The Choice

Their eyes met. Fang Huai yawned, then closed his eyes again.

"I got up too fast. My eyes won't open. I'll go back to sleep and pick up where my beautiful dream left off."

By then, Jiang Miao had shed her delicate, charming act. Her gaze turned vicious. "Once a beautiful dream is broken, there's no point carrying on with it. I knew you were awake ages ago, so there's no need to keep pretending.

"Tell me. Why were you staring at me?"

Fang Huai tried to cover it up. "It's late. You should get some sleep, miss."

Losing a little blood and energy was no big deal. Wasn't cultivation in the Corpse Sha Sect just a matter of you draining me, and me draining you?

It wasn't the first time he'd been through something like this. After all, in the Corpse Sha Sect, whoever had the bigger fist was in the right.

Today, Jiang Miao was in the right.

As for sending Little Corpse Meteor Insects to attack Jiang Miao?

Forget it. He wanted to live a few more days.

Fang Huai had once wondered: those in the Corpse Sha Sect who hadn't yet reached the First Layer of Qi Refining tempered their bodies through dual cultivation, while low-level Qi Refiners did so by stealing blood and energy. So how did high-level Qi Refiners temper their bodies?

Now he understood. The Corpse Sha Sect treated human life like grass. Its disciples had no humanity, and its high-ranking disciples were bloodthirsty killers.

Having stumbled upon Jiang Miao cultivating this way, all he could do was pretend he didn't know what he knew.

Jiang Miao's eyes flickered, then she burst out laughing. "Amusing, but also boring."

She and Jiang Jing had put on this little act partly for fun and partly because she'd thought the Human Puppet Hall was full of all sorts of people, making it a good place to secretly siphon off some blood and energy.

Now that Fang Huai had seen through them, there was no need to keep up the charade.

Killing Intent surged around Jiang Miao. Her bones crackled, and the iron chains around her corroded and snapped.

She stretched, then sauntered toward Fang Huai.

Fang Huai's hair stood on end. He swallowed hard, a powerful sense of impending death rising in his heart.

Jiang Miao's nails carved deep, bone-baring gashes across his chest. Her alluring body was barely an inch away as she chuckled.

"Junior Brother, you really are beautiful."

Fang Huai's whole body tensed. Cold sweat had already soaked his back.

He knew all too well that beneath that soft, seductive exterior lurked a viciousness more bloodthirsty than any Demonic Beast.

In the next instant, Jiang Miao's smile vanished. Her fingers clenched, plunging into Fang Huai's chest.

The crack of breaking bones mingled with the squelch of tearing flesh.

Blood trickled from the corner of Fang Huai's mouth. He stared straight at Jiang Miao. "Senior Sister, if you kill me, I'll make you pay, even if it costs me my life!"

With no backup tag to save him, Fang Huai could only rouse Little Corpse Meteor Insects, preparing to fight Jiang Miao to the death.

"That's the funniest joke I've ever heard!" Jiang Miao laughed so hard she could barely speak.

She pulled her hand from Fang Huai's chest and said softly, "You're only at the First Layer of Qi Refining, yet you weren't affected by Bewildering Sha. You must have a special spiritual constitution. The Corpse Sha Sect needs people like you.

"You're so interesting. I like interesting people."

Fang Huai met Jiang Miao's gaze, secretly urging his blood to flow faster out of his body.

His only option was to activate self-destruction mode. If she made another move, he'd immediately swap the negative tags onto her and have Little Corpse Meteor Insects attack at the same time.

"Relax. I'm not going to eat you."

Jiang Miao ran her fingers over the chains on Fang Huai, and they snapped. "You look like you've never seen the world before. Are you from some mortal town?

"I've heard people in the secular world care most about feelings, and everyone spouts benevolence and righteousness. How about I give you a chance to be a saint?

"There are over a hundred New Human Puppets in the hall who've suffered only minor injuries. If we save them, they'll live. The other four hundred have been badly hurt and are on the brink of death, but if we rescue them, they should still live a few more days.

"Will you choose to save a hundred people or four hundred?"

Fang Huai frowned. "Fairy, don't toy with me. How could I decide whether they live or die?"

Jiang Miao pressed the tip of her nose to his forehead and bit his earlobe. "Now I'm giving you the power to decide whether they live or die."

"But you only have ten breaths to choose."

Their eyes met. In Jiang Miao's gaze, Fang Huai saw how little she valued life. He believed she really would kill everyone.

"Three... two... one..."

"I'll save the hundred healthy ones." In the final instant of Jiang Miao's countdown, Fang Huai made his choice.

Without connections and with no one to treat them, those four hundred people were already broken beyond repair. They wouldn't last more than a few days.

The hundred healthy ones, on the other hand, could go to Servant Valley to gather Baleful Intent. They might still have a chance to survive.

"Good!"

Jiang Miao's eyes turned blood-red. She pushed the Body Forging Technique to its limit, draining the life force of over four hundred people. Within a dozen breaths, every one of them was dead.

She seemed unable to absorb so much blood and energy. Her body flushed red and swelled like a ripe apple.

"Junior Brother, those four hundred people died because of you."

Fang Huai clenched his fists, biting his lips until they bled. "Fairy, please keep your promise and spare the remaining hundred."

"Fine!"

Jiang Miao sliced open the skin at her waist and pulled a Storage Bag from her flesh. She gave it a light tap, and a Spirit Sword appeared in her hand.

She swung the Spirit Sword. Sword Qi streamed out, severing the chains of the Human Puppets.

The newly freed Human Puppets wept with gratitude. They fell to their knees and repeatedly kowtowed to the two of them, thanking them.

Fang Huai looked toward Jiang Miao and saw the corners of her mouth lifting. A bad feeling immediately welled up inside him.

"Fairy, don't!"

Before he could finish, Jiang Miao swung the Spirit Sword again. A hundred streaks of sword light flashed past, and every Human Puppet bowing in thanks was decapitated.

"You!" Fang Huai's pupils contracted.

"Amusing! Amusing!"

Jiang Miao laughed until she could barely speak. "I kept my promise. I freed them and sent their souls off to be reborn."

Fang Huai snapped, "How can you treat human life with such contempt?"

Jiang Miao leaned close to him again. "Fang Huai, once you set foot on the path of cultivation, you can't afford to be merciful. You and I are cut from the same cloth. Sooner or later, you'll be even more ruthless than me.

"Now, I'll take you to change into clean clothes."

After all that commotion, Li and Hu should have shown up long ago. In fact, they had heard the noise coming from the Human Puppet Hall.

But they had just lit a Blood Jade Leaf and had no intention of getting involved in what was happening there.

Blood Jade Leaves had hallucinogenic effects, but they could also calm the mind, dispel Sha Poison and resentment, and help cultivators break through bottlenecks.

The Ascension Society had strictly forbidden its members from revealing the existence of Blood Jade Leaves, so the two had to use them discreetly.

"Junior Brother Hu, there's quite a commotion in the Human Puppet Hall. Should we go take a look?"

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Li. Some senior brother or sister is probably having fun in there. Let's avoid trouble. Once that person comes out, we can demand more compensation."

As they spoke, Sword Qi burst through the door. Jiang Miao strode inside in a white dress, with Fang Huai following behind her, his face dark.

"May I ask which Senior Sister has graced us with her presence, and what brings you here?"

Though their door had been destroyed, the two didn't dare show their anger. They bowed to greet her.

"Senior Sister?"

When Jiang Miao didn't answer, Li San looked up. The woman in white before him seemed strangely familiar.

"It's me, Jiang Miao," she said icily. "You two have terrible memories. You just tied me to a Bronze Pillar, and now you don't recognize me?"

Jiang Miao? Jiang Jing?

The Sect Master's lineage!

They were finished!

"Fairy Jiang!" The two cried out in shock, hurriedly dropping to their knees and kowtowing like pounding garlic.

Seeing them kowtow until blood streamed down their faces, Jiang Miao covered her mouth and snickered.

"You asked what I came here for? I'm here on behalf of Senior Sister Jiang Jing to take your heads and kick them around like balls."