Reflect Carefully on What You've Done

Vichy's mouth twitched. In the end she couldn't bring herself to damage the Spectre Prophet's dignity, so she turned her head away and gave up. Weise gave Yaxiu a wounded look, but put the bigger picture first. "Yaxiu approves of this plan, so I support it too. Who else is in favor?" Diya and Vichy raised their hands at the same time. Sonia hesitated for a long while, her face full of reluctance. Yaxiu took her hand and laced their fingers together, then murmured at her ear, "You're my favorite Sword Princess. I know you'll be first in progress every single day." "How come I don't feel like I'm your favorite—" A deeply disdainful sound came from inside the tent. "Hmph." Yaxiu said at once, "Vichy!" "Not me!" Vichy said. "It was the Witch!" "Not me!" Diya said. "I heard it was Silver Lantern!" "Not me!" Weise said. "It must be Vichy spreading rumors!" So all three of you were in on it, then! Yaxiu glared at them in exasperation, then turned to Sonia and felt his heart soften again. "If it comes to that, I can sleep outside. Don't listen to them stirring things up. I'm a sorcerer who started out as a death-row convict—if I wasn't locked in a prison, I was on the run with people hunting me. I'm not particular about where I sleep." Sonia lifted her head. She wasn't wearing a ponytail now, of course; her red hair spilled like a waterfall, and the flush from his kiss hadn't yet faded. Her coat hung open naturally, revealing snow-white skin. In the light she looked both sacred and alluring, her charm entirely natural, without the slightest pretense. Every time Yaxiu looked at the Sword Princess, he felt that what lit up the world was the light inside her—light that shone into the softest place in his heart, until everything he heard and saw and felt, everything his eyes touched, began to take on color. "You're not the one who likes me best," she said, tapping him lightly with her fist. "I'm clearly the one who likes you best... You're just taking advantage of the fact that I like you." "You've been wandering and homeless for so long, and you're under a curse besides..." Sonia reached out and pinched Yaxiu's cheek. "You're getting off easy this time." She turned to the others. "I can agree to this plan, but I have one condition." "What condition?" Weise wasn't at all surprised that Sonia had given in. The point of this plan had never been to get the Sword Princess to accept it—it was to get Yaxiu's approval. What Yaxiu cared about most was their progress in sorcery. He would even sacrifice his own emotional needs to keep his distance from them, simply because that way he wouldn't damage the team's healthy training atmosphere... But now everyone had broken the rules, and Yaxiu understood that so-called chastity would ultimately turn into a contest of rule-breaking. A plan that sparked healthy competition among them was naturally going to appeal to him. He also realized that it wasn't only him—everyone was under heavy pressure, and some relief was necessary. A useless cripple who couldn't cultivate couldn't afford to contribute nothing at all; after turning it over in his mind, the only role left to him was being the team's pressure regulator. And besides... after tonight, Yaxiu more or less wanted to loosen his own restraint. "My condition is this: the points the daily first-place winner earns must still have a surplus after canceling out everyone else's points," Sonia said, word by word. "Such confidence?" Weise smiled. "Of course, no problem. I'm sure no one will object to a bigger points pool... Then let's discuss the details now." The operators finally reached a consensus and gathered for friendly negotiations: "Holding hands is definitely not worth 1 point. At the very least it has to include a kiss." "What counts as a kiss? A light one and a deep one shouldn't be the same, right?" "There should be a time limit too, or the Witch will definitely make one time last a whole day." "We could offer several packages—say, ten minutes of intimate interaction, or five minutes of deep kissing." "How many points does 'being the master' cost? And by the way, Vichy, you still haven't answered me!" "That kind of service should cost at least two days'... no, three days' worth of points! You'd need the points from three first-place finishes in a row to unlock it!" "Wait—how do we count it when we're the ones servicing Yaxiu?" "Same. Unless someone takes first place three days running, they don't qualify to provide the service." "And if nobody can..." "Then he'll have to take care of himself!" Sonia looked at Yaxiu. "No objections?" At first, watching them put a price on his behavior like this—treating him like a public facility anyone could use—Yaxiu felt somewhat displeased. But one glare from Sonia and he shook his head at once. "None!" Vichy glanced at the two of them and sighed inwardly. It wasn't simply a matter of one being strong and the other weak: when Sonia was vulnerable, Yaxiu naturally became assertive, and when Sonia was assertive, Yaxiu grew yielding. They weren't a perfect couple, but they always instinctively avoided each other's sharp edges, gently cushioning each other's agitation... Even counting everything Vichy had seen over the past several thousand years, sorcerer couples like them were extremely rare. Sorcerers, after all, were used to independence and found it hard to open their hearts to others. And yet in this one tent there were four lovestruck fools wholly in love with someone else. How can I ever take the Sword Princess's place in Yaxiu's heart— Smack. Everyone froze and looked at Vichy, who had just slapped herself. The Spectre Prophet had struck with considerable force; a red mark stood out clearly on her cheek. "It's nothing. Carry on," Vichy said as if nothing had happened. Then Yaxiu flicked his fingers, and a warm light landed on Vichy's face, swiftly dissolving her pain. For a moment no one reacted—not until Yaxiu's body gave a violent shudder. Sonia hurried to steady him. "Your curse hasn't healed yet, has it? What are you doing?!" "I was feeling much better, so I wanted to try circulating my sorcery power. I didn't expect to actually succeed in invoking a miracle." Yaxiu spoke as lightly as a passing breeze. "It's fine. This proves I'm recovering well." If not for the cold sweat running down his forehead, everyone might really have believed him. Vichy touched her cheek and lowered her head, and no one knew what she was thinking; she took no further part in the discussion afterward. By the time they had put together a detailed set of Points Rules, Diya checked the time. "We have to get up in two hours." "It doesn't matter if you sleep in, does it?" Weise said with a smile. "We've trained so many days—now and then you need a break. Work and rest go together." "Everyone go get some rest," Sonia said. "The new rules take effect at tomorrow's training." "Mm." The operators all answered—and then nobody moved. The girls exchanged looks. Diya asked, "Sword Princess, why aren't you leaving?" "I'm afraid you'll all come back after I leave." Sonia made no effort to hide her suspicion. "You're absolutely capable of it." "True enough." Diya nodded gravely. "Then I'll stay and keep watch. The rest of you go rest." Weise looked straight at Vichy. "Spectre Prophet, you and Yaxiu only have a business relationship, don't you? Now that your transaction is finished, you can leave." Vichy's face went red, then pale, from the jab. She couldn't declare her feelings as bluntly as they did, so she simply said nothing and sat down on the edge of the bed, refusing to budge. They faced off for a while, and everyone's thoughts suddenly went back to that night before the chastity pact began. Yaxiu scratched his head and said crossly, "I need sleep even if you don't. Fine—all of you stay. It's not the first time." A few minutes later, darkness returned to the tent. Yaxiu still slept in the middle, but this time Silver Lantern and the maid lay on either side of him, with the Sword Princess and the Witch on the outside. For one thing, last time it had been the Sword Princess and the Witch on the inside; for another, only the Sword Princess and the Witch had gotten to experience being cooled down earlier. By any measure, this time it was Weise and Vichy's turn to sleep inside. Not long after they lay down, Diya's voice came out of the darkness. "I think..." "No," said Sonia. "I haven't even said it yet!" "Go ahead." "I think it's a bit cramped. Shouldn't Yaxiu get a bigger bed?" "Denied." "Denied." "Denied." Everyone objected; they all knew the only thing limiting the "Witch's Domain" right now was that Yaxiu's bed wasn't big enough. "Tch." After a while, Silver Lantern turned on her side and hugged Yaxiu, and then the maid also rolled onto her side and draped herself over him. By rights Yaxiu shouldn't have been so startled, but with Weise and Vichy—a pair of sworn enemies who ought to be fighting to the death—lying in his arms at the same time, an inexplicable sense of accomplishment welled up in him. And being held by them felt wonderful, as if he had sunk into warm, soft flesh; every inch of his skin could feel the marvelous springy softness— Yaxiu jolted—the Sword Princess had bitten his finger hard. He pinched her nose, and got bitten again. "Speaking of which," Weise said suddenly, "we've drawn up the points rules, but we haven't set up any way to enforce them. If someone tries to exploit a loophole in private again..." "Whoever breaks the rules dies," Sonia said viciously. She had already swallowed her pride and compromised; if anyone still tried to sneak a taste, they couldn't blame her for losing her temper. "The best solution is still to have Yaxiu sleep outside," Weise went on. "That way we can guarantee no one breaks the rules, and when someone redeems a service, everyone can also keep an eye on whether Yaxiu is undermining the market." "Absolutely not!" Yaxiu said at once. "Even the Sword Princess—without enough points, don't expect any free service from me... mm." Sonia released Yaxiu's finger and said crossly, "The only reason I accepted these rules was so he wouldn't have to sleep outside. If he still has to sleep outside, we might as well all practice chastity!" "So there's one more option," Weise said, "one that lets Yaxiu sleep well and lets everyone supervise together." "What option?" Diya asked automatically, but no one answered her, and soon she understood too. The darkness in the tent finally settled into a gentle quiet. ... Two months later. The Sixfold Hell. Yaxiu opened his eyes and looked out at the ocean world of the second layer of Hell. He drew a deep breath. "The air of Hell... actually smells a little better than Senluo." Boom! Although Yaxiu instantly deployed his Sanctuary, the sudden slash still knocked him into the sea. But in a heartbeat he spread his Void Wings and glided low over the surface, the violent air current splitting through wave after wave! Danger! The aura of death pierced through Yaxiu's back; every hair on his body stood on end. He had no time even for a marvel—he could only draw his sword, spin, and block! Clang! Yaxiu was blasted away like a cannonball, skidding across the sea for over a hundred meters and kicking up spray that made it rain over the whole area. He stared at the Dead Frenzy Sword Princess flying toward him and asked, utterly baffled, "Why are you attacking me?!" "You dare ask me?!" Dead Frenzy looked down at him coldly. "If I were you, I'd be reflecting carefully on what you've done these past two months, and atoning for your sins before you die." Yaxiu said hastily, "Wait—everything I did was for their sake—" Dead Frenzy gripped her sword in both hands, her undisguised killing intent spreading over the ocean like a shadow: "Leaving a Veela like you in this world does nothing but drive up the price of food. Die!"