It was a large room with a massive couch on one side and a bed on the other. A similar circular window sat opposite the doorway as warm red lanterns immersed the room in a sort of dreamy haze as wisps of smoke floated about the room. Hualing and Xu Ou lay on the couch lazily, smooth legs outstretched and their colorful robes barely hanging on giving peeks of soft skin and alluring curves. Truly muses fit for a palace painting if it weren't for the permeating stench of blood in the room. Or the small pile of bones sitting on the table between them. Zhi Yan could feel their eyes watching her like a hawk but neither of the women made any move to get up.

Similarly, Niu Hejun sat amidst a pile of pillows on the bed, jugs of alcohol littered about some still spilling out onto the floor. His head was leaned back, his chest heaving up and down. Sweat glistened on his skin as a hand hidden by the pillows moved in a repetitive fashion. "Hold on, Birdie," Niu Hejun's husky voice matched the flush on his cheeks. He had turned to lay his head sideways atop one of the pillows and was gazing at her through heavy-lidded eyes; a drunken feral light within them. Not once did his hand stop moving.

Hedonistic bastard. Zhi Yan clumsily stumbled forward, attempting to avoid the blood and limb on the floor with some nonexistent grace fueled by her pride. When she reached the man, she threw a pillow at the man, averting her eyes. Of course, Niu Hejun effortlessly caught it with one hand, and moments later he smoothly slipped on a massive robe. "Did you miss me so much?" He cooed arms outstretched. Shameless hedonistic freak.

She dodged his burly arms, nearly falling, and shed her outer robe. "Hands."

Obediently, the large man held his hands out still grinning with that same hubris-filled intoxicated light in his eyes. He let out a giggle and leaned forward so that his chin rested on her shoulder and she could smell the scent of herbal incense mixed with sweat as she wrapped his hands in the cloth. Seeing as the woman said nothing, Niu Hejun shuffled in closer so that he was practically leaning on her at that point. Sure enough, a second later, and hard palm pushed him away as he heard the owner make small noises of annoyance. There was something that was so close to adoration in the way that he looked at her as he watched her use the edge of his robe to wipe off where he touched her. But adoration also couldn't be further from the truth as his eyes raked over her, so curious to see more that he barely heard her order to take the talisman off.

The snarky comment caught in his throat. Intricate crimson patterns writhed and shifted on her skin pulsing with a soft but sinister glow. Every curve, every path emanated an otherworldly aura mesmerizing and beckoning to come closer. Transfixed, he raised a finger to trace the little branches that marked her skin. Even through the cloth, he could a power that lingered along each line, and as he followed every path his mind wandered. He wondered where else those lines ran to. No, he needed to know where those lines took him. Niu Hejun tilted his head, eyes glowing with deep interest as his fingers continued to gently follow the patterns.

A finger snapped and he looked up to see Zhi Yan's hand still pointing at her shoulder. "Yes, yes."

With surprising tenderness, Niu Hejun skillfully peeled off the piece of paper and then pressed his covered hand onto the same spot. A refreshing wave of coolness washed over her and Zhi Yan sighed in deep satisfaction. The two other women in the room watched, amused as the two stood in silence, one with her eyes closed while the other eyes so focused on her with such a complex intensity neither of the women could decipher what it was.

"Oh my, Hejun-ah. Learning bad habits are we? You think you're so crafty, hiding someone so interesting right underneath our noses." Hualing's dulcet voice cut through the silence.

Zhi Yan immediately stepped away from his hand and bowed. "Apologies for my untimely visit."

Hualing shrugged. "Hejun always has a habit of surprising us with his assortment of activities. Zhi Yan, was it?"

"Yes." 

"Birdie?"

"...Yes."

"I see. What a charming alias," She blew a ring of smoke before handing a thin golden pipe to Xu Ou. "And here I was wondering who this poor victim was."

"Oi!" A pillow at blinding speed shot towards the woman before a red light instantly incinerated the object.

"Niu Hejun don't act so childish. Though it is interesting how," Xu Ou took a long drag from the pipe. "You are so calm in the presence of two fox demons." She gestured to a pile of ashes that was pillow now on the ground. "If I wanted that could be you, darling."

Zhi Yan shrugged as Niu Hejun strode over to the door and waved his sleeve forming another barrier. "I do not concern myself with the company he keeps as long as I am not bothered."

"But you didn't answer her question." Hualing got up from the couch and walked forward, circling her slowly. "A sheltered runaway girl who has never met a fox demon before should be scared, no? I mean, you don't even have any means of protecting yourself. Unless those marks play some role in a sort of blind confidence."

I wish. "I am told I do not have a very expressional face. Ms. Hualing, I am scared."

Hualing narrowed her eyes at her before a grin spread across her face and she let out a delighted giggle, as she tapped Zhi Yan's nose with her fan. "Aren't you just an endearing little find? I do just want to eat you up." 

Zhi Yan cast a glance at the bone on the floor next to her. A finger possibly?

"A lovely pet." Xu Ou tapped her chin thoughtfully and Hualing nodded. "The girls would love her."

Niu Hejun who had been quiet this whole time, cleared his throat. "No pets, ladies. We're going to the Capitol. Together."

"Now, Hejun don't be like that. Self-seeking habits will surely lead to loss, little boy."

Hualing turned back to Zhi Yan and clasped her hand. "Darling, treat it as a vacation. Sister Xu and I can guarantee none of those annoying cultivators and hunters can come near you. In fact," She giggled at the thought. "We've eaten a couple ourselves."

Honestly, the suggestion was tempting but Niu Hejun popped that bubble before she could even think the prospect through. "She is not staying." It came off as a petulant remark that a child mid-tantrum would make and the drunken flush on his face, as he glared at the women, did not help his case. 

"Why? Because you demand it?" Xu Ou mocked wiggling her eyebrows at the man and it only seemed to fuel his frustration as he stiffly yanked Hualing's hand off hers. "Remember, Hejun-ah you can't just decide your demands over her wishes. Or are you too used to that treatment?"

But before he could respond a boom came from outside the door. 

"No because she nee-" Another boom. There was yelling from outside.

"Because she ne-" Boom. Niu Hejun closed his eyes and then smiled, an animalistic one that did not reach his eyes. "It seems that we have a passionate visitor outside." 

The second he slid open the door, a flash of red zipped into the room straight at Zhi Yan but right as it was about to reach her a net made of light grabbed it and slammed it onto the floor. Instantly, the red light transformed into an angry Die-er. Her red pupils blazed as sharp claws and long tails thrashed underneath the net. "Where are you hiding that dirty liar?"