Temptations
The pavilions themselves weren’t hidden at all, but Millia understood that Edrick would rather not be spotted visiting them, so she showed him around using secret passages whose very existence raised a few questions, the answer to which Anoteros could figure out on his own quite easily.
Those two pavilions were ‘Young Peach Pavilion’ and ‘Little Peach Pavilion’. Where the Bloomins and Immunubils stayed, respectively. Naturally, most people wouldn’t want to be spotted visiting these places in particular, as it would obviously get people talking about the reason for their visit.
The secret passages were clearly intended for those who were indeed present for some ‘fun’, especially in the case of ‘Little Peach Pavilion’.
“You wouldn’t believe just how much some people are willing to pay just for ten minutes with a pure Immunubil, heheheh… Xiaode Mountain Sect is sitting on a pile of money from just this”
“I would assume that you own quite the library of blackmail material too, right?”
“Indeed, Young Master. Sect Leader Jolie is the only one who can access it, though. Moreover, only her most trusted disciples are present when the material is being collected. All of it is naturally at the disposal of the Elt patriarch, if he so desires to make use of some of it”
Edrick nodded to her words. The two ‘risky’ pavilions were quite close to one another, and their paths to the rest of the sect converged, allowing Edrick to see a great flow of both Bloomins and Immunubils. Some of them could be viewed as one or the other, frankly.
After all, the change from Immunubil to Bloomin was an arbitrary one. An Immunubil could look like what was expected of a Bloomin one or two years before officially becoming one, perhaps even more in certain cases… Most Immunubil enjoyers weren’t really after the looks. They were more so after the concept of an Immunubil itself. They wanted to taste the forbidden fruit.
It was a guarantee that most of the customers who used these secret passages weren’t actual Immunubilists. They were just drunk on the feeling of being able to do something so taboo. It made them feel powerful and untouchable to be able to have their way with an Immunubil.
This was probably to the point that they didn’t even find Immunubils attractive… Of course, according to Millia, there were indeed a few proper Immunubilists who came by rather often. Although she didn’t know their identity herself, she had heard rumours amongst the closest circle around the sect leader.
“Would you believe me if I told you that amongst those Immunubilists, there were actually more women than men?”
“That sounds about right”
The scion shrugged. He knew well that the concept that women were less perverted than men was utter bollocks… Men were simply more forward and loud about their desires, while also usually having greater means to actually act on their pulsions.
It was a question of resources, not of sex.
A woman with free range might genuinely be far worse than a man with the same means. Not that Edrick had bothered to look too deeply into such matters. He hadn’t delved into such things in his previous world and mostly ignored anything that didn’t have to do with him… The Edrick Lucien Anoteros of the previous world had been playing a deadly game of cat and mouse for most of his life, after all.
Elder Millia whispered something to him:
“Do you want to take one of them for a ride? Apart from the newer additions, they are all very well-behaved and know what is expected of them under certain scenarios… There are few other places where you can find pure Immunubils willing to serve you in bed... And even fewer places where you find pure Immunubils with an understanding of how to serve you in bed…”
The offer was tempting, but Anoteros immediately shook his head.
“I need to be careful with my reputation for now, Miss Millia. I’ll have to accept your offer later in the future. I can guarantee that I’ll be making a big visit once I feel like I can do so without problem”
The elder smiled pleasantly.
“You seem to have great aspirations, Young Master… I am certain Sect Leader Jolie will like you a lot”
She looked around as her smile took on a certain mischievousness.
“Do be careful, though. Lady Jolie was once a pursuer of your Valdre, and she might come off as a little bitter toward you… You do look a lot like your Valdre, even if… Even if I do think that you have already surpassed him in terms of looks~”
Edrick chuckled.
“Were you another one of his pursuers, Miss Millia?”
“Ohohoh… I am not so old, Young Master! I just looked up to him a lot when I was still a beginner cultivator. All young girls dream of being swept off their feet by a prince charming, you know?”
She laughed cutely, covering her soft lips with her small hand.
“Anyway, don’t worry too much about how she comes off. She isn’t going to brush you off just because you look like your Valdre. She’ll just be gauging you as she does with everyone”
“Any ideas why my Valdre didn’t reciprocate her feelings? I know that he was pursuing my Valra for a long time, but he didn’t even show affection to Sect Leader Jolie a few times?”
Millia shook her head.
“Not only was the Elt patriarch already staunchly loyal to the matriarch even before they got together, but… Lady Jolie is a bit of a more unusual kind of Rococoli. She’s a bit of an atypical combination, and even then, she is quite unique even amongst her kind”
“It is not my place to reveal all of her secrets, and to be frank, even your deadly charisma probably won’t work. She is a bit too serious to allow a business meeting to become anything else…”
Anoteros scratched his face.
“I see, I see. Well, it wasn’t my intent to try and flirt with her anyway, though I certainly am curious now”
“Alright, let me lead you to her now. I might have extended the tour a little too much and would rather not be reprimanded for fooling around with you, Young Master”
She said this, but right before beginning to lead the way again, she somehow managed to jump up and grab onto his shoulder with her delightfully soft hands, murmuring something into his ear:
“Once you’re done with the meeting, we could visit my private quarters, if you’d like~”
He didn’t respond immediately, but his lower brain had already made its decision…