A Waste of Time-Chapter 125: Embossed Dusk

“Damn bastard! Don’t you know how to hold back?!”
Both of Ippo’s clones dragged themselves upright, leaning heavily on each other, then cursed at Kirin in unison. “Were you trying to kill me? I could’ve died back there!”
Crow. Crow. Crow–Crow!
The eagle shamelessly croaked back, nodding as if proud of himself. His body trembled, his legs unsteady, bald patches scattered across his scorched feathers—but his eyes gleamed with defiance. His posture screamed mock strength, as if to say:
Yeah… and what are you going to do about it? I’m exactly the guy who finishes little punks like you.
“That’s enough, you two!” Yan Jia cut in sharply, stepping between them just as it seemed round two was about to start. “Explaining why you wrecked merchant Li Yue’s garden is already my responsibility. No wonder you can’t get along—both of you only think about yourselves! Never about others!”
She pinched the bridge of her nose, the headache already mounting. “Unlike young master Daemon, who always made sure to present himself—and all of us—in the best way possible before outsiders. He handled conflicts in private, like a true family.”
Her gaze flicked across the ruined garden, lips tightening as she tried to calculate the damage. Even the numbers in her head made her stomach churn. Renting this mansion from the Syndicate for only a couple of months, just to have a base until the Sect’s Entrance Competition, had already cost her half her assets. She had been forced to part with the Fire-Belt her brother once bought for her at the Seven-Gold Pagoda’s trade-house.
She hadn’t sold it simply for coin. That treasure had become unbearable to keep. It was a reminder.
Her Martial Spirit—the little Phoenix—had burned itself to ash protecting her against Xue Lian. The weasel’s Light Qi would have pierced her heart, but the Phoenix’s Hellfire had flared and shielded her. It had saved her, and in doing so, it had perished.
Now, only drifting ash remained in the core of her Fire Qi, an eternal reminder of sacrifice.
Perhaps surrender and defeat in that battle would’ve been better,
she thought bitterly.
Better than winning at the cost of losing my Martial Spirit. Better than carrying this regret every day since.
Even the little crow seemed to feel her grief. It stayed cocooned quietly in its Lightning Qi, feathers sparking with three intertwined currents: her own, Kirin’s, and Daemon’s—the same Daemon who had gifted her both Martial Spirits to begin with.
“Come with me.”
Ippo finally broke the silence. He ignored Kirin entirely and took Yan Jia by the arms, one clone on each side. To anyone else, it looked like he was escorting her. In truth, he was holding onto her, using her as support, because his own legs were about to give way.
Damn you, Kai! Give me back my bloody Immortality! This feeling sucks ass!
Both clones cursed in unison, teeth bared in frustration as they leaned on her.
“Where are we going?” Jia asked, her voice sharp. “I still need to take care of this mess, so it better be important.”
She glanced back at the garden—the broken trees, the shattered ornaments, the wreckage left behind after hours of fighting. What truly annoyed her wasn’t the destruction, though. It was the proud look her brother, Yan Ru, had been giving his student. A look of respect, even admiration. His disciple had surpassed him, fighting toe-to-toe against a Magic Beast without yielding ground.
He really did achieve all that in just three weeks,
Jia admitted silently, stealing a glance at the two identical clones dragging at her arms.
At least give him credit for that.
“My room,” Ippo replied, both of him speaking together. “There’s something important I need to do to you.”
Jia’s heels dug into the ground. Her glare could’ve cut through stone. “Really now? You think this is the time? You can barely stand.”
Xia and Zhou Mei giggled behind her, while Yan Ru pretended not to hear. He focused on tending Kirin, the eagle quiet and docile under his care, channeling its energy into its Demonic Core to regrow its feathers—a healing trick common to all Magic Beasts.
Ippo’s two clones coughed, then fixed Jia with a reproachful glare for daring to embarrass him in front of the others. “Silly girl,” the Dark Clone scolded. “This is something Daemon asked me to do.”
The Fire Clone continued smoothly, “He wanted to help you focus on cultivation before the Solar Lotus Sect’s Entrance Competition. He hoped you’d figure it out yourself, but you’ve been too distracted, too confused.”
“It certainly doesn’t help that suddenly there are
two
of you,” Jia snapped, looking from left to right. “Which one’s the real Ippo?”
“Oh, we’re both Ippo,” the Dark Clone whispered slyly, sneaking a glance at Kirin. The eagle was busy preening, licking its wounds.
“We were worried Kirin might go on a rampage if we dropped this form,” the Fire Clone added, gritting his teeth as he watched the bird’s feathers sprout back. “So we kept the Skill active. Didn’t want him realizing we’re paper tigers.”
Satisfied that Kirin’s sharp gaze was elsewhere, Ippo finally released the Demonic Descent. At once, the strength drained from him. Weakness and exhaustion surged, nearly buckling his knees.
“Humph! Perverted jerk can’t even stand on his feet but still insists on dying on a woman’s chest,” little Mei muttered with arms crossed, nodding sagely like her mother scolding useless brothers.
Ippo flushed, shame and irritation boiling in his chest, but he lacked the strength to argue. Instead, he made a mental note:
Once I recover, that brat’s getting a proper lesson.
“Enough nonsense from you! Go prepare my bath.” He barked the order before shifting his gaze to Xia. His eyes softened at the sight of her, lingering a little too long on the curves of her chest. “Please feed me, gorgeous lady. I feel like I’m about to die from hunger.”
Xia smiled, her cheeks warming, and gave him a reassuring nod. “I’ll bring your meal to your room once you’re finished bathing. Don’t worry.”
“Such a dependable woman… your charm won’t go to waste. Just wait until my special bone hardens. Then we can really have fun. Together… all of us.” Ippo rubbed his nose against Jia’s bosom, making all three girls blush before scattering to handle their tasks.
Jia carried him up the winding stairs to the upper floor, directly to the bath. She set him on a stool and helped strip away his ruined clothes. Some scraps were plastered to his wounds, ripping free painfully. Ippo hissed—he hated pain—but bore it in silence.
Once the tub was filled, Jia warmed the water with her Fire Qi, then used it to cleanse the worst of his grime before lowering him in. Naturally, he pulled both her and Zhou Mei in with him.
Strength returned quickly. Soon, he had Zhou Mei across his lap, spanking her until her cute buttocks glowed pink. She whimpered, trembling in Jia’s embrace, her watery eyes silently begging for mercy. But Ippo was merciless. He shifted instead, squeezing into Jia’s hold, ignoring her annoyance, one hand sneaking to knead her curves. Mei buried her face in her sister’s chest, refusing to look at him.
“Now who’s the one suffocating on a woman’s chest?” Ippo teased, twirling Mei’s hair between his fingers.
“S-shut up, jerk!” she cried, hugging Jia tighter and ignoring his bullying.
Jia smiled softly, tightening her own embrace around her little sister. But her glare at Ippo was sharp—she would not let him go too far. She had permitted the spanking, but anything more would not be tolerated.
“What happened after your Phoenix Martial Spirit burned itself out against Xue Lian?” Ippo asked suddenly, his palm resting on her navel, circling gently.
The question froze her. It was a sensitive wound, one she rarely spoke of. But the seriousness in his eyes, the purpose behind his touch, made her pause.
“…It’s gone,” she admitted quietly. “I’m left with ash across my Dantian. Traces inside my Fire Qi. A bitter memory, a foul taste that never leaves my throat.”
Zhou Mei clung tighter, wrapping her arms around Jia’s neck. “Big sister… please don’t be sad.” She pressed her face into Jia’s shoulder, unwilling to let go—even as Ippo took advantage, cupping Jia’s breasts boldly in both hands.
“Heh. Poor girl.”
They mistook it for mockery, but he continued, voice calm, words heavy.
“A Phoenix falls into ashes… and rises from them too. Don’t you cultivators know that myth already?”
Jia stiffened. The little maid swallowed the retort she had ready to spit, knowing it would only earn her another round of punishment. Instead, she held her tongue, her heart thumping, while Ippo’s words lingered like sparks waiting to ignite.
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