Aimless Ascension

Gale rose from on top of her, his eyes meeting hers. The blanket slid off his back and he finally saw the golden-haired girl sleeping soundly next to the woman he mistook her with.

Gale's mind crashed immediately, as he screamed inwardly.

'FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!' ‌

His mind sobered up completely at the mistake he had caused. No, it wasn't simply a mistake. It was an outright blunder. A blunder that could destroy the new life he was trying to build up in this valley.

'Why the hell didn't she scream!?' he wanted to scream at her, but composed himself somewhat. Although countless such ideas came to his head in a matter of a nick of a moment.

He took a deep breath and tried to think of a way out. No, that wasn't it. A way out wouldn't solve the problem. Well, to be honest, he couldn't see any way to solve the problem. All he hoped to do was pacify it.

What should be the right course of action from here?

He could wake Xiaolin up and try to explain the situation to her, but that seemed like a completely bad idea. He had wronged both the women in the room without even knowing anything.

What was he going to say to her, anyway? That as a gold ranker, he mistook another woman for her? No, that didn't seem right either. And when did his senses become so weak that he would make such a huge mistake?

Was he simply thinking with his dick? Or the ambrosia screwed his head.

'And why the fuck she left the door open if they decided to sleep together?'

Gale really wanted to cling onto one of those excuses, where it wasn't completely his fault. Well, it wasn't completely his fault. One coincidence after another led up to it. But he played the key role in that, which put him in the worst possible situation.

Gale calmed himself and returned to the woman he had wronged. ‌He had made a blunder, and he knew it.

The right course of action from here was to apologise to her first and then try to explain the misunderstanding.

But what if she didn't believe him?

Well, maybe he could present his case well. For example, Xiaolin asked him to come to her room at night, and how he could have mistaken her for Xiaolin.

'I mean, both of her heights were about the same,' Gale told himself. 'Wang Li just had a more hourglass-shaped figure, but how can I make the difference in the heat of excitement?'

Gale was pretty sure he would have gone even further if it wasn't for the milk spraying into his mouth. That would be completely unforgivable.

Then again, he had done enough unforgivable things already.

Gale let out a breath again. All that didn't matter much.

He would have to take responsibility for his mistake and apologise, even if it meant that he would be making it difficult between the three of them.

Taking a deep breath, Gale looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry. . . I mistook you for Xiaolin. I take full responsibility. Please forgive me."

No response.

Wang Li clutched her robe close to her chest, looking at him accusingly, tears dropping from her eyes in a twinkle. ‌

Gale wanted to explain more, that Xiaolin asked him to enter her room at dark, but he knew it wouldn't make a difference. Although all parties were at a fault, Gale was in the centre of it. He felt helpless, and all he could do was apologise.

"I'm sorry, Wang Li," he said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'll take full responsibility if you just. . . Please say something. . ."

A silence.

"Wang Li?" Gale drew his palm to touch her arm, but she moved away, still in shock.

"Leave," Wang Li said, her voice cracking, as tears came rapidly.

She couldn't meet his eyes, nor think straight at this moment. She wasn't going to scream, as that would make the situation even more troublesome with the house full of guests.

"I . . ." Gale's voice trailed off, but he didn't challenge her.

He got off and stood up. He gave her a second glance as she remained sitting there, clutching her clothes.

"I'm genuinely sorry." Gale left those words and moved out of the room.

He moved directly towards the open veranda, navigating with his sobered-up mind. When he got there, he released his third fate lock and flew away at the top of his speed.

* * *

Wang Li remained sitting like that for over an hour, her mind grieving at what had transpired. No delight of her progress in spirit arts was present in her spirit anymore, as her shoulders sagged. She remained sitting in the dark, leaning against the wall.

'Why didn't I scream?' That was the biggest question on her mind.

At first, Wang Li was asleep when Gale hugged her from the back, only reacting unconsciously. She only managed some lucidity when he removed her robes and groped her bosoms. But even more so, she was confused at that point, with her mind still having the aftereffects of the wine.

However, she was wide awake when he heard his voice. Despite all the intoxication and confusion, Wang Li still maintained enough clarity to be able to recognise the man who embraced her.

She put an effort into struggling out of his grasp immediately, but her body hardly had the power. She knew that she should have screamed, but her voice didn't come out.

It was like her throat had been sealed shut by invisible forces, completely immobilising her. Then her mind went into complete disarray, her body trembling, and her heart beating crazily.

She lost all power to fight back as an unbridled desire got hold of her. Before she knew it, she was reaching for the touch, welcoming it, as if wanting to fill the holes in her life.

Wang Li was shameful to admit it, but she was just at fault. Although the master practitioner started it, she let him continue.

Then it hurt so badly when he uttered Xiaolin's name.

'I made a terrible mistake,' Wang Li screamed inwardly, turning her head towards the golden-haired girl sleeping soundly.

Wang Li regarded Xiaolin as her younger sister. How could she have done that to her? Xiaolin, of all people.

Tears started rolling down her face as the guilt overwhelmed her. She had let Xiaolin down.‌

***

Xiaolin awoke late with a bit of tiredness. Such a morning was pretty rare as she was accommodated to waking up early with the sun.

Xiaolin wasn't sure if it was the after-effect of the three drops of ambrosia she drank late last night, but it was more likely.

That was the first drink of her life, and it introduced a whole new world to her. She was absolutely on cloud nine light night, even after she completed her cycling to purify the energy.

Xiaolin slept with her elder sister last night, as she had to give her room to the doll girl Fang Chen, as no other rooms were available. Well, Xiaolin didn't mind giving her the room for one night, considering if the young oracle's divination was correct, and the doll-girl was really important to save her master's life in a critical situation.

'If that divination turns out to be true, what about the other one she told me privately?' Xiaolin wandered as anxiety got a hold of her.

Then she found the new necklace on her neck. A silly smile crept to her lips as Xiaolin stood up. There was still time for her to get worried. Besides, her master told her he would talk with her about it first before deciding about such a matter.

Like most days, she proceeded to complete her daily ritual of feeling her master's presence through the bond. Weirdly, today she barely felt anything when she focused on the small bond mark on her abdomen.

A frown crawled up on her brows, as Xiaolin tried harder, but the result remained the same.‌ All she could feel was him being far away, in the direction of their farm.

'Did he leave already?' Xiaolin wandered. 'Without telling me?'

Xiaolin moved out of the room and found her elder sister meditating on the open veranda like most days. She found Vale playing with Rong'er on the lawn as well, but no sign of her Master.

Xiaolin waited for Wang Li to finish her meditation. Then she finally remembered her promise of last night to her master.

'Crap,' Xiaolin cursed to herself. 'Is he angry at me for forgetting about it?'

But as far as she knew her master, he would want to talk with her to clear any misunderstanding, not leave without her. That wasn't her master.

Perhaps something big happened on the farm.

"Xiaolin," Wang Li said, finishing her meditation.

Xiaolin broke her contemplation and focused on her elder sister. She looked somewhat distressed in her eyes, although she couldn't put a finger on it.

"Did something happen, elder sister?" Xiaolin asked.

Wang Li didn't respond.

"Have you seen my master?" Xiaolin asked again. "I feel like he left without me. Did he say anything before leaving?"

Wang Li opened her lips to say something, but her mouth remained hung open as she couldn't find the words to describe how ashamed she was feeling.

"I'm sorry," Wang Li said, biting her lips.

"Elder sister?" Xiaolin looked at her confusedly. "What are you sorry for?"

"Xiaolin, I think we need to talk about this in somewhere private. Please come with me. I can't forgive myself if I don't tell you this."