Chapter – 45 - Su Caiwei......Su Matsao's Little Sister

"We are quite close to the Inner Circle now. And I have not sensed anymore of those people chasing us since yesterday. But we cannot let our guards down now that we are so close to the border. We'll eat and rest here for an hour, and then keep moving. With luck, we should be able to pass through the Great Dividing Wall by late evening today."

They had been on the run for almost two weeks now. Even with all their increased stamina and enhanced speed, they had only managed to reach close to the Inner Circle. Rihanna was having a clearer understanding of the country as the days went by.

With the distance they had already covered, and the spread of the Inner Circle and Core City which she had managed to read from the thoughts of random travelers passing by in the forest, she now knew that the countries in this world were far bigger than the countries on earth. A single country here was almost as big as the smallest of continents on earth!

Surprisingly, the spread of people living in the country was very sparse and scattered. Cities were very far from each other, with vast barren lands, scanty vegetation on large deserts, rocky mountains or dense forests with no light able to seep in through the thick foliage. The geography of the land was extremely varied and often quite unsuitable for existence. Thus the people, both cultivators and commoners, were pushed out by the diverse terrains to accumulate in those handful of areas where they could live normally.

Moreover, the soils of the regions were also quite a random collection. Brown soil was the most fertile, but also the least available. Yellow soil was very porous in nature and had high fire elemental energy. Thus only herbs and vegetation cultivating fire energy grew in yellow soil regions. Unfortunately, this covered large areas in the province, with varying degree of fire energy. There were also areas with black soil, like Poison Swamp, which were highly toxic, and only poisonous plants could thrive in these areas. There was also red soil and green soil, but apparently they existed in the other regions, and Rihanna had no idea what they were like.

Also, through reading the minds of the passing travelers, Rihanna came to know that they were in the province of Beyi, and this was the least thriving area amongst the four provinces. It lacked resources, and was not economically holding up to the power of the other three provinces. It was also said to be far more corrupt, and had too many underground associations, which often threatened the power of the Beyi Governance.

The Beyi Province was ruled by the Zenoba Major Clan. Though it had a flourishing history of more than a hundred thousand years, currently it was dropping down.

Rihanna was feeling frazzled.....a clan with a hundred thousand year history?! That was one-fifth the history of entire human-kinds existence!! and they were not even talking about dynasties or civilizations....but a single clan!!

But she could not worry about so much of extra information right now. All she cared about was bringing all of her responsibilities safely inside the Inner Circle, and then getting them to Ancient Beast Aura Sect in Cetra Province. Only then could she sit back and breathe freely!

She let out a deep sigh as she settled her back in the niche of a random boulder and tried to relax her aching muscles.

'Little Purple, did you notice the strange tattoo on Siyu's back? Do you know what it stands for?'

'It is a strange combination of numerical and words. From what I saw, it seems to be a locking tattoo. But I am not sure what it might be locking.'

'Oh.....there are things you too don't know? Interesting!'

'Don't be so sarcastic little girl....it makes you less adorable! Of course there are a lot of things I do not know about this world.'

'Do you mean you did not actually come from this world?'

'....I did come from this world.....but it has been a long time since I left this place. This world is no longer the same as what it was before. Too many things have changed. But, of course, a lot remains the same as well. There are things I know, and there are things which are new for me.'

'Wooow! You sound like a very old goat! Anyway....I keep feeling there is something different about Siyu.'

'Different?....Hmmm.....But I don't sense anything different in her aura. She is definitely a commoner. And she does not have any special body constitution either. If she was a cultivator hiding her aura, even if she carried tools, I would be able to sense it.'

'I cannot explain this feeling. It is like a strong intuition.....or some kind of other sense which makes me feel that she is different from other commoners. By the way.....I feel my sensory perceptions have been growing stronger recently. My range of hearing and seeing has grown much larger. I can also read many people's minds at the same time, and it does not give me as much of a headache as before. Only thing, with all the running around, I have not been able to send out my spiritual consciousness too often.'

'Well, practice makes a man perfect. The more you use your skills, the more your inner comprehension of the skill will grow and develop, and thus you'll be able to use it more smoothly and for longer.'

'Hmmm....I wonder why Su Maihiya wanted Siyu by her side. Could it have anything to do with her tattoo?....I don't know why I keep having a bad feeling about this. When we reach the Inner Circle, I need to tell Siyu and An to be very cautious, and never reveal the tattoo to anyone else.'

"Rihanna! Come quick! There is something wrong with Su Caiwei."

Rihanna opened her eyes, and turned to Siyu who was calling out to her in anxiety. Jumping up, she walked over to the little cover they had discovered - some large boulders leaning on each other, with one large flat stone having fallen on them, making a natural cave like space. They had placed Su Matsao's sister, Su Caiwei inside the space, to keep her poisoned body away from direct sunlight. Till now the poison had not grown or created more reactions, and though Caiwei had yet to get up, at least her pulse was relatively more stable and stronger than before.

Rihanna crawled over to where Caiwei was lying on a bed on thatched dry grass, and leaned in to check her face, eyes, mouth and pulse. She did not really know anything much about medicine or treatment, but with Little Purple and Fluffy's help, she had learned some basic skills and concoctions to keep her body stabilized.

'Why is her body shaking so much? Is she going into some kind of internal shock mode? But that would happen when the internal organs start degenerating!...Did the poison pick this time to act up?!'

'With the amount of poison in her system, the body should have started disintegrating a long time ago. Maybe something instigated it's speed now.'

'But what to do now?....how can we bring down the effects of the poison? Little Purple....Fluffy....guys we have to do something, or all our efforts will come to nothing if she dies!'

'Stupid girl, I will go and take a look around to see if there are any herbs or such around this place!'

Fluffy shot out and disappeared amongst the stony mountainous surroundings. Rihanna was taking Caiwei's pulse, her mind furiously thinking of what all things she could possibly do to bring down the effects of the poison.

Young An and Young Siyu were hovering around, trying to curb their anxiety and helplessness. They had heard from Rihanna all about the little girls history in the Su clan, and their empathy gave rise to a strong attachment between people who shared similar fates. They also realized why Rihanna had been insistent on bringing them along with her.

'Little Purple.....remember the underground place in Poison Swamp?'

'Hmmm....what about it?'

'Remember how I tried to meditate, and ended up absorbing all the energy and elements in that place?'

'What are you driving at?'

'Should I.....Maybe if I try and meditate while touching her....maybe I can absorb some of the poison in her body. I could also try inserting some of my energy and see if I can guide the poison to one part of her body, and then we could just squeeze it out through a cut? You keep saying that the way I cultivate is very strange....maybe if I try my method of absorbing energy....I could do something about this poison?'

'Are you crazy?! Not to mention that I have never heard of anyone simply absorbing poison from another's body.....even if you could, do you realize that YOU would be poisoned!!'

'....Maybe....but if I absorb only a little amount, it will stabilize her body, and won't really affect me that much. Once we reach Frost City, I'll visit a Medical House to get treatment for the poison.'

'Why?! Why would you want to sacrifice yourself for this stranger?'

'I don't know.....but ever since I saw this girl lying senseless on that tiny bed in the testing room....I haven't been able to control my emotions. In fact I am unable to hold back with anything related to this girl. I think....it might be the remnant memories and emotions of this body's original soul. If I don't do anything right now, and simply watch this little girl succumb to her failing body....I don't think I will be able to face my conscience.'

Little Purple sighed inwardly. She was still the same after all this time.....what was he supposed to do? He could only follow her decisions and keep looking out for her.

Rihanna turned to the two siblings.

"Young An, Young Siyu....take Phantasm with you and be on the lookout outside. I will be trying something to let Caiwei breathe a bit easier, but I need some time and space. Phantasm, be in contact with Fluffy, and tell him not to wander too far. Be alert, but remain hidden. If there is any danger, then let Phantasm connect through our spiritual bond."

An and Siyu nodded, then left with Phantasm. Rihanna took a deep breath, and sat down cross legged next to Caiwei, closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing to go into a meditative state.

Once she had reached a state of tranquility and blank mind, she raised both her hands and placed them on Caiwei's body - one on her forehead, the other between her chest and stomach. Then she started sending out thin streams of energy into Caiwei's body, followed by her sensory perception, trying to sense the condition of Caiwei's body and internal organs.