Chapter 899: Innside
Kat and Lily wandered there way back towards the inn after watching the sun set. They couldn’t really watch it set over the lake, it was the wrong angle for that, but they did get to watch. As they walked through the streets, Kat was literally projecting an air of tranquillity. It was leaking out of her and starting to affect the surroundings. Neither of the two girls was really paying attention as they made their way back to the inn but Kat’s aura was apparently making use of this chance to influence as much as possible after being neglected for a while.
The radius of the effect was constantly fluctuating, like waves washing across the nearby lake the sphere expanded and contracted with little rhy or reason but every person it brushed got a little seed of tranquillity embedded in their hearts. It wasn’t malicious at all, and actually a rather advanced technique. If Kat knew and tried to replicate this feat later she’d fail.
The effect this had on all the nearby people was noticeable. The crowds drifted into more orderly lines; people seed to make less noise as they stepped. Those in a rush started to slow down to a more sedate pace. Salesn and won felt the desperate need for coin drop away, but their custors gained an appreciation and understanding for the wares on display so it changed very little in terms of sales volu.
When Kat and Lily got back to the inn, mostly just to make sure there were no other plans, Yang and Xiang absentmindedly flicked off an odd feeling of tranquillity. Xiang almost accepted it, as he was still having issues with flashes of Yang in compromising positions... along with others. Yang on the other hand didn’t quite want to let go of her sense of impatience. It was starting to properly dawn on her that she had to just... sit here for a few days while waiting for the auction to happen. When they’d needed to rest, that was fine. When they needed to recover from the poison, that too was fine. Yet... she was now in a normal town waiting for an AUCTION of all things.
Yang stord out of her room hoping to shake off the odd feeling only to run into Kat and change her plans. If Yang was more skilled, or Kat had actually intended for her aura to flare up like this, Yang might have realised the reason for the strange dichotomy her emotions had tried for a few seconds before instinctively rejecting the foreign influence. As established though, neither of these things were the case so Yang said. “Co, let’s go sit down with Xiang for a bit,”
Kat and Lily shared a look and a shrug, falling in behind Yang who knocked pointedly on the door. Xiang got up languidly and pulled the door open with minimal surprise. He just let them in and they crowded around the table. Kat and Lily took in the room that likely looked like the rest in the hotel.
It was a simple affair. There was the entryway where shoes could be left aside, a bathroom on the left that contained a bath but no shower, and directly in front of them was a table. The table was short with large pillows lining the four sides, with no chairs. The last notable thing in the room, for there was a closet and windows, was the bed. It wasn’t just a bed roll on the floor but it was only raised very slightly. A mattress with wooden framing that clearly sat on the floor.
.....
Seeing Xiang wasn’t going to say anything, Yang turned to Lily and asked, “So how was your date?”
“Um... not that I wouldn’t love to talk about my date, but I assud there was sothing more pressing to talk about? Or well, I was assuming anyway,” said Lily.
Yang shrugged, if she couldn’t get rid of this impatient feeling then she could listen to Lily talk about her love life. It might get Xiang thinking. It probably wouldn’t but so good gossip was just fine right now. Lily, still unsure how good an idea this was turned to Kat who also just shrugged. *This is more your area then mine. I don’t really care what you want to share, nor really understand why Yang would want to hear it.*
Lily rolled her eyes playfully and gave Kat a kiss on the cheek, more for her own benefit then Kat’s, sothing she was getting more comfortable with. Still, Lily hadn’t really known why she expected anything else as an answer from Kat so really it was her own fault for asking a question, she knew the answer to. “It was good. The docks do stink but if you’re right on the water it washes a large amount of it away...
“It makes it really simple to guess why people keep dumping shit into it but they must not be able to properly see the long term consequences of doing sothing like that. A sha because the lake really is beautiful, especially if you ignore the boats. Kat and I relaxed there for a while, eating so fish. It was more for then Kat, I enjoyed the fresh fish imnsely even if Kat didn’t really.
“It was a bit of a pain to find anything down there though. We were hoping for local delicacies and fresh fish was wonderful for , but not really what we were looking for. Still, it was well worth the walk and being able to just sit together for a while was nice even if I used the chance to complain a bit,”
“Why were you going to the docks if you were looking for local delicacies?” asked Yang confused.
Lily lilted her head, shifting her ears to lean over a bit more for added effect. Kat snatched Lily and moved the smaller girl to her lap wrapped up in her tail. Lily purred for a mont then realised she’d been asked a question. Coughing slightly to dispel the blush creeping up her cheeks... ineffectively mind you, Lily answered. “Well... we were just sort of wondering what things people eat around here? You know? Kat and I can eat at fancy restaurants at ho and sure we can do that later... but we wanted to see what was available,”
Yang shook her head, “Well nothing like that will be at the docks. What you’re thinking of doesn’t really exist. Sure this town gets tourists, but the markets are elsewhere. ‘Local delicacies’ that you might actually be interested in eating are a pale shadow of the real thing. Granted most people can’t afford anything good so that isn’t a caught themselves, so it’s not like you’d want to have what they’re actually eating.”
“Wait... why is it like this?” asked Lily, confusion lacing her words.
Yang sighed, “Lily... it just isn’t realistic. I don’t know what it’s like in your own dinsion but here cultivators only go for fancy stuff and most of the common n and won eat whatever they can as long as it provides enough nutrients. Taste and style have nothing to do with it. It’s all about basic needs for like 90% of the town. Why do you think so many of them live in shacks? It’s because the lake seems to empower fish in such a way they multiply rapidly instead of getting stronger.
“Yet, swarms of weak fish, no matter how vicious they might be in the water, are basically free food once they are caught and on land. They aren’t even Rank 1 beasts so it’s basically free food for so many of the poorest here. They spend what coin they can on a boat and then they can feed there families forever. It’s not a good life, but it is one both they and the rest of their families will survive without too much trouble,”
“Huh...” said Lily slowly before turning to Kat. “You know what? You’re right Kat, it does suck to think about. It’s also really weird to be on this side of the conversation. Is this how it feels?”
“Lily you share my emotions you know this is exactly how it feels,” deadpanned Kat.
“Wait, wait wait,” interrupted Yang, “You can feel each others emotions?”
Kat and Lily looked at each other for a few seconds before tilting their heads in sync, to display their joined confusion. “Did we never tell you about that?” said Kat.
“I could have sworn it ca up at so point?” said Lily.
“I suppose it must have slipped our minds? Or perhaps it slipped Yang’s mind?” added Kat.
“Yes but do we explain further or leave it as is? I don’t see what’s confusing about it?” tacked on Lily.
Yang glared as each sentence perfectly ran on from the other, swapping between the two effortlessly as if they were just the one person making a complete point. “Alright I get the point!”
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