Capítulo 21: Chapter – 21 - Devil Cultivators!
'Do you plan to keep splashing around here till the pool runs dry?'
Rihanna raised her hands and thrashed around in the water some more, feeling highly irritated by the nagging-ness of the voice. She could still smell the muck on her skin, okay! Not to mention how tired she was after the 'never-to-be-ever-again-mentioned' journey! She just wanted to relax for a bit!!
'Quick! Hide under the water. Fast!'
What....hide under water....did he think she was a fish?!....How would she breathe?.....Rihanna froze in her actions and looked around feeling helpless and anxious.
'Hide fast or even I won't be able to save you!'
There were a few large boulders, half submerged at one end of the pool, overgrown with thick reeds. Diving down, she made her way deep into this thicket, then slowly pushed her eyes and nose out of the water.
But what in the world was she hiding from?
A strange smell permeated the air, making her feel uncomfortable and scared. It was something very familiar....what was this scent?....Was this blood?!
Warily, Rihanna peeked out through the tiny gaps in the reeds. A little distance away there were two people....and a group of....dead bodies?! Even at this distance she could see clearly.
Both of them were clad from head to toe in black robes with gold and red patterns on the sleeves and collar. Large hoods attached to these robes covered their entire face, giving off a very ancient European feel. She couldn't make out if they were men or women.
One of them stretched out his fingers, and the nails grew out sharp and long as he plunged these nails into the dead bodies chest. The other did the same, but sank his fingers in the dead bodies head. Within moments and at a speed visible to the naked eyes, the entire corpse completely dried up, leaving only a rickety skeleton with skin wrapped around it. They did the same with all the corpses, save one. Rihanna was too scared and disgusted to care why they let the last corpse go.
Even biting down hard on her lips, she couldn't stop the churning inside her stomach. Closing her eyes shut, she counted the seconds till the two people finished devouring all the corpses, then vanished into the forest.
As soon as Fluffy gave the 'all-clear' signal, she rushed out of the water, and started dry heaving on the banks of the pool.
'What...who were these people? How can they...they completely devoured a dead body!'
'They didn't devour a dead body....they absorbed all blood, flesh and life essence of a freshly killed dead body. They are Devil Cultivators. They cultivate the dark energy, and use very weird cultivation techniques which are forbidden in every country. Generally they will hide, but the Night of the Demonic Moon is also a good time for them to grow their cultivation. Never mind that. Go to the place where the dead bodies are still lying.'
'What....why would I want to do that?!'
'Tsk! You ask too many stupid questions....there is something you need from one of those bodies. So just go.'
Rihanna took a shaky breath before heading that way, but was soon dry heaving on the ground again.
'Don't look at the dried corpses. Just go to the last dead body – the one they left out.'
Aish....this fellow seriously never let her be! Looking everywhere but at the ground, she moved around the rest of the corpses and finally came to the 'normal' dead body – though even that made her nauseous.
'Lift the sleeves of his left arm....there will be a tattoo at the inner side of his wrist. This is the identification mark of a commoner.'
'So they left her corpse alone because she was a commoner?'
'Hmmm....commoners do not have much spiritual energy, so it is a waste of effort trying to absorb them. Also their bodies have too many impurities. Now, you need to copy this tattoo onto your hand. This one is already dead, so no one will ask about him for the time-being, which will give you some time. I had thought I would need to make it from scratch, but this is better.'
Rihanna tried to focus herself, as she took a good look at the tattoo. It was a simple design, a combination of words. This man was from Dark Forest City, which as far as she could recall, was pretty far from here.
'Do you still have the small black seeds your fox had gathered in the underground field?'
Rihanna searched through her space ring – for safety sake she strung a rusty old chain to the ring, and then hung it around her neck. Commoners couldn't use space rings, so she had to keep it well hidden! Yes...the pile of seeds, which were quite similar to sunflower seeds, lay wrapped up in a small sachet.
'Good....grind some of those seeds with a little water to make a thick paste....then add in a bit of the tattooed skin from the corpse into it.....add your spiritual power to the mixture till it turns gray. Then use your fox to make the tattoo.'
'Fluffy?'
'It's nails....'
Oh....okay. Rihanna's mind was still a bit fuzzy, and the smell of blood was really too strong. She couldn't light these bodies on fire as that would attract all sorts of trouble. She took out some of the toxic venom of the Blood Venom Snake that Ye Luo had passed on to her....truly, that guy had gone so far to help a complete stranger, and that too a commoner to boot!
She really hoped she would meet him again so she could return this favor. Pouring a little of the poison on all the corpses, she didn't wait to watch all the bodies turning to black liquid and being absorbed by the ground. Instead she turned and went over to the pool once more.
A short while later, and following all of the above instructions, Rihanna took a peek at the pool water. A pretty neat looking tattoo now shone on her wrist. Though this looked like the real thing, but it could be removed with a concoction of herbs and plants.
'Tell me....why do you help me so much? You also seem to know about my past life? Did we have any connection in my past world?'
'Do you remember the embossed black iron token you picked up in the antique shop when you were out for your office trip?'
'Hmmm....Oh, you mean that rusted metal plate?...But wait....I don't remember it being embossed!'
'It was a black iron token, not a rusted metal plate!.....It was just very very old....but what else do you expect to find in an antique shop?! And to think you even used me as paperweight.....shoving me over that filthy pile of wrappers and empty chips bags on the dashboard!'
'Ahem....well....I really needed something to keep them in place.....and truthfully, you didn't really look like any kind of token.....cough cough'
'Tsk!....Anyhow....that was actually a high grade spiritual artifact belonging to this world, and I was the guardian spirit residing in that token. I have lived in your world for a very long time and know everything about it. Due to that accident, I happened to meld with your soul and both of us traveled here.'
'Ah...so it was an accident?.....But why are you helping me so much? What exactly do you need me to do for you?...Nothing is free in this world, after all.'
'There is nothing you can do for me right now anyway....have you taken a look at your cultivation lately? It is hopeless!'
'Hmph!.....Hey I am trying really hard here, so you could compliment me once in a while! Positivity will breed positivity....but your pessimism is sure killing all my enthusiasm! Anyway....what if you ask me for something which goes against my conscience? I will definitely try my best to return this favor....but I will not do something against my belief, so don't even ask for it!'
'Tsk! The same temper as ever'
The voice suddenly let out a mirthful chuckle, then went completely silent. Rihanna blinked in surprise....what they heck did it mean by that? Sheesh....it came and went like an emperor strolling around his imperial garden....entirely temperamental!
Rihanna got up and dusted off her clothes, then gestured to Fluffy before taking off in a sprint. Fluffy ran alongside her. Ever since she turned into a man, this fellow completely looked down upon her and refused to sit on her shoulders! Well then, let it run! Now that she had reached a semi stage of body enhancement, her speed, strength, agility, stamina had all increased. Usually it took 4-5 days to travel from Green-stone to Moon-grave. But she hoped she would be able to make it by night-time tomorrow.
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DaoistNotAvilable
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