Murim Recurve

Re'Kha squinted, but no matter what she did, she was unable to see what was written on the token. Normally, when she used her Wind Qi perception, even if it wasn't detailed, she was still able to make out the colour of the material.

But, that was because she was comparing the concentration of grey sand to the colours she had witnessed when she had her sight, determining based on her experience. Moreover, the colour difference could be determined because every object had a texture of its own.

This texture caused the molecules of wind to interact differently with it, which in turn was reflected in her Wind Qi perception. That was why she was able to determine the colour of her dress. It was made from silk with a unique texture of its own.

The concept of dyeing the clothes didn't exist in their society. The colour of each fabric was thanks to their source material and the Elemental Qi in them. Every Harmoniser though, was at least familiar with the dyeing process, since it was taught to them since young.

After all, there were times where they had to infiltrate enemy bases. And to achieve it, they had to disguise themselves perfectly. And, this disguise considered their hair colour, hair shape, skin colour, external organs, body frame, clothes, etc. Every race had a different culture.

But, these were only done by select few individuals that were on such missions. As for the regular populace, they didn't even know about the concept of dyeing. On the off chance a member of a foreign race infiltrated their society, they would have to leave without any tools and products to help them dye.

This was the reason the noble clans prevented anything related to dyeing, disguises, etc. from leaking into the populace. So, everything in their society existed in their natural colour. This was why Re'Kha had no problem identifying their colours, for the material texture also helped her in this regard.

But the token was a piece of paper over which a number was written using ink. The ink was basically a dye but was water-based that would vanish with a wash, so it wasn't effective for disguises. It was a liquid and didn't have a texture of its own. When it was written on the paper, it had the same texture as the paper. Therefore, the interaction of the air with it wasn't any different.

This was why all she perceived was a blank piece of paper. Her mind spun as she thought of a scheme, speaking with a sigh, "It seems it would take a lot of time."

"Indeed," Ki'Nha gazed at the token number, motioning towards the seats in the centre, "Let's wait for the time being."

"Yes," Re'Kha nodded while cursing internally, 'You should have muttered the token number out loud.'

The two found empty seats and sat, turning silent. Re'Kha felt pain in her back, for the seat wasn't comfortable, adding onto her journey in the cycle rickshaw. It wasn't because their cushions weren't to her luxury, but rather her injuries caused her condition to worsen even in such pleasant conditions.

Re'Kha hadn't rested much over the past few days. Before that, when she was under her master's care, she was recuperating from bone-deep injuries. The pain was overwhelming to the extent she couldn't even sleep for a moment before a sharp sting in her body woke her up.

Thankfully, her master had healed most of her injuries. But he ran out of energy to use, which prevented him from being able to resist the poison in his body. That was what resulted in the aftermath.

If he hadn't tried to heal her, he would have lived for at least another two years. After all, based on what she had felt, the energy he consumed to heal her was what a Harmoniser could generate in two years by continuously eating.

"I'll rest," Re'Kha muttered, giving Ki'Nha her token, "If they call my token number, please wake me up."

"Definitely," Ki'Nha nodded, "Please rest. I'm sure my daughter would have pestered you a lot yesterday."

"It's fine," Re'Kha smiled, "I enjoyed talking with them. It helped me relax a lot. It has been a long time since I could converse with someone near my age that freely."

"Hey," Ki'Nha pouted, "I may be an old lady, but appearance-wise, I look your age."

She laughed, "So, you can talk with me freely too. Don't mind about the age gap."

"Haha, will do," Re'Kha smiled and nodded, turning silent as her breathing grew steady. Noticing how fast she had fallen asleep, Ki'Nha sighed, wondering what Re'Kha had been through.

'Right, she did say she had encountered the Withered Courtyard. I'm surprised she still had enough energy to fight the Sha after that. Though, I wonder why she hadn't visited the hospital the instant she reached Burfuna City?'

She looked at her appearance, seeing the defenceless state Re'Kha was in while her hands occasionally shivered, 'It seems she has been through worse than what she lets on.'

Watching her trembling hands, Ki'Nha was hesitant for a moment before she grabbed her hand gently. Re'Kha held her hand tighter unconsciously as a teardrop streaked from her eye.

Holding her hand, Ki'Nha realised the fright Re'Kha was experiencing and the strong front she had put on to hide behind. She looked at the bright blue gem on her Tikka jewellery, wondering, 'Such talent; she must have been heavily prioritised by her Clan. I wonder why she had become a traveller despite that?'

Ki'Nha sighed, watching the figures of the patients stream into the inspection ward one after another before they were allocated to different wards depending on their injury or illness. Every person there had a backstory of their own, one filled with suffering, valour, happiness, etc.

A large portion among them was the common populace that had become ill due to unfavourable living conditions. Not everyone lived comfortably in their city, even if all the houses were built from the same stone.

A good house alone wasn't enough to feed them. They needed to earn a living and pay the required taxes, otherwise, they would lose their entry permit and would have to relocate to a settlement. But, it was still fine in a settlement, despite its conditions being harsher than the large cities.

But if they lost even their settlement permit, then they would have to live in the wilds, taking refuge within unnamed villages where their lives were at constant risk. Most of the common populace led hard lives.