STNS: Chapter 511 (Patreon)

Yōuměi returned to the auction with Hóngyàn Shūshu the next day to retrieve their pill--only to be given unfortunate news.

“What do you mean I lost?” Hóngyàn Shūshu demanded with a look of outrage on his face. “The pill wasn’t worth that much! I paid nearly three times more than what it’s worth!”

Yōuměi had never seen Hóngyàn Shūshu get angry like this before. There was an ominous aura surrounding him as he glared at Shing Shiyu, the old man they had dealt with yesterday. He was actually a little scary. Yōuměi was impressed that the old man could remain so calm in the face of this anger. She would have cowered if she was in his position.

“I am as surprised as you,” the old man confessed. “I didn’t think anyone would spend that much on a pill like this, but when I consider who outbid you…”

Hóngyàn Shūshu narrowed his eyes. “Who was it?”

“Zhen Lian.”

Hóngyàn Shūshu’s eyes narrowed further and a strange aura emitted around him, causing both Shing Shiyu and Yōuměi to take a step back. The hairs on Yōuměi’s neck prickled. She instinctively beant down on all fours and began hissing. Noticing this, Hóngyàn Shūshu took several deep breaths, then swiftly turned around.

“Come, Yōuměi. We’re leaving.”

Yōuměi didn’t know where they were going, but she had no choice except to follow him as he led her through the Colosseum. They made it to the barracks. However, they didn’t go to Yōuměi’s or even Hóngyàn Shūshu’s room. They traveled in the opposite direction and soon ascended a flight of stairs. Yōuměi glanced out a passing window and noticed they were now high in the air.

We’re going up one of the towers…

There were several towers in the Colosseum. Yōuměi had no idea what they were used for.

At the very top of the tower was an ornate door with a large bird boldly emblazoned on the front in gold. Hóngyàn Shūshu didn’t even look at the door as he barged into the room and began shouting.

“Zhen Lian! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Oh my,” a voice said from deeper in the room. The voice was husky yet feminine and silky. “We haven’t seen each other in so long, and the first thing you do after barging into my private chamber is make demands of me? Has no one taught you etiquette.”

“Do not give me that! Especially not when you bought the Yin Ascendant Pill I was bidding on even though it’s useless to you!”

Curious, Yōuměi walked further into the room and looked past Hóngyàn Shūshu.

A woman lounged on a bed set against the far end of the wall. She was beautiful. Her presence was both regal and commanding, and this combination captivated Yōuměi. The woman wore no shoes, and her toes curled as she shifted her long, toned legs. She wore light lingerie that showed almost everything. Her crotch was just barely covered by thin cloth fabric that could hardly be considered underwear.

She was a well-proportioned woman with an athletic but bouncy figure that seemed both strong and agile. Yōuměi was good at judging people, and she could tell this sexy woman was strong. Her face was also stunning. She wasn’t as pretty as Big Sis Mei, Lili, or Jingshu, but her fierce countenance, with sharp, high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes the color of molten gold, with their hypnotic allure, were enough to make even Yōuměi recognize her beauty. This woman also had long and flowering hair that fell like waves of deep crimson and burnt orange. Each glistening strand made Yōuměi think of a sunset.

The woman looked at her, and Yōuměi froze as intense fear overwhelmed her. She felt like prey who had just been spotted by a predator. Her instincts almost made her roll onto her back and show her belly in submission, but Hóngyàn Shūshu narrowed his eyes and the feeling disappeared.

“Don’t you dare try to intimidate my apprentice,” he demanded.

Smiling, the woman drew a finger across her lips. “So this is the famous apprentice I’ve heard so much about. What is your name, child?”

“Yōuměi,” she answered immediately.

The smile widened. “Yōuměi, hmmm? That’s a good name.”

“Master came up with it.”

“Your master??”

Before the woman could question Yōuměi further, Hóngyàn Shūshu stepped forward and released his chi, creating a powerful aura that forced the woman to divert her attention.

“Zhen Lian, you knew I wanted that pill and outbid me on purpose, knowing I would come here.”

Sighing, Zhen Lian lounged back, maintaining her comfortable posture. “Of course, I did. You would not have come here otherwise.”

“What do you want?”

“You know what I want.”

“Ask for something else.”

“No. You will give me what I want, or I will keep this pill for myself.”

“It has no use to you!”

“But it is useful for you.”

Yōuměi tried to follow the back and forth, but she was utterly confused. Zhen Lian seemed to want something from Hóngyàn Shūshu, which he was not willing to give her, and it sounded like she had wanted this thing from him for a long time. What could it be? Yōuměi couldn’t fathom what that might be. 

After what felt like a lifetime of arguing, Hóngyàn Shūshu, his face red like a beet, spun on his heel and stormed out of the room.

“Come on, Yōuměi. We’re not going to get anywhere with this lady.”

Yōuměi had never been more confused than she was now, but since it seemed like their reason for coming here had ended in failure, she made to follow him. She stopped, however, when Zhen Lian spoke up.

“You are quite fortunate to have that man as your master, but you should be careful. Hóngyàn is not at all what he appears to be. He is keeping many secrets from you.”

Yōuměi didn’t know what this woman meant, but she didn’t have time to ponder it. Hóngyàn Shūshu started shouting for her to hurry up. She gave the woman lounging regally on the bed one last look before turning around and leaving the tower.

***

Two days passed since Hóngyàn Shūshu confronted Zhen Lian, and during that time, the older man had done his best to help Yōuměi get stronger. Since they were unable to acquire the pill, they had forgone it. There were currently no alchemy pills available that would help her. What Hóngyàn Shūshu made Yōuměi do was train under a waterfall. He said meditation like this would help open her meridians and allow her to more easily absorb the yin chi from the leylines. Yōuměi had no idea what that meant, but she did her best. She wanted to be stronger.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t working. Yōuměi just couldn’t make her body stay still for long. She had always been like this ever since she could remember. She was the type who needed to be constantly moving. Sitting in one place was anathema to her. However, when Yōuměi brought this up and suggested that maybe they see Zhen Lian again, Hóngyàn Shūshu got mad at her.

“I refuse to give that conniving woman what she wants!” was all he said on the subject.

Which was why Yōuměi decided to visit Zhen Lian on her own.

“I did not expect that you would come to me on your own,” Zhen Lian said, lips curved into a smile that made Yōuměi uncomfortable for reasons not even she knew. “Are you here for the Yin Ascendant Pill? I’m sorry to say this, but I won’t give it to you unless I get  what I want.”

“Yōuměi… I need that pill,” Yōuměi said after a moment.

“And? I don’t see why I should care,” Zhen Lian said with a shrug.

Yōuměi furrowed her brow. She hadn’t come here with a plan. Had Big Sis Mei been the one doing this, she would have had a plan in place to deal with this woman, but Yōuměi was not the kind of person who could create convoluted plans like her. She knew her own strengths and weaknesses very well by this point. Some people plotted and planned, others did not. Yōuměi was the type who charged ahead without a plan.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t learn.

“You want something from Hóngyàn Shūshu,” she said at last. “If I can get it for you, will you give me the Yin Ascendant Pill?”

Zhen Lian blinked. “You call him Shūshu?” She raised a hand to her lips and chortled. “He must have taken a liking to you, or perhaps he just losing his edge.” Yōuměi tilted her head, befuddled, but Zhen Lian just waved her off. “What I want is not something you can give me… though perhaps you could convince Hóngyàn to give me what I want. He seems awfully fond of you, the nine heavens knows why.”

“What do you want?” asked Yōuměi.

Zhen Lian was already smiling, but they parted even more, curling into a seductive grin.

“I want him to give me his seed, so that I might bear strong children,” she said at last.

Yōuměi did not know what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that.

“You want his kids?”

“Yes.”

“Hóngyàn Shūshu’s kids?”

“Correct.”

Yōuměi paused. “Why?”

“Do you need to know why? Or are you simply curious? I’ll warn you now, some things are better left unknown. Have you not heard the phrase ‘ignorance is bliss?’”

“I have heard that phrase… but I have never understood it. Isn’t knowing half the battle?”

Knowing is half the battle was something her master had said quite often. He also said that knowledge was power. It stood to reason, then, that the more knowledge someone had, the more power they had. Yōuměi needed power.

“Hmph. You speak those phrases without knowing what they truly mean. In either event, I have no intention of revealing something so personal like my reasons for desiring a child with you. Go and try to convince Hóngyàn to give me a child. If you cannot do that, then do not expect to ever get the Yin Ascendant Pill. In fact, if you cannot help me, I will make sure you never get any of the pills you require.”

Yōuměi had no choice but to leave. Zhen Lian was not someone she could contend with.

She traveled to the mess hall, where she found Hóngyàn Shūshu already waiting for her. He gave her one look. Yōuměi could tell the moment he stared at her that he already knew where she had been.

“Why did you go to visit that woman?” he demanded.

“Because I need the Yin Ascendant Pill,” Yōuměi said.

Hóngyàn Shūshu blew out a deep breath as he led her into the mess hall, where they got some food and sat down. They ate in silence for a time. Yōuměi wanted to speak up, but she didn’t know what to say.

“We will find another way to get you the pill you need,” he said at last. “So do not go near that woman again.”

“Hóngyàn Shūshu… why do you hate that woman so much?” she asked.

“My reasons don’t matter.”

“I think they do.”

“…Because that woman is a menace who will ruin the Colosseum if she gains too much power,” he said at last.

“I see,” Yōuměi said at last.

Hóngyàn Shūshu smiled wryly. “It’s clear that you do not see.” He stirred his congee in contemplative silence for several seconds. “Zhen Lian is unstable and dangerous. Her overwhelming desire for power and control has led to her committing numerous atrocities. Her request to bear my children isn’t just about procreation. It’s about usurping the current factions in charge of the Colosseum. Ambition and power without strong principles are dangerous. Zhen Lian has ambition and power in spades, but she has no principles or strong moral compass to guide her. If she gains any more power, it could mean the end of the Colosseum and even the city.”

Yōuměi wondered if Zhen Lian was really that dangerous. She didn’t know the women at all, however, so all she could do was trust Hóngyàn Shūshu.