Watching Bai Xin Yue drag the resentful Chen Fei through the grimy streets of The Murk, Ao Xian set down his teacup. The story was progressing, but the pacing was slow, the drama predictable. It was like watching a play from the cheap seats in the highest balcony.
"This is inefficient," he declared, echoing Bai Xin Yue's own frustrations but for entirely different reasons. "Observing from afar is one thing, but if the actors are this clumsy, the director needs to get on stage and give them their cues directly."
Hu Mei'er's eyes lit up. "You intend to personally intervene, Young Lord?"
"Intervene? No," Ao Xian corrected with a smile. "I intend to set up the next scene. This city is a cesspool, but it's a cesspool of information. Rumors, bounties, secret auctions... it's a nexus of plot hooks. It would be a waste not to control the flow of the narrative from its very source." He stood up, his lazy vacationer's demeanor replaced by a flicker of active interest. "Find me the most prominent, currently unoccupied building in the center of The Murk. We're opening a business."
An hour later, a strange sight appeared in the heart of The Murk. The 'Bloody Flagon,' a notoriously decrepit tavern where the previous owner had been murdered the night before, was gone. In its place stood an elegant, three-story pavilion of dark, polished wood that seemed to absorb the sickly green mist around it. A simple, unadorned sign hung above the door, bearing two words: "The Nexus." There was no grand opening, no announcement. It simply... appeared. The locals, hardened criminals and paranoid cultivators alike, gave it a wide berth, their instincts screaming that this new establishment was far more dangerous than the simple squalor it had replaced. Inside, the atmosphere was one of serene, impossible luxury. Ao Xian sat behind a simple, yet exquisitely carved, counter, casually reading a jade slip. His four maids moved about the empty hall, arranging furniture that had materialized from thin air.
"This is much better," Ao Xian commented. "Now, we don't have to wait for the story to happen. We can sell it."
Meanwhile, Bai Xin Yue had secured a room in a grimy inn. Her frustration with Chen Fei had reached a boiling point. "I cannot rely on your 'righteous instincts' any longer," she told him, her voice cold. "I need concrete information. Names, locations, bounties. I will find a local information broker. You will stay here. Do not leave this room. Do not speak to anyone. Do not even breathe too loudly. Am I understood?" Chen Fei, his heart a cold knot of resentment and shame, simply nodded.
Bai Xin Yue left the inn and began to gather information. She quickly learned of the strange new building that had appeared in the city's center. The Nexus. Rumors were already flying: its owner was a mysterious powerhouse, and it was a place where one could buy or sell any information, for the right price. It was exactly what she was looking for. She approached the pavilion with caution. Pushing open the heavy wooden doors, she stepped inside. The chaotic noise of The Murk vanished, replaced by a profound silence. She saw the impossibly handsome young man behind the counter and the four beautiful women who moved with an unnatural grace. Her soul, the soul of the Nether Empress, screamed a silent, primal warning. These were not cultivators. These were beings of a fundamentally higher order.
Ao Xian looked up from his jade slip, his eyes meeting hers. He gave her a polite, professional smile. "Welcome to The Nexus," he said, his voice calm and pleasant. "How may I help you?"
Bai Xin Yue stood frozen just inside the entrance, her mind in a state of complete turmoil. The primal warning from the Nether Empress's soul was not a suggestion of danger; it was a blaring alarm signaling the presence of an apex predator. Yet, the man behind the counter simply smiled, his expression open and his aura as placid as a calm sea. She forced her body to relax, her thousands of years of ingrained cunning taking over. She adopted the persona she had perfected: the ancient, powerful senior, and walked forward.
"I am looking for information," she said, her voice cool and steady. "I was told this is a place where anything can be known, for a price."
"That is the service we provide," Ao Xian replied, gesturing to a comfortable-looking chair. "Please, have a seat. What knowledge do you seek?"
Bai Xin Yue remained standing. "I wish to know the names, locations, and strengths of the most powerful individuals currently residing in the Blackwater Swamp. Specifically, those whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent."
Ao Xian's smile didn't waver. He tapped the counter, and a scroll of pristine, glowing jade materialized upon it. "An admirable goal. Justice is a rare commodity in a place like this." He pushed the scroll forward. "This list contains the top ten most powerful and karmically-negative cultivators in The Murk. It includes the leader of the Blood Oath Gang, a trio of soul-devouring brothers, and a disgraced alchemist who experiments on living subjects."
Bai Xin Yue stared at the scroll. It was exactly what she wanted, offered without hesitation. It was too easy. "What is your price?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.
"A fair question," Ao Xian said. He leaned forward slightly, his expression turning from that of a simple shopkeeper to something far more ancient and knowing. "I am not interested in spirit stones or treasures. My price is a story."
"A story?" she repeated, her guard rising even higher.
"Yes. You see, I am a collector of narratives," Ao Xian explained. "Your story is a fascinating one. A long-lost empress, sealed for ten thousand years, rescued by a naive hero, now seeking to reclaim her power by hunting down the evils of a new era. It has all the makings of a classic."
Every word struck Bai Xin Yue like a bolt of lightning. He knew. He spoke of her fabricated past as if it were fact, yet his tone implied he knew it was a performance. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her voice turning to ice.
"Of course you don't," Ao Xian said with a cheerful wave of his hand. "My price is this: you may have this information. In return, you will agree to a single, binding contract. One day, in the future, I will come to you and ask for a single favor. You will not know when, or what it will be. But you will be magically bound to fulfill it. That is all."
It was an absurd, terrifying bargain. To bind herself to the will of this unfathomable being was a risk beyond measure. But to refuse was to admit defeat. Power, she decided, was the only thing that mattered. With enough power, any contract could be broken. "I agree," she said, her voice firm.
"Excellent!" Ao Xian clapped his hands lightly. A single, shimmering golden thread of light floated from the scroll and sank into the back of her hand, vanishing without a trace. The contract was sealed. "The information is yours. A pleasure doing business with you, Master Yue."
Bai Xin Yue took the scroll, her hand steady despite the trembling in her soul. She gave Ao Xian one last, long look, trying and failing to pierce the veil of his polite smile. Then, she turned and walked out of The Nexus. She had her list. She had her targets. But she had the distinct, chilling feeling that she was no longer the author of her own story. She was merely a character, and she had just met the director.
Bai Xin Yue returned to the grimy inn. The encounter in The Nexus had shaken her, but the pragmatist in her had already compartmentalized the fear. The mysterious shopkeeper was an unknown, terrifying variable, but he had given her a tool. Chen Fei was sitting on his cot, meditating. He looked up as she entered. "Master Yue, did you find what you were looking for?"
Her mask of the wise, melancholic senior slipped back on perfectly. "I did," she said, her voice soft again. "I found an old acquaintance, a reclusive scholar who owes my family a debt from our time. He has provided me with a list of the most heinous villains hiding in this swamp. Our hunt can now begin in earnest." She unrolled the scroll. The first name on the list was 'Three-Eyed' Wu, the brutal leader of the Blood Oath Gang, a man with a karmic value of -12,000. The scroll detailed his location—a fortified tavern in the northern sector of The Murk—and his signature technique: a third eye that could fire a soul-withering beam of light. "Our first target is a man named Wu," she announced. "He is a tyrant and a murderer. It is your duty to challenge him, Chen Fei. This will be a test of everything I have taught you."
Chen Fei's eyes lit up, his resentment momentarily forgotten in the face of a clear, righteous goal. "I will not fail you, Master Yue."
Inside The Nexus, Ao Xian watched the scene play out on the celestial mirror. "She is a natural actress," Lian Xin commented with professional admiration.
"She is playing the role I have given her," Ao Xian corrected. "I am merely providing the script and the props." He tapped the counter, and another image appeared on the mirror, this one showing the fortified tavern of 'Three-Eyed' Wu. "The hero will now challenge the mini-boss. The villainess will wait for him to be nearly defeated before swooping in to claim the prize. It is a predictable, but effective, formula." He leaned back in his chair. "However, a good director knows when to add a little unscripted chaos to keep the actors on their toes." He turned to Hu Mei'er. "Go to the southern sector of The Murk. You will find the lair of the 'Soul-Devouring Brothers,' the second target on the list. They are currently in a dispute with a rival gang over territory. Give the rival gang an anonymous tip that the brothers have just acquired a rare treasure and are at their weakest. Ensure the resulting gang war spills over into the northern sector, right around the time Chen Fei is fighting his duel."
The Celestial Fox giggled, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "A two-front battle? The hero will be caught in the crossfire. How wonderfully chaotic, Young Lord."
"Precisely," Ao Xian said. "Let's see how our dear 'Master Yue' handles a situation that she cannot control, when her precious asset is threatened not by the main villain, but by a dozen random thugs with rusty knives. It will be a true test of her babysitting skills."
The fortified tavern, known as 'The Bloody Oath,' was a den of depravity. When Chen Fei kicked the doors open, a sudden silence fell. "I am Chen Fei of the Blue Water Sect," he declared. "I am here for your leader, 'Three-Eyed' Wu. His crimes against the innocent end today."
A moment of stunned silence was followed by a roar of derisive laughter. From a large chair at the back of the room, a mountain of a man stood up. He was bald, covered in grotesque tattoos, and in the center of his forehead was a closed, vertical slit that pulsed with a malevolent light. This was Three-Eyed Wu. "A little fish from the Blue Water Sect dares to swim into my cesspool?" Wu boomed. "Boys, show him our hospitality!" The thugs in the tavern drew their weapons and charged.
From a rooftop across the street, Bai Xin Yue watched with cold indifference. This was part of the plan.
Inside The Nexus, Hu Mei'er reported with a cheerful giggle. "The Rusted Blades are on the move, Young Lord. The chaos is spreading beautifully. It should reach the tavern any moment now."
Lian Xin fanned herself languidly, a sultry smile on her lips. "Oh, this is the best part. The little hero thinks his only trial is the big brute in the tavern. He has no idea the world itself is about to fall on his head. The look of dawning despair on a righteous face as their simple worldview shatters... it's more intoxicating than any wine."
Back at the tavern, Chen Fei was a whirlwind of azure light. He moved gracefully, his Raging River Sword Style a perfect counter to the gang's brutish attacks. He was holding his own, but he was one man against dozens, and his spiritual energy was draining rapidly. Finally, Three-Eyed Wu grew impatient. "Enough!" he roared. He shoved his own men aside and stomped forward, his third eye snapping open. "Soul-Withering Gaze!" A beam of pure, malevolent energy shot from his third eye. Chen Fei, exhausted from the brawl, barely had time to raise his sword into a defensive stance. The beam slammed into him, bypassing his physical defenses and attacking his soul directly. He cried out in pain, stumbling back, his vision blurring.
"Now you die!" Wu bellowed, raising a massive, spiked mace to crush Chen Fei's skull.
This was Bai Xin Yue's cue. But just as she was about to move, a wave of shouting and the clash of steel erupted from the street below. The gang war, a chaotic, multi-front brawl involving over a hundred cultivators, had arrived. Members of the Rusted Blade Gang and the Soul-Devouring Brothers, locked in a life-and-death struggle, crashed into the Blood Oath tavern. The battle lines, which had been a simple hero-versus-villain duel, instantly dissolved into a three-way, chaotic melee. Bai Xin Yue froze, her perfectly planned intervention ruined. Her target, Wu, was now engaged with two other gang leaders at once. Her asset, Chen Fei, was on the ground, wounded, and in danger of being trampled.
"Inconvenient," she hissed through gritted teeth. Protecting Chen Fei in this chaotic mess would be a tedious, energy-consuming hassle, but letting her only guide die was not an option. With a frustrated sigh, she leaped from the rooftop, a black-robed specter descending into the heart of the chaos.
Bai Xin Yue descended into the tavern like a black-robed falcon diving into a chaotic nest of vipers. Her arrival was not a grand, heroic entrance; it was an intrusion, an apex predator stepping into a dogfight, and her expression was one of pure, undisguised annoyance. Her first priority was the asset. A stray axe, thrown by a dying member of the Rusted Blade gang, was spinning towards the still-dazed Chen Fei. Without even looking, Bai Xin Yue flicked her wrist. A shard of black ice, no larger than a needle, shot from her fingertip, intercepting the axe mid-flight and shattering the crude weapon into a cloud of frozen metal dust.
She landed gracefully beside Chen Fei. "Get up," she commanded, her voice dangerously calm. "And stay behind me. If you get yourself killed, I will resurrect your soul just to kill you again for the inconvenience."
Chen Fei, his soul still aching from Wu's attack, flinched at her words. The image of the gentle, tragic "Master Yue" was completely gone, replaced by this terrifyingly efficient and utterly ruthless woman. He scrambled to his feet, clutching his sword.
Meanwhile, the three gang leaders, their duel momentarily forgotten, all turned their attention to this new, far more dangerous player. "Who the hell are you?" roared the leader of the Rusted Blades, a man with a jagged scar across his face.
"Doesn't matter! Kill her!" shrieked one of the Soul-Devouring Brothers.
Three-Eyed Wu was the most cautious. "Wait! Her aura... it's..."
He never got to finish his sentence. Bai Xin Yue had no time for posturing. Her goal was simple: maximum efficiency. She needed to eliminate the primary targets, absorb their power, and get Chen Fei out of this mess. She raised her hand, palm open. The dark starlight energy she had absorbed from the trident coalesced into dozens of small, shimmering black pearls. "Nether Empress's Thousand Sorrows," she whispered, a technique that didn't just attack the body, but the soul's deepest regrets.
The pearls shot outwards, ignoring the low-level thugs and unerringly seeking out the three gang leaders. The leaders threw up their respective defensive arts. The black pearls passed through their defenses as if they were mist. The moment a pearl touched a leader, it dissolved, and the man froze, his eyes wide with a horror that had nothing to do with physical pain. The Rusted Blade leader saw a vision of his own family, whom he had murdered to seize power, their ghostly forms dragging him into a sea of blood. The Soul-Devouring Brother was confronted by the thousands of souls he had consumed, their collective agony tearing his own consciousness to shreds. And Three-Eyed Wu was forced to relive the moment he had sacrificed his own son to awaken his third eye, the boy's final, terrified scream echoing in his soul for an eternity.
Their bodies were still standing, but their souls had been shattered. Bai Xin Yue made a grasping motion with her hand, and the life force and spiritual energy from the three catatonic leaders were ripped from their bodies, flowing into her in three thick, crimson streams. Their husks collapsed to the floor, empty shells. The rest of the gang members, seeing their leaders destroyed in such a bizarre and terrifying manner, stopped fighting. A wave of pure, primal fear washed over the tavern, and they began to scramble for the exits.
Inside The Nexus, Ao Xian watched the scene with a placid, analytical expression. "How brutally efficient," Hu Mei'er chirped.
Lian Xin, however, let out a soft, disappointed sigh. "It was over too quickly. Such a shame. The psychological torment of that Thousand Sorrows technique... I would have liked to savor their expressions for a little longer. She is so focused on the result, she forgets to enjoy the process."
Ao Xian simply nodded. "Her methods are crude, but the outcome is the same." He looked at the mirror, where Bai Xin Yue was now grabbing the arm of the stunned Chen Fei. "The immediate threat is gone. Now, the real drama begins."
Bai Xin Yue dragged Chen Fei out of the now-quiet tavern. The silence between them was heavy and sharp. Chen Fei, still reeling from the soul attack and the subsequent chaos, was a storm of conflicting emotions. He had been saved, yet he felt no gratitude, only a profound sense of humiliation and confusion.
"Why?" he finally managed to ask as she shoved him into their room and barred the door. "Why did you look at me like that? As if I were a burden?"
Bai Xin Yue turned, her beautiful face a mask of cold fury. "A burden? You are a walking calamity! I gave you one simple instruction: stay out of trouble. And in the span of an hour, you nearly got yourself killed by a third-rate gang leader and then caught in the middle of a street war! Without your mysterious luck, you are nothing but a naive child playing with swords in a pit of vipers."
"My luck?" Chen Fei repeated, the word tasting foreign and bitter. "I succeeded because I trained hard, because of your guidance!"
"My guidance is useless if you are dead!" she snapped. She took a deep, calming breath, forcing her frustration down. She had gained significant power from the three gang leaders, but this asset was becoming more trouble than he was worth. "This changes nothing. The list I acquired is still valid. But from now on, there will be no more heroic challenges. We will be ghosts. We strike from the shadows, and you will follow my lead without question. Is that clear?"
Chen Fei looked at her, at the cold indifference in her eyes, and the last vestiges of his heroic admiration crumbled. He gave a stiff, silent nod.
Inside The Nexus, the mood was far more relaxed. Ao Xian was sampling a rare spirit tea that Feng Wu had brewed. "Well, that was a delightful little mess," Hu Mei'er said, giggling. "She looks so angry. Being a babysitter does not suit the temperament of a Nether Empress."
"Indeed," Lian Xin purred. "All that raw, destructive power, and she uses it to protect a clumsy boy. It's like using a dragon-slaying sword to peel fruit. The sheer waste of it is almost... titillating."
"The boy's will has not broken," Feng Wu observed calmly. "His spirit is resilient. This trial is forging him in a way his simple destiny never would have."
Just then, the doors of The Nexus opened, and a new customer entered. He was an old man, tall and unnaturally thin, dressed in the robes of a scholar, but they were frayed and stained with alchemical reagents. His face was a web of fine wrinkles, and his eyes, behind a pair of thick, crystal lenses, were sharp and intensely curious. What truly stood out was the intricate, clockwork prosthetic that replaced his left hand, its brass gears and silver cogs clicking softly with every movement.
Ao Xian looked up, his eyes noting the man's details.
[Name: Alchemist Jiao]
[Karmic Value: -2,150]
[Identity: Disgraced Master of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, obsessed with merging alchemy and puppetry.]
[Secret Treasure: The 'Heart of the Golem,' a powerful artifact he seeks to complete his masterpiece.]
"Greetings," the old man said, his voice a dry rasp. "They say anything can be bought here. I am looking for something... specific."
"All knowledge has a price," Ao Xian replied with a polite smile. "What is it you seek, Master Alchemist?"
Jiao's eyes widened slightly behind his lenses. "You know of me?"
"I know of everyone who enters my establishment," Ao Xian said simply. "You are looking for the Heart of the Golem. A core created from a fallen star, capable of granting true sentience to a mechanical puppet."
The alchemist's composure broke, his one human hand trembling as he gripped the counter. "You... you know where it is?"
"I do," Ao Xian said. "And as it happens, I am hosting a small, private auction for it tomorrow night. For a few... select clients." He pushed a small, elegantly carved invitation across the counter. "Consider this a professional courtesy."
Alchemist Jiao stared at the invitation, then at Ao Xian, his mind racing. This was the culmination of his life's work. "My thanks," he rasped, snatching the invitation and scurrying out of The Nexus, his clockwork hand clicking excitedly.
Once he was gone, Hu Mei'er giggled. "Young Lord, you just invented an auction for an item you materialized a moment ago."
"Of course," Ao Xian said, taking a sip of tea. "The next name on Bai Xin Yue's list is a trio of soul-devouring brothers who happen to be Alchemist Jiao's greatest rivals. They have been hunting him for years, seeking his knowledge of soul-crafting." He smiled. "Now, all the key players will be in the same room at the same time. The hero, the villainess, the mad scientist... all drawn to the same prize. The stage is set for a much more interesting second act."