For several long seconds Kai just squeezed Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena as hard as he could. Normal women might have been crushed, but they both hugged back: Zae Zin Nim's face was buried in his chest and Omilaena wrapped an arm around his neck.
There was absolutely a part of him that wanted to pick them both up and carry them somewhere private, but the majority of him just wanted to talk to them again. So much must have happened to them in the intervening months... Omilaena felt palpably stronger, and while Zae Zin Nim was still stuck at the barrier, she had clearly refined herself further. They must have gotten his message in Blueblade City and followed him, but he wanted to tell them about everything else that had happened.
Unfortunately, because of those events, Kai had to set them both down and focus again. "I want to talk," he said, "but I'm afraid we need your help, Omilaena."
"All the sad sacks outside?" She waved a hand around them and sighed. "You're lucky that I need to practice using the Prana Jewels."
She swayed out into the camp, though given her glance over her shoulder, he was pretty sure that she was wiggling her ass for his benefit. Meanwhile, Kai realized for the first time that Feida and Kulha were staring at him - he hadn't given them a single second of thought since his wives arrived, but he couldn't ignore them forever.
"Now we have a poison specialist and another cultivator," Kai told them. "You might have been right about attacking quickly before, but now we have more options. Let's save as many of both factions as we can and then figure out our next attack."
"Are you sure?" Feida asked, eyeing them suspiciously. "Just who is this?"
Kai ignored the second question and considered the first as he glanced to Zae Zin Nim. "Is there something else we need to be doing first?" She shook her head, so he glanced back to the Manticore tribal leaders and smiled. "We're sticking around for the near future, then. We actually might need the materials in that vault more than you do, so we want to make this work."
They stayed a little longer, discussing the remaining details, but the new arrivals had clearly disrupted all their arguments against them. The entire time they spoke, Zae Zin Nim hovered at his side, eyes staring at him intensely. An ignorant observer might have thought that she hated him, but he knew that was just fixation: she wanted to be closer, but wouldn't do anything in public.
Eventually they were a sufficient distance away and Kai started to look in his spatial ring for a tent, but Zae Zin Nim shook her head and instead gestured. The white vessel that must have been from the Pureflower sect floated after them and settled nearby. It was large enough that when they jumped to the deck and stepped into the cabin, they were hidden from the rest of the camp.
Immediately Zae Zin Nim dove into his side and stuck there, as if she was magnetized. He smiled fondly and stroked her back as she took a while just gripping him tightly.
"I missed you." Zae Zin Nim eventually pulled back slightly, but remained attached to him. "Just what have you been doing out here? I thought you just wanted the power they have."
"One thing led to another," Kai said with a shrug. "I should explain all that when Omilaena is here. What have you been doing in the Pureflower sect?"
She explained everything, from their training to internal politics to the poisoning accusation and their present mission. Kai just listened, drinking in her voice and enjoying her presence. He'd forgotten how much he enjoyed her razor edges, especially when she discussed power or rivals within the sect.
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Since the ship's interior had a cushioned seat, they migrated to it. Zae Zin Nim sat on his leg and leaned back against his chest, so he wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close. Soon enough they would need to discuss business and make plans, but not yet.
Just when Zae Zin Nim began to nuzzle against his chest, Omilaena kicked in the door. "Well, that was obnoxious. So many poisons, so few actually worthwhile." She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "I hope you have better poisons for me."
"Actually, I have a gift for both of you," Kai said.
Zae Zin Nim's eyes widened. "Omi! Is that really necessary?"
"What? You were thinking it."
"I was not! Though..." Zae Zin Nim's gaze slid away from them. "I have cultivated a specific sort of yin energy that would be useful to you, perhaps even what you need to advance through Body Refinement. We can discuss that as soon as-"
"So you're the one giving the fucks." Omilaena poked her chest teasingly. "Should have known you were the horniest one."
Before Zae Zin Nim could object too much, Kai reached out and grabbed Omilaena's hips, pulling her onto the seat with them. She immediately eased into a position, leaning across him to stroke Zae Zin Nim's hair. Despite the bickering, they both immediately relaxed, and Kai would have been happy just to remain there for the whole night.
"Your letter didn't explain why you left the Bloodcoral sect," Zae Zin Nim eventually said.
"I might go back, but I didn't have time to slowly advance through their rules." Kai shrugged and tapped the medallion under his shirt. "They have these coral pieces with ranks and-" ṘἈŊó𐌱ЕṨ
"Gimme." Omilaena reached up in front of his face, so he pulled the rope over his neck and handed it to her.
"That actually brings me back to the gifts I mentioned before. There's a place called the Pits of Strength with sources of mana, and I'm sure one will be right for you, Zin Nim. I also collected a lot of poisons for you, Omilaena. I hoped to find something for the 999 Power barrier, but breakthrough methods seem to be few and far between."
Zae Zin Nim sighed against his chest. "I had options in the Pureflower sect, but they weren't right for me. It's frustrating, but I think I need to keep looking."
"Well, there should be that sort of thing in the patriarch's vault. That might be our next best bet."
"Hey look." Omilaena shoved the Bloodcoral medallion up to him. "You just gained a rank."
Kai took the disc back and blinked in surprise when he saw that it now had five crystalline marks. "How did you do that?"
"What, did you think the process they used to add more was just inexplicable magic?" Omilaena pushed upright to demonstrate with the medallion. "I figured out that the coral reacts to qi in specific ways, transforming into a new state when you apply it intensely enough."
"That's interesting, but the rank is at least as much a matter of record as the actual medallion. Better turn it back."
"I think I can figure that out too. But more importantly, there are internal techniques that check the medallion's state. This probably lets you into a gate or something, right?"
"One mark opens the main gate, yes." Kai looked at her skeptically. "Wait, are you saying...?"
"Yeah, the capacity to open the gates is present in all the medallions, it just isn't activated until it advances enough." Omilaena grinned as she began running her fingers over the surface. "Either they're bad at this, or manipulating the medallions requires enough strength that you could just break in. I'll get rid of the fifth mark, but do you want me to unlock all the other abilities?"
"Can you do that without being noticed?"
"I'm not sure, but I'll figure it out."
"Tell him about the poison." Zae Zin Nim had been listening quietly, but now spoke up.
"Right, I assume Zin Nim told you about our problem in the Pureflower sect?" Omilaena waved the medallion as if to sweep away the issue. "That poison is nasty, and an antidote won't be just lying around. I think my best chance is to strengthen the Prana Jewels enough to reduce it, which means using the jewels against stronger poisons. So no offense to you, but we're here to test all the poisons in the wilds."
"We also wanted to see you, though."
Kai squeezed them both tighter. "I'm sure, and I'll do everything I can to help. This is definitely the right place for poison: there's the Bloodcoral sect, the Scorpion tribe, and at least half a dozen factions of the Manticore tribe..."
He explained everything he'd learned and they quickly came up with a plan to deal with all their problems as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it seemed like it would require them to split up a bit, since even at their speeds it took time to cross an area as large as the Western Wilds. Soon enough, Omilaena would venture north to face the Quill faction poisons, while Kai and Zae Zin Nim headed south to deal with some old business at the Pits of Strength.
But not just yet... they still had tonight.