Chapter – 159 - Another Mental Ability User!

Uncle Ranaba and Uncle He made their way to Ancient Beast Aura Sect with Ye Luo the next morning. Uncle Yaoi stayed back to supervise the two kids who would be staying on in Falanderie City. It was hard to say exactly how much they had accepted the whole situation surrounding Rihanna, but they didn't behave any differently towards her.

If anything, she sensed that they had become more protective about her.

The first thing they needed to do in the morning was to go to Falanjitak Mercenary Group and register their group up for the mission. Leaving Maobei Inn, the three people set off through the wide footpaths and alleys towards Falanjitak.

For safety sake, Rihanna decided to leave Fluffy and Phantasm in their room along with Xioaguli. Though she had been regularly giving Fluffy the medicine needed to keep his disguise intact, she did not wish to take any risks. Especially since there seemed to be quite some powerful cultivators in Falanderie City.

Falanderie City was set in the same structure as Green-Stone City, except this city was huge. Being the second in-charge, after the Core City, most of the headquarters of trade and commerce were situated here. Main headquarters of Guilds were also found in this city, though most of the Guild's working offices were in other cities.

Commoners were not allowed to enter the city. Except for the convoys of commoners coming from Ruaan-Jamphu, and passing through to go towards the Outer Circle of Madsa-Tamu, the only other commoners found here were those who were a part of a Clan.

Uncle Yaoi was a bit worried since to all other people, Rihanna was a commoner. Even while walking, he kept a vigilant glance all around, protecting and shielding her with his body from weird gazes.

Falanjitak was at the end of the south-west corner of the city, and occupied a large area surrounded by a deep trench. It looked like a moat, and was filled with a dark greenish sludge like substance - very possibly toxic.

Three gates stood in three directions of the land, while the fourth side of the building was built into the rocky hill behind it. Very simple and neat, there was nothing fanciful either in the building or in the land surrounding it. In fact, the vibe of the black-stone building was quite intimidating.

Even from a distance they could see groups of people entering and exiting the gates. Being the largest Mercenary Group, not only in Falanderie City, but also in entire Cetra Prefecture. In fact it had branches in all the major Tri-City areas of the prefecture.

Uncle Yaoi had been briefing the two kids about the dangers of Void River as they made their way towards the mercenary group.

"Void River is just a term. It is actually a gap between the borders of the two countries where nothing exists."

".....Is that like the No-Man's Land outside the Core City?"

"No-no.....nothing exists means there is no land either. There is a completely dark, huge empty space, like a void. That is why it is called Void River."

Rihanna halted in her steps, her mind confused.

"If it is an empty space, then how can people enter it? Won't they get lost in the Void? And how can they breathe if there is no air?"

"Hmmm....going to the Void River is very risky. So lone cultivators generally only go to Void River when a large mission is set up by either the country or one of the Major Clans or Sects. Firstly, the gains from these missions are much bigger. Second, these missions are large scale, which means there will be more people. And thirdly, the Mission Givers will also provide with the necessary tools for entering the Void River."

"So.....tools which can help you breathe....and keep you attached to the banks of the river?"

"Breathe, yes. Also see, hear, sense the surrounding. Actually.....Void River is a bit of a mystery. Even after thousands of years, people have not yet been able to comprehend the entire mystery."

By now the three had reached the left gate of Falanjitak. There was huge hall, separate from the rest of the building. Whereas the rest of the building was the office and working space for the Mercenary Group, this Hall was a Mission Hall. All the Missions put up in this Mission Hall were from the Gavarnum, the Four Major Clans, The Major Sects, The Guilds or other important clans within the prefecture.

Though these missions were put up in the Falanjitak Mercenary Building, they were open for all, and any mercenary group or even teams comprising of lone cultivators could accept these missions.

Groups of people were going in or coming out through the gate. Some were standing around, outside the gates. Uncle Yaoi said that these were mostly lone cultivators, trying to join a mercenary group or team of lone cultivators so as to partake in the mission. They could only join as temporary members, and their earnings from the mission would be comparatively lower, but even that little amount of resources was worth fighting for.

As the three neared the gates, Rihanna unconsciously glanced at a middle aged man standing just outside the gates to one side. At first glance he looked like one of the many others standing, waiting for an opportunity. But the more she looked at him, the more uneasy she felt.

The man who was initially looking around, suddenly turned towards her, as if sensing her looking at him, and stared deep into her eyes. A chill passed through her spine, making her shiver, and for a moment she felt a dullness spreading through her mind.

'Wake up! Don't look into his eyes! Look away immediately!'

The loud scolding in her mind broke through the dazedness Rihanna was falling into, instantly snapping her into alertness. Trying hard not to react outwardly, she looked away nonchalantly, continuing through the gates behind Uncle Yaoi.

'Little Purple....what in the world was that?'

'Mental Ability Power.....he was trying to enter inside your mind.'

Rihanna almost faltered in her steps.

'Didn't you say Mental Ability Users are uncommon?! How come there is one just standing around, waiting to enter inside the mind of random people?'

'Hmph! He is not entering in just anyone's mind...don't you already know how hard it is to enter into someone's mind? Why would he waste his energy uselessly?'

Her brows creased into a frown, as she slowly sent out her perception towards the man. Though she didn't turn around, she could still feel the intense gaze of the man behind her.

'Then....he targeted me intentionally?...Does he know me?'

'Hmmm...guess what! He has my spiritual mark.'

For a few seconds Rihanna was confused. But knowing that Little Purple rarely joked about such things, she started turning the cogs in her mind.

'Is he the one she was contacting? He is pretty fast! But how does he know that I will be coming here?'

'He must have been following you ever since you entered the city. Probably eavesdropped or mind-read one of the others with you. He seems to have been waiting here just for you.'

'But he failed to enter my mind just now. Will he be alerted about my powers now?'

'He didn't exactly fail. I altered the thoughts in your mind which he was looking through, so he thinks he has seen your thoughts, but what he saw was actually an illusion. However, you need to stay very alert from now on. Since he is unable to create a chaos inside the city, he will definitely be joining the mission group.'

'Tsk! It seems this journey is going to be full of adventure!.....Say, how powerful do you think he is?'

'Hmmm.....he is at the Mid-Stage of Sprouting Level in cultivation. As for his Mental Powers....he definitely did not use much of his powers. He was just trying to glance through your mind in the passing. You were caught unaware, so failed to protect your mind. But be careful from now on.'

'.....But.....if I block his powers from entering my mind....won't he become suspicious?'

'You block....I will put up an illusion. He will not be able to make out the difference. I am more worried that he will definitely lay a trap for you during this journey. He is currently a bit too powerful for you.'

Rihanna blinked, pondering for a while. Truthfully, more than feeling shocked and anxious, she was feeling a bit excited!

This would be the first time that she would come face to face with cultivator with similar powers to her. Or at least similar in Mental Ability!

She knew from her experiences that, that group of monsters from the Underworld probably all had some type of mental ability, and she did not doubt that their powers were pretty strong as well. That's exactly why she called them Monsters! She couldn't possibly enjoy a fight against a Monster!

But this was a normal cultivator. Moreover, she already had a bone to pick with this one. Well.....she didn't want to pick the old, rotting bone....but the bone was rather persistent! She would definitely try all her hands against him!

"Rihanna! What are you thinking about so deeply that you stopped walking?"

Rihanna opened her eyes wide as she looked up to stare at Uncle Yaoi in surprise. Then she looked around to notice that she had really stopped walking at some point while immersed in her discussion with Little Purple. She bit her lips in embarrassment, then quickly walked to catch up with the other two.