Chapter 179 - A Painting?
"I'll be maturing tonight." Hearing her chirpy voice, Re'Kha couldn't bring herself to display her worries. She played along, acting happy for her.
Re'Kha smiled, "You'll soon become a Harmoniser. I have a pretty good present for you. I'll give it to you then."
"Really?" Ki'Nua was excited, "I'll be waiting for that. Oh my, I am curious what it is."
"It's nothing special or expensive, haha. So, don't expect too much from me." Re'Kha waved her hands, smiling as she diverted the topic.
She had planned to give her the Harpen Waves Imitation with the shorter chain. She did like the girl's character, so she was willing to gift her that. Besides, Re'Kha had the actual one with her to use, so she wasn't concerned.
The other imitation was more than enough for her. After all, she only bought it to conceal the fact the original was with her. And, since the Harpen Waves imitation was indeed a quality piece of an elemental weapon, it would be quite helpful for Ki'Nua.
As they walked, they continued to talk, occasionally laughing about as they joked with each other. Soon, they reached her house, a three-storey building with large floor space. There were around eight to ten rooms, excluding the storerooms, the living room, kitchen, etc.
It showed just how affluent they were. After all, they were part of those that controlled Burfuna City, one of the three cities in their state. So, it was a given they would be rich, incredibly so.
Burfuna Ki'Nha had three children, out of which, Ki'Nua was the oldest. The other two were pretty young, 7 and 11 years old respectively.
Upon entering the house, Ki'Nua shouted, "Mom, I brought sister Re'Luk with me."
"Lady Re'Luk, it's nice meeting you again." Ki'Nha came out of the study and greeted by cupping her fists. She then looked at Re'Kha, for a second surprised at her raging vigour.
'She looks like a different person as compared to back then. She's a lot stronger and confident now. Her abilities have also seemed to have improved a lot. It seems Lady Mu'Tua has treated her well, incredibly so.' Ki'Nha recalled the injured figure of Re'Kha from back then, comparing it with the current figure that was oozing out vitality.
Just her presence alone was a strong factor, apparent thanks to her experience of having fought against strong beasts. Ki'Nua smiled as she thought, 'She would prove to be valuable to Ki'Nua. I wonder just how strong Lady Re'Luk can grow. She's also pretty young. It's a waste I don't have an old enough son.'
"The pleasure's all mine," Re'Kha cupped her fists with a respectable greeting. She was then immediately dragged by Ki'Nua to her room.
"This is my collection!" Ki'Nua almost shouted in her excitement, displaying a row of goods in her room. They ranged from a variety of toys to props used in fighting. Some of them were even wigs and the such to help with disguises.
It seemed Ki'Nua had a lot of interest in them, so she had been playing with a lot of them. Besides, she had two others her age, so the three of them combined had a lot of mess around with.
"Mom bought this painting for me from this expert painter. He had used the Palm Projection alone to do this. It had taken him almost a month to finish this." Ki'Nua pointed at a metal slab on which the head of a beast had been inscribed.
But, this seemed to have been done with a lot of force, and judging by her explanation, had been done by slamming a Palm Projection onto it quite a few times. Even then, the end result was spectacular, for the shape of the beast head was still outlined accurately.
Moreover, thanks to the impression, it gave a feeling that the beast in the metal slab was alive, and its head had been smashed and melted into the mental slab to result in the painting. It was hardly a painting at this point. But, Ki'Nua still addressed it as a painting.
She then said, sulking a bit, "Mom has a painting that is even more impressive than this. It was made by a Martial Master. I remember the entire auction house going crazy when it arrived. Just seeing that painting would inspire you to create a Pranic Art. Though, she said she'll only allow me to see it once I become a Harmoniser."
"You'll be able to see it tomorrow then," Re'Kha smiled. Her attention was indeed captured by the painting, for it seemed to be conveying something to her. As to what it was, she didn't know. But just the fact that it was expressive made Re'Kha realise the painting in the hands of Ki'Nua alone was a masterpiece.
It should have been worth a lot. For a moment, Re'Kha did feel that her gift was way too inferior. After all, an elemental weapon was nothing impressive for someone part of the Royalty. And besides, she had just bought it in a shop.
After a moment of thought, she just shook her head, deciding that the Harpen Waves imitation was a good gift indeed. Besides, it wasn't cheap. Moreover, once mastered, Ki'Nua would be more of a threat to her foes than if she wielded a regular elemental weapon.
Re'Kha then pulled in her hood, covering the gem on her Tikka jewellery. Only now feeling comfortable, as she could activate her Wind Qi perception.
"Sister, why do you cover your Tikka jewellery all the time? Is there a reason for that?" Ki'Nua expressed her curiosity, having seen the scene numerous times.
'How else can I use my Wind Qi perception without anyone noticing the gem on my Tikka jewellery turning grey?' Re'Kha thought, but didn't say it aloud, thinking of a believable reason as she smiled, "Well, just consider it as training."
Having activated her Wind Qi perception, Re'Kha expanded her range until it encompassed all nook and cranny of the house, quickly making a sweep for any traces of the blank space. That would be the fastest way for her to begin searching for clues.