For the third time this day, the Queen Bee pondered, that maybe, just maybe, she was just a bit too harsh in forbidding one Kasumi Ai and Mei Wu from going outside.
In the first place, her hive was made for her own benefit, and continued existence. She hadn't really wanted think of having to deal with all the trouble that bringing another being into her hive would bring back then, when she started rebuilding her kingdom and hive once more.
Kasumi Ai was, honestly, a breath of fresh air, and a lot more helpful than expected, since feeding her was rather simple, since the alraune will just eat anything with glee, plants or beasts alike. No need to worry about her dying from eating a rotting body or something like how it could happen to humans, as the Queen Bee knew that they would die if they ate a corpse without any preparation to deal with poisons and toxic waste and all that... mostly.
Mei Wu's presence, despite her worries about it, wasn't as complicated as the Golden King Beast expected, and really, the majority of her food came from the alraune's nectars and the few fruits the Worker Bees brought, so it was a simple matter, as the Queen Bee hoped.
There were, of course, some drama that was happening between the human and plant women, and some of their moments that were told by the Protector Bees who watched them gave the queen a good amount of amusement and would have chuckled if she was able to do so.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the Queen Bee's anger at them not telling her about the possibility of the Xie clan searching the area, and her forbidding them from going outside, resulted in their amusing antics turning into ones that just baffled her.
It wasn't like she was extremely harsh with her judgement and the punishment she gave them at all. If anything, it was, compared to how other beasts and humans would probably give, rather tame, and it actually made sense both from a pragmatic side, and from an empathic one too. Them being forbidden from going outside sucks, sure, but it would be more preferable to being discovered and captured by the humans.
The Queen Bee would admit, to herself at least, that she liked the two. Maybe not as true friends or something like that, but they were just a lively addition to her hive, and they gave her a feeling of mirth every so often, and she would feel a bit sad to lose them. And from a purely pragmatic perspective, having Kasumi Ai, the alraune who was able to create such potent healing and delicious nectars, was just too good to ignore, while Mei Wu was a human woman that didn't really try to betray her, and actually got used to her role, as little as it was, rather quickly.
Though, seeing the amount of things that happened in just these three days since she told them her judgement, had made it clear that maybe this was a bit too bizarre, even for the two of them.
The first night, they suddenly start making pheromones and spreading them everywhere by their... sexual experience that kept going until they got caught by one of her Protector Bees, that was rather worried about Kasumi Ai's evolution and the killing intent she unleashed because she got... cockblocked, that's what humans call it? Or was it blue-balled?
The day later, AKA the previous night, they started having some strangely angsty talk between each other, from what her servants managed to hear, with sobs and tears and all that, and apparently slept together inside Kasumi Ai's self-made sleeping area? Thankfully, there were no pheromones oozing that night, and she got to hear a long speech about alraunes being predators and some insight on what kind of evolution the alraune had, something to keep in mind and talk about today, along with what Mei Wu knew about these elders.
But honestly... they might be taking this isolation a bit too hard, and that might have not been the best option for their... mental health... even if it can be argued that they didn't have a 'normal' one, or any, in the first place... the queen admitted to herself. The reason for that was that she felt it might be a good idea to check on her non-bee residents with her own eyes, and see their emotional and mental states in their 'natural' form, so to speak.
After all, while she had an idea on what their personalities were like, it would be better to see it for herself. People behave differently when not being pressured by power after all, and despite her being rather benevolent, the Queen Bee had no illusions about the fact that she ultimately had power over the two.
And thus, she decided to make an unexpected visit, and maybe secretely watch them for a while until it was time to talk about the humans that were investigating the forest, and the results... well...
"W-wait, Ai"er! One more sec-" Whap! "Oww! I said one more second!"
"Ohh~? Don't worry~! Here's a kiss, mwah~!"
'What the hell are these two doing?' was the Queen Bee's first thought, her second being; 'they are definitely having some confusing withdrawl symptoms.'
Despite the honey working as the 'door' to the human and alraune women's room being rather thick, it was still not solid or thick enough to obscure the Queen Bee's vision, and she easily managed to see everything of what these two were doing.
Kasumi Ai, the alraune, had managed to move her human body away from her monstrous half, both bodies linked only with a thick vine extending from just above the human form's butt, and she was, using her human body, hugging Mei Wu from the side, a wide grin on her face.
Mei Wu, on the other hand, looked as if she was torn between looking miserable, or acting like whatever she was like when she and the alraune were spreading pheromones and sexual vibes and all that, a day or two ago.
Face glowing red, and for whatever reason, wearing only a bra, she was whimpering as the alraune gave her cheek a kiss, one of many, the Queen Bee thought, if these two were doing this... bizarre act since they finished making and packaging the nectar.
"You're so cruel!" Mei Wu whimpered, feeling miserable, only to moan as the alraune gave her ass a squeeze, and it was then that the Queen Bee noticed that for whatever reason, Mei Wu's ass looked as red as a cherry.
...Okay, but seriously, what the heck are these two doing? The Queen Bee knew about sex, or mating, that's a normal thing for many animals and beasts, and humans and other races too, but what does smacking one's ass even about? Was this some activity humanoid beings indulge in?
Despite the ridiculousness of it all, she found herself a bit curious about it, yet, not too curious that she'd love to try... whatever that was. Not that she could even do it if she cared about it.
"Am I, love? Am I really~?" Kasumi Ai, looking like one of these animals going in heat, but able to speak and not as ugly, whispered in a tone that the Queen Bee could only think of as sensual. "Come on, now. You're making a good progress. Three hours in, and you shortened the time into a mere twenty seconds~! Still, we will be meeting the Queen Bee soon, so let's just try one more time, okay?"
The Queen Bee resisted the urge to tilt her head. This is all so vague and absurd for her liking.
"Summon it once last time." the alraune said as Mei Wu seemed to almost whine, before grumbling and focusing her Qi.
The Queen Bee watched as the two, oblivious to her presence that she was doing her best to hide, seemed to almost stay still, only Mei Wu's shaking hands and rising Qi being the only thing that indicated movement.
Nearly twenty seconds later, the human woman's hands glowed as some book materialized itself... right as Ai's hand gave a firm swat to Mei Wu's glowing butt, causing her to yelp with both visible embarrassment and... excitement(?)... as Ai apparently gave her bottom a gentle rub with the promise of using the healing nectar as a lotion on the so-called hurt area.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
'Yeah, I have no idea what the hell is going on with them. Maybe I would have to go and kill the humans personally, then drag them outside to get their fix of fresh air.' the Queen Bee thought in what many would call a flat tone if she was speaking, as a feeling she rarely felt made itself known.
Bafflement and exasperation. Truly, Kasumi Ai and Mei Wu were truly scary, making her feel exasperated by their antics.
Entering there right now felt just so tempting, if only to make them feel as awkward as they made her feel, and to shock them to near-death. They deserved it for all the confusion they gave her.
Oh, and she should ask about that book, too. She remembered that the ones that ruined her hive the first time had ones similar to them.
The Queen Bee would have sighed if it was possible. Today's going to be a long day.
----------------------------------------
Xie Yao suppressed the urge to sigh for the umpteenth time this day.
The reason for his mood was a rather simple one. Actually, scratch that, two simple reasons, really.
The first was the fact that he, even now, couldn't find a hint of that brat and his two minions. It had been a few days since he and the other four members reached the forest and were inspecting every area they thought was suspicious, but still, no sign of him yet.
He really hoped that Xie Li was alive, and relatively intact, as well as Mei Wu and Xie Yu too, but with every day spent and giving no results, the more he was starting to think that they were either kidnapped, or killed.
It wasn't a thought process he was fond of, really. He preferred things to be simple and rather liked being optimistic, despite his experience telling him how narrow and shortsighted that was.
After all, if he wasn't so determined and optimistic decades ago, back when he was a young brat, he wouldn't have been a respected elder in his clan he is today, and he wouldn't have been as strong as he was at the moment, merely staying a weak old man with low level as a beginner [Apprentice].
So, no, he preferred to believe, even against hope, that Xie Li and his two minions were alive, and that if they weren't dead or kidnapped, that Xie Li was just fooling around, and simply forgot to even write some stupid message to say that he's okay!
The other reason for his sour mood though, was a bit more... unique, one can say.
"Getting tired again, old fart?" a feminine voice full of contempt spoke to him, and he found himself glaring at the source of it once more this day.
A beauty was who was talking to him. A face that looked mature, woth beautiful long brown hair and brown eyes, lips painted red with lipstick, giving them a rather kissable trait.
Naturally, she too, had a body worthy of being called sexy, as her ample chest seemed to bounce with every step, and her figure and curves capable of enticing many men into lust, and her loose white robe that barely concealed her figure only made it even more pronounced. And despite being in her fifties, she, like most warriors and cultivators, looked younger than she should be, as if she was still in her early twenties. Truly, an attractive woman.
Xie Xiu, another elder of the Xie clan, and his junior by nearly thirty years, was truly a woman deserving of adoration and love, and her being a Level 5 [Grandmaster] made it clear that she wasn't one to be underestimated. Even he would not dare underestimate her, even if he could win in a face-to-face battle against her.
"Brat, you think that just because I'm old, that I would fall because of a mere breeze?" he asked her in irritation.
While he would gladly admit that she is a beauty, there was one little problem that both had towards the other.
They just could not enjoy each other's company at all. They never liked being in the same room, much less talking to each other, and they would have loved if they could force each other to live on a different continent, if possible.
That was how much they disliked each other's presence, and how they preferred to just insult each other, from the moment they first met twenty years ago.
Truly, even in the Xie clan, there were no two elders who held aminosity towards each other as blatantly as these two. There even was a betting pool on who would be the fortunate, or unfortunate person in the clan who would end up seeing them fight and talk trash to each other.
One could just suspect that with how they loathed each other's existence, that there would be some deep history full of tragedy and violence that made them hate each other that much, and some had even theorized that it was because of some romantic angsty backstory where they were lovey-dovey before they broke up in a less-than-amicable way.
Not that anyone would even dare to say that to their faces, lest they get beaten to an inch of their lives. And it wasn't even the real reason for their utter dislike for each other.
It was actually a much simpler, yet more baffling reason: hate at first sight. No more, no less.
From the moment they met, just like the inverse of a silly romantic story, the two had deep loathing to each other's presence, and their attitudes, both back then and now, made it almost impossible to get over that.
Twenty years back, when Xie Yao was not as tempered and calm as he was now, still hoping for even a bit more glory to himself even as he bitterly realized that he would never become a Level 6 [Elder] since his potential was clearly nearing its limit.
Back when Xie Xiu was still a young woman, by cultivator standards at least, and she was one of the more promising warriors, having reached the [Hero] rank at the age of twenty-three, with a strong Bronze-ranked level 5 Guardian Beast, filled with pride and even arrogance due to her skills and rapid rising in the clan's rank, still filled with hopes and dreams about becoming a Level 7 [Emperor], relatively untouched by the harshness of the world.
It was simply a clash of two personalities belonging to two people that were too stubborn to change their approaches, along with the fact that they just didn't like how both of them could see themselves in the other.
Xie Yao saw a young attractive cultivator, full of determination and confidence, just like he was when he was young, before the life stripped all of it from him. And he just couldn't feel that she would succeed where he failed.
Xie Xiu though, saw him as how she could be, a bitter old woman that never got over her losses, and she very much didn't want to be like that, even if she could admit that it was possible.
It was like both were not looking at different people, but looking at a mirror that showed them what they lost in the past, or what they would lose in the future.
It was that simple of a reason.
Xie Xiu, hearing him, only scoffed at that. "Dying from a breeze is too generous for you. Why aren't you already dead? Your bones must be begging for mercy, unlike my body that is still as youthful as ever!"
"Did you come here only to irritate me? I thought you'd have done something more worthy of your caliber, like stealing money of perverted youngsters, I believe?"
At the blatant insult, she tsked, a hand on her hip as she looked at him in irritation.
"I came here to save your sorry ass from a potentionally deserved death, old man. We both know that you're not the best in tracking people, or concealing yourself. It's my speciality." Xie Xiu smirked pridefully and mockingly as she put a hand on her chest to show her contempt, and he frowned at that.
That was true, and it wasn't something he could forget. He was primarily a fighter, and he preferred to punch, kick, rip, and break the enemy until they died, and his skills and beasts were selected to help with that. His Guardian Beast was a Strengthening-type one, after all, and the other two were a battle-type one, and another strengthening-type beast as well.
Xie Xiu though, was one that just preferred stealth, and it surprisingly suited her just fine, and her skills were mostly ones that helped her conceal herself and others, as well as increasing her awareness of anything that was happening around her.
Not that many would even know about all of that. Most would only notice an attractive woman smiling teasingly at them and either get one hell of a ego-boost because of some percieved masculinity or authority, thus lowering their guard around her, or they would be too much of a stuttering mess at being noticed by her, to notice or care about any ulterior motives.
Even he only knew as much about her because they either fought almost every month, or because they were forced to fight together in life-or-death battles where keeping secrets up one's sleeves is more determinal than a petty, if not deep, hatred for someone else.
There were many times where they thought that they would die, fights against other sects, demonic attacks, or even some Silver-ranked and Gold-ranked beasts in the Tong Tian Tower, there were so many close calls that would have resulted in their death had she not been so skilled at hiding and escaping with both of them relatively unharmed.
It was rather surprising how despite their dislike towards each other, they were a rather effective duo when it came to battling and surviving.
And so, instead of replying, he only grunted, not wanting to look at her, and he needed no words from her to know that she came here because she was told by the clan master to help them in case things were too difficult for even him to handle.
She narrowed her eyes moments later. "But still, even one as short-sighted as you should have noticed it, right?" she asked him, looking serious.
"You mean the bee beasts, correct?" he replied, "of course, I noticed them. Even as old as I am, I can still see, you brat. But I didn't really think of their presence as a big deal. This place is a forest, after all. It would be strange if insect and plant beasts weren't here." he admitted.
"True, old man. But you must have noticed, that even then, they were too focused on our presence, correct?" she raised an eyebrow at him, and he only sighed.
"You believe that there's a beast commanding them." it wasn't a question.
"Correct. And you remember that lake you saw this morning?" he raised an eyebrow at that. Yes, that lake. He felt something wrong when he saw it, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"There is a high chance that a fight happened there. My summons felt a strange mix of energies there, and despite it being nearly two to three weeks old, it was there." she answered him.
Xie Yao stroked his beard at that. "Then, we shall start our next investigation from there, and then spread out. Good, I will call the brats to camp here. Better not disappear on me, twerp."
He didn't even bother to wait for her reply before he started moving, as she just shook her head.
Really, elders and old people like him were such a bother! Oh well, you get what you get, that's what life taught her.