On The Self-Cultivation Of A Favored Concubine - Chapter 50

The autumn stream was crisp and refreshing. Liu Qinglan sat on a rock by the shore, rolling up her skirt to reveal a section of her snowy white calves. She removed her shoes and socks, wiggled her bare toes contentedly, and dipped them into the water, splashing playfully.

Nearby, Xie Xuanzhao watered her horse before tethering it to a tree.

“Empress Sister, come play!” Liu Qinglan waved eagerly, her feet creating a rhythmic clatter of water droplets.

Xie Xuanzhao walked over and sat beside her. Under the clear autumn sky, amidst the quiet mountains, the two sat shoulder to shoulder. Xie Xuanzhao closed her eyes, letting the autumn breeze brush past, finally allowing herself a moment of rare relaxation.

“The water is so cool; you should soak your feet too,” Liu Qinglan suggested, glancing at her.

Looking at the girl’s tender white feet in the water, Xie Xuanzhao smiled. “Alright.” She tucked up her skirts and joined her, two pairs of feet now submerged together in the flowing stream.

Liu Qinglan leaned over to look at their feet beneath the shimmering surface. She lightly rested her left foot atop the Empress’s right. “Yours seem bigger than mine.”

Xie Xuanzhao chuckled, catching Liu Qinglan’s left hand and pressing her own palm against it. Her hand was indeed slightly larger. “I can’t help it. I am taller than you.” She teased, “Qinglan, try making a fist.”

Liu Qinglan obeyed, curling her fingers into a small ball. Xie Xuanzhao opened her palm and wrapped it around the girl’s fist, covering nearly all of it.

“So, it’s destiny. I’m meant to protect you,” Xie Xuanzhao said, her phoenix-like eyes glowing with affection as she looked at their intertwined hands.

Liu Qinglan grinned. “Now you make a fist, and I’ll cover yours!”

Xie Xuanzhao obliged. The little “cat spirit” strained to stretch her fingers, but she could only cover half of the Empress’s fist. “This proves I can protect you too! Even if I’m not as strong, I can still try!” Liu Qinglan insisted, trying to save face.

Xie Xuanzhao lifted the girl’s hand and pressed a deep, tender kiss onto the back of it. “I believe you.”

Soaking in the spiritual energy radiating from the Empress, Liu Qinglan felt her limbs grow soft. Her gaze became hazy and adoring. Beneath the water, Xie Xuanzhao’s foot began to brush against Liu Qinglan’s calf, slowly moving upward.

The sensation sent a shiver of pleasure through Liu Qinglan. She felt weak, her hands clutching feebly at Xie Xuanzhao’s lapels. Seeing her so entranced, Xie Xuanzhao gently pressed her down onto the flat rock, cushioning the girl’s head with her hand.

This position allowed Xie Xuanzhao’s foot to hook and lift the hem of the skirt bunched at the knees. The wet, thin fabric clung to the curves of the girl’s thighs, revealing glimpses of ivory skin.

Liu Qinglan’s black hair spread out like an ink-wash fan against the stone. She looked up at the azure sky where white clouds drifted and birds returned to their nests, a stray white feather floating gracefully downward.

It’s so beautiful.

A deep emerald hue began to bleed into Liu Qinglan’s eyes. With the earth as their bed and the wind as their companion, this was the setting she truly craved, far from the stifling walls of a room. Here, she could truly let go.

The cool breeze dispelled Xie Xuanzhao’s heat, but she soon realized the little beauty beneath her was becoming unexpectedly fervent, even more so than before.

In this natural habitat, Liu Qinglan felt the stirrings of a “springtime” passion despite it being autumn. All the memories of suppressing her desires under waterfalls flashed by; today, she would finally indulge.

Xie Xuanzhao was surprised by the intensity of the change. Liu Qinglan climbed onto the Empress’s shoulders, looking at her with a charming, joyful smile. Her eyes were now a striking malachite green, bordering on blue, mysterious and noble.

Xie Xuanzhao took a sharp breath. For the first time, she saw Liu Qinglan’s untamed, seductive side. The “Little Kitten” was finally reclaiming the dignity of the spirit realm. She hooked her arms around the Empress’s neck, gazed into her eyes, and poked out a bright red tongue.

Instead of a kitten’s playful lick, it was a slow, deliberate, and flirtatious stroke across Xie Xuanzhao’s cheek.

The heat Xie Xuanzhao had just dispelled returned with a vengeance, burning through her veins like a forest fire. What followed was a tide of tenderness, waves crashing against the shore, soaking their silken robes. Under the bright autumn sky, amidst the scent of wildflowers, a sense of harmonious completion washed over them.

The Mark of the “Feifei”

As spiritual energy circulated through her limbs, Liu Qinglan opened her eyes and realized her self-control had improved. She no longer felt the uncontrollable urge to sprout ears or a tail.

She turned to the Empress, who looked flushed and radiant, her eyes shimmering with lingering emotion. Liu Qinglan clung to her like a lazy koala. “Empress Sister, how do you feel? Was it… comfortable?”

Xie Xuanzhao felt a warmth flowing into her body. She mused, Was that a form of ‘dual cultivation’ from the legends? She reached out to feel for Liu Qinglan’s ears, wondering why they hadn’t appeared this time.

Liu Qinglan, sensing the curiosity, leaned into the Empress’s ear and nibbled the translucent red tip. “Do you want to see my ears, my long tail, and my little claws?”

Xie Xuanzhao nodded silently.

Liu Qinglan flashed her white teeth in a mischievous grin. “If you want to see them, you have to let me do one thing first. Once it’s done, you’ll officially be the woman of this Feifei!”

Xie Xuanzhao was stunned. “So you’re not a cat, but a Feifei? From the Classic of Mountains and Seas?”

Feeling a bit guilty for misidentifying her “wife’s” species, the Empress asked, “So you’re a little ‘Fatt-Fatt’ (Feifei)?”

“Feifei are a branch of the cat family!” Liu Qinglan insisted, nodding against her chest. “It’s normal to confuse us. Even the forest animals think I’m a cat. We even meow!”

With that, she let her fluffy ears, long tail, and paws emerge. She needed the claws for what came next.

“Will you meow for me then?” Xie Xuanzhao asked, her heart melting.

Liu Qinglan swiped her paw through the air. “Later. When we pledged ourselves under the peach blossoms, I was drunk and missed the final step.”

“Didn’t we just do ‘the step’?” Xie Xuanzhao asked.

“Not that!” Liu Qinglan corrected her. “The Marking! A spirit must leave a mark on their partner so other spirits know you’re taken!”

Xie Xuanzhao eyed the “wicked” cat paw warily. “Where do you plan to leave this mark?”

“Right on your chest, over your heart!” Liu Qinglan said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Xie Xuanzhao tried to shrink back. “Can we not…”

“Don’t move! It’ll be quick!” Liu Qinglan scrambled to unfasten the Empress’s robes. “Hehe, let me get these clothes off…”

“Indecent! A cat is committing an indecency!” Xie Xuanzhao cried out, laughing as she tried to dodge the wicked little paw.