The afternoon passed in a steady rhythm, patient after patient ushered through the second floor. Shi Yang worked without strain, his fingers glowing faintly as qi flowed into flesh, shifting what nature had given into what his craft demanded. Each transformation took only minutes, each more refined than the last.
And with each patient, once the final adjustments were made, he delivered the same measured talk he had given to Luo Feng: words of fortune, of heaven's smile, of opportunity. He offered them a place—four silver a day to walk the markets and let their forms be seen.
But most only laughed nervously, shaking their heads with pride or embarrassment. A wealthy practitioner claimed his Daoist partner would never allow it. Another, already flushed with shame, begged only for secrecy. One even swore he would never set foot in the market again for fear of being kidnapped for his new figure.
Only one paused, frowning thoughtfully as he studied his new shape in the mirror. He turned, hesitant, before voicing his request:
"Daoist Shi… could you make my chest and thighs… larger? More alluring? What you've given me is beautiful, but I wish for more."
Shi Yang's lips curved faintly. He tilted his head, studying the man's figure with the cool appraisal of a craftsman judging raw stone.
"It can be done," he said calmly, "but not today. Flesh must be harvested before it can be shaped. Accumulate fat in your body, and when you return, I will shift it as you desire. Proportions are clay in my hands—but clay must first exist to be molded."
The man's eyes brightened at the promise, and he bowed low, murmuring his thanks before departing.
By the time the last patient had left, barely half an hour had passed since Shi Yang had opened his doors. Already, the bamboo slips in his sleeve weighed heavy with names and coin. He closed the clinic early, sliding the doors shut, the market's roar once more muffled to a hum outside.
Behind the counters and partitions, the rear chamber had been stripped and converted. Once a storage room, now it held three partitions, each curtained off with plain silk. Within each partition lay a mattress, soft by mortal standards, more than sufficient for cultivators who had spent years sleeping on hard ground.
Shi Yang lay stretched across one, his teal robe loosened, hair fanned across the pillow. On either side, Xiu Mei and Han Jie reclined in their own corners, their voices carrying softly across the space.
Xiu Mei yawned, rolling onto her side with a lazy grin. "This is easier than I ever imagined," she said, voice tinged with amusement. "I thought we would have to bleed and sweat for coin, but all it takes is a smile, a slip of paper, and your hand." She laughed lightly, shaking her head. "Uncle Shi, you've turned vanity itself into gold."
Han Jie smirked faintly from behind her crimson veil, though her eyes glimmered with something sharper. "Easier, yes. But the question is—how long do you plan for us to keep this up?"
Shi Yang's gaze slid toward them, calm and unhurried. "Until the clinic is full of workers." His tone was even, certain, as if the future were already written. "With the way this is going, that will only take a few days."
The words settled into the room like a vow.
Xiu Mei's smile lingered, her lashes half-lowered. Han Jie's eyes gleamed through the veil, sharp as glass. And Shi Yang, lying with hands folded behind his head, listened to the muffled hum of the market outside, already envisioning the day when the Glory Clinic would no longer be only two stories, three partitions dividing a bedroom and a counter—when it would be an institution that even True Grandmasters would whisper of.
He smiled, looking at the ceiling, then turned to his girls. In the last few days, he hadn't even been able to touch them properly, other than working on their bodies to make them the faces of his clinic.
"Han Jie…" he called softly, turning over to look at his dancer on her mattress. "Xiu Mei." Shi Yang spoke both their names, catching their attention. He lay back on his bed.
"We haven't dual cultivated in a while," he grinned, propping himself up on one elbow. "So how about we try something fun together? These sheets are really spacious."
Han Jie's laugh was soft behind her crimson veil. She stretched languidly, her eyes glittering. "I prefer mine," she teased. "Why don't you come over here instead?"
Xiu Mei smirked from her own mattress, leaning forward with mischief in her eyes. "No, come to me, Uncle Shi. I'll make it worth your while."
The air thickened with their rivalry, playful yet edged with challenge. Shi Yang sighed and shook his head, his lips curving faintly. "I called both of you over so this wouldn't happen," he said dryly. "But I suppose this will still work."
He rose and slid the partitions closed with deliberate calm. "This way, neither of you has to fight for my attention. I can come to your side one at a time."
Yet, instead of choosing, he simply sat back on his own bed and crossed his legs, slipping into meditation. His breathing slowed, qi circulating through his meridians as though the temptation of two beauties meant nothing at all.
Minutes passed. Han Jie lay back with a knowing smirk, content to watch his silhouette till he came to her. But Xiu Mei grew restless, her pout deepening as she waited. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she crept silently across the floor.
She slipped into his bed, leaned close, and pressed her lips to his—waking him with a bold, impatient kiss.
Shi Yang's eyes fluttered open at the sensation of Xiu Mei's lips, a soft sigh escaping him as he wrapped his arms around her. He returned the kiss with equal fervor, his hands roaming over her back and hips, pulling her closer.
After a moment, he broke away with a breathless chuckle. "Impatient one," he murmured against her lips. "You know just how to wake a man from meditation."
Xiu Mei grinned up at him, her fingers already working at the ties of his robe. "And you know how not to give in to our little games," she retorted playfully.
Shi Yang's gaze hungered as he watched her undress him, hands helping now rather than hindering. "That wasn't a game but a trap. If I picked either of you, I'd have to face the fury of the other."
He teased, his own fingers moving toward her sash, removing it and freeing her milky white chest. Her pink rings called out to him, and he gladly answered the call.
"Mmm," Xiu Mei let out a low breath, "Uncle Shi~" she moaned as he not only sucked but groped her twin peaks. "That's it, Uncle Shi, these are all yours."
She moaned softly, her fingers roaming his chest, feeling his muscles and caressing them in time with his own. "I love you," she said.
Shi Yang responded, "I love you more."
He leaned forward, pushing her onto the mattress. "I also love Han Jie."
She pouted at his extra comment and locked her legs around his waist. What's so good about him? Even after you gave him a chest that would have put most women to shame, he still pales compared to a woman like me.
Her voice echoed in his spirit sea as she spread her robes wider. See? Mine are even bigger.
He watched her display of superiority, and he couldn't help but laugh internally. I wonder what you'd do if you found out Han Jie was a woman too, he thought, leaning down to capture her mounds, which in fact were slightly smaller than her rival's.
Shi Yang's eyes sparkled with mischief as he gazed at Xiu Mei, her chest a tempting sight before him. He continued to lavish attention on her breasts, teasing and suckling until she writhed beneath him.
"You're so eager," he purred, his voice low and husky. "But remember, I have a technique to perfect." His hand trailed down her stomach, fingers dipping into the warmth between her thighs.
Xiu Mei gasped, legs parting instinctively to grant him access. "Yes… Uncle Shi," she breathed.
He chuckled darkly at the endearment that now felt more intimate than ever before. As his fingers delved deeper, stroking and circling her sensitive flesh, he couldn't help but think of fattening her little sister to bring him more pleasure. The thought sent a thrill through him.
Still, Shi Yang focused on the present moment, intent on bringing Xiu Mei pleasure first and foremost. He applied gentle pressure against her clit while pumping two fingers in and out of her tight channel. Her wetness coated them as she began to rock against his hand.
"Uncle Shi… please…" Xiu Mei whimpered urgently between ragged breaths.
Her plea was music to his ears as he picked up the pace of his ministrations. He could feel her walls starting to flutter around his invading digits—a sign that she was nearing climax.
"Just let go," he encouraged hoarsely in response to her desperate tone. "I'll catch you."
With a keening cry that vibrated through their joined bodies, Xiu Mei came undone beneath him—her inner muscles clenching rhythmically around Shi Yang's fingers as waves of ecstasy washed over her trembling form…
In that moment of vulnerability, after release had claimed its prize from Xiu Mei's quivering body, it seemed like an eternity since they had been entwined like this—skin-to-skin intimacy not just physical, but also a spiritual connection that transcended mere lust for something far more profound.