"The one asset I have," said Vesperus, "is this poor thing of mine, which differs from other men's in two respects: it starts small and gets large, swelling up gradually after entering the vagina like dried food soaked in water; and it starts cold and gets hot, like a flint that heats up when struck, as if about to burst into sparks. Having these two qualities, I didn't want to conceal them but to make love to you and offer them for your appreciation."
"I never believed you had such a treasure. I thought it was all a hoax. But since it's true, if you go on making me so uncomfortable, I'm afraid I'll cease to enjoy it altogether."
"You're too dry inside at present, and that's why you're feeling discomfort. But soon there'll be some fluid along to moisten things, and you'll feel quite different."
"In that case I'll put up with the pain. I may as well let you do your worst, to get some moisture flowing and put an end to this dryness."
"You're absolutely right." Placing her feet over his shoulders, he thrust hard and fast only a few dozen times before her vagina became slippery and his penis hot. Because of the former effect she ceased to feel any pain, and because of the latter she enjoyed herself more and more.
"Dearest," she said. "What you said just now was no hoax either. It really is a treasure, and I'm beginning to enjoy it."
Vesperus seized this chance to gain her favor by thrusting even more fiercely, at the same time asking in a wheedling tone, "Dear heart, if that was no hoax, it must be obvious that the other things I told you weren't a hoax either. You can trust me implicitly, so why not tell me about the three women?"
"So long as you truly love me, of course I'll tell you; but what's the hurry?"
"You're right," said Vesperus. Henceforth he said nothing and merely continued thrusting in silence.
He had been working a good two or three hours when Cloud's hands and feet suddenly turned ice-cold. She broke out into a sweat and spent three times in succession.
"Dear heart," she said to Vesperus. "I am not very strong and I can't stand any more of this battering. Hold me in your arms and let's try to get some sleep."
Vesperus did as she asked; he dismounted, lay beside her, and took her in his arms. As he lay there, he was conscious of a strange scent emanating from the bed, the same scent he had noticed on first meeting her.
"Dearest," he asked, "what is this exotic scent you perfume your clothes with? It's so delightful."
"I don't use any scent. When did you notice it?"
"That day we met, when you walked past me. And I noticed it again just now, while lying beside you. If you don't perfume your clothes, where does it come from?"
"It's nothing exotic, just a scent that comes from inside. You're quite wrong about it."
"I don't believe that any scent from inside you could have such a nice bouquet to it. If so, your body must be a treasure too."
"It's the one real asset I have, something that no other woman possesses. I'm told that at my birth, just before I appeared, a rosy cloud wafted into the room and everyone noticed an exotic scent. Then, when I came along, the cloud dispersed but not the scent, which was often found issuing from me. It was on the strength of this that I was given the name Cloud of Scent. If I sit quietly, the scent is barely perceptible, but if I exert myself and start sweating, it comes from my pores. When that happens, not only are others aware of it, I can sense it myself. Since I have this asset, I don't like to conceal it either. That day in the temple when we met, you looked so terribly handsome that I lingered a while and made eyes at you and left you my fan as a token. I was hoping you would come and seek me out so that I could offer you this scent for your appreciation, but to my great disappointment you never came. Only now do I get my wish."
Vesperus sniffed her body carefully all over and found that each pore gave off a wisp of scent, which convinced him that the most beautiful women are not to be chosen solely on the basis of their visual appeal, just as heroes are not to be judged solely by their physique. Clasping her in a tight embrace, he called her dearest several dozen times, until Cloud broke in: "Have you smelt me all over?"
"Yes."
"I'm afraid there's one place you've missed."
"No, I didn't miss anywhere."
"Yes, you did. You missed one place, where the scent differs from everywhere else. I might as well offer that for your appreciation too.
"Where is it?"
Cloud took one of his fingers in her hand and touched her vulva with it. "The smell in here is different again," she said. "If it's not asking too much, why not sniff it and see?"
Vesperus crouched down and gave several deep sniffs before scrambling up again.
"What a treasure! There's nothing more to be said, I shall love you forever!" With that, he crouched down again, parted that supreme treasure, and began licking it.
"Don't do that! It's too much! It'll be the death of me!" As she spoke, she tried to pull him up, but the harder she pulled the more furiously he licked. Using his three-inch tongue like a penis, he went back and forth, thrusting and withdrawing as in real copulation. When he sensed her fluid coming, he drew it into his mouth, gulping it down without losing a drop, after which he kept on until she spent, when he even swallowed her essence. Only then did he get up and lie on top of her again.
Cloud hugged him tightly. "Dear one, why do you love me so? There's nothing more for me to say either. I shall love you forever, too. If you truly love me, let's take a vow tonight."
"Just what I was going to suggest." They got out of bed, dressed, and took a vow before the moon and stars, praying that, among other things, "Not only may we never part in this existence, but in the next one, too, let us be husband and wife."
Then they took their clothes off again and climbed back into bed, where they began confiding their innermost secrets."
In my opinion," said Vesperus, "there's not another woman in the world to equal you. I don't know how many virtuous lives your husband needed to be blessed with such a supreme treasure. But since he has this treasure at home, why doesn't he stay and enjoy it instead of spending all his time elsewhere, leaving you to sleep on your own? What possible reason could he have?"
"In spirit," said Cloud, "he would like to enjoy it, but he hasn't the strength, so he uses his teaching as a pretext for staying away and avoiding his duties."
"He's still only middle-aged, as I understand. Why is he so weak?"
"In his youth he was a rake who had one affair after another. Day and night he'd be off wenching. He wasted his powers so badly that now, in middle age, he's quite useless."
"How would you compare his capacity in his youth with mine tonight?"
"Much the same in point of technique, but he never had those two special features of yours."