Chapter 401 - The Girls' Deepest Desire
(MC POV)
"Papa! Fluffy~~" Cai Hong giggled, showing me the marshmallow she had on the skewer.
"Mmm… Be careful not to go too close to the fire," I warned, giving her a pat on the head.
"Okies~" Cai Hong giggled, shifting the skewer to the fire.
"This is nice…" Lian Li sighed contentedly, leaning her head on my shoulder while watching the fire, her hand stroking my chest idly.
"Guhehehe~ Master~ A little harder?" Diao Chan whispered from my other side.
I obliged and gave her bottom another spank without moving my body too much, Cai Hong was seated on my lap after all.
Everyone was gathered around the campfire for the evening of relaxation, having arranged a few fallen logs as seats around the fire. All training and lessons were postponed tonight in favour of just enjoying the forest's evening atmosphere.
The servants were also given time off, since I wanted tonight to be more private amongst my disciples and I. I even helped them set up their own shelters in a nearby clearing.
That's why Diao Chan and Lian Li are being so forward with me right now.
"Master, tea?" Manami offered, showing the tray with the teacup on top of it.
I received it from her graciously, tasting it with a contented sigh before returning it.
"Ufufu~ Master seemed to enjoy that, I shall go make more~" Manami giggled, returning back to the kettle she had hung on top of the fire.
She was careful not to step on the two foxes that were laying nearby, both of them looking like they were grooming each other by the fire.
"Papa! Toasty mallow!" Cai Hong cheered, showing me her perfectly toasted marshmallows. "Papa eat?"
I pinched one of the marshmallows and popped it into my mouth, "Mmm… It's perfect. Thank you, Cai Hong."
"Ehehehe~ Papa headpats~"
I dutifully patted her head, causing her to giggle even more.
Reaching for her skewer again, I plucked one of the other marshmallows and fed it to the little dragon, Cai Hong chewing it with a face full of bliss. She looked up at me expectantly and I gave her another skewer of marshmallows to roast.
All of a sudden, Kiyomi appeared from behind me, tilting my head upwards to steal a kiss before letting me go, the white fox licking her lips lasciviously.
"You were wide open, Master~" She chuckled, taking her own seat beside Lian Li.
Lian Li and Diao Chan started pouting so I gave the two of them their kisses as well, Diao Chan's involving quite a bit of tongue.
I did slap her hand away from my inner thigh when she reached a little too far, no way I'll let her pull me into that when Cai Hong is still here.
"Booo… Onii-sama is having fun over there and ignoring his cute imouto! How can this be!" Elaria whined from across me, waving her skewer around with a pout on her face.
I grinned, "Isn't this the camping trip you were looking forward to so much?"
Elaria stuck her tongue out at me before going back to munching on her marshmallows. Brendan was seated beside her with his arms tucked to his sides, the alchemist looking a tad bit uncomfortable with the pouting girl beside him.
Not sure what's wrong with him? Maybe he doesn't like marshmallows? What an oversight, I should have prepared some corn or something else for variety.
Eris came up to me next with several strips of roast boar meat laid on a wooden plate she had carved herself.
It's quite easy to tell that she has the most experience living outdoors since she even managed to secure food while the others were still building their shelters, even with how ridiculously big she made hers.
I took it from her before raising an eyebrow, "Are you girls not having any?"
"Ah… Zhiyang said she wanted to try making something for us… I'm not particularly looking forward to it though…" Diao Chan sighed while rubbing herself on my arm.
"Oh? Isn't that the careless girl from Nirvanic Gate Sect? You sure it's going to be ok?" I asked, a little concerned.
"Oh, don't worry Master, I'll watch her later when she does make it," Eris assured me.
"Mmm… In that case, I'll leave it to you then."
With Eris watching her, I shouldn't need to worry about them getting food poisoning or something like that.
We spent the next few hours just sitting around the campfire, enjoying the solitude of the night and each other's company. I didn't even really mind it that much when the girls started crowding around me and their hands began to roam, it's meant to be a relaxed night after all.
Eris had left earlier to check on Zhiyang like she had said, giving me a kiss before she did so.
Shiori and Akari had retired back to one of the fox dens that Manami and Kiyomi had dug, disappearing into the hole with barely a sound after wishing me good night.
Brendan had left as well after that, saying something about organizing the materials he had gathered today for his alchemy. He did accumulate a whole lot of them too, I bet this was a very fruitful trip for him so far.
If you ask me though, I think he just doesn't trust Zhiyang's cooking.
Deciding it's time for Cai Hong's bed time from how the little dragon was yawning, I shifted myself out of Lian Li's and Diao Chan's grasp, pulling my robes back to cover myself.
"Alright, it's almost time I tuck Cai Hong to bed. You girls can go ahead and have your dinner while I wash her up."
"Yes, Master," The girls responded, a few of them sporting slightly disappointed faces.
"I'll be back," I assured them, picking Cai Hong up in my arms to bring her to the nearby stream to wash up first.
I took care of the little dragon even as she's nodding off, the trek here must have tired her out since she's usually really energetic during bath times. It took a little longer for me to get her done since I had to move the sleepy dragon around.
"Mmm… Papa… Cai Hong wuv Papa…" She mumbled as I carried her back to our tent for the night.
I made sure once again to put up a silencing inscription around the cute little dragon after tucking her into bed, already knowing what my cute disciples would be requesting of me tonight.
Stepping out of the little shelter I made, I realised there was a cloaked figure standing at the very edge of the clearing, their face hidden by the darkness of their hood.
"Good evening, Master Lin."
I frowned, "That voice… You're the assassin."
"Oh, for Master Lin to recognise my voice so easily, this one is greatly honoured."
I crossed my arms, "Coming out like this so simply. You're looking for a one on one?"
The figure shook their head, "Oh no. I am not stupid enough to even think I can touch the hem of your robes with my power."
"So why show yourself now? You can't think you can kill me like this?"
The figure chuckled, "Oh, I won't be the one killing you. They will."
There was a slight rustle and my girls appeared from the undergrowth, all of their eyes staring straight at me and ignoring the figure behind them.
I frowned at their vacant expressions, "What. Did. You. Do."
"Fufu… Scary, Master Lin. Nothing much really, they're all fine so you can relax, for now. I don't think you want to hurt your own disciples now, do you?"
I growled and dematerialised the multitude of Lightning, Fire, Ice, Light and Dark spears that I had summoned all around the clearing.
"Fufu~ Glad that you understand, Master Lin. I would like to extend my thanks to you first."
"Thanks for what?"
"For giving me the information needed to beat you of course. A mere copy of your disciples will not stop you, I had to turn your own disciples against you for it to work. Also, you can stop trying to dispel the Technique on them, they are not being influenced my a mind control Technique, I know you had warded them against those."
I crossed my arms but said nothing.
The figure gestured to my girls, "Let me ask you a simple question, Master Lin. What is the deepest desire of any disciple in the world? To please their Master?"
I narrowed my eyes, not liking where this is going.
The figure did not wait for my answer and continued, "Every single disciple has the very same desire hidden deep within them: To one day surpass their Master. And the surest proof that a student has surpassed their Master… Is to kill them with their own two hands… Isn't that right, Master Lin?"
"I ask again… What. Did. You. Do."
The figure took a step back, prompting my girls to arrange themselves in a line in front of me.
"It's simple, really. I merely helped your girls here bring out their deepest desire to the front of their consciousness such that they will act on it. With that, they won't stop until that desire is fulfilled. Now you can choose to kill your own disciples… Or be killed by them. Either way, you'll be a broken man by dawn so I guess my job here is done~ I still have that Feng fellow to take care of after all~"
The figure melted into a puddle and disappeared from the clearing.
I barely had time to prepare myself before all of my girls' faces lit back up, crouching themselves into their stances before leaping right at me, their hands outstretched towards me menacingly.
Is it really too much to ask for a normal, uneventful camping trip?
Now I'm here for the fight of my life...