Chapter 114: Hidden Room.
Chapter 114: Hidden Room.
The old man stood still and looked at Haru for a few moments seemingly thinking of a good reason why to invite Haru to come. And then his eyes lit up as he thought of one.
"Well, You are one of the parties involved. If you are not there to recall the events then they will dispute it. It will just save time calling you to come and have a talk with us later. I hope you don't mind." The old man said in a friendly tone.
It was strange. The more Haru tried to sense his intentions the more confused e became it was like this old man had no intentions at all and the next it felt like he was plotting something evil and then the next it was like he was planning to gift something to Haru.
The strange feeling seemed to be coming from a bronze coloured bracelet on the old man's wrist. Haru looked at it for a few seconds before feeling a strong urge to look up at the man's face once again.
His face was completely neutral like he didn't even realise Haru was checking out his bracelet.
"Um. Yeah sure. I can go with you. It's not like I have anything else to do right now" Haru responded.
"Great. Then follow me." The old man smiled and then led Haru over to the elevator that he had used to go to the market place. But instead of pressing the button to go to the second floor. The old man pressed the button to go to the eighth floor. Which was the last number on the keypad.
"This way," The old man said as the door to the elevator opened up. Haru then followed him down a few long winding corridors before walking into what seemed to be a dead end.
Haru was stood confused. 'Does he not know where he is going? Did we just get lost? I thought this guy was pretty high ranking here?" Haru thought as he looked at the blank stone wall in front of them.
The old man then reached into the inside of his robes and pulled out what seemed to be a pendant of some kind. It had a long line crossing through a circle and had a smaller circular gem in the middle that was spinning in circles as he took it out.
He held the pendant out toward the was and suddenly it emitted a green light. The green light shot out like a laser beam. It hit the wall and started to circle around in a stream leaving behind a bunch of strange letters that Haru had never seen before.
Before suddenly there was something he recognised. It was a character he had seen in an old ancient text when learning about magic. It was the book that helped him understand the celestial language as he called it. This was the word for darkness. But he still didn't recognise the rest of them.
"Excuse me. But what are these words?" Haru asked the old man.
"Ah, that is right. You are from the lower realm. This is just one of the major languages in the upper realm. It's called Halran. It isn't that difficult to understand. But after this whole thing is over I will help you learn the language.
It is confusing since people speak many different languages so the upper realm made their own language that is spoken universally. I guess we are lucky we are in a soul realm right now. Or else I wouldn't be able to understand a word you have said to me this whole time." The old man chuckled just as the light on the pendant died down.
Suddenly there were many words written in Halran on the wall. Some characters looked familiar to Haru but others were new to him. It was strange. He never thought he would find something that helped him learn magic linked to cultivation.
"Maybe magic and cultivation and magic are not that different after all?" Haru thought as the wall started to shift.
Bits off dust dropped down from the corners of the wall as it pushed back a few inches and then began to slide across the ground like a sliding door to reveal a room with a single desk in the middle. But the desk was big enough to be surrounded by at least thirty seats.
And in each seat, there were people already sitting. Apart from the seat at the head of the table. Haru assumed that seat was reserved for the old man in front of him which was soon confirmed as he sat down.
"Come in then." The old man turned after he sat down and looked toward Haru who was still standing in the doorway.
"Haru could taste the power coming from the room. Every single person in this room was many times if not hundreds of times stronger than he was. His tongue began to tingle from the energy that was being gathered in this room.
"Okay." He stated. He was slightly nervous from the situation he had found himself in.
"Oh, Luiya grab my friend Mr Yang, a seat please." The old man said to a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She had long dark hair and pale white skin. Her eyes seemed to be a shade of blue but the vibrance of the colour was unlike anything that he had seen before.
"Sure thing." She spoke in a soft gentle tone and then walked over to the other the side of the room as gracefully as a queen and then came back holding what would look like a throne in a normal building but here it seemed to be normal.
She then gently placed it on the ground next to the seat she had just got out of and then looked over at Haru before patting on the armrest.
"Any friend of Elias is a friend of mine. Come and sit with me, young one." She spoke in the same gentle tone that seemed to be inviting. Each word felt like she was trying to seduce him. But it was lucky that he had done some training to his soul with Lao in his soul ocean. If not he didn't know if he would be able to resist the temptation.
He stood there for a few seconds not knowing what to do. 'What should I do?" Haru thought. He didn't want to offend a woman who could most likely crush him with her pinky finger so instead of causing a scene he decided to sit down anyway.
"That's a good boy. So tell me. What do you think about this place?" She began to ask Haru as he sat down.
"Urm It's nice." He forced out whilst looking at the dark and dusty interior of the room. It was like it hadn't been cleaned in months and it was made more obvious as he put his hand on the desk and picked up some dust on the bottom of his hand.
The woman stared at Haru for a minute and then leaned over to him.
"Hey, Do you think my eyes are pretty?" She leaned toward him so she could show off her eyes.
"Yeah, They are very pretty. I like the colour" Haru forced out once again. He was so confused.
"How?!" The woman suddenly stood up and slammed her hands on the desk angrily.
"Why does it not work on you?!" She asked as she grabbed Haru by the collar and pulled him toward her.
"Why don't my plum blossom eyes work on you? What are you hiding? Who are you?" She asked.
"Now that's enough! Luiya! Let go of Mr Yang at once!" The old man from before shouted toward her.
The tension in the room hit an all-time high and the hairs on Haru's body began to rise. The woman looked at Haru one more time but this time her face was one of interest not a face of anger.
"Okay." She said in the same friendly tone she had spoken in earlier.
"Hahaha." A young man with spiked hair and muscles that showed through his clothes began to laugh from the opposite side of the table.
"I haven't seen many people that are able to resist Luiya's seduction techniques. I didn't expect someone so young could deflect it so easily. Tell me. What is the secret to it? I have had trouble with her for years." The man started talking and then whispered toward the end.
"Shut it!" Luiya turned and shouted at the man with spiked hair.
His face became pale and the smile faded from his face. It was like he was possessed as his body became stiff and he looked up at Luiya.
"Yes, mistress Luiya" He stated in a serious tone. His body then regained life.
"Hey, What have I told you about doing that!? You crazy woman!" The man with spiked hair shouted and then rose from his seat.
The rest of the people at the table remained silent. It was at that moment Haru noticed the Demon he had seen talking in the reception. And the old elven man who had helped Maya pass through the reception.
Then suddenly the feeling rose in the room once again. But this time it was much stronger. Haru could barely hold on and he dropped to his knees. He felt his eyes getting heavy as the old man's voice called out again.
"We are here for a matter of importance. I won't tolerate this childish behaviour from you two!" He shouted.
The pressure eased up almost immediately after he had spoken. The man with spiked hair looked at the old man and bowed his head before sitting down.
Luiya on the other hand didn't take her eyes off Haru. She then smiled as she noticed him looking back at her before tabbing on the arm of the chair once again for him to sit.