Wings out, I get pushed along with the energy and slip into another pool. But did he see me?
"Disgusting bug! Think you can come into my soul space and make it out alive? You dare? See how you're sent to hell with the rest of your kind!"
This bish is dramatically monologuing and celebrating too soon!
-*You think this heavenly body belongs in darkness?*- The resulting scream is very satisfying. -*That this luxurious silk comes from hell? See if I don't drag you down with me!*- I'm gonna drama dork you to death and we'll see who dies of cringe first!
I work on draining the pool while he frantically screeches, dancing back and forth and praying for forgiveness. Are saint bugs a thing? Like heavenly bugs? Prolly. Guess they're rare. I was a demonic bug, I just got super saturated with other things and became not a demonic bug.
I get two more pools done, halfway through the ones in the zone I'm in, I have no idea where he came from or where he sprinted to before coming back to dunk on me, and I get to see when he registers that, heaven bug or not, he was sent to test and or destroy me. He straight up freezes, mid-step, mouth open, just frozen before he slowly relaxes. And then explodes in another rage-fueled tantrum.
He thrashes around so much that a few of his braids, ends tied off, shaped, and folded to resemble flowers, come loose and either hang, curled upwards defying gravity, or waggle back and forth around waist height. The longer, looser braids actually dangle around his knees, but most of them look like they were doubled up on each other before being finished into flowers, and --. How are they being held in place?
Instinct driven warning bells sound off when he calms himself, doesn't check on his appearance, and just wanders off. The fuck is he up to now?
-I'm not supposed to kill you, I'm just supposed to make sure you don't continue cultivating. Why shouldn't I go home and let you die off? Hmph! No way something as mediocre as a bug will survive! There are no bugs in the outer realms! Big Sister Red Bean Paste would never allow it!- He nods to himself, radiating determination, and then tries to run his hand along the side of his hair.
The absolute expression of devastation that comes over his face. You'd think he'd discovered he went from long locks to bald! Or that the hair had come off in his hands? No! It's just messy! Speaking of...
-*Sure you won't just get yourself in more trouble bringing a parasite home?*- I'm literally inside of him feeding on his good shit. I know what I am. -*First you fail to stop me, then you bring me home, and you look terrible!*-
You want to end my life? See if I spare your feelings! I don't even feel bad when he drops, just knees folding until he flops on his butt, and wails. It's not even fake dramatic crying. Unless he's good at faking ugly crying. There's snot and everything. Cultivators produce snot?
I recoil, disgusted and curious, as I wonder what consuming it would do. Not like I haven't eaten worst, but I'd rather not have this as a default even when my life is at stake! Who am I trying to comfort? "The life of a cultivator is full of strife". My life is always in danger! Doesn't mean I have to be stupid and wander over there to see if I can eat it. Five pools down, three more to go!
I don't even get the water level down before I'm ejected. I resist cursing then freeze when I see that all of the pools are closing.
[Aura of Suppression Successful]
[Successful Use: 11/100]
[Con. Qi -100]
[Karma -1000]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1,833,329/23,957,547]
[Current Qi: 784,564/5,850,300]
[Current Karma: 95,830,188/107,275,977]
[Mortal Wallet: 10E,26K,228P,154R,179Da,155De,105k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1199Di,126Co,10526St]
The alarms tell me to stay very quiet and keep being stealthy. Hair boy is sitting, crisscross applesauce, the back of his hands resting on the top of his knees, hands making an unknown seal, eyes close, face slightly raised. And his hair is back in order. He's glowing softly, looking happy and at peace, and, for some reason, that's very upsetting.
How much of a troll am I? Do I live to make other's lives difficult? Why is seeing someone at peace so upsetting to me? Oh, right. He's trying to kill me, and the less tidy he is the better it shows that I'm winning. And he is very neat right now. Fack.
-*Surely you've seen the quality of my silk. Is it not heavenly?*- Poke poke poke. Wake up!
-Garbage silk from a garbage world. The outer realms produce much better,- he casually shits on me, maintaining his zen.
-*Heavenly silk in this garbage world. Surely if I'm allowed to study in the outer realms I can master production there, too!*- Come on! We don't get along, but, groomer to groomer, give me some tips!
-Surely you don't think you'd be allowed to fill the outer realms with your filth,- he smirks, his peace falling only long enough for his arrogance to bloom.
-*Oh~? And you were so~ much better before you ascended?*-
Snap! His eyes snap open, the mirror in his hands is crushed, and his hair starts unravelling again. Him mad! Bish dunking on me when I'm probably superior. At least in this thing. He focused on being pretty, I focused on producing silk. How did his mortal face compare to my treasure?
-Very good,- he slaps his legs, nodding and smoothly standing up. -Come out and I'll give you pointers.-
This bish. Wait! People are weird. He could be dead serious right now. Pfft. Easy test.
[Aura of Suppression Successful]
[Successful Use: 12/100]
[Con. Qi -100]
[Karma -1000]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1,833,229/23,957,297]
[Current Qi: 784,565/5,850,300]
[Current Karma: 95,829,188/107,275,977]
[Mortal Wallet: 10E,26K,228P,154R,179Da,155De,105k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1199Di,126Co,10526St]
-*Do you acknowledge the value of my silk? Did you notice it before you broke it? Did you feel the quality?*- Pffft, that stink face, though! But is he mad at my monologue or mad that I'm not lying out my ass? -*The heavens may have greater, but who can surpass my production in the mortal realm? Even the emperor acknowledges it!*-
-Tch! I did feel some resistance,- he admits, glaring as his eyes skate to the side. But honestly or as a ploy? -It doesn't compare to my saintly hair, but it is not simple.-
I shudder, making a rattling sound that he sighs at, but doesn't immediately hone in on. But what the fuck, me?! Why'd I shiver? Am I gonna hurk up an orb? Am I saturated?
I look up to see he's still politely ignoring me, waiting for me to come out. Did he think I threw a stone? To be fair, I have done some bullshit, but is he honestly not gonna attack me?
When I look at his hair I realize that I've figured it out. Or learned it from all the whatever this stuff of his is that I keep eating. His purifying thing. He infused his hair and skin and bones with Heavenly aura. Saint aura is completely different, doesn't he know that? Guess it doesn't matter.
Wait, the body preparation for martial bullshit! He reforged himself with heavenly! But which body? Can I tell? There's the suns, the moons, the planets and the stars. Gods forbids if any of those heavenly bodies are made from essence and someone starts cycling heavenly saint --. Oh. Oh~! Fack, that took me a while, didn't it?
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> -Heh.-
>
> [Mesmerize UnSuccessful]
> [Successful Use: ?/100]
> [Qi -some number]
> [Karma -some number]
> [Current Condensed Qi: numbers]
> [Current Qi: numbers]
> [Current Karma: shit ton out of a butt ton]
> [Mortal Wallet: Rich as shit]
> [Spirit Wallet: Moneybags]
>
> I stand up and open my wings. One pair at a time. He nods, going to clap his hands, seeing that he's still got mirror bits on himself, dismisses them with an effort of will, then goes back to applauding me.
>
> -*Any essence I encounter, I can reproduce as silk. Who else can make such a boast?*-
>
> He walks up, nodding, applauding, summoning a massive hammer with a head the size of his mecha-hairzilla eye, then squashing my cocky self, bug guts flying everywhere. The nonsense that subs as my buggy brain misting, decorating his soul space with glitter.
That sounds about right. I try really hard not to scoff or snicker, that level of stupidity deserves both and more, keeping still and watching as he sighs and stretches. A wave of his hand and he's got a round white table with a glass top, a sun umbrella, and he's reclining in a white chair with what looks like his hair woven to make a comfy seat, and a plate of something saucy and steaming in one hand and chopsticks to eat it with in the other.
I've been eating on him and he thinks he's going to lure me out with this nonsense? When I finish consuming his soul I'm going to make all of his favorite foods and eat them without leaving a single one at his memorial!
Ooh, that's dark. I put a hard stop on soul eating thoughts and remind myself that I'm eating his will and forged soul flame, not the essence of all that he is. Then a part of me that knows how this world functions informs me that eating his soul flame is eating the essence of all that he is condensed into a medium that I, for some unfathomable reason, can eat.
Because I'm a monster. But a good one. Kinda. 'Cause I'm gonna go explore and see what else I can eat. I'm not sure how well this fight is going, and I don't know how to check on things outside of storage once I'm inside. So... He wants to do food things? Let's do non-monstrous-thinking food things.
[Aura of Suppression Successful]
[Successful Use: 13/100]
[Con. Qi -100]
[Karma -1000]
[Current Condensed Qi: 1,833,129/23,957,047]
[Current Qi: 784,566/5,850,300]
[Current Karma: 95,828,188/107,275,977]
[Mortal Wallet: 10E,26K,228P,154R,179Da,155De,105k]
[Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1199Di,126Co,10526St]
I stay low, moving away from him and towards the area he'd come from initially. The pools are still closed and covered by low domes, but I'm not going to try to squeeze past him. I'm not even going to entertain that nonsense. I still don't know how he hasn't seen my colorful ass. He's facing away from me, in a magical space, where he sees through aura and presence.
Oh~! I don't have either one. Suck it, bishes! Kiss my commoner presenting ass! No. That's not right. Kiss my "insignificant" insect ass! Got 'im! Beneath notice? You right! Let's go~!
I push the envelope, raising my arms in buggy victory while stealthily hauling ass over the rock face he's using to screen the pools. And I'm standing in front of a pool house? A sturdy pavilion with rolling screens down, one tied up, wicker furniture, and simple amenities. Wash basin, low dresser with a mirror for a beefy vanity, and a salad bar. What?
I blink in confusion. Does he really need to eat or does he enjoy the memory of eating healthy food? There's a simple suspension bed with a small trunk next to it, but the trunk looks off.
It looks big and sturdy, all wood, a puzzle box probably, but it's scratched and stained. In his pristine world? That's a red flag. It's either a trap or something he couldn't get let go. Chubby baby pictures? Do they have headgear here? Full body acne! Why's he obsessed with being pretty and put together?
I scurry my nosey ass over to the trunk, narrating because I'm totally going to get squished, and I don't have the patience to imagine the beat down I might possibly get, and, honestly, I don't care. Much. Hopefully this unlocks more insights instead of just being a box of some poison I'm already immune to. At least be something new.
> I don't remember touching the box. I'm standing, blinking, freckle faced and dark haired, and in a very small village of grass and stick huts. Not even proper wood. We harvest tons of wood but that's for the charcoal we produce. I'm a cute kid, the elders tell me I'll be a lady killer when I grow up, but we all know I'll probably just stay here and die like we always do.
>
> It's a simple life, granted, but nothing to be ashamed of. We're simple folk doing good, honest work. We have food, shelter, our community, surely our ancestors, while not boastful, can be proud. Who hasn't heard of the value of hard work? Who hasn't heard of the value of charcoal?
>
> "Coal's Bright Flame!"
>
> I turn to see my cousins waving at me from river side. I turn to my father, a large man, easily mistaken for a cultivator but who can afford the medicines for that? Black Rock, the pillar of our family, our wide tree, smiles, just a small lift of one corner of his mouth, then nods, ever serious, not even uncrossing his arms or relaxing his powerful stance. It doesn't matter. He's not a cultivator and I will live my life my life and meet my death by this river.
>
> I'm a cute kid. I'll grow into a handsome man. Everyone says so. It may be what saved my life.
>
> Scarlet Eyes, a murderous escort, fled to the middle of nowhere. So she thought. A woman who destroys anything that offends her sight, stumbled upon by urchins as she'd rested, filthy and exhausted after fleeing from the constables. How dare we see her in such a state.
>
> The others, cleaner than her but still filthy by her standards, didn't stand a chance. I didn't stand a chance, but I'd just bathed that morning so I was the cleanest. And I'd grow up to be handsome. She saw the truth of this.
>
> A woman. A murderer. A cultivator. Fled to the middle of nowhere and was found by a group of filthy children racing to the river. She'd spared me after hearing our tale. But she'd slaughtered the others. Their deaths weren't clean or quick. Their screams weren't quiet.
>
> I don't know why I'd waited for my turn. I guess I'd understood the futility of trying to run. Or maybe the only place I could think to run was my village. My dirty, ugly little village with everything I'd ever held dear. I couldn't lead her there. I'd stand, strong and stern, and not shaming the ones I love.
>
> But she didn't kill me. She'd checked my face, saying I had good bone structure. The other elders have already told me as much. She said I'd grow up to be handsome. This I already know. She said I was much cleaner than the vermin I hung around, and I pointed out that she'd ruined that with her own filth and their blood. I stated that I'd have to wash in the river.
>
> She should have killed me. But she didn't. I'd lead her to the river, all the while hearing her boast about how beautiful she was, how popular she was, how worthless her clients were for not being able to see her skill or beauty. She'd wanted someone to teach her cultivation techniques, offering to warm their beds in return. She'd gotten nothing but a few coins and an ugly reputation. She hates ugly things, so how could she love herself.
>
> At the river's edge she'd gone to wade into the current. Foolishness. No one climbs into the river. It looks mild but the current is strong. There are also numerous river spirits, mischievous and malicious, that have taken many lives. And she was covered in the blood of children. She'd unintentionally called on the spirits. Fell to them. And they'd taken her body away. But they'd left her things behind.
>
> I gathered what I could, keeping myself out of the river, grateful that they'd thrown the "garbage" onto the near shore, and run back to town. I explained what had happened, presenting her things as evidence, then trying to lead them to the bodies of the others, off my cousins, but they were gone. There was more than enough blood and a few stray pieces for them to believe my story, but the bodies were never recovered. We'd need to send someone to the nearest village, ours not warranting a constable, but who would go?
>
> Who else? They sent my father, my family's pillar, our commoner who could have been a cultivator. He'd left and we never heard back from him. He'd gone out, bearing a woman's bloody clothing, and a righteous sect cultivator had killed him for his crimes. Upon trying to turn in the evidence he'd learned who my father was, and who the "victim" was. He'd made his way into the woods, searching for our village to apologize.
>
> A pretty murderer and a honest commoner. And the cultivator sided with the viper of a woman and murdered an innocent man. How did he think to pay for his crime? He didn't have to, but he did have a conscience, misguided as it was. He took me on as a student.
>
> I have good bone structure. Inherited from my father, not that he needed to know such things. I was handsome enough, even so young, that surely I would go far. And, when I got to a level when we were equals, when he'd let his guard down after visiting a red house, after he'd gotten drunk, gotten robbed, and then tried to flee? I killed him and manage to pin the crime on the red house. I couldn't make Scarlet Eyes pay, but I could make my father's killer pay.
>
> And then I continued my journey as a cultivator. I kept up with my skills, but my appearance served me better. I was a handsome man. And a pretty face is often worth more than skill or gold.
-Ugh!-
I come back to myself, recoiling in disgust. What an awful story! If it's true, as pretty as I am, surely I will go far?