Master had given Youmei a task. It was the first task he had given Youmei that took her away from him. He was trusting Youmei with this task, and Youmei was going to do her best to deliver.

Her task involved following Liang Wei. Master believed he knew the location of the kidnapped girls. That meant she had to wait for him to show up, then follow him after he left.

She was hiding within the shadows, darkness engulfing her. Youmei heard people say the darkness was scary, but she didn’t think so--it was comforting and warm. Anyway, this realm of shadows was pure black, but she could still see everything happening outside of the shadow. That was how she noticed Liang Wei as he emerged from the base with several other people.

Youmei didn’t know who the other people were. She counted five. They didn’t smell very strong and she couldn’t sense their cultivation. They were normal people.

There were plenty of normal soldiers in that Ren something or other’s army. Master said that cultivators were uncommon. Most people couldn’t cultivate.

Liang Wei began walking and the others followed. Youmei traveled from shadow to shadow as she went after them. They reached a carriage and climbed in. She waited for a moment, then slipped inside the carriage’s shadow before it set off.

Youmei is hungry…

The journey in the carriage lasted several days and Youmei didn’t know where they were or how far they had gone. She got hungry quite often during the trip. The carriage would sometimes stop so they could sleep and eat. Those were the only times Youmei could get any food, which she got by stealing what they were cooking before they noticed. Her theft had caused a fight to break out several times. It seemed they thought one of them ate the food. Well, that was just fine with Youmei, so long as they didn’t realize she was there.

Several more nights passed before they finally reached what she thought might be their destination. The place where they stopped was a massive forest. All the trees were very big and their branches twisted together. Youmei stayed inside Liang Wei’s shadow as he and the others wandered into the forest on foot.

They walked over large roots, around trees, and headed deeper and deeper into the forest. Youmei wondered where they were going, but they eventually stopped in front of a tree. It was the largest tree she had seen so far. Youmei didn’t know how big it was, but she thought it was large enough to fit an entire house inside.

Liang Wei stood in front of it and made several hand seals that she didn’t recognize. The area around the tree shimmered. Youmei wouldn’t have rubbed her eyes if she wasn’t hiding in a shadow. A hole had opened up in the tree.

“Come on. It’s time for you all to become cultivators,” said Liang Wei.

Youmei didn’t know what he meant by that. It wasn’t possible for them to become cultivators. Big Sis Meiying had said it was impossible for someone to become a cultivator if they didn’t activate their dantian when they were 16. Youmei might not know what a dantian was, but her big sister was smart.

The inside of the tree did not look like the inside of a tree. It was completely hollow and made from something other than wood. She couldn’t smell anything because she was in a shadow, but Youmei was certain it was some kind of cement-like material. There was a staircase in the room, and that was what they traveled down.

The staircase was long. They walked and walked and walked, and Youmei lost track of how much walking they did. She was bored out of her mind and hungry by the time they reached the bottom. Liang Wei took them through door at the end, which led to a tunnel, but then the tunnel opened up into a massive cavern.

What Youmei saw shocked her.

Aaaaah! They’re doing what Master and Big Sis Jingshu do all the time!!

There were dozens of people present, all of them women, and they were all naked. They were naked hugging. Loud moans, grunts, and groans filled the air--or they had. That stopped when Liang Wei and the other men entered the room. As one, all the women who had been naked hugging suddenly turned to look at them. Youmei would have shuddered at the ravenous look in their eyes if she wasn’t in her shadow.

Youmei was shocked and confused. Why were a bunch of women naked hugging like this? Why did they suddenly look at those men like they were prime beef? Why were they currently crawling over to them on all fours like animals? She didn’t understand anything that was going on right now!

One of the men took a step back. “Are these…”

“They’re furnaces,” Liang Wei said, his voice nonchalant. “You don’t need to think of them as human. They don’t feel anything but pleasure anymore. They live for pleasure now. All you need to do to become cultivators is sleep with these women.”

“Well I… I don’t know… that doesn’t seem, right. You know?” The one who had stepped back mumbled.

“Right?” Liang Wei raised an eyebrow. “What’s right about the Undying Sun Sect taking over our country, killing our families, and making it harder for us to live? Let me teach you a little something I learned the hard way. Might makes right. Those who have power are always in the right and nobody can say or do anything against them. If you gain power, that will make you right. Now get wasting time and disrobe. We need to be back in a few days.”

Three of the five men looked at each other before disrobing. They didn’t hesitate at all. Youmei thought they were eager. She would have bet her favorite meat that they were releasing pheromones right now. The other two seemed hesitant. One of them even turned toward Liang Wei.

“Look… I do wanna get stronger… but I don’t want to sleep with women I’ve never met. My wife might not be with me anymore, but I have always been loyal to her.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“And you can remain loyal,” Liang Wei said. “These aren’t women. They’re just furnaces.”

The man’s lips thinned. “No. They are women. You’re trying to gloss over this, but those are human beings like you and me. I don’t know what you did to them, but I know right from wrong when I see it, and this is wrong.”

Liang Wei sighed. “Is that how you feel?”

“It is.”

“Fine then. You don’t have to take part in this.”

“Thank you--urk!” The man grunted in shocked pain when Liang Wei plunged a hand through his chest. He reached out to grab the hand. Blood spilled from his lips. “Liang… Wei… what are you…”

“I can’t have anyone who doesn’t take part know about this place. Sorry. But if you refuse to join us, I’ll need you to die here,” Lian Wei said before mercilessly pulling his hand from the man’s chest. He looked at the other man who was hesitating as the one he killed crumpled. “What about you? Do you plan on telling me you won’t take part in this?”

The man’s face was pale and drawn as he gulped. “… N-no… I’ll join you.”

Liang Wei smiled. “Good. Then disrobe and get started.”

***

Wu Jian and the others returned after accomplishing their mission. The entire mission had only taken a day since Wu Jian had used his overwhelming powers of the Dao of Space to quickly kill all the people that were arrayed against them. Even the elder who had been in charge of escorting the supplies was no match for him. Wu Jian had simply teleported the man’s heart into his hand like he had done with the others and that was all she wrote.

After returning to base, Wu Jian spent time doing what he had been doing. He meditated, trained with Hou Jingshu and Shuchang, watched Zhou Lihua, and spend the nights in Hou Jingshu’s arms. Without Youmei around, Wu Jian had been able to indulge in Hou Jingshu’s warmth. He kicked Shuchang out of the room so he could spend several nights with her. Wu Jian didn’t feel bad. Shuchang wound up seducing several female members of Rén Xuě’s army.

If he didn’t know any better, he would have said that Hou Jingshu was even more ravenous than him. Her sexual appetite was voracious. The first night he planned on seducing her, he invited her into his bedroom, only for her to attack him the moment he locked the door.

He wasn’t complaining. Wu Jian liked it when his women were aggressive. Being pounced on like that was just as fun as doing the pouncing himself.

What Hou Jingshu lacked in technique, she more than made up for in enthusiasm and curiosity. She was willing to try anything once. They had tried a number of different positions and role play. Wu Jian had even let her tie him up… though any form of bondage ended up being a bust. No rope could keep them bound. The threads snapped the moment either of them let their reflexes get the better of them, and holding themselves back during sex had never been their strong suit.

He didn’t see much of Mei Xilan these days. She was trapped in meetings with Rén Xuě’s top brass. They had decided to let her attend them alone since nobody seemed to trust him and the others because they were foreigners. He wasn’t worried. Mei Xilan was a Deva Realm cultivator and the strongest person in Rén Xuě’s army was at the Human Limit Realm.

Wu Jian had already taken a measure of everyone’s strength. The people in Rén Xuě’s army practiced standard cultivation methods, the kind you could find literally anywhere. Even if every person in this base went up against her, Mei Xilan would come out on top.

At that moment, Wu jian was staring up at the ceiling as he lay naked in bed, an equally naked Hou Jingshu pressed up against him. The woman lying with her body half buried in his side moaned lightly as he stroked her hips in absent gestures. She glanced up at him when he stopped, then leaned forward and kissed his chin.

“Something’s on your mind,” she said.

He smiled. “Nothing gets by you.”

“Worried about Youmei?”

“It’s been several days since we came back, and she still hasn’t returned.”

“I understand why you’re worried, but you know, Youmei is stronger than anyone in Rén Xuě’s army. I doubt she’s run into trouble.”

“I know. I’m not worried that she’s in danger. I know better than anyone how strong she is.” He paused. “I’m more worried that she might have gotten lost. What if she got distracted by something and separated from Liang Wei? She won’t know how to get back here.”

“Is her sense of direction really that bad?”

“Yes. She could track me down easily if she had my scent, but she won’t have a scent to follow wherever she’s going. I doubt she could find her way back on her own.”

“Hmmm.”

Hou Jingshu said nothing for a moment. Wu Jian stifled a groan when she suddenly swung her leg around him and sat back. Now straddling his waist, she gave Wu Jian a clear view of her naked torso. Hou Jingshu was a gorgeous woman. She combined defined muscles with soft femininity. Her jade-like skin had a few scars marring it, but that only enhanced her beauty. Those scars were the physical proof of how hard she trained.

She rocked her hips back, coming into contact with hot flesh. Wu Jian bit his lip as she smiled down at him like a dragon who had spotted prey.

“I think it would be best if you took your mind off Youmei for now. There’s nothing you can do anyway, so thinking about it won’t help you.”

“Mmmmm. I guess… you bring up a good point.”

Wu Jian’s breathing hitched as Hou Jingshu rocked back and forth, creating a wonderful friction that sent electricity racing up and down his spine. A wet trail appeared on his stomach. She was drenched. He placed his hands on her hips as she lifted them off him and positioned herself.

“Ah? Are you two naked hugging?”

Just as they were about to connect, a voice spoke up right beside him. Wu Jian felt like ice had been injected directly into his veins. He froze like a man who had been hit with one of Mei Xilan’s ice techniques. With a jolt, he craned his neck toward the source of the voice, and he wasn’t the only one. Hou Jingshu had also turned her head. What awaited them was a pair of bright heterochromatic eyes gazing at them. Youmei was crouched on the ground, hands on her chin, watching them with a cat’s curiosity.

“Y-Youmei?! Did you… get back just now?” asked Wu Jian.

“Um. Youmei just returned.”

“I… see…”

Silence.

Well… this is awkward.

Wu Jian had always been careful to never have sex whenever Youmei was around. He didn’t want this innocent and impressionable child getting any strange ideas or learning the wrong thing. She was still much too young to learn about matters like this.

“Um…” Hou Jingshu grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around them, hiding their activities from her. “Youmei… why don’t you go and get Zhou Lihua and the others? Ask them to come here please.”

“Okay.”

Youmei quickly disappeared in a shadow. Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu waited several seconds to see if she’d return. When she didn’t, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“We’ll continue this another time,” Hou Jingshu said, looking at him. The hunger was still there.

“Yeah. Hopefully soon,” Wu Jian agreed.