CH53 — Plans
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Ku Lo ran alongside the river in the thick forest. He hoped it would manage to conceal him from the bandits bound to find ways across.

From behind, a heart wrenching song could be heard.

“Ou, how long has the road been.

“Ou, how hard has the road been

“Ou, It’s all worth it because of you my bee

“Ou, It’s all over because of you...

Was the song supposed to continue? 

His feet sank into a muddy pit.

Did he blame me for his death? 

Without noticing the stagger, he continued to track on. 

Surely not… 

Neither did his line of thought halt. 

Judged by his earlier words, it should be so? 

It was sad, petty even to be judging the words and actions of a dead man; however, he wanted to believe that the men who had been entrusted to him hadn’t died in vain. 

Yes, they didn’t die for nothing… The three of them understood the value of our information, and unlike me, they were true to the Yin and Yang Sect with all their hearts.

But why can’t I shake this feeling off me…? 

Hours and exhaustion later, Ku Lo found his way to the spot where Dai Meifen had given the mission orders. 

“Is anyone here?” he called, searching the surroundings with his eyes. 

No answer, other than the ever present sounds of birds and the wind. 

“Is anyone here?” This time with a louder voice. 

The answer didn’t change. 

It had been well over half a minute since he called when the voice of Huang Qingling reached out to him from the side. “Ku Lo?”

“Qingling?” 

A brown haired head poked through the shrubs before her whole body came into view. Not a moment later, another silhouette raced towards him

“Lo’er!” There wasn’t even a chance for Ku Lo to respond before Gingge punched to hug him. 

The earnest affection ripped him away from all the guilt and death. “I’m back in one piece.” 

He lifted her into the air, something which forced a cute yelp from her. “We’ll have more time for that later, but I need to see Meifen. We alerted the bandits, everyone needs to get away!“

“Us two are the only ones left. The uproar you caused was hard to miss. Deacon Dai retreated the troop hours ago.”

“Then let’s not waste more time. The earlier we catch up the better.” He was exhausted, but resting would have to wait. Gingge stuck to him like glue, but reluctantly let go after a second nudge.

“Us being here isn’t just because of my sister’s unwillingness to leave without you. The Deacon wanted to take this chance to get you out of the sect.”

“Then what about the information I got? How do we pass it to her?”

“Not at all. We’ll lay low, then go wherever once things have calmed down.”

“Sister Fen told me to say goodbye to you in her stead,” Gingge added. “That you should take care of yourself and not rush back to seek a fight you can’t win for now.”

“The things we’ve gathered are important for her, and the safety of everyone in the sect! People died to get them!”

“Calm down. Tell me what you know and I’ll compare it to what the Deacon guessed.”

“There’s an entire bandit city in a cave! They have a few hundred people and enough rations they can waste them. Cultivators that can pulverize boulders!”

“A few other scout groups witnessed your chase and relayed the displayed power. The rest won’t matter until the sect comes here for a siege, which won't happen without preparation.”

“But-”

“Your lovers are safe. The ones you should worry the most about right now are Gingge and yourself. And we shouldn’t loiter out in the open for too long.”

Qinling had chosen to spend the remaining hours until darkness on a clearing deep in a hidden valley. After he finished a much needed nap, she continued her lessons.

She started with explaining how to hold a sword again. Then came his footing.

How to position himself to be able to advance and retreat more easily. Which section of the blade should be aimed at the enemy. Everything helped somehow, but swinging his sword at thin air and practicing rigid steps suitable solely for even ground, he felt more like a fencer than an actual combatant.

“Next up is an actual fight. I will give instructions as we go.”

He gripped his sword tighter. “So I just attack you like last time?”

“If that’s what you consider fighting, go ahead.” The slender, sheathed blade in her hand was raised to the shoulder.

Moving around her weapon, Ku Lo went for a first hit.

The ring of colliding metal informed him of his failure. He took a step back and put up his guard.

Qingling lashed out, so he put force in his grip. But instead of another clank, a flash of pain exploded from his wrist.

She backed off. “Slashing the torso is pointless. Aim for joints.”

The scabbard blocked his first attempt, though. When he struck, Qingling knocked his sword aside and made him hit her weapon.

What followed was another attack at his hand. Ignoring the pulsing ache in the joint, he pressed on.

But with time, he improved. Not at hitting her, sadly, but at avoiding the counter. 

Once he saw his sword blocked, he took a step back while scraping over her blade to divert her aim.

“Good enough. Follow me.” Qingling led him into the surrounding thicket. After they had taken their stance, she once again went for his wrist.

His foot hit a root. Losing balance, he could barely sweep aside her scabbard and would have been wide open for follow ups.

In this uneven terrain, Qingling wasn’t his biggest opponent. She was even a bit less aggressive with attacks, but pushed him around, forcing him to constantly check his footing.

The entire evening had consisted of duels and Ku Lo’s limbs weighed like lead. Dipping himself in a nearby spring had helped the soreness, but he still felt unwilling to move.

Splashes approached from behind and a body, comfortably warm in the icy water, pressed against his. “Want me to help you?”

“If that helping is limited to washing, go ahead. But otherwise, I’ll have to disappoint you.”

He could hear the pout in her voice. “ …Fine.”

A good while later, Ku Lo stepped out of the spring. He felt significantly less exhausted, though he realized the increasing desire for sleep.

Gingge hopped out behind him, helping to dry off and wear his robes. Nonetheless, she kept her promise and never touched somewhere unless necessary. Once he was ‘taken care of’, she grabbed the towel and reused it.

The sight of his lover rubbing herself off was certainly a feast for his eyes and when she noticed, she began mixing in rubs over her nipples and clit as well as soft moans.

Her watery eyes drew him in and his lethargy-founded resolution was challenged by a growing pressure near his groin.

Steps sounding through the thicket spared him from further struggle, though, and caused Gingge to turn for her clothes, hastily picking them up as Qingling stepped out.

Everything would have gone down discretely were it not for the lack of underwear. Gingge continued to dress without noticing, but her sister was bewildered. She glared in his direction and Ku Lo wasn’t sure whether he could suppress his grin.

The one sister stared off into the spring while the other finished putting on clothes behind her.

Gingge and Qingling sat facing each other while Ku Lo rested his head on the former’s lap.

With the loving fingers caressing his hair, he was hard pressed to resist falling asleep then and there. “So, we should probably leave after a night’s rest.”

“Where will we even go?”

Ku Lo smiled. “Tihandu.” 

His word caused the face above him to frown and although he couldn’t see her expression, Qingling also stayed silent.

“Our hometown?” Gingge finally responded.

“Yeah-” He nodded. “Shouldn’t that be the logical decision?” 

“Well, it isn’t like we have anything against it…”

“But?” he asked into the starry sky.

“Home is… a bit difficult.”

Silence fell once again. Not wanting to risk missing their expressions, Ku Lo heaved himself off of Gingge’s lap and sat down facing the two.

While trying to come up with sensible but meaningful questions to ask, he remembered a matter he had once again set aside. “But before heading for Tihandu, we need to visit my sister.” 

Things had rarely been calm since he got the amulet, but repaying his — most likely involuntary — body donor was a matter concerning his peace of mind.

As an added benefit the sisters stopped whatever they were thinking. 

“I want to see the girl who’s so important for Lo’er.” 

Qingling didn’t comment, but she seemed mentally absent rather than objecting. 

“Isn’t she sister-in-law?” 

“Un!” She nodded with a  wide smile. “Let’s go meet sister-in-law Xie.” 

“In what direction is Mahran Village?”

“In the south. On a side road to Tihandu if I’m correct.” 

Again, their facial expressions turned to contemplating. There must be something they haven’t thought through… he deemed and decided to refrain from probing further. “If you two don’t want to go, that’s fine.”

After a brief struggle washing over her face, Qingling opened her mouth. “No, this is a good opportunity to repay our family. Just… Be prepared for a surprise.”

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