Chapter 908: Chapter 908 A Moment of Peace at the River
Waltzing right up to the Endless Rain of Immortal Ice sect, which was still a mouthful, would’ve been the height of foolishness. Not only was Xiang probably, and Yang definitely known quantities, Ron’s crew were all dressed up in black. What the group did instead was situate themselves on the edge of a rive that flowed down through the sect. Ron’s crew now looked normal, like a family, though it was all a fa?ade. A series of complex masks in actual fact. Kat watched them go on, and the new clothes appear... but it was still super weird. The face masks went over the completely blank ones.
Yang and Xiang were posing as one ‘couple’ with Ron and one of the female thieves looking eerily similar to a male, and aged up Yang respectively. The rest of the group had followed suit, matching Yang’s appearance with slight variations. The only exception was one of the men, who looked like a wrinkled Xiang and had a walking stick.
Ron then pulled out a number of fishing poles and they arranged themselves at the riverbank under one of the larger trees that could cover basically everyone. Really, Kat was the one who stood out the most here but there was nothing to be done about that. Kat was striking even before the demonic features were taken into account. The fact that cultivators would be able to see her supernaturally perfect skin as just that. Supernaturally perfect, meant there really was no way to hide her, or pretend to be related at all with the masks they were using.
So they just didn’t bother. They were close to the edge of Immortal Ice’ territory yes but that territory was HUGE. Constant patrols just weren’t feasible and they still locked normal enough. Especially from a distance. A family fishing in one of the more productive rivers was a normal sight. The fact they weren’t on sect grounds only reinforced this notion. In fact, it was actually stranger to not see anyone else doing the same thing...
Nonetheless the group was together and it was time to double check everyone’s plans. “So, we’ve arrived without trouble. It’s probably best we split up here, maybe after spending a day or two planning, with a side of recon, but I do not think it is in either of our best interests to go deeper into enemy territory as two uncoordinated groups. Would you mind sharing how much you know about your friend’s whereabouts? I will of course tell you what I know of their storage areas in exchange,”
Ron said this without turning his head, he made it look like he was completely focused on the rod in front of him. Waiting for the right moment to reel in whatever his catch would be. It was a superb level of acting that... really just couldn’t be matched by the rest of the group. Except for that one pretending to be an old guy, but he just had to complain a bit every now and then, while pretending to fall asleep... or actually doing so? Kat wasn’t entirely sure but that seemed like the thief that took the most turns carrying Xiang and Yang through the night.
“I... should we really be telling you that?” said Xiang after just a moment of hesitation. There just wasn’t any point whispering the information. Ron had proved he could here them plenty well from further away then a fake family gathering where they were all clustered together.
.....
“It’s the cat isn’t it?” offered Ron as an answer.
Xiang looked over at Kat as if to say, ‘your call’ which was of course where Lily was as well. So Xiang didn’t exactly hide the answer at all. Kat and Lily were able to see that easily, and were entirely unsurprised. *No choice then I guess?*
[Not really. Do we want to admit I’m also a person?]
*Up to you.*
[I... I think that we should. I might not trust them all that much... but it would show them we were able to keep a secret, and that we are willing to share it at this point.]
*Ok.* Lily hopped off Kat’s lap and Kat sped her mind up. Lily transformed of course, and Kat got to watch the split second of pure shock on Ron’s face. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes went wide. Only for an instant though, if Kat hadn’t been using her full speed to take it in, she’d have missed it. Once it was gone, Kat let her perception return to normal as Lily said, “Indeed, I’ll be infiltrating the base first to find our friend, and reporting back about where we need to go,”
Ron made a much more deliberate twitch in his mouth as he nodded, disguising it partially as a test on his line, “You managed to keep that one a secret well... very affectionate for a trained beast. I was so certain she was just a familiar. If you don’t mind my asking, how were you able to deal with remaining in animal form the whole time?”
Lily shrugged, “To me it’s just as comfortable as my humanoid one. It really isn’t an issue and well... Kat IS my girlfriend. Sometimes I might feel a bit weird laying all over her in human form despite that but if I’m a cat... well... it’s practically expected. I get her to carry me in her arms, sleep on her, get pets without it becoming indecent. Honestly, the main thing returning to humanoid has going for me at the moment is hands and the ability to speak to people. Oh, and kisses. Those too.”
“I see... though another question, seeing as I am already being bold. Why can I not sense any Qi on either of you. Not even during Lily’s? I believe you mentioned the young miss name was? Not even during Lily’s transformation?” asked Ron.
Kat decided to grin at this. If they were already sharing well... compared to Lily... a being a demon was such a tiny secret in Kat’s mind. Kat decided to let her eyes glow, and sent a decent helping of demonic energy. “Why Ron... surely you recognised that you’ve been cavorting with demons?”
Kat laughed at the shiver that ran down Ron’s frame. She couldn’t believe it. Lily the transforming half cat? That was fine. Robbing one of the largest sects in the continent? Perfectly fine. Demons though? Ron actually looked unsettled at the revelation. “T-that’s why you wouldn’t confirm your cultivation?”
Kat nodded, barely noticing that even as she returned her voice to normal wisps of flame still leaked out. “Indeed, neither Lily nor I have any cultivation because we operate on a completely different system after all. Demonic energy,”
“I... you... is it true demons cannot lie?” asked Ron curiously.
Kat nodded, “Yes but only in the specifics. I can easily leave things out, or use examples. For example, I could not honestly say that I think the sky is pink, yet I just said it in that sentence did I not? Because I was saying it was something I couldn’t HONESTLY say. Which is true, I cannot honestly say that. However, if I were to say anything other than ‘the sky is blue’ on it’s own then the words would catch in my throat,”
Ron nodded, “Yes... I see. I’m glad I did not choose to fight you. As clear as it is to me now that Xiang and Yang would be no issue to... take out, as it were...” Yang huffed but didn’t deny it. “I’m not sure we could’ve dealt with you at all,”
Kat shrugged and gave an easy example. Lily groaned as Kat pulled out a fan and casually sliced a large gash in her arm, letting black blood drip onto the grass even as the wound healed rapidly in front of their eyes. “Probably not,”
“Now that’s just cheating,” said Ron.
“Yeah well, what’s important here,” said Lily, “Is that because I lack Qi just like Kat... I can walk or fly around the base with basically no restrictions. Sure people can spot me fine but I won’t try any special wards at all. Though unlike Kat I can lie. The sky is pink you see?”
Ron groaned but kept up his act as the fishing rod twitched as it caught something. He started to ‘struggle’ reeling in his catch for a while as he said, “Look... I don’t want no trouble here. We have an honest deal and I wasn’t thinking of reneging on it... just... I’d also like it if you could get out without making it clear you’re a demon. That sort of stigma... even if you’re clearly friendly... I’ve grown up on stories that say otherwise. Spread through the entire region... I... this has become much riskier for us. More likely to succeed as well... but riskier for the future. Let’s hope we’re all winners at the end of the day...”
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