Konna

~Chapter 13~

"Wakey wakey Kochoooo," Renna's melodic voice rang into my ears. I was being gently shaken awake. My body felt extremely heavy like lead. Fatigue overwhelmed me. I kept my eyes closed and ignored Renna. I wanted to rest a bit more since we both had gotten back to the inn just as the sun was peaking over the horizon.

"Tut, tut, tut I guess I'll have to leave this sleepy head behind."

I opened my eyes abruptly to see Renna gazing down at me. I looked back at Renna pitifully with the feeling of being wronged. There was a mischievous smile plastered on her lips. Her hair was messily tied into two buns on top of her head. She wore a loose fitting floral pj made out of satin. Around her neck dangled the amulet that was gifted to us by the village chief.

I hastily grabbed the edge of Renna's sleeve, afraid that she would vanish if I didn't stop her. "You don't mean that do you?" I asked dejectedly. Renna's expression softened. She sat down on the edge of my bed and ruffled my hair.

"Of course not silly. My life would be dull without you," Renna coaxed me.

I smiled. Renna was momentarily stunned before saying, "you should smile more. It's a nice change of pace from your usual moodiness."

My smile immediately disappeared and I pouted. I grabbed my pillow and threw it at Renna's face. Renna caught my pillow and chuckled, "annnd moody Kocho is back." Renna produced a fresh set of clothes from her storage ring and placed them beside me. In the pile of folded clothes was a pair of black leggings, a plain white top and a black leather jacket.

"Change into these. Afterwards we will go stock up on supplies and continue on our journey."

After we both had gotten changed, we headed down to the reception area to check out of the inn. Linda greeted us and gifted us both two hot steamed buns each. She then gave us an earful about not skipping breakfast before saying goodbye.

As we headed towards the village square, I was surprised to see it bustling with life. Rows of stalls were set up with a variety of items for sale - jewellery, herbs, pottery, rugs and fresh food. There were also some villagers who were passed out drunk from drinking heavily. They were placed safely to the side and had a straw blanket draped over them to prevent them from falling ill.

Renna held my hand and guided me over to several stalls that sold medicinal herbs. She studied each stalk intently under the sunlight. Then she bought a selection of herbs that helped stop bleeding and inflammation. Afterwards, she picked up a non conspicuous herb. It looked like a succulent red berry. I noticed that it had a faint aura of spiritual energy around it. The spiritual aura resembled a semi-transparent white halo. Just as Renna was about to put it back down, I grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Buy it," I urged Renna. Renna gave me a quizzical look. To her, it was an ordinary red berry with little use. Her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced again at the small berry in her hand.

"Do you want it Kocho?" Renna asked. I nodded enthusiastically in response. Whilst herbs with spiritual energy were useless for demons, they were very useful for humans. They could be refined into higher quality medicine or be eaten as they were to remove impurities. By removing a cultivator's impurities, it helped them cultivate more easily. In some cases, the spiritual energy contained in the herb could cause a cultivator to advance in a rank or overcome a bottleneck.

"Alright then. How much for this red berry sir?"

"Since it doesn't have spiritual energy, it costs 5 bronze coins like the rest," replied the stall-keeper. He was a young man with a scholar like appearance. He adjusted his glasses slightly, causing them to momentarily glint in the sunlight.