"I know you like someone, but I will surely make you fall for me!" Her words sounded serious, unlike the usual. Her playful tone soon returned, however. "Even if for that I have to make you addicted to this big sister's body!" She patted her chest, and Yueshi gaze moved downward, watching the two, perfect mounds jiggle.
Seeing his reaction, Yuan Yue flashed a victorious smile, before running toward the exit – not even waiting for his answer.
As Yueshi observed her leaving, he noted to himself that she had become truly bold, and laughed. Yet, a moment later, his laughter turned into an awry grin.
The tip of her ears, as well as her nape, were of such a burning red color that it even made him worried.
At the same time, he could feel his heartwarming, a sweet and inexplicable feeling arising inside of him. It was just that, he could not understand what, exactly, that feeling was.
Then, as reality came crashing in, he sighed.
The guilty from before arose again as he thought that Yuan Yue, such a charming, beautiful and good young lady had her life completely changed, maybe not for the better, because of him.
Her precious first time, she gave him; yet, could he answer her feelings?
Maybe that was why she did not ask for an answer.
Maybe that was why she did not want to hear him ask about what they would be from the on.
This courageous, mischievous, and playful young lady was, after all, a girl. Her first love, no matter how deep it was, was something she did not want to lose.
Looking at the ceiling, Yueshi gave another, big sigh.
He was not sure of what he truly felt. However, if she wanted to seduce him and try to conquer his heart, he would welcome her charges, for that was the least he could do.
Yes. Seeing the way she acted and how much courage she had to bring forth to say and do what she did, it was his obligation to respect her resolve.
It was just that he could not shake the bitterness he felt, and the shame of taking advantage of her, after everything she had done.
--- - -
After Yuan Yue left, Yueshi was left all alone inside the cave.
The crystals still glowed bright, painting a beautiful scene; the crystal clear pond was still there, calm and without ripples. However, his heart had gone through a storm, and his mind had greatly changed.
He had tried to use Star Sea Sect's standard cultivation manual, and yet, things had still ended this way. Knowing that whatever he did the results would be the same, he felt scared.
What would he do next time? This time Yuan Yue had paid with her purity to help him, and if she had not, he felt he would have died because of his damned cultivation method.
What about the future, then?
Maybe, next time there would be no one to lend him a hand, no one to save him from his demise. However, what concerned him even more, what heightened on his heart, was not that.
'What if I hurt someone again?' The price Yuan Yue had paid, and the price his dear sister had also paid, who else would end paying it because of him?
Just the thought made Yueshi disgusted with himself.
Yet, at the same time, he knew that he had no choice.
The prior events, like the battle against the Heavens' Will Association, made it clear to him that only the strong had the right to speak and pursue their goals.
Therefore, if he wanted to protect those he loved and find his mother again one day, he needed to cultivate, he needed more power.
'… Then, I will become a villain.' He made a silent commitment.
From his mother he learned to not take relationships lightly, and that he should not do 'It' with someone he didn't love. However, if for the sake of power he had to sleep with ten thousand women, then so be it.
'I will protect those I hold dear whatever the cost is.' And though it sounded like an excuse, that was all he could tell himself to make his heart lighter.
To protect Xuehua's tender and gentle smile, to protect Yuan Yue's playful and mischievous behavior, to protect his friends from the Soaring Dragon Association, and to one day see his mother again… if traveling the wrong path was what was required to shelter them, then so be it.
Hopefully, things would not get out of control again, but if it came to it, he would spare no means to find someone with whom he could do it.
Sighing, Yueshi focused back on the present.
The big bison was lying not too far away, whimpering, maybe wondering why its mistress had left him. When Yueshi stood in front of it he could see a bit of resentment in its eyes, almost as if the beast was blaming him…
'No', he thought, 'maybe it was because of what just happened?' Reaching that conclusion, he nodded, thinking that the creature was, indeed, an absolute pervert.
"You rest here, first. I am sure she will come to find you later." Yueshi then thought for a moment, before dragging it to the pond.
Because a rapid surge in his qi would have drastic results, the pond was dangerous for him.
"Make sure that you cultivate well, so you can protect her…" he wanted to complete the phrase with 'from people like me', but decided against it in the end.
Then, with newfound determination and resolution, Yueshi left the cave.
On his way back to the village he noted that, with the approach of the beast horde, the number of beasts in the outer edge of the forest increased exponentially.
If before one could find a single demon beast in two to three miles, now, one would be able to find a dozen of them without even trying.
Most of them were runaways that had been expelled from their habitats, so they were fairly weak. Thanks to that, the disciples had no problems dealing with them and Yueshi also did not go through any trouble on his way back.
However, as the final battle was arriving, the atmosphere in the village became hard to bear.
Anxious people walked from side to side, checking the defenses, trying to strengthen them, and then checking them all again while thinking they missed something.
The worst were those that were afraid as they screamed, saying they wanted to go back - or that just drunk until falling unconscious in the village's only pub.
There were also the more confident ones that were forming teams or alliances with other associations, preparing for the big battle.
And also the calm people that were preparing without causing too much of a ruckus, like Xiao Yao and the other, more introverted, people.
From the day Yueshi arrived until now, the village had greatly changed. Other than the high earth walls that Yueshi had seen before, the people dug trenches around the village too.
Moreover, a few disciples that had learned how to smith and craft prepared a few ballistae that would be of great help.
Like that, one day passed since Yueshi and Yuan Yue had sex, and they had not met again during this whole time.
Yueshi confirmed that what the old man gave him was truly some sort of dual cultivation technique.
And although he hadn't had time to pay attention to it during the intercourse - since he was completely lost in the pleasure of Yuan Yue's wet folds - his body had been refined further, reaching the late phase of the fourth realm.
The advancement was not as massive as when he did it with Xuehua, for reasons he still could not understand properly.
Still, the fast increase in power was so miraculous that anyone in his place would have decided to find more and more partners, progressing at the speed of light.
Coming from Earth, however, and having been educated in a different way than people from this world, Yueshi did not re-think his conclusion.
When the energy became too much, he would find some stranger with whom he would do it; until then, he would only cultivate normally.
For the sake of convenience, the Soaring Dragon Association had rented a small house as their meeting ground. The ones paying for it were the two rich heirs of the bunch – Tian Tian and Baiyun.
The first was the greatest genius of the Ling Family, the leader of an entire city; the latter was the son of a rich and influential merchant family.
At first, it had been hard, but when both of them stuffed hundreds of gold coins in the hands of the owner, the person gave in.
The core members were now all reunited around a table and, for the first time in a while, Yueshi saw Yuan Yue.
This disciple sister of his looked like the usual her, and when their eyes met, she gave him a cheeky and playful smile, to which he answered with an awry one.
The atmosphere between them could, obviously, not easily turn back to what it was before.
While the others seemed to notice that something had changed between them, they were not sure of why and felt that it was not right for them to meddle. Even Xuehua looked at it but did not say anything, unknown emotions flashing past her eyes.
"Then let us start the meeting." As Yueshi spoke, everyone became focused.
Most of them were pure fighters, so they offer anything other than their battle power. People like Xiao Yao, and those that had skills that could strengthen the village's defense, were different, however.
And while only the core members were here, because the others were busy with their work, the vital information had been already passed to them.
The first to speak was Bei Lao.
"Three walls had been built around the village, and many holes and trenches have been prepared on the field outside of the town. The trenches will serve to stop the beasts from charging in at full speed, while the holes have stakes on their bottom and will kill any beast that falls in."
Five of his friends were amongst those that decided to help strengthen the defense, so he was the one with the most information about it.
As soon as he finished, Xiao Yao opened his mouth.
"I have prepared thirty-five poison bombs up to now, of which a few I exchanged with another alchemist apprentice for liquid fire. If the two are used together, they can cause an explosion." He stopped for a moment, trying to remember if there was something else to say.
"… Ah, also. There are a few novices that concocted pills and I managed to grab a handful of them. Everyone should have roughly three to four healing pills and stamina recovering pills."
After his report ended, he closed his eyes lazily. His eyelids fluttered for a moment but, seeing him not open his eyes again, Yueshi shook his head.
Xiao Yao had been concocting pills and preparing poison bombs non-stop since the two groups separated, so he was dead tired right now.
Yuan Yue spoke next.
"Wu Feng and the others looked and asked around, and around six hundred disciples are staying in the village to fight the horde. And from the top associations, other than the Heavens Will Association's people, there are also a few members from the Rising Phoenix Association."
Stopping for a while she continued. "There was also a few associations willing to work with us and hear our commands, though they are among the weakest. There are around thirty or so people, between the first and second stage."
As her voice faded away, they stood in silence for a moment, everyone with their thoughts and ideas.
The beasts in the horde should number six to seven thousand, ten times more than the number of disciples, so everyone was a bit anxious.
"Worrying too much will not help." Seeing the atmosphere become grim, Yueshi spoke. "All we can do is do our best. Since there will be more people fighting alongside us, we will do a joint exercise to improve our cooperation…"