional. Hana had been his biggest moral support to let him keep going with a calm smile over his face. She had sacrificed so much for the family. Although she was a very childish person, she was actually highly educated and had big aspirations. Everything was cut short once she lay her eyes over their firstborn. She told him she didn''t want to be a researcher anymore, and wished to be a full-time housewife to witness the little one''s first smile, first giggle, first step His mother-in-law had been very upset about this matter until now. He was deeply touched by his wife''s decision until today and had vowed to protect her all his life. Because of this, Arash was able to suppress his emotions at home and at work. He rarely let loose his negative emotions, especially in front of the kids. He always exuded confidence and maintained an air of calmness. Colleagues liked him for his qualities apart from the light jokes and cheerfulness. However, this time, his level of stress was at its peak. "Calm down, Boy. Calm down." Tok Silihan used his bony fingers to pat Arash''s shoulder as he sighed deeply. "There''s really a cave, this is the biggest clue. From now on, this old man would like to tell you a story. A story told by this old man''s late Master." Authors'' Note: 1) Elder Lilitan = There are six Elders in the Bateq community (as Mrs Mooncat remembers, correct us if we''re wrong), and this is the second elder that is given a name. Lilitan comes from ''lilit'', it means ''wrap around or coil around'', an action made by snakes or vines. Hence Elder Lilitan is considered to be named after ''creeping vines'', another type of vegetation. 2) green sachet with ''MILO''... = popular malt-cocoa beverage drank in our country 3) Adoi = ouch Chapter 174 - Forbidden Region "There''s really a cave; this is the biggest clue. From now on, this old man would like to tell you a story. A story told by this old man''s late Master." Tok Silihan put down the metal cup after he finished the beverage. He sat cross-legged with a severe expression upon his face. Arash blinked back the manly tears threatening to fall bashfully and pretended to cough. He took a deep breath to calm his roiling emotions for a few minutes. Arash scrunched his brow in confusion with the sudden change of topic, "What story, Tok? Is it even relevant to my wife''s plight? Oh, you do have a Master! What happen to your Master now, Tok?" "Ohhhh, don''t ask too many questions and just listen!" Tok Silihan knocked Arash''s head a few times while he grimaced unhappily. "This was more than a hundred years back. This old one couldn''t exactly remember when. Once my Master acknowledged my ability and accepted me as an apprentice, he took me deep into the forest to deepen my knowledge and train. It was a big deal for my people, since no other possessed the ability to become a Spiritual Healer appeared for a long time." Tok Silihan closed his eyes while speaking as if he was going through memory lane fondly. He grinned with satisfaction at his own accomplishment as he immersed himself with nostalgia. Arash yawned and tried his best to show interest. After all, he should let the old man posture once in a while. Tok Silihan really knew how to boast. Looking at how big his blooming nostrils puffed intermittently, he knew the Elder must really feel good about himself. What a narcissistic old man. "At that point in time, the young me had finally achieved initial mastery in the arts of Spiritual Healing by becoming one with the deity of the land. It took this old one less than a year, you know. The Master then told me a story. A story that was only passed down to generations of qualified Spiritual Healers of this land. And with the story, a heavy responsibility." "Around 160 years to 200 years once, mysterious phenomena will occur in the Forbidden Region. These phenomena were akin to the sky being ripped like cloth. From within these ''ripped'' locations, most of the time, danger emerged. Hence, he termed these mysterious breaches as the ''Gates of Hell''. Currently, our Bateq had identify two of them. One is the one this old one frequented, while another one is located within a small, unassuming cave within the Forbidden Region." At this point, goosebumps appeared on Arash''s arm. His eyes were wide with a sudden epiphany after listening to the lame, full-of-clich story. He felt a red flag rising. He could almost predict where this story will reach, but desperately prayed that it won''t be so. Looking at Arash''s restlessness, Tok Silihan narrowed his eyes, "Shut it! Don''t interrupt. Listen first until this old one finish talking. There will be no second time." He warned the agitated boy from asking. "With their opening, a wave of spiritual energy blew in, enriching the region for many years. It was a boon for our people, since the level of spiritual energy in this land is so thin. Since the land near the Gate is rich with spiritual energy, it nurtures the growth of spiritual herbs in the surroundings naturally. However, sometimes hellish beasts appeared and ravage the land. It was more like a gate of opportunity and calamity came together hand in hand. A long time ago, when there were more Spiritual Healers, some courageous ones decided to venture in to bring back more resources but never to return again. They just disappeared without leaving a trace." "The worst tragedy happened when three demonic beasts breached through the Gate some five hundred years ago and went on a rampage in our lands. These beasts had been described extensively by this old man''s late Master. A large black beetle with razor-sharp limbs, a bronze-colored metallic bull the size of hill, and the strongest of them all was a ferocious lion with the tail of a snake, and fish scales covering its body. Their bodies were shrouded with demonic black flames and lightning. These disastrous creatures nearly wiped off all of the Bateqs along with the budding Spiritual Healers. We lost so much. Our population dwindled to double digits." Tok Silihan''s eyes dimmed at this point. He sighed a couple of times and lamented the fate of his people during the olden days. "And then suddenly!" Tok Silihan stood up abruptly, scaring Arash. The old man became so passionate with his storytelling, his saliva splashed everywhere, making Arash so helpless but he could only bear with it. Tok Silihan lowered his voice into a whisper. "Mysterious men and women with light-colored eyes and hair arrived. They fought with the three beasts for a long time with tiny sticks in some of their hands and burning swords in others. They finally won after a hard-earned battle and took the carcass away. Before departing, they left a scroll behind to the current Spiritual Healer of that time. The scroll will act as a signal to inform them if a breach of that level ever happened again. They promised to send help immediately." "Since that day, we Spiritual Healers became more cautious with the Gates of Hell. It is a double-edged sword, this old one admits, but the spiritual energy enriching the surrounding is the reason for us to advance further. Since Fate has preordained us to bear witness to the presence of the Gates, we took it in ourselves as the Gates'' guardian until today. Nonetheless, we have forbidden our descendants from frequenting the said areas. The last two times after the Demonic beasts'' massacre, nothing appeared. Only spiritual energy flowed in and encouraged the cultivation of spiritual herbs in the surroundings." "Now, do you understand what this means?" Tok Silihan''s heavy gaze landed on Arash as he placed his hand over the boy''s shoulder. He could hear the boy''s increased heartbeat as clear as day. If his speculation was right, then, there is nothing he could do to help this unfortunate boy. He was simply a small time cultivator. Arash''s throat felt dry. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths before asking, "The timeline you said before, Tok. The duration of time when the gate opens. Has it arrived?" A long silence ensued. Both of them stared at each other for the longest time. Arash desperately prayed in his heart. "Yes." Tok Silihan sensed the boy''s condition inside the haya next door. The boy''s heartbeat was still very erratic. He hasn''t calm down, it seemed. Tok Silihan took out a dirty yellowish cream sheepskin scroll from within his shirt. He held it tightly in his palm. It was his fault. He had been negligent. Although the rules inherited by the Spiritual Healers forbade him from divulging s?ns?t?v? cultivation-related information, he should''ve placed a clearer directive to his people about the dangers of the Gates before leaving. His eyes nearly popped out the very first time Jaya explained to him about the location marked on Arash''s map from the last visit. Tok Silihan had secretly tried to approach the location of the first Gate of Hell he frequented in the olden days in an attempt to locate the exact location, only to be bombarded with unbearable air and noise pollution. He had never seen so much humans, buildings and filth mixed together in a small place. He had to turn back, or he would be killing someone or destroying something reflexively. Since then, he had been suppressing it for quite some time. He thought he only made a mistake, since the geography of the area had a total makeover. Until his suspicions was validated by that scoundrel descendant of his. The boy''s lady-what-was-her-name really did accidentally crossed through the Gate! This incident was unprecedented! A human surviving a cross into the Gates of Hell, and was able to send information back! Obviously, he believed one hundred percent of what the boy was talking about! Heck, his lady already know how to mind-control cultivators like him who had been cultivating for more than a hundred years! This is too mind-numbing! That lady must have a sea of minions in her command already. Had she turned into a Demoness with such dark arts at her disposal?! He unfurled the scroll. Inside, there was no words written. After all, the scroll wasn''t exactly a letter. It was an old communication transmission relic from 500 years ago. There were only two things inside. At the middle top part of the scroll, there was a hexagon-shaped emblem with an embossed six swords crossed with each other into the shape of a star. Below the ''star'' was an old-styled cursive lowercase ''G'' with a diamond-shaped green dot in the middle. Below this two-inch symbol was a complex circular-shaped diagram containing thousands of scattered lines intersecting with one another in dark red ink. In between the seemingly chaotic lines, tiny imperceptible symbols could be observed through the n?k?d eye. The size of the diagram nearly covered the whole scroll. If Tok Silihan was more exposed to the outside world, he would realize the symbols were somewhat similar to a mixture of Latin words and Greek symbols. However, the old man only knew written Bateq language and spoken Malay. He never cared about the livelihood of the plebeins and the importance of secular education. After all, the heritage of the Bateq Spiritual Healer was passed down orally and through hands-on practices. Tok Silihan looked in Arash''s direction with guilt. This was not exactly a dangerous breach nor an emergency. It was an entirely different problem. Additionally, the lady seemed to be healthy and well. Tok Silihan placed his palm at the middle of the circular diagram. The only way to activate it was to inject a small amount of spiritual energy. He swallowed his already dried up throat and concentrated. After awhile, Tok Silihan sighed defeatedly and placed his hand behind his back again; he couldn''t do it. What if the beings out there become furious and decided to stop helping them when real danger crossed over in the future due to the false alarm? He had to place the survival of his clan into consideration. After all, they were his kin. He might have the ability to flee, but his clan would definitely won''t be able to survive an attack from such beasts. Now, the new town erected will bear the consequences together in the future. The scroll became more important than ever before. [Sorry, Boy.] Tok Silihan sighed again as he tried to withstand the guilt seeping through his heart. Miles sat over the fire and poke it a few times. The Young Master was finally sleeping well. It was true; sometime, people need a bit of greenery to perk up their spirits. He hadn''t seen the Young Master worked so hard for quite some time and felt quite touched. His fondness towards the Young Master''s new favorite increased quite substantially. He had been cooped up too much since they moved to this country. It has been three years. Three years of nothing. He wondered, was it the right decision to stay in this beautiful tropical country without doing anything at all. Arash''s pitiful gaze stung him quite a bit. He had been following the Young Master''s workaholic''s regime of work-sleep-workout-work for a long time without him achieving anything. Miles took out a small metallic gray device that looked similar to a smartphone without the camera function and placed his thumbprint over a spot. He then took it near his left eye. A red light scanned his retina. He lowered it down and waited for a few seconds. A soft beep sounded. A cursive lowercase ''G'' with a diamond-shaped green dot in the middle appeared. The symbol rotated gently for a few seconds before it disappeared. In replace of the symbol, a digital map showing the surroundings appeared. A panel materialized showing several readings of the surrounding locations. [Hmm Mana reading is slightly above usual, but still not significant.] Miles sighed lightly. He suddenly felt a burst of seething mana poured out from the middle of the aborigine village. The reading increased at a location at the edge of the village. [Oh dear, the Tok Batin must have lost his temper.] The old butler shook his head and smiled slightly, choosing to ignore the ruckus. He knew, no matter what, the Tok Batin won''t kill his own kin wantonly. Chapter 175 - Kuros Determination (Part 1) A large creature broke through a dense foliage in desperation. It was in a haste as it turned to the back multiple times while sniffing the air with panic. It galloped as hard as it could while feeling immense dread in its heart. The lush canopy-like trees didn''t stop it from moving forward swiftly. In fact, the trees seemed to slightly bend or move, giving some space for it to squeeze through them. [The omen is here!] There was nowhere to go now! There was a large rock mountain in front of it; the boundary of its tiny home. The Lord of the mountain had many aggressive Nobles flying around, finding spirit creatures to kill. Climbing to the top was akin to jumping from the tiger''s mouth into an alligator''s mouth (1). On its left was where a meandering deep river owned by a shrewd half-step Imperial Lord-leveled freshwater spirit fish resided. If it jumped in, it will never survive the attack of the five brutal guardians. On another side was the territory of a gruesome fire-breathing creature, its natural nemesis! It has nowhere to go anymore.. It hesitated for a moment, and determination reflected upon its cowardly expression. [I must survive!] The creature concentrated, and a bunch of green vines erupted from its body! The vines twirled and combined into something akin to a vine-drill and pierced through the large boulder in front of it. Like a grinder, a snug hole appeared on the side of the mountain, as the creature hurriedly went in. Behind it, large bushy herb trees grew upon its step to cover the hole almost immediately. Within, the creature kept on going as it went deeper and deeper! ... [Checkmate!] [Finally, I got that scoundrel! It was so hard catching its tail!] A tiny inconspicuous snake as thick as a soaked charcoal-flavored soba noodle appeared from within the rotten leaves on the wet forest floor. One might even mistaken it with a gigantic wriggling millipede. However, once observed properly, it was Kuro in his camouflage form; the form that he was always in when he was with Hana. His mistress always looked at him with doting eyes while telling him how ''cute'' he was, hence, staying in this form became a habit. His body was covered in slime and grime, but his head, where a shiny red gem was encased, sparkled beautifully. Its two tiny wings were closed on its back, only showing a faint maroon-colored outline. Kuro looked around where the last of the scent was detected and grin evilly when he noticed an out of place undergrowth at the foot of the mountain where the Silver-banded Eagles resided. That stupid fellow. The boulder-like mountain was devoid of trees. It looked more like a pile of large gray-colored stone stacked together. Hence, the place where the creature went into hiding stick out like a sore thumb. That was the only spot with vegetation! Kuro slithered in cautiously. The darkened newly-made ''cave'' was just slightly bigger than the cave entrance to the Elemental Fiends'' labyrinthian nest he frequented some time ago. With his current size, the small cave was very spacious. Screw-like scars seared the surface of the walls; a telltale of something forcefully grinding these stones into smithereens. Seeing the strength of the cowardly Spirit Forest, Kuro was more cautious than ever; his sixth sense told him that he was walking into another deadly trap. Although he hadn''t really seen the Forest Spirit with his eyes, he knew its scent as it knew his. They have been playing the hide-and-seek game for more than a week already. Kuro had encountered countless traps along the way but had breezed through the majority of them. However, he admitted that a small number of them were tricky, dangerous even. Finally, he was able to corner it at the edge of its territory. He was planning to see how this scoundrel will try to run from him again. He was determined to haul it back to Mommy. It had been too long. He hadn''t known he was the clingy type. The boulders under him vibrated slightly. Kuro unfurled his tiny maroon wings and flew off immediately! Half a second later, green vines erupted from below, trying to catch him. They managed to grab a falling boulder, and the boulder was squeezed until it crumbled into tiny pieces. Another group of vines tried to grab Kuro from the top of the cave, but he managed to maneuver in time! From Kuro''s back, airborne sickle-shaped leaves were shot towards him en masse! Kuro didn''t manage to dodge all of the attacks. However, the sharp leaves injured Kuro slightly since he didn''t bother to open up his defenses. He received all of the aerial attacks with ease only to notice a little later that the leaves were poisonous. Kuro grinned evilly. "Stop right now before I drag you myself from there. There''s no way you could injure me! Surrender now and pledge allegiance to my Mistress." How stupid can a Spirit Forest be? Obviously, there was a high chance that he could neutralize poison since he was a snake. Nonetheless, only his mistress and his soul-brethren knew that he was poison-resistant. Outsiders only knew that he harbors the power of lightning. No answer could be heard except for the smallest sounds of whimpering in fear. "Humph! Ungrateful! I give you this chance, and you waste it! If you''re not coming, then I''ll come to you!" Kuro maintained being airborne and moved forward rapidly. He caught a glimpse of a moving shadow four hundred meters away. In panic, the large creature bulldozed forward with its gigantic drill and disappeared from view in a flash. Kuro immediately shot forward to give chase! At the point where he saw the creature disappeared, Kuro peered through. Now he finally understood. It seemed that the stupid spirit beast breached an underground cave within the Silver-banded Eagle mountain! The cave was very spacious with a glaring light at the very top, indicating that the opening must have been at the summit of the mountain. Even his real body could move around with ease down here. He could see a few high-leveled Nobles flying above his head, hence he suppressed his aura to the b?r? minimum to prevent detection. Thank goodness he was so small at the moment. No wonder he couldn''t detect the Nobles the last time he was there. Either all of them left their nests, or some stayed within the hollow cave inside the mountain. Kuro sniffed the air, trying to catch a whiff of the cowardly fellow but his senses were bombarded by the pungent odor of fermented excrement and wet feathers; he disliked this smell the most! It reminded him of the nasty-tasting Silver-banded Eagles he ate out of spite once before. Suddenly, he heard the fellow made a lot of noise. With such pomp, Kuro didn''t have to sniff around to catch its scent anymore; it was too obvious it hid somewhere nearby. Kuro slithered around to find the bugger broke an egg in one of the nests! It actually yelped loudly out of shock; most probably it did it unintentionally. If Kuro could slap his own head, he''d already done it. This guy! Seriously! It''ll be food to one of the Silver-banded eagles soon. A loud cry filled with rage resounded from the upper parts of the cave. The first cry was so loud, the whole cave trembled a little. A gigantic white eagle with three silver-colored bands over its neck dove down in fury! Tears filled its eyes; obviously, it was the owner of the egg! Behind the white eagle, five or six large brownish eagles were in tow! Half of them were mid-stage Nobles, while some others were late-stage Nobles. However, the white one was already at initial-stage Lord! [D4mn! That stupid fellow!] With determination, Kuro slithered as fast as he could towards the Forest Spirit who seemed to be petrified to its place. He needed to drag the guy away by hook or by crook! There was no other Forest Spirit within a thousand kilometers around that he knew of. He didn''t want to waste time anymore. From his connection with Mommy and the rest, he knew the second phase of planting could be implemented anytime soon. Everyone was counting on him to bring back the most important piece of puzzle for the Spirit-agriculture initiative. Seeing the omen coming towards it, it cowered in fear and activated its defensive mechanism in reflex, "Seedling!" The large creature who was as big as a bear shrunk until it was as big as Hana''s thumb! Something akin to a hard shell formed around the little Forest Spirit as it stopped moving altogether! Kuro, "..." The white Silver-banded Eagle who was the nearest saw it too, and it too was dumbfounded, "..." Kuro looked at the white Silver-banded Eagle, and the Eagle looked at him a moment longer. Both of them were speechless and paused their movement midway. The other birds behind the white Silver-banded Eagle crashed into it as they didn''t manage to stop in time, resulting into all of them tumbling down together. Kuro mustered all of his courage and swallow the fellow! He immediately ran away with the guy in his belly! It slithered towards the tiny cave the Forest Spirit made previously. [I hope the stupid fellow won''t get digested. It seemed that it might be its defensive skill. Seriously, why poke the hornet''s nest when you''re not capable!] Kuro grumbled unhappily. Now the wrath of the whole nest had been transferred to him! Kuro blitzed through the hole he came from as the flock of Silver-banded eagles chased behind him closely. Two smaller eagles managed to squeeze themselves through the hole, but the majority of the pursuers were double the size of the hole, hence they had to make a detour and attack from outside. Authors'' Note: 1) jumping from the tiger''s mouth into an alligator''s mouth = a Malay proverb, translated from [dari mulut harimau ke mulut buaya]. It means escaped a disaster only to encounter another disaste Chapter 176 - Kuros Determination (Part 2) Kuro blitzed through the hole he came from as the flock of Silver-banded eagles chased closely behind him. Two smaller eagles the size of a cow managed to squeeze themselves through the hole! Their shrill screeches echoed loudly within the underground cave, making the newly made hole started to crumble! There was a sign that the hole might collapse under the struggle of the two birds! "Damn!" Kuro dashed as fast as he could, but he was hounded by the first bird who was directly behind him. It prevented him from exiting the cave by snapping its beak repeatedly over his body with a mind for eating him. To the two cow-sized eagles, Kuro, who was currently in his camouflage form and subdued aura looked just like a tiny worm in their eyes. Kuro managed to dodge in time to the side, but this had made him stuck between the first eagle and the second eagle who was directly behind it. The hole was too small for the two birds to stand side by side. As the second bird dove down to peck him, he shot through the bird''s forehead like a fast-moving arrow, killing it in one go. The bird slumped down, with its brain matter leaking from the tiny hole. "!!!" The other eagle was so shocked by the sudden attack, it became more cautious immediately. This was the work of an expert! It knew that it could not contend against the unknown black snake, hence it must delay for time for the sake of reinforcement. It was convinced it could do it since the clan''s expert only needed a few seconds to reach the bottom of the Gray-stoned mountain. Kuro tried to kill the other bird the same way, but it managed to stop Kuro''s attack by sacrificing its left talons and reversing to the back. By this time, the other high-leveled Nobles had finally gathered outside the tiny hole made by the Forest Spirit. Both eagles successfully delayed Kuro enough to prevent him from running away. Kuro spat arrogantly to the side after killing the second silver-banded eagle in anger. The bugger had stopped him from fleeing in time. "Fine, I was trying to be nice since Mommy always told me to avoid confrontation. Now, you shitty birds are asking for it! Looking down on me, huh?!" Kuro dashed out and met face-to-face with at least ten late-stage Nobles! While maintaining his size, he dashed about in between the deadly stomps and pecks of the birds. These birds were strong, with sharp talons and their large size. Nonetheless they were slow in Kuro''s eyes. Kuro was very agile. He ripped apart the leg of a bird as he maneuvered below it. The bird screeched in pain while it lost its balance, disturbing the other eagles'' incoming attacks. Kuro took this chance to pierce through three of the birds'' ?h?sts in a straight line simultaneously! When Kuro reappeared a few meters away, both of his cheeks were chubby like a hamster! He spat out two deep blue cores with specks of silver from his mouth and smirked. It seemed that the tyrannical little snake gorged his victims'' core when he pierced through their bodies. "Jackpot!" Kuro was just trying his luck. Since he had pierced through the head of the previous bird and could not find any core, he tried to check their ?h?sts now. The position of beast cores varied between species. However, the most common location was within the brain, heart, or a node at the abdomen (1). [More cores to collect! Mommy will be happy!] Kuro laughed gleefully; at the moment, he was the embodiment of evil in the eyes of the eagles. Cores were the next best things besides Spirit Crystals and Spirit Herbs. However, cores were filled with impurities and could be unsuitable to a certain degree, especially when the beast who ingested it has an opposite attribute with the core. In contrast, if the core has the same attributes with the beast ingesting it, it could become a catalyst to enhance the beast''s abilities to new heights. Kuro glanced at the cores for a second and swallowed it back down. Looking at the characteristic of the core, it seemed that it might be metal-attributed; an attribute which was useless for him. But he knew that Mommy would love them since they looked so beautiful! Anything sparkly would be a good gift for Mommy; Kuro found that his Mistress loved shiny things like the dreaded Deathly Fire Ravens. In fact, he should take this opportunity to fetch a few more to make her happy! As such, the lovable little snake turned into a devilish killing machine, massacring the remaining birds with ease using plain brute force. No techniques were needed whatsoever; the differences between their levels and his was like the heavens and earth. It was as if Kuro was a bullet which could change its course, burrowing into the hearts of the other eagles in search for more cores. Once he exited the body of a Silver-banded Eagle, brain matter, flesh, splashes of blood and gore spurted out while the life of the bird ended in a gruesome manner. The rain of blood had made Kuro entered a frenzied state; he totally forgot to run like how he planned before. He even swallowed some of the birds'' carcasses. It has been so long since he last killed just for the sake of it. By the eighth kill, Kuro could feel an incoming heavy aura approaching fast! A late-stage Lord! The furious Monarch was near! Beside it was the beautiful white Silver-banded Eagle; the owner of the broken egg, while behind him were tens of late-stage Nobles and early-stage Lords! Kuro would be outnumbered soon! It turns out, the white Silver-banded Eagle was one of the Monarch''s missuses! The Forest Spirit unintentionally killed the Monarch''s direct offspring! Kuro was clueless with what was going on, but even if he did, he wouldn''t have cared. Feeling the dreadful killing intent radiated from the whole bird clan, Kuro finally snapped out of the frenzied state and started to flee in a direction away from his own home. [I need to move as fast as possible!] After killing the last Silver-banded Eagle, Kuro immediately dashed into the nearest clumps of trees and even burrowed into the wet soil in an attempt to camouflage himself. However, since the eagles were already hot on his trail, he couldn''t shake them off. While he was running for his life, he heard the soft voice of his Mistress. The Monarch created hundreds of silver pikes as huge as a flagpole each, and threw them down like splashing concentrated shower over the place where it last saw the worm. The beautiful canopy-like arboreal trees were immediately reduced into smithereens. Kuro managed to dodge in time as he flew and change his direction a little. However, his tail was injured slightly. If the rain of silver pikes hit him head on, he could be seriously injured! Kuro cleared his throat and tried to sound as normal as he could. Yes? Anything, Mommy? Kuro dashed back towards the nearby mountain range, trying to find cover. At least, the boulder-like mountain could somehow hold out from the Monarch''s crazy attacks for a while. The other Silver-banded Eagles attacked him from all sides with their razor-sharp wings! Their previous brown feathered wings and black talons were currently covered with silver; an obvious metal-strengthening technique. The attacks missed a few times, though Kuro noticed that his defensive scales chipped. A couple more times, it could be lethal for him. He counterattacked but was being deflected by the silver-covered wings! [Come home now.] Mommy rarely made such a direct order before. This was one of the few times she exerted her no-nonsense towards him. [Why? I''m in the middle of something right now. Won''t be home for a while.] [I can see you at the moment.] A short and succinct statement made Kuro''s heart skipped a beat. [Come home now. We will face it together.] [No. I don''t think that''s a good idea, Mommy. Currently, our home doesn''t have the ability to withstand the incoming attacks from these birds. A large number of them are too strong for us. Fleeing and hiding for a while will be a better option. Just give me a few more days, Mommy. Then I''ll come home with the Forest Spirit! That bugger is already in my grasp.] [Return now. I don''t care. Don''t look down on your family.] Mommy''s strict voice held a kind of power he couldn''t oppose. Although Kuro was determined to steer clear from his lair''s direction, he couldn''t help himself from correcting it back towards his own home as he dodged multiple attacks from all sides. Lord Fearsilver, who was the Monarch of the Silver-banded Eagles, wasn''t very happy with the extra effort to exterminate a low-leveled scum who had made his most doted missus furious. Another egg could be made again soon, though, the resources needed to prime it will need to be collected again. Nonetheless, if he did nothing, not just the affection of his missus will be gone, he would lose his dignity along with his authority too. The subordinates will look down on him and lost their respect for him. He summoned his Quicksilver Pike technique with grace and launched it over the filthy ashy black worm squirming in between tiny rocks. Hundreds of six-meter long silver pikes battered the surrounding. If they managed to hit the target, not even a corpse will be left, seeing how tiny the offending spirit worm was. To Lord Fearsilver''s surprise, the little worm managed to dodge the attack swiftly. It must be quite high-leveled. After he carefully scanned the creature, he was quite surprised again to find that this little worm was a Lord-level spirit beast. The Monarch''s interest in eating the little worm increased exponentially. [What luck, finding a lone Lord-level spirit beast! This king will finally be able to accumulate enough to reach half-step Imperial Lord soon!] Although the scoundrel was rapidly disappearing through the woods after dodging his attack, the Monarch of the Silver-banded eagle was unperturbed. He unhurriedly spoke, "The two of you follow me, the rest of you, return to the lair and secure it well. I will have to accompany the Missus to avenge for the death of the babe. The Fire Ravens could invade us anytime. Elder Perr and Elder Rakk, bring along some low-tiered subordinates." He sniggered while looking at the disappearing snake condescendingly. He had already put a mark over the tiny worm. "Will it be alright to bring the young ones over? How about if we replaced these younglings with older comrades?" Elder Perr inquired slowly. It couldn''t detect the strength level of the offending creature, but its ability to rapidly kill Noble-tiered eagles showed that it has immense strength. Low-leveled subordinates were mostly spirit avian below the Noble-level. Bringing the low-leveled subordinates could potentially be a waste of time while exposing them to unnecessary danger. "No need. Just follow this Monarch commands." Lord Fearsilver glared sharply at the Elder''s insubordination tone. His orders were absolute, and he didn''t really care about the lives of these low-leveled grunts. He had so many more at his disposal. Sparing a few to be cannon fodder in case of any emergencies was nothing. "The little bastard is quite fast. Before the others come, he will be long gone. This guy is a loner, and is quite nutritious-looking. No one else but the Missus should deal with this one, alright?" The rest nodded in comprehension as they soared towards the sky rapidly, following the mark left behind by the little worm. Authors'' Note: (1) node at the abdomen = oo yes, it is the famed ''dantian'' haha Chapter 177 - Ugly Unacceptable Truth Hana stretched lightly and felt so refreshed. She dreamt of her beloved just now. It was a memory way back when their eldest was just a baby. A day out to the zoo turned comically disastrous. Well, it was because it ended with a bad leg cramp and a twisted hip from a series of unfortunate events. Maybe because the memory was enhanced with a ''3D submersive experience'', it felt so real, including the pain felt. It felt funny to walk down memory lane, but at that time, it was definitely not funny at all. Arash was sad, very sad. Though she felt that in her distant memories, it wasn''t so. A bit of fatigue won''t make someone like Arash sad out of the blue; he''s a realist! Hence although happy to see her love in her dream, she felt quite concerned. Hana quickly reached for her smartphone. It has not been charged, as the battery was already less than ten percent since Kuro was not around. Hana had been switching off her smartphone most of the time all week. She switched it on only during exciting moments when she wished to take some pictures and OOTDs during her most recent excursion to the Waterwave Clan''s ground. Granted, the pics taken were superbly otherworldly! If she could upload them to social media sites, they could definitely garner at least thousands of likes! "Dear, help Mistress get that handbag, please." Hana projected her dusty handbag full of kitty prints to enlighten the confused Elemental Fiend. F1 crawled enthusiastically and fetched the bag as gentle as it could using its front limb. Hana rummaged through the handbag to get to her powerbank and attached the cable to her already dying smartphone. She sighed in relief and patted the head of the Elemental Fiend. F1 placed the handbag at the rack and continue to stand vigil beside the aunty, providing ample illumination. Hana unlocked her smartphone enthusiastically. She was a bit too busy ever since she returned from her excursion to Ara''s home. She realized she didn''t get to chat properly with Arash and her Mom. Last night she only left with a short message to Arash to inform him that she''s back; a habit she cultivated early on. Others? Whatever. She didn''t really care, especially if by messaging, both parties will feel bitter within. Better not. Once she accessed the chatting app, she saw a long message from her beloved; she had to scroll so many times! It could be new tutorials for something significant broken down to easier parts for her to apply. Arash was such a gem. Feeling a bit parched, Hana looked around for a bamboo canister on the bamboo rack. Lo and behold, the hardworking F1 already scurried over to fetch one, dipped it inside the water blob at the edge of the cave-dwelling, and presented it to its Mistress with a soft drone. Hana was deeply impressed! She took the water and drank it well. The only thing was the water became extra warm from the Elemental Fiend''s touch. The aunty didn''t mind since the surrounding was quite chilly and a good cup of warm water made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. If only there were tea leaves around She slowly went through the text diligently; a message this long meant a great deal of details. Knowing Arash''s habit of writing concise information, this meant that there will be a lot to digest. After a few minutes, she unintentionally loosened her grip over the bamboo canister. The partially filled cup fell on her ??p, wetting her. Nonetheless, Hana didn''t blink, her eyes were bleak. She closed them for a few seconds and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She massaged her temples with her right hand and continued reading what was written by the love of her life. Her eyes had progressively turned red. Papa: Tok Silihan, the leader of the aborigine clan near our town explained the repetitive occurrence of the ''Gates of Hell'' phenomena in a span of 150 to 200 years apart. I have made a deduction based on the Elder''s explanation. This might be a dimensional crack phenomenon, or a space tear, something that we often come across as fictional. It could be true, it could be false. But the fact that you did appear inside an unknown cave within a time frame of a few minutes showed that it is highly possible. Papa: Tok Silihan believed it wholeheartedly, and so did I. If he heard it from someone, I wouldn''t believe it so much. But he had experienced the phenomenon once. He is credible. He gained nothing from lying. While telling me the story, his face was filled with guilt. He looked deeply troubled and miserable. Sigh. There must be something more he kept away from me, I could feel it. But the fact that at least he told me this is already good enough. There was a gap of nearly thirty minutes for the next message to appear just by looking at the time sent. It must be hard for Arash to type the next sentence out. Hana, who read her husband''s messages late could only gasp in sorrow after reading the next sentence. Papa: Ayang, there won''t be a rescue coming. Papa: I am so sorry. I''ve failed you. Hana felt her world turned dark. These two sentences were a finite response which had dashed Hana''s hope ruthlessly. Papa: The next time the ''Gate'' opens, you and I, both of us will be long gone. Unless we find a way now, from both sides. It will be tough. But we need to keep persevering until the end. We need to keep on trying for the sake of the kids. They need you, Ayang. I need you. Promise me you won''t give up, Love. At this point, tears already flowed heavily. Her vision blurred terribly, she had to pause from reading Arash''s messages to wipe the tears away and blow her stuffed nose. The fact that she could never see her family ever again made her feel deep grief. Nonetheless, she wasn''t really shocked by the revelation. Deep down she already knew something like this was an eventuality. The peculiarities of her surroundings and the intelligent animals around her were too glaringly obvious. However, she was still in denial and hoped that Arash will find a way to save her somehow. As the last wisp of hope diminished, she felt a gaping hole forming within her heart. The warm beating heart turned cold. The Soul Hall Domain was shaking violently; all spiritual beasts contracted to Hana felt the turbulence at the same time. Their eyes trailed to the little cave atop the vertical hill while feeling the heavy emotions the Mistress was emitting. They stopped performing their tasks and training while remaining pensive. After a while, other beasts present started to notice the peculiarities, but they kept quiet and kept on practicing. The atmosphere became heavy with tension without any tangible reason. Hana continued reading the lengthy messages with shaky hands; Papa: I know by now, you must be crying, Ayang. Pull yourself together! You need to! Tok Silihan has given me a clue. A few hundred years back, he said there were some of his clansmen who had gone through the Gate. They never returned. Perhaps, they still lived and build a community in the place you''re trapped in. You must try to find their traces. Only with numbers, one can achieve something. Hana felt so scared. Arash kept on throwing a hand grenade again and again to her face, her heart couldn''t take it. The mobile connection was the only reason that kept her sane! Memories of her two little ones flashed past. The time she got Aira. It was a difficult birth; she had to be induced. The pain made her felt traumatized for nearly three years before she dared to try again for a second one. The time when Aira called her ''Mama'' for the first time, her first step, her first day at kindie (Hana cried for the whole day), how sad she was when Aira told her she wished to celebrate her birthday with friends at ''school'' rather than with her parents at home. The time when Ai hugged her happily before sleep after feeling contented with a good bedtime story session. Aina. Her lovely little pearl. She said ''Mama'' first and refused to say ''Papa'' while spitting porridge over his face. A bit wilful and always love to spill whatever food given to her, but will pick random items on the floor and stuffed into her mouth. The time when she nearly put a live wire into her mouth and scared the hell out of Hana and Arash, the time when she picked Aira''s 3D bu??erfly stickers and ate them up, the time when she coughed so bad until she had to be brought into the clinic for neb (1). The time when Aina waved at her from the car window with starry eyes, hoping to be cuddled again later. Hana swiped open her smartphone to tap on the ''Gallery'' app. She swiped through a series of videos to see her beautiful Aira and Aina in matching pink frocks with white rabbit prints making cute faces and laughing their hearts out. Tears rained down like there''s no tomorrow. Will these memories of her little daughters become the last ones? She was unwilling! She will not be played by fate! Hana stood up abruptly, startling the concerned F1. It droned softly while taking a step back. Hana walked towards the levitating water bubble and dipped her hands in. She splashed some water over her face and took three deep breaths. [I must calm down.] She whispered to herself like a mantra as many times as she could. Ten minutes went by as she tried her best to be rational, just like how a grown-up should be. [Nothing is impossible. There must be a way. I must make a new plan. No one is going to help anymore. I need to help myself.] Hana whispered to herself calmly, as if her outbursts from before were just a figment of imagination. The Soul Hall Domain slowly calmed down. Hana suddenly felt something wrong somewhere, but she couldn''t pinpoint where that awful feeling comes from. It might be her sixth sense. It was as if dangers were coming. Feeling confused she turned around haphazardly to locate the danger. Only F1 looked back while Pii-chan was still sound asleep defencelessly on the floor. Hana immediately established a Soul-link with Q-chan at the bottom of the hill to observe outside, but nothing was out of place. [Ku-chan!] Her heart nearly stopped beating as she realized it might be her favorite pet-snake. Authors'' Note: (1) neb = a short for ''nebulizer'' over here. It is used for kids who had breathing problem due to terrible cough. Can''t remember what medicine was used for the nebulizer though haha...was it Ventolin? Chapter 178 - Enlisted for 50% Discount! [Ku-chan!] Her heart nearly stopped beating as she realized it might be her favorite pet-snake. Hana immediately connected to Kuro. The first thing that appeared in front of her eyes were gigantic blackish-brown ferocious-looking eagles with deep yellow eyes pecking at her from all angles! Hana yelp at a high pitch reflexively! She blinked and lost connection with her pet snake immediately. Hana patted her ?h?st in fear while trying her best to calm down. It took her a full five minutes to slow down her beating heart. It was like suddenly being forced into watching the climax part of a Japanese horror movie in high definition! Slightly trembling, she tried to reconnect again a second time. Although she was quite shaken, her worry for her doted pet gave her the courage to do just that. No amount of tears could wash away her regret if something happened to Kuro while she looked away. However, this time, the horrid eagles were already lying on the floor, drenched in blood all over. Most horrifyingly, whitish brain matter scattered everywhere while the eagles lost some parts of their limbs. Although they already died, she could feel her pet snake dashing around through their flesh like a crazy snake-like alien who loved to burrow through carcasses. It was very gross and scary. The worst thing was, although she closed her eyes to stop herself from seeing what Kuro was doing, the gruesome scenery was still there. [Ku-chan] [Ku-channn] Hana called for Kuro telepathically, albeit in a weak ''voice''. She was too appalled with what Kuro was doing. After calling out to her pet snake a few times, she noticed that the ruby red ''star'' representing Kuro within her Soul Hall Domain was darker than its usual color. The nucleus within was slightly black! After awhile, Hana saw Kuro gulping down something that looked like deep blue orbs. Within, Hana could see specks of silvery stars. They really looked like the scene of space with clear stars twinkling being contained inside a miniature globe. Truly lovely. Hana immediately connected the dots. He must be doing this for his Mommy TT___TT. Those orb-like things were really the kind that she like. Strung on the wrist or weaved into a bracelet watch, they could be an instant favorite among the ladies including her. Hana knew Kuro''s habit of collecting beautiful things for her; he never returned with an empty hand every time he ventured out since day one. Feeling deeply touched, her aversion to Kuro''s actions diminished slightly. Already merging deeply with the ruby red ''star'', this time, Hana focused on the darkening ''nucleus''. She tried to give it a hug while being in her astral form. She closed her eyes and tried to relay a generous amount of love, acceptance, and how much she cared for her pet snake. She knew for a fact that Kuro was special and had his own way of thinking. She couldn''t really force her belief onto him or her other pets as they operated in a different set of values from a cultured human. She knew that all her pets have been extremely accommodating to her and followed her every whim already. Although Hana wasn''t really sure how she did it, to her delight, the nucleus slowly regained its vibrant ruby-like spectrum. Hana observed the change happening to the red ''star'' while at the same time maintaining observation through Kuro''s vision. She realized it seemed like Kuro has been awoken from a kind of trance. The previous darkening of the nucleus might be an indication that her pet snake was in a state of mindless bloodlust and operated only through instinct, just like how a normal ferocious animal would. She had read this condition quite a lot in books. Of course, fictional books. Hence, she was slow to connect the two together. The sudden appearance of more birds who radiated auras stronger than her Kuro made Hana nervous! There were two leading ones and tens of birds ranging from light brown to dark brown trailing behind. The white one and the dark brown one leading at the forefront had three silver bands over their neck area, while the rest had two. The dark one was especially huge! It was the largest as compared to all other eagles around; it was so obvious it must be the Boss Eagle, while the white graceful one, its mate. Kuro was just the size of a worm in front of such majestic avian. Hana was so nervous when she saw how desperate Kuro tried to run away from this group of birds. At times, he was nearly pecked, while at other times, he was nearly impaled by hundreds of large silver-colored stakes! These birds were crazy! What had her pitiful pet did to incur this level of wrath from the bird boss?! It looked like the bird lackeys attacked her pet first before. Her pet only retaliated to save his own life (of course she selectively removed the part where Kuro maliciously burrowed through the dead birds in search of the blue orb-like gem). Obviously, the aunty hadn''t seen the part where the Forest Spirit broke the egg and how, through a series of events, the wrath of the whole clan was transferred to her pet snake! [Ku-chan.] After a while, a response came. [Yes? Anything, Mommy?] Kuro''s tone didn''t have the slightest bit of disturbance. As if he was just strolling around on the forest floor happily. If Hana didn''t perform a full Soul-link with Kuro, she wouldn''t have noticed something was amiss. The edge of her mouth trembled a little, and a bit of anger seeped within. [Come home now.] For once, Hana gave her pet snake an instruction. Coupled with worry and anger mixed within, Hana wasn''t planning to coax him gently. It was an emergency situation after all. [Why? I''m in the middle of something right now. Won''t be home for a while.] Hana used to perform Soul-links during her cultivation sessions. However, she rarely connected with Kuro to perform sense-sharing. Kuro had no idea his action was seen as clear as day. [I can see you at the moment.] Hana scrunched her brow while feeling slightly displeased. The lie rolled on her pet''s tongue too smoothly, almost. Very practiced. Hana was reminded by Arash''s messages a few minutes ago and her mood darkened. She might not be able to see her family ever again. These kids were her family now. If she closed her eyes from her pets'' plight, she would soon regret it. Just like how they protected her all this while, she needed to do something to protect them too. She wasn''t that stupid to not realize her wellbeing was directly proportional to Kuro and Shiro''s effort and protection. Her eyes reddened again. She felt so useless. Always a burden to everyone around her. Hana took a deep breath to calm herself. A grown-up shouldn''t be so weak. Slowly, a determined look replaced her sorrowful reflection. [Come home now. We will face it together.] She added softly while wiping away tears from the corner of her eyes. Hana waited for a full minute before a reply came. It was filled with uncertainty and a trace of nervousness, though these negative emotions had been masked well. [No. I don''t think that''s a good idea, Mommy. Please rescind that order. Currently, our home doesn''t have the ability to withstand the incoming attacks from these birds. They are too strong for us, especially the Silver-banded Eagle Monarch and its Lady. Fleeing and hiding for a while will be a better option. Just give me a few more days, Mommy. Then I''ll come home with the Forest Spirit! That bugger is already in my grasp.] Hana narrowed her eyes dangerously. [Ewah-ewah, this kid. He dared defy this aunty''s command?] If the little snake was in front of her right now, he will definitely receive a good amount of spanking. Hana wasn''t a pampering mother who only dotes on her loved one. She will punish when one needed to be punished. [Return now. I don''t care. Don''t look down on your family.] Hana spoke with a no-nonsense tone. She trusted her guts immensely now, especially once she had mastered the soul cultivation technique. It wasn''t considered a coincidence anymore when she could feel the general location of all her contracted pets as a whole. And yes, it included the hundreds and thousands of gigantic termites present within the vicinity and the ones within the tunnels connecting the Serpent''s Lair and the Elemental Fiends'' multilayered labyrinthian nest. Only, the closer she was to her pet emotionally, the more specific the information she could glean upon. She couldn''t make heads or tails over the mechanics of such wonderous ''ability''. She could only attribute it to her sixth sense getting stronger due to the soul cultivation technique she was practicing. Hana stood up abruptly and hurriedly walked out of her cave-dwelling. Standing at the edge of the elevated ''hill'', she noticed that all the animals were already facing her, at full attention. The large spirit avian were there as well. Since at the very first moment when the Soul Hall Domain shook, the soul brethren had noticed and stopped performing any tasks while the rest followed suit. All of them had been waiting patiently until the Mistress emerged from her sudden ''closed-door cultivation''. Almost everyone was reverently gazing towards the Mistress, eager to please the ultimate figurehead of the Serpent''s Lair. "A group of spirit avian with malicious intent is approaching us! They are currently ganging up on Lord Kuro, who was defending us wholeheartedly. Because of this, they are enemies in my eyes! I will not stand by and let this continue! Anyone who wished to run, dismiss yourselves now and never step back on my land!" Hana spoke loudly with conviction. Hushed murmurs, blops, and chirps were increasing in volume. "HOWEVER." The Mistress paused for a moment and continued when the spirit beasts focused their attention on her. "Whoever stayed, will be compensated with fifty percent slashed price for their next advancement meal! They will also get Serpent''s Lair eternal gratitude by being given the opportunity to guard the future Spirit-agriculture Field while cultivating!" Hana grandly stated her condition. Loud chirps and droning sounds filled the clearing below! Everyone was excited! Fifty percent off! That''s a steal! "TO WARRR!!!" The Serpent''s Lair inhabitants moved at the same time, industriously performing different kinds of tasks at the Mistress commands. They were racing against the clock. They heard who they were going to face and had turned pale from fear. The Serpent''s Lair Administrative(1) had given them a guarantee that as long as they followed instructions to the T, they will definitely feast upon high-leveled spirit avian meat soon! At a slashed price to boot. In the face of danger and opportunity presented upon them, everyone had forgotten the competition between one another. Instead, everyone was working together seamlessly for once for the sake of rewards! Authors'' Note: The Serpent''s Lair Administrative = The ones that govern the Lair. Chapter 179 - Manifesting Multiple Soul-links [Ku-chan Dear, bring them around towards the Elemental Fiends'' Nest area. Mommy will help you out from there.] Kuro received Mommy''s belated instruction after he had delayed his pursuers for three hours upon her request. Although it was already dark at the moment, both him and the crazy eagles had no qualms playing this deadly game of hide-and-seek. A large part of the arboreal forest had been destroyed extensively. Mommy''s heart would ache when she saw this, and it didn''t bode well on Kuro''s conscience. Who knows what kind of trees that Mommy treasures were lost amidst this fight. In truth, Kuro was very worried about Mommy''s spontaneous decision on ?ssisting him. By right, through the Soul-link, Mommy would''ve detected that the Monarch was stronger than him. They lacked high leveled Experts in their small group as opposed to this group of vengeful birds. Kuro was still working on addressing this problem; obviously, the Forest Spirit should be the first one added to their ranks while more will come in tow, forcefully, if need be. However, one can only plan, but Fate was a mysterious thing. Just the first step on their supposed ''conquest'', they were already in deep trouble; he couldn''t fathom how did recruiting a single cowardly spirit beast could turn out into a full-blown confrontation with strong opposition. Mommy didn''t really explain how she was going to deal with these birds. He had never thought of ''dealing'' with the Monarch. Not just yet. Currently, the gap of power between them was too huge; he wasn''t convinced he could defeat it without suffering major injuries. He at least needed to consolidate his powers first, and upgrade to mid-level before trying since he was weak with metal-attributed flying spirit beasts. However, he didn''t feel any regrets. He knew without him present, protecting Mommy to the best of his abilities, she would never survive the first few days of her arrival with her heavily skewed logic. [Everyone, sync with me now.] Mommy''s telepathic voice resounded in Kuro''s brain. The voice was deadly serious and full of authority, vastly contrasting Mommy''s usual soft and relaxed way of engaging conversation. Kuro found that, again, he could not defy the command at all. Although physically he was dodging an incoming metallic silver pike from the Monarch of the Silver-banded Eagles, his soul had been dragged into the all too familiar bleak Soul Hall Domain. Kuro appeared in his ruby red astral form. He looked around and saw all his soul-brethren appear one after another almost immediately. The white fox in his icy bluish-white glow, the little slave fish in bluish-green sparkle, the Elemental Fiend Queen Mother in her bizarre whitish-grey lights, the naughty baby bird in a dusty golden glow, and four new ones in hues of green to blue. As his gaze trailed over them, they gave a slight nod of acknowledgment. The four new faces must be new strays Mommy picked up along the way out of pity, since their aura wasn''t strong at all. Kuro took note that he needed to enrich the Soul Hall Domain with more ''high-quality'' brothers and sisters in the future. In the very center of the neverending Hall, Mommy, in her multicolored transparent form was waiting silently with closed eyes. The clothing articles she desperately clung to outside weren''t there at this moment, but her extremely long and voluminous hair was billowing everywhere like the tentacle of waves, obscuring her form. In this darkened Hall, she was the ultimate being revered by all around her. Mommy opened her eyes and spoke authoritatively. [We''re currently in an emergency situation. Kuro is leading over thirty-three Silver-banded eagles of which twenty-nine are initial to late-stage spirit avian, with two early-stage Nobles leading them. There are two birds we must pay attention to; an early-stage Lord white Eagle with triple silver bands, and finally, the strongest of them all, a late-stage Lord, the Big Boss of the Eagles. This one is dark brown and is the largest one, easily distinguishable. We will incapacitate everyone else, but we need to kill off the Boss.] The majority of them gasped. The strongest Expert within their group was Lord Brother Kuro. He was only at initial stage Lord, another one was the traitor of the said eagles, who couldn''t be depended on. That baby bird never did anything except eat and sleep all day. The next one was Lord Brother Shiro, but he wasn''t a Lord yet; just a half-step away. As compared to the Silver-banded Eagles, they were severely lacking in Experts. Not talking about emerging victorious, would it even be possible to survive this confrontation? Shiro was the only one who had unfaltering confidence in Mom''s decision. He only showed surprise with Mommy''s sudden aggressive approach. He pondered a little at the beginning but ultimately chose to believe in Mom one-hundred percent. [It is not impossible. A straight-up confrontation is stupid. Let''s do it this way] As Mommy kept on explaining her plan succinctly to everyone present within the Soul Hall Domain, their expressions, including Kuro, showed comprehension and clarity. As what Mommy said, it was highly doable. Mommy turned around her and stared deeply at the Elemental Fiend Queen Mother''s direction. After a while, she spoke. [Everyone, come over and try to merge with me. Let''s see how it goes.] The ''stars'' around the Domain twinkled slightly, showing signs of doubt. Was it possible to actually move from their own spot? The presence of the ''bridge'' tying them to the Mistress at the center, and how the Mistress who always took the initiative to move towards them made them ?ssume that they couldn''t move outside of their own personal space. Realization dawned on Kuro. It''s a new approach. It might just work. Successfully doing this could lead to multiple Soul-links at the same time. Instead of her approaching a single targeted Soul-slave, the others will have to take the initiative to merge with her instead. Although it sounded simple, the soul-type energy needed must come from the partial-soul residing within the domain. Kuro wasn''t positive that it could work with his new ''brothers'' and ''sisters'' as they were too pitifully weak. Soul energy was a different kind of energy as compared to spiritual energy and mental energy. It was the origin and was the hardest kind of energy to be cultivated. High soul power will lead to the strengthening of mental power and spiritual energy. However, the increment of both spiritual energy and mental energy will not affect the amount of soul energy of an individual. Only specific kinds of rare beasts who specialized in soul-related attack or communication will have inheritance-based unique cultivation technique to improve their soul power. Like him, the descendants of the Lightning Emperor did inherit a single soul-based cultivation technique for enslavement. Another example was the unique telepathic-based spirit insect such as the Elemental Fiends'' group. Besides these two groups of spirit beasts, all other spirit beasts will have the same level of soul energy for the rest of their lives, and the energy level was mediocre at best. Hence, these plebeians won''t have sufficient energy to perform the required ''leap''. However, one thing that Kuro noticed with the modified soul cultivation chant was the partial souls of all pets were slowly rejuvenated and strengthened alongside their Mistress'' improvement, albeit at an extremely slow pace. He could sense that it was working on him, which meant that it should work on the rest too. He was positive that Mommy will be able to perform multiple Soul-links with various contracted spirit beasts at the same time in the near future! There was no need to wait for a full link to form for a single spirit beast anymore. Feeling gratified and curious at the same time, he took the initiative to push forward with all the energy he had to reach Mommy Hana opened her eyes to reveal two sparkling ruby irises. At the same time, she could feel the queen mother''s telepathic nest-wide prowess dwelling upon her. Previously, she could only ''feel'' it somewhat. However, right now, it was like she owned the video surveillance room, and could observe each one of the Elemental Fiends in HD anywhere, as long as she wills it. Now she understood. Only Ku-chan and Q-chan had enough soul-energy to attempt complete merging with her. She had been inspired by Q-chan''s telepathic prowess and how the Queen Mother manage her widespread network. Now, having a complete view from both sides in real-time will benefit her the most. She was ready. No more grieving, no more playing princess. She will definitely find the way home and this was just the first step. [Let''s do this.] From afar, barrages after barrages of artillery bombardment shook the forest hard. Birds and landbeasts were seen fleeing for their lives in all directions, afraid to be caught in the middle of a flock of crazed spirit avian''s attack. The spiritual birds were ganging up together destroying the lush arboreal trees with vengeance, to everyone''s confusion. However, no one was brave enough to question them of their strange destructive behavior. The little black snake the tyrants were pursuing was a tad bit too small to be seen from afar after all. These birds were the local tyrants of the area, and no animal could survive when antagonizing them. Beautiful ancient trees fell, majestic boulders covered in moss and rare orchids crumbled into pieces, and deaths of many wildlife, caught in the crossfire, littered the already battered landscape. The destruction moved in a straight line towards the Southwest area, but soon changed direction abruptly towards the west. Along the way, trails of giant silver needle-like spikes embedded the land like porcupines, destroying everything. If one concentrated and observed carefully, one would notice a tiny black worm-like creature dashing about with speed towards a blackened clearing devoid of trees. It was the spot where tribulation lightning strikes burned a gigantic old tree, leaving only a charred stump. The local beasts avoided this area since it was the nest of the fearsome Elemental Fiends who could gobble up a Noble under one minute. However, the birds loved these delectable spiritual insects. They were considered as staples for higher-leveled Noble avian due to their high number and nutritional values. The Silver-banded eagles had raided the small nest a couple of times in the past too but did not overtly hunt to prevent their extinction as they were viewed as a stable source of food. The little black snake dashed into a deep pit as wide as a two-door entrance. The whole group of Silver-banded eagles dashed forward without regard, with the white triple-banded eagle leading the whole team, hot on their pursuit. The pit was so narrow, they had to enter in a single file since their bodies were huge and nearly filled up the whole space. The tunnel meandered deep until it became a straight line. Because it was so cramped up, the eagles were forced to fold their wings and pursue the offending worm while moving on their chicken-like feet rapidly. They ran awkwardly within the tunnel until they reached a sudden steep drop of about 50 degrees! The eagles slid down clumsily to reach an empty space with multiple tunnels arranged in a straight line. The strange empty space was so spacious but wasn''t high enough until the eagles could fly comfortably. They could only hover a bit without hitting the ceiling. The eagles looked left and right, trying to find their prey. The little black worm was already gone! Which tunnel did it choose to flee to? The triple-banded white eagle looked around the strange space and tunnels. They were made from unknown white material which emit a somewhat noxious fume. However, the level of toxicity was very low and it won''t affect her or her team. She was very sure these tunnels weren''t natural as they bore the standard characteristics of the Elemental Fiends'' labyrinthian nest. She pushed her uneasiness within and think about the next course of action. After a moment of contemplation, the triple-banded white eagle signaled the rest to enter a tunnel each as she waited at the empty space. She knew the grunts she brought along won''t be enough to contend the black spirit worm, but once she heard the emergency signal, she would know where to go. Suddenly, loud screeches could be heard from all tunnels at the same time! An enemy! Chapter 180 - Bubble-glue [An enemy!] The eagle huffed visible white air and turned to her back rapidly, narrowly dodging a two-meter ice lance. Behind her, the surrounding had turned foggy, and the silhouette of a whitish creature could be seen appearing surreal. If she had not seen it with her own eyes, she would never notice this tiny creature! Not even a tiny wisp of aura leaked from its body! The white Silver-banded eagle became extremely wary. Her senses had been spread out to the fullest, but she still failed to notice the white creature who just appeared out of thin-air. The unusual color of the tunnels within the pit seamlessly blended the fox in until it couldn''t be noticed. The fox also withheld his aura perfectly and stopped breathing. The clashes between the white Silver-banded eagle and the Mirage Fox shook the spacious empty space. However, the space was so solid, only dust mixed with ice specks fell. "Stoppppp!" By the time Lord Fearsilver called out to the whole group, more than half of the birds had already entered the darkened pit. The pit itself was suspicious. Additionally, the way the little worm wiggled itself provocatively almost made it look like a trap. Lord Fearsilver was helpless to stop the Missus who was leading at the forefront; she was too enraged to be reasoned with. Before he knew it, more than half had already entered the pit before he could stop them. The rest of the eagles stopped abruptly in front of the pit while looking at each other in confusion. They turned to the Monarch and waited for further instruction. However, they heard the shrill screeches of the birds within the pit instead. All of them were screeching their lungs out in horror! If one has goosebumps, all of them will surface at this moment. Because the screams sounded quite faint and scattered in various directions, not just from the hole they just entered. It was just a few minutes later too! Lord Fearsilver narrowed his eyes in fury. They were being played by the worm! It was never alone in the first place. It was plain as day that this was a systematic trap designed to ensnare all of them! BAM!!! The forest shook from the impact. The entrance of the pit crumbled to pieces revealing a different translucent white texture covering the pit within. The material was very sturdy! Only several tiny hair-line cracks appeared after a physical attack from a late-stage Lord-level spiritual beast! Slightly surprised with the sturdiness of the pit, Lord Fearsilver prepared to ram a second time. He hadn''t exerted all of his powers before, hence he wasn''t worried. He knew it was just a matter of time to breach the peculiar pit with his level of strength. Suddenly, a group of colorful birds appeared from the horizon. They squawked and cawed noisily, gaining the notice of the eagles on the ground. Currently, there were less than ten Silver-banded eagles, including the Monarch himself. They were quite taken aback by the appearance of another tribe of spiritual avians nearby. Usually, every ''tribe'' had their own turf, and this location was the Silver-banded Eagles'' hunting zone. The birds got nearer, and it didn''t seem that they were just passing by! Were they planning to steal their prey?! Tension filled the air. Without the existence of malice within the incoming bird''s group, the Silver-banded eagles couldn''t come to a decision of whether to attack or not. Usually, they were the aggressive bunch and would attack without question at the first chance they got, however, at the moment, their overall strength and numbers were quite lacking since the rest of their forces were stuck underground. The energy signature of the incoming birds was of mid-tiered Nobles on average! There was even a late-staged one leading the group! Roughly, the overall power of the incoming birds was slightly stronger than them, if the presence of the Monarch was unaccounted for. Nonetheless, with these many adversaries, the Monarch could wipe the forest floor with all of them, piece of cake! Hence, although they were quite tense, they weren''t afraid. Under the Monarch''s command, the eagles adopted a wait-and-see approach. They waited for the arrival of the other birds to see what they really wanted. If a fight they wanted, then a fight they shall have! Surely them birds could detect the vast amount of power within the Monarch, right? Surprisingly, the birds didn''t land, but just swooped low. The eagles were ready to retaliate as the birds neared them. However, at last, they didn''t land at all. Instead, whitish bubbles the size of small hatchback cars were subsequently thrown to them at point blank by an Elemental Fiend perched upon the birds'' back! The birds were working together with ''food'' to backstab fellow birds! The Monarch didn''t mind a clash happening between the eagles and the colorful birds. Afterall, it was natural to compete for protein-rich resources when they chance upon a nest at the same time. However, he couldn''t brain the cooperation happening in front of his eyes. With his sharp sight, he could see at least half a dozen of Elemental Fiends on each of the bird''s back, chilling in between the humongous colorful feathers. What sick joke was this?! Were they vegan?! A fraction of a second later, he was stumped with his own overthinking of ''were they cannibals''?! The colorful birds were, after all, a size bigger than them eagles, though not by much. Elder Rakk immediately instructed its subordinates into an attacking formation and waited for the Monarch''s consent! It''s better to go down fighting rather than wait to die. No one knew that the gooey liquid did not pose a threat to their lives but only had the ability to restrain them totally. Unless, they were late-staged Lords, of course. Feeling incredulous about the whole scenario, the Monarch of the Silver-banded Eagle stopped himself from destroying the white structure and went over to teach the intruders a hard lesson. He was extremely irked with how the worm and the colorful birds had turned all of them into clowns. If this continued, he would really lose the grasp on his lair when he returns. Suria had a mission to fulfill. The Mistress tasked her group to immobilize all leftover subordinates of the Silver-banded Eagles first and attack the Monarch together second. Currently, Suria brought her group as high as possible while waiting for the next round of Bubble-glue to fill up. Actually, besides Elemental Fiends populating their backs, there were tiny inconspicuous freshwater marine creatures hiding in between the feathers of each bird. They were just too tiny to be noticed. Both Elemental Fiends and the Waterwave Clansmen worked in tandem to create the new projectile weapon invented by the Mistress, the Bubble-glue. A marine creature created a large bubble efficiently, while the Elemental Fiend filled them up to the brim with their ''vomit'' before the marine creature re-sealed the opening. Together, as a team, they worked as a unit to attack their enemies. The Worldtree Sanctuary Avians were just a means for airborne transport and they did not need to personally attack the eagles. It was upon the Mistress'' request for them to vanquish any form of hostile intentions and solely focus as mere transports during the initial attacking phase. Although the birds were perplexed with the peculiar demand, they learned not to question the Mistress'' intentions, for they had been repeatedly awed with the positive outcomes from following her instructions to the T. Again, Suria was amazed by the Mistress'' ingenuity. Just one round. They managed to immobilize the majority of the aggressive metal-attributed spiritual eagles! Another aspect that deserved praise was the toughness of the ''vomit''. All the trapped eagles were at least spiritual eagles with a Noble in tow, whereas the Elemental Fiends upon their backs were at most pseudo-spiritual insects! If they witnessed the Monarch''s attack on the reinforced tunnel, their lower beaks would have hit the ground, knowing that the Monarch of the Silver-banded eagles was already at its late-Lord stage. [We can do this!] Suria was brimming with positivity. As usual, whoever spent more time with Hana will be infected with her absurd god-like level of positivity and cheerfulness. Suria, who had silently deified Hana in her heart, wished to eat, practice, and sleep while thinking about how to be in the Mistress'' good graces. Until the Monarch of the Silver-banded Eagle''s power erupted! Chapter 181 - Kuro’s Dragon Lance Drill Lord Fearsilver bristled at the pompous black and white four-winged Mistral Hornbill''s mocking grin. Its extra-large beak was swinging towards him, taunting him to no end. He could almost hear the hornbill laughing silently at him. Lord Fearsilver was so pissed off with the spiritual hornbill, he immediately flapped his silver-dyed wingtip and shot out an absurd amount of Silver-knives out of fury. On other occasions, the Monarch was reasonable enough to not care about such squabbles and let the others do the cleanup. However, he was especially irked by how the events unfolded this time. It seemed that Suria really had a knack for infuriating others to no end. Thousands of two-feet long thin leaf-like silver knives blotted the sky, zero-ing on the twenty-some Worldtree Sanctuary''s group. The attack was the precursor for the rest of the silver-banded eagles to launch themselves into the fray, though they were careful to fly behind the harmful projectiles. Even if the Monarch''s Silver-knives annihilated the other party, they still needed to proactively provide support and kill off any strays, if there was any. They, too, could feel the Monarch''s boiling anger. It wasn''t wise to remain passive lest they will be considered as unhelpful. Their lives could easily be forfeited once the excursion was over. Seeing a crazed but powerful foe''s aerial attack bursting towards them made Suria panic. She immediately issued a command to the others to fall back together as fast as possible! They need to leave the attacking range quickly. Alas, they were just too slow. The wide disparity between their strength and the eagle boss made them unable to effectively dodge the incoming attack. It took only a few blinks of the eye for the silvery projectiles to reach them. Suria knew if the attack landed, most probably, all of her subordinates would die, and if she was extremely lucky, she could survive, though will be gravely injured. She gritted her beak and cast her strongest skill after burning a drop of her blood essence, Eye of Windstorm, in a bid to save them from certain death. It was the only skill that might be strong enough to protect them while having enough clout to face off against an attack of a Lord-level enemy. The thought of having to use another drop of her precious blood essence made Suria depressed. Blood essence was finite. Burning one meant losing one permanently. However, it was better to be weakened, rather than being very dead. She knew the Mistress could help her later in the future, somehow. The Mistress had to, after what Suria had selflessly done for the Mistress'' cause. Eight cyclones rapidly manifested around the Sanctuary''s group and were growing in intensity. They were ready to merge soon. However, Suria had miscalculated the amount of time needed to perform such a high-intensity skill. It needed time to build up, and time was the one thing that they lacked. The attacks reached the three blooming cyclones like a tide before they could combine and dispersed them at the expense of disintegrating less than a hundred silvery knives. The disappearance of the three cyclones had produced a gap and the casting of Eye of Windstorm prematurely halted from destabilization. The power she hoped to generate had reduced more than half of what she expected, and the safe haven in the eye of the storm wasn''t generated. Suria felt wronged terribly as a shadow of helplessness fleeted over her eyes. Will this be the end for her glorious self? All of a sudden, countless lightning strikes rained down from the heavens like mighty lances thrown down by the vengeful God of Thunder. The lightning lances sizzled the air in bluish light, pinning down each silver knife with precision. The aerial attacks of Monarch Fearsilver had been canceled out just like that! A gigantic flying black snake appeared midair and barred the path between the Monarch of the Silver-banded Eagles and the four-winged Mistral Hornbill! "YOU!!!" The Monarch immediately recognized the ''worm'' he had hunted all the way. The worm had turned into a full-fledged gigantic thirty-meter long black python with bat-like blood-colored wings! Before the Monarch managed to utter another word, a rain of lightning-based strikes bombarded him non-stop. Thick lightning-shaped ''pikes'' homed at the Monarch''s eyes and his rear bottom relentlessly! "!!!!" The attacks were so rushed and without respite, it hindered the Monarch from doing anything except receiving them all. Although the lightning sparks weren''t life-threatening now, each attack stunned him for a few seconds longer. He acknowledged that his condition could turn south if he didn''t take the initiative soon. Kuro wasn''t going to let go of the initiative he obtained; he used his full power and cranked up the volts to give first classed ''treatment'' to the Bird Boss. He attacked fast and hard, not daring to give the Boss Eagle any chance to let loose his own attacks. Mommy had reminded him to focus on the bird''s weakness and attack ruthlessly without reprieve to rob the bird of its chance to attack and solely focused on defense in the initial phase. After that, he must make sure to gang up on this fiend properly while finding opportunities to unleash lethal strikes as many times as it took to bring it down. After all, they were the ones who were on the weaker side. Being sly and on the offensive side was the way to go in this situation. Once the Boss Eagle engaged in combat with Lord Kuro, Suria immediately instructed her team to pelt the leftover lackeys with Bubble-glue as soon as possible. This rare window of opportunity was utilized efficiently by the Sanctuary''s team. The incoming eagles were incapacitated in a flash! They fell from the sky like overripe fruits! Ironically, the thick whitish substance was the one preserving their lives as it served to cushion their fall. They screeched in fury and frustration as they tried their hardest to peck and struggled in between the sticky substance encasing them. However, it was a futile attempt on their part; they still didn''t learn the lesson from their previously-trapped teammates. The more aggressive they become, the faster the substance will harden. Ultimately, their beaks, wings, and bodies were stuck to the white substance. Try as they might, they couldn''t even wiggle a tiny bit. Soon, no noise was heard. Grinning wide, Suria relished in her success for a few moments before she regrouped with her team for the next task; harassing the Big Boss Eagle! This time, dozens of white bubbles flew in from different directions towards the Monarch with greater efficiency. They were smaller in size but a lot higher in number. Suria didn''t care whether the bubbles hit the Eagle Boss or not, she only wished to provide added distractions as per the Mistress'' instruction. The high number of bubbles were persistently homing on the final Silver-banded Eagle wherever he moved as he evaded the lightning attacks released by the Lightning Serpent mid-air. With his large body, the combined attacks had made the Eagle Boss fumble clumsily on several occasions. From the very beginning, various spiritual beasts adept at performing Micro-control at a passable level had been placed upon the avian''s back for better control during emergencies. They were just too small to be noticed as they hid among the feathers stealthily. The continual relentless ?ssault was attributed to this. The Mistress had divided the labor to more volunteers to make it more efficient and manageable. The fact that they were facing an enemy multiple times stronger than them, and were able to have some effects, thus influencing the course of the battle, made them grin from ear to ear, while feeling immense satisfaction. A Bubble-glue the size of a washbasin brushed over the wingtip of the Silver-banded Eagle Boss slightly as he got distracted for a fraction of a second. The stickiness had made him lose his balance slightly. A chance! Kuro grinned sinisterly as he added a twisting motion using Micro-control, giving a drilling added effect on the follow-up incoming lightning attack. Dragon Lance Drill! Although the lightning strike had no change in strength and intensity, the added twisting motion had increased the penetrative effect to almost ten times from its counterpart. Nonetheless, the fine control to execute such skill had increased exponentially and was quite taxing to Kuro''s mental strength. Although Kuro''s Micro-control was lower compared to Shiro, he make it up with his proficiency in Soul-based techniques. Of course, the suave naming sense was none other than Mommy''s golden touch. Kuro''s lightning strike didn''t even have a name since it was the most basic one. It was equivalent to a random punch or a kick. The attack perfectly ground through the Silver-banded eagle''s sturdy feathers to reach his left scapula (1). The final strike left Monarch Fearsilver howled in pain and with unbridled anger! The Silver-banded eagle started falling as he failed to maintain flight. While the Silver-banded eagle was plummeting down, another seamless follow-up attack came through as Kuro decided to go physical. He enlarged himself, courageously constricted the nape of the Boss Eagle midair, and chomped hard on the giant eagle''s neck! Both of them hit the forest floor together, producing a booming sound so loud across the forest. The trees and boulders below them crumbled to dust, obscuring the view of the rest. Waiting for the dust to settle, Suria and co. were extremely nervous! She didn''t dare fly down to check, instead, she stayed as high as possible with her entourage. Were they successful in bringing down the Eagle Boss? Once the dust settled, the aftermath of an armageddon greeted them as the two gigantic opponents continued wrestling on the broken ground to topple one another. The Eagle Boss, currently with a broken wing, had been pecking Lord Kuro''s body viciously! Lord Kuro was bleeding profusely on several parts of his body and many of his crystal-like black scales had been torn apart. He stubbornly refused to let go of the Eagle Boss'' neck and was subjected to repeated trashing. Lord Kuro was currently grievously injured. True to the Mistress'' reminder, the tables had turned almost immediately when the Eagle Boss could finally launch his own counterattacks in response to the mass lynching. Authors'' Note: 1) Scapula = the main wingbone of a bird that connects the wing to the body.