The Fallen Vampire

For some reason, this talking bat didn’t have quite the same vibe as the other animals outside.

It was far more intelligent than they had shown themselves to be.

The way that it spoke contained a clarity and elegance that was far beyond even most humans. Never mind the fallen.

And it appeared to have quite a breadth of knowledge in that little head as well.

Grandmaster Mu-Song smiled harmlessly.

"What a fascinating little creature you are. I wonder how a thing like you can tell I am a user of poison arts?"

"Because I cannot smell you."

The ’bat’ fell from the ceiling.

Before it hit the ground, the furry mammal transformed into an unexpected vision.

A man over six feet in height; clad in black and god robes. Nine silver tails swayed back and forth behind his back; fully catching the attention of all three men present.

"Grandmasters. This is our husband; Taira." Lucia introduced.

Taira was unkindly staring into the eyes of the bird-man.

"You’ve some very poor etiquette. It’s common courtesy for an eighth level poison master to wear gloves before touching someone."

"...You’re quite right, that’s my mistake. I assure you that I had no nefarious intentions." Grandmaster Mu-Song pulled out a pair of black leather gloves from his inner pocket.

Abbot Tang and the wives were the only ones who still seemed to be lost in confusion.

"Senior Taira? Might you enlighten me as to what exactly has inspired your ire?"

"..."

Poison cultivation isn’t just taboo. It’s a very dangerous and obscure study.

In addition to the use of pills and resources to improve their foundation, cultivators also ingest toxic substances and materials and hold them within their cores.

It’s risky, since, when stored improperly, the materials can just poison run rampant through one’s body and kill the host instead.

But for those who are lucky, and more importantly, know what they are doing, they can successfully store up to thirty types of poison in their body.

And with every new level of poison mastery that one accomplishes, the amount they can store increases by around fifteen.

An eighth level poison master can store around one hundred and thirty-five different kinds of poison in their bodies.

In addition, they have achieved a near perfect symbiosis with what they’ve acquired.

Their saliva, blood, sperm, or any other excretions can be toxic. Especially the oils secreted from their skin and hair.

But ’toxin’ doesn’t also mean death by poison. It also means the creation of mind altering chemicals that can induce hypnosis, simulate catatonia, and other nefarious things that put poison cultivators in high demand in the criminal underworld.

The reason their bodies produce no smell is because they’ve developed an ability to hold any scents within their pores. If they released it, the stench of death would alarm random passerby’s even if they were two miles away.

That aside, they can make espionage or assassinations really easy, but their work is literally never cheap and they’re very, very, hard to find.

As Taira explained all of this to the group, the glares that the two Sect Masters began giving Mu-Song were far from pleasant.

Even Hideyoshi, who knew a little about poison arts due to his extensive study, didn’t know

everything

that they could be used for. That’s just how tight lipped poison cultivators are about their practices.

Meanwhile, Mu-Song continued to smile nonchalantly as if this were all a simple misunderstanding.

"Wow, I’m very impressed. This new blood seems to have quite a breadth of knowledge surrounding our poison arts. I’m wondering if perhaps you have also ventured down this sublime field of study...?"

Taira’s voice was chilling. "You seem to wonder a lot of things. But I’m wondering if you are ever going to apologize for almost touching my wife."

For a moment, it seemed as if Mu-Song’s mask almost cracked.

"New blood... Don’t go too far. I’ve already expressed that this was an accident of no consequence. Let’s not spoil our first meeting with unpleasantries."

Taira’s eyes narrowed. The room that was still warm all of a sudden became mildly chilly.

"...Méiyǒu shé me bǐ cóng nǐ zuǐ lǐ liúchū de dúyè gèng dú dí le."

Gu Mu-Song finally stopped smiling.

"...It seems I’ve come at a bad time today. I will be taking my leave."

He turned around abruptly and headed back out the same way he came.

Taira didn’t bother watching him go, instead he went to Aveena’s side and took her hand in his.

"I-I’m fine. He didn’t touch me." Aveena blushed.

"..." Taira still wanted to be perfectly sure. He gave Aveena’s palm a long lick.

Even though his actions were not supposed to be sensual, Aveena still shivered.

"..." Lucia watched all of this with a slightly envious look.

Unprompted, she held out her own hand.

"I-I think he might have grazed my pinkie a bit..."

"…" Taira smiled in amusement.

He delicately took Lucia’s hand and licked her as well. Now, both women looked like they had the urge to practice the time honored art of procreation.

"...S-Should we leave?" The Abbot asked in embarrassment.

Aveena / Lucia : "N-No! / M-Maybe."

Aveena chopped her sister-wife on the head and pulled her hand away from Taira before he could do any more damage.

"S-Sorry about that... As you can see, we haven’t really left the honeymoon stage just yet.."

"How long have all of you been married again..?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Fifty years. Fifty-one in five months!" Lucia kissed both of her lovers on the cheek affectionately.

Hideyoshi couldn’t believe it. He was ready to get a divorce from his wife after six years.

"Yem, would you mind preparing us a light tea and snacks?" Aveena suddenly asked.

"Certainly, Dai-Shi. I will have it brought to you all shortly." The siren bowed her head.

Once she left, Aveena smiled politely like the benevolent host she was.

"Shall we find somewhere more comfortable to sit?"

-

The group ended up migrating to the garden pavilion just outside of their home to sit underneath the shade.

Naturally, the rest of the wives flocked to join after receiving a quick mental message from the others to join them.

Once outside, the guests were brought small pastries and tea that took little to notice to prepare on Yem’s behalf.

Taira liked being with his wives in social scenarios like this. He never had to open his mouth to say a word and could just sit to himself quietly.

"Dai-Shi Taira. I am afraid I must ask you a question or two..."

’Shit.’

The girls all snickered to themselves as they could literally feel their husband’s characteristic irritation.

"Such as..?"

"That phrase you uttered earlier that caused the old bird to storm off. I must inquire about it’s meaning." Hideyoshi leaned forward.

Taira’s eyes took on a faraway look. "The poisoner’s creed. Recited by poison cultivators everyday from the moment they begin their training.

There is no poison greater than that which comes from one’s own mouth.

Poison users are all of an untrustworthy sort. None are more aware of this than themselves."

"Fascinating..!" The old dwarf beamed. "How did you learn this? I’ve never even heard rumblings of such a credo. You must be a user of poison arts as well, yes?"

Taira fell silent and the girls seemed to recognize that he had reached his limit on conversation for the next hour or so.

"My husband is not a poisoner, but his mother was... extremely adept in the trade. I’m afraid they had a bit of an ill fated relationship." Keran informed.

Hideyoshi seemed to immediately recognize his mistake. "I apologize. My curiosity sometimes causes me to overstep."

"Don’t worry, you haven’t offended anyone. He’s just not a very good talker, so he has a tendency to shut down sometimes."

Taira nodded with his eyes closed as he brought a cup of tea to his lips.

In truth, his mind had already started thinking of something else.

It stood to reason that Grandmaster Gu Mu-Song would be teaching an entire cult of disciples the ways of poison.

That thought alone brought him back to a few months ago.

Specifically, when his men brought Aja and Ayame to him on death’s doorstep with poison in their bodies.

They didn’t find the culprits back in the secret realm. But what if they didn’t have to look as hard now?

Aja was his only friend in the world. Ayame, despite their current lack of speaking, was still his family.

And Taira was an incredibly petty and vindictive individual.

There was no way that he would ever voluntarily sit quietly when he could find the people who attempted to kill them.

He wasn’t now, nor had he ever been, that kind of person.

Taira casually looked above his head at the midday sun. Night would be here soon, and then maybe he would get to do a bit of snooping all on his own.

’I truly wonder just how long it has been... since I went on a quiet walk by myself.’