Chapter – 57 - Getting Together with Old Friends

Their group did not sit through the entire opening day events, preferring to slip off after the first few fights. Rihanna was a bit unsure whether her new masters would be calling her over again, and she hesitantly went over to seek permission, only to find they had long disappeared! Well...if she couldn't find them, then that was not her fault anymore.

And so she slipped off happily with her old comrades. Once they knew this was first time around this place, they left no stone unturned....literally. pretty much dragged around by them to every nook and cranny of the first and second levels of the gigantic chasm mall...she was more than glad when they headed over to one of the famous restaurants on the second level.

Uncle He, Uncle Yaoi, Uncle Ranaba and Uncle Daogi....the four of them were lone cultivators from different parts of the country. In fact Uncle Ranaba was from Ruaan-Jamphu, but had deflected to Madsa-Tamu after some incident.

He didn't speak much, but Rihanna could infer from the little she heard and read in their minds that he had been involved in some large scale conflict between the government and the mercenary groups in Ruaan-Jamphu, following which the government had sent all their Large Sect forces to completely suppress and annihilate the two biggest mercenary groups. And he being a member of one of them, was forced to flee.

The five countries played truant with each other, in order to maintain the balance. They neither supported people in exiles from planning rebellions against their original country, nor stopped exiles from entering their country. Even the government could send people to search and force back the exiles to their own country....as long as they did it under cover. The governments neither openly helped the other, nor completely dissuaded them.

Rihanna found this political relationship between countries, and the way of their dealings complicated as well as insincere. But she had to admit it was also interesting.

As they entered the doors of the restaurant, they were met with a puff of brown, sand like vapour cloud, with a mildly sweet yet alluring fragrance. The vapors rolled and dispersed, and Rihanna could see an ethnic-Arabian set-up beyond the rolling vapors which poured out from nothing and rolled all over the floor.

Square low tables were each surrounded by low benches on all sides. At a glance they looked like sand, but looking closer, Rihanna discovered it to be something like sandstone, except the texture was much more grainy and rough.....more like compressed blocks of sand, shaped like tables and chairs!

Beneath each table were stone hearths set deep into the stone floor, which kept the food warm when placed on the table.

Colorful stones were beaded into curtains and separated each table, giving the diners some private space. Deep ledges hat been cut into three of the walls, and a large assortment of food, from fruits and vegetables to meat and eggs were displayed all around the dining hall. Rihanna realized that this was a buffet system. There were deep grooves carved into the wall just above the ledge, which kept large trays.

These trays were inscribed with some sort of wind enchantment. A diner simply needed to insert his or her spiritual energy into it, and the tray willingly followed the person as he or she piled plates full of food onto the trays from the display of food, then walked over to their table and unloaded the trays once more.

Looking at the strange scene of trays floating behind each diner, and following them wherever they went, she went into a daze, remembering the big supermarkets on earth where people went around pushing trolleys and carts. Except, this was way more convenient!

Uncle Yaoi picked up a tray and handed it to Rihanna after inserting his energy into it. No one knew she could cultivate. The way she cultivated was too weird for this world. And no matter how close she felt with them, she couldn't risk her own safety. Moreover, she did not want to put them into trouble. There were already enough trouble following her steps!

While wandering around the market in the chasm, she had come to know that Wen Haoli had created trouble for them after she escaped Green-city. Unfortunately for him, these people may seem simple, but they had great luck and good connections. The Mayor of Green-city was a good friend of theirs, after they had saved his son and daughter from a perilous mission previously. And the mayor of each city were actually leaders of the branch families of the Waiqian Major Clan. And low grade sects like Moon-grave Sect had no status before even the branches of the Major Clan of Beyi Province.

Thus they had averted the entire issue and walked off, leaving an annoyed but unable-to-do-anything Wen Haoli. Even as they laughed at the memory of the incident, Rihanna felt depressed. If she had known earlier that these people had such great contacts, would she have still run off towards her own death! She shuddered remembering the many times she had felt 'is-this-the-end-for-me?' in the past almost three months!

After a hearty meal, and still getting no reminder from her new masters, she chose to agree with Uncle He's advice, and followed them to their place. They had finally agreed to stay here for the next couple of days, and then return back for the finals of the Devil Beast Emperor Coronation.

The place they had rented from the inn was more like a suite of a five-star hotel.....large and lavish. There were two rooms, but since she was a girl, albeit small and a commoner, they still behaved like gentlemen, and spared one room entirely for her. She was heartened to think how they never treated her as a non-cultivator.

"Are we going to watch the fights in the arena tomorrow morning?"

Rihanna paused at the door, turning to look at Uncle He, who had decided to shack-out in the large hall with Uncle Ranaba. They were currently taking out a variety of stuff - blankets, sheets, thick leather bedding, pillows, glass, leather water flasks, snacks and fruits to munch on at midnight, small bamboo casks filled with alcohol!! They were truly setting up a camp inside the hall!

"The arena doesn't start till late evening. We'll take you to somewhere more interesting tomorrow!"

But no matter how cute Rihanna acted, Uncle He zipped up his lips and would speak no more, only his eyes glinting in mirth. Uncle Ranaba spoke very little anyway, so Rihanna could only wave them goodnight and close the door to her room. Even as she was falling asleep, tired out from the days exercise and happenings, her mind was still trying to figure out where they might be going the next day. Ah! She must be really too tired, to be so hung over like a petulant child!

The next day dawned, and after a heart-filling breakfast, the penta-group made their way out of the inn at the first level, and sauntered off towards the ground level once more. But this time they went directly opposite the arena. Wasn't this where the auctions house was? Were they going to attend one of the much talked about auctions of the Underworld Abyss?!

Rihanna was felt a thrill, almost as excited as a kid. Though she had had her tough times after suddenly being thrown into this world, not all of it was undesirable. There many new things, and many new and different ways of doing the same thing. Though she had not seen any live auctions on earth, but she had watched quite a few on television or online. She knew the general tropes. She couldn't help wondering how auctions were held in this world. Like a curious chick, she followed behind the four uncles, entirely oblivious of the five pair of eyes watching her antics.

"She looks like one of those small flying beasts....oh! what do you call them?.....Ah yes....a baby Cockerel!"

"She does indeed! Same energy and fearlessness as a chick! Did you notice the way she kept pecking her food yesterday? Fast, efficient....and very hungry!"

As usual the two girls were busy laughing up a storm over their non-sensical topics of conversation.

Little Wenwen looked away in disdain, unable to watch his older sect sister drooling over an eleven year old girl. It was such a pervert thing to do! He glanced at Bodus who was sitting to one side, a look of disinterested calmness stamped over his face. This was his perpetual look, and very rarely had he seen it change. Suli Wenzhaobei found this even more irritating than his older sister Xiaxia's ever-chattiness!

He turned his face to the other side, and saw the cold radiating from a pair of shadowed golden eyes.

"Tell her to sell the flowers."

Little Wenwen blinked in surprise, unable to follow the thread of this conversation. But he had been following the Master for a long time now, and it didn't take him long to join the dots. Though he was internally puzzled, he didn't dare question his master. Elegantly rising from his seat, he glanced over to where Rihanna was still busy questioning her Uncles to know more about the auctions, and sniggered. He didn't know why, but it felt great bullying this little kid. Hmmm....could become an addiction!

He disappeared from his place, then swiftly reappeared behind Rihanna, and continues listening in to their conversation without any intention of telling her anything.

Unaware, Rihanna herself was caught in a deep conflict. This auction house did seem to be the best place she could unload her collections. Today was the second day of the fifteen day auction of the Shino Monte Paradun, and unlike normal times, regulations were more lax, and the auction house would accept all kinds of stuff for their auction as long they met their parameters.

And from what she had been sensing from the people here since yesterday, was that Frozen Magma Flowers were not just in high demand due to their various uses, they were also difficult to come by. Which left Rihanna in a flux...there were literally hundreds, if not thousands of Frozen Magma Flowers just a short walk from the market! What exactly was the 'Emperor' nourishing those many flowers for if he did not plan to sell even a single one? Or did he keep it that was so it would increase the pricelessness of the flowers?? Rich people were truly a difficult-to-understand species!

Her ears twitched, and her thoughts suddenly halted, as her senses screamed something to her. Even though she couldn't feel any aura around her, but the same sense she had felt around Siyu came back to her again. She had only felt that way around those four people yesterday.....and there was only one from that group who loved entertaining himself at her expense.

Sighing inwardly, she plastered the widest and fakest smile she could bring forth, then turned abruptly and bowed down at an angle parallel to the floor, startling the sadistic pervert sniggering behind her back.

"Young Lord! Your maid is at your beck and call! Please do tell this little servant of yours how I might help you today! I promise to do a good and thorough job as a maid!"