“Wow. I didn’t know he had it in him,” said Yuying.

“It is indeed unexpected,” replied Hei as he extended his scroll to read a further section.

“So.”

“So?”

“Roughly how long would you say it’ll take to complete the second design for these communication jades?”

“A few days. Why?”

“I’ll be going home soon.”

“Back to the middle continent?”

“Mm. And after I leave, we won’t be able to speak for a while. Are you going to be okay without me?”

“… I think I’ll manage.”

“Oh! That’s right. You said you were going to go back to your homeworld, right?”

“I did.”

“That means you’ll be passing through the middle continent.”

“Most likely.”

“Good!” Yuying clapped her hands and smiled. “Then when you come, I’ll have a gift for you.”

“What kind of gift?”

“That would be spoiling the surprise.”

“If you’re in the mood for giving gifts, then I would be grateful if you compiled a list of the standing factions and included their respective strengths and associations. A map of the continent with marked territories would also be helpful. As would a list of notable figures and their respective cultivation levels. If you wanted to go the extra mile, you could scout viable locations for establishing an organisation. Think of resource availability and proximity to other factions. An out-of-the-way location rich with resources would be ideal, but I understand that those areas tend to be quite dangerous. You can ignore that as a factor. It is of little concern.”

“…”

“Is it too much to ask?”

“My hands will be tied running our business. I don’t know how much time I’ll be able to allocate to that.”

“Any amount will be appreciated. I already have a contact from the middle continent, so I can get a general idea of the place, but information on current events will be lacking.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

“You have my thanks.”

“If you really want to show your appreciation, then when you complete the design, come visit me. My father wants to meet you.”

“Your father? Why?”

“I’m not sure, but I would imagine it's to thank you for the cultivation technique you gave me. He said he’s been waiting for you for a long time.”

“Did you show it to him?”

“He wanted to see it, but I didn’t let him. I respected your wishes.” “But he was there when I broke through to the externalisation realm.”

“I see.”

“So, will you come?”

“I will.”

“Great! I’ll go tell him the good news.”

‘That explains a few things,’ Hei thought as he rolled up his scroll and popped it into his sleeve. ‘What choice will this father of hers make?’

He looked around and saw that the situation with the Zhu Clan had been resolved for the most part. It seemed their apology had been accepted.

“As I said earlier, you’re all free to go.” He stopped and waited until he had their attention. “There are several avenues of support available for those of you who need it. First, for those of you who have been wronged by the Zhu Clan, I’m sure they’re willing to escort you home as part of their compensation.”

He turned to the Zhu Clan who nodded their heads, then back to the others.

“Second, for those women who have nowhere else to go, you’re welcome to seek refuge at the Radiant Jade Sect. You have no obligation to join the sect as registered members, however, that is also an option.”

He turned to Matriarch Radiant Jade, who nodded her head.

“In this case, Matriarch Radiant Jade will personally escort you there. You’ll be safe with her.”

Hei could see that there was unease among the people. There were even a few who showed hostility to the matriarch.

“What is it?”

There were a lot of exchanged glances before one young lady spoke.

“No offence, but… the Radiant Jade Sect doesn’t seem like a safe place. I heard girls have been disappearing from there for a long time.”

“Mm. A disproportionate number of us seem to have come from there.”

“I was a disciple of the sect, and I don’t want to go back. I don’t trust them anymore after what the did to me.”

“And those nine girls you showed us. Their families are here. They can’t be in a good situation either. They’re all members of the sect aren’t they?”

“Mm. One of them is my daughter. I trusted Matriarch Radiant Jade to protect her, but look what happened. I’m just glad she’s okay.”

“Really, for all we know, this Matriarch Radiant Jade could just be trying to do some damage control by showing her face here.”

There was silence as everyone turned their gazes to the matriarch. She had her head down and her eyes closed as she clutched her robe with both hands.

Just as she was about to step forward to answer, her disciple spoke for her.

“You may not know this given Matriarch Radiant Jade’s current appearance, but she is also one of you. A victim of the Crimson Moon Sect and the Zhu Clan. Mere moments ago, she was bound in chains and locked away in a cell.”

There were shocked exclamations all around. No one would have expected the powerful leader of the Radiant Jade Sect had been through the same things as them.

“Allow me to enlighten you on the story behind the Radiant Jade Sect.” “You may already be aware that the sect was founded by women who were the victims of demonic cultivators, but few know that those demonic cultivators went on to found a sect of their own. A second-grade demonic sect known as the Crimson Moon Sect.”

There was silence as the people listened to Hei’s story.

“The Crimson Moon Sect wasn’t always of the second-grade. It was once just a third-grade sect of average strength. Nothing worth mentioning. But those founders had planned for their ascension from the very beginning. Even among the founding members of the Radiant Jade Sect, there were those who were secretly cooperating with the Crimson Moon.”

“Why would they do such a thing?” Asked Matriarch Radiant Jade. She was hearing these things for the first time. She had her suspicions, but she never thought it would have started all the way back at the founding of the sect.

“The tragedy that triggered the establishment of the Radiant Jade Sect wasn’t solely the responsibility of the sect leader at the time. When he found his demonic cultivation technique, he also found one for his wife, who was an elder at the time. Together they conceived a scheme that would affect the Radiant Jade Sect for hundreds of years to come.”

Matriarch Radiant Jade clenched her fists but otherwise didn’t respond, so Hei resumed in his narration.

“As do most, demonic cultivators also need resources, and establishing a supply chain was one of the first things the husband and wife pair tackled. Their solution: they would grow the necessary cultivation resources themselves.” “As the husband’s technique was fuelled by fear, they worked to cultivate a fear of men within the disciples, increasing their potency as cultivation resources. This was easily achieved by making use of the vast quantity of personal testimonies available to reinforce their doctrine.” “Generation after generation, they’d been maintaining this state. The Crimson Moon had been creating victims, who sought shelter at the Radiant Jade, where they were trained to become strong and had their fear of men reinforced before they were again captured by the Crimson Moon, who used them to increase their strength even further. At the same time, the Radiant Jade had been gaining strength and a reputation as a place where women could feel safe, but that played right into the Crimson Moon’s hands, allowing them to advance in strength.” “To keep a firm grasp on the situation, the Crimson Moon sent its daughters to infiltrate the Radiant Jade, taking up positions of authority. They’ve been slowly increasing their power, and in this generation, they finally managed to capture the sect leader, leaving the position open for one of their own.”

“You can’t mean…”

Matriarch Radiant Jade didn’t want to believe her own suspicions. She dearly hoped that it wasn’t so.

However.

“The vice sect leader is a daughter of the Crimson Moon. She is preparing for her inauguration as we speak.” Hei transferred the information he had on the vice sect leader, both what he had gathered from the Zhu Clan member he had interrogated and also what he had gleaned after looking through some of the information held within the Crimson Moon Sect itself.

As the matriarch went through the information in her mind, her hands started to tremble. She thought of the woman who looked as though she had lost everything as she collapsed in front of the sect gates carrying her younger sister on her back. The woman who had helped her raise her daughter into the wonderful young lady she was now. The woman she had chosen to be her vice sect leader.

‘The times we shared. Were they all a lie?’

She couldn’t believe it. But the evidence was staring her right in the face.

‘How could this…’

Her thoughts were interrupted by Hei’s words.

“After hearing all of this, do any of you still blame Matriarch Radiant Jade for being unable to protect her disciples?”

He waited for a response, but there was none.

“The truth of the matter is, Matriarch Radiant Jade inherited a sect that was already on the brink of becoming nothing more than a human farm. It is unreasonable to expect her to have been able to fend off the forces which were acting against her. But through her genuine care for her disciples and her attentive leadership, the sect was able to thrive for a while longer. Even with her absence, they maintained their unity and were able to resist the Crimson Moon’s influence for this long.” “Ultimately, it was her sense that something was wrong that led me to you all. She is the reason you have all been freed.”

Hei extended his arm out to the matriarch.

“Matriarch Radiant Jade’s biggest mistake was to trust those who were unworthy.” “Now that she knows the truth, and with the Crimson Moon Sect out of the way, she will truly be able to mould the Radiant Jade Sect into what it was always meant to be. A place where women can live in peace.”

He turned to the people.

“Are you unwilling to go there?”

There was no response, so Hei continued.

“Your third option also leads to the Radiant Jade Sect, but I will escort you personally. You can rest assured that it will be a safe place by the time you get there.”

Before he could even finish, all those who had been in his storage space before immediately leapt forward.

The others wondered what all of the fuss was about. One of them walked up to a young lady who was trying to push her way in from the back. She reached out to poke her arm, but then she heard the young lady’s exclamations.

“That bread will be mine! I’ll eat anyone who gets in my way!”

“Uh…”

Similar shouts could be heard after that, and even after that young lady had managed to pass a few people, she soon popped back out of the crowd.

It was complete pandemonium in the back of the crowd, but oddly enough, there wasn’t a single person near the masked one. It was as if he had set up a force field around himself, but that wasn’t the case. They seemed to have some kind of tacit agreement to keep the fighting among themselves.

“Jeez. What’s in that bread?”

Everyone was wondering the same thing, but none of them was brave enough to join this dance with death.

After a moment, a sea of black flames appeared which engulfed the crazed bread fanatics. As the flames crawled up their bodies, the expected screams of anguish were nowhere to be found. Instead, there were exclamations of excitement.

To those who had yet to experience being transported into Hei’s storage space, it was extremely bizarre.

After the flames died down, the women were nowhere to be seen.

“Anyone else?”

When Hei asked that, everyone took a step back.

“Very well.” In truth, Hei was relieved that the others didn’t want in. His storage space was already nearing its limits.

“The fourth option is limited to the friends and family of these nine.” He projected the images of those nine disciples once more. “I will take you to them.”

The parties involved stepped forward.

“Wait… You aren’t going to-”

Before the sentence could be completed, the group found themselves in another place.

When their eyes adjusted to the brighter light provided by the night pearls, they were greeted by the vicious glares of a hundred beasts, all with bread in their mouths. They could even hear their threatening growls.

Their hands shot up into the air as they retreated, but they soon found themselves in separate spaces where they wouldn’t be mauled to death.

One family observed that there was a basket of bread in their space and, letting curiosity get the better of her, the wife was foolish enough to try a piece.

At that moment, she decided to disown her husband and daughter.