Chapter 41: Chapter – 41 - Triple Full Moon Banquet
For the next two days Rihanna was busy during the nights as well. As soon as all her roommates fell asleep, she too would lay down and let her spiritual consciousness wander off to memorize the map in the study. She had swiped off quite a big bunch of paper, quills, brushes, ink bottles from the white room in Chen Clan's Pyramid Tower. Now she put them to good use.
In the evening, after completing her daily task as 'Rubbish Collector', she would spread out her precious belongings on the floor of the waste disposal room, and furiously sketch out all the parts she could remember from her night haunt.
Surprisingly, her memory had increased by leaps and bounds....perhaps the side effect of meditation and cultivation? Anyway, she could remember everything she saw just once, and had no problem in retaining the very large map in her brain.
Aside from memorizing the map, she had done a thorough search of the entire study. There was definitely something hidden below the floor behind the large desk, but a protective barrier stopped her from entering. Never mind, she would have to make a trip here in her physical form.
She also went after Wen Haoli and figured out that he would be going to the inner regions late in the night. It would definitely be a very packed night for her....she had a lot of things to do in a single night.
Meeting up with Young Siyu was more difficult, as she was almost always with Su Maihiya. Rihanna entrusted this task to Fluffy, who was often seen roaming around the territory by the people of the clan. He was small, and though he was utterly ugly, he looked innocent and harmless. So they treated him like a dog - shooing him off from places, but generally ignoring him. So slipping notes to and from between Rihanna and Young Siyu was a very easy task for him.
She still wasn't sure what exactly Su Maihiya saw in Siyu, but it didn't look to be as simple as just taking a liking to her. Why would a commoner, who had no experience in any clan before, and who was completely new to the Su clan suddenly rise to the position of Leading Maid of the Young Miss? She also made plenty of mistakes, yet Su Maihiya was exceptionally patient with her.
She hadn't really recovered all of Su Matsao's memories, but some visuals and images had indeed starting clearing up in her mind since she stepped into the territory. All she could grasp from these was a perpetual fear of living in the Su clan. Making mistakes, being punished. Not especially bullied, but definitely not getting much favor from the clan members either. And that seemed to be the case with most of the commoner servants....unless they had been working for a very long time. So Young Siyu's case did not make sense.
Anyhow, both the siblings had decided to put their faith in this 'new-found' relation, and though hesitant and unsure of the future, they decided to follow 'Grandpa'.
She also went around the Su Clan with the cover of her job, and picked up a variety of stuff from all over. The plan was ready, the web was almost cast. Now all she could do was wait for the night of the Triple Full Moon!
The night of Triple Full Moon was the night when all three moons were at their fullest together, and this night came only once every seventeen months. And thus it was an occasion of celebration for all cultivators and commoners alike.
The Su residence was also lit up with lights and celebratory mood. A huge banquet had been organized for all in-house members and disciples. The servants were busy helping out to decorate and prepare the hall for the banquet. The main kitchen and the secondary family's kitchen, both were working full time to get all the different types of food ready for the night.
This was also considered a romantic day. Young boys and girls in love would, on this day, profess their affection for the person they liked.
A large stage was put up at the center of the open banquet hall. Here a person could openly challenge a love rival to a duel, or put up a performance or sing and dance to show their love and sincerity. In return the person being proposed could choose to accept the proposal, or reject them.
Strangely, marriage was not a very important aspect in their culture. Unlike earth, where a couple would strive to get married and have kids and become one family, the couples in this world were much more relaxed, and relations were more perfunctory. Rihanna was unable to decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing....it was just...different!
Perhaps it was because a child born to a person from a clan, automatically belonged to the clan and not to the couple. As soon as the child could sense spiritual energy, they would be taken away by the elders, and their training for entering the world of cultivation would begin.
It was not that the bonds between parent and child were non-existent, but they were rather loose. Moreover, due to most cultivators being only interested in growing their powers, people would often spend months or even years away from their clans, either gathering resources, or cultivating in seclusion.
Due to the lack of interest in marriage, but the necessity of more heirs to the clan's heritage, both men and women were free to keep bedmates or lovers. So what would be considered an 'illegitimate-child' back on earth, were all considered part of the clans disciples and heirs. Their inheritance was decided by their cultivation capability, and not by their birth.
Some cultivators did prefer getting married, and lived their lives with their chosen partners. Even amongst the commoners, while most preferred getting married and having a family, there were many who lived the life of a nomad, and had many partners on the way.
For Rihanna, who had grown in a different culture and way of thinking, she found it a bit difficult to digest. But then, this was not her world, and whether she liked it or not, this was the way this society had developed through the centuries, probably millenniums. Who was she to come and contradict their way of life?!
Once all the members of the family gathered, the banquet started and everyone seated themselves around the open hall. The first drink was offered to the ancestors of the clan. The second drink was offered to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. After that rounds of drinks and blessings and gifts from the elders to the youngsters, and well wishes and gifts from youngsters to elders began.
At this point most of the servants were told to leave. Only the old servants of the clan remained behind to serve at the hall.
The servants then moved to the outer courtyard. There the small kitchen was also hard at work, and a smaller banquet was being held by the servants themselves. After the same offerings of the first few drinks, the get together of the servants became more relaxed. Those who had no time to let go throughout the entire year, now completely let down their inhibitions and fears and the banquet slowly started turning more wild and full of laughter.
Rihanna looked at An and Siyu, and subtly gestured with her eyes. It was time for to slip out, and she had pre-arranged with the siblings to meet her at the hole after everyone went off to sleep. Talking and laughing and pretending to drink, she slowly loosened herself out of the revelry and celebrations, and merged into the surrounding darkness before slipping off.
The way to the study was pretty smooth. Not only because she had been here before, but also because both she, Fluffy and Phantasm had taken their invisibility and aura hiding dose. With Little Purple's help they slipped into the study, then she directly headed over to the trap door behind the table.
'Don't waste too much time here. Wen Haoli must be getting ready to move as well. If you want to go in, you'll have to move fast.'
Rihanna took a deep breath, and then put her hands on the floor boards. This was something she had discovered the night before. Ever since she managed to separate her spiritual consciousness, her sensory powers had grown another level. As long as she was in contact with something and could pass her perception all over it, she could move a part of it according to her desire. Sort of Telekinesis perhaps?
As she touched the floor tile, she closed her eyes, and let her inner sense look all over and around it. While on this side it was a floor tile, on the other side it was a wooden door. There was also a lever at the side inside. She did not know what was needed to open it from the study, but since she could sense the lever, she decided to give it a try.
It was really hard trying to budge a heavy metal lever with just her mind. Without Little Purple's help, she would not have been able to achieve this at all. Moreover, the lever was right behind the door, and was quite small. This close distance allowed her to extend her spiritual body to its fullest potential.
By the time the lever actually moved to open the hidden trap door, Rihanna was covered in sweat and was feeling slightly dizzy. With her physical body, she could move such a small lever with her smallest finger. But in her spiritual body, the task almost took her breath away! Sitting for a while to let the dizziness wash away, she crawled in through the door, alighting into a dimly lit room below the study.
The room itself was quite small....more like a storeroom. Small and big cabinets were placed along the walls, filled with a lot more paper and books. The smaller cabinets were filled with pills, elixirs, tools, weapons, semi-special ores and other knick-knacks.
'Do not pick up any of the tools and weapons. Most of them will have some sort of aura tracking spell on them. It will become difficult for you to escape carrying these trackers on you.'
Rihanna was looking through the weapons cabinet. She had lost all the crude weapons she had made when she fell down the hole made by the Earth Eating Caterpillars. Not that they would have been of much use. In this world, a weapon made her feel safe...but seems like she couldn't get one as yet. Hmmm.....could she then use them for something else?
'What are these small ball-like weapons?'
'Let me check....I think they are energy balls. They are basic weapons. They do not cause much injury, but they explode when one inserts their spirit energy into it. And they cause widespread damage, especially to wood-based objects. I can't sense any energy tracker on them.'
'Oh...what according to you is the most precious tool or weapon in this lot?'
'What are you planning?' Little Purple sounded dubious.
'I am planning for a little side show.....it will be important to divert their attention so we have some time to escape.'
'Hmph! It is not in this cabinet. See that small wooden box in the corner. Check that out.'
Rihanna looked at the wooden box. It looked dilapidated, the wood was cracked and part of the corner was crumbling away to dust. But.....Diamond is found in coal. Older the box, the more valuable might be its content!
Rihanna gingerly opened the lid. A large colorful metal ball was placed on a carved golden base, slowly rotating in its nest.
'What is this?'
'What is this thing?'
'This is a Space Modulator. Once you insert your spiritual energy in it, the golden base will release the ball and activate it. This ball can control a large area, and the entire space covered by it automatically becomes controlled by it. The user of this ball will have complete control and all others inside the domain of this sphere will be unable to utilize their powers properly. But this thing has an aura tracker. You can't touch it, or the tracker will attach itself to you, and then you will not be able to get it off.'
'Tsk! Then how can I take it with me?'
'Ummm....why don't you let me take it? No aura tracker has any effect on me. That is why they would keep me locked inside the inner regions in the Chen clan.'
Phantasm was looking up at her with her large beady eyes, trying to wag her stub of a tail. Why did all these beasts turn to dogs around her?!
'Okay. You pick this up, then we will return to the outer room.'
Rihanna picked up all the small Energy Explosion balls....they were already a sack-full. Then she closed the trap door once more, and returned to the study. The night before she had taken away one of the large wooden bath-tubs from the common bathing area for the servants and shoved it into her storage ring. Now she took it out and dumped it near the center of the floor.
'Hey human....are you thinking of taking a bath right here?!'
'Don't be such a silly hog. I am just trying to replenish some manpower!'
'.....??'
'Just wait and watch...I'll be giving you a fine show later.....something these people will not forget anytime soon.'
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