Chapter 686: Unnecessarily Intimate moment - Prologue

<<Hey, this should probably go without saying, but ditch the [Regalia] and the puppet while you’re in my inner sanctum, kid. It’s rude to be ready for a fight when you’re invited to someone else’s domain.>>

<<Oh, right. Sorry.>>

’Huh...it feels like I’m inside of a wandering ruin...why am I not surprised this crazy old bat somehow anchored one of these damn things? But was the hot spring always here?’

One minute, Zhen Liu and Zhen Xun Tian were standing in the middle of an empty arena that had gone from a joyous celebration to an all out war zone. The next minute, he was being teleported to what he could only describe as a private hot springs floating in the middle of a void that was not only dense in high quality aether, but it also came with a stash of high quality aether medicines that were essentially snacks to his crazy powerful ancestor.

Apparently, this was the so-called hiding spot that Zhen Xun Tian promised Zhen Liu in exchange for learning what [Chaos] was exactly.

As Zhen Liu took in the sights of his new hiding spot, shrinking back down to his original form and having Frosttusk turn back into an ivory earring, Zhen Xun Tian proceeded to do her own thing, or rather, she was preparing to do her own thing while talking to Zhen Liu.

<<Now, I don’t know about you secretive whippersnapper, but this has been an incredibly long day and I need a moment to soak and relax my muscles and joints while we get to talking. Feel free to join me if you want, towels are over there.>>

<<Ey yo, wait what?>>

*Sound of clothes being discarded.*

<<HEY, I AM RIGHT HERE!>>

Zhen Xun Tian proceeded to strip down to her tattooed birthday suit, not giving a single flying fuck that it made Zhen Liu uncomfortable. They might’ve been all adults, and had exactly zero interest in each other beyond familial relations, but Zhen Liu was still fairly certain it was considered inappropriate to stare at anyone’s naked body so casually, even if they were family.

<<Oh don’t worry about it. The Ivory Marble Hot Springs are always open to mixed bathing,>> Zhen Xun Tian said as she began to walk to the edge of the hot springs.

<<Not the point! This place looks like you straight up built a hot springs resort in here, so it has to have dividers...right?>>

Mildly embarrassed and wanting to give his ancestor some form of privacy, Zhen Liu proceeded to try and find a bamboo screen or a curtain. Just anything that could help produce the illusion of modesty at least.

<<Okay, I’m just going to-wait, what the fuck?>>

However, just before he even had the chance to even try and find something to use as a cover, a pair of tentacles made of ink had casually just manifested out of Zhen Xun Tian’s back and lifted him off the ground. Making this moment even weird though, was the fact that Zhen Xun Tian didn’t even seem to notice or be in control of the tentacles. Zhen Liu had the sneaking suspicion that this was actually the work of the original owner of that ink, granted, he had no real basis for this suspicion other than paranoia and personal experience with kaijin shenanigans at home.

Zhen Liu briefly flexed against the inky tentacles to determine just how strong the grip was.

’Hmm. It’s not that tight of a grip, so I think I can just flex a bit and release a bit of [Chaos] and-’

Before Zhen Liu could even finish that thought, the inky tentacles began to rapidly strip the man of all of his clothes, even making sure to put it all in a neat pile on a nearby bench and grabbing him a towel in the process. Zhen Liu had no idea how to feel about this sudden chain of events.

’How the hell did these fucking tentacles-’

*KER-FLING!*

"BAH!"

And to add to this chain of rapid insanity, the tentacles threw Zhen Liu headfirst into the far side of the hot springs before disappearing into Zhen Xun Tian’s back, right when she entered on her side of the hot springs.

*SPLASH!*

It was a good(?) thing that Zhen Liu was more or less invincible, otherwise that throw would’ve killed him.

<<Ah! Good to see you changed your mind about bathing. Nothing like a good soak and smooth wine to help forge and reinforce bonds of friendship and family, eh?,>> Zhen Xun Tian asked with a smile on her face and a bottle of rice wine in her hand.

<<Uh...I guess?>>

Zhen Liu, for his part, could only half-heartedly agree due to his head spinning from the literal spinning throw he was subjected to, mixed with all of the heat he was being to exposed to right now.

It took a couple of seconds for Zhen Liu’s to get his head back in order, but once it was, he noticed that floating just a foot away from him was a simple lacquered tray with a saucer and a bottle of rice wine. Following its drift path, one would find that its point of origin was none other than Zhen Xun Tian, who was sipping on her own saucer of rice wine.

A sigh of contentment escaped her lips after she took a single gulp of the rice wine and gently placed the saucer by her person on the edge of the hot springs.

Zhen Liu was just about to take a sip of his own serving of rice wine, when Zhen Xun Tian decided to initiate the first part of what was going to be rather... interesting discussion.

<<You know, the waters were sitting in right now is actually quite special. It’s rich in a special type of aether-infused mineral that encourages natural healing and the strengthens the aether channels in one’s body, regardless of their elemental affinity.>>

<<Really? All that from just a hot spring?,>> Zhen Liu replied while getting ready to drink from his saucer of rice wine.

<<Oh yes,>> Zhen Xun Tian nodded before her gaze turned sharper than a falcon on the hunt. <<Although, I’m not entirely sure if the effect is that good on someone with artificial aether channels, or rather, never had any to begin with.>>

As soon as this comment was made, Zhen Liu paused mid-sip.

<<Then again, it might have a bit of a strengthening effect on those strange puppets of yours, that is...if they’re actually more than just simple puppets, given that they feel a whole lot like the kraken on my back or that arm that old whale stole.>>

Zhen Xun Tian grabbed her saucer at this point and took another sip, adding a dramatic pause to her statements.

<<Now, there’s no tactful or polite way to bring this up, but you seem to be someone who knows exactly what kind of power is hidden in my ink. So tell me, Fourth Young Master of the Stampeding Bison Branch, what is the strange energy that you and I both wield?>>

_____________________________________________

[Oh this is bull crap. You mean to tell me while we’re out here pretending to be automated aether puppets and working, the maestro and Frosttusk get to enjoy the hot springs without us?! Bull, I say, bull!,] Hurricroak grumbled as she learned where exactly Zhen Liu had ended up when he got teleported by Zhen Xun Tian. Evidently, the aforementioned maestro did not share Hurricroak sentiments, so much so that he made sure to suppress sharing visual information with the kaijin at this conjecture.

It might’ve been pointless to cover up his own nudity in front of the kaijin, at the very least, he didn’t want them to see his ancestor naked.

’While your complaints would be understandable under most circumstances, it’s not exactly applicable to this particular moment. In fact, it’s kind of a good thing y’all ain’t right now.’

[Really milord? Why’s that,] Nepherage asked.

’Well-’

[We’re currently sitting half naked in a hot spring across from the jarl’s ancestor and she is grilling Zhen Liu like he is a piece of meat at a barbecue restaurant. I still have no idea what her relation is though.]

’TACT, FROSTTUSK, TACT!’

[Ey yo, what the hell?]

[Oh mixed bathing! Now that takes me back...]

[So our lord’s great great grandsomething saw him naked before any of the consorts? That’s a tragedy and a half right there.]

[I mean...are the hot springs soothing at least?]

’I...can’t even make a comment about the peanut gallery right now...and yes, the hot springs are very soothing.’

<If it helps, I’m just jealous that you get to enjoy a hot spring. It has been centuries since I last got to soak in a nice, hot bath...any possibility we can set up hot springs in the library?>

=I think so...we have a good flame, we just need some good water to go with it.=

’Y’all are gonna try and make me refine some weird...Essence Ice or Holy Water thing, aren’t y’all?’

<=Well now that you mention it...=>

’Me and my big mouth.’