[A.B.P.P.E.] Bk 2 - Chapter 61 - Picked Clean

Yin Hu stepped out of his pavilion and into the treasure pocket they were currently in. Setting it up was as simple as waving his hand and it appeared directly where he wanted it and it popped up perfectly. The bedding areas were made and clean, the small living room area had cushions well placed, and even private areas to shower and clean themselves connected to the rooms. 

It would have cost an arm and a leg to have owned something like this, or so he thought. 

Four rooms all with personal baths? 

Mobile and adaptable too? That wasn’t mentioning the fact that it enhanced their cultivation process just being inside. 

It made the whole process of tucking his girls to sleep simple and easy. All he had to do was gently pick up their sleeping forms, move them to their rooms, and cover them nice and snug with their thick blankets. It also helped that they weighed as much as a tissue. 

He surveyed the area and the still knocked out forms of the rest of their party. 

All he had done for them was throw a blanket over them. Nothing else. The thought to go out and cover the Warg and Rong had crossed his mind, but that meant leaving this treasure pocket. He wasn’t sure if his presence caused it to stabilize now that he was the owner of the crystal. The risk of trapping the girls was too large for him to test anything for the moment. 

Even Da Ruis was slumbering to the side and away from the group. Probably dreaming about the crystal and how they were going to manipulate it to their advantage in the future. While their start had been pretty rocky, the old ghost had turned into a contributing member of their group instantly. More so than even the couple who had Yin Hu’s favor for semi-brewing his tea and semi-cooking his rice. 

Just his knowledge alone had been worth the trouble of making him an outer court member. 

His being solely responsible for the Sparring Instance was only the cherry on top. 

Yin Hu walked back to the crystal and touched its cold surface once more. He had a distinct connection to it now. One that he could call upon whenever he so desired. The only issue was the how of the entire process that eluded him currently. Was it a mental prodding like the process of claiming it as an owner and cutting his palm had been? The dagger hadn’t left a white mark, much less anything else until he imagined it happening. 

And only three drops, perfect for the situation, had come out of his palm. Either he had very little blood, or his regenerative and physical prowess were so high that he could mentally control how much he actually needed to bleed if he intentionally hurt himself. 

Yin Hu sighed and turned away. He pulled out his tea pot and all the necessary furniture including a certain greedy tree. 

Said tree trembled as it came to life for a few seconds before it leaned over. 

He blinked at it for a few seconds unsure what the hell happened to it. Yin Hu reached over and prodded it a few times and it didn’t even try to suck his Qi at all. 

Is it sleeping too? Is there something in the air that I can’t sense?

Yin Hu took a deep inhalation through his nostrils. Nothing smelled different. 

He shrugged his shoulders and sat back down. That just meant more tea that he didn’t need to share with his drinking partner. An advantage he would hold over its head once it woke up from whatever slumber that had taken it too. 

Yin Hu took a sip of piping hot tea, enjoying the taste thoroughly. 

Since when do trees sleep anyway?

Hours passed like a blur as he continued to rest and peacefully lounge on his reclining seat. Maybe even a few days, but Yin Hu wasn’t really keeping track. 

Time was weird after having existed for hundreds of millions of years. 

At some point everyone began to rouse from their sleep. Struggling to their feet and noticing the blankets that covered their bodies. 

They bowed to him, folded their coverings and set them beside Yin Hu’s chair, and finally ran off to finish their tasks. The dragon hatchlings rushed back to their little hoards, Da Ruis found something new to study with the Qi Stones constantly making noise and exclamations of surprise as he tried to hide his glances at Yin Hu, and even the couple ran off to their pavilion after learning they could bring it out within the treasure pocket. 

Yin Hu couldn’t help but enjoy the activity around him as people came and went. This was the exact opposite of what he had felt in isolation, but not overwhelming or a burden. 

A comfortable middle ground that made him smile. 

It only got better when Jun and Shui came out of the tent with giant smiles and laughing with each other. 

The little girl still held onto his rice bag for dear life. Refusing to let go even during her deep slumber, likely imagining looting places in her dreams. 

“Shui,” he called her over. “Collect everything. Let’s clean this place out and leave as soon as possible.”

Her eyes brightened instantly as she ran off to accomplish her task. Throwing Qi Stones into the air and showering herself with them. A boisterous and quiet evil laugh escaped her, made worse by the dragons puffing their little fires while on their hoards. 

Shui had done a decent job holding back and only collecting the used ones until they all fell asleep from exhaustion. 

Letting go a little bit wasn’t too bad, right?

It didn’t take long for her to clear the entire treasure pocket as everything was sucked into the rice bag, including the hatchlings’ hoards. They had not been happy to be stripped of their treasure, chasing after Shui and waging war against her as the tyrant she was. Puffing the harmless little fires at her and failing to even singe her eyebrows, much less cause any damage at all. 

Shui didn’t even notice as she ran around the room laughing. 

 They likely swore vengeance against their oppressor. 

Good thing I ended up making Shui take care of it… Do dragons forget grudges like this?

It didn’t take much longer until she was done and only dust remained in the cavern. Everything had been picked clean, even the weathered rugs in one corner. 

Shui bounced on her toes as she skipped to him with the rice bag in tow. 

“All done?”

“Yep. Everything is in the bag.” She handed it to him. 

He took it and strapped it to his hip where it belonged. “Thank you.”

One of the dragons snapped its jaw around a couple of loose strands of hair and fought a glorious battle against the three long pieces of hair… The others were too exhausted to continue their war against Shui for taking their little piles of treasure beds. Each one falling asleep around her shoulders, keeping close to wage war once they regained some energy again. 

Yin Hu wondered whether the adult dragons had their own treasure hoards and whether he could loot them too–

He stopped himself immediately. 

Can’t stop Shui from being a treasure gremlin if I become one! I got more than enough treasure already!

“Alright! Cavern has been cleared,” Yin Hu shouted and everyone gathered around him. Nothing left to study or take. Even the crystal had been thrown into the bag by Shui. “We’ll clear out the rest of the building and then head out.”

Everyone nodded and filtered out of the empty treasure pocket. Stepping out to the cavern they had been loitering around before Yin Hu shattered the second illusion. 

The building was massive and would take a while to clear out. 

As long as nothing bothered them, they would have more than enough time to make sure nothing was missed. 

Yin Hu wasn’t about to leave even a speck of dust lying around in this palace. Treasure hunters would loot this place dry once they got to it. 

Better in my hands than the enemy’s, I say.