Quantum Cultivation by Jace Kang (simple e reader TXT) 📕

times came out of some shimmering air—like the kind you pulled your dress out of— and attacked the victim. Then, he disappeared back into it.”

“Wait,” Ken said. “Didn’t Master Ryusuke say something about yokai coming from the World of Rivers and Lakes through portals?  And that he’d sensed one?”

Aya nodded. He had mentioned something about it. Tea in hand, she stood. “We should go back to him.”

Chapter 16:

The Purebred

W ith Siena chattering in her wrist communicator while waiting for Aya to finish changing, Ken had nothing to do. His ear dot wasn’t able to interpret the Elestrae’s language, and it wasn’t polite to eavesdrop, anyway. He peeked out the door to the café.

Peacekeepers in standard burgundy uniforms patrolled the streets. They stopped every Purebred they passed, holding up a quarter-sized hologram of Master Ryu.

Had Aya tipped them off? Or had she failed to shut down the cameras?

No, if that were the case, the Peacekeepers would’ve come last night. They’d must’ve assumed Ken, a Purebred, had brought Master Ryu to Kujo.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Siena’s voice tickled his ear. She was so close that her body pressed up against his.

The same body he’d seen naked. He gulped. “Who…who were you talking to?”

Her expression lit up. “My brother.”

“Is he here?”

“No, he’s offworld.” She pointed up, as if space only went in one direction. “I just had to tell him about Ryusuke.”

Was that a good idea? Could this brother be trusted? Ken shuffled on his feet. “What did you tell him?”

She clapped her hands. “That I had multiple toe-curling orgasms for the first time in centuries!”

Too much information. Heat flared in Ken’s cheeks.

“What are you looking at?” she asked, peering out the window.

“Peacekeepers. They’re looking for Master Ryu.”

“They won’t find him.” She shrugged.

“Why not? He’s meditating out in the open.” He turned his head, his face nearly bumping up against hers. His face burned.

“I created a cloak around him.”

“A what?”

“It’s like a bubble.” She swept her hands out in a wide circle. “The Peacekeepers won’t be able to see what’s inside.”

“Like stealth technology?”

“I guess.” She shrugged again.

“Could you use it on us as we head back? If the Peacekeepers see me, and my ID chip is blown out…”

She shook her head. “I can only channel stationary ones into existence.  However…” She tapped her chin and furrowed her brow.

The expression made her less impossibly beautiful, and more cute and accessible. If his face had been hot before, it probably now lit up the room.

She waved her hands in intricate patterns and spoke a few syllables. “There.”

“What did you do?”

The restroom door opened, and Aya stepped out. The Peacekeeper tactical suit had emphasized how bony she was, but the Elestrae’s blue dress hid her stick legs.  Her eyes turned to Siena. “Where’s Kentaro?”

What?

Aya’s eyes fixed on him. “And who’s your Elestrae friend?”

Kentaro studied at his hands, turning them over and back. They were smaller and thinner. “What…what happened?”

“Kentaro?” Aya said.

With another word, Siena traced an oval in the air with her finger. A mirror surface appeared.

Gasping, Ken looked at his reflection. His appearance had changed, the features sharper and finer, his complexion fair. Instead of short black hair and brown eyes, flowing coppery locks framed his new face.  Green eyes looked back at him.

While being Purebred wasn’t great, he’d never dreamed of becoming an alien. He glared at Siena. “What did you do to me?”

Siena patted him on the head. “It’s just an illusion. An influencing of the molecules around you so that they reflect colors a certain way.”

Aya snorted. “It’s quite an improvement.”

“It’s the image of a lover I had a couple hundred years ago.”

Ken swallowed hard. Why had she chosen a former lover? After watching Master Ryu make love to her no matter how clinical and instructive it was—a part of him held out hope that he might one day get a chance.

Such a silly thought. He was just a Purebred, and she was an Elestrae.

Smiling at him, Siena turned to Aya. “Now you; no human has that color hair. You’re tall for one of our kind, but certainly slender enough.”

“Can you create another illusion?” Ken asked.

“Sometimes the best illusions are simple.” Siena spoke a word. The air shimmered again, and she reached in. This time, she pulled out a headdress of flowers and bright feathers. She placed it on Aya’s head, covering the tops of her ears. “There. You’re wearing an Elestrae dress, so this will match.”

Thus disguised, they left the café.

No sooner did they step out than two Peacekeepers approached.

“Greetings,” one said, “What is an Elestrae delegation doing in Kujo Ward?”

Shaking his head, Ken was about to speak, but then realized he couldn’t imitate the mellifluous Elestrae voices.

Siena beamed at the Peacekeepers, and their expressions instantly softened. “We come here on occasion. It has an old world charm about it, with the parks and shops.” She waved back to the café.

They nodded, and one held out a holoprojector. The image of Master Ryu appeared and rotated.

One said, “We have reason to suspect this missing person could be in Kujo. Have you seen him?”

Siena looked to Aya and Ken, nodding. “That’s him, isn’t it?”

Ken stiffened. Was she about to betray Master Ryu?

She turned back to the Peacekeepers. “We passed by a park on our way here, and I am pretty sure that was him.”

Aya nodded.

“Which way?” one asked, excitement growing in his voice.

She pointed north. “It looked like he was heading back toward Kyoto Central.”

“When was that?”

She looked to Ken and back. “Not fifteen minutes ago.”

Ken bobbed his