A Leisurely Stroll

The night stretched long as the couple laid together in a loving embrace.

The quiet hush in the room was soft and comfortable as the lovers nestled together, silently and with the ease of familiarity.

A short while later, Wei Xiang spoke, "As much as I'd like to stay like this, we should probably clean you up."

Qinghe languidly shifted, his bones feeling heavy, his limbs weighed due to their strenuous and intense coupling. "Clean me up? I don't understand," he spoke in a voice turned husky due to the unrestrained cries he'd let out earlier.

Wei Xiang moved slightly and his member slid out. Qinghe immediately felt sticky liquid trying to slip out of his back passage and tried to clamp his muscles shut. His body stiffened at this unexpected situation. He looked up at Wei Xiang with grievances written on his face.

Chuckling, Wei Xiang answered his questions, both spoken and unspoken, "That is what I meant when I said we needed to clean you up. If you leave it inside for too long, it will dry up and cause discomfort. It can range from minor cramps to causing a fever. So it's better to quickly remove it."

Qinghe's face burned red. "I don't know how to do that."

"I know," Wei Xiang said, amusement evident in his voice. "Since I was the one who put it inside you, I will naturally help you with the aftercare as well."

Hearing the casual way his lover spoke of such things, Qinghe wished he could keep his head buried until the entire embarrassing situation was over and done with.

Not minding Qinghe's bashful behavior, Wei Xiang easily lifted him up and carried him towards the stream flowing through the backyard.

Feeling the night wind brushing over his uncovered and sweat dampened skin, Qinghe lightly shivered, snuggling closer into Wei Xiang's warmth.

Reaching the stream, Wei Xiang placed Qinghe gently on the bank and instructed, "Put your knees on the stream bed and bend over the edge."

After hesitating a bit, Qinghe did as he was told. Entering the cool water, he rested his knees on the soft moss that blanketed the stream's floor. As he bent over the edge and lied down, he could feel the rough sand lightly pressing into his soft abdomen and chest. Folding his arms, he pillowed his head on it and waited for his lover to attend to him.

Looking at how Qinghe had gotten himself comfortable, Wei Xiang's mind ran through the various ways he could take his beloved in this position. In the end, Wei Xiang had to regretfully suppress his rising desire in the face of his lover's discomfort. Since it had been his first time, Qinghe's backside must be hurting him quite a bit, though he wasn't showing any obvious hints on the outside.

Just looking at the sight of the slightly swollen flesh between Qinghe's buttocks, Wei Xiang felt distress rising within him. Though he'd taken all the precautions and completed all the preparations, it had still ended up like this.

Not hearing any movement from his lover for such a long time, Qinghe turned his head back with a questioning look. "Xiang, what's wrong?"

With a melancholy gaze, Wei Xiang lightly ran his finger around the swollen opening as he asked, "Does it hurt?"

Feeling his lover's finger touching him there, Qinghe had to take some time to reorient himself. As the words sunk in, Qinghe blinked his eyes in surprise as he replied with ease, "It's nothing much. It'll heal soon enough. So stop worrying and quickly clean me up."

Chuckling at his little lover's demanding tone, Wei Xiang decided to get to work. His fingers that had been gently caressing the inflamed entrance slowly pushed inside.

After their recent lovemaking, Qinghe felt sore and tender, his insides overly sensitive. As two of Wei Xiang's fingers slowly eased into him, Qinghe hissed at the intense sensation of the rough fingertips rubbing against the sensitive inner flesh.

Wei Xiang paused, "Qinghe? Love, does it hurt too much?"

Qinghe shook his head, then elaborated, "It feels too…tender. But it also feels good."

Raising an eyebrow, Wei Xiang continued. Inserting his fingers inside as far as they could go, he curled his digits and slowly drew out the thick fluid from within. Qinghe felt the liquid beginning to drip from his hole and instinctively clenched his buttocks together, causing his inner muscles to squeeze Wei Xiang's fingers tightly.

"Qinghe, relax," Wei Xiang soothed, and Qinghe tried with difficulty to do just that.

As he gradually began adjusting to the sensation, slowly, bit by bit, all of the translucent white liquid was drawn out. Wei Xiang used the water from the stream and cleaned up the wetness that had been sliding down from Qinghe's entrance and over the inside of his thighs.

Though Qinghe felt too exposed and embarrassed, he didn't protest against or reject his lover's intimate care. He felt that it was only natural that the both of them got comfortable with every aspect of each other, no matter how humiliating or shameful it felt at first. After all, they would hopefully spend a lifetime together. They couldn't get hung up on such trivialities.

Wei Xiang brushed his thumb over the reddened opening once again as he thought of a way to heal the inflammation. Though they could also use medicinal pills, why should they employ such a dull method when there was a more fun way?

His lips slowly curved up as he spoke, "Qinghe, stay still. I'm going to heal you here."

Qinghe stiffened. The last time Wei Xiang had said this…

Flushing, he called frantically, "Xiang! What are you planning to―!"

But unheeding of his flustered lover's cries, Wei Xiang had already bent down, extending his wet tongue to trace around his lover's swollen entrance.

His hand forming fists, Qinghe gasped out. His resistance against his lover actually putting his mouth over such a place slowly melted away as his body softened in surrender. If his lover didn't mind it, then Qinghe naturally didn't want to complain.

Wei Xiang's moist tongue laved over the swollen flesh before slipping inside. Qinghe could feel the slick tongue pushing into him, moving and coating his inner walls with wetness.

Just like last time when Wei Xiang had licked his wounds into healing, Qinghe felt a strong heat spreading just under his skin, and the soreness in and around his passage slowly dissipated. With his hands clenching tighter, he endeavored to keep his awakening need in check as the waves of soothing warmth swelled, washing over his quivering insides.

Knowing that his internal bruising as well as the external swelling had all healed, Qinghe struggled for self-control as he gasped out, "Xiang, enough!"

Obediently, Wei Xiang withdrew his tongue from his lover's soft flesh and straightened. "How do you feel?" he asked gently.

For a while, Qinghe just laid there panting, his eyes closed. Then opening his eyes, he answered, "It's healed. I'm fine."

Nodding in relief, Wei Xiang spoke, "Then that's good."

"Only…" Qinghe began, trailing off.

Feeling that his lover's tone was strange, Wei Xiang asked, "Hm? Is there anything else that's wrong?"

Qinghe licked his lips as he looked back at Wei Xiang with half-lidded eyes. "Xiang…I want you again. Let's do it?"

Wei Xiang coughed at the frank declaration, startled. "Qinghe, I just healed you, if we go at it again…"

Turning his body so that he was facing his lover, his back resting on the stream bank, Qinghe wrapped his long legs around Wei Xiang's waist, thrusting his bottom against his lover's already hardened member.

"It's alright, I will heal quickly either way. Don't you remember? I'm a cultivator. Swelling and bruising of this caliber hardly need a few hours to heal."

Letting himself get convinced by his beloved's persuasive tongue, Wei Xiang's eyes grew heated. His hands reached down to grip his lover's hips as he leaned forward and whispered, "Well then, if you insist…"

And so, as the two bodies entangled together once again, the sound of water splashing echoed throughout the backyard, mixing with the passionate sounds of zealous lovemaking that lasted until the skies lightened with the tender blush of dawn.

...

After spending a night filled with strenuous activity, Qinghe felt endless soreness and aches throughout his body. But thankfully, he was a cultivator who had access to several curative pills, not to mention Wei Xiang's unique method of healing. So after a short sleep, he was quickly back to bouncing around once more.

And since he felt better, he decided to visit his friend again, bringing along the group from before.

Following the dinner at Yan Lin's house that day, the group of six often returned to the village. They either went around exploring and visiting the various local shops or simply strolled around on the streets.

They had attracted a lot of attention from the villagers at first. But the six cultivators soon became a well-known sight, eventually gaining the acceptance of the locals. Knowing that they were close to Yan Lin and had even cleaned up that troublesome Official Gao on his behalf, the villagers began behaving warmly towards Yan Lin and Zhang LiYing from then on.

After a particularly cheerful visit to the cottage where they all helped Yan Lin pick fruits from the trees, the group was walking back leisurely. They were heading towards a nearby small sect whose transportation array they had often utilized these past few days to come here. The network of this sect's array was connected to all the major sects and was thus particularly convenient for their use.

The path they were ambling along on was a wide road often used by travelers. Though the group of lively, good-looking men stood out and attracted a lot of gazes, none were willing to come seeking trouble with them, the travelers giving them a wide berth as they walked around the group of five people.

Wu Xiao unfortunately could not join them today, claiming that he had sect matters he couldn't run away from this time.

As the group walked unhurriedly, Hei NingYu stayed at the back of the group with Chen Xiande, the couple holding hands. Chen Xiande was lightly blushing even as he smiled with simple happiness, his frown forgotten as usual in the company of his beloved.

Wei Xiang walked regally with his hands clasped behind him, occasionally sending affectionate glances towards his little lover walking in front. Qinghe and Jing Shui were at the head of the group, chatting energetically about various things.

"So you're saying that pre-activation type talismans are better than the constant-input ones?" Jing Shui asked Qinghe with a serious expression. At the back, Chen Xiande was also curiously listening to their conversation.

Tilting his head, Qinghe explained, "I didn't specifically mean it like that. But in times of emergency, especially if we are stranded somewhere without the use of our spiritual energy, it's better to have a few pre-activated talismans for both attack and defense purposes, don't you think?"

After all, constant-input talismans like the ones Jing Shui mentioned were talismans that required the caster to constantly feed them spiritual energy to keep them activated. An example would be the campfire talisman Qinghe used to boil milk while making sweets before.

On the other hand, the appearance changing talismans that Qinghe used more often were pre-activation type talismans and did not need one to constantly infuse them with power. The first time spiritual energy was sent into them, these types of talismans would use a little bit of the power for activation and store the rest, using it up gradually to sustain the spell.

And since they did not need a constant supply of spiritual energy to function, their working would not be affected even if their caster was unable to use their cultivation.

At the back, Chen Xiande nodded thoughtfully at his junior brother's words. If he'd had something like that, it could have been useful in a situation like when he and his junior brother had been imprisoned in that cell made of spirit-suppressing material. But then again, since his kidnappers had thoroughly searched him for such things, maybe it wouldn't have made all that much of a difference in the end.

"But pre-activated talismans have strict time limits, unlike the constant-input talismans that remain active as long as we keep feeding them spiritual energy. What if the pre-activated talisman reaches its limit when we are at a critical time? Plus, situations where we are stuck without being able to use cultivation are very rare," Jing Shui refuted.

Qinghe nodded serenely. "True, but I wouldn't count on such situations being rare for long. Certain organizations seem to have gotten new methods of obtaining large quantities of spirit-suppressing material. Especially mid-grade. I've seen entire rooms covered with it."

Though Qinghe didn't spell out the name of the organization or say anything outright, Jing Shui's eyes still narrowed in realization and understanding, his mind quickly sorting through the new information. He was, after all, the head disciple of the Golden Sun Sect whose main focus was commerce. Jing Shui was thus easily able to calculate the ramifications that would be brought about due to something like this and how it would affect the business world.

"I thank Brother Feng for the warning. Is there anything you would like my help with?" Jing Shui asked, a keen glint in his eyes. For Feng Qinghe to bring up this information now could only mean that he had a reason, and that reason was probably that he needed something.

Qinghe chuckled breezily. "How sharp, Brother Jing. I would like it if you could lend a bit of your sect's underground network to the Sentinels, that's all."

Jing Shui's eyes widened in surprise, not having expected his friend to so blithely mention such a thing. "Brother Feng, you… Just what exactly do you want our underground network for?"

"To catch some rats. And please don't misunderstand, I am not the one who will be using your resources," Qinghe spoke casually.

Looking back, Jing Shui sent a questioning gaze towards his friend's Sentinel lover.

Sighing, Wei Xiang spoke five words in explanation, "We are hunting Black Fang."

Showing an expression of realization, Jing Shui nodded. So it was like that.

The reach of Black Fang was widespread, yet the organization itself was very slippery. They had evaded the Sentinels' grasp for a long time now and had established themselves as the Order's nemesis. Recently, they seemed to have gotten more and more bold, letting their rise in power get to their head.

Since Black Fang was a black market organization, they dealt with trade and commerce as well, but their operations were more on the disreputable side. As the leading business institution, the Golden Sun Sect would certainly be the best option to track down Black Fang's movements through the trade routes.

Knowing that his friend had figured it out, Qinghe calmly asked, "Can I count on you to help the Sentinels with this?"

Jing Shui nodded. Recently, Black Fang had become a thorn in the side of his sect as well, what with them trying to plant spies or lying in ambush near their transport routes to steal or damage goods. Since he was sure that his master would sooner or later send him out to take care of this matter anyway, Jing Shui didn't hesitate to agree to his friend's request, "Yes, I will handle it."

Qinghe nodded in satisfaction.

Behind him, Wei Xiang smiled wryly. His little lover was so competent in getting assistance for the Order in this matter. A cooperative arrangement with the Golden Sun Sect would really be of great help to the Order of Sentinels. And Wei Xiang knew that the only reason Qinghe went to the trouble of arranging this was because his beloved wanted to be of help to him.

It really was great having such a wonderful lover, Wei Xiang thought as he extended his arms to wrap them around Qinghe from behind, his head bending to nuzzle the soft cheek of his beloved. Neither of them had stopped walking even as they engaged in such overt displays of affection.

At the side, Jing Shui felt aggrieved. Unconsciously, he began to miss the clingy Wu Xiao who would always distract him with his ridiculousness. At least bickering with him would save Jing Shui from having to witness this couple's open flirting!

Suddenly, the sound of a line of carriages thundering towards them sounded out from the distance. The other people walking or chatting on the road all stopped what they were doing to respectfully move to the side, making way for the procession.

Not wanting to stand out or start any unnecessary conflict, Qinghe's group also moved to the side, though their atmosphere wasn't nearly as solemn or respectful as that of the other travelers.

The line of carriages slowly grew close enough that they could make out some details.

The emblem displayed on the side of the carriage, along with the evident opulence, the extravagant display of wealth, and the large contingent of guards surrounding the procession, all indicated that the person riding inside was of great nobility.

Seeing the ornate emblem, Jing Shui paled and muttered, "A prince of the first rank?"

Qinghe blinked curiously. Why did it seem like his friend knew something about these pompous people? Could it be that this apparent nobility was from the imperial family that Jing Shui was a part of?

As the procession of carriages reached them, it slowly ground to a halt.

Seeing this, Jing Shui turned his head away as if to hide his face from the carriages' occupants, his actions like that of an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

A servant alighted from the most opulent carriage in the line, dressed in clothes that were both understated yet obviously expensive. He slowly walked in their direction, his steps stately and unhurried.

Stopping in front of Jing Shui, the servant gave a small bow as he spoke in a steady voice, "My master wishes to speak to this gentleman. Might I ask you to honor his request and join him for a little chat?"

Jing Shui stood stiff and silent as if he was unable to hear the man's words, his bloodless lips pressed together into a thin line.

Noticing the anxiety in his friend's reaction, Qinghe spoke to the neatly-dressed servant in his stead, "Why would your master be interested in my friend?"

The servant didn't seem bothered at all as he answered, "My master noticed that this young gentleman seems to look quite similar to one of his dear brothers that he had thought was long gone. He is naturally overjoyed to have met someone with such striking similarity and would like to take some time to converse with this gentleman. Please rest assured that my master bears no ill-will."

Qinghe's eyes narrowed.

Jing Shui had quite clearly told him before in the hidden realm that he only had two elder brothers and that both of them had already died. Then that could only mean that this person who wanted to chat with his friend now was one of Jing Shui's half-brothers, someone who must have now become a contender to the throne after Jing Shui's departure.

Just as the air grew stagnant, weighed with a silence that was heavy with meaning, the sound of a carriage door creaking open was heard.

A middle-aged man dressed lavishly in a dark green and gold robe stepped out of the opulent carriage with the help of another servant, his gaze immediately fixing on Jing Shui.

This middle-aged man was obviously the master that the first servant had spoken of.

His thin lips splitting open in a wide grin, the green-robed man opened his mouth and spoke, "Oh my, Elder Imperial Brother Shui, you look so very young even though it has been more than thirty years since we last met. Imperial Father and the Empress have both missed you very much. So tell me, how have you been lately?"