Depthless Hunger

Chapters 417-420

As far as Omilaena was concerned, the two people exploring alongside her were more interesting than the city itself. Floodisle City was big, sure, but it was another cultivator city with cultivator ranks and cultivator rules. These two would be beside her long after she'd harvested the city for whatever it was worth and left it behind.

Zin Nim took to the city immediately, treating everything granted by her rank as a right. It was convenient, such as when she deduced that the flying rickshaws were free for anyone above the tenth rank, and sometimes fun, such as when a salesperson started to bother them and Zin Nim stared at him so intensely he looked like he almost pissed his pants. The only thing that left Omilaena a little unsettled was how much Zin Nim adapted to it, reminding her a little too much of the worst women in the Pureflower sect.

By contrast, Kai was clearly out of his element, treated as an obstacle or servant. Omilaena didn't have a single comforting instinct in her body, but she felt a bit bad for him, so she made sure to counteract that. She pressed up against his side more than necessary, whispered promises into his ear, and generally tried to make sure he was too horny to feel bad about anything.

First they visited one of the cultivator markets, where they were immediately ushered to the higher class section. The Pureflower sect had given them plenty of qi pills among their supplies, but Omilaena purchased a few more items, just in case things went bad. She could use more metals as well, even if they weren't particularly impressive.

While Zin Nim examined local flying swords, which she said were superior, Omilaena sidled over to where Kai was looking through a stall of assorted items. She ducked under his arm and hung off him while he looked, pleased by how automatically he grabbed her hip.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

"I was hoping they'd sell monster cores, but there isn't a lot of that here," he said. "I asked earlier and they implied there was a wet market in the lower city, if anywhere. That's probably not going to be good enough for me."

"Not a lot of monster hunting in these parts." Omilaena patted his side apologetically.

"Not a lot of imports in general. Not like Rosemount."

"Well, Cloudspire has always had a stick up its ass about not needing anything from the other continents. I think you could make some chakra progress, though."

"Really? I've seen some chakras, but they don't seem to value it as much..."

"You just need to use them a little more adventurously." Omilaena plucked a glass bottle from the stand, which was covered in warning symbols, and held it up for him. "See, this says that it will increase your power, but drive you mad and reduce your lifespan."

"What a great deal."

"No, but think about it. The ingredients can't just have an arbitrary 'decreases lifespan' quality - that's silly. What it has is a material effect, likely flooding power through your body in a way that harms it. Which means that the negative effect is conditional - I'm willing to bet your Behemoth's Heart can just consume most things like that without skipping a beat."

"Huh." Kai nodded and began to look through the stands with new eyes. Simple as it was, Omilaena was glad to have someone who really listened and understood.

Before she could decide how much to tease him, Zin Nim returned to them and gestured with a nod. "I've been given access to a store with highly restricted goods," she said. "Let's go see if they have anything we need."

The "store" was basically a tower, complete with its own guards, qi shielding, and balconies where cultivators sipped tea. Since that sort of ostentation usually meant strength on Cloudspire, Omilaena was curious to see what it held. She'd found absolutely no poisons so far and could only hope that those were kept in restricted areas.

When they approached the door, the guards shuffled nervously, and a woman in an official's robes looked them over. Omilaena was ready to show her jade slip, as she'd needed to do many times already, but the woman seemed focused on Kai.

"The two of you may enter, but he cannot," the official said.

"He is with us." Zin Nim delivered her usual glower, but the official's sanctimoniousness was impervious.

"We have certain requirements for our clientele, and I fear your servant does not meet them. We would welcome you and your companion, but we cannot allow you to disturb the other clients."

Zin Nim looked like she was considering murdering the woman, while Kai just sighed. Definitely time for her to take action. Omilaena slipped between them, taking Zin Nim's arm before she could kill anyone, and took over the conversation.

"Of course, we understand." She bumped her ass against Kai and gave him a smirk over her shoulder, then escorted Zin Nim inside.

Within, the air was immediately cooler and filled with qi. All the walls were covered in elegant hangings, but Omilaena was more interested in how the floors seemed to be divided into different levels based on rank. The first one started at rank 6 and the servants inside quickly hastened to urge them upward. It seemed like the second to last floor was rank 10, with a special rank 11+ floor beyond.

The materials began feeling powerful enough starting on the 9th floor, so they stopped there. Omilaena immediately discovered where all the poisons were hiding and eagerly went to go investigate. She was surprised that Zin Nim went along with her, holding her arm affectionately.

"Do the poisons need to be Sky Soul tier?" Zin Nim asked. "I'll help you look."

"I don't just need intensity, my Heart of Poison can also grow with variety," Omilaena said, selecting one of the jars. "See, this isn't so different from a Rosemount poison, despite its strength, but this one... some sort of meridian poison, is it?"

"Yes, I think that would be different. Let us see..."

That was reassuring in a way Omilaena hadn't realized earlier: Zin Nim might be at home here, but she hadn't reverted to her old self. She might look like a perfect cultivator maiden, but she would kill to defend either of them. Which was nice, even if Omilaena didn't particularly need that right now.

While they moved through the poisons, Omilaena also examined the other customers. There were some powerful Earth Souls, yes, but also women purchasing beauty products and men buying silk robes who didn't seem to be cultivators. Unsurprising that the ranking system allowed for factors other than strength, though she took a perverse pleasure in going all the way to the top on power alone.

After they made a few good purchases, they moved on to what Zin Nim was interested in... which seemed to be dual cultivation products, which were held in a screened off area. Omilaena slid up beside her, teasing half as much as she did with Kai, which was about all Zin Nim could take.

"And just what are you looking for?"

"It isn't fair to leave him outside," Zin Nim said with determination. "I... want to make sure we get something for him. As recompense for the insults."

"I don't think we need to buy anything to thank him for putting up with us." Omilaena got a little bolder, her arm snaking around the other woman's waist so her hand could flatten against her stomach. "Pretty sure the two of us can reward him just fine."

"No, I want to find something." She held up a white jar and sniffed the contents. "I like the qi in this, but what is it? The smell is... do you eat it? That seems like it would be repulsive."

Omilaena had to restrain her chuckle. "That's a cream, dear. You don't put it in your mouth, not unless you're feeling adventurous."

"I... I see..." Zin Nim flushed, but didn't break until Omilaena slid her hand further down. "Omi! Don't be vulgar!"

"What? You weren't complaining last night."

"Enjoying m-marital congress is not vulgar! Displaying what should be private, for anyone to see... that is what is inappropriate."

"Ah." Omilaena's eyebrows rose as she understood something about the other woman for the first time.

She was a possessive little thing, actually. Where Omilaena was happy to show off herself or others, Zin Nim wanted to keep it all to herself. Quite a cultivator's attitude, now that she thought about it, but Omilaena just found herself fondly amused. Fine, she could play along with that game too.

"Alright, I'll behave myself and we'll see what we can find..."

.

..

.

Finally, after so many disasters and inconveniences, everything was going right. Zin Nim floated through the city like she was a lotus petal herself.

The creams seemed like they would burn a hole in her spatial bracelet, even though they were cool to the touch, because she couldn't help thinking about her plans for later. She knew that Kai didn't have an ego like so many of the men she knew, but it just wasn't fair. He should be able to stride the streets and have others cower before him, not be treated like a peasant. Later, she would make sure he understood how much she appreciated him.

Her real surprise was Omilaena, who had behaved herself the entire day after their conversation. The other woman took so much delight in being improper, but the instant she had really understood, she changed. Zae Zin Nim intended to thank her wife for that later too.

But for now, she was simply glad to have reached this point with both of them. They were back in civilization with proper credentials and no undue attention. Their goals in the Southern Rivers seemed distant priorities compared to just enjoying being together without any obligations.

"I know where I want to go tonight," Zae Zin Nim told them as they rode another rickshaw. "With no disrespect to Kai's cooking, you haven't seen the true cuisine of the Southern Rivers. I've heard about a restaurant that's supposed to be one of the four most prestigious in the city, which is not only delicious, but the food allegedly boosts your Physique. Maybe it won't make a difference, but..."

"But it's worth a try," Kai said. "Why not?"

Omilaena raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you know much about Southern Rivers cuisine? I thought this wasn't your area."

"I am still familiar with the customs of its strongest sects," Zae Zin Nim explained. "I may have had difficulties at home, but I ate the finest dishes from across Cloudspire. But even I never got the opportunity to go to a restaurant like this."

So they headed out together, though first they changed Kai into a nicer robe... or rather, they fed a nicer robe to the Beggar King's Robes, which was rather strange. Fortunately, there were more men in a restaurant like this seeking to enhance their Physique, so he didn't stand out as much and wasn't turned away. Which meant all three of them could enter and she could finally relax with her spouses.

Since they had more than enough money, Zae Zin Nim paid for the most expensive table and the full course. They were escorted to the top of the entire restaurant and given a glorious balcony seat that was shielded from the rest of the city by tree boughs, instead offering a look at the beautiful gardens below. Once this sort of luxury had been her everyday life, and she had spent years scrounging in wastelands... all those travels had brought her these two partners, and with them the luxury was a joy instead of a prison.

As the restaurant brought them dish after dish, they talked about everything and nothing. Eventually they would need to have a serious conversation about their next moves, but that didn't hang over the evening because she knew that she would enjoy that too.

Soon enough Zae Zin Nim had eaten all she could and sat back in satisfaction. Omilaena squeezed her thigh surreptitiously under the table, but it was just affectionate, not teasing. Meanwhile, Kai continued to consume an enormous quantity of food, since he could apparently eat anything. Either he had become more polite since they met or his manners no longer bothered her, because she was just glad to see him eating his fill.

"Thank you for putting up with everything," Zae Zin Nim said. She leaned against his side and smiled up at him when he looked at her. "It's ridiculous that they can't see your value."

"I expected it." Kai shrugged as he spoke, but she thought she was a bit of relief in his eyes. "People treated me strangely in the Bloodcoral sect, too. I knew once we got away from the Manticore tribe that I'd have to deal with this again."

"You are... not what men are expected to be, here."

"But we appreciate your qualities." Omilaena slid around the table to press against Kai's other side, putting her hand on his inner thigh. Zae Zin Nim had thought she was being forward with her own maneuver and now flushed. It was under the table, though, and that was just who Omilaena was, so she decided not to complain when her wife had already been so accommodating.

"You don't need to do this, really." Kai squeezed Omilaena's shoulders and planted a kiss on top of Zae Zin Nim's head. "I'd do a lot worse for your sake than play servant for a while. I only care what you two think about me, and I'm not worried about that."

Zae Zin Nim smiled and cuddled in beside him. She was trying to decide if it would be too forward to bring up what she had purchased, or if Omilaena would make fun of her for the clumsy attempt at seduction. Even that might not feel bad, not in their little group of three. For a few moments, she was purely happy.

They reunited that night to share information, just finding a hotel where they could sit together instead of any grand institutions. Kai far preferred that, since all he really wanted was Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena without interruption. As they explained what they'd learned, however, he realized they could have a problem of split incentives.

"Our best lead on the poison is the Purple River sect," Omilaena said, "but frankly I don't think the chances are high that they were really the culprit. We might as well stay in Floodisle City city and take it for all it's worth."

"I won't deny that we could gain a great deal here." Zae Zin Nim shifted uncomfortably, frowning at nothing in particular. "However, if we get on the wrong side of the Masterful Crown clan, they will cause trouble for us throughout the entire region. They could even draw the sort of attention that might get us noticed in the Eastern Plains."

"Do you think we would, taking down one little silkpants idiot?"

"No, but it could escalate. I have been investigating their strength, and the clan has many Sky Soul cultivators, so they could be a nuisance. I... don't want us to have to join or ally with more sects here. We should be able to keep traveling together."

"Aww, I knew you just couldn't contain your lusts."

While they spoke, Kai was staring out the window of their room, thinking about the anger on the young man's face, Fhazi, and different paths taken in life. Eventually he turned back, glancing over both of them but focusing eventually on Zae Zin Nim.

"Do you think there's actually a significant risk?" he asked. "We can go if you insist, but I really want to track this down."

"He was only important because of his connection to the Masterful Crown clan," Zae Zin Nim said. "Perhaps he will never dare to return to face you. Even if he does, and even if he can find you, at worst he will bring his father. We can remain, if you wish."

"I'm in favor of staying," Omilaena said, "but is this actually decisive evidence? We haven't seen a single pebble from Deadwaste, so why here, in the biggest city in the whole region?"

"Analyze for yourself." Kai tossed the crystal he'd taken to her, but Omilaena only caught it with her pipe and set it aside.

"Already did. Yes, it looks like the Krysali cultivation, but all my research suggests that there are common patterns. Anywhere you go in the world, if you combine the Cultivation aspect with the Essence aspect, you're going to create crystals like this. Maybe they're engaging in some experiment."

Zae Zin Nim immediately shook her head. "Doubtful. Cloudspire may be wrong about some things, but I agree with the consensus: crystal cultivation is inferior in most respects."

"Even the Frontier elites using it?"

"I said most respects. But regardless, I have a very difficult time imagining any self-respecting cultivator, much less one from a major clan, building qi in crystals like this. The impulse to drain it into your dantian would be too strong, and they lack those crystal cores."

"So what does that mean?" Kai asked. When neither woman answered, he continued on himself. "You say there's a low chance someone here created the crystals themselves and I'll accept your judgment on that. So does that imply that someone from Krysal is here?"

"I know there is a small amount of trade between Krysal and the Eastern Plains." Zae Zin Nim chewed on her lip for a moment. "Compared to the size of the ocean, going around the southern side of the continent is not so far. It is not impossible, just very strange."

"I know we have a lot of other things to look into, but I want to figure out what's going on. So are we set?"

He expected to have to persuade them, but to his surprise both women agreed immediately. Omilaena seemed a bit intrigued herself, while Zae Zin Nim was very solemn about anything she considered her duty. In any case, he was glad to have them on his side.

.

..

.

After another day of work, Kai headed back to their room tired and irritable. Not physically tired, because his body was basically untouched by minor physical labor, but frustrated by the lack of progress he'd made and annoyed by the endless complaints of the workers. Half of them griped about not having wives and the other half griped about their wives.

When they nudged him on the issue, he just grunted in vague agreement, since he didn't think that they'd like to hear he was going back to two wives who loved him. Kai was looking forward to seeing them in general, and even more so when he saw them in serious conversation.

"Find anything?" Omilaena asked.

"Nothing." Kai dropped down into the chair in their room. "You look like you had more luck?"

Zae Zin Nim nodded. "Yes, the channels of the city are more open to us due to our rank. I have a simple answer for you: some foreign materials are being purchased by the alchemists of the Grand Crown sect because the Verdant River sect has allegedly discovered a new path to immortality. However, most of the materials are believed to be methods to obscure their real formula."

"And I have a more complex answer for you." Omilaena smirked as she leaned back. "I was trying to find out where the crystal shipment went, and it turns out... they leave the city to the south and they just disappear. This is gray market trade, if not black market."

"The law is only what the Masterful Crown clan says that it is, here."

"I was asking around in shady parts of the city and it turns out that region to the south is involved with slave trading. Slavery isn't illegal here or anything, but it's apparently kept in the shadows."

"It is considered low class." Zae Zin Nim frowned to herself, almost as if she would go quiet, but then continued. "Large sects or clans typically have many outer sect disciples who can be used as servants, so direct slavery is used for... more unseemly work."

"Alright!" Kai slapped his knees and got to his feet. "Let's fight everyone in the city and free the slaves!"

For a second they both stared at him, then Zae Zin Nim giggled and Omilaena relaxed back with another smirk. He sat back down and sighed.

"In all seriousness, isn't this worth investigating? If someone from the Masterful Crown clan did poison the Pureflower matriarch, they wouldn't do it through official channels. It seems more plausible that they would use clandestine means. Figuring out how the underbelly of the city works could be helpful."

"Honestly," Omilaena said, "I'm skeptical that they're responsible. But there could be better poisons there, or a connection to the Purple River sect, so I'm in."

"They might use the Dark Crown sect," Zae Zin Nim pointed out. "Hidden sects exist to perform actions that could not be done officially. However, I am also open to investigating."

It was decided just that easily: they left Floodisle City the next day, flying away from the island to the south. The banks around the lake were still filled with farms, outposts, and other signs of the city, so Kai felt as though he'd barely left. As they got further away from the outskirts he began to feel as though they were investigating new territory again, though the region was an unpleasant swamp.

Since clandestine meeting points didn't exactly put out signs, they needed to investigate the whole area. Omilaena had gathered some information about the general operations, but not exact time schedules, which were negotiated between buyer and seller. Rumor had it that another shipment would be coming in, which still left them with countless miles of territory to scout.

Kai was fully prepared to spend days on the search: they could trade off training or cultivating, so that just meant spending more time with his wives. There was no one to judge them out here, so in some ways it was better than the city. Zae Zin Nim groused about the lack of amenities at first before gradually softening up and enjoying herself, so the trip became increasingly pleasant.

And so Kai was almost disappointed when they spotted something just two days in.

"Is that a shroud?" Omilaena peered over one railing, so Kai moved to join her. The swamp was hazy with power that could be mistaken for symbols of spiritual sight at the wrong angle... but she was right, there was a shroud within the miasma.

"Found by their shroud?" Kai glanced over at her. "I can't sense anyone else, so would someone really use a shroud that's actively counter-productive?"

"The thing is, I can only make out one or two. There have to be more people, so my guess would be that most of them are invisible and they only have one or two making a mistake. It could be incompetence, or it could be something else..."

"Let's intercept them," Zae Zin Nim said.

Kai walked over to where she was seated and bent down. "Can we? I assume they've already noticed us, since we're a lot more obvious."

"Only someone with teleportation or an advanced flight technique could escape us, and if they had those, they wouldn't be traveling along the river. Let's just go get them."

Despite this strategy, they still flew down under the treeline, instead streaking along the river's path. Soon enough they spotted them: the camouflaged caravan moved alongside the river, being pulled by some sort of sacred beast that swam within it. The beast itself was camouflaged to spiritual sight, so it was a clever method of transportation, but now that he got close, the ropes were obvious.

As for the caravan itself, Kai could see that it contained a large number of cages carrying human beings. He couldn't see well through the trees, so he didn't recognize anyone... but he was sure that there were a few Krysali shrouds among them. The crystal cultivation shrouds were bulkier and stiffer than the native Cloudspire ones, so they stuck out enough to attract attention. What the hell was anyone from Deadwaste doing here?

Before he could investigate further, a force burst out of the trees... not from the caravan, from the opposite side of the river. Kai whirled to that side of the deck, ready to fight, but the group of cultivators swept up beside them on a swarm of flying swords. A full dozen, at least one Earth Soul... he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Are you really trying to traffic women?" The leader was a tall, handsome man who stared at Kai imperiously. "I honestly didn't believe it and expected this to be a waste of time. But it seems you really are scum."

"I don't know who you are." Kai shrugged and kept his hands at his sides, readying Tyrant's Claws.

"But I know you, barbarian."

Some of the cultivators in the group looked slightly familiar, but Kai didn't have much time to look at them because his attention was drawn by the leader's soul.

Name: ???

Total Power: 821

Cultivation: Earth Soul 90% (475)

Physique: E-0 (80)

Immortal Body (+150)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

Flowing Crown (+100)

>

The man had a total of 821 Power, which would be unremarkable except that he was only at Earth Soul. He was getting a huge percentage of his power from an Immortal Body and something called a Flying Crown... the conflict had just become a lot trickier.