Chapter 12 - I Can Listen
"Mist Banyan can only be cultivated by you because you possess my Pranic Heart. Its base form is Water Qi, so you won't have to worry about being found out. Also, in this state, you can unleash all your old abilities without trouble."
Her master's tone then turned solemn, "In the excited state, you can unleash either the Wind or Wood Qi. But, remember to never stay in this state for more than 10 breaths in time, after which your body would slowly turn into a Bisheen. And, if you maintain this state for more than 300 breaths in time, your body would be unable to endure, causing you to die. If you return to your base state within this time, you would soon return to your Kalki form."
"Water nurtures Wood and can become Wind. That's the principle behind this cultivation technique. It will become the basis for you to comprehend and enrich your Qi."
The Water Qi in Re'Kha started to flow faster as her Pranic Heart thumped. Its thumping frequencies subtly changed, modifying the flow of the Water Qi through the channels in her body, making a circulation as it returned to the Pranic Heart.
It smoothened out the earlier disrupted flow, easing out the strained channels while unclogging the nodes that clogged—from her earlier failures to launch an attack. The blue radiance of the Water Qi dulled before turning into the green radiance of the Wood Qi, completing a circulation. It then dulled further, turning into the grey radiance of the Wind Qi, completing another circulation before turning back into blue.
Once this cycle was completed, the Water Qi continued to circulate without any more trouble. Re'Kha opened her eyes, feeling the subtle changes in her. After knowing the situation better, she smiled, feeling hope for her future.
'I don't have to worry about hiding my changes, since there won't be any. This is for the best; I now have a trump card.' Her eyes then glimmered at the details of her cultivation technique, 'A Kalki cannot use any element other than Water, Lightning, Fire, and Metal. But because of master, I can use the Wind and Wood elements, especially the Wood element which is an exclusive element of the Bisheen.'
'I wonder who master really is?' She frowned, 'Using the element of another race is unprecedented.'
She activated her Wind Qi perception, witnessing the familiar grey sand world. She extended her perception to beyond the room, proceeding through the doorway, noticing the maid was absent from her post.
'Did she leave once she noticed I was sleeping?' Re'Kha thought, extending her perception to encompass the entire house. She was unable to extend beyond that, as the rain persisted without letting up.
'When it rains, the Wind Qi is suppressed by the Water Qi. So, my Wind Qi perception is rendered useless. And, since each water droplet is a separate entity, I cannot perceive anything of substance using my Water Qi perception.' Re'Kha sighed. If only she knew the cultivation technique—Mist Banyan—before, her journey would have been easier.
She would have been able to activate her Water Qi perception when her body walked through the numerous water channels. But because of the changes, she was unable to use the basic perception she had been capable of since long before.
Now that she was using the Wind Qi perception, she was unable to activate her Water Qi perception, as that would clash based on her cultivation technique.
'No two elements can work alongside one another or be combined. Mist Banyan is no exception. Thankfully earlier, the rain impeded my Wind Qi sense. Otherwise, if I persisted with it, I would have become a Bisheen.' Re'Kha observed the Qi in her body change into Wind Qi.
She nodded in thought, 'So that was why the grey sand world collapsed after every 10 breaths before and would reappear after three breaths.'
When she was on the three-headed beast's back and rushed atop the mountain range, she didn't know the details of her perception that mysteriously originated and disappeared like a whim. But now, she understood that it was probably a contingency measure her master had placed in her.
'Master's shouts disrupted my perception from time to time. So, it was because of this.' She now had renewed admiration of her master. The considerations he and his Pranic Avatar had expressed to her were tremendous. Even her mother hadn't expressed such consideration to her, not even once.
"Master, I'll definitely avenge you." She swore in her heart, closing her eyes as she regulated her breathing. She returned to her base state and took in a couple of breaths, adjusting her mindset before entering the excited state once again, activating her Wind Qi perception.
She directly focused on the room in the north, observing the three individuals huddled together. They seemed to be discussing something in secret, judging by their posture. As Re'Kha focused more on them, she noticed the grey sand tremble around their mouths like a wave every time their lower jaw moved.
When she focused more on the blowing waves, she found a set of words echo in her ear, as if the conversation occurred right next to her. "I can listen!"
Re'Kha was jubilant, obtaining such a means of convenience. This allowed her to perfectly spy on the conversations of others from far away with resounding clarity. Curbing her happiness through her trained mindset, she focused on the content of the conversation.
"The Lady resting here is Burkurel Re'Kha. I heard a couple of guards speak about it. They said they heard her shouting her identity from beyond the walls a couple of times."
"News has spread throughout the settlement that Lady Ju'Tha is nursing her."
"That is good for us. If Lady Burkurel Re'Kha dies here, the Burkurel Re Clan won't let Lady Ju'Tha off. She'll definitely receive the death penalty."
"They might also annihilate everyone in this settlement out of rage."
"That would be even better. Ever since our families died to the plague recently, this settlement has been nothing but a cursed land to us."