Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Choice

With Bai Meng Lian leading, the five of them slipped onto a narrow path that cut away from the main road.

The fog stayed thick, but the Devil Creatures lunging at them vanished. The silence became sharper in their ears.

Bai Meng Xing, unable to keep quiet even now, asked loudly, “Elder Sister, how did you know there’s a path here? Even I didn’t know.”

Bai Meng Lian’s expression flickered with embarrassment. After a moment, she answered carefully, “Years ago, Father asked Great-Uncle to explain some Dao Arts basics to me. That’s when we found it.”

Bai Meng Xing blinked. “Great-Uncle even taught you Dao Arts? Why didn’t he teach us?”

Bai Meng Jin rolled her eyes hard enough it hurt.

She and Bai Meng Lian were both unusually sharp. Even Third Sister and Second Brother weren’t hopeless. So how had Bai Meng Xing turned out like this, as if all the brains in the family had been scooped out and distributed to the girls?

Bai Meng Lian gave a vague hum and didn’t elaborate.

Yue Yun Qiao shot Huo Chong Xiao a look—half amused, half bitter.

So even blood relatives played their petty games. Families weren’t any cleaner than sects.

Huo Chong Xiao’s mouth twitched. “Whether in a sect or a clan,” he murmured, “people support each other… and compete.”

Bai Meng Lian stopped.

They emerged beneath an outcropping of rock. The Withered Leaf Cottage lay beyond it, hidden in the fog like a swallowed secret.

Above, under the moonlight, devil qi condensed overhead into a dome—an inverted bowl sealing the entire area.

Huo Chong Xiao sucked in a breath. “He’s condensing a Devil Heart.”

“Senior Brother?” Yue Yun Qiao asked, eyes wide. “What does that mean?”

Huo Chong Xiao’s voice was heavy. “Just as a sword cultivator must form a Sword Heart, a devil cultivator must form a Devil Heart.

“At Core Formation, a spell cultivator forms a Golden Core. A sword cultivator forms a Sword Heart. A devil cultivator forms a Devil Heart.”

Yue Yun Qiao’s face drained. “Senior Brother Bai was originally a spell cultivator. He wants to turn his Golden Core into a Devil Heart.”

Huo Chong Xiao nodded slowly. “Correct.”

Yue Yun Qiao gasped. “Wouldn’t that mean shattering his core?”

“It would,” Huo Chong Xiao said quietly. “Senior Brother Bai is ruthless.”

“Wait.” Bai Meng Lian cut in sharply, voice trembling. “What are you talking about? Great-Uncle is switching to the Devil Path?”

Huo Chong Xiao glanced at Bai Meng Jin, asking without words.

Bai Meng Jin sighed. “Elder Sister, this is only what we’ve inferred so far. We don’t know why Great-Uncle is doing this. Maybe he was misled by a Devil Creature.”

Bai Meng Lian’s face went paper-white. Great-Uncle had taught her when she was young. Her feelings for him ran deeper than the others’.

“I don’t believe it,” she whispered. “How could Great-Uncle do something like this? Is he using the entire Bai Family as his stepping stone?”

“We don’t believe it either!” Bai Meng Xing shouted, desperation making him loud. “That’s why we came. If Great-Uncle is really doing this, we can’t just sit by and do nothing!”

Bai Meng Jin leaned in, voice like a knife sliding under cloth. “Elder Sister, you still haven’t seen Uncle and Aunt, right? They’re gone too. We suspect they might already be in the Withered Leaf Cottage.”

Bai Meng Lian’s breathing hitched. Then her eyes hardened. “I need to see for myself. Maybe Great-Uncle has been possessed. Maybe he needs help.”

Bai Meng Jin nodded once. “If Great-Uncle is in trouble, we’ll do everything we can to help.”

Bai Meng Lian steadied herself and turned to Huo Chong Xiao. “What do we do? Can we stop the corruption?”

Huo Chong Xiao thought quickly. “Condensing a Devil Heart isn’t easy. During the process, he has to endure corrosion from devil qi.

“That’s our chance. When he shatters his core, we interrupt.”

He was about to say more when the dome above flickered.

A thick strand of black qi reached out from inside, and a slow voice drifted through the fog like a sigh.

“Since you’re here, why not greet your elder? This isn’t good manners.”

Before anyone could react, the black qi swept over them.

Even Huo Chong Xiao didn’t have time to raise his sword.

Their bodies went light. The world spun.

Darkness—then sudden brightness.

They slammed to the ground, breath punched from their lungs.

When they looked up, they were already inside the Withered Leaf Cottage.

Bai Meng Xing wailed, rubbing his backside. The others rose into guarded stances, eyes sweeping.

Lantern light burned throughout the courtyard. The closer their gaze drifted toward the small house, the denser the devil qi became.

Then Bai Meng Lian saw something and went rigid.

“Father… Mother… Third Sister…”

The others followed her gaze.

Beneath the Yellow Springs Tree, Bai clan members stood in tight circles, each facing inward with their backs outward, arranged neatly like wooden puppets.

It was grotesque. Wrong. Too orderly to be human.

Bai Meng Jin’s eyes lifted.

The Yin-Yang Umbrella, once hanging beneath the Yellow Springs Tree, now spun in midair above it—turning on its own, faster and faster.

“Dad!” Bai Meng Xing screamed. “My dad is here—and Mom!”

He lurched forward, but Huo Chong Xiao caught him by the collar.

“Don’t move,” Huo Chong Xiao said, voice hard. “Look at the ground.”

They looked down.

Fine grooves had been carved into the earth. Bright red blood flowed through them, forming a massive array that pulsed like a living thing.

Yue Yun Qiao’s voice broke. “What is this?”

Bai Meng Jin answered softly, each word weighed. “Blood of close kin.

“Great-Uncle is using the entire Bai Family as a sacrifice to complete a heterodox art.”

Bai Meng Lian’s knees nearly gave. Tears streamed down her face. “Father… Mother… are they beyond saving?”

Huo Chong Xiao fell silent.

The truth was cruelty with no disguise. Even if a few could be saved, their minds would be torn. They would be shells.

“Great-Uncle!” Bai Meng Lian cried toward the house. “Why? Isn’t the Bai Family your Bai Family? You’re the Bai Family’s head!”

The house remained silent.

No answer.

Only her sobs and the wet sound of blood flowing.

Light footsteps approached through the fog.

Guan Mo Wen appeared—refined, calm, as if he were arriving for tea.

“Greetings, young masters and misses,” he said, saluting politely. He smiled without warmth. “Patron intended to leave a few seeds behind for the Bai Family. But things didn’t go as planned, and you ended up seeing this.

“Even now, Patron still remembers blood ties. He wishes to offer you a choice.”

He pointed at Huo Chong Xiao and Yue Yun Qiao.

“These two are disciples of the Cinnabar Cloud Palace. Their souls are clean. Their power is pure. If we use them as the sacrifice, Patron can safely pass this stage.

“After that, Great-Uncle will still be Great-Uncle. You will still be you.”

His smile deepened.

“But if you don’t care about family bonds… then Patron will have no choice but…”

He paused, letting the silence bite.

“So,” Guan Mo Wen asked softly, “what will you choose?”