Slice Of Life (3)

The morning hummed. The grasses were wet with dew. Nti Anem took out a white cloth and wiped the blades of grass as he passed. When the cloth was wet, he placed it in a bowl and repeated it with another. They two moved in silence, the birds chirping in the distance as the sun finally hovered in sight.

"We should find some bamboo while we are at it," he said to Ed following him silently. The two made their way into the mountains. The wet grasses mated behind them as their feet strolled through. The morning seemed to liven the forest. Things of the night returned to sleep and things of the day popped out of hiding. The morning breeze made for a calm walk. Out of the corner of his eyes, Nti Anem saw some wild chickens. He paused and stared at the small herd. They were pecking at something in the area. Nti Anem looked around them; they had walked quite some way. The trees here did not hood the forest completely. The sunlight still shinned through. It is normal for shrubs to grow here. He took out a large net and appeared by the herd the next second. With one swoop, the chickens found themselves in his net. Nti Anem raised the net and stared at the fuzzy chickens.

"Oh, some of you are still young," he said and look down at what they had been pecking on. They were eating a bent rice stalk. He looked at the few stalks left and raised a brow in interest.

"Wild rice. The quiet is never empty," he nodded, then looked back at Ed.

"There is wild rice around. That means a bamboo cluster is not far," he said.

"Bamboo," Ed answered.

"Rodents that love this rice the most love to hide under tree trunks and bamboo root webs. I suspect there are some near," he said and walked forward. He looked at the stalks of rice here and there and nodded. He noted that there were few ready to harvest and those that were dry.

"Oh, I will be eating rice soon. The rice in the quiet is utterly nutritious," he commented as they made forward. As he suspected, after a long search, there were some bamboo clusters. He looked through them and categorized them into different lengths. Then pulled a sword from thin air and chopped it down quite a lot. He pulled another sword and handed it to Ed. Ed stared at it for a second, before taking it. He watched what Nti Anem did and followed his lead. The two cut down quite some bamboo before Nti Anem waved his hand over it and it vanished.

"I might as well get some bamboo shoots while I am here," he said and bent down to cut newly formed shots. He accessed them with a slight nod before getting up and turning to Ed standing quite far away.

"We should find some wild vegetables. This is the season for it," he said and the two continued walking. They stopped by shrubs and vines as Nti Anem searched for some he recognized.

"Hmm, we will have to come back for these. It takes too long," he said and they turned back the way they came. As they strolled back, Nti Anem cut some dry stalls of rice into his space.

They made their way back to where an awake Ku Jian sat under a tree.

"You took Brother Ed somewhere without me?" she frowned at Nti Anem coming towards her.

"There are times I will take him with me. He cannot sit in one place all the time," he answered and she scoffed and scurried to Ed's side.

"Brother Ed, Good morning," she said and he nodded in reply. Nti Anem sat on the grass and made fire again. This time, Ed sat before him with Ku Jian by his side, staring at his every action.

"Making food again?" Ku Jian asked.

"Yes," Nti Anem answered.

"What are you making this time?" she asked.

"Chicken and bamboo skewers," he answered.

"Oh," she stared at his actions in fascination. He pulled the dried stalks of rice and placed them in bales beside them.

"What do you do with these?" she asked.

"The fire is not to cook yet. Before that," he waved his hand and some bamboo appeared next to the rice stalks. He pulled one bamboo to his side and took out a sword and cut small openings in them. He placed the carved side unto the fire for a while and it bent as he wished. In a few motions, he had made a square which he secured in place with a bamboo peg. Then he went on to make another square. He joined both squares by their sides with equal pieces of bamboo, making it into a cube. After he had done so, he used the sword to peel the green bamboo outer body into long canes. Then he used the canes to weave shut five sides of the cube till he had a large box with an opening.

"Oh... you are good at this," Ku Jian commented, and he handed her a bundle of dried rice stalks. She collected with confusion in her eyes.

"Thresh them," he said and she cocked her head to one side in deeper confusion. Nti Anem picked up some stalks and showed her how it was done. She got up to his side where the box was and looked inside.

"Rice," her eyes shined at the little grains inside.

"We will have some rice too," he said and she nodded.

***

In the centre of the light realm, in the middle of a large city, a tall black tower stood. Its dark walls were reinforced with tungsten steel. There were no windows or doors on the tower, making one wonder how one entered, making one wonder what kind of tower it was. But those who lived in the light realm knew, this was the black tower. Contrary to opinions on how dark the tower is inside for having no windows, there was lots of light inside. This trick is something very few in the tower knew how done. The tower was much larger than one would feel too, as because of its height, those in the city look at its peak as though a needle in the sky.

At the highest point in the tower, an old man sat on his desk. A cup of tea steamed into the frigid air. There was a knock on his door and he asked the person to come in. A masked man walked in and stood before him.

"Oh, Yul. You have come. Sit and have some tea," the old man said but the man stood in place without moving.

"Tea is the last thing you should be having right now, All-seer," the masked man, Yul answered.

"Oh? The demon race has appeared in the light realm. It just means that there is no better time to drink tea," the All-seer answered.

"If they had just appeared would be fine; we could handle them. But we cannot see them at all. Only when we look again can we do so," he said and the old man put back his cup on the table.

"What about the boy who took the tomb, any word about him?" the All-seer asked and Yul frowned.

"You are still obsessed with him?" he asked.

"Did you find him?" he asked and Yul shook his head, "Word is, he left just before we came," Yul answered.

"So, he was there. It must be him," the All-seer muttered to himself, the man in front of him did not notice his hands shake slightly.

"The other two are wondering why this is important to you. I am sure they have got secret orders from their powers about the boy," Yul said.

"Probably to pull him to their side. They forget that this boy is not from here. There is nothing the light realm can offer anyone to stay back. They will probably try to understand why I want him dead so that they can use this for their gain," he said.

"You have never said why. Many think it stupid that you would use your exception for this when all powers want to capture him. What does he have to do with the demon race anyway? How did you know he will be there when word had spread?" Yul asked and the old man looked up at him and chuckled darkly, "You should not be trying to see into my mind, are you, Yul?" he asked.

"You should at least let me understand your prey," he said and the old man went silent.

"The factions meeting is about to start. Even if you do not care about the demon race, you should still lead this war against them. It will not look good on you if not," Yul said and walked out.

He did not hear the old man mutter after him, "I will not be leading any war again if that boy lives,"