"As I see it," Bai Shou admitted amongst the clattering of utensils as she enjoyed the usual lavish spread with her wife. They weren't eating in the dimly lit house gu worm but sat on a freshly trimmed gentle slope. "There is still another way to deal with your injuries besides working with the Aperture Puncture Gu Worm."
Shu Zhe momentarily frowned but soon felt helpless as Bai Shou chuckled.
"Relax. We aren't discussing what the supreme elders haven't already predicted. Those perverts might have even developed a visual library of our moves to learn better ways of satisfying their partners. Can't really imagine them being any good at sex with how much time it must take for them to cultivate and advance."
"You have a death wish, my dear consort." Shu Zhe's voice lacked her usual monotone humor, which only Bai Shou was expert enough to discern. "You might drag me, too."
Bai Shou didn't reply immediately.
Instead, she looked around. She eyed the sky, trees, and several blades of trimmed grass with equal intensity and scrutiny.
"I suppose they didn't feel offended by my words." Bai Shou laughed impishly. "Or I'd been struck by now."
"And no. I don't have a death wish. But our privacy means nothing. So, talking about Aperture Puncture Gu holds no disadvantage unless you believe other elders compromised your residential mountain."
"I suppose it's one of the downsides of being utterly brilliant in marital matters and being under the presence of other supreme elders."
Bai Shou's gaze suddenly gleamed with enlightenment.
"Do you think we can earn a good inheritance if we put on a great performance? —"
"I'd rather listen you talk about my injuries." Shu Zhe interjected, feeling slightly annoyed with how victorious Bai Shou's subsequent smug appeared.
"Fine." Bai Shou made show of exhaling overdramatically. "There's the Heavenly Aperture Transformation Gu Worm."
"I know about it but couldn't procure it even with my resources. Its recipes in the sect's vaults are fragments at best. I once asked the Inheritance Hall Elder about it but that led to nothing particularly effective."
Bai Shou held back her disappointment and shook her head.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you recall more dead ends."
"I noticed you never asked me about our exchange." Shu Zhe changed the subject, her lips curling slightly. "Do you wonder at times what I did with your gifts?"
Bai Shou smiled back, shaking her head.
"I'm too busy during the day, and you ensure not much critical thinking transpire in my less useful head during the night."
"Compliments. How do you almost always twist my words as such?"
"As I said." Bai Shou shrugged. "I'm extraordinary in more ways than one. And your emotional health is directly linked with my prosperity."
"How is that?" Shu Zhe questioned curiously.
"Happy wife, happy life."
Shu Zhe scoffed slightly at the response before steering the conversation, her gaze never betraying any controversial intentions.
"So? Are you wondering now?"
"No."
Bai Shou answered calmly.
"I wouldn't waste my time and energy wondering a wisdom path gu master's moves and schemes. Besides, I get the opportunity of rearranging your thoughts every night."
Finally having enough of Bai Shou's boasts, Shu Zhe scoffed under her breath.
"It's not as great as you imagine it to be."
"Shh." Bai Shou grinned, bringing an index finger to her lips. "Don't air your grievances about these matters. Even if it's not as good, we should pretend otherwise and give our audience what they want."
Shu Zhe thinned her lips. Bai Shou was truly pushing her luck. There was a thin line between amusing the supreme elders with antics and smacking their faces sore, and Bai Shou was inching beyond the limits afforded to mortals.
"In fact…"
Bai Shou's words trailed off into a suggestive look.
"No." Shu Zhe refused flatly.
However, a familiar heat spread from Bai Shou's pores followed by streams of mist. His playful nibble found its way on Shu Zhe's neck, their breakfast skillfully pushed away.
"No." Shu Zhe repeated, her tone dryer than before.
Bai Shou hummed into her ear, his exhale hot and whispers hotter still.
"Then stop me, sect leader." He provoked, a scarred palm gently cupping her cheek.
"Put me in my place." His coo almost desperate as if he wanted to fight Shu Zhe. "A leader must have a firm hand, no, Zhe'er?"
Shu Zhe slightly tilted her head, eyelids briefly fluttering at the warmth of his breath and the arousing challenge in those words.
"Haven't you had enough?" She grunted softly, feeling the barest portion of her skin beyond her collarbones exposed to the elements. "Your enthusiasm always leaves me suspicious… Shou'er. I'm not a great beauty and I'm—hmmph!"
A passionate kiss locked those words out as Shu Zhe's tongue instinctively matched Bai Shou's pace. Being the outstanding student she was, the sect leader of an ancient sect displayed breathtaking potential in after-dark activities even when the sky was lit brighter than her future!
"Not a great beauty?" Bai Shou mocked as he broke the kiss. "I'd rate you higher than most female supreme elder—hmpph!"
Shu Zhe swiftly sealed Bai Shou's lips then, motivated by fear than passion. But all those raw emotions melted in the same pot, churning into a wonderful mess under the fire of feverish desire.
"My answer is still no." Shu Zhe pulled back after a moment, her face flushed. "What now? I don't even feel the need to put you in your place."
"Then I must insist and put you in your place." Bai Shou held Shu Zhe's chin.
"And what might that be?" Shu Zhe raised an eyebrow, already predicting the answer as Bai Shou grinned.
"Your ass, my face."
"No."
Shu Zhe pressed her hand against his chest, momentarily marveling at the sculpted feeling of his pecs. Bai Shou was already a thing of beauty as a woman, but Shu Zhe never did confuse her preferences and allowed herself to feel the primal attraction she believed she'd buried decades ago.
"Give me a good reason to put you in your place." She pressed, smiling ever so slightly as the barest push of her hand was enough for Bai Shou to catch on and lie down with a wide smirk.
"Are you planning to stay away for a while?" Shu Zhe questioned as her hand freed Bai Shou's cock, amused at how it always sprung free from its confine like an excited bunny.
Bai Shou sighed softly before he nodded.
"Yes. I just wanted to leave you with something to remember me by. Of course, I want you to call me if there's any emergency."
"Do you doubt my skills?" Shu Zhe smirked slightly.
"I don't doubt the unfortunate events capable of catching us by surprise."
"Very well." Shu Zhe slowly straddled her man. "I'll keep counting on you, husband."
She felt her lips spread and wrap around the little giant's firm rod, carefully guiding it through her innards as a slow and gentle moan slipped out.
"Don't get used to this." She warned. "We won't often expose ourselves like this."
"I would never take you for granted, Zhe'er."
Shu Zhe's eyes wavered, her rock heart barely cracking with warmth because she knew from her formation that Bai Shou was not lying or even misrepresenting her words in any form or manner.
Her body, even more honest, grew heated at a breakneck pace as she began to bounce with a reckless abandon, counting on Bai Shou to maintain her balance and position as his arms soon located her sensitive spots, abusing them till she climaxed around his shaft, a high-pitched moan escaping her confines only ensured their day wasn't going to end soon.
<<<>>>
Bai Shou did not lie when she admitted to not being curious about Shu Zhe's matter. After all, she was already aware that a few of her gu worms had moved from the latter's aperture to a few other gu masters. Compiling the information gathered from the gu worms inside said aperture and its general state, Bai Shou confirmed that Shu Zhe transacted with Le Tao and Di Qing. Furthermore, one of the Nine Eyes Liquor Worm was already given to Di Qing's daughter, Di Loo.
The terms of trade were unknown.
She waved off all the branching thoughts and focused.
'I was always uncertain if the supreme elders were observing me. They showed no indication of nurturing me when I used my body to advance the effects of my body refinement. One might even consider it an incomplete killer move. However, things changed a few weeks ago when Wang Nan attacked me. There was also the fact that Feng Jiu Ge prevented me from selling Human Adaptive Qi Gu.'
'I most certainly have their attention now.'
'It was always iffy if they could perceive the ghosts from my past. Maybe they hadn't been paying attention when Mo Yan returned somehow.'
'I might have gotten lucky.'
Bai Shou stared at one of the two jars gifted by Shu Zhe as a betrothal.
'Should I drink it?'
'What if someone else showed up?'
The crux of Bai Shou's considerations was whether one immortal gu worm was enough to risk her life. Based on base priorities, her life mattered more.
Always.
But should she let an immortal gu—a trump card that could send her anywhere in the world—die from hunger?
'I can always get drunk and escape if the need arises.' She surmised. 'Nobody can expect me to feed an immortal gu worm right under their noses. As for those ghosts… what about it? How would that lead others to think of an immortal gu worm?'
Bai Shou unsealed the jar, experiencing the same sensation as before as she sniffed the wine's taste ooze into silverish mist cascading down the jar's surface. The world of illusive valley constructed itself around Bai Shou again; the chirpings of birds, cricketing of insects, and rustling of the lush vegetation around her felt all too real. Across her flowed a trail of liquid silver, catching light and reflecting wondrous colors.
And she relived it.
The weights bearing down on her heart and soul broke apart into playful mists. The fog of confusion curtaining her emotions simmered and flowed away in a stream of clarity.
Bai Shou…
Lo Jik missed this clarity.
He hadn't felt this way since he jumped off the building.
He couldn't help but momentarily miss the moment of his death.
It made life sweeter.
It made him want to navigate his perplexed feelings.
Bai Shou savored the contents of the jar with each mouthful.
If only she didn't have to resort to wine to feel peaceful, Bai Shou lamented.
It had become a moment of weakness.
How could wine do something she's failed to achieve since…
Since…
The memories of their backs loomed over Bai Shou's mind. The proud, white-haired youth looked back with an arrogant smile before shrugging off any fear of death and playing with it for dozens of rounds. And that figure shattered into chunks of icy crystal, plummeting into a deep golden colored lake. As a white lotus bloomed, he saw a tiny golden figure curled in its core.
The girl's back was embossed with golden articles. Skin dusky and her hair curled.
Bai Shou gulped.
The earlier moment of peace had a cost.
All that the wine suppressed returned heavier and harder than ever in a blink of an eye!
She thinned her lips and lowered her head into her hands.
"Mistress Mo was worried about you. She sent me to comfort you, Master."
A sweet voice giggled coquettishly.
Bai Shou froze.
She slowly looked up, surprised.
How could she be here?
Mo Yan, Bai Shou understand. Her death, admittedly, stirred her heart the slightest bit. While she acted on her grave, there was a brief window where Bai Shou mourned Mo Yan with utmost sincerity, or at least that's what she wanted to believe.
But her?
'…Shen Cui…'
<<<>>>
A robed and hooded man crossed the packed streets of Shang Clan's outer city. There were many other individuals navigating the city in a similar fashion, but everyone else wore eye-catching outfits.
Ignoring the solicitors openly looking to fill their next hour, their clothes designed to attract attention to all the right curves, there were other merchants, vendors, and business owners of all origins adorning beautiful jewels, spin-striped hats, baggy overalls, unique prints on their robes, and more. There was something new to be witnessed in every corner of the city, a union of culture, the need for survival, and ambition for something more.
His hidden figure did not incite suspicion but invitation instead.
Almost everyone in the city wanted to sell something.
The new arrival was no different.
Locating an empty spot became a challenge. The figure roamed everywhere. Without any cultivation or a decent chunk of primeval stones to his name, he couldn't enter the quieter inner cities.
Soon, he noticed a small spot beside the latrine stall. Nobody wanted to stay near it more than necessary due to the pungent smell. While covered with assorted colors and appearing beautiful to the viewers, the outer city always remained behind on maintenance schedules. Such a scene would not be a thing in the inner cities because nobody would want to offer the exorbitant entrance fees without basic amenities.
If the man felt disgust, he did not let it stop him.
He quietly sat down on the spot, placing a small wooden board ahead.
With the entire city brimming with customers and traders alike, the hooded figure's position and wooden board attracted several glances. But no one moved to entertain the new business.
The abhorrent smell countered the man's conspicuous position.
It took nearly four hours until another figure in dark robes and a covered hood staggered forward. The smell seemed to be lost on the individual because he radiated even more eye-watering stench! Others quickly parted to open a path for him, gagging and tearing up. A few men and women cursed the figure but didn't move.
"Right or wrong?"
The wobbly man questioned. The fragrance of wine might not have done him any better, but its influence remained in his steps.
The seated figure nodded.
Others frowned when they heard the vendor speak.
His voice was unpleasant and jarring. His words, even more so, were broken and indicated a weird accent.
Someone not from the villages around the Shang Clan City, others ventured a guess.
"Yes, friend. I will tell you if you were right or wrong. In return, you will bring me food."
"Right or wrong about what?"
The drunk man inquired, his gaze rooted on the wooden board.
It said—Right or Wrong.
"Of your actions, friend," replied the seated figure. "Do you not desire certainty in your actions? Do you not want to disperse that fog of confusion?"
Everyone paused to hear the vendor, his proposition catching something within their hearts.
"I can absolve the turmoil in your heart, friend. I will listen to you. I will tell you if you were wrong or right, putting an end to reasons that might leave you awake at night."
"Power is righteous." The drunk's voice regained its certainty. A hint of contempt laced his voice.
"Who do you think you are to judge others? Huh?"
"I must ask you something, friend." Though coarse, the vendor's voice had something soothing in it. He asked, "Why do you think you stand before me? Strangers we might be, but it is precisely because of my impartial standing that my words can set you free."
"Free from what?" snarled the drunk.
"Freedom of heart, friend. Freedom to think and do anything. Everything."
After a quiet, drunken contemplation, the agitated figure suddenly sat on the dirty ground. He observed the vendor, those eyes under the hood trying to light flames above the pools of intoxication he'd drowned in moments ago.
A decent crowd gathered around the duo, simmering interest now flickering with activity and growth.
"Why should I pay you?" Questioned the drunk, stepping into the negotiation ring. "How can I know you wouldn't just say random things ask for something to eat."
"I do not force anyone, friend. I can only hope my words satisfy what you seek by the time I'm done."
The silence within the ring of the crowd felt heavy, heavier than the stench itself.
"Is it wrong to let go?" the drunk finally asked, his voice quiet and shameful. "I lost someone… a kid. He wasn't my blood or anything. I just picked him up one day and intended to take him to his relatives."
A few in the crowd sneered. Shang Clan was a righteous super force but often looked the other way and allowed entry to demonic gu masters in consideration of the trade they brought in. However, explicitly admitting to a crime, especially for mortals like the drunk, meant heavy punishments!
Others instantly understood the man was a human trafficker and intended to sell a child he kidnapped.
Instead of answering yes or no, the vendor calmly asked more.
"Why do you feel letting go is wrong? What did that child mean to you?"
"My innocence," answered the drunk. "I… that boy… he reminded me, you see. I was once like him, taken away from my family. When I saw him sleeping one day, I couldn't help but recall my previous traveling companion, from my childhood."
"I never got to sleep more than two hours. But something stopped me from waking up the kid."
"And what happened to the child, friend?"
"He, uh… he ran somewhere while I was sleeping and fell. Cracked his head open."
The audience, more experienced than most, read between the lines.
The child tried escaping and the drunk killed the kid, feeling guild ever since.
"I just feel shitty and headed to the nearest tavern for drinks." The drunk sighed. "Wine isn't enough today."
"I think you confuse innocence with immaturity, friend."
The drunk paused.
"Did you run around when taken away from your family?"
The drunk shook his head.
"Yet, you feel sad when something happened to a child who wasn't even related to you by blood." The vendor chuckled. "Is that not a testament to your remaining innocence? But why are you alive and the child is dead? Because there is an order to the world. You call power righteous, you are wrong. Power is a tool. Men are righteous and sinful."
"And friend, hear me well. Nothing in this wide world is more innocent and righteous than a man who prioritizes his survival!"
"You are alive. So is your innocence. Seek comfort with wine and women. Lick your wounds clean. Strive for power and do good with it."
The drunk shook his head.
"Had I not taken him… that child would have lived."
"Did you see the future?" The vendor questioned. "Mortals like us die every day. We are worse than demonic scum on the earth. That child, like everyone else in the world, was destined to die the day he was born."
"He might have lived longer!" the drunk argued.
"Yes. He might have. But from where I stand, you are not wrong. Your priorities aren't immoral. For the departed, you still grieve. Still, your priorities clashed with a child's life. Do you want your heart unfettered, friend?"
The drunk paused.
"Do you want the only thing that wine or women can never grant you?"
The vendor reached out, firmly patting the drunk's shoulder.
"You are alive and well because heaven and earth are kind and forgiving, friend. You are forgiven."
The drunk broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
***
Alternate Title: We Got Church Confession in Gu World Before GTA 6!; Other Methods; Never Let Bai Shou in a World Ruled by Greek Gods; Bai Shou Tried Speedrunning Offending the Gu Immortals; Bai Shou: Meh, Dem Ugly Bitches Got Nothing on You, Bae *Shu Zhe: Sweating Bullets*; Pornstar Bai Shou; The Gu Hub; Only-Gu; Gu Videos; SpankGu.Com; Yellow Treasure Hub; (I'm out of porn sites. Insert your favorite gu sites here); Bai Shou Will Pen the Gu World's Kamasutra; Teaching Moves; Exhibitionism is the New Kink; Bai Shou is Fully Aware of her Bad Luck; Getting Drunk; Drunken Guilt; Bai Shou's Another Guilt; Shen Cui; Fang Zheng Can't Catch a Break Even With Ghost Shen Cui; The New Therapist in Town; Dr. Defecation; A Player of Words; Le Kid: Exists to Die; Gu Therapy; The Wonders of Wine and Women; Therapist: Wine and Women Ain't Shit *Bai Shou (Who Just Drank Wine and Encountered a Ghost Woman): True Dat*; Verdant Sun Ruined a Generation to Alcohol; If Addiction Passes Down the Genes, Verdant Sun Created Half the Drunks and Incestuous Couples in the Gu World
***
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