Chapter 91

Chapter 91: 91 I was still thinking about the further ramifications of The Unity’s product when the ooh-ing and ahh-ing started as we touched down in the Under City proper and the girls got their first proper look at the city. Another time I would have been happy to share in their excitement at seeing something so incredible but right now my attention was taken by the two people walking up to the landing area of the lift. "Yidi!" I called out and jogged forward a few steps to make up the distance. "Hello Misha," Yidi said with a smile. He gestured to the girls. "Your mundane friends?" "Yeah. Melody and Coral," I introduced, pointing to each in turn. The pair somehow managed to curb their enthusiasm for snapping photos of the place and happily greeted Yidi. When Zhan pulled up alongside us I introduced him to them as well though they weren’t quite as enthusiastic. I’m always impressed by the intuition of girls. "How was this place built?" Coral asked Yidi as our group started the trek towards the lake. Yidi launched into an in-depth analysis of the question which I would normally have loved to pay attention to but right now I had more pressing matters to focus on. "What happened with Cheungyi?" I asked Zhan a little more quietly as we followed the other three. "Oh, not much," he replied. "I wasn’t able to cut her in half with my powers limited like this, but I managed to chop her legs off just fine." A shiver ran down my back and I had to remind myself that Cheungyi was a puppet and not a flesh and blood human. "Is she... still alive?" I ventured. "Oh yeah, she’s fine. Once Yidi and I immobilised her we explained the situation and she accepted it." He smirked. "Or rather she was forced to accept it." The gratitude for helping him with his problem seemed to be evaporating and he was returning to his bratty self rather quickly. Best say what I needed to say, I thought. "Do you know why the SSD wanted me to bring Coral and Melody?" I asked. Zhan looked at me with a shade of surprise. "Don’t you know?" "No." "Huh. Well, it’s quite simple. The SSD is filled with jianghu members and mundane people who’ve been involved with this stuff since forever, so it’s a pretty closed community." "Ohh, so they want some opinions from outsiders - completely normal people." "I imagine so." That was more progressive than I was expecting. Coming from overseas, I’d come with a basic assumption that all government stuff is old and bureaucratic and not good for much, but it seemed like I needed to revise my opinion. "Are they... punishing you?" I asked. "Why? Worried for me?" The boy replied with distain. I rolled my eyes. "I thought showing concern for friends is normal, but I won’t if that’s what you want," I said with a huff. "Oh." I’d expected another sarcastic comeback, but instead I got nothing. I risked glance at him and saw an oddly human expression on his face before he quickly looked away. The meeting didn’t take place in the Under City proper (I heard later that many of its residents had moved away to the mountains temporarily because of the general unease about the situation) so Yidi instead lead us around the inland sea to the caves the lined its edge. Life was still stressful for me this time round, but at least I felt like I wasn’t alone in that which, strangely, calmed me down and I was able to better observe the place. And what a place it was. I hadn’t noticed the intricately carved figures in the walls the first time round, but this time I was gobsmacked by all the little humans and beasts and mythical creatures that sat or ran or walked on each surface, all honed out of a reddish stone. Had this been somewhere else, there would be security guards and barriers set up to make sure people didn’t get too close to the exhibits but here the spectacles was as exciting as a fancy wallpaper. Instead of a museum exhibit, there were instead rows of chairs of differing heights and sizes all arranged in a circle around the room, many of which were already filled. Large half-lobster people with fine silver ornaments on their heads, gentlemanly looking dogs wearing people clothes of embroidered silk, half-transparent figures with large feathery plumes on their heads, and many more. Amazing. "Misha, this way!" I heard Yidi called out to me from within the crowd and I had to take a moment to search for him. As I and Zhan went over to him, I saw that behind him was a dragon. It was smaller than Aunt Yeung but still quite a bit bigger than me and it had a very elegant air though there was also something ethereal about it, like it wasn’t really there. I glanced at Coral and Melody to see if they could see it and from the looks of awe on their faces, I decided they could. "Misha," said a voice and I finally noticed the guy standing a little to the side. "Ah-Boon," I said in greeting. "Quick!" said Ah-Boon. "It’s going to start soon." "No need for undue haste," came the elegant voice from the dragon. It was low and bassy but also kind sounding. Ah-Boon ducked in embarrassment and nodded. "Sorry Master Bou," he said. I glanced around and saw that while everyone was making their way to their seats, there didn’t seem to be any rush. I turned back to address the dragon with a polite bow. "Nice to meet you, Master Bou," I said. The dragon chuckled. "Likewise, little-one," he said. "Though I should make clear that this is merely a spiritual form I have taken to attend this meeting. My true form is as it always is." The confusion on my face must have showed and Ah-Boon cut in. "A long time ago, Master Bou transformed into a mountain to help protect the city. His body is actually one of the mountains in Kowloon." "Oh!" I gasped. "That’s..." "Amazing huh?" "It is!" "Alright, children," chuckled Master Bou. "The meeting is about to begin." When everyone was seated, the lamps around the walls dimmed and a cluster of crystals hanging from the centre, that I’d somehow missed before, brightened bathing everyone in a comforting pinkish glow. Under the crystals, to my mild surprise, was one of the lobster people. When I say ’lobster people’, I mean that very literally: apart from having a torso and legs like a human, the rest of them (head, arm/claws, and long tail) were all one hundred percent crustacean. I didn’t even know if they could make human-like sounds with their mouth, but it turned out I was wrong to doubt them. "Welcome all to this impromptu, but very much needed gathering here today in the ancestral halls of our esteemed hosts," said the lobster person with a small bow to a group of beasts and humanoids near the centre. Their voice was melodic and fresh and I would have been happy to listen to them for hours. "That’s Brother Green. He’s the current Speaker of the rotating council," whispered Yidi who’d taken a seat next to me, with Zhan on his other side. "Ohh." I had no issue with the name, though I had to wonder about it as the guy’s body was, well, very red. A crisp lobster-red, you might say. "It’s a travesty!" shouted a squeaky voice from further into the circles. I spotted a large rat person who seemed to be the owner of the voice. "These mundane cor-por-ray-shons are wanting to take from us!" There was a murmur of agreement. Clearly news of the tech presentation had spread far and wide. "While I emotionally mirror your sentiment, my dear," said an incredibly small looking person on the opposite side of the room, "this exploitation has revealed an undeniable truth." The tiny woman paused for effect. "The laws of secrecy are a sham!" "Please, Moving Mountains," boomed the much larger Brother Green. "There will be time later to debate the histories and the reasonings of those histories, and I pledge my right claw that they will be discussed, but right now there are pressing matters that must take precedence: the taking of our own!" A flurry of whispers washed over the room and Brother Green had to bang his massive claw on the wooden table to bring the cave under order. "Calm and tranquility, if you please," he rattled on and after a bit more hubbub, everyone calmed down. "As I stated, certain individuals of the jianghu have disappeared and this is suspected to be, hmm, related to The Unity." He gave his claw a preemptive bang on the table to get ahead of anymore whispering. "Now, I’m sure everyone here is familiar with Yeung Serng Yin and her Whale Toes and how a number of them are among the missing number, but there is another individual who has been pointed out to me to be of great significance." The great lobster eyes swiveled. "Misha Long, would you please stand and tell us about Bran D’Arcy."