His flaming koi lit brighter, and he felt himself growing a closer connection to it. Fire is naturally tyrannical, so is this another piece of this world's puzzle? I acted out my lustful desires on my aunt, and that brought me more of an understanding in my water. Dao, so is tyranny what will shape my flames here.
He rubbed his chin. I was just planning on scaring them by taking her with me to work as a servant collecting herbs for me to refine and adding in these fireflies. But know that I feel this other resonance; I might as well spread my evil heart for once and return a saint in the real world.
"Pile the jars," Shi Yang looked at them and commanded, his voice echoing like a decree.
The villagers scrambled immediately, their hands shaking as they set down their clay lanterns one by one in front of him. The fireflies shimmered within, the glow painting the dirt in wavering patterns, the air buzzing with faint spiritual hums. Dozens of jars soon stood stacked before him like offerings at an altar.
Shi Yang looked over them with a mimic of predatoric satisfaction. "Good. You've learned quickly."
His gaze swept across the villagers again, lingering deliberately on the girl he had chosen. She flinched, clutching the sleeve of the elder beside her, but none dared speak against his claim.
"Now," Shi Yang said, his tone dropping lower, heavier, "bring me to a hut. I'd like to see if my new wife is up to par."
The words rippled through the tribe like thunder. Fear and despair welled in their eyes, but not one of them spoke out. The elder bowed until his skull scraped the dirt again.
"As you command, Great One. Take the chieftain's hut—it is the sturdiest."
A pair of men, pale and trembling, rose shakily to their feet and beckoned Shi Yang forward. They led him through the huddle of huts, their people shrinking back as he passed. The flame koi orbited him like a living omen, its flames flickering across the mud walls, making him seem like a god striding through a world too small to contain him.
At last, they reached the largest hut, patched with animal hides and bones, its firepit still smoldering faintly inside. The elder gestured toward it with shaking hands.
"It is yours, Great One."
Shi Yang didn't even look at him. His hand extended backward, fingers curling as if tugging invisible strings. The girl was pulled forward by the weight of his command, stumbling, her jar clutched tight against her chest. She cast one last desperate glance at her people, but they turned their faces to the earth, unwilling to challenge fate.
Shi Yang pushed the flap aside and stepped into the hut. The air was thick with smoke and musk, the glow of his koi illuminating the cramped space. He set himself upon the central furs, lounging with the ease of a man claiming his rightful throne.
"Close the flap," he said.
The villagers obeyed swiftly, the world outside muffled into silence. Only the crackle of the firepit and the girl's shallow breathing filled the space.
Shi Yang's smile widened, his eyes drinking in the sight of her trembling form.
"Now," he murmured, his voice silk wrapped around steel, "let's see if you're up to par."
—
Inside the hut, the glow of the firepit cast flickering shadows across the furs. The girl knelt stiffly before him, her knuckles white around the clay jar she still clutched. Her breath trembled, caught between fear and obedience.
Shi Yang leaned forward, his gaze running over her as though measuring the worth of a newly claimed treasure. "What's your name?" he asked softly, yet there was no warmth in the question—only the weight of inevitability.
Her lips quivered, but she forced the words out, her voice thin as a reed in the wind. "...L-Lanya."
"Lanya." He tasted the syllables as though testing wine, then let a faint smile curl at the edge of his lips. "A fine name."
With deliberate slowness, Shi Yang reached forward, pried the jar from her arms, and set it aside on the furs. Then his hand cupped her chin, tilting her face upward until her wide, fearful eyes met his.
He kissed her.
Her body went rigid, trembling beneath the sudden press of his lips, the heat of his breath overwhelming her fragile resistance. When he drew back, his eyes gleamed with a hunger that was both human and far beyond it.
"It'll only hurt a bit," Shi Yang murmured, his voice like velvet over steel. His fingers brushed her hair back, lingering at the curve of her neck. "After that… you'll learnto endure."
His hands went to her tribal bra, sliding underneath it, as he sucked on her neck. "You're so soft," he whispered, licking her skin. His fingers grasping her sun-tanned peak, Shi Yang lowered her fully onto the floor.
"Let's see if you're just as soft down there as well," he murmured, letting go of her breast, and began removing his loincloth. Lanya wanted to back away, slowly shuffling back, but he lightly grasped her ankle. "You can leave if you want, but just know then there's no means for this village to survive after I take all your night-dancing bugs as compensation."
Lanya's eyes widened, a whimper escaping her lips as she felt Shi Yang's grip tighten on her ankle. She knew he was powerful, but the threat of taking everything from her people sent a chill down her spine.
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she slowly met his gaze, seeing only cold determination reflected back. With a heavy heart, she nodded once, accepting the cruel bargain.
Shi Yang's smile grew wider at her acquiescence. "Good girl," he purred, releasing her ankle and standing to remove his loincloth completely. His cock sprang free, thick and hard already.
Lanya swallowed hard, trying to steel herself for what was to come. She had never been with a man before—only practiced with other girls during their secret moonlit rituals—but surely it couldn't be that different? Her body would adjust...
She watched through wide eyes as Shi Yang approached again, his erection bobbing with each step. He reached out and cupped her cheek once more before pushing down gently on the back of her head until she felt the cool air against her bare skin as he guided it toward his groin.
"Open your mouth," he commanded softly but firmly. "Let's see how well you can take me."
"I-if you wish... great one," she breathed through her mouth, reaching out to the base of his shaft and opening her mouth, her eyes closing slowly.
The heat coming off him filled her mouth as she tried to swallow as much of his warmth as possible.
Shi Yang's breath caught in his throat as Lanya's warm mouth enveloped him, her lips soft and pliant against his shaft. He stroked her hair gently, marveling at the way she submitted to him so easily.
"Good girl," he murmured, his voice husky with desire. "You're going to make a fine wife for me."
He began to move slowly inside her mouth and throat—teasingly at first—but soon picked up pace until he was thrusting rhythmically between her lips. Lanya gagged slightly each time his head hit her palate, but she didn't resist or pull away.
Instead, she focused on relaxing her throat muscles and letting him fill her completely. Her hands came up to grip his thighs as she took him deeper, her nose pressing against the base of his cock.
Shi Yang groaned low in his chest at her willing submission—her hot mouth milking him so expertly despite being inexperienced—and felt himself nearing release already.
"Not yet," he panted out between thrusts.
He pulled back abruptly until just the tip remained inside her mouth before guiding her head down again, more gently this time.
"Take it slow... you'll have to learn to prolong pleasure instead of rushing to finish," he spoke roughly.
And so he continued their sensual dance—grasping her hair firmly but not painfully as he rode her face—until finally he reached his peak and spilled into her eager mouth and throat.
Lanya swallowed every drop of his release as he gradually slowed his movements until he was softening inside her lips. She looked up at him with wide, dazed eyes but a small smile on her trembling lips.
Shi Yang helped guide Lanya back until she was sitting up on her knees again before him—their chests still heaving in sync from passion spent.
"Very good," he praised warmly now that they were both caught in afterglow's tender embrace. "I think you'll adapt nicely."
"Now turn around; I want to see if you're truly pure."
Lanya's breath caught in her throat as Shi Yang's words hung heavy in the air. She knew what he implied, and a shiver of trepidation ran down her spine. Yet she also sensed that resisting him would only bring her people more suffering.
With a deep, resigned breath, she turned around slowly until her back was to him. Her heart pounded in her ears as she waited for his inspection—fear and humiliation warring with a spark of defiance within her.
She had always prided herself on remaining untouched until marriage—a sacred vow among their tribe—but now that vow was being ripped away by force.
"Look at me," Shi Yang commanded softly but firmly. "Let me see your purity for myself."
Lanya's eyes fluttered closed as she felt his gaze roaming over her exposed body—the gentle curves of her back and hips outlined by the firelight.
After a long moment of tense silence, she finally opened her eyes again—only to find Shi Yang behind her now, his hands coming to rest on either side of where he'd soon enter her once more.
"I see no blemishes," he murmured against the shell of her ear before nipping at it playfully—"only soft skin ripe for my touch." His length throbbing against her slit as he began to press into her.
Her soft lips parted against his tip.
"Lanya..." he whispered, "from this day forth you're mine, and only mine."
Lanya felt a wave of heat wash over her as Shi Yang's words hung in the air, his hot breath fanning across her ear. She knew what he was claiming—that she belonged to him now, body and soul.
A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of being his alone, but it was tinged with fear. What would this mean for her people? For their way of life?
Yet even as doubt and trepidation swirled within her, Lanya couldn't deny the way her body responded to his touch—the way her core clenched in anticipation as he pressed against her once more.
"Y-yes," she whispered, barely audible over the crackling fire. "I'm yours."
Shi Yang's smile was triumphant as he pushed forward, sinking into Lanya's warmth inch by delicious inch. He groaned low in his throat at the tightness enveloping him—her maidenhood yielding to his invasion despite its initial resistance.
As he filled her completely, Lanya gasped softly, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes from a mix of pain and pleasure. She felt so full—so utterly claimed by this stranger who now held such power over her life.
But even as fear gripped at her heartstrings, Lanya found herself tilting her hips back subtly—a silent plea for more of what felt so good despite everything. Her body was betraying her will—yearning for the pleasure he promised even as she knew it would come at a steep price.
Shi Yang sensed her hesitation and leaned in close, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear once more. "Don't worry," he whispered huskily. "I'll take good care of you."