In front of the campfire, Arash worriedly swiped the screen of his jet-black smartphone to check for incoming messages. The freshly boiled cassava given to him on a banana leaf by a young aborigine was placed by the side, untouched. His smartphone had been silent for a long time. He had been very miserable, awaiting his wife’s response after he dropped the giant bomb last night. 

Will she be able to handle it?

Although Hana was a clingy crybaby, she will exhibit extraordinary resilience when push comes to shove. Arash was very confident that Hana would definitely get over this challenge. She is stronger than she thinks. 

Only, she didn’t know it. Added with the fact that she had been coddled by him too much since marriage, it could take a while for her to stand up again.

Hence, he was ready to become her full-time text buddy, accompanying her 24/7 for at least two to three days to help her deal with the mental load. After all, he had taken extra leave for the recent excursion to the aborigine village and did not plan to move out so soon. If he needed an extension, well, his Boss was just around the corner, slacking together with him. Alan should be able to deal with it to reduce the impact so that he would only face minimal repercussions.

Suddenly, message alerts resounded. 

Thank goodness! Just in time! I am beginning to get worried...

Papa: Another important thing Ayang, I have a reason to believe that this leak in signal coverage might not be permanent. Hence, it could disappear at anytime. It could be next year, tomorrow, or even today. We need to be prepared for the inevitable. Be strong. We can do this! 

Mama: I understand, Ayang. I will readjust our new goals and work towards them properly this time. Thank you for being honest with me.  

Arash scrunched his brow with a complicated feeling. It seemed that his worry was unfounded. His wife seemed calm and could accept the information bomb from before. On second thought, she might have been crying the whole day and only managed to calm down enough to reply to his message now.

However, as his eyes went through the torrent of the incoming text messages, Arash’s eyes got wider with disbelief!

Mama: As such, after deep thought, I have decided to be more aggressive in the future to grab the opportunity to expand my forces. As you say, only with numbers will I be able to preserve my life to live until the day I meet you all again.

Mama: My group had managed to conquer the Gray Rock Mountain’s Silver-banded Eagle nest last night. We had weeded out all the potential problems and placed Pii-chan as the figurative head. Now, we have an advantage in aviation and will be able to cover a wider range during further exploration and conquest. With the presence of Elemental Fiends on land and Silver-banded Eagles in the air, it’ll be easier to find the said aborigines, if there are any.

Mama: We also had finally caught and domesticated a really weird tapir with the ability to grow plants. I have plans to expand the food source for the whole family systematically. Can you help get me an easy step-by-step agriculture plan to get started with? It would be best to cover at least five hectares of land. Please especially include the requirement for paddy cultivation and post-harvesting. I have no idea how to harvest all the grains and turn them into eatable rice without your help.

Mama: I will discuss and investigate this dimensional tear phenomenon you spoke of with the rest. There might be other clues. Additionally, there might be other Gates present in our world. In my opinion, you can first find a way to detect high concentrations of spiritual energy to look for other Gates. If we can find other gates, could it be a way to cross over earlier? Just something to ponder ya.

Mama: Don’t worry about me, Ayang. I know my priorities. I will do whatever is necessary to survive and return as soon as possible. Even when there is no more mobile connection, I will not easily give up! And you shouldn’t too.

Mama: I got to go now, busy busy as a bee. Got a meeting with all of my pets to discuss about future direction and development of the family. I will keep you updated, okay? Don’t worry too much.

Mama: Bye, love you.

Arash blinked his eyes a couple of times and took a deep breath. He could barely think straight. He was only able to write a short reply in response.

Papa: Oh... Okay. Love you too, Ayang.

A hand patted his shoulder, startling him. He accidentally brushed off the boiled cassava. Tok Silihan caught the banana leaf expertly and placed it on Arash’s hand after he kept his smartphone in his pocket.

“Are you alright? How was it?” Rare compassion mixed with guilt radiated from Tok Silihan’s gaze. He knew that Arash was contacting his wife to inform about the information he provided. He too, hoped that the wife won’t be making any rash actions after knowing the bitter truth.

“Ah.. I guess so.” Arash sighed after taking some time to calm himself. Tok Silihan didn’t rush him and only sat patiently beside him. Weird gazes from other aborigines were directed at them all the time, but both of them tacitly ignored the others.

“I think there won’t be a problem. She immediately expanded her forces after she knew the truth.”

“How so? Explain to me.”

Arash told Tok Silihan what kind of actions his beloved Hana took, and it shook the old ancestor to the core! He nearly fell down from where he stood. What aggressiveness! Tok Silihan looked at Arash in a new light. To be able to tame this kind of woman into a wife was a skill!

“..as such, please teach me a method to detect spiritual energy. I truly need it! I will continue the search in another way. What Hana said had a grain of truth in it. As long as I tried, nothing is impossible!” Arash took a step back and bowed to Tok Silihan in desperation.

“Please, Tok!”

Arash grabbed on Tok Silihan’s faded pelekat (1) passionately. The others who saw what he did closed their eyes in horror! Anyone who came close to or touched Tok Silihan will be immediately kicked or slapped. They will then tumble at least fifty meters away.

Surprisingly, the Spiritual Healer didn’t beat Arash up. He held him up by the shoulder.

“Sigh, you stupid youngster... Let me think about what I can do, alright?”

Everyone else, "O_____O"

Such a big difference in treatment! 

...

It was Alpy’s first time entering the Serpent’s Lair headquarters. 

His observant eyes were slightly surprised by the materials used on the walls and the slightly transparent floor of the lair. The less-than-ideal Spirit Pearls of the Waterwave Marine clan were used in abundance to simulate the function of the highly sought-after Spirit Crystal through a technique that he wasn’t privy about. The resulting ambiance was extraordinarily fresh and thick with spirituality, although they were indoors. It bore a resemblance to the Waterwave Lord’s famed cultivation chamber dug deep within a Spirit Crystal Vein. Except that this one was artificially made.

Next, Alpy scrutinized the ‘guards’ stationed within the lair. Red-colored brawny Elemental Fiends the size of ponies stood still at strategic locations, providing added illumination with their antenna while behaving like solemn guards. 

On the side, he could feel the aura of the Crystal-veined stream Lord from the two suspended water reservoirs. Obviously, the Lord himself had personally made the sturdy bubble since his unmistakable prestigious aura radiated boldly at that specific location. Alpy was awed by this thought and couldn’t help but re-evaluated the Mistress’ importance towards the Waterwave Marine Clan; how distinguished was the Mistress’ standing, to be able to invite the spiritual leader of another clan to make a trivial water source within her own home?

On another side was a strange structure made from bamboo filled with novel trinkets he had never seen before from bottom to top. Only a few spiritual herbs were known to him. For someone like him, who had lived within the clan’s grounds for a long time, there were not many things that would’ve surprised him anymore. Although the structure wasn’t much to talk about, he was surprised yet again by the uniqueness of the unknown items on display.

Alpy nodded secretly, feeling thoroughly impressed. 

Although small, the atmosphere oozed extravagance, befitting the personal abode of the ‘Goddess Mistress’. The moniker stuck between the freshwater clansmen of the Servant faction under hushed tones, though the Mistress herself wasn’t aware of it. Through Chomper’s incessant ‘brainwashing’, the freshwater clansmen saw her not just as their master but also as their salvation. 

Even Alpy himself, who was rational yet careful, was almost infected by the propaganda. They couldn’t help it since the Mistress was the very image of a kind and benevolent Goddess of Water in the legends. One thing that touched them deeply was how the Mistress treated them like her own, even when they had just met. She forcefully pulled them into her folds to protect them from their own clansmen. Goddess Mistress Hana was wayyyy better than how Chomper portrayed her to be.

Almost everyone had arrived inside after some time. Princess Aranyella came with her attendant, Chomper. She immediately busied herself attending to Lord Brother Shiro’s injuries, who was already awake, but unable to move. Perched atop Lord Shiro’s head was the tiny yellow bird known as Markisah. She was merrily chatting with Princess Aranyella without reserve while accompanying her. The Young Miss of their clan looked contented and happy. The newly joined Forest Spirit, Ta, was sitting a little far from everyone else while showing a miserable expression.

Alpy weighed the options in his mind. Frankly speaking, he was interested in Ta’s unique powers and would like to get to know the Forest Spirit better. Although he was not involved with Ta-chan’s testing previously, he could already grasp Ta’s importance in the growth of the family by connecting the dots. Additionally, it was also new within the group. Thus, befriending it early will only be beneficial to Alpy and his cliques. However, he stopped moving forward and retreated after a few steps; with his vast life experiences, he noticed that their newest brother (or sister) was in its defensive form. 

Its eyes were dodgy as it tried to avoid making eye contact with everyone. It was even trembling a little. 

It’s a bad sign. 

Approaching such a distressed creature will only yield negative results.

“Are we not going? Why did you stop, Gramps Alpy?” Saras asked curiously. She, too, was eager to get to know more’ family members’ and expand her network.

“Not now. Let’s give it some time to calm down.” From how the Forest Spirit acted, Alpy could decipher that it might not willingly join the Serpent’s Lair. What it needed was time.

…

Authors’ Note:

1. Pelekat: Tok Silihan was described as wearing a faded yellowed Pagoda shirt and pelekat like a farmer previously (just a reminder since so long ago right haha) Pelekat is a kind of cloth that men tied at their waist, and wear like a long ‘skirt’. It covers whole leg. However, some men will tie it by going through the middle to turn it into something like pants during daily activities. These people are usually farmers or rubber tappers of the olden days.