Into The Sea

Sexual Content Warning. Rape Warning.

Lan Wu drifted in a hazy dreamscape. One moment she was submerged in the bottomless depths of the ocean, the next she was stranded on scorching, cracked desert. She wandered aimlessly, lost and alone, unable to find her way, as if the journey would never end.

Suddenly, a sharp pain flared in the center of her forehead, rippling through her entire body like water flowing through every vein. It felt as though something foreign had seeped into her, threading itself through her meridians, bones, and blood.

“Mmh…”

She stopped, clutching her head in agony. It was then that she heard a voice calling her name.

“Lan Wu.”

Her eyes flew open to find a sky full of stars above her. The crackling sound beside her made her turn her head instinctively. She was lying next to a campfire, and not far away, Ji Lingyue sat cross-legged in meditation.

Memories of what had happened came flooding back, and Lan Wu’s face paled. She scrambled to her feet and, spotting a puddle of water nearby, she stumbled over and knelt by the water, her face as white as a sheet.

Her fingers trembled as she reached up to touch her forehead. As soon as she made contact, a faint golden marking, shaped like a lotus, appeared on her skin. It felt warm to the touch.

She stared at her blurry reflection in the water, still unable to believe it.

Ji Lingyue opened her eyes, watching her silently.

“You… you…” Lan Wu’s eyes welled up with tears. She whipped around to face Ji Lingyue, her gaze filled with a mixture of humiliation, rage, disbelief, and a strange sense of betrayal.

She let out a choked sob and pounded her fist against her head, but no words came out, except for a single, heartbroken question. “You’ve bound me with a beast contract?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ji Lingyue replied calmly.

Lan Wu’s eyes widened. How could she say it with such indifference, as if it meant nothing at all? After a while, she gave a bitter laugh, as if accepting this nightmare. “So, what now? Do you want me as your servant, your guard, or your furnace?”

Ji Lingyue frowned, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, “Which do you think suits you?”

With a mere gesture, Lan Wu felt an invisible force pulling her forward until she was kneeling at Ji Lingyue’s feet. The feeling of being controlled against her will was abhorrent. She instinctively tried to resist, her forehead creased with the effort, but Ji Lingyue grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up.

Lan Wu glared at her, her breath coming in short, panicked gasps. Her silver eyelashes fluttered, and her normally bright eyes narrowed into slits, a mixture of defiance and fear burning within them.

Seemingly oblivious to Lan Wu’s resistance, Ji Lingyue reached out and gently stroked her cheek, her voice deceptively soft. “I don’t want to hurt you, so be good.”

Lan Wu bit her lip, her eyes burning with unshed tears. Faint scales began to appear along her temples. Ji Lingyue paused, her hand moving to Lan Wu’s neck, her thumb tracing the curve of her lips. “Don’t be angry,” she murmured. “Smile for me.”

Lan Wu drew in a breath and simply closed her eyes, refusing to look at her. Seeing this reaction, the smile gradually faded from Ji Lingyue’s face, her eyes taking on a harsh light. After her chest rose and fell several times, she suddenly closed her hand around Lan Wu’s neck, throwing her to the ground. “What gives you the right to treat me like this?” she hissed.

Lan Wu let out a muffled groan, opening her eyes to look up at the woman straddling her.

Ji Lingyue’s shoulders shook with barely suppressed emotion, her voice thick with anguish. “I just… I just want you to stay by my side, to listen to me… but why… why do you always run? Why do you always push me away?”

Lan Wu frowned, her voice hoarse. “I’m not trying to run. I still need to find Ah Li, and there are things I must do.”

“Ah Li, always Ah Li,” Ji Lingyue mumbled, her voice barely audible. “I don’t like how you’re always thinking about her.”

Even Lan Wu could tell something was wrong with Ji Lingyue’s state of mind.

Or rather, since their meeting tonight, she had noticed this person was no longer the composed and obedient girl from before. Instead, she had become sensitive and suspicious. No matter what Lan Wu said, once Ji Lingyue decided she wanted to leave, she wouldn’t listen to anything else.

Just how much pain had she endured all these years to become like this?

Lan Wu fell silent for a moment, then raised her hands to gently cup Ji Lingyue’s face.

“Where could I run to now?” she said softly. “You’ve bound me with a contract. You control everything about me. Why are you still afraid?”

Ji Lingyue stared at her for a long moment, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes. Then, a slow, almost brittle smile spread across her lips. “Yes,” she whispered. “You can’t run away anymore.”

Lan Wu sighed and gently guided Ji Lingyue’s head down to rest against her shoulder. The woman in her arms was stiff at first, like a wooden doll, but gradually, she began to relax. The hand that had been clutching at Lan Wu’s robes loosened its grip, and her arms tentatively circled Lan Wu’s waist.

It was ironic, Lan Wu thought. She was the one who should be angry, yet here she was, comforting her captor.

Lan Wu patted Ji Lingyue’s back soothingly. When her breathing finally calmed, Lan Wu cautiously said, “Since I can’t run away… about Ah Li…”

Ji Lingyue’s grip tightened on her robes. “You’re going to leave again…” she whispered, her voice trembling.

“No, I’m not,” Lan Wu said quickly.

Ji Lingyue glared at her, frustrated. “I haven’t even said what you’re going to do!”

“Whatever it is, it wouldn’t be good,” Lan Wu sighed, rolling over until she was pinning Ji Lingyue beneath her. “What do I have to do to make you trust me?”

Ji Lingyue narrowed her eyes, studying her for a moment before suddenly grabbing her collar and pulling her down for a kiss.

Lan Wu instinctively brought her hands up to cup Ji Lingyue’s face, her mind still catching up to the sudden shift. Before she could react further, Ji Lingyue took Lan Wu’s hand and guided it beneath her robes. Lan Wu froze, her eyes widening as she tried to pull away. “What are you…”

“I want you to be my cultivation furnace,” Ji Lingyue breathed, her eyes now dark with desire, her breath hot against Lan Wu’s skin. “Please me. Understand?”

Lan Wu’s breath hitched in her throat. She found herself leaning in uncontrollably, kissing Ji Lingyue back. Her hand slid up Ji Lingyue’s chest, resting awkwardly on the soft swell of her breast. A jolt of shock ran through her as she realized she was being controlled by the contract again. Although she felt a strong sense of resistance, her body continued to respond to Ji Lingyue’s desires with an almost impatient urgency.

“Don’t… Don’t do this…” she protested weakly.

Ji Lingyue ignored her weak protest, her hands already removing Lan Wu’s robes. She leaned in to kiss the smooth, pale skin of the mermaid’s neck. Lan Wu let out a soft moan, her fingers sinking into Ji Lingyue’s soft, tender breast. Silky strands of silver hair cascaded around them, creating an intimate space where their breaths mingled.

Ji Lingyue’s normally neat black hair was now a mess, her robes falling open to reveal the smooth, pale skin of her shoulders and chest, exposing her bare body to the moonlight. Lan Wu lowered her eyes, taking in the sight of Ji Lingyue’s hardened nipple peeking through her fingers and the gentle rise and fall of her stomach as she breathed.

Her heart pounded in her chest, the desire to surrender to the kiss, to the heat building between them, growing stronger by the second. But still, she protested, her voice a broken whisper. “Don’t… don’t command me. Even without… the contract… I would… I would do this… But don’t… force me…”

When Ji Lingyue didn’t respond, Lan Wu pressed her lips together, looking at the woman beneath her with pleading blue eyes wet with emotion. “Ah Yue…”

Ji Lingyue hesitated, then looked at her with suspicion, “Really?”

“Really,” Lan Wu breathed.

Ji Lingyue bit her lip, hesitating before finally nodding, “Alright.”

The moment the word left her lips, Lan Wu felt a weight lift from her. The invisible force that had been controlling her actions vanished, and she was once again in control of her own body. She cleared her throat, her cheeks burning as she pulled her hand away from Ji Lingyue’s breast. Her gaze remained fixed on the woman beneath her.

Ji Lingyue stared back, her expression hardening when Lan Wu didn’t make a move.

Just as Ji Lingyue was about to explode in frustration, Lan Wu leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her eye, whispering, “Do you really want to do this? Here, now, in this place?”

Ji Lingyue froze, her gaze instinctively meeting Lan Wu’s eyes. Those blue eyes, like shimmering blue gems, were otherworldly beautiful yet clear and sincere, just as they had always been.

How could there be such a demon in this world?

Ji Lingyue exhaled slowly, closing her eyes, her emotions finally calming down. “Yes, I want this.”

Lan Wu watched her for a moment, then nodded seriously. “Alright.”