–
…Darkness.
For a brief moment, Mo Xuan felt nothing.
No pain.
No cold stone beneath her body.
Not even the tearing agony that had pierced through her chest moments ago.
Only a heavy silence.
Then slowly…
Her consciousness began to return.
The first thing she felt was warmth.
"…Warmth?"
The thought surfaced quietly in her mind.
"…That's strange."
Her eyelids trembled slightly.
"…Am I… still alive?"
Very slowly, she opened her eyes.
The first thing that entered her vision was a simple wooden ceiling.
She stared at it in silence.
One second…
Two seconds…
"…Wood?"
Her brows knitted slightly.
"…This isn't the cave."
Her memories suddenly stirred.
Images flashed rapidly through her mind.
The enormous underground lake.
The towering stone pillars.
The glowing crystals.
And the hundreds of Shiao floating in the air like silent stars.
Then—
The translucent spirit that had approached her.
"…The Shiao…"
Her heart tightened slightly.
Then she remembered the next moment.
The spirit entering her body.
The pain.
The pain that had felt as if it tore her very soul apart.
"…Ah…"
"…What happened?"
Her hand moved quickly to her chest.
She pressed against her clothes.
"…The wound…"
Her fingers froze.
No blood.
No tear.
No pain.
Only the steady rhythm of her heartbeat.
Mo Xuan blinked slowly.
"…That's… impossible."
She slowly sat up on the small bed.
The blanket slipped slightly off her shoulders.
The room was quiet.
Strangely quiet.
Her gaze drifted around the room.
A small wooden table stood beside the wall.
An old chair.
A simple shelf with a few books resting on it.
A narrow window allowed a faint gray light to seep inside.
And the sound of rain.
"…Rain."
She turned toward the window.
Raindrops gently tapped against the wooden exterior.
The sound was familiar.
A sound she had heard hundreds of times before.
"…So…"
Her gaze slowly lowered to her hands.
Small.
Thin.
The hands of a child.
"…My body is still the same."
She slowly moved her fingers.
Clenching them slightly.
"…Weak."
She exhaled softly.
"…Alright… let's think."
"…First possibility."
Her inner voice became colder.
"…I died."
"…And this is merely an illusion that appears before death."
"…Is this… the final replay of my life?"
She looked around the room once more.
Everything was clear.
Everything was stable.
Everything… normal.
She shook her head slightly.
"…No."
Her reasoning rejected the idea instantly.
"…Illusions are unstable."
"…But this place…"
Her hand brushed across the blanket.
The fabric felt rough.
Real.
"…Too real."
She fell silent for a moment.
Then her mind continued.
"…Second possibility."
Her brows furrowed deeper.
"…What happened in the cave… never happened at all."
Yet even as the thought appeared—
Her mind rejected it immediately.
"…Impossible."
The memories were far too vivid.
Every detail.
The pressure in the air.
The tearing pain.
"…I remember everything."
"…I remember the Shiao entering my body."
"…I remember the pain."
"…And I remember…"
Her thoughts paused for a brief moment.
"…My death."
Silence filled the room.
Rain continued falling outside the window.
Then suddenly—
A voice came from outside the room.
"Mo Xuan! Are you awake?"
She heard footsteps climbing the stairs.
Her gaze slowly shifted toward the door.
"…Uncle."
Moments later, another voice followed.
"Mo Xuan! Come quickly before the food gets cold!"
Aunt.
Mo Xuan remained silent.
"…Considering what happened…"
"…It is more likely that it was real."
"…But the more important question…"
"…How did I return here after I believed I died?"
"…As if nothing ever happened."
She looked down at her chest again.
Her hand pressed lightly against her heart.
"…However…"
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
"…If that place is real…"
"…Then in the future, I could possess all those Shiao."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…That is a fortune impossible to ignore."
"…And the foundation of that place is extraordinary."
"…If I were to make it my base one day…"
She sank deeper into thought.
Until someone knocked on the door.
"Mo Xuan! Come, we're waiting for you."
Uncle Dong Fang spoke gently.
Mo Xuan wiped the thoughts from her mind.
Then she stood up and walked out.
Five people were sitting at the table.
Dong Fang.
Su Yi.
Li Bing Fang.
Hao Jing Fang.
And finally… Mo Xuan.
Su Yi spoke with a smile.
"The festival was wonderful this year. I even managed to build several relationships outside the clan."
Dong Fang nodded with appreciation.
"Good work, Su Yi."
Then he turned toward Mo Xuan.
"And what about you, Mo Xuan?"
Hao Jing Fang asked calmly.
Mo Xuan replied in a natural tone.
"Honestly… I just enjoyed the atmosphere. I wandered around a bit."
"Hm…"
Then Su Yi suddenly said,
"Mo Xuan, we heard that a girl your age bought Luck Stones. Was that you?"
Mo Xuan paused for a brief moment.
Then she answered calmly.
"No. It wasn't me."
Her tone was calm.
But her eyes carried a faint trace of caution… and cunning.
Dong Fang suddenly laughed.
"Hahaha! Well, that's good."
"Come, let's eat before the food gets cold."
It was obvious he was trying to ease the atmosphere.
Li Bing Fang, however, remained silent.
Simply observing.
After the meal ended—
Mo Xuan returned to her room.
The moment the door closed behind her—
Su Yi spoke with suppressed anger.
"That little brat… does she dare lie to us?"
"Does she think we're fools?"
Dong Fang replied calmly.
"Su Yi… control yourself."
"She's just a child."
"Even if she bought Luck Stones, do you really think she could find a Shiao with that kind of wit?"
He chuckled slightly.
"Don't be ridiculous."
"We are Masters of Shards. We can sense Shiao."
"And they cannot be stored anywhere except deep within the clan or inside special rifts."
"So… don't worry."
Su Yi exhaled softly.
"…Perhaps you're right."
Silence returned to the room.
As for Mo Xuan…
She knew perfectly well that they suspected her.
She had understood it the moment they asked the question.
And yet—
She chose to lie.
After all…
What could they possibly do to her?
Their goal was obvious.
Raise her.
Earn her goodwill.
Make her feel grateful toward them in the future.
But—
Unfortunately…
They had chosen the wrong person.
In her previous life…
Mo Xuan had not merely been a mysterious individual.
Her methods had been utterly demonic.
In her eyes—
The existence of evil was not a mistake.
It was a necessity.
She had grown accustomed to hearing naïve explanations of evil.
Some claimed it was moral weakness.
Others believed evil meant knowing more… and choosing to do worse.
But to her—
The truth was much simpler.
Evil…
Was doing what you believed in.
Even if the entire world called it wrong.
Even if it shattered every foolish tradition and custom.
Without allowing any power to bind you.
Without allowing any being to restrain you.
In her previous life…
She had learned this lesson well.
The moment you did something truly correct—
But something that didn't align with the beliefs of others—
They would condemn you.
Attack you.
Defile your name.
In a cruel world like this…
Evil was not a choice.
It was a necessity.
The strong survive.
And the wise adapt to circumstances.
Mo Xuan had no interest in wasting time pondering:
What is right?
What is wrong?
Or how society chooses to judge her.
The truth was far simpler.
Humans hate demons…
Because demons are stronger than them.
And they fear them…
Because they are unpredictable.
Humans are accustomed to order.
Demons…
Recognize none.
The weak always seek protection from the strong.
But—
Even Mo Xuan…
Had once been weak.
And in this life…
She had become even weaker than before.
Yet despite that—
She could still see her path clearly.
Mo Xuan sat quietly in her room.
Her heart beat steadily.
Then after a moment—
She smiled.
A cold smile.
"…Interesting."
truth…
It was rather interesting.
How amusing it was that humans always hid behind the mask of virtue.
Human nature was never as pure as people liked to pretend.
Even those who walked what they called the "righteous path" did not always perform good deeds out of genuine kindness.
Sometimes they did it for advancement.
Sometimes for reputation.
And sometimes simply so others would call them righteous.
Was that not another form of evil?
Turning kindness into a transaction…
Exchanging virtue for benefit.
And even if a person never actually committed evil,
How many times had a dark thought crossed their mind?
How many times had they imagined doing something immoral…
Even if it remained nothing more than a fleeting thought?
A thought does not simply vanish.
It lingers,
Hidden deep within the human heart.
The only difference between people…
Is that some dare to act on it,
While others merely fear the consequences.
That was why it was not surprising to see geniuses and prodigies walking the demonic path.
Yet at the same time…
You could find just as many among the righteous.
Because intelligence does not belong to any single path.
It is merely a tool.
As for the path itself…
Intelligence is merely a tool, and the path… is not chosen by the mind, but by the heart.
The mind sees dangers, weighs benefits, calculates outcomes… yet it does not grant desire.
The heart, however, is the one that chooses the essence in which the soul wishes to manifest.
And so… good and evil are not merely actions—they are reflections of what the human core truly wishes to be.