Xie Zhaolin's lips touched the porcelain spoon. Her throat moved slightly.
Ah Mo's breath hitched.
One second, two, three.
When the faint clink of the spoon meeting the bowl's bottom sounded, she saw Xie Zhaolin swallow the last mouthful of porridge. The woman's brows furrowed ever so slightly, then smoothed as if nothing had happened.
"The medicine's working?"
Ah Mo lowered her eyes, hiding her thoughts, and turned to pour tea. Her fingertips trembled.
"Immortal Master, tea." She respectfully handed over the cup, but when Xie Zhaolin reached for it, the tea "accidentally" spilled, sliding down her robes.
"Damn it, Ah Mo's useless!" She dropped to her knees in a panic, fumbling to wipe away the stain. Her fingers slipped toward the inside of Xie Zhaolin's robes.
The storage pouch.
She knew it was hidden there. That night in the corpse hall, under the cold moonlight, her fingertips had brushed close but only managed to tug a single thread of silver. If Xie Zhaolin's spiritual power was still intact, no mortal would ever touch the pouch.
But this time, her fingers hooked the pouch's mouth with ease. A light tug—
The storage pouch slipped into her palm.
Ah Mo's heart nearly stopped.
She'd really lost her spiritual power!
Hiding the pouch in her sleeve, she kept up the act of frantically wiping her robes.
"No matter," Xie Zhaolin said calmly, even with the faintest hint of amusement.
When Ah Mo looked up, her gaze crashed into those black eyes. There was no panic in them, only… expectation.
"Ah Mo." Xie Zhaolin leaned forward, a strand of hair falling across the rim of the teacup. "Do you know what the deadliest poison in this world is?"
"It's hope," she blurted, lips curving into a bitter smile. "Hope makes people keep walking down a road they know ends in death."
"Not a bad thought." Her eyes glinted. "But unfortunately…"
A chill raced down Ah Mo's spine.
"You're wrong."
She stepped back sharply, but in that instant the pouch in her sleeve turned scorching hot. Black qi poured from the opening, coiling fast around her wrist!
She tried to fling it away, but the force yanked her down hard. Her knees slammed into the floor with a dull thud, and above her came Xie Zhaolin's voice:
"It's greed." Xie Zhaolin rose slowly, looking down with a cold curve on her lips. "Ah Mo, you're even more impatient than I thought."
She gritted her teeth and lifted her head, confusion flashing in her eyes. "You… didn't take the poison?"
"Poison?" Xie Zhaolin chuckled. A flick of her fingers made the black qi whip hard, flipping Ah Mo onto the ground. She crashed down, the pouch rolling aside. The black qi didn't fade, only spread, wrapping around her limbs and binding her tight.
Xie Zhaolin walked closer, crouched, and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up.
"The Spirit-Breath Dispersing Powder is real, and so is the recipe." Her voice was low. "But you forgot one thing."
Ah Mo's pupils shrank.
"I never cultivated spiritual power." Her mind exploded like thunder.
Spirit-Breath Dispersing Powder sealed spiritual power, but what flowed in Xie Zhaolin's body was something far more dangerous!
Her eyes suddenly burned with feverish light. "So that's it… this is true power…"
Surprise flickered across Xie Zhaolin's face, as if she hadn't expected such a reaction.
"So the recipe…" Ah Mo panted, "you planted it on purpose?"
"People always believe in truths they think they stole." She straightened, shadows swallowing her. "As for the pouch—"
Her foot nudged the bag that had rolled away.
"Just a trinket filled with spices."
Ah Mo suddenly raised her head. "If you already drugged me… why be so guarded?"
Xie Zhaolin didn't answer. She lifted her hand, and the black qi tightened. Ah Mo gasped in pain.
"You left too many cracks," she said with a laugh. "A stray orphan girl who can read recipes, someone who should've been starving, yet had the strength to stab Zhang Laosan twenty times…"
With every flaw she exposed, Ah Mo grew calmer.
"I see." A twisted smile tugged her lips despite the pain. "I wasn't cautious enough. But Immortal Master…"
She raised her eyes, blazing.
"You'd better keep me alive. I'm not… unprepared."
Xie Zhaolin arched a brow. "Oh?"
"I left a letter." Her voice was steady. "If I don't return within an hour, someone will tell Yu Xiaotang everything."
Xie Zhaolin studied her, then laughed softly.
"Ah Mo," her tone was almost pitying, "you'd never give such a chance to anyone else. People like you only believe in themselves."
Her throat tightened. She couldn't refute it. She was right.
How could she ever give away the merit of exposing Xie Zhaolin? Not a single word had she leaked.
Xie Zhaolin pulled a yellowed sheet of paper from her sleeve and unfolded it.
A young girl's portrait stared out, seven parts resembling Ah Mo, though older.
"Recognize her?"
Her breath stilled.
"Outer sect servant of Hehuan Sect, Liu Qingxu. She fled three months ago. Last seen in a gambling den." Xie Zhaolin's gaze pierced her.
"What's that got to do with me?"
"Ah Mo… no, Liu Mo."
She froze.
Unbothered, Xie Zhaolin continued softly.
"You killed her, didn't you? Your sister."
"…"
"You pushed her into the gambling den with your own hands."
Ah Mo suddenly went quiet. Her eyes turned clear, sharp. "Has Immortal Master ever seen dice in a gambling den?"
She lifted her bound wrist, mimicking a throw. "Six sides, any number can face up. But a clever gambler knows, with the right force and angle…"
Her fingers clenched. "You can make the number you want appear."
The black qi shivered faintly.
"My sister was that die." Her voice was soft, like a lover's murmur. "I used her life to roll the number that changed my fate."
A pure smile spread across her face, almost childlike. "See? It's fair. She gave one life, and in return, I gained the gambling den's trust, I gained…" She licked her lips. "…a chance to meet you."
The black qi quaked, tightening around her wrist until it carved bloody marks. She didn't even flinch, just kept speaking.
"Of course, it wasn't only a game." She shifted against the bindings.
"It was a choice. If she lived, we'd rot together in the mud, never rising. But if she died…" She paused. "At least I had fifty percent chance of gaining the gambling den's resources."
Xie Zhaolin's eyes lowered. "So this is your Dao? Paving the way with your sister's blood?"
Ah Mo met her gaze head-on, every word a blade. "She was my sister, of course I loved her. But more than love, I wanted to live. To live well, with dignity."
"No regrets?"
"Regrets? What's that? The weak don't even have the luxury to regret. The blood I've spilled, the path I've carved, it's because I refuse to be an ant!"
Her nails dug deep into her palm, blood dripping down unnoticed.
"This world runs on lives traded for opportunities. In this cultivation realm, which powerhouse's hands are clean?" Her laugh was nearly crazed. "Some weep fake tears of repentance. I, I take pride in every choice I've made!"
"I don't regret… Why the hell should I regret?! I did nothing wrong!"
Her voice rose, shrill with defiance.
"I'd rather be the villain— Than a corpse!"