(MC POV)
Morning came and I woke up to Diao Chan kissing me passionately on the lips while she laid on top of me.
I made a grunt to let her know I was awake and she gave my tongue a final lick before pulling away, leaving a strand of saliva bridging between us.
"Mmmm... Good morning, Master~" Diao Chan giggled coquettishly.
"Good morning Diao chan," I greeted back with a knowing smile.
It wasn't the first time she woke me up that way though most of the time her lips were further down southwards as compared to this one.
Something shifted on my side and I turned to see Eris pushing herself out from under the covers groggily, taking a few more seconds to get her bearings.
Once she did, the swordswoman immediately latched her lips onto mine, kissing me greedily before slowing down to a gentle kiss.
We maintained the kiss for a while more before she finally separated for air.
"Huu... Ah! Good morning Master!" She greeted me energetically.
"Good morning Eris. I hope I didn't wear the both of you out last night?"
"Oh~ Of course not, Master! In fact, if you'd like to go another round, I'm all for it~" Diao Chan suggested lasciviously.
"You really don't care if we have an audience, huh?" I pointed out, turning to look at Iris who had remained standing in the same spot ever since last night.
Diao Chan didn't even look at her direction and went on to straddle me, "Hmm? This is precisely why I want to do it, Master. Let her know how much love we receive from you every night and let her wallow in her self-pity~"
I hardly think Iris is wallowing in self-pity at any point. If you think about it, Iris had been watching our little sessions for a really long time so this is something she would be used to seeing.
Yep, just look at her, she's not even reacting to your words. She definitely enjoys watching more than participating herself.
Hold on... Doesn't this mean Iris is a voyeur?
Erm... Let's not go there.
I booped Diao Chan on the nose, "As much as I wouldn't mind staying in bed with the two of you for the rest of the day, all of us do have things to do so let's get up."
Eris twirled her finger on my chest, "Do we have to, Master? Just five more minutes?"
"Your five minutes means five hours, now come on."
The two girls groaned but got up obediently to dress themselves before returning to dress me.
Just as the girls were straightening out my robes, a knock came from the front door.
"Master? It's Sophia. Sect Master Qing is here to see you."
How weird that the former Heaven Sect Master is now announcing the current Heaven Sect Master's arrival.
"Tell him I'll meet him in my courtyard pavilion," I called back.
Sophia left after acknowledging my order, leaving me to finish dressing up before I left my room with my three disciples.
Eris and Diao Chan immediately went to join my other disciples for their morning training while I headed to the pavilion where Sect Master Qing was waiting. On the table was a tea set that Sophia had prepared for the two of us, the former demon lord standing a polite distance away.
He immediately stood up and cupped his hands when he saw me approaching.
"Good morning, Master Lin! I hope I'm not intruding too much?"
I smiled and cupped my hands to return his greeting, "Not at all, Sect Master Qing. My courtyard is always open for you. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
He gestured for me to take a seat before he took his, "Ho ho, Master Lin is as kind as always. I would much prefer that I came to you bearing good news but... Alas, that is not the case..."
I took a sip of my tea, "Oh? What's the problem? Don't tell me the new students are making trouble?"
He shook his head, "No, no. The new students are actually really good. Knowing that Master Lin is here got them really motivated. Although..."
"Although?"
"Although... There is a pair of students that I'm not sure what we should do with..."
I placed my cup back on the table and Sophia came forward to refill it before backing away again. She made sure to avoid blocking Iris's line of sight to me, really considerate of her.
"What's wrong with them?"
Sect Master Qing made a face at me, "I wouldn't say something is wrong... It's more that they're really talented... Like... Too talented... They know of cultivation methods that we never even heard of, it feels like they are the ones giving the lessons instead..."
Oh. It's them huh...
"Would the pair be named Lunamaeniera and Rina by any chance?" I asked.
"Oh? Are they acquaintances of Master Lin's? If that's the case, I can understand their situation perfectly."
Er... I don't really know how being acquainted with me has anything to do with explaining their situation... But I suppose if that makes sense to you...
I waved my hand, "You can say they are acquaintances of mine. They came from a place where the Practitioner arts are more refined but... For reasons I'm not at liberty to say, their cultivation has been suppressed which requires them to cultivate from the bottom again."
"Unnn... I see, I see. This makes much more sense... I will relay that to the other Elders and Masters."
"Anyway, I believe that's not what you came here for, right?" I pointed out, taking another sip of my tea.
"Oh! That's right! Master Lin knows of our Heaven Sect branch right?"
"You mean the former Phoenix Sect that Feng boy used to be the Sect Master of before they submitted to us? What about it?"
"Unn... While the other Sects that were being brazen had issued public apologies and even sent compensation, our branch Sect had locked themselves up tightly ever since Elder Feng got disposed of by Master Lin."
"Hmm? They can't really expect that we won't go there to break down their doors for this, can they?"
Sect Master Qing stroked his beard, "That's not the problem, Master Lin. We believe they have the same sort of sword formation at their branch Sect too and they most likely also possess some kind of alarm that told them Elder Feng was disposed of, prompting them to go into seclusion. They may not even know Master Lin is back."
Ah I get it, they may actually simply be innocent bystanders who were forced into Feng boy's schemes against their will. Since breaking through their barrier would require them to use brute force, a skirmish might break out and having our own Sect members kill each other would definitely not be a good thing.
But we also don't know if they were really innocent so there's some risk involved in trying to communicate too.
Again, I could use my omniscience to find out, but as shown from my bout with Iris, I really shouldn't rely on it too much.
Anyway, it shouldn't be that hard, I'll just go there and take a look around to see what's up, shouldn't take more than a few days or so. My disciples are also fine on their own right now so I can spare a few days away.
I sighed, "I understand, I'll go over and take a look to see if they are innocent or not."
Sect Master Qing bowed his head, "Thank you Master Lin. If there was any other way, I would not have asked this of you..."
"Nonsense. This is precisely what I'm here for. Anyway, it'll be good for me to go visit them for a bit so it's no big deal."
"Ho ho, Master Lin truly is benevolent as always. This old man will leave it in your capable hands then."
He bowed once more before leaving my courtyard.
Hmmm... So the branch Sect eh? Let's go see what's going on over there then. And since I'm already out, maybe I can go pay a few other acquaintances a visit.. Last time I went to the capital, I didn't get to see how Brendan's family was doing so maybe I'll do it this time.
