Aimless Ascension

"You worthless morons, since when did our town have, so many lechers like the lots of you?"

The men around the road all went completely silent as they exchanged glances with one another.

"Fuck, it is Sister Wang Li," said the first voice that praised her racks, "why didn't you tell me before?"

"I . . ." The other person stuttered, clearly lost for words.

"Run, grandma will lash us to death if she learns about this."

Within a couple of seconds, all the youths departed, leaving a dumbstruck Fang Chen, who looked at Wang Li in a new light.

Most of the youths who were gawking at them were copper rankers, the same as them; yet Wang Li controlled the situation so easily without even using a bit of her power.

That was exactly what Fang Chen wanted to learn. Spirit arts? She was better at it than her.

"It is easier with younger people," Wang Li smiled at her. "Let's go."

By the time Wang Li reached the inn, Rong'er was half asleep, snuggling into her chest. Vale was sniffing around Fang Chen, easily making her uncomfortable, even though the hound was just adorable to look at.

The big furry boy turned his head towards the other way, as if noticing something before them. Wang Li wondered if Gale and Xiaolin had already had their date, but no, it merely had been an hour since they left. Even Xiaolin's makeup took more time than that. Surely, the master practitioner would know better to spend a good time with her at this festival.

"Come on," said a girl in a high-pitched tone, "I'm already an adult. You cannot treat me like this."

"You should have acted more like an adult for me to treat you as one," another voice said, a familiar one as he dragged the woman with him. From their silhouettes, it seemed he was dragging her by the ear.

"But it is my dao," the girl complained.

"What? Doing whatever you want?"

"Isn't that why everyone practices spirit arts?" the girl complained.

"I'm not having this conversation again," the youth said. "This is exactly why I didn't ask for your presence here."

"I'll tell Aunt."

"Say whatever you want to tell Aunt, but no more drama on the street."

"Sun Ziang?" Wang Li asked, finally recognising the unique features of the Sun Clan in the dark.

"Oh, cousin Wang Li, you finished your trip to the festival already," Sun Ziang said, still dragging the other person by the ear. He only relented when they came face to face.

Sun Lian, the tom girl, rubbed her ear, which had turned red, and gawked at the two women before her.

"Damn," she swore, "what is this village? It's filled with all kinds of beauty. The type you'd wanted to protect, the provokingly bombshell, the innocent type, the glamorous type, and this. Ziang, why did Great Grandmother send you here, really?"

Sun Ziang simply hit her on the head, but the girl dodged to come before the doll.

"Oh, we meet again," Sun Lian said, raising her palm high. "Fang Chen, right? I hope you change your mind about me."

Sun Ziang groaned from behind. "Was this the girl you harassed on the street?"

Sun Lian turned and shot Sun Ziang an accusing look. "How could you? How could you term the confession of my pure heart as harassment?"

This time Sun Ziang didn't miss his mark on this occasion, he took a hold of the girl by the ear again and pulled.

"You should start with the apology now," he told her.

Sun Lian grunted. "Never," she said, her voice true and clear. "I haven't done a crime confessing to a girl. I won't apologise."

"You haven't done any crime confessing to a girl," Sun Ziang agreed. "But you sure made a spectacle of it, denouncing a fair girl's character. Now apologise."

Sun Lian lifted her head to look at the porcelain doll carefully, who was clearly uncomfortable during the entire exchange. She relented.

"I guess I overreacted with the rejection," Sun Lian said. "I apologise for my behaviour. I wished we could have done that in a relatively peaceful place. Hey, would your answer be different if I confessed in a quiet place?"

Sun Ziang shook his head. There was no point in giving this girl a lesson, as she would always revert to her usual self.

"I think you chose the wrong candidate for it," Wang Li answered for Fang Chen. "She's completely straight, are you not, Chenchen?"

Fang Chen nodded her head like a woodpecker, eager to escape the weird girl.

"Everyone is straight until they taste something different," Sun Lian said with a grin on her lips, which led Sun Ziang to pull her ears even more.

"No more vulgarities, if you'd like to stay here," Sun Ziang said in his commanding tone. "Is that clear?"

"Gosh, you're still so dull. Fine, fine, I'll refrain. Now let go of my ear. It swells and people are watching."

"Yes, we better take this under a roof," Wang Li agreed, directing them towards the inn.

***

A couple of hours passed, and Wang was waiting at the counter for Xiaolin and Gale. In case someone else crashed in the middle of the night, she was prepared for it as well.

In the last two hours, she had completed the various tasks she was left to do, which included taking charge of the workers who in retrospect cleaned up the inn and took care of every need of the guests. She rested a few minutes, cradling Rong'er to deep sleep, and came back to the counter again.

These last few days had been exhausting, with spirit arts and everything in the inn.

Wang Li's shoulders were burning, her waist cranking with all the effort she put together. She was a bit sleepy, but she probably wouldn't be able to if she didn't have a bath first.

But before that, she needed a drink. Wang Li was just searching around the counters to find the wine she brewed with her new abilities.

But at that moment, a realization dawned on her, as she scurried to the open veranda, unwittingly carrying the bottle of wine.

Most of the time, Gale never came through the front gate, but landed directly on the lawn. And that was exactly what he did this time around as well.

Getting there, she found Gale and Xiaolin snuggling together, exchanging sweet kisses.