In the Clinic...
Up on the ceiling, a short human figure was suspended, wearing a cloak. He had white hair and a wrinkled face covered in blue and red bruises that made his features look pitiful. It was Old Woman Chu... excuse me... Old Man Chu, hanging from the clinic's ceiling after being beaten to the point of tears.
Ni Ni Layan adjusted her clothes once more, placing her palm against her forehead as she gazed at the cursed scene before her. For the first time in her life as a Phoenix, she felt a throbbing headache from this unsettling sight.
She had been trying to prove that her celestial allure could overcome any disability—as if the universe itself had decided to mock her. Old Woman Chu had become Old Man Chu again... and Morse had become useless.
What about Dual Cultivation? But why was she even thinking about that now? She had destroyed this young man; her actions were what ruined him, and yet, she was thinking about Dual Cultivation instead of his healing. Wasn't that the height of insolence?
Why did she always think of her own interest first? Unbeknownst to her, a Heart Demon began to take shape within her, fueled by her mounting guilt.
"Don't worry, Morse... I won't leave you. I will find a way to heal you."
She tried to lessen the guilt in her heart, trying to feel, at least, that she wasn't entirely to blame.
"No..."
Morse spoke, his face cast down toward the floor. In a sudden movement, he grabbed the old man's scalpel and was about to stab himself to commit suicide.
"Wait! What do you think you're doing?!"
At the very last second, she managed to catch his hand before he could strike.
"What now? You don't want me to die? Come on, let me die! I've become useless to you now. Eventually, you'll abandon me anyway. You are vile to the core; all you want is to gain power faster by exploiting me. I don't want this life... even if I were healed, I don't want to be drained by you."
He said this feeling utterly destroyed. He was at the lowest point of his life since his mother's death. He had thought he could restrain the Phoenix; he thought he could change her and save himself in the end. But his fate was worse. He felt that the death he once feared was now more merciful.
"But Morse... wait... you promised me you would make me the Ruler of the Ninth World."
Morse began to cry, laughing at the sheer irony.
"Ruler of the Ninth World? Ni Ni Layan... do you truly believe, with all your mind, that you are worthy of even being a handmaid? You are a lustful woman to the core. All your thoughts are consumed by it. Even if you become the strongest, you will still be that same lustful woman who built her power on sleeping with men. Even after I die, you'll just find another man to bed. That is your identity—not the search for power, but the fastest route to obtain it."
Ni Ni Layan's guilt intensified. How could this be? She was once a Ruler of the Upper World, a most dignified woman... yet now, she was being belittled by a mere mortal man.
But she felt he was right, which only fed her guilt and caused the Heart Demon within her to grow.
"But I protected you and tried to help you! If you hadn't been so stubborn all the time... things would have been better. Why the hell do you refuse Dual Cultivation?!"
Morse seemed to go mad; he laughed hysterically, staring into her eyes as he pushed the scalpel against her grip with even greater force.
"Ni Ni Layan... if I had one reason to abstain from lust before, now there are two. If I agreed to Dual Cultivation with you, I would eventually be nothing but a puppet and a tool for you to get stronger. Not a human, but a mere tool!"
But I did see you as a human... Her guilt surged; the Heart Demon grew even larger.
"No... impossible... I was kind, wasn't I? It was only you... you who kept resisting!"
"Damn you! I don't want to hear your pathetic hesitation! Are you hesitating to give up your tool? Don't worry... you won't change. You will never feel satisfied. I was a fool... even with me, you won't get any further than you did in your previous life!"
[A Heart Demon has formed within the host's body. Cultivation meridians will be sealed, and the host will be locked at Stage 7 of True Qi Cultivation. The host cannot progress further until the Heart Demon is exorcised.]
Yes, she deserved this. Nothing could erase the guilt she felt; she realized just how selfish she had been. She had destroyed everything.
"Wait... don't kill yourself!"
She didn't know if she was doing this out of genuine guilt or simply to get rid of the Heart Demon.
"I know... I know, Morse... You just... you don't understand. I thought you were my partner... my companion, right? If you truly saw me as that... why... why did you give me the Meridians?"
She was desperate to believe he didn't hate her entirely. Surely, he understood her. Surely, he was just a little sad.
"Damn the Meridians, and damn you, and damn everything that made me know you! Go sleep with your Meridians in hell... just let me die!"
She couldn't take it anymore. Everything was falling apart. Why couldn't she just say what was truly in her heart?
"I want everything..."
What the hell is this cursed woman saying?
"I want everything! I want you... your energy... your Meridians... the points you provide... the rapid power you grant me was exactly what I was looking for. Morse... just... tell me what you want. I will achieve it for you, without a doubt!"
Morse laughed sarcastically, looking at her.
"Death... if you truly want to know what I desire, then all my problems would be solved by your death."
She didn't know what to do...
"What now? Are you hesitating? I knew you were..."
Suddenly, Ni Ni Layan dropped to her knees. She knelt for the first time in an eternity.
"I am ready to die. You can kill me."
The scalpel was in his hand, and she was before him, kneeling. He could kill her now, rid himself of all his troubles, and live the rest of his life in peace. She was truly ready to die at his hands. But after what? After she made me a eunuch...
He was about to strike... But suddenly, Old Man Chu, still hanging from the ceiling and watching this dramatic spectacle, spoke up:
"Master Morse... these side effects are only temporary for you. You didn't give me time to finish! I was going to tell you that this effect is due to your unique Yang energy, the likes of which I have never seen in my life. This will only last for two weeks."
After the old man finished, Ni Ni Layan took the "metaphorical" stage again:
"In this life, my goal was power and nothing else. I thought my purpose was to enjoy life through sex... but I found myself back on the path to power through you. I was ready to sacrifice everything for power, even my life. For the first time, I will say it... I see my future through you."
What? No... why am I hesitating now? No!
"If you want me to die, then kill me... because I cannot change who I am."
"Make me love you."
"What...?"
He said it without a shred of hesitation.
"If you truly cannot change... then make me love you as you are. Because Dao Companions are the best for practicing Dual Cultivation."
At that time, things were incredibly complex. Morse didn't know why he had said that. Was he a masochist who enjoyed torturing himself through her?
Or was it simply that, a week after that incident, he found himself on the path to the gates of the Xuan family. On his back, the Phoenix—in her teenage form—was sleeping peacefully, her breath soft against his shoulder as they approached the gates.
It had taken a long time to reclaim the jewelry and the spiritual sword that Ni Ni Layan had sold. Those items were, after all, gifts from his mother. They had spent a great deal of time retrieving them all, and during that period, Ni Ni Layan never rested, nor did she falter even once.
Finally, Morse bought new clothes and now stood before the gates of his family home.
"Stop right there! Identify yourself. This is private property of the Xuan family... Wait, hold on... are my eyes seeing this correctly?"
"No way... it's really him. It was said he died! They even held a funeral for him and claimed they found his body... How is this possible?"
Morse listened, feeling nervous as sweat beaded on his forehead while he stood before the gate.
"Hello, guys. Could one of you open the gate for me?"
No one spoke; they stood there in utter shock.
"Morse... zzz... Morse... do you love me yet...?"
Ni Ni Layan mumbled this in her sleep, delirious as she rested her head on his shoulder.