Chapter 42

Then, two months in, alarm bells rang. Everyone was in the courtyard in moments, movement arts ensuring that no more than seconds passed before everyone was ready. Fu Yilan was as well, standing in the back, soft sword wrapped around her waist. A cultivator noticed her and instead of ordering her back inside, pulled her closer. His hand started groping her chest while hers rubbed the bulge beneath his robes. It seemed that in his mind, it was natural for her to be there; after all, she had grown to be a part of the collective. Still, he snapped to attention when Mr. Flip started speaking, no longer paying her any attention. Her plan was working.

“We have found clear traces of the Wandering Bloodblade, as well as a spot we’re positive is the entrance.” Mr. Flip stood in the front, his calm and calculating face cold in the misty morning. The sight was imposing, fifty cultivators, all solidly built, standing silently, ready for battle. “The possibility exists that he gathered others around himself. None above his level of strength, because he will want to be in control of the treasure distribution. But make sure you’re ready for confrontation!”

The air vibrated as the cultivators thumped their chest with their fist in unison, thrice.

“Good. Now follow me.”

They rushed through the morning, sky that dark blue preceding sunrise. It seemed like all of them had been chosen with stealth in mind, because all of them moved like ghosts across the rooftops. Fu Yilan could keep up with her Flowing Steps movement art, but theirs was designed for this. While she moved silently, they were phantoms, difficult to grasp.

Each jump took them further away from the castle and the mountain, closer to the massive bridge looming with architecture both ancient and impossibly durable. She wasn’t surprised that it would be near it. They probably weren’t either. Still, if a heavenly realm expert wanted something hidden, then you didn’t find it even if you knew the area of where to look for it.

Fu Yilan wondered why the mysterious master of Mr. Flip hadn’t come himself. If a ninth-stage cultivator called him that, surely, he was in the heavenly stage as well? No matter. What was important was getting in and profiting.

When they reached the bridge, the group flowed smoothly unto the precarious wooden constructs beneath them, and not a single creak could be heard as fifty men and one woman ran across. Fu Yilan would have loved to stay down here for longer, taking in the platforms and small stalls held together by hopes and prayers. Truly; if there was space, people would make use of it.

Finally, on the last pillar, a doorway was opened. It seemed like it’d always been there, fitting perfectly in between two warriors, guarding it. Had he built the bridge or only repurposed an existing structure?

The stairwell spiraled down along the bridge’s pillar, torches that burned without smoke mounted to the walls. No one slowed down. Not a rustle of clothes could be heard. It made sense for Fu Yilan’s outfit. She wore a dark dress with longer sleeves so as not to stand out too much. Everyone else was equipped in full sect uniform, as well as a multitude of weapons.

The gate they came to after a minute of descending was already pushed open, while laughter could be heard. Snippets of conversation carried through the gate. Everyone stopped, Fu Yilan in the very back. No more words were said, only a fist in the air that was then pointed at the gate. Everyone understood. This was the time for battle.

They didn’t shout on their way in. No one ruined the surprise attack. Instead, a wave of sharpened professionalism caught the men inside off guard. Shouts erupted as weapons were drawn. The first three men were already dead.

Mr. Flip had been correct. The Wandering Bloodblade had indeed brought along several cultivators as though already having a feeling about the ambush waiting for him. Still, it would not be enough.

Stepping through the gate, the wealth in the room made her breath hitch for a moment. A few piles of gold were off to the side, an afterthought. Instead, spirit stones were stacked in heaps around the skeleton in the middle, holding a lotus pose. The symmetry hinted at a ritual that had failed.

Eight cultivation manuals laid strewn through the room, caught up by the gusts of wind a fight like at their level had produced. Fu Yilan’s heart was hammering in her chest. This was it. The moment she’d been waiting for. Hand in the cookie jar while no one was watching. She rushed over to the pile of spirit stones closest to her, seeing two of the manuals lying on top. She scooped both of them up right when a bone-rattling scream came from the Wandering Bloodblade. He’d been wearing a wide-brimmed hat that had now fallen to the floor, alongside his head. Not much time left!

She pushed the two manuals down her cleavage, both of the thin, paper-bound books fitting between her mounds. Her pulse was hammering against her ribs. She wondered if she would be able to escape if they caught her theft. Unlikely, with so many powerful fighters so close by. On top of that, the Wandering Bloodblade’s men would want those manuals as well.

Fu Yilan rushed back to the entrance and out the gate before anyone thought to look behind them to see the woman enjoying the treasure. Someone cried out behind her. She was unsure whether to call out to a friend or to stop the thief dashing for the exit. Still, her heart nearly jumped out of her throat as she flung herself behind a pile of spirit stones. She couldn’t wait too long here; the fight was already dying down. And when the vagrants were defeated, she would surely be discovered.

Risking a peak past the pile of wealth and crystallized qi, or whatever spirit stones were, everyone seemed occupied enough to risk darting to the next pile. It would be the last one before the exit. Eyeing the area she’d have to cross, Fu Yilan gulped and squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again, focused and determined. She’d have to do this one way or another.

The distance seemed to stretch. It felt as though she wasn’t making any progress with each step, especially since every moment could have someone look over and call out to her. She hoped those piles of wealth would distract them for a bit. It irked her that she couldn’t stuff any of the spirit stones into her pouch. She hadn’t been wearing it recently, instead leaving it in her room. It didn’t quite fit with the outfit, and the wealth she’d amassed was largely drained after the sword purchase, so she had been fine with keeping it hidden in her room.

She could hit herself, the longer she kept thinking about it. Of course there would be spirit stones at a cultivator’s tomb! The few mortals awake this early could see a beautiful, busty cultivator fly over the rooftops, slapping her cheeks.

Safely back in her room, she hid the two martial arts manuals beneath a floorboard she’d pried open that housed her other valuables. It wouldn’t be wise to study them in their house, and she felt like the first few of them would be coming back soon. She would leave after concluding her business with Mr. Flip.

Or should she just run now?

The choice was taken out of her hands when the first few excited voices sounded down the hallway. Fu Yilan was unsure how innocent to play. She had run at the back of the group at all times, though no one had turned around, focused on the mission.

She couldn’t say she’d slept through everything, having been seen by at least the one person in the courtyard who’d pulled her close. Fu Yilan clicked her tongue in annoyance before smoothing over her facial features. Opening her door, she was the picture of excitement streaked with worry.

“I saw you off, but no one told me anything. Where were you?” She pouted, hands on her hips, cutely demanding answers. One of the disciples chuckled and ruffled her hair.

“No need to worry, Flower Fu. We succeeded in our mission. The reason we came here was to find and kill someone.”

“Really??” Her eyes sparkled, demeanor changing instantly. “Find who?”

“Haha can’t tell you more. Senior would kill me. Probably already said too much. Well, it’s just you so no matter.”

“Yeah, as long as it’s Flower Fu, this much should be fine.” The hand of the other cultivator smacked her ass, lingering as he groped. “Now, you think you can give me a reward for a job well done?”

“Maybe,” Fu Yilan smiled, knowing that this would be how she could clear suspicion. How could a weak woman like her being fucked by the sect’s men possibly have stolen anything from a heavenly realm cultivator’s grave.

They walked to the baths Fu Yilan flanked on both sides by widely grinning men. After getting undressed, removing both her clothes as well as her beads, she entered the baths, high ceilings greeting her. Large, hip-deep pools were let into the floor with fine tiling in blues and greens. A perpetual fog wafted through the room, thickest at the floor. Rinsing herself off with buckets of water carried in by servants before they arrived, she took a few minutes to rub soap on her body. She hadn’t found one that was beyond mortal quality and her natural body odor, kept pristine by her body formation art, smelled better than most soaps anyway, so she just chose one with a subtle floral scent available.

Fu Yilan didn’t know how they got the warm water but sighed joyously as she sank into its soothing embrace. She usually bathed in her room, though not as regularly as others might need to. Her body formation art kept her fresh after all. Hair tied up, she took a few moments to let the tension in her muscles relax. She knew she’d only be out of danger when she left this place, but this was a good first step to reduce risk. Soon after, the two cultivators whom she’d arrived with joined her in the tub, opposite her. While the tub was only waist deep, it had a raised ledge along the side for seating.

Fu Yilan’s tits floated slightly, soft, smooth skin breaking the water surface. They didn’t say a word, just enjoying the water and the woman in front of them. Fu Yilan looked back at them, a seductive smile playing around her lips. They knew that something was about to happen. She let that anticipation build though by sending them flirtatious looks across the water.

Fu Yilan let them simmer for another two minutes before slowly getting up. Like mountain springs, water ran in thin streams down her sculpted body, leaving soft droplets behind that captured the warm light of the baths. She smiled at the gaze of the men, not moving off her body.

Activating Bewitching Fox Steps, she sashayed through the water, tits gently swaying, captivating the men she would please. The men she had stolen from. Sitting between them, her hands moved beneath the water, each wrapping around a dick that was already hard as a rock. Slow strokes, made smoother by being under water, had them breathing deeply. Fu Yilan giggled slightly and they retaliated. One pulled her head towards him sealing her mouth with his own. Their tongue danced as he ravished her mouth. The other was enjoying her tits, hands roughly kneading. Fu Yilan arched her back as his fingers gently played with her nipples, moaning into the mouth of the one she was kissing.

One of them sat on the ledge of the pool, feet now on the sitting step beneath the water. His dick was now above the water surface, and it was clear what he hoped would happen next. The other one did the same, apparently liking the idea.

Fu Yilan knelt before them and started with the one who’d sat up first. Her tongue reached out, slowly, and his body almost vibrated in anticipation. As soon as he was in her mouth, Fu Yilan concentrated on the roots of the Void Lotus, letting them drink from his vital yang energy. This was supposed to be the last draining session after all, so she would take all they could give without dying.

The Bewitching Fox Steps still had them in their grips. By now, her proficiency with the technique had increased to the point that even the short walk through the water was enough to enchant their minds. Switching whom she was sucking off a minute in, her hand now moved along the spit-slickened shaft while the other one enjoyed the warm pressure of her mouth.

Fu Yilan let both cum at the same time because she could. Both dicks pointed at her mouth, she increased her stroking pace. Tongue stuck out, she let them rain their load onto her. Not a single drop escaped. Licking her lips, she swallowed all of their essence, smiling up at them. Their dicks twitched in her grasp at the display.

While the two of them might have been the first two to return, they certainly weren’t the last. Slowly, more and more cultivators came into the baths, looking for a place to unwind after the battle. At that point it was perfect, seeing a slutty Fu Yilan already servicing two of their sect mates.

At first, everyone tried to act like how cultivators with more than fifty years of life experience each should act. Fu Yilan moved through the baths like a sexy ghost, fucking them one after the other, draining as much as she could each time. She was however always walking with the Bewitching Fox Steps and moaning with the Primal Pulling Melody. The combined effect of the two hammering against their wills, even if they weren’t the target, causing every single dick in the baths to harden to an almost painful degree.