Black Rock City, the main city in Cloudy Mountain Province, was a small city built in a safe location but it had a harsh climate. Its population wasn't much and the citizens mostly lived in poverty. With all of Chen Wentian's disciples officially making the city their base, it became much livelier for everyone. The city regained its lost population and the numbers increased further by drawing in refugees from every direction.
Zhou Ziyun lost one half of Operation Spring after the operation in Red Bamboo Province had to be shut down. All personnel were moved to Cloudy Mountain but it wasn't as efficient as the population was smaller to begin with. However, she reacted quickly to the changing situation in Cloudy Mountain and made several adjustments.
She knew that people would return once the monster invasion ended so she decided to add the whole province into her future development plans. Those that wanted to leave could still resettle in Dragon Flower Province but those that were reluctant could choose to stay in the city.
Large construction projects were started to house the extra people and this also gave the Zhou Clan the opportunity to expand their construction business. These included building a second or third story on top of existing buildings, refurbishing buildings for stores and restaurants, or completely tearing down ones that were too old and rebuilding from scratch. This employed many citizens in the rock quarries and as general laborers. Wages were paid from the sect's treasury. The people were fed by constant shipments of food from the rich farmlands back home.
As people gathered and interacted with each other, trouble undoubtedly arose. They were not Zhou Ziyun's people and she did not have influence over them. There were petty crimes such as stealing, fraud, fighting, or tax evasion. There were also serious crimes such as sexual assault, robbery, and murder.
Despite her excellent comprehension skills and understanding of laws and its application, she found the whole business of crime and punishment disturbing and sometimes inexplicable. She comprehended facts, logic, math, and straightforward knowledge about the world and cultivation. But to her, the inexplicable aspects of the human mind seemed totally irrational. Why would a person murder their neighbor when they could negotiate? What would drive a man to grab a woman off the street and assault her when he could find a prostitute?
Zhou Ziyun was currently studying the latest case reports from the city guards. She sighed tiredly and dropped the stack of papers on the table. Reading them did nothing for her cultivation and instead gave her a massive headache.
There was a knock at the door that drew her out of her stupor. It was Wu Qianyu.
"Come in, sis."
Wu Qianyu walked in and saw her unhealthy state.
"What's wrong? You don't look so great." She asked.
"Elder sister, ugh… it's these crimes taking place every day. These crime reports… I don't know what to do with them!"
Wu Qianyu pulled her out of the chair and gave her a hug. Their relationship had gotten much better since they had first met. It was never bad in the first place, just a bit of competitiveness.
The three original disciples had naturally grown closer ever since Chen Wentian started gathering more and more disciples. They knew it was bound to happen but the recent addition of Jasmine and Long Yifei was a bit shocking. Those two were both astoundingly beautiful and on top of that, talented beyond compare. Even though Chen Wentian stressed everyone treat each other nicely, each disciple still had to overcome their innate insecurities and jealousies. Thus, it was completely natural for the original trio to band together and support each other.
"Elder sister, did you just come back from a mission?" Zhou Ziyun asked curiously.
"Yes."
"Did you take sister Long with you again? How was she?"
"Ziyun… she's fine…" Wu Qianyu said with a sigh, "The things you asked me to look out for, she passed without issue. She is working extremely hard, she is diligent, and she's smart and alert. Master found himself another amazing disciple. Honestly, she's been a great help during missions and it's almost as efficient as with master."
"Tsk, that sex beast." Zhou Ziyun muttered. "Thinking about him makes me mad right now. How many times do you think he did her?"
Zhou Ziyun, in the past, promised to serve his every desire and she meant it. But she didn't expect his appetite to be insatiable. A man like him was bound to sow his seeds recklessly.
Wu Qianyu laughed, "No, she still has her virginity. She didn't say much but she did mention that there was an accident during dual cultivation and that it failed."
"Serves her right." Zhou Ziyun said. "Hey… how's your training going? I tried a nipple clamp the other day and it hurt so much. I don't understand how you can bear it."
"It is quite painful but my body is unique… It's hard to explain."
"Hey, when the two of you are training, do you have sex afterward?" Zhou Ziyun asked.
Wu Qianyu blushed bright red. Zhou Ziyun squealed uncharacteristically and immediately asked for details. After much reluctance and much prodding, Wu Qianyu described how Chen Wentian would melt her aches away with mind-blowing oral sex.
"No way, he rarely does that to me!" Zhou Ziyun cried, "How long does he spend down there?"
"I don't know… but sometimes it feels like forever…"
"Tongue?"
"Yeah… lots of tongue. It feels completely different from his penis. It's wriggling and flexible, hehe."
Zhou Ziyun saw the wistful look on Wu Qianyu's face and shoved her playfully, "Are you thinking of naughty thoughts? Is this the noble and stoic Wu Qianyu? Come on, what else does he do?"
The two of them fell into more giggles and laughter as they shared their intimate moments with Chen Wentian. There wasn't much need for secrecy between them since they willingly shared the same man. They each wanted the other to experience the same things they themselves had.
In particular, Wu Qianyu had actually never given a blow job and was fascinated by Zhou Ziyun's descriptions and instructions. Wu Qianyu also wanted to see the face of her master as she brought him to an explosive release. Next time… she vowed she would try it out!
At some point, the servants brought in tea and snacks and the pair chatted about everything and anything. Time passed in a blur and eventually, their topic came back to Chen Wentian.
"Sigh… I hope the closed-door cultivation is successful." Zhou Ziyun said.
"He will undoubtedly succeed!" Wu Qianyu said firmly. "Ziyun, you're worrying too much. You should take a rest… I have an idea! I have a couple days to spare so how about you let me take a look at the crime reports and handle them for you."
Zhou Ziyun didn't want to accept this. She stubbornly wanted to have control over everything but she respected Wu Qianyu's opinion and eventually gave in. If Chen Wentian found her worn out again, he would probably say the same thing.
"Thanks sis. I'll get Zhou Lai to set up a tour of the crime and punishment department."
Wu Qianyu nodded, "Leave it to me!"