The mass of people occupying the skeletal, decaying remains of a human settlement suffered from a vast variety of symptoms that An Fei could only have remembered in the numerous textbooks and academic journals she had read before. Massive warts and blisters soaked with rotting blood and seeping with an unknown, yellowish gelatinous fluid that sprayed a revolting, sulfuric odor that could be smelt from tens of meters afar; the flesh had been bored through to reveal bone, marrow, and tendons â exposed to the merciless sun that baked the skin dry and prevented regrowth.
Any semblance of clothing could not be found as the people staggered about in nothing but imagined rags, yet their bodies were covered from sight by a putrid mixture of blisters, warts, cysts, blood, and dirt that forged a black, rough texture. Though An Fei remembered standing in silence not much different than her current environment, this time she wasnât to be ignored as a woman â or what seemed to be a human woman, glanced in her direction and began to stumble.
âYâŠyâŠyoung MiâŠss, a miâŠmiracle.â
With each step and quiver, clumps of black, red and violet matter oozed and discharged from the womanâs body. As the young girl struggled not to faint from the overpoweringly noxious combination of ammonia, sulfur, brine, and decaying rot, she noticed that the woman seemed not much older than she was â having just breached into her early twenties. Alas, the contours and curves that once exuded exotic and graceful beauty now was packed to the brim with blood, pus, decayed flesh, and rotting bones.
âYâŠyoung MâŠMiss, has the, has the, the⊠the sect sent a⊠o, oh.â
What began as a pleading cry for help suffocated as the woman took sight of An Feiâs own bruised and tattered clothing, as well as the pained and exhausted latterâs countenance. The eyes rendered murky by an inescapable assailment of pestilence and pain glimmered with a soft breath of longing as they gazed down at the remains of what used to have been the Morning Star Templeâs cloud silk dress for female disciples.
âIf, if, if⊠the se⊠sect hasnât said, anything â what of, what of⊠the dispatch?â the woman breathed with exuberant life and begged for hope once more.
âGreat Yan! Our country! Twenty, twenty li! A rescue, have, have they⊠have theyâŠâ
The young girlâs lingering silence stilled the womanâs final breath, and her eyes dimmed noticeably amongst the dark grime etched into her skin. With a final shake of her head, the woman began the long, uncomfortable trudge back towards the shattered beam where she rested her back, wracked with helpless despair. Far behind, An Fei gradually exhaled the remaining breath in her lungs, and fled with boundless steps. Once she had finally escaped from the toxic mess of odors, the young girl clutched at her throat and gagged in pain.
ââŠwhat a deadly stench, I thought I was going to die right there and then,â An Fei breathed in relief and sank to her feet. And yet, behind that relief was tempestuous disbelief.
âGreat Yan? Twenty li â ten kilometers? I was a mere ten kilometers from Great Yan the entire time!?â
How⊠how on earthâŠ
The young girlâs chest heaved as she fought to remain calm, and once her mind regained clarity, immediately discerned the clause. She tapped herself on the head multiple times with the back of her palm, then slammed the ground with a clenched fist in furious rage.
âXu Lingxin. She reallyâŠ. Really got me to believe that I was in the depths of that accursed Bei Tang, to lose hope and obediently stay in the sect⊠damned woman â ah!â
All it took to piece together the conclusion that she had been taken to the fringe of Bei Tangâs territory were several hints that lay directly in the open. And yet, it had taken her nearly an entire six months.
âShe spoke in Cantonese and wrote in traditional script, whereas the natives of Bei Tang spoke a mixture of Korean and Japanese but used their⊠bizarre writing system. Not to mention, only the cities that hadnât fully assimilated under Bei Tang would suffer so greatly from its winter rain, or so I had heard in that golden pagodaâŠâ
After more than three years of wandering and nearly perishing in the Shattered Star Continent, An Fei could only admit the prowess of cultivation and spiritual essence. Though their scientific reasoning was weak at best, their spiritual essence could be utilized to manifest phenomena that science could only describe as miracles, with relative ease as though breathing and eating on a daily basis.
âThe city I was in last had only assimilated eighty years prior, and had only received the primal methods of withstanding the winter rain and rebuilding. The Violet Jade Pavilion distributes the techniques and arrays capable of fully enduring the winter rain without the slightest of suffering a hundred and fifty years after a city is assimilated into Bei Tang, and only territories newly annexed would exhibit what I just sawâŠâ
The young girl had once cursed the continuous ramblings of the Bei Tang youth that had nearly ruined her social standing before an enormous assortment of Bei Tangâs esteemed cultivators, and yet all she could do at this moment was to parrot his words. An Fei crouched down to play with a clump of weeds with her finger in defeat, and broke her promise of not sighing with another profound exhale.
Xu Lingxin had probably immediately noticed that she was a foreigner from Great Yong from their first encounter. Though with great and extensive practice, it was possible to imitate the Cantonese dialect as a Mandarin speaker and converse with a native from Guangzhou, mastery was impossible within a short of a life as hers. Anyone with the slightest mastery over the Canton dialect could immediately discern between one who had learned Cantonese from the beginning and those who learned the dialect after mastering Mandarin â the linguistic tonality, phrasing, and pronunciation was far too disparate. And yet, to have acted in such form â
ââ this is why you didnât sound an alarm or notify the sect?â
An Fei airily chuckled towards the skies as she basked under the graceful shade of swaying branches and leaves. The young girl glanced at the corner of her vision and curled her lips into a sneer at the exquisite strap of embroidered white silk.
âI wondered why you didnât any move when I was bleeding out last night, especially since there was too much noise. To make me witness such a sight, are you planning to appeal to my emotions?â
âMy, Little Sister, there was indeed an enormous ruckus last night, and I indeed was surprised to discover an unfamiliar man walking around in my peak,â Xu Lingxin smiled and revealed herself with a gentle flourish.
âHowever, what is there to convince? You have already agreed to save the lives of the Morning Star Temple, and I have agreed to ensure that you will neither be harmed nor insulted in the future.â
An Fei blinked at the unexpected reply, and narrowed her eyes at the smiling celestial maiden. The young girl stilled her trembling fingers that had drifted towards the qama besides her feet, and spat with a bitter voice.
â…that damned Soul-Binding Contract.â
âIndeed. Even though we may be strangers from different countries who, by coincidence, shared the same surname, there stands to gain quite a significant hold over your will by bestowing a new identity in a foreign country, and providing shelter. Moreso that Little Sister cleared the conditions of a Soul-Binding Contract by not resisting my offer of shelter and companionship.â
âŠso it was her own fault, was that it? Now that she thought about it⊠oh.
Under the watchful gaze of heaven, an Emperor could command the will of his subjects, the parents could exert authority over their child, and teachers could direct their students. As long as the compelled act wasnât immoral under the eyes of the heavens, the Soul-Binding Contract could be used to force â
âTo force an unfamiliar mortal girl to sacrifice her chastity to rescue the sectâs disciples and people under a Soul-Binding Contract is an impossible feat, even if Elder Sister were to become the Empress of Bei Tang. Thus, Little Sister has no need to concern herself with Elder Sisterâs sincerity.â
Xu Lingxin patted her bosom with a pair of clasped hands, and gently smiled at the young girlâs twitching lips. The celestial maiden stepped towards the ruined village and gestured with her billowing sleeves, a serene expression on her countenance.
âYou have seen the destruction and despair exhibited by those people. The rot, the pestilence, the pain. Those whom you have witnessed are several of the Morning Star Templeâs Inner Disciples,â Xu Lingxin whispered, and closed her eyes.
âThe Core Disciples of the sect survived under the shelter and sacrifice of the Sect Leader, whereas the Inner Disciples have been rendered to a condition where decaying into a jiangshi is more favourable than struggling for another day. The Outer Disciples have mostly perished under the curse of Bei Tangâs winter rain, and of three hundred thousand mortals under our protection, barely a sixth remain healthy.â
Can you understand my pain?
The celestial maiden brushed away the faint tear that threatened to fall from the corner of her eye, and gently sighed. With a light breath, and a turn, Xu Lingxin drew the sword at her waist and directed the tip towards An Fei.
âXu Lingxue, Elder Sister will have to offend!â
