Su Jiao watched the hut in front of her silently. Elder Tang stood a step in front of her, knocking at the door of the hut gently.

A few seconds passed silently. Then, the door was opened, a person peeking out.

Black hair, black eyes, slightly pale skin, not particularly handsome. Truly, if Su Jiao had not known what this man would do beforehand, she would have thought he was an ordinary disciple. One with some talent, enough to perhaps reach the core ring of the sect if he tried all his life, but nothing more.

But now, knowing exactly what he’d end up doing, Su Jiao felt both rage and fear fill her heart when she looked at him.

Zhao Ying blinked, looking at them both with confusion. Once he processed just who’d visited him, he bowed hurriedly. “G-greetings, Elder, Senior Core Disciple.”

The color of their robes must have given it away, Su Jiao concluded, feeling a vicious sense of satisfaction when she looked at the mild panic filling his expression. Then again, perhaps it was intentional on Zhao Ying’s part. Act panicked and respectful, just like any outer ring disciple would.

“Greetings, disciple,” Elder Tang replied, a smile on his face. “Do not worry, I have come to talk about something with you. Can we enter?”

Zhao Ying looked back into his hut and then looked at Elder Tang. “I-into my hut?”

“Yeah, Junior,” Su Jiao said, a soft smile on her face. “Just for a bit, for privacy.”

Zhao Ying looked at her, his eyes wide, but then nodded. With a lot more composure than she expected, he stepped inside and welcomed them, brushing off his mattress and gesturing for them to sit on it.

“I’m sorry, I have nothing but my mattress—”

“It’s fine, disciple. Relax,” Elder Tang soothed.

Su Jiao could feel that the elder was beginning to like Zhao Ying. Su Jiao wasn’t particularly worried, however. The second she’d seen the plain wooden ring on Zhao Ying’s right index finger, she knew he was done for today.

The elder sat on the mattress, but Su Jiao continued standing. Zhao Ying looked at her, his expression sheepish. “I truly am sorry, I would’ve made wooden stools if I knew an elder and a core disciple would be visiting.”

Su Jiao smiled at him. “It’s fine, Junior. Don’t sweat it.” She turned to the elder and he met her gaze.

Elder Tang cleared his throat. “So, Zhao Ying.”

Zhao Ying turned towards him.

“Remove your ring.” Elder Tang’s expression turned severe, his mask of geniality fully falling off. Even Su Jiao was surprised by his sudden change.

Zhao Ying blinked. “My ring?”

The elder stood up, his expression stormy. “I am unable to remove your ring with my Qi. That is an artifact, the thing you are wearing. But why? How? How does an outer ring disciple like you have an artifact?” Qi swirled around the elder, subtle but dangerous.

The demon heir paused, his expression turning carefully blank. Then, within just a second, he turned sad. Pensive. “Ah, my ring. Is that why you’re here to visit me, elder…? Because it is an artifact?” His calm yet melancholic reply caught the elder off guard, making his surrounding qi disappear completely.

“This is an artifact passed down in my family, elder…” Zhao Ying muttered, looking down at the floor. “My father gave it to me before he was killed by a rival clan. I took everything I could and fled back then, and as the years passed and the locations I took shelter in changed, I lost everything but this ring. I don’t really know what this ring does, but you claim it is an artifact… I…”

Zhao Ying looked up, pain clearly visible on his face. “I cannot give you this ring, elder. Please, I beg you… Please let me keep it. I do not know what it’s worth, but… It is the only memory I have of my family. Please.”

Su Jiao felt herself gasp, her breath hitching.

This…

This bastard!

She turned towards Elder Tang, only to see the elder slightly wide eyed.

A bad feeling welled up in her gut, so she intervened, “R-remove your ring just once. We are not here to take it from you. It is just to verify something. Remove it and then wear it again.”

Zhao Ying seemed like he would outright sob now. “Senior, do you think I do not see what is happening here? The elder was unable to r-remove my ring with qi, so you want me to remove my ring myself? So that the elder can snatch it, then?” Zhao Ying stepped back, looking at them with an alert and panicked gaze.

Su Jiao felt herself gulp when she saw a tear roll down his eyes. No wonder this man was able to infiltrate the sect’s very core. His acting… His acting skills were beyond phenomenal.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Even Su Jiao felt a pang of doubt as to whether Zhao Ying was truly the demon heir…

Perhaps he was replaced by the demon heir at some point in the future…? The ring was perhaps truly an artifact passed down in his family, and it had attracted the attention of the demons?

Elder Tang stepped forward, his actions a lot more gentle all of a sudden. “You misunderstand, disciple. There—” He looked towards Su Jiao, seemingly coming to a decision. “—has been a false alarm. Someone tipped us off that you are a demon, hiding in the sect as an outer ring disciple. That ring—” He gestured towards the ring. “—is an artifact, something that could potentially hide a demon’s qi and aura. I have no intention of taking anything away from you.”

The elder paused for just a second. Then he decisively declared, stretching his palm out, “I swear on my honor as an elder, that if this turns out to be a misunderstanding, I shall personally see that you enter the inner ring as my personal apology.”

Su Jiao nodded, going along with what the elder was saying instinctively. “I am a personal disciple of the Sect Leader herself. I promise you, I am someone who believes honor to be a core quality of mine. Elder Tang is one of the kindest elders of the sect, someone who greatly upholds justice, and like me, honor. Please, believe us. Remove the ring just once.”

Elder Tang looked at her, his eyebrows raised. He nodded, seemingly appreciating her praise. “What Disciple Su said is true. Believe us, disciple.”

Zhao Ying looked at Elder Tang, then at Su Jiao, his expression still filled with hesitation and anxiety.

“Do you perhaps wish for me to swear on my Qi core—” Su Jiao began, and this seemed to be what tipped Zhao Ying over.

“For fuck’s sake,” Zhao Ying swore under his breath.

Before Elder Tang or Su Jiao could process what was happening, Zhao Ying removed his ring and grasped onto it in his palm, burning it into ashes with dark Qi. Elder Tang summoned his qi into his hands, ready to attack Zhao Ying, when they felt it.

Zhao Ying’s core snapped. Instantly, he was able to snap his core without taking even a second to redirect his Qi.

Elder Tang’s eyes widened as he leaped at Su Jiao, using his own Qi to form a barrier.

The hut exploded.

—

Yao Zhong screamed in silent agony as his soul fled, temporarily bodiless, trying to find a suitable host. It had to be a child, someone far, far away from the Heaven Abiding Sect. He scanned the ground, his soul screaming for him to give up, to give in to the natural cycle of reincarnation and to close his eyes and rest.

But he could not.

No, he could not give in. He was the sole heir of the demon race, the most talented member of the younger generation. The one who was most likely to reach the peak of the Void Exploring Realm. True, he had lost all that potential and talent with his body.

The body he’d chosen to self detonate, but…

He could not give up.

He had to at least tell the elders about what had happened… Assist the demon race as much as he could, even if he was useless now. Surely he could help the elders in some way.

The elders would not forsake him. They would not. Yao Zhong trusted them. They had sent him here. They had believed in him, and yes, Yao Zhong had failed them, but surely, surely they would not forsake him since he’d become useless.

Right as the chaos barreling through his mind began chipping away at his willpower, however, he spotted a village. A peaceful village, a sparse few people roaming around outside as they went about their daily tasks.

Yao Zhong’s focus was immediately captured by a young kid, a kid who looked to be about ten years old. Yao Zhong shot at the kid, burning the kid’s soul immediately before taking control of the body.

The pain he’d experienced faded considerably. He fell to the ground, the soft grass brushing his face as he panted from trying to adapt to the new body he’d taken. Yao Zhong wiped away the blood dripping from his eyes and nose, examining the body he’d possessed.

It was a subpar one. A rather useless, pathetic human body. There was not a hint of Qi within it…

But it was healthy.

He could burn the body, as long as it meant that he could gather enough demonic qi to reach out to the elders.

—

“You were right,” Elder Tang whispered, almost reverently, as he looked at her. “We must alert the other elders immediately. We must conduct a sectwide check on the off chance that there are more demons.”

Su Jiao nodded, feeling dizzy as she looked around.

Outer ring disciples had initially gathered to check what the commotion was, but they swiftly dispersed once they saw it was an elder and a core disciple who’d caused the mayhem.

“Then again,” the elder stated, looking at the sky, “perhaps there is no need to alert them. The burst of demonic energy would have alerted all of the elders and some of the core disciples already. They will come here.” The elder turned towards her, his gaze turning into one of concern. “Are you okay?”

Su Jiao nodded, looking down at herself. “I am fine, thanks to you elder.”

Elder Tang nodded, pausing for a few seconds as he looked at her. Then, he sighed. “You were indeed telling the truth.” He smiled. “Thank you for approaching me about this. Clearly, the demon who self detonated was a talented bastard, both in terms of acting and cultivating. I can imagine the chaos he could cause if he was able to burrow deeper into our sect.”

Su Jiao nodded, realization sinking into her.

She’d done it. She’d changed the future.

Elder Tang seemed to be caught very off guard when Su Jiao burst into tears.

—

“S-sister!” a young voice called out to Yao Zhong. Yao Zhong turned around, forcing the nausea and dizziness down as he stared at the kid.

It was a boy, a black haired, gray eyed boy A… five year old boy? Four years old? Somewhere around there. The boy looked at Yao Zhong with shining eyes and a bright smile, both which faded as soon as he took in Yao Zhong’s pale appearance and blood stained face.

“A-are—” He was about to yell, making Yao Zhong jump to shut him up. His hand clamped over the boy’s mouth.

“Be quiet,” he ordered, and the kid nodded.

Yao Zhong removed his hand, and the boy whispered, “A-are you okay, sister? S-should I go call mom?”

Yao Zhong stared at the kid blankly, a curious expression on his face. Then, a smile bloomed on his face… Well, on the face of the young girl he was possessing.

The reason was simple. He’d found just what he needed. Why burn the body he was possessing when he had a young, full of life, naive blood relative to use?