As I head down the road with Shi, I see some debris on the ground move. As if by the wind.

My eyes automatically drift to Shi, seeing her putting away another note.

She looks toward me, seeing where my eyes were looking. Her mouth opens and then closes.

Ah… she’s probably being told to keep me here, if possible.

She clears her throat. “Ah… Are you sure you don’t want to stay the night? There’s… quite a bit that would be done to make you exceedingly happy here.”

She coughs and looks away. “…I-I would also be part of that, as well.”

That is simultaneously suspicious and tempting.

But ultimately, I can’t trust that I’ll make it through the night with my sanity intact. Especially my precious, precious virginity.

…

Why am I saying no again?

Shaking my head, I say, “Unfortunately, no. I’m really looking forward to resting in my own bed.”

I can practically see her deflate.

I pause before saying anything else.

If I deny too harshly, that might come off as disrespectful. Maybe even leading them to do some drastic actions.

Not only that, but it could be viewed as a failure on her end to secure a client.

… And I actually like her.

I should give some ground.

“However, I really, really enjoyed your company today. Though there were some difficulties, I am glad I could meet you and am looking forward to getting to know you further. In fact, I was hoping to use this path again tomorrow, to reach the main market area.”

Her back practically straightens like a bamboo shoot.

I continue, “I was hoping to have your company again, if you have time.”

I can feel the air shift near me.

One moment she was there, where I last saw her. The next, she was in front of me, with my hands in hers.

“YES! Thank you! Thank you! Thank yo…”

She pauses for a moment and blinks.

“Ah. I’m sorry for my sudden movement!” she says as she backs away quickly. Though she moved at a normal speed, this time.

My intuition tells me that there may be something going on here.

Why does she panic after showing some strength or taking a lead position? Wait… could this be something to do with cultural tendencies?

Wait… I could be just making an assumption. This could be something specific to her.

I’d like to know, since it seems this keeps happening.

As I open my mouth to say something, an average looking woman crosses in my vision and appears ecstatic. She waves and a gorgeous smile crosses her face, showing something deeper within.

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Every.

Single.

Piece of my intuition, is warning me that this woman isn’t normal.

My body and mind are fighting my abilities, attempting to calm me down.

That everything is fine. That it is completely okay that she is there. No. That she belongs there. And to look back at her smile.

Rapidly, I turn my body toward Shi.

She’s there, but practically frozen.

I stop moving.

She’s right there. Behind me.

There’s no way she hasn’t observed that inner turmoil. I have no way of knowing how much she can see. Though, my feeling is that without a truly in-depth and tedious scan… she can’t hear thoughts. Not at her level. Only a general idea and mental direction.

The issue is, I may not be able to escape from her.

Because, at the end of the day… she’s there. Waiting for me to turn around.

Like one of those monster stories, that when the character moves, the monster will jump on them when they least expect it.

I’m safe if I don’t move.

How stupid can I be to think that?

At that moment, I can smell the soft scent of jasmine flowers envelop me. Slowly and deliberately, impossibly pale, soft, and delicate hands cross from behind me, briefly blocking my sight. Covering my eyes, as if from a dear childhood friend, yet like a lock that has just closed. Binding us together.

For the briefest moment, I feel safe. Comforted. Happy.

I immediately freeze, my heart stopping cold. My blood frozen into ice. My intuition goes into overdrive.

This is wrong.

Escape. Move. Run. Not safe.

Next to my ear, I can feel the warm, comfortable breath of a young woman.

An enchanting giggle emerges from her.

To attempt to describe it would be to explain the beauty of a sunrise upon water.

To visualize the vastness of space, without having ever seen the sky.

To understand the pureness of a first love, after only knowing hate.

A perfect sound.

One which makes me want to listen to her ever so slightly closer.

Well, that is before a cooling feeling crosses throughout my body.

Like being submerged in cold water, inside and out. Accompanied by the now pleasant and familiar feeling of healing. My healing constitution. My mind clears from the influence of her and pinpoints what it was affecting.

I can recognize it. All the times I had forgotten things. When I was distracted away from my negative thoughts. All it took was a glimpse of her, a slight smell of jasmine, or a glint in the distance. These things are the ways that lead people away from thought patterns. A touch of hypnotism, sleight of hand, and some subtle manipulation techniques.

I formed a naturally positive disposition to the Yellow Sashes due to subliminal messages and these tricks. “It’s not that bad.”

With this, I now understand the reason behind my actions.

What I don’t know is how they know what I was thinking…

Breaking up my thought, for the first time since this encounter, I hear a voice.

Light and filled with mirth. This voice seems to do the opposite from the sound before and further pulls me out of the daze I was in. Removing her wrapped arms from my shoulders, I can hear her skip backwards.

“Ah. Shoot. I got a little too excited and let my form out…”

Turning around quickly, I brace myself to see that form again. I feel my awareness skill reactivate alongside my scanning ability.

What they actually show is the average woman’s appearance. Somewhat.

It appears a blend of true appearance with the illusion. My eyes meet hers.

“Sorry about that, I got really excited when I heard what you had done today and my illusion dropped for a little!”

A smirk crosses her face, though.

“But it looks like I wasn’t wrong in my thoughts, then. Your body DOES naturally resist our Ways. Even without cultivation. It makes me wonder how strong of a Healing Constitution you actually have…”

I feel a shiver as she casually reveals one of my secrets.

Oh no. No, no. This is bad, this is really bad.

Wait, wait, wait.

Calm down, James… there’s plenty of reasons that she could know. It’s clear I was covered in spiritual senses earlier. They could have figured out that through seeing my body.

… They could have also read my mind. I feel they aren’t able to see everything, though. But it is plenty enough to get an idea.

As I think to myself, while watching her, she seems to be enjoying my slight panicking.

“Hahaha, you don’t need to worry about me too much. You’ve done quite a few good things for my troop. From healing my ladies to revealing spies in our midst, I would be foolish to forget favors and violate justice.”

Then why have you been reading my mind?

Let me see if I can approach this in a way, that doesn’t cast down her ‘face’, as I think it is called.

“I’m glad to hear that is the case. With that said, maybe you can help me with something. I have been feeling many ‘probes’ at me, recently. I’m unfamiliar with this feeling and was hoping you could educate me on what this might be.”

Silence.

She stares at me.

We stare at each other for some time, as I say nothing.

She shakes her head and sighs.

“I guess it is true, when they say the newborn calf doesn’t fear the tiger… Though, I suppose the mere fact you can feel spiritual sense without cultivation, shows you to be a dragon among men. If there was any question on where you need to go, this would dispel it.”

Okay, I get the dragon among men comment, but what does newborn… Ah, I think I get it.

She’s calling me ignorant.

Even so, I know she knows that I already know she knows about my ability.

That’s a mind twister.

“Alright, I suppose I can explain a few things for you.”

With a wave of her hand, I can sense the presence of the still frozen Shi, disappear. A look in her direction only confirms this. Turning back to Wu Qing, she shows an amused look.

“Don’t worry, my people are just clearing the area of anyone who might… not be as close as we will be.”

Ugh…