Harem Master: Seduction System

Chapter 364: Grandmaster Wang’s Suggestions

Snow Moon City was a fortress of white stone and dark timber, built to withstand the eternal winter of the Northern Prefecture. It was a place of commerce and cultivation, where the air smelled of pine resin, roasting meat, and the crisp, metallic tang of high-grade snow. But for Ya Su, standing in the shadow of the city gates, it felt like a prison.

She and Lin Ruoli had arrived hours ahead of Alaric and his unwitting prize. They had used the portable teleportation anchors to bypass the winding mountain roads, cutting through space to arrive in the city center while Yun Lan was still navigating the winds on her flying sword.

Ya Su shivered, pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders. It wasn’t the cold that chilled her; it was the woman standing next to her.

Lin Ruoli, the Guildmaster of the Jade Serpent, looked perfectly at home in the bustling streets. She wore a heavy cloak of silver fox fur over her combat robes, her face a mask of serene, deadly efficiency. She checked a jade slip in her hand—a communication talisman that pulsed with a faint, violet light.

"The Master has sent the command," Lin Ruoli said, her voice low and devoid of warmth. She tucked the slip into her sleeve. "He has secured the target. They are en route. We have approximately two hours to set the stage."

Ya Su nodded, keeping her head down. She didn’t dare ask about Feng Xiao. The image of him falling into the lake, paralyzed by lightning, was burned into her retina. Every time she thought of him, the slave seal on her womb throbbed with a dull, sickening heat, a reminder of Alaric’s threat. If you speak of him, you hurt him. If you help him, you kill him.

"Where are we going?" Ya Su asked, her voice hollow.

"To the Lotus Heart Apothecary," Lin Ruoli said, stepping into the flow of the crowd, forcing people to part around her with a subtle projection of her Martial Grandmaster aura. "It is the most reputable clinic in the city. The physician there, Grandmaster Wang, is famous for his integrity and skill. Which makes him the perfect mouthpiece for our lie."

They moved through the city with purpose. Ya Su followed like a ghost, her heart heavy with the knowledge of what she was about to do. She was about to help trap Yun Lan—a woman she respected, a woman Feng Xiao respected—into the bed of a monster.

’I have no choice,’ she told herself, the mantra of the defeated. ’I have to survive. I have to protect Feng Xiao from Alaric’s curse.’

The Lotus Heart Apothecary was a grand building near the city square, smelling of dried ginseng and bitter herbs. Wooden drawers lined the walls from floor to ceiling, filled with spiritual medicines.

When they entered, the shop was busy. Apprentices were weighing herbs, and patients were waiting on benches.

Lin Ruoli didn’t wait in line. She walked straight to the counter, her presence expanding to fill the room. The chatter died down instantly. The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.

"Close the shop," Lin Ruoli commanded. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried the weight of absolute authority.

The head apprentice blinked, intimidated but confused. "Excuse me, Mistress? We have patients waiting..."

Lin Ruoli slammed a heavy bag onto the counter. The sound of gold and spirit stones clinking together was unmistakable.

"I said close it. Compensation for the day’s business is in the bag. Anyone who isn’t staff has ten seconds to leave, or they will need a physician for broken legs, not colds."

The threat, backed by the suffocating pressure of her aura, cleared the room in five seconds. Patients scrambled out the door, forgetting their ailments in the face of imminent violence.

An elderly man emerged from the back room, wiping his hands on a cloth. He had a long white beard and kind, tired eyes. Grandmaster Wang. He was a renowned healer in the North, known for treating Sect Elders and wandering experts alike.

"What is the meaning of this?" Wang demanded, though his voice wavered slightly when he saw Lin Ruoli. "Who dares disrupt the Lotus Heart Apothecary?"

"I am Lin Ruoli, Guildmaster of the Jade Serpent," she announced, flashing her token. "And this is Ya Su, Chief Auctioneer of the Gilded Lotus."

Grandmaster Wang’s eyes widened. These were two of the most powerful women in the merchant world. "Guildmaster Lin... Auctioneer Ya... to what do I owe this... aggressive visit?"

"We have a patient coming," Lin Ruoli said, stepping around the counter to stand toe-to-toe with the old man. "A very special patient. And he requires a very specific diagnosis."

She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper that sounded like a knife sliding out of a sheath.

"Here is the script, Grandmaster. Memorize it."

She explained the situation: A young man with shattered meridians caused by the backlash of Absolute Zero Ice.

"You will examine him," Lin Ruoli instructed, her eyes boring into Wang’s. "You will look grave. You will say his condition is critical. Fatal, even. You will say that his Origin Essence has been burned away to suppress the cold, leaving him empty and vulnerable."

Grandmaster Wang frowned, his professional pride bristling. "If he has been struck by Absolute Zero Ice, I will treat him to the best of my ability. But I cannot fabricate a diagnosis. That goes against the ethics of a healer."

"Fuck your ethics," Lin Ruoli said calmly. "Listen to the cure."

"Cure?"

"You will tell his companion—a woman—that the only way to save him, the only way to stabilize the chaotic Ice Qi in his body, is through Human Furnace Resonance."

Wang sputtered. "Preposterous! That is... that is an unorthodox, dual-cultivation theory! It is not standard medical practice for cold poisoning! Usually, we use Fire Yang Pills or..."

"He rejects pills," Lin Ruoli cut him off. "His body rejects external Yang energy because the Ice Qi inside him recognizes her as the source. You will tell her that because the Qi came from her, only her aura can suppress it."

"And therefore," Ya Su spoke up from behind Lin Ruoli, her voice trembling but obedient, playing her part in this twisted play. "You will tell her that she must maintain constant, physical contact with him. Skin to skin is best. They must sleep in the same bed. She must act as a living furnace to keep his heart from freezing."

Grandmaster Wang looked at Ya Su, shocked. "Auctioneer Ya... you too? You would ask me to lie to a patient? To trick a woman into..." He stopped, realizing the implication. "Who is this woman?"

"That doesn’t matter," Lin Ruoli said.

"It matters to me!" Wang insisted, straightening his back. "I have built my reputation on honesty! I will not be a pimp for some young master’s lust! I refuse!"

Lin Ruoli sighed. "I was hoping you would be reasonable."

Thud.

She drew a dagger from her sleeve—a wicked, curved blade that glowed with a faint green poison—and drove it deep into the mahogany counter, right between Grandmaster Wang’s fingers.

The old man yelped, jumping back.

Lin Ruoli smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. It was the smile of a woman who had watched her Master break queens and auctioneers, and had learned that power was the only truth.

"Grandmaster Wang," she said softly. "You have a grandson, don’t you? Studying at the Iron Fist Sect? A promising lad. It would be a shame if he suffered a... cultivation accident."

Wang’s face went white. "You... you wouldn’t."

"I would," Lin Ruoli said. "And I would burn this apothecary to the ground with you inside it. The Jade Serpent Guild has branches in every city. The Gilded Lotus controls the supply of half your herbs. Do you really think you can say ’no’ to us?"

She released her full cultivation base. The pressure of a Martial King—albeit one who had achieved it through Alaric’s special dual cultivation methods rather than pure training—slammed into the room.

Wait. Lin Ruoli wasn’t a Martial King yet. But Alaric had given her artifacts. She tapped the ring on her finger, and a projection of a Martial King’s suppression flooded the room, borrowing Alaric’s aura.

Grandmaster Wang’s knees buckled. He grabbed the counter for support.

"I..." He looked at the dagger. He looked at Ya Su, whose eyes were pleading with him to just agree so no one got hurt. He looked at Lin Ruoli’s cold, dead eyes.

"Fine," he whispered, defeated. "I will... I will say what you want."

"Good," Lin Ruoli pulled the dagger out of the wood. "Remember. Constant physical contact. Living furnace. Fatal if she leaves his side for more than an hour. Sell it, old man. If she suspects anything, you die."

"Why are you doing this?" Wang asked, his voice shaking. "Who is this man that commands such... loyalty?"

"Because the Master wants her," Lin Ruoli replied simply, sheathing the blade. "And what the Master wants, he gets. Better she falls into his trap willingly than be broken the hard way. Consider it... a kindness."

She turned to Ya Su. "We aren’t done. We need to secure the city."

"Secure it?" Ya Su asked.

"What if she seeks a second opinion?" Lin Ruoli pointed out. "Yun Lan is not stupid. If she doubts Wang, she might try another clinic. We need to rig them all."

For the next hour, the two women moved through Snow Moon City like a plague. They visited the three other major clinics. The method was the same: Bribe. Threaten. Coerce.

By the time they were done, the entire medical community of Snow Moon City was part of Alaric’s grand deception. Every healer was prepared to diagnose a handsome blonde stranger with "Fatal Ice Resonance Syndrome" that could only be cured by cuddling.

Finally, they went to The Silver Pine Inn, the most luxurious establishment in the city.

"We need the top floor," Lin Ruoli told the innkeeper, tossing another bag of gold.

"The whole floor?" the innkeeper asked, eyes bulging at the money.

"Yes. And listen closely," Lin Ruoli leaned over the counter. "When a woman with white hair carrying a blonde man arrives... you are full. Completely full. Except... for one room. One Superior Room. With one bed."

"One bed," the innkeeper repeated, catching on. "Understood, Mistress. It will be done."

"Ensure the room is cold," Lin Ruoli added. "Drafty. Make sure they need the blankets."

They retreated to a shadowed alcove across the street from the Lotus Heart Apothecary to wait.

"You are thorough," Ya Su whispered, hugging herself. She felt dirty. She felt like an accomplice to a crime, which she was.

"The Master demands perfection," Lin Ruoli said, her eyes scanning the sky. "He doesn’t tolerate failure. And neither do I."

She glanced at Ya Su. "Do not look so tragic, Sister Ya. You are saving her life. If Alaric had to take her by force... it would be much, much worse. This way... she gets a romance. She gets to be a hero. It is a sweet lie."

"It is still a lie," Ya Su murmured.

"Look," Lin Ruoli pointed up.

High in the sky, a streak of blue light descended. A flying sword.

"They are here."

The descent was ungraceful, frantic.

Yun Lan landed Frostfall right in the middle of the street outside the Lotus Heart Apothecary, scattering pedestrians. She didn’t care about the commotion. She didn’t care about the sect rules regarding public displays of cultivation.

She cared about the man dying on her back.

Alaric was limp, his head lolling against her shoulder. His skin was terrifyingly cold, even to her. He was shivering so violently his teeth were chattering, a sound that tore at her heart.

"Help!" Yun Lan cried out, her voice cracking with panic. She wasn’t the icy Sect Master anymore; she was a desperate woman holding a fading life. "I need a physician! Immediately!"

Grandmaster Wang rushed out of the clinic, flanked by his apprentices. He looked pale and sweaty—fear, Yun Lan assumed, of the emergency. In reality, he was terrified of messing up his lines while Lin Ruoli watched from the shadows.

"Bring him in! Quickly!" Wang shouted, gesturing to a gurney.

"No, I will carry him," Yun Lan insisted. She rushed inside, ignoring the gurney, carrying Alaric straight to the examination table in the back room.

She laid him down. Alaric let out a low, pained groan, his eyes fluttering open. They were glassy, unfocused.

"Yun... Lan..." he wheezed, reaching out a trembling hand. "Don’t... leave..."

"I’m here," she promised, taking his hand. It was freezing. "Grandmaster Wang is here. He will save you."

Wang approached, his hands shaking slightly as he reached for Alaric’s wrist to check his pulse.

Alaric, despite his "unconscious" state, smirked internally. ’Showtime, old man.’

He manipulated his own blood flow. He constricted his veins, made his heart skip beats, and created a chaotic, thready pulse that mimicked a system in total collapse. He pushed a surge of the Azure Spirit Lion’s cold fire (disguised as ice backlash) toward the surface of his skin, making Wang’s fingers numb.

"Heavens!" Grandmaster Wang exclaimed, recoiling as if burned. He wasn’t acting that part; the cold was real. "His pulse! It is erratic! His foundation... it is in ruins!"

Yun Lan paled, gripping Alaric’s hand tighter. "I know... he... he sacrificed his cultivation to save me from a deviation. He absorbed my Absolute Zero Ice."

"Absolute Zero Ice?" Wang’s eyes widened. He looked at Yun Lan, recognition dawning. "White hair... ice cultivation... You are Sect Master Yun Lan of the Frozen Cloud Asgard, aren’t you?"

"I am," she admitted. "Please, Grandmaster. Can you save him? I can pay anything. Spirit stones, artifacts, favors from the Asgard..."

"It is... difficult," Wang said, stroking his beard nervously. He glanced toward the window, sensing the eyes of the Jade Serpent Guildmaster watching him. He had to stick to the script.

"Medicines are useless," Wang declared gravely. "His meridians are shattered, yes, but the real danger is the residual Cold Poison. It has seeped into his bone marrow. Any external Yang pill I feed him... his body will reject it. It will see it as an attack."

"Why?" Yun Lan asked, desperate.

"Because the Ice Qi inside him... it recognizes you," Wang lied, the words tasting like bile. "It has your spiritual imprint. It is your energy that is killing him. Therefore... only your aura can suppress it. His body believes it belongs to you."

"Me?" Yun Lan whispered. The guilt crashed down on her again, heavier than any mountain. "I am killing him?"

"You are the poison," Wang said. "But you are also the antidote."

He took a deep breath and delivered the punchline Lin Ruoli had drilled into him.

"He needs constant, physical contact with you to neutralize the cold. You must act as a living furnace for him. You must bridge his meridians with your own aura, warming him from the outside in."

"Constant contact?" Yun Lan blushed, a flush rising up her neck. "You mean..."

"I mean constant," Wang said sternly. "If you leave his side for more than an hour... the cold will overtake his heart, and he will freeze to death. Painfully."

Alaric chose that moment to let out a ragged, pitiful moan. His back arched off the table, his body convulsing. "Cold... so cold... Mother..."

Yun Lan flinched. He was hallucinating. Dying.

"What... what kind of contact?" she asked, her voice small.

"Skin to skin is best," Wang said, looking down at his charts to avoid her gaze. "Clothes block the flow of Qi. Or at least... minimal clothing. You must sleep in the same bed. You must hold him. You must share body heat and Qi circulation continuously until his own body can generate warmth again."

"Sleep... in the same bed?" Yun Lan repeated.

She was a Sect Master. A virgin who had dedicated her life to the Ice Arts. She had never slept in the same bed as a man. Not even Feng Xiao.

But she looked at Alaric. She looked at his beautiful, tortured face. She remembered how he had looked at her in the cave, how he had destroyed his future without hesitation to save her.

Could she let him die because of modesty? Because she was shy?

"No," she thought. "I owe him this. I owe him everything."

"I understand," she said, her voice firming with resolve. She looked at Wang. "I will do it. I will be his furnace."

Alaric, listening to every word, stifled the urge to laugh. ’Hook, line, and sinker. The doctor recommends cuddling. Classic.’

"Is there... anything else?" Yun Lan asked. "Painkillers?"

"I will prescribe a mild sedative for the pain," Wang said, quickly scribbling a prescription. "But the warmth... that is the key. Get him to an inn immediately. Get him warm. Do not let go of him."

"Thank you, Grandmaster," Yun Lan bowed deeply.

She turned back to Alaric. "Alaric? Can you hear me?"

"Yun... Lan?" he whispered, his eyes opening to slits. "It hurts..."

"I know," she soothed, brushing wet hair from his forehead. "I’m going to take care of you. We’re going to a warm place."

She helped him sit up. He leaned heavily against her, his face burying itself in her neck again.

"Grandmaster," she said, supporting Alaric. "I will not forget this favor."

"Just... save him," Wang said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Go."

Yun Lan helped Alaric out of the clinic, moving as fast as she could without jostling him.

As they exited, Lin Ruoli and Ya Su watched from the alleyway.

"It worked," Ya Su breathed, amazed. "She believed him."

"People believe what they need to believe," Lin Ruoli said. "She needs to save him to assuage her guilt. The doctor just gave her a way to do it."

She turned away. "Come. We need to find a place to stay. The Master will be... occupied... for the next few days."

Ya Su looked back at Yun Lan and Alaric one last time. She saw the way Alaric was clinging to the Sect Master, his hand resting low on her hip.

She felt a strange pang in her chest. Not just fear for Feng Xiao, but... jealousy? Was she jealous that the monster was focusing on someone else?

She shook her head violently. "No. Let her suffer. Better her than me."

She followed Lin Ruoli into the shadows. The web was spun. The fly was caught. Now, the spider just had to feast.