Unintended Cultivator

Sen stretched and looked out the window. Even in the pre-dawn light, he could see Golden Phoenix Sect members out and about. Some were clearly cultivating, others were training martial forms, and he even saw a few groups that appeared to be heading out on missions of one kind or another. It was all so orderly. He wondered if things would ever look this orderly back at the Deep Wilds Academy. Sen knew that it was going to be a sect, but he just hated the very thought of openly calling it a sect, even in his own head. Maybe I just won’t, he thought. I can keep calling it an academy if I want to. The more he thought about that idea, the better he liked it.

“Leaving already,” said a wistful voice from behind him.

He turned and, well, he supposed the right word for it was beheld Lai Dongmei. She was stretched out on the blankets to display her body to maximum advantage. Sen’s self-control was nothing to be sneered at, but he wasn’t going to lie himself. He was tempted. The only thing that marred the image was the shattered remains of what had been the bed’s frame.

“We broke your bed,” he observed, not sure if he ought to feel bad about it or not.

“Yes, we did,” said Lai Dongmei.

She was clearly not bothered by that at all. If anything, she looked quite satisfied by that turn of events.

“Maybe you should have had it reinforced with qi. I mean, you are sect matriarch and all.”

She let out a throaty laugh that did all sorts of subtle but nonetheless interesting things to the rest of her body.

“It was,” she told him. “I’m sure it will start all manner of interesting rumors when I have it very obviously removed.”