Understanding Your Place.

  The door closed behind Rong, then locked.

  She reached up, touched the wall, and activated the protective and privacy Arrays.

  She stood there for a moment.

  “Recommend full retreat to Bloom, Shepard takes lead.” She stated quietly.

  A piece of parchment appeared and fell to the ground.

  Jianrong leaned down and picked it up.

  There were three words on it.

  “Affirmative, buy time.”

  Jianrong looked down at her hand and gave a thumbs-up.

  Then she stripped off her armor, and both the bag and the body armor vanished, stored in the Bloom.

  She moved through the outer suite and noticed that the furniture was damaged; her heartbeat accelerated.

  When she reached the apartment door, Ning's voice came through. “Come in, Rong’er.”

  When Rong opened the door, she felt Ning’s presence like a heavy blanket.

  Both Sulara and Elaren were seated together, both were pale, and both were relieved to see Rong.

  But that gave way to fear and anger.

  Ning stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the window. She realized he was giving her his best side.

  He was selling something, and he wanted her to buy it.

  “So be it.” The predator within smiled, its once-human visage of Solomon Fernandez warped into that of Rou, a fox.

  The ID was changing slowly.

  Instead of the violet pinpricks of light that defined the Dars using Qi to accelerate their thoughts, their eyes glowed a soft amber in the darkness.

  Rong let go of her Aura, let it settle under the weight of Ning Ya’s.

  She felt his Spirit Sense touch her, searching for weapons or other means to fight him.

  What he found was nothing.

  Instead, she moved to him with her head lowered, then kowtowed to him.

  Ning turned and looked down at Rong, steadying his thoughts.

  Taking a deep breath, he finally nodded. “Take a seat with your sisters, I have much to say, and you will all listen as it is meant to be.”

  Jianrong rose and moved to sit between the two, their hands finding hers. Her Qi entered them, and then her words washed over them.

  Their faces blanked at first, then fell back into defeat.

  Ning Ya moved to the couch across from them and sat.

  “Rong’er, serve us tea. I will talk to them first; they need to understand what you have already accepted.” Ning ordered.

  Rong nodded and moved like a servant making tea.

  Ning looked at the two women and sighed.

  “I want you to know, I never meant any harm to come to you.” He looked at Sulara.

  “When your father failed to give the empire a son, all of us mourned. What you have done in the time since then has done honor to the family and yourself.” He added.

  He took a slow breath.

  “But a woman has limits, and you have reached yours. With Rong’er, we can fix this. Under my guidance, we can flourish once more. General Jang did not see it at first. But once I explained what Rong could do for me, she could do for Yue, and her…well, she saw reason.

  "No," Sulara spoke a single word, absolute finality.

  Ning Ya looked saddened, as if he were being forced to do something he did not want to do.

  "Niece, you don't understand—" Ning interrupted.

  "I am Empress Sulara Tyrenna Cyreth." Sulara’s face was red with rage. "You are addressing the Throne."

  Her eyes burned into her relative. "Not. Your. Niece." She added tightly.

  A pressure that had once been a heavy blanket turned into an overwhelming pressure that made the two Cyreth groan, locking them where they sat and making Jianrong stumble and brace herself.

  Ning blinked, got up, and helped Rong to the couch, where he placed her head on his lap, where he continued to speak, his hand stroking his disciple's hair.

  The pressure lightened, and the three women took shuddering breaths.

  “You are making me do this, niece, you are making me punish the ones you love because you refuse to see the truth. The Palace is already ours; Yue and Jang have already agreed to terms. The boy Andrew has already been taken into custody, and Jang has stopped seeing him as a disciple. Now he is a leverage and a resource. With his unseated Spirit, we will keep him safe internally, the same with the others; they are too valuable to be put at risk.”

  Elaren stared in shock.

  She had talked at length with Jang; she felt she knew her.

  Sulara had the same look of betrayal.

  Ning chuckled and helped Rong sit on his lap, facing his nieces.

  “Jang knows better than most about how the world works. With Yue and I allied, she would be at a severe disadvantage. There is no benefit to fighting over ideology, so, with a few promises and an agreement sealed in blood, the Palace and Seldara are ours. You will step down for medical reasons, and Velran will serve as interim. Once Rong has gotten me to a safe place, I will take over,

  “As long as you two follow the instructions. I will allow you to continue to spend time together.” He said gently.

  Then he reached around and fondled Rong's breast, making the young woman moan and close her eyes while leaning back into him.

  “However… your relationship as potential parents to her offspring will cease." He stated.

  Sulara’s and Elaren’s Aura’s erupted.

  A moment later, a pressure even more potent than before squeezed them until their Auras sputtered, and the two women cried out in pain and defeat.

  Ning lifted Rong’s face to look at the two women. “Rong’er, do you see this? This is the extent of what they can do. They cannot protect you. I will care for you, train you, and love you. Our children will be gods.” He murmured as tears flowed down her face.

  “Yes…master.” She said weakly.

  Ning looked at the two women and made an ultimatum.

  “I will offer this only once. Accept me as your Patriarch, accept me as your ruler, accept the Cultivator Hierarchy, and I can share my wife with you. You will know her warmth, drink her milk, and know her love. But her womb belongs to me; I am a sovereign.”

  Sulara looked like she wanted to scream when Elaren touched her hand.

  “Uncle, you promise, we will still be with her, still taste her gifts, and still be able to love her?” Elaren asked.

  “I swear it on my cultivation,” Ning said, his expression brightening.

  “Then we accept,” Elaren said softly, and after a moment, Sulara lowered her head.

  “I accept.” She breathed.

  Ning smiled. Then whispered into Rong's ear, “Stand, child, let them help you disrobe. I will claim you with them as my witnesses that you are my wife and under my banner.”

  Rong stood slowly and turned to him. Her hands trembled as she undid her robe.

  Jianrong: "Uncle Ning, please don’t do this. Please respect my autonomy."

  Ning Ya had a gentle smile, then raised a hand to silence her.

  "Jianrong, dear child, I understand you feel that way." His voice was condescending.

  "But you don't yet understand the dangers you face."

  "The cultivation world is cruel to those with rare gifts."

  "You've been... sheltered. Protected by distance, now you need walls and rules."

  Ning looked at the two women, who had gotten up begrudgingly, helping Jianrong undress.

  Ning smiled. “Turn for me,” he commanded.

  Rong slowly rotated and saw how pale Sulara and Elaren were.

  “So beautiful, so fragrant.” He breathed as he unsheathed himself.

  “Come.”

  Ning Ya Grand Elder, and once Jianrong's master and friend, guided her with hungry eyes.

  Jianrong slowly mounted him, her face wet with tears and shame.

  After a slow moment of adjustment and resistance, they were joined, her body trembling as his hands rested on her hips.

  Then he kissed her, and she submitted, her body growing hot.

  The two women watched as Ning and Rong began to move in unison, her voice quiet at first, rising as Ning's breath quickened.

  Then he slammed himself upward deep into her, claiming what was his, making the woman gasp and shudder.

  Her eyes were clamped shut while she bit her lip, accepting him.

  Then her left arm moved around his neck as the other gripped the couch tightly.

  Her body seemed overwhelmed by sensation as she quickened her pace, rotating her hips aggressively.

  Ning had been watching her closely the entire time.

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  But when her body had responded to his, and she had pressed harder, trying to close the distance between them, he smiled and looked up at the two women seated across from them.

  Their lover was on his lap, begging him loud enough to be heard outside, not to stop, confessing she had always wanted this, pleading for him to make her his completely.

  The gentle maternal smile he had before turned into a sneer as he watched his nieces realize that they had only had what was his on loan.

  This was his; she would come back to him because neither could give her this, neither could complete her as a man and woman could complement one another.

  “Do you understand now, nieces. This is how the world works.” He gave a small laugh as he accentuated his point by thrusting hard, making his lover cry out in pleasure.

  Rong kissed him passionately, as Qi flowed through them, binding them.

  He looked into her adoring eyes as her face flushed in passion.

  “I will always love you, Uncle,” Rong confessed.

  Ning locked eyes with her and realized she meant it,

  He leaned his head back, closed his eyes, as his body moved towards climax with greater and greater urgency; his spirit felt free as her Qi moved through him, adding to his cultivation.

  The more they moved, the harder he pressed down on Rong's hips until every ounce of strength was binding them together as she begged him to push even harder.

  Then her arm around his neck and her lower body, clenched so tightly it made him gasp.

  The feeling made the veins on his forehead and throat swell.

  Her whole body trembled.

  Her voice caught, and breath caught.

  Then he thrust his hips burring himself into her, she screamed in exultation, her body curling around his with no gap between them, going rigid while spasming as she climaxed.

  He realized at that moment he had found the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.

  At the exact moment, while her head was pressed to one side of his in utter surrender, a slender golden blade made of pure Aura condensed and compressed into being in her right hand that was on the couch back.

  When Ning lifted his head and opened his eyes to watch his nieces' reaction, he felt an overwhelming pressure building within him, threatening his willpower.

  He had been forced to endure their rules, their disdain every time he was with Rong’er…now they sat there watching him pleasure her until she was screaming his name as if it was a prayer, her filthy words of desire making him flush with more and more need.

  Then he could hold it no longer.

  The shout he gave was not just from releasing decades of celibacy or from claiming the greatest conquest of his life; it was a reinstatement of hierarchy… it was putting the world back in its natural order.

  It was showing all these women their place.

  At the same time the blade entered his ear from the other side and rotated in a wide arc, cutting off his voice and making his body convulse.

  Elaren and Sulara stared at the man's face, locked in ecstasy, victory, and clarity, slowly losing the light in his eyes.

  Rong rose and sighed.

  Then she wiped the tears from her eyes.

  There was a long silence.

  “Good work, everyone. I was afraid you two were going to fight him too much.”

  Jianrong smiled and took the items off Ning’s person, then laid him on the ground.

  “One reversal for my love,” Rong said as Ning’s body sank into the floor, her Qi softening the material and pulling him down at the same time.

  Both women stared.

  “I will explain later. Wait here.” Rong said, then took only her short outer robe and put it on loosely.

  Velran felt the Array lower, and the door unlock from the inside.

  Then, a half-naked Jianrong peeked out and spoke. “Uncle, my husband told me to come get you, that you should benefit too.” She did not meet his eyes but opened the door for him to enter.

  Velran blinked and smiled.

  When he entered the room, the smell of intimacy was overwhelming.

  Jianrong closed the door and reset the arrays, then her robe opened, displaying her body to him, making his blood begin to boil.

  “Husband said you could drink your fill or... or take a turn.” She whispered.

  Velran felt his heart hammering. The woman's ears and tail enthralled him; her eyes captivated him.

  His hands brushed away her robe, so it fell to the ground.

  His eyes moved over her body to her legs, which were still moist and glistened as something ran down them.

  He licked his lips.

  “What would you like, little one?” Velran breathed heavily.

  Rong glanced back to the other room, then leaned closer. “My husband finished too quickly,” She bit her lip, her hand reaching down to pleasure herself while he watched. “I prefer a man…with stamina and who is a little rough.” Her eyes met his as her lips were slightly parted, her breathing nearly panting.

  “He started my cycle,” Rong admitted.

  Velran did not need to hear more. He began to disrobe, and Rong helped him as if she was desperate for him to finish what the grand elder had started.

  “Little Rong, fear not, anytime you need me to help you, I will be there,” The minister said with a smile.

  When he revealed himself to her, she took in a sharp breath, licked her lips, and her cheeks flushed.

  Velran had lost track of his own name, only that the patriarch had barely spent an incense stick with this woman, and now she was begging him to finish the job.

  His ego swelled to the same size as the Palace, as she took hold of his Root directly, making him shudder in anticipation.

  “Gods…I hope it fits.” She said to herself, making the man not bother to use his Spirit Sense; he didn’t want Ning to stop him from doing what he was about to do to this little vixen.

  For a moment, Velran nearly laughed aloud, thinking how funny it would be if her child had his eyes, not Ning’s. Then his eyes hardened. If she couldn’t bear his child, her mother could. He would request that she be made his.

  Then a Blood Qi pulse moved through his meridians, suddenly making his knees nearly buckle, and his voice cry out in pleasure.

  More Qi flowed, and all he could do was hold onto her, the whole time begging her to slow down as his cultivation began to surge and churn.

  His mind was screaming to make her stop while his body trembled under her Qi.

  Then, after several breaths, his Dantian, under her guidance, dissolved.

  The man let out a terrified scream, and Rong let go of him.

  “Two reversals in one day, I am spoiling my spouse.” Rong grinned.

  A hole opened into the darkness in the floor. Rong turned and smiled at the twelve golden eyes that stared at her with admiration and desire.

  “I think this would be a good gift for our lover,” Rong said to the Earth god.

  “Rou will enjoy him; he is just the right flavor.” Ling agreed.

  Jianrong reached down and yanked the man up like a sack of hay.

  “Knock him out?” she asked.

  “No need, I will bundle him up so he stays fresh.” Ling’s eyes twinkled.

  “Don’t sample too much, my love.” Rong laughed and tossed the screaming man into the hole.

  The hole was closing when Rong kneeled. “What is this, no kiss?” she pouted.

  An olive-skinned clone with twelve eyes and claws rose through the hole and curled into her, their mouths hungry for one another.

  “Child, what gift do you seek for pleasing me?” Ling asked, not letting go.

  Rong smiled. “I need a way to hide my scent; the sharks are in the water, and they can smell my blood.

  “Very well, I will see you soon with your prize,” Ling promised.

  Jianrong returned.

  She figured that at most, Jang and Yue would give Ning Ya a chime or two.

  Then a piece of parchment fell to the ground.

  Rong picked it up. Once again, it was Lin Su’s writing.

  “Gilded Sect raided the house of Royal Investigator; Alia’s family has fled to Bloom, and they are searching the city for us.” Dar Luso

  Jianrong froze, then she looked up at Elaren and Sulara.

  “You have ten heartbeats to decide. Come with and flee, or be at Jang and Yue’s mercy; they have already raided the Royal investigators' residence in broad daylight.

  Elaren blinked, and Sulara’s mouth opened and closed.

  “My Mandate..” Sulara said, confused.

  “Means jack shit when you have a turncoat from Golden Claw and a Gilded Sect coward in charge through the cultivator hierarchy,” Rong said as she got dressed quickly.

  Elaren was racing through ideas.

  “Jiroth is in on it, too,” Rong stated.

  Sulara felt her body get heavy with shock. “How can we escape?” she said finally.

  Jianrong nodded. “Matron, all in bound to stadium for processing have Valen set up an armed team just in case.”

  There was a moment when the women tried to understand what Rong meant when a note appeared, and she caught it.

  “Go ahead.” Lin Su.

  Jianrong moved to Elaren, “Relax, let me send you somewhere safe. I love you.” She said, and kissed her; the next moment, she was gone.

  Sulara moved with a start.

  Jianrong waved to her to follow. “Come on, I will tell you on the way, it's time to cash out your severance.” She said as a Qi thread moved between their hands.

  “I have a spacial treasure that holds life,” Rong explained.

  “How will you escape?!” Sulara asked, then noticed where they were headed.

  “Don’t worry about that part, it's complex…focus on putting us in the treasury,” Rong explained.

  People watched the two as they neared the treasury.

  Wang Tong appeared.

  His face flushed as he approached with two other men she recognized from the time Solomon had to stab him in the foot.

  “Never learned, it seems.” She thought.

  “We will take the fox into custody,” he announced.

  Sulara’s face moved through emotions.

  Finally, she spoke. “Can you not smell and sense Grand Elder's essence on her? She has already been bred, her agreement was a spacial treasure for accepting the situation. Move aside for my sister-in-law and me to proceed.” Sulara did not push as though she were empress.

  Wang Tong sensed Rong, sensed no weapons, and could not argue. “We will escort you.”

  Rong sighed. “Don’t think you will get a turn with me, old fool, just because Grand Elder shared me with the minister,” Jianrong warned.

  Wang Tong blinked, then laughed as they walked.

  “Your first day back and you have been used by so many….how bout I ask? Who knows what I might get?” Tong joked.

  Rong flushed red in anger, and her Aura fluttered. “My brother was right, you're despicable.” She hissed.

  Tong grabbed her arm and squeezed, making her flinch. “I still have not forgotten what you did that day. If it means going on a mission and risking my life to spend the night with you, just know you won't forget the name Wang Tong easily.” He laughed.

  As they moved down the halls, women were being guided by men, servants, and staff.

  Then Taleth appeared.

  Her weapons were taken, and a suppression seal was placed on her neck.

  Jianrong screamed and ran to her, holding onto her, and moved to strike her.

  “Stupid bitch get off my spoils.”

  “Don’t you DARE strike the Grand Elders, mate!” Sulara shouted, stepping forward.

  Tong flinched.

  Sulara still had privilege.

  Jianrong wailed as she held Taleth close.

  The man looked both stunned and startled.

  “Leave her for now,” Tong advised, but promised to bring the woman later.

  Taleth followed Rong into the vault.

  At the vault, the men were relaxed, and one moved to Taleth, feeling her up while the other pulled the door open.

  “Why would you do this? Taleth is a cultivator too!?” Rong cried.

  Tong smirked. “There isn’t enough cultivation material for everyone. Better for men to cultivate and women to remain in the home.”

  Rong stomped her foot in anger. “When my brother comes here to save me, he will kill all of you.” She warned.

  “Stupid whore, General Jang is already on her way to your home to secure your mother and sister so all you siblings play nice.” Tong purred.

  Rong was trembling, then she spat in his face, forcing him to backhand her.

  The man licked his lips, looked at the vault, then smiled. “When we go in, lock the door to ensure they don’t escape.”

  The guards glanced at one another, then nodded with knowing smiles.

  Sulara followed the attendant, the other five followed her with the Tong and his two companions taking up the rear.

  As they went through the door, Tong shoved Rong with a laugh as the thick vault door closed.

  The man closest to Taleth pressed her into the ground and moved to disrobe her at the door's threshold.

  “Hold up whore, I have something for you before we go any further,” Tong grinned.

  Then they heard the tumblers lock in place.

  His eyes met hers.

  Rong looked down at Taleth, who had turned her face away in shame as they worked to access her body.

  Then she looked back up at the two, who seemed to think she was a dessert to share.

  “Thanks, Tool.” She said as she skipped forward unexpectedly fast and kicked Tong between the legs so hard that something ruptured.

  The man beside him laughed for a brief second before he realized that Wang Tong, a Core Formation general, was disabled.

  The next moment, he was clutching at his throat as her claw with Aura coating it opened up all the veins on the left side.

  The third man took a moment to realize he smelled blood when a blow to the side of his head knocked him out.

  Taleth looked up at her, stunned.

  “Lover, it seems our paths align in this world…what do you say? Come with me or stay here as a commodity to get passed around?”

  Taleth snorted while getting up and started kicking the unconscious man.

  “My own lover handed me off like a prize,” Taleth stated, still shocked.

  Rong looked down at the empty scabbard. “he took the Jian?”

  Taleth nodded.

  Rong sighed.

  The taller woman embraced her. “I ask for hospitality,” Taleth said seriously.

  Rong whispered into her ear, and she nodded. Then she disappeared.

  Rong took the sword from the man who was unconscious and slit his throat.

  The man she had slashed was lying flat, twitching.

  That left only Tong, who was screaming into the floor while clutching at his crushed manhood.

  Without a word, Aura flowed into the blade, and she stabbed him, then simply kept stabbing until he was still.

  Jianrong looked over, and Sulara was putting on a sword belt; the man who had brought them was motionless on the floor.

  “Matron, can I get some spare hands here? We will need money and resources to be on the run.” Rong said aloud.

  The next moment, Andrew and Dar appeared.

  After brief hugs, Jianrong learned that Jang had not said anything to Andy, just led him to a cell and locked him up the day prior.

  When Shen Vey gained access to him, she told him the Palace was in an uproar as the hardliners were instituting their extremist ideology to include barring women from military and public service.

  “Where is Shen?!” Rong asked, alarmed.

  Andrew snorted and then gave a knowing look. “Of course, I took her home to meet Lin Su and Na.

  Rong opened her mouth, then clicked her tongue. “I owe you.” She murmured.

  All three laughed, then began touching everything, sending it into the Bloom.

  Sulara watched in amazement and sorrow as centuries of hard work were whisked away.

  Shepard popped into existence, his face white.

  “Jang nearly caught me, she didn’t ride, she flew, she attacked the Kunai as I launched, and I panicked and hid in the Bloom.”

  The other three siblings looked at one another,

  “Ok, you guys stay here, I will head out, kill the guards, and relock the door,” Rong said as she looked for a weapon when she saw her knife.

  “AHAHAHA the lord provides,” she grinned. “Matron, body armor please!” Rong called out, and her crimson body armor appeared on the floor.

  “What are you doing?! We need to leave together!” Sulara stopped her.

  Rong smiled and kissed her. “Empress of my heart, one of us has to remain outside…we can't all go in…I am the fastest, so it's up to me for us to survive.” She explained as she smashed the pummel of her blade to the door several times, her Aura expanding and curling around her into her Aura gel armor.

  The tumblers unlocked, and the vault door began to swing outward.

  The guard poked his head in to pull the door open faster and see if there were any leftovers when a knife pierced his brain through the bottom of his jaw, and he disappeared into the vault, making the other man think they had been called to join the fun.

  When the fox girl glided out alone, the man opened his mouth only to have his leg shattered at the knee, and the woman reclosed the heavy door, locked it, and pocketed the keys.

  The guard was shouting something at Jianrong when she tossed the key into the Bloom and turned. With a smile, she fell on him and ended his miserable existence.

  She considered how to proceed and figured it was best to cut a path out, thin out the troublemakers.

  The gel armor sharpened around her claws, and her face distorted until the armor looked like a golden bipedal Spirit fox.

  Jianrong lowered her head, raised her hands and prayed.

  She prayed for Alia’s family, because they were her family.

  She prayed for her crows and her pheasant.

  She prayed for all the people she knew here whose lives were being destroyed because people felt entitled.

  “Lord Di Jun, please witness this little one. I cannot help everyone, but I will help those I can when I can. Please let your light guide those around me to realize what they are doing is wrong.” She breathed.

  Those inside the Bloom, watching it all unfold in horror, offered their own prayers.

  Na stood with Ai in her arms and Shen, outside the stadium, watching the live feeds from each sibling, each from their own perspective.

  Even with the Bloom smoothing the feed, it could be disorienting.

  All around the camp, people milled about, calculating what they needed and where to get it.

  Nadia had gathered Elaren herself and put her to work helping them figure out village logistics, since they had lost access to fresh water but had barrels and barrels of refined water and months' worth of food.

  It was a short-term fix for a long-term problem.

  Meanwhile, all over Seldara.

  Town criers had been dispatched with an emergency notification.

  "BY ORDER OF THE MINISTERIAL COUNCIL:

  All women are to report for registration and detention pending verification of loyalty.

  All foreign residents must depart Tianrelion within three days.

  All persons unable to demonstrate three generations of Tianrelion ancestry will be expelled.

  This is for the safety and purity of our nation.

  Resistance will be met with force.

  Glory to Tianrelion."

  [Silence in the streets]

  The female crier reread the message twice before someone gripped her arm tightly.

  Then someone threw the first stone