Chapter 4
A New Companion
Once Ling Mai was out of sight of the big cat, who had settled down to eat the two animals she had given to him, she turned and made her way back to the piles of firewood. Using her new ability she quickly transferred all the firewood into her storage ring. Walking about she found and transferred some more firewood into her ring as she had plenty of spare room.
Looking in the direction of the big cat, she smiled. “I hope I can see him again, he is so cute.”
She walked back to the road and extended her energy-sense to scan for any people. Not detecting anyone, she started walking back to her cave. “Having a storage ring is fantastic. So many ways it can make my life easier.” She was grinning from ear to ear. Having her hands free and being unburdened by her travois made walking a breeze.
“I wonder how the storage ring works? I can’t feel any of the weight of the items inside. Maybe a separate realm? How does one create a separate realm and link it to a storage ring? I need to learn more about runes. I could craft all sorts of useful items. Just the runes on this ring are very useful and powerful. I’ll see if I can memorise them while I walk.”
Walking and memorising the runes, whilst frequently scanning her surroundings, Ling Mai was able to make good time. “I should also make an inventory of the items in the ring.”
She couldn’t work out exactly what all the runes on the storage ring did but was able to get a general sense of their purpose. She found memorising the runes much easier once she understood their purpose. “Hmm, something to further analyse later. I can experiment with linking them in different ways and can even try modifying them. I’ll ask Grandma Tang if there are any rune experts in town.”
She sensed amongst the trees beside the road, one of the same type of animal as she had previously hunted. She was curious to see the range of her new ability to transfer items into her ring, so she linked the animal to her ring and initiated the transfer, only to discover it didn’t work. “It should not be too far? Or is it possible that living animals can’t be transferred into the ring? What about the booby-trap? It was attempting to suck me in, or was that to someplace else?” She sighed. Too many unanswerable questions.
She decided she would just hunt the old-fashioned way. Creeping into the forest she snuck up behind the animal. She tried transferring it again, just to double check it wasn’t a range issue, but it still failed. “I’ll try a plant later,” she thought, “and maybe a worm and some bugs. It may be linked to having a soul. Do animals even have souls? Hopefully, Grandma Tang will know.”
She patiently waited until the animal raised its head, and then let fly with her sling. Walking over to the downed animal, she checked for signs of life. No purple flashes, so she transferred it into her ring. “That somewhat proves the living entity exclusion theory. It really does help to be able to sense their posture and position through trees and bushes. I can sneak up behind my prey or my enemies.” She returned to the road, pleased she wouldn’t be returning empty-handed to Grandma Tang.
Arriving at the cave, she carefully checked her surroundings and then uncovered the entrance. She ducked under the low entrance and walked a couple of paces inside. She wanted to be near the entrance whilst she experimented on her light’s creation.
Creating the light source from the light energy coming in from the cave entrance was easier than ever. Realising she would not be able to create light if it was pitch-dark, she contemplated the alternatives. Mana stones were the obvious choice as they were the original source of energy for her core. That would be wasteful though - much better to use the mana stones for cultivating. Using her core energy was also an option if she could figure out how to do that safely. “Can I create light crystals and store them in my storage ring? If so, I can create them on a bright sunny day and store them for use or sell later!” She was giddy with excitement. “So cool! I could have a guaranteed source of income!” She realised she would need to create some light crystals to see how long they lasted.
She experimented with adjusting the light output. A bigger light crystal was brighter but took longer to create. That may not be a problem if she was outside in the daytime. Again, she would have to experiment later as she wanted to concentrate on the light output versus size problem.
“What if I start with a bigger but hollow core for the light crystal?” She considered the various possibilities. “Okay, so I need the correct size for the desired light output, and to store the extra light energy to feed the outer crystal, I need an inner core which I somehow have to work out how I can slowly feed the light energy into the outer crystal. No problem!” She wryly thought.
She brainstormed for a few minutes, coming up with several possible solutions. The one that excited her the most was the idea of setting up a way of continuously absorbing light energy into the crystal as long as the crystal needed topping up! She then thought of her double vortex solution for cultivating. “If I set up a permanent vortex that channels the light energy, but it needs to be able to seek a light source, and then ignore light that is too far from my light’s present location. I can then channel the energy into the inner core. I need to be able to create a feedback loop to control when to absorb and when to stop if the crystal is full.” She soon had a rough working prototype. It would need some tweaking but the basic structure of the device was there. The device just floated wherever she left it. Light energy must be weightless she concluded.
She tried blowing on the light crystal with no effect. She passed a piece of wood through the crystal, again with no effect. “How annoying. How will people move it, other than with my energy manipulation ability?” she wondered. Remembering the rune that identified her trying to examine the storage ring, she looked at the other runes to find any similarities. In the rune that seemed to manipulate something, which she assumed was the transfer process for items, she saw a section that seemed to sort items into many different types.
“Does it need to process items differently according to their energy types? That makes sense. If I use this rune, but construct it within the light crystal, then I have the first step in making it movable. Then I need a way of reflecting any object that matches the type of energies I specify - Wood, metal and earth to start with.” Much fiddling and analysing later she achieved the effect she wanted. She realised that runes were just the same as what she had been doing though they were inferior - they were two-dimensional whilst hers were three-dimensional.
The best part about the self-charging light source was the way the input light vortex was both invisible to non-cultivators and how efficient it was in seeking out a light source. It almost seemed intelligent. She had spent some time coming up with the parameters on how it decided where to move for the best possible result. The only problem was if a cultivator was present. They would be able to see the vortex and the energy transfer to her device. Hopefully, they would leave it alone.
Once she had finished playing around with her new light, she looked around at the revealed cave. Having a light made the cave feel more like a room in a building. She realised the new larger cave needed a bit of work to smooth off the walls and floor but it was so roomy that she decided not to worry about it for now.
“First I’ll dig up the jade box and the trail rations. I’m getting hungry so I’ll eat some trail rations, then I can learn more about cultivation and the light energy attack technique. I should also experiment on how to dispel my light without blinding everyone!”
Digging up the Jade box, she stopped and thought about whether or not she should store it in her new storage ring. She realised she was afraid of what might happen if she met the cultivators again. “Hmm, better to not have all my eggs in one basket!” She thought this then smiled at herself as she realised that Grandma Tang was a good influence in causing her to be careful with her new acquisitions.
She looked inside the storage ring and started to select items that looked useful. The first item was the small plain spear. It looked as though it was fashioned for a child of her age. It was small and not flashy like most of the other items. There were a huge number of mana stones. She transferred out about a tenth of the total number. This created a substantial pile of, to her energy-sense, glowing crystals. A plain set of small-sized armour and a helmet, a wooden sword and another storage ring. “I can store all these items in this new ring and hide it in my cave!” She felt very excited.
Carefully examining the storage ring she soon discovered it was not booby-trapped. “I can’t be too careful!” She thought to herself.
Disappointingly, the space inside the storage ring was only half the size of her original ring. She transferred all of the items, including the sword and knife she found in the river, into this new storage ring. “I’ll later put the jade box into this storage ring and hide the ring in this cave. Better safe than sorry.”
Opening the jade box she retrieved the two jade slips. “First I’ll review the first step of the cultivation method and then practice it, and then I’ll read the next step. I hope it is not as poetic as the first step of the Light Attack technique.”
The cultivation method stated, “Gather the element you want to use as your primary element then direct it to your inner core.’
“Does that mean other cultivators only have one element in their core? Maybe they add secondary elements at a higher level?”
The next section stated, ‘Your master or teacher will explain how to find and feel your centre. Don’t worry, it is just like eating food, and once you have started cultivating your energy it will not need looking after other than cultivating it to condense more energy and to purify it.’
“From what I sensed of the young lord, I think my core should be in my mid to lower abdomen. Having my centre in my head doesn’t seem to affect me, or even how effective my energy-sense is and my ability level for the manipulation of energy.”
She thought about how the energy flowed for her, both internally and externally. She felt what she was doing was more natural than what the cultivation slip instructed.
It continued, ‘Once your core has been formed and stabilised, move your energy along the following meridians.’ A list of names of meridians followed this.
“Having my core in my head is problematic if I want to follow their instructions for meridians, but gently guiding my energy in the general direction it is needed has worked so far. I think I will keep using this method.”
“Now for the next level as I can’t work out how to merge what I am already doing with anything in level one of the cultivation slip.”
The next level description stated, ‘Once your core has grown to its limit, you will be unable to gather any more energy into your core. To form a second core, split your core into two by forming a thin circle of the opposing energy to your primary element, then contracting it slowly until it is about to make contact with your core, then rapidly finish contracting the circle to a point. The opposing energy should repel your primary element and so two cores will now be in your centre. To keep them separate, spin them about each other. The orbit will need to be adjusted depending on the amount of energy in each. If they are unequal in size, cultivate and accumulate energy into the smallest core to bring them into equilibrium.
Once both cores are full, continue this process to create another core. Once you have formed nine full cores, you will be ready for the next level: Core Morphing.’
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Hmm, that seems simple. What’s to stop me from simply creating new vortexes? I’ll give it a try.”
Ling Mai started her two external purifying and consolidating vortexes, then started a small third vortex. Once it grew to a suitable size to swallow, she braced herself and gulped it into her mouth. Gently guiding it into her head she proceeded to guide her two internal vortexes into a spiral until they balanced each other out.
“They seem to be stable. I’ll just practice a few times adding and withdrawing energy to confirm they remain stable.”
After a slightly rocky start where she had trouble guiding the energy into the two vortexes evenly, she soon became proficient.
“Should I form a third vortex?” Thinking about her need for a flexible level of attack strength, she decided it could wait until later.
“Now for the Light Attack technique.”
It stated, ‘Visualise a divine beam of sunlight going from your centre to the target, deadly enemy or ferocious magical beast. Once this is clearly and firmly locked into your mind’s eye, feed the light energy from your centre through your Qimen meridian and then your Ruzhong meridian, being careful to only use the most minimal amount of energy you can separate from your centre. The light energy should follow your visualised beam of sunlight.
If all goes well, the light energy will light up your target. Assess the light energy intensity and focus. If the intensity needs to be increased then feed slightly more energy into the meridians making sure you don’t have any energy bleeding off into the wrong meridians. Concentrate the focus by having a stronger image. Don’t increase the amount of energy used too quickly as your meridians will only be able to handle an amount of energy equal to your current cultivation level.’
“I think I will go outside for this!”
Ling Mai may be young, but she did learn from her mistakes. She would have perished long ago if she hadn’t developed a keen sense of thinking before she acted. The whole cultivation and technique learning process was way outside her ability to assess the ramifications of her actions. She was gaining a basic understanding but the jade slips were anything but clear. She supposed every cultivator forged their own path and understanding of energy and how to manipulate it.
Exiting the cave, she carefully scanned her surroundings both visually and with her energy sense. Noticing only a flock of birds, she moved a few hundred metres away from the cave in case her experiments attracted unwanted attention.
“Now, what should my target be…”
Seeing a large rock on top of a small cliff about fifty metres away, she focused intently on the rock. After a couple of minutes, she felt the image suddenly come sharply into focus. “Is this what I need to strive for? Why didn’t the slip say anything about this?”
Resisting shaking her head in disgust, she concentrated on holding the image in extra sharp focus. Slowly drawing out a wisp of light energy, she guided it into the same path as she had used before.
Zeee-pop!
An extremely thin beam of light instantly shot out from her mouth and struck the exact centre of the rock. A puff of smoke and rock fragments exploded from the attack site.
Ling Mai was not expecting to be gobsmacked again, but she was totally unprepared for this result.
“What am I doing wrong? I maybe expected a bright light, but this? The beam of light was so thin and concentrated. I guess that is why the rock exploded; too much energy in a very small area.”
Looking at the rock, she could now see the impact site. A hole a few centimetres deep marked the beam’s impact point. “I think the power of that attack is potentially lethal. I need to either spread the beam a little or somehow reduce the energy invested in the beam.”
Trying again, she tried to cut the energy off halfway through guiding it to her mouth. A very weak beam of light briefly lit up the rock. “This is going to be harder than I expected.”
Twenty minutes of experimenting later, she finally had a feeling of how to control both the beam’s strength and focus. A wider beam was vastly different to a narrow beam. It was ridiculously easy to control the intensity of the beam. Highly focused beams had the potential to unleash a devastating attack.
She still was very wobbly with her technique. She was very slow to get a sharp image in her mind. Either she needed lots of practice or she needed to learn how to quickly create a focus point for her attacks. She wondered if Big Ming or Elder Xing would be able to teach her?
“I also need to learn how to shield myself!” She frowned with concern. She sat down to replenish her light energy reserves in her vortexes.
“I now have some decent control. I feel a little safer now if I get into a dangerous situation. I think I’ll finish up experimenting and go catch some fish.”
Returning inside the cave, she experimented with manipulating rock by trying to change the earth-energy’s feel in the rock wall of the cave. It took a large number of attempts using different methods before she had any tangible result. It was very very slow and taxed her energy manipulation ability to its limit.
She then hid the smaller of the two storage rings by extracting a small amount of rock from high in the cave’s ceiling. She had thought of this technique after manipulating light. She just needed to change the way the rock felt, and it very slowly flowed out like it was made of mud. Filling the hole back up was easy as she just softened and then smeared the surrounding rock over the hole until it looked natural. She had to be careful as it was hot to the touch.
She tidied up so the cave floor looked untrod. She exited her cave and carried out a detailed scan of her surroundings. Concealing any traces of her tracks, she then started walking to the river. It was a twenty-minute walk, so she didn’t take out her travois. She decided she would do that after fishing.
Arriving at the river she retrieved from her storage ring, her travois, spear and the thin rope. She concentrated on all the firewood in the storage ring and succeeded in retrieving half of it into a neat pile on her travois. She would retrieve the remainder directly into Grandma Tang's firewood storage box. “No sense in carrying a ridiculous amount as people will begin to suspect something is up, plus I don’t want to damage my blanket, even though I don’t need it for sleeping anymore.”
Preparing the rope and spear, she then approached the riverbank. Digging out some worms from the soil she tossed them into the slowly flowing river. She could see a school of fish slightly downstream. They were quick to respond to this unexpected bounty.
Ling Mai kept her eyes open this time but concentrated on her energy-sense. She was surprised to see silver energy just upstream from her. It hadn’t been there previously. Examining the riverbed more closely, she could see that it had been disturbed. “Was someone searching for the knife and sword, or the storage ring? I’ll retrieve the metal as it seems to be gold!”
Surprisingly, it was gold. Gold nuggets to be exact. “I’ll give them to Grandma Tang to help pay for everything she has given me.”
She scanned the area once again, finding no one. “I’ll just catch five fish for Grandma Tang then I’ll get out of here.”
Familiar with using the spear to fish. she soon had five decent-sized fish. Removing the rope from the spear, she turned to use it to tie down her load of firewood. Sitting five metres away from her, next to the travois, was the large cat!
“Ayee!”
Ling Mai jumped backwards, almost falling into the river. She teetered on the edge for a few seconds, arms waving wildly to regain her balance. Regaining her balance, she stared at the cat. “Are you laughing at me?” She asked in chagrin. He certainly looked like he had a big grin!
The cat shifted his gaze to the fish lying at her feet. “Don’t tell me that you are still hungry?”
The cat nodded.
“Hey, do you understand me now?”
Ling Mai was doubtful but decided the cat must have spied on travellers and had learnt rudimentary language skills. “He must be a very intelligent cat. Is he a magical beast? That would make sense.”
Ling Mai was wrenched from her ruminations by the cat pouncing on her. She was knocked to the ground. The cat stood over her and stared at her, then licked her nose.
“Urk! Get off me, you big Hefferlump!”
The cat grinned and paced silently over to the fish and started eating them.
Ling Mai sighed resignedly. “Looks like more fishing for me.” She reattached the rope to the spear and started fishing. The cat only asked for three more fish, so Ling Mai didn’t take too much extra time.
Gutting the fish, she had a thought, “Do fish get cores?” Cutting into the base of the fish’s brain, she found nothing. Four fish later, in the largest fish, she found a blue beast core. “Yes!”
Packing up and putting the fish into the storage ring, to keep them out of the cat’s eyesight, she started making her way back to town. The cat leapt ahead of her and started chasing leaves being blown by the wind and generally frolicking around. It even caught a bird and carried it back to Ling Mai.
“You want me to keep the bird for you for later?” The cat nodded. “Why am I not surprised? I’m just a source of food and a baggage carrier!”
The cat rubbed his head on her cheek. “Okay, maybe a bit more than that. Hey, do you have a name? I think I will call you, ‘Twinkle-toes’… No? Okay, ‘Spot’? How about’s, ’Whiskers’?”
Seeing the disgusted look on the cat’s face was worth it. She could give as good as she received!
“Okay, how about, ‘Kitty’? You do look like a kitten in the way you play around, even though you are the biggest cat I have ever seen - at least three times my size.”
Seeing the cat look at her with interest, she said, “Okay, Kitty. I’m going back into town. I don’t think it will be safe for you.”
Kitty simply turned around and started to lead the way back to the town’s gate.
Ling Mai stared at the cat. She decided the cat seemed to know what it was doing. Besides, Grandma Tang needed a bit of excitement every now and then. She smiled evilly to herself, letting out a sinister laugh. It was good to get in plenty of practice - she needed to sound authentic!
As they approached the town entrance gate, Kitty fell back to pace alongside her. “Not just a pretty face!”
She thought.
Kitty turned his head and nodded at her in agreement. “Bageezus! You can read my mind!”
‘A feeling of affirmation’ came from Kitty.
Ling Mai became lost in thought. She realised this changes everything: Silent communication, sharing thoughts to understand the world - so many advantages and benefits. She knew next to nothing about life outside of town. Her forays to gather firewood only scratched the surface of the wilderness surrounding the town. Kitty probably wouldn’t know much about the large cities but the wilderness was his backyard.
“Whooa there!” Came a shout which jerked Ling Mai from her deep introspection. The guards at the town’s gate were staring at Kitty with apprehension. One had his sword drawn and another his spear leveled and pointed at the big cat. The young apprentice guard was staring at Ling Mai as though she was crazy to be walking with a large wild cat. “Maybe she was, but she liked Kitty,” she thought happily.
Kitty immediately rubbed his head against her. She absentmindedly rubbed his head with her hand, hearing and feeling an answering deep purr. “Mmm, your fur is so soft!” Looking back at the guards she saw that their interaction had caused the guards to relax. The guard with the sword had actually re-sheathed it.
“This is Kitty, my companion. He will be now living with me,” she said, introducing the big cat and explained why they were together.
“Can I pet him?” Asked the young guard.
Turning to Kitty Ling Mai mentally asked, “It will help give you a good reputation. They will otherwise be scared of you and want to attack you.”
She could see him think for a second then walk over the the young guard and bump his head against his hand in an obvious attempt to get the guard to pet him. With wonder in his eyes, the young guard carefully stroked Kitty’s fur, eliciting a purr of satisfaction.
Soon the other two guards were gathered around and petting the purring cat.
“You do like attention, don’t you.”
Kitty turned his head and gave her a smug look.
The senior guard then spoke, “I will get young Long Pei here to accompany you to the market so as to avoid any confusion or trouble.”
Ling Mai bowed, “Thank you.”
With Kitty in between Long Pei and herself, they started walking to the market. They gathered startled looks from the occasional passerby.
Entering the market, they immediately became the centre of attention. Young children escaped their parents and ran over to the big cat and started petting him. “Aren’t you the lucky one?” Ling Mai rhetorically asked.
Kitty just ignored her and sat and soaked up all the attention. After a couple of minutes, Ling Mai thought to Kitty, “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Grandma Tang. She is going to be so surprised!” She gleefully said whilst chuckling to herself.
Walking over to Grandma Tang’s food stall, she smiled and said, “I’m back. I would like to introduce you to…”
“I know Long Pei, he does look good in a guard’s uniform. How are you finding working as… A GHOST CAT!” Grandma Tang shrieked. Jumping backwards she collided with the firewood storage box. Seeing Kitty coming to a halt beside Ling Mai and just sitting quietly, Grandma Tang stared at the large cat, then after a second looked at Ling Mai. Seeing the devilish grin on her face, Grandma Tang took a large breath and scolded Ling Mai, “You scared me to death, you evil little girl. No dinner for you tonight!”
“So you don’t want all the fish I caught?” Teased Ling Mai.
Grumbling to herself, Grandma Tang finally said, “Only if they are large and tasty.”
Going behind the counter she introduced Kitty, “This is my new companion, Kitty. He will be living with us now. He is very friendly and loves to be petted.”
Face stern, Grandma Tang asked, “Is he house trained, and is he safe to be around if he gets hungry?”
“Well, I don’t know, but expect he is well-mannered; and, he can hunt for himself though he does like to mooch off me.”
Kitty gave her a look. Ling Mai defended herself, “It is true! And do you know how to go to the toilet?” Kitty continued to give her a look, if anything his stare was more intense. “Okay, my apologies, I won’t insult your integrity and intelligence anymore. You are the embodiment of decorum and decency, and you are smarter than most humans.”
Kitty parsed her apology and statement for a second. Seemingly semi-satisfied, he walked over to Grandma Tang and sniffed her then rubbed his cheek against hers.
“He is marking me as part of his family? A Ghost Cat?” Looking at Kitty and then Ling Mai she smiled weakly, “I knew inviting you into my home was going to liven up my life, but you have vastly exceeded my expectations.” She puffed out her cheeks, then continued, “Ah well, I was starting to feel bored with life. I can’t complain now.”
Ling Mai looked at Grandma Tang in awe as she never ceased to amaze her. She knew everyone in their town and had a library's worth of knowledge in her head. “How do you know about Ghost Cats? And what do you know?”
“I was in a sect for a brief time.” Seeing the look of rampant curiosity on Ling Mai’s face, she explained, “I was in a sect for one day. We went on a trip to a mountain to gather some medicinal herbs when we chanced across a wounded young Ghost Cat. The Elders were very excited as all Ghost Cats have unusually powerful beast cores. They started to attack the young Ghost Cat when an adult Ghost Cat attacked and killed all the Elders. It was invisible until it struck, appearing behind one Elder after another, killing each Elder in one swipe of its claws. It was huge, easily ten times as big as little Kitty here.”
Ling Mai tried imagining Kitty being ten times bigger than his present size. “I could easily ride you if you were that much bigger.”
Kitty didn’t look impressed with this idea. He turned back to Grandma Tang to get more petting.
“I’ll tell you all about it later,” said Grandma Tang.
Seeing she was not going to get more enjoyment from scaring Grandma Tang, Ling Mai started unloading the firewood from her travois, sneaking extra firewood from her storage ring to fully fill the firewood box. She also snuck out the five fish and the animal she had killed. It was about twice the size of her previous kills. “I hope its size is due to it having a beast core?”
“It looks like you have everything under control,” the guard, Long Pei said. “I’ll head back to the gate.”
“Goodbye. Thank you for guarding us.” Ling Mai bowed, then gave him a smile of gratitude. Long Pei left, occasionally looking back at Kitty who was still being petted by Grandma Tang.
Ling Mai wanted to visit the Trading Post today, so she asked for the skinning knife and then started to skin and gut the animal. Once finished she broke open the head and discovered it indeed had a beast core. She could feel the fire energy inside. She went over to Grandma Tang and covertly gave her the two beast cores. The other fish beast core was aptly a water energy type. Grandma Tang looked slightly surprised but took the cores and stored them in her money pouch.
As Ling Mai started to describe her day, including meeting the cultivators and Kitty, the sound of thunder rumbled overhead. The sun quickly dimmed as it was occluded by dark clouds, and a wind sprang up. “Where did that come from?” She thought in alarm.
Seeing Grandma Tang giving her a look, Ling Mai quietly protested, “It wasn’t me!”
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