Chapter 40 - Lies & Secrets

After a quiet meal with Little ShiiShii, Rai Shinah pulled out the back case that held her gourds out of her jewelry box and went to the training grounds on the other side of the lake.

She wasn't particularly enthusiastic about trying out her new weapon. She just couldn't stand Little ShiiShii's worried side glances.

Whatever I can mend broken bridges later.

Shinah pulls open the black pouch, she half uncovers the silver gourd with blue markings, ignoring the blue gourd with silver markings. The silver gourd has an engraved blue flame while the blue one has an engraving of a flower.

"Admin System, pull up—."

[Resuming Refining Playlist]

"But you see,

It's not me,

It's not my ...family

In your head, in your head, they are fighting

With their tanks, and their bombs

And their bombs, and their guns

In your head, in your head they are crying—"

Shinah's Mindscape vibrates from the quakes of the bass from the song.

"Lower, Lower, Pause." Ughh I hope Little ShiiShii doesn't come out, he's not fond of music I play from past memory projections.

[Paused The Cranberries- Zombie]

"Pull up the details on my Sacred Gourds."

[Sacred Gourds:

Female Gourd- Pulls in all elements and natural spirit energy, converting into Pure Spirit energy.

Male Gourd- Sheild's by siphoning all opponents life source as energy within range.]

Shinah feels the pricking coldness of the silver gourd unlike the warmth she felt with the blue gourd. She feels uncomfortable with the icy aura seeping through the cloth protecting it. She slightly touched the belly of the gourd amazed.

Little traces of ice slowly traveled up her fingertips. Suddenly pain shoots through her body, as if something was ripping apart her soul from her body leaving nothing but a empty void of biting coldness. Her vision darkens and the coldness permeates up her wrist freezing the blood flow in her veins.

"Shinah!! Stop touching it! Where did you get this! Let me see." ShiiShii pulls away the gourd pouch tossing it to the floor with a -clank- and projects a brilliant white fire in his left hand.

"ShhhShhii Coo..c...coollldd." Shinah breathes through chattering teeth using the last bit of energy. She loses her balance falling forward.

"I'm here, don't worry little kitten I got you." Before she falls to the ground ShiiShii pulls her onto his lap, softly caressing her frozen fingers with the heat of the flame slowly melting the ice. His eyebrows furrow displaying a serious expression as he kneads her muscles massaging her wrist up to forearm relaxing the tension in her unnaturally swollen veins.

"Ssshii..ss..ssooowyy...I.."

"Shh save your strength, silly girl this isn't.. ice elemental energy, you can't just go around carelessly touching his things. Your soul will realign on its own in a few days. What's troublesome is to cleanse the Icy Soul Aura poisoning your soul. Good thing I arrived when I did, it's only harmful to the soul any longer would've caused serious damage.

Don't worry I'll get you some soul replenishing items from Master XiaoLong's stuff, but first let me take you inside, bear with the uncomfortableness for a moment okay?" He places one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back, walking around the lake back to the house in an unhurried and gentle manner careful to not jostle or cause her any discomfort.

Shinah recovers quickly under ShiiShii's meticulous care. He was currently pulling out acupuncture needles finishing he last session of treatment needed to cleanse out the Icy Soul Aura's poison.

"Shinah, I don't care what you get into or what trouble you may cause, but somethings are personal and shouldn't be touched. I'm not upset, but where did you find The Lovers Gourds?"

"What do you mean? Those gourds are mine, and they're Sacred Gourds not Lovers."

Little ShiiShii pulls out the gourd pouch and places it on the bed. "These? Who told you they are called Sacred Gourds?"

"I got them from a task prompted from the system, I assumed XiaoLong has something to do with it. Look... Admin System pull up information on Sacred Gourds"

[Sacred Gourds:

Female Gourd- Pulls in all elements and natural spirit energy, converting into Pure Spirit energy.

Male Gourd- Sheild's by siphoning all opponents life source as energy within range.]

"So let me get this right, your telling me ..the memory wheel system gave this to you, and with only this little bit of instructions...And you still foolishly played around with it?"

"... when you say it like that it sounds bad."

"...."

"Besides it's not like it's yours why are you so upset. If it was given to me naturally I'll be the one to use it."

"Kitten... you can't."

"What why not?! It's mine."

"Theses belong to Master XiaoLong and if he sees you with them he'll be upset. They hold a sentimental value to him, besides your incapable of activating it anyway."

Shinah snatches the pouch and hugs it against herself. "You're mistaken theses and those are different, and yes I can I already used the blue one."

"You lie, These and those are the same thing and don't belong to you. Your body's foundation isn't even built with the strength to activate them yet alone the power to wield them, it's impossible-"

Shinah pulls out the blue gourd and it flickers subtly before shining bright like a light bulb under her dainty little hand.

"Let it go, this one burns I can't help you—"

The belly of the gourd expands, becoming translucent showing the hundreds of marbles inside. Shinah pops off the top..

-Ss.. Sshwishh-

The gourd starts sucking in little blue bulbs off her body. As the blue bulbs of elemental energy pass into the gourd, the first marble lights up then the second and third.

Shinah sits in a cultivating position and focused on pulling in the lingering natural spirit energy.

All colors of natural spirit energy bulbs, dance around in a fluorescent spindle weaving itself into the gourd lighting up each marble in passing. After filtering through the last marble the gourd shrinks and it's body darkens back into its original metallic blue color.

Shinah pops the top back on satisfied with the amount of converted Pure Spirit energy she's collected.