After that night, time flowed like water.
Day after day, week after week.
While working hard and training without stopping, days were short, and weeks felt like hours.
They blinked, blinked again, and a month seemed to pass each time.
During these first four months, Yasenia focused on opening branches in all the surrounding cities that were less than a week in travel.
She needed a workforce for that. Hence, instead of lowering her standards, Yasenia sent the S.L.U.T. girls together with a few beast humans.
During these months, the Astral Sky Merchants had gone to many powers and bought a few.
Her fame had spread around, so all powers presented them without resistance. The reason was that Yasenia always gave a low-level Earth-rank item for each slave she bought.
Our dragoness had enough Earth-ranked treasures, and when she saw one intact girl, she offered extra rewards, telling other powers that if they still had someone like this, it would be in their interest to keep them safe.
In four months, the number of "human slaves" had increased from around thirty to 300.
These were not all bought directly, but her Astral Sky Merchant group went to Slave Auctions to buy them.
To make sure they bought the correct slaves, Esther would always go with them and point at who Yasenia was interested in.
The beast humans knew that this human was the leader of the human slaves, so they listened, knowing that she probably had some idea of Yasenia's intentions. Moreover, just in case, they contacted Yasenia after carrying them back to the mansion and never received complaints from her, only praise and rewards.
One of them found it strange that quite a few cried whenever they saw Yasenia, but no one gave extra thought to that. Human slaves feeling relieved when a good master bought them was not that rare, after all.
After these four months, Yasenia received a strange visit with a peculiar batch of slaves.
Strange, because the power visiting her was the [Devil Smashing Apes], the third-ranked power in the Thirty-Three Clans. These people were quite far away from Koran City, so their visit was strange.
A tall and muscular woman with her arms covered in fur and a monkey tail approached Yasenia with a smile.
Her height was above two meters, Yasenia had to look up to meet eye-to-eye. "Welcome to my Astral Sky Clan. How can I help you?"
The woman nodded. "One of our elders came here previously, and heard about your price for selling slaves. The leaders have been catching a few, so we decided to send a convoy with a few of them. Does the price that's rumored still for offer?"
Yasenia nodded. "Of course! One low-level Earth-rank treasure per slave I'm interested in."
The woman asked. "We have quite a few… Are you sure? Our leaders would be delighted, but we would understand if the price falls if you want to buy in bulk."
Yasenia waved her hand. "What kind of deal maker would I be? Our merchants have a good saying. 'We are honest as long as they don't try to abuse our honesty.'"
The woman nodded and called for the slaves to come.
Yasenia looked over and saw a few hundred people walking, making her surprised. However, there were males in this batch, making her blink curiously.
Yasenia said. "Elder from the [Devil Smashing Apes], will you be kind enough to explain the male specimens between the batch? I hope you didn't allow them to touch the females or vice versa."
The ape woman smiled thinly. "Don't worry. Although a few of them are not pure, as we got the notice of your existence a bit late, we've made sure to make them presentable. We know you don't buy males, but we decided to try our luck since we were coming anyway. There are a few good ones, after all."
Yasenia frowned and sighed. "Well, let's see them up close. I won't be stubborn after you've said so much."
The middle-aged-looking female smiled. "Perfect. Come with me."
A batch of two-hundred-and-thirty-one were waiting in the adjacent room.
She looked at them and saw a few of her girls from the fan club. She was already used to the sight of despair, but an inaudible sigh left her mouth. 'Sigh, my little darlings have suffered. Thankfully, I've learned that they are not that commonly used as sex slaves but more as working slaves and such. It seems that the powers I've met were more in the dark side of the trade.'
Yasenia felt even more guilty when she saw the joy and relief in their eyes when their eyes landed on her body.
Suddenly, she felt a malicious gaze and turned her head with a puzzled expression. 'Someone is looking at me murderously?'
Yasenia's eyes landed on a tall and disheveled man lacking an arm. Yasenia squinted, finding him familiar. However, the face was marred, so she couldn't really tell.
"What's up with that one-armed human male?"
The ape woman frowned when she felt the malicious gaze. "Excuse me, Lady Yasenia. He is very rebellious, and no matter how we punish him, he keeps being defiant. Do you want him? If not, we can kill him now."
Yasenia hummed. "That's interesting… hm?"
Yasenia blinked a few times when her sharp nose caught a whiff of his scent.
"Is there something wrong?"
Yasenia shook her head and approached with curiosity. 'Did I smell it right?'
Below the stench on him, Yasenia could detect a faint fragrance that was familiar to her.
When she was before him, Yasenia observed his facial features and suddenly smiled. "So, you are here~. Such a sad fate, isn't it? To think that we meet again in these circumstances."
The ape woman blinked. "Do you know him, Lady Yasenia?"
Yasenia sighed. "Yes. He managed to escape my mother's grasp together with a human woman after getting strong enough and gaining our trust. He is delusional and has airs of grandeur. Also, his enmity toward me is quite strong because I abused him in the past."
The man, Long Baidi, felt his eyes bulge with rage, but he was crippled and muted, so he could only look like a rabid dog.
Yasenia said something like that because she didn't know what this man told them. Hence, her saying a few things out of carefulness was not much.
The Ape woman nodded. "I see. Fate is truly wonderful. Even escaped slaves end up coming back to where they belong."
Yasenia's lips twitched at that statement, but she didn't deny it. "Elder, was there a human female with him?"
The woman shook her head. "Our encounter with him was pure luck because he started thrashing the place suddenly. He seemed enraged."
Yasenia asked. "When did that happen?"
"Hm… About four months ago."
Yasenia remembered. 'Oh? Was it because Angel breached his ring's defenses?'
Yasenia asked. "Tell me where Tang Xian is, and I might forgive you."
Long Baidi grunted with animalistic rage and pushed against his chains, making a rattling noise.
Yasenia tilted her head. "Hm? You can't talk?"
The ape woman was about to approach to undo the blockage of the acupuncture, but Yasenia just taped it with ease and removed it.
The woman was surprised. 'Such skill. She must be a master with acupuncture.'
Yasenia had never stopped studying the [Yin and Yang Acupuncture Resonance Manual], so her knowledge of the acupuncture points in the body was deep.
The elder was about to praise her, but before words left her mouth, a string of insults from the man echoed.
"YOU FUCKING SLUTTY LIZARD, I WANT TO EAT YOUR FLESH AND MURDER YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY! HOW DARE YOU TREAT THE HEIR OF THE LONG FAMILY THIS WAY!? AHHH!!! I WANT TO DIE WITH YOU! I WANT TO KILL AND RAPE EVERYONE YOU HOLD DEAR BEFORE YOUR EYES WHILE YOU CRY IN AGONY AND ARE CONSUMED BY HEART DEMONS!"
Yasenia was honestly stunned and turned toward the similarly speechless ape woman. "He is a bit resentful and delirious. Did you torture him a lot?"
The strings of insults didn't end while they spoke.
The woman shook her head. "Besides crippling his cultivation and cutting a few tendons to avoid accidents, we haven't touched him much. Well, we also force-fed him to avoid him starving to death. After all, his body is now mortal and needs sustenance."
Yasenia nodded. "I see. It appears that the only reason heart demons didn't consume him is his lack of cultivation. However, he seems to have gone mad."
"By the way, Lady Yasenia, who is this Tang Xian?"
Yasenia sighed, tapping the howling man's acupuncture point to shut him up again. "She was a promising human with Fate element control. Sadly, after falling in love with him, they eloped. She also has a strange Heaven complex and will say things like, 'I can read your Fate.', 'I'm a saint chosen by the heavens!' and similar things."
The ape woman's eyebrow twitched. "Quite annoying."
Yasenia nodded. "Ask around for me. If you manage to find her, I'll reward you with a mid-level Earth-rank treasure of your choice. If you capture her and bring her to me… I'm feeling generous. I'll give you a Peak-level Earth rank item of your choice."
The senior's eyes widened. "Are you telling the truth, Lady Yasenia?"
Yasenia laughed awkwardly. "Well, they are a bit of an embarrassment since they managed to escape. Catching them is relatively important. However, as a new power, I have neither the power nor connections."
Yasenia asked. "What kind of weapon do you use?"
The ape woman was confused and retrieved a mid-level Earth rank staff.
Yasenia searched her ring and took out a low-level, Heaven-ranked one. "Here. For you. Is this enough to pay for all of the slaves? I think that it is better than 200 Earth-ranked treasures, right?"
The woman hastily nodded and smiled. "Lady Yasenia, I'll make sure to catch that woman!"
Yasenia laughed and looked at her with a smile. "Thank you."
The ape woman felt her heart skip a beat and smiled, embarrassed. "W-Well, I'm leaving. Have a nice day, Lady Yasenia. I hope we can see each other soon."
When she left, Yasenia waved her hand and summoned an isolation formation. Her formation proficiency had increased significantly during this time, and calling this kind of basic formation was nothing for her.
Of course, compared with her dears, Yasenia was still not qualified even to be a useful helper. Her proficiency in the profession was in the mid-level Earth rank for Alchemy, formations, and tailoring. For cooking, she was already in the Heaven-rank level, and for Blacksmithing, she was at the high level of the Earth rank thanks to her [Blacksmithing Intent].
Something she gained quite a while ago.
Either way, Yasenia pondered what to do with the few males between the bunch and Long Baidi.
***************************************************
Evelyn: This… It is very sad.
Andrea: Yes. I thought he would come back like a very bad dangerous event or something.
Kali: Well… He had it coming.
Angel: Hump. This is good. It saves us trouble from finding the little bug aiming for Yasenia.
Cecile: He wasn't going to make any waves either way.
Yasenia: Well, luck is a big part of one's fate. So… I can only say he was very unlucky.
Author: Yep. Let's move with today's question… Hm…
Yasenia: What's wrong?
Author: Cough, nothing. The question is a bit strange. It will also be for you, Yasenia.
Yasenia: Oh?
Author: I summon you!
SeniorKain: Hello!
Yasenia: Oh? A new person. I heard you have a question for me. Shoot.
SeniorKain: Well, when the girls get pregnant what flavor do you expect their breast milk to be? For example, do you think Angel's will be vanilla?
Yasenia: …
The rest: …
Author: Cough. Well?
SeniorKain: Hey, don't look at me like that. I know that all of you have probably asked yourselves this once or twice!
Yasenia: Well… I honestly don't know? If I had to answer…
Yasenia: Angel's will probably be very sweet. Evelyn's might be a bit spicy, but delicious nonetheless. Andrea's should have a strong taste that leaves a nice aftertaste. Kali's might have this natural and earthly taste. Cecile's… maybe a bit cool and sweet, like ice cream. Finally, Mom's tastes very delicious.
SeniorKain: I see. Wait. The last sentence?
Yasenia: Yes? I mean… I've grown with it, and I didn't stop being breastfed until I was four, so I remember quite well.
SeniorKain: Until she was four?
Tatyana: Any problem? As a dragon, she needed nutrition, and as a Demigoddess, my milk was the most nutritious thing she could eat.
Tatyana: *Serious face* Also, don't you dare sexualize it. Nowadays, I don't care since we are all grown-ups. But breastfeeding a child is something I take very seriously and something I find sacred.
SeniorKain: That was not my intention, don't worry!
Tatyana: Very good~.
Author: She might be a degenerate without shame, but new lives are something every cultivation senior takes very seriously unless they are deranged in a demonic way.
Tatyana: Oy.
Author: Hahaha, either way. This is all for today. Bye-bye.