Ninety-nine

A strange tingling sensation spread from his fingertips; Fu Tingyun felt as if a tiny heavenly tribulation had detonated within his body, targeting his heart in a way known to no one else.

His entire arm seemed paralyzed, unable to move for a long moment. It wasn't until Su Xiaoyuan pushed his finger away with her tongue, accompanied by a soft, audible "pop," that he finally snapped back to his senses, curling his burning fingertips.

Fu Tingyun stared at the culprit, experiencing the emotion of anger for the very first time.

Yet, Su Xiaoyuan didn't even open her eyes. She licked her lips, seemingly unsatisfied. "More..."

She hadn't addressed him by name, and Fu Tingyun was not about to indulge her. That she had survived such an act was already her stroke of fortune.

He turned to leave, but before he could reach the door, her muffled, sticky voice drifted from behind him: "I'm thirsty, I want water... Could you please pour me a glass of water, Fu Tingyun..."

Reason told Fu Tingyun he should kill her, but after having spent the effort to prepare a pot of stir-fried meat, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, killing her for a glass of water seemed like an overreaction.

Besides, if he killed her now, wouldn't that pot of meat go to waste?

With an expressionless face, he picked up a white porcelain cup with a rounded belly, decorated with pink cat paws. The cup was clean, but he still cast a cleansing spell, then condensed spiritual energy into spring water and poured it into the cup.

When he brought the water to the bedside, the girl had already closed her eyes.

"Water," Fu Tingyun said coldly.

Su Xiaoyuan hummed through her nose to indicate she heard him, but she was far too sleepy and lacked the strength to sit up.

Fu Tingyun had no choice but to support the back of her head and press the rim of the cup firmly against her lips. "Drink."

The pressure made Su Xiaoyuan wince; she frowned and parted her lips. Fu Tingyun poured the water down without hesitation.

Half-asleep and groggy, Su Xiaoyuan was slow to react and couldn't swallow in time, choking and coughing. She didn't even wake up, and once she recovered, she grabbed his sleeve to wipe away the tears and water she had coughed up, then collapsed back onto her pillow to fall into a deep slumber.

Fu Tingyun set the cup down and turned to leave again.

But the moment his hand touched the door, the girl’s dream-like voice sounded once more: "I ate food, but didn't brush my teeth... Fu Tingyun, I want to brush my teeth..."

Fu Tingyun walked over, gripped her jaw to force her mouth open, and cast a cleansing spell inside. "It's clean."

Su Xiaoyuan shook her head, adamant. "You must brush your teeth after eating... Please help me get my toothbrush, Fu Tingyun. Thank you, thank you..."

Fu Tingyun used his last shred of patience to help her brush her teeth, absolutely certain that if she uttered one more command, he would not hesitate to strangle her.

The girl seemed to know when to stop; after rinsing her mouth with his help and wiping her lips on his sleeve, she fell back asleep.

Fu Tingyun stood there, watching her coldly for a while before picking up the quilt he had thrown aside earlier and draping it over her head—her cultivation was so low, no different from a mortal's; if she caught a cold or fell ill, she would surely pester him.

As he crossed the threshold, her familiar murmur followed him: "Fu Tingyun... please wake me up at dawn tomorrow..."

Fu Tingyun rubbed his temples, walked quickly into the courtyard, found a clean stone slab, and sat down cross-legged to regulate his breath.

After a night, the tightness of the puppet body had not eased; if anything, it seemed worse. The discomfort was secondary; if his state of mind were affected, the entity sealed within his dantian would seize the opportunity to wreak havoc.

Fu Tingyun had a secret. Previously, only his master and he knew; after his master fell, he was the only one left in the world who knew—

After the immortal sects united to eradicate the Demon Lord, exile the demon cultivators, and seal the Chaos Realm, the "Chasm of Desire," the source of all demons, had not simply vanished. Instead, it had been transferred into his body.

The Chasm of Desire was the root of all desires in the three realms and the source of chaos. Demons were born from desire; as long as the Chasm existed, a new Demon Lord would inevitably be born from it, bringing a fresh cycle of turmoil. It was like weeds—impossible to eradicate, and utterly tiresome.

Thus, Fu Tingyun had ended it once and for all by sealing the Chasm of Desire within himself. Born without emotion or desire, he was the perfect vessel to suppress it.

For these five years, every time his body or soul was injured, that filthy thing would stir, attempting to drag his soul into the abyss.

Naturally, it was in vain.

But this soul-transfer had gone wrong. For the first time in his life, things had spiraled beyond his control. Just in case, he needed to check.

Fu Tingyun condensed a sliver of his divine sense, dropping like a firefly into the dantian of his soul.

The vast, filthy swamp appeared before him. Within the viscous, murky, foul-smelling black sludge, white limbs constantly churned to the surface, performing various twisted, profane acts. These were the souls the Chasm had devoured over thousands of years, including many great figures who had left glorious records in history books.

They stretched out vine-like arms toward him, trying to drag him in as well.

Fu Tingyun watched these mindless, dehumanized things with cold eyes, his heart entirely unmoved. The Chasm of Desire was within him, yet he was the person furthest from it in the three realms. He would never be manipulated by desire to become that kind of half-beast, filthy, fallen thing.

The seal remained as steady as a rock, unbreakable.

Fu Tingyun withdrew his divine sense and closed his five senses to continue meditating until daybreak.

***

Su Xiaoyuan was pinched awake by the puppet.

Being gripped by the throat in one's sleep was a terrifying feeling. Su Xiaoyuan nearly had a heart attack. "Fu Tingyun, what are you doing?!"

The puppet released her hand in a measured manner and said in an expressionless tone, "It is dawn. I am waking you up."

What kind of hellish wake-up service was this? Was he trying to wake her up or send her off to the afterlife?

"You could have just called out to me," Su Xiaoyuan sighed, helpless.

"I did. You didn't wake up."

Su Xiaoyuan didn't have the energy to argue. She clutched her chest, panting for a long while; her heart was still pounding. By nature, she was good-tempered, and once she calmed down, her anger faded.

A scrapped, recycled second-hand puppet—his intelligence probably wasn't much higher than a robotic vacuum. What could she do? Just make do and teach him slowly.

She rubbed her neck and educated him patiently and seriously. "Fu Tingyun, you cannot suddenly grab people by the throat, understand?"

"Understood." (No sudden grabbing; only grabbing when not sudden.)

Su Xiaoyuan added, "And you cannot do other things that hurt or cause pain to others, Fu Tingyun." She thought for a moment and tacked on, "Unless the other person is a bad guy, or it is to protect yourself."

"Okay," the puppet lowered his long lashes.

"That's a good boy." Su Xiaoyuan offered him some encouragement. That was enough for today; no sense in teaching him too much at once, or he wouldn't be able to process it.

Just then, she caught the scent of stir-fried meat. She remembered dreaming of stir-fried meat the night before. She followed the scent to a large iron pot sitting on the small table by the bed.

Why was there a stray pot in her room?!

Blurry, fragmented memories surfaced. She jumped out of bed and ran over to look—it was indeed a pot of stir-fried meat.

So last night hadn't been a dream? She had really eaten it?

Wait...

"Where did this stir-fried meat come from, Fu Tingyun?" Su Xiaoyuan asked, looking at the puppet in shock. "Did you get it?"

"Yes," Fu Tingyun lifted his chin slightly.

"Where from? You didn't steal it, did you, Fu Tingyun?" Su Xiaoyuan covered her mouth in horror. If a puppet stole something, would the owner go to jail?

Fu Tingyun replied truthfully, "I found it."

"Huh?"

"It fell on the ground. I picked it up."

Had someone bought Li-Li meat and accidentally dropped it? But Li-Li meat was very expensive, and such beautiful pork belly—who would be so careless? Was the meat poisoned or cursed?

But she had eaten it last night and was perfectly fine... She suspected she hadn't woken up yet, or that she had water in her brain. "And what about the pot, Fu Tingyun?"

"Someone gave it to me."

Su Xiaoyuan could tell the pot was brand new. Did someone give it to him just because he was handsome?

"And who cooked the meat?" she asked again.

"I did."

"Why did you cook this..."

"You said you wanted to eat stir-fried Li-Li meat."

Su Xiaoyuan froze. "When did I say that?"

"Before you slept." Fu Tingyun uttered the two words, staring at her face as if trying to bore two holes into it.

Su Xiaoyuan couldn't remember what nonsense she had spewed before sleeping, but the puppet shouldn't be capable of making things up. Besides, she really did crave stir-fried meat.

Just then, Ruan Mianmian’s loud voice rang out from outside: "Short is the spring night, and the sun is high—are you up yet, Xiao Yuanzi?"

Before Su Xiaoyuan could answer, her best friend had already pushed the door open. Seeing the large pot by the window, her eyes lit up. "Stir-fried meat! Why is there stir-fried meat in your room?"

Su Xiaoyuan explained the situation briefly. Ruan Mianmian began casting a spirit-fire spell to reheat the meat, clicking her tongue in wonder.

She slurped a slice of meat, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and nearly cried. "Xiao Yuanzi, you really found a treasure! He gets you whatever you want—he’s more effective than a Bodhisattva. Why don't you ask if he can conjure up a hundred thousand spirit stones so we can be rich overnight?"

Su Xiaoyuan knew she was joking. "That's impossible. He himself..."

In front of the puppet, Su Xiaoyuan didn't mention the twenty spirit stones; it was too insulting to the puppet. She was still a bit uneasy. "I don't know where this meat came from. Is it really okay to just eat it?"

Ruan Mianmian was always carefree and tossed another piece into her mouth. "If someone comes looking for it, at worst, we apologize, pay for the meat, and return the pot." She paused. "We’ve already eaten it; it’s not like they can take back our leftovers."

Su Xiaoyuan nodded and went to wash up. She brought out two sets of bowls and chopsticks, and seeing the puppet on the side, she brought out a set for him as well.

"You cooked the meat yourself, have you tasted it, Fu Tingyun?"

"No."

Su Xiaoyuan handed him the bowl and chopsticks. "You should try it."

The puppet didn't take them, only watching her hands.

"You don't know how to use chopsticks? Even though you can stir-fry meat..." Su Xiaoyuan muttered. She picked up a piece of meat and held it to the puppet’s mouth. "Ah—"

Fu Tingyun had no interest in food, nor had he received any command to eat, but he opened his mouth, as if by instinct, and swallowed the thin slice of meat.

"Want more?" Su Xiaoyuan asked. "Do you like this, or the candy from yesterday? The candy was sweet; this is salty."

Fu Tingyun looked at a certain spot under her eyes, his Adam's apple moving slightly.

Both sweet and salty.

Ruan Mianmian couldn't watch anymore. "You spoil him too much. Eat up, and then we’ll go find that profiteer!"

An hour later, Su Xiaoyuan and Ruan Mianmian were back on the street. Fearing the puppet might turn on them, they hadn't brought him along. But this was completely unnecessary. When they arrived at the puppet store, the entire shop was gone—truly gone, not even the foundation remained. It was a flat patch of ground in the middle of a row of storefronts, standing out like a missing tooth in an otherwise perfect smile.

Ruan Mianmian was stunned and asked the clerk at the shop next door, "What happened to this shop? Where’s the owner?"

The clerk poked his head out. "Oh, you mean Huang He? He took his staff and the shop and ran off in the middle of the night."

"Why did he run?"

"Probably offended some big shot."

The two couldn't get any more information and had to return empty-handed. They were back at the sect by midday. As they reached the gate, the senior sister on duty called out, "Su Xiaoyuan, someone from outside is looking for you."

Su Xiaoyuan and Ruan Mianmian exchanged a confused glance. In the cultivation world, she was an orphan, and everyone she knew was in the Yunyu Sect; how could an outsider be looking for her?

"They're at the External Affairs Hall. Go see for yourself."

They arrived at the hall to find a middle-aged man standing up. He greeted them with an immortal sect salute and looked at Su Xiaoyuan. "Are you Fairy Su Xiaoyuan?"

Su Xiaoyuan, having never seen him before, nodded in confusion. The man produced an exquisitely carved wooden box. "I have been entrusted to deliver something to Fairy Su."

The box was tightly shut, yet it radiated spiritual light. Su Xiaoyuan didn't dare take it. "May I ask what is inside?"

"Fairy Su, please take a look," the man said, sliding the lid open.

A dazzling spiritual light erupted from the box, illuminating the entire room. Su Xiaoyuan looked closely and saw three thin, long jade slips lying side by side.

She had never seen such things, but Ruan Mianmian gasped, whispering in her ear, "These are jade slips worth a hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones each—three of them make three hundred thousand... Who sent this?"

The man smiled enigmatically. "The person who entrusted me with this said that once Fairy Su sees the items, she will naturally know."

Su Xiaoyuan: ???

She didn't know anything at all!