A Couple's (Serious) Discussion

Chapter 225: A Couple's (Serious) Discussion

5.45 am

Hana was surprised to get an alert from her smartphone signalling Arash's incoming message. Coincidentally, she was already up since she couldn't sleep much last night.

Eh? I thought he's in the underground cave?

Hana could only feel the 'pull' from Arash's presence for about six hours yesterday. After continuing for three more hours, she was convinced that Arash had stopped to take a break, and she rested accordingly. But it was out of her expectation to receive Arash's message; it meant that he rushed back to the Aborigine village to contact her immediately. It must be something important!

Hana quickly opened the chatting apps to see the incoming messages!

Arash:

Ayang, I managed to connect with you at 12pm yesterday, and the Bellflower Bridge, as you name it, had reached around 50% completion after 6 hours. Hence it was about 10% for every 6 hours. We might need another 30 hours give or take to complete the bridge.

Hana:

That's great, Ayang. It should just be a walk in the park since we could settle the bridge within two days. Then, why did you stop? Did something happen to the kids?!

Arash:

No, nothing like that, Sweetie. They're safe and sound. I have important issues to discuss with you after listening in on your comments. It cannot be delayed since I don't think we might have anymore chance to sync up as much as now once I return to work. My new boss expected a lot from me once this paid leave is over. It's true that we can only sync at Tok Silihan's cultivation chamber, meaning, at a location with high Spiritual Energy density. I wasn't able to sync up anywhere else. I actually haven't tried burying myself at the local graveyard since the risk is quite high for a lot of reasons.

Hana:

Understandable. Please don't do that. I think you'll be caught by the authorities. THAT is a BIGGG problem! Tell me what you want to know. I'll explain as much as I can.

Arash:

I can see through your eyes when you're inside your sojourn. I can hear your voice, physically and telepathically. But why can't I see your Soul Hall Domain, and you can't seem to hear or see through me?

Hana was speechless after she read Arash's questions. Did he really hear her? Every single thing? She immediately contacted Kuro through telepathy for guidance. She also consulted with Alpy immediately to listen to second opinions.

Arash waited for a long time before a reply finally came. He was currently waiting inside an empty haya at the edge of the village. He didn't plan to let the kids know of his presence since he would immediately return to the cave after the discussion.

Hana:

 I've discussed with Kuro and Alpy, and these are their conjectures: 

Kuro pointed out that our connection seems like a kind of Soul-link but of a different degree of authority. Note that the usual Lightning Emperor Soul Cultivation Chant did not have a similar effect as what he knew. The problem you stated could happen due to multiple reasons;

the actual link has not been properly established yetthe 'signal' from your side could be too weak for me to receive (for not being able to see any image/hear anything)the 'signal' from my side couldn't be interpreted fully (for not being able to see the Soul Hall Domain) because you haven't reached a certain level of Soul Power to be able to digest all.

Alpy inferred that the Bellflower Bridge might be a manifestation of a type of link that binds us to each other permanently.

As such, he suggested that you must contribute your personal Soul Power for the bridge construction, to prevent the link established became only one directional. Meaning, this situation could become a one-way thing permanently, where you can only hear and see me, but I won't be able to hear or see you. After all, during the Soul-binding ceremony, a Slave has to offer up half of its soul to the Host to make it work. However, these are only assumptions since they hadn't encountered this condition before.

Arash ruminated over Hana's long explanation. He could feel the wisdom of the little snake and the turtle (or was it a tortoise?) and felt deep relief that he followed his instinct to discuss this before the bridge was completed. The information made sense, although it wasn't complete.

Arash:

Noted. The information helped a lot. Send my regards to the two, er, two little friends. Another question. I have seen many of your POTDs and would like to ask who took those pictures?

Hana:

Ahh, those pics (shy). Some I took myself, while others were taken by Shiro huhu \(^o^)/

Arash:

...How? There isn't exactly a selfie stick with a remote controller over there, right? Wait, did it already arrive, and was it in your handbag all along?

Hana:

Ahaha, I did put that one in the cart, but still didn't proceed with the payment, hence it's not inside my handbag :D Just use some precision over your Soul Power to mold the fabric of Spiritual Energy to hold it and click. I can't use Spiritual Energy directly, but Kuro said, I could just treat Soul Power similar to Spiritual Energy. It is the primal energy that could dominate the other type of energy, although in a roundabout way. Just practice a little bit, moving it will move other energy around it too.

Arash was speechless!

THIS was what he wanted to do! 

He had only been assuming that it could work, but his wife had done it to take full-bodied selfies! 

This information was extremely important but was being treated as low-priority by his clueless wife! 

He seriously needs to review his daily conversations with Hana. Only through such a serious discussion was he able to pry the information that he desperately needed since it was so insignificantly mentioned in passing. Who knows what else had he missed?!

Arash:

Who taught you how to use Soul Power to mold Spiritual Energy? How do you even start?!

Hana:

Hmm... How should I say this... Soul Power is like wave particles, right? The one we learn in chemistry on quantum mechanics? I naturally could see them and observe their nature just like you, Ayang. Then, what I did was, I shaped them into retractable ribbons with the ability to push, pull, and grab Spiritual Energy. You know, like the one in old kung fu movies? It's a little tough, but with practice, it is doable.

Arash was exasperated! 

His wife knew how to utilize SPE all along but she didn't tell him!

Arash:

Why didn't you tell me you knew how to use SPE?

Hana:

But I did? I told you multiple times I practiced a lot with drawing maps of the region from Markisah right? I'm not gonna use my fingers, euwww... I also informed you that I trained Shiro and the others on how to do precision training? That's the basis of fine-tuning the usage of Soul Power, since I can only use this energy compared to Spiritual Energy. I'm not so good with it too..only as good at being able to activate artifacts gifted by the kids and softly clicking picture-taking icons... ^o^;;;

Arash:

@____@ Ayang, you... Really... When I meet you I'm gonna pinch that cheek of yours! How could you assume this as low-priority information?!

Hana:

Sorry! Sorry! By the way, to start practicing, you need a location with enough Spiritual Energy to move them. If they're too little, you won't feel anything. It won't work without an artifact to signal your success, especially when the energy is so sparse. 

Hana immediately gave all the details necessary. She was sweating bullets from Arash's threat. Arash LOVEEEE pinching her cheeks when she did something wrong (ahem, nominally wrong only, okay). He thought it was funny, that vengeful fellow. It's painful and would make her cheeks extra rosy for a few days. The aunties at the market would snigger at her while giggling, totally misunderstanding her predicament. It made her feel even more shameeeeeed! It's as bad as exhibiting a love bite to the public TT____TT

Hana had been fortunate enough to live in an environment thick with Spiritual Energy naturally. The added Gathering Formation set up by Shiro improved the condition further. She used the Pillage Void Shell loaned by the Grand Elder to practice just so that she didn't have to touch too much dirt or dig on the hard cave walls when drawing a map!

...

9 hours later.

Arash closed his eyes again before wet soil piled up over him, eager to reconnect with his wife. 

The discussion with Hana took around an hour. This time, he told her the time to try connecting again as soon as he arrived at the underground cave. The trekking session took less time with only short breaks in between, though Tok Silihan complained that Arash was the one who slowed them down. Arash himself felt that they had improved quite a bit; the trekking session had been reduced from thirteen hours to eight.

"Alright, Boy. As usual, six hours from now." 

Tok Silihan wondered why was he so accommodating to this goofy boy. However, he did acknowledge what Arash and his family had gone through was partly his fault. The boy was very nice too, treating him so well. It almost felt like they were truly connected by blood. 

This old one is just too kind. Tok Silihan carelessly convinced himself as he brushed off the stray thoughts. 

The Spiritual Healer chuckled helplessly at his own folly, as he reminded himself that he was about to gain quality cultivation resources soon, thanks to Arash. 

...