Chapter 34. Places, Part 1[FIXED]
From that day on, making love became a regular part of our lives, and Kaya seemed to grow even more beautiful and desirable. Now, we no longer feared the possibility of a new life, as we'd managed to achieve the desired effect by manipulating chi. Another unexpected surprise was the improvement in Kaya's energy quality during our intimate moments—both life energy and bending. Our energies interacted so pleasantly in the process, and due to the greater disparity in our characteristics, Kaya gained more benefits. She'd already seen the results in practice: smoother use of waterbending, easier control over water—these were just the effects we'd discovered so far; there might be others.
At first, it was hard to close our spiritual connection with Yui, especially during moments of arousal when my thoughts were elsewhere. Most likely, something reached her, but she hadn't yet figured out why I felt that way. Even now, it's sometimes difficult to block the channel during particularly intimate moments. What can I say? Kaya has a talent for pleasantly surprising me with her creativity.
During this time, I resumed intensive training to open the Water Chakra, the second one in sequence. This will elevate my immune system to a level unseen even by benders. Poisons, viruses, diseases—they'll all pass me by. It'll come in handy, especially since I often have to sleep in poor conditions. Of course, chi always helps, but the local flora is teeming with extremely dangerous plants whose toxins could even send me to the afterlife.
And let's not forget the insects, which carry a whole host of diseases deadly to humans. It's easier now, as people have developed the necessary antibodies, but looking at the population of this world, it's clear that diseases once wiped out people in droves. After all, chi-related diseases are always deadlier. And if you look at the history of my past world, no war has claimed as many lives as diseases of various kinds.
The first chakra left me with not-so-pleasant memories, which is why I hesitated to continue training. But the benefits are too significant, and I'm already mentally prepared for the... uh, unpleasantness.
*
*Makapu Village* is located in the northwest of the Earth Kingdom, at the foot of the "sleeping" Makapu volcano. I remember this place thanks to Aunt Wu and her quirky assistant, Meng, who used to trail after Aang.
During my travels, I stumbled upon an information kiosk where notices about festivals or various announcements for the province's residents are occasionally posted. Such kiosks exist throughout the Earth Kingdom. I hadn't paid them much attention before, as they were usually in remote areas, and it was hard to believe the information was current. But it turns out the announcements are timely enough—at least fifty percent of the time...
That's where I saw an ad for Fortune-Teller Wu, who lives in Makapu Village, inviting anyone who wanted to learn their fate. As I recall, her predictions were often accurate. Maybe it's a real gift—who knows? But I couldn't pass up such entertainment. The village looked very picturesque, like I'd stumbled into a super-secret sect to learn mysterious teachings. The sleeping volcano, resembling the sacred Mount Fuji (forgive me, people of the Land of the Rising Sun, for the comparison), contributed most to this effect.