"Are you okay?"

The sulking Mei finally looked up, seeing Xiuying had come.

"I'm fine."

Xiuying patted her on the back.

"Come on, let's go get washed up. Don't you feel uncomfortable like this?"

"Huh?"

"The grime after the breakthrough! You didn't notice?"

Oh. Indeed, there was a thin layer of gunk stuck to her skin. Mei had been too upset and busy complaining to herself to notice.

"But where?"

Xiuying pointed to the gap between a staircase region, where it had been parted to make a passage, a bathroom sign outside.

The bathroom was surprisingly big. There were more than just toilets, small shower rooms had been installed as well. Mei supposed it made sense considering disciples would want to clean up afterwards.

After thanking Xiuying, she excused herself, entering one of the shower rooms.

While the rooms weren't heated, the warm water made for a good refuge. It was unusual, seemingly able to clean even without soap. After just a few seconds under the showerhead, the grime was washed away.

...

She stared at her hand. Her skin was so pale.

She grabbed it with her other hand. It was so soft.

What?!

Immediately, she turned to the mirror, and saw it wasn't just her hand, but her entire body! Previously, from a life of working under the hot sun, her skin was fairly tanned.

She stared at her hands. The calluses were gone. Her hands, they looked like the hands of some noblewoman who had never worked a day in her life.

...

Noooo!

In the past, she took pride in her appearance, looking down on the nobles with fair skin. To her, they were just losers who got everything and didn't have to work in the slightest.

Now she looked exactly like one of them. She stood there silently, not sure what to think. That dumb trope of people turning whiter with every breakthrough turned out to be true...

"Kakaka!"

An oddly familiar laugh came from behind her. Strangely, it didn't echo, despite the contained room.

"You look down on them, yet..."

Mei turned and to her shock, saw an incorporeal old woman in peasant garbs standing behind her! And those features... the old woman looked exactly like her grandma! She quickly grabbed a towel from the side.

"Haven't you been acting just like them? Lazying around all day, barely putting in any work." the old woman put on a twisted grin. "And my! You even ran away, abandoning your potential because you're afraid! Afraid to go back to farming!"

"Gr-granny?" Mei stammered.

"Mei Xiu... hahaha... you still dare to take pride, despite no longer putting in the effort!"

A jolt of shock ran through Mei.

She had no idea why the ghost of her grandma was suddenly haunting her and being so unkindly, but those words struck her just like the lightning did earlier. It was exactly as she said!

"I- uh... I still did do work! Chopping vegetables..."

"Hah, and such sheltered work it is! You're now nothing but a snooty noble! Hahaha! And even the nobles have paperwork to do! You're beneath even them!" granny turned and spit on the ground. "This appearance truly befits you!"

"Pathetic! So Pathetic! Pfft-hahahaha!"

After laughing and shouting "Pathetic!" over and over for a few more moments, the old lady vanished. Mei stood there in a daze.

Was granny really that mad at her? No... back when she was still alive, she was the type who would buy lottery tickets every month. Occasionally, she would even talk about how nice it would be if they could live in a nice big house and never have to work again.

Of course, none of them hit the jackpot. Mei always suspected there were no actual winning tickets, and that winners were just associates who would return the money right after.

But then again, there were also legends that said ghosts weren't the actual person anymore, but their lingering anger?

Mei thought about it for a bit and couldn't make heads or tails of it. Somewhat afraid, she decided to go back to her seat. Hopefully, the ghost wouldn't appear there...

Before she left, she tried to take a look at her back. This time, with the help of the mirror, she could see a jagged scar-like mark. Nasty.

Bang!

At last, a second person had been struck as well. Assuming no one had been struck while she was washing up.

Liu Qiang was collapsed on the ground, shuddering and letting a low sound in pain. Of course, the next person had to be a friend. There was no way she could be happy about that.

"Hey! Hang in there!"

After shouting those words, Yingyi rushed down and helped him up.

Huh... since when was he so considerate? Seeing him console Liu Qiang, Mei couldn't felt but feel a little annoyed. When she got stuck, there wasn't anyone there to help her.

It was weird how Liu Qiang got struck though. He seemed nice enough to her. Did something happen?

About an hour later, the sect master announced he would be beginning the consultation, leaving Li Jie to supervise. For someone who looked like an ordinary disciple, the sect master sure had a lot of trust in him. Could he be his son? Their facial features were nothing alike, however.

Maybe she was just bad with faces.

Likely because of what happened a few days ago, Mei was the first to be called up. During that hour, she tried to use soulsense to contact the sect master but to no avail. Xiuying asked what was wrong, but Mei didn't answer, as there wasn't anything she could do. With all that anxiety festering, she burst into the room.

"Ghost! There was a ghost after me!"

The sect master laughed.

"No time to exchange pleasantries?"

"And she looked exactly like my grandma!"

"Now now, calm down. I believe what you're seeing is not a ghost, but an inner demon!"

"Huh?"

"They manifest in many different ways, but for most people, only once they break into the foundational realm will inner demons truly take form!" the sect master stroked his beard.

"Try your best to ignore your demon, and look for one of the sect counsellors. Inner demons generally speak nonsense, so listening to them will more often than not mislead you."

"She was telling me I was wasting my potential by avoiding horticulture! And that I was being a snob..."

The sect master paused.

"Well, in some cases, they do make good points."

Mei: ...