I Was Called A Demon

Having already stared at Xue Yaling, Han Rushu and Song Ming, Bianca only had a few women to ogle, and so she chose to do so as she stripped down. She considered removing the Weave, but considering just how convenient it was and how vital it was, letting it leave her body felt like she would be taking on far too much risk.

This only gave her a little while to look, but it was still wonderful. Yu Juan showed herself naked enough times, but she still managed to look sexy and delightful with every motion. Jia Bo Xun was much more shy about her activities, but she still ended up showcasing her thin body and the average-sized boobs that ended up looking quite big on her small frame. Furthermore, her nude body revealed that she was hairless in all spots but her pubes, which were trimmed neatly but enough to showcase her dark hair down there, as well.

However, Huang Su still ended up forcing her attention away. The Sect Master was incredibly gorgeous, a motherly figure with wide, childbearing hips, large chest that remained perky despite the size of her boobs, and a generally curvy figure that nonetheless lacked any needless fat. Her flame-orange hair flowed from her head, but there was also a distinct bush at her groin of the same shade.

She was rather hot in a different way from most of the women in her little group, and Bianca was all too happy to have her around, especially if she ever chose to investigate Bianca’s corrupting influence again. Only issue was that she couldn’t spend too long looking, or else she’d be called out as well.

Thus, with her clothing gone, and her faux star metal blade placed atop it to keep it from blowing away in the wind, she descended into the water as well. She chose not to summon her cock this time, since she had no expectations of having sex in the immediate future, but she hardly needed it to feel far, far too aroused.

How could she not be?

“Ooh, the water is… quite warm. I wasn’t expecting that,” Bianca muttered as she stepped in, feeling the warmth envelop her feet, then her legs, and as she went in up to her neck, her whole body.

It was quite strange, because while it felt in every way like water, it didn’t move quite right. She couldn’t quite place the thing that felt wrong, but it was definitely due to the way in which the water refused to flow and ripple as water should, causing it to feel unusually thick around her, while also somehow being less viscous…

‘I do not like things like this… it just doesn’t make sense,’ she sighed, ‘At least magic has some sense to it, this is just… random? It feels like this place was made by someone, and that fact was just forgotten.’

Her core concern was that there was no sane reason for this one, specific lake to behave in this manner, and yet it did.

“So, while we’re in here… what are we going to do to cross the lake?” Bianca asked after throwing out that concern, since it was yet another thing that was not going to help her out in any way, “We’d need a boat or something, wouldn’t we?”

“Mhm, that’s correct,” Huang Su replied, though Bianca had to invest all of her mental energy to keep her gaze above her neck, “We require a proper vessel to traverse these waters, especially since… I can feel something in this lake, deep below. I can’t tell quite what the form of energy is, but I have a feeling there’s a reason why there is only one major settlement atop the lake itself.”

“Oh, is there? I don’t recall it on the maps…”

“It’s a moving, floating settlement of sorts. A collection of floating homes joined together into a thriving fishing town, one that moves around seemingly at random. The people within are friendly, but I have heard advice not to linger there for too long,” the Sect Master explained, “I’ll listen to such advice until I have a reason to doubt it.”

“Fair enough…”

“It’s really not. Such superstition for a Sect Master is just… ugh, never mind,” Han Rushu saw Huang Su turning towards her, and instantly shut up, pouting as she tried to look away without getting water in her mouth or eyes.

“I understand your point, you need not cease any argument against me. Similarly, I imagine that Mistress would prefer to have arguments against her ideas if they are genuinely poor,” Huang Su sighed and explained, “I was merely punishing you for your overt lack of respect.”

“You’re serving a third realm cultivator, of course I’m going to not show respect to you…” Han Rushu mumbled, turning her gaze towards the sky, “But seriously, the lake’s been here a million years, I doubt there hasn’t been a ninth realm that looked into it before. If there was anything, they’d have found it and dealt with it.”

“Unless they are the reason there is something in the lake, or if the power within comes from something in the ninth realm as well,” the Sect Master said, “The fact for the moment is that I can sense an energy, an aura of sorts, from the depths beyond us. It’s faint, and I cannot identify what element or archetype it might belong to, but I would prefer not to discover it while I am not prepared.”

“… Tch. Whatever.”

“I think I feel something as well… though my spiritual perception is far too lacking to be certain,” Yu Juan nodded, briefly putting her hand on her blindfold before pulling it away.

Perhaps she wanted to see what her terror-filled eyes could perceive, but it was probably for the best to avoid that. Instead, Bianca thought about her own vision for a moment. Although she continued to be unable to employ spiritual perception quite as naturally as the others, her eyes seemed to have a certain ability to spot auras that the others either never mentioned, or didn’t have.

She was willing to attribute it to some trait inherent to being from another world, or perhaps the fact that her spiritual perception simply acted out in other ways, but she couldn’t know for sure, and the one that would know, Huang Su, didn’t yet know about her otherworldly nature. Therefore, she was a little reluctant to spill those details, especially since she had made an agreement with Xue Yaling in regarding this subject…

‘I don’t know if I should even bother to ever honour it, but… eh, I don’t think it’s necessary to tell Huang Su just yet. If it ever reaches the point where she figures out that there’s something unusual about me and questions me, I guess I can share, but until then, I’ll survive without her knowing.’

“If you ask me… I believe that there is a certain degree of truth in myth, even the preposterous ones,” Xue Yaling said after a pause, waiting for everyone to look at her and listen before she proceeded, “There are all kinds of mysteries in the world, but none of them start out unfounded. We’ve heard of otherworldly demons, for instance, and it’s not uncommon to find figures whose capabilities don’t match what anyone ever expected of them. Such rumours could be true, or it could simply be that those who were envious of their capabilities invented tales to mark them as an ‘other’, a foe to the public.”

“You’re saying that no rumour or claim originates from nowhere, that every myth originated from a truth, or was created around it,” Huang Su said, “I don’t disagree. Rumours originate from a source, and it would be foolish to disregard them until it is possible to determine their nature.”

“Of course all of you now agree on this stuff… But fine, whatever, waste your time being afraid of a bit of water…” the blacksmith grumbled, before raising her voice, “Can’t you let me out, though? I can’t exactly swim or bathe or do anything while I’m like this!”

“The water isn’t going anywhere while you reflect on your actions,” Huang Su said, immediately moving on to a different subject, “To return onto the original topic, we will be hoping to catch a ship. There is a vessel that frequently goes between the west and east coasts of the lake, and for a small fee it will accept us onboard. Of course, we won’t have complete privacy, and my identity may come into question, but it should be manageable so long as my cultivation is obvious.”

“They won’t question someone powerful enough?” Bianca guessed.

“Pretty much. So long as I can keep up my illusion and do not threaten the vessel, the captain should let us remain until we reach the coast. After that, it is no longer the captain’s business.”

“Have you used this ship before?”

“Just once, but I understand her well enough. I suspect most cultivators that need to travel with a group that is weaker than them, or ones that lack a good movement ability for crossing water, will employ this vessel, as it is among the safest methods, and the least likely to put you in danger,” the Sect Master explained, and Xue Yaling, of all people, ended up nodding.

“I’ve used this vessel a few times, once with my family and a few others for certain business reasons,” the kitsune explained, being suspiciously vague, “The ship can be trusted, as can the captain, so long as you don’t attempt to rock the boat, as it were.”

“Is she…”

“Hot? Depends on your preferences. She’s the tough type, got quite large tits and a wonderful ass, toned abs… she’s a real piece of work, like a statue,” Xue Yaling described with a smile, “If you like the type of woman that can kick your ass and ride you, then she’s-”

“Is that necessary?” Huang Su sighed.

“Of course, your Mistress loves descriptions such as this. Don’t you, honey?” the kitsune asked, and Bianca’s immediate reaction – a light blush, looking away, her vision blurring as her imagination got the better of her – made it impossible to deny the truth, “See, I’m just doing as she wants. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with sharing what attractive women look like. I have no doubts that… hm, better not, actually.”

Considering how she glanced at the Sect Master, she was clearly thinking in a dangerous direction, but it was best not to risk anything when Han Rushu had already suffered greatly.

Of course, that was in a relative sense. Bianca could imagine that if the Sect Master was someone like the Exarch or the various people working under that sentient rag, Han Rushu wouldn’t have survived the encounter unharmed. It was concerning just how easily a powerful person could do as they wished, but at the same time, perhaps it was for the best for the ones on top. If Bianca could reach the peak and establish her sect, she wouldn’t need to worry about anyone attacking her, which would be…

‘Perfect, if I could be trusted with such things, but the Demon Queen… however similar she ultimately is to me… and however reasonable she can be, and… fuck,’ she supressed a sigh, although her thoughts did push out the previous fantasies of the ship captain, “Anyway, how exactly are we going to get onto the ship? Just sit around and hope?”

“It may sound strange, but something like that,” Huang Su nodded, “Although the ripples in this water do not go far, there are still those that are capable of perceiving them. They will head towards us and pick us up in time, the only question is where the ship is currently located.”

“That ability is also why her ship is one of the few that regularly traverses the Heart Lake, aside from that odd fishing village,” Xue Yaling added, “It’s easy for her to remove competition, not to mention the fact that most powers that could compete over it don’t have immediate access to the water. The Exarch might vie for it later, but its immediate priority is Long Shiyi.”

“The Exarch… No, let’s not go off track again. However weird a sentient bit of cloth is, I’d rather worry about just about anything else,” Bianca shook her head, “Feels like we’re getting far too distracted for this, when we should just enjoy the water for now. Anyone want to go for a swim with me?”

“I will just bathe for now, Mistress,” Huang Su said, “But I’ll keep an eye out for you, just in case.”

“Is there much that can threaten us in this water?”

“Same as anywhere else in the world, really. There are planar fauna within the water, and they have specifically adapted to the unique nature of the water here, so they will be uniquely difficult to detect with any senses, including with spiritual perception. However, my senses are powerful enough that this shouldn’t be an issue.”

 “Noted,” Bianca glanced into the waters, and found herself worrying for a moment, “Um, Xue Yaling? Yu Juan? Song Ming?”

“I’ll pass, if that’s the case… it feels dangerous considering how I see things,” Yu Juan refused quickly, once again touching her blindfold, “Sorry, Mistress.”

“I would love to, but I realise my tail is a bit of a… pain in the ass. Yes, that’s an oddly appropriate expression, considering where my tail is,” the kitsune chuckled, raising her white tail and waving it about, the wet fur looking far less fluffy as it was soaked with water, “It’s not the best for swimming around, you see.”

“I’ll gladly accompany you, Mistress!” Song Ming was the only one to not refuse, happily jumping up in the water and making a huge splash, “I’ve always wanted to experience swimming around in something larger than what I could find in Yi Village.”

Bianca wasn’t going to complain about getting a bit of time with her girlfriend, so the two of them did their best to swim beyond the shallower parts of the lake and deeper in. Neither had that much experience, and neither had the opportunity to practise in recent times, and the water was a little challenging to navigate, but their plentiful physical strength proved more than sufficient for them to keep themselves over the water and to carry them some way away from the coast, far enough that the spiritual perception of most of the others would be unable to reach them.

They didn’t go much further out, and instead steadied themselves in the water here, getting comfortable in floating without any sand to step on, and only once they had gotten used to it did they end up speaking.

“Ah, this is pleasant… Mistress, did you have something you wished to speak about?”

“Not really, just relaxing with someone I love,” Bianca said offhandedly, but it was enough to make her pet blush and nearly sink beneath the water as she froze in place for a moment, “You’ve got to know how much I love you blushing like that, but I’ll say it again – you’re wonderful when you do that.”

“M-Mistress!” her flustered voice couldn’t supress the obvious undertone of pleasure, “I… t-thank you…”

Bianca smiled, but stopped herself from teasing her sweetheart further, since she was concerned that her pet would truly drown if she went too far, “Sweetheart, I just wanted to relax a bit. We’ve been getting into all sorts of weird subjects at this point, and it was hard to relax and enjoy the water.”

“Fair enough, Mistress,” Song Ming nodded, “We can relax all you like, I love to be with you no matter what…”

“I know, babe… I wish we could do some kinky stuff, but I don’t think this water is the best place. It just feels… wrong in here,” Bianca said, making a quick splash in the water only for it to dissipate as though she never did so, “Like, it’s not bad to swim in, but it’s just not right.”

“Mhm… How are you feeling in general, Mistress? The Demon Queen, has it caused you any… problems lately?”

“Not really… If anything, I’ve been feeling a bit closer to her these days. I don’t like it, but all of you keep saying that I should accept her, and, maybe, just maybe… it feels like I’ve been doing a bad job with all this… cultivation stuff.”

“How so? Even after losing your memory, you’ve been-”

“No, it’s not that… I’ve been afraid of it, to an extent. Still am, I think,” Bianca said, “It feels a bit like this water, where it’s just not right, and I’d rather not have more to do with it than I must.”

“… Has the Demon Queen somehow helped you with that?”

“I think she’s rubbed off on me a little, since I’ve slowly found that a lot of the things I’d never been able to understand were instead things I… didn’t want to understand,” she admitted after a pause and a sigh, “I think I was just refusing to, and… I’m sorry.”

“Mistress! You don’t have anything to apologise for, it’s all okay,” Song Ming immediately tried to placate her, swimming up to her, “You’ve not hurt me, or anyone else, with this!”

‘But if I hadn’t approached things like this back then… wouldn’t your father have been alive?’ she felt the words reach her lips, but she couldn’t make herself force them out.

‘And that’s why you have me, isn’t it? You make too many mistakes, hesitate too much, and then refuse to admit your own mistakes to yourself. You need me. Do you need yourself, though?’

‘And now I’m talking to myself… again. Fuck off.’

‘…’

As always, she couldn’t be entirely sure if she hadn’t just imagined it. It felt like it, but at the same time, this was a world in which all kinds of impossible things happened. Considering that her powers surpassed even the understanding of this world’s people, who could say for sure what was and wasn’t true with her?