D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

The group left the appraiser each feeling something quite different. Kat was glad to finally be rid of the thing. Despite not hurting to hold or being too heavy… it was unwieldy, slowed her down considerably and just wasn't pleasant to hold. It was gone now, and if the cultivators decided they wanted money, they could find some other way to acquire it. Lily was pleased with herself. She might have been a bit embarrassed but she was awake and in Kat's arms, and really, isn't that what mattered?

Yang was feeling a bit bitter about the whole ordeal. Despite agreeing that the snake was too much money to just leave behind… she was really starting to understand just how much time it was taking from them. The auction involving the snake head wasn't for another two days. Which was really quite lucky when she was informed the auction house normally only holds auctions once a month or on special occasions. Well, the bigger ones. Small auctions for niche but common items happened more regularly. Still… the time was adding up and there was a knot in her stomach as she thought about what Xuena might be doing. Granted, she was probably being either kept in poor accommodations or forced to make medicine. Xuena would treat the first like a holiday and the second like a mostly regular day… but it still didn't sit right with Yang.

Xiang was the one who felt the most mixed feelings about the whole thing. It had seemed like a great idea, but road blocks continued to pop up. Perhaps if he'd known about just how bad the poison was, he'd have suggested they leave the whole snake behind. Perhaps if he knew they'd need to take it to the auction house. Perhaps if he knew how hard it would be for Kat to move offroad with it. Perhaps, perhaps perhaps. These things all PERHAPS could have helped in the past but they were committed now… and Xiang couldn't bring himself to be all that pleased about how things had been turning out.

"So where are we saying?" asked Kat, dispersing the clouds that had started to gather around the cultivators.

"Just wherever is-" Xiang started to say before being cut off.

"Oh no you don't Xiang. We'll stay at the inn in this city run by a cultivator. There will be at least one, maybe two and we will choose one of those," said Yang firmly.

"Why? We don't need anything fancy?" asked Xiang confused.

Yang grith her teeth and looked over at Kat with a 'this idiot' look. *Wait… does she just want nice beds? No… it looks like more than that…* "You see Xiang," *Oh yeah. She's gearing up for a bit of a verbal beat down. It's more.* "There are only two types of cultivators that room anywhere else. They are the desperate, and those that are hiding something. We are not desperate, and we aren't hiding anything."

Xiang raised a finger to point out he at least what hiding more than a few things, such as the fact he was instrumental in destroying a sect, seemed to have a weird form where he could take on much stronger cultivators but couldn't control it. Yang just glared harder, "Nothing to hide," she said through gritted teeth.

Xiang gulped, but apparently didn't know what was good for him, "Yeah but are you saying we aren't desperate?"

Yang hissed, "Look, it's not a matter of if we are or not. We've been seen going into the auction house because we had to walk a giant snake head through the city. People are now aware of us. If the underbelly of the city doesn't know already, they will before the end of the hour. If we stay at some random inn they'll think we have something else worth taking. Maybe we couldn't get a good price at the auction or maybe they aren't smart enough to realise the Auction House keeps all items on their premises.

"I might not mind roughing it. My parents were pretty clear about that fact growing up. What I don't want is to feel like I need a guard the whole night lest we be attacked. Even then we might still get attacked. Perhaps a rogue cultivator will go for it, deciding breaking a few nearby buildings down will be easy to pay off and a good price for what we have. Might even wait till after the auction when they know we have the money. It just isn't worth it,"

"Why can't Kat just guard us?" offered Xiang.

Kat felt her eye twitch. *Ah there's the Xiang I know. He was doing so much better then the first time I almost thought it was a fluke. Aw well.*

[It's ok Kat. We've traded Xiang as an ally for Yang as one and frankly, Yang is a lot prettier.] The echoing mental laughter coming from Lily did help soothe whatever few fray nerves Kat had acquired. She was mostly playing it up for Lily, but the genuine announce was easily washed away.

"While I'm sure Kat would indeed be able to guard us, and might even do so with little prompting if asked properly," Yang emphasised the last few words like she was trying to stab Xiang with them, "that's only part of the issue. The fact that we'd need a guard would automatically make our sleep worse. The idea we could be woken up at any moment, that we need to be ready to jump out of bed. We'd need to sleep with our weapons out and in reach, and maybe even day clothes on.

"And that's just the problems we'd have even if nobody shows up. Let's say someone does show up. I doubt they'd be bothering to rob us if they're strong enough to take out Kat, but say they're a cultivator? Kat will need to hit them decently hard or just hurl them away. That makes noise. We're already on a hair trigger and then all of a sudden we're all awake now because we were attacked. Even if it wasn't technically a problem, it becomes one. It's just best not to let it worry is. We have the money Xiang, and we'll be getting more,"

"It just seems like a waste. After roughing it for so many days. There a plenty of nice inns we could stay at that would cost us a fraction of what we're about to be charged," insisted Xiang.

"Xiang, we're not trying to pinch pennies here. I know you only got shitty long-lasting food because you didn't want to shell out for the good stuff. Which, I think was totally fair. Eating poorly cooked high Rank food just because it stays preserved IS a waste of money. I won't deny that in the slightest. But we are in a town, a rather nice town and we do not need to. Besides, we've eaten all the snake at this point," said Yang.

"The snake didn't even taste that good," grumbled Xiang.

"Gee, I wonder why? Perhaps it's because it was poorly cooked over a fire with a bit of salt on top?" suggested Yang.

"Look, I'm just saying if we're doing this for the money, why are we spending extra to stay in town," insisted Xiang.

"If you want to say it like that… I'm just insisting that we spend a bit of money to give everyone a good night sleep for once. The only one without any sleep issues at all has been Lily and that's because Kat makes the perfect bed for her," said Yang.

"Kat's been able to sleep just fine," said Xiang without looking at Kat to confirm this fact.

Yang glanced at Kat to find out for herself and Kat just shrugged. *I don't know what you want me to say here, either of you. It was perfectly serviceable. It doesn't hurt me and I don't wake up with back or joint pain from the horrible positions. Despite that, a bed is a lot more comfortable. So yes, I can sleep 'just fine' but that's a lot like saying there's 'just a bit of salt' in the ocean.*

[What I want to know is why we're bothering with this argument. We know that they both have some money on them, but I think Xiang has the supplies, and Yang has the main funds. So I think if she really wanted to she could just go ahead with this regardless of what Xiang wants.]

*Certainly true… but what does she actually want here? Just to argue? To actually get Xiang onboard? I know she enjoys it somewhat but does she enjoy winning an argument or just trying to extend it? I know she said it was the arguing itself… but I mean…*

[Hmm… I don't know. See… you're right she did say she just enjoyed arguing but she's making a lot of good points that should have shut this one down already. My guess is that she actually wants to win this one. Probably before the sun goes down.]

*Lily it's not even lunchtime.*

[I know what I said.]