Chapter 3

I tried every method I could think of. Nothing let me escape the plot.

I accepted my fate. Sort of.

The Heavenly Dao wanted me to guide their cultivation one by one, didn’t it?

Fine. I’d teach them.

I summoned Fuqu.

He no longer faced me with his former composure. He was wary now, afraid I might throw him out of the sect for stepping into the hall with his left foot first.

I pointed at the cushion in the array. “Sit down. Circulate your energy according to the manual.”

He sat as instructed, and I took the other position.

Patterns on the stone platform lit up one after another, linking our two stations.

I could only follow the steps the Heavenly Dao had arranged, guiding the spiritual energy through the array.

Being forced to do something felt awful.

Fuqu glanced up at me. “Sect Leader, is teaching me such a difficult task?”

I couldn’t explain. I stared at the array and managed, “Concentrate.”

Although I’d been forced into the exercise with Fuqu, my meridians felt clearer afterward.

I had mixed feelings about that.

It was like being made to solve a problem, getting it right, and finding that, annoyingly, I felt a small sense of accomplishment.

But not wanting to do something and being capable of doing it were two entirely different matters.

When I summoned Lianyu, my expression was still grim.

He took one look and fell to his knees. “Spare me, Sect Leader!”

Huh?

“I will return three times the spirit stones I took from Chen Chao. For the lowest-grade lesser spiritual weapon I took from Wuya, I will offer a middle-grade lesser weapon. For injuring Guyuan the other day, I will compensate him with a middle-grade lesser medicinal herb. Please spare my life!”

Kid, seriously. What have you been doing?

All I could think about, though, was getting the cultivation session over with.

I deliberately put on a stern face. “You really do have a vicious streak.”

Lianyu grew even paler.

Afraid he truly thought he was about to be executed, I hastily added, “But I’m glad you’re willing to explain yourself. We’ll focus on cultivation today.”

He stared.

I was simply hoping the heroine would untangle these people’s karmic troubles. I wanted none of them attached to me.

So I pointed at his place in the array. “Sit over there.”

He walked stiffly and kept his sleeves clenched in his hands even after sitting down.

I pushed the manual toward him. “Follow the sequence in here. Ask if you don’t understand. No need to struggle through it.”

He looked at the book, then at me.

“You are still willing to teach me, Sect Leader?”

“Why else would I have called you here?”

Lianyu lowered his head, finally settled his hands on his knees, and began regulating his breath as the manual instructed.

When his session ended, I let out a breath.

Only one left.

By the time I called Xuanqing in, I was so exhausted my face had gone pale.

“Come on. Sit down.”

Xuanqing hesitated. “Are you unwell, Sect Leader?”

“A little tired. Get through this round of the technique smoothly and you’ll be doing me a big favor.”

He nodded solemnly and sat in his place.

The patterns glowed again. I forced myself to concentrate and guided his spiritual energy through a full cycle.

When the last line of the array went dark, I had only one thought.

Finally. All done.