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67.08% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 216: Chapter Sixteen - I learn secrets behind Interspacial bags

Chapter 216: Chapter Sixteen - I learn secrets behind Interspacial bags

Of the two restaurants in this affluent street, neither stood out above the other in terms of decor, price nor fawning ability of the waiters.  In addition, they were opposite each other, so there was no real thought to the decision to enter the one on the same side of the street that Jin Li and Leon happened to be walking down.  They were rather rapidly shown to some seats upon the ground floor before their waiter ran off to attend a group of arrogant young men whose wealth was much more apparent and on display.

Fortunately, there was a clear menu and only certain dishes would damage Leon's purse.  Jin Li liked food and had little care of money, but on seeing the 'Swan swims over a fish filled lake' seemed actually just to be a pot roasted chicken sitting in soup made of fish and shrimp, he lost interest in the elaborately named dishes.  And so Leon gained the freedom to chose a few dishes to share between them without worrying about the silver he'd have to pay out later.  He did make sure that three of the five dishes were meat and the soup also was meat based.

As they were waiting for their dishes, Leon attempted to sate his curiosity; he couldn't help thinking about that ring.  "What is a intersp-spacial ring?  Is it l-like a b-bag?"

"Yes and no," Jin Li replied.  His sharp vision had caught side of the small silver ring with scroll like detailing, but the distance had been too great to be able to judge the quality of it.  Considering that it had not originally been on display and had actually been brought out on request, he assumed that it couldn't be that bad.  "Interspacial bags and chests use a material called Void stone in their creation.  As it sounds, it's a type of rock.  Crafters use it when making the bags and chests."

Void stone was deep grey in colour and without much sheen. The surface of the stone was almost as soft as gold and just as the latter could be melted, shaped and moulded into thin bars or even thinner threads. In the case of the interspacial bag, Leon would learn later as his curiosity would not be stated by Jin Li today, the thin threads would be sewn inside the bag in certain patterns known to enchanters and powered by tiny mage stones. This would warp the space inside the bag, make it several times larger than it should be.

"As I understand it," Jin Li continued, after thinking more on his meagre knowledge about the subject, "void stone naturally warps the space around it.  Makes mining it a pain."

Jin Li was a martial arts fanatic, his knowledge built after the foundation of other important subjects heavily leaned towards martial arts. What was not martial arts, he was not really interested in so didn't go out of his way to learn. But Jin Li knew somewhat about void stone and its uses as his eldest brother had managed to obtain a mine through some means or other. The mine did not seem to have many decent clusters of the rock left, though Jin Sha had always claimed there was enough to create a modest profit.  As it happened, two rival Cultivators happened to cross paths violently in the nearby area, killing a few of the minors due to cave ins caused by their disruptions.   During the clean up after the fight, a fresh source of the stone was uncovered and this vein was abundant.  It also hid even purer treasures in its depths. 

"Rings and bracelets are not made of the stone," Jin Li told him. "To make these, one needs Void Gems. These are harder to find, because they can only be found inside very few Void stones."

Oh and how Jin Sha had bragged however subtly about the void gems discovered in his cheap mine.  Even forgetting the ones used to create a ring for the Emperor's birthday and a bracelet for their mother, these could ensure the Jin's family wealth continued for several generations.  So long as they were able to protect them and the mine, that was, but doubts of inability never once formed in Jin Li's mind.  His family would not be worthy of the surname Jin if they were incapable.

"Void Gems carry with them small pocket dimensions many times larger than an interspacial bag and things contained within them are as unaffected by time as when using an inter-dimensional container. Still can't put a live thing inside though."

Leon had once been interesting in purchasing an inter-dimensional bag, that held timeless space within, but had decided it was a pipe dream.  A single bag could cost several gold pieces and that was a low quality one with not a great deal of space inside.  Thinking of this, he could just imagine how costly that tiny ring could potentially be.  The gold required must be more than an entire village would be able to gather in two hundred years!  If not reaching into jade coin figures!  He was not wrong, but would have been closer if he tripled his estimates.

He sighed and put away his interest for a few moments as their dishes were placed before them with clean chopsticks.

Glaring at the tools of torture, he picked them up only to find that a piece of soy-braised carrot had been placed before his lips.  "Well, open your mouth," Jin Li ordered him, causing him to blush profusely.  He did indeed open his mouth to protest, but couldn't as the vegetable was pushed inside.  Having no choice but to chew, he bowed his head, listening to the sound of those chopsticks clicking over the meat dishes, at a rapid pace.

Leon slowly managed to use his own chopsticks to save himself some face, but it was ripped away a few times with Jin Li's insistence that he feed his small alchemist, otherwise the meat he'd ensured had formed upon the youth's body would surely be lost. Jin Li didn't want to the person in his embrace to be an uncomfortable sack of bones. Not attractive at all!

After finishing the soup and rinsing their mouths a little with refreshing tea (this was naturally supplied by Leon, the restaurant was only asked for hot water), the pair asked for the bill. Leon felt his heart ache a little when handing over the silver, even after bracing himself and they left the place soon after.

The sky had darkened, becoming a tarnished silver-grey and although the snow had not amounted to much, a cold wind brushed past them and swept the remnant white dusting of it along the ground. Fortunately, the soup had been a warming sort and left a glow in both their bellies, so once the winds died down, Leon did not feel too abused by the turn in the weather. And besides, with Jin Li walking so close beside him, sharing his natural warmth, how could he feel cold for long?

In their personal bubble, they walked down the street in the direction of the Ramas palace, while others slowly abandoned their own shopping trips wanting to escape the dropping temperatures within their carriages and eventually their own homes.


Chapter 217: Chapter Seventeen - Sun visits his mother

While Jin Li and Leon were beginning their explorations in the wealthy section of the city, Sun was sitting in the reception of his mother's courtyard, accompanying the older woman.  A cup of tea had been placed in front of him, but the sweet scent was too floral and light for him having been subject to both Jin Li's preferences and Leon's medicinal teas. The walls seemed to be lined with his mother's personal maids, all ready to attend their needs, but it made him really uncomfortable, which was one of the reasons he disliked coming here.

As for the mistress of this courtyard...

Sun took after his mother; this was one of the reasons his grandmother couldn't help but find fault with him. They both shared the same long, straight, dark brown hair, the same round, sunny face gently touched by a smattering of freckles and bright, expression-filled eyes.  Sun was taller than his mother, but it was not as if this was an impressive thing; her lack of height meant even the most diminutive of her maid's did not challenge her for this trait.  Three children and a generally comfortable way of life had given the woman a wider hip, breast and waist over the years and being small on top meant she resembled a cute dumpling rather than a sophisticated lady, but few were as happy and content as she.

If there was one true blot on her cheerfulness (harsh words of family members were like a punch on a large wad of cotton wool) it was that her baby boy had left home to attend school. 

Any wife could be proud to birth a son and content to birth a daughter, but she had not only been blessed with both, she had born her cute baby boy as well. Her first son needed to be educated and strong in order to follow in his father's and potentially his grandfather's footsteps. Her daughter needed to be taught skills and grow beautifully and wed a capable man worthy of her. Her second son had not these responsibilities and could be totally spoiled her, his mother.

She'd been so proud when he unlocked his potential as a Cultivator, but also so worried. Could her happy and lovely baby boy cope with the expectations of him? Could he cultivate well and with ease? Her heart faltered when she saw him trying to be so strong and broke when his smile began to fade, the jealousy of others finally wearing him down. And when that little relative of her brother-in-law's daughter's friend convinced her family to send a matchmaker to her mother-in-law wanting to marry in, marry her precious child, she was dead set against it!

Fortunately, no matter how her mother-in-law half-heartedly considered it, the General would not.  After all, the little girl was a concubine daughter and Sun was born of the main wife of his second son, their statuses did not match and she could only be his concubine should she marry in.  However, Sun had no wife yet and unless one was a Prince, it was unusual to marry in concubines before wives.  Still, the idea of having Sun marry was there now and even if the child himself was unwilling, he could not easily go against his elders should they make a decision on his behalf.

At that time, Yunisa had come home to visit and mentioned her husband's cousin was due to graduate from the Ascending Mountain Institute as an honourable scholar.

"Ascending Mountain Institute?" Mond had queried. "Is that not a school for Cultivators?"

"Hmm," Yunisa had agreed and proceeded to tell her family how the Institute was actually made up of five schools studying separate main subjects. "A student who graduates usually not only has skills beyond his peers, but has had the opportunity to make connections to others of excellent learning. I do not know much about Cultivators, but I've heard that it is an extremely rare thing for a student to still be at Primary level when graduating. Most are of Secondary or Tertiary Stage or even stronger!"

Immediately, within Sun's mind, the seed had been sown and with an obvious renewed enthusiasm for life, he and his servants had learned all that they could about the Institute before Sun had begged to be able to attend. As his mother, wanting him to smile, wanting the best for him, how could she not put in a few words of her own while lying on her husband's pillow? But she did miss him terribly!

So it was only natural for her to summon to her side her cute and grouchy little sweet Osmanthus pudding cup!

"So, are you getting on well with the other Cultivators?" She asked him as she sipped her tea.

"Mom, it's not a commoner school for boys, you know!" Sun rolled his eyes and crossed his arms about his chest as he leaned back upon the soft couch.

"I know that, dear," she reassured him, "but I don't want to see you getting hurt by fighting with the other boys!"

"They'd have to catch me first," Sun muttered beneath his breath then sighed.  "It's fine.  I'm friends with a couple of seniors, good guys and then you know there's Jin Li, my roommate and his... I mean Leon." He scratched his chin in thought and quietly added; "I suppose Maimai could count as a friend."

"Oh!" Her dark eyes began to sparkle with glee.  "Is that a girl you like?"

"What? No, mom!" Actually Sun did once have a small crush on Maimai, she was, after all, a very pretty girl.  But she was also... really... unique.  For one thing, she was slightly obsessive when it came to knowing all about how Leon and Jin Li were doing as a couple.  And there was the way she occasionally looked at him, as if she were examining the potential of some rare species, never as a man!  She was also a bit dangerous, whether it be her cauldron flying randomly or her fist flying in a very specific direction, both would definitely hurt if they made contact.  "Maimai happens to be Leon's best friend and attends the Alchemist school with him."

"So your friend Leon likes her, then," his mother concluded, "but that doesn't mean you need to step away if you are interested in her.  After all, as sweet as your friend Leon seems to be, you are definitely a better catch!"  Sun blinked, trying to figure out in which direction his mother's thoughts had wandered off to.

"Mom, I do not like her that way," Sun said, firmly.  "And neither does Leon.  She is just a friend."

"Oh," his mother looked slightly downcast; she had been warming up to this subject.  "So is there anyone at the school you do like?"

"There's no one," Sun replied.  All his crushes ships had sailed.  That's what happened when you hung around with dashing figures like Jin Li and Bowyer or strong, protective types such as Pike.  The small, cute type apparently lacked the same appeal.  That and the moment any of those pretty girls had acted beguiling towards the men they liked and out of character, he immediately lost interest anyway. "And I really want to focus on improving my martial arts and cultivation." His Teacher, Corvus, was a weird one, overbearing and stupid at times, but all the things he taught Sun were an excellent fit for him.  This was probably due to the fact that they both shared the same root, thus Sun was benefiting from Corvus' many decades of experience and refinement of wind-based skills.  His Cultivation, which had remained stagnant until he began attending school, was now rapidly improving, thanks to Leon for helping him smash through his bottleneck and Corvus' Cultivation method.

"Well, if there is someone," his mother was not as ready to let go as Sun was, "then you just tell me and I'll see about her background and approaching her family!"  Sun remained silent, knowing this battle was lost.  The woman took his silence as acquiescence and smiled, before taking a small sip of tea.  Unfortunately, she now had to broach a subject she didn't really want to, but her mother-in-law had been insistent.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Ebonsolaris Ebonsolaris

I had a mini-vote occur in Wattpad; which of my stories (I have more than the two there) do people want to read an extra chapter of. This is what they voted for, so my readers here get the extra chapter as well. Hope everyone enjoys x

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