A Bodyguard Once More?

Luqing needed no torch as she traversed the inside of a cavern. Her slit blue eyes, the eyes of a panther, allowed her to walk through the darkness as if it were daylight.

Minutes later, there was nothing in front of her but a dead end. Or so one would think.

In her right, Luqing brandished her razor sharp claws. Swiping the cavern wall, Luqing felt no resistance as the wall vanished into thin air like it was nothing but smoke. The illusory wall was the work of one of the Shadow Order's inner members, a master of illusions who can do more than just disorient.

Now, laid before Luqing was a stone gate with the 'Ying' symbol, bereft of its counterpart 'Yang'.

Luqing inserted her index finger inside, she felt a sharp prick as it harvested a droplet of her blood.

The gate shook loud before sinking into the earth, revealing a staircase that would lead to one of the Shadow Order's hidden bases. Their secret sanctuaries scattered all across the lands where they could prepare as they carried out various missions decreed by their leader, Shangying.

Although underground, the place was modish enough considering that it was a place for pure utility. It had an alchemy furnace complete with ingredients neatly stored in a cabinet. A small room with beds for its agents. A kitchen with food. A weapons rack that absolutely nobody since every member of the order had their own tools murder. Luqing thought it was just there for decorations.

Having gone past through all the rooms, Luqing manually opened the wooden door to the conference room which allowed the order's agents to commune with their venerated leader.

In the far end of the room lay an obsidian throne.

Luqing needed only to kneel in front of it for Shangying to know of her wish to communicate.

From the darkness came bursts of shadows, coalescing into the form of a woman of immense power, sitting on top of her throne. The overbearing air that her might exuded befit that of a monarch.

Its glowing red eyes glared at the kneeling subordinate while a voice was emitted from the shadow even without a mouth.

"What reason do you have for contacting me?"

"Lord Shangying, I humbly request for Weixin to take my place in guarding the masked woman."

Luqing words amused the shadow as it chuckled.

"What do you mean by guard? That woman can fend for herself just fine since she has Zhen by her side. You are there because I need you to keep a close eye on them until we can use them for our plans…"

The Shadow stood up from its seat, making its way in front of Luqing. The shadow's hand brushed Luqing's cheek.

"... Don't tell me you have already failed such a simple task? If so, then I have no qualms about sending Weixin in your place."

The pressure emitted by the shadow qi made Luqing gulp. With just one qi burst, a simple show of power, would be enough to collapse the cave and bury luqing alive.

The simplicity of it is what bred shame. What was she supposed to tell her? That Luqing was now shunned within Xiao's circle because she attacked her weakling of a lover. All members of the Shadow Order coveted their leader's promise that all of them should one day ascend into heaven, accompanying Shangying as she becomes the ruler of all. A shadow that no light will be able to reach.

And to ensure that she was worthy to stand by side of the leader she feared and respected, Luqing should be able to accomplish the paltry task of keeping a watchful eye on Xiao.

"Disregard my previous request. I shall see to it that You would learn of this Xiao's every move."

"Good, good. Before I depart, I want you to pass a message to Zhen for me, tell her that the 'Hallowed Shadow - Shangying,' would like to test if her ice is still as indomitable as before."

With a swirl, the shadow evaporated back to the darkness whence they came.

+++

Come the next morning, the aching of Xiao's muscles induced by her overdosing was now taking its toll. Nausea and muscle ache gripped her entire body. Even with the detox pills, by Zhen's estimate, their body would still need a day's rest to make a full recovery.

Luckily for Xiao, her malady was somewhat soothed not only by the embrace of Yanmei's arms, but also her tails as the two laid in bed.

The rays of the morning sun seeped into their room, as much as Yanmei wanted to care for the sick Xiao, she had neglected her business for far long enough.

"Xiao, it's time for me to go. I shall see you the next day."

Nestling deeper into her lover's embrace, Xiao groggily said, "Just a few more minutes."

Although Xiao couldn't see Yanmei's smile, Xiao felt the kiss on her forehead, likely Yanmei's way of saying 'alright'.

With a few more minutes turned into half an hour, Yanmei had to draw the line, lest she would spoil Xiao too much.

Transforming back into a human, the naked Yanmei got up from Xiao's bed and started putting on her clothes.

"When will you be back?" The awoken Xiao posed her question as she still remained on the bed.

"My, I still haven't left and you already miss me? I'll be back tomorrow once I sort out the store's inventory."

With her qipao and hair in order, Yanmei and Xiao shared a brief goodbye kiss before separating.

After leaving Xiao's room, Yanmei instinct felt as if something was amiss, making her turn left and right from each hall. Attributing it to overthinking, Yanmei left the sect.

Yanmei ought to have trusted her keen instinct. The moment Yanmei was too far gone to detect her presence, Luqing had made her move. Since she reckoned it was going to be hard to convince the fox woman, she ought to deal with Xiao directly. After all, the main target she was supposed to observe was Xiao.

The door to Xiao's room opened.

"Yanmei, did you forget something…" Xiao's glee turned into a scowl as she saw the woman that assaulted her lover. "...what the fuck are you doing back here?"

Luqing approached the edge of Xiao's bed, sitting nonchalantly as if they were the closest of friends.

"Relax, I am not here to harm you…unless you give me a reason to. I am here to reconsider that offer of becoming your bodyguard for the time being."

"Are you fucking insane? You think I would just let you near me after what you did to Yanmei!?"

"To be fair, she did attack me first. If it makes you feel better, I shall swallow my pride and apologize." The flippant Luqing grinned.

Infuriated that Luqing doesn't comprehend the gravity of what she had done, Xiao was in no mood to even humor the suggestion.

"Get the fuck out of my room, now!"

Luqing sighed.

"Send me away and they're going to send brother Weixin in my place. Trust me, he is someone you can't reason with, his every move is for our leader and the order. Your choice, would you rather have him or me?"

There wasn't really a choice for Xiao, she'd rather have someone like Luqing become her bodyguard than that Weixin. Simply put, she was picking Luqing because she was gorgeous.

"You better apologize to Yanmei or I will call the whole thing off."