"So, you're my bodyguard."
Williams observed his next target. The dark-skinned, golden-eyed woman wore her black locks in a tight bun. While a head shorter than Williams, she made up for her lack of height in other areas of measurement.
"For one year, yes," Williams answered honestly. He looked around the hazy room. It was as if everything was shrouded in a curtain of distorting dust, constantly shifting like a swirling quicksand. But not the soon-to-be Sun Priestess.
She was…
She was something else. Williams refused to forget her even after burying the past so far inside his heart.
He was quiet and maintained Nina's gaze.
"What are you looking at?" The woman crossed her arms, slightly unnerved by Williams' stare. Unapologetic as he was in both his lives, he grinned.
"You."
*Crack*
A swift kick to his defenceless crotch sent Williams' expression reeling with pain and surprise as he collapsed to his knees. He grew pale as a sheet of paper while staring up at the violent priestess.
"I asked the fuck you're looking at!"
'Yeah. That's pretty much how it went the first time.' Williams grimaced. However, the first time, he wasn't so hopelessly fallen for the sunny bitch he came to endear and instead caught the offending leg before hanging Nina upside down by her foot.
"Ugh… you're quite violent, Priestess. Didn't the Archbishop teach you anything?"
"Him?" Nina looked revolted. "That fat piece of fuck who set the entire church to get me?"
Well, the Archbishop was quite fat.
"I hate his beady little eyes! Hmph! You can tell at a glance that he's perverted and the face of sin against the gods!"
Williams finally stood up and shook his head.
"You're wrong. You don't know the first thing about him."
Nina raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Is that so? How would you know that, Weirdo?"
Williams parted his lips to say something when his vision suddenly shifted. Nina was beside him. However, she appeared tamer. Her eyes were slightly red as she stuck close to her bodyguard while watching the archbishop from a discreet corner.
"He…"
Her eyes were red with fury and disgust!
"He's taking advantage of all those poor women! I knew it! I'll skin that fat bastard!"
Williams rolled his eyes. At least, Nina stopped treating him like the enemy. You know? The first step in seducing the soon-to-be most influential woman on the planet.
"And you know many of these secret tunnels, don't you? I was wrong about you, Weirdo. You're useful. What was your name?"
"Williams Logic," he replied. "And you're wrong about the archbishop."
The corner of his eyes twitched as his surroundings became clearer.
They were observing an orphanage while taking shelter from the rain. They were still in the Church's city, a massive piece of property no worse than a functional city. The Church of the Glorious Sun housed many orphans and taught them the way of the lord.
"How so?" Nina shot back.
"First, he's a bishop. If he's taking advantage of anyone… it would be the orphaned boys." Williams joked as Nina scoffed, muttering more curses under her breath.
"And second, Archbishop Wang might be sleeping with these matrons, but it's because they asked him."
"What?"
Nina gasped as Williams gestured with his head for them to leave. The next step they took, the duo was back in Nina's quarters with the latter's eyes red from anguish.
"Wait… so you're saying Archbishop looks like this because of a trait?"
"Yeah." Williams placed his feet on the table as he played with a lighter.
"He was quite the handsome man and didn't let it get to his head. The church sent him to missions in several countries. Once, he came across a group of traffickers assaulting the women of a destroyed village. You know how it is. Most of us live our entire lives without knowing our traits. They were like that, too. Archbishop Wang fought those monsters and saved the women."
Williams spoke with unconcealed admiration. While he was indifferent to others' anguish, he wasn't above respecting outstanding fellows.
"During the confrontation, one of the sex traffickers used their trait to infect Archbishop Wang. He's been suffering ever since. He needs several medicines a day, and his body has grown to its current size."
"But what's with him going out every week to sleep with all those matrons?" Nina hissed.
Williams grew quiet at that.
He furrowed his brows and attempted to understand the true reason.
"Archbishop Wang almost died after saving those women, but he never left them. He stood by their side as they attempted to nurse him back to health. In the end, leaving those women meant letting them experience another such tragedy. So, the Archbishop wanted the Church to accommodate the patrons."
"The previous Archbishop, however, refused. He said something about those women being stained and whatnot. You know, the most prudish shit you can imagine."
Nina glowered at that, angered by the previous Archbishop's narrow-mindedness.
"But Archbishop Wang refused to leave them despite being threatened with exile. Some members of the church, moved by Wang's determination, secretly sent him supplies and medicine as those women grew more capable under Wang's guidance and nurturing. He taught them everything, and they reciprocated by always helping him."
"Soon, the previous Archbishop's scandal was exposed by Cowl before he disappeared. Wang was allowed to return as he helped those women set different orphanages in the city."
"Why they still see each other is beyond my understanding."
Williams concluded. His recollection grew clearer, and he knew what Nina was going to say, but it still didn't help the past or the current him.
"I'm going to go back to calling you a weirdo." Nina blinked.
"Why?" Williams smirked oddly.
"Moron!" Nina suddenly shouted, feeling emotional after the tale. "It's clear they love each other!"
Nina rolled her eyes at Williams' dazed expression.
"Come on! Love!" She blushed slightly. "You want me to explain the most basic shit? T-They like holding hands and stuff. Well, sex is a part of it… But they must feel fluffy, you know."
"I guess."
Nina calmed down and observed Williams.
"Huh, I guess I was wrong about you. I think you're a good guy."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but you aren't a good judge of character. Remember, you judge every fat guy."
"Not every fat guy!" She retorted and huffed. "Just Fatty Wang. But… I was wrong about the archbishop. Okay? Happy? That doesn't mean I'm always wrong."
Williams spoke plainly.
"I'm your bodyguard. The job comes with the expectation of being 'Not Good.'"
Nina frowned and pointed at him.
"We're going to test you. Let's watch a few movies!"
Williams sighed and shook his head.
He couldn't.
He couldn't delve further into the dream. He'd even allowed himself the foolishness of not ignoring someone as reactive as Nina to solidify the dream. Furthermore, she didn't collect the materials in the dream to refine the most basic of the gu to recoup the losses her soul must have suffered by now.
"Come on!" Nina suddenly grinned. Her demeanour shifted into something foxy and dangerous, something Williams only uncovered after a long time. "I'd let you cop a feel like the good old times, Willy."
She then laughed mischievously.
"Oh! Maybe I'll get a good feel instead. You grew a nice rack!"
*Hah*
Bai Shou's eyes snapped open as she gasped for air.
She soon regained her composure and inspected her soul.
'Damn…'
Bai Shou smiled bitterly.
No wonder she felt weak and tired. Her soul suffered quite a bit for her selfish insolence.
'Damn you and your cheeks, Nina.'
Bai Shou cursed under her breath and shook her head.
Yet, there wasn't much she could do. Bai Shou confirmed one thing today.
'I never really moved on.'
She bluntly lay on her back and spread her arms.
'I always thought the gu masters needed therapy. But I suppose I'm not far off that criterion either.'
'At least the refinement of the Preservation Gu was a success.'
She sighed.
Now, she didn't plan to spam the Undefeated Refinement Palms killer move and attract a Gu Immortal's malicious intentions, but this success was a giant leap forward in preparing for the coming auction.
Bai Shou had too many outstanding recipes that could be made use of!
<<<>>>
{Trigger Warning: Implied Torture, Suggestions of Sexual Assault}
"Ugh…"
Wang Nu groaned as she recovered her consciousness. Her face was swollen and blue in many spots as she lay suspended naked with more surface-level injuries on her body.
"Hehe…"
A woman stepped into the small cave after hearing Wang Nu's croak, giggling coldly.
"Are you ready to offer your gu worms to us?"
Recollections of her earlier tortures and humiliation made Wang Nu scowled. While always protected by her father, she was still a gu master who suffered immensely for her achievements. And the sudden captivity after her father's loss further deepened the venom in her heart.
"I will kill all of you!" Wang Nu screamed!
"Even if you kill me, my ghost will haunt you!"
The female escapee thinned her lips as a cold light flashed in her eyes. However, she exhaled and walked out of the cave, letting out a mocking laugh.
"Then stay in your filth, dear. Keep pissing and shitting on your legs."
Wang Nu trembled, her body thoroughly humiliated.
"Let's just get on with it."
The male escapee sighed once his partner walked out. They were one of the luckier prisoners who were still not caught.
The duo was also desperate. They kidnapped Wang Nu, hoping to break her quickly. However, her foundations in body refinement were surprising, and they barely injured her after a long while. The best they could do was break Wang Nu psychologically.
"Why don't you rape her?" The woman scowled. "Keep doing her until you break her mind!"
The male prisoner thinned his lips.
"What do you think sex is? A magical drug? No. I don't have the necessary gu worm to achieve that. Furthermore, our bodies were stripped of our defences. I risk getting my penis cut off or fractured if I act rashly. After all, she is physically stronger. And don't forget that finding those two pieces of rope was challenging enough."
"How are we going to tie her mouth?"
"What if she bites me during intercourse?"
"What if she coils around my thighs and crushes my bones?"
The female prisoner drawled sarcastically.
"Well, you gave it very little thought, I see."
"Hmph! We can fuck if you're feeling the urge but find someone else to sexually destroy that woman in there."
"We should take our chances." The woman suddenly spoke. "Let's kill the woman. Sure, her gu set would resist our will, but that was always part of the risk. We need to keep moving to protect our lives!"
The male prisoner considered her words.
The Ancient Sect was a treasure trove for the worthy. For instance, someone like Jirou Yi could earn tens of thousands of primeval stones by borrowing a necessary gu worm from one of his connections. However, these two prisoners did not have any means. They did not have any primeval stones, and their cultivation was also nearly crippled. How could they hope to get powerful gu worms?
It was already their luck to have discovered Wang Nu.
The duo intentionally discussed in raised voices to let Wang Nu hear everything and fear them. Indeed, the pitiful girl shivered at her enemies' cruel words.
Violate her?
Kill her?
She suddenly heard the male prisoner laugh and contemplate raping her corpse!
'Father…'
Wang Nu cried internally.
Her nose felt sore, and the rims of her eyes dampened before the girl gritted her teeth and refused to shed any tears.
'I will never give in to enemies, Father.'
Wang Nu vowed.
She hated these two prisoners!
And…
She hated Bai Shou!
'I want to kill everyone, Father! But… I remained unfilial. I'm sorry. I couldn't avenge you.'
Wang Nu exhaled when her gaze suddenly caught sight of a strange creature.
It moved like a phantom and phased through the cave's wall. It was a rank 4 gu worm that flew straight towards Wang Nu.
'Rank 4 Phantom Escape?'
Wang Nu stirred as she angled her mouth and caught the gu worm by her teeth. The Phantom Escape Gu could phase through inorganic materials but not living beings like her.
'It's injured!'
Wang Nu barely controlled her glee as she began refining the gu worm.
It wasn't long before the couple stepped inside the cave and watched Wang Nu with vicious expressions. They both held a tough rock in their hands.
"You made us do it, dear."
The woman snorted as they approached Wang Nu, who furiously refined the gu worm. She was scared.
She finally had hope but feared the gu worm being discovered due to its weak aura.
Quick!
Indifferent to the excretion stuck to her body, the duo raised their hands and aimed at her pelvis. They wished to make Wang Nu's death as brutal and painful as possible. They wanted her to break, cry, and willingly offer her gu set!
The couple was vicious and the first injury on Wang Nu was from the duo extracting her vital gu, leaving her in an injured state.
*Bang*
Wang Nu paled as the duo struck her body with rocks.
Quick!
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
Wang Nu soon began to bleed. Her skin was split open, and the male prisoner suddenly smirked coldly. He pressed the bloodstained rock against Wang Nu's entrance.
"Hmm. Try crushing it to powder inside yourself."
"Oh! Good idea!"
The woman did the same as she moved behind Wang Nu with a scowl. Another rock was pressed against the pitiful girl's back door.
"You can still do yourself a favour, girl!"
The man suggested.
"Let us refine your gu worms."
Wang Nu closed her eyes and solely focused on refining the gu worm caught in her mouth. It was pressed and hidden under her tongue.
'Please… please…'
She prayed as she felt uncomfortable by the two rocks pressed against her. The duo was pushing it further.
"Fine!" The man yelled and suddenly pressed only for a tight slap to send his head in a gruesome twist.
Wang Nu phased out of her restrains and instantly turned around, killing the female prisoner before the latter could let out a frightened shriek.
'Hah… Hah…'
She couldn't help but feel her chest rise and fall. Her nerves calmed down as Wang Nu finally took notice of her bleeding surroundings.
'I'm alive.'
She blinked.
Wang Nu looked at her bleeding hands before her gaze grew dark.
'I'm alive.'
<<<>>>
"This is…"
Shu Zhe was shocked for the first time in a while. Her expression did not shift at all, but she stared at the small pile of Rank 3 Aperture Puncture Gu Worms unflinchingly. They all remained quiet, unlike ordinary buzzing mosquitoes.
While Shu Zhe had commissioned Bai Shou to refine several of these rank 3 gu worms and left appropriate sets of materials, she never expected such a quick result. Furthermore, Bai Shou looked spirited. That could be due to impressive healing gu worms. But Shu Zhe instinctively felt otherwise.
'Not only must Bai Shou have an outstanding understanding of the recipe, but her skills must be good enough to ensure a consistent success rate. This means that of the three sets of materials for every gu worm, she might have saved one set for personal use.'
'While Bai Shou is giving me this batch of 9 rank 3 gu worms, she must also have at least 9 other Aperture Punctures in her aperture!'
The shaken Sect Leader had many things to consider. First, Aperture Puncture was one of her most useful trump cards. It could effortlessly intimidate other factions' fodder and could also threaten the Elders if they believed Shu Zhe conceived a killer move from the gu worm.
Second, Bai Shou was a crucial asset. It was in Shu Zhe's best interest to maintain a fruitful relationship with the former. However, her current skills left the astute Sect Leader with second thoughts. Letting Bai Shou amass such a large group of these rank 3 gu worms was foolish!
But how could Shu Zhe know that Bai Shou had two different recipes?
Heck, Bai Shou didn't even care about the recipe of the expendable Aperture Puncture Gu. Inside Bai Shou's aperture was another gu worm that shared similarities with the rank 3 gu worm. It was the result of the original recipe created by Legacy Disciple Nu Wu and further modified by Bai Shou.
Like Shu Zhe, Bai Shou was wary of letting such an outstanding gu worm circulate in the market. So, Bai Shou had already started researching the advancement recipes for rank 3 Aperture Puncture Gu. Some recent inspirations also left Bai Shou with a decent path to follow.
"I requested your presence for a serious matter, Junior Sister Bai." Shu Zhe regathered her composure and nodded slightly mechanically. While her words were polite, her voice was nothing but a monotone.
"Ask of me anything, Senior Sister Shu!" Bai Shou spoke with certain intensity and sincerity.
"Hmm. I was given more information about my condition." Shu Zhe began, carefully reigning in her hatred for her grandmother. That discussion in Nu Wu's prison had burned the tattered bridge between the grandmother-granddaughter pair.
"It would seem that the killer move that afflicted my aperture did not use anything beyond the Rank 3 Aperture Puncture Gu Worm."
Bai Shou blinked, surprised by the news. Did that mean a Gu Immortal couldn't advance the recipe further than its current rank? Did it not imply that Bai Shou's path of advancement might be riddled with several frustrating obstacles?
"I see."
Bai Shou grew quiet. Shu Zhe watched the other woman reach for the white wine gourd before sipping the clear spring water inside of it.
"May I?"
Shu Zhe prompted, freezing Bai Shou in her thoughts.
"The wine gourd." Shu Zhe's slightly more expressive gaze made up for her lack of verbal explanation.
Bai Shou handed her the gourd and watched Shu Zhe sip it with the same indifference.
The duo shared a comfortable silence, occasionally exchanging the ownership of the gourd.
Shu Zhe observed Bai Shou, and the latter was lost in her thoughts about the possible methods to heal the former.
"The most probable method to help you recover is using the Aperture Puncture Gu. Forming a killer move to reverse its effects is possible using this gu worm like a poisonous plant and its antidote growing in the same region. But I would require more information about the killer move."
Shu Zhe shook her head. It was unwise to admit losing her pitiful immortal backing outright. Still, she needed to set the record straight in another manner.
"My grandmother entered secluded cultivation due to an accident. Other Supreme Elders are trying to contain the traitor's actions as much as possible. For now… It's just us."
"You and Le Tao, Senior Sister Shu?"
Shu Zhe's hand froze in the middle of taking a sip as she matched Bai Shou's innocent gaze.
"Have you thought about any other methods?" Shu Zhe ignored the bait and questioned.
"Hmm. I do have slight inspiration for another method, but it could take a long time." Bai Shou sighed and took the gourd from Shu Zhe before having a drink. "What about the auction, Senior Sister?"
"The preparation for the venue is progressing at a satisfying pace," Shu Zhe answered. "But just Wang Nan's gu set will not be enough to satisfy others. Sure, everyone would wish to conduct trades in the hope of acquiring at least one suitable gu worm. But most Elders will ignore you unless you have something more definite."
"I do."
Bai Shou nodded.
"And that method you were talking about?" Shu Zhe reverted the topic. "What inspirations were you talking about?"
"Hmm…" Bai Shou blinked. "Could you compensate me before we continue speaking, Senior Sister? I feel this conversation is also part of a negotiation tactic to stall my payment. Sigh. I'm too poor. But all I desire is just one thing."
Shu Zhe refrained from rolling her eyes and retrieved enough ounces of the top-quality wine.
"Here."
Bai Shou grinned and stored the small gourd of wine before nodding with satisfaction.
"Where were we, Senior Sister?"
"We were talking about your inspiration, Junior Sister."
"Ah, yes!" Bai Shou hummed before awkwardly scratching her cheek. After a moment, she adopted a formal tone. "Well, I wish to diagnose you, Sect Leader Shu. The only way to understand the state of your aperture is by inspecting it."
If Shu Zhe was offended, she didn't let her expression slip any anger. Instead, she nodded calmly.
"Indeed. Your reason is sound, but not possible at the moment."
Bai Shou nodded.
"We'll do things at your pace."
The two sat in silence again until Shu Zhe stared at Bai Shou after storing all the rank 3 gu worms.
"Yes? Is there something else?"
"Isn't there?" Bai Shou shrugged. "Business aside, I feel you could use a friendly ear."
The ordinary disciple then raised her hand in a calming gesture.
"While I understand that gu masters at our level do not—"
"I do not mind, Junior Sister." Shu Zhe interjected with a small smile.
Bai Shou slowly nodded before forming a smirk.
"I'm glad."
She offered the Sect Leader her gourd as she scooted closer.
***
Alternate Title: The Archbishop's Harem MC Arc; Fatty Wang Pulls Indeed; Nina: Wang is a Pervert! *Williams: Wang is a True Man* *Cries in Peak*; Lo Jik: Has to Rizz *Fatty Wang: IS Rizz*; Nina: Perhaps, I Was Too Hasty With My Judgment; Also Nina: You Are Now a Good Guy; Nina in the Dream; Every Partner Lo Jik Rizzed After Meeting Bai Shou: Hmm. Now Bend. It's Time For Payback; Lucky Wang Nu; Wang Nan: Gets Saved by a Gu From Being Poisoned; Wang Nu: Gets Saved by Another Gu; The Male Prisoner: I Reject Death By Snu Snu *Gets Fatally Discombobulated*; The Female Prisoner Wished for the Taimanin Route; Phantom Savior; Wang Nu's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Menace; Shu Zhe and Bai Shou; Bai Shou Rubbing Salt on Shu Zhe's Wounds; Smart Minds Think Alike; Getting More Wine; Needing Therapy; The Emotionless Sect Leader Likes Da Junior Sister?
***
Nina
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