ã€ŠA Girl&#x27;s, Unusual Existenceã€‹


 Prologue - Boom *

    Water droplets echo eerily in the quiet dark halls with the only source of light coming from a closed heavy metal door, where the light somehow manages to creep out from minuscule cracks around the heavy door.

    The underground laboratory is empty except for an exhausted middle aged woman with chin length whitened hair in a dirty white lab coat who frantically tinkers with a powerful looking gate-like device. Her hair swishes back in forth at the rapid movement as the wrinkles on her forehead and under her eyes only deepen, causing her square framed glasses to slid down further on her nose. She agitatedly types in code into the connected computer system as she finishes the final adjustments on the device.

    The sounds of fighting and gunfire from upstairs have long since ceased and it was merely now a matter of time until the mutants made it to her. A loud thump is heard from far away as if something is smashed open. Soon very faint growling-like sounds and the soft echo of nails scampering through the halls is heard. Sniffing sounds grow louder and louder as the pack begins to move deeper into the facility.

    The minute¡¯s trickle by as the mutant pack continues in its eager search. A lone scout raises its head and lets out an earth-shattering shriek. The mutants eagerly rush through the hall and follow the cry. Within seconds the pack reaches the area of their target and with a huff they all halt next to the lone scout in front of the large heavy metal bolted door.

    The group stares for a moment in fascination and waits. From within the pack a smaller mutant emerges and rushes forward to press its face against the door sniffing eagerly. After a few quiet seconds, it lets out a small triumphant cry as the pack surges forward.

    The woman¡¯s mouth goes dry at the sound of the mutants slamming their bodies against the door, but she does not dare to look up from her work nor stop. With a tired flourish, she finishes typing the last of the code as her hand hovers in the air. Her heart begins to pound in her ears as she waits for the machine to accept the code.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    The bar steadily begins to fill, as her heart trembles with some unknown emotion as she ruefully smiles to herself. She lets out a bitter loud laugh causing the mutants to shriek even more as they begin to excitedly slam their bodies against the door. The door frame shakes with every slam and it is only a matter of minutes until the metal door fails under the persistent assault.

    With worn battle eyes, she coolly removes her glasses and places them onto the table. She rubs her tired eyes as she looks hopefully at the machine and loses herself in her train of thought. They were all so close, but not close enough. If only they had more time or if simply they had been better prepared.

    The words of an old wise man were right, ¡°What if, is always the cruelest of words.¡± And in the end, it was all for naught. Humanity lost.

    The machine lets out a little beep, signaling that the update was successful. With a strange triumphant smile and much to her own surprise with peace of mind, she easily typed the command for detonation. The computer screen begins to flash with a 10 second countdown.

    With grim relief, she sits down on a stool to watch the end. Suddenly her eyes begin to water as she grumbled to herself a single word, ¡°Spring,¡± and she slides to the floor holding her chest painfully as she tries to breath.

    With a loud shriek, the door gives a loud rattle as the countdown reaches two seconds. Another second later, the door breaks down completely as the creatures fight amongst themselves to enter first. From the pile a creature emerges triumphant and leaps hungrily towards the dying woman on the floor. The only sound heard is a soft tired sigh as she lets out her last breath and a faint exasperated smile appears on her face.

    The countdown hits zero and the room vanishes leaving behind only white dust. The white flash easily spreads across the base tearing through the fabric of space. A mile-long crater was left in the bases place as the dawn of a new era begins, the age of mutants.

 * Chapter 1- Birth?

    Gasping for air, Edlatine fondly known as Ed awoke with her heart pounding loudly in her ears. For a moment, Ed was completely and utterly confused of the whereabouts of her, but this was neither heaven nor hell.

    Ed cracks her dry eyes open and blearily glances around. Her surroundings appear as if many Asian cultures were meshed together. From the architecture to the people walking about in the open street she easily spots hints of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Turkish and various other styles mixed in wonderful exquisite mix of cultures.

    Vendors shout in the streets in a language, which to her own surprise Ed can clearly understand. But couldn¡¯t recall such a language ever existing on Earth. The smell of spices fills the air as she notices familiar foods on the street: Takoyaki, Curry, Samosa, Jiao Zi, and so many other foods being sold in the open street.

    Ed warily scans the surroundings as she sniffs the air and her stomach rumbles with hunger. Given her current inexplicable circumstances, she cautiously climbs to her feet.

    Ed winces as she climbs to her feet and only manages a weak hobble by leaning against the alley wall as a crutch. Her face twists as she futilely attempts to not breathe the stank and wades through the street filth.

    She continues to venture further and further into the alley as far away from the open street as possible. For now, Ed just wants a place where she can rest and think. The alleyway seems to stretch for an eternity until she at last sees the blue sky beyond the buildings horizon.

    Ed slows down as she reaches the end of the alleyway and edges slowly towards the edge. Years of survival instincts that was forcibly drilled into her take over. Ed¡¯s eyes flicker cautiously as she observes her surroundings. By luck or perhaps something else entirely, beyond the alleyway lays a dense forest.

    Ed turns for a moment and looks back at the alleyway and the forest. The alleyway provides little protection and no possible food sources, whereas the forest could possible provide food and some means of protection. Yet the forest is currently amidst spring time and she has severe allergies. And could possibly die of a severe allergic reaction again. However, remaining in the alley meant certain death.

    Having finished considering the possible outcome, Ed hobbles as best as she could across the open area and into the forest. She sniffs unhappily as she enters the forest and carefully pushes her way through the first brush. The brush rubs against her for a moment as it reluctantly releases her.

    Ed stiffens for a moment and holds in a shriek of pain as she glances slowly down at her foot. A thick thorn had easily pierced through the thin straw sandals on her feet. Ed clenches her teeth as she painfully removes the thumb-sized thorn from her foot as she screams silently in the back of her throat.

    Having nothing to cover her wound, Ed rips off the lower seam of the ragged, dirty pant leg and bandages her foot, before continuing one her way. Much more cautious, Ed carefully places one foot in front of the other before taking another step across the ground.

    Time passes slowly on her journey as minutes seem hours, but the shadows tell another story stating that only an hour has passed by. Ed finally exits the thick dense forest and finds a small clearing. A small pond lies in the middle of the clearing.

    Rather than rushing out into the clearing and drinking her fill, Ed sits down on a thick tree root and waits. The hours go by and finally a female doe appears from the tree clumps and trots towards the pool. The doe drinks her fill before darting back into the forest as swiftly as she came.

    Ed with calm, experienced eyes continues to survey the clearing for any further signs of the clearing being a trap. The forest grows dark and as the shadows lengthen, Ed slowly crawls into the clearing as she keeps close to the ground. As best as she could, Ed scuttles to the pond and begins to scoop the questionable clean water into her mouth and drinks it slowly.

    After having drunk as much as she could, Ed craws back the way she came. Unable to find a place of shelter, she huddles under the branches of large tree at the edge of the clearing. Her stomach grumbles loudly in protest as Ed tries to make her sore body as comfortable as possible against the tree roots.

    Ed digs her nails around some loose tree bark from the tree trunk and with some effort manages to tear the bark off. She munches on the bark slowly and shrugs at its taste. She had eaten far worse at times to survive. With a grumbling sigh, her stomach unhappily accepts the meal placed before it.

    Completely exhausted both mentally and physically, Ed closes her eyes and falls into a deep slumber that only a child¡¯s body can enact. Animals come and go during the night, but nothing out of the ordinary appears. And most importantly, nothing approaches nor awakens the slumbering child.

    Yet all during her restless sleep, Ed dreams of a girl named, Ame.

    Birds happily chirp their little hearts out as Ed awakens. Ed grumbles loudly and opens her eyes to the sunlight coming through the trees. She closes her eyes for a moment as she enjoys the sunlight until her nose sniffs with unease at the pollen in the air.

    Ed stiffens against the tree as her eyes fly wide open and almost twitch at their current location. Her eyes roved all over the place until she lowered her gaze to her current body. The body seems to be wearing tattered rags that not even a desperate wild animal would want. From the tears in the clothing, she can easily see severe bruising across the flesh.

    It couldn¡¯t be, could it? It simply wasn¡¯t scientifically possible. But no matter how much, Ed thought about her current predicament, she could not find a single rational explanation.

    With a painful sigh, Ed climbs to her feet and carefully heads out into the clearing. Taking a bath always seems to help and her body is in desperate need of one. Ed yawns tiredly as she hobbles across the clearing and begins to strip carefully to protect any further tearing from happening to her clothes.

    Ed¡¯s thin body shivers slightly at her undressing, but she¡¯s bathed in worse climates and places. With a slight hiss, Ed wades into the pond and begins to scrub her body. With great relief as she cleans herself, she discovers that she is still of the female gender.

    Her mind automatically returns to a time long ago, 11-11-20XX, T-Day, the day the world collapsed. On that day, Ed, a young student studying Mechanical Engineering and Physics was attending a military seminar. Being on a military base, when the first wave of mutants hit was the only reason she survived.

    However, her parents and her older brother had not. It had been over 30 years, since they had perished and she no longer remembered their faces. Her memories of them had faded much like one¡¯s childhoods do as memories become like long forgotten dreams.

    After T-Day, any individual possessing certain skills was immediately drafted into the military as one of the many much-needed personnel. Ed was immediately assigned to the Weapons Department with the primary job of research and creation of weapons to combat the mutants.

    The years went by and though humanity could produce military weapons that were simply unfathomable, in the end, they simply weren¡¯t enough. No cure was ever found and the preventive vaccine for the Virus T was still in its trial phase, when the final base of humanity fell.

    All hands went on deck for even the scientists on base were active combatants. Every member of the base went to the surface to fight valiantly for humanity, yet only Ed refused to go. Her fellow scientists glared at her with hatred for her callousness, but Ed remained unmoved by their words as they all left to their certain deaths.

    For many years, Ed had been creating a device known as ¡°The Gate.¡± Its primary function was to create a gate to another location, a teleportation device had it ever succeeded. However, Ed had theorized that if a single miscalculation had occurred, the gate would unleash an unstable wave of quantum particles and dangerous energies that would cause a space-time distortions and wipe out a large radius of the surroundings. The aftereffects can only be imagined but not fully determined.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Knowing this, Ed still proceeded with her research. If humanity couldn¡¯t win, then Ed would ensure that all their enemies would be dragged to hell with them. However, Ed had vastly underestimated and miscalculated, the gate had not only ripped through the base for miles around, but tore through the very fabric of time and space.

    Ed sneezes from the pollen in the air as she climbs out of the cold water. Shivering slightly in the morning as she waits for her body to dry.

    Ed feels her head hurt for a moment as she lets out a soft sigh full of mixed emotions and closes her eyes to think. She most certainly died yesterday in the blast. But this body was hers and yet it was not.

    Ed theorized that the body of an infant could not handle her full consciousness. Naturally it would take years for her personality to awaken given her prior deaths traumatizing circumstances in addition to the time needed for the body to be able to support her mind¡¯s complete manifestation.

    Ed opens her eyes in understanding of her current predicament. Her current self was a child named Min Ame. Her father was a nobleman known as Min Hee and her mother was the second wife, Ayako. Her biological mother did not care for Ame and as such, since birth a young maid by the name of Sada had been Ame¡¯s caretaker.

    There existed two other wives, the first wife, Ehuang and the third wife, Nuo. The first had given birth to a daughter and a son, HuiFeng and Hong. Whilst the third wife remained barren. The relationship between Ame and the two wives and her elder siblings wasn¡¯t terrible as they appeared to be amiable towards each other.

    Shortly before Ame¡¯s 5<sup>th</sup> birthday, she had been taken by a thief belonging to certain gang posing as a manor¡¯s manservant. Being so young and small had been the saving grace that allowed Ame to escape the drunk thief to busy celebrating. Too small to understand, she found herself lost and alone on the streets.

    Ame perhaps by instinct pretended to be a boy as she took to petty theft and begging to survive. It was logically speaking far safer to be a boy on the streets than a girl. Not that being a boy was any safer, but there was a far lesser chance of being taken to become a plaything.

    Ed opens her eyes and sniffs unhappily to herself as she glances at her lower body. She found bruises and wounds on her upper thighs. From the fragmented memories, she had escaped badly hurt and promptly died alone on the street.

    Very well, since she is living now on the world known as Sen, she will live as the third young mistress of the Min Household, Min Ame. But first she had a few old scores to settle.

    Ame sighs to herself as she climbs to her feet and dresses herself. She sniffs unhappily at putting on the dirty clothes, but she has no choice given that this is all the clothing she possesses. As she puts on the clothes, she notices a small pocket sewn into the clothing that, she had not noticed before.

    The pocket contains a small pencil sized knife, a rusty looking black ring, a glowing rock and a small jade pendent. Without hesitation, Ame slips the ring onto her right hand to prevent its loss.

    Ame tilts her head as she closes her eyes and tries to remember any information on the person who had killed the child. The information slowly pours into her mind, Gamon, a low-level street thug, who had suspected Ame of being a female and was ironically part of the gang searching for her.

    A night ago, the thug had managed to corner the child. It would have never had happened if the child had stuck to her usual route, but Ame had heard about a caravan planning to leave for Chiseong. And thought to steal a rare-looking stone that had being attained by blacksmith and sell it to an appraiser to pay for her way.

    The thrill of being able to finally go home caused the child to lower her guard. Though the theft was successful, the child did not pay attention to her surrounding as she escaped and ran into Gamon. Both, drunk and bored, he decided to confirm for himself his suspicions and pursued the child. And though, he was successful in confirming his suspicions, the child still managed to escape with an inch of her life still intact.

    Ame opens her eyes and lets out a small exasperated sigh. What a grand mistake, but humans are all the same. Once triumph is in sight, man loses track of his unguarded back.

    Ame glances down at the jade and spirit stone in her pocket. Though she could easily return home now, she was not in a habit of leaving lose ends. She frowns to herself as she remembers her current appearance.

    Without hesitation, she kneels by the pond and grabs clumps of mud. Soon, Ame¡¯s face and hair is covered in grime. Only glancing at her appearance in the pond leaves her satisfied. Before leaving the area, she grabs some bark for breakfast, before once more hobbling away.

    *

    A portly man slaps a rough looking man, leaving a large red ring marks on his face.

    Gamon holds his anger in as he bows before he replies to the boss, Yo.

    Yo narrows his piggy eyes at Gamon and roars, ¡°This is your last chance, Gamon. Find the girl or else.¡±

    Gamon deepens his bow and replies, ¡°Yes, boss. But why the hurry?¡±

    Yo snorts and leans back in his seat. ¡°That is none of your business, but someone is willing to pay through the nose to get that girl. Is that understood? No mistakes,¡± Yo growled as he narrowed his beady eyes at Gamon.

    Yo could not permit another failure. And though he had killed the idiot who lost the girl, it had barely quelled the lord¡¯s anger. This time, failure is not an option.

    Gamon presses his lips tightly together and says, ¡°Yes, boss. I will have all the men and street rats on the lookout for the girl.¡±

    Yo, satisfied at the response, leans back and dismisses Gamon with a wave of his hand. As Gamon rises to his feet, a trio of scantily clad woman sashay into the room with food and wine in their arms. Yo¡¯s full attention is on the women as he leers at them. He only turns his attention away once to glare at Gamon to shut the door.

    Gamon softly closes the door as he curses the perverted, fat man. Gamon vows to himself, that once he captures the girl, he will kill the boss. Then, he will be the one with all the riches and beautiful women in his arms.

    Content with his dreams, Gamon exits the building and gathers his subordinates. He orders them to leave no stone unturned and to find the girl at all costs. Or else, they would end up like the last street rat that crossed him.

    Said street rat had merely bumped into Gamon during one of his moods. Not only was the poor street rat beaten, but later was sold to a Parlor of Pain. And no living being lasts more than 3 months at a Parlor of Pain.

    After hearing Gamon¡¯s words, all the men gulp in understanding of the dire consequences that awaited them if they failed. The men rush into the streets and gather the street rats and send them to scurry every corner of the street.

    *

    The day soon becomes night and Gamon still had not received word. By this late hour, Gamon is certain it is only a matter of time, before the new of success arrived. Without worry or care, Gamon heads to the Plum Inn to have a drink and some fun.

    The atmosphere at the Plum Inn is good as men were laughing and drinking loudly as they held women in their arms. Gamon fondles a woman¡¯s chest as he drinks and drinks the night away. Unaware of the passage time, Gammon rather drunkenly says, ¡°I¡¯ll be back. I gotta go take a piss.¡±

    The men laugh as Gamon tosses the indignant woman onto the floor and exits the inn. Somehow, Gammon managed to stagger out onto the empty street. Still staggering, he manages to walk a bit further down the alley, before pulling down his pants. A soft trickling sound is heard as he sighs with relief.

    Gamon hears a soft rustle much like a cat¡¯s, but before he can move, he feels a red-hot burning sensation in his back that just as swiftly disappears. Furious, Gammon pulls up his pants and turns around to face his opponent. His eyes widen in the darkness as he finds no one, before him. A cold wet liquid spreads down his back causing him to shiver.

    Before he can move, a terrible pain erupts in his groin area as Gammon lets out a scream of pain. Gamon falls to the ground and touches his groin to find a gush of blood pouring out. Gamon lets out a scared whimper as he raises his eyes.

    Gamon¡¯s eyes widen in understanding and fear at the small figure in front of him. Gamon swallows and says, ¡°You¡¯ll never get away with this! You¡¯re merely a street brat! Boss will kill you when he finds out.¡±

    A strange impish smile appears on the small figure¡¯s dirty face. ¡°I see. Well, in that case, we must make sure he never finds out, eh,¡± Ame softly whispers to a fellow conspirator.

    Gamon opens his mouth to shriek, but his voice never leaves his throat. A spurt of blood begins to gash out of his throat. He tries to breathe, but soon the faint gurgles fade away completely as everything grows heavy and dark.

    Ame carefully wipes the blood off the blade ignoring the frozen glazed look of Gamon¡¯s corpse and hobbles away into the darkness of the alley. She needn¡¯t confirm that Gammon is truly dead seeing as she severed two major arteries.

    Ame slowly hobbles away and once more returns to the outskirts of the town. With care, she places the spirit stone on the jade pendant. The jade pendant glows for a moment and a glowing circle activates around Ame.

    Ame sniffs at the pollen in the air as she waits to be rescued. Soon the sound of movement is heard as men appear before her. An elderly man that seems familiar says, ¡°Mistress Ame!¡±

    Ame feels her body growing heavier as she falls forward into those arms in exhausted sleep. Tomorrow, she will learn more, but for now she will rest.

    *

    Yo is sound asleep and naked on the large bed. The trio of woman lay in the nude as well strewn across the large portly body. The window flies open as an elegant middle aged man mysteriously appears in front of the open window.

    Startled awake at the sudden presence Yo glances around as the women mumble in their sleep and continue to dream. Yo swallows and says, ¡°Your excellency, I did not know you were coming. Had I known, I would have prepared something suitable for thee arrival.¡±

    The elegant man¡¯s eyes are chilling to look, causing Yo to have the urge to hide himself behind the sleeping woman. ¡°Where is the girl?¡± The elegant man ordered.

    Yo shivers and says, ¡°Soon, we will have her by tomorrow.¡±

    The elegant man glances down at his ring and fiddles with it as he says, ¡°Tomorrow. I see.¡±

    Yo sighs in relief as the elegant man turns around to leave. The elegant man snaps his fingers, and from the shadows, a creature emerges as the elegant man vanishes into thin air. The blood curling screams of Yo and the women can be heard echoing through the entire town until there is only eerie silence left in its place.

 * Chapter 2- Min Household

    Ame groans softly as she comes to, feeling her body sorer than the day before. It made sense given that she had been moving around with an injured body. Not to mention, she was in survival mode most of the time merely trying to survive the day.

    After a moment, Ame slowly opens her eyes as she tries to rise, all the while trying to keep the pain to minimum. Gripping tightly to the bed covers, Ame manages to pull herself up. She lets out a soft moan as she glances a bit more at her surroundings.

    Ame studies the lavish decorations of many cultures for a moment, before turning to her side. With much more ease, Ame slides off the bed and can stand quite easily. For a moment, she enjoys the sensation of the soft Turkish rug under feet as she rubs her toes into the rub.

    Ame glances at herself and notes that she is wearing clean clothes and smells faintly of jasmine. Someone must have undressed her and bathed her, while she slept. She must have been exhausted to not have felt all of that, but with a noticeable amount of relief, she finds that the dark metal ring is still on her hand.

    Rather curious about her physical appearance, Ame slowly hobbles to a large mirror that stands in the corner of the room. A bruised girl about the age of ten stares at her in the reflection as her wide purple eyes stare blankly back. Dumbly, she raises her hand to her head and grabs a fistful of the violet hair.

    Ame with horror or fascination stares at the violet hair in her hands. Violet hair is not seen in a normal human being. Did they somehow dye her hair, while she was asleep? But there would be signs of it.

    Ame smiles warily to herself. The humans of this world evolved a bit differently. Evolutionary wise, they seem similar enough. And yet for a human to possess purple hair is simply unnatural serving no functional purpose. Such bright hair color can''t be used for camouflage or survival, unless such hair serves to distract predators with the belief that the prey is poisonous. Or the original humans of Sen used vibrant hair for mating purposes much like male bird using their colorful feathers to attract a female.

    Ame closes her eyes and tries to sort and find a memory of the previous Ame. After some minutes a memory comes to mind of a little girl about the age of five standing in front of the full-length mirror. She is wearing a lovely flowered pink robe: a mix of Chinese and Korean dress styles. Her wide purple eyes stare tearfully in the mirror. The red neat bow in her hair is loose as though it was pulled.

    Ame opens her eyes as she returns to study her current ten-year-old self. Well, for now, all she can do is rest until she is better and no longer malnourished-.

    Soft hurried footsteps are heard as Ame turns towards the door. The door flies open as Ame gapes at the stunning figure in the doorway.

    A spectacular, petite Japanese woman stands in front of her. A woman worthy to be called, the second Helen of Troy. Thousands of men would be fighting to the death over the right for the simple honor of a single smile.

    The woman has beautiful cream colored skin and lovely almond brown eyes along with glossy black hair pulled into an elegant bun. The woman wears a flowing blue skirt like a Korean hanbok, the blue tunic similar to the short-sleeved tunic of India with a light green sari wrapped around her.

    The beautiful woman¡¯s face begins to weep as her skirt rustles noisily, and rushes toward Ame. The maid rushes towards me and pulls me into her warm embrace. Ame stiffens from the unexpected assault. She couldn¡¯t remember how long it had been since she had skin to skin contact for the last time.

    To her own surprise, Ame feels a long forgotten but nostalgic warmth emerge from within her. Ame gently pats the woman on the back in attempt to comfort her, but very quickly she begins to firmly pound on the the maiden back at finding herself being smothered in the heaving chest.

    The beautiful maiden, perhaps having realized Ame¡¯s terrible dilemma swiftly pulls herself back as she studies Ame with concern. She worriedly opens her peach colored mouth and says, "Are you alright, Lady Ame? You did not hurt yourself, did you?"

    Ame blankly stares at her as if wondering how that would be possible given that she couldn¡¯t move very well or very far.

    The beautiful maiden gently covers her mouth with a corner of her sari, covering her charming smile. Ame¡¯s face must have shown something, because the maiden stares at her sadly and softly says, ¡°My Lady, I¡¯ve been so very worried about you. You''ve been asleep for three days and three nights, and I was beginning to fear that I would need to call a physician if you had continued likes this."

    Ame frowns slightly at that. Of course, what concerns Ame more is not the fact that she was asleep for 3 days, but what that last comment just revealed to her. For one, this world lacked common sense.

    And secondly, Ame did not have a very good standing in the Min family. Even absentee parents would quickly present themselves upon knowing that their missing child has finally returned home. Or even make a feeble effort to show a caring farce by simply asking her caretaker, the maid about Ame¡¯s wellbeing.

    The maiden sighs softly, before revealing a dazzling smile. ¡°Welcome Home, my Lady. You have been sorely missed,¡± the maiden sincerely said.

    Ame nods as she tries to remember the caretaker¡¯s name. ¡°Thank you-, Sada.¡±

    Sada smiles happily and motions for me to sit down on cushioned chair. Ame hobbles the few steps to the chair and gratefully sits down. With bewildered eyes, Ame watches the following bizarre actions of Sada.

    Sada happily pulls open a closet full of clothes and beings to sort through them. Ame sighs tiredly at the sight, but closes her eyes to rest. Given that she is a daughter of aristocracy, she is required to act and dress accordingly.

    Ame recalls her memories that show etiquette and reviews them in her mind. The child had some of the basic knowledge of the world, such as the language and etiquette, but not very much. To survive knowledge is power, but sadly, as a sheltered young mistress, her child-self lacked crucial knowledge that could have very well saved her life.

    Ame opens her eyes to find Sada still sorting through the closet in search of prey. Sada smiles cheerfully to herself as she hunts for her evasive quarry. She will not permit for her Lady to be slighted in any way possible. Despite the years of her being missing, this little habit of Sada¡¯s didn¡¯t change, but rather had grown.

    Ame almost sighs in despair. For more than half of her past life, all she wore was a white lab coat and military issued clothing. Fashion had no place in a laboratory and much less at the dawn of the mutant apocalypse.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    Turning her mind away from the choice of her clothes, Ame begins to ponder her current circumstances based on what she does know. The culture is Sen is a mix of what can be classified as the continent of Asia. Most of the people appear as humans of that place from an ancient era, but there are exceptions apparently.

    The current language that she speaks is a derivative of many countries¡¯ languages following the multiple cultures of Sen. The language follows some of the common Chinese, Japanese and Korean grammar structure, but also holds traces of Indian, Turkish and other Asian countries word structures and vowels. Finding no traces of Latin, Germanic, or Cyrillic word structure in the spoken language, the conclusion is that European culture as such does not exist anywhere on Sen.

    Therefore, based on the clothing and memories of the child, the world of Sen lacks modern technology. Well, the bathroom has running warm water. That proves that existing water pipes carry water into the tub with a heater of some sort to heat the water. The world is not entirely without technology.

    That being the case, this world seems to follow the same tradition of having an ancient monarch society controlled by a patriarchal society with few exceptions. Given what is known from Earth¡¯s own history, she won¡¯t have an easy time.

    Ame sniffs unhappily at the possibility but does not worry. An engagement will surely arise in her future, but if she plans well, she can fix such troublesome matters and the like. No matter what culture, a woman¡¯s virtue should not be underestimated and hers is in tatters.

    Ame is disturbed from her musings as Sada lets out a happy squeak, and like a tiger, Sada pounces unto the unsuspecting robe.

    Ame stares at Sada and wonders if this may become a problem in the future. Based on her limited amount of psychology, she is certain that Sada must have a sort of obsession with clothing. Of course, she might just be a rather enthusiastic fan.

    Sada triumphantly turns around with her prey and presents Ame with a pink child-sized kimono. Ame stiffens at the hideously bright color that hurts her eyes. Ame opens her mouth to speak, but closes it upon seeing the feverish look on Sada¡¯s face.

    Rather than sending Sada back into the jungle of the closet in search of another prey, Ame silently accepts the bright colored robe. She does not refuse or protest Sada¡¯s aide in dressing her, after all, Ame is still rather sore and it would be unpleasant to have to dress herself or even brush her hair.

    Ame enjoys the feeling of having her hair brushed as Sada braids her hair into an intricate braid. Having finished, Sada studies her own work with a satisfied smile and says, ¡°You look beautiful my lady. Shall we take a walk before dinner?¡±

    Ame quietly responds, ¡°Yes, that would be pleasant.¡±

    As Ame rises to her feet while Sada opens the door. A rather stern looking guard enters the bedroom. The guard bows deeply to Ame before taking her into his arms and carrying her through the halls and outside into the courtyard.

    The guard gently seats Ame on a small rug that is full of fluffy pillows. Ame nods thankfully as the guard salutes back quietly and walks away. Sada seats herself slightly further away with a group of household maids to chat, and soon, their excited chatter fills the air. The maids discuss the current romance among the servants and the scandals that had arisen

    Ame tunes out their gossip as she surveys the landscape a bit gloomily. Ame stares warily at the deadly cherry blossoming trees. Based on the trees blooming, Ame knew for certain that it was the dreaded spring time. Ame held a natural apathy for Spring time, because of her allergies and constant sneezing, but when the mutants broke loose and started rampaging, it was also spring time. This only made her apathy that much stronger.

    As Ame hears a bit of the maids¡¯ gossip, she smiles ruefully for a moment. Romance was not a word that she was too familiar with even before T-Day. Conceivably, the dislike arose from having watched Julian Bond Movies.

    As a child, she had loved to watch the heroes get the girl, but not, Julian Bond. Bond used women as a tool, a means to an end even if that meant forcing them, and no matter what it was called or how it was portrayed, that was ¡°Rape.¡±

    Indignant over Bond¡¯s actions, she would image how to kill Bond. Even though Bond was always caught, he always escaped with the aid of a female. After much trial and error, she realized the easiest way to kill Bond was to inject the would be female informant with a fatal disease and allow Bond to contract the disease through his own promiscuous actions. A suitable ending to a perverted man.

    But that isn¡¯t to say, that she hated romance. After all, even she had been in love once.

    Ame turns her attention back to the maid¡¯s chatter as the topic turns towards the Min Family. The maids gushed about how talented Ame¡¯s older siblings were at the respective institutions that had recruited them: HuiFeng, (Immortal Sword Sect), and Hong, (Blazing Fist Sect).

    Before Ame could learn more, the maids suddenly began to speak quietly of the Master¡¯s torrent of love conquests. Ame¡¯s eyes unexpectedly begin to sparkle brightly at the whispers. She always had an appetite for watching torrent love affairs among her colleagues.

    From the maid¡¯s whispers, she learns, that Ehuang was the betrothed bride to Master Min from a young age. Whether she loved him or not, she still married him. Of course, as a proper man of his era, Master Min had wandering eyes.

    Ame¡¯s mother, Ayako was a very popular and much sought out courtesan in the city. To the surprise of the family and many others, Master Min brought her home and made her his legal second wife instead of a concubine. Apparently, that shocked many, but no one raised a word of protest.

    Ame smiles thinly at that. She was certain Ehuang must have protested quietly. A proper, well brought up lady of her caliber would protest at her husband''s dubious actions. After all, Master Min¡¯s action, didn''t just cast a negative light on himself but on the integrity of the entire Min Household.

    Although, it would seem Ayako paid a price as well. Not long after marrying Ayako, Master Min visited an old friend. Ayako, already with child, was surprised upon Master Min¡¯s return. After being scantly away for 3 months, Master Min returned with his 3<sup>rd</sup> legal wife, sixteen-year-old Nuo. Ame¡¯s mother, Ayako, was furious.

    Ame snorts softly to herself. Sure, it may have been unfair, but that is a consequence of marrying a philanderer. To share a fickle man, is no doubt a challenge. After all, sister wives are not sisters, but opponents vying for one man¡¯s favor.

    Ame¡¯s mocking gaze caught the eye of Sada. Sada exquisitely excuses herself and elegantly rises to her feet. Sada smiles sweetly at Ame and asks, ¡°Are you ready for dinner, my lady?¡±

    I shrug and firmly say, "Very well, Sada.¡±

    Sada ruefully smiles and motions for the guard to come carry me. The guard once more bows in an apologetic fashion before carrying Ame away in his arms. It ought to be an interesting dinner at least.

    *

    A handsome man with violet hair and violet eyes leisurely sits in a chair reading. The wind fluttered his robes gently, giving the man a heart wrenching charm. A man proven capable of leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

    An elderly looking man shuffles in quietly and bows. ¡°Lord Hee, Lady Ame is finally awake and will attend tonight¡¯s dinner,¡± the older man gruffly said.

    Lord Min Hee elegantly closes the book with a snap. Raising a firm gaze to the elder man, who is still ferociously strong despite his age. ¡°Dara, is she truly Ame?¡± Lord Min Hee firmly demanded to know.

    Dara¡¯s eyes crinkle slightly at the question, but no other emotion shows on his calm face. ¡°Yes, Lord Hee. I am certain. She is Lady Ame.¡± Despite not seeing Ame for years, he recognized her face at a mere glance. There was no further need to check.

    ¡°I see,¡± Lord Min Hee said quietly as he contemplates the answer.

    Dara waits for more of an emotion of joy to appear on Min Hee¡¯s face, but nothing transpires. Min Hee did not even bother to ask about Ame¡¯s wellbeing. With obvious disappointment, Dara keeps studying the face of the man who was like a son to him. For a moment, Dara looks for the smiling boy that had disappeared long ago.

    ¡°Thank you, Dara,¡± Lord Min Hee said after a moment without ever glancing up at Dara.

    Dara stiffens in understanding that those words are a dismissal. With a heavy heart, Dara bows and leaves as silently as he came.

    Lord Min Hee lips purse for a moment, which was a scene that would have bewitched many a maiden with its demonic charm. Lord Min Hee traces the cover of the book in contemplation before coming to an abrupt halt. Once more, Lord Min Hee snaps open his book and returns to his reading.

    *

 * Chapter 3- Reunion

    Ame watches with mild amusement at how large the Min clan manor is. From all the hallways and courtyards, they passed, she is certain that if one did not know the path, they would easily become lost. Well, at least it is not a palace for then she truly would be in trouble.

    The small group finally turns a corner and reach an incredibly beautifully decorated courtyard. As the guard carries Ame over a small bridge that holds a large pond beneath it, the large koi fish dart hungrily below her.

    Ame¡¯s face twists in thinly veiled disgust. The movement of the Koi fish remind her to much of the mutants. The hungry crazed look in their eyes is the same.

    Ame forcibly turns her attention away and stares at the intricate patterns on the bridge itself. Her lips become a narrow line at the extravagant luxury. Nobles and self-entitlement go hand in hand after all.

    A well-dressed maid bows to the group and silently slides open a door. A group of people silently sit around a low-level table sitting comfortably on piles of elegantly, embroidered cushions. A handsome man with violet hair and violet eyes wearing a silk blue Kurta tunic sits at the head of the table.

    Ame studies the stern violet haired male figure that is most certainly the biological father of this body. With some wariness, Ame studies the handsome figure before her. With reluctance, she admits that man would even make striped zebra print look good.

    To the right of Min Hee, a very elegant woman sits in a violet kimono. Her black hair is neatly done up in a Korean palace hairstyle. From faint memories, she recognizes the figure before her as Ehuang, the first wife.

    To the left of Min Hee sits a beautiful, haughty woman in a red Chinese palace style dress. Her long silky, brown hair hangs loosely over her shoulders only slightly pulled back by a beautiful golden comb. The cold, frigid gaze tells her that this is Ayako, the birth mother of Ame.

    Sitting next to Ehuang is a cheerful younger woman. She is wearing an emerald colored Turkish dress and has her black tinted blue hair pulled up in an elegant Chinese bun. Without needing to do math, Ame is certain that this is the third wife, Nuo.

    Out of the four figures, the only one to offer a warm welcome is Nuo. She smiles cheerfully at Ame, but a single glance her way causes her to quickly hide her smile behind her fan. Ame nods at Nuo but does not show any other visible reactions on her face.

    The guard gently sets Ame most gently onto the floor. Ame takes a deep breath and bows to her parents, and all the while, her muscles scream in protest as she does so. Keeping her voice numb, Ame greets them, ¡°Greetings Father and Mothers. I apologize for the inconvenience that I have brought upon our clan and am pleased to find that you are well. May you live long and prosper.¡±

    Ame¡¯s body shrieks in pain, but she does not dare move until she is dismissed. There is a long pause, before Min Hee speaks, ¡°Thank you, child. Be seated, and it is our pleasure to see you safely home. We have all missed you.¡±

    With trembling limbs, Ame slowly lower her body in relief as Sada quietly seats herself behind her. Lord Min Hee turns towards the servers and motions for them to begin serving the meal. With a pale face, Ame studies the place setting before. With interest, she notes the pair of silver chopsticks as well as the Turkish style adorned silverware.

    The maids and male servants silently place the warm Nan on the table as they serve a meat type curry resembling Tikka Massala. Ame sniffs the air eagerly, unable to hide her enthusiasm. Having once lived without good food for several years other than military dried rations, food began to hold new meaning for Ame.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    Food was the only measure of hope Ame had in those days. Food had become the meaning of life. If a choice was to be offered between immortality or food. Ame would always pick food first.

    Manor servants continue to place smaller dishes onto the table, including rice and pickled vegetables and other smaller dishes. The maids place each item in front of each of us. The rustling stops as the servants retreat soundlessly and smoothly.

    Without a word of thanks, Lord Min Hee raises his chopsticks and begins to eat, the signal having been given everyone else at the dinner table joins in. The ladies all begin to elegantly eat as Ame fights the urge to gorge herself on food.

    Such an action would only invite tragedy. Not only embarrassing herself and Sada at the table, but she remembered all too well a similar situation where she went out without proper food for two whole years. Without further ado, upon arriving at the haven, she immediately began to eat proper food but threw it up within hours. Her stomach could not handle the heavy food even though it was starving.

    Ame carefully chooses to eat light food and rice. She takes small bites and closes her eyes in pleasure as she enjoys the long-forgotten taste. Her eyes shimmer with tears for a moment as she enjoys the pleasure of tasting and enjoying a good meal.

    With mild regret and sorrow, Ame carefully places her chopsticks on her plate and wipes her face. Without another word, Lord Min Hee rises to his feet, and without any other word, leaves as his wives follow. Sada motions for the guard to carry Ame back to her quarters. The guard nods and gently carries Ame back.

    Ame quietly ponders the events that transpired at dinner. Her return was not a welcome sight in the end. But that was not a problem if she was left to her own devices.

    Upon having returned to her quarters, Sada swiftly undresses Ame and readies her for bed. Ame allows her to do so, being tired from the day¡¯s events. With a gentle and tender care, Sada tucks Ame into bed and begins softly hum to her. Ame slowly closes her eyes and falls into a tired slumber.

    *

    Lord Min Hee seats himself elegantly in a chair as his wives do so as well. With interest, he studies their well-endowed figures as they gracefully seat themselves. After a moment of allowing his wives to compose themselves, he speaks, ¡°Well, what do you think of her?¡±

    Ehuang considers the idea for a moment before answering tactfully, ¡°Lord Husband, the child seems to be well behaved given the circumstances.¡±

    Lord Min Hee doesn¡¯t respond as he waits for the other two women¡¯s answers.

    Ayako stretches her back leisurely and lazily replies, ¡°Does it matter? Either way, the child was and will never amount to anything.¡±

    Nuo flutters her fan nervously before firmly saying, ¡°Even so, she is still a daughter of the Min Household.¡±

    Ayako sharply glances for a moment at Nuo, causing her to glare back, but Ayako returns her gaze to Lord Min Hee. Nuo relaxes slightly at the sharp gaze being turned away from her.

    Lord Min Hee doesn¡¯t say another word, forcing his wives to excuse themselves of their own accord. Minutes later, a silent figure enters the room and bows to Lord Min Hee.

    ¡°Dara, you will oversee the child. She is late in starting to cultivate, but she will be given a chance. If she manages to excel, we will nurture her with sufficient resources and engage her to a suitable household. But if not, ensure that she leaves of her own accord cutting all ties with the Min Household,¡± Lord Min Hee strictly said. Given that Ayako thought the child undisciplined and unruly, it was a suitable solution on both ends.

    Dara remains silent contemplating the decision and clasps his hands in a salute. ¡°As you wish, Lord Hee,¡± Dara said with a heavy heart at the merciless decision and departs from the Lord¡¯s quarters. Cultivation began early and the Second Young Mistress Ame was many years, behind her fellow peers.

    However, that was the lesser problem to be dwelt with. The Second Young Mistress had only just returned and has yet to fully recuperate from her wounds. It was possible, that even her cultivation had been affected. He straightens his back as he resolves to aid the Young Mistress in every possible way and ensure that she succeed.

    Lord Min Hee remains in silence as he glances out the window and stares at the cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms lightly twirl in the air until they at last fall to the cold earth.

    *

 *Chapter 4- Library

    Ame rests outside in the open pavilion. It¡¯s been weeks since her return and though she can walk properly by herself now, she can¡¯t do much of anything due to the state of her body.

    Incidentally, Ame¡¯s perception of medical practitioners did not change, but only worsened. Not a single doctor had appeared before her to give her a proper diagnosis or a prescription for painkillers, and although this can be blamed on the mistreatment of her family, she quickly understood that it is ¡°common sense¡± for people to rub some weird salve or eat a weird pellet made from unknown plants onto people with her kind of injuries.

    Sada tried to feed her some weird pellet at first, but when asked, she couldn¡¯t even tell her what the ingredients were or the possible risks from taking them. She almost knew nothing about. It didn¡¯t list the ingredients, and no one seemed to know about any possible long term side effects.

    There was no way Ame could accept eating something so suspicious. If it didn¡¯t do anything, that would be still fine, but if it was poison, it may be too late. Because of this, she convinced Sada to rub a natural plant salve onto her instead and decided to hope for the best.

    As long as the salve can relieve the pain, she can bear waiting for her injuries to naturally recover. However, the fact remains that the professional medical practitioner never came to diagnose her or prescribe proper prescriptions, rather allowed sketchy medicines to take the place of medical practice. A such her hopes for the medical practices of this land were dashed to pieces.

    Only after several weeks was a medical practitioner sent for. To Ame¡¯s unease, the fellow was an obvious charlatan who attempted to poke her with needles. Now, Ame knew the benefits of acupuncture, but per her rudimentary knowledge of the subject the charlatan was going to place them in the incorrect arrangement. She could have been killed or worse injured! She already had to force him to sterilize the needles in hot water, but now, he was about to stab deeply into a dangerous artery. She could have been killed or worse, seriously injured!

    Firmly protesting, Ame refused the techniques and at least was offered a new medical salve. At the least, whoever made these medical salves had some medical knowledge as it helped ease some of the pain. Though, the salve was a trifle too sticky for her liking.

    Sada as usual chats with maids as Ame stares grumpily at the flowering trees. Since her return, Ame has not seen a hair of the so call parents. It is not a bother, but it is a saddening realization. For once, Ame found herself glad that her previous child-self had perished on the streets, rather than return to such a cold home.

    Ame¡¯s mood was not aided by the fact that Sada was an avid hunter. Any excuse that could be found, Sada would return to the jungle of the closet and hunt for unwary prey. It was Ame¡¯s misfortune to be the one wearing said prey.

    Ame rises slowly to her feet as Sada immediately notices her movement. Ame motions for Sada to remain sitting. ¡°I just want to walk a bit, Sada. I promise I won¡¯t go far,¡± Ame firmly said.

    Sada is suddenly wrecked with conflicting emotions. But at seeing the pleading expression on Ame¡¯s face, Sada relents. ¡°Very well, Lady Ame. But please remain within shouting distance,¡± Sada softly said.

    With relief, Ame nods in acceptance and calmly walks away. With trepidation, she walks past the trees as her nose wrinkles unhappily. Knowing so of the lay out of the manor now, Ame walks further away, but not too far away. After all, it never serves a purpose to anger the prison warden. Besides, Ame is not in favor with her father nor the household, all it would take is a slip in the dark to get her.

    Keeping to the open path and not too far away, Ame spots an older, small stone cottage. With cautious steps, she slowly approaches the cottage and pushes open the worn wooden door. A cloud of dust swirls a bit, but swiftly settles back down.

    With watering eyes Ame studies the interior of the cottage. Ignoring the dust and trash, the interior still holds tubes and strange bowls. Given the content, the stone cottage was once a laboratory of sorts.

    Ame looks with interest at the area for a moment, but swiftly dismisses any ideas. Not only is she incapable of trusting any of the manor servants including Sada, but she certainly can¡¯t trust her family as well. No, it is better to wait until she is far gone from this place.

    With bitterness, Ame walks back to the pavilion. As she emerges from the trees, Sada smiles with relief at her appearance. Ame smiles blankly at Sada as she approaches her.

    Sada then excuses herself from the maids and approaches Ame. She solemnly studies Ame for as she contemplates a matter of some importance. She suddenly says, ¡°My Lady, if ye are not yet tired, let us visit the library.¡±

    A small thankful smile appears on Ame¡¯s face at Sada¡¯s words. Sada still remembered the previous child self of Ame. Even then, her previous-self had always been fond of stories brimming with curiosity at the world of Sen. Sada would frequently read new books to her or allow her child-self to read them herself. However, the sudden chance to go directly to the library seems a bit odd. Either Sada really wants to cheer her up and further her education, or someone ordered her to do so.

    ¡°Thank you, Sada. I would like that,¡± Ame sincerely said. It was dangerous to accept unknown gifts, but truly lacked the knowledge needed to survive. She couldn¡¯t let this opportunity go even if it was a trap.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Sada nods with satisfaction as they stroll the area and leads Ame towards the library. With great care, Ame carefully memorizes the pathway to the library. The importance of said information could not be bought and paid for.

    Soon they arrive at a rather large, imposing wooden building. A familiar old man stands guard at the entrance guarding against any intruders. A slow, cheerful grin appears on his face as he expectantly looks at hem and gruffly says, "With great pleasure and honor, may I ask, why has the little Mistress of the House come to visit this old man?"

    A charming sweet smile appears on Sada¡¯s face as she replies, ¡°Greetings Dara, My Lady, would like to explore the library.¡±

    The old man looks her way and caringly says, "Very well, little Mistress, I will personally guide you." He whistles shrilly in the air and another man appears next to him. Ame blinks in surprise at not having noticed the figure. She frowns slightly and wonders if her senses have begun to fail her.

    With great relish, Dara leads the pair into the library. A large room filled with books and scrolls climbing all the way to the ceiling appears before her very eyes. Ame¡¯s eyes flicker with eagerness at the beautiful sight.

    Dara leads the pair to a corner of the room, where a small table with two soft cushioned chairs are at, before disappearing among the shelves. Sada motions for Ame to seat herself, while she remains standing behind Ame. Soon the footsteps announce the return of Dara as he emerges from the shelves with a large, heavy bound book.

    Dara gently places the book onto the table and opens it up. Thankfully, before her child-self was taken, the child learned to read. In her memories, her caretaker, Sada was the one who taught her to read. Her biological mother was noticeably absent during those lessons.

    It was one of the memories, that Ame had been reviewing for the last few weeks.

    Ame waits for the older man to hand her the back. But instead, Dara benevolently says, ¡°Little Mistress, I shall read to you for a bit. Some of the words may be a little hard for you to read, and we can only spend a bit of time in the library today. Given the problem, I thought it best, but please feel free to return tomorrow morning to the library.¡±

    Ame reluctantly nods her head and waits for Dara to begin reading.

    ¡°Little Mistress, I do not know how much you can recall or learned in your lessons, but allow me to begin from the beginning¡­. Cough, cough, at the beginning of the universe, there existed nothing but the primordial chaos¡­. Then, the Heavens were created and during their conception, the great and powerful five mythical beasts came into existence: The Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, Yellow Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise...

    The Yellow Dragon, became the Father of the Great Emperors and Lord of Man.

    The Azure Dragon, became the Father of the Dragons and Lord of all scaled creatures.

    The Vermillion Bird, became the Father of the Phoenixes and Lord of all the flying beings in the sky.

    The White Tiger, became the Father of the Tigers and Lord of all the creatures that walk on four legs.

    The Black Tortoise, became the Father of the Turtles and Lord of all armored beings.

    In time the Gods returned to the Heavens and the Mythical creatures returned to the earth to rest. Even now they sleep waiting for the day when once more they will awaken."

    Ame hides the frosty look on her face, but nods at the words. She had expected it and would just have to deal with the subject as quickly as possible. Hiding her annoyance, Ame continued to listen patiently to Dara¡¯s words.

    ¡°The world of Sen holds five continents: In the center of all the continents is the middle continent our home, Hua, to the North West is Deva, to the North East is Moon, to the South West is Khan, to the South East is Ito, and to the island empire between Hua, Moon, Ito and Khan, lays the Le Islands," Dara said as he points to the illustrations of the people shown from each continent.

    Ame leans over to glance at the book and notices the similarity of the continent names matching the predominate culture. Deva resembles India, Hua more Chinese, Moon more Korean, Ito more Japanese, Khan more Turkish and the Le Islands, a combination of various cultures. Though there is more of a current culture mix, those are still the predominate cultures on each continent.

    Dara abruptly halts and glances far away. Awkwardly coughing, Dara rises to his feet and reluctantly says, "My deepest apologizes, my little Mistress. But I must return to my post."

    Ame nods in understanding as she rises to her feet and follows Dara out. Dara waves goodbye to the pair as the two return to Ame¡¯s quarters for the evening.

    *

    As soon as the Sada and the little Mistress safely left Dara swiftly flew away to face the intruder. The intruder a man wearing servant clothing rapidly searches the scrolls intently. Soundlessly Dara approaches the unsuspecting spy.

    Sensing danger the spy attempts to flee much too late. Dara easily kicks the fake manor servant into the air and catches hold of him by the neck. He then holds the spy up by the neck as the fake servant frantically claws at Dara¡¯s hands attempting to breathe.

    In response, he ruthlessly glares at the fake servant and frostily says, ¡°Who sent you?¡± With that single sentence, the killing intent was palpable as the pressure grew heavier and heavier.

    The spy gasps for breath, but still manages to faintly utter the word, ¡°Never.¡±

    That was all he needed to hear as the resolve was evident in the spy¡¯s voice. Dara narrows his eyes at the spy¡¯s words. ¡°Then die,¡± He coldly said as he effortlessly crushed the fake servants¡¯ windpipe. A loud crack is heard, and the spy ceases to struggle as the fake servant¡¯s body hangs limply in the air.

    Still holding the fake servant by the neck much like a chicken, Dara races away. A minute later Dara appears in the quarters of Lord Min with the corpse of the fake servant.

    Dara carefully places the corpse onto the floor and bows to Lord Min causing him to turn his gaze from the scenery and stare at the corpse on the floor. Dara then quietly says, ¡°Lord Hee, that is the second spy I have caught. I believe that man has begun his next move. What will you have me do?¡±

    Lord Min Hee does not say a word as Dara raises his gaze full of questions. Lord Min Hee turns away from Dara and says, ¡°Continue as you have been. We cannot act yet.¡±

    Dara opens his mouth to disagree but thinks better of it. Dara silently shuts his mouth in frustration and turns away.

    Lord Min Hee turns his attention back the scenery as lips are pressed together in a faint line as his hands clench tightly together in hidden fury and frustration. His eyes display a streak of murderous light accompanied by a familiar heavy murderous intent, that all but disappears as quickly as it ever existed.

 *Chapter 5 - Qi

    The next morning, bright and early Ame and Sada arrive at the library. Upon their arrival, Dara eagerly greets them as he guides them inside once more. They then seat themselves once more and wait for Dara¡¯s return.

    Upon Dara¡¯s return, he places a thin volume in front of Ame. ¡°Little Mistress, you were much too young to begin to cultivation when you were taken and would normally start your cultivation at the age of five. But after careful consideration, despite the time that has passed by the Patriarch has decided to allow for your cultivation instruction to begin. However, despite all this time, do ye still remember what Qi is?¡±

    Ame doesn¡¯t answer as waits for a better explanation from the old man. Though she held some memories in this regard, her memories pertaining to said subject did not seem very reliable to say the least. Her child-self had memories of reading or hearing about such beings having supernatural strength and the capability to even fly. However, due to always being sheltered and closed off from the rest of the family, her knowledge was limited on the subject.

    She just shakes her head and replies, ¡°Mostly stories,¡± which was all true.

    Dara beams brightly and continues as though this was expected. "Cultivation is the act of taking the power between Heaven and Earth by walking the path of walking the Martial Dao and rebelling against the Heavens. We call this mysterious power ¡°Qi,¡± and by refining this power within our bodies in accordance to the cultivation methods of our Mystic Arts, all practitioners can increase their martial prowess and can aspire to one day become gods. Hahaha, of course, the path of walking and understanding the Dao is harsh, and is easier said than done."

    Ame blankly stares at the old man and begins to feel somewhat exasperated concerning the subject. At Ame¡¯s lack of visible reaction, Dara¡¯s face droops slightly at the disappointing expression.

    Dara coughs loudly to cover his embarrassment, before continuing, ¡°Depending on the cultivation method, upon absorbing enough Qi, a cultivator will eventually form a core as the start of their [Mortal] Realm cultivation, and if they are powerful enough, they will form spirit pillars within the core and breakthrough into the next realm. However, other transformations within the core is also possible for breaking through into the next realm¡­...¡±

    Ah, yes, she remembered now. But what she did recall, she could scarcely believe. Said supernatural humans absorbed something called ¡°Qi.¡± Depending on the root of an individual, it indicated their potential for absorption and growth. Most children were checked around the age of five. And if they successfully, there was even a so-called method to rank such abnormal growth from rank 1-10.

    After that, said humans can grow to reach 4 higher stages: Spirit, Origin, Profound, and Heaven. Yet, within those stages there are tracking points to classify the stages even further, the 3 points are: Beginner, Intermediate and Latent.

    An example is that a Beginner of the Spirit stage cultivator cannot easily defeat a cultivator of the Intermediate Spirit stage. Yet, apparently, most supernatural human¡¯s never even reach rank 5, which is considered extraordinary by common folk.

    Yet to make matters more unbelievable there was an event called, Heaven Tribulations, punishment from the heavens for going against them. These tribulations happened for every stage change, Spirit Stage to Origin and so forth. Said memories had not seemed reliable in the least and she wanted to learn from a more reliable source, but said reliable source was looking more unreliable and dubious by the minute.

    She narrows her eyes at Dara with annoyance. Dara, upon noticing the child¡¯s powerful gaze, instinctively flinched and felt a shiver run up his spine for some inexplicable reason. He hastily says, "I apologize for my terrible explanation, my little Mistress. Come let us go outside, and I will show you.¡±

    Ame sighs as Sada smiles gratefully at Dara. They follow Dara out of the library and beyond the manor. The sun glitters across Ame¡¯s face as they arrive in a wide-open field behind the manor. She narrows her eyes with suspicion as she eyes the blooming flowers. Even though, she did not believe in ¡°Qi,¡± but she couldn¡¯t scientifically discard yet. After all, Qi, could possibly be an alternative energy resource or, better yet, just a magic parlor trick.

    Sada smiles brightly at Dara as he preens himself in the wind. Dara slightly poses very heroically in the breeze and purposefully allows his robe to flutter behind him. Ame merely stares blankly at the old man to start.

    Despite her expressionless face, Dara seemed to have misunderstood as he got caught up in the act, watching Ame warmly, he smiled warmly in response. "There is absolutely nothing to be worried about, Little Mistress.¡±

    Concentrating for a moment, he then takes a step towards a tree standing directly in front of him. With one powerful but fast thrust of his arm, Dara punches through the tree as if punching through paper. The trust didn¡¯t explode or fracture normally. Instead, the trunk of the tree was completely pierced through with strangely a great lack of sound. Even the debris from the other side of tree trunk seemed to lack fragments rather as a cloud of dust bursting forth.

    Though the blow was more powerful than the average Earthly punch, she had seen excellent martial artists, mutants, soldiers with cybernetic prosthetics, and various other do almost the same thing and more back on Earth. Dara grins in triumph and looks expectantly back at Ame, awaiting showers of awe and praises. But her stagnant expression doesn¡¯t change. Instead, her stare becomes more cold and piercing as her cold purple eyes produce a domineering and rather condemning feeling.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Dara could only shiver slightly upon meeting her gaze and then coughs attempting to clear his shock. After a moment, Dara says, ¡°I am certain that the little Mistress speechless at the sight of my mighty strength. Not to worry little Mistress, I will show ye an even more amazing sight.¡±

    Within seconds Dara begins to float in the air above Ame and Sada. Ame eyes the old man carefully trying to see the wires and mirrors. And though she couldn¡¯t see them, she found she was slightly impressed given that the show was done in such a wide, open space.

    Ame carefully walks towards Dara as she cruelly tramples Dandelions underneath her feet. With interest, Ame sees the old man rise higher and higher. But what bothers her, is the fact that she can see Dara¡¯s soles and there are wires underneath. She can¡¯t fathom how it is possible for people of this ancient era to pull off such a trick.

    Dara at seeing Ame¡¯s curious expression happily says, ¡°Little Mistress, would you like to fly too?¡±

    Sada was startled with the suggestion but still smiles daintily with happiness. At the same time, a trace of worry seemed to have flashed through her eyes as she nods in approval and returns her gaze back to Ame who finds solemnly nods back. With ease, Dara floats further back down and then picks Ame up and gently cradles her in his arms.

    With interest Ame eyes the old man in concentration. But no matter how much she concentrates, she cannot find a hint of a wire or mirrors. Instead, she finds that they are rising and higher without any such implements.

    Ame lets out a small sound of shock as Dara chuckles loudly in the air. Dara excitedly says, ¡°Not to worry, little Mistress, we can still go a bit higher up.¡±

    Feeling a bit light headed, Ame perseveres and clings tightly to Dara as she glances down to the ground below. From her height, the manor appears rather small. Although, given the view it appears there are other similar sized home in the area. As she turns her gaze towards the west, she spots a rather populous city.

    With interest Ame eyes the city. But swiftly the interest is lost given the location. To live in such proximity of the Min Household does not seem very safe. Despite seeming to be some rich family, it was no wonder that her kidnapper had a relatively easy time in his task.

    Dara happily chatters, ¡°Little Mistress, I don¡¯t know if you recall, but that cities name is Chiseong in the prefecture of Delhawa. Chiseong is among the prosperous cities in the prefecture, with our clan being among the most prosperous as well. My Lady, did you know your father is a powerful cultivator?"

    At seeing Ame¡¯s blank expression, Dara continues saying, "My Lord is already an Intermediate Origin cultivator at his young age. Many of our clan''s hopes and dreams ride on his two shoulders. I expect that as his daughter, little Mistress ye will surely one day be a powerful cultivator as well."

    However, Ame is starting to no longer listen. Although she tried her best in not minding how high she is, her lightheadedness was only getting worse, with her stomach no longer ignoring the issue. Her stomach begins to rumble faintly as her stomach begins to then swim unhappily. At seeing Ame¡¯s face go slightly green, Dara swiftly descends back onto the ground. She but all leaps from Dara¡¯s arms and falls onto all fours on the ground. Out of spite, Ame heaves the contents of her breakfast onto Dara¡¯s clothes.

    Sada swiftly approaches and wipes Ame¡¯s face with a clean cloth as she glares prettily at Dara. ¡°Shame on you Dara! And you being a grown man, should have known better! You promised, you wouldn''t frighten my Lady, Dara! Look at what you did! My Lady is trembling in fear! Sada sternly said.

    Ame rises to her feet with the aid of Sada. Sada with a graceful sweep of her robe, coldly turns her back on Dara as she leads Ame away. From the corner of Ame¡¯s eyes, she sees Dara¡¯s face pale. And just a tint of a smug smile flickers for a second as it is soon replaced with a clamped mouth.

    *

    A female servant hesitantly approaches a beautiful woman lying on a low-level couch. The sprawled woman lazily lifts her head and says, ¡°Yes, what is it?¡±

    ¡°Madame Ayako, the child-, the child is under the protection of Dara,¡± the maid hesitantly said.

    Ayako slowly turns her gaze towards the maid. The maid flinches under the snake like gaze and attempts to hide her fear unsuccessfully.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Ayako softly said.

    The maid gulps loudly and nods her head frantically up and down.

    Ayako glances at the embroidery laying carelessly on the floor. Deliberately Ayako grabs the cloth and sewing needle. Nonchalantly, Ayako begins to resume the embroidery of the phoenix on the handkerchief.

    The maid shivers uneasily at seeing the needle in Madame Ayako¡¯s hand. Almost hypnotically the maid watches the needle rise and fall.

    After several minutes, the needle comes to a halt as Ayako says, ¡°And what of Ehuang and Nuo?¡±

    The maid stutters as she swiftly responds, ¡°Tha-t is-, the Madame¡¯s have no interest in the child either.¡±

    Ayako nods as the needle resumes its natural course.

    The minute¡¯s trickle slowly by as the maid¡¯s forehead is slowly covered in cold sweat. The only sound is the soft rustle of Madame Ayako¡¯s robes as the needle goes up and down through the cloth.

    Finally, the needle comes to an abrupt halt. Ayako softly whispers, ¡°You are excused.¡±

    The maid nods in relief as she excuses herself and leaves the room with great relief.

    After allowing the maid to hurriedly leave, Ayako continues to coldly stare at the needle in hand as her hand grips the needle with fury. With a hiss, flames suddenly erupt from the embroidery with great force, the embroidery and needle are thrown against the walls, the flames scatter like a volcanic eruption, as fire and winds surge from the impact.

    While the flames scatter across the room, Ayako¡¯s eyes flicker with a cold light. The flames and wind quickly dissipate leaving no trace of the embroidery and needle, with no damage mysteriously being done to the room. Even so, a dangerous mood permeated throughout the air as she clinched her fists tighter, but soon she hugs her legs to her chest and places her forehead onto her knees. Silence continues to permeate the room.

    *

 *Chapter 6- Qi Theories

    Ame cracks her eyes open to the room still being dark. With a soft twist, she fluffs up the pillows against the bed rest and leans comfortably against them. Ame enjoys for a few moments the soft quiet of a peaceful morning without hearing the threat of mutants in the distance or that of the nagging ticking of her alarm clock and her fellow colleagues forcibly disturbing her sleep to hurriedly finish their next objective for the upcoming daily battle. The only sound disturbing the sweet blissfully silence are the crickets chirping in the quiet morning.

    Ame gently stretches her neck and begins to collect herself as she ponders her new discovery. Sen is not ¡°normal¡± world after all. It is an alternative universe where Qi (an alternate source of energy) exists and the natives of the world have evolved to absorb said energy.

    The supernatural beings are capable of defying the natural laws of strength and gravity. Therefore, these supernatural beings and other creatures are more than likely bending the natural laws of physics without a proper understanding of them doing so. It is also improbable for their feats to be a result of cybernetics as technology on Sen is rather primitive in comparison to modern day technology. Without any signs of any sort of modern technology, the idea of cybernetics and nanotechnology must be cast aside.

    Even without the aid or development of cybernetics, drugs can be another source for physical enhancements. However, no signs have been found that Sen possesses the technology to fabricate such high-level drugs. Based on the medicine given for her own treatment, that type of knowledge will be out of the reach of medical practitioners for many centuries to come. She can thus reason that Qi is not a consequence of drugs and vice-a-versa.

    Still, to achieve such extraordinary feats biologically without the aid of any cybernetics or physical enhancements is even more so impossible. This would imply something even more extraordinary: In the world of Sen, alternate evolutionary paths have opened as a direct result of evolving to absorb Qi. Viable proof exists in the form of her own eye and hair color unless an archaic ancestor was not exactly a human to begin with, which is still tangible proof of an alternative evolutionary track.

    Following such a conjecture, it would be reasonable to say that muscle mass and body density must substantially increase in proportion to their strength. Or at the very least, the structure of muscle mass would be vastly different from the norm. Evolution would need to have impacted the molecular structure of DNA over several generations for the trait to fully integrate and emerge. However, a corresponding environment would be needed to catalyze such a path of evolution among humanity, an outside trigger, an extraordinary catalyst as technology is not responsible for evolution on Sen.

    History of Sen cannot be taken at face value being heavily intertwined and influenced by myth and legend. But based on so many similar accounts of a fabled existence, there must be some truth to the tale. For all myths and legends are based on a grain of truth, no matter how convoluted.

    ¡°Gods,¡± the evolved state of humanity. Any form of contact with said evolved humans, would have been sufficient to trigger impossible evolutionary functions in humanity. Passing down more efficient forms to absorb Qi, allowing humanity to grow and eventually evolve. However, the evolved beings are zealous in guarding said knowledge.

    Which proves two things, evolved beings possess further advanced technology. To become ¡°immortal,¡± enzymes needed to be strengthened to keep perfect cellular production to achieve longevity and thus resolve the matter of aging. And secondly, Sen is not the only world in existence. If evolved beings did not evolve on Sen, then where is their planet or place of origin?

    Ame tries to her mind away from the conjectures just made that hold powerful implications. But if gathering such power is possible, would it not be possible to save him? She flinches such dangerous thoughts away as she wipes a single drop of moisture from her cheek. It would be impossible to find the exact timeline and correct Earth. That is if she was even in the same universe. It is better to let the dead only remain in distant memory, resting in peace.

    Her brows furrow as she recalls more pertinent information. First, Qi can be can categorized into 8 main elements. A good physique, meridians a trait decided by genetics gives a cultivator a greater evolutionary affinity to absorb said elements: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Metal. The Qi elements of Light, Darkness, and Poison are much rarer and special with Poison being the rarest of the group.

    Then again, all of this is just the general outline of things and doesn¡¯t take the matter of sub-elements into account. Those cultivators with the mastery or affinity of a sub-element are generally seen as rare talents or priceless treasures among sects. In fact, that is especially true for lightening cultivators who are said to be peerless and are guaranteed to ascend for no specific reason.

    Well, fundamentally speaking, none of these elements should exist. Anyone with the knowledge of Particle-Wave Duality and of optics knows that the main difference between the array of energy types is their (wave) frequency. Despite all this, these different energy types do exist. Therefore, based on what she knows, all these types of Qi should follow a similar rule and lie within in a similar spectrum.

    Hitherto, that brings an important question to light. Why is the energy known as Qi absorbed in a fragmented manner versus remaining whole? Cultivation for more than one type though shows promise, there is a greater likely hood of recoil or mishap. As Qi is circulated throughout the body much like blood, improper circulation of either strand of Qi, Qi Deviation results in internal damage, madness or death.

    Though talent and comprehension of Mystic Arts, (the process chosen to cultivate eases the process of cultivation.) But even for the most talented individuals, cultivating four to five elemental affinities is the limit. Those that can successfully cultivate their affinities are rare legendary figures of immense power. But even the most talented individuals cannot exceed the limits established as anything more than 5 elemental affinities always results in madness at best and death at worst.

    Therefore, it can be said be that the fault lies in the process of absorption and cultivation of Qi. The processes described within the various cultivation methods are mostly likely based on misperceptions of Qi and lack efficiency as a direct result of the absence of scientific understanding. As a result, cultivators do not find the Mystic Arts as incomplete, subsequently follow their own ideology to fill the void of unknown knowledge.

    In the end, people came to follow the ideology of refining one¡¯s Qi to only have certain particles within. While this path is not completely wrong, their misperceptions led them to treat a few important particles as impurities and have thus caused their evolutionary path to be destabilized and undermined. The potential of their cultivation methods was thus limited.

    The lack of perception and understanding of atoms or electromagnetic waves is the root cause of failure. Ancient civilizations even lack the rudimentary tools that would allow for the knowledge to be discovered, the periodic table, even though these societies do possess a primitive understanding that elements are interconnected and are governed by a set of rules.

    The people of Sen treat Water as its own element, but in truth, it is made of H<sub>2</sub>O which is a molecule composed of two different elements. If hydrogen is treated as ¡°water,¡± then the cultivator will end up getting rid of the ¡°wind¡± Qi mixed within. As a result, the properties of the purified water will change and consequently not work in an ideal fashion. This already contradicts the logic that the other inhabitants believe in and shows how erroneous their cultivation methods are.

    Following said line of thoughts introducing the reason why more than five elements residing in a cultivator¡¯s body results in death. By the time most cultivators reach 2<sup>nd</sup> level of [Mortal] Realm, their bodies already have already started the erroneous process of ridding themselves of key ingredients needed to form their ¡°elements¡± due to also ridding the atomic bonds.

    Thus, the physical body is left to deal with the chaotic mess of rejecting and fusing the Qi particles into an unstable/imperfect form. At that point, the efficacy and potential of the user will drastically fall because of using the ¡°element(s)¡± wrongly. From then on, cultivators will forever be limited to only absorbing the element(s) that did form. Resulting in the efficacy and potential of the cultivator drastically falling and being severely hindered.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Her previous child-self had never cultivated prior to being taken, but in not doing so, perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Ame sighs to herself as she ponders the conundrum presented before her. To cultivate is not necessarily a blessing but is needed for her survival.

    Yet, Ame did not wish to follow such defective logic to cultivate. Then again, she could ill afford to not do so nor did she know of an alternative either. Her best option is to use her insight to create a more effective method of Qi absorption.

    Morning came and finally, Ame and Sada set out for the library. As they approach the library Ame notices the gloomy appearance of Dara at the entrance. Having dwelt with such situations before, she prepares herself in body and mind.

    She smiles cheerfully at Dara and walks up to him as she widens her eyes in an innocent expression. Ame then bows deeply to Dara and says, ¡°I am deeply sorry and regret my previous foolish actions, but if you would find it in your heart to forgive my blunder, I would be most gratified.¡±

    Dara smiles gently at Ame before solemnly bowing down on one knee and saying, ¡°I am most grateful for the little Mistress¡¯s great benevolence in forgiving my inexcusable actions of yesterday."

    Satisfied that Dara is not too upset about yesterday¡¯s incidents, she fixes her expression and, in a sincere tone, says, ¡°No, thank you. But Dara, would it at all be possible to be taught how to cultivate presently? I am not sure if I will be able to successfully cultivate given my late age in starting, but I would like to try.¡±

    Dara rises and says, "Certainly, little Mistress. It would be my honor to teach you.¡±

    Before Dara can move, Ame swiftly adds, ¡°Also if possible, could I borrow a book or two. I know it is forbidden, but I am so very behind in my studies and I want to know everything there is to know.¡±

    Dara frowns slightly, but after several minutes of their staring into each other¡¯s eyes, he is defeated by Ame¡¯s expectant, childish gaze. "Very well, little Mistress. Nevertheless, please take care of the books and not mention my leeway at allowing such actions.¡±

    Ame solemnly nods in agreement and motions for Sada to do so as well. Seeing this, Dara smiles and quietly leads them into the library and allows a few minutes for Ame to choose a few books. Ame carefully chooses various topics from history to the functions of the government and policies. Despite their relatively low number, she should try understanding her government and era more.

    As for the much larger collection of cultivation manuals and scrolls, her selection included anything that seemed useful for her new studies. She even chooses a couple of the few, but high-class books and scrolls dealing with Mystic Arts and Techniques. She would first familiarize herself with content, before creating her own.

    Satisfied with her selection, Ame hands Sada her choices and follows Dara out. Even if she didn¡¯t just take one or two books, she is certain that Dara will forgive her. After all, she is a child, and more importantly if questioned, she would without hesitation pull out the guilt card.

    Just as expected, upon seeing the stack of books and scrolls, Dara did look a little surprised but just shook his head ruefully in response. He then leads them to the empty field behind the manor. As Ame and Sada seat themselves, Dara launches into his speech about the proud heritage of cultivators. Two hours later, Ame starts to idly wonder if it is possible to murder a cultivator at her current level.

    Perhaps, sensing Ame¡¯s grim thoughts, Dara coughs to clear his throat. ¡°I should still inform you: Although you are late starting your cultivation than most, this doesn¡¯t mean that you will not succeed. Despite already being ten and of age to participate in your own Spirit Ceremony, Lord Min Hee has deemed that ye shall not participate in the ceremony until your 12<sup>th</sup> birthday. Master has deemed it wise that you first learn to cultivate, my Lady, before attempting to bond with a Spirit Being,¡± Dara said as Ame¡¯s ears prick with interest at the new information.

    Dara continues more excitedly, ¡°At the ceremony, ye will be able to call out and make a contract with a spirit that resides in the Spirit Realm. If a spirit accepts thy Qi, then a spirit beast will manifest itself and become a creature of living flesh and bone. Once a spirit beast is contracted, it is for a lifetime, and for successfully bonding to a Spirit beast, the heavens will grant the spirit beast with a special gift or ability.¡±

    Dara reassurance Ame with a smile. ¡°However, if, for any reason, a contract cannot be made, ye can also tame or bond with any Wild Mystic Beasts from nature. Although they are difficult to tame and even result in vast quantities of Qi consumption during bonding, Mystic Beasts are powerful and useful aids in combat. The best part is¡­¡± Listening to Dara, Ame is able to summarize that even the wild animals of Sen have developed the capability to cultivate either from survival instincts or the development of some cognitive sentience. Maybe even both.

    Nonetheless, they seem to be stronger than human cultivators of the same cultivation level in several aspects. Not only that, they can aim for godhood as well and are labeled with a different ranking system. We seem to rank each Mystic Beast¡¯s cultivation from rank 1-10. A [Rank 1] Beast can roughly compare from a [Level 1] to [Level 5] human cultivator.

    On the other hand, [Rank 10] Beasts match those human cultivators of the Intermediate or Late [Heaven] realm. As such, to subdue such powerful beasts, cultivators often gather together in groups to hunt a single Mystic Beast. To do otherwise would be a great risk since no normal person could take on a wild beast. The only other alternative is for one to have superior cultivation than the beast itself.

    With such powerful beasts existing, one would think that humanity on Sen should be extinct. But their weakness lies much like with their counterparts on Earth, their mind. The lack of wisdom and of cultivation methods is few in comparison to humans. After all, humans have always had the advantage of a larger mental capacity and energy efficiency in comparison to the rest of the animal kingdom. And much like on Earth, though animals are stronger, humans rapidly created tools and prorogated the knowledge to ensure being the dominant species for now.

    As she continues to contemplate over this new information, Dara beams at Ame and proudly says, "Are you ready to begin Little Mistress?"

    Ame nods firmly at him as she stretches her cramped body. Dara seats himself across from Ame and says, ¡°¡°Close your eyes, and clear your mind¡­¡­ Relax yourself,and patiently try to sense the Qi between Heaven and Earth¡­. Upon finally sensing the Qi, draw the energy into your meridians¡­¡­¡­ Focus on the one(s) with the most familiarity, and ignore the rest¡­. Focus on drawing the Qi inside you towards your dantian¡­."

    Ame closes her eyes and follows the spoken instructions. Hours go by, yet Ame does not sense much of anything. Rather than feeling frustrated, Ame is certain that her thoughts on Qi are not wrong.

    Tired and hungry, Ame opens her eyes and flops onto her back as the soft green grass enfolds her. She stretches her limbs in all directions as Dara laughs at the humorous spectacle. At Sada¡¯s raised brow, Dara excuses himself as he chuckles back to the library.

    Ame smiles faintly to herself as she rises to her feet, followed by Sada. After a day of studying and reading, she is certain she will gain insight to her problem. Without further ado, they return to Ame¡¯s quarters to study and eat.

    *

    The thin elegant man stands at the window of quarters and stares out into the city of Chiseong down below. Though it is night, the city is still full of life and nighttime activities. The elegant man smoothly clasps his hands behind him as he studies the cities movement.

    The soft rustle of footsteps is heard as a figure appears in the doorway. A finely dressed servant wearing the garb of a messenger comes to halt behind the still figure and kneels as he carefully holds out a letter to the still figure.

    The messenger reverently says, ¡°I greet the Mayor of Chiseong, Lord Jin Sin, having come to deliver a message of vital importance.¡±

    Lord Jin Sin fluidly turns around and ignores pleasantries as he takes the message in hand. He then swiftly reads the message as his fingers slightly betray him and tighten around the message. Lord Jin Sin returns to his previous position of staring into the city as he holds the note in his hands.

    The messenger raises his gaze and hesitantly asks, ¡°Lord Jin Sin?¡± However, if one glances into the messenger¡¯s eyes, a very faint a hint of scrutiny can be detected betraying the seemingly weak appearance. He will likely report his observations and analysis on the trustworthiness and obeisance of Lord Jin Sin¡¯s behavior and actions.

    Lord Jin Sin firmly says, ¡°Please convey my most sincere apologies for my callous actions. Please assure him that I understand my current standing in his majestic sight. I will act per his wishes from now on and refrain myself accordingly.¡±

    The messenger bows silently before departing swiftly once more.

    Upon the messenger¡¯s departure, Lord Jin Sin crumbles the letter in his hands into pieces and narrows his eyes purposefully into the distance in the direction of the Min household. His lips purse in annoyance as he berates himself. He was much too reckless in taking the child to only to lose her. Worse yet, in the end, the child safely returned once more to Min Hee, and lost quite a few of his men for nothing.

    Lord Jin Sin¡¯s eyes glitter with mixed emotions at the mere thought of Min Hee. A grim smile appears on his face as he stares aloofly into the distance. It is no matter; he will abide patiently this time and wait for the bait to be taken. He has plenty of time for the noose to slowly tighten around Min Hee of its own accord.

 *Chapter 7 - Absorbing Qi

    For the following weeks and months, Ame¡¯s daily routine is as follows. Morning is studying and training with Dara, then followed by Lunch and more studying, and finally Dinner and then sleep. Then, everything is followed by awakening soundlessly in the middle of the night and practicing out cultivation theories, which did not have any success.

    During the past months, Ame had accumulated an array of useful information of this world¡¯s ancient civilizations. Massive warfare will always be waged every few hundred or thousand years as the conflict exists perpetually throughout Sen and thus creating the vicious cycle of allowing the rise of new empires and the fall of powerful nations. It is similar that of the history of a normal world filled with mankind. However, when looking at the sheer number of disastrous conflicts, the feeling of political turmoil and generally backstabbing led to the current lack of progressive public order. But the governments and politicians weren¡¯t solely to blame for the situation as the root of the problem lay at the feet of the institutions known as Sects.

    Nonetheless, there were several important eras in which empires have lasted for over tens of thousands of years or even millennia if the accounts of Sen held true. Such eras existed at least seven different times. In some, a single continent¡¯s empire was so vast and powerful that it brought the rest of the continents into submission and under its domain.

    It was not until the rise of the Martial King, Goo Uddin, the current ruler of Hua, that the continents all agreed to live in co-existing peace with one another. That did not imply there were no wars being waged between nations, but instead, no wars were to be waged between continents. Though, some historical actions could be seen as discrepancies including current information, the peace treaty was either temporary or there was more to the treaty that appeared on the surface.

    On an interesting note, Ame had coincidently found and studied the Min¡¯s family hidden genealogy books. The interesting tidbit was that Min Hee was the only living nephew/relative remaining of the Martial King, Goo Uddin outside of the Martial King¡¯s inner family circle.

    Thus, this raised the unintended question: Why was Min Hee not residing with the Martial King in the capital of the Hua continent, Konyapur? Since it was not a known fact, that meant there was a secret hidden there, which led to an inevitable conclusion either the Martial King was attempting to protect Min Hee or not.

    Being a child of the Min Household did not seem very safe in the long run. With those thoughts in mind, Ame had carefully studied government policies and laws regarding trade, commerce, taxes, and had even pointedly reviewed the fiscal coin system.

    [The monetary system increases by a 10:1-coin ratio for each increment per value of coin except for Bronze to Cooper 100:1 ratio. The 6 coin detonations were: Bronze, Cooper, Silver, Gold, Diamond (coin enlaced in gold with a small gem fitted in the center,) and Adamantine.]

    Ame soundlessly awakens as she yawns quietly in the dark. Being careful of making too much movement, Ame smoothly reaches under her pillow for the sweets she had wrapped in a handkerchief and hid for Sada¡¯s prying eyes. Ame silently grabs the small package and carefully undoes the knots to access her sweet treasures.

    Ame sighs in contentment as she settles down against her pillows and chews on the soft fluffy sweets. After chewing and eating, Ame stretches her limbs quietly, before crossing her legs and meditating.

    Though Ame had been meditating for some months, she had yet to draw any Qi into her body. It was not a lack of trying, rather a process of successfully learning how to sense the presence of Elemental Qi in her surroundings. However, rather than immediately attempting to absorb Qi, she had no wish to do so until she was certain of a proper method. Thus, leading her to monitor particle movements by experimenting and studying reactions when using portions of various cultivation methods, she had read about.

    Luckily, she also managed to find several valuable manuals during her extensive research into cultivation methods. Even if they were incomplete due to not having the complete manuscript or only being practiced until a certain realm. She read and researched any scroll and book on the subject. It didn¡¯t matter how rare, complex, or unique the item was with the aid of underhanded tactics such as of puppy dog eyes, sweet smiles, and any number of cuddly hugs were used to ensure her possession of said information.

    Having referenced all useful scrolls and books, hypotheses were finally formed from the conclusive results. After much trial and error, Ame had concluded. An alternative form must be created to avoid forming a core based on Sen¡¯s misperceptions and contradictory knowledge to avoid wasting any Qi or creating a fragmented energy flow within her. To accomplish this, her selected solution was to use the concept of [Cellular Respiration] and [Evolution] to her advantage by absorbing all types of Qi into the cells themselves. This would allow her to cultivate the power of Qi in its entirety while hypothetically avoiding the weakness of losing her cultivation by having one¡¯s inner core destroyed.

    Thus, for the last few months, Ame had concentrated on feeling every part of her body synchronizing her whole being as one, even watching her breathing during the meditative process. Her awareness of the surrounding Qi was improving along with her visualization, while her concentration on keeping a clear mind became steadier. Ame believed she was, at last, ready to attempt to draw the Qi into her cells. Then again, if this still fails, following the path of a regular cultivator was acceptable in the end.

    Ame, feeling every inch of her body begins to imagine various atoms gradually forming into many small streams of particles being drawn into every inch of her body in an attempt to feed and invigorate every living cell. She continues to project this image in her mind over and over until with the passage of time, she begins to feel a prickling sensation in her flesh.

    For a moment, Ame¡¯s heart twitches in excitement as Ame inhales slowly through her nose and exhales to calm herself. As she feels her body relax, Ame continues her efforts as the tingly sensation increases.

    As time passes, Ame is forced to keep herself from twitching at the uncomfortable sensation being generated, a feeling like that of bugs crawling all over her body. Ame clamps her teeth together as she tries to prevent herself from being distracted. Finally, when Ame can take no more, the sensation disappears, leaving only a cool yet warm sensation lingering behind. Her mind focusing only on the streams of particles by itself as she falls into a somewhat hypnotic state.

    After having become used to the feeling, Ame sighs in relief as she opens her eyes and is surprised to find glowing wisps of light pouring into the room. She glances at her body and is pleased to find that there is no guck on her body from sweated impurities. Although, her body was slightly sweaty from the eerie sensation of bugs crawling all over her body.

    Ame nods to herself in satisfaction at a theory being proven. Pleased with her results and success, she smiles to herself quite cheerfully as she climbs out of bed. As she carefully places both feet on the floor, she glances at the picturesque figure sleeping on a warm futon at the end of the bed. Sada¡¯s sleeping form portrays the imagery of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince to awaken her from her cursed sleep.

    No matter, how many times Ame awakens before Sada, she can never find a single trace of drool, snoring or any normal action of a sleeping female body for that matter. Annoyed by the charming scenery, Ame rudely steps on Sada for a moment.

    Sada awakens to a start, somehow managing to make her eyes look warm and inviting. A sweet smile appears on her face as she happily chirps, ¡°Good morning, my Lady.¡±

    Ame mumbles something in return as she heads towards the bathroom area. Ame was certain that no matter what she did, Sada would happily accept the actions. Even if she did make Sada weep, she was certain Sada would still end up making weeping appear as a form of art.

    While Ame enjoys a relaxing bath, Sada hunts for prey. After having a pointed word or two, Sada and Ame had agreed that while training with Dara wearing pants and dark tunics would be acceptable to wear. But for any other type of outing proper female garb was to be worn.

    Upon Ame¡¯s return, Sada has successfully returned from her hunt with a dark blue tunic and matching pants with the usual pair of boots. After dressing, Ame and Sada eat a small meal before visiting Dara.

    On their way there, a rare sighting appeared that of the manor¡¯s servant¡¯s children playing. The children of various ages were strewn in a long line with the head of the line trying to catch the end of the line, the dragon¡¯s tail. The children instantly stiffen and their hands drop to their sides. The children politely bow and greet Ame, ¡°Greetings Miss Min, we apologize for our lapse.¡±

    Ame frowns reflexively at the frightened voices. In response, the children shiver and bow even further. With a sigh, Ame dismisses them with a gesture of her hand. The children dart away like a startled group of sparrows. For better or for worse, the children of the Min Manor were frightened of Ame.

    From her limited understanding, Ame understood that the children had been frightened by their parents, the manor servants. As a small three-year-old child Ame¡¯s roots had been tested and been found they were average. Ordinarily, this would have caused for Ame to even be bullied or humiliated by the servants.

    However, that was not a problem given that Lord Min Hee was not only wealthy but possessed plenty of cultivation manuals. Once Ame began to cultivate, items could be easily being purchased to increase her cultivation level ensuring that she at least becomes a 5<sup>th</sup> rank cultivator.

    And despite being ignored, Ame was still a young Miss of the Min Household and was not one to be trifled with by the manor¡¯s petty servant schemes. It wasn¡¯t though Ame was left without protection, Dara had taken her under his wing. And no mere servant would ever dare mess with Dara.

    Ame lets out a small huff, before resuming their journey with Sada carefully in tow. Upon their arrival, Dara smiles warmly at them from the library door. "Greetings, little Mistress.¡±

    Ame mumbled an inaudible reply as Sada smiles sweetly and says, ¡°Very well, Dara.¡±

    Both Sada and Dara chat gaily as they all head into the library. After a moment, Ame interrupts their morning chatter and asks, ¡°Dara, how can another cultivators energy be sensed?¡±

    Dara nods approvingly at Ame¡¯s words as he smiles with pleasure. ¡°Excellent question, Little Mistress. All cultivators can sense the cultivation of a weaker cultivator than themselves. But, the more powerful the expert, the ability for powerful Qi cultivators to hide their strength and appearance from weaker cultivators is. Although hard to come by, there are rare treasures and techniques specifically meant for such a task.¡±

    ¡°However, for simplicity¡¯s sake, cultivators can sense each other¡¯s development of their core and the residual energy released from the person¡¯s body and aura,¡± Dara kindly said.

    Ame nods and asks one last question, ¡°Then how does one use Qi?¡±

    Dara smiles warily and replies, ¡°Very simple, little Mistress. One just needs to call upon the existing internal Qi and use it by circulating the Qi within the meridians according to a cultivation method to unleash a much greater power from within, which is normally in the form of techniques and Mystic Arts. Unfortunately, Little Mistress, you have yet to cultivate any Qi into your body, but I am sure that this will change soon enough.¡±

    Ame stares blankly at Dara before turning on her heels and striding away into the library. Dara and Sada stare at each other in surprise and worry at the reaction. Worried, they both decide to leave Ame to her own devices. The rest of the day passes in silence as Ame studies topics of interest and use, before retiring to bed.

    Hours later as usual Ame awakens and rubs the sleep out of her eyes. Intrigued by the concept that Dara was unable to sense the residing Qi in her cells, Ame wishes to verify that she did successfully absorb Qi during the night.

    Ame silently pulls out a sharp golden pin from underneath her pillow. Eying the pin for a moment, Ame tries to not grind her teeth together, which is a terrible habit to break and one that wears enamel down in the teeth. Nonetheless, she must keep quiet and confirm her hypothesis.

    Taking a small breath, Ame stabs the sharp tip through her palm as she stuffs her face into a pillow to muffle her groan of pain. Ame¡¯s palm stings with a burning pain as she lifts her face from the pillow. She winces from the pain and removes the pin from her palm.

    Cold sweat forms lightly on Ame¡¯s forehead as she feels the energy in her cells and calls out to it. Slowly, the pain goes away, and minutes later, the cells have repaired themselves, leaving her hand completely healed. Ame flexes her hand and touches the skin to ensure that the healing was not merely superficial.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Ame smiles wolfishly at the new possibility of accelerated self-regeneration for the future. Her smile widens even more upon the realization that she would never need to visit or have need of the questionable medical practices of the world.

    Yet, her smile fades away at the realization of the current limit. For a small cut to heal it take minutes, but for a large wound, how long would that be? Or better yet, what happens if there is a lack of sufficient Qi to do so?

    Ame seats herself properly on her bed and begins to meditate as Qi smoothly flows into her cells according to her basic instructions. As expected, her cells have learned how to absorb Qi on their own, but due to being in the initial phase, the absorption rate is practically negligible. Her body can¡¯t yet self-cultivate until she properly sets down a foundation of Qi within herself. Thus, she will have to continue feeding her cells to gradually accustom her body to her cultivation method.

    For now, the Qi is being drawn into her cells empowering them. Ame meditates on Dara¡¯s words. Perception is a large factor after all. Denizens of Sen lack the knowledge of cells and can¡¯t sense Qi at such a minuscule level.

    However, that does not mean it is an entirely foreign concept to them since they understand some functions of the body. Given enough time and if she is able to reach a higher level of cultivation, the more powerful cultivators may be able to sense a low level of Qi emanating from her body. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem, but she will just have to wait and see.

    The Qi being drawn into the cells and gradually establishing her basic foundations on its own, Ame returns her focus back to the Qi. Yes, she is focusing on the Qi, or more specifically, Ame has begun to see more clearly the wisps of light throughout her surroundings. Perhaps, once her foundations get stronger, her unusual perception will become clearer and more distinct.

    She may welcome the added eyesight in the long run, but for now, the wisps of light were rather annoying like buzzing flies. She gathers the streams of particles surrounding her and decides to play with them to better control them. She begins to weave the streams of particles over and over in her mind.

    In a deep sleep-like state, a glowing door appears in her mind. The image flickers persistently in her mind and only continues to emanate a stronger presence and vastly irritating glowing brilliance as time goes on. Without being aware, the Qi in her surroundings and within her starts to transform repeatedly, creating an illusory feeling around her. The door within her mind continues to further expand and open invitingly, releasing annoyingly loud roars of various beasts from the shadows beyond the door.

    Despite the persistent nuisance of the door, she attempts to clear the mysterious, psychotic episode from her mind. Frustrated, Ame grumbles in her mind, ¡°Go away. I have no need for you unless you are a great deal of luck.¡±

    The white door¡¯s glow dims for a moment before suddenly brightening with an overbearing, blinding brilliance, her consciousness and soul tremble at the ferocity of the wretched light show. The door revolves joyfully for a moment before both the door and unknown illusory phenomena around her disappear. Ame opens her eyes in bewilderment and wonders if it is a side effect of Qi absorption or a latent sign of mental instability.

    Uneasy, Ame silently climbs out of her bed and sneaks past Sada to the bathroom. Ame heads towards a sink to drink some water and hopes that will help. After drinking some water, she turns off the taps and dries her face.

    Ame tries to recall the symptoms of possible mental instability. It was possible given the fact that she experienced death and had all her past life memories suddenly awaken within her still underdeveloped mind. For all she knows, her psyche may have suffered too much strain, or her brain can¡¯t keep up with her sudden mental capabilities. Other possible options are that her past life and child egos are rejecting with each other or that her body is rejecting her new psychological changes.

    Even in the depth of thoughts, Ame¡¯s ears prickle at a soft swoosh. The moonlight streams through the windows lightening and casting shadows in odd places in the bathroom. Ame¡¯s eyes dart in search of the noise as her ears strain themselves to only hear the odd swoosh of padded feet.

    Two small pairs of golden cat slit eyes gaze at Ame with interest from within the shadows. Ame frowns at the scene of intent pairs of golden eyes blinking back at her. The furrows on her face only increase as the eyes do not disappear with time.

    Ame¡¯s face pales slightly as she begins to wonder if she miscalculated in theory of Qi and was too rash in testing them on herself without a test subject. After all, it was possible that mental instability was the hidden side effect of her cellular cultivation. Although, she would never have imagined that hallucinations would be a side effect.

    Ame shrugs to herself after a moment. She had been called, crazy, deranged, a psychopath, the mad lunatic, and worse names by her colleagues. It would be no different from then. She would just have to ensure that she keep to a strict retinue to verify her surroundings are not a hallucination. After all, such an illness was manageable with proper care.

    A small black kitten followed by a golden kitten pops out of the shadows and creeps towards her. Their tails curl up in the air as they quietly pad towards her. The kittens both come to a halt at her feet and gaze solemnly up at her.

    The black kitten open¡¯s its mouth seemingly about to meow, but instead, it says, ¡°As per the Heaven¡¯s Will, we have answered the call. We asketh you.¡±

    ¡°The one to call and seeketh us¡­¡± The golden kitten suddenly spoke. Surprisingly or not too surprisingly, it seemed to possess the same level of intelligence and language ability as the other one.

    ¡°The one to manifest our form into this world under the power of the Heavens¡­¡± The black kitten continues the words from the golden one. It would as though they were twins completing the words of the other.

    ¡°Are you our Master? And if so, may we inquire your name?¡± The golden kitten finished their inquiry. Both kittens continued to stare as their childish voices continually resound in Ame¡¯s ears.

    Ame gazes wordlessly at the kittens, her shock evident on her face. Well, at least it would not be difficult to confirm what was a hallucination, but she must applaud the creativity of the mind in creating such life-like kittens. One check in the box for possibly being schizophrenic.

    The kittens glance nervously at Ame as their ears flick back in uneasy. In a cute high pitched voice, a kitten says, ¡°Master, are you displeased with us?¡±

    Ame sighs as she feels pity for the hallucination and reaches out to pet the small black and golden kittens. A gentle smile appears on her face as she kneads the soft fur in her hands. The tiny kittens purr in contentment.

    With a start, Ame realizes that the fur is real to the touch. Her eyes widen as she gapes for a moment at the tiny kitten. A dark expression quickly flickers in her eyes as she curses the improbability of the world known as Sen.

    With a profound sigh as if giving up on sanity, Ame seats herself on the floor and allows the kitten to climb into her lap. The black and golden kitten scramble up her lap and settle onto her knees. Smiling gently at them, Ame then says, ¡°I apologize for my lack of manners, little one. I am known as Ame, but if I may inquire your names? And, may you inform me of how and why are you here?¡±

    The little tails of the kitten¡¯s twitch for a second as the tiny voice of the black kitten say, ¡°Master Ame, we apologize for inconveniencing you as it is not our intention. However, neither of us possess a name until you bequeath us with one.¡±

    Ame stares at the kittens in her lap for a moment and reflexively asks in bewilderment. ¡°Master?¡± She didn¡¯t ask anyone in particular or expected any answer. She was just bemused at this turn of events, having a vague feeling this was caused because of her lack of planning and persistent experimentation into the unknown.

    She snorts under breath, whilst stroking her chin with her right hand with a look of contemplation floating on her face. Suddenly her eyes shimmer with mischief and she points at the black kitten and then to the golden kitten respectively. She solemnly says, ¡°Morpheus, after the gods of old of dream and sleep. I will call you, Morph for short. As for you¡­ Kiroberus, after the valiant sentinel that guards the gates of the underworld. I will call you Kiro for short.¡±

    The black kitten whispers quietly its name to itself. After a second, Morph puffs out its chest and says, ¡°Thank you, Master, for the wonderful name. I will do my best to live up to my name.¡±

    The golden kitten purred as well. ¡°Thank you, Mistress. I too will live up to your expectations.¡± Its golden eyes glowed with a trace of resolve and delight.

    Ame pats the tiny heads with her index finger and reminds both kittens of her other questions. ¡°I look forward to a fruitful, prolonged partnership. But I have already asked a question and I would like an answer.

    Morph nods and says, ¡°Master, we are spirit guardians that contracted with thee and now have a living flesh form.¡± An expression of seriousness could be seen from their faces¡­. Or at least, Ame thinks their expression is one of seriousness

    Morph pauses for a moment with worry, before softly continuing, ¡°Master, you must not be loved by the Heavens. The truth of the matter is that my brother and I are both Luck Spirits. Although we are confident in bringing fortune and wealth to you, we are also known for being weak at birth.¡±

    Kiro sadly interjects, ¡°Therefore, we are rarely chosen to become a living mortal''s guardian. Most mortals that encounter us, would refuse our attempt to bond and choose more powerful spirits that are more suitable for combat.¡±

    Morph pauses for a moment with worry, before softly continuing, ¡°Master, I am a Luck Spirit. Luck Spirits are rarely born in the Spirit Realm, since we are rather weak creatures at birth. Therefore, we are rarely chosen to become a living human''s guardian. Most humans that encounter us, refuse our attempt to bond and choose more powerful spirits or fighting type spirits."

    In the end, our kind is always easily killed off by the more powerful experts and their spirit guardians.¡± A sense of sorrow and helplessness was evident in Morph¡¯s voice. Both brothers¡¯ eyes anxiously watch their master awaiting her response.

    Ame frowns at their tone and gently places a single finger under each of the kittens¡¯ chin. Gently tilting the black and golden kittens¡¯ faces upwards, she says, ¡°There is nothing to be ashamed of. I choose you, and I do not regret my actions.¡±

    Both kittens¡¯ eyes widen as they happily rub their little face against Ame¡¯s finger. Ame smiles gently at seeing the tears glistening at the corner of their squinted eyes and taps them on their fuzzy heads reminding the kittens to continue. Morph wipes its little face clean with evident embarrassment as it tries to compose itself, whilst Kiro wipes its face against Ame¡¯s clothing, purring in happiness.

    ¡°We were the last Luck Spirits left in the entire Spirit Realm. Eons ago, all the remaining Luck Spirits willingly choose to be reborn in the Spirit Fountain. Neither of us wished to be reborn nor much less be separated from each other. We choose to remain and wait until we were contracted,¡± Kiro firmly said.

    Ame¡¯s eyes widen at the little black kitten¡¯s words. Her eyes become gentle as she smiles in understanding and respect at the kitten¡¯s words. After all, they both understood what it was like to be alone in the world.

    Ame gently pats them as she wonders how she contracted these little things. As Ame contemplates her past actions, and apparently not so psychotic episode, she easily concludes, that this phenomenon must be a product of her cultivation method. From mouth to mouth accounts and a small reference in a book concerning Spirit Guardians, there was a matter of summoning said guardians via a special ceremony from the Spirit Realm. Not everyone would or could receive a spiritual guardian, but depending on the circumstances, a new realm of possibility or potential could open even if one¡¯s natural talent is not the most amazing among his/her peers.

    However, there is one problem according to what she learned: She didn¡¯t perform any ceremony, and there was no formation created. The only explanation presently is that her cultivation method has created Qi movements similar to the aforementioned ceremony. It may even be that the formations and techniques used in the ceremony make use of all the elements, like herself.

    Ame glances at the purring kittens with interest and a mixture of emotions. She was beyond gratefully to gain not one but two trustworthy companions. However, she wondered just how far their bond extended. Well, either way, she would come to find out.

    Ame stops petting Morph and Kiro as the kittens¡¯ pout in protest. ¡°Morph, Kiro, what is it exactly that a Luck Spirit, can do?¡± Ame quietly asked.

    Morph preens himself and says, ¡°Master, we can definitely bring you both fortune and prosperity by nature. Whether finances, gambling, or treasure hunting, you will have an easier time in all forms of business ventures and monetary matters. I also have a natural talent to navigate quite well in unfamiliar places.¡±

    Nodding his head, Kiro also tries to look good in front of their new master. ¡°As for me, I am better at protecting you from traps and other forms of malice and misfortune. And I am much more sensitive to treasure hunting and business prosperity than my brother. Although when it comes to gambling, it is best to have my brother near for better effects.¡±

    Morph then continues. ¡°For the best effects in all situations, it is still best to have us together. Ever since we were born in either realm, we function better together.¡±

    A wolfish smile appears on Ame¡¯s face, causing the kittens to shiver at the hungry smile. Ame mumbles under her breath, ¡°Mere fools to disregard such priceless treasures.¡±

    Morph and Kiro tilts their heads in confusion as Ame fixes her expression and sincerely says, ¡°Those who did not wish to contract ye are barbarians who didn¡¯t know the boundlessness of the World and the immensity of the Heavens. The scientists of Earth would have gladly killed each other to possess you.¡±

    Ame did not add that such an ability was applicable to combat as well. To increase the efficiency of an attack against the enemy or to dodge a blow would greatly increase the odds of survival. Indeed, Morph and Kiro were treasures beyond compare.

    Kiro and Morph looked at one another in shock and amazement. Kiro then gazes in awe and adoration at Ame as its little tail twitches happily in the air. ¡°Master, I am glad that I heeded your call. For that was all that was ever wanted by this one, a Master who would believe in this one¡¯s capabilities.¡±

    Ame pets Kiro in an answer as she motions for the kitten to quiet down. Morph quiets down as well, purring happily under her touch. Curious of their gender, Ame tilts the kittens onto their back to confirm her initial assumptions. All the while Morph and Kiro gazes up at her with confusion.

    Ame gently returns the kittens to their previous positions upon having the discovered their gender. Both kittens were male after all. Well, that simplified things greatly.

    Ame soothes the ruffled kittens and says, ¡°Morph, Krio, if I may ask, what was the gift that the heavens bestowed upon you?"

    Morph and Kiro happily scrambles out of Ame¡¯s lap and onto the floor. They soon start to glow as the little kittens turn into kitten-sized small wolves. After a moment, they effortlessly return to their small kitten shapes.

    ¡°We are able to change our size, Master. Once we grow stronger, we can grow even larger,¡± Morph proudly said.

    Ame smiles with pleasure at the practical gift. Not only could Morph and Kiro be used as pack mules but even as a pair mounts for the future. Such a capability would be wonderful in battle. At the least, an opponent would be much easier to deal with if she can use a mount to increase her moment and charging speeds. Not to mention, that the two of them would become formidable opponents if they could adjust their size to avoid an attack.

    Ame happily pets the purring kittens and rubs them under their chin with pleasure. ¡°Both of you, remember to act as kittens after this. You are cats, and regular cats do not speak, EVER, especially in front of others. Is that understood?¡± Ame sternly said as gazed at the small kittens.

    They shook their heads in vehement agreement. Tired of sitting on the cold floor, Ame placed the kittens on her shoulder as she scrambled to her feet. After lightly stretching her limbs, Ame silently returned to her bed.

    Ame only glances at Sada for a moment as she contemplates on how to deal with the subject of Morph and Kiro. As she settles back in her bed, Morph and Kiro happily curl up on a pillow and fall fast asleep. A small smile appears on her face, and she could only shrug her shoulders in self-response. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to deal with. And with that, Ame lays down next to them and falls sound asleep.

 *Chapter 8 â€“ Reunion

    Explaining the kittens to Sada proved to be far easier than expected. All Ame had to say was that she found them on her pillows.

    Sada beamed happily and chattered the entire morning about how benevolent the Lord, Master Min was. Ame largely ignored her as she fed Morph and Kiro and ate her breakfast. Of course, she gave the same explanation same upon encountering Dara with her kittens.

    Ame did sneer a couple of times at Sada and Dara¡¯s words. She was certain that man was incapable for than a minute removing the attention from himself.

    Morph and Kiro proved to be well-behaved kittens, never speaking in front of others. Although, they did love to tease Dara by climbing Dara¡¯s body like a tree. They were gluttons for being scratched under their chin and behind their ears. It didn¡¯t help that Sada absolutely loved to smother them with attention.

    The weeks passed smoothly until summer came and went. On the 7<sup>th</sup> day of the 7<sup>th</sup> month of 1949 for Ame¡¯s 11<sup>th</sup> birthday, there was no grand party or even a hint of congratulations from the family. However, she did receive a dead bird from Morph, which she politely declined, a new dress from Sada, and even a small bag of coins from Dara.

    Weeks pass by with Ame studying as much as she can and meditating quietly in her room at night as usual. She chooses to work on strengthening her weak body gradually with various rounds of stretching and exercises being done with the excuse of playing games with the two kittens. During this period, she had discovered interesting information regarding Spirit Beings. Morph and Kiro had no need to absorb Qi to grow.

    Rather, as entities of the Spirit Realm, she could conclude that they must absorb an unknown alternate energy and/or a unique type of Qi different from the norm. Nonetheless, based on her brief encounter with the alternate dimension known as the Spirit Realm, she now knows that her newly created fusion of all Qi types is related to the Spirit Realm, thus inclining her to temporarily name the Qi of her cultivation method as Realm Qi.

    Moreover, though Ame did attempt to access the Spirit Realm once again even with the combined efforts of her assistants, Morph and Kiro, they were not able to. Putting off further experimentation for another time, she swiftly gave up further inquiries into the subject. Time would be her ally permitting her to someday renew her investigation into the subject.

    On the bright side, she did confirm several aspects about Morph and Kiro thanks to their failed attempts. At all times, near or around Morph and Kiro, she was about 20% luckier. Yet, when Morph and Kiro focused on increasing the probability with their powers, the luck became around 30-35%. Ame hoped that when they were full grown adults, the usual luck would be 50% higher than the norm with the ability usage achieving a 75% increase.

    Of course, Ame discovered a rather daunting fact. As long as their bodies weren¡¯t destroyed or Ame perished, both Morph and Kiro¡¯s bodies and abilities would grow without the need for training. It was a trait all Spirit Beings possessed, ¡°Innate Divine Memories,¡± an ability that had always taught and guided Spirit Beings to successfully use their abilities.

    Certainly, not of frustration or irritation, Ame proceeded to bathe Morph and Kiro every single day to keep them clean. Not to mention, with the aid of Sada, every day, Morph and Kiro were dressed in wonderful collars and bows.

    By this point in time, Morph and Kiro were already acutely aware that Ame was not an ordinary child. Ame did not go too much into detail into her past and Morph and Kiro were wise enough not to ask unless it was relevant to the subject. Nor did they pester her about her family circumstances beyond the first week. To appease them, she had been forced to briefly explain the reason for her present status within the Min family and hinted that she was not a natural denizen of Sen.

    However, as time passed by, Dara seemed to become more distressed at his failure. Ame did attempt to say a few words of sympathy, but they did not seem to lessen his heavy heart. All Ame could really do was lend Morph to Dara in hopes that helped the situation.

    Summer turned into autumn, and fall turned into winter. A cold winter day, Ame was bundled up as she returned to her quarters. To her vast surprise and astonishment, she saw an unusual figure running in the distance. A woman in a fuchsia colored kimono with a hanbok skirt ran at full speed towards her.

    Ame squinted her eyes in disbelief as her mouth gaped at the recognition of the running figure. The petite woman who was as calm and tranquil as a flower was hurtling at full speed towards her. However, though Ame took perverse pleasure in seeing Sada in such a desperate situation, she was more bothered by the appearance of Sada.

    The wind gently brushes her hair and the sleeves of her kimono glide gently in the breeze. Even when running, Sada still looks perfect! Is Sada even human?

    Not a single hair was out of place as her ivory cheeks were rosy making Sada look even more alluring and her lips tinged with a hint of pink, but worst of all, she was not even out of breath. Gracefully composing herself, she sweetly says, "My Lady, quickly come with me. It is rather urgent!"

    Ame nods in wordless agreement as she follows Sada swiftly back. Morph and Kiro tuck their heads back into Ame¡¯s hood and closes their eyes to nap. Upon arrival to her quarters, Ame places the tiny kittens gently on the bed, while Sada simply picks a quarry without the usual hunt.

    The speed which Sada picks a dress bothers Ame. For a woman who loves clothes and loves to treat Ame as a dress up doll, that is a rather odd action. While Sada swiftly readies Ame, Ame asks, ¡°Sada, why the urgency?¡±

    Sada breathlessly says, "My Lady, you have been summoned by your Lord Father and have been ordered to present yourself as quickly as possible in front of him."

    Ame raises an eyebrow at Sada¡¯s words. Such a situation does not bode well. But she cannot very well decline the invitation at his point.

    Ame frowns as she wonders if she has done anything unusual to attract the unwanted attention, but she finds she cannot find a single reason. Therefore, it must simply be unwanted, actual parental attention. In her opinion though, it is already too late to salvage the situation. She never gotten much attention before awakening herself, and even when she was kidnapped or injured, no one ever came to visit her or send their well wishes. They have already given her the worst of impressions.

    Ame firmly speaks out loud, ¡°Morph, Kiro, please stay here with Sada and behave yourself.¡± Sada smiles at Ame¡¯s cute, but childish actions as she finishes preparing Ame¡¯s hair. All the while, Morph had already happily curled up on the bed and fallen fast asleep.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    A new maid that Ame had never seen quickly arrives and waits quietly for her outside of the door. Sada gently pats the clothes down one last time as she assesses that Ame is presentable. Satisfied with her handiwork Sada softly says, "Please follow the maid my Lady. She will guide you to thy Lord Father. Be calm, my Lady, and all will be well.¡±

    Ame doesn¡¯t respond as she cagily follows the maid out. The cold wind on Ame¡¯s face causes her to shiver as she is only wearing a thin fur coat. Ame keeps her head down low and as much as possible out of the wind. After what seems like hours, they finally reach and cross over the bridge.

    With relief, they enter the courtyard as the pretty maid leads her to the same dinner area as the single time before. The maid stops before the closed doors and signals for another maid to take the fur coat. Ame sullenly hands over the coat as she tries to keep from shivering while waiting for permission to enter.

    The door slides open as Ame enters the warm room with relief. Seated at the head of table is her father, Min Hee, and seated to his left are his three wives per their order of marriage/rank. On an interesting note sitting at Nuo¡¯s side beside two teenagers were two identical twin little boys about three years old being held by their nursemaids. The twin boys were identical from their light blue-black hair to the tip of their toes with exception of their eyes. One of the twins had violet eyes, whilst the other had blue black colored eyes.

    Ame furrows her brows at the sight of the twins. Without a doubt, the children were dead ringers for being Nuo¡¯s children. But she could not and did not recall their existence ever being mentioned in the manor by Sada or Dara, who would have surely at least mentioned their existence at least in passing.

    Suddenly, a faint memory comes to mind. Shortly after Ame¡¯s arrival to the manor, a pair of maids were discussing that the servants were looking forward to the day when Dai and Cho were to have their roots tested. Ame had simply assumed that Dai and Cho were children of some servants. However, she was clearly wrong. The twins were her younger brothers born by Nuo after Ame¡¯s kidnapping. And given their age differences and residing in very different parts of the manor, naturally Ame had never encountered the twins.

    Worried that she may have missed more than she though, Ame warily raises her eyes to scan the teenagers. Even without her pervious self¡¯s memories, Ame would have known who they were based on their physical appearance. Her elder sister, HuiFeng, about 14 and had an affinity with Earth, Wind, and Metal, but despite her rare talent, she had only cultivated Earth and Metal Qi, due to the conflicting nature of the Earth and Wind elements.

    Dressed in an indigo kimono, her glossy, black hair is pulled up into a simple bun as her tan eyes study Ame from beneath her long eyelashes. HuiFeng is quite the beauty at her age, it seems her popularity is already wide spread among the male servants, the city males, and those of her sect, the Immortal Sword Sect. Rumors say that she has received no less than a thousand marriage proposals. Given her talent and sect membership, they were no laughing matter. Anyone would wish to tie their houses with that of hers.

    Ame¡¯s older brother, Hong, though only 12 years old, he carried himself with the grace and presence of a man beyond his years. Wearing a mauve colored hanbok, his long silky black hair that reaches his shoulders is neatly tied back. His violet eyes stare passively through Ame without interest.

    Hong not only was rather talented and the next head of the Min Clan, and despite only having an affinity with the element of Fire, he was said to have great comprehension ability and just as equal potential as his older sister. After all, he had been selected and joined no less of a prestigious sect, the Blazing Fist Sect.

    Despite having a heart-breaking handsomeness, Hong¡¯s cold attitude did not destroy his image. Rather, it only made the girl¡¯s heart beat even more, but what was unusual was that Hong at his age was still unbetrothed. Rumors had it that Hong was already interested in a certain girl.

    Ame frowns slightly at their presence, but it would soon be New Years. It made sense that the Min household would spend the holidays together. Still, there is no reason for there to be an official reunion, right?

    Without her intention, Ame¡¯s gaze flickers over the twins in passing. Dai and Cho appear to be heavily doted upon for being male but seemed to be close to HuiFeng and Hong given the seating arrangement. It is likely that HuiFeng and Hong will care and ensure that the twins behave themselves and act accordingly as members of the Min Household.

    Ame for a moment freezes as her gaze catches that of Ayako. Her previous self had always wished to see her mother to no avail. That child even though she was unwanted since birth still wished to be loved by this woman.

    A touch of coldness appears in both of their gazes as they turn away from each other. As Ame glances to the other side of Min Hee, she finally notices the familiar couple sitting next to him.

    The handsome man is rather tall and wears a dark blue tunic similar to Turkish style of clothing. He is slightly tan with black hair and large piercing green eyes, and his beautiful wife sits at his side wearing more of a traditional red Thailand dress, the Pha-Nung. She has ivory colored skin with her beautiful chocolate hair pulled into an intricate bun. Her large, warm coffee eyes kindly study me.

    After a moment, sudden enlightenment enters Ame¡¯s eyes. The figures were Lord Ono Arun and Lady Ono Drishti, her former fianc¨¦''s parents. Upon Ame¡¯s disappearance, the betrothal was subsequently passed to HuiFeng to be fulfilled. Though there were abundant rumors, why the betrothal was passed down to HuiFeng, despite having better offers for her hand.

    A cold stare causes Ame to turn and face the glare. A handsome younger child glare back at her. The boy possesses silky brown hair that reaches his neck with large, piercing emerald eyes, and surprisingly almost pink touched lips and well-defined facial features. The poorly concealed arrogance only served to enhance his childish but budding handsomeness, making one think he would definitely live up to his father¡¯s grace in the future. The child can only be one person, Lord Ono Hyeon, her former fianc¨¦.

    Ame recalls her manners and bows properly to parents, siblings, and guests.

    ¡°Greetings Honorable Father, Beloved Mothers, and gracious brother and sister. I am pleased to find you all well. And greetings, Lord Ono Arun, Lady Ono Drishti and Lord Ono Hyeon,¡± Ame politely said.

    Lord Ono Arun smiles ruefully as his wife nods in approval of the proper greetings. Min Hee nods his head motioning for Ame to be seated. Nuo gestures her fan to the side in a signal as Ame smiles faintly in thanks. Ame tentatively seats herself at the side of Hong.

    Lord Arun winks at Ame and turns towards Lord Min Hee. ¡°Min Hee, your youngest Miss has become quite the beauty,¡± Lord Arun teasingly commented to his friend.

    Ame lips twitch in a sneer at the man¡¯s words. At best, she was cute, but a beauty? How laughable. Because the real beauty happened to be HuiFeng.

    Lord Min Hee politely waves the comment away. He then looks pointedly at the maids as they hurriedly begin to serve the food. With relief, everyone begins to eat.

    The ladies chatter while HuiFeng and Hong remain silent. Ame doesn¡¯t attempt to speak as she picks at her food, disappointed how at how bland the food tastes. Halfway through the meal, Ame excuses herself by stating she has a headache and scurries away.

    With relief, Ame escapes and returns to her quarters. Sada is not there upon Ame¡¯s arrival, which means she is with her fellow comrades. With a relieved sigh, Ame firmly closes the door behind her.

    Morph yawns sleepily as Kiro pokes his head up and says, ¡°How was it?¡± It seems that they must have found out about the family dinner by judging their expressions. Having not seen a single glimpse of them or heard a peep, that meant only one thing, Sada. The lightning speed of servant¡¯s gossip within the Min Household would leave any cultivator speechless and left her aghast.

    Ame sighs as she undresses and gloomily answers, ¡°Useless.¡± She wasn¡¯t expecting much, but a present would have been nice.

    Morph glances at Ame and nods his cute fuzzy head in understanding. ¡°Well, in that case, let¡¯s go to sleep.¡± Ame smiles warily at the drowsy kitten but complies with the kitten¡¯s request. Soon, they were all cuddled together under her covers.

 *Chapter 8.2 â€“ Night Exchange

    Lord Min Hee sits with Lord Ono Arun, while Lady Ono Drishti sits with Hee¡¯s wives. Lord Ono Hyeon having been escorted to the quests area, the adults are now freely able to converse.

    Lord Min Hee serves his friend Lord Arun a cup of Sake. Lord Arun happily takes a sip and lets out a satisfied sound. Lord Min Hee only sips at his cup before placing it back onto the table.

    Lord Arun playfully asks, ¡°Well, Hee, what is wrong?¡± With a closed set of eyes, his playful tone sounded as if he was both amazed and knowing of the problem concerning his friend''s heart.

    Lord Min Hee narrows his eyes in contemplation. However, before long, he stiffly says, ¡°I fail to understand what are you talking about?¡±

    Lord Arun snorts as he folds his arms over his chest and raises a disbelieving eyebrow. ¡°Really, you have no idea?¡± Lord Arun casually asked.

    Lord Min Hee fails to answer, only causing Lord Arun to sigh loudly in exasperation. ¡°Fine, allow me to be direct¡­., your youngest daughter¡­. If I did not know you better, I would dare say that you are displeased at her return,¡± Lord Arun softly said.

    Lord Min Hee glances at his friend before carefully replying, ¡°No, I am quite happy she has returned.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Lord Arun snorts under his breath with disbelief as he serves himself another cup. ¡°Fine, then, I won¡¯t interfere in the matter too much, but I suggest that you don¡¯t allow for things to slip out of your reach until it is too late to fix them,¡± Lord Arun warningly said.

    Lord Min Hee doesn¡¯t reply and merely serves his friend another cup of Sake.

    *

    Lord Min Hee guides Lord Arun and Lady Ono Drishti for a walk into the gardens leaving the wives alone. As soon as they leave, Ayako rises her feet and twists her red lips into a semblance of a warm smile. ¡°Good night, sisters,¡± Ayako mockingly said, before gliding out of the room.

    Ehuang sighs tiredly as she rubs her aching head. Nuo gently reaches over and pats Ehuang on the back. Ehuang turns and smiles tiredly at Nuo.

    Though tired, she still retains her dignity and grace as she rises to her feet. Nuo follows suit as they too follow in Ayako¡¯s wake. Ehuang and Nuo pause to admire the scenery as they return to their own quarters.

    Nuo breaks the silence first and says, ¡°Ehuang, what of the little one?¡±

    Ehuang sighs as if tired of the subject and wearily says, ¡°Ayako does not care either way, but Hee will not change his mind, Nuo.¡±

    Nuo opens her mouth to protest, but Ehuang quickly silences her by saying, ¡°Nuo, enough.¡±

    Nuo presses her lips together, not speaking out of turn. Zhuang sighs and softly says, ¡°Nuo, I am sorry, but that child-, is out of our hands.¡± In awkward silence, the pair of women continues to walk together until their paths separate the two and they each go their own way.

 * Chapter 9 - Training with the Family

    The following morning, Ame despite finally being fully recuperated from the injuries she had suffered during and after her abduction, and having studied all she can is holed up in her room. The manor servants are excited as they decorate and prepare the manor for the new year festival. Red lanterns can be seen hung from many corners of the manor brightening the eyes not just of the manor servant¡¯s children, but the adult as well. A red packet was always given every year and Master Min was far from being stingy and was a rather generous master.

    Thankfully, Ame was only forced to remain indoors for only one day. The Ono Family had only briefed stopped on their return trip home. The Ono clan would be having their own festivities and could not afford to be detained for more than one day. Safe in her room, Ame did not have to pretend to exchange pleasantries under the hateful eyes of Lord Hyeon.

    Ame was uncertain on the reason why such strong hatred could clearly be seen in Lord Hyeon¡¯s eyes. As far as she could recall, Lord Hyeon had never exchanged more than a dozen words with her. At the time of their engagement, he was only a babe, whilst she was three years old. But Sen was a male dominated society, it would not come as a surprise to her, that Lord Hyeon was insulted that his former useless fianc¨¦ was still alive, which was a direct insult to his noble status and pride.

    With light footsteps, she approaches Dara with a favor. Ame widens her eyes and puts on a cute face of awe as Morph and Kiro on her shoulders do the same. ¡°Dara, can I be allowed to do some simple training?¡± Ame sweetly said as she bats her eyelashes at him.

    Dara hesitantly looks at Ame but soon falters under the manipulative barrage of emotions. The gruff old man pauses for a moment and, hesitantly replies, "Unfortunately, my Lady, I am not permitted to train others in martial arts. In regards to training, my little Mistress, you must go train with the household instructors. Please allow this old man to lead you there."

    Ame happily complies as Morph and Kiro purr in contentment, and Sada follows worriedly behind. Given the state of Ame¡¯s previous malnourished and battered body, Ame understood Sada¡¯s concern. Tough the bruises had long since faded, but the scars on the heart from that traumatizing incident would never leave her body.

    They swiftly approach a large dojo type of building. Within the courtyard, a fierce battle is raging between two contestants whose movements cannot be performed by any normal humans of their respective age nor seen by the common eye. With a flourish, the combatant in blue robes kicks the combatant in black out of the ring.

    Dara, with a grin, approaches the observing instructor. The instructor turns and acknowledges the presence of Dara. Dara halts next to the instructor and introduces him. ¡°Little Mistress, this is Goro and he will be your instructor."

    Goro bows to Ame and says, "It is an honor to finally meet you, Lady Ame. There is nothing to worry about; I can assure you are in good hands."

    Dara waves goodbye as Ame is left behind in the tender clutches of Instructor Goro. Soft footsteps are heard as the combatants slowly approach them. Ame slightly pales upon recognizing the figures of her older siblings. With a resigned sigh, Ame removes Morph and Kiro from her shoulders and hands them back to Sada, who retreats a safe distance away.

    HuiFeng eyes Ame for a moment before turning way. However, Hong coldly assesses Ame for several moments before turning away and joining his sister. Instructor Goro pauses before the trio and begins to speak, ¡°Lady Ame, I am aware that you possess neither cultivation nor prior training. Please come stand next to me, and watch your elder brother and sister train their basics and exchange pointers."

    Ame automatically complies, coming to a halt next to Instructor Goro. HuiFeng and Hong enter the fighting ring and stand across from each other. Instructor Goro claps his hands for them to start their rematch. Although they were not trying to kill each other, their battle resembled practice matches between soldiers from Earth as they continued to exchange hit after hit against one another.

    For Ame to even see the stances and techniques, she had to concentrate as much as humanly possible to not miss the impossibly rapid movements. After all, HuiFeng was currently a Level 6 Mortal Realm cultivator, and Hong was not too far behind as a Level 4 Mortal Realm cultivator. To be honest, they were freakishly scary monsters to behold. She would surely die if she were to replace either of the two in combat. In fact, the only reason she can even understand the general flow of the fight was due to her ability to observe the rapid Qi circulation within their bodies.

    Her observations were getting more accurate and easier to comprehend as the two older siblings continued to fight. After a while, Goro would either stop the fight prematurely or would wait until one of the two would forfeit. Then, he would give out some pointers and have each self-train or recuperate before starting another rematch, and at the same time, he also had her siblings practice some basic movements or techniques which she paid ample attention towards even without him instructing her. She could only stare silently, immersed in her study and analysis of the Qi circulation and data coming from her siblings¡¯ training.

    After a while to Ame¡¯s fury, Instructor Goro firmly commanded the following, ¡°Now Lady Ame, please attempt to copy some of stances and practice them.¡± He certainly sounded professional and teacher-like, but Ame could detect that within the tone of indifference a trace of hidden malice was evident.

    Ame stares silently at Instructor Goro for a few moments, causing Instructor Goro to unconsciously take a step back. Without another word, Ame grudgingly trudges towards the fighting ring. All the while bitterly cursing Instructor Goro for making her spar with either of the freaks of nature.

    Instructor Goro coughs and loudly says, "Now which do ye wish to spar with, Lady Ame? Lord Hong or Lady HuiFeng?¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Ame¡¯s face twitches for a second or two, before Ame deeming herself able to calmly answer. ¡°Hong,¡± Ame quietly said. She wasn¡¯t some muscle-headed idiot. Of course, she would choose the lesser of two evils if she wants to make it out of this place alive.

    Ame positions her feet correctly and brings her guard up. After all, she was trained in the military and was forced to take the self-defense classes, sparring matches, and regular drill duty upon becoming a new researcher on base. Either because of her catching the eyes of the drill instructors or pissing them off, she was even forced participate in even more specialized drills, training, and close quarter martial arts classes.

    Though, if she had to say, as a member of womankind, she made the women on the base proud as she was no pushover even if she was outmatched. She even had a lot of fun and relaxation in Kyudo and sharpshooting classes. In other words, the only thing hindering her ability was her currently untrained body, and her best options right now were to minimize any more unnecessary damage and survive.

    Hong quickly lunges at Ame as she prepares her best to dodge. Hong¡¯s fist barely grazes her cheek as she manages to move her head and body to the side in time, but his other fist plants itself in her stomach. Nevertheless, she was still prepared. Ame quickly manages to use the force of his right punch to help jump backwards at the last second. She was thus able to quickly retreat and make some distance between them, but Ame still slipped fell to her knee while clutching her stomach. With a small pained gasp, she quickly pushes herself to her feet and centers herself back into her stance.

    Instructor Goro nods at Hong as Hong launches forward again. Ame merely does her best to alleviate the damage of each attack rather than dodging. In this way, if she lessened the impact, she would be fine. At the same time, she can slowly test her reactionary abilities and retrain her endurance, improving her defensive skills through fighting.

    Even more importantly build the crucial ingredient/weakness her body had stamina. She may not win every fight, but she should at least have the energy to run or take a beating¡­... especially for outlasting those who giving her beating.

    Then again, she also had to admit that if not for her new accelerated regeneration ability, she would be in a world of pain for some time now. Hong¡¯s attacks started off relatively weak at first but was quickly growing in speed and power over time. Even flames were starting to flicker from time to time. ¡®What the hell are they doing against a (supposedly) normal person?!¡¯ Ame couldn¡¯t help but wonder as she desperately created distance between her and Hong.

    Although she is conserving her energy and limiting herself from making too many excessive movements, Ame is sure that her body is already suffering some internal bleeding and broken bones from this match. These injuries would only get worse as time progresses in the match¡­ normally. Thankfully, her wounds were still healing rapidly enough to offset an immediate need for rest.

    In fact, while she can feel her pain lessing, she can also feel a small but comfortable heat rising from her stomach and spreading through her body. Her mind immediately connects it to her body working greatly to heal her, but Ame could feel more. The heat seemed to make her slightly more invigorated and made her injuries even more bearable.

    Despite feeling her exhaustion slowly growly, she kept her mind focused and felt as though she could keep on going. Although not actively thinking it at this time, she intuitively knew that she is growing stronger. This has also confirmed the need of physical training to temper her body and advancer her cultivation more quickly.

    Nevertheless, the main problem is the sparring match. Too much damage will only slow down her limited regeneration ability even if this healing process helps to temper her body. To make things worse, no matter what, she is still has a lower cultivation and experience as a cultivator than Hong.

    Hong soon restarts a new barrage of strikes as tiny flickers of flames appear from his assaulting hands occasionally. It was as though he had some vendetta against her, and although she is still fighting, she is doing so pathetically. Ame was being pushed and suffering from blow to blow. Blood was dripped from her lips, and creaking sounds could be heard from bones.

    Nonetheless, despite all of this, everyone could see the clarity of sharp eyes. Those eyes gave a threatening feeling as though they can see through everything or even treat all things indifferently. In fact, the truth was that Ame appeared more pitiful than she was with every hit, either she managed half of the blow or cause the blow to skim off her body. Her skills at dodging were becoming better as the match continued, she even managed to parry one or two strikes upon becoming use to the rhythm and movement patterns of her opponent.

    ¡°Hah¡­ hah hah hah ¡­¡± Ame tried to control her breathing after performing an ukemi roll the moment when she fell to the ground. Despite doing her best and not making too much movements, she still hasn¡¯t started any intense training yet.

    As Hong steps forward, he throws a palm with a ferocious and suppressive flame surrounding it. However, Ame chose to step forward this time and moved her back foot diagonally to the front to sidestep his attack. As she sidestepped, she initiated her counterattack and jabbed Hong in the face before quickly switching fists and sending a right hook into his temple. Her body ached and numbed from pushing herself and synchronizing her footwork with the turn of her hips.

    Hong couldn¡¯t defend or react in time and only felt disorientation in the next moment. He only felt the pain in the next instance as he staggered to the side, blood dripping from both his nose and the corner of her mouth. Both his vision and balance were still unsteadied. Despite this, before he could recover, he soon met a pair of fists once again as Ame gave him the old one-two with a great deal of her remaining strength.

    From her perspective, Ame already predicted and can roughly confirm that this world doesn¡¯t lack development in external martial arts. After all, it is natural for humans to take the easy way out, and no one would want to take the more painful and unsure route. Besides, who wouldn¡¯t want quick and easy results?

    Well, that¡¯s fine by her though. She has yet to cultivate a technique, but she does know old school boxing and various martial arts from Earth. And since, Hong is cheating by using his strength, thus, she has no problem in returning favors and was about to get a few more punches in. Hong¡¯s dizziness won¡¯t last forever after all.

    Instructor Goro claps his hands loudly at last, stopping the fight from continuing any further. Ame could only choose to stop and try catching her breath, while Hong held his head and tried to shake his dizziness away. Ame could only ponder the irony of stopping the fight only when she made a comeback. With a grimace, Hong and Ame bowed to each other and then Instructor Goro. Ame wordlessly hobbles past her brother and sister and heads towards Sada.

    Morph and Kiro dash off Sada¡¯s lap and sprint towards Ame. With a grunt, Ame bends down and grabs the two small kittens. Morph climbs up her arms and onto her shoulder, while Kiro stays curled up in her arm like a baby. Worriedly Morph licks the sweat on Ame¡¯s face, while Kiro licks the only spot he can reach her chin. Too tired to shove the fussy kittens off of her, Ame allows Morph and Kiro to lick her until they are satisfied.

    Ame limps back to her quarters to rest as Sada anxiously follows.

 * Chapter 9.2 - Honey Trap

    A hooded woman approaches the elegant, thin man staring out of his window into the blazing blizzard. Though the blizzard is blazing, not a single snowflake enters the room nor does the wind dare enter. The woman¡¯s breath can be seen from the cold as she enters the room and kneels to Lord Jin Sin.

    =Lord Jin Sin, Lord of the City of Chiseong, finally turns and acknowledges the woman¡¯s presence. His bearing continued to emanate an aloof but domineering ambiance. He studies the woman for a moment before flatly saying, ¡°Remove thy cloak.¡±

    The woman hesitates for a moment due to the cold but dares not disobey. A beautiful hand appears from the depths of the cloak and removes the dark cloak. With a soft rustle, the cloak falls to the ground as the scent of amber drifts into the air, subtly hinting at and igniting the desires for other more pleasurable pursuits. An amorous smile appears on the beautiful face that is revealed, displaying the fiery charm of a glamorous beauty.

    Lord Jin Sin¡¯s brows twitch at the scent, but he does not comment at the addictive yet intoxicating scent. He can certainly admit that her beauty is a fact. But he also knows how many men had been caught by that same sweet scent.

    The woman¡¯s burgundy flowing hair falls to her knees as the exquisite golden silk sari only draws more attention to her body. Her body is wonderfully curved in all the right places, enough for any man to drown themselves in her body. However, what truly draws men in is that face. With large warm honey colored eyes, smooth flawless skin and full rose kissed lips, lips that look sweet and demure, but are full of gratifying promises, that promise to fulfill every desire.

    Lord Jin Sin faintly smiles in approval at the woman¡¯s appearance.

    The woman coyly raises her gaze to his. ¡°Does my appearance please the Lord?¡± The woman sensually whispered as she rose to her feet and leaned in closer.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°If my Lord would like, I can even offer a taste,¡± the woman softly whispered into Lord Jin Sin¡¯s ear as she expertly pressed her body against his, allowing him to feel her softness against his.

    Lord Jin Sin extricated himself from the woman as he frowned at her tone. ¡°Xiu Ying,¡± Lord Jin warningly said. A Killing intent was evident in his voice.

    Xiu Ying sighed beautifully as she shook her head ruefully accompanied by a slow playful smile that appeared on her face. ¡°What a shame, but I suppose one can¡¯t account for taste,¡± Xiu Ying lamented out loud.

    Lord Jin Sin narrows his eyes slightly but does not raise to take the bait. ¡°Save me the theatrics, Xiu Ying. I have a request for thee,¡± Lord Jin Sin coldly stated.

    Xiu Ying helplessly flutters her eyelashes in a seemingly innocent manner at Lord Jin Sin. ¡°Yes, my Lord. And what exactly is this request, no, this play that you so badly want?¡± Xiu Ying curiously said as she hypnotically toyed with her hair in her hand.

    Lord Jin Sin slightly turned his gaze away from Xiu Ying. With the sound of the blizzard in the background, other sounds were gradually drowned out with increasing intensity. Even Lord Jin Sin¡¯s softly spoken words were drowned out.

    Xiu Ying¡¯s eyes widen with shock that is quickly followed by delight. Her lips part as she muskily says, ¡°Mm, Lord Jin Sin, if I did not know any better, I would say you¡¯re in love with me. After all, gifting me such a gift makes my heart beat faster.¡±

    Lord Jin Sin turns his back on Xiu Ying as he returns to gaze at the wintery scenery below. ¡°Xiu Ying.¡± Although only aloofly saying her name, his intentions were clear to the other party. It was obvious that he wanted to remind and warn her to keep her mind on her task.

    Xiu Ying for once does not reply and merely nods her head in assessment. She glides across the room and delicately covers herself in the fallen cloak. While doing so, Xiu Ying with her back turned away softly says, ¡°As my Lord commands,¡± a musical giggle is heard as a bated breath adds, ¡°I¡¯ll be preparing for you.¡± She then enchantingly exits with both alluring and light steps.

    Lord Jin Sin shivers slightly as the scent of Amber that remains in the room. For a moment, Lord Jin Sin closes his eyes and inhales the deeply sweet scent. With a quiet sigh, Lord Jin turns around and flees the room that is full of intoxicating promises.

 * Chapter 10 - Misunderstandings

    Luck or not, Ame did not show up for training the next day as a fierce blizzard began a few hours before midnight. Many trees in the surrounding area froze from the intense cold and cracked under the weight of the snow. Now, the grounds and roads were filled with fallen trees, and a few buildings suffered damage as well. However, this was only a minor inconvenience for her household apparently. They were already quickly repairing and cleaning up the more important areas of the mansion, and the combat training wasn¡¯t delayed for long.

    Upon their return the next day, Instructor Goro pairs Ame with Hong again. Without a second to spare, Hong immediately begins to attack. He was still sore about what happened last time. In response, Ame simply steps her front foot to the back to make his fist narrowly miss connecting with a painful crunch on her nose. She wasn¡¯t so foolish as to not practice her visualization training and basic footwork during her free time yesterday.

    Regardless, Hong didn¡¯t pause from bewilderment or shock but instead immediately follows up with a low kick from the ground. Ame attempts to dart away but fails in doing so as she painfully slams onto the ground. She never expected for him to perform sweep so suddenly and didn¡¯t react in time, but as she fell and gasped from the impact, she still noticed the incoming ax kick from above. In her shock, she hastily rolled away to the side as the ax kick comes down her way. At the same time, she attempted a sweep of her own and failed. However, this was truthfully a feint so that she could enter a half-kneeling stance from Jiujitsu.

    The hours of rounds after rounds go by slowly and in a fit of pity, Instructor Goro finally stepped in and halted the match. "That''s enough for today,¡± Instructor Goro calmly said before turning away and returning to his quarters.

    Ame prepares to do the same as she wipes the sweat from her face and limped back to the bundled-up figure of Sada. For a woman wearing three fur coats and a blanket, Sada still managed to retain an air of beauty. Nevertheless, this was just one of the mysteries Ame had given up on solving.

    Still a bit out of breath, Ame tiredly seats herself on a bench. She knows that Sada was worried about her, but she was still happy about these two matches. After all, because of the pushing herself before, she managed to fully consolidate her basic foundations yesterday and even made a breakthrough. Now, both her regeneration ability and semi-passive cultivation were successfully established without much problem

    As long as she continues to train, she will benefit, but she will have to postpone most of her intense physical training plans until later. Her initial plan was to go all out into her secret training, but since the day of the first match with Hong, she had repeatedly felt unseen eyes observing her. She initially thought it might be her imagination until Morph and Kiro commented on that as well.

    Morph and Kiro happily meow at Ame from their warm seat in Sada¡¯s lap, not even trying to move and greet her. Ame smiles darkly at them but does not make a move to discipline the kittens.

    Soft crunching footsteps in the snow alert Ame of a presence. Curious at the source, Ame turns around to face the person approaching her. The figure of Hong slowly walking towards her comes in her view, and HuiFeng can be seen standing by the corner of the dojo and not so subtly peeking/staring from her side.

    Hong comes to a halt a short distance away from Ame. Ame carefully studies Hong for signs of movement, but nothing indicates such actions. He fidgets for a moment or two, causing a slight awkward atmosphere for both of them.

    After a while, Hong¡¯s brows furrowed and stared sternly into Ame¡¯s eyes. ¡°You, how have you adjusted to the life of the Min Household?¡±

    Ame brought her hands into a martial art salute before Hong. ¡°Thank you, Elder Brother Hong, for your concern. I am adjusting just fine and will soon be back in good condition.¡±

    Seeing her action, Hong quickly returned the salute, but upon hearing her statement, his brows subtly twitched as he read the hidden meaning in her words. Ame could see how his face seemed to be slightly angrier despite his normally stern expression. However, only silence remained for a brief moment as they stared at one another.

    Then, Hong bowed to Ame. ¡°........I apologize for my actions.¡±

    Ame slowly nods her head in bemusement and says, ¡°Very well, you are forgiven.¡± It wasn¡¯t the most perfect bow. He also seemed stubborn about it, but she could tell that at least some sincerity exists in his apology.

    Hong sighs with relief, but while they weren¡¯t paying too much attention, the figure of HuiFeng was already beside Hong. At the same time, she seemed ill mood as well and suddenly stared pointedly at her brother. Hong consequently flinched and slipped, falling painfully into the snow as he slides for a second or two.

    Ame stares in shock at her elder siblings before she quickly regained her calm. ¡®I wonder what these two are trying to do¡­¡¯

    HuiFeng sighs loudly before bowing to Ame. ¡°I apologize for my younger brother¡¯s indecorum actions,¡± HuiFeng sincerely said.

    Not knowing what to make of the situation, Ame mutely nods in acceptance. It is not like she minds or even could mind. After all, she has no standing in this household and can only respond carefully to whatever actions the other family members are about to do.

    HuiFeng studies the apprehensive figure of Ame before sighing to herself. She then gently smiles at Ame and says, ¡°Ame, I-. we wish to welcome you back. I know it has been many years since your disappearance, and we certainly don¡¯t know each other much very well yet. However, as a token of goodwill, our- we will like to invite you for a meal.¡±

    Ame nods in understanding as clarity enters her mind. ¡®Judging from her words, they are just a proxy. It seems the first wife wishes to meet me.¡¯ She thought while feeling her body stiffen a bit in worry. Her memories mostly matched HuiFeng¡¯s words, but this just made her warier of them. After all, their mother definitely desires something from her if she is trying to meet her in such a rushed yet roundabout manner.

    Ame, not wishing to enter conflict for the time being, nodded in acceptance of HuiFeng¡¯s words. A sweet smile appeared on HuiFeng¡¯s visage, lovely enough to threaten even Sada¡¯s charm within few years.

    Hong, finally tired of staying on the ground, had risen and dusted himself off. He then warily approached HuiFeng and sighed faintly in response to weak kick on the side of his leg. ¡°I think tonight would be a good time to go.¡± He says as he quickly turns and begins walking.

    Ame nods in acceptance, understanding that he wished to lead her to their quarters for their little discussion. HuiFeng narrows her eyes at her brother but chose to ignore his attitude and walks beside him. After walking forward, a bit, for some reason, Hong stopped briefly and looked back to stare at Ame before turning back.

    However, before completely turning, Ame is frozen at the sight. She managed to see a small and childish yet also charming smirk appear on his face before swiftly disappearing. It was likely a smile of self-satisfaction rather than a smile towards her. Even so, Ame, still stunned, makes a note to herself to avoid that smile, because even she lost her breath for a brief moment.

    ¡®Seriously? How can the good looks genes in this family be so powerful? She could only think of this line while feeling shocked. Although everyone is still young, her siblings will no doubt become very popular in the future.

    HuiFeng turned to face Ame and gives a smiling expression. ¡°Younger sister, I hope that you will accept our offer. I ensure you that we will not disappoint you.¡±

    Ame mutely nods, causing HuiFeng to smilingly rejoice. Her elder sister seemed to be secretly impatient. Although they are trying to seem relaxed and friendly, their approach felt a bit too forced and rushed. Her elder sibling either aren¡¯t very good at deception or think she is too gullible.

    Ame sighs and turns towards Sada, who doesn¡¯t seem surprised. Sada beams joyfully at Ame. ¡°My Lady, please be at ease. I am certain that the Heavens will favor you and shall wait upon your return,¡± She cheerfully said.

    Ame didn¡¯t respond and winced as she arose from the bench. She silently set forth for her quarters to clean up and make herself presentable while listening to Sada gaily chatting about the event.

    Before leaving for dinner visit, Ame had made certain that Morph remained behind with Sada. Per what she had been told, her siblings possessed Spirit Beings. However, they were currently not at the manor and were either resting or training. Even so, she doesn¡¯t know too about their Spirit Guardians, and they could arrive at any time.

    It had been with great relief when she found out that Morph and Kiro could already sense for other spirit guardians and was told that there were none currently in the household. Although she heard about Min Hee¡¯s snake spirit (named Lau) and wondered about her mothers¡¯ spirit guardians too, it is not like she can know everything so soon. It is mainly due to Morph and Kiro¡¯s appearances and their abilities as Luck Spirits that she can even find out this much without being discovered.

    Sighing with some trepidation, Ame set off to the court of Ehuang, the first wife. She passed by several wings before reaching an exquisitely decorated house wing. Along the way, she also noticed an increasing number of servants and guards as compared to activity of her own residence. While Ame removed her shoes and coat, a maid placed slippers before to enter the quarter.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    Ame quickly slipped into the new slippers as she shivered in the cold. Two male house servants then slid the door open, and she finally able to study the room which was primarily decorated in a tasteful mix of Korean and Japanese decorations.

    Her attention is quickly enamored by the traditional yet aesthetic scene. A beautiful dark-haired woman sits in a burgundy hanbok and lilac kimono overcoat, gracefully pouring tea with a homely and peaceful ambience. At her side was a younger-looking woman wearing both a traditional indigo Indian dress without a sari and an embroidered, mint-colored shawl draped around her head and over her shoulders.

    Ame immediately halted her steps and squinted her eyes a bit in shock. ¡®Nuo? Wh-To think both the First Wife and Third Wife would be present¡­.¡¯ Her thoughts moved quickly.

    Although it was a bit surprisingly, she also could say it was completely unexpected. She already knew that the dinner was just a front. Instead of worrying about it, Ame searches for HuiFeng and Hong, but it would appear they have yet to arrive. The twins are not present either as she searches for their nursemaids.

    Upon finding she is being stared at, Ame bows and politely says, ¡°Greetings Honored Mothers, how good it is to see you again so soon.¡±

    Ehuang paused for a moment at Ame¡¯s words, but as befitting of a noble lady, she smiles gently and elegantly beckons her to join her at her side. Ame slowly moves, trying not to mind her injuries or limp noticeably. She seats herself to the right of Ehuang. Upon sitting down, the scent of lilac (from Ehuang) wafts into her nose. Ame focuses her gaze at the Turkish rug beneath them to keep herself from wrinkling her nose at the flowery scent.

    However, as she settled in her seat, a discomforting silence then ensues. She waited patiently for the hosts to strike up a conversation or for HuiFeng and Hong to arrive. After all, it is not like they knew each other intimately, and it was best to avoid causing troubles. Ame just wanted to first see what was the purpose of the recent invitation. The silence is disturbed by the skirt rustle of a house maid who enters carrying a tray. The house maid kneels silently onto the floor and carefully bares sweet buns along with an additional tea cup and china plate. The housemaid smoothly pours tea for Ame and exchanges the previous teapot with the warm china pot. After doing so, she places sweet buns on Ame¡¯s plate before soundlessly darting away.

    As soon as the maid is gone, Ame was a bit disappointed while looking at the dish. She was hoping for a real dinner meal, but upon hearing her stomach rumble loudly, she decides to take a sweet bun for now and have Sada prepare a light meal afterwards. Ehuang impishly smiles at her actions as she hides her grin gracefully behind her kimono overcoat sleeve. Nuo doesn¡¯t even bother to hide her grin as she mischievously smiles back at Ame.

    Ame decides to ignore the pair as she enjoys the delicious taste of the sweet red bean bun. She keeps her expression stiffened and her mouth tightly shut the entire time to keep herself from letting out a moan of pleasure. Without a doubt, food was life.

    Ehuang opens her pink lips as a melodious voice emerges, ¡°How are you, little one? Is everything to your satisfaction?¡±

    Ame finishes swallowing and carefully replies, ¡°I am quite content, Eh-Mother.¡±

    Ehuang smiles faintly as Nuo glares unhappily at Ehuang before darting around her. With twinkling eyes, Nuo joyfully pulls the startled Ame into her embrace. Ame stiffens for a moment but relaxes a bit upon realizing there is no maliciousness to her actions.

    Ame numbly allows Nuo, the second wife, to do as she wishes. That is until the jasmine perfume begins to clog her throat causing her to choke. Seeing the bad expression and still figure of Ame, Ehuang at last intervened.

    ¡°Nuo, let the child eat. She is still hungry,¡± Ehuang pleasantly said.

    ¡°Ah.¡± Nuo looks down at Ame and suddenly realizes the stiffness and bad expression the child has. Becoming aware of her actions, she sighs but nods before releasing the grasped child from her arms. ¡°Sorry, little Ame.¡± Her expression was both apologetic and awkward.

    However, Ame didn¡¯t mind much. She was just glad that she could finally have some room to now breathe. Before returning to her seat, Nuo gently places a small peck upon Ame¡¯s forehead.

    Ame merely gazes at Ehuang in wordlessly thanks. Ehuang, smiling with poise, graciously places a few more sweet buns on Ame¡¯s plate. As everything began to quiet down once more, the only sound that can be heard is the soft chewing of Ame as both Ehuang and Nuo continue to study her.

    After some time, Ehuang hesitantly opens her mouth to speak, ¡°I do not wish nor like speaking ill of others. However, my sister, Ayako, your mother, little Ame, is not always a very kind woman.¡±

    Upon noticing no visible reaction on Ame¡¯s face, Ehuang hastily continued, ¡°Please do not confuse my words, little Ame. Your mother, though a former courtesan, is incredibly brilliant and cunning; her brilliance has many times aided our husband in his endeavors. Although not all her methods are agreeable, they are certainly helpful. She can be considered as a proper wife of the Min Household as she has assisted the family and support her clan in various ways. She has-¡±

    Ehuang suddenly stops her words as she notices the expressionless face on Ame. Staring into her eyes, it felt as though the child¡¯s gaze was piercing her and becoming more pointed. Even Nuo stiffened somewhat in response.

    ¡°.... Cough, cough, I shouldn¡¯t drivel on. I will just say this: Little Ame, in the future, tread carefully around your mother, Ayako. The phrase ¡®a poisonous snake lying in wait¡¯ is very applicable description to our sister, Ayako. She hides her poisonous fan-."

    ¡°I see.¡± Ehuang couldn¡¯t finish her warning, disrupted from the soft yet clear muttering from Ame. Both Nuo and her looked at the child, but subconsciously, they could only feel discomforted by the stoic expression on Ame.

    ¡°......Am I to understand that you wish for me to stay away from my biological mother? Or is there another meaning to calling me here to meet the both of you?¡± Although the question was asked in a serene voice, the meaning behind her words were clear.

    After all, it is not normal to ask for a child to stay away from their mother. Furthermore, voicing the second question implied that she was called here and didn¡¯t come here out of a close relationship. In other words, they hardly know each other, but they are already trying to force her to do something without considering her circumstances or her desires.

    If it was a normal child, they would probably get angry or defend their mother due to their words. At the very least, they would refute them. Ame¡¯s two questions reminded both mothers, and it also indicated that Ame was not as foolish as her age would belies. This caused both parents to feel a mix of relief and panic in response, creating another brief silence while waiting to see the child¡¯s reaction.

    However, despite their worries, Ame simply takes a sip of her tea and doesn¡¯t react, much to Ehuang¡¯s surprise. After a moment, Ame swallows and then shows a faint yet enchanting smile to Ehuang. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Of course, Mother, no doubt you are right,¡± Ame steadily said.

    Hearing her words, a conflicted expression appeared on Ehuang¡¯s face. She could only sigh before relaxing and bringing up a smile of her own. ¡°As long as you understand.¡± She says before grabbing the teapot.

    ¡°Now, let us not dwell on the boorish topic for now. We should instead enjoy this specially brewed Jasmine tea and snacks.¡± She then serves tea into the empty tea cups, while Nuo carefully continues to study Ame.

    A look of understanding passes through Nuo¡¯s eyes, but she does not mention her thoughts to Ehuang. Although things didn¡¯t go as smoothly as they had hoped, the result wasn¡¯t exactly unexpected. Since Ame wasn¡¯t involved in the matters of the clan, all they could do to not trouble the child is maintain their silence and not show too much interest in the child.

    Ame closes her eyes and ponders Ehuang¡¯s words carefully as she chews. Though Ayako may very well be all sorts of things, at least she was honest about her feelings. Ehuang, for being such a lovely woman, hid quite a poisonous heart herself. If she truly was sincere towards Ame, then why had she waited so long to meet her? Or better yet, why did she bring up conflict between wives and mention it to a child?

    A part of Ame was saddened unexpectedly by the revelation. After all, the child in her remembered and still believed her mothers were beyond reproach, but Ame can also console herself with the fact that her impression of that man was not in the wrong.

    The door suddenly slams open, interrupting the silence as HuiFeng enters and is followed closely behind by Hong. HuiFeng and Hong politely bow their heads and courteously say, "It''s a pleasure to see you again, our most beautiful and gracious mothers.¡±

    The pair then seat themselves next to Nuo as Ehuang motions for the maids to begin bringing in the real food. The maids quickly do so, bringing out that which resembles Peking duck and other meat/vegetable dishes with bowls of rice.

    Seeing the hunger emanating from both Ame and Hong¡¯s eyes, Ehuang eagerly motions to begin eating. Ame could help but to be pleasantly surprised that the hosts really did prepare proper food for her, and she was ready to dig in. Of course, though hungry, Ame didn¡¯t forget her etiquette and made sure to control herself and only eat a moderate amount of food. With almost tears in her eyes, Ame enjoys every single morsel of food on her plate.

    The sound of Ehuang, Nuo, HuiFeng and Hong¡¯s voices fill the air as they chat about various subjects. Ame only ate quietly and secretly paid attentions to the details of each person¡¯s discussions. Even so, everything was much more harmonious than before, and it was almost like the earlier tense atmosphere and dialogue never happened.

    After some time, Ame lets out a sigh of contentment as she finishes eating. The maids then begin to clear the table and place a new round of plates of small sweets on the table to clear the pallet. Ame takes a small green sweet and chews on it.

    Even these new sweets were finely made. After the meal, she glances at the dark winter sky and rises to her feet. Performing decent bow, Ame says, ¡°Thank you for invitation, but I am afraid that I must now take my leave. My caretaker will also be worried about now."

    Nuo smiles warmly at Ame, and Ehuang graciously says, "No. it was our pleasure to finally meet you, little one.¡±

    Ehuang pauses for a second. Then, she turns to her children and says, "HuiFeng and Hong, accompany your younger sister back to her quarters?"

    Before HuiFeng can gracefully rise to her feet or the reluctant Hong is forced to do so, Ame politely declines. ¡°Thank you, mothers, for your thoughtful sincerity. However, I am tired, and I sure that HuiFeng and Hong also wish to spend their remaining time with you.¡±

    Ehuang graciously nods and accepts Ame¡¯s request as Hong remains sitting with ill-concealed relief. HuiFeng doesn¡¯t react beyond a nod, On the other hand, Nuo is the only to let out a small sigh. With the aid of maids, Ame puts on her walking shoes and coat before venturing into the cold winter night. Despite sore muscles and her healing injuries, Ame quickly hurries away to her quarters to get out of the cold.

    *

    Ame opens her eyes in the dark as she stretches after having meditated. Morph yawns sleepily, while Kiro rubs his sleepy face, before climbing onto Ame¡¯s shoulder. Ame silently slips out of the bed and heads to the designated meeting area, the bathroom.

    She then softly closes the door behind her, before sitting down in the bathtub. The kittens wash their furry faces awake, before jumping down Ame¡¯s shoulder and onto her knees.

    Ame quietly waits until they settle down before asking, ¡°Report?¡±

    They both softly chime out, ¡°Ayako is the key.¡±

    Ame frowns as she ponders the situation. ¡°All right, see if you can¡¯t learn anything more,¡± She firmly said.

    Morph tiredly nods in response with Kiro already curled up sound asleep in her lap. Morph swiftly joins his brother leaving Ame to continue her train of thoughts whilst she meditates.

 * Chapter 10.2 â€“ Reservations

    The panel door is gently closed by a maid keeping the cold winter¡¯s night away. The children had long since departed, but still, the two familiar figures of those two women could still be seen. Nuo nervously watches the silent figure of Ehuang wordlessly swishing her tea in hand. The tea had long since gone cold, but Ehuang did not stop, keeping her gaze firmly fixed on the green turbulent waters.

    The green tea suddenly comes to a halt almost spilling over the rim. Ehuang serenely places the teacup onto the table and says, ¡°It¡¯s fine, Nuo. There is no need to worry that anything will suddenly change. The child will naturally be wary after all this time, but it is common given what the poor thing has gone through. Still-, we should remain vigilant lest anything change.¡±

    Nuo hesitates for a second before agreeing, ¡°Yes, there is wisdom in that, but can I-, we truly do not?¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Ehuang unapologetically rises to her feet leaving Nuo still sitting on the ground. ¡°Nuo, we have already discussed this. There is no point in fighting a losing battle. Neither, you and I can change the decision that has been made. You should know that better than anyone,¡± Ehuang softly spoke over her shoulder, before signaling for the maid to open the doors and escort her guest out. Ehuang disappears further into her quarters leaving a rather sorry still figure.

    The maid patiently waits for Nuo to rise on her own and departing least she invokes the wrath of one of the manor¡¯s madam¡¯s. The maid gracefully escorts Nuo out of the quarters, before returning to gather the items off the table. With a grumble, the maid hastily, but carefully gathers the dishes on the table.

    It was late and would have been in bed if not for the madams. Nonetheless, it was an honor to serve them and even more so given the events of today. Perking up with gossip, the maid hurriedly finishes her task, before departing into the night. It wouldn¡¯t take very long her the gossip of the youngest miss dining with madams to reach every corner of the house.

 * Chapter 11 â€“ New Year Formalities

    Ame¡¯s peaceful meditation was broken in the early morning hours. The sun had yet to rise over the horizon when loud bellowing could be heard on the grounds. Although trying to ignore the sounds, Ame failed to do so as the clamor grew louder and louder.

    ¡°Wha-!¡± Growling in agitation, Ame opened and walked out of the door of one of the empty rooms with furious steps. However, before she even asks about the ruckus from the servants, she walked straight into soft mounds. Just by the feel of the softness on her face, she instantly knew whose familiar chest this was. Ame retracts her face as the chest almost engulfs her again because of the owner eagerly taking a step forward. Narrowly missing being smooshed again, she glances up at Sada.

    With an excited smile, Sada proclaims joyous news, ¡°My lady, hurry and get dressed! The veneration ceremony for the ancestors will begin before the celebration of the New Year.¡± Sada effortlessly drags Ame away and dresses the sullen figure.

    Ame could only wonder why she never heard about this ceremony beforehand. However, Morph and Kiro sigh with relief in the knowledge that they do not have to attend. With tails curling in the air, they crawl under the bed and hide just to hide from Sada.

    The Manor servants are running around finishing preparations for tonight¡¯s celebration. Ame watches all this with dim eyes as she follows Sada towards Lord Min Hee¡¯s quarters. The rest of the family is assembled, except for Ame and the twins. With some relief, Ame finds she is not the last. Taking a cue from the seated figures of HuiFeng and Hong, Ame seats herself directly beside Hong. Hong¡¯s eyes flicker for a moment, but he doesn¡¯t move nor comment on her choice of seating arrangement.

    Ame raises her eyes before her to study a bald monk in bright red orange robes. The thin man hums a sutra to himself patiently without embarrassment. Two pretty nursemaids carry the three year olds forward and sit themselves to the side of Ame with the twins in their laps. The twins remain silent and still except for the occasional curious glances sent towards Ame.

    Seeing that all the members of the Min Household are present, the monk begins to chant Buddhist sutras in the intently incensed air. Ame¡¯s nose twitches, but she holds herself back from covering her nose. Not only would her actions be rude, but it would be considered highly disgraceful. Not only would Ame be heavily be reprimanded but so would Sada for failing to teach Ame properly. Despite the itch in her nose, she remains still as her legs grow numb over the passing of time. Clenching her teeth, she wiggles her toes slightly to keep the blood flowing in her legs. With relief, the monk ceases his chants as the members rise to their feet.

    Ame struggles for a moment, but to her surprise, a helping hand pulls her up. She glances to the side and is surprised to find the owner is Hong. It would seem that at least superficially, there was sincerity in the formalities to act cordially towards each other. Hong only holds her for a second more before swiftly letting go. She nods her thanks as she painfully follows until the blood returns to her legs.

    Min Hee and the monk lead the way to a small temple on the manor grounds. The monk leads the way inside to where stone tablets hold thousands of engraved names. The monk steps to the side as Min Hee turns and says, ¡°Honor the ancestors, and thank them for the year¡¯s blessings.¡±

    He then turns and bows with the rest fellowing sincerely. Soon, everyone closed their eyes and gave prayers to the ancestors. Ame reflexively does so as well, although she only gave a simple ¡°rest in peace¡± prayer before reopening her eyes. She patiently waits until Min Hee rises and starts rising with the rest. Min Hee lights an incense for the ancestor with one last final bow before retreating. They all copy his actions in a single file one at a time.

    Finally, the monk nods with satisfaction and says, ¡°It will be a good year.¡± Satisfied, Min Hee nods back and leads the monk out before wishing him thanks. Afterwards, the family proceeded back to his quarters to begin the first day of the New Year Feast. The servants anxiously finish setting the table just in time for their lord to return.

    Ame¡¯s eyes widen at the feast before her eyes. She reflexively swallows at the outrageously gorgeous meals that she has yet to see in this house and instantly chooses what to pile her dish with. With unusual joy, she seats herself at the table and waits for Min Hee to begin to eat. Of course, that didn¡¯t take long for him. With care, he carefully selects honeyed mystical duck and elegantly places it onto his plate.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Ame almost lunges herself forward but remembers herself. With glee and great care, she piles her plate as high as she can with food until every corner of her plate is full and almost spilling over. Satisfied, she begins to eat while under the watchful gaze.

    Nonetheless, she at least ate with her manners, and it is not like she can help herself. She painfully came to realize that her cultivation method seems to demand for lots of nutrients whenever possible. As such, she could ignore everyone¡¯s awestruck expressions, including those from HuiFeng and Hong. The twins don¡¯t even try to hide their amazement at seeing the amount of food on Ame¡¯s plate.

    With a snort, Hong starts to elegantly pile up his plate, but as though not secretly not wanting to lose, Ame notices that it was twice as much as food on his plates than their last family dinner. Eating was not a contest but life. You have to eat to live, and once you enjoy the true luxuries of food, it is hard to go back¡­¡­ Then again, such logic is kinda undermined by the path of cultivation, but she won¡¯t really have to worry about that until she reach the [Spirit] realm.

    Ignoring Hong¡¯s purposeful movements, Ame eats rapidly and enjoys every bite. Of course, she is still keeping her manners in check despite her rapid consumption of food.With the amount of food she was eating, you will think that she will be the last to finish, but Ame surprisingly manages to be the fourth to finish. She even manages to finish a third round of plates before stopping.

    Hong eyes her warily, while HuiFeng rolls her eyes in exasperation. The twins¡¯ eyes are as wide as saucers by the time they saw her eat a second round. With slight dismay at any future stomach problems or whether she left a bad impression onto her parents, Ame tries to stay calm while leaning back with her swelling stomach. Hong openly eyes her with a confused expression, seemingly trying to figure out how such a small female body managed to eat so much.

    When everyone finished, Min Hee leads the family outside to watch the fireworks as red packets are passed out to the eager manor servants. Luckily, it seemed that everyone glossed over her eating frenzy as something childish, and Nuo even had a servant retrieve a pill that should help with future stomach problems.

    For now, they walked among the New Year''s Festival celebrations and enjoyed the festivities in the surroundings. After enough time, the family walked onto high grounds near a old tree. The booming sounds of fireworks soon fill the sky as Ame watches in fascination. At the same time, her siblings and she awaits to receive their red envelope each. She is handed a small envelope with a bit of gold coins, but after eyeing HuiFeng and the rest of her siblings¡¯ gift money, she notices the large disparity.

    Shrugging her shoulders, she stuffs the envelope into her coat pocket and continues watching the fireworks. However, as she loses herself in the brilliant light shown, two tugs cause her to glance at her waist. The twins each hold out one gold coin to give her.

    Startled at the sight, Ame stares for a moment and then glances around until she finds Nuo. Nuo smiles shyly and nods in approval. Moving her eyes back to the twins, Ame receives the coins with a stoic expression. She solemnly says, ¡°Thank you, Dai and Cho.¡±

    The twins smile sweetly up at her, causing Ame¡¯s lips to twitch before giving them a rare genuine smile. Then, Ame walked beneath the tree and sat to watch the fireworks, and following behind her, the twins sat near her and chattered as they pointed to the colorful lights. ¡®Well, I guess this isn¡¯t bad occasionally,¡¯ She thought. They remain standing there in the cold, but despite the cold, Ame feels quite warm.

    As the night ended, the nursemaids finally grab the sleeping twins who were faintly protesting. Ame watched them silently as she broke out of her absentminded reverie and was beginning to get up herself.

    ¡®Time sure flies, huh?¡¯ She thought rhetorically, everyone was already walking back towards the mansion to call it a day. Meanwhile, Nuo moves over to her children to give them a kiss goodnight, and the rest of the family says their goodnights as well. Of course, during this time, they fail to notice the figure of Ame slip silently away and return to her quarters.

    After returning, Sada changed her into her sleeping wear in preparation for her the night, but instead of allowing her to continue serving herself, Ame ordered Sada to continue celebrating with the other servants. She also gave a coin of her own to Sada before allowing her to leave.

    Morph and Kiro were already snoozing on the bed with full bellies and crumbs on their mouths. Ame smiles and climbs into bed with them. With a yawn, she closes her eyes and remembers those two small pairs of eyes before falling asleep.

    In that night, she dreamt about various memories and fun times, but it wasn¡¯t from her time as Ame. She dreamt of her sweet and fun times from her past life. She reminisced about her friends and family. They were truly bittersweet yet beautiful dreams¡­...

 * Chapter 11.2 â€“ Rice balls

    Snow continued to gently fall from the calm but cloudy skies, bleaching the world into a freezing white. The days have passed and landed on the 9th day of celebration for the New Year¡¯s Festival. Over the past few days and despite the winter cold, Ame persistently argued against both Sada and Dara¡¯s warnings and went on trips to visit the festival.

    It was already too rare to leave the house before, but Ame had planned to use the festival to slowly establish more trust and freedom. Besides, it would be too foolish to not get a better familiarity in her own town or miss out on some New Year¡¯s fun.

    After enough ¡°tears¡± and pleading though, Ame managed to convince Sada that she¡¯ll be alright to visit the Festival. She was then able to get permission to enjoy the celebrations from the second day onwards. However, it seems that she only allowed to go if she had Dara and a few guards to accompany her.

    Ame could only begrudgingly agree. Nonetheless, she made sure to enjoy as much as possible and try to enjoy the games and food of the various stall. She did felt a little bad though due to how nervous Dara and her presence made many of the stall and store owner¡­. It got especially bad (and very funny) a few times because of how some didn¡¯t have enough change for one gold coin. I had to tell them not to mind sometimes but eventually just let Dara handled it.

    Of course, other times, Dara became the problem due to him releasing a weird pressure when cheering me on in games. However, because of how embarrassing it was, Ame just decided to not mind it. You lose if you mind.

    Besides, her gaming skills was decent either way¡­¡­ cough cough, even if she has to use a ¡°bit of luck from her pet cats¡± to win a few prizes. As her previous father always said, if you don¡¯t have luck, then make it.

    As the days gone by, she had eventually received an invitation to another drink of tea party hosted by Ehuang and Nuo. Although she can¡¯t trust them yet, it is not like she hates them very much. At the least, they are better than her own mother who has yet to even try meeting her outside of formal occasions.

    Watching the snow falling as she reminisced, Ame sighed from her thoughts. She could also hear laughter continuing to resound in the courtyard of the third wife Nuo during this whole time. Ame silently watched as the twin kids immersed in their fun with the snow.

    After some time, the nursemaids gently grab Dai and Cho before carrying them into the corridor. The scene of an excited Sada flashes through Ame¡¯s head as she recalls how the maid cheerfully closed the door and pranced over to Ame after being invited to tea again. With beaming eyes, Sada chirped, ¡°Milady, what joyous news! Not only has milady¡¯s position risen, but Madame Nuo has surely become fonder of you! That is wonderful news for Milady!¡±

    Ame didn¡¯t answer at the time as she instead entered the bathroom upon her return from training. Sada has selected a white matching outfit for her, and with swiftness, Ame is soon dressed and heads out towards the tea peart early while being closely followed by Sada and two guards. One guard was female, the other was male, but both seemed to have resolute ambience characteristic of professionals or those with experience.

    Morph and Kiro on the other hand remain hiding in her room, out of the reach of the white fluffy monsters known as the twins. It seems that they were played with and treated a bit roughly when she was looking.

    Coming out of her reverie as she watched the twins continue trying to throw snowballs at each other, Ame stands up from the side of the corridor. She had been merely watching Dai and Cho play in the snow due to being too early for the meal at Ehuang¡¯s place. With a smile, Ame watches the nursemaids wipe off the snow on the twin¡¯s faces and hats and then give them a little bit of steaming (medicinal) soup to drink. Suddenly, an idea hits her, and she asks, ¡°Ah, Dai, Cho, why didn¡¯t you create any snow angels?¡±

    The twins stare at her blankly, causing Ame to frown and turn towards the bewildered nursemaids. The pink haired maid swiftly says, ¡°I am sorry, Third Mistress. May you please enlighten us.

    Ame brows furrow in perplexity. ¡®Did this world or this part of the world not know about them? Or was it natural for rich families to not know of such commoner games?¡¯ She silently wondered.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    However, not wasting more time on such a train of thoughts, she turns towards the twins and says, ¡°Shall I teach you how to make snow angels...uh, or monks?¡± Ame wasn¡¯t sure what to call them, but well, the name wouldn¡¯t matter too much.

    Dai instantly shouts, ¡°Yes, please!¡± With Cho chiming in, ¡°Please, Big Sister!¡±

    Seeing as the snow hadn¡¯t yet been cleaned from their courtyard, Ame lays down and begins to move her arms and legs sideways. Once done, she rises and says, ¡°See Snow Monks.¡±

    Dai and Cho eagerly lay down into the snow and do the same. With proud faces, they clumsily rise to their feet and stare at the snow monks (cough¡­. snow angels). Dai puffs out his chest and says, ¡°Mine¡¯s bigger.¡± Cho refusing to lose replies, ¡°Mine¡¯s stronger.¡±

    The twins then glare at each other until Ame begins rolling some snow. The twins swiftly watched and started copying her. Soon, Ame states, ¡°Let¡¯s make a snowman!¡±

    Ame leads the way by making a snowball into the bottom part of the body, and with the aid of Ame, they pile up more body parts to make their first snowman. She would have suggested a snowball fight, but her situation was precarious enough as it is. She did not care to imagine what would happen if a snowball should hurt either of them.

    After decorating and showing them how to fully make a snowman, she then let them excitedly trying to build their own snowman¡¯s and even compete by seeing who can build the bigger or coolest snowman. Tired and cold, the twins are eventually collected by their nursemaids after some time. Dai tiredly shouts, ¡°I¡¯m hungry!¡± However, Cho smiles shyly and says, ¡°Big Sister, share lunch with us?¡±

    Sada beams in silent reply, and Ame certain thought that it should be about time for the meal for which she was invited. Thus, she smiles faintly and replies, ¡°Certainly. Lead the way.¡±

    The nursemaids lead Ame and Sada to the inside of Ehuang¡¯s quarters where Ehuang and Nuo were noticeably seated, but the figures of Hong and HuiFeng are noticeably missing. Ame bows and greets her mother¡¯s before seating herself down.

    They politely chatter as the twins exclaim about making snow angels/monks and snowman¡¯s. Nuo and Ehuang smile at the twin¡¯s antics. Despite being so young, although relatively clumsily, the twins could carefully use their chopsticks and silverware to eat.

    Once done eating, Ame excuses herself, but before doing so, she turns towards the twins. ¡°Dai and Cho as well as Mothers Ehuang and Nuo, it has been an honor to have been graced with this pleasantry,¡± Ame sincerely said before rising and departing. The twins innocently wave goodbye to both Ame and Sada¡¯s departing figures. Once far enough out of earshot, Ame says without turning, ¡°Sada, you have yet to eat. Go and eat.¡±

    Sada opens her mouth to protest, but a look from Ame swiftly silences her. Sada could tell that she wasn¡¯t given a choice and clasped her hands before departing. Afterwards, Ame nonchalantly reaches her quarters, but a solemn atmosphere was present during the whole trip back. The guards sensed their young miss¡¯s bad mood and simply glanced at one another and at Ame before returning to their patrol.

    Once the door was closed, Ame swiftly heads to the bathroom and begins to throw everything up. A cold gleam is seen in her eyes as she washes her mouth and the filth down the sink.

    Morph and Kiro clearly heard the sounds emitted from the bathroom and stare at Ame with solemn eyes. After a moment, Morph says, ¡°Posion.¡± Ame silently nods, not trusting herself to speak without voicing her cold rage. Kiro¡¯s eyes darken with anger as he growls, ¡°How dare they!¡±

    ¡°Yes, well, they can easily dare given my position. But the question is who?¡± After rising her mouth out and breathing to calm her nerves, Ame crisply spoke as she sat down in a chair to think. At the same time, she closed her eyes to sense for any abnormalities.

    Morph ponders the thought for a while. ¡°Nuo is unlikely, but cannot be removed. I would lay the blame at the feet of either Ehuang or Ayako.¡±

    ¡°Discard Ayako. If she was to go for my throat, she wouldn¡¯t use such a weak poison.¡± Ame quietly said.

    ¡°But why would Ehuang do this?¡± Kiro softly asked.

    ¡°Ehuang has begun to regret accepting my presence and is afraid that my presence can be used by Ayako, so I can¡¯t exclude her involvement or knowledge¡­. However, the poison is too easily detectable¡± Ame crisply answered.

    Her brows quickly furrowed. ¡°This?¡± Then, Ame suddenly smirked as a small laugh escaped her lips. ¡°Maybe, we can find small fortune out of this calamity.¡±

    ¡®I am not exactly sure who is trying to poison me, but thanks to them, I finally recalled something so very basic. I can¡¯t wait for the next meal that my lovely mothers invite me to.¡¯ She thought. An eerie smile crept onto Ame¡¯s face, causing the fur on the back of her spirit guardians to stand on end.

    ¡°.... Then, are we to be wary of thy elder siblings?¡± Ignoring the scariness of their master right now, Kiro tried to proceed the topic and asked. Morph simply snorted at his brother¡¯s question. Kiro thus glares at his brother but waits for their master to answer.

    However, Ame doesn¡¯t speak, leaving them in unease. As she immersed into her cultivation, silence returned to the place, and so, Morph and Kiro went to lie back down to think about the precarious situation.

 * Chapter 11.3 â€“ Jaunt

    On the 12th day of the New Year¡¯s Festival, Ame was unsure of whether Ehuang was perchance regretting her mistake or ill ease at being caught, but when she prepared to visit and tour the city again, she was suddenly told by Dara that both HuiFeng and Hong wish to accompany her this time. She could only feel the presence of ulterior motives. Nevertheless, she perceived no immediate danger from them and decided to accept their company.

    Ehuang tried to protest, stating that HuiFeng and Hong could certainly take care of most issues on their own and that bodyguards weren¡¯t needed. However, Ame politely reminded her of lurking dangers, hinting towards the schemes that caused her to be kidnapped from her own home. Left with no other choice, Ehuang relented, but her actions inadvertently indicated how it may be dangerous moving around right now.

    ¡®I guess it wasn¡¯t just Dara being overly paranoid after all.¡¯ Ame thought. Remembering Dara¡¯s earlier reluctance in allowing her to continue touring the New Year¡¯s Festival, she could tell that things weren¡¯t the safest right now. Even sending her elder siblings seemed to be an attempt to relief Dara of his duties for a while, probably trying to make use of him as something other than her constant bodyguard.

    ¡®As I thought, Dara is more amazing than I thought. No simple bodyguard would be in charge of protecting the precious books. Plus, being able to fly is proof of him reaching the [Spirit] realm already.¡¯ Ame sighed in her silent affirmation.

    It was a warm winter day, and Ame lay fully dressed on her bed, staring blanking at the ceiling in boredom. Sada was with some maids in the courtyard as their soft chatter can be heard in the background. A cough is heard, causing Sada and the maids glance up. They instantly apologize in haste and bow to the figures.

    The gorgeous figure of HuiFeng stands before them and says, ¡°Is Ame ready?¡±

    Sada¡¯s face flushes in embarrassment. ¡°Lady Ame is just inside.¡±

    Before she can add more, Ame slides open the door and walks out. ¡°I¡¯m here. Elder sister, is it time to depart?¡±

    HuiFeng merely turns and leads the way to Hong who stands waiting further down the hallway. Ame motions for Sada and the maids to depart before quickly following. HuiFeng and Hong swiftly lead the way as Ame scans the area for Dara. To her relief, the elderly figure is waiting by the stable along with a few household guards.

    From what she could see, Ame notices that the stables were very busy with more activity than usual. Nonetheless, the stablemen rush to prepare a fleet of carriages for their departure to the festival. HuiFeng and Hong are the first to be seated and are given an expensive carriage.

    ¡®If there are dangers lurking around right now, shouldn¡¯t they act more low key?¡¯ Ame could only sigh while thinking so. As for her own carriage, she originally wanted a more worn down one, but due to Dara¡¯s persistence and her training as a lady of the Min household, she quickly gave up that notion.

    Instead, while not as glamorous and richly adorned as her elder sibling¡¯s carriage, she boards onto a more reserved and tranquil but beautiful carriage. Ame naturally climbs and takes the window seat, while Dara frowns and glares at the stablemen. The poor stablemen man trembles, like a leaf in the wind, until Ame motions for Dara to enter the carriage.

    The carriage door closes fatefully shut, causing Ame to pale slightly and mentally prepare herself. Other than allergies, there was one other fatal weakness within her: motion sickness. She has it less severe than her previous life, but she can¡¯t help but wonder how is it even possible for her to have motion sickness after being reincarnated¡­¡­ Life is unfair.

    The first carriage begins to move, and the rest follow in a long line. Within seconds, Ame was ashen faced as her stomach climbs its way into her mouth. Ame clings to the window for dear life as she prays to the heavens for a vengeance against the god of motion sickness.

    The carriage rapidly moves past a few rice fields and farms and the occasional small manors. The farmers on the road move to the side as they bow to crest on the carriage, while any other carriages on the road halted at the side of the road to make way. Their carriages don¡¯t even slow down at the Chiseong¡¯s gate, passing through without an inspection nor being halted.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    The carriages rapidly traverse through the streets until near mid-city. As the streets became more congested, their speed at last slows down and comes to a halt within the merchant area. Without a second to spare but with seemingly practiced movements, Ame raced out of the carriage into the nearest alley and began to spew her lunch. Every breath she got, Ame softly cursed before the next assault arrived.

    HuiFeng and Hong had long since dispersed and disappeared after stopping. Only Dara anxiously waited for the vicious cycle to finish. Pale faced and downtrodden, Ame emerged from the alleyway. Out of pity or concern, Dara held up a water canteen to Ame. With gratitude in her eyes Ame gratefully gargled the taste of vomit from her mouth and spat it out several times before at lasting take a sip.

    Ame raises her sleeve to wipe the cold sweat from her head but quickly stops. Recalling her education, she took out her handkerchief to wipe her forehead and mouth before placing it back into its package. She then hands the canteen back to Dara.

    Dara hastily but politely refuses, ¡°Take it, It¡¯s yours, Little Mistress.¡±

    Ame shrugs and accepts the canteen. With a stern face, Dara leads the expedition into Chiseong. The streets are stone cobbles and match a scenery of an ancient city, but the largest difference lies in that the city of Chiseong possesses plumbing, wherefore the streets are much cleaner.

    Metal and paper lanterns either strung from wires hang across the street or hang from the poles. Merchants call out to each other, trying to outdo and be heard over each other. At various shop entrances, statues stand for luck or decoration, and the many decorations highlighted an unique and charming style for each store. Street vendors cook openly in the streets as children play and chase each other through the crowds.

    The people of Chiseong wear brightly, different colored clothing. There are women wearing saris with traditional Chinese dresses, women in turbans with kimonos, and so much more. The people are just as varied wearing every shade contained within a crayon box and more.

    A couple of merchants and noblemen are even riding elephants to carry their wares or themselves. Plenty of carriages traverse the streets, carrying customers to their destination or on the lookout for prospective customers. Like her own carriage, Ame could notices quite a few noble crests on various robes, modes of transportations, and equipped weapons, all of which causes the regular carriage drivers and pedestrians to make way for them.

    All sorts of street performers are also performing on the streets. Acrobats were twirling from thin lines of thread and jumping around within various dances and marches. Kabuki players performing a play out in the open, and street puppeteers retold the stories and feats of famous warriors or of the Marital King. The festivities have yet to die yet.

    Tired of wandering around and visiting random stalls,Dara leads Ame to an expensive restaurant. At first, a waitress was seen when entering, but before she could even say anything, the slim owner immediately comes out to greet them out of seemingly nowhere. The owner glanced upon and recognized the emblem on Dara¡¯s Robes, and many customers were whispering or peeking at Ame and her guards.

    Dara releases his stern pressure as usual and frostily nods at the owner in acknowledgment. Feeling his threatening eyes, the owner hastily bows and leads them to a table far apart from the rest.

    Ame eyes Dara carefully after that. ¡®Was that the so-called suppression of realms? Spiritual Pressure?¡¯ She thought. Although it was directed towards her and masked well, Ame was still able to observe form of suppressing power that leaked from Dara.

    All of this only confirmed that Dara was not a normal guard at all. Any person that could arise such a reaction could not be normal. It wasn¡¯t a bother but something to keep in mind.

    Ame seats herself between the two and orders soft food in case of the ride back. Dara order heavier food but not too heavy either. Some guards accompany them on other tables, while others stood guard outside of the store. Within minutes, the food is ready as it arrives steaming hot at the table. They then began to eat, and for once, Ame finishes eating before Dara as she patiently waits for him to finish.

    Once finished, Dara casually tosses out gold coins onto the table without care and begins to head out. As such, the store owner and a few waitresses politely smile as they bow to send Ame and the guards off. However, Ame couldn¡¯t help but notice the flash of greed within the owner¡¯s eyes and both the fear and happiness barely hidden among all the employees.

    Ame turned her attention back to in front of her. Everyone swiftly exit the restaurant and return to where their carriage is waiting. The carriage driver instantly helps them into the carriage and set off.

    The trip went much smoother with Ame falling fast asleep on Dara¡¯s shoulder. Dara smiled faintly as he watched the sleeping young Miss tired out again from her all her fun. The rest of the journey passes by in heavy silence as Dara guards the young Miss.

 * Chapter 11. 4 â€“ Return

    Sada had most passively aggressively awoken and suggested that Ame say farewell to her siblings. Left with no other choice, Ame relented. Early the next day, the sky was still dark as the cold winter morning air blew.

    HuiFeng and Hong wait together as Ame politely stands in the background, waiting for the sect to escort the two back to their respective sects, the Immortal Sword Sect and Blazing Fist Sect. She hadn¡¯t had much of a choice as Sada was too concerned about this. Besides, she couldn¡¯t help but be curious of the members of said sects.

    Two Eagles¡¯ proud cries pierce the morning sky as beautiful silver and copper Heaven Eagles glide gently to a stop in the courtyard without even disrupting the fallen snow on the ground. The figure on the silver eagle looks prim and proper and untouched by the world, whereas the figure on the copper eagle yawns loudly and stretches his barely covered muscular body.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    The man on the silver eagle smiles charmingly at HuiFeng and says, ¡°Hello, Lady Min. It will be my honor to escort you back to the Immortal Sword Sect.¡±

    HuiFeng does not return the smile as she turns her back on the figure. Ame hides her smirk at seeing the man¡¯s face fall at being ignored. HuiFeng smiles gently at Hong and softly says, ¡°Take care, I will see you next year.¡±

    Hong nods proudly before heading towards his sempai. HuiFeng takes her cue and heads towards her sect senior. Hong barely jumps onto the copper eagle before without warning, the copper eagle takes off and soars rapidly out of sight.

    Ame turns her gaze towards HuiFeng as the sect senior offers her a hand, but she coldly ignores the hand and easily clambers onto the silver eagle herself. With a soft whistle, the silver eagle gently lifts into the sky. Soon, the silver eagle also vanishes into the horizon.

 * Chapter 12 - Mettle

    Following HuiFeng and Hong¡¯s return to their sects, there were quite a few changes seen in the Min Household. The most obvious to the servants was that Lady Ame was no longer being completely neglected or isolated. She was now seen occasionally eating with the madams.

    Regardless of whether it was a formality or not, the important thing is that she has established enough of a relationship to meet first and third mistresses. Her standing may still be the lowest among her siblings, but she now has some backing. Moreover, unsure of exactly why, the servants noticed how the Third Young Mistress also seemed to have competent guards escorting her when necessary.

    They could only conclude that the Third Young Mistress was being overly protected by her parents. All the household servants gossiped and speculated. However, as for Ame herself, when she found out about some of the rumors, she did feel a slight shock. While the improvement of her status by visiting Ehuang and Nuo once or twice a week was expected, she didn¡¯t expect Dara¡¯s overprotectiveness to have done the same.

    Besides, these current events were only happening for a few days so far¡­¡­ Ame could only shiver at the terrifying power of women and gossip.

    As time passed, winter was still very much present, and the moments of being watched became a bit less frequent. However, training outside of the dojo on the open training grounds, a misstep on the wet falling snow was all that it took for Instructor Goro to easily shove her onto her backside. Ame fell bitterly onto the cold rocks that jolted her backside. The force was just too great to resist, and all she could was try to execute an ukemi as quickly as possible.

    Using the force of his attack, she swiftly climbed back onto her feet after one or two rolls. The rocks didn¡¯t manage to rub her poor aching backside too much. You would think that training would become easier after both Hong and HuiFeng left. You would even think that Instructor Goro would become less attentive or caring. Yeah, she was somewhat true, but Ame was also slightly mistaken.

    Instead of completely neglecting her, Instructor Goro seemed to hold little tolerance for her actions, or rather her existence, and gave out swift and painful punishment in the form/name of training. After all, he should have cleaned those rocks out of the training area or notice them enough to be careful when counter attacking her, but he still used enough force to land her out of the ring and into that direction. It was clearly that ¡°fist has no eyes¡± bullsh*t excuse being used.

    Well, that¡¯s fine. Ame already noticed the glint of disdain that flashed through his eyes when looking upon her. She will just him use him as a practice dummy to improve her combat ability. Although she will hold back when needed and be cautious, it is not like she can¡¯t grow from the fool¡¯s little torture.

    She will gather experience in fighting those stronger than her. She will slowly improve her durability and stamina much faster, and her cultivation will continue to improve. The beatdown was painful but also rewarding.

    As for ensuring a proper growth of skill and discipline, she will just do some individual training in her free time. Her physical condition was already near her initial goal, allowing her to prepare for intensive training more safely. Ame would then gradually test things against Instructor Goro and take whatever guidance she can get.

    In the meanwhile, Sada herself winces from time to time but does not voice her complaint despite Instructor Goro¡¯s callus actions. The only reason that she didn¡¯t do anything yet is because of her respect for her young mistress¡¯s determination and resolve. Even if it seemed useless, her lady already explained the necessity of survival, but still, those thoughts were not a source of comfort. Her hands reflexively moved to pet the furry objects that would normally be on her lap only to find them gone.

    The kittens had supposedly curled up under the bed covers and out of reach, refusing to go out into the cold. (Due to the cold, Morph and Kiro tactfully chose to remain inside on an investigation mission.) Without anything to do, Sada curled her hands in her coat and could only watch.

    As time seemed to slowly go on, the training and practice matches finally came to an end, and Ame was on the ground, both exhausted and drenched in sweat. Sada quickly approached with a towel for her.

    ¡°Although you have fail to cultivate so far, Young Mistress has certainly made some progress. However, you shouldn¡¯t be neglecting your training and must put in the suitable effort required of a child of the Min Household.¡± Instructor seemingly consoled, but if you pay attention, you can hear the hidden thorns in his words. ¡°Now, dismissed.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Grabbing the towel, Ame ignored his words, She has no need to quarrel with the two-faced idiot for now. She has more pressing matters to deal with anyways.

    As she contemplated her own issues, she continued wiping her sweat and left with Sada to wash herself and change. ¡®I guess I should start my plans sooner or later.¡¯ She thought.

    She wasn¡¯t just meaninglessly playing in the New Year¡¯s Festival¡­. midway through. By touring around and paying a visit to various stalls, Ame was able to test many things and was already enlightened with some new ideas. She just has to gradually start on the testing of these ideas.

    ¡®But first things first, I shouldn¡¯t make the dancing instructor wait too long.¡¯ Ame thought. A small smile was on her face as she reached her quarters.

    *

    Ehuang and Nuo are embroidering winter clothing for their respective children. However, included among Nuo¡¯s clothing to be embroidered is a violet cloak embroidered with feminine flowers and leaves. Ehuang frowns slightly and opens her mouth to comment but thinks better of it. She merely sighs with a nod of her hand.

    Min Hee had not opposed Nuo¡¯s actions during the New Year¡¯s nor had he said a word against their tea parties. From this fact, it seems that Ayako has yet to say anything. However, without fully confirming the situation, everything may just be the calm before the storm.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Ehuang works on her needlework in deep thought. In the few times that they invited the child, she had shown a happy appetite while seeming very courteous, but the tone of her voice seemed to carry a slightly cold feel in it. It was a source of concern for her as Ehuang had been testing the girl to spot whether she was a spy or not. Despite returning, the girl was far too abnormal to be fully trusted. Those violet cold eyes of hers gave Ehuang dread at times.

    Even more so now, how she gazed upon them with a frosted expression at times made her shiver subconsciously. It was like she was staring at doll who crawled from the abyss to condescend her and everyone around her. She could only fear if the child was a spitting image of her mother or worse.

    Ehuang, for the sake and the protection of her family, needed to find out whether there were any hidden backers to that girl from outside. The girl had been too composed and well-learned, making you forget that she was ever lost on the streets or isolated from her mother¡¯s sometimes. From reports and inquiries, she is even progressing quite fast in her various studies,

    Therefore, Ehuang was greatly suspicious that there was someone supporting the girl in the darkness. It is almost certain from her behavior. But the question that still remained was whether her supporter was an ally or an enemy? If she is being controlled by Ayako or someone with ill intentions, things could become bad.

    A faint sound distracts Ehuang, causing her to prick her finger. With a frown, she studies the bleeding wound and suddenly summons an ointment from her storage ring. In the meanwhile, Nuo cheerfully finishes the small robe she was working on and then reaches for the violet feminine cloak. Rubbing the prick on her finger with the ointment, Ehuang says softly but firmly, ¡°Nuo, you should be warier of Ame.¡±

    Nuo stiffens for a moment but continues her needlework. Although not professionals, one can tell that the cloth and materials being tailored are of high quality. They even had beneficial health effects, like better blood circulation, good insulation, etc.

    Ehuang continues more loudly, ¡°I do not wish to sow more discord, but we must prepare for the worst. Ayako may already have a powerful hold over her own daughter, or worse, she may not have loyalties to the Min Household. She will refuse us in the end and will leave to wherever she thinks is best.¡± A sigh escapes her mouth. ¡°.... We may not be able to save her from the fangs within or the claws outside.¡±

    Nuo pauses and glances calmly up at Ehaung. ¡°I have not forgotten nor I will forget Ehuang, but I will not condemn a child who has suffered enough already and was abandoned by both her mother and the Heavens. You should not forget that either, Ehuang.¡± Nuo¡¯s hands tightened as she spoke.

    ¡°We always had a chance to save that child from her days of solitude¡­. from her kidnapping¡­. from her suffering. We could have done something, but we failed to see anything and did not do anything. No, maybe we just turned a blind eye to everything.¡± Nuo¡¯s voice shaken with tears threatening to come from her eyes.

    ¡°This is why I want to-¡± She tried to continue. Her face faced downward. However, the reason for her being unable to continue her words was due to being interrupted.

    ¡°Nuo¡­¡± Ehuang looked straight at her. ¡°I understand, but do not let the darkness of your past to cloud your judgment. I didn¡¯t say that we will give up. I just said that we should prepare for the worst, nothing more.¡±

    Releasing a small giggle, a smile blossomed as she brought her hand to her mouth. ¡°Do not get overly anxious. Only time will tell the fate of man.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Nuo was shocked with her mouth slightly left agape. A blush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks, and she laughed while feeling her shoulders relax. ¡°I see. You are right, Ehuang. I am just overreacting.¡±

    Seeing her looking more relieved, Ehuang nodded her head slight. She didn¡¯t want Nuo to wallow needlessly in her past. She also didn¡¯t want her past demons to cloud her judgment to the point of doing anything self-damaging. Everything should instead be done more steadily and not too rushed.

    Moving on and switching topics, both ladies conversed as they continued adorning the new clothes. Before long, the doors opened, and the twins quickly scurried into the room. At the same time, two small shadows by the door swiftly fled down the corridor.

    *

    Bathed and dressed, Ame waits for dinner. Seeing Morph and Kiro suddenly appear shivering and wet, Ame smiles and says, ¡°Sada, it seems my kittens are hungry. They must have failed to forage for food in this cold weather. Will you run to the kitchen and find something for them to eat?¡±

    Sada smiles and says, ¡°With pleasure, my lady.¡± She then swiftly hurries off to do as she was bid. It would take some time as the nearest kitchen was the servant¡¯s kitchen.

    After Sada left, Ame stands up and points for the kittens to follow her into the bathroom. Although the feeling of watching eyes is not as frequent at the moment, it is still to be in a closed space where a bit more privacy can be guaranteed as long as she is careful. So far, she proved her decision was right, which was a relief, since she didn¡¯t need pedophile perverts staring at her in the bathroom. Well, it doesn''t matter much this time. She will even look natural when taking the pet cats to wash.

    Grabbing some towels and running some hot water, Ame wipes the shivering kittens with wet warm towels and then quickly dries them before wrapping them to secure their warmth. She then sighs and waits for them to stop their shivering. It is not like she told them to wait in the cold for so long. She will have to warn them better next time.

    Morph started to recover, and despite chattering teeth, his twin, Kiro, was not to be left behind and says, ¡°Master, we found the source of the poison.¡±

    Morph gives a dark look but further adds, ¡°We couldn''t fully confirm the full circumstances, but we can tell that Nuo is definitely unlikely to be the culprit. We also confirm the presence of both poison and an antidote within the kitchens of the residence where Ehuang and Nuo previously invited you to eat at.¡±

    ¡°Our senses also tell us that you are likely to be poisoned again if you continue to visit. Even the flow of good luck seems to decrease over there.¡± Kiro stated as he tried to snuggle deeper into his dry towel.

    As she continued to listen to a summary of what they discovered, Ame frowns but now has some better insight into the matter, but that did not mean she was pleased. She had hoped there was no need to test her in such a manner, but it would appear she was wrong. Worse yet, it appeared she wasn''t fully trusted, and she could end up killed or caged depending on the circumstances. (Dara, despite being a backer, was still only seen as a guard and was not one the master or mistress of the household.)

    Gathering the kittens in another dry towel, she swaddles them and carries them over to her bed. Purring, the two kittens curl up in the towel to nap, while she takes a seat on a nearby chair. She ponders the events, but in the end, deems it not worth revealing the truth for now. The poison for one was non-lethal and was slowly raising her poison resistance along with other benefits.

    However, more importantly, she needed a card she could use against Ehuang for the future. One never knew when one needs to call in a favor.

    Besides, Ame did not entirely trust or know much about Dara. Oh, he certainly would always protect her and work for her wellbeing. However, the problem lay in differences of opinion between what Dara considered her wellbeing and what she considered in her best interests.

    With that in mind, Ame rises to her feet and departs for another dinner invitation. She mustn¡¯t keep her mother¡¯s waiting.

 * Chapter 12.2 â€“ Peaches

    Several weeks later, Instructor Goro dismisses the young miss, who is swiftly led away by Sada, the pretty maid. Instructor Goro eyes the round behind of the maid as she sashays away, and his groins tightened in lust.

    Many kinds of beauties lived among the mansion, and unlike the ones he can find from the streets, the beauties will have to be learned and have elegance to represent servants of a powerful Lord. Although not as eye catching as the madams of the household, finding suitors will still not pose a problem. The resources of Min family have even allowed for the nurturing of a few [Spirit Realm] practitioners. However, before he can become too distracted by one of the most beautiful maids, Instructor Goro refocused his mind back to the task at hand.

    Clearing his mind and body of such lustful thoughts, Instructor Goro purposefully marches towards the master¡¯s quarters. He easily enters the main quarters and sits down to wait. Before long, a maid appears and leads Instructor Goro further into the private quarters of Lord Min Hee.

    Instructor Goro clasped his hands and knerled towards Lord Min Hee who sat before him with a dominating presence, shuffling between documents before placing them to the side. A gesture from Lord Min Hee was given, and Instructor Goro swiftly returns to his feet. With reluctance, Instructor Goro states the grave news. ¡°Lord Min Hee, I do not believe I am a terrible teacher, but I can no longer continue in this manner. The young miss has no talent whatsoever for the martial arts, even less for the sword when compared to First Young Mistress. Just today, she almost impaled herself on a spear, and she could barely stand against my blows no matter how much I hold back.¡±

    Instructor Goro grumpily said, but upon seeing a dangerous glint in the Lord¡¯s eyes, he hastily adds, ¡°I am certainly trying my best in guiding her, and she has surprisingly shown decent battle wits at times. But in my humble opinion, the Third Young Mistress is not suitable for cultivating the martial dao. I... I can only apologize for my incompetence, my lord.¡±

    After finishing his (biased) report, Instructor Goro clasps his hands and bows while sweating in silence, not daring to lift his head. The silence continues, causing him greater pressure over time until he almost couldn''t bear it any longer. He knows that the rumors and gossips are not completely true. Even so, he can still be punished if he is reported about and judged as going too far in condescending that useless black sheep of the household.

    A faint smile appears on Lord Min Hee¡¯s face. ¡°Thank you for your attentiveness, Instructor Goro. You shall be awarded 50 gold coins in stating the truth. I ask that you continue your guidance,¡± Lord Min Hee lightly said.

    Instructor Goro¡¯s face brightens with gratitude and hastily bows in thanks. He also gave high praise for the generosity of Lord Min before quickly leaving. It is obvious that he is very happy about the rewards. In the end, he ultimately forgotten that his report would put the Third Young Miss at a disadvantage, or he probably never cared about such things in the first place.

    Behind Instructor Goro, Lord Min Hee remains impassive as a complex emotion appears and just as swiftly disappears from his expression. As if burdened with an unknown emotion, Lord Min Hee disappears from the room.

    *

    Laughter fills the air of the Peach Blossom Geisha House. The warm glowing light from the windows makes one forget how it is currently winter. Through the open windows, various beautiful women with attractive appearances can be seen serving and chatting with a breathtakingly handsome figure, a certain violet eyed and haired man.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    A petite, young women with charming expression and innocent-like eyes served the man another cup of a fragrant wine. After a moment, she gave a youthful smile and says, ¡°Lord Min, please be patient. Miss Xiu Ying will shortly be with you and attend you soon.¡±

    Lord Min Hee nods as the various women amorously waved goodbye and left the room on their own. He just sits elegantly on some cushions and waits for the promised geisha to visit him. Form the way they behaved, it was evident that he frequented often enough to have some familiarity.

    Lord Min Hee simply gazes into stars viewed from the window. After taking a sip or two over the time that he waited, he fluidly places his cup down onto the extravagantly carved table without a single sound. A bit of impatience and deep contemplation can be seen from his expression as he slowly leans back against the wall and closes his eyes for a moment in tiredness.

    The scent of amber slowly approaches, subtly hinting at other more pleasurable pursuits of the world. Lord Min Hee¡¯s nose twitches for a moment until the sensation disappears. Even so, a warm fire is slowly lit from within as his eyes displayed a strong emotion.

    The door smoothly slides open and closes as a seductively amorous woman with long red, flowing hair enters. Her robes fit closely enough to her body to accentuate the curves and charms of her body, and as she walked, the slit would show her supple, long legs. Her glance was enough to send many men into hypnotic state or frenzy. As she sits down, her generous mounds move and can be seen from the open front of her rather revealing-cream colored robe.

    Upon seeing Min Hee¡¯s expression, the woman lets out a bell-like laughter that was pleasant to the ears. Lord Min Hee¡¯s eyes inadvertently are drawn to the sensual, kissable lips when she smiled.

    The woman slowly sits down next to him and leans forward. Her mesmerizing eyes narrowed into crescent moon as she teasingly whispers into his ear, ¡°My Lord, I have missed you.¡±

    Lord Min Hee pulls himself away as a charming smile appears on his face. ¡°Xiu Ying, is that so?¡± He gave a charming smile of his own and teasingly asked in a humorous tone.

    Xiu Ying¡¯s honey-colored eyes blink rapidly as a small blush spread across her cheeks. A bell-like laughter soon followed before her gaze landed on the cup on the table. Xiu Ying then pulls herself back and gave a flirtatious pout.

    ¡°My Lord, you drank without me? How cruel!¡± Xiu Ying mournfully said. However, her tone and expression were obviously more flirtatious than sorrowful.

    He simply smiled in response and move his hands as though to present the wine and empty cups still on the table. ¡°Would you like to start anew then?¡±

    A slow blush makes its way up Xiu Ying¡¯s face again as she breathlessly says, ¡°I-.¡± However, before she can continue, a maid enters bearing food and drinks.

    The maid trembles for a moment at the scene and mood within the room, but to carry her duties, she quietly moves forward and places the food on the table. Nonetheless, with practiced tactics, Xiu Ying restarts the conversation and quickly continue the flow of the mood within the room. Her charms went emphasizes and appealed by her movements throughout the conversation.

    She continues with warm and flirtatious smiles along with sweet words and praises. She even started to pour the rich tea during their talks. Xiu Ying purrs, ¡°My Lord, you are famished.¡± Reaching over Xiu Ying grabs another bun as she softly murmurs, ¡°Please taste.¡±

    Lord Min Hee smiles faintly as he leans over and says, ¡°Yes.¡±

    With the skill of a practiced lover, Lord Min Hee takes a bite. Xiu Ying feels a faint flutter of emotions that just as quickly disappear. ¡°My Lord, please drink. This is white lotus wine and it is famous for its taste.,¡± Xiu Ying said as she elegantly poured him a drink and then herself. They briefly toast their wine cups together as their hands reflexively tighten with wariness around the cups. With inhuman elegance, the two down their drinks in a single gulp.

    A drop of alcohol drips down Xiu Ying¡¯s lips in seductive fashion. Min Hee stares at her lips for an intense moment and with practiced movements Xiu Ying¡¯s pink tongue licks her lips clean. Xiu Ying blinks innocently as Lord Min Hee smiles back with ease and softly says, ¡°Yes, the wine is quite exquisite.¡±

    Xiu Ying lips curl into a sweet bud of a smile and pours more for the lord. After all, the night was still young and much would transpire before the end.

 * Chapter 13 â€“ Sly Fox

    It has now been some time since the end of the New Year¡¯s Festival. On the last and 15th day, she leisurely tried getting acquainted with some of the merchants affiliated with the Min Household and a few other individuals. Of course, she tried to be very subtle and discrete by making it seem more random. Other than that, she simply relaxed and stayed home for most of the day.

    Now, Ame was thinking of starting her plans for various interests. Instructor Goro wisely proclaimed that the young Miss needed to meditate to increase her chances of cultivating. The direct result was that Ame¡¯s training had slowed down to a trickle. It wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing, but Ame had ceased to gain physical improvements as a result.

    However, this can work for her too. Personal training was out of the question within the manor as there were too many eyes watching her. Showing off her planned type of training and her physical abilities may tip off others before she is ready. No suspicious actions could be found out, especially not until she can confirm the motive behind the constant poison in the tea parties.

    Ame appeared to be a quiet girl for her age to those watching eyes. When not in her quarters, training or with the twins, she would weekly go out to the city accompanied by Dara to sightsee, much like a young mistress. She was a light spender but enjoyed very much seeing the sights and most especially the myriad of food.

    One such trip, Dara led her to a large store that was connected to nearby auction house. A young attendant came forward and immediately offered drinks and snacks. Dara, with a wave of his sleeve, gestured for the boy to move away. The boy does so as an older attractive attendant comes forward and greets the familiar personage. ¡°Greetings, Sir Dara, how may we be of service?¡± The fair young man charmingly asked.

    ¡°I am here to see Park Yoo,¡± Dara swiftly replied.

    The young man nods in understanding and just as smoothly answers, ¡°Of course, please follow me.¡± Ame eyes the items on sale as they pass by. Although, it is obvious that they are valuable items based on the high level of the store, but she is interested in their worthy according to the market.

    However,more importantly was what she could ¡°see.¡± After all, she doesn¡¯t have a normal eyesight and could what others shouldn¡¯t be able to see. Thus, Ame was inwardly surprised at what was being showed to her eyes. ¡®Are these items related to that?¡¯ She thought, remembering about a certain subculture found in Asian nation.

    ¡®The question is whether they follow the depicted Eastern version or not.¡¯ She continued to ponder. The value of such items would thus likely be greater than imagined. It was a bit troubling to learn, because as soon as a merchant saw Ame with guards or Dara, the price would immediately increase at least double its original price.

    The young attendant knocked before opening the door and allowing them to enter. A short, thin man with long ginger hair that is tied back in a rough ponytail scans the documents before him. He swiftly halts and glances up with cunning eyes that sparkled even more upon spotting their quarry.

    Dara warningly whispers, ¡°Little Mistress, don¡¯t fall for that cunning badger¡¯s old tricks.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m certainly no badger.¡± The man snorted as he walked towards them. His eyes squinted, and his lips curved into charming smile. He then adds, ¡°This old wily fox surely exaggerates, Young Miss. After all, I¡¯m merely a humble merchant known as Park Yoo the Honest!This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Honest? Hmph, you claim to never tell a lie, but you never tell the truth either¡­Honest but never fair.¡± Dara retorted against the Park Yoo. However, the latter never batted an eye and simply smiled in return.

    Park Yoo suddenly concentrates his gaze and raises his eyebrow at Ame. ¡°You brute, please introduce this charming maiden to me!¡± Park Yoo whimsically said, though there was a knowing look in his eyes as he finished assessing his client.

    From the looks of things, it hadn¡¯t taken him more than a second to determine the identity of his visitor. Ame couldn''t help but be amazed in various ways.

    Dara importantly straightens up and flatly introduces them. ¡°Lady Ame, this is merchant Park Yoo, an old friend, and despite his behavior, he is loyal to the Min Household,¡± Dara drily finished.

    Park Yoo clasps his hands and says, ¡°It is an honor to meet the youngest miss of the Min Household.¡±

    Ame solemnly bows back and graciously answers, ¡°It is an honor to meet you as well, Merchant Park Yoo.¡±

    ¡°And how may I be of service today?¡± Park Yoo asked with a sly glint in his eyes,reflexively straightening his hands to keep them from rubbing together evilly.

    Dara nods at Ame to ask as Ame politely says, ¡°Merchant Park Yoo, I wish to learn how to appraise items and sell. I understand that you will not teach without any profits, so I will pay 5 gold coins for each lesson on what you consider as the basics¡­. I will also request for certain books in the future.

    Park Yoo, for the first time since their meeting, makes a shocked expression but nods his head at the offer nonetheless. Money was nothing to him. He was already part of the Sky Lapis Auction House which possess considerable authority and wealth among the city despite being a relatively small business as compared to others of the same trade.

    Rather, Park Yoo only wished to accept exceptional talents for this trade. He wanted those with the proper patience, cunning, and allure to entice more sells out if others, but most nobility tended to be quite unsuitable for these kinds of roles. Park Yoo grudgingly glances at Dara who makes a pleading expression.

    Park Yoo motions silently towards Ame to which Dara makes a small hand clasp motion. Park Yoo sighs and says, ¡°Lady Ame, I will agree to this bargain under two conditions. One, you must begin selling your own wares or products within three months. And secondly, I expect absolute obedience when assigning an assignment or teaching a lesson. Should you fail, I will terminate the lessons. Is that understood, Lady Ame?¡±

    Ame moves in a confidence. She clasps her hands and answers, ¡°Yes, Merchant Park Yoo.¡±

    Park Yoo sighs and says, ¡°First lesson, never be on the losing barging end. That will be 5 gold coins.¡±

    Ame winces after feeling Dara¡¯s ominous glare at Park Yoo. ¡®I guess they don¡¯t exactly have the same view on things.¡¯ She thought.

    With a pained expression, Ame reaches into her pitiful wallet and hands over 5 gold coins. With a twinkle in his eye, Park Yoo pockets the coins as swift as the wind itself and then pulls out thick, large manuals.

    ¡°Study and memorize as much information in these books as possible. They explain the prices and values as well as rarity of various items, and I even included a few catalogs of our basic sale items along with the acceptable price ranges for each item according to our and the surrounding provinces.¡± Park Yoo calmly said.

    ¡°You should also review some of your historical knowledge. I don¡¯t know exactly what kind of trades you will be interested in, but even if you plan to go into alchemy or anything else, having some basic capability as an appraiser won¡¯t hurt in the long run. No one likes getting scammed by fakes after all.¡± Ame¡¯s eyes widen, but her expression doesn¡¯t falter.

    Park Yoo nods in approval and motions for Dara to take the pile manuals and leave. Dara apparently frowns in disapproval at such a frivolous behavior, but he easily carries the twenty manuals away before storing it in his spatial ring and leading Ame away.

    Park Yoo graciously waves goodbye before returning to his work. After all, times is money, and no one is paying him to rest. Ame can at least admit that he seems hard working.

 * Chapter 13.2 â€“ Wares

    Spending her time mostly studying the manuals and memorizing them, the feeling of being watched slowly began to grow less and less until ultimately, the watchful eyes were only felt occasionally. A disturbance in the force was detected mainly when she was in the still in the mansion. Otherwise, she only noticed anomalies once or twice when in one of her continued outings.

    Of course, over time, the worst of the winter had ended. The pristine snows would soon start to melt away, and the weather had begun to warm. During that time, she managed to sneak some training while enduring the harsh code. Furthermore, thanks to her unexpected poison resistance, Ame discovered that she can convert the poisons in her body to support her cultivation, but she obviously didn¡¯t dare to push her luck. She quickly identified how she was being poisoned while making sure to not insist on visiting Ehuang and Nuo too much.

    Amazingly enough, it seemed that the Poison Qi only appeared after mixing certain food and drinks together. It was quite clear that several unique chemicals must be added to several things among the meal, which allows a poison to be produced after consumption. It was quite clever and roundabout in a way, but the poison was thankfully not that strong. All this just meant that Ame was a bit more prepared to prepared with the world of Sen, and seeing as she was no longer under surveillance as much, Ame did one of two things.

    After the poisoning incident, her truly precarious situation had been revealed. At all costs, Ame focus on gathering enough funds for her 12<sup>th </sup>year, but more importantly, she must find some grace in the household. Otherwise, she feared she would be tossed out before she was ready or maybe worse. She doesn''t have to be on part of a perfect family but should at least take advantage of what her options to ensure a proper future.

    Of the many possible routes, she knows that she needs to find ways to earn her living while she can. Therefore the reason why she is interested in the merchant trades. She has also researched about a few other professions, discovering and confirming many jobs in this world, and one particular job already caught her interest.

    From what she understood, even the classical alchemist exists on Sen. Not only that, it seems to be a very lucrative profession high in demand and with several tiers. It was a high-end job garnered respect nearly everywhere you go.

    Such a job would be perfect for her. Even if their alchemy specialized in the medical direction, that would just save her the trouble, and even if she can''t accept Sen''s medical standards, she just has to reform them. Ame was sure that all the rules of medical science were not negligible. In fact, she can''t wait to see what the new rules/laws were established from the new interactions between particles and Qi.

    Her first major goal would naturally be the most important: She will confirm the existence of the Periodic Table. Her other experiments will naturally follow afterwards. After all, regardless of whether she becomes a super herbalist or something, chemistry is a branch of science related to almost all other sciences.

    Thus, along with learning how to discern authenticity and gaining a better knowledge of various items, Ame hopes to consolidate better foundations by learning alchemy. Without a proper teacher, she could certainly make progress and mix some concoctions together, but she will have to start off small and work her way up. Even then, she will be going blind without any proper guidance again.

    As such, she will definitely make mistakes and encounter higher rate of danger. It was much like baking a souffl¨¦. Without knowing that sound causes it to deflate or how quickly, you will get a much higher chance of having a failed souffl¨¦.

    Having come to these conclusions, Ame decided already started her preparations. During her visits into town, she would visit some stores and stalls affiliated with her household and managed to gather the seeds for herbs along with other materials. She had then talked with Sada and passed an order to set up a new garden. Of course, she will still help or direct others during the project.

    Additionally, during the construction of the garden, Ame coordinated the planting of some interesting plants she found upon visiting some street vendors in the poorer sections of Chiseong. She had to admit that having luck spirits do make things convenient sometimes. Well, regardless of whether it was due to luck or inevitability, one plant she spots happened to be a bundle of beautiful, glowing flowers when returning home in the evening.

    Dara had explained that some of the luminous plants were called the ¡°Midnight Bluebells¡±and the ¡°Serene Moonlight Flower¡± along with other varieties. They each glowed in their own lights but were beautiful nonetheless. The flowers would make for good alternative light sources, and the bigger some plants grew, the more light they would give off. A few flowers would be sufficient enough light up a room.

    However, for the poorer members of society, these flowers would be a bit too expensive to casually collect. The Moonlight Serene Flower was especially so. Although able to release a gentle glow at night, the flower had the properties for calming the mind and collecting yin energy to assist recovery and Qi stabilization. The flowers will thus have a couple of uses which increases their price.

    After hearing about all this, it had created a greater interest towards learning alchemy and testing the various flora on Sen. Ame wanted to test the medical properties of the various plants that she found. She wanted to use them to help her during her training and possible future cultivation, and most of all, she wanted to make her residence more hospitable while stacking up at least one more card up her sleeves.

    Like this, sometime continued to pass. Ame had initially planted flowers meant for winter and was already planning for spring and summer plants. With some of the herbs and flowers ready to be harvested, she carefully cut down or uprooted the flora per the written instruction from the books and her past experience. She was able to successfully grow most of her plants by using her unique sight and luck spirits. At the same time, Ame was able to secretly use the flowers to test her ability in channeling her unique Qi into ground and plants.

    As a result, the planted herbs and other flora were prospering with great potency and vitality. It was like they had been given a bit of steroids or was placed in premium soil. The flora grew a bit faster and more vigorous as long as she was careful, though not all the plants followed this result.

    Thus, her new gardening project continued over the next several weeks. Ame continued using her acupoints to channel her unique Qi and, despite the strain and exhaustion, managed to improve her control.

    ''...Again? Oh well, Rome wasn''t built in a day.¡¯ After sighing, Ame picked up the herbs and flowers scattered around her. The table in front of her carried various papers and several containers along with several pastes and solutions seemingly created by using the plants. Some we''re burnt, some were sweet or sour smelling, and others seemed unfinished.

    However, she still cleaned up everything and opened the wooden windows. With care, she then bundled them together and stored them in the basket before going in search of Dara. Upon finding him at his regular location, she innocently approached him.

    ¡°Good morning, little mistress, how may be of service on this fine morning?¡± Dara warmly asked.

    ¡°Dara, some of my plants are ready to be sold. I properly harvested them. See,¡± Ame proudly said as she held up a covered basket.

    Dara smiles kindly and says, ¡°Park Yoo is a shrewd merchant, but he is always fair.¡± Dara pauses and grumbles under his breath, ¡°When he wants to be.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Dara,¡± Ame happily said before being following Dara to the stables. With a pale face, Ame gulps and climbs the carriage as the experienced Dara makes room for Ame to take the window seat. The carriage ride passes in its usual fashion with her watching the farmers plowing the fields and raising their straw hats to get a glimpse of her carriage. Some of the peasant kids playing were even painting and exclaiming at her carriage before the adults or older children quickly took them away.

    The carriage makes its way through the roads with ease and past the city gate without being stopped. After all, despite living outside of the city and even being closer to one of its villages, no one would normally dare to offend the Min Household by mistake. Ame was thus able to cut the queue without repercussion.

    With a loud groan, the carriage rolls to a stop in front of a large shop. The familiar figure of Ame rushes out of the carriage and heads for the alley. With an expressionless face and practiced movements, Dara humbly waits with basket in hand for Ame to finish.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Seemingly accustomed to this occurrence, the three guards also showed no surprise. As for Ame herself, she simply reaches into her pocket and grabs a handkerchief and canteen. She washes her mouth out and cleans herself up. ¡°I may need to prepare barf bags at this rate.¡± She sighed.

    Ready, Ame leaves the alley and quickly follows Dara into a flower shop. The current attendant was the shop owner, Chen Chen, who is a middle-aged woman with short brown hair and a motherly atmosphere. She is the owner of this small ¡°Blooming Sunshine Flower Shop¡± that happened to be affiliated with the Min Household.

    Ame wasn¡¯t quite sure on what job the husband had, but she did know that both the daughter often helped the mother run the shop. The Blooming Sunshine also happened to be fairly popular and prosperous for a small flower shop¡­¡­. Although the flowers and herbs were of good quality as well as having some good practical and aesthetic uses, Ame can¡¯t help but to think that the homely charm of the mother and daughter certainly played a role in the shop¡¯s success.

    Nonetheless, best of all was how many housewives of the neighbor would visit the shop, allowing Ame to get a hold of the occasional gossip. Ame had thus chose this place to sell her flowers and make a small profit from her garden. It seems that her herbs and flowers were even causing the shop¡¯s sales to increase, benefiting the profit of both parties.

    ¡°Welcome¡­ Oh, Young Miss, it is a pleasure to meet you again.¡± Chen Chen bowed upon seeing Ame enter.

    ¡°Good Morning.¡± Ame bowed back. ¡°I am here to make another see,¡± She said with a beautiful smile. They then proceeded to evaluating and selling/purchasing the flora.

    After finishing their business there, Ame then left in carriage and went to visit the Sky Lapis Auction House. Upon entering, Dara immediately called out to an employee and demanded for them to be taken to Park Soo. The personnel seemed to be familiar with Dara and only allowed the two of them to pass through to the inner offices. The guards obviously waited outside.

    Sometime later, they reached the same office as last time. Dara opens the door immediately, causing Ame to raise her brow, but she quickly switched her attention forward to find the familiar sly-eyed figure beaming at them.

    Park Yoo, seemingly having been informed of their arrival, was already sitting and waiting. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you again, Lady Ame. I certainly didn¡¯t expect for you to arrive so soon. Hahaha, I guess you are really interested in running your own business.¡±

    Park Yoo calmly gestured towards an assortment of items on his desks. ¡°I can only assume that you have prepared something to show me. I wonder if it is what you have chosen to sell.¡±

    Ame started with Park Yoo with an expressionless or calm face. Although seemingly polite and calm, his words and gestures were implying that she shouldn¡¯t waste his time with every day or nonsensical items. He was practically saying that he didn¡¯t expect much of her but still wanted her to give something that had some basic value.

    She couldn¡¯t exactly blame him for this though. After all, she is the black sheep of her family and was nothing but a street urchin for about half of her (current) life. Normally speaking, in her circumstances, she should just be worried about catching up on her studies and finding a marriage partner. However, she can¡¯t consent to such a life so simply.

    Dara seemed to also read between the lines. However, he just shakes his head and sighs at Park Yoo¡­.. or maybe at this whole situation. Either way, he moves forward and gingerly places the basket onto the desk.

    With some interest, Park Yoo raises his brows at Dara¡¯s actions and receives the basket from him. The merchant felt something amiss and opens the basket before being slightly surprised. However, a sharp expression soon join the mix onto his face, and he gently picks up each herb and flower before examining each one with care and great detail.

    Gradually, he took out the roots, leaves, and other flora neatly compartmentalized into the single basket. Paying extra attention to the three yellow rings on the roots of a daisy-like flower with red petal tips and a blue thorn with a calming fragrance, his fox-like eyes even slightly opened for the first time since meeting Ame.

    ¡°Fragrant Faith Flower? No¡­.Motherly Faith Flowers¡­.even a few Soothing Rain vines¡­checked¡± Both Dara and Ame could hear parts of a soft whisper occasionally slipped from Park Yoo¡¯s lips. Although no one in the room were official alchemists, Park Yoo did have some basic/superficial knowledge, so he would likely have much greater knowledge in the trade as compared to Dara and Ame.

    However, Ame did read some beginner books on herbs and alchemy from the Min Family library. Combining her luck and her unique eyesight, she was also able to notice that some plants were more potent or unique after a while and that some new plants would occasionally mutate and sprout from the garden. Upon noticing these things, she tried to cultivate these plants and even crossbred them.

    She wasn¡¯t always successful, but she did notice that channeling her Qi managed to give some effect. Regardless, she knew her herbs definitely had some value and managed to identify that one or two were even among the ingredients for tier 3 medicines.

    The minutes slowly trickle, causing Dara to worriedly fidget, while Ame eyes the items in the room for their worth. Several times, Ame¡¯s eyes occasionally widen with delight and repeatedly squint in scrutiny at finding rare or expensive items that looked like simple decorations. Even if they seemed simple, their Qi movements were still obvious in her eyes.

    Park Yoo notices the change in expressions but doesn¡¯t comment as he finishes examining the herbs. Park Yoo gently returns the herbs and says, ¡°I am willing to purchase all of the herbs for one silver coins.¡±

    Ame smiles faintly, causing Park Yoo to smilingly gaze at her in return. ¡°Really? Do take me for a fool? One stalk of green tiger leaves is worth 1 gold coins, and although barely audible, I know that you yourself recognize the Soothing Rain Roots and Mother Faith Flowers which are roughly worth 50 gold each,¡± Ame calmly countered the offer.

    Park Yoo presses the tips of his fingers together as he leans forward. ¡°Hahahaha, I didn¡¯t know that you had such sharp senses¡­. But that doesn¡¯t mean you will gain the asked prices, especially without confirming the herbs or having any connections.¡± Park Yoo swiftly countered back.

    Ame thinks on the offer. ¡®He¡¯s right, but even if I could gain more, I cannot afford to offend him.¡¯

    She let a sigh of regret and agrees to the offer. ¡°Truly an exemplary merchant. Very well, so be it.¡±

    Park Yoo smiles charmingly and says, ¡°It is a pleasure doing business with you.¡± He reaches for a small bell on his desk and rings it. An attendant instantly appears, and Park Yoo carefully hands the basket over. The experienced attendant swiftly disappears with the basket to store the herbs and preserve them.

    Dara glares at Park Yoo but doesn¡¯t dare say anything despite knowing that Ame was still being blatantly robbed. ¡°You¡¯re doing very well and have some talent for herbology. Although not a true alchemist, may I suggest becoming an herbalist and growing some herbs for alchemists?¡± Park Yoo softly said in understanding of the young misses¡¯ position.

    Dara warningly glances at Park Yoo before starting to release a building pressure and killing intent. However, before he can say anything, Ame already pulled his sleeve to turn his attention back to her and shakes her head. Seeing Dara holding himself back, Ame sighs.

    It is not like she can¡¯t understand both sides. Dara truly sees that comment as an insult to her who is child of noble descend and who should normally be capable of a good marriage regardless of her aptitude. However, what Park Yoo said was not meant as an insult, but instead, it seemed to be his sincere concern in essence. He said this in consideration after seemingly realizing Ame¡¯s intent in making a living for herself.

    ¡°No, I only have a bit of talent.¡± Ame smiled lightly and politely rejected.

    Park Yoo nods sagaciously and seats himself back down. ¡°In that case, your first sell was bought by me. Now that you are aware of the value from now on, you are permitted to sell your wares on the first floor. Whether you get their worth is up to you from now on,¡± Park Yoo said with a smile and handed over a pouch of gold coins.

    Ame carefully counts the coins and frowns at only finding 45 cold coins. Although she had some faint hope after seeing the gold coins, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit discontent and glances up to see Park Yoo smiling gleefully at her.

    ¡°I took off the 5 gold coins for the lesson,¡± Park Yoo innocently said. This also implied that he was teasingly ready to give her 50 gold coins.

    Feeling her eye twitched a bit, Ame narrowed her eyes. He was definitely provoking or make fun of her. However, although she said nothing in response, Dara growled, ¡°There wasn¡¯t a lesson.¡±

    ¡°Of course, there was. First, never be careless with your most precious items. Second, be sure that you are wary of those without good reputation. Although auction houses will never try to hoodwink our customers due to our reputation and various other reasons, you can¡¯t say the same thing regarding those low-class businesses or customers on the streets. They repeatedly try to take advantage of you.¡± Park Yoo warmly replied.

    ¡°Always protect your merchandise, and be greatly wary of allowing others to hold your products before they present their money.¡± He continued.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Ame snorts but bitterly accepts the truth. She curses herself for the small mistake but also reminds herself to not make it again. Still, the feeling of being cheated right from the beginning of her lessons didn¡¯t feel good. Dara opens his mouth to retort, but a glance from Ame causes him to close his mouth.

    Bowing to Park Yoo, Ame says, ¡°Thank you for your teachings, Merchant Park Yoo, I shall strive to remember and embed them into my heart.¡±

    A smile then appeared on her face, but unlike earlier, it was a business smile and was instead one with a feeling of slight mischief mixed in. ¡°I am sure that our business will continue prospering in the future.¡±

    Park Yoo just smiles and nods, and as though his earlier malicious actions never happened, he accompanies them to the carriage. Ame could now see how Dara could be infuriated at times too. However, she at least secured a private tutor in business.

    Dara helps Ame into the carriage before eyeing Park Yoo darkly and promising to even the odds. ¡®If he thinks growing some herbs is my final goal, he is sorely mistaken. Rather, everything is just beginning.¡¯ She thought. After all, she would have no need for The Blooming Sunshine if she was only after quick cash.

    As she contemplates about this, she sees how Park Yoo smiles winsomely and winks at Dara. causing his face to darken even further. With a growl, he slams the door shut and the carriage sets off immediately in a cloud of dust. With a twinkle in his eyes, Park Yoo happily returns to his shop to extort-, to sell fair priced items to his clients.

 * Chapter 13.3 â€“ First Sale

    A few days later, a young violet haired girl with a basket full of flowers and herbs stood in the shop of The Blooming Sunshine. She was assisting Mei-mei, who was the 16-year-old daughter of the shop owner. Advertising and selling the shop¡¯s merchandise near the store, this was the method of using the charm of females to deliver a good image and increase the chances of sales.

    However, despite being qualified for this strategy no matter how she looked at it,Ame was tapping her foot impatiently against the ground. ¡®What was she missing? She was young enough that an alchemist shouldn¡¯t fear to approach her and buy wares. Unless-?¡¯ Stopped mid-thought, she snapped her head and turned around.

    Not so subtly standing a distance away was a familiar elderly figure surrounded by several guards. The figures glared at any customers that neared Ame. She resisted the urge to slap her forehead in frustration. Without help, she won¡¯t be able to sell her wares today. She hadn¡¯t wanted to resort to this, but she had no choice. It was time to use that.

    After discussing with Dara and her guards, Ame place them in less conspicuous positions and set up a rough patrol routes. The guards can then make the shop more important while also lessening the pressure on possible customers. Finished with her dispersion of the troublemakers, she then smiles sweetly.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    In a young girl¡¯s voice, she said, ¡°Please customers, come and buy from Blooming Sunshine. Good quality for a good price. You won¡¯t be disappointed with the flowers and herb raised with motherly love.¡±

    Moving through the crowds, Ame continued her efforts in attracting customers. At the same time, she made sure to stay within sight of her guards. ¡°Please, kind sirs, buy a beautiful flower on this beautiful day either for yourself or for your special loved ones.¡±

    As her efforts continued, her sales continued. Without realizing it herself, Ame has certainly become more manipulative after starting her cultivation, and the elegance drilled into her only enhanced her distinct, but fake charm. It is no wonder how she was able to sell her herbs so easily despite being her first day.

    *

    Later that night, after a long day, Ame was already tucked in bed and was preparing for a good night¡¯s rest. ¡°I guess it is about time.¡± As she closes her eyes with a firm thought and plan in mind, she was already planning for the next steps in her actions.

 * Chapter 14â€“ Permission

    Now that Ame felt a lesser sense of surveillance but still found it was impossible for herself to train as she wishes, she knew she would have to develop other means of combat potential. She can find other places to train, but when preoccupied, she should use a trustworthy partner, namely her kittens.

    Those two possessed divine memories and should inherently gain some unique skills. It doesn¡¯t matter if they are not specifically combat orientated Spirit Guardians; she just has to come up with creative ways to make use of their abilities. On the other hand, combat spirit or not, without proper battle experience, those two were as good as sitting ducks.

    Despite knowing this, or rather, due to knowing this, Ame could feel that there is a far greater need to train Morph and Kiro to hunt. Risk will inevitably be involved, but they need to start moving and can¡¯t sit around.

    With care and thoughtfulness, Ame had invited Dara to lunch. The elderly man enjoyed being in the presence of Sada, the lovely maid, and naturally of the little mistress. Morph and Kiro purr in Dara¡¯s lap as he fed them a bit of everything.

    Ame hid her frown at the kitten''s lapse of manners, but her eyebrows still twitched occasionally. Although they were claiming to be giving their all to put Dara in a good mood, she can clearly see them just being lazy and acting spoil. In a way, they were a more royal treatment than their own master¡­¡­...She will have to reteach them a lesson or two later.

    After some time, Ame lightly approaches the subject. ¡°Dara, I once heard that it¡¯s important for cultivators to experience different things and experiences to grow, is it not?¡± Ame innocently asked.

    ¡°Of course! As a young man, I traveled all over Sen, battling men and powerful creatures,¡± Dara proudly said as he puffed out his chest. ¡°You are only a told in a well thinking of sky above as the world until you truly venture and see new things; only after spreading your wings can one join the competition between crouching tigers and hidden dragons.¡±

    Sada purposefully narrowed her eyes at the young lady¡¯s comment but did not pursue the subject as she was serving Dara another cup of tea. ¡°Then, does the same apply to maturing into a great personage, like you?¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, well, of course, but also no. Gathering experiences and new things are definitely needed for one to grow, but not every person with talent or power will be a great personage. To accomplish this, you will need to not only build up the necessary experiences and wisdom but also work on one¡¯s character and temperament. Only then can one truly become a true man.¡± Hearing Ame¡¯s view of him as a great personage, his emotions became much lighter and happier as he spoke in a grand manner.

    ¡°.... mmmm, I knew it. I will grow!¡± Ame originally listened to Dara with her hand on her chin, but her face soon grows dark as she contemplated. If one didn¡¯t know any better, she would seem as though she was genuinely concerned and distressed.

    Sada frowned as Dara furrowed his brows in thought before swiftly assenting. ¡°Young Mistress?¡±

    Steeling her expression with a look of resolve, Ame gazes up into Dara¡¯s eyes. ¡°...At this rate, I will never grow into a great person. Can¡¯t you see it?! No matter what, I am always trapped within a small portion of the manor, I am barely allowed to go anywhere outside, and I am always strictly watched when I even choose to visit the stalls! Doesn¡¯t this mean I will be a sheltered and wretched person?!¡±

    ¡°Y-young Mistress, that will never be the case! Why would you even think that? Everyone is just worried about it, nothing more.¡± Dara hurriedly explained in panic. Even Sada seemed a bit shocked at her words.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say it? To grow and temper oneself, I need to experience new things and places to mature, but I can¡¯t really do that in this situation, can¡¯t I?¡± Ame said with a dark face.

    ¡°Th-that...¡± Dara stuttered. At the side, Sada¡¯s face seemed to be getting more worried.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I that frog in the well you just spoke of?¡± Ame retorted once again.

    ¡°...Y-young Mistress, please don¡¯t overthink such things.¡± Dara¡¯s face also darkens. After all, he can¡¯t help but feel as though he was rather careless with his words. He should have been more considerate about how she would feel about her situation.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°.... Dara, please let me go to White Peak Mountain. Even if I have no talent, I can just temper myself and make up for what I¡¯m lacking with sheer effort.¡± A resolute and bright passion started to burn in Ame¡¯s cold amethyst eyes.

    ¡®I will then be able to have fun....uh, I mean, intensive training. Not to mention, those lazy cats can finally start their training too and help get my hands on some good stuff.¡¯ She secretly thought.

    However, both Dara and Sada both thought something different. Seeing the passion in her eyes, they recalled how she has shown no progress despite her attempts at various cultivation methods. They also know that her standing is not too good, and with her intelligence, it is no wonder that their Young Mistress wishes to hurriedly improve herself. After all, no one and especially no child likes being looked down upon.

    ¡°Please let me go on this trip! Please! If they are any bandits or dangerous beats, I won¡¯t do something and will prioritize safety first. But how can I find any ways to improve if I just give up or stick to only the safe route?¡± Seeing their contemplating and worrying faces, Ame hurriedly tried to strike while the iron is hot. Thus, she held her hands together and pleaded once more.

    A few seconds of silence then passed. It felt both short and long at the same time, Ame¡¯s heart ever so slightly increasing in blood pressure due to the anticipation. She gulped as she hoped her pleading worked, but at the same time, she felt slightly bewildered on why/how she is letting this situation get to her. However, she only quickly dismissed such thoughts before returning her attention onto the two adults in her presence.

    ¡°Of course! There are no bandits or monsters for the little mistress to worry about. I have already and will make sure of that!¡± Dara sighed and firmly said. ¡°Nevertheless, White Peak Mountain is indeed rich with various life and Qi, making it a good place for any cultivator to train and find opportunities. As long as you are careful and stay in the safe areas, you can definitely train and have a fortuitous encounter.¡±

    Sada unhappily put the teapot down and crisply said, ¡°But without weapons or safeguards, what can milady do? Do not be foolish, Dara!¡±

    Dara pauses and smiles, ¡°I have just the thing.¡± Reaching into his sleeve, he pulls out two fine daggers and holds them out for Ame to take. ¡°I spotted these fine daggers earlier in the market and thought they were a fine suit for the little mistress,¡± Dara tactfully said.

    Both dangers had a green handle with gold and brown designs adorning the weapons. The blades had a beautiful luster but strangely doesn¡¯t reflect that much light, and there were wind patterns engraved onto the blades using gold and a brown metal. Although one would normally question the practicality of a such a beautiful weapon, Ame could ¡°see¡± how the weapon was not ordinary and even feel the threatening pressure emitted when simply grabbing the hilt and gazing at the daggers for just a little. It was an instinctive pressure generated when knowingly wielding a dangerous weapon that you know nothing about.

    ¡°Although it is not a very high grade, these daggers are high-grade second tier weapons forged by a reputable smith. Don¡¯t be deceived by its appearance as it has traces of Resplendent Cloud Gold, Flowing Crust Copper, and other such metals. Thus, despite their rank, they have a bit less of the characteristic agile movements but make up for this with much greater durability and heavy momentum.¡± Not realizing how conspicuous it was for him to know such much about the dangers, Dara explained about these details to Ame. He even went as far as to guarantee its quality, but maybe, Ame is just overthinking things.

    ¡°Most importantly, Young Mistress can slow down the movements of others by inflicting deep wounds. The essences of the materials will burden all targets with this effect, but higher cultivation or aggression will slow down the effects and possibly require more wounds.¡± He continued.

    After seeing Ame stare in fascination for a while, he smiled and nodded. ¡°They are named Dew and Collett......I won¡¯t go into too many details, but they should protect you from most dangers.¡± Dara then made two sheaths for the daggers to appear in midair and continued.

    ¡°As for the rest, don¡¯t worry about protection, I shall take care of it by the evening. On the morrow, the little mistress shall safely be able to enter the mountains,¡± Dara proudly said to Ame¡¯s delight and Sada¡¯s sorrow.

    Pursing her lips, Sada duly says, ¡°Very well. My lady, I wish you the greatest of fortune on your trip into the mountains on the morrow.¡± With a flourish, she climbs to her feet as her skirt rustles angrily. ¡°I¡¯ll go get some more tea,¡± She crisply says flouncing away.

    Dara confusingly glances at the tea pot and remarks, ¡°There is still tea in the pot.¡±

    Sada was not out of earshot, but she acted as if she could not hear. Ame hides her smirk and instead gratefully says, ¡°Thank you, Dara. I will not waste this valuable opportunity.¡±

    Dara chuckles and continues to feed the hungry kittens. Ame, seeing that her business was successful and concluded gratefully, digs in. The behavior of Morph and Kiro can be ignored for now.

    By the time Sada returns with a new pot of tea, the entire feast of lunch had been consumed by one elder man, the young lady, and two kittens. Somewhat aghast, Sada orders more food for herself but, more importantly, for the young miss. Even now, Sada was still somewhat disturbed at the lady¡¯s appetite, but Sada swiftly consoled herself with the fact that the Third Young Mistress was a growing child and needed to make up for the lost nourishment.

    Besides, it may have been a habit left behind by her days living on the streets with every day is just a struggle to eat, and this just shows that she is learning to trust in them a bit more. As long as she can keep her manners, no one can criticize her. With that in mind, Sada serves a new cup of tea and chats about more pleasant topics.

 * Chapter 14.2- Expedition

    Ame arose at dawn, while Sada had the kitchen prepare a bento for her. The cool, still chilly air greets Ame as she walks towards the field. Being wary of what may come, Ame choose for wearing a black silk tunic with a matching pair of pants that¡¯s easy to move in.

    Morph and Kiro yawn sleepily from the small, soft basket/sack on Ame¡¯s back. Ame also carried a small strap bag that hung at her waist while carrying a picnic basket in one hand and a shovel in the other. Morph and Kiro stare curiously at the shovel but thinks better of it than to ask.

    A few minutes later, the familiar stomps of Dara are heard. He quickly grins upon spotting Ame as he speedily walks towards her. Dara comes to a halt before her and says, "Well, little Mistress, it is my pleasure to accompany you as you depart on your journey.¡±

    Dara turns sideways and points the mountain that lies directly straight in the distance. ¡°That is White Peak Mountain. In it lies various beasts, treasures, and spots to cultivate. It is one of the various lands owned by the Min Household, and as long as you are careful and don¡¯t go too far, you are guaranteed to benefit,¡± Dara confidently said.

    He stealthily reaches into his pocket and pulls out various small paper charms on a string bracelet. Dara motions for Ame to stretch out her hand, which she does, and he carefully slips the bracelet over her wrist.

    ¡°These paper talismans should help you when in near. There are a few wards for protection, but don¡¯t hesitate to tear the paper talisman in front. It is a transfer talisman and will instantly transfer ye to the Min Household,¡± Dara softly said. His hands covered Ame¡¯s as he forced her to tightly keep hold of the new talismans given to her.

    Ame¡¯s eyes gleam at the sight. She had read that such things existed and had even came across several fantasy/supernatural stories involving them, but on Sen, even a single such talisman was costly. Not many could afford it. They were also often one-time use items.

    Of course, the Min Household held no such problem. Min Hee is an [Origin] Realm practitioner, and their family businesses seemed to be doing relatively well. Nevertheless, this is still teleportation,higher dimensional mechanics dealing with space-time. Teleportation was one of her passions yet one of her biggest failures. Perhaps, she could gain some insight on teleportation.

    Ame smiles at Dara and gratefully says, ¡°Thank you, Dara. This will be most helpful.¡±

    Dara embarrassingly scratches his face with his finger. ¡°Little Mistress, it is only a 100-league talisman,¡± Dara happily said before pausing upon noticing the shovel.

    After a moment of inner turmoil, Dara rather perturbed asks, ¡°Little Mistress, why are ye carrying a shovel?¡±

    Ame seriously says, ¡°For the hunt.¡±

    Dara doesn¡¯t dare reply to that and swiftly gathers Ame in his arms. Within moments, they are both in the air once again, and Ame closes her eyes as her hair whips in the cool morning air. In contrast to their master, Morph and Kiro were excitedly peeking over the basket at the scenery below them.

    The red, orange glow on the horizon steadily increases as the sun begins to rise just over the horizon. Within twenty minutes or so, they arrive at the foot of the White Peak Mountain. With great care, Dara carefully lands in a clearing not too far from the foot of the mountain.

    Dara gently sets Ame onto the ground as Morph and Kiro meow their thanks. Despite her pale complexion, Ame smiles lightly and thanks Dara, and Dara shyly smiles back before flying into the distance and out of view. Ame turns her back on the fading figure and begins to labor up the White Peak Mountain until she reaches a clearing with a small stream.

    Morph and Kiro sniff the air happily as they eagerly wait to climb out. This continued for a while as everyone silently appreciates the sudden influx of nature. Once they proceed quite the distance, Ame leans her shovel against an oak tree and sets her bag and picnic basket on the ground. She then removes the small basket with the kittens inside, allowing both Morph and Kiro to excitedly jumps out and begin their exploration of the surrounding forest.

    Out of breath, Ame plops down and start resting. ¡°Note...hah hah¡­ Note to self¡­. hah hah hah¡­..work on cardio¡­¡± She said while breathing roughly. She could only be thankful that Dara flew for part of the way up, or else, she would probably die from exhaustion before getting so far so quickly.

    After catching her breath and enjoying the feeling of the winds and shade, she finally sits up wearily and begins to mediate as she waits for Morph and Kiro to return from their exploration. Sometime later, they return. Ame quickly opens her eyes and solemnly studies the fuzzy figures as the kittens seat themselves before her. From the looks of their fur that was traces of leaves and was a bit messy, she can tell that they evidently had a lot of fun after finally leaving the household. Of course, it is not like she can blame them with her current circumstances.

    Ame nods in approval (of their timely arrival) and says, ¡°Morph and Kiro, we are here to train. The both of you have practiced your luck stealing and other abilities on the manor servants, but now, I want you to face an opponent. Find the nearest source of luck, and make sure the odds or danger is against us.¡±

    Ame had been worried about the possible repercussions to their abilities. Therefore, she had not allowed Morph and Kiro to test the full extent of their abilities and had instead carefully analyzed the usage and limitations during various experiments. She also made note of the description and knowledge of their abilities when discussing with her spirit guardians.

    From their descriptions, although not all of their abilities have known bad side effects, their Luck Stealing technique will inevitably attract the Heaven¡¯s Wrath, and they would receive some form of bad luck as punishment within the span of 1-3 days. Of course, their status as luck spirits seem to protect them somewhat. However, this cannot be said for their master who is ¡°normal¡± human.

    After knowing about such hidden dangers, she couldn¡¯t help but feel that there was more behind why luck spirits were unpopular. In fact, their abilities were practically a honey trap if you are not careful. Nevertheless, given that she was in the middle of the mountain, the repercussions shouldn¡¯t be too bad, but just in case, she would flee if necessary.

    Morph and Kiro eagerly begin to concentrate their ability. Time passes until the two kittens excitedly exclaim, ¡°Master, we¡¯ve stole plenty of luck from a traveler on the mountain!¡±

    The smile on Ame¡¯s face freezes before she sighs in exasperation. That was not her intention, but she would just have to deal with consequences. Next time, she would remember to be more specific with her orders.

    Ame just nodded her head. ¡°Go,¡± she commanded before quickly following behind the kittens in a sprint. Thanks to her enhanced physical prowess, her eyes were much better than before, and as she strained her unusual sight, Ame managed to catch signs of a blur in the distance.

    Ame moves her stinging eyes to the kittens and asks, ¡°The traveler is coming from the north?¡± Her complexion slightly paled.

    Morph nods in response, causing Ame¡¯s expression to darken quickly. It had only been a few days since Ame had begun to detect the Qi of others with her eyes. Though useful, Ame still had to concentrate and couldn¡¯t use it for more than a couple of seconds at a time at best. It was exactly because of this that she could tell that the odds were stacked against her.

    Rustling is heard as the traveler bursts out of the woods and glares down at Ame. She wasn¡¯t surprised as she already noticed his approaching figure. Besides, his sudden appearance makes more sense when considering that the traveler was a powerful cultivator.

    The powerful man takes his hood off. He is rather tall and has strong handsome features with dark hair and large brown eyes. On his face carried a condescending expression that seemingly places no value to anyone else.

    The traveler haughtily sneers upon seeing Ame. ¡°Here, I thought it was a powerful cultivator that managed to track me down, but instead, I merely find a weak female child who lacks any cultivation,¡± The traveler arrogantly said.

    A pleasant smile appears on Ame¡¯s face. ¡°My sincere apologies, sir, but you must have me confused. If I may point out, I cannot cultivate. Therefore, I could not have done which ye accuse me of.¡± A clear air of nobility was purposefully release as she spoke. ¡°I am-¡±

    The traveler rolls his head back and laughs. After a moment, the traveler glares icily at Ame. ¡°I do not know nor care whose child ye are. However, they clearly have not shown ye how to properly show respect for your elders. On their behalf, I will teach you some manners," He sternly said, a dark smile creeping on his face.

    Ame¡¯s face twitches at his sadistic attitude and pointedly stares at Morph and Kiro for overdoing things. ¡°Well, it¡¯s your time to shine. Don¡¯t disappoint me,¡± Ame declared as she turned her back on them.

    She halts a few feet away and says, ¡°You¡¯re a Fire Cultivator, am I, right?"

    The traveler nods his head and says, "As if that will save you, but how did you-?"

    Before he can continue, Morph and Kiro have already lunged at him while transforming into a pair of black and golden tiger cubs. Morph displayed his coldly glistening fangs and went for his jugular, while Kiro did the same but went for arm. With the powerful exertion of their bestial jaws and limbs, Morph and Kiro easily pierce the traveler''s body with their fangs and claws. Morph rips into the traveler¡¯s throat and head from his body, while Kiro digs further into the traveler¡¯s chest than his broth as he rips off the arm with his powerful jaws.

    Although a bit disgusting, they toss the torn limbs, spit the mess from their mouths, and return to their usual kitten size. This is definitely not a scene that can be readily watched without mental preparation or mental experience first. Of course, Ame wasn¡¯t faint of heart and already expected this.

    Even so, she inevitably raises an eyebrow in response. It was likely that Morph and Kiro were being considerate by not completely mutilating the traveler¡¯s body, and she was secretly thankful for their well wishes.

    ¡°Sloppy. Had I not distracted him, you would very well be dead by now.¡± However, she still needed to reprimand them. After all, no one told them to find trouble with someone in the later stages of the Mortal Realm, and if he wasn¡¯t so focused on her, they wouldn¡¯t have had the time to slowly drain away the cultivator¡¯s luck. It was thus truly lucky indeed that they were able to sneak attack him before he could even respond in any way.

    Morph and Kiro¡¯s ears flatten slightly in response. Kiro sullenly retorts, ¡°Maybe, but we still won, Master.¡±

    Ame smirks at seeing the depressed kitten and sighs before clapping loudly and saying, ¡°Congratulations, Morph and Kiro on completing your first field mission.¡± She only wants them to be more careful and aware next time. Either way, all of this is just mere tests and training for the future, and they can fix up their mistakes in due time. There is no reason to get overly depressed.

    Morph and Kiro¡¯s ears perk up as they smile happily. However, instead of a joyous scene, their smile and happy expression only seemed chill inducing due to showing off their bloody teeth and bloodstained fur.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have lunch now. We¡¯ll bury the body afterwards,¡± Ame flatly said. ¡®They can groom the blood off of their bodies, but¡­. I think I¡¯ll force into a bath anyways.¡¯ she secretly thought, causing a strange chill to briefly go up both kittens¡¯ spines.

    Regardless, Morph and Kiro nod in agreement, and they all trot towards Ame and the picnic basket. Luckily, they didn¡¯t go too far and followed a pretty direct path, so Ame could lead the way back quite easily. After returning their resting location, everyone sit down, and Ame pulls out sushi rolls and more. She carefully splits the food evenly between them as there was plenty of food still left in the basket.

    At the same time, she carefully reexamined what happened, losing herself in her own thoughts. As they munch on their food, a particular thought occurs to Ame. ¡°Morph, how well can you sense cultivators?¡± Ame asked with a full mouth.

    Morph swallows and says, ¡°Sense?... Normally, we are not better than master, but we¡¯ve been practicing how to detect others by their luck.¡±

    Her interest piqued, Ame asks, ¡°Then, how did the traveler sense you?¡±

    Morph frowns as tilts his fuzzy head in thought. ¡°Cultivators below the stage of Spirit Realm can¡¯t sense me very well. Nevertheless, one¡¯s sense will still improve along with their cultivation, and that person should have been at least an 8<sup>th</sup> rank cultivator.¡± He paused with a worried look.

    ¡°In other words, it is likely that he sensed Master and instantly found the situation suspicious. Although we were careful, we did finish stealing over half of his luck. Maybe, if we kept it kept it below half, the traveler would have never noticed you,¡± Kiro proudly answered in his brothers stead.

    ¡°Then, what happened to the extra stolen luck?¡± Ame muffled and said as she took another bite. While reviewing the events earlier, she suspected the bad luck may have rebounded by marking her with a higher chance of being attacked. However, she never expected for them to use luck to roughly estimate the strength of others. That could be useful ability.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Kiro sighs and sadly says, ¡°I wanted to find treasure, but I wasn¡¯t even able to find a single gold coin on him.¡±

    Ame glances at the downtrodden kitten and reaches into the basket. She pulls out a small tray full of stuffed rice balls and vegetable samosa''s. Ame places the tray on the ground between them but grabs a samosa before Morph and Kiro dive for the food.

    She then watches the black and golden kitten stuff their fuzzy faces while slowly taking small bites of the Samosa. Her hunger and exhaustion only made her savor the delicious, crispy flavor of the samosa with delight. With a satisfied smile, she reaches for another rice ball, before they are gone.

    Morph swallows rapidly as he remembers his thoughts. ¡°Congratulations Master on being able to successful use your sight so well. But it doesn¡¯t seem very useful,¡± Morph voiced his doubts.

    Ame smiles faintly as she rises to her feet. ¡°Well, with how things are, every little thing helps, and there are plenty of uses for them yet. Besides if this ability corresponds to my cultivation, I am sure this is only the beginning,¡± Ame softly said.

    At the same, she walks over and reaches for the shovel. After all, her special eyesight wouldn¡¯t show it¡¯s true worth until she learns how read and understand the Qi patterns more easily. She will then be able to apply it more easily. She even made sure to search for any records of such an ability, but, sadly she hasn''t found out anything yet.

    Ame traveled back to the corpse and eyed the area before she began the long laborious task of digging a hole. In the meanwhile, Morph finished eating the food on the tray and quickly caught up. Nevertheless, while Ame worked, Morph and Kiro tirelessly rolled round and played. Grumpily, she could only grumble to herself, cat''s sure have it easy.

    Finally, bored, Morph and Kiro trot over with their tails high in the air and crouch at the edge of the pit to watch. After a minute or two, Morph curiously asked, ¡°Master, you weren¡¯t very shaken to take the travelers life, but more importantly, Master seems to have previous experience of burying bodies.¡±

    Ame continues to dig as she drily replies, ¡°Yes, I have plenty of experience of burying corpses. I suppose I could be counted as a professional of sorts.¡±

    Kiro¡¯s tail swooshes in the air full of intrigue. ¡°Master, do tell. We already know Master comes from another world,¡± Kiro pleaded. Although normal people would be skeptical about the subject, Spirit Guardians are probably more used to the idea.

    Ame softly sighed but kept digging. ¡°As I previously explained, my world, Earth, in some ways was vastly different than Sen. But in the end, we were humans and repeated the mistakes of the past.

    In those days, I was a student. Free spirited and inquisitive, I couldn''t resist my curiosity and eventually got into some trouble due to a conflict of interests. However, agreeing with my ideology and willing to help, I was offered a helping hand and contracted by a certain government facility on a military base.

    ¡°My job was to act as one of the key personnel in several projects. They would help into my previous projects on quantum teleportation, quantum brain theory, point particles of the 5th dimension and higher, and so on, but in return, I would help in their various projects which consisted of research on experimental drugs, genetic alteration, and even modifications on experimental weapons. It was a give and take relationship, really.¡± She reminisced.

    I especially helped in advancements in the medical field early on. I became dedicated in my work and ended up creating several major advancements in medical technology. Because of this, we created many types of treatments for troublesome diagnoses, like cancer and Alzheimer''s.¡± Ame sighed. ¡°However, despite having eyes, I couldn''t see Mt Tai.¡±

    ¡°In truth, despite my rapid rise in prestige, we were truthfully doing research in the classic dream of any military: creating super-soldiers¡­. In fact, many powers were doing similar research as well.¡± A clear sadness permeated her tone. ¡°Ignoring ethical issues and the motives of others, I at least made things as humane as possible using my authority.¡±

    Ame slightly paused her movements before continuing once again. ¡°However, I am only one person, and while I was left in my foolish immersion, I never noticed how our greed and folly allowed the creation of some very terrifying diseases.¡±

    Morph frowned and interjected, ¡°What¡¯s so terrifying about an illness?¡±

    ¡°That is because what the illness did. Born from the fail subjects, the diseases changed the infected into monsters who craved the flesh or complete destruction of others.¡± Ame laughed. ¡°It''s funny in all honesty. The very thing that happens in certain games and stories ended up happening in reality. It just shows how stupid we can be¡­

    Virtually unkillable unless their bodies were critically wounded or destroyed or unless their heads were removed, their prowess surpassed many expectations. In a way, you can say that they were the closest thing to super soldier even if they were just mindless beasts. My colleagues and I were able to assist the soldiers in severely reducing the numbers, but we were repeatedly surprised and killed off by their abnormal abilities.

    My primary job at the time was to lead a team in preparing countermeasures and cures for those mutated victims. I created or unlocked new weapons to use in the fight against the mutants, while I assigned many of my colleagues to assist in working on creating a cure,¡± Ame¡¯s voice trailed off for a moment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I fully understand, but it does like Master was doing amazing things¡­. Does this mean that you were punished by the Heavens?¡± Kiro questioned.

    Ame paused and then quickly turned to Kiro with a stupefied expression before laughing while shaking her head. ¡°I don''t know about that, but unlike Sen, Earth was world based on science and technology. Even in the bleakest of odds and even without cultivation, we still managed to find hope. With that said, it wasn''t the most horrific or most perfect world, but it was still my world.¡±

    She looked down at the ground as she continues. ¡°.... I was still young at the time and had already begun to become numb to the horrors of killing and loss. We simply locked down the base and struggled with all our might¡­ The cause of the breach was quickly found: We found a traitor. The traitor, in a fit of madness, released the illness on base and sabotaged our systems before being imprisoned in a cell.

    Luckily for us, the illness would not take immediate effect, and those infected wished to work or volunteer for tests until the symptoms began to appear. Along with our supplies and discipline, we were thus able to carry out our duty of cleaning up that for quite a while.¡± A hint of pride resounded within her desolate voice.

    ¡°However, humans aren''t perfect, and the sabotage was irritatingly thorough. We had to make haste and suppress the breaches and attacks. We were even forced into testing experimental drugs on yourselves,¡± Ame distantly said as she stared at the ground before shoveling once more.

    Ame gruffly resumes speaking, ¡°...Of course, our casualties were correspondingly high in the beginning, and with no way to receive support in time without risking a catastrophe, we obviously struggled as best we could.

    Eventually, wearing a protective power suit, I led a team to one of the quarantined area and made a brief stop in the weapons area¡­. Well, to be honest, I can¡¯t really recall what transpired after. All I can recall are bits and pieces, faint voices calling out to me, and so much blood.¡±

    Ame shrugs and nonchalantly says, ¡°Well, in the end, I can still remember my final moments for the most part. I seemed to have survived for quite some years alone before finally finding a way to resolve it. In other words, I repaired the systems enough to reactivate a dangerous project of mine and just blew everything up down to even the molecular level.

    Well, I am not entirely sure if I reached the breaking point and gone bonkers or not, but at least, I took down those mutants as well. I probably sent the data to higher ups, but they should be able to handle the cleanup even if I didn''t.

    Either way, I couldn''t do anything as I already died...... And that''s the end of that.¡± She concluded.

    Satisfied with digging a deep enough hole, Ame climbs out. However, Morph and Kiro gaped wordlessly at Ame.

    With little effort, Ame searches the body and finds a small ring and bag. Ame separates the items from the body before tossing the body and head into the pit. Taking care, Ame dug out the blood and mush before adding it into the pit as well. Once done, Ame begun to shovel dirt back into the pit.

    Morph and Kiro are still unable to speak. After some time, Morph hesitantly says, ¡°What were their names?¡±

    ¡°Whose,¡± Ame indifferently said.

    ¡°Um,your-¡± Kiro suddenly stops as both kittens gave a frightened expression.

    ¡°Master, do you regret losing your humanity?¡± Morph hastily said.

    ¡°Lose my humanity?... I didn''t get infected, I think, but I don''t regret killing my colleagues and friends. The lose ensured my own survival and that of others,¡± Ame steadily said.

    ¡°I am no saint. If given the choice, it is natural to choose to live. Even if the world disagrees or condemns me, there is nothing wrong with seeking knowledge or a greater self. I am thus at peace with myself.¡± She continued.

    ¡°Besides, it is not as though I wanted to kill them. We simply did all that we could for what we thought was right.¡± The grave was now half filled.

    Morph and Kiro solemnly nod. Kiro opens his mouth to ask a question but thinks better of it. They instead just continue watching their Mistress filling the grave with their feline eyes.

    After finishing the burial, she tiredly wipes the sweat from her face with her sleeve and leaves the site. The kittens follow Ame back to the picnic basket that still retains some food.

    After returning, she quickly retrieved her handkerchief and a canteen of water along with other tools to thoroughly clean her hands. It was always better to be safe than sorry.

    ¡°Let us have light snack while we can.¡± Ame takes out the remaining food and a plate of sweets. They then ate in silence.

    ¡°...¡± After finishing their light meal, Ame gathers the plate once again and closes the basket shut. However, before anything else could be said, she casually places a bag and a ring in front of the kittens.

    Morph and Kiro were startled at the sight of the bag and ring. They both started sniffing the air in front of them. ¡°Master, I can smell treasure!¡± Kiro happily exclaimed as he pointed at said items.

    ¡°Have you not realized yet?¡± Ame wordlessly opens the bag and turns it around to pour out some miscellaneous items. With a keen eye, Ame swiftly discarded the silver coins and damaged herbs. However, Morph and Kiro faintly let out sounds of protest when seeing their Mistress carefully look over but even discard some golden accessories as well as a few talismans and charms.

    Before Morph and Kiro could voice an indignant protest, Ame sternly said, ¡°Weapons and other ostentatious items can be traced and are rather conspicuous when being sold. As for the talisman and charms, same rule applies as they are more dangerous.

    Therefore, you should be careful discarding or acquiring troublesome things. After all, treasure can bring calamity¡­...but that is not the main problem..¡± She glanced over at both Morph and Kiro who only made puzzled expressions in return.

    This caused Ame to sigh before returning to her assorting of the materials. ¡°You didn¡¯t realize the existence of this bag and ring.¡± She stated.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Her statement reminded the two of their earlier use of the stolen luck.

    ¡°This means either that your treasure detection ability is flawed or that something was a bit special about these things. Rather, the answer could even be both.¡± Ame continued.

    Both kittens lowered their ears and tails. Kiro especially lowered his head after hearing this. Nonetheless, Ame ignored this.

    ¡°...Although, chances are it¡¯s the latter, since I can see that the bag seems to be made of a special material and has some sort of talisman inside. They likely helped to conceal the inventory.¡± Ame smirked and gave a small laugh.

    ¡°He was certainly brilliant. Almost everything within the bag has some value, but while there are obvious items of worth, his real treasures are the seemingly ordinary items. He likely intended to trick others by making them focus on the expensive-looking things.

    He even had a spatial ring hidden in the depths of the bag, but I think it¡¯s a higher quality one that needs to be bounded. As for what¡¯s inside, I can only assume that his real precious assets are there.¡± Ame pauses and, without a word, tosses the ring into the holding bag as well. Morph and Kiro sit in sullen understating.

    Because per Ame¡¯s explanation, they can assume that their abilities can be blocked or interfered with by formations and special items. They weren¡¯t even aware of the treasures until they were placed in front of them. From this, it can be seen that those two are in need of and will be undergoing more tests including a more arduous training regime later on.

    On the other hand, they can understand the dangers of the looted goods, especially the spatial ring. Spatial rings already cost a hefty amount even for the lowest of quality ones, and regardless of whether it can be considered as good luck or bad luck, the ring needs to be bonded which makes things beneficial and dangerous for their master.

    She can develop a spiritual connection and better protection for her future inventory by using the ring, but a spatial ring of any kind will make many people envious enough to kill. Not to mention, any benefits are only possible after their Mistress becomes much stronger. Things will have to wait until after their Mistress cultivates internal martial arts or learn some other method.

    As for Ame, she already accepted the risks and decided on future goals. ¡®I can use the ring to study its spatial properties. Maybe, I can learn something new.¡¯ She thought somewhat nonchalantly. ¡®I can also have those lazy bums practice on the spatial ring as well. It will be one more card up my leave if they learn to one day sense the dangers within or even interfere with spatial rings.¡¯

    The small mound of treasure has been largely reduced to a few singular items. With interest, Ame opens a small hand sized box. Peeking inside, Ame found a small, ruby-like object; it radiated with a simmering heat and had small golden streaks that alternate in brightness, like some kind of neon lights. Her eyes were even stung due to her pupils quickly changing in size, causing her to shut her eyes in slight pain.

    ¡°This will likely sell for quite a sum¡­. I am not stupid enough to keep this thing, but I can discretely use the Sky Lapis Auction House to anonymously sell this. We can finally get a large quantity of wealth for investments.¡± Ame said after slowly reopening her eyes and contemplating.

    She saw the expression on Morph and Kiro but only laughed at their curious and confused expression. She can also see a bit of worry. ¡°Relax. We can find out what it is later, but whatever the case, I will be careful enough to not let anyone know that it was me who sold the item. Besides, no one will be stupid enough to question the Auction House connected to the Min Household. I will keep true to my own words.¡± With a small grin of satisfaction, Ame carefully places the box at in her satchel along with some other items.

    For the remaining items that were disregarded, Ame returns them to the bag. She then spins the bag and tosses it into the bushes. Rising to her feet, Ame chose to return to the pit and had patted the pit down one last time before being satisfied.

    In the meantime, the kittens climb into their basket/sack to wait for Ame¡¯s returns. When she did, Ame moved with swiftness as she picks up the bags, shovels and picnic basket. Asking Morph and Kiro whether there were any traces leading back to them, she made one last time that nothing is forgotten and everything is in place. Finally, Ame tears one of the paper talisman off the string bracelet.

    ¡°Activate!¡± The paper talisman began to glow as it slowly disintegrated into glowing specks. Soon, the space around them started to distort and seemed illusory. Everyone¡¯s vision shakened, and they vanished from their current location.

    The queasy figure of Ame suddenly appears in her courtyard. Traces of space trembling and distorting were still present, and a pale faced Ame firmly looked around at these spatial abnormalities. In less than 2 seconds at most, the spatial distortions disappeared.

    Without a word, Ame rushes towards the water closet, and soon, heaves could be heard loudly. Looking rather ill themselves, Morph and Kiro climb out of the basket that was left behind and escapes to the safety of the nearby bushes until the storm had passed. Having offered sacrifice to the porcelain closet, Ame unsteadily rises to her feet.

    With a trembling limb, she wipes the cold sweat off her face and breathes slowly to calm down. Remembering herself, she heads back to grab the shovel and washes it in the sink before dirtying again. ¡®Can¡¯t leave any blood, or things can get complicated.¡¯ She thought.

    She then washed herself up and tiredly enter her bedroom. With noticeable relief, Ame notes that Sada was not currently in her quarters. In her hurry, Ame had not even checked if Sada was present or not.

    Ame¡¯s limbs faintly shaking, she carefully places her items under the bed before joining Morph and Kiro on the bed. Ame rests her cheek against the pillow as the kittens warily eyes Ame and move away.

    Ame faintly says, ¡°It¡¯s alright. The sickness already passed.¡± Morph and Kiro relax with some noticeable relief as they curl up on the pillow next to her to rest.

 * Chapter 14.3 â€“ Son

    A thin faced older gentleman with peppered hair appears in a small clearing. His younger burly companion is a broad featured man. The older man says, ¡°Where is An?¡±

    The younger companion quickly took on a servient attitude. A pale expression were clearly apparent. ¡°But Patriarch Gao, the charm leads here. I can assure you the charm is incapable of failing! Please allow this unworthy servant a few moments to search.¡±

    Patriarch Gao impatiently nods at the young clansman. The burly man quickly took out a talisman that glowed with a faint red light and closed his eyes. Within his mind, images and awareness of his surroundings became as clear as him being there personally despite the distance. From this, one can conclude that he is using his Spirit Sense which is only possible after reaching [Spirit] Realm cultivation.

    A second later, he opened his eyes as he senses the direction of the aforementioned charm¡¯s reaction. Not wasting time, he moved with uncanny speed and disappeared into the foliage to search for the reacting charm. However, the burly man regretfully returns with a bag and cautiously hands the bag to Patriarch Gao.

    Patriarch Gao crossly takes the bag and reviews the contents of the holding bag. With a heavy heart, he recognizes the content of the bag but does not find a few of the more valuable items. Even the spatial ring and Rising Brilliance Sun Ruby were missing, but the box of the latter should have had a defensive formation that could burn the arms of any below [Spirit] Realm right off. Most importantly though, where is his son?

    The burly hurriedly returns to continue his search. He pauses a short distance away as the charm in hand glows vibrantly. The burly man¡¯s features twist in pain and anger as he turns towards Patriarch Gao.

    Patriarch Gao roars as he rushes towards the spot. With a single crack of his fist, the ground cracks open to reveal a buried corpse. With trembling hands, Patriarch Gao fall to his knees as he reaches for the corpse of his son. He reaches to grab his son¡¯s head but realizes in horror about the evident separation.

    Tears of blood incessantly flowed down from his eyes, while fire erupts from his body and starts to incinerate the surrounding area into ashes. With the next second, Patriarch Gao unleashes an unearthly roar of anguish as flames and shock waves destroyed the surroundings, except his son¡¯s grave.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    The burly man barely escapes unscathed as he coughs up blood from the recoil of his Pratriach¡¯s power. He flinches from the mild burns on his body and is desperately trying to settle down the disrupted blood flow and Qi circulation within his body. Trembling under the heat¡¯s intensity, the burly man eventually calms his internal damage and hesitantly approaches.

    ¡°Patriarch, the evil doer must be related to the Kaur Family! Who else would have the audacity to attack the young master so blatantly,¡± The burly man stubbornly said. ¡°They must have found out his whereabouts and attacked him when his guard was most down, ambushing him just after finding that treasure.¡±

    Patriarch Gao clenches his fist until his palm begins to bleed. The flames died down, and the roar died down. Although the Patriarch seemed to have calmed down now, one can feel the pure blood lust and anger encompassing the surroundings.

    ¡°I understand your pain, Patriarch. I want vengeance right now as well, but we can¡¯t afford to attract too much attention right now. We are trespassing on the Min Household¡¯s lands, and those Kaur bastards will try to take advantage of the chaos.¡± Anger suffused the burly man¡¯s voice as he reasoned with Patriarch Gao.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let those bastards win. We must slaughter them all until we can find the Young Master¡¯s killer, and we bestow punishment of the heavens.¡± The burly man had a look of indignation and anger as he spoke.

    In a terribly dreadful voice, Patriarch vows, ¡°As the Heavens are my witness, I will not rest until the culprit is found!¡± The clouds grumble ominously in the distance at his statement.

    Patriarch Gao brusquely turns to the burly man and barks at him, ¡°Li, send word to the Information House and inform that the Gao Clan is willing to pay 1 million Diamond Coins for the killer. And 5 million Diamond Coins to whoever brings back the killer alive.¡±

    Li¡¯s eyes widen at the astronomical reward but solemnly bows to Patriarch Gao before pulling out a sword from his spatial ring. Li quickly throws the sword into the air before it enlarged somewhat. Jumping onto the flying sword, he flies away with a sudden acceleration, and he is gone within a flash.

    Ignoring this, Patriarch Gao summons forth an expensive-looking cloth and tenderly collects the remains of his son onto the fabric before wrapping the corpse. He then placed An¡¯s body and belonging as he places them in his own dimension ring.

    Patriarch Gao spreads his own [Spirit Sense], searching for clues, but not a single person is found within distance. With a wrathful sigh, Patriarch Gao flies off vengefully into the sky as the clouds gather darkly in the distance. A storm is approaching.

 Sigh.............Announcement

    Dear readers,

    Sorry for disapperaing on all of you, but this was a bad year in real life. I work as an office coordinator in a accounting firm and we had several people leave us compleltly throw everything off this year. I have been working monday through saturday since december and have just stopped working saturday''s this past week. My goal will be to catch up a chapter at a time on as many series as I can. (This is the wrong world will return and I owe lots of chapters, but I will do my best to pace myself and get them out.)

    However, after re-reading A Girl''s unsual existence I realize that my heart just isn''t in it. It hurts as a writer, because you fall in love with your characters. The story itself is a good idea, but I just can''t seem to see that past eravividlly in my mind. I feel as though I am faking it and I just hate that as a writer. So instead, I will change my setting to that of a modern day one. I had been working on the project prior to the disaster happening, so I have enough chapters to post once a week for a time. I will post several chapters the first time once it''s approved. The wuxia series that will be replacing this is called, "A Modern Day Demon King."If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    If you would like to read it, please follow it once, it posts either today or tommrow!

    But thank you everyone who read this series and I will leave it up for all those that enjoyed it.

    THANK YOU, ONCE MORE! You''ve given me hope when I needed it the most! SO THANK YOU!