Chapter 2

From her anxious tone, I assumed this “real business” must be something important.

Instead, she dragged me to a spring and began stripping off my clothes.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?” I clutched my sash as though it were the last shred of my dignity.

Number Four continued wrestling stubbornly with it.

“Hurry and undress! We’re already late. What will we do if the moonlight disappears?”

I froze, then stopped resisting.

Right now, I felt as though I had been dropped into a full-immersion game with no backstory whatsoever. All I could do was follow the NPC. If she told me to undress, then undress I would.

But the instant I loosened my sash and removed my outer robe, several women burst out of the spring with a tremendous splash.

They began chattering toward someone in the distance.

“Greetings, Immortal Fu Ning.”

“Oh my, Immortal, you’ve grown even more handsome. Might this humble woman be fortunate enough to share a night of passion with you?”

“…”

Speechless, I turned around. My master—no, Fu Ning—hovered in midair. He pointed at me without expression. “Come with me.”

I followed him into the Listening Bamboo Pavilion.

Fu Ning waved the door shut, then swept a cold gaze over me from head to toe.

The atmosphere abruptly turned solemn.

I met his deep, black, glasslike eyes and could not help laughing.

I couldn’t help it. Every time I saw him, I thought of my master, and every time I thought of my master, I remembered what a ridiculous fool he was. Keeping a straight face was impossible.

It was like watching someone you knew put on an absurdly grand act.

Fu Ning frowned but said nothing. He turned to light a lamp, removed several medicine bottles from a hidden compartment, and set them before me.

“These are Essence-Refining Pills. They improve the flow of blood and qi. Take them back and distribute them among the others.”

Suppressing my laughter, I nodded, took the bottles, and left.

Halfway out, I realized I had neglected to ask how the pills should be taken or in what dosage, so I turned back.

I was just about to knock when I heard a helpless sigh from within.

“No matter how many pills you feed them, it will make no difference. They knew they would be sacrificed before they ever entered the Changheng Sect, did they not?”

My hand slowly froze before the door.

The conversation inside ended quickly.

After the other person spoke, a long silence followed before Fu Ning finally said,

“What I do is none of your concern.”

“Fu Ning, you are the child of destiny. The century-old foundations of the entire Changheng Sect rest upon you alone. You have carried this duty since birth. Why else do you think the sect has poured every resource into you? You have no right to be willful. You are forbidden from refining any more Essence-Refining Pills for them. The deaths of a few female cultivators can sustain the sect’s spiritual energy for ten years. You should understand how to weigh the costs and benefits.”

“…”

I fled the door before the other person emerged.

Back in my room, my feelings remained complicated.

It was not that knowing I would die had left me distraught. To me, this was only an illusion, and I was merely playing a role within it. The person whose place I occupied might have died long ago.

I was simply puzzled.

As far as I knew, the Changheng Sect had been insignificant in the cultivation world five hundred years ago. Only after the child of destiny, Fu Ning, appeared had the sect’s standing soared overnight.

Yet judging by the attitudes of everyone I had observed these past few days, the sect seemed to fear Fu Ning while also holding him in contempt.

What in the world was going on?

I tossed and turned on my bed, unable to sleep.

Number Four shared the room with me. Hearing me move, she asked drowsily, “Number Six, why are you still awake?”

After a pause, I asked bluntly, “Why do we have numbers instead of names?”

This was an illusion, after all. Going a little out of character shouldn’t matter, should it?

Still half asleep, Number Four gave the question no thought and answered readily.

“Because our purpose from the moment we’re born is to sacrifice ourselves for the Changheng Sect. People like us are destined to die sooner or later. What would we need names for?”