A bright morning dawns upon the quiet village of Jia Jie. Its brightness however is quickly outdone by the light spilling from through the shutters within one small house near the outskirts.
The source of the golden light flooding through the gaps is no surprise. In a lotus pose and with her youngest disciple on her lap maintaining a similar pose Song Suwan focuses her qi into several tiny golden flames floating at various heights around them.
With utmost care she tempers the flames to let through just enough of the demonic qi that An can sense its contents without it being overwhelming. Sweat forms on the grandmaster’s brow. Even if it were a static amount coming off the artifact Suwan would still find it difficult to control such a miniscule amount of qi, with how the mirror’s qi is fluctuating however it is nearly impossible and it takes every bit of her concentration to constantly match the amount she exerts to it.
It is moments like these that she would lament how little time she’s had to get used to being a Nascent Soul grandmaster if she had the concentration to spare. Few reach this vaunted realm without passing their first century -the vast majority even requiring several- and she hasn’t been able to find a single case of someone her age reaching this far into it, not even in the legends of old. It is no wonder then that her fine control is less impressive than that of those old monsters.
Wonder or not she finds it exceptionally frustrating right now. Due to her current task’s similarities to the alchemy she’s had drilled into her head and practiced for over a decade she can just narrowly manage with but a few slip-ups. Her jaw clenches when she hears An hiss after her latest mistake, the child briefly getting exposed to an amount of demonic qi beyond what she can handle.
Briefly she increases the density of the qi she puts out to fully drown out the mirror’s aura while taking care to keep her flames tightly under control so she does not accidentally burn the artifact out. Through her spiritual sense she can feel her disciple gulp down another of the pills she’s prepared and channel its potent effect through her to purge the corruption out of her system. Once finished An takes a deep breath and taps Suwan’s arm to let her know she’s ready to continue.
Exhaling and letting the tension flow out of her Suwan loosens her control over the surroundings preparing to suppress the majority of the mirror’s power once more. The thing seems almost sentient. The moment An directs her attention towards it once more its baleful aura spills out and actively attacks the girl. Clamping down on it Suwan lets but a trickle through, the back and forth beginning once more. Almost serving as a metaphysical representation of An’s focus the object’s qi waxes and wanes depending on how much attention she pays to it, the brief moments the girl directs her attention to the map in front of her to mark another spot requiring Suwan to abruptly switch things up each and every time.
The sun sits high in the sky and begins to lower once more by the time An signals that she is done. Locking the artifact within a formation-encrusted box and stuffing the whole thing in her spatial ring Suwan lets out a sigh and lets herself drop backwards, An following shortly after. Panting in exhaustion the girl closes her eyes and relaxes every muscle.
Suwan smiles at how cute her youngest disciple is and wraps her arms around her, letting An’s small head rest atop her bosom. A growling sound like a bear’s roar resounds and An rockets back up clutching her stomach with a faint flush on her cheeks.
Pushing down a laugh Suwan pulls a meat skewer and a bottle of water out of her spatial ring and hands it to the girl still sitting atop her lap. For a moment she wonders if this is what motherhood would feel like before pushing the thought away, dousing it in oil and burning it to ashes. That’s not something she intends to think about for a long time to come.
Other than out loud to tease Fu of course.
Softly patting An’s head she lets out a sigh halfway between admiration and exasperation prompting the usually blank faced girl to turn around and look at her halfway through tearing a chunk of meat off her skewer whilst raising the bottle to her mouth to wash it down. This time Suwan is unable to fully suppress her laughter, a snort sneaking out before she clears her throat instead.
“You did well, An. I’ll make sure you’re properly rewarded for it.” Emphasizing her point with another pat to the head she continues. “That said, there’s no need to push yourself so hard. I admit I’m partially to blame here since I lost track of time but next time call for a break if you feel yourself begin to tire or get hungry.”
“I felt…” An begins before pausing, swallowing and washing her food down with a gulp of water. “I felt like I wouldn’t be able to find it again if I paused, Master.”
“I understand. Go get some rest, An. You’ve more than earned it.”
Helping the girl to the couch, Suwan turns to the puppet hanging from the ceiling. She decides to just ignore that instead of asking why.
“Twelve, where’d the others go?”
“The market, Sister Suwan.”
“I see. An?”
“Yes, grandmaster?”
“Take this and go have some fun.” Suwan says while tossing a coin pouch at her. “Oh yeah and tell Yating I need her for something.”
“Understood, Master Song.”
-----
“You needed me, Suwan?” Yating asks, an uncharacteristic hint of hesitation in her voice.
“Mhmm, I sure do.” Suwan replies with a wink and a sultry smile. Slowly standing up she saunters over to the white-haired woman with a sway in her steps. “I’m gonna need to go somewhere for a while so I figured I’d, hmm, top you up.”
“You’re going?”
“Should be back soon but hey, best not to take any risks right?” Slinging her arms over Yating’s shoulders she leans in and whispers into her ear. “Are you convinced or would you like me to think of a second excuse?”
“You hardly need to convince me.” Yating titters.
Their bodies push together as they frantically kiss each other. Placing a hand against her partner’s chest Yating pulls back and presses a finger to the blonde's lips when Suwan follows.
“Master, please let me handle everything.”
“We’re in a bit of a hurry though, Tai Tai. Who knows when the others will be back?”
“Please, Suwan?” Yating asks in a fragile tone, slowly moving closer and sucking on her neck instead of waiting for a reply. Suwan lets out a snort before licking her lips. “Well, I'm all yours then.”
With sensual motions Yating traces the palm of her hand over the cloth of Suwan’s robes, her fingers caressing up her torso and down her sleeve on the other side before taking hold of her wrist. Turning both herself and Suwan around she pushes her up against the wall and moves in, letting her breath tickle the blonde’s ear. Hooking a foot behind her leg she draws it in and lets her master’s thigh press up against her sweet spot.
After all there’s no way the Song would keep her hands to herself otherwise. On a similar note she grabs her other hand as well and pins them above her head with the full knowledge that should she offer even the slightest bit of resistance it would be an impossible act. Luckily, Suwan offers none.
Yating’s lips brush her ear while she switches both of her wrists to a single hand. Her other palm dips down finding the center fold of Suwan’s robe and continuing to explore lower and lower. Her teeth tug on her partner’s earlobe as the tips of her fingers reach her underwear.
“Hmmm~”
Encouraged by Suwan’s muffled moan she runs slow circles over her underwear while grinding her own hips back and forth at the same speed. She steadily keeps up the pace even as Suwan gently pushes her arms forward to participate. Instead of luxuriating in her master’s ministrations she presses down harder and continues on until a wet spot forms on her underwear. With a teasing smile she leans in until their chests squish together and whispers into her ear.
“Master?”
“Y- yeah, Yating?”
“Can you… get rid of them?” The ex-courtesan finishes, emphasizing her statement with a long lick from her earlobe all the way to the tip. Suddenly finding precision a lot easier than before Suwan expertly shunts all of their clothes straight into her spatial ring.
“All do- hmph!”
Caught by surprise Suwan’s eyes widen slightly before she closes them and focuses entirely on enjoying Yating’s sudden kiss. She nearly melts while she’s forcefully reminded her disciple is not only older than her but also far more experienced.
The white-haired beauty’s upper lip brushes over Suwan’s, begging for attention. The moment Suwan tilts her head to follow it she flicks the point of her tongue out and traces the contours of her lips. Muffled moans escape as their tongues swirl around each other, the movements down below not having halted for a second and slowly speeding up alongside the motions of Yating’s tongue.
Hearing her partner’s breath hitch Yating finally lets herself pay attention to how she’s feeling and nearly comes on the spot. Her hips buck, grinding against Suwan’s leg, and her back arches. Determined to get the blonde off before she finishes her hand homes in on her little bud and works it at a frantic pace. All she can feel up above is the taste of Suwan’s tongue and the touch of her breath flowing over her skin as their qi merges and intertwines.
Their shared feelings create a feedback loop and cause them both to see stars as their legs give out and they drop to the floor, the sweet scent of perfume mixing with the hearty smell of a bonfire like the aroma of incense at a celebration.
For several long minutes they sit in place, gasping for breath and spasming their way through the aftershocks. Wrapping her still numb arms around the blonde, Yating savors the moment. No matter how many times they do this she can never get over the feeling. How the world seems just a little bit brighter afterwards, the colors just the slightest tint more vibrant.
“Wow…” Suwan pants with a dumbstruck look on her face. “You didn’t even put anything in.”
Nuzzling closer Yating hides a smile in the nook of her Suwan’s neck feeling like no matter what happens everything will turn out all right. The thought causes her smile to widen and her cheeks to flush, embarrassed to show such a sight as the oldest among her peers. For the longest time she ran from her clan, from the world and above all from herself. No longer. Now she has a better home, one by Suwan’s side and through it, she can feel herself become a better person.
She knows the thoughts will fade in time, the clarity and happiness muddled up by her constitution until naught but base urges remain. No, she tells herself, not anymore. Such things happened in the past but now she has a way forward. Song Suwan is supporting her with all her might and now all that’s left is to try her hardest and rise above what she’d always thought she could attain. Words can’t express how grateful she feels to the blonde…
“Of course not, my lovely Suwan.” She purrs. “I’m saving that for when you return safe and sound.”
…but perhaps with actions she can get the meaning through.
