Chapter 369: Go forth and mingle, you monstrous weirdos
=Not exactly…=
=Take a look. The group with the beaver bloodliner appear to have just left that private conference room, while the group with that Wolfe kid is just mingling around the bar while their master…appears to be flirting with widows? Wow, was not expecting that.=
=Indeed.=
<...should we inform our lord?>
=Perhaps…but I think the kaijin will be able to handle this.=
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‘Why do I feel an unrelenting force of rage the likes of which can only be matched by scorned women and the very pits of hell?’
[Should we attempt to intervene, milord? Because it appears that they might be in over their heads a bit. At least in a planning capacity.]
[Meh. They can fight their way out if needed.]
‘Not yet, but…be within two minutes running of the library. Understood?’
[Of course, milord.]
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[Huh…good…job…noticing…]
[Thank you, Frost Bro. Do you need heat?]
[Probably…soon…]
As soon as Spring Brawler pointed it out, the kaijin immediately saw that the two parties of interest that they were looking for had appeared on their left and right, respectively.
To their left was Donovan Wolfe and his fellow disciples from the Celestial Bronze Claw Pavilion, appearing to be in the middle of one of the oldest social activities for elites his age: networking.
“Really? You’re a student of Jade Shell Academy? I hear the entry exams were brutal.”
“Divine Feather Sect? The all-woman sect? I thought they hated the idea of their disciples intermingling with members of the opposite sex.”
“Your family made their fortune from mining? How nostalgic…”
Let it be known that even in worlds where cultivation is king, sometimes success predicates more on who you know, not what you know.
[Well we found the Wolfe kid and his entourage,] Razor Maiden pointed out, [where’s this bitch’s master?]
[Hitting on ladies radiating wealthy widow energy at the bar,] Nepherage pointed out.
[Fucking what?]
[Over there.]
A little further away from the mingling disciples, the kaijin could see that Alvis Finnigan,an Aether Lord of the Celestial Bronze Claw Pavilion and master of Donovan Wolfe, was in the middle of flirting with some older ladies radiating that aforementioned “wealthy widow energy”.
Maybe he was looking for love, maybe he was looking to extort them for money, none of them knew for certain but he looked happy about it…especially when one of the ladies pinched his bottom, causing him to act in mock surprise with a laugh.
It was kinda surreal seeing a vaunted cultivator who reached a height only few could imagine, acting a bit like a playboy boy toy, to each their own though.
[Wait, is that how their Pavilion bankroll their activities?]
[No idea, Razor. No idea.]
In sharp contrast to this wealthy networking and flirtatious activity, and to the right of the kaijin, a trio of men who clearly didn’t want to be in the room at the moment were conversing with each other while keeping a wary eye on the entire room. If one had a sharp enough perception, they would have noticed that the three of them had just exited a conference room that was immediately behind them, the hand of one of the men still slightly touching the door knob in a manner indicating that he and just closed it behind them.
As soon as the group saw this trio, Jasper’s aether suddenly spiked for a moment before they quickly reined it back in. It was brief enough that not a lot of people noticed, but strong enough that some people commented on it in a sporadic manner.
“Huh? What was that…shock?”
“I don’t know, maybe it was your wife finding out you have a paramour?”
“Please, she’s here with hers and our shared mistress.”
“Wait, shared?”
[Jasper, what the fuck was that?,] Nepherage asked with concern as she kept a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. To any observers, this looked very much like a servant keeping a close hand on their ward to make sure they didn’t get into any trouble by running about.
I’m the kaijin’s case, it was to make sure Jasper didn’t try to pop someone’s head off…or worst.
[That was the actual Japser wanting to take action and rip the heads off of those two bastards in the ill-fitting suits,] Jasper explained themselves, [of course if we did that then we’d have no way of knowing where they stashed his sister since I definitely don’t see a sack or…hold up…that third guy…with the messed up teeth.. ain’t that that Victor guy? The one that the maestro kicked in the teeth?]
[It…is…,] Frosttusk agreed.
[Wait, didn’t that guy have like spatial storage teeth or something?,] Razor Maiden recalled, [he straight up captured Mini and was gonna…poach her? That the term?]
[That is…the term…and…he…does…have…weird teeth…]
[Huh…in that case, I think I have a new plan on how to-]
Ding-a-ling.
“Attention. May I have your attention please?”
But before Jasper could share their plan with the others, which consisted of them manhandling Victor for information, the sound of a ringing bell and an aether empowered voice ceased any and all conversation in the lobby area.
The source of this voice was a well-dressed man with a manicured mustache and a small silver bell, the perfect picture of concierge if there ever was one.
“Madam Venus’s show is about to begin in five minutes. At this time, please enter the theater in an orderly fashion via the entrances to your left and right and you will be assigned a seat by the theater staff. Thank you.”
After making this announcement, the concierge proceeded to disappear just as quickly as he appeared.
Following the conciegere’s instructions, the people milling about in the lobby proceeded to to divide into two groups and enter the theater.
This was a bad thing for the kaijin who had just arrived.
[Looks Donovan and his gang are moving to the leftmost entrance since they’re closer to it,] Nepherage noted.
[That Victor guy and his new buddies appear to be heading to the right,] Jasper added, [meaning we’re gonna have to divide and conquer.]
[But… who’ll go… where?]
[That’s a good question.]
It should be noted that the kaijin weren’t exactly used to doing two separate activites from one another concurrently. That sounded off, but keep in mind that if they weren’t summoned, they were normally hanging around Zhen Liu in the form of an accessory and with the other kaijin. Additionally, whenever they did have to do thing separate from one another, they normally had Zhen Liu provide direction on what to do.
This was wholely independent and it was rather disconcerting, especially since none of them had any idea about what each party of interest were wholy independent of one another.
Life would have been a lot easier if Donovan and the Celestial Bronze Claw Pavilion were in the business of buying children…which was a fucked up thought to have.
[Alright,] Jasper began to say after several moments of internal deliberation, [here’s the plan…]
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The Royal Reef Theater was less of an add-on to the Royal Reef Hotel and more like a natural part of the architecture.
Decorated with brilliant blue columns that had carvings reminiscent of waves, statues of merfolk instead of angels atop these columns, paintings of sea creatures swimming in the brilliant blue water while all illuminated by a special species of carefully cultivated glowing coral, gave the feeling that one had entered into a mystical undersea realm the likes of which only the people of Roaring Tide have probably seen before.
Many of the crowd members were enchanted by the sight, but there were a few…notable exceptions.
…
“Master Finnigan, is it truly necessary for us to attend this opera?,” Donovan asked as he took his seat next to his teacher, “I mean, I like theater as much as the next person it’s just…”
“You’d prefer to go and get revenge on those Zhen clansmen, right?,” Finnigan interjected.
Donovan was about to protest, but decided it was easier to just nod in shamed agreement.
Finigans for his part let out a small sigh and a smile that read, “kids these days…”.
“Young Wolfe, you must learn to let go of such things. What’s done is done, and the path of cultivation requires one to be able to look forward regardless of what happened in the past.”
“But-”
“If you keep looking behind you, you’ll only stumble as you try to move forward,” Finnigan interjected, “so please…try to let go and for now, enjoy the show.”
“I…okay, master.”
“Good.”
…
“Y’all think we’re gonna have a chance to use the bathroom at some point during this opera thing or…”
“I don’t think so Simos,” Graff said as he looked over a pamphlet containing tonight’s itinerary, “I don’t see an intermission.”
“So I gotta leave during a performance?”
“Probably.”
“Boo…”
As Simos and Graff discussed the upcoming performance, Victor was in a more…pensive mood.
‘I just closed a major deal, I’m getting a new set of teeth soon…so why do I have this great sense of foreboding?,’ Victor thought to himself.
Evidently, he was going to find out very, very soon.
“Pardon me, but is this seat taken?”
