Mana 4 Chapter 23

Running my hands through my hair, I looked at the satisfied puddle that was Kat, now hanging limply from her chains.

“That’s all?” I asked, feeling like we’d finished the interrogation.

“Everything, I swear.” She pleaded groggily, her eyes shining with the aftereffects of her release.

Lumi’s fingers crackled with electricity. “Should I?”

“Water.” Kat said, and I deflated from my domineering act, putting everything aside and practically ripping her from the mounts on the wall to cradle her in my arms.

“I got you. Shh.”

Lumi looked on, surprised, and the electricity between her fingers crackled out. “I think I’m going to leave you two alone.”

“Thank you for your help.” I told my newest mana beast. “And know that it’s not like this with all my women. This is what Kat specifically enjoys.”

Lumi nodded her head rapidly. “I understand. But this showed me something I hadn’t expected. You adapted your wants to fit hers. You didn’t make her match what you wanted. Even if odd, the two of you were truly equals.”

Lumi continued on, her eyes growing serious. “And you’ve already allowed yourself to be enslaved to save Kat. The others told me what you did. And how you’re staying enslaved when you could kill your way out of it to prepare a life for all of them. I have no doubt you would destroy any who come for your family.” She paused, looking me in the eye. “I think you are amazing, and I look forward to joining and protecting this family.”

With that, she turned and left.

I was surprised at her ultimate statement. Of all things that seemed to penetrate the last barrier between me and Lumi, it was seeing a session with Kat.

Focusing back on Kat, who was smiling ear to ear in my arms. “She’s totally ready.”

I shook my head. Kat was always plotting. “Doesn’t matter right now. How are you?” I ran my fingers through her hair. This was a really important part for us. The after care was the most important part. Humpty Dumpty has to be put back together again.

“Sore, but a good sore.”

“You did wonderful. Showing off your bloodline and pretending to be from an ancient family? Genius. Setting up the conflict with the auction house was too. I just would like to be included in the planning.”

“We can’t go around just killing people at random; that would just make things harder to manage in the long term. But if we have established a grievance…” Kat trailed off with a smirk.

I kissed her forehead. “That’s my devious Kat. You set all this up; I’ll knock it down. Did you plan the funeral?”

She tilted her head in question. “Funeral? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Think about it, Kat. The Ying family is going to be so wrapped up in the big event, and nobody is going to want to interrupt it to tell him that their auction house is being smashed.” I smiled, knowing she’d catch on quickly.

“Oh!” Kat’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Then we are going today?”

I nodded. “I already have Rachel lined up, but she wants to come with me. We’ll count it as training.” I was curious to see what she thought of Rachel joining us now that they had at least met.

Kat purred into my arm. “It’s good to see you more lively, husband. I don’t mind how many girls you bring back with you.”

“No thoughts at all?” I teased her as she melted like a kitten in my arms. My hand found the soft skin of her rear, and I dragged my fingers along her thigh. “That’s not like you at all.”

She groaned under my touch. “Rachel is soft. Probably too soft for our family. But maybe we could use a little softness.”

“What do you mean?”

“She needs to be able to fight, or she’s going to be dead weight and end up getting one of us killed, but maybe she can put that dancer’s body of hers to use and relieve you of some of your pressure when the time comes.”

I snorted. “Have you seen my wives? I have enough of them for any desire I might have.”

Kat groaned and pushed her rear into my lap, wiggling it in to encourage me for another round of touch. “But can’t you imagine that lithe dance of hers as she twists and turns in your lap?”

I groaned, my body already beginning to rise to the occasion as Kat ground herself into me and talked about Rachel.

Kat gave a satisfied smile. “See? You want it, and that’s all that matters.”

“So simple for you, isn’t it? Take what you want?” But even as I said those words, I realized I needed to start thinking that way myself. I’d once pushed for what I wanted and what my family needed, but I’d had all the sect resources at my disposal for so long that I’d lost that hunger and fight. It had already been reignited, but it was time to take it up a notch.

Bending down, I kissed Kat fiercely on the lips, and she wiggled in my lap. “Yes, there’s the aggressive man I married. The one who climbed up through the sects and tore apart the Sun and Moon Hall for me.” Her nails scratched down my neck to my back.

I leaned down, devouring her lips. “No more talking. We do it my way this time.” I growled and pushed Kat down, wanting to savor her once more.

She bit her lip and opened her arms and legs like a blooming flower. “Always for you.”

***

I came back from my soul palace with a new determination. Kat was right. She was making moves and taking what we needed for our family. It was time I started doing the same. I was ready to unleash the raging inferno I’d buried for too long.

“Isaac.” Rachel caught me as I headed out of the servant’s quarters.

Smiling, I walked straight up to her, grabbing her by the jaw and pushing her against the wall. My lips smothered hers and I kissed her, drawing out her tongue and sucking on her lips.

Without words, I told her that I wanted her. We parted, and her breathing had quickened, her cheeks flushed.

“What was that?” She breathed in deeply after I let her go.

“Just doing what I wanted. But I need to go take care of breakfast. You rested today like I asked, correct?” I looked her over. She didn’t seem sweaty, but she’d been coming from the right direction to have been practicing.

“I went through the forms once while using my cultivation to support me.” She looked up at me sheepishly.

Nodding, I slipped around her, not mentioning the other plan for today explicitly. The fewer people that knew any details, the better. “Good. Then we’ll meet after breakfast.”

I couldn’t rush the plan too quickly. The Ying family needed to start their funeral. Wenxi would know when that was, and I hoped…

Sure enough, she had still shown up for breakfast. It looked like my connection to Kat hadn’t scared her away.

Although she did seem a bit more dressed up than usual. Not as much as the night before, but a little extra primp had gone into her look for the day.

“Morning Wenxi.” I didn’t wait for her to call on me this time. “I’ll get the tea started. What would you like?”

Still feeling the high from my time with Kat, I decided to push things further with Wenxi. “You look lovely today, Wenxi.” I enjoyed watching as I caught her off guard. “But you don’t need to do extra adornments. Your most attractive quality is the intelligence in your eyes.”

Wenxi blushed all the way to the tips of her ears. “What’s come over you?”

I smiled. “Nothing, just… I just realized that I have been a little withdrawn. Trying to open myself up a bit more to the possibilities in this new world.” I turned to a station against the wall and put together a quick tea cart for Wenxi. “Why would you like me to stop?”

“No!” Wenxi slapped her hands on the table as she stood up. The entire dining room turned to her outburst.

She blushed even redder, which I wouldn’t have thought was possible. “No, please continue.”

Then her brows furrowed as she went deep into thought. When her eyes lifted once more to mine, there was suspicion in them. “Something is going to happen today. Something that’s helping push this change.”

I paused before deciding how to respond. “Yes, it is. I plan to show you and the rest of Murdock my strength. It’s been too long since I have really let loose.”

Wenxi swallowed loudly. “I look forward to it. And I have the technique to break through the fourth ring to the fifth ring. I have it.” She pulled a scroll out of her spatial ring and placed it on the table.

“You aren’t going to wait until after you see my strength?” I asked.

“Consider it an investment. If I’m wrong, then I deserve to lose this.” She tapped the scroll several times before sliding it over to me.

“I could sell it, pay off my debt to Madam Orchid and be in the wind by this afternoon.” Picking up the scroll. I was surprised she’d put that much trust in me, but I wasn’t above taking it.

Wenxi shrugged. “Then I’d be played, and you have my respect either if you earn it today or if you managed to con me.”

I nodded, appreciating her even more. “One detail that would help me though... when is the funeral today?” I tapped the scroll in my other hand.

“It’s all day. It should have started by now. They will make a large ceremony of interning him into their family crypt at noon.”

Perfect. I tried to hide my happiness. That gave us a lot of time to work around. Making sure no other eyes were on me, I pulled on Guo Ying’s spatial ring for a moment, adding the scroll into it. Wenxi’s eyes went wide when she saw the ring. It was the first time she’d seen proof of what she already suspected.

“I knew it.” She smiled. “That’s enough confirmation for me. Go, do what you need to, and bring me along when you are ready. I’ll just be enjoying my tea.” She poured herself a cup and smiled as she sipped.

I was surprised the small confirmation I’d given her had made her happy enough to sit there with the tea for the next hour.

Breakfast goers came and went through the hour without much fuss. Though the topic of Guo Ying’s funeral was popular as breakfast chatter. There were lots of thoughts around who would attend, what they’d wear, and other frivolous chatter.

When work was wrapping up, I looked up and spotted Rachel. She was right on time.

She noticed Wenxi watching us from her table and gave me a questioning look. “What’s she doing?”

“Wenxi has just been waiting. Are you ready?”

Rather than say anything, Rachel pulled out a crystal and offered it to me. It was far smaller than the one that Tracey had used in the past. “You didn’t say how long. Is a day enough?”

I nodded. “We should be done this afternoon. Still not going to ask any questions?” I took the crystal, a shudder going through me as I touched it, and remembered the pain from being separated from the last one. I wasn’t a fan of the crystals, but it was a necessary annoyance.

“I’m curious, but I’ll let you set the pace.” Rachel replied, studying my reaction to the crystal.

I could keep her in the dark, but there wasn’t a reason to. And the more she could mentally prepare, the better. “I’m going to be making a statement to those that put me in this cuff.”

Her face fell. “You don’t resent me because of it?”

“Should I? You had nothing to do with me ending up here. Using me as a servant when that’s what I’ve become isn’t your fault, and you had no obligation to free me.” I didn’t resent her, or really even Madam Orchid, for that matter.

It was being degraded to this level by Mohawk and, to a lesser extent, the auction house that sold me as a slave despite knowing what was done to me. They’d ignored my statements about being captured, focusing only on the coin they could make from selling me off.

“Wenxi, we are going.” I called to her, waving for the three of us to leave.

Wenxi was on her feet and hurrying to catch up as I led the way out. Kat lingered nearby, watching the three of us, but she didn’t make a move to join us.

I knew she’d follow along, but this was my show. “Wenxi, do you think it’s fair to assume that the entire Ying family is all tied up at the moment?” I asked, making my way through the city.

My time out of the pavilion had been extremely limited, but I’d seen city maps and marked the auction house in my mind.

“Yes?” Wenxi replied, but it came out as a question. She still wasn’t sure why I was hoping to time my demonstration with the funeral.

As we walked, I had to think about which of my bloodlines would be best for this moment. It would at least in the short term be my identity, and I wanted something that would make a statement.

Michelle’s black turtle bloodline, while strong, wasn’t what was called for here. The Hua sister’s bloodline was still unknown. I wanted to do some more work before I pulled it out and used it.

Savage seemed like it would make a grand statement, but the power was more suited to a trump card in life or death situations.

In the end, two options stood out to me. Either Quinn’s gold dragon bloodline or Thea’s white tiger bloodline could work. Both of those would be powerful and overbearing.

“What are you thinking about?” Wenxi asked.

“How I’m going to kill people.” I gave her my biggest smile. “It would be a shame if I wasn’t impressive today.”

The auction house quickly loomed before us, wrapped in finery and embellishments to help promote its status far and wide. But it was far less busy than when I was originally brought through the doors.

I wondered if they had canceled any auctions today because of their backers, the Ying Family’s funeral. I hadn’t considered that. There were still guards stationed outside the main doors, but I imagined they’d do that around the clock, wanting people to guard the treasures inside.

True to my thoughts, one guard stationed at the main entrance stepped forward to get my attention. “We are closed today in morning; please come back tomorrow.”

“That’s a shame. But luckily my plans can still move forward.” I glowered at him before I spoke to Rachel. “Time to put your training into practice. Go ahead and take the left one. Make it quick, and drag the corpses inside.”

She looked stunned at my callous disregard for these men, but I leapt forward before she could question me further, knocking the first guard’s sword to the side and concentrating metal mana in my fingertips to tear his throat out.

The enchantment on his robes only gave me the barest of pauses, but it was enough for him to lean back and survive with four deep gashes that wouldn’t be immediately lethal.

Deciding to just go around the enchantment, my other hand came up into his gut and knocked the wind out of him. He slumped forward onto me, and I pretended to give him a big hug so we didn’t distract too many pedestrians happening to walk by. I quickly opened the doors and slipped inside with him.

Casting a look back at the street, no one seemed to have looked up from their passing at the quick burst of motion.

Rachel was right behind me, her face speckled with droplets of blood, and a guard over her shoulder. Both of the guards had been third rank. They were immortals, but barely. If she had struggled, I would have had to reconsider our training.

“Hey!” Guards posted inside the building snapped to attention and sounded the alarm as we moved inside with the bodies of their fellow guards.

Wenxi and Kat slipped in behind us and closed the doors. “I think you managed to do that without alerting anyone outside. I’ll keep the doors closed.” Kat offered.

“Rachel, show me what you can do. Sword only, and limit your cultivation to their level else this will be too easy.” I commanded with the authority of a teacher.

Rachel did a single flourish of spinning her sword as the guards drew their weapons and circled up. The place was richly decorated, with deep purple curtains covering the walls and gold chain pulls attached to them.

I knew from my previous ‘visit’ that if there was an auction here today, those curtains would be up, displaying grand artworks with powerful brushstrokes.

The setting was nice. Crisp, cool air, lightly scented with some artfully placed braziers of burning joss sticks, floated through the wind. Unfortunately, we were about to dirty the floor.

The guard came around to Rachel and I. I lashed out, grabbing the weaker immortal’s skull and cracking it open like an egg on the wall.

Blood splattered everywhere, and I was suddenly thankful that the curtains were down to protect the art as I splashed one with blood that would have no doubt ruined the nice artwork underneath.

“Rachel, I said take care of them.” I growled, throwing the guard to the floor. “That’s one mark against you for me needing to intervene. You get three and I will refuse to call you my disciple.”

“What?!” Rachel snapped to attention and stopped, waiting on the defensive.

“That was cruel.” Kat commented behind me, even as Rachel was charging in with her sword low, ready for the first step of the form I had taught her. I gave her a few points for sticking to her training, even under the pressure.

I turned to Kat and Wenxi. “They are just third rank immortals. When the real fight begins, I’ll step up. You two protect our backs.” Pausing, I added. “Or would either of you like to help me loot the place?”

“Ten percent.” Wenxi said quickly.

I scowled. “Excuse me?”

“I keep ten percent of what I take. That’s my best offer.” Wenxi smirked. “Though, maybe it won’t matter soon.” She blushed so hard I thought she might pass out.

She seemed more confident now that I had reciprocated some affection. She’d gone from uncertainty during some casual flirting and teasing to more concrete statements. It honestly made her more appealing.

Humming to myself, I parted a curtain and took the painting into my spatial ring. “Five percent. I’m doing all the hard work, and you might just snatch something I want. I get to pick what five percent.”

“Seven percent, or I can just take things for myself.” Wenxi took a statue into her spatial ring. “You ARE robbing the place. It’s not like you own this to begin with.”

Giving her seven percent wasn’t bad. And I figured it was more about the fun in the deal than the actual payment Wenxi was after.

Looking at Kat, I waited for her opinion.

“I like seven percent too. But, I get to keep something pretty.” Kat gave me a sweet smile.

“Deal to both of you.” Lifting a curtain, I went to grab the next piece of art, but blood sprayed on it as a guard spun away from the conflict, his severed arm spraying blood everywhere.

I clicked my tongue. “Rachel, do try to be cleaner in your kills. These are just practice.” I scolded my disciple.

Rachel was surrounded by no less than a dozen guards, with more pouring in from further back in the auction house.

She wasn’t doing too badly holding her own against them. I was proud of how far she’d come since our first training.

She skewered another guard and swiftly moved to an elbow as a new guard closed in behind her. Twisting her grip, she performed an unsheathing strike, using the previous guard’s stomach as the sheath.

I smirked. That wasn’t part of the form, but it was a good adaptation.

“What the hell is going on?” A powerful voice boomed, and I realized playtime was over. The real battle was about to begin.