The Wager, the Sisters

"Impossible. Impossible!"

Inside the cavern, Ling Moxue's lips trembled. She staggered back until she struck the rock wall, then curled up in a corner, hugging her knees.

"Ling Qiuyun was born with defective meridians and had little time left. Ling Youdao set his sights on your Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet body to save her life."

"If she doesn't seize your body, she'll die."

Luo Fanchen spoke calmly. As he paced forward, he opened a coffin, revealing Ling Youdao's corpse beneath a careless scattering of straw.

"This is the man who slaughtered the entire Ling Household and brought you to this. You already knew he was Ling Qiuyun's adoptive father."

"How could she have had nothing to do with it?"

Luo Fanchen did not comfort the stricken Ling Moxue. After storing Ling Youdao's corpse, he turned toward the cave entrance, leaving her with only one sentence.

"It's getting late. Come along. Let's see your dear little sister one last time."

Fine rain pattered down. Luo Fanchen summoned the Soul Banner with a casual gesture, and once he stepped outside, an invisible force parted the rain around him.

He had walked several dozen meters before Ling Moxue followed, head drooping, as though her soul had fled. She choked out the same words over and over.

"Qiuyun... wouldn't seize my body."

"Would I lie to you?"

"No, Master Luo, I..."

Ling Moxue hurriedly shook her head, terrified of angering Luo Fanchen. She could only plead and protest like a machine.

"Qiuyun wouldn't seize my body. Master Luo, there must be a misunderstanding. Please spare her, all right? I can sign another Blood Contract. I'll serve you like an ox or a horse for the rest of my life. Please..."

"Qiuyun is the only family I have left."

Ling Moxue scrambled to Luo Fanchen's feet on hands and knees. He did not stop walking.

She reached for his ankle, but dared not dirty his Daoist robe. Instead, she trailed timidly behind him and bent to kowtow in supplication, only for an invisible force to lift her upright.

"You've only just recovered from the poison. Don't let yourself get cold."

Luo Fanchen's voice remained calm. He glanced sideways at the girl's helpless, grief-stricken face and, after a moment's thought, said,

"If you insist, let's make a wager."

"A wager?"

Ling Moxue looked up at him, her delicate face drawn and her almond eyes bewildered.

Luo Fanchen bent down and gently wiped the mud from her face with his sleeve. Smiling, he said,

"Yes. We'll wager on whether Ling Qiuyun intends to seize your body."

"If she has no such intention, I lose, and I'll spare her life."

Then his tone shifted. He brushed the back of his hand against the girl's cheek, wiping away a tear. "If she truly means to seize it, you lose."

"I'll take the wager! I will!"

Ling Moxue agreed at once. Luo Fanchen narrowed his eyes and added,

"I won't stop her. If you lose, you'll lose everything, including your body. Will you still take the wager?"

"Yes! I know... Master Luo values my Superior-Grade Spiritual Root. If Qiuyun succeeds, I hope you'll treat her as you've treated me."

Ling Moxue wiped her tears. Her eyes were red, but resolve gradually settled over her face.

Luo Fanchen paused, taken aback. Then he smiled, tapped her lightly on the head with his knuckle, took her hand, and headed down the mountain.

"Very well. I'll grant your wish."

Luo Fanchen shook his head slightly. The wager was no sudden whim, but a solution he had considered for a long time.

If he had truly misjudged Ling Qiuyun, and Moxue could set aside the past and accept her, he would have nothing more to say. He would honor his promise to care for her.

But if Ling Qiuyun was vicious at heart, he would kill her.

Cloudmist City, the County Magistrate's residence.

As dawn broke, the damp air carried the fresh scent of earth. Ling Qiuyun sat quietly in the redwood corridor, her long dark hair spilling to her waist like a waterfall.

Her lovely face had grown thin. Her willow-leaf brows were faintly furrowed, and even the touch of rouge on her lips could not conceal their pallor.

Six of the seven days have passed. Father... probably won't be coming back.

Mist gathered in Ling Qiuyun's beautiful eyes. Her oval face held both relief and grief.

She sat there for a long time. When the sky brightened, she went inside, boiled a pot of spring water, and brewed several cups of her father's favorite spirit tea.

After arranging the teapot and jade cups neatly, she smoothed her skirt and knelt. She slipped a poison pill into her mouth and held it against the base of her tongue.

Before long, a Soul Banner appeared in the distance and drew near.

Ling Moxue's face darkened. She could feel a bond of blood with the Soul Banner. She knew her father was dead, and that she had become its next master.

"I am Ling Qiuyun. Greetings, Uncle Cao."

Luo Fanchen stood outside the door and did not enter at once.

He sent out two Paper Puppets to search the County Office carefully. Only after confirming there was no ambush did he pat Ling Moxue and have her follow behind him.

The courtyard stretched deep within the residence. Luo Fanchen fixed his gaze on Ling Qiuyun, who knelt in the corridor. Only after confirming she was at the Qi Refinement First Layer did he ease his guard a little.

"I've long heard that the County Magistrate's daughter is beautiful. Now that I've seen you, I know the rumors were true."

"You flatter me, Uncle Cao. Please, have some tea."

Ling Qiuyun's expression was composed, her plain-colored dress graceful and proper.

She rose, lowered her eyes, and offered him the fragrant tea. All the while, she watched Ling Moxue from the corner of her eye.

Sister Moxue's hands were bound behind her with golden rope. Bruises marked her wrists and calves. Clearly, she had suffered in Cao Mengde's hands.

Ling Qiuyun pressed her lips together in anger, her heart aching for her.

So Cao Mengde really does see Sister Moxue as material for demonic cultivation, treating her like livestock. She could almost see her sister at a cultivators' black market, stripped of her skin and turned into an ingredient for Foundation-Building Pills.

Ling Qiuyun struggled to keep her expression calm. As she offered the spirit tea with both hands, she secretly reached out to the Soul Banner with a spell and pleaded softly,

"I know why you've come, Uncle Cao. I do have the inheritance Father left behind. It's worth no less than a hundred Spirit Stones. I'm willing to give it to you along with the Soul Banner."

"I killed your father. Don't you want revenge?"

Luo Fanchen scoffed and dragged Ling Qiuyun toward him like a sheep. He looked down at her with naked menace in his eyes.

The fine hairs on Ling Qiuyun's arms rose. Wherever his gaze passed, it felt like a tongue licking her skin. Revulsion filled her.

A chill went through her heart, but she forced herself to remain calm and shook her head.

"Father and I fell into the demonic path and brought ruin to innocent lives. We deserve this fate. You've acted on Heaven's behalf, Uncle Cao. I bear you no grudge."

"But Sister Moxue is innocent. She isn't a cultivator. Please spare her life."

"If you know she's innocent, why were you going to seize her body?"

Contempt showed in Luo Fanchen's eyes. Ling Qiuyun's eyes dimmed. She stammered, unable to say a word, and bit her lip until her teeth left fresh red marks. Then she gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.

"I deserve to die. I'm willing to accept death at your hands and surrender everything Father left me. Please spare the innocent."

"Such devoted sisters? Good. I like sisters."

Luo Fanchen's tone was flippant. He drew the teacup through the air with his True Essence and casually poured it out at his feet.

The fragrant tea trickled over the ground. Poisonous fumes rose in its wake, and tender grass withered.

"Qiuyun, you truly have a gift for demonic cultivation."

Ling Qiuyun's pupils widened slightly. Despair filled her face.

Before she could recover, Luo Fanchen dissolved into wisps of smoke and appeared directly in front of her.

Her lips moved as she tried to crush the pill beneath her tongue, but Luo Fanchen seized her jaw roughly, clamping it so tightly she could not move her mouth.

Expressionless, he forced his fingers between her lips and pulled out the poison pill, slick with saliva.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Ling Qiuyun gasped and covered her chest as she coughed without stopping.

Her face flushed crimson. Only after a long while did her tightly drawn brows relax a little. Crystal-clear moisture glistened against the rouge on her lips, making them look all the more vivid.

"I'm not going to kill you. I came today to fulfill your father Ling Youdao's wish and help you seize a body."

Luo Fanchen studied the damp pill in his hand, then crushed it to powder.

He untied the golden rope binding Ling Moxue, pushed the girl in front of Ling Qiuyun, and tossed each of them a dagger.

"We Demonic Cultivators take what we want for ourselves."

"Qiuyun, you destroyed your clan, endured the agony of exchanging blood, and wracked your brains planning for this day. I trust you won't disappoint me."

Luo Fanchen rested his chin on his hand, seemingly amused by the spectacle. In truth, he was poised to subdue both girls in an instant.

Before him, Ling Qiuyun lowered her eyes without a word. She picked up her dagger first and approached Ling Moxue slowly.

Her face was blank. True Essence flowed into the dagger, making it hum softly.

"Qiuyun... are you really going to seize my body?"

"Tch. Having to live in your body for the rest of my life is disgusting."

Ling Qiuyun clicked her tongue, her eyes icy. She kicked the other dagger to Ling Moxue's feet. "Pick it up."

"Qiuyun... you want my body? I'll give it to you. I'm willing."

"Stop acting pitiful. I said pick up the dagger."

Ling Qiuyun strode forward and thrust her dagger straight at Ling Moxue's brow. Ling Moxue dodged in a panic, tears filling her almond eyes.

Though she was the elder sister, malnutrition had left Ling Moxue at least a head shorter than Ling Qiuyun. She barely reached her younger sister's chest.

"How long are you going to stay so naive?"

Pain swelled in Ling Qiuyun's chest. She panted, yet still felt as though she were suffocating. Her heart ached so badly she could barely hold the dagger.

Despair filled her. If she resisted Cao Mengde, both she and her sister would die. At least... she could protect her sister one last time.

Grief-stricken, her eyes brimming with tears, Ling Qiuyun slashed several times from cunning angles. Bloody cuts opened on Ling Moxue's shoulder, wrist, and lower abdomen.

The wounds looked terrible, but they only broke the skin.

Then Ling Moxue broke down, lost control, and instinctively grasped the dagger.

Only then did relief flicker through Ling Qiuyun's eyes. A faint smile touched her lips, and before her sister could react, she threw herself heartfirst onto the point of the blade.

Even if Cao Mengde sold Sister Moxue later, at least... as long as her sister lived, there was hope.

"Sister... no matter how hard it gets, you must live."

"Qiuyun!"

Ling Moxue's face went deathly pale. She tried to pull the dagger back, but the wound in her wrist sent pain through her hand, slowing her for a moment.

As she watched the blade about to pierce her little sister's heart, Ling Moxue's pupils contracted sharply. Her ears rang, her vision swam, and she could hear nothing at all.

Fortunately, Luo Fanchen had been ready. He caught Ling Qiuyun by the back of the neck and pulled her behind him. At the same time, he caught Ling Moxue's dagger between two fingers and snapped off its tip with ease.

"Uncle Cao... you..."

Panic filled Ling Qiuyun's face. She feared Luo Fanchen would force her to seize her sister's body.

Luo Fanchen's gaze softened. He walked over to Ling Moxue and gently wiped the tears from her face as she sobbed.

"You won."