***
(MC POV)
I woke up with Ying'er nowhere to be seen; meanwhile, Jinzi was still softly sleeping on my arm. Her cute round face leaned against my right arm and her left cheek protruded a little outward. Her breathing was steady and slow and currently I didn't even want to move in case it might wake her up.
Like always she hugs my arm between her breasts. It was getting a little warm in that valley of hers though.
While I gave her a little extra time to sleep before her day started I thought about what I had to do.
'I'll have to take her to the Outer court today then won't I? How am I going to explain that to the people I meet? To see an Outer Disciple come out of both the Inner Court and Core Section, there has to be a good reason right?
Maybe it doesn't need to really be too complicated though as long as I give her an official pass. If I do that then I'll only make her stand out and possibly be targeted as well. Targeted? Hmm, maybe that isn't such a bad idea actually.
That just means more sparring for her doesn't it? An official pass it is then, sorry Jinzi. While you're blissfully unaware your Big Brother might have just turned you into a target.'
..
"Mmn…"
"Oh? You're finally waking up?"
"..."
"Hey, come on I just saw you partially open your eyes!"
"..."
I tried to retract the arm that was currently captured by her but that action was met by tightening her hold on my arm and even getting a part of her legs to help clamp down my hand.
"So that's how you want to play it?"
Using my free hand I pinched her chubby right cheek for a response and then her eyebrows simply twitched a bit.
"Oh? Is that not enough for you?"
A small smirk formed on my face as I brought my free hand over.
"..."
"Alright, you asked for it!"
Using only my index finger I poked at where I thought the peak of her mountain was through her clothing. Immediately I was met with the sensation of the mountain's peak, a feeling that differed from the rest of the mountain itself.
"Nn!"
'Spot on!'
"Give up?"
"..."
At her silence I twirled my index finger around the mountain's peak creating little circles.
"Nn…nn…nn"
"Still not giving up, how about this?"
I stopped the movement of the little circles and instead brought in my thumb as well to pinch the hardening peak.
"Ah-..."
She let out some noise before covering her mouth with the help of my arm and her hand.
My eyes narrowed as I decided on another move. Since Pinching was somewhat effective, how about a little additional pulling force too?
"Hmmmmn!"
"Still not going to wake up? Well prepare for my final move then!"
At my words she tightened the grasp on my arm even further. Unluckily for her that trapped arm would be the special weapon I utilize and right now she's right where I want her.
The grasp she so wished to have will be her downfall as my right hand has only gotten even closer to where the target is.
The hand which seemed so desperate to keep would be her downfall as now all I had to do was…
"Ahh! W-what do you think you're doing?!"
Using both my middle and ring finger I began to rub the entrance to the mystical cove that was covered by a cloth garment. In only half a second her thighs put even more force in an attempt to squish my attack. It was partly successful, but unfortunately for her I could still move my ring finger.
"Mmmn!... Ugh.."
I rubbed the slit and even started to dig my finger into there a bit, but after my finger tip went in I could feel that the cloth barrier was starting to get a little soaked. Then it seemed like she finally had enough.
Her eyes shot open as she pushed my arm away.
"I-I give up! You win, I can't do it anymore!"
She looked at me with beet red puffed up cheeks, all the while I simply grinned.
Suddenly Ying'er's head poked out from the side of the doorway with a smile.
"Are you two ready for breakfast?"
..
When Jinzi and I got ready and came downstairs we saw at the table what we were eating.
It was a large plate of scallion pancakes that were already cut into triangles. They were pan fried with the golden brown coloring scattered around, but still leaving parts which seem to have not made any contact with the pan at all.
"Oh Jinzi take this token, you'll have to show it to guards in order for you to pass by, I didn't have time to inscribe your name in it so for now it's just blank. I'll do it in the future though so don't worry."
"Oh ok, Thank you Big Brother!"
After we chowed down I took Jiniz out while wearing my Inner Disciple robes. Jinzi brought out the robes I gave her when she first came. We waited a little bit as Ying'er walked to walk with us and then we descended the steps.
After a short while Ying'er left us as she had to go to the grand hall, leaving just Jinzi and I alone to descend these steps.
We quickly passed by the core section as there weren't many people wandering around in the first place. She noticed and commented about a few buildings, but that was all for this section.
When we neared the gate that separated the Core section to the Inner court two disciples came towards us. They wore Royal Azure robes with silver lining which indicated their Inner Disciple status. They wore curious and confused expressions as they glanced at the girl beside me.
"Senior Brother Ip, who is this girl?"
Simply from their gazes I could tell what they were confused by, Jinzi was wearing the robes of someone from the Outer court after all.
"These two Brothers don't have to worry at all! Go ahead, show them what you have."
At my word Jinzi dung in her robes for a bit before eventually pulling out a token I gave her earlier. The token happened to be Cerulean in color which just so happened to highlight her eye color as she held it up.
The two disciples simply stared at the unknown token with eyes of confusion. They had never seen this token before so it was only natural of them, I simply wanted them to have a look at it before I explained.
Seeing their looks of confusion Jinzi slightly lowered her hand with the cerulean token and a slightly anxious expression appeared on her face before she turned toward me with pitiful eyes.
"These two Brothers might not have ever seen this token before as it's actually quite the rare one. When someone who appears with this token arrives it means that the holder is usually familiar with the Sect Master. When they have this token they aren't to be restricted to any part of the sect that wouldn't require additional authorization. Essentially they are to be treated as guests with free access between the 3 layers.
It's no wonder that you two haven't seen this type of token before since there has only been a select few who have actually obtained it in the entire world."
Hearing my explanation the two's mouths were agape as they slowly turned their heads to look at Jinzi. The both of them almost simultaneously bowed at Jinzi.
"W-we apologize to the miss!!"
"W-we're sorry for our lack of knowledge, Great Cerulean Token Holder!!"
While their heads bowed Jinzi gave me a horrified look as she switched her sight between me and the token she now owned.
"Go on for a moment Jinzi, I'll catch up. I just have to speak to these two for a moment."
She didn't say a word as she silently walked past the two with slightly sunken and anxious eyes.
"Senior Brother Ip, we thank you for telling us about this honored guest! If word got out to our elusive Sect Master then who knows what would have happened to us!"
"No problem, but I'm going to have to burden one of you with the task of spreading this information. We wouldn't want another mishap like this one, now would we?"
"Don't worry Senior Brother Ip, I'll make sure this information makes it to the other posts before she can even head to another gate!"
"Thank you, now I'll have to be on my way."
"See you, Senior Brother!"
..
I quickly caught up to Jinzi who was walking on a deserted street and still clutching the Cerulean Token in her hand. The moment I arrived by her side she turned and started to hit me on the chest. Her arms flailed around as she pounded my chest with soft limp-wristed hits. She pouted with puffed up cheeks and an angry expression as she continued to wail on me.
Seeing potentially what kind of conversation we were going to have I made sure to set up a sound barrier in case there was anyone nearby.
"Big Brother, how could you do this to me?! What kind of token did you give me!? I don't want all this attention, please take it back!"
She pushed the token out toward me, but obviously I wouldn't take it back.
"Jinzi, this will help you grow. With the amount of people eyeing you now you'll have plenty of practice."
"Big Brother, stop! This joke isn't funny!"
I grabbed her wrist which held the token and put on a serious expression.
"Jinzi, I'm serious. Didn't you hear when I was explaining this token to those two disciples? Why don't you prove to me that you truly do deserve to even be familiar with me. Jinzi, remember what my identity is.
I am the Sect Master of the Azure Sky Sect, before that my name rang throughout the world of the old era. I have also taught 10 outstanding disciples whose abilities alone could probably wreak havoc in the world.
Jinzi, I don't want you to be hidden in my shadow, I want you to be able to proudly stand up right next to me. The time It'll take might be immeasurable now, but in the end it'll all be worth it.
Remember at the banquet when you introduced yourself as a Sister? Don't you want to say proudly that you're also my wife? What made you unable to say such things? Was it truly simply embarrassment or was there something more?
Besides, if you don't cultivate then your life will be quite short. By the time you're a pile of ashes we'll only look a little older if not just the same."
At the end of my lecture she became deathly quiet as she stopped beating me. Her head dropped down as she silently inspected the token she held.
"I-...maybe…"
Her Vivid Cerulean eyes shone as she looked up at me and within those eyes I sensed it. A wave of determination was slowly coursing through.
"Maybe what?"
"Maybe you're right, Big Brother. I have to cultivate and train. I-I'm sorry for my little outburst."
I placed my hand on her head and patted it a few times.
"Didn't you get over that just a little too quickly? I'm glad to see a little change though. Alright, it's time to get over to that sparring arena."
"En!"
I dispelled the sound barrier and continued to walk with Jinzi through the Inner Court towards the Outer Court. The number of people around the streets of the Core section was incomparable to the Inner court. Several disciples often walked around either by themselves or in a group.
A few of them would even come over towards me to chat a bit and at that time would introduce themselves to Jinzi too, she would of course have to introduce herself as well by then. Just before we reached the gate that separated the Inner and Outer courts I peeked at Jinzi to see a slightly exhausted look on her face.
Seeing that I took out a piece of candy that I took from the house and presented it to her. Her eyes lit up in response and that tired look disappeared replaced by a childish glee.