+18 Chapter 49:

Chapter 49

~~~Ya Xue~~~

For the first time in months there’s silence, blessed heaven-sent silence. No songs, no screams, no wondering if what I am thinking are my thoughts or someone else’s, there is only peace, quiet and a very comfortable bed and pillow.

The pillow is tall, almost as large as I was, soft in all of the right areas and so soft I could melt in it and it was exactly what I needed after weeks of living in a forest and sleeping on leaves or thin sheets of fabric.

The bed is warm, the pillow is comfortable and there are no rocks to find and ruin your back while you sleep.

A cold gust of wind tickled my ear. It would normally not have been something noticeable, but the difference in temperature was enough to disturb my sleep.

“Who opened the window?” I mumbled, my eyes still closed.

The gust of wind continued annoying me, always hitting the same spot.

I shuffled around trying to move away from it but annoyingly it kept tickling my ear.

“Ya Xue.” A voice whispered sweetly.

“Five more minutes mom.” I whined.

I did not want to wake up, the bed was comfortable and I deserved sleeping in after all I’ve been through the past few weeks.

“I am not your mother Ya Xue.” The voice answered, amusement evident in it’s tone.

I froze and my eyes shot open. I was not alone in my bed, my body was entangled with that of another.

In front of me was naked pale white flesh surrounding two pink nipples which rested on two large mounds.

“No, we did not have sex. I prefer sleeping naked, and I did not notice someone was in my bed before she started using me as pillow.” The woman continued.

I looked up and saw the exact sight I did not want to see, Mei Lin. Initially my eyes refused to believe what they were seeing, the short hair, brown eyes and confident smirk could belong to nobody but her.

Every single one of my instincts went off as my body continued remaining frozen.

“I am not against it mind you, but I believe we should be waking up and at least eat something before meeting with the others.” She said.

She was stifling her laughter as my mind was still trying to process what was happening.

“Sorry!” I all but screamed as I started disentangling from the other woman.

I was now up on my feet near the bed and I could confirm Mei Lin’s words, we did not sleep together like that. I was still clothed in the simple silk pants and shirt the sect provided, unlike Mei Lin.

I sighed in relief, I wasn’t mentally ready for that yet, despite us one day probably having to share a bed in that way thanks to our status as kept women.

Mei Lin needed someone else to feed her emotions so that she does not need to pretend to feeling emotions and I needed a family to take me in, because I decided to side with another banner over my own.

Concubines eventually have to share the bed with the family that took them in, but hopefully that won’t be for some time yet, I wasn’t mentally or spiritually ready for that sort of thing.

“Should I be disappointed with your reaction? I don’t think I am that undesirable. I made sure to use any tricks the older women told me to make my body physically appealing, and I know you don’t find the female body unattractive. I even kept my hair short as is the fashion in the capital.” Mei Lin said.

She was still resting on the bed, her head supported by her arm as she was looking at me. Her face changed from an amused smirk to a questioning look.

My eyes wandered over her flawless body as if to prove her right, because she was correct, I certainly did not find a woman’s body unattractive. There were some women that did, but I wasn’t among them.

I shook my head.

“No, but sex is not something I really want to deal with or think about right now.” I answered.

My problems in life started because the man who was to be my husband decided he’d rather go have sex with somebody else and got that woman pregnant when I told him I want to wait until we’re adults to try it. I don’t want to think about sex, not until I can settle down somewhere and just breathe for a few days.

“I see.” She said simply and let the subject go.

She started stretching her sore muscles and my eyes continued remaining glued in on her.

“Why are you in my room? Jing Ma told me that rooms are only shared in the case of couples and the arrow pointed me here.” I asked as she raised herself up.

There she started stretching her arms up into the air and looked straight at me with a smirk.

“My arrow pointed to this room as well, I guess it’s because we’re the concubines of the same family? One room for senior Bao and Tai Su and the other one for us?” She replied with a shrug once she stopped stretching

Her explanation was probably right but I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to consider, my mind too preoccupied taking in what my eyes were feeding it.

My eyes were glued to her chest as the way it moved was mesmerizing in a way only true beauty could be.

“Could you please get dressed? You’re distracting.” I pleaded with the woman.

“I would, but I have no change of clothes left, the last one was dusty and smelly from the falls I took trying to reach the dorms so I took them off and left them in the bathroom.” She explained.

“I’ll go get you some, the sect has some changes of clothes left for us in the closet near the bathroom.” I said and rushed to said closet.

The closet was a decently sized one with multiple level and it being about as tall as I was. In it there were two sets of clothes, one that fit me quite well and another that was too small but now I realized were meant for her.

I thought that these were just standard sets I happened to once get lucky and fit just right in, but it seems the sect purposefully selected clothes that fit the occupants of the rooms they’re in. I did not think about how they made them so quick or how they got our measurements.

Cultivators past a certain point operate on their own rules, so little they do is actually unheard of. The surprising thing is that they bothered to give us purpose made clothes rather than the fact they could make them.

I quickly took one of the sets, a silver colored blouse and pair of pants as well as a pair of similarly colored flats and brought them to Mei Lin who was looking at me from near the bed.

The room was spacious, larger than multiple rooms combined in my family’s apartment even, but it wasn’t large enough that you could go anywhere in it without someone else seeing you.

“Here, now please dress up.” I said as I gave her the robes

She took them and this time she did not try and tease me and instead just put the clothes on her as efficiently as possible. The blouse came first as the most distracting part of her was there and then the pants and finally the flats.

It is strange seeing such plain clothes, despite them being well made, but I suppose they were made to be comfortable first and didn’t need to be seen by others, so the color and patterns were not an issue.

“Hmm, they do fit quite well. Happy now?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes.” I replied simply.

She sighed at that and I wondered what was the problem.

“I don’t understand why this is a big issue with you. I can understand me being naked outside is an issue but we are peers, and most importantly you like what you see and I certainly don’t think my purity would be in danger from your actions assuming I still had it.” She remarked.

“There is a time and place to walk around naked, even when near those who don’t mind you being so. The place is right, but the timing really wasn’t as I wasn’t ready for it.” I explained.

I am certainly not saying to seeing a pretty woman naked, but there is difference between me expecting it and waking up with a naked woman in my bed out of nowhere, especially when I thought I was the only one in the room.

“Judging by your initial reaction you would say that you had an issue with seeing a woman in your bed in general, but how you reacted afterwards directly contradicted it, is it really such big an issue?” She asked.

She sat down and invited me to come sit with her which I obliged. I was curious about some things, especially as it seemed we would have to share a room and this was as good an occasion as any to find out some things that I couldn’t ask her during the trial.

“I find beautiful people beautiful, I don’t care about their gender, also the biggest issued was me finding another naked individual in my own bed when I wasn’t expecting anyone to be there. Things like that require me to be in the right frame of mind for me to enjoy. How does it work for you, attraction I mean?” I replied.

I was genuinely curious. She is an ice blooded, they don’t feel emotions as they should or at all.

“I don’t feel it normally, my mind that is. I’ve tested it out with Tai Su and I know what you’re speaking of, but before I tried with him all I felt was the occasional heat when looking at some men, I don’t feel any for most women except the most beautiful like Yin Lin was. It’s her I got some of the tips to build my beauty up from as a matter of fact” She explained.

Yin Lin was the most beautiful woman in the prefecture some people said, she certainly seemed like that before she died from a stroke some three years ago. One moment she was fine and the next she froze up and her eyes, ears and nose started bleeding.

I only met her once five years ago but she left an impression even now. I was surprised she even met her but I shouldn’t be surprised, there wasn’t anyone back home that didn’t have a story about the woman.

“Considering that we’ll share a room you don’t have to force yourself to make me feel good. Just be comfortable.” I asked her.

I knew she was putting in a show for me previously. Her entire strategy in fitting in a group is being liked and well thought of. This meant that to those that it worked on she would present herself as ‘open’ to many things, helpful, friendly and charming and this would take a toll on anyone.

The last thing I wanted was to put a being that would kill me without hesitation in a position where she felt like she needed to please me non-stop. Your room is your sanctuary, the one place where you can relax and be yourself. If you need to force yourself into a more pleasing shape even there then your life is nothing but hell.

“I don’t mind either way, but if it makes you feel comfortable I’ll be less overt with such things but I am not stopping. I genuinely do not feel any pleasure or anger or tiredness from doing it, I do it because it makes things simpler when people are predisposed to liking you.” She responded.

I sighed, I’ll take what I can get.

“Fine, but no more lies. It’s impossible you took the time to clean yourself and you didn’t see me there, if you want to be more liked I need to know that I can trust what I am hearing.” I demanded.

I am many things, dumb is not one of them. Nobody that had to go through the pre-trial exams is dumb. Her words worked when I wasn’t fully awake and aware, but the moment I had even a little time to think things through I could see that I was being manipulated and that she put herself in that situation on purpose.

My clothes were left in the straw basket and it was obvious where they were and all she had to do was look a bit in the room and she would see me, especially as I wasn’t using a blanket. No me waking up like that was part of a scheme and while I wouldn’t mind being woken up like that in the future, I would like not being lied to again even more.

“Very well. I won’t lie to you like that again.” She answered simply.

“I’ll hold you to that promise.” I promised as I locked eyes with her.

That was a line I carved in the rocks. I want my room to be comfortable, I want my new status as a concubine and disciple of the sect to be steady and as pleasant as it can be. I can’t have any of that if I can’t trust Mei Lin even a little.

She nodded at me and I took that as a sign that she understood exactly what I just demanded of her.

“Should we go and see if anyone else woke up?” She asked.

It was probably an attempt to change the subject, it was also a good question.

“Sounds like a good idea, do you think Jing Ma is still around? She was quite nice.” I answered.

Jing Ma was a pleasant woman and had been kind enough to show me around the disciples’ dormitories and answer me some questions. Hopefully I get to see her again soon.

I put on my own flats and got ready to leave.

“I doubt it, she said she is a part of night shift and you probably slept enough that it’s unlikely she’s still awake.” She answered.

‘I winced, I didn’t sleep that long did I?’

I didn’t want to hear the answer.

“Yes you did, I’ve been awake for more than an hour trying to gently nudge you awake. I realized that being too quick to wake a sleeping cultivator was a bad idea only after I woke up myself and found myself in a grip that can probably bend metal.” She continued.

I sighed, it seems I need to get better at hiding my thoughts. At least I can be sure that what I am hearing are only my thoughts, thanks to the formations in the walls.

“Sorry.” I mumbled.

I was now at the door, Mei Lin right behind me.

Both our bracelets were near one another and were indistinguishable from one another. I put one on as I’ll need it to open and close the door, and gave the other to Mei Lin who looked at me questioningly.

“Wear it whenever you want to open the door, Mrs Jing Ma told me that there’s formations in the door and if you try to enter or leave the room without one it won’t open and if you do manage it somehow by destroying the array or the door then an elder will come and investigate what happened.” I explained and opened the door.

When the formations work nothing seems different and the door works as it should, but Jing Man showed me what happens when one tried to open the door without the bracelet. The door won’t budge, the handle won’t move and if you do somehow manage to move it, it won’t do anything.

“I see, it’s quite useful to ensure nobody is coming over us unless we invite them.” Mei Lin remarked.

I could hear the subtext of her words even if she wasn’t saying it out loud but I pretended not to. That sort of conversation is not one I am interested in having now.

“Yes.” I replied simply.

Walking through the hallway was a quick thing, they were long yes, but it wasn’t much compared to what we’ve had to walk through these last few weeks or even yesterday.

In the courtyard we could see everyone else eat at the meal table.

Tai Su, Bao, big sister Yu and Da Xiu each wore clothes similar to mine and Mei Lin’s but theirs were white with lemon tree motifs colored on them while the Haoran Lin and Cheng Lin had pure white clothes.

All of them had food in front of them and there were two seats left open near Tai Su and Bao. To Bao’s left were the twins, while to Tai Su’s right were Yu Zong and Da Xiu, all of whom waved at us too.

“And I thought Tai liked to sleep in, come in you sleepy heads we have things to discuss and food to eat!” Bao shouted and beckoned us towards her.

We eagerly walked and went to our assigned places, me near Bao and Mei Lin near Tai Su without complaint. Both of us knew who welcomed us warmly into the household.

“Sorry, Mei Lin tried to wake me up, but I really needed the sleep.” I said as I settled in.

Tai Su was welcoming to me, but I knew that it was Bao that wanted me here, while Mei Lin knew that Bao would have been perfectly happy if she and her siblings were left to fend for herself.

“Yes I barely managed to wake up Tai a few minutes ago, both of you love to sleep in. There’s no problem, I was just worried you would have to eat alone if you didn’t wake up soon.” She assuaged me and gave me piece of dried meat.

This was the first day of my new life as a disciple of the Blazing Fist Sect and hopefully it will be a good one.