Chapter 42. Or bait?

- And? - The listener didn't endure the meaningful pause.

- The girl liked it. - Weighty said the cook, filling the second tray. - She had had her fill, and spent the next two hours smashing him herself. And in the process of lovemaking she pulled off the mask. The poor groom could hardly escape. But the girl was persistent. The next day she found him in the stable and fucked him again. And then said that now he had to marry her.

The narrator smacked her lips dreamily.

- Chu the groom did not want to marry her. But all the men in the village were unanimous in their support. As long as the crazy girl didn't throw herself at their sons. In the end, the groom was forced to marry her. And there the children were born and the cultivation reached six wisps. So that was the story.

The cook smiled cheerfully.

The lady was in shock. They were all fucked.

- Unusual story. - Finally there was a listener. - But interesting. Thanks for the story. Um, I should probably get going. I've got work to do today.

- Go, honey, go. - Storyteller nodded. - And when you get some time, come on in. I have many more stories to tell.

The Grand Elder quickly left the kitchen and took a breath outside the village. She's had a good time. Though you can get some ideas from this story. The lady smiled expectantly and soared.

***

Yee Rhys woke up in the same room where he'd lain down after putting the seal on. Weakness circulated through his body along with the blood. He was hungry. Looking at the table, the young man found that the vial of pills had disappeared. The jug of water was still there, but the vial was gone. Overcome by a grim feeling, Yee Rhys checked the bag. All the food had also disappeared. The rest was there, but the food was gone.

What does that mean?

The Patriarch needed it on an empty stomach? What for? The scene of him being sickened after the seal had been broken came back to mind. Not again!

To numb his hunger, he drank some water and sat down to cultivate.

After a while the Patriarch's mind seal was activated. Thinking about it, Yee Rhys completed the cultivation. He wanted to know what was next on the plan.

The elder walked through the door. The young man smiled slightly at the sight of him and then froze in anticipation. The patriarch took his time as well, staring thoughtfully at the young man.

- Whose are you? - At last the elder spoke.

- I am yours.

- You are my treasure.

- I am your treasure.

- You are my instrument.

- I am your instrument.

- My word is the Law.

- Your word is the Law.

Having completed the louse check, the Patriarch raised his hand and moved his fingers. The bedside table moved away from the wall and froze in front of the young man. A plate of rice plopped on the table.

Yee Rhys stared at the food with surprise, then raised a puzzled look at the elder.

- Eat. - Patriarch ordered.

The young man froze for a moment. Who could explain the zigzag pattern of the old man's thoughts?

- Do you have cutlery? - Yee Rhys risked to inquire, for the plate was displayed on the table all alone.

Chopsticks fell on the table.

Slowly he took the cutlery in his hands. On the one hand, his stomach was ready to crawl out and eat everything even without the chopsticks. On the other hand, the patriarch watched him like a snake watching a skinny mouse. Even a hungry man would have choked a piece in his throat like that.

Yee Rhys began to eat, chewing his food carefully. The elder watched the process carefully.

- Are you full? - He asked dryly when Yee Rhys had finished his plate without, by some miracle, choking himself. He was reluctant to continue the one-actor show. But his stomach was unmistakable: not enough.

- No. - reluctantly admitted Yee Rhys.

Another plate of porridge plopped on the table. He felt a chill inside, but obediently began to eat.

- Are you full? - Asked the elder at the end of the second plate.

- I am full. - Yee Rhys agreed.

At the wave of the patriarch's hand the plates disappeared and the table was pushed back to its place. Once again the old man looked attentively at the young man and then he left. The door closed silently.

Yee Rhys stood still in astonishment. What was that? Why had the Patriarch decided to feed him personally?

Or bait him?

A frightening conjecture ran through his mind. Animal status was a little nicer than a thing, but still...

I'd have to look into taming beasts on occasion. So I won't be too surprised later.

***

A few hours later the seal was activated again, examining the subject's condition. Exact timing was difficult to determine due to the lack of windows. After the next few hours the process repeated itself. This time the body proved to be quite hungry.

The door opened and the Patriarch stepped inside.

- Whose are you? - He asked sternly.

- I am yours. - Yee Rhys smiled.

- You are my treasure.

- I am your treasure.

- You are my instrument.

- I am your instrument.

- My word is the Law.

- Your word is the Law.

- Eat.

The plate ploughed onto the table that had moved. Complete with chopsticks this time.

Without further ado, the young man began to eat.

- Are you full?

- I'm full.

Putting everything back where it belonged, the old man left.

He leaned against the wall, checking to make sure he was not being followed. The patriarch isn't just feeding him. He's coding him. A couple more days of password recall and the answers would bounce right off his teeth. No consciousness involved.

Can't even lie.

One good thing is the plan is working. All you have to do is keep your identity, and you can trust the plan to do the rest.

***

After the third feeding, the Patriarch didn't leave. Instead, he transferred Yee Rhys to Master Raz Beg to continue the exchange of knowledge and gave them four hours to do so. When the elder returned after the allotted time, the mentalists were just in the process of discussing another term and amicably asked for a couple of minutes to finish.

The couple of minutes mysteriously turned into another six hours. Even the Patriarch, who had originally stood on the sidelines, became involved in the discussion. So when the recording array beeped that the ten hours of its memory had expired, all three of them stared at it in mute amazement. Then at each other.

An exchange of knowledge was followed by another feeding, after which the young man was again left alone. He wasn't going to be bored, though. As long as there was an opportunity, he must cultivate. Besides, there was no telling how long he would stay with the old man and when he would return next time. And of all the places he's tried, this has the richest Qi.

The fifth feeding was a delightful surprise insight. After the Patriarch left, Yee Rhys began to deliberately ponder each phrase of the 'greeting', changing his attitude. No one said the words should be taken literally. To the first and last phrases, the young man simply "added" a couple of words, qualitatively changing their meaning. He had prepared the scheme of relations with the elder from the first days of his acquaintance and polished it during his first visit to the room. Now all that remained was to bring the outer phrases in harmony with the desired content.

The second and third phrases proved more difficult. Yee Rhys had not expected to be called an instrument directly. And they would also make him repeat it. However, by rethinking the meanings of the words "treasure" and "instrument" he had achieved the desired result. Now these words could be uttered without fear. The patriarch would receive the loyalty he desired. Yee Rhys would retain his personality with all his quirks.

The young man spent about an hour on the final readjustment, imprinting the renewed meaning into his subconscious. Why? Self-encoding was a wonderful thing. The main thing is to use it less often. The self-encoding session went smoothly into a healthy sleep.