Chapter 47 - The Alluring Qi Yue

The evening before they continued on their journey, Cong Houzi brought Ao Wen to a carefully prepared suite in her manor. "I've been preparing this for a little while," she told Ao Wen proudly as she showed her around the luxurious suite. "The Alchemy lab is stocked with plenty of ingredients to prepare for your Alchemy Novice exam. You don't have to worry about when you take the exam," she added. "Originally, I had wanted you to take it before we returned to the sect so I could accept you as a direct disciple straight away. That isn't necessary now. You can study at your own pace. There are frequently other children of Grand Elders who occupy more senior positions in the sect than their cultivation attainments usually allow but none of them, including you, could occupy those positions if you were incapable," she said firmly.

"Does this mean I'm an official disciple?" Ao Wen asked.

"We'll handle that when we return to the sect," she answered. "I don't want to pressure you. I've realized you're far too vulnerable to the expectations of others to place any on you right now. Instead, I want you to explore what matters to you," she said, gesturing to other rooms in the suite. "The library here is only half dedicated to Alchemy. There are also books about history, books of songs and poetry, and even a collection of cookbooks. Read them or don't. Tell me if there's something you're curious about that isn't here. Let this mother make up for the many missed birthdays, Midsummers, and Yew Years gifts okay?" Cong Houzi said, pulling Ao Wen into a gentle hug.

"Um… can I ask for something now?" Ao Wen said after hesitating a moment. "We'll, maybe two things."

"I just told you to ask, didn't I? What is it your heart desires?" Cong Houzi asked, genuinely enjoying the opportunity to pamper a daughter of her own.

"I want to learn about dragons," she said, watching her adopted mother's reaction closely. "And I want to learn to use my flames to fight," she said in a more determined tone.

"Tell me why," Cong Houzi said. She'd been wondering about Ao Wen's interest in dragons for a while now.

Taking a deep breath Ao Wen thought carefully about how to explain. "I was told once that an Azure Dragon Immortal had made a move to protect me," she said, revealing a portion of the truth. "The person who told me is dead now, and I've never known who this Immortal Dragon is, but since I met you, I've felt a kinship with you. I want to know more. I also want to be less passive if I'm in danger. One of these days, I'll confront the Yin Fiends who caused so much pain," her voice hardened. "A blade is too quick and clean of a death for the ones who inflict that kind of suffering."

Cong Houzi stared at her adopted daughter in two kinds of disbelief. An Azure Dragon Immortal had made a move to protect her? Was that why the Yin Fiend Transformation seemed to have frozen before it could cause permanent damage to her? What kind of existence was this little orphan to command such attention?!

Almost more shocking though was the way she spoke about killing Yin Fiends. It was the first time she'd ever heard her daughter speak of violence and she felt surprisingly comfortable with it for someone who had all but killed herself trying to cure others. Then she realized just how much of herself her daughter had been hiding away these three months. She hadn't felt safe enough to say any of it before. That she said so now was a good sign.

"Okay," Cong Houzi said, ruffling Ao Wen's hair gently. "But no talk of killing at dinner. Let's have a nice meal to celebrate and then, I think you should spend some time with Yue. She's not a dragon, but she's a very skilled Sorceress. Soul Flame Arts aren't her specialty but she'll be a good person for you to learn the basics from, along with some other healing arts that she's better at than Yuze."

Dinner was a surprisingly simple fair given the exalted status of the Medical Saintess. Ao Wen had expected a choreographed dance of servants and exquisite dishes, something that felt intimidating and confusing. Instead, she found that her seniors cooked most meals for the Saintess except for formal events that required more formality. Best of all, while Huang Yuze preferred delicate and pure flavors of dishes like his grilled fish and radish soup, Qi Yue served up fiery dishes with fresh and pickled chilis stir fried alongside meat and hearty vegetables. By the end of the meal, Ao Wen's heart felt comfortably warmed by a genuine feeling of family.

That night, as Ao Wen browsed the library in her new suite, Qi Yue paid her a visit.

"Hello Little Yu," Qi Yue said when Ao Wen invited her in. "You don't mind if I call you that do you? You can call me big sister Yue from now on," she added, stepping in and taking Ao Wen's hands in hers.

Ao Wen flushed, feeling her heart race at Qi Yue's touch. "Big sister can call me as she pleases," she managed to say. "Did big sister come for something tonight?"

"It happens that I did. We'll be breaking camp tomorrow so I wanted to help prepare you for your breakthrough. Come," she said, reaching out to caress Ao Wen's face gently before pulling Ao Wen in the direction of her bedroom. "This works better if you're not wearing clothing," she added with a flirty wink and a light musical laugh.

"Wha… what?" Ao Wen asked as she stumbled along behind the swaying figure of her senior sister.

"Oh don't take it to mean something inappropriate," Qi Yue teased. "Unless you want it to be inappropriate? Little sister Yu is such a naughty girl!"

"I, I didn't say that!" Ao Wen stammered.

"I know," Qi Yue said, standing before Ao Wen and beginning to untie her robes. "Your mouth doesn't have to, your eyes speak for you," she said, taking a hand and tracing a finger along the hem of her own dress towards her ample cleavage. "The question is, is that look a young girl's envy or a thirsty woman's desire? Ah, don't answer that," she said, moving her finger from her own cleavage to Ao Wen's lips. "Your heartbeat answers for you."

Ao Wen's mind spun, caught completely in Qi Yue's rhythm. "What," she started, pausing to moisten her suddenly dry lips. "What are we doing?"

"Relax," Qi Yue said, peeling Ao Wen's outer robes from her. "You've learned some acupressure," she said, pressing on a point on the small of Ao Wen's back that sent shivers to her toes. "This is a progression of the same, manipulation of the body to clear blockages and promote the flow of energy through the meridians. It's similar to a mortal massage," she continued, whispering in Ao Wen's ear from behind. "But with more purpose to it. You should remove this," she said, plucking at Ao Wen's inner robe. "I've brought an oil that will penetrate your skin and assist with expelling the toxins accumulated in your body."

"Oh," Ao Wen said, flush with embarrassment. What had she been thinking this senior sister had come for? Stripping out of her underclothes, Ao Wen lay face down on a low padded bench that Qi Yue had pulled from her spacial ring and covered with a soft sheet. Moments later, she felt several drops of warm oil falling on her back before Qi Yue's hands began kneading her sore muscles like dough.

Ao Wen stifled a moan as she felt Qi Yue's fingers deftly manipulating her flesh until the older woman whispered into her ear. "Let it out," Qi Yue chided. "We're expelling all manner of things from your body. Let your breath carry its own share of impurities with it."

Slowly, centimeter by centimeter, Qi Yue worked her way along Ao Wen's body. Her eyes captured every scar as her fingers found the traces of broken bones and strained ligaments. Qi Yue had performed this technique on young sword maidens who showed fewer signs of a tortured body than this poor little girl. As she continued to pull along Ao Wen's meridians, the oil coating her hands became darker, turning into a brown sludge that had to be wiped clean and replaced with fresh oil. This process repeated three times until the only remaining toxins and impurities were bound too deeply to be dislodged by this method.

"Wake up little Yu," she whispered to the young women who had long since drifted off. "See this?" Qi Yue asked, directing the younger woman's gaze to the dark oily streaks on the sheet. "That's what we purged from your body. Tomorrow, when you consume the Enlightened Flame Surge pill, it would have spent some of its energy burning those impurities away. This way, less pill energy is wasted and you won't feel as much pain from burning those impurities away."

"All that was in me?" Ao Wen said, both horrified and embarrassed.

"Every mortal body is like that. As your cultivation progresses you'll repeatedly cleanse your skin, muscles, ligaments, viscera, bones, and marrow. There's no instant method, but the early stages where you shed much of your mortality have the most of this to purge. Now, let your big sister take you to wash up."

"No, I can," Ao Wen began, trying to get up off the bench before realizing that her muscles felt like water and her bones like fresh boiled noodles.

"No you can't," Qi Yue teased. "Let big sister take care of you, it's not like this was unexpected when we began," she said, scooping Ao Wen's still thin body up and carrying her to an awaiting bath of hot foamy water and floral perfume.

Ao Wen vaguely remembered sliding into the hot soothing water with Qi Yue before warm darkness enveloped her, carrying her off to sleep.