Backlash Part 1

Chapter 109: What isn't Wen Chao Missing?

Luo Qingyang hated every second of being separated from her sword. The WuzhouLi sect was not one of the major sects, but it was a respectable sect all the same. Of all the WuzhouLi sect disciples in her generation, Luo Qingyang had been the youngest to receive their spiritual sword. Luo Qingyang had been so excited that she fell asleep hugging it for a month.

She had never gone anywhere without it. Most cultivators didn't go anywhere without their swords. By now Luo Qingyang had seen many other disciples reaching reflexively for a sword that wasn't there. Their hands awkwardly groping empty air. The QishanWen sect taking away their swords was beyond disrespectful and Luo Qingyang hated it. The worst part was that there was nothing she could do about it.

Luo Qingyang was not raised to hold her tongue and simply allow people to walk over her. Luo Qingyang grew up being taught that no one is going to respect you more than you respect yourself, and so it was your responsibility to show others exactly how much they should respect you. If they did not give you the respect you deserved, it was up to you to decide how to handle it. While Luo Qingyang was begrudgingly aware that sometimes for your well being you occasionally had to hold back, she had never taken too well to that part of the lesson.

Right now, was one of those times. Luo Qingyang knew that, and she hated every second of it. Having to compliantly go along with whatever the QishanWen sect told them to do made Luo Qingyang feel nauseous. Holding back her words was leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. If she was a bit more touchy and distracted than usual, who could blame her? No one was having a good time right now. Except maybe that moron who was apparently put in charge of them.

Luo Qingyang's thoughts and words were sometimes a bit sharper than her actual intentions. For example she might say she wants to throttle someone who was annoying her, but she has never actually intended to strangle anyone. She might say she wants to kill somebody, but this again is something she has never attempted. Wen Chao made her really want to consider changing her record.

From almost the first day Wen Chao had been ogling Luo Qingyang like she was something he wanted to eat. Luo Qingyang was familiar enough with receiving unwanted male attention. For her, all male attention was unwanted and Luo Qingyang sometimes wished she could wear a sign saying, 'I'm not interested.' Sadly her mother informed her wearing such a sign would probably have the opposite effect of what she was going for.

For some reason far too many men seemed to believe that she desperately wanted to hear their opinions. The subject didn't matter, even if the subject was her own appearance and pastimes. Luo Qingyang could count on one hand the number of men she interacted with that didn't annoy the hell out of her. After consulting her list mentally she was about seventy five percent certain that every man on that list was attracted to other men. Admittedly it could just be that her experiences had given her a very negative opinion of straight men. So when she met a man that was actually halfway decent she was unwilling to place that label on them.

Wen Chao was particularly persistent in his advances. Besides ogling her he had already violated her personal space several times during indoctrination. When they would be standing reciting the Quintessence of the Wens, Wen Chao would sometimes walk between them up and down the rows. He always seemed to stop a bit longer next to her. He'd lean closer to her under the pretense of looking over her shoulder. Sometimes he would inhale loudly through his nose, like a dog sniffing for food. Sometimes Wen Chao would whisper in her ear, with his putrid stinking breath. He'd compliment her about how pretty she looked today. He'd make thinly veiled offers of intimacy, either as a reprieve of the monotony or as a clear offer of payment for things to make the stay in Qishan more endurable.

Luo Qingyang was grateful that Wang Lingjiao seemed to be both vigilant and possessive. All Luo Qingyang had to do was stay standing and reciting without comment. In short order Wang Lingjiao would whine at Wen Chao or throw herself on him, and Luo Qingyang would be able to breathe again. Luo Qingyang was not accustomed to standing and tolerating these unwanted advances. In normal circumstances her approach would be to leave, make it clear the advances were not welcomed, and/or aggressively demonstrate just how unwelcomed they were. Luo Qingyang had never killed anyone, but a few bruises or a broken limb did a fine job illustrating her point.

Luo Qingyang badly wished to aggressively illustrate her point right now. After walking for over half a day with no breaks Luo Qingyang wanted nothing but to drink a bucket of water and sit. They had left for Dusk Creek Mountain early that morning and had finally stopped to take a break. Even the QishanWen sect disciples were tired. The only person who did not seem tired was currently entirely too close to her. The unwelcomed advances of Wen Chao had long since crossed the line. In another setting Luo Qingyang would have already decked him in the face. Unfortunately this was not another setting.

"Wen-er-gongzi," Luo Qingyang could taste bile in her throat at using such a respectful address for someone who did not deserve it.

"I am flattered by your attention." she continued. 'I am not flattered. I think you are disgusting and I pity the women who have to share your bed.'

"However, I am not attracted to men. No exceptions." Luo Qingyang did her best to keep her voice polite. It was the last thing she wanted to do right now. Wen Chao grabbed her upper arm and Luo Qingyang had to physically hold herself back from hitting him.

'If I hit him what will happen?' Luo Qingyang asked herself silently.

'Attacking him will result in the QishanWen disciples attacking me and the other disciples. If any of them live they will then probably use it as an excuse to attack the WuzhouLi sect. Since we are all unarmed, that is not in our favour. Also they have Huadan Shou, Wen Zhuliu. Anyone he lands a good hit on will never cultivate again, let alone be able to continue fighting.' Luo Qingyang was barely keeping herself still with these things in mind.

'How far do I let this go for the sake of my sect, for the sake of the rest of these disciples? Of course that assumes they would all even assist if I started a fight.' Luo Qingyang bitterly acknowledged that many of them probably wouldn't. 'Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji would probably help.' Luo Qingyang's brain supplied.

Luo Qingyang hadn't interacted with Wei Wuxian much. Although she gave him a lot of annoyed looks he was actually on the list of men she considered decent people. He was quick to tease and Luo Qingyang was not one to be teased without teasing back. In retrospect their few times actually conversing probably sounded like little kids bickering. Since it had seemed to delight Jiang Yanli, Luo Qingyang couldn't say she regretted that.

'Fuck... If I start a fight over this Wei Wuxian will definitely try to help, and since not everyone will help he could end up seriously hurt or killed.' At that point Luo Qingyang decided fighting was completely off the table. Getting herself killed or injured was one thing.

'I couldn't bear the look on Yanli's face if my actions got Wei Wuxian killed. She'd be heartbroken.' Luo Qingyang had to suppress a dejected sigh.

'Alright, then think Mianmian. Fighting isn't an option. Letting him touch me is the last fucking option.' Luo Qingyang's mind tried desperately to find a suitable solution.

"You just need the right man to show you what you are missing." Wen Chao breathed down her neck.

'Actually it's what you are missing. Good hygiene. A cute face. The ability to hold an interesting conversation. Tits.' Luo Qingyang listed off silently as she resisted the urge to gag.

"Heh heh heh. Don't be nervous, I know what I'm doing." Wen Chao said, pressing up against her.

"Wen Chao! I found the cave!" Wang Lingjiao announced excitedly. Luo Qingyang had never been so grateful for this woman's presence. She gave Luo Qingyang dirty looks constantly, but that was a small price to pay for how effective Wang Lingjiao was at getting Wen Chao's attention and removing him from someone else.