Mana 6 Chapter 24 (Patreon)

I hoped that the new core wouldn’t hate me on principle, given that I wasn’t part of the Leon family. Deciding it was time to meet the beast, I pushed the core into my chest as I fell into my soul palace.

I opened my eyes, looking around from my throne to see myself now surrounded by my mana beasts. And they’d each made a smaller throne around my own.

Aurora sat, looking very pleased with herself in her throne.

“This is new,” I said.

“Since our souls are one, we thought we’d just move in,” Aurora said with a shrug. “Shh. She’s coming.”

“You know it’ll be a girl?” Guardian Lions were said to always be in pairs, one male, one female. I had no reason to know which one this one would be.

“Of course,” they all said in unison.

And damn if they weren’t right.

She appeared before me, wearing green armor with Guardian Lions engraved on her pauldrons. The armor had white fur padding that made it seem dated, yet comfortable compared to what we use today.

She looked around as her tawny ears twitched on top of her head, and a slender tail flicked back and forth behind her back. “Where am I?”

“Hello, I’m Isaac, and these are some of my wives.” I made eye contact with Phoebe, asking if she knew her.

But Phoebe shook her head and focused back on the Guardian Lion. “What’s your name?”

“Foo,” the lion answered distractedly as she continued to try to place where she was standing.

“Foo, you don’t know where you are because you haven’t been here before. You’re in a soul palace. And you aren’t fully you—you’re a soul projection built of mana.” Aurora carefully led Foo to the harder part.

“You died! But it’s okay—now you have Isaac,” Mei declared, completely missing the point of Aurora’s build up.

Quinn covered Mei’s mouth, rolling her eyes.

“I died?” Foo began examining herself, then looking at all of us once more.

“Yes, although it was likely a long time before now. Isaac found your core, and he absorbed it as part of his cultivation. It gives us a new life. A good life,” Aurora explained.

Foo’s attention turned back to me. “Then I’m to be the guardian of your home?”

“If that’s what you want. I’m hoping you’ll come along on our current adventure. We can get to know each other better, and you can figure out the right place for you,” I corrected her.

“You have a home?” she asked, ignoring what I’d said.

I frowned. “Yes. I have a home.”

“Then I’ll be the guardian of your home.” She nodded, seeming pleased.

The mana from her core flowed into the shared soul space, expanding it slightly, but she didn’t connect to it immediately. I figured we’d cross that bridge later if things got that far.

“Great! Welcome!” Aurora leapt out of her throne and tackled Foo. “You are going to be the best guardian of this home the world has ever seen!”

Foo looked stunned as Aurora dragged her away, pausing only to wink over her shoulder at me.

“Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of her,” Mei promised me before bouncing off after Aurora.

Quinn and Lumi followed after them to make sure that they didn’t get into too much trouble.

“At least I’m no longer the new girl,” Phoebe sighed. “She’s just in a little shock. It is quite jarring to go from your core to being here.”

I nodded. It had honestly been easier than I had been expecting. Lumi hadn’t taken to the concept right away, and I assumed that Foo would have stronger ties to the Leon family.

“I thought she'd put up a fight.”

Phoebe shook her head. “You’ve given us an amazing offer. Another chance at life.” She smiled bigger, and I realized where she was going.

“Does that mean you are ready to start working on making yourself and the rest of the mana beasts real bodies?”

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about it, and I have a theory that just might work. Come, we have work to do. Let them play with Foo; it will help her open up.” Phoebe stood up from the throne and took my hand, leading me out of my soul palace.

“Will the change in our shared soul space cause any problems with this?” I asked about covering my bases.

“No, I don’t think it should, but their souls won’t disconnect from you. Well, all of them except Foo.” Phoebe looked concerned about that lost option.

“If she wants to do her own thing, I am more than happy to let her. The last thing I want to do is force anyone into this.” I looked around at the field before me. “Let’s get started.”

***

I had been eager to do it all in one go, but it turned out that it was a monumental task, and my wives were not that patient. I’d been away too long. They dragged me away eventually for my welcome home celebration. The addition of Lanhua had made for quite the long and noisy night.

Phoebe told me that she’d keep going. So when I woke up the next morning to a summons from the elders, I could only sigh.

“Tell the elders that I’m going to have breakfast, and then I’ll head over. Maybe a few hours.”

Tabitha scowled at me as she stood outside my doorway. “You don’t keep the elders waiting.”

“Last time, they were late, anyway. I’m sure I’ll be just on time.” I waved her off, but she didn’t leave.

Instead, she ground her toe into the dirt and had trouble meeting my eyes. “There’s a rumor going around the courtyard that you won’t have a woman that’s been with Jonny. Is that true?”

“My impression was that you didn’t want to be here anyway, Tabitha. At least that’s what all the angry scowls told me,” I told her.

“Correct. I’ve slept with Jonny.” She nodded. “I’d like out.”

I shrugged. “Tabitha, I have almost fifty women in this courtyard. If you’d be happier with Jonny, he’s staying in that building there.” I pointed to the one that my wives had told me he was in. “Please, by all means, be happy.”

I had no issue getting rid of her. The scowling was getting old; I wasn’t forcing her to be with me. And maybe Jonny could make her happy.

Tabitha slowly nodded before turning around and marching across the courtyard.

Since I was up already, I stretched and looked back longingly at the pile of lovely wives deeper in the home. Sadly, I knew that I needed to get moving. Making the elders wait was going to cause enough trouble.

Heading to the longhouse, I found it filled with the Yunpi girls. Many of them were wearing tight-fitted martial dresses putting their assets on display, but they were at least slightly better clothed than the first time they’d been presented to me.

I could see that they had adapted to the style that my wives tended to prefer.

My entrance caused a stir among the ladies. Knowing that I hadn’t given them much attention when they’d made an effort to come be with me, I decided to make more of an effort. And I needed to narrow down to those who truly wanted to be with me.

I clapped my hands to get everyone’s attention. “Morning, ladies. I am going to speak to the elders this morning. One topic of discussion will be all of you. I don’t mind why you are here, but I would like those of you who have other relationships or aren’t interested to not feel forced.”

I scanned through, making eye contact with them before I continued. “So when I return, those of you who are uninterested or have other romantic entanglements, please be gone. I will ensure you face no reprisal from your elders.”

The longhouse grew a little louder as murmuring among them picked up. I waited, letting them talk it out.

Scanning the crowd, I didn’t see Ai. I frowned, not sure why she was absent. “Is Ai here?”

I didn’t see her, but the women didn’t look similar enough that I thought I’d miss her. The women were quite varied for all belonging to the same family. The only thing that seemed to stick hard in the Yunpi family was a high brow, but I thought it made the ladies seem refined.

“Here!” She popped up out of the crowd. “Do you need something?”

“I hate to say this, but I don’t really cook much besides barbeque. Could you make me that fried rice again? If you’ll be staying?” I felt a little silly, but they were also supposed to be servants for the courtyard.

“Of course!” She pulled up her dress so that she didn’t trip and hurried to make me food.

I smiled, wandering over to sit with her while she cooked and let the women talk to each other and come to their decision. As I walked over, the Yunpi women seemed to quickly split apart.

Many of them crowded around the stove where Ai had started cooking. They each seemed to try to find something they could work on, murmuring about men and their stomachs being tied to their heart.

But a handful of others hung back at the tables. It was clear which group would be leaving.

“So, Ai, how has it been here since I left?” I started off, even as women pressed in around me.

“Well enough. There were some rumors and fear that you were dead.” She didn’t go into detail, but I had heard enough from Thea.

“Unfortunate that the elders had so little faith in me.”

“Your wives knew you were still alive,” she said with a smile.

Nodding, I thought I’d at least plant the seeds in their minds before I ever did dual cultivate with these ladies. “Our dual cultivation binds us together in a special way. We would know if something happened to the other.”

Another lady in the group got my attention. “That’s a serious commitment to dual cultivate. A lot of the men who do so are… loose with their marriages.”

I shrugged. “Maybe I’m an oddball, but I’d much rather keep my women.”

A few of the girls blushed and batted their eyes at me.

“Have you ever had Yun Dumplings?” a woman asked, abruptly changing the subject, but it seemed like she could barely hold the question in.

There was a light of recognition in all the ladies' eyes, even Ai.

“No, what are those?” I smiled at the woman’s initiative.

“A Cloud City delicacy. They are light and sweet dumplings that go with breakfast.” She was already rolling up her sleeves and pulling a pan out. “You have to eat it to understand.”

“Sounds delicious. What’s your name?”

“Ruetia, but you can call me just Rue if you’d like.” She grabbed a few items from the pantry.

Her departure was like someone ringing a dinner bell.

The Yunpi ladies swarmed me with questions, asking about a variety of foods, wanting to come up with their own menu item to add. Some of them didn’t even wait for an answer before they went off to make it. They even started using fire cultivation to cook because the stove was too crowded.

I made eye contact with Ai over all the commotion, and she just shook her head with a content smile as she cooked.

She’d had the head start, so she finished first.

“Your favorite is done. What do you think?” She scooped up a generous portion and held the spoon out for me with a smile on the verge of laughter on her face.

I bent over to let her serve me a spoonful, but she replaced the spoon with her lips and gave me a full kiss.

I was surprised, but I didn’t reject her. I leaned into it, savoring her lips, aware that we had an audience. But if Ai wanted to stake her claim, I was okay with that. The longhouse became suspiciously quiet during the kiss.

When I pulled back to say something, she shoved the spoon in my mouth to stop me.

The longhouse erupted. The Yunpi ladies were either upset at her boldness or jealous of her. Some seemed to be both. Either way, breakfast became far more competitive as they went back to cooking diligently.

“Delicious,” I told Ai. “Can I have another?”

She lifted the spoon up, but I just smiled and shook my head, enjoying the moment of hesitation before she figured out what I’d meant, and her face lit up.

She pressed herself up against me and put the food down while she kissed me again. I scooted her into my lap and kissed her back.

“Hmm, no, I think I’ll go for the fried rice,” I teased her.

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow as she wiggled in my lap. “Are you sure about that?”

Her body straddled mine, and as she rocked back and forth, I began to forget all the women standing around us.

One of the other women cleared her throat, and I was brought back to the present. Ai’s eyes danced as she got up and swayed her hips, going back in to help a few of the other women.

She didn’t seem to mind a few of the glares or jealous looks she got from the other women. I thought Ai was a good girl. But either she liked just a little bit of trouble, or she was showing off for the other ladies.

Either way, I took the food and made my way over to the table. I put the bowl down and served myself another large portion.

“Big brother!” A Xiexie-sized missile hit my back and clung to me.

“Morning, Xiexie. I missed you.”

“Of course. Everyone misses me.” She pressed her face into my back like she was trying to glue herself to me.

I laughed and pulled her around to sit next to me, grabbing a plate and putting some of Ai’s fried rice on a plate. “Terrance said you were getting yourself into more trouble.”

“Nope!” She shook her head hard enough to make herself dizzy.

“Not what I heard,” Ai jumped in. “Rumor is you and Isaac’s youngest are practically raiders in the market.”

Xiexie looked away, fiddling with her hands and not meeting my eyes.

Ember had taught me plenty with how to add discipline without being too harsh. “I’m glad the two of you are having fun, but maybe it’s best you contain that fun, or at least don’t terrorize the market where people work very hard.”

Xiexie puffed out her cheeks but nodded. “Fine. We’ll play other places.” She kicked her feet, which were dangling off the seat.

I’d also found that Ember usually acted out when I wasn’t around, looking for more attention. I hoped my return would curb some of their reign of terror.

Coming around the corner, Ruetia was hurrying over with a hot pan, but then she noticed Xiexie.

The little girl was a wonderful shield.

“Here, try one of the Yun Dumplings.” Ruetia picked one up with chopsticks and held it out for me.

They were small, rolled dumplings, and I could already smell how sweet they were.

I leaned forward, hearing Ai call for Xiexie, but not realizing what it apparently implied. As I leaned towards the dumpling, it was replaced by Ruetia’s sweet lips.

Her tongue pushed its way eagerly into my mouth as she drew my own into a slippery battle. She teased and played with my lips for a moment before pulling away and giving me my dumpling.

It wasn’t quite as sweet as it smelled, but it was delicious. Cooked in some fruit, the dough was light despite being pan fried, but the inside was a whipped cream. They were strange but delightful, more like a desert than a breakfast, if I was honest.

“Want another?” she asked while Ai was still distracting Xiexie.

“Sure,” I responded.

This time, she didn’t even pick up a dumpling. She leaned down and kissed me while grabbing at my hair.

Ruetia pulled away, pausing, her lips already a little swollen. “There. That’s enough for another. How many would you like?” She moved one over to my plate from the pan.

“Is there a tariff on these?” I joked.

“Exactly. Now, how many would you like?”

“At least two more,” I said with a cheeky smile as I enjoyed a long kiss that was, of course, interrupted.

“Eeew. They’re kissing,” Xiexie whined.

It was enough to get Ruetia to stop and pull away. Moving over to my plate, she added a few more dumplings and joined the table for breakfast.

“Is there a tax if I want some?” Kat said, walking into the room and sitting down at the table.

Ruetia looked like a sheep before a wolf. She stood frozen in the position she’d been in, her eyes wide. She seemed unsure of how to answer Kat.

Kat took it for a no and sighed. “Too bad. You are quite pretty, Ruetia.”

“Don’t tease them too much, Kat.” I narrowed my eyes, already seeing how afraid of her they were.

But Kat just smiled, snagging a dumpling and popping it into her mouth.

Then Kat turned her attention to Xiexie. She began playing with the girl for a moment, generating loud peels of joy. Kat had always been great with kids. She was softer with them.

Breakfast continued to be an ordeal as my wives joined and watched on with amusement as the Yunpi ladies stuffed me with food and traded kisses as currency.

At a certain point, I could feel the belt on my martial robes growing tighter, but I couldn’t stop and deny their hopeful faces.

But after a few hours, I knew I couldn’t delay the elders any longer.

As I excused myself, I told the ladies that they were free to go while I was gone. If they were still there when I returned, I expected that they were at least open to seeing what was between us.