"Rua!"
The evil dragon's roar echoed up the chimney and through the walls. Then, after a long tumble down, Li Fei came rolling out of the fireplace.
The great Miss Top Courtesan had arrived at her loyal Loxibrook!
She staggered upright, shaking her head, and hadn't managed a single word before she was bowled over like a pin by Miss Stepdaughter, who had tumbled out of the fireplace right behind her. Thanks to the natural springiness of a human heart, Miss Stepdaughter bounced a good ten centimeters into the air.
Qiao'er, Wang Yutong, Eva and Shasa spilled out one after another, their hair tangled together in a heap.
"Wait!"
Li Fei realized something. There was no time for snuggling. She swept out a palm, and a stream of pure magic power caught Perfected Ge, the last to arrive, before he hit the floor.
"The Young Madam's back!"
"Hurry, tell Miss Qin..."
The two beast-eared maids working by the fireplace cheered, then crowded around Li Fei to nuzzle against her before dashing off to spread the happy news.
At the words "Miss Qin," Lilith's twin tails snapped rigid.
If the person she felt most guilty and ashamed toward was her mother, then the second person she dared not face was undoubtedly Lady Zhihua. She had cuddled up to the woman's fiancée, and on top of that, she had dumped out every last potion that kept a belly from swelling...
"Perfected Ge, please come with me."
The three natives obviously couldn't follow the Common Tongue. Li Fei pulled out a gold bar and whispered a few words to one of the maids, who hurried off at once, holding up her skirts. The rest were led outside the villa, where they sat around an open-air table, drinking coffee and admiring the view.
"I'm home..."
Back in this weathered, weighty, yet bustling city, Li Fei gazed over the lush green sprawl and breathed in the fresh, clear air. Every pore on her body seemed to open, and she felt a peace and comfort beyond compare.
People only learn to cherish things once they're gone. It had taken a little over a month away for Li Fei to realize she'd grown attached to a city she had lived in for less than half a year.
"The Young Madam got so prettyyy..."
"She stole my soul."
"..."
Even the maids' whispered gossip filled Li Fei with delight and contentment.
No more scheming day and night. No more worrying that Martial Saint Nie might snap one day and take her head off.
Under the mild, sunny sky, Li Fei sipped her coffee, and the tension in her chest slowly eased.
Before long, the maid who'd gone shopping hurried back and handed Li Fei two earrings and a thumb ring.
The three items worked much like the Erudition Earring. Each came with an accurate, clear simultaneous-interpretation function that wiped out language barriers.
"Perfected Ge, you've come to my home, and I ought to play the host properly... but as you can see, it's all women here. A man staying under this roof would be awkward."
After handing the gifts to her guests, Li Fei held her coffee and smiled at the old Reverend. "Besides, I still have my studies to finish, so I really have no time to entertain you."
"In a moment I'll have someone arrange the best inn for you and find you the best guide. You can look around the city, and I'll find you an immortal sect as soon as I can, to teach you immortal arts."
Her words were polite, but in truth she was showing him the door. There was nothing improper about that. Even in the Great Song, the old Daoist's standing couldn't match that of Li, Saint of Merit and Virtue, Commander of the Demon Suppression Bureau, Mother of the New Emperor, Fei, let alone here in Loxibrook. And since he needed her help, Perfected Ge, and the Mountain-Moving Sect along with him, had in a sense quietly become a force under Li Fei's banner.
If all went as expected, by the time she next set foot on the Demon-Sealing Continent, the Mountain-Moving Sect would have fallen completely into her clutches, following Li Fei's lead in all things.
"You're too kind, Lord Li."
Perfected Ge, ever tactful, drained the unheard-of fragrant tea in one gulp and said with a chuckle, "To be honest, this poor Daoist has long yearned for the sights of the immortal realm. Now that I've finally been so fortunate as to see it, I can't wait another moment."
"Then I won't keep you, Reverend."
Li Fei nodded lightly, took out another gold ingot, and instructed the maid, "Don't neglect our guest."
"Then this poor Daoist takes his leave and will await good news from Lord Li."
Perfected Ge cupped his hands in salute and followed the maid away.
"I'm heading home too."
The moment the Reverend left, Lilith stood up as well.
"Eh? You're not staying the night?"
Li Fei blinked. "Tomorrow I was going to go with you to Teacher Annie's..."
"No."
Lilith muttered the word, pulled a pile of things out of her spatial ring, and strode straight toward home.
She'd gone quite a distance before her steps faltered. She crouched dejectedly at a street corner, rubbed her head in frustration, and finally whipped a tree trunk with her twin tails.
She wasn't ready to face Qin Zhihua... but then, how could she ever contain the guilt and shame she felt toward her mother?
"Qiao'er, Sister Yutong, just pick whichever room you like."
Li Fei strolled back into the villa at a leisurely pace. Once she'd settled them into their rooms, the sprites finally couldn't hold back any longer. They flew at her in a swarm, and their gaudy butterfly wings swallowed her whole.
The sprites danced joyfully around her, breathing in her scent and pouring out how much they'd missed her.
"I missed you all too."
Like a conjurer, Li Fei produced sprite fruit and fed them out one by one. She rubbed the pink-haired sprite's head firmly and said softly, "Ram, thank you for all your hard work these past days."
"It's all part of my duty."
Ram still looked like the steady, gentle eldest sister, but the glimmer of water in her eyes betrayed how unsettled she really was.
"Why aren't you looking at me?"
A call as sweet and lilting as a nightingale's drew Li Fei's attention.
It came from an exceptionally delicate, beautiful half-blood sprite. Her brownish-red hair just brushed her shoulders, the ends curling naturally. Her ruby eyes were slightly dim, like a river strewn with rose petals, lovely and bewitching.
Her features echoed those of her vampire mother, with a cold, noble air, yet her faintly upturned eyeliner was as alluring as her sprite mother's, charming and uninhibited, even carrying a trace of wickedness.
Though she stood half a head shorter than the other sprites, her brimming spirit and vitality made her shine all the brighter.
"Yawen?"
Li Fei looked at the graceful half-blood girl and felt a pang of wonder.
Remembering the birthdays, hobbies and forms of address of every girlfriend and potential girlfriend was basic professionalism in PR. Fail at it and you lose your numbers at best, and your head at worst.
So Li Fei remembered clearly that Yawen's birthday was October 19th. And today, if she hadn't miscounted, was December 25th.
That babbling little sprite with her crumpled wings had blossomed into a beauty, and in less than a month Yawen would enter adulthood...
"Time flies."
Li Fei pulled the hand-holding mother and daughter into her arms and said with a touch of apology, "Sorry. I missed most of your childhood, and I took your mother away with me too..."
"Then how do you plan to make it up to me?"
The half-blood sprite climbed lightly onto Li Fei's shoulder, tilted her head, and whispered in a lazy, ambiguous breath, "Mama."
Hiss...
Tea begets tea, phoenix begets phoenix. The ancients truly never lied to me!
Li Fei's heart skipped, but she immediately warned herself:
Not yet. It's still not allowed!
At the very least, wait until adulthood...
Eva heard her daughter's whisper. She giggled, licked a porcelain-white fingertip like a cat, and her gaze turned a little hazy.
Sofia, please go practice your Dream-Shattering Blade, I'm begging you. Otherwise the Enros Continent will soon be short one supreme being, and that would be an eternal tragedy...
Li Fei silently rua'd her daughter-slash-daughter-in-law in her mind, then her face suddenly turned grave.
The thought of vampires naturally brought back the love story of Sofia and Eva, and the romantic history of the vampire PR girl Isabella being "smelted by metal"...
The Mother of Fairies reached out and tapped a fingertip on Yawen's forehead. "Until you come of age, never be alone with any vampire other than your mother. Understood?" she said earnestly.
"As you wish."
Yawen left a lip print on the back of Li Fei's hand, then bit her own lip.
The ladylike poise Sofia had instilled, fused with Eva's chaotic nature, had given the child the air of a refined scoundrel at such a tender age.
The Way of Tea shall flourish!
Li Fei smiled in satisfaction and was about to say something, when her heart suddenly slammed against her ribs like a startled fawn.
As if sensing something, the Young Madam turned her head and saw the woman stepping through the door at once.
She was a gentle, serene classical beauty in a plain white gown, her black hair pinned up. Her natural bearing was every bit the equal of the noble ladies of the palace. Yet with a long sword at her waist and an immortal air about her, she looked like a swordswoman stepping out of an ink painting, willowy and ethereal, or a fairy of the Moon Palace, with skin like ice and bones like jade, as clear and bright as the moon after a storm.
Qin Zhihua gazed at Li Fei, smiling in her eyes.
Who's this? Why does she look so familiar?
Oh, it's my fiancée.
Ah, I was away on business so long I almost forgot. Hehe.
A trickle of sweetness welled up, and Li Fei's heart leapt.
With a whoop, she flew at her like a fledgling swallow returning to the nest and bit down hard on her shoulder.
Feeling that familiar warmth and scent, Li Fei truly understood: she was home.
"Why aren't you picking me up and spinning me around?"
Only after leaving deep tooth marks did Li Fei lift her head and fire off a string of questions, perfectly in the right.
"Why were you away on business for so long?"
"Don't you love me anymore?"
"..."
Seeing her beloved suddenly turn so childish, Qin Zhihua's eyes flowed with honey heated until it melted. She didn't say a word. She simply sealed the Young Madam's mouth with her own, in revenge for the bite.
"I missed you too."
After a long while, Qin Zhihua cupped Li Fei's cheeks and spoke softly.
"Oh, really? I can't feel it at all."
The Young Madam's eyes curved into crescents, but she deliberately drew out her words.
Qin Zhihua smiled, took her hand, and led her toward the sofa nearby. She meant to brew a pot of tea and sit with the sprites who had missed her just as much, and with the others hurrying over, to talk about the past few days.
Li Fei: ?
The Young Madam tilted her head, doubt flickering in her eyes.
They say a short parting beats a honeymoon, and you want to sit and chat with me?
She must have changed her heart...
Li Fei puffed out her cheeks.
Qin Zhihua, who scored full marks in fluent Fei-speak, read the Young Madam's look instantly.
Then let me have her all to myself one more time.
Qin Zhihua's steps halted. She laced her fingers through Li Fei's and tightened her grip.
And so, when Grace came hurrying in, what she heard was Li Fei's singing.
A melody of dramatic highs and lows drifted faintly through the house.
Grace trembled. Her sky-blue eyes lost their luster at once, and a bitter gloom settled over that exquisite, ice-cold poker face.
The light, brisk steps she'd arrived with turned heavy. Grace silently walked to the sofa and sat down shoulder to shoulder with Su Ling'er, who hung her head and twirled circles with one fingertip.
...
Li Fei lay with her head in Lady Zhihua's lap, eyes half closed, enjoying the comfort of slender fingertips massaging her scalp, and slowly recounted her great deeds on the Demon-Sealing Continent.
Of course, she edited a fair bit out, so as not to disturb the family harmony.
How much was cut? Just enough that it could be posted on a web novel platform without worrying about being taken down.
But as she talked, Li Fei couldn't help making comparisons.
Lady Zhihua's gaze was fiery, but everything else about her was so restrained and reserved, as if the Young Madam were a fragile bubble that would burst at the slightest pressure.
The noble ladies, by contrast, showed far less mercy. Forget Consort Xiang and Consort Hui, who loved toying with Li Fei. Even the Empress Dowager, as lofty and cold as a plum blossom, had scalding magma beneath the thick ice sealing her heart's lake.
Plain water nourishes, to be sure, but strong liquor intoxicates far more.
Too gentle, Lady Zhihua.
Li Fei narrowed her eyes, and her tail began to sway happily.
The deeper the love, the harsher the persecution.
In souls as deep as abysses, even the love that flowed out was twisted. To others it was just flirting and banter, but Li Fei thrilled to Miss Grace's tear-streaked face, Lady Annie's wedding ring, the Dean's amusements, Miss Stepdaughter's penance, and the way she'd "casually" whispered the name Annie Teresa in her ear... hehe.
At this moment, back on her own turf and wrapped in a deep sense of safety, the Young Madam had forgotten for a while the terror of having her fatal weak point pricked. She also overlooked how Lady Zhihua's face, after pouring out her longing, had slowly grown wistful.
"I've prepared some new potions for you."
Qin Zhihua's tone was as gentle as ever, except the hand massaging Li Fei's temples had moved to lightly scratching her belly, like petting a cat.
"I'll cover the cost."
Li Fei said lazily, "I can't keep using your private savings. You have your own cultivation to look after."
"No need. This trip was quite fruitful, and I found a new part-time job as well."
As she spoke, Qin Zhihua patted Li Fei's glowing white belly.
"Even wives keep clear accounts..."
Li Fei hummed and stretched.
Spell-like abilities were an Innate Talent bound to the body and soul. They could be cast instantly and were much easier to control.
Among the several kinds of spell-like abilities, the succubus line suited Li Fei best. Whether it was Full Transformation — Succubus Empress or Charm Mark Reconfiguration, both had become instinct, as natural as breathing or eating, needing no deliberate focus and often triggering without her even noticing.
So, over a few of Lady Zhihua's attempts, Li Fei slipped up and cast [Partial Transformation: Succubus Empress — Abdomen].
On her snow-white, graceful lower belly, a bewitching tattoo surfaced at once. Fine, dense lines that shrank automatically as their numbers grew interwove like velvet into an exquisite, mesmerizing pattern, radiating a soul-stealing allure.
One, two, three...
Ten, twenty, thirty...
One hundred, two hundred, three hundred...
One thousand, two thousand...
The warm fingertips suddenly turned icy and began to tremble, like a cleaver just washed in cold water.
Oh no!
Li Fei's heart lurched, and she knew she was in trouble.
True, the new members of the [Kun] Division hadn't finished settling in, but they were nearly halfway there. As for the one hundred and thirteen noble ladies, Li Fei hadn't left out a single one. And then there were the palace maids, all gathered together...
The Young Madam cautiously opened her eyes, wanting to read Lady Zhihua's expression, but her fallen hair hid her face, and a chilling aura made people shudder.
Li Fei hurriedly cut off the transformation, hooked an arm through Qin Zhihua's, and coaxed sweetly in a tone ten thousand times more fawning than the one she used to flatter the Song Emperor:
"Sister Zhihua..."
True Qi surged like raging waves. Qin Zhihua clutched her lower belly and bit her lip in silence.
She knew that every maid in the villa, from top to bottom, had been involved with the Young Madam. Su Ling'er had told her about the problems with the Sequence 7 Ascension Ritual.
But the other thousand-odd Charm Marks... how was she supposed to explain those?
Too many, and too fast.
"Um... I've got something to take care of, so I need to head out. I'll be back later."
Seeing Lady Zhihua nod in silence, the Young Madam rose to her feet in trepidation and inched toward the door, hoping to slip away before her fiancée did something rash and made a terrible mistake.
But just as her fingertips touched the door, Miss Tail, who had also gone pale with fright and stiffened up, was seized in a firm grip.
Tears shot out.
"Ow..." Li Fei said, trembling.
"You really like that sort of thing, don't you?"
Qin Zhihua's gaze was dark and distant. Her once water-soft voice sent a chill down Li Fei's spine. "Then I'll keep you company."
"I-it's not like that..."
The Young Madam was sweating buckets.
"Two thousand one hundred and fifty-eight times, correct?" Qin Zhihua asked softly.
Clearly, Lady Zhihua's cultivation base was advancing by leaps and bounds. At a single glance, she had counted the Charm Marks exactly.
But said in this context, that number...
Under the Young Madam's terrified, helpless, tiny gaze, Qin Zhihua took a bucket of water out of her Sumeru sachet.
The bucket had landed on the rug, yet its weight pressed down on Li Fei's heart.
"Let's begin."
Lady Zhihua smiled lightly and pulled the trembling Young Madam back into her arms.
"Aaaagh!!!"
At the huge, loud, cracking wail, Grace and Su Ling'er raised their heads in unison, traded a look, and sighed helplessly.
"She must have found out?"
"Mm."
"Should we call in a few priests?"
"I'm fast. I'll go."
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