A week passed after Yasenia finally managed to open the Body Cultivation path, and Doriel eventually returned from her little expedition. As Yasenia asked her, Doriel sneaked into the Wolf capital's deepest parts and delivered a message and a communication device to Zephyrith.
When Zephyrith saw Doriel appear out of nowhere inside her own room, even overcoming her own Fate detection, she had been quite surprised, to put it mildly.
Yasenia called her to her office and asked. "Well, how did it go?"
Doriel spoke respectfully. "As Young Miss expected, Fu Lang Zu has become power-hungry. After learning about Alaia's prowess, he immediately called back most of his high-level confidants. Not only that, there are quite a lot of new defenses activated around the core part of the capital, which created a bit of trouble for my infiltration. Moreover, while he was gathering herbs to create a pill to heal his limbs, he decided to push that aside and pressure Zephyrith into marriage."
Yasenia paused for a second, looking at Doriel with confusion, and asked. "What pill?"
Doriel blinked. "A [Tiger Vitality Regenerating Pill]. A high-level Heaven-grade pill that can recover limbs lost with little to no side effects."
Yasenia frowned. "I didn't know about the pill. Why didn't nobody inform me?"
Doriel titled her head. "We are blocking his every attempt with the help of Tengliu and other leaders, so other than the common herbs, he still hasn't got a single high-level herb needed for it. Even if he is trying to gather it, with our interference, it is similar to him not doing it."
Yasenia tapped the ground with her tail at a constant cadence for a few moments and commented. "I want to be informed about these things, even if they are completely under your control. They might affect my planning, after all." The dragoness looked at Doriel seriously. "This is a mistake on your part. You are becoming overconfident because everything is going in our favor. Regardless of how backward this place is when has a dragon hunted any prey without using all its power? I don't want this mistake to be repeated again."
Doriel kneeled and spoke respectfully, with a hint of blame in her voice. "Sorry, Young Miss. It won't happen again!"
Yasenia waved her hand, pushing her up with a wind wave. "Don't beat yourself up. I also wasn't very clear in what I want to be informed about and what you have complete autonomy with. I'll create a list later. Still, a single mention wouldn't have hurt anyone. I received nothing, and that's the problem."
Doriel nodded. "I understand."
Then, the dragoness asked. "So, what about that wolf woman? Did she relent, or is she still stubborn?"
Doriel put on a strange expression. "Well…"
Yasenia asked, curious. "What?"
Doriel coughed and explained. "She said that if Sierra really wants her, she must steal her from Fu Lang Zu on the wedding day. If she can't, then there is no Fate between them."
The dragoness rolled her eyes. "Does she think she is too clever? Or that I am an impulsive, hot-blooded youth? I can see what she is planning from miles away." Then, she asked. "Did you give her the communication device?"
Doriel nodded and gave Yasenia the one tied to Zephyrith's device.
Pouring energy inside, the treasure activated, connecting with the other person. It was seven in the morning, with the Sun barely illuminating the World, so unless Fu Lang Zu slept with Zephyrith, no one should be around her.
After a few seconds, someone spoke.
"Yes?"
The elegant and cold voice of the wolf woman reached Yasenia.
The dragoness was blunt, not wanting to play games with her. "Zephyrith, stop playing around. I'll soon give this device to Sierra so you two can speak alone and at length. But first, answer this. Do you want to become Fu Lang Zu's mate, yes or no?"
Zephyrith's laugh reached her. "Why are you so insistent on pairing us up, little girl."
The dragoness snorted. "Without considering that this 'little girl' can send an assassin right at your door, this 'little girl' can also push back the almighty army your strong leader gathered with just 50 people. So, if you treat me as a 'little girl,' you might end up being more hurt than you could ever imagine."
The woman on the other side didn't speak.
Yasenia sighed and said calmly. "Zephyrith, stop trying to provoke and test me. I might be young, but I'm not a child you can push around at will. Do you want to leave that place, yes or no? I'm asking you because I want to know if I should spend some effort to take you out of your place or if I'm being meddlesome and you never wanted to be rescued. After all, you have a few hundred years of history with Fu Lang Zu and might be in honest love with him. If that's the case, all I'm doing is dipping my foot where it doesn't belong."
Yasenia commented. "In short, do I continue putting effort into 'rescuing' you or not?"
On the other side of the communication device, Zephyrith was lying on a chair while holding a pipa and playing it. Her silver fur gleamed with the morning light as she looked out the nearby window to the flourishing city.
This city had hundreds of millions of inhabitants, as it was one of the Main Cities of the Wolf Patriarch. All kinds of creatures, merchants, and powers used this city as their core, showcasing the deep ties the wolf clan had with the multiple powers around the entire World.
Even when the charming voice from the other side of the strange device in her hand told her not to look down on her, she had secretly visited the Astral Sky Sect and its surroundings.
In Zephyrith's opinion, it was nothing but a small new sect with about 50 thousand members and a nearby city of around 900 thousand people.
There were hundreds of millions in this city alone, and the Wolf clan had at least seven similar cities, while the main headquarters also had a few million cultivators in the third realm and above.
It was only natural for Zephyrith to think that Yasenia was overestimating herself. The Fate Wolf pondered.
'Is she overconfident or too young?'
She had naturally heard about the defeat of 20,000 Epoch Core cultivators at the hands of the maids. There was even the Garuda Patriarch between them, showing that they weren't 20,000 random cultivators.
'However, that's because the fifty people had a peak-level powerhouse. Without it, would they be able to do the same? What if 5 of those powerhouses appear to entangle her, leaving the other 49 defenseless?'
Zephyrith knew that, although difficult, the Wolf Clan could mobilize such a force if pushed to the limits.
The calming sound of the pipa filled her room, her thoughts floating around in a daze as she thought of Yasenia's question.
'Also, why am I so attracted to Sierra? Why am I even considering her words?'
Zephyrith and Sierra had seen each other for nothing more than a week, maybe a bit more. Still, that kind of timeframe was nothing for Zephyrith.
But even that short interaction had triggered something inside her that told her Fu Lang Zu was not enough compared to Sierra. More than that, comparing them made her feel uncomfortable. 'But… How? Why? Fu Lang Zu can be considered the closest creature to a Progenitor in the entire continent. While my race is different from his, he should have an uncontrollable appeal to me. And yet…'
"Zephyrith."
Her device transmitted the charming dragon woman's voice.
"I know you are doubtful, so I'll send this device to Sierra. You speak with her, and after that, if you are still reluctant, that would be the true goodbye. This is my last chance to you. After this, depending on what Sierra tells me, I'll stop caring."
When Zephyrith heard her, she felt her chest constrict for a second. These reactions had the Fate Wolf puzzled. 'Why? Why is it so hard to listen to those words?'
Zephyrith answered, her voice calm and the sound of her pipa still soothing. "Sure."
She wanted to say more, but after looking out of the window, she couldn't. Did she want to marry Fu Lang Zu?
Maybe, in the past, she didn't really mind. After all, he was the objectively best mate for someone with a wolf bloodline like herself. Things like love never really mattered to Zephyrith in the past.
Moreover, the reason she even wanted to find a partner was that she had already reached the continent's top levels. She could not do much more in terms of strengthening herself, so the only thing left for her was to create a legacy.
Children were a good way to do so. She could get pregnant, give birth to some little pups, teach them, and see them grow as she ages and slowly burns her life. For one of the strongest in the continent, it was a satisfying and good end.
However, one day, Sierra appeared, and like a stone thrown into a calm lake, she created ripples in her heart with minimal effort. Furthermore, instead of calming down, these annoyingly influential ripples grew by the day.
Zephyrith continued to play the pipa, the melody sounding a little impatient as she waited by her winder.
While Zephyrith didn't show many emotions on her face, her music seemed to touch the true feelings inside of herself.
"Lady Zephyrith, Patriarch Fu wants to see you."
The voice of one of her attendants came from the outside. Zephyrith pondered for a second and was about to stand up and stop playing when the device in her hand lit up.
"Zephyrith?"
The deep and attractive female voice of the wolf woman living in her mind for the last months tingled her ears with more feeling than any music she produced.
Her fingers faltered briefly, making the notes sound strange, but she recovered quickly. Unless you had an extremely sharp hearing, nobody would've noticed.
She answered the attendants first, covering the device with her energy so that her voice didn't reach it. "Tell him that I'm cultivating. I'll go later."
"Understood."
Then, even if Sierra couldn't see her, Zephyrith sat up straighter and tidied the silver hair around her wolf ears, stopping to play the pipa for a second before she continued.
After that, she spoke calmly, answering the woman on the other side of the device. "Sierra. It has been a while."
The woman on the other side laughed softly, making Zephyrith feel flustered, surprising herself. 'When did my feelings become so… uncontrollable?' She was a bit frustrated with herself.
What the Fate Wolf didn't know was that because she had been thinking about Sierra almost every day out of curiosity, the small seed that was buried in her heart had been watered and was now sprouting.
"Well, a few months had passed. I've already heard from Lady Yasenia."
Zephyrith held her breath, but she asked with a calm tone, even if her music sounded rushed. "What did you hear?"
Sierra's amused tone reached her. "That you are about to marry that pathetic excuse of a wolf."
Zephyrith almost laughed, but she held it in and answered with a flat tone. "That's our Patriarch, Sierra. Don't insult him."
Sierra snorted. "Right. A dead man walking, that's what he is. Anyway, let's not talk about him; let's talk about you."
Zephyrith tensed again, and Sierra asked. "So, are you eager for this marriage? Are you willing to become his mate?"
Zephyrith answered, her lips pursed. "Why wouldn't I? He is the strongest Wolf in the entire Continent."
Sierra's hummed, making Zephyrith almost snap one of the strings of the pipa.
Sierra's laughing voice reached her. "Liar."
Surprised, Zephyrith looked at the device, her tensed hand relaxing. "Why? I'm not lying."
Sierra laughed again as if she could see through her heart. "If you really wanted to marry him, this conversation wouldn't be happening."
Zephyrith paused, feeling her face heat up for some reason. "Why not?"
Sierra sighed and spoke soothingly. "Silly woman. We might not know each other well, but I've asked around how you usually behave. The facade you are putting on is just a poor attempt." Then, with confidence and a teasing tone, Sierra whispered. "You want me to take you out by force, right?"
Zephyrith's music became a bit chaotic as her fair cheeks gained a rosy color.
Sierra continued, her tone becoming deeper and menacing. "You want me to appear before you and stomp Fu Lang Zu into the ground."
Zephyrith imagined that scene, and her music accelerated, similar to her heartbeat.
Sierra growled. "You want me to rip apart your fixed Fate and fight everything that comes in between us, taking you to my nest so that I can devour you."
Zephyrith's face heated up, and her tail started wagging without consent.
Sierra laughed and spoke overbearingly. "Zephy, like it or not. I'm coming for you. Once you fall in my claws, you are never leaving." Then, Sierra stopped the communication device, knowing that more words were unnecessary.
Zephyrith looked at the dimming device with a blushing face, her tail wagging, and her pipa with a few snapped strings. Then, she muttered with a shy tone, a voice even she didn't expect.
"I'll be waiting… Sierra."
It wasn't until her feelings calmed down and she repaired the snapped strings on her pipa that she stood up and left her room to meet with Fu Lang Zu.