Yao Zhong bit his nails as he sat in the ritual room, thinking through what Elder Tao Liang had said obsessively.

There was a spy amidst them. A spy within their very own elders.

Every fiber of Yao Zhong’s being refused that conclusion. There was no way, no way in hell that there was a spy amidst them. Amidst their elders. He trusted the elders with his life. He trusted the demon cultivators in general with his very soul. There was no way any of them would betray them for measly humans.

Unless… Unless they had something like the ring too. Unless, the spy wasn’t a demon in the first place, simply a human pretending to be a demon.

Yao Zhong bit onto his entire finger, panicked enough that he could have very well bit to the bone, when two of the Four Prime Elders returned, their gazes solemn. Elder Kong Xing was carrying a corpse on his shoulder. It was the corpse of a male demon, unharmed and donning a peaceful expression. He had black hair, small horns, and was of an average build, somewhat thin and weak.

“This was the youngest corpse we could find being buried right now,” Elder Xie Qing stated. “It seems he had a disease, but our Qi should nullify it once you take his body. It will take time for us to find someone with a decent enough talent for you to take over.”

Yao Zhong nodded, mustering as much gratefulness as he could into his tone. “Thank you, elders.”

Kong Xing sighed. “It is fine, Disciple Yao. Clearly we are at fault for your mission failing… You should not thank us. If anything, we should be apologizing to you.”

Yao Zhong didn’t quite know what to say to that. So, he simply nodded.

—

Ivy tilted her head as she took in the landscape in front of her. They were in a forest. They certainly were in a forest. Except, the trees were black and the grass was… purple.

James looked less confused than her. He seemed like he couldn’t care less, really. At best, he seemed mildly interested.

“So…” Ivy muttered, looking around. “What do we do?”

“Well.” James turned towards her, smiling. “We can explore. Or we can go play a game.”

Ivy pondered deeply. In the end, the answer was simple. “Let’s go play a game.”

She wasn’t quite in the mood of exploration, especially not this creepy, weird forest. She didn’t like creepy stuff.

James rolled his eyes at her, his smile increasing in size. “I thought you said I’d wasted my time in the previous world and you’d totally explore the new one as soon as you got down?”

“I only said you wasted your time. Didn’t say anything about exploring as soon as I got down. We have ten decades to explore. We’ll do it later.”

James nodded good naturedly. “Alright. Whatever you say, dear sister.”

—

Yao Zhong lay in his bed, his eyes clouded. His new body felt a lot better than his old one. Perhaps because he had not abused and battered it yet. His emotions, too, had calmed down to a certain extent. Or perhaps the sheer shock he was feeling at the idea that there could be a traitor amidst the elders was enough to numb all his other emotions down.

He let out a trembling breath. The elders had told him to go take a walk if he needed, to take some fresh air in and perhaps meditate amidst the trees for a bit, clear his mind out. The fact they had suggested something like that relieved him immensely – it meant the elders were sure he’d not made any mistake.

They believed in him, trusted him, trusted it was not his fault, and even if he’d now become useless and would not attract their attention much in the future, they had no intention of harming him.

The more the minutes ticked by, the more the idea of going on a walk sounded appealing. True, he could not scale large distances due to no longer having Qi, but the idea of simply mindlessly walking, out of the sect formation and beyond the surrounding demon villages and simply into the wildlife sounded… appealing.

If the elders needed anything, they could find him within an instant, anyway.

—

Kong Xing stared at the elders. All of them had gathered within the inner hall at short notice, abandoning their seclusions and tasks as soon as they, the Prime Elders, had called for them.

No matter how Kong Xing thought about it, no matter how many times he ran his gaze through the elders, he could not believe it. There was no way one of these people, these elders, was a spy. Perhaps Elder Tao Liang was simply being too paranoid…

Indeed, the situation was inexplicable. They trusted their heir and his skills, and there was no way he could have been caught because of a slip up he made…

However, that did not mean it had to be a traitor… The world was a wide, surprising place. It was possible that something beyond their comprehension had happened. Or perhaps they were missing something, some abilities that the Heaven Abiding Sect had possessed, abilities they did not know about or underestimated, abilities which gave away their heir.

Kong Xing turned towards Elder Tao Liang. The Elder still looked determined, but clearly, he too was not completely confident. Otherwise he would have already announced why they’d summoned the elders and not hesitated for so long.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Elder Tao Liang turned towards Kong Xing, meeting his gaze. Kong Xing used his Qi to talk to the elder directly.

It is unlikely there is a traitor, Kong Xing said.

Elder Tao Liang didn’t respond for a few seconds. Then, he stated, I… agree. But we must check. We cannot let our bias blind us. The only way a human could have snuck in and tricked us is with an artifact, yes? There would be no other way to disguise his Qi.

Kong Xing paused, pondering. Then we get them to remove their artifacts.

Only a second later, Elder Tao Liang announced, “We have something to check. Please, can you remove any and all artifacts temporarily and display your Qi.”

The elders looked at each other, clearly disgruntled, but a Prime Elder was, at the end of the day, a Prime Elder. It took them a few seconds of silence before they obediently removed any and all artifacts, some even having to strip down since their robes were artifacts. Then, they released a wisp of their Qi…

All of them possessed demonic Qi.

Kong Xing bit his lip. There was no human amidst them. On the off chance that it was indeed a spy who caused their heir to fail… That’d mean a demon was working voluntarily with the humans. But why? What would an elder, a being of great repute within the United Demons Sect, ever gain by doing so?

Love, perhaps…?

Was one of the younger elders in love with a human? But any kids they would have would die, and why would an elder be stupid enough to trust a human and fall in love with her?

I’ll disperse them for now, Elder Tao Liang’s voice broke his train of thoughts.

Kong Xing nodded. No point holding the elders here for longer when they had practically no leads, nothing but suspicion and paranoia to act upon.

—

Yao Zhong let out a small sigh as he looked back. He didn’t know how long it had been, but before he knew it, he’d already left the sect, crossed the outskirts of the Outer Demon Cultivators, crossed the villages, and was now near a forest.

For a second, he pondered whether he turned back. But then he looked at the forest. It looked quite dense. He thought about sitting in the middle of it and meditating, perhaps even trying to cultivate and gather Qi. It’d be useful to have some Qi, no matter how short of a while he possessed this body for. All of it sounded appealing.

Well, it wasn’t like he was needed back at the sect right now. He might as well.

—

Representative James, a customer is approaching the shop. Get ready.

Ivy stared at the notice, her eyes shining. “Can I watch you deal with the customer?”

James blinked, tilting his head. “Well, sure, but your current appearance is a bit too normal to be one of the owners of a shop that deals with souls—”

“I’ll change my appearance too,” Ivy interrupted decisively, making James nod.

“That works.”

Representative James, manager Ivy, the customer this time is part of the ‘demonic’ race. It is advisable for you to make your eyes fully red, along with black horns. The larger the horns, the better.

—

Yao Zhong stared at the building in front of him, his heart beating loudly. He had walked deeper and deeper into the forest without knowing, and before he knew it, he was standing in this… ancient building.

There were no cracks that spread across its walls, and the door looked rather sturdy, no traces of wear, but Yao Zhong could feel it.

This building was ancient.

And it had most certainly attracted him here.

He gulped, looking around. A building in the middle of the forest, one that lured demons to it…

That did not sound good.

Usually, it was the demons doing something like this to humans, stationing themselves near human villages and settlements. But some of the wilder, stronger demons did it to fellow weak demons, too, attracting them and using them for various purposes.

He knew that. Yao Zhong knew exactly what this was, but yet, his heart urged him to go inside. That terrified Yao Zhong, since it was clear that whoever this demon was, he was very powerful… Mastering the delicate Dao of the Mind was not an easy task.

Yao Zhong stood there, the two sides of his mind battling it out. Sweat dripped down his forehead into his clothes as he stood there, and finally, after seemingly an eternity, he gave in.

He walked forward and opened the door. The interiors of the building were the exact same as the exteriors. Even the floor was the same pale, uncracked and blotchless black. The only thing that was present within the room he entered was a desk—a desk behind which two demons sat.

They both had strong, sturdy horns, even bigger than those of Elder Kong Xing. It was enough to make Yao Zhong’s eyes go wide. These demons were clearly just as strong, if not stronger than the Prime Elders. Then again, if their horns were just illusions…

Even then, it meant that they were at least as strong as an elder, to be able to use the Dao of the Mind so well.

That fact made a chill crawl down Yao Zhong’s spine. He looked to the floor instinctively, gulping.

“Welcome, customer,” the male demon greeted, leaning forward, a large smile spreading across his face. It was a menacing smile, a smile that made his eyes curve. “What brings you to the shop?”

“G-greetings Elder.” Yao Zhong bowed. Perhaps… Perhaps if he was polite and told them he was part of the United Demons Sect… He’d undoubtedly have to explain the entire situation to make them believe that he was actually a heir candidate of the United Demons Sect, not some Outer Demon, or he was destined for a lot of pain before an inevitable death.

But that…

He couldn’t tell them everything. He couldn’t reveal the soul shifting technique, nor could he reveal what had happened. Yao Zhong let out a trembling breath. Then today, he would experience hell for a bit, wouldn’t he? No matter what ritual or sacrifice they were gathering demons for, all of them would tear his body asunder.

At least, if he survived he could tell the elders about this building and these cultivators. Perhaps the elders could negotiate and recruit them?

Indeed, if that could happen, then he’d have paid his sins towards the United Demons Sect somewhat. The pain he was going to experience would be worth it.

“Yao Zhong. Look up,” the female demon gently ordered, making Yao Zhong blink.

He felt another shiver travel down his spine at the realization that the female demon—these two demons—knew his name. How did they know his name? How did they know him, and even if they did know him, how did they know that he was possessing this body?

“Relax, Yao Zhong,” the male demon cooed, gently, lovingly. “There is no need to panic. You have stumbled upon an opportunity that can change your very life. An opportunity that can rewrite your fate itself. You have stumbled upon the shop.”

The male demon stood up, his smile turning crooked as he tilted his head ever so slightly. “The shop tells me…” he muttered as he began stepping forward, crossing the desk and approaching him. Slowly, languidly, like the very world was in the demon’s control. “...that your desire is to redeem yourself. To help your… sect.”

The male demon grasped onto his shoulders, his smile growing in size as he guided Yao Zhong to the chair in front of the desk. Pushing him down gently, the male demon made him sit. Then the male demon leaned forward, his mouth directly next to Yao Zhong’s ear.

“Tell me, Yao Zhong. What does redemption mean for you?”