Morning in Qinghe Town
The border town of Qinghe was small, unremarkable, and exactly the kind of place someone would hide if they wanted to disappear from the cultivation world.
Nestled between two mountain ranges, surrounded by medicinal herb forests, populated mostly by mortal farmers and low-level Qi Condensation cultivators who’d never amount to anything—it was the definition of backwater.
Perfect for a widow trying to survive.
Madam Lin knelt in the underbrush at the forest’s edge, her weathered hands carefully extracting Moongrass roots from the soft earth. The herb was common, barely worth ten copper coins per bundle, but it was all she could gather safely.
Her body protested the position—fifty years of life, combined with the catastrophic loss of her cultivation base years ago, had left her with chronic aches that no mortal medicine could truly cure.
As she knelt, her dress—simple blue cotton, worn but clean—hiked up around her wide hips, the fabric straining against curves that age and hardship hadn’t diminished. If anything, her body had become thicker over the years.
Her hips were massive, spreading wide as she crouched, the dress pulling tight across an ass that would have made younger women jealous. Her thighs were thick and strong despite her lost cultivation, and her breasts—gods, her breasts—hung heavy in the loose bodice, full D-cups that strained the fabric with every movement.
She’d been beautiful once. A cultivator of some renown. Proud. Strong.
Now she was just... tired.
Her eyes—once sharp and bright—were weak now. Mortal eyes that couldn’t see spiritual energy, couldn’t sense danger, couldn’t protect anyone.
’Especially not Yue’er,’ she thought bitterly, placing the gathered herbs into her basket.
Zhang Yue. Her adopted daughter. Twenty-two years old, beautiful, innocent, and currently being pursued by the Young Master Wei of the local Wei family—a minor noble house that thought themselves important because they had two Qi Condensation cultivators.
Young Master Wei wanted Yue’er as a concubine. Had made his intentions clear. And the Wei family had enough influence in Qinghe to make life... difficult if refused.
Madam Lin had tried to refuse. Had stood firm.
Until they’d threatened to burn down the small apothecary shop she ran. Until they’d mentioned how "accidents" happen to pretty young girls who walk home alone at night.
So tomorrow, Zhang Yue would be "invited" to a banquet at the Wei estate. To be "introduced" to Young Master Wei formally.
Everyone knew what that meant.
And Madam Lin—once a powerful cultivator, once someone who could have destroyed the entire Wei family with a gesture—
Could do nothing.
’I couldn’t even protect my son,’ she thought, eyes stinging with tears she refused to let fall. ’And now I can’t protect Yue’er either. What kind of mother am I?’
Lin Feng. Her beautiful boy. Dead three years now. Killed in some grand battle she’d only heard rumors about—something involving sects and heavenly tribulations and demonic forces.
She hadn’t even been able to attend his funeral. Hadn’t been able to see his body. Just... rumors that her son, the legendary cultivator, had fallen.
And she’d been here. In this backwater town. Useless.
"Enough," she whispered to herself, roughly wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Crying won’t feed anyone."
She lifted the basket—heavier than it should be for her mortal strength—and turned to head back to town.
The herbs would sell for maybe thirty coppers. Enough for rice and vegetables for three days if she was careful.
’At least I can do that much. At least I can—’
A sound.
Voices? No—groaning. Pained sounds coming from deeper in the underbrush.
Madam Lin froze, survival instincts warring with concern.
’Could be bandits. Could be dangerous. I should leave—’
But what if it was someone hurt? Someone who needed help?
’You can’t save everyone,’ the bitter voice in her head reminded her. ’You can’t even save yourself.’
Still, her feet moved. Pushing through the bushes, following the sounds—
And she saw.
The Discovery
Three bodies lay in a small clearing just off the main path.
Two women—completely naked, unconscious or sleeping, their bodies sprawled across—
A man.
Madam Lin’s breath caught.
Because the man was like nothing she’d ever seen in this backwater town.
He appeared maybe twenty-five at most, but his body—gods, his body—was perfect. Muscular in that way that spoke of cultivation and combat, not manual labor. Broad shoulders, defined chest, abs that looked carved from marble.
And his skin had a strange quality—patches of what looked like scales? Black-azure and gleaming faintly even in shadow.
’Cultivator,’ her mind supplied immediately. ’Powerful one. Core Formation at least—’
But it was the women draped over him that made her face flush.
Both completely naked. Both clearly well-used if the fluids staining their thighs were any indication. Both beautiful in different ways—
One was thick, maybe early thirties, with massive breasts and wide hips and an ass that rivaled Madam Lin’s own. Her face showed exhausted satisfaction even in sleep.
The other was tiny—barely five feet tall, looking maybe nineteen, with a petite frame except for breasts that were impossibly large for her size. She was curled against the man’s side like a satisfied cat.
’They were—they were having sex,’ Madam Lin realized, face burning. ’In the forest. And they just—just fell asleep like that—’
She should leave. Should absolutely leave. This was none of her business and getting involved with powerful cultivators was how mortals died—
But her feet carried her forward anyway.
Because what if they were in danger? What if they needed—
’What are you thinking?’ the voice in her head demanded. ’You can’t help anyone! You’re USELESS!’
Still, she moved to her basket, pulled out the large cloth she used to carry herbs, and approached the trio with trembling hands.
The least she could do was cover their nakedness. Give them some dignity.
Up close, the bodies were even more intense. The thick woman’s breasts were covered in bite marks and hickeys. The petite one’s inner thighs showed clear evidence of... vigorous activity.
And the man—
His cock, even soft, was visible between the bodies. Massive. Thick. Resting against his thigh like a sleeping serpent.
Madam Lin’s face burned hotter, and she quickly draped the cloth over the two women, trying not to look, trying not to think about how long it had been since she’d seen a man’s body, since she’d felt—
’STOP IT,’ she commanded herself. ’You’re fifty years old. A widow. A mother. Stop thinking like a—’
"Mmmmh~..."
The man stirred.
Madam Lin froze, standing over him, cloth in hand—
And his eyes opened.
Consciousness returned slowly, accompanied by soft warmth on either side of him and the smell of sex and spiritual energy.
His eyes cracked open—
And from his position lying on the ground, he looked up.
Directly up a woman’s body.
She stood over him, backlit by morning sun filtering through trees, and from this angle he could see everything:
Thick thighs in a worn blue dress that had hiked up slightly. The dress clinging to wide hips and an ass that curved out dramatically.
The fabric stretched across a soft stomach, then swelling up over breasts that were huge—hanging heavy in the loose bodice, nipples visible as dark circles through the thin fabric.
And her face—