"Is this for real? Think Xin just wants to get his first blowjob." Lei said.
"Oh! I wonder how long it will take for the guy to come!" Murong Zhan chuckled. "That's the classic." Lei winked in response.
"Inform Tu Qiang. I won't be gone for too long."
Xin walked fifty steps towards another campfire, where the caravan hands were seated.
"I'm looking for that entertainment tent, is it that one?" He pointed to a round tent in a remote location, some distance away from the camp.
"Of course! You didn't seem like the first person to visit, but I guess you've got some balls on you. Don't worry, those girls will drain you dry. Or are you after the guys?" One of the armed caravan guards asked. His ring had an insignia of some organization that he didn't recognize, and half of the other guards also had it.
The insignia's ornament is blue. They're probably rank one. Assuming that's true, their caravan has four rank one members, ten normal warriors and their master is also likely to be rank one or two. Could he be a physical cultivator? He spoke about xiandao cultivators as someone who he doesn't belong to, but it could very well be a trick.
"Oh, I don't know if I'll sleep with any of them. I'll see if they can get me into the mood." Xin turned around the main tent and walked ten feet forward.
"... walked by, that's that outrider?" Xin barely heard a muffled voice. He stopped dead in his tracks. Master Chao, talking to someone. Can't miss this opportunity. But how does one listen to him without raising suspicions?
Xin stood up behind a lonely tree, raised his gambeson and unbuttoned his hip armor, sticking his spear out. Pretending to pee was the only option! If he just stood there near the tree, people from the prostitution tent could get alarmed.
"Think he suspects us?" Xin infused his hearing now, and heard their speech quite clearly.
"Seems paranoid in general. Some sort of trauma survivor."
"I… still think he's stronger than he looks. Their cargo is suspiciously light. Think it's the bags of holding?"
"Yes, of course. And they've got some nice purebred horses, quite a budget they have, it seems. Think it's a FETS delivery mission."
"Should we inform the Fist sect?"
Xin's heart skipped a bit again. He was standing there with his prick out, hearing all the footsteps behind him, listening in on a conversation that could seal their doom!
"Nah, look. We bring them the caravan hands and the cargo, we'll earn a lot. We'll sell the carriages and the horses as well, then we leave for the capital. Qu Mo Tang is waiting for us there."
Bring them the caravan hands? Recruits? Serfs? Slaves? What's the cargo? Why are they retiring? Who's Qu Mo Tang?
"Think they can attack us?"
"No, master. We can probably match their squad, no one is that suicidal. We should stay alert, but I'd rather worry about the nomads."
"Fine, but I am very anxious about them. Should've declined."
"Well, it was your idea to try and get some intel out of them. I'm still not sure Fist sect will pay well for this."
So, everything is clear now. These traders aren't secretly very strong. They're planning to betray us by getting close to us, but they're very clumsy with their methods. Should think about what to do next. Maybe rob them? If we disrupted their shipment, it could be a huge boon to our sect.
No, we don't know the scale of the shipment, maybe it will even provoke a war for nothing. Stupid idea. Xin then actually took a small leak, to dispel any suspicions, and went towards the prostitute tent.
"Hey, sweetie." The twin-tailed girl that addressed him was probably their leader. Xin was starved for female attention, and her words cut him like little knives. Still, she disgusted him. Could be a proper wife to some happy guy, she certainly has the looks for it, chose to become this instead.
"Hi, people. I... I'm just looking to hang out."
"Well, you know the deal. A spirit stone, or twenty percent more in coin. Your choice, hehe." She flicked her hair playfully. Such a cliche movement, no sincerity behind it, Xin thought. A fake laugh, and a gesture completely unsynchronized with it. She certainly had no makings of an actress.
"Yeah, so I don't know, people, just to clarify... I want to see some dancers, hear some girls sing, listen to some stories, have a drink, nothing intimate. Alright?" He knew that he was slightly worried, so he played it up to create a vulnerable image. Hand them the initiative.
"Eh, why is that? Are we not to your liking?" Another girl came out of the tent. She now wore a shirt with her belly exposed, her hair was collected, and she wore a long traditional skirt. She was tall, even lanky, slender and elegant.
Actually, no, Xin thought. Your sense of style is non-existent, your outfit is goofy. And yes, you are tall and your hair is nice, but your face is average and you have no forms.
"No, I think you're pretty. I'm just too tired for this stuff." Xin put a spirit stone into the bowl near the entry. "What's your performance tonight?"
The twin tailed girl looked at him with disappointment.
"Could you at least take your armour off, sweetie? It's hard to get into the mood when the guy is all steel and boiled leather, you know?"
"Well, I already took off my helmet. Whatever, I am tired, stop arguing." He entered the tent and sat down on a bench.
Eh, now I just need to spend some time with them to divert the suspicions. Boozeman Chao can think of me as impotent for all I care. I got what I came for.
The twin tailed girl sat near him and took him by the hand. It took some effort not to withdraw his hand.
"Hey, if you're so tired, how about you lie on my lap, eh? I could caress you, nothing more than that. Please?" She looked at him with puppy eyes as she gently pulled him down. The two men have left the tent, as they knew their services wouldn't be needed.
"Eh, fine." Xin could hear himself say. He felt like one inner Xin just betrayed another. He carefully lowered his head and lay on the girl's lap. "Now what?"
"Now the girls will dance." She leaned down to him and whispered, her breasts resting on his ear. Xin felt embarrassed as chills ran down his spine.
The other two girls pulled out handheld tambourines and spinning rattles, created a beat for each other to follow and started dancing synchronously. They started with simple motions, but they got more and more erotic.
"You like what you see?" One of the girls asked. She looked quite plain and had big breasts, but Xin didn't find her particularly attractive. Still, he soon felt something hitting the groin area of his armor.
"It's good, keep dancing." Xin answered coldly. Meanwhile, the twin-tailed girl ran her fingers through his hair.
"You grew quite a mane, cutie. Was that intended?" Her hands smelled pleasantly, some mix of girly cosmetics with herbs and other aromatizers Xin couldn't identify despite being an alchemist.
"No, it's just been months since I cut my hair. I wear it shorter."
"Oh, you should just get a new haircut. We could give you one tomorrow, if you're interested."
"We'll see." Xin felt like he was melting. He felt pathetic, this was the closest he's been with a woman in a long time. He never went further than kissing and touching a breast, even with his Tealstone girlfriend. And lately, he never had the time for privacy, so he had a lot of pent up emotions.
He felt like he was doing something absurd. At the same time, something inside of him told him to act more proactively. You've already paid for it, just fuck them all, idiot! Still, he felt no connection with any of these girls, and sleeping with a prostitute felt indecent. They are so nice to me, though.
Somehow, he also thought about Wu Xiaoyun. He didn't see her romantically, but he thought about her from time to time, and imagining breaking her heart filled him with anxiety. He was rejected before, and he knew how it felt.
"You lost in thoughts? Or mesmerized?" The caressing girl asked him. She even played with his ears and tickled his face playfully.
"You guess."
"Oh, such a cold young gentleman. Think we should spice our dance up?"
"Your call, you're the expert."
"Hehehe, sit up." She gently pushed him upwards. Xin crossed his hands below his chin and leaned his elbows on his knees, as he stared at the girls.
The twin-tailed girls also approached her friends, picked up some incense and fiery liquids, and handed it to them.
"I love a tough nut to crack. I promise, by the end of this performance you'll take this armour off." She smiled seductively at him.
Xin felt worried. Did I spend enough time here to divert the suspicions? What should I even do? His anxiety about Boozeman Chao was partially repressing his lust.
The girls twisted their bodies in a seductive dance, enhanced by breathing fire and pleasant aroma of the incense, slowly undressing parts of themselves, all while keeping the most intimate parts obscured. As they entwined their bodies together, they also started kissing and caressing each other all over.
Xin finally composed himself. He liked what he saw, but they weren't that stunning. He was also annoyed by the smell of incense.
"Think that's it. I'll get going." He stood up and adjusted his armour, otherwise his spear would hurt a bit when walking.
"Oh, seriously? Fine, your choice. You're welcome back anytime." The girl looked disappointed. And, unlike her other gestures and expression, this one looked genuine.
Xin thought about it as he walked out of the tent. She's a bad actress, but it doesn't mean she can't successfully lie. Still, maybe she was sad about her seduction failing. It's probably a big part of her self-worth, just like his martial abilities or alchemy skills. In this regard, he understood what she felt. Maybe she even liked him? She probably mostly served fat old guys, a nice cultivator from a fancy sect would probably be a good change of scenery. Whatever, doesn't matter. Xin walked away and intensely breathed fresh air in.
"What went wrong?" One of the girls asked their leader. "Think he's one of these?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe he didn't like us. He also looks fresh from combat, maybe he had the image of his dead comrades pop in front of his eyes. Let's not judge." Xin stopped outside of the tent to listen to them. This night really made him appreciate his perception abilities.
"Look, I've seen this gleam in his eyes, he'll jerk off to this memory. It's his fault for being a wimp, we did nothing wrong. Less work for us, hehe."
"Oh, that he will, I'm certain. Any other clients today?"
"Yeah, Lu Bo hired all five, later this night."
Xin rolled his eyes and left.
"Oh, that was fast!" One of the guardsmen addressed Xin as he was passing near their campfire. "How did you like them?"
"Fast? I've got stuff to do. My pleasure's what matters. I've had enough." Xin raised his chin and went towards his group's campfire.