Chapter – 28 - Call Me Little Purple!

Bless this world for having alcoholic drinks! In fact the alcohol of this world was far stronger than anything on earth! Rihanna had tried to steal a sip....and almost tripped over from the sudden dizziness! She could still feel a slow burn in her insides, even after the banquet was over.

Well....cultivators sure had spiritual energy to give them enhanced alcohol endurance! All the guests, and most of the hosts were down and out by the end of the banquet. Or rather, since the servants were too busy carrying the cultivators back to their respective residences, the banquet came to a natural end.

Rihanna walked around, dealing with the entire situation in a businesslike, calm manner, and silently attached herself with the elder she had seen entering the inner territory before. The two other commoners who were helping her walk back were deftly sent off by her to help others, as she gently but firmly picked up the old lady and rushed off towards the eastern courtyard.

With an excuse that she had to make sure the elder was lying securely in her bed, and sleeping peacefully, she made her way to the elder's courtyard. Meanwhile, the purple light was at work. In her intoxicated stage, the light could manipulate her memory to some extent. Not enough to hand over all possession, but maybe make the elder see Rihanna as another elder....and lend her the coral token! This was a plan she had concocted with the Voice once she realized the power of this world's alcohol.

It took some time. With the way the old lady was groaning and muttering, Rihanna was scared she would wake up midway.....or it would take too long and the servants from outside would come in to check what was taking them so long!

Nevertheless, no one came in, and finally the old lady too settled down on the bed.

'Ask her....oh, by the way....your name is Elder De.....and this is Elder Sumei. Elder De generally stays inside to teach the children, and will be returning back after the banquet, in the morning. So he would be your perfect cover.'

Rihanna nodded, then turned to Elder Sumei.

"Elder Sumei....this is Elder De. Today I drank too much, and was gambling with some of the guests. I ran out of money, so had to keep the Coral token as a keep. All my money is inside, but now I don't have any token to go in! Can you please lend me your token for a couple of days? I promise, as soon as I pay back my due and get back my token, I'll return yours to you....and I'll keep it very safely....I'll guard it with my life!"

"De-De!.....Little De-De!....You little scum...since when did you start calling your elder Sect Sister Elder Sumei?! Was the alcohol too strong...or has all the heat of the back mountains gone into your brains?!"

Elder Sumei lifted her hands in her semi-conscious state, and perfectly swatted at Rihanna's head, shocking Rihanna by the sudden beating. That hurt....a lot!!

"And what is with this gambling?....Have you started gambling again?! You no good younger brother from the same sect.....if you were not from my sect I would throw you into Void River! I am sure your little friend from last time is still waiting for you to return and play with him!"

Rihanna shuddered at this sudden threat....who was waiting? And what were they supposed to play at?! Why did this have such a double meaning to it?.....Suddenly Rihanna felt sympathetic towards Elder De.....whoever he was....

Elder Sumei continued with another barrage of threat and curses, with regular intervals of swatting and flicking her head, till finally her words became more and more slurred. Before all consciousness slipped away, Rihanna finally managed to get her to retrieve the coral token from her inner world. Some jobs in this world were not as dangerous, but they required extreme patience and perseverance....her clothes were already drenched in sweat!

Making sure that Elder Sumei was fully sleeping, Rihanna silently slipped out of her residence, shutting the door softly, and then swiftly walked out of the eastern courtyard. There were no servants or guests or hosts in the vicinity as she reached a blind corner, and let out her senses, checking for all guards and patrolling cultivators.

She was currently facing the conundrum of when to enter the interiors.....if she entered now, then Ke Kuroba in the western residence would need to disappear - which would surely raise a lot of suspicion and chaos. But if she waited till the commoners were all discharged, she ran a risk of getting caught in her own web of lies, specially once Elder Sumei became suspicious! What to do?

After a heated debate with the Voice, she decided the best strategy was to feign illness....or rather she would act as if in a drunk stupor herself whilst returning back to the western courtyard. The more people saw her the better. That way there would be witnesses for her 'sudden illness' in the morning.

Anyway, she doubted any of the guests or hosts would be able to move about early in the morning after their night of wild revelry! If she went to her room, and then acted as if going to the toilet, before slipping away.....then she would have the entire night, and even if she returned by noon tomorrow.....that should be enough time, and would also not put her in a difficult position!.....Now.....how to tackle the guards inside?!.....If only she could change her features to take on Elder De or Elder Sumei's physique and face.....tsk.

'You have gotten too used to my help. You think getting into a disguise and being able to maintain it, even before high level cultivators is easy? If I was not using my power to enhance and stabilize your disguise, you would already have died many times over! This Trans-mutating Stone is indeed necessary, but after this we need to take a break and pick up some basic level books on alchemy and inscriptions....also some entry level cultivation techniques.'

'What's the point of cultivation techniques.....they won't suit my style anyway!'

'Oh.....you have a Style? You, who cannot even direct the power accumulating inside you, have already developed a Style?'

'Hey....I still haven't figured out a method for channeling it outwards. Once I have the method, then I'll be able to start developing my own styles!

'Cultivation is not the same as growing cabbage.....drop the seeds anyhow and anywhere, and they'll grow like wild grass! In the past few days, other than using your hearing and mind reading senses, you have pretty much packed up all your other passive skills. You don't even focus on absorbing energy, giving excuses all the time. Your energy core has not grown even a nanometer.

I think it is better for you to return to the Su Clan, and wait for the Sect Leader to come pick you up. With your current level of cultivation you won't be able to last even six more months in this world.....and I am getting pretty tired of spending all my hard earned energy to keep picking you out of troubles!'

Rihanna widened her eyes, blinking in surprise. This was the first time the Voice sounded as angry and cold as this. Was he seriously contemplating on breaking away from their deal?! Well....technically she was the one who kind of broke it first. She had been giving herself the excuse of being too busy, and had started taking leeway in her daily practice. But the Voice had not commented on it till now....so she had thought that it didn't matter.

Rihanna sat down on a boulder, a deep feeling of fear and regret washing through her mind, jolting her to full wakefulness. What was she doing, wasting all the given opportunities?! There were not a few troubles chasing her, and each was more powerful than the other.

Such grand dreams she had - save herself, save Su Matsao's younger sister, make herself strong.....what would they be worth once she was caught and thrown into someone's bed to be forced! She would rather die than let her life and choice be entrapped in the hands of another! She hated being forced, hated being threatened, hated living a life decided by someone else.....was she going to waste a second chance at life....a chance that was, perhaps, a blessing from this universe?!

Rihanna shuddered at the thought of Su Matsao's destiny. No-way! That was not going to be her ending as well. She refused to accept such a fate, refused to give in without a fight, refused to let people trample on her just because they were strong!

Fine....then from today she would listen to the Voice.....she did not know who it was or what his ultimate goal was regarding her....but if she had to listen to someone, she would rather it was a person she knew and accepted.....someone who cared enough to keep her alive.

'Do you want me to acknowledge you as Master or something?'

'Eh....let's not become so tacky!....Just.....just call me Little Purple from now on.'

'Little Purple?! What's with this weird chunibyo syndrome??'

'Just call me Little Purple....and don't ask another word about it....ever!'

Ummm....okay....this little chibi Purple was now blowing black steam out of his nose and ears....if she stroked this lamp the wrong way, even the steam could catch fire! Best was to follow it's weird fetishes....it was just a name anyway.....but truly, 'Little Purple'??....Snigger....ahem...okay. Now to play a 'dead-drunk-old-man', and then slip into the inner regions.