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~ CANG DI AND QUARUNA — AWAKENING ~
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When he awoke, it was still well before dawn. The air was cool and the sky, with its curtain of stars and ever-present moon had barely even begun to lighten between the curtains.
Quaruna lay, naked, on her belly, beside him, sound asleep. Ao Qingcheng… clothed, he was relieved to see, was sound asleep on the couch.
It was hard to know what to make of her—Quaruna. She was witty and engaging, and there was clearly an attraction between them.
He didn’t think she was actually ‘in love’ with him, or anything like that, but the eager physicality of their union certainly felt like it went a bit ‘beyond’ the norm. He also wasn’t entirely sure what he felt about her. At a certain point, in relationships between cultivators, age was a thing that tended to be… if not ignored, then pushed to the side, when age differences could sit in the thousands, or even tens of thousands of years. Cultivation gaps could be a somewhat… touchy a topic, but even there, it was very dependent on other factors. The more of a taboo were relationships between ‘juniors’ and ‘seniors’, irrespective of age, or disciples and teachers, though even there, it varied from sect to sect… or the use of imbalanced ‘dual cultivation’ methods.
“Ohhhh…” Quaruna groaned and stretched out beside him, then slipped over to put half an arm over him. “Well, that was a fun night,” she murmured, eyeing his… morning state. “And you are replenished, I see…”
“Ahem…” he coughed and sat up, pulling the sheet over his half erect—
“Nope, no way,” she giggled, pulling it back off and then slipping on top of him and kissing him deeply once more.
…
“Amazing…” she moaned at last, snuggling into his embrace.
They lay there, in each other’s arms, for several long moments, then he slid her off, to lie beside him.
She just lay there, taking deep breaths, staring at the ceiling, her chest rising and falling.
Exhaling, he lay back as well, and closed his eyes…
“—Well, you both look like you had fun…”
With a start, he realized he had dozed off in the cool pre-dawn ambience.
Barely managing not to swear, he sat up, to find Dongmei—Meyla—leaning against the entrance to the veranda, taking in the scene.
“Though, she is a persistent little hussy, so I guess…” she added, eyeing the fitfully slumbering and very naked Quaruna and the also still asleep, but clothed Qingcheng, on the couch.
“Ahem,” he coughed and pulled the rumpled sheet over his lower half, to keep some remainder of his modesty.
“I saw it already,” Dongmei observed drily. “When we got teleported, remember? Although…”
-That is not quite the same, he reflected, feeling, somehow, that a bit of his aura as a respectable senior had been tarnished in her eyes.
“…”
“Look, I won’t judge,” she added, walking into the room properly and looking around. He couldn’t help but notice how her gaze lingered on the tangled sheets and Quaruna.
“…”
He grimaced apologetically, and considered trying to explain—weighing up the pros and the cons of how ‘explaining’ might go—then just gave up. He didn’t need Shatterpoint to tell him how that would go down. So, instead, he just went for the important bit.
“I have secured us backing to start an influence, or a household, of sorts, in Uldara,” he informed her.
“You… oh,” she stared at him, then at Quaruna, then at Qingcheng, and nodded.
“—As far as options go, I cannot see any other route to achieve what we need to,” he added. “Especially if we factor in…” he nodded at Qingcheng. “I think she will be… useful, especially if we can secure some of her compatriots, and this will allow us to do that, among other things.”
“Mmmm, yes, it will,” Dongmei agreed, walking over to the sideboard and pouring herself some wine. “Though, did you really…?”
He suspected she was about to ask ‘did you really have to sleep with her?’, but before she could finish, Quaruna stretched out and yawned.
“Uwaaaaa,” she moaned, sitting up. “Oh! Sister Meyla!” she exclaimed, immediately spotting Dongmei and giving her a bright smile.
“I am your sister?” Dongmei asked, a little archly, he thought.
“Awwww, don’t be like that,” Quaruna pouted. “Hunter Kang is a man with needs, and you can hardly complain if someone else is willing to satisfy them before you!”
“…”
For a moment, he had a horrible fear that Dongmei might actually attack her—
Instead, she put her cup down and… walked over to him and, to his shock, kissed him… deeply.
“What we have is more than carnal lust on a hot night,” Dongmei declared, very archly, after she had broken away, leaving him a little breathless and very surprised. “If he wants to ‘satisfy his needs’ with you, that is just fine, but there is only one sorceress’ apprentice here.”
“…”
“Ohhh, harsh,” Quaruna giggled. “I don’t mind sharing though! And I am really interested to see what is ‘more’ than what we shared last night.”
“…”
Dongmei broke away from him and stared at Quaruna with a profoundly inscrutable expression. At this point Qingcheng had also awoken, and was looking from him, to Quaruna to Meyla with an understandable degree of wariness.
All he could do was stare blankly at her, unable to properly collect his thoughts.
-She… never showed any hints before? Is she just playing up because of Quaruna… No, she isn’t like that… but uh… did I miss something? No, I didn’t think I was that bad at reading people? But… actually? Did I miss something?
“Hunter Kang was truly… vigorous,” Quaruna added, lying back on the bed and slipping a hand down, suggestively, to her belly. “Again… and again… and again, it felt like I was mounting a powerful stallion…” she added, biting her lip.
“…”
Dongmei just continued to match Quaruna’s suggestiveness with an inscrutable look. Qingcheng, meanwhile, continued to be very interested in the carvings on one of the pillars.
“Erishkira has been invited to the early viewing of the prisoners up for auction in two hours,” Dongmei informed him, changing track entirely.
“In two hours? No need, we can go as soon as we freshen up,” Quaruna replied. “In fact, in light of that idiot Gharzir’s words last night, going now… will be better if we go before dawn.”
“I see,” Dongmei mused. “I will go tell her.”
“Are the others still out there?” he asked her.
“Uh-huh, they had fun… as well,” Dongmei added drily. “I think their ‘male slave’ is a bit exhausted from it all.”
He could not help but feel a pang of sympathy for Sheng Huan.
“…”
“Send in the serving girl who was translating,” Quaruna instructed Qingcheng.
Ao Qingcheng bowed politely and left, followed a moment later by Dongmei, who gave them one final backward glance… and did not close the door behind her.
A moment later, Mei Miao appeared. She eyed the rumbled bed, the naked Quaruna lounging on it, then him, her expression unchanging, but he did notice her gaze drift towards his loins for the briefest moment.
“What do you require, Lady Quaruna?” she asked, refocusing on Quaruna.
“Tell the manager of my household I wish to see her immediately,” Quaruna instructed her.
“As you command,” Mei Miao bowed respectfully and also left quickly.
“Ah, we can get washed up in the pool in the main room,” Quaruna declared, slipping off the bed and not bothering at all with her clothing.
Sighing, he wrapped a loose cloth around his waist and followed her out of their room. The others were just rousing themselves from the cushioned couches. Kurra was not there, nor was Garesh, but a moment later, both appeared from one of the other side rooms. Nisa was still asleep in in Sheng Huan’s arms, both very naked. Amanali was already in the communal bath he had taken for more of a water feature, the previous evening, luxuriating, with a glass of something, while one of the female musicians from the night before massaged her shoulders.
“You look positively radiant, Lady Quaruna,” Amanali observed, as Quaruna slipped into the water opposite her and sighed. “Maybe I need to spend a night with our ‘Great Hunter’ Kang as well? If that’s the glow he can bring out in you…”
“Yeah,” Kurra agreed, eyeing him with undisguised interest.
-Fates no, please save me from that, he prayed inwardly, before reflecting that the fates… might just seek to spite him. That seemed to be their style of late.
“Come, join us,” Quaruna called out, waving a hand to him.
Sighing, he walked over to the edge of the pool, keenly aware that all their gazes were following him now that he unwrapped the cloth.
The female cultivators—who were not Ao Qingcheng—flushed a little, but the Ur women just ‘Ohhed’ appreciatively as he quickly slipped into the water. It was cool, but not unpleasant, and immediately washed away some, but not all, of the fatigue of… spending most of the night in the arms of Quaruna.
Quaruna slid over beside him and started to work her fingers into his shoulders. Even at that, she was… accomplished, which at this point did not surprise him. Again, he was sure she was using her version of Shatterpoint, but it was so hard to pin down, despite him having thousands of years’ experience using it himself, that he could not be entirely certain. Her smirk suggested she was quite happy to keep it that way as well.
Sighing, he lay back a little and let her massage him, taking the time to… stabilise his qi circulation a little. He had gained… surprisingly, in the night, as it turned out. More than he had in a single go… in quite some time, and far more than he might have expected, even from that type of dual cultivation. Most of it seemed to be in the solidity of his qi foundation, and his attunement to this place had taken a further leap forward, beyond even what he had achieved by brute force, weeks ago.
More surprising, in its way, was how much she seemed to have gained from him. He didn’t think Quaruna was in the Dao Step, he had not seen her use any laws, but for her age, the more time he spent with her, the more impressed he was, even knowing her family lineage. Outside, she could potentially be a Saintess Candidate for a starfield power. Doubly so, given that she had a Heavenly Physique, and a family lineage that went deep into the formative years of a supreme world.
“Lady Quaruna,” a tall, dark-skinned woman, clad in a saffron gown and elegant golden jewellery, had appeared at the edge of the bath and bowed respectfully to Quaruna while he was lost in thought. Mei Miao, who was a few paces away, he realized, also bowed. “You called for me?”
-Is it that I am slipping, or are they just that good? He found himself wondering, a little unhappily, as he took in the woman who had to be the manager of Quaruna’s household.
The woman’s cultivation was certainly inscrutable to him, which either suggested that she was at least at the local equivalent of the Dao Step, or had a very profound treasure shielding her.
“Yes, I will likely have to spend quite a bit of money this morning,” Quaruna informed her.
“When you say… quite a bit, your ladyship?” the woman asked, a little hesitantly.
“Enough to compete with the vultures and the lords for some of these ‘crazy mages’,” Quaruna informed her, waving at Mei Miao and the others. “Upwards of a dozen, perhaps?”
“I think that can be managed,” the woman replied, seeming to relax a little. “I assume you have called me here because you intend to go see them now?”
“Yes,” Quaruna affirmed.
“Then I shall go see to the necessary things and meet you there,” the woman murmured, bowing politely.
Without waiting for Quaruna to say anything further she left.
“It seems our Hunter has caught a friend…”
Erishkira had also come into the hall, followed by Dongmei and a rather dazed-looking Pei Shirong. Pei Shirong eyed the casual nudity of the women… and him, and grimaced slightly, he thought.
“Won’t you join us, for a quick dip before we enter into the heat of the day, Lady Sorceress?” Quaruna asked respectfully.
Erishkira considered the pool for a long moment, then, to his surprise, did walk forward and shrugged off her light robe, slipping into the water, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
“…”
Dongmei stared at Erishkira, then at Quaruna, then sighed deeply and followed, shrugging off her own gown and slipping into the waist deep water, she gave Quaruna a slightly challenging look, then turned to Mei Miao.
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~ AO QINGCHENG — A MORNING OF… EVENTS ~
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The sexual tension around the pool was… actually sort of impressive, Ao Qingcheng found herself having to admit, as she watched the no-doubt inwardly sighing Mei Miao strip off her robe and get into the pool beside Meyla and started to wash her back.
The sorceress’ apprentice clearly had an interest herself in Hunter Kang, and was not… enthused with the fact that he had had sex all night with the Master’s daughter. If this was back home, she suspected they might have come to blows already, but here, the cultural attitude was… different, it seemed. It would not surprise her if both went to his bed tonight, the way things were going.
-Ah well, they can do what they want, she sighed inwardly. Just so long as I stay clear of it… somehow.
“Did… they make you join them?”
She turned to the youngest of the female cultivators, who had been tasked to play music, and who had slunk over to stand beside her. She was barely an immortal, and probably only about twenty-one or twenty-two, from the eastern ocean coast of the imperial continent, based on her accent, at least.
“No,” she shook her head, replying softly.
The young woman exhaled.
“I am Lifan Jia, senior,” she muttered, her face flushing a little. “They… just had sex, for half the night,” she added glumly. “Senior Sheng was treated like their toy…”
“How… were you captured?” she asked softly.
“We… got ambushed, by some group; I never saw what it was. One minute we were under attack, by archers, then… I woke up in those bands, naked, on a boat,” the girl mumbled. “It was… weird though,” she added, uneasily. “It felt like… a… a—mantra was used on us?”
“…”
She turned to stare at the other woman, Quaruna’s words from the night before resurfacing in her mind.
“A Mantra?” she asked.
“Uh-huh,” the girl nodded unhappily. “I think so, we have a few physical cultivators in our sect—Autumn Pine Valley—and they felt something overwhelm their mantras completely, in the moments before… the attack. We were on the plains. We walked for a few days, fought a few beasts, then reached what was probably a river tributary… and set up camp… then in the dawn…”
“Ah,” she gave the younger woman’s shoulder a squeeze of sympathy.
“—Wake up, sleepy head!”
Nisa’s gasp as Kurra cheekily tweaked her breasts drew both their attention back to the others.
Sheng Huan, in whose arms Nisa had been sleeping, was also awake now, looking… tired, yet contented. He also didn’t look at all… uncomfortable, though, and from the traces of qi on him, it looked like he had partnered with all three Ur women at least once. Curiously, she also couldn’t sense any evidence in his qi that he had lost out though, and in fact, it felt like he had ‘gained’ in some intangible way?
Even so, she could not help but reflect that it was different for men.
“He was… very willing,” Lifan Jia mumbled, glancing over at Sheng Hua, who was wincing and stretching. “Lady Nisa seduced him pretty easily, if you ask me.”
The slight sense of judgement in the girl’s tone was a bit depressing, especially when she considered how Quaruna had been keen to draw her into a three-some with Kang. Still, it was interesting that Nisa had, seemingly, seduced him, unless Lifan Jia was being quite general.
“We are all in this together,” she murmured to Lifan Jia, who didn’t quite meet her eyes.
“You—wash me.” Nisa commanded Jia as she got up from the couch and stretched languorously.
Jia grimaced and bowed, then hurried over to the pool to wait for Nisa.
She also couldn’t help but notice that while Sheng Huan was quite well endowed down there, he was still lacking compared to Kang.
-Uggh, Nameless Mother, she groaned to herself. Get a grip, Qing…
Her body, having been around those two was still… somewhat affected by their yang aura, she suspected—doubly so, because she also had a Yang based cultivation, like quite a few others from the Fire Orchid Pavilion.
The various groups chatted quietly, washing themselves as they did so. After a few minutes, three serving girls—Ur, not cultivators—arrived, with fresh clothes, not just for the nobles, she realised, as after they provided silken gowns for Nisa, Kura and Amanali, they came over to her.
“Lady Quaruna has graced you with this gift,” the girl in the lead informed her, proffering her a rather sheer, diaphanous gown of silken fabric.
Bowing, she accepted it, then realised that she was… expected to change into it right here and now, and sighed, inwardly again.
“Master, may I wash myself?” she asked.
-Nameless Heart, how easy it is to slip into that, she mused glumly.
“Of course,” Kang replied, immediately.
Slipping off her gown, trying to ignore the ‘interested’ looks she got—
-Motherless, I was proud of my figure before, but now, suddenly, I find myself wishing I was flat and short and had a scar somewhere prominent, she grumbled as she got into the pool. I bet they think he slept with me as well.
Submerging herself fully, she ran through her qi cycle once, trying to let it settle a bit, then stood up again and briskly rubbed herself down.
The water was cool, she found, but not unpleasantly so. It had to be some kind of spiritual water, because it easily washed away the fatigue and the residual tiredness from sleeping on a couch. It did not help that her body was ‘out of practice’ with sleeping, or needing to sleep, so between that and being in a room with those two, who had sex half the night… she had gotten very little real restful sleep, to the point where it was showing in her qi recovery.
Once she was clean, or at least refreshed, she got back out. There were in fact towels nearby, she had not noticed before, so she claimed one of the ones off to the side and quickly rubbed herself down, aware that the servant girl was still waiting.
Accepting the gown, she stepped into it and pulled it up… trying not to grimace at how much of her it showed. It was slit to the hips on both sides, and then the strips crossed upwards, over her breasts, to fasten behind her neck. It covered her, but left a great deal on view, especially from behind, where her whole back, nearly to her buttocks was exposed, as was her belly. When she walked, she suspected most of her legs would be on view as well.
“Sandals,” the girl added, proffering a pair to her.
They were light, with laces you had to do up that came all the way up to her knee, she found.
“She scrubs up well,” Amanali observed drily.
“Mmm, yeah,” Quaruna agreed, looking her over with a sexy smirk before turning to Kang. “You should give her something to show she is yours.”
Kang glanced at Quaruna, then at her, then at Meyla who had just gotten out of the pool, then sighed.
“Could I trouble you?” he asked Meyla, slightly to her surprise, rather than Quaruna, but on reflection, she supposed he wanted to keep her happy as well.
Meyla considered her for a long moment, with a very different kind of critical gaze to the other, then nodded and went back into her room. A short minute later, she returned, now clad in a fresh robe, with a pair of coppery bracelets and a necklace in her hand.
Walking over to her, Meyla put the necklace around her neck, and then handed her the bracelets.
“Don’t lose these,” she instructed her coolly.
“Of course… Lady Meyla,” she replied, accepting them with a bow.
To her surprise the three were in fact some kind of paired artefact set that obscured detection of qi around her.
“Much better,” Quaruna murmured, also climbing out of the pool, and pointing to the serving girl.
“Do her hair up. Her appearance reflects on Hunter Kang, and appearance will be important this morning. Also, give her one of my hair fasteners.”
The girl bowed and gestured for her to take a seat on nearby couch. All she could do was go along with it, so she did as instructed. The serving girl produced a comb from somewhere and quickly brushed her hair, then plaited it, before coiling that up at the nape of her neck and tying it in place with a dark ribbon, embroidered in gold cloth with stars and moons.
“Very good,” Quaruna chuckled as the second serving girl began to towel her off, before turning to Hunter Kang. “You really did pick wisely.”
“…”
Hunter Kang just rolled his eyes, then also got out of the bath.
Before he could dry himself off, one of the other serving girls had already come forward and begun to rub him down… thoroughly.
“Hunter Kang truly is gifted in every way,” Amanali giggled, eyeing him as the serving girl, expression neutral, even rubbed him down there.
“Mmmm, he is,” Quaruna agreed, biting her lip. “Very gifted… if it was just with that spear, he would already be a ‘Master Hunter’…”
At that, Kang did cough and look a bit awkward, she noted. Sheng Huan, who was off to the side, still naked—presumably because he had not been commanded to dress by Nisa, or perhaps because his clothes from before were in no fit state to wear—rolled his eyes. Garesh was also affecting not to notice, which was amusing. A stupid rivalry, really, as all three had clearly had all the sex they cared for, and then some, in the case of Sheng Huan. Then again, women measured their breasts and hips and figure against each other in her sect, so she supposed it made sense that men measured their penises.
“It’s fine, you’re just perfect as well,” Nisa called over to him, blowing him a kiss, while the others laughed.
“Will you wear a veil, your ladyship?” the maid now helping Quaruna get dressed asked her.
“A veil… hmmm…” Quaruna stared into the middle distance for a long moment, then at her, for some reason, before finally sighing and nodding. “I think so, and some jewellery. I need to make a bit of a statement, I think. Bring me my sun and moon crown.”
“Kuresa has it prepared already,” the maid murmured. “She thought it might be so. Someone will come with it imminently.”
Quaruna nodded slowly, looking at the rest of them. “That goes for the rest of you, actually. Smart, not casual,” she remarked after a moment’s silence.
“Oh? Are you planning on offending some people?” Amanali asked, with an eyeroll.
“I… don’t know, but Maroz is a member of that faction, his sons can be… idiots, and that old yellow-robed fellow has been courting them a lot, of late.”
“Ah, you are thinking about last night,” Nisa sighed. “You, go to my quarters and get me my family jewellery,” she instructed the third serving girl who was still distributing clothes. “After that, go to theirs and do the same.”
“Of course, Lady Nisa’aum,” the girl murmured, bowing respectfully, before putting the clothes on the table.
“It seems Kang here was convincing,” Erishkira, who had been watching all this occur in silence from the bath, finally remarked, shooting Kang and Quaruna an amused look.
“Very,” Quaruna replied with a smirk, again casting a sideways look at Meyla, who affected not to notice this time.
Kang just coughed a little awkwardly, before suggesting he go get some clothing from his room.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Isn’t it traditional for Great Hunters to present themselves wearing warpaint depicting things they have killed and very little else?” Amanali suggested with a cheeky grin.
“…”
“Not where I come from,” Kang replied drily, before heading back into the room.
“What about the others…? Do we…?” the maid who had been fixing her hair turned back to her mistress, gesturing at Mei Miao, Lifan Jia and the other two musicians.
“Hmmm, I believe they are currently the property of the City Bureau of Labour,” Quaruna mused. “Well, all of them are useful, and look good, and nobody will complain, as they were assigned menial roles yesterday, so just co-opt them into my household, give them a token each to show they serve me, and if anyone complains, I’ll deal with it when it happens.”
“Eh?” Mei Miao stared at her blankly.
The three musicians also gawked.
“Get in the water, freshen up,” the second maid instructed the three musicians in simple Easten, indicating the pool, which was now empty but for Nisa and Erishkira. “Same goes for you,” she added to Sheng Huan and Pei Shirong.
With a sigh, Erishkira got up, squeezing water out of her hair and then… waved her hand. The water around her rippled up, taking the form of a translucent gown around her, that then… transmuted before her very eyes, and in an entirely unknowable way, into pale blue cloth, threaded throughout with ephemeral designs of gold.
“Not bad,” the Sorceress mused, stepping out of the pool.
As she did, she noticed that the wetness just fell away from the gown, as if it had never been in water.
Following after her Nisa just waved to Mei Miao to start drying her off, which the younger woman did with the barest of hidden grimaces.
Pei Shirong, looking a bit awkward, quickly took off his robe and slipped into the water, followed a moment later by Sheng Huan.
The three musicians also flushed, their expressions a bit ‘anywhere but here’ as they also stripped and got in.
“You can get cleaned up as well,” Nisa added to Mei Miao, as the younger woman finished adjusting her dress.
“What… happened last night?” Pei Shirong asked Sheng Huan in a hushed tone. “Did you…?”
“Ah… um,” Sheng Huan coughed, not quite looking over at Nisa, who was dressing herself in a pale azure silken gown. “That girl… woman, Nisa was… very persuasive and… attentive.”
-Just like Quaruna? She found herself wondering again, thinking back to Lifan’s earlier comment. The Master’s daughter had clearly been interested, but beyond teasing her… and that stolen kiss, had also backed off, when she asked.
She almost wanted to ask him if he could have refused, but here and now probably wasn’t the right moment for that. The implication was that he had been given a choice though.
“I see,” Pei Shirong gave Sheng Huan a sideways look as well, perhaps wondering the same thing.
“Persuasive is certainly a word for it,” Mei Miao conceded, slipping into the pool, as Nisa started to converse with Quaruna about ‘Lord Maroz’. “You were not bashful last night, despite us being here,” she added a little more archly.
Sheng Huan coughed again and didn’t quite meet Mei Miao’s gaze either.
“Anyway… they um, Nisa… told me that they don’t seem to like doing that,” he added, frowning a little as if surprised as well.
‘That’ she took to mean… forcing the other partner.
“I think you will find that varies… a lot,” Mei Miao added, softly, and a touch coolly, in much more accented Imperial Common. “When we were held by the first one that purchased us, several of my junior sisters were just ordered to… do stuff—dance, massage… pleasure and such, and that continued by degrees, even when hosting people over the last while we have been… prisoners… here.”
“Yeah…” one of two the musician’s whose name she still didn’t know agreed, sounding a bit… lost.
“I… see,” Sheng Huan grimaced, looking more embarrassed by the second. “I am sorry to hear that.”
He actually had the tact to not ask Mei Miao or the other girl directly, if she had also been subject, which impressed her quietly.
“I think she actually took a liking to me, after seeing us fight… It was… weird, but I uh, think it actually helped my attunement to this place,” Sheng Huan added, a little awkwardly, and in a hushed tone, glancing over at Nisa. “Anyway, what about you… and that… sorceress’ apprentice?” Sheng Huan asked, glancing towards the door of that room, seemingly looking to change the subject a little.
“She didn’t so much as touch me,” Pei Shirong replied, a little awkwardly, not looking at any of the women in the pool, as if aware how… different, their experience might well have been. “I… was just told to go meditate or something, and then she read a book, while that terrifying ‘Sorceress’, who seems to be calling the shots, just lay naked in the bath in her room and… just seemed to meditate.”
“There is a bath in their room?” Sheng Huan asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, I think it’s the biggest suite… even more-so than ‘Great Hunter Kang’s’,” Pei Shirong replied with a helpless shrug.
-Which makes sense, she reflected, given the status the sorceress seemed to have.
“So… how were you captured?” Sheng Huan asked Mei Miao, changing the subject.
“We had just set up camp for the night, and put up wards… we had lookouts, then my senior sister Fei’an, an Ancient Immortal, just collapsed. That is the last I remember. When I woke up, I was naked, without any belongings, in the hold of a boat, on my way to a small town near here,” Mei Miao replied grimly. “Someone even unbound my two soul bound treasures. I was puking up with soul sickness for days.”
Listening in, that sounded awfully like Lifan Jia’s experience, she couldn’t help but feel. Glancing at the other girl, who was rinsing herself down, she noted that she had also marked that, and was frowning as well.
“What happened to Lian Fei’an?” Pei Shirong asked, seemingly familiar with the girl’s senior. “I didn’t see her among those held here.”
“I don’t know,” Mei Miao grimaced, while squeezing water out of her hair. “She wasn’t with us on the boat, and I didn’t see her when we were taken out either. After that, we were held in a hot, miserable courtyard, until a merchant here came and purchased all of us. Since then, we have been serving as dancers, musicians and… more, as I said—it wasn’t fun. Then, a while after that, I and six others were selected and seemingly gifted to the Palace, here. That was a week ago.”
“If you are clean, get out, don’t keep her Ladyship waiting,” the maid called over, a bit pointedly, she thought. “Your actions reflect on her.”
The others didn’t quite sigh, as they quickly finished washing themselves, then got out of the pool.
“Put these on,” the maid gestured to the remaining clothing left on the nearby table.
As it turned out, it was very similar to hers, for the women, at least. Mei Miao got a hair ornament and a simple gold necklace was produced from somewhere that ‘fit’ the style of Quaruna’s other maids. Lifan and the others just got a hair ornament, and quickly had their long hair bunched up in a local style.
Pei Shirong and Sheng Huan both got tunics a bit like the one Garesh was wearing—knee length, a bit thicker, and much lower quality, and bracelets and a belt apiece. It was a far cry from the finery they would have worn before, but it was also not the sheer, revealing garments the women were wearing, that did not even have any underclothes.
“When we go, now, you are to follow right behind your master, and say nothing. If you are asked a question, reply only if Lady Quaruna gives you permission,” the lead maid instructed her… not unkindly, in fact, but with the air of someone making sure that no mistakes were made. “Your status from yesterday will put many eyes on you, and on him.”
“I understand,” she replied politely.
At this point, the others—Hunter Kang, Meyla, the sorceress and Quaruna’s friends had all come back to the hall and were either milling about talking amongst themselves, or waiting on Quaruna, it seemed.
“Right, it looks like everyone has smartened up,” Quaruna remarked, looking around with a faintly amused expression. “Let’s go annoy some people!”
Not entirely sure what to make of that, she did as she had been instructed and quickly walked over to Kang.
Exiting the room, she was surprised to see six female Ur, dressed in… armour—and not the ceremonial, gaudy, rather revealing stuff like she had seen a few wearing in her time here—waiting for them. Kuresa, and another woman dressed in a dark blue robe and veil, holding a wooden box, also stood nearby.
“Lady Kara!” all six saluted formally.
“Your crown,” Kuresa murmured, stepping forward with the blue-robed woman, who opened the box to reveal a beautiful crown of silver and gold.
She nearly gasped, because the crown was… a real treasure. She knew that instantly, just from the faintly oppressive aura it manifested. The front had a crescent moon, and the rear a cut-out sun disk, and both gave a shifting sense of heavenly order that had to be some kind of Law manifestation.
Without much ceremony, Quaruna let Kuresa put it on her head and then fix the veil slightly.
While she was doing that, the blue-robed woman passed the box off to one of the maids, who just stashed it in the room, as far as she could see, before re-joining them.
The six female guards then set off, leading the way, with Quaruna walking beside Erishkira, who had watched the whole proceeding in silence, and then Meyla, Amanali and Nisa following a few paces behind, almost like attendants. After that, came Kuresa, Garesh and Kurra, along with Hunter Kang and… after the lead maid nodded quite pointedly at Hunter Kang… her. The others all fell in behind, led by the three maids.
The procession through the palace was, thus, quite surreal, and also bizarrely familiar. Having traipsed around after senior sisters visiting various dignitaries in their local province, the sheer alacrity and deference that the veiled, crowned Quaruna got, compared to yesterday, was… oddly reassuring. Nobody accosted them. Almost everyone, from servants, to merchants, and even nobles bowed. Quite a few even got to their knees, refusing to look up until their entire group had passed, and that continued until they reached a guarded courtyard, well-lit with hanging lanterns, even at this early hour, where at last, two heavily armed Ur, whose cultivation she could not read in the slightest… and a wary official with a bushy beard and a dark silk robe didn’t quite bar the way, but did bring them to a stop.
“Honoured Daughter, Lady Sorceress, Priestess, Ladies and esteemed guests,” the official bowed, deeply. “Your presence here is the light of my day before the light itself has arrived. How may we serve you?”
“We are here to see some of those who will, perhaps, be presented later,” Kuresa informed him, stepping forward to speak.
“Lady Erishkira has certain needs, and her eminence, the Honoured Daughter, has agreed show her what Uldara can offer.”
“I… was under the impression that that viewing was to be an hour and a bit from now,” the official replied, carefully.
“This is this, and that is that,” Kuresa replied blandly, withdrawing a talisman from somewhere and passing it to the official.
As soon as the moon-shaped pendant appeared in her hands, both guards lowered their heads and the official actually bowed to his knees.
“I, Shamurulesh, am honoured to facilitate a matter on behalf of the Great Priestess. May her light and wisdom shelter Uldara and all who dwell within!”
Quaruna nodded her head slightly and, with a breath of relief, the official rose, and stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter.
Inside… she found a familiar courtyard, tall, un-decorated walls on all sides, with narrow windows high up. Here and there, she could get a hint of leafy branches from gardens high above, but that was it. A shallow pool sat in the middle, with a stack of water jars… which were being filled by two maids… and every entrance was guarded by two guards.
“Who is it that her eminence wishes to see?” Shamurulesh asked, respectfully.
“The ones who fought with her,” Kuresa answered, gesturing to her. “At least to start with.”
“Ah,” the official looked a bit awkward, all of a sudden.
“Is there a problem?” Kuresa asked.
“N-no, but High Priest Jumroz has also professed an interest in them, as has Great Lord Maroz… It seems they impressed many influential people—”
“And her eminence—”
“—Are you suggesting that Jumroz or Maroz are somehow of higher status than my grandmother?” Quaruna’s voice was a mere whisper, but it somehow filled the whole courtyard. The maids shuddered, bowing, and the official blanched.
“I… did not mean to say that,” Shamurulesh hurriedly replied. “Simply, I sought to let you know…”
“I see,” Kuresa nodded, pleasantly. “Well, you have let us know, so bring them out. Or are they not here?”
“…”
-Ah… motherless, she felt her heart sink at the official’s awkward, grovelling refusal to meet Kuresa’s gaze.
“Bring them all out, then; let us see who is here and who is not,” Quaruna murmured. “Then, your punishment will be decided.”
The various guards on the doors, clearly reading the sentiment, quickly started to open doors and order those inside out.
Soon, almost eighty cultivators and twenty-three Ur were standing, naked, in the courtyard, looking as worried as the official now was.
“There are only eighty here,” Kuresa observed, dispassionately. “Twenty-three missing. You”—she pointed at one of the guards wearing more ornate armour—“strip him, beat with your full strength, twenty-three times.”
“I… p-please…” the official dropped to his knees, burying his face in the ground in front of Quaruna.
“No,” Quaruna stepped forward, gesturing Kuresa to the side. “I will administer punishment. It is my grandmother’s status that has been marred by this servile one.”
“…”
Kuresa and the presumed leader of the guards stared at her for a long moment, then nodded—
The blow made her skin crawl, for its speed and its power and… the sheer inability for her to even see it coming. Quaruna stood motionless and the bowing official crumpled onto the stone paving with enough force that she thought she heard bones crack, his qi bleeding out of him. It also obliterated most of his clothing, leaving a brutal weal on his back. Then another came… and another…
“What… does this mean for us?” she asked Kang quietly at last, as Quaruna punished the official neither hurrying nor seemingly taking any outward pleasure in it. “If that noble from last night has set his eyes on…”
Everything had seemed like it was going to work out, yet now…
“Don’t worry,” he reassured her, putting a hand on her arm. “We will sort this out…”
“But what if…?” She couldn’t bear to even say ‘what if they have already been raped—or worse?’. Behind her, Mei Miao and Lifan were not looking at her.
“If they have been mistreated, I will not stand by,” he informed her, softly.
He said it so… normally, yet, for a split second, she saw something icy and utterly… other in his eyes—real killing intent, like a stabbing spear, unable to be avoided… then it vanished as if it never was.
-He… has comprehensions in Spear Law? She shuddered inwardly.
She had known he was strong, but he wasn’t at the Dao Step, or the local equivalent, as far as she had seen, and yet he had comprehensions in at least three laws—Yang, a strange one she couldn’t pin down at all, and this one—she was sure. Back home… that would have put him right at the apex of the younger generation.
Yet, knowing that there were Dao Step experts backing up powers here, she still could not help but feel… suddenly lost, again. The hope that had pulled her through the night now all vanished, replaced by gut wrenching unease.
By the time twenty-third and last landed, the official was breathing raggedly. His flesh was bloody and turning purple and she was sure most of his bones had been cracked. Surprisingly, his inner strength, while depleted entirely as far as she could see, was not damaged though, which for the severity of the beating he had just endured, was… impressive on Quaruna’s part.
“His family is to be fined the price of all twenty-three missing slaves,” Kuresa informed the lead guard, who had watched dispassionately. “He is not stripped of his nobility—for now—but nobody from his immediate family is allowed to hold rank in this palace, or city, for twenty-three years. If any of the missing are injured or otherwise ‘damaged’, beyond what is acceptable in our laws, this will be judged separately.”
“L-lady Q-quaruna… is… muzt… grabcious,” the official managed to gasp, brokenly, barely pulling himself back into a crude semblance of prostration.
-Too fate-thrashed right she is, she sneered inwardly.
“My Grandmother’s auspice is such,” Quaruna replied dispassionately. “We serve our people, and through our service, they have endured. Do not forget that.”
“You have all seen this!” Kuresa called out, pointedly, to the assembled prisoners. “This is Uldara’s justice. This man was your jailor, but he abused his position, and so, he is punished.”
“You two—” one of the other maids called over to the pair who had been filling water. “Go with two guards, throw him in a cell, then report to Lord Ashmal that her eminence will see him shortly about a matter of discipline in the Palace.”
“As you command,” the maids chorused, as the guards dragged the official up and took him away.
“Where is his deputy?” Nisa asked, looking around.
“He was invited to supper last night by Lord Maroz,” the lead guard replied promptly.
“He is also stripped of this job, and fined,” Kuresa stated. “See that it is done.”
“As you command!” the leader of the guards saluted, then waved for two more to go.
“Who took the others?” Meyla asked.
“They were taken to a party in the guest quarters, late last night, hosted by Lords Eruz and Maroz,” the guard leader informed her. “The former official saw to it...”
“I am sure he did,” Kuresa replied, giving the guard a searching look.
“I will accept any punishment, on behalf of my own misjudgement and the misjudgement of the men and woman under me,” the guard stated, bowing deeply.
“I did not come here to bloody floors,” Quaruna sighed.
“Nonetheless, I am also culpable,” the guard declared, stripping off his torso armour and kneeling down.
“In the aftermath of these floods, many beasts have breached our borders,” Quaruna mused, after a moment of thought. “You will find and kill twenty-three of at least an advancement equal to your own. After that, your contribution will be evaluated. You will start that tomorrow.”
“Your ladyship is most gracious,” the guard murmured, sounding like he really did mean it.
“She really is in a good mood today,” Kurra muttered, in front of her, to Garesh.
“Lady Quaruna!”
She glanced around as a slightly harried middle-aged, man with curly dark hair and a beard, clad in a loose silken robe, trotted into the courtyard from an exit on the near side, followed by a dark-haired young woman in a sheer gown very similar to her own, and a youth dressed more like Garesh and the other younger nobles.
“Ah, Administrator Lord Mur,” Kuresa nodded slightly. “We were just about to send for you.”
“I see this useless subordinate’s wide pockets have finally overfilled,” the administrator sighed. “I did warn him, but it seems he put too much faith in his so-called friends in high places. How can this old man help your eminence?”
“I want to see the lists for the prisoners that were to be in the auction, later. It seems certain parties have been undermining my father’s desire to show our city in a great light.”
“Of course, Murin, go see to that.”
“Yes, Father,” the youth murmured, giving them a deep salute and then dashing off the way he had come.
“My middle son, he has a gift for numbers and a good eye for detail, I hope one day he will take over from me.” Mur informed Kuresa, before gesturing to the young woman. “And this is Raesha, my wife, she oversees my household here in the palace.”
The young woman bowed deeply as well.
“While we wait for that, is there anything I can assist your eminences with?” Mur asked respectfully.
“The Great Priestess, inheritor of the Oracle of Heaven, has foreseen certain matters pertaining to the good fortune and future of our city,” Quaruna informed him. “Some of these prisoners play an integral role in what she saw—unfortunately, it seems that Lords Eruz, Jamoz and Maroz do not share her vision.”
“That is their misfortune, certainly,” the old man chuckled, stroking his beard. “Honestly, if I was to advise you, I would seize all of them. As you know, this old man’s family came from the old D’vari heights, long before the collapse. My grandfather’s father fought for long against the tribes of the lightning deer, the storm dragon, and the fire bird, and was both infuriated and impressed by their valour and tenacity.”
“Does he mean a Kirin?” Lifan asked softly, behind her.
“You… think these people are descendants of them?” Amanali asked, pensively, considering the ranks of prisoners.
“Their arts, and the styles reflected in some of the things I have seen on them… are as the stories of those battles, passed down in my family, depict. Not the same, but not too dissimilar,” the old man remarked, gesturing to a few of the cultivators who had dragon tattoos on their arms and legs, who she had to assume were from the Sheng clan’s Martial Pagoda. “They repaid gratitude ten times over, and every slight a thousand times. I am sure you remember the tales—to call them rabid dogs, when roused is… underselling it, entirely. Only one of their old heavenly disasters was able to break the watch on those perilous mountains and humble the slaver dukes. My grandfather’s father saw those dread bolts descend, like spears of Shamash from eternal Abzu itself, to carve open those dark peaks so that that old dread’s disciple could escape the hell those villains wrought.”
“And you fear that some old power like that could come here?” Kuresa frowned.
“I just know the tales of my grandfather’s father,” Mur chuckled, stroking his beard. “But those groups out east have gained power, rapidly in the last while, and many of these prisoners have come from them. Routes in and out exist; the issue has always been who guards those gates.”
“Bloody Orcs and a vengeful elf in the west, or the blue devils in the east,” Amanali sighed.
“And Grimvak’s folly in the south sward,” Mur added, spitting on the ground.
“—And in the north, the dead keep their cruel watch,” Erishkira murmured softly.
“Indeed, Lady Sorceress,” Mur agreed, bowing formally to her. “An implacable foe that even the ruin of ages has not been able to quell. And now, there are dark rumours running, fleet of foot, from Solaneum.”
“From Solaneum?” Nisa asked.
“Aye, they say that it fell, and then… darkness returned, from its hidden places,” Mur nodded. “Darkness even Grimvak fears, that shaped the eras of this land ere even defilement bloomed. I wonder, Lady Sorceress, if you know much of it?”
“I cannot say,” Erishkira replied blandly, which sounded like a deflection to her, but the old Ur just nodded as if content with her denial.
“—Announcing, LORD ERUZ! LORD MAROZ! LORD AMASH! LORD ASHDI!” a strident, booming voice echoed suddenly through the courtyard.
A moment later, some twenty guards, unarmed, she noted, with some interest, trotted out of the doorway behind them. Following behind at a much more measured pace, were two of the lords she recognised from the balcony the day before, along with a cluster of younger Ur, dressed in finery, led by a pair she assumed were ‘Amash’ and ‘Ashdi’, that also included Ghrazir, who she recognised from the night before. At the rear, came a procession of servants, including, to her relief, her junior sisters.
The whole procession came to a stop a meters away, sizing up Quaruna’s group, the assembled prisoners… Hunter Kang, her—especially Ghrazir and another standing beside him, who was taller and a bit more muscled—and then, finally arriving on Lord Mur—
“L-lord Mur,” the lead noble coughed, bowing, hurriedly. “What has dragged your esteemed self—?”
Mur—Lord Mur—took a step to the side, making it much clearer that Quaruna was the person ‘in charge’.
“Lord Mur is important,” Kuresa murmured, holding up her token. “But I had no idea he outranked her Eminence, or her Eminence’s granddaughter?”
“…”
The assembled lords looked at Quaruna again, and a few now, she thought, looked at her crown, and turned a little… pale, in the pre-dawn gloom.
“Lady Quaruna, you should really—” the lead Lord coughed, starting to smile. “It is one—”
“One what?” Quaruna murmured.
-Ah, so this is the issue, she sighed, as a final bit of understanding on Quaruna’s status in this city slipped into place.
Clearly, the young woman had a high rank, but it was treated as a bit of a novelty by these lords, rather than an actual, iron-clad status that they had to respect.
Probably, Quaruna had a token that could compel then to kneel, or be very respectful, but using it would not solve anything, because they didn’t really respect the person in the role. In that regard, she likely wanted to use Hunter Kang to build up her own prestige, and presumably gain more people she could trust. A quick check of the numbers of servants who had come with the nine nobles confirmed her hunch, as, discounting her own juniors, there was an average of about seven per noble.
“You flouted the rule, yesterday, with that little bet, and it was humoured,” the lead lord remarked, with a broad smile. “Now, you punish someone lesser than you? Will you bar yourself from office for three years, and accept three hits, and pay a fine for the worth of those three?”
“Are you trying to equate this, with that, Lord Eruz?” Kuresa remarked, rolling her eyes.
“Who are you?” one of the youths behind the lord cut in. “You speak as if you are the equal of my father, yet—”
“And now, I see you have claimed others of these slaves, from the Palace stable,” another youth added, with a sneer, gesturing towards Miao and the others.
“If I wish to promote those managed by this palace to my household, that is my business, is it not, Lord Mur?” Quaruna asked, turning to the old man, who had just been listening in silence.
“It is indeed, your Eminence,” Lord Mur nodded. “As to matters from yesterday, I believe, your father would not have permitted it were it against his wishes, so as far as I am concerned, I think that matter is closed.”
“Lord Mur…” Lord Eruz frowned slightly.
“Is there another Lord Administrator here I missed?” Lord Mur asked, looking around a little theatrically. “I only see her Eminence, the granddaughter of the Path Protector, Great Granddaughter of the last true Heavenly Lady our people possessed, and a pack of mewling puppies and yapping dogs attempting to look big.”
-Ouch… she had only gotten about two thirds of what he said, but the insult was pretty clear.
“Shamurulesh’s crime was not flouting our Lord Master, the ruler of Uldara’s desire to show all of these folk off tomorrow, to our esteemed visitors from far and wide. Nor, was it crossing the desires of her Eminence. No, it was bringing the office of power and authority he held, into continued and sustained disrepute. In that regard, he has gotten off very lightly with a beating, a large fine and exile. His mistake was relying not on his own capabilities, but on backers in high places. If you wish to argue that his sentence should be lessened, and I imagine you will, if only to save your niece’s blushes, you have that right as well. However, if his sentence is re-evaluated in that light, it may be increased.”
“…”
Lord Eruz stared at the old Ur, then shifted his gaze to Quaruna, then finally Hunter Kang.
“Lord Maroz, was not your eldest son quite taken with the performance of that girl Hunter Kang stole away?”
“Aie, he is truly enamoured with her, and hoped to put in a bid, today, to make her his first concubine. A woman who can incapacitate a mortal physique to such a degree is a prize worth pursuing,” the other lord, whom she recognised from the balcony, nodded, glancing at the youth to his right, who had not stopped looking at her the whole time.
“Hunter—Great Hunter—Kang,” the youth spoke, suddenly stepping forward. “It is my right, as a noble of Uldara, to contest you, and name my price. My price for victory is that slave girl at your side.”
-Oh, come on, this cannot be happening, she groaned inwardly, appraising the youth.
His cultivation foundation was… indiscernible to her, which meant he was at least akin to an Ancient Immortal, or had a treasure like she had been granted. However, he also had a faint sense of oppression in his gaze she recognised as a grasp of some kind of Law, which likely put him on a similar kind of footing to Kang.
“And if I win?” Kang asked, blandly, seemingly not at all concerned by the youth’s glower. “What are you offering, that I should be at all tempted to agree to this?”
“…”
“You would refuse? Are you a Great Hunter, or a coward?” the youth retorted bullishly.
“…”
“If you will not offer, I will pick, then,” Hunter Kang suggested drily.
“Fine, you can take your pick,” the youth sneered. “You,”—he pointed at some of the guards, who were still standing around, mostly to watch the prisoners and because they had not been ordered to leave—“order them back a bit, and clear us a space.”
Quaruna considered the youth, then leant in and said something to Amanali, who snorted with derision.
“Are… you sure you can win?” she asked Kang uneasily. “He looks pretty strong.”
“I swore that oath,” Kang replied, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “I will not let you down.”
For a moment, she felt a thoroughly unreasonable increase in her heartbeat, as she took in his reassuring look.
“What are the rules?” Kang asked. “I have never had to fight a duel for honour in Uldara before.”
“First blood. Killing is frowned upon, unless it is a legal duel to the death,” Quaruna informed him drily. “Which this is not.”
“Understood,” he nodded. “Anything else?”
“No artificial enhancements to help,” Ghrazir called out, giving Quaruna a look that she entirely ignored.
“Each party gets to specify one condition,” Quaruna added.
“—Unarmed,” the other youth stated immediately.
“I’d like you to introduce yourself,” Kang remarked drily.
“That… is your condition, that I tell you my name?” the youth asked, looking half surprised, half amused.
“It is,” Kang answered, after a short pause.
-Fates go—! Isn’t he a bit too confident? His weapon of choice is clearly a spear. She groaned. And my future, and that of my junior sisters, is riding on this!
“Hah, I am Mazrir, son of Maroz, grandson of Ul’Marozin,” the youth replied as the others started to move back a bit more, many of those on his side shaking their heads in derisive amusement.
Unable to do anything other than watch, she observed Kang walk forward into the open area and bow politely in the local style to Mazrir—
Mazrir barely bowed, then launched himself forward in a blur of motion—and then danced back, his expression turning grim, as Kang, almost lazily, moved his arms to brush aside the attempted grapple—
Mazrir, still stony-faced, slowly started to circle around, as Kang… just stood there, in the middle of the open space, tracking his movement.
“Come on! Get him, Maz!” one of the other youths yelled.
“Yeah! Show this so-called ‘Great Hunter’ what you can do!”
“Get him!”
“Ah, this is going to be really stupid, isn’t it?” Quaruna murmured drily to Meyla, a few paces away.
“Yes,” Meyla, who looked entirely unconcerned, she could not help but notice, agreed. “It is.”
“Care to bet on how many moves Mazrir lasts?” Quaruna asked, smirking.
“And what am I betting you?” Meyla asked archly.
“Oh, I am sure we can work something out,” Quaruna giggled.
“—Excluding the exchange just now, three moves,” Meyla stated.
“Mmmm, I think he will do it in two,” Quaruna suggested. “You hear that, Mazrir! Don’t let us down and get defeated quickly, okay!” she added cheekily to the Ur youth, who was still circling Kang warily.
Mazrir didn’t so much as glance in their direction, as he almost completed his circuit, his expression… uneasy—
Abruptly, his grimace turned to a wolfish grin and he darted in, heading for Kang’s left side. Kang stepped in and deflected the grasping hand, then blocked the knee… and Mazrir crumpled to the ground, looking like a stunned fish.
“…”
Meyla turned to Quaruna, her expression… very odd.
“I believe that counts as two moves,” Quaruna replied innocently.
“Fine, we can work it out later,” Meyla sighed.
“What… just happened?” Mei Miao asked behind her.
“I too would very much like to know,” Lifan added under her breath.
“That man is scary, is what,” Sheng Huan muttered.
“Scary is a word for it,” Pei Shirong agreed. “I think the only junior in our generation who might be able to fight someone like that is Senior Cang.”
“Senior Cang?” Mei Miao sighed. “As in Tian Cang Di?”
“It seems I won,” Kang remarked, eyeing the others. “Anyone else want to try?”
Lord Maroz was staring at his son, his expression complicated.
Ghrazir… just looked oddly resigned, as if he had sort of expected this outcome.
The others all had flushed, angry or just… resigned expressions on their faces.
“You can all come at once, if you feel unwilling,” Kang added.
“…”
“That isn’t a duel; that’s a brawl,” Lord Mur observed drily.
“Even if I make it a condition of challenging one of them?” Kang asked with a strange smile.
“…”
“He catches on quick,” Nisa giggled as the other youths behind Ghrazir all paled.
“I think I should object to that,” Lord Eruz remarked a little coolly, while Lord Maroz also nodded.
“In that case, I’ll pick my prize,” Kang stated, folding his arms—
Before he could speak, though, Quaruna leant over and whispered something in his ear.
“I can ask that?” Kang murmured back, to which Quaruna just seemed to roll her eyes, or similar, beneath her veil.
“Then I’ll take those two slaves—” To her shock, Kang picked out the two disciples from the Water Lily Pavilion of her sect, who had not been captured with her, and that presumably Mazrir had purchased elsewhere.
“…”
“That is a lot, compared to one,” ‘Ashdi’, who was standing next to Ghrazir, finally spoke up. “And they are—”
“Not part of the auction, no,” Kang nodded. “It was left to me to specify, and nobody objected…”
“Fine,” Lord Maroz nodded.
“There is still the matter of the slaves that were taken from here without permission,” Lord Mur added, pointing to the other female cultivators. “If they are returned, with an admission of certain wider faults, it might reflect a bit better on your nephew-in-law’s circumstances, the matter can be considered as dealt with.”
“What sort of… wider faults?” Lord Eruz asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Nothing prohibitive, I just think it is harsh that your nephew, who was my subordinate, was left hung out to dry by his ‘friends’, simply because he had a position of responsibility that he was prevailed upon to exploit, if you follow my drift,” the old Ur chuckled.
“I do,” Lord Eruz murmured, glancing at the youths behind him, who flushed. “How about they pay the fine, at a much higher rate… and the exile matter and the loss of status are dropped?”
“Enlistment, or re-enlistment, for six months apiece, in a unit of my choosing,” Lord Mur countered. “And a fine of fifteen large gold to be levied.”
“Agreed,” Lord Eruz nodded curtly.
Listening, she felt slightly dazed.
Lord Eruz gave the still dark courtyard a final somewhat gloomy look, then turned on his heel and, without so much as a glance at Quaruna, left. Lord Maroz stared at his unconscious son, then huffed and waved some of his servants over. They picked up the youth, checking him and confirming that he was… fine, just unconscious, it seemed; then with Ghrazir following behind, he also turned and left, followed quickly by Amash, Ashdi and the other youths, all of whom just looked shocked at how things had developed.
In a matter of moments, they had all departed, leaving only the nine women from Verdant Flowers Valley, who looked just as dazed and shocked as the younger Ur nobles.
“That… you are a scary girl,” Lord Mur remarked to Quaruna.
“Who, me? I did nothing,” Quaruna replied blandly.
“…”
“Give your grandmother my regards. I will also speak to that old fellow about the beating,” Lord Mur remarked. “I assume it is those seven you are after?”
“Mmmm, what is their buyout price?” Quaruna asked.
“I believe it to be two large gold, Lady Quaruna,” Mur’s young wife spoke up. “But Murin will be able to confirm it when he comes.”
“A thousand gold coins,” Quaruna mused, ignoring Kuresa’s slight grimace.
“Who was listed as their seller?” Kang asked.
“A broker,” Raesha replied. “But that is not uncommon. Even if the practice is institutional, few people want it to be known they sold others into slavery.”
“As is tradition,” Kang sighed.
“Fine, I’ll purchase them all, at their buyout,” Quaruna informed him. “Kuresa will see that the payment is delivered at the appropriate time.”
“Are you interested in any others?” Lord Mur asked, gesturing around at the others.
“Are there any more of your brothers or sisters here?” Kang asked her softly.
Looking around, she didn’t see any. There were a few she thought were from Western sects, but with everyone stark naked, unless she knew them personally, or could recognise something of their spiritual law through a familiar vibe in their remaining qi…
“If we are allowed to purchase here, Lady Erishkira will take those six,” Meyla pointed first at two women standing forlornly a few meters to their right, then a youth across the way, and finally three more young women at the far end of the courtyard.
“I believe they will come to a large gold for all of them, Lady Meyla,” Raesha informed her politely.
“I will send the amount for them with the other payment,” Quaruna added.
Listening to the exchange, it was hard to meet the eyes of the other cultivators near her. Most of the discussions, bar the formal challenge stuff had happened in their local tongue, but the looks they were drawing were equal parts baleful, terrified and, in the case of far too many… just resigned, or hopeless. A part of her wished she could get most of them out of here, because nobody, except maybe the Jade Gate Court or the Red Sovereigns, deserved a fate like this, but she also knew just how many strings were being pulled to reunite her own juniors with her.
Even after Murin finally appeared, with a stack of scrolls and confirmed the prices and they had processed with her juniors back to Quaruna’s quarters in the palace… it was still hard to believe it had all fallen into place so quickly, and well before the sun even begun to rise on the day itself.