The airship passed a familiar city checkpoint. Leaning against the window, her breath fogging the cold glass, Yao saw the old gatekeeper was still there. He cradled his thermos, blowing on the steaming surface. Spotting her, his wrinkled face broke into a familiar, if weary, smile. "Well, look who's back! Young master, exams all finished?"
Yao was bone-tired, exhaustion clinging to her like a second skin. Her eyelids felt like lead. She managed a slight, weary twitch. "Not exactly. Returning for a funeral."
The old man blinked. "Huh?" It hasn't been a month since you claimed your father. How are you already attending a funeral?"Who… who in the family passed?"
Yao leaned her head back against the seat, closing her eyes. The words were flat, drained of all inflection. "Basically… everyone."
The old man stared. "…"
The atmosphere in the cabin grew distinctly awkward.
Let the floods rage outside; first, I need my afternoon nap.
Yao stumbled into the Xie manor and fell into a sleep so deep it felt like sinking into tar. The pre-set alarm shattered the oblivion at 4:30 p.m. She opened her eyes, greeted by the deep, molten orange of the setting sun staining the walls. For a disorienting second, the light reminded her of the Ember Drake's aura. She rubbed her eyes, gritty with sleep, and reached for her communicator.
A message from Zhou Linlang. One line:
Awake? Contact me.
Simple. Direct.
But Yao knew. Zhou Linlang would already know everything—the massacre, the twisted "lesson," the aftermath. She also knew Yao would be running on fumes, would need to sleep. This… considerate timing was its own kind of message.
She understands me too well.
A wry, tired smile touched Yao's lips. She sent a reply, letting Zhou Linlang pick the place. An address came back almost instantly.
After a quick, cold wash that did little to scrub away the mental fatigue, Yao stepped out. The Xie manor was already draped in the stark, sterile whites of mourning. Two hundred servants moved through the halls like ghosts, hanging silks, setting up altars. Their faces were pale masks of confusion and fear. They didn't know how their masters had died, where, or where the bodies were. They only knew the house had emptied in a single, fiery breath. Now, they clung to ritual, to the motions of grief, for stability.
Then the rightful master—the only one left—appeared.
The Second Young Master is back. He's powerful. He has a future. The Xie name isn't dead yet.
A fragile, desperate hope settled over the household. The head steward, reporting the arrangements with trembling hands, had expected a feral, garbage-world youth ignorant of noble propriety. He was met with calm, precise orders, an understanding of funerary rites and financial legacies that was chilling in its competence.
Yao handled the most urgent matters—confirming death certificates, freezing assets, sending notifications to distant business partners. The tasks were a mountain. A great tree had fallen, and the forest creatures were already stirring, scenting opportunity. She was one person against the coming scavengers.
But for now, she focused on the immediate: the vault. She reasoned that Zhou Miao, needing her as a tool for some future vote, wouldn't strip the Jingyang Xie of their material foundations. Without the deeds and titles, Yao would be a pauper lord, useless for any political maneuvering.
Heart thumping with a mix of dread and desperate hope, she hurried to the secret chamber. This time, she didn't need to hide. The door swung open.
She froze.
Inside… aside from the empty space where Xie Yao's casket had lain, everything else remained. The treasures, the resources, the glowing cores and glittering gems—all of it sat undisturbed, gathering dust in the silent gloom.
Yao's emotions did a violent, nauseating rollercoaster: shock, then a fierce, sudden joy, followed immediately by deep suspicion, and finally, a cold, settling fear.
After declaring his intent to emigrate and dividing the family territory, Yung Xiao's four lieutenants met gruesome ends not long after.
The cinematic parallel was too sharp to ignore. In Zhou Miao's eyes, she was less than an ant. A speck. So why leave the spoils for the ant? Why this… apparent generosity?
She didn't hold much resentment over the burned hand. In this world, pain was a currency, and cruelty a common dialect. But unearnedkindness? That was far more terrifying. It spoke of deeper calculations, of hooks hidden in the bait.
Paranoid, uneasy, Yao sat in the same chair as before, her eyes sweeping over the tangible weight of the Xie family's accumulated power. She mentally calculated, assessed. Finally, she understood, and a bitter laugh escaped her.
It lookedlike a fortune. But the most liquid, valuable assets would have been on Xie An's person. This was the stockpile, the bedrock. And to keep the crumbling Xie edifice from collapsing entirely, to appease the myriad smaller families and businesses tied to it, she would need to pour out roughly 80% of this hoard. A blood offering to buy temporary loyalty.
It was enough. It had to be.
With methodical efficiency, she began sorting. Corporate deeds, property titles, mining rights. Then the resources themselves. The 80% for appeasement was set aside in marked crates. The remaining 20% she loaded into her own spatial pack. This portion was ruthlessly curated:
Energy Cores: 1000 S1-grade cores, 200 S2-grade cores. A king's ransom of pure power.
Genetic Marrow Crystals: 1000 units, a kaleidoscope of potential drawn from countless beasts.
Gene Pool Sustenance: All the rare herbs, catalyzing agents, and alchemical bases needed to maintain a Gene Pool. Enough for a staggering 200 hours of immersion.
She could have taken more. Another 10%, maybe 20%. Her fingers hovered over a crate of glowing S2 cores. Greed was a hot whisper in her ear. But overreaching was how ants got stepped on. She closed the crate lid with a decisive thud. Greed killed. Discipline mightlet her live.
She left the vault, a part of her mourning the wealth left behind. To guard it, she left her little locust, a silent, hungry sentinel in the treasure room. Her pack couldn't hold it all, and the moment she stepped out, the vultures from the Teng and Lan families would be circling, bold enough to try a "robbery."
Half an hour later, she sat in a secluded private dining room, surrounded by the delicate beauty of potted scholar's rocks and trailing jasmine. The restaurant was empty save for the staff.
Zhou Linlang poured tea, her gaze complex. "I had thought," she began, her voice quiet, "that after the exams, you might find a way to shed the Xie identity. To be yourself again. It seems that path is closed."
She didn't mention Yao sending her away earlier. Some battles couldn't be won by presence alone. The Zhou family was influential, but they swam in different waters than the monstrous deep-sea leviathan that was the Boluke Xie.
Yao took the teacup. The brew was exquisite, fragrant and calming, a balm she didn't know she needed. "It's closed," she agreed, the steam warming her face. "But on the bright side, I got a free clan leadership out of it. There are benefits. Think of it as… entering a new, more complicated instance." She was starting to believe her own bravado, the mental shift making the burden slightly easier to carry.
They ate in companionable silence for a while. Then Yao spoke. "There's something I need your help with, Inspector Zhou."
"Speak." Zhou Linlang set down her chopsticks, giving Yao her full attention.
"Can you help me erase all identity records for 'Yao' from Planet X5?"
Zhou Linlang didn't seem surprised. She reached into a fold of her sleeve and produced a slim file. "When investigating the Li family, they were terrified of exposure for illegal slave mining. They purged most of the slave registries on X5, even granting mass manumissions to cover their tracks. However…" she tapped the file. "Regarding 'Yao,' because Oxus had just been 'reclaimed' by the Xies, the Li foreman on X5 saw potential value. He isolated her records. For future leverage, or to sell."
Yao took the file. "But it came to you…"
"He resisted arrest. Forcefully. Was killed on the spot." Zhou Linlang sipped her soup. "As evidence unrelated to the core case, the file was inconsequential. I kept it."
Yao scanned the documents—a name, a blurred photo, a list of assigned labor quotas. She held the papers over a candle flame, watching them blacken and curl. "Thank you."
"Yao of X5 disappears," Zhou Linlang observed, her eyes sharp. "Will a new Yao appear?"
"That depends," Yao said, meeting her gaze, "on whether I can survive what comes next."
Her appetite, fueled by the immense caloric drain of the exam, was healthy. Zhou Linlang, finished eating, watched her. "From what I understand, the Teng and Lan families won't move against you openly for another fortnight. They'll be gathering intelligence, trying to gauge Zhou Miao's true stance towards you. They know she has a killing intent towards the Xies. You're alive for your vote. But whether she'd intervene in… other matters? Unknown."
"You only become a credible threat to their ambitions if you achieve stunning results in the academy selection exams. Even then, it might not be enough to stop them from carving up Xie territory."
Yao looked at her. "Your suggestion?"
"Find a patron," Zhou Linlang stated simply, dabbing her lips. "Once you're in one of the four great academies, find a teacher—someone with enough status and power to offer you shelter. It reduces Zhou Miao's direct influence and gives the local jackals pause."
"That's… a tall order," Yao sighed. "People of that stature are rare. They'd have no reason to protect me. And they certainly aren't lacking for brilliant students. I'm not thatexceptional."
"You survived Zhou Miao's attention," Zhou Linlang countered, a hint of a smile touching her lips. "Isn't that exceptional enough?" She produced another document—a list of names. "I know the academy landscape better than you. Review these."
"Also, you should know—the master-disciple system in our top institutions isn't the simple mentorship you might imagine. A decade ago, the Ministry of Education instituted a Contribution Points system. A teacher's standing, their access to rare resources, even their promotions, are tied to the achievements of their official students. Performance in instances, breakthroughs, competition rankings—all translate to points for the master. It binds established power to the cultivation of new talent. It's… brutally effective."
Yao was intrigued. This was a new layer, a systemic engine of ambition that hadn't existed in her game memories. Loyalty built on mutual profit.It was cold. It was real.
She looked at the list. Ten names. Each one carried weight, reputation, a history of formidable achievement. "Your standards are… exceedingly high."
Zhou Linlang smiled properly now. "You are exceedingly capable. If I see it, others will too. The selection trials are in fifteen days. Your time is short."
The following days were a whirlwind of bleak administration. All of Jingyang watched, holding its breath. Neighboring cities listened in. Yao was a flurry of activity: spending vast sums to secure the loyalty of minor factions that had relied on the Xies, headhunting financial and managerial talents to fill the voids left by the dead, pouring money into stabilizing the teetering business empire.
Rumors swirled like poison fog: Xie An committed grave crimes, executed by the main family. The branch is extinct. Oxys is just a placeholder, a puppet to be discarded once his vote is cast…
Many were convinced Yao was drowning in logistics, with no time to cultivate, to grow stronger.
They were right.
For four days, she didn't touch her arcane studies. Only on the fifth day did the chaos subside to a manageable roar.
She ordered the manor sealed. No visitors.
Then, she entered the Gene Pool.
The preparation was meticulous, a gambler stacking every chip. She used all the alchemical materials for the pool—a fortune in reagents, spent without a second thought. The 1000 S1 cores were her ammunition for breaching the final barriers of her First Genetic Sequence. The 1000 Marrow Crystals were wildcards, potential keys to awakening latent traits.
I'm only Level 20. My physical vessel is still weak. Can it handle the backlash of opening the Second Sequence?
Her current attributes were impressive for her level, but she was comparing herself to the true prodigies from the wealthier cities. In a fair fight, at full strength, she'd likely lose. The exam had been won through guile, attrition, and betrayal. Gao Yang and Dong Chen would be seething, waiting for revenge. The Teng and Lan families were wolves at the gate.
She was surrounded. This breakthrough wasn't a luxury; it was a necessity for survival.
The immersion began. Time lost meaning in the nutrient-rich, energy-thick fluid. Her body, Oxus's body, began its silent revolution. Skin tightened, bones hummed with density, muscles re-knit themselves at a cellular level. She felt the bottleneck approaching, the wall at the end of the First Sequence.
She began funneling the S1 cores.
Three hundred cores were spent on foundational saturation, thickening the "trunk" and first six "branches" of her genetic tree. Then, she pushed.
The seventh branch ignited on the first try. A surge of power, sweet and clean.
The eighth branch resisted. Failure. Again. Five consecutive attempts, 150 cores turning to inert dust. Frustration, hot and acidic, rose in her throat. She forced it down, regulated her breathing, tried again.
The sixth attempt. A resonant humvibrated through her being. The eighth branch blazed to life. Her attributes leapt upward.
520 cores left. One final branch—the ninth, the capstone of the First Sequence. The hardest.
Seven attempts. Seven failures.
Only 120 S1 cores remained. Two tries left.
Despair whispered. The resources of others burn too fast.She'd thought a thousand would be ample. Her luck was rotten.
She knew if she failed now, the next attempt would require even more resources, a cost she could no longer afford. This was her moment, her peak state of readiness.
Switching tactics, she began absorbing the Marrow Crystals in a controlled frenzy, using their chaotic genetic potential as a stimulant. She directed her little locust to push its own evolution, creating a harmonic resonance.
She steadied. Took a breath. Used a core.
Failure.
One left.
She rose from the pool, dripping, heart hammering against her ribs. "Come here," she whispered to the locust, her voice hoarse. "Let's try together." Reaching for it, her foot slipped on the wet ledge. As she flailed, the mental command for the final S1 core was triggered.
Ding.
A sound like a crystal chime, pure and profound, echoed in the depths of her soul.
The ninth branch lit up. The First Sequence was complete.
"Alert: First Genetic Sequence achieved. Sequence activation unlocked."
"First Sequence Manifestation Available: Projection of Genetic Tree Solid. Sequence ability determined by Genetic Talent."
This was the true reward. Before completion, a sequence was just stats. After? It was a weapon, a limb, a part of the soul made manifest.
The process of projection was agony. It felt like pulling her own spine out through her skin. Half an hour later, trembling and streaked with blood-threaded nutrient fluid, Yao held out her palm.
Slowly, sinuously, something emerged.
A tentacle. Translucent, shimmering blue, like living lapis lazuli gel.
Yao stared, her heart sinking. Was it… useless? After all that?
She examined its properties.
First Sequence Gene-Tendril: Liquid-state matter. Possesses variable density control. Capable of morphological alteration.
Her breath caught. Variable density? Morphology?A flicker of understanding, wild and promising, sparked. But exhaustion slammed into her. Her vision swam, and she fell back into the pool, sinking into the welcoming, weightless dark.
It worked?The thought was distant, fuzzy. So the two types who thrive are the obscenely wealthy and the impossibly lucky. I guess I just became both, for a moment.
She didn't waste the moment. Surging up, she grabbed the Gene-Essence Lure and the ten crude blood-replacement vials she'd concocted. She swallowed them in quick succession, the concoctions burning a path down her throat. She drew the little locust into her body, initiating the symbiotic blood transformation.
A day passed within the pool. The water below her began to glow with a deep, verdant light. Strands of emerald energy, like intelligent vines, swirled around her, burrowing into her pores, replacing the old, mundane blood with something potent, alive. Viridian Blood.
She felt it resonate with the latent ocular genes—Xiao Yao's legacy. She waited, patient as a spider, until the transformation was at its peak, the new blood singing in her veins.
Then, she began consuming the Marrow Crystals in earnest, a targeted flood of bestial potential.
As the 200-hour pool timer dwindled to its last few hours, the placid surface finally rippled. Yao emerged, pulling herself onto the ledge. She was… different. Sleeker, denser, her skin holding a faint, pearlescent sheen. She rested her chin on her arm, tired but exultant.
The Viridian transition was complete.
And her eyes… they were no longer ordinary. They were a glacial, piercing blue, but at their center, a faint, intricate spiral sigil slowly rotated.
The Xie legacy, even diluted, is potent. A Vision-type talent. Green-tier, but practical: Purge Status, Enhanced Insight, and… limited Phasing?The "Purge" effect made her laugh—a tired, genuine sound. She experimentally gave herself a mild dizziness debuff, then focused. Her eyes glowed. The dizziness vanished, cleansed away.
Living bleach.It was defensive, supportive, incredibly versatile. Not the world-ending beam Zhou Miao possessed, but it was a foundation. And it was hers, wrested from Oxus's pathetic genetics through sheer, bloody-minded expenditure.
Furthermore, the genetic onslaught had triggered a second awakening from Xiao Yao's latent matrix. Within her genetic tree, beside the locust, now sat a small, stoic-looking turtle encased in a shell of faint blue light.
Second Genetic Talent: Blue-Light Armored Tortoise. Traits: Enhanced Defense, Damage Conversion.
Defense. She finally had a shield.
She pulled up her status.
Level: 20
Primary Attributes:
Psyche: 89,000
Strength: 110,100
Constitution: 134,300
Agility: 179,280
Genetic Sequence: First Sequence max-level. Second Sequence (Locked).
First Sequence Manifestation: Density-Shifting Tendril.
Genetic Talents: 1. Scorpion-Tail Locust (Digestion, Stun, Poison Spike). 2. Blue-Light Armored Tortoise (Defense, Damage Conversion).
Blood Rank: Viridian.
Viridian Effects: Meditation Speed x5. Cellular Regeneration x5. Metabolic Processing x5.
Blood Skill: Blood-Burn Frenzy (Effect +30%, Duration: 3 minutes).
The power hummed within her. Her little locust, now a Level 30 beast, had stats that dwarfed most human adepts. Combined, their agility would be monstrous. She could dance around the Flayer's attacks now.
She was still penniless, of course. The 200 S2 cores were her last tangible asset, far more valuable than the spent S1s. Opening the Second Sequence required a secure environment—an academy's warded chamber or a powerful guardian. She had neither. And she was, once again, broke.
How ironic. Inherit a great house and end up destitute.
Her plans for alchemy mocked her from the future.
Her communicator buzzed. She checked it, surprise cutting through her fatigue.
On the eleventh night after the exams, beneath a seemingly ordinary food farm on Jingyang's southern outskirts, Yuqin and the tubby groundhog—"Tutu"—were deep in discussion in a root cellar. A shadow detached itself from the wall.
"Gah! Captain! A little warning!" Tutu yelped, dropping his shovel.
Yao, once again in her masked "Captain" guise, sat. Yuqin felt a pang—the mask meant distance, mistrust. "You said there was a problem underground?"
This farm was now legally hers, a quiet acquisition during the Xie turmoil. Compared to the (mostly spent) Xie fortune, the supposed mineral deposit here was a footnote. She'd left it to Tutu and his crew as a reward. She'd almost forgotten it.
Tutu dug into his pouch, spilling out rocks—some ordinary, some ore. Yao's hand immediately went to one piece: marble-sized, pitch black, unnaturally heavy. Pure Obsidian-Crystal. Elementally inert, used for fortifications.
Yuqin nodded, seeing her recognition. "At seven meters, the drill hit a hardness spike. This stuff. But the mineral scanner still shows strong elemental resonance below. It's contradictory."
Yuqin presented research notes. "Only a few ore types can ignore Obsidian-Crystal interference." She watched as Yao scanned the pages. The speed, the absorption… it reminded her of someone. Too many coincidences were piling up.
Yao looked toward the mine shaft. "Are the others down there your kin?"
Tutu whistled. The earth erupted. Six more burrowing creatures popped out, grinning. "We're Battle-Moles! Tutu's our boss!"
Yao looked at the portly leader. "You're… plumper than your brothers."
Yuqin turned away, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
Tutu deflated. "Just… call me Tutu."
Yao handed out high-grade underground breathers and rations. "Take a break. I'll look."
In the shaft, she activated her dual-tier vision. Her sight tunneled through soil, past the diggings, to a massive, seamless wall of Pure Obsidian-Crystal. It wasn't a boulder; it was a layer. Her vision pushed, strained. It was deep. Impossibly deep. Her pupils ached, her Psyche draining rapidly.
She understood the dilemma. Proper investigation required heavy machinery, noise, attention. As the sole, weakened head of the Xie, she couldn't defend a major find. But to leave it…
She placed a hand on the wall. Her blue Gene-Tendril slid from her palm, its density shifting to a near-spectral state. With her vision magnifying at a microscopic level, she guided the tendril into the molecular gaps of the Obsidian-Crystal. It was like threading a needle through a mountain. She began gulping Psyche-restoration potions, the Viridian blood and locust symbiosis allowing her to metabolize them at a terrifying rate.
Thirty minutes of agonizing focus later, her tendril broke through.
A wave of pure, undiluted psychic energy washed back along the connection.
A Psyche-Attuned Gem Vein. Sealed inside an Obsidian-Crystal sarcophagus. No wonder scanners were fooled.
The scale of the energy… it dwarfed the entire Xie fortune. Greed, hot and dizzying, surged. She forced it down. Why was it here? Why undiscovered?
Xie An and the Fu family had top-tier scanners. They should have detected the Obsidian-Crystal, grown suspicious.
The fact they hadn't meant something inside was masking the signals.
She pushed further, tendril straining against the crushing psychic pressure. Deeper, deeper… until she brushed against something.
It moved.
A living pulse of concentrated consciousness.
Her breath stopped. A Spirit.In mineralogy, only two things could be born in such environs: Elemental Sprites and Attribute Sprites. Psyche was an attribute. A Psyche Sprite. Rarer than most Elementals. The ultimate treasure for any mental-focused arcanist.
Is the universe pitying me for being Zhou Miao's chew toy?
The absurdity almost made her laugh. She withdrew.
Back in the cellar, the seven moles were feasting. Yuqin waited patiently.
Yao didn't mince words. "There's a Psyche-Attuned Gem vein below. Size unknown, but significant. We are nine. Here are terms: The seven of you did the digging, you get 30%. Yuqin manages the surface and logistics, 10%. I handle security and external threats, 60%."
She paused, her voice gentle but absolute. "Don't ask questions. Agree, or be detained until the resource is secured. For security, memory modification may be necessary. Choose."
The moles stared, chunks of bread falling from their mouths. Tutu smacked the nearest one. "Agree! Now!"
Yuqin, heart pounding at the revelation, simply nodded. "This is your land. Your capital. We're just labor. Thank you for your generosity." Feels less like a partnership and more like being adopted.
As Yao prepared to descend again, Oxus's communicator buzzed—an unknown number. She excused herself, rerouted the signal through the manor's landline, and answered.
"Oxus. This is Fu Qiang."
Yao's guard went up. "What is it?"
"Your seventh brother finally succumbed to his illness over ten days ago. Our condolences."
Ten days ago, and you tell me now?"A funeral? I'm busy with academy prep. Should I send a gift?"
"No need. We're family. I was thinking… perhaps you'd consider taking his place as our Fu family son-in-law?"
Yao channeled Oxus's trademark insolence. A dry laugh. "Mr. Fu, correct me if I'm wrong, but your father is also deceased. My condolences as well."
Fu Qiang's voice remained slick. "True. But recent news… the Teng and Lan families are mobilizing. They've contacted relevant departments, companies… They aren't as peaceable as we Fu. They have a habit of… absorbing vulnerable assets."
The prediction was coming true, faster than expected. "Is that so? But I have my aunt," Yao prodded, fishing.
"Ah, yes. We, given our close marital ties, made some discreet inquiries with the main Xie family. The situation… may not be as favorable for you as you hope."
"So why bother with me?" Yao pressed, cold.
"The Fu family has built its legacy on calculated investments. We believe in your… potential."
"Your last investment was my seventh brother. And my eldest brother before that."
"…" Fu Qiang coughed. "Your talents have… surpassed my humble discernment."
"Let's be direct," Yao said, her mind racing, weighing the mine, the hollowed-out Xie holdings, the sprite. "The Lan and Teng have approached you, haven't they? To look the other way. And you, not wanting to risk my aunt's ire, but also not wanting to miss the feast, propose this. A marital alliance neutralizes me as a threat to them, gives you a claim, and keeps you in my aunt's peripheral vision—if she cares at all."
Fu Qiang was silent for a beat. "You are sharp. Our sources indicate Lan Xuanyu will rank in the provincial top hundred for the university exam. He has already secured a master—a Level 70 Archmagus from Boluke University, a figure of considerable standing. The scales are tipping."
Yao saw the trap closing. The moment Zhou Miao's perceived indifference solidified, the jackals would unite. The Fu wanted the benefits without the risk. The safest path for them was to control her, not destroy her.
"Marrying into your family didn't protect my brothers," she stated flatly.
"This is different. The Fu have… depth. Our marital connections span other Blue-Blood lines, even touch Orange. We have… resilience."
Yao looked back toward the mine shaft, the unimaginable wealth waiting in the dark. She had already sold her freedom to Zhou Miao. What was one more transaction?
"Very well," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. "But my Jingyang assets remain wholly, independently mine. No interference, no claims. I am past being a controlled puppet—for anyone below my aunt's station. You understand? Your value in this gamble is my continued existence, and the interestshe has shown. I am, after all, the top scorer of the tri-city exam. That has value, even to a Blue-Blood family looking to groom future connections. And this alliance… it carries her shadow, doesn't it? That's the real risk you're hedging."
It was a cold, precise counter-threat. Mutual leverage.
After a long pause, Fu Qiang's voice came back, respect and wariness now mingling. "…Agreed."
The call ended. The immediate threat from Teng and Lan was neutralized. No rising star, even with a powerful master, would casually provoke a entrenched Blue-Blood family with a new, politically useful marital link.
Yao walked back to the cellar. She said nothing of the call. She simply picked up her gear.
"I'll be below for a day or two. I'll map the optimal extraction points. Yuqin, you handle procuring the equipment."
Now, she had sold Oxus's hand in marriage.
The Psyche Sprite wouldbe hers.