“I do have a lot of questions! So what has this to do with why you lured me into the Taiji Arcades?” If my stares could harm people then I’d murdered Rose by now. The hot water washed away most of my fatigue. Under it hid deep-seated anxiety. Am I too trusting?
“Don’t you have more pressing questions, like my age or how powerful I’m in comparison to other Immortals?” Rose tried to sidestep the conversation and threw other questions in the room.
“No.” I looked at her seriously. I felt betrayed and I didn't know if I ever would get over it. But I had to know the answer. If I trace back the chain of unfortunate events in the city then everything went back to the night at the Taiji Arcades.
“Just answer her already. This conversation is getting tedious.” A boy, no older than twelve appeared out of thin air. He leaned arm crossed against the bathroom walls.
Rose turned nonchalantly to the new arrival showing off her slender body. “Oh, you’re back? Weren’t you arrested?”
I stood up covering me the best I could. No, he did not! I was so angry I could spit blood.
The boy continued: “I got released a few hours ago. Lynn picked me up. I just came back but the old man denies me any food until I get you two to hurry. So, -”
My robot-destroying fist punched his smug face, interrupting his little monologue. The tiles cracked under the impact and the splitter flew everywhere. Rose jumped up. Either shocked by the sudden turn of the events or remembering that little pipsqueak sneaked in to peep at us.
“What? Why?” The boy rubbed his face in confusion but perfectly unharmed.
“OUT!” I slapped him across the face. I didn't wait for an answer and kicked him towards the door. “NOW!” The boy unlocked the door and fled the room. Seeing the damaged wall I felt bad. I cringed at the thought that I might end up like the mecha beasts underground when the old man finds out. No, I bet he will after all even old Confucius says, “those who cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they themselves must pass.”
I grabbed a towel. There was no point getting back into the water. With all these peeping Toms around I didn’t particularly feel safe. While rubbing myself dry I stopped and wondered out loud, “Huh? How did he get inside? Wasn’t the door still locked?”
Rose followed my example and got out of the water. “Don’t worry about it. That guy is pretty skilled. Neither doors nor walls matter to him. That brings up the question of how he got arrested in the first place.”
I remembered listening to the news feed on the train ride into the city. There was talk of the arrest of a boyish cultivator. I thought it was too much of a coincidence that this is the one I knew. But it was Yang after all. “It is not how I imagined meeting him again.”
Rose laughed reassuringly, “it was his fault. I think he is just inexperienced in the dealings with the opposite sex.”
I raised a single eyebrow. “‘Dealings with the opposite sex’? Who says that? You really are an old woman.”
She shrugged. “You know what I meant.”
As promised, two sets of fresh clothes lay in an orderly fashion in front of the door. The clothes were mostly black with the occasional grinning skull imprinted on them. Sadly the sizes were totally off but it sufficed. We could make do. Well, except for the huge-ass bras we just put them discreetly back where they were laid out. I wore a baggy sweater with ‘FUCK’ in poison green written on it in graffiti style, a pleated skirt out of leather strapped tight with a studded belt, and a rather daring pantyhose in fishnet style.
Rose got the short end of the stick though. She was too thin for either the skirt or the trousers that were prepared for us. Instead, she wore a hoodie which was another size larger than my sweater like a dress. On it was a red face of a two-horned devil that stuck his tongue out. Of course, Rose being Rose she loved the irony of it all.
“That Lynn, I like her already! I love her style!” She whirled around in the giant hoodie. Exposing her shorts like panties.
“Stop that!” I pulled down her hoodie again. “Know some shame, will you.”
“Sheesh, fine!” Rose crossed her hands behind her head.
The provided shoes did fit quite well though. I got some ankle-high boots, of course in black. And Rose rocked black and white sneakers. I would never wear something like this normally but Rose was right. These clothes were awesome. Their I-don’t-care attitude was strangely charming which made me respect this Lynn even before I met her.
Washed and dressed we made our way downstairs where the guys who got us out of the underground waited eagerly. Feathers took a seat on my right shoulder. Apparently, food was only to be served when everyone was there. Now, there were some other newcomers as well. A handful of tough-looking bastards who wore the same leather jackets like the goatee brothers in the Arcades and in their midst stood a large lady with blinding pink hair. An undercut revealed an ungodly amount of piercings on her left ear. A tight mini skirt and a bursting tube top were showing off her self-confidence. She wore her sect's sigils not on a leather jacket but rather on an unexpected bright jeans jacket. Her hearty laughter filled the room.
The old man was still cooking, busy like a bee. The boyish cultivator, Yang, once known as my savior now regarded as a pervert, sat alone and pouting at the counter sipping a sparkling golden beverage a child should never have contact with. That’s why I went over to him and smacked his glass out of his hand.
“Hey! I was drinking that!” He turned around not expecting to see me again.
I furrowed my brows and pointed my finger at him. “You are too young to drink beer!”
“Not once but twice you hit me. I confess I might have earned it the first time but you are treading on ice, mortal.” He jumped from his stool and stood straight in front of me as if trying to intimidate me. I crossed my arms in defiance. “No beer for kids!”
He opened his mouth to speak but no words followed, instead, he sunk back onto his stool. “Today was way too long to argue with you.”
“A long day, huh? I can relate to that.” I sat down beside him. Rose went off to get us some non-alcoholic drinks.
He wistfully looked at the spilled beer. “So I heard. How exactly did you get down there? Didn’t I tell you to keep your distance from Rose?”
I started to tell him about my day. A minute later Rose brought us three cold lemonades. He furrowed his brows. “You do realize that I’m far older than I look, right?”
“I know. I just don’t like the look of a kid drinking,” I said while popping open my can. The boy answered with a tired sigh.
I resumed my tale. To my surprise, Rose listened tentatively, without even quipping once.
“A gold beast, huh?” Yang mustered Feathers. I might be wrong but the beast blushed under his gaze. “That explains why the beasts invaded the city and why the old man moved. Nice to meet you Feathers, I’m Yang.” The bird chirped a greeting.
“You guys exchange greetings without saying hello to this kindly older sister first who donated her beloved clothes to the poor?” The big girl, called Lynn, stood behind us with her hands at her hips, looking disapprovingly. Then suddenly burst out laughing, “I’m just joking! Name’s Lynn. Nice to meet ya’ll! I’ve already heard from my skinny lil’ brother what happened.”
She audibly hit Yang on his back. “That one’s a bit shy, so he probably didn’t welcome you yet properly. So let me offer you hospitality as guests of the Wudang. You will not lack any comforts while you rest here!”
“Oi, Lynn! This is not the Wudang! Don’t make this your base, you hear me?” The angry voice behind the counter added to the conversation. “Stop your chit-chat, the food is ready. Sit down and eat up!”
