"There's nothing to worry about. In Loxibrook, I call the shots."
Li Fei was in high spirits. Once she'd finished handing out her assignments, she patted her chest and gave Qiao'er a confident guarantee. "No matter what kind of trouble you run into, just drop my name and…"
She stopped mid-sentence.
A righteous, upright silhouette had planted itself in their path.
The woman blocking the road had eyes like stars and chestnut hair that fell like a waterfall. She wore a robe as pure and spotless as a white lotus. Her figure was tall and graceful, yet "alluring" was the wrong word for her. Her straight-backed bearing had a soldier's crisp dash, sharp and imposing.
But she was simply too beautiful. Her expression was stern and incorruptible, and still it was hard for anyone to keep their distance. It made you want to tear away that veil of righteousness, pluck the spotless lotus, peel back its leaves one by one, and savor the fragrance of the lotus seeds.
"Uh-oh."
Li Fei's smile slowly faded.
"Come with me."
Asuna's face was expressionless.
"What's the charge?"
Li Fei puffed out her cheeks. "Officer, I'm a law-abiding citizen, you know."
Asuna pointed behind them. On the spotless, flat road, a line of burning hoofprints stood out glaringly. "Destruction of public property."
"It's natural, not on purpose…" Li Fei protested.
"Fire elementals and phoenixes run hot too, but they can rein it in so they don't damage a single brick or tile in Loxibrook. Is your mount somehow special?"
Asuna shook her head. "If she really can't manage it, you can fit her with heat-resistant horseshoes before you go out, instead of tearing up the roads at will."
Clearly, in front of this ramrod-righteous peace officer, even Illidan of the Burning Legion would be charged with destroying public property and invited in for tea if he didn't put on proper fireproof boots.
"This is all your fault."
Li Fei glared at Lady Wuzhui.
Lady Wuzhui snorted at her with the back of her head.
You're the one who said this looked cool…
"Fine, fine. I'll pay for the damage, however much it is." Li Fei spread her hands and confessed.
Click!
With a soft metallic chime, a silver bracelet snapped around Li Fei's wrist.
"Under the Loxibrook Public Order Ordinance, anyone who deliberately destroys public property above a certain value will receive a minimum of three days' administrative detention, in addition to a fine."
As she recited the relevant regulation, Asuna took out a white silk scarf and draped it over Li Fei's hands to spare her the embarrassment. Humane law enforcement, all things considered.
So this is what "I call the shots in Loxibrook" looks like?
Doubt plainly flickered through Qiao'er's clear, nearsighted eyes.
"Um… you go on home first. I'll have Lady Wuzhui head back on her own later."
Li Fei's cheeks flushed. She bade Qiao'er goodbye as if nothing had happened, abandoned any thought of resisting, and meekly followed Asuna to the Enforcement Squad.
Lady Wuzhui trailed behind the two of them, head hanging, though no more hoofprints appeared beneath her feet.
It wasn't long before Li Fei was brought to the detention center. She didn't look the least bit nervous, strolling along and sizing up the listless prisoners behind the iron bars.
First time's strange, second time's familiar. Walking into the detention center felt like coming home.
Besides, Lady Asuna had vanished for a while a few weeks back for some reason. Now that she was back on duty, Li Fei would probably be dropping by again, so it was best to keep a good attitude.
"Officer, got anything to drink? I'd like orange juice."
"You're not here on vacation."
Asuna kept a stern face and took a jug of plain water out of her storage gear to hand over.
"Fine, fine… Huh?"
Li Fei's steps suddenly halted, because she'd spotted someone she knew.
It was a dazzling beauty. She was small and sweet-smelling, her gray hair as smooth and soft as silk, her sapphire eyes bright and lively.
"Good afternoon, Sister Irena."
Li Fei greeted her, then turned to ask Asuna, "Why is she in here too?"
"That's her private business."
"But I'm her relative. Don't I have a right to know?"
"…She stole a girl's heart."
Asuna finally gave up the details.
Li Fei: ?
You get detained for stealing just one? By that logic, wouldn't I be due ten death sentences?
"Afterward, the girl chased her with a hatchet, and in the course of her escape she destroyed public property and trespassed on private residences…" Asuna added with a perfectly straight face.
"Hold on, Officer!" Li Fei said doubtfully. "Don't we have an emergency-evacuation exception? If you cause some damage while running for your life, you shouldn't be punished…"
"But the girl chasing her isn't a Transcendent."
The corners of Asuna's mouth twitched upward. "One is a twin star of the Magic Academy, and the other is a girl who couldn't bind a chicken. Do you think the emergency-evacuation defense applies in a situation like that?"
That tiny smile was like a delicate white wildflower blooming in a crack in a rock wall, and it sent Li Fei's heart racing.
She instantly forgot about the dear sister she was supposedly as close to as her own limbs, and sweetly praised, "Officer, you look so pretty when you smile."
"I've had professional training. No matter how funny something is, I don't laugh."
Asuna put her stern face back on and locked poor, pitiful Li Fei behind the iron bars.
*
"See you at school."
After seeing Lady Wuzhui off home, Li Fei said goodbye to Irena, who'd been fished out along the way. Miss Tail swayed lazily behind her.
Beside her stood a black-haired, black-eyed girl in a blue sailor uniform. The red bow at her collar was propped up by her ample bust until it sat nearly parallel to the ground. Beneath the featherlight hem of her skirt, matte black stockings hugged firm, shapely calves, and she radiated a faintly illicit allure.
"So love really does fade, huh."
Bai Mengtian dabbed at imaginary tears in the corners of her eyes. "If you didn't need me to bail you out, you wouldn't even have contacted me."
Li Fei eyed her sidelong, pulled out her phone, and opened the chat history.
The last message was the "I'm back!" Li Fei had sent yesterday. Bai Mengtian still hadn't replied.
"Ahaha, I was swamped yesterday. Didn't see it."
Bai Mengtian's face instantly brightened into an effusive smile. "Want to come over to my place?"
"Since you've invited me so sincerely, this Palace shall graciously grant you the honor."
Li Fei hummed, lifted her chin, and stuck out a hand. "Help this Palace along."
"Fei-bao, you're really punchable when you put on airs."
Bai Mengtian gave her honest review, then took Li Fei's hand, and the two of them walked hand in hand to the Bai residence.
Half an hour later, a pair of silver crystal high-heeled sandals, still warm and fragrant, and a pair of brown British-style leather shoes lay scattered every which way under the bed. Two of them had even ended up overlapping—and for the record, it was the high heels on top of the leather shoes.
The two girls lay side by side at the head of the bed. Bai Mengtian's legs crossed and swung gently behind her, the loose red string at her ankle already slipped down to her calf. Her slender, soft feet were wrapped snugly in warm black stockings. They weren't sheer, but as her knees swayed, a hazy glimpse of snowy, tender skin showed at the back of her knees, the soles, and the tips of her toes.
Li Fei sprawled like a salted fish. Even Miss Tail seemed relaxed, not as lively as usual, and lay slackly across Bai Mengtian's lower back, as if standing in for Li Fei's arm and hugging her.
"If you ask me, the best place on the Demon-Sealing Continent is the imperial tomb."
"It's good in every way. Gorgeous mountains and rivers, warm in winter and cool in summer, and the people are lovely as flowers and jade, perfect for beating the heat and quenching your thirst. A great vacation spot… except for one thing. Stay too long and your body goes weak."
Remembering the battle where the water had flowed in rivers, Li Fei still looked shaken.
"Details," Bai Mengtian said, her face turning solemn as she assumed an attentive posture.
"Nope. Any more and I'll have to charge you."
Li Fei waved her off.
"Dear sis, just ten bucks' worth of chat?"
Bai Mengtian pleaded sincerely, her voice soft.
Li Fei naturally refused. Sure, there was nothing wrong with besties sharing a few embarrassing bedroom secrets, but was Bai Mengtian her bestie? That was her own beloved big daughter!
Thwarted, Bai Mengtian flew into a rage of embarrassment, tore off her mask of hypocrisy, and pinched Li Fei's waist. Li Fei refused to be outdone and went straight for her ribs.
Things spiraled out of control in an instant. They didn't quite get as far as pulling hair, but Li Fei had already grabbed Bai Mengtian's collar while the latter clamped onto the base of her tail, and the two of them rolled around on the bed, shrieking and yelling.
When neither side could gain the upper hand, anger rose in Li Fei's heart and malice in her gallbladder. She resorted to non-physical means to win the catfight, instantly firing off [Bliss], [Depravity], and [Mommy Play]. She even brushed her tongue against Tingbao's cheek, making full use of the ability granted by the [Gourmet] achievement.
Tingbao went limp at once, her will to resist dissolved. Only her gaze had turned strange. It clouded with a dreamy haze, her rosy lips parted on their own and breathed out warm, damp air, and her flushed cheeks were bewitchingly lovely.
Li Fei, heedless of the danger, was even thinking of tacking on [Sensitivity Aura] and [Charm Humanoid Creature]…
Luckily, Lady Kalida showed up at the critical moment, turned the tide, and averted the risk of a friendship going sour.
Even in plain homewear and a simple white apron, the tall, voluptuous woman looked ravishing and graceful. Virtue and allure coexisted in her, radiating housewife vibes.
"Dinner's ready. Should I let you two finish fighting before you eat?"
Kalida held a steaming dish in one hand and propped the other on her hip, gazing down at the two youngsters with smiling eyes.
"Eh-heh."
Li Fei stuck out her tongue, climbed obediently off the bed, and stood before her hand in hand with Bai Mengtian.
"Good girls."
Kalida ruffled their heads and led them out of the room.
But just because Li Fei had laid down her arms didn't mean Miss Tail was willing to.
While Bai Mengtian wasn't looking, Miss Tail struck first with a sneak attack, a stab in the back.
Bai Mengtian kept her eyes straight ahead, hooked a leg up behind her, and kicked Li Fei in the butt in return.
Kalida seemed to sense something amiss and glanced back. Seeing the two still holding hands, the very picture of friendly harmony, she kept walking.
Miss Tail immediately resumed her tangle with Bai Mengtian, and the long hallway became their battlefield.
But clearly, in this kind of fight, a leg's flexibility couldn't match a tail's, and it was a real disadvantage.
Bai Mengtian puffed out her cheeks. As they were about to clear the hallway, a long, shapely black dragon tail suddenly shot out from under her skirt and unleashed [Tail Whip].
"Yeowch!"
At the last moment before they left the hallway, Miss Top Courtesan let out a mournful cry.
Today's round: Li Fei, defeated.
*
After the meal, Lady Kalida flicked the purple braid on her shoulder behind her back and gave the two girls a checkup.
She lowered her head, her voice gentle, her green eyes full of focus and concern. It was just a shame that once she took off her apron, the dense writing covering her plump, snowy thighs ruined that virtuous-wife-and-good-mother impression.
"Very good. The scales are glossy and healthy."
Lady Kalida set down Bai Mengtian's dragon tail and picked up Li Fei's. She studied it for a moment and sighed.
"This one… seems to have been a little overused."
As she spoke, she took out a tin of ointment, spread it evenly across her palm with practiced ease, and began tending Li Fei's tail with her soft, warm hands.
The gentle, patient motions made Li Fei squint and let out a long, contented breath.
Bai Mengtian craned her neck, looking itchy to join in, but her outstretched snowy paw was slapped away by Li Fei.
"No doing weird stuff to Miss Tail."
As she said this, Li Fei caught Tingbao's tail and laid it across her own knees, feeling its texture with her fingertips.
The tail wasn't thick or bulky. If anything it was rather slender, lovely and well proportioned. The scales were warm and smooth as jade, only a few degrees cooler than body temperature. They were dry, yet to the touch they always seemed to hold a lingering dampness on the surface. Press a little harder and you could feel the firmness and spring of the flesh beneath.
"Hey, where'd you get a tail, anyway?" Li Fei asked curiously.
"I found a pretty decent tail ring, and a tail came out when I put it on."
Bai Mengtian's tail swished.
"Does this tail have a core inside?" Li Fei asked again.
"Of course."
Bai Mengtian said it as if it were obvious.
"Tsk."
Li Fei curled her lip in distaste, but out of great maternal love she still gave Tingbao's tail a massage.
Glass Cannon, which she'd leveled to 13 on the ladies of the inner palace, was no joke. Her palms moved unhurried, but every shift in pressure and angle came as naturally as an antelope hanging by its horns, leaving no trace of effort. Each knead and pinch seemed divinely guided, expounding the whole Great Way of the Tangerine within the span of a few inches, and in moments Tingbao was making hmm-hmm noises through her nose.
Not only that, Li Fei held herself to ever higher standards, watching Tingbao's slightest expressions and adjusting her strength bit by bit. All the insights she'd gathered massaging Margaret's fox tail, Miss Chloe's angel wings, and the cat tail of Lady Hathaway, vice-president of the Thieves' Guild, rushed back to her, confirming what she was discovering now and sparking flashes of wisdom.
Before long, Li Fei, who couldn't even cast a Level 1, first-tier spell on her own, took another step down the long road of the Tangerine, and Glass Cannon naturally broke through to Lv14.
Who cares if the Way of the Tangerine is endless? Every inch gained is an inch of joy.
A pure, lovely smile curved Li Fei's lips, like a child who'd happened upon a pretty seashell at the beach.
Suddenly her hands closed on empty air. Tingbao had pulled her tail back.
Li Fei turned around suspiciously and found Tingbao's face rosy and her eyes glistening.
This is the Supreme of Enlos, the infamous she-devil? That's all you've got?
She sighed and patted Bai Mengtian's shoulder. "Sis, you can't go on like this. Eat more Serpent-woman scales."
Bai Mengtian, hugging her tail and trembling, wore the look of someone facing a deadly enemy.
A few months ago, Fei-bao had been nothing but a tea-sipping, sweet-talking virgin bitch.
Who could have guessed that in such a short time she'd come this far!
It was bad enough that her charm had soared to the point of nearly passive mind control, but now she could even have Bai Mengtian wrapped around her finger with the lift of a hand or the move of a foot! This girl absolutely must not be…
"Want to keep going?"
Li Fei squeezed Bai Mengtian's earlobe.
"Give me more."
Bai Mengtian nodded without a moment's hesitation and laid her tail back across Li Fei's lap.
Li Fei lowered her head again, single-mindedly savoring and consolidating The Art of Tea, which had just climbed another step past the top of the hundred-foot pole.
Bai Mengtian's face grew redder and redder, her eyes so misty they looked ready to spill over.
____
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