Sunlight sliced through the smoke hole of the yurt, illuminating the aftermath of the night. The air smelled of musk, sandalwood, and the lingering, electric charge of a biological breakthrough.
I sat up, stretching my limbs. My body felt light, revitalized, and dangerously powerful.
I looked inward.
Status Check.
Previous: Rank 1 Initial Stage, Yang Blockage.
Current: Rank 2 Initial Stage, Blockage Cured.
The violent influx of Yue Yin's Rank 4 gold essence, combined with the Yang Stag, had acted like a sledgehammer to my aperture walls, shattering and rebuilding them in a single night. It was unrepeatable, a miracle of trauma, but it was done. My Primeval Sea now churned with denser, purer essence—red threads weaving through the crystal walls like veins in marble. The quality of essence had made huge changes ; my recovery rate would be monstrous.
Beside me, Yue Yin stirred. She sat up slowly, the thick furs slipping off one shoulder to reveal skin that glowed with a healthy, creamy luster. The terrifying translucence of the Desolate Ancient Moon Physique had receded entirely, leaving only a faint silver sheen when she moved—like moonlight trapped under flesh.
She clenched her fist. The air warped slightly around her hand, a miniature distortion that spoke of stabilized Rank 4 power.
"Rank 4... Middle Stage," she whispered, silver eyes wide with something close to awe. "I was forced to stay for three years. One night with you, and the bottleneck vanished easily without danger of explosion."
I reached out, running my hand down the elegant curve of her back. It wasn't just a possessive gesture; it was affectionate. In my past life, I viewed people as meat—disposable, dissectible. But here? This woman had saved my life as much as I saved hers. She was beautiful, competent, lethal, and now irrevocably bound to me through the most intimate form of dual cultivation. She enhanced my enjoyment of existence in ways no scalpel or Gu ever could.
"You are good, Yue Yin," I said, letting warmth color my voice for the first time since waking in this body. "And I take very good care of my possessions."
She leaned into my touch, the killing intent of the Thief Grandmaster melting away, replaced by the softness of a woman who had finally found her harbor after years adrift.
"My life is yours, Husband," she murmured, the word carrying weight. "I have no tribe left to claim me. I possess a full set of Rank 4 Moon and Theft Path Gu worms. My attainment in both paths has reached Grandmaster. I could kill anyone in this camp—even your father—if I tried hard enough. But I would rather pour your tea... and warm your bed when you command it."
"And pour it you shall," I replied, standing up. I tossed her a set of fine silk maid robes from the chest—soft white with subtle silver embroidery, modest enough to pass as servant garb yet clinging in ways that would remind me of last night's discoveries. "Put these on. You are not going to steal alone anymore. You stay by my side."
"As a guard?" she asked, already slipping into the robes with practiced grace.
"As my personal maid, Yue. You don't need to feign muteness; just keep a low profile. Warm my bed, manage my daily needs, prepare my meals , and if an assassin comes for my life—" I met her gaze, letting the clinical edge return "—you slit their throat before they even notice the shadow move."
She smiled—a dangerous, beautiful expression that made my newly unblocked Yang stir despite the exhaustion—and began to dress. With a thought, she activated her Rank 4 Breath Concealment Gu. Her terrifying aura collapsed inward, replaced by the humble flux of a mortal servant. Only someone with my diagnostic senses would detect the faint silver ripple beneath the surface, like moonlight on still water.
I watched her adjust the sash, the silk hugging her curves in a way that was both demure and deliberately provocative. Last night's desperation had burned away; what remained was controlled hunger. She caught me looking and arched a brow.
"Enjoying the view, Young Master?"
"Always," I said flatly. "But more importantly, enjoying the asset. Your Theft Path will be invaluable for acquiring rare Gu, information, even cultivation resources from rival tribes. Your Moon Path will provide defense and assassination when subtlety fails. And your body..." I stepped closer, cupping her chin and tilting her face up. "Your body will continue to refine my Yang essence. We will dual cultivate regularly—not out of necessity now, but personal will"
Her silver eyes darkened with heat. "As you command. But know this, Ju Yang: I am no docile concubine. I will serve, I will protect, I will pleasure you until you forget your own name—but if you ever treat me as disposable meat again..." She let a thin silver thread of essence coil around my wrist like a bracelet. It was cold, sharp, intimate. "...I will remind you why Thieving Heaven's descendants are feared."
I laughed softly—the first genuine sound of amusement since my reincarnation.
"Threat noted. And accepted." I leaned down and kissed her once—slow, claiming, tasting the faint metallic chill of her essence on her tongue. "You are mine, Yue Yin. And I do not discard tools that cut so cleanly."
She exhaled against my lips, then stepped back, aura fully suppressed. From the outside, she looked like any pretty young servant girl assigned to the Young Master's tent—perhaps a war prize, perhaps a gift from a vassal tribe. Perfect camouflage.
I dressed in my own robes: the heavy Thousand Beast King wolf-fur cloak over black silk, the ugly brown beetle now resting comfortably in my aperture like a loyal watchdog. Dog Shit Luck Gu buzzed contentedly, as if approving of the night's haul.
"First task," I said, moving toward the yurt flap. "Observe the camp. Note who watches me too closely—elders, cousins, my father's favorites. Identify any with hidden killing intent or jealousy. Report tonight."
"And you?" she asked, falling into step behind me like a shadow.
"I will play the arrogant genius who just awakened 99% aptitude and chose trash Gu. Let them underestimate me. Let them celebrate. While they drink and boast, we plan."
I pushed aside the felt flap.
Outside, the Ju Tribe camp was alive with the aftermath of revelry. Smoke rose from dying bonfires. Warriors nursed hangovers beside snoring wolves. A few servants scurried about, cleaning up spilled kumiss and charred meat.
My father's roar echoed from the central square—he was already holding court, boasting about his "dragon son."
Yue Yin slipped past me, hood up, posture meek. She melted into the crowd like smoke.
I stepped out fully, letting the sunlight catch my golden eyes.
Let them see the Young Master.
Let them think they own him.
Inside, the scalpel was already sharpening.
The real change of the tribe, the Plains, the world ,had only just begun.