Mana 4 Chapter 19 (Patreon)

I ended up spending the entire night sitting there comforting Lumi. The poor mana beast was simply lonely. She’d spent far too long alone on that mountain protecting a cabin that hadn’t been lived in for hundreds of years.

My heart went out to her for her dedication and loyalty to the previous owner. But she was my mana beast now, and I had little doubt that she’d come to fit in with the others in short order.

Slipping out, I set her head gently down on the pile of furs.

“Where are you going?” She asked groggily.

“The night is over and I have things to do this morning.” I wasn’t sure how it worked, but the other mana beasts were aware of what I did during the day. “You can talk to the others, they have a way to view the world through me.”

Lumi nodded into the furs. “Mmm. I watched it with Aurora while we played The Game.”

“Then feel free to watch again today.” I offered and stepped away. “Things to do. I’ll see you tonight Lumi. No running this time.”

“Okay.” She shifted and curled up with her nose pressed into the spot I had been sitting. Her tail curled around her and I swore she fell asleep instantly.

I made sure to close the door softly as I left and floated down from their soul palaces. There were still things for me to do before I woke up and started my day.

Aurora and Mei came up to circle me as I floated down towards Kat’s soul palace. “Did it go well master, how was the sex?”

“There was no sex.” I informed the nosey kunpeng.

“Ha! You owe me… two.” Mei gave a number but no indication of what she was getting. It made me curious, but I just left the two of them to their games.

Aurora swooped down in front of me. “No sex? Really? Master, I bet on you.”

“Sorry to disappoint, Aurora. But she needs time. Good news. I don’t think she’ll run and hide next time. Oh, and you three should try to pull her into whatever it is exactly you do to keep busy.”

“Lazy bird here just sleeps when you aren’t around.” Mei answered for her, then kept circling me even as I landed before Kat’s soul palace.

“Then bring her into the cuddle pile. Now I love you both, but I need to talk to Kat.”

Mei snickered. “Time to pay up.” They both zoomed off, back to their soul palaces.

I shook my head. The two of them were almost too much fun.

Focusing back on Kat’s soul palace before me, I pushed through the doors and stepped into a familiar yet different structure. Familiar in form, but different in about every other way. Her hall was lined with hedonistic images of sex.

More often than not, the depicted Kat chained up in an elaborate way while I penetrated one of her ready holes. Once in our long marriage, I’d even used one for inspiration, trying her up like a chandelier and enjoying her body. But that was for special occasions when she could both frustrate me and deserve a reward.

Passing through those without much more thought, I found myself in Kat’s throne chamber where her still soul rested on the throne.

My beautiful wife looked picturesque as ever, with bright red hair framing her face and jeweled cuffs that dangled gold chains attached around her wrists and neck. She was a little kinky, to say the least.

“Kat. We need to talk.” I spoke to her soul and put a little mana behind my voice to get her attention.

“Hmm?” she grumbled, blinking and focusing on her soul to talk to me. “You missed last night. Sometimes it just isn’t any fun without a little D in the mix.”

Stepping up over her throne, I kissed the top of her head. “I made good progress with Lumi, so you’ll forgive me for missing this new nightly soul orgy tradition that seems to have started.”

“Forgiven for now. You have women to satisfy though, best not shirk your duties too often.” She gave me a sly smile before she looped her arms over my neck and pulled herself up to show off her chest. “Or have you come here to fill me with your duty.”

I pushed her back into her throne and nipped at her neck. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” My hip pressed her down to the seat as she tried to squirm.

“Yes. Husband, I’m always ready for you.” She purred.

But I lifted the pressure off of her. “Later. For now, we need to talk about a plan.”

Kat let out a moan of pure exasperation. “Don’t rev me up and leave me like this, it’s cruel.” Her hands wound their way down from my neck, parting my robes and searching down to my pelvis.

“Plan, then pleasure.” I warned, batting her hand off the tie for my pants. “I was thinking how to proceed—”

“Pants come off first. It’s quite simple, husband. I would have thought you knew this by now.” She was still talking about sex. Her hands sought the tie again, gently tugging, waiting for me to stop her.

“I have things to do this morning. We don’t have time.” I warned. “Plus, you might like this.”

“I very much doubt I’ll enjoy your plan more than your other offer, but please don’t let me stop you from explaining.” She pulled the tie loose and slid down from her throne like a boneless puddle till her head was in position. “You were saying?” Her breath tickled at my balls.

Clearing my throat, I tried to focus. “I was thinking about what to do next. We need money, a setup and to make it clear we aren’t to be messed with.”

Kat’s eyes flashed dangerously below my hip. “That last one has a little of my attention, but oh what is this?” Her tongue lashed out and pressed into the base of my half erect member and dragged her tongue along the sensitive underside. “This has more of my attention.”

I groaned and held onto her head for leverage as I pushed myself into her face.

She gave a little gleeful squeal of victory before she started working me with kisses and licks till I was at full mast and took me deep, all the way till her nose brushed my pelvis.

The angle I had on her let me start thrusting into her open mouth as she swallowed around me.

“Fuck.” I grunted and gave up on trying to plan with Kat and just used her mouth for my own pleasure. I was pent up from having Lumi’s warm body pressed against me all night.

Not that she minded in the slightest.

***

“Better,” Kat signed. “Much better. What were you trying to say again?”

I shook my head in disbelief. She’d wound me up and had me use her thoroughly. The little vixen. “I was saying, I think the auction house makes a prime target. But I don’t think we have time to get into planning. I have to meet up with Rachel and continue to teach her if I want to get set loose to hit the auction house.”

“Oooh. Robbery?” Kat’s eyes shined.

“I was thinking a little rougher than that.” I admitted, only to see a grin split her face. Kat was going to have a field day if I let her loose on them

“Yes please. I’ll go scope it out today. You go play with Rachel, I’d like to meet her though.” She insisted.

Not quite sure how I felt about Kat meeting Rachel, I didn’t comment on it. Instead, I kissed her forehead and pulled my robes tight before disappearing from the shared soul space and waking up in the bunk room.

Most of the men had already gotten up and were starting their morning routines.

I hopped out of my bunk and sprinted to the third floor, afraid that Rachel would have already left.

But my luck panned out as she was up there on the stage, going through the forms we’d discussed last night.

Calming myself down with several deep breaths, I slowed my stride and casually watched her practice. Half of the trick to being someone’s teacher was showing that you were always in control.

A silly trick, but one that worked.

Rachel finished through the last motion, and I clapped. “That went well, but here, let me show you something.” Jumping on the platform and grabbing a training sword, I stood to her side. “Now go through it again.”

“Yes, Teacher.” She gave me a small bow before continuing. There was no mention of me being late, nor even surprise on her part. I wondered just what story she made up in her head.

That didn’t matter, as she started to go through the form. It was rigid and stiff. She stopped where the form dictated and there was no flexibility in her sword strokes. I’d have to fix that.

Only when she lashed out with her sword did I swiftly interjected mine in her path.

The swords collided and her form shattered as it threw off her momentum and her strike had been soft enough that her sword bounced off my own, jarring her arms.

“What was that?” Rachel asked, more surprised than anything.

“It was providing some real combat application. You can move through the form, but that’s all you are doing, moving through the form. A real application of the form is doing so with the intent and imagination of there being something physical that is going to get in your way. Try again.”

This time, she went through the form. Her arms stayed tight and tense, like she was waiting for me to insert my training sword, but I never did. Not until she relaxed.

Only then did I insert my sword, but not a stiff block but a hard swing right into her own. “Be prepared. You never know what your opponent is going to throw at you. Again.”

I could see the sweat bead down the side of her face as we continued. She hadn’t needed reminding at all this time to withhold her use of mana. That, at least, was progress.

So this time I pushed her physically, let her continue through the forms till she started to sag and get sloppy. Every so often surprising her and pressing her form with an attack, striking at her weakness when she got sloppy.

But I stopped after a round was unacceptably sloppy. “I think you are done for the day, Rachel.”

“Phew.” She breathed out hard and ignored all decorum as she dropped her sword and fell down on her back. “I think I’m dying.”

I chuckled and stood over her. “You aren’t dying. But you are starting to see results of the training. You are getting better. First you need to learn the form, then you need to understand the form and then maybe we can start applying the form.”

She nodded and wiped the sweat off her forehead. “I can do that.”

“Good. And then we learn a new form.” I smiled with maybe a bit of joy as her jaw dropped.

“How many forms?”

“Just a few, so you have more than one tool at your disposal. Good sword forms aren’t as common as cabbages. I’ll be particular about which you learn so that they function together.” I somewhat envied her.

She was able to recover from the previous lesson in such little time. Back when my father started training me, I’d have to take days off between the first lessons and even then they didn’t stick nearly as well as they did for someone who was already an immortal.

Her perception, recovery, and control were already at a high enough level to nail mimicry of the sword form in just two sessions.

However, I could already see a problem with her adapting to usage, like someone who traced a piece of art trying to understand how to replicate the individual brushstrokes. Time would tell. There was still fire in her eyes and she wouldn’t give up.

The death of the two girls had galvanized her will.

“What about Tracey? Has she gotten any better?” I asked like a dutiful guard asking after a previous charge.

Rachel winced as she sat up. “She screamed in her sleep last night. Some of the girls took her away to the healers.”

Yeah, a few minutes on the bad side of Kat would give most people nightmares. I wasn’t surprised that her subconscious was revolting, even if Kat did rearrange her memories.

“I hope she pulls through. She put up a hell of a fight out there. But sadly it was clear all three lacked training.” I continued to plant seeds in Rachel’s mind that training was a vital part of her future cultivation. Not just for my own sakes, but because it was the truth. I liked her enough that I wanted her to survive and flourish.

Even though I was her teacher because of ulterior motives, I wasn’t going to skimp on her training. She was still my student, and I’d make sure she was competent enough to bear that title.

Rachel rolled onto her feet. “That’s why I want to learn. Be more than one of the Madam’s flower petals.”

“Flower petals?” I asked curiously.

She sighed. “That’s what they call us. All the women in Madam Orchid’s pavilions.”

I noted she said it like there was more than one. “How many pavilions does she run?”

“I don’t know. A number all across the world. They are the same, beautiful women cultivating for the ancient families. Don’t get me wrong, what she does is great. She raised up thousands of women through her pavilions and made many strong women into peak immortals.”

My brow furrowed at this new piece of information. Not only was she a power in this town, but many others. That made me pause. The Madam had quite the hidden depth to her.

Nothing was inherently wrong with the pavilions, as long as everyone was willing. I’d seen no signs of the type of activity that the Sun and Moon Hall had been complicit with. Otherwise, I would be positioning myself to tear this place down.

Sex was a part of life, and if that’s how they chose to cultivate, how is it worse than the brutal slaughter so many people seemed to cultivate with?

But it made a group of women who weren’t much more than advanced cultivators. Without the experience of battle, they were still far weaker than those of the same rank.

Something more was happening, though. There had to be a greater reason that Madam Orchid raised these ladies up and set them out into the world. Was it as simple as creating connections and influence? Was there more?

“Do you know why she does this?” I asked. It seems like quite a bit of work for her to raise up all of you and let the ancient families reap the benefits by drawing you all into their families once you’ve cultivated.

Rachel shrugged. “Madam Orchid, above all else, is a businesswoman. The ancient families pay a high bride price and Madam Orchid says that’s how she recoups the losses from our cultivation. Each of us is an investment to her.”

“Ah.” was all I could say. That felt too simple. Though I agreed, she did seem like nothing but the shrewdest of merchants I’d ever met. “Then, till tomorrow.” I said, turning to leave.

Rachel caught up with me in a few strides. “You know I’ve never slept with anyone.”

Her comment made me miss a step and almost stumble. “Why would that be important?”

“I just wanted to let you know. In case that was the problem the other night.”

My eyes searched hers for a moment before I understood. She still wanted answers as to why I didn’t accept her offer for sex the other night. “That isn’t it at all. I have nine wives and frankly telling me that now only confirms it would have been a mistake. You shouldn’t give yourself up so easily. You’d have regretted that you didn’t give up your virginity for at least an attempt at something more meaningful.”

“Who says that wasn’t meaningful? You are an amazing warrior, no doubt once you free yourself from here you’ll soar.” Rachel smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but notice she didn’t flinch at the comment about nine wives and continued on as if it wasn’t an important detail.

“What if I’m a bad man?” I asked.

“You aren’t, I can tell.”

I eyed her for a moment as she kept a smile plastered on her face. “I’m a terrible person. Do you know how many people I’ve killed?”

“I’m sure they deserved it.” Rachel answered swiftly. “You said it yourself. You have nine wives. There must be some hell of a redeeming quality if you are such a terrible person. Besides, all immortals kill. Might is right and you can’t show that without breaking a few skulls.”

“You really think there’s something so redeeming about me, huh?”

“Either you have a magic dick to keep nine women happy. Or you might be the most terrible, vile person in the universe to your enemies, but I guarantee you are a great man to those nine wives.” We hit the stairs on the third floor, where we’d have to part.

Rachel leaned in and surprised me with a kiss on the cheek. “Who knows, maybe you’ll catch some more wives in this world.”

With that, she bolted up the stairs; her face only visible for a second as she rounded the corner, but it was so red it matched her dress.

Now I’m really worried if Kat finds a chance to meet Rachel. Not that Kat is against more women in our family, she even would encourage it. But Kat isn’t exactly easy to impress and Rachel, while stunningly beautiful and had a firm foundation of her cultivation, she wasn’t much of an expert on anything the family needed.