"Son, how did the mission go?" Duke Qiu inquired his son regarding the mission he was given.
"All three armouries have been destroyed, we killed scores of the Tang clan's cultivators, seven in the Celestial realm and fifteen Saint Emperors. Sadly, Qiu Dong and Qiu Huo were killed in action..." Xieren's eyes expressed sorrow, having been together for nearly a month had helped bond the group immensely and losing them so suddenly was heartbreaking...
"Now you know what war is... I too lost countless men whom I've considered brothers... Sadly it passes down from one generation to the next..." Duke Qiu pat his son's shoulder comfortingly, hoping to ease the pain.
"This won't last long would it?" Xieren asked his father tiredly, to which his father responded with a shrug.
"I can't say, there were times when a war was supposed to end in a few months but lasted five years... Just do your level best, and end it sooner I guess?" Duke Qiu laughed hollowly and sat down.
"And also, your marriage, it will be held sooner because of the current situation..." Qiu Chen informed.
"Isn't it too soon? What will the rest of the clan think of this?" Xieren argued, he had expected something like this, however it was a bit too soon to hold a wedding...
"Our clan is at war. We are quite literally revolting against the Tang Clan... the members of the clan will be infuriated by hearing such news, please change your mind father!" However, Duke Qiu shook his head, he wanted the marriage done and finished quickly before the possibility of something tragic occurs and they wouldn't be able to do anything.
"Enough! The decision is final, the wedding will be held in two days time, now leave!" Duke Qiu stopped his son from speaking any further and demanded that he left him be.
Xieren grunted in annoyance over not being able to talk back to his father, even if it made sense...
•••••
The following day, the other groups sent by the Qiu clan in retaliation against the Tang Clan arrived at the manor.
They looked haggard, as if they had gone through hell and back, some even shivering at the sight of several people around them...
"What the hell happened?" The guards whispered to one another, having been completed baffled by the expressions of their esteemed cultivators.
"They returned home" Xieren spoke, forcing several soldiers to jump back and yelp in fear.
"Young Lord, we have arrived..." The leaders of each group kneeled, noticing Xieren who planned and led the groups, giving them their tasks...
Xieren smiled sadly at the leaders, hoping to make them feel a little less tense after everything they had been through.
"The Patriarch is inside, you may report the details of your missions" He informed and walked back to his manor, where Akagi had decided to reside in for the time being...
•••••
Feeling a pair of hands snake through her lithe figure, Akagi shivered in delight.
"I'm back" Xieren spoke, his voice muffled as his face was completed covered in her neck.
"Welcome back Milord..." She greeted him and turned around to see his defined face. Xieren gazed back at Akagi, looking deep into her beautiful maroon eyes that had captivated him, locking him in a state of quietude...
He inched closer, using his hand to help send her towards him. Akagi could feel his heated breath on her neck and flushed over how intimate they were and closed her eyes expectantly.
With a quick peek, Xieren touched her lips with his own and passionately helped her open up to him.
Akagi not wanting to be subdued by Xieren's onslaught, fervently reciprocated the kiss, feeling a surge of mysterious warmth in her gut and a slight dampness in her inner thighs...
She pulled back feeling embarrassed, breathing in heavily, her eyes glazed and face flushed.
Xieren stared at her in daze, she was already so beautiful when he had seen her but now, the beads of sweat dripping down her forehead that traced down her neck, and her face that was feverishly red.
"M-Milord..." Akagi felt as though if she had lost the battle and looked up to see Xieren who looked as if he had been inflicted with an aphrodisiac...
Her own pheromones had forced Xieren to give into his desires as he ogled her.
'If it goes on any longer...' Xieren held him on a tight grip and calmed down the burning in his lower torso.
"Are you alright?" He asked her worriedly, feeling ashamed of himself for losing control so easily, from what he saw, she was close to breakdown...
'I shouldn't be like those MCs...' He chanted and helped his fiancée relax.
Meanwhile Akagi who had been keeping quiet, was deeply pondering over the unknown lands she had just encroached into, without no prior warning, she just might fall prey to the ecstasy...
'...I might fall in love this' She told herself and stared at Xieren's panicked face in confusion.
"What's wrong Milord?" She asked him innocently, Xieren stopped in his tracks, he had been wanting to apologise but when he realised that she did not seem to mind...
"You are not angry?"
"About what, Milord?"
"No... nothing..."
"M-Milord... can we... do it agai-mmph!"
•••••
With the wedding arrangements now being set up by the Qiu clansmen, Akagi was forced to leave the premises due to the matrimonial traditions that one was supposed to follow through...
Depressed and frustrated, Akagi entered the carriage, full of lethargy and unwillingness, turned to Xieren pitifully hoping he would say something.
But he too was being held by his parents that struggled to keep him in place.
'These two are too in love!'
'Life is so not fair!'
The soldiers grumbled enviously, why couldn't they get someone who would love them unconditionally?
"Akagi!" Xieren cried pathetically much to his mother's disgust and his father's shame, who then brought Xiao Ling for comfort and moral support.
"You good girl! Always staying there for master when he is in a bad mood!" He whimpered shamelessly, Xiao Ling giggled at her master. She too, was vaguely unsettled but relished in his head pats and stood still with a wide smile on her adorable face...
"Master is very funny today!" She vocalised, attacking Xieren's manly dignity.
•••••••••
A/N: This chapter is partly related to the "Returning home" arc, however I must digress that I had no idea as to why I wrote this chapter, you may comment whether I should keep it as it is or simply delete...