Becoming Acquainted

Around a week ago, Xie Mei, Han Junqiao and Li Shuying had first been introduced to Qinglong City, which Theodore had turned into his own backyard. Naturally, they still lived in the subterranean temple structure, but during the day–especially while he was busy cleansing more settlements, they were residing here.

As their cultivation stages had not yet surpassed the Soul Sculpting Stage or entered the Initial Ascension Stage, whether they focused on becoming stronger here or back at their home didn't make much of a difference. It was more important to man the various Arrays whilst Theodore was away, to ensure that nobody could slip in too easily.

The Soul Sculpting Stage was where Xie Mei and Han Junqiao were first confronted with any actual difficulty–and the latter with the fact that she couldn't keep pace with her sister. Breaking through to the Essence Cocoon Realm hadn't been too challenging, yet the Incubation Realm was very time-consuming.

Xie Mei had only just entered the Thunder Tempering Realm yesterday, and was now mostly focused on stabilizing herself before attempting to continue. On the other hand, Han Junqiao had barely scratched the surface of the Incubation Realm...

Naturally, Li Shuying's circumstances differed completely from theirs, so her progress hadn't been as otherworldly to document. However, she had still made it to the Muscle Refinement Realm, marching ever onwards undeterred.

Amidst the central palace, which Theodore had repurposed into their local base, the three of them were patiently cultivating, not presently concerned with taking care of the Arrays, as he and Vigdis had not headed out for the day.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down Xie Mei's spine, snapping her out of her focused state. Rubbing her arms to dissipate the imaginary cold, she furrowed her brows, her gut warning her of something unpleasant being about to occur.

"What's happening? Are we going to be attacked? Or... wait! Wasn't Theo interviewing some Heaven's Chosen today? Don't tell me...!"

Mumbling to herself, she soon widened her eyes in alarm and hurried over to Han Junqiao's side, frantically yet gently making her mind return to the here and now as well.

"Qiao'er, this is bad! I think... we're getting competition!"

As she was observing her sister's anxious expression, the dragon-horned girl couldn't help but want to reach out and pat her head. In her eyes, she was making a mountain out of a mole hill.

"Don't you think it's a little bit too unlikely for the next Heaven's Chosen to appear in front of him to still be a woman? I mean, look at us. As far as I'm aware, four out of five which Theo has seen were girls. Statistically speaking, we're due to meet a male Heaven's Chosen any day now."

The longer she spoke, the more strange Han Junqiao's expression became. By the end of her speech, even she herself didn't believe a single word of this any longer, as she had just realized something crucial: The present circumstances were already an anomaly–to expect everything to return to the norm was outrageously naïve.

"... alright, forget all that I just said. But even if another one arrives, that doesn't mean she'll be after him. Isn't Vigi also a part of our group, yet not at all romantically interested in Theo? And finally, didn't we long since expect that more potential sisters-to-be will join us?"

Trying her hardest to assuage Xie Mei's worries, she gave her a reassuring hug and patted her back, before letting go of her and grabbing her shoulders. Looking straight into her eyes, she gave her an encouraging smile, then walked out of their residence with her in tow.

"Come, let's visit him to see what's go–"

These words were instantly stuck in her throat, as the two young women froze in place, staring wide-eyed at their lover sauntering their way with a heavenly beauty clinging to his side as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Worst of all was that they had to admit that this couple painted a wonderful picture, almost as if it had been taken straight out of a fairy tale!

"... I knew it! It's always the same, every single time!"

Snapping out of their astonishment first, Xie Mei's face displayed amusement, discontent and annoyance. Letting go of her sister, she rushed up to Theodore's side, quickly grabbing his other arm and shooting him a pitiful, accusatory glare.

"Why did you bring another woman home? Are we not enough for you any more?"

Put on blast like this, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch. Admittedly, while Cheong Suhyeon and he did appear quite close on the surface, neither of them had actually opened their heart to each other. All they did was put on an implicitly agreed-upon performance–they were still unsure whether or not anything more serious would ever develop in the future.

Of course, he had expected his lovers to react in a manner such as this, which was part of the reason as to why he had blatantly walked up to them while appearing to be lovey-dovey. Teasing them was one of his few delights, and he wouldn't let many chances of doing so slip through his fingers.

Before he could speak up, he suddenly felt the weight on his side disappear, then Cheong Suhyeon stood right in front of his first lover, scrutinizing her with a compassionate smile on her lips.

"Aww, you're such a cutie! It's no wonder you've managed to garner his attention. I can't keep my hands off you either~"

Brazenly pinching Xie Mei's cheeks with an adoring grin on her face, Cheong Suhyeon kneaded them repeatedly as if she was handling play-dough. Her actions startled the girl so much that she merely stared at her in shock at first, before eventually managing to escape.

"W-What are you doing? And who even are you!?"

Hiding behind Han Junqiao, who had come closer amidst her period of captivity, Xie Mei warily peeked at the newcomer, her eyes watery and sporting a wronged expression. Her minutely reddened cheeks, however, made her appear even more adorable than usual.

"My apologies, you were simply too endearing, so I couldn't resist. I'm Cheong Suhyeon, and I've just become a Follower of dear Theodore here. I assume you two are... his lovers?"

Despite how amiable she appeared, Xie Mei didn't let down her guard, only nodding very cautiously, her behaviour akin to that of a frightened rabbit eyeing its surroundings. In stark contrast to her, Han Junqiao showed a respectful smile to the recent arrival.

"It's a pleasure, Suhyeon. My name is Han Junqiao, and this is Xie Mei. Calling us Qiao'er and Mei'er will be fine. As you've probably already guessed, we're indigenous Heaven's Chosen, so forgive us for our comparative ignorance–we're still learning the ropes, so to speak."

Reciprocating the dragon-horned girl's slight bow, a hint of astonishment flashed past Cheong Suhyeon's gaze, then her aura seemed to undergo a fundamental change. Although neither Xie Mei nor Han Junqiao had any idea what had occurred, the way she was looking at them no longer caused any inexplicable discomfort. Instead, her warm and motherly smile now brought a snug comfort to their hearts.

"... no, I'm the one who should ask for your forgiveness. I thought the two of you were... experienced, so I treated you too harshly. I'll do better from here on out."

Admittedly, it was only natural for her to assume that any Heaven's Chosen she would come across would have originated from beyond the event venue, as it was too rare for a world to give birth to one. To run into two of them at once was even more outrageous. Of course, there was now no need to treat them with the same kind of caution and sense of rivalry as she had displayed prior to this revelation.

"It's... alright. Just don't scare me again."

Pouting whilst still feeling a bit peeved, Xie Mei walked up to Theodore's side once more, hugging him and rubbing her face against his chest until he dotingly returned her embrace. He had refrained from intervening in the situation entirely, as he was not only certain it would end in such a manner, but he also wanted to slowly ease his lovers into the atmosphere they would one day have to be intimately familiar with.

'Old monsters' like him often put on a mask and kept up appearances. Even close allies would rarely become at ease with each other quickly. The more used to detecting the dissonance between one's outward image and their true thoughts his lovers were, the more expertly they could navigate precarious situations involving many Heaven's Chosen in the rounds to come.

"To finally answer your question, Mei'er: Suhyeon isn't the first, and she won't be the last. Many people will join our side over the eons–she just happened to make it here very early. And whether Qiao'er and you are enough... shouldn't you two be fully aware of the answer to this?"

Lifting her chin and gazing deeply into her eyes, a minute grin graced his lips. The longer they looked at each other, the more intensely she blushed, yet he didn't break eye contact. Eventually, she was the one who couldn't handle it any longer and turned away, before hastily darting over to Han Junqiao's side again.

"... shameless, perverted rogue! You have to be careful, Yeonnie, else you won't be able to escape him either!"

Feeling the need to bolster her forces against her lover, even the previously unfamiliar and somewhat scary Cheong Suhyeon got roped into Xie Mei's antics. It had scarcely been a few minutes, but she had already been gifted her own moniker as well.

'Y-Yeonnie? Fine, sure. I'll allow it. It doesn't have a bad ring to it.'

Amused by the girl's behaviour, she moved right next to her and Han Junqiao, then shot a far more seductive glance Theodore's way than at any point prior to this. Right now, there would be no ambiguity about her intentions whatsoever.

"Who says I don't want him to lay his hands on me? I've already become his, after all~"

Ever since she had chosen to join his side, she had resolved herself to do her best to fight for a spot in his heart. While she was aware that she would never qualify for the seat of the main wife–heck, even if she somehow charmed him into wanting to bestow this honour upon her, his family wouldn't agree–becoming a regular wife was a realistic goal.

"Wha–? Shameless! You're both utterly shameless! Birds of a feather!"

Not having expected her to act like this, Xie Mei's eyes widened, as her gaze darted between her lover and Cheong Suhyeon. At this point, she was almost convinced that all of these experienced Heaven's Chosen were cut from the same barefaced and indecent cloth. Fortunately, there was still Vigdis, who did not seem to be particularly concerned about these matters.

"Alright, alright, calm down. I'm currently way too busy to indulge in nightly activities, as you know. Let's set them aside for the moment, and finish the introductions. This over here is Navya Aatma. She's also become a part of our group today, so get acquainted with each other."

Sensing Cheong Suhyeon's unhidden desires quite clearly, Theodore raised an eyebrow, not truly having expected her to actually be earnest in her pursuit of him. But a matter such as marriage would require him to consider it for many a decade first–now simply wasn't the time for it, either. Motioning at Navya, who had been hovering next to Vigdis all the while, he diverted everyone's attention to her.

"Huh? There was someone there? I didn't even notice her! Whoa, wait–are you a ghost?!"

The unconcealed incredulity and slight fear on Xie Mei's face almost made Navya break out into tears–not only had she been ignored all along, but even her Lord's lover was afraid of her! Still, relying on her not insignificant mental fortitude, she soldiered on and showed a pained, yet polite smile.

"I'm from the Spirit race. We do share some similarities with ghosts, yes–but there is no need to be afraid of us. It's nice to meet you all. I'm looking forward to working with you."

As everyone slowly warmed up to each other, Theodore finally found a good time to inspect Navya's Status Panel, which he had not had an opportunity to study in detail so far.