Shen Zhi: “Knowing all that, you still want to keep him?”
Xie Shu quietly watched Zhang Yang, waiting for her reply.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Zhang Yang looked utterly baffled.
Shen Zhi was exasperated.
He was worrying about her, and she was completely unfazed.
“Did you not understand what I just said?”
“My comprehension has always been excellent, and what you said wasn’t complicated. How could I not understand?” Shen Zhi was underestimating her.
Without such excellent comprehension, how could she have cracked the increasingly complicated and obscure boss skills in the game’s instances?
“You understood, and yet you still—”
“But it’s interesting.”
Shen Zhi didn’t understand what she meant by “interesting.”
“Interesting? He’ll drag you down with him, and you call that interesting?”
“The observation samples have said that humans have two great peculiar interests deep down: forcing virtuous women into prostitution, and rescuing women fallen into the sex trade. And he happens to fall somewhere between the two.” Zhang Yang held up two fingers, an unusual hint of a smile on her face.
“Don’t you think winning the absolute loyalty of someone like that would be extremely interesting, and quite a challenge? I think it’s fascinating.”
Shen Zhi was dumbstruck.
Even Xie Shu’s usually placid expression cracked for a moment.
Zhang Yang paid no attention to what the two of them might be imagining.
Her gaze swept over the Mysterious Bloody Person, whose aura had changed ever so slightly, then she turned to Xie Shu and asked her for some good medicinal herbs.
It would be a shame for such an interesting NPC to die of illness; even if they respawned, there was no guarantee they’d be in this same state.
Dusk settled in, and Xie Shu went to the Commandery Yamen to stand night watch.
She had just finished dealing with the documents at hand when a familiar male voice sounded outside, followed by deliberately heavy footsteps.
“Did the young friend from earlier today accept the thank-you gift I sent? Did she say anything?”
Xie Shu’s expression turned cold.
“Did she offend you?”
How could she not know what Shen Zhi had realized right away?
She knew better than anyone, because she had personally witnessed an otherworldly figure, like an immortal banished from heaven, gradually fall from grace under the baleful influence of the stars, sink into depravity, and become unable to pull free.
Then, one time, after briefly satisfying his desire, his mind cleared for a fleeting instant amid his satiation.
He looked back at the debauched room, now a shambles.
The men and women, lost in abandon, writhed together like snakes mating in a den.
For a moment, it was as if lightning had struck him.
His inner world collapsed in an instant.
He drew his sword, cut his own throat, and ended his life.
Whether they clung to a clear mind and restrained their desires, or gave in to those desires and tried to master them, they all ended up dead without exception!
The only difference was how they died.
Yet her lord had delivered such a prisoner into the hands of a young woman he had never met.
Was it a gift, or an attempt to lead her into ruin?
Besides, this prisoner had an unusual past.
The pride buried in his bones was no less than that of the person she had known back then.
Remembering the small bond they had shared, Xie Shu had tacitly allowed the prisoner to take his own life.
But her lord insisted on dragging him back among the living, then sent him away again.
Xie Shu did not want to dwell on the twists and turns behind it.
Her lord bent to refill the oil lamp.
“She hasn’t offended me. We’ve never even met. I just have a feeling she’s not simple.”
“Then why keep her?”
“My instincts tell me she’ll be useful.”
Shen Zhi also suspected Zhang Yang was keeping the mysterious Bloody Person for her own use.
After all, anyone punished by the stars in this way would eventually change, regardless of whether they had started out male or female.
They could become male, female, or neither.
Many powerful men and women loved to keep them, because when ruled by desire, they were extremely obedient.
They could satisfy almost any desire that could be satisfied.
And at the same time, they posed no threat to their owners.
However…
Shen Zhi could hardly imagine Zhang Yang’s face clouded by worldly desire.
Though he hadn’t known Zhang Yang for long, the impression she’d made on him was “naive” and “slow on the uptake.”
How could someone like that harbor such filthy thoughts?
Shen Zhi’s mind churned with confusion.
He didn’t even notice when the Mysterious Bloody Person woke up, not until they asked for water.
“You’re awake?” Shen Zhi grabbed a cushion and helped the Mysterious Bloody Person, who was trying to sit up, lean against it.
“Wait, I’ll get you some water.”
“Where am I?”
The Mysterious Bloody Person’s voice was so hoarse it was frightening.
“A private residence in Tianbian Garrison.”
The Mysterious Bloody Person’s face turned deathly pale.
“I’m not dead?”
“If you want to die now, I can try to buy you some time.” Shen Zhi knew where to draw the line and couldn’t bring himself to feed the other person water, so he could only let the Mysterious Bloody Person cradle the pottery bowl with their tightly wrapped hands and bring it to their lips.
The Mysterious Bloody Person greedily gulped down the slightly bitter water.
“Why am I here?”
“Someone sent you as a gift. Of course, not to me—” Before he could finish, Shen Zhi heard the creak of the door opening.
He raised a hand and pointed.
“To her.”
The Mysterious Bloody Person looked up and met a pair of unfamiliar, almond-shaped eyes.
NPCs might not measure up to players—players could be minced by a Boss’s skill and still respawn on the spot fifteen seconds later, chug a health potion, and have their HP bar filled to the brim in the blink of an eye.
But this man had suffered such grievous injuries, and after a night’s sleep he could already sit up.
“What’s your name?”
“Fan You, courtesy name Shuyan.”
As soon as he said it, Zhang Yang saw the recruitment blurb update in sync, with “Mysterious Bloody Person” replaced by “Fan You, courtesy name Shuyan.” Zhang Yang took a few steps closer, stopping just two paces from the bed.
Fan You’s expression changed abruptly, and a flush appeared on both cheeks.
His pupils contracted sharply.
“Stop!”
His breathing suddenly grew ragged.
He gulped in air, trying to use the coolness to suppress the heat surging through his lungs and entrails, but it barely helped.
Fan You paid no heed to his still-healing injuries and curled up in agony like a river prawn tossed into boiling water.
The words came through gritted teeth: “All of you, get out!”
A while passed.
He heard no footsteps.
But he felt a shadow fall over his head.
Zhang Yang tilted her head and leaned her face toward him, curiously studying his sweat-soaked, contorted features.
“So this is what it looks like when the curse flares up?”
Fan You was still lucid.
When he saw that neither of the two unfamiliar youths had left, he sensed something was wrong.
Gathering all his strength, he rolled toward the bed, trying to reach the sharp blade Shen Zhi had set down nearby.
But before he could get to it, a pair of shoes entered his field of vision.
Their owner crouched slightly, pinched his chin between two fingers, and forced his neck straight, making him raise his head and meet those peach-blossom eyes.
“Want to be set free?”
“Ki-kill me…” His breath, spilling onto the back of Zhang Yang’s hand, was scorching hot.
Fan You was in such agony that sweat poured off him.
His eyes bloodshot, he begged the stranger before him, “Now. Kill me!”
Zhang Yang watched his wretched state without expression, showing neither contempt nor mockery, as if she were merely looking at some utterly ordinary object.
“Shude just said that as your lord, I might have to share your burden. What should I do?”
The bluntness of the remark left Shen Zhi stunned.
Could she really say that right in front of him?
Fan You squeezed his eyes shut and panted, “Don’t even think about it!”
Zhang Yang tilted her head in confusion and looked toward Shen Zhi, her eyes seeming to accuse him of being unreliable.
“Did you get it wrong again?”
Shen Zhi could hardly stop himself from jumping backward.
“What’s that got to do with me?”
His gaze swept over Zhang Yang and Fan You.
Raising an eyebrow, he asked them, “Want me to give you two some space?”
Zhang Yang said coolly, “Your tone isn’t very proper.”
He sounded just like some observation samples who, halfway through talking, would let out a meaningful little snicker, strange excitement dancing in the corners of their eyes and brows.
Shen Zhi wasn’t excited, but the emotion Zhang Yang sensed from him was the same.
The only way to describe it was “improper.”
Shen Zhi: “…”
Only belatedly did he realize he might have misunderstood.
Once it dawned on him, he decided he’d rather have misunderstood after all.
“Don’t go crazy…”
Zhang Yang simply watched Shen Zhi in silence.
He’d seen people who were asking to die, but never anyone as determined to court death as Zhang Yang.
He turned to Fan You and said irritably, “Stop acting like you’re desperate to die. She doesn’t want your body; she wants you to formally make her your Star Lord. You’ve really struck it lucky…”
That was a fair way of putting it.
As long as Fan You could keep his wits about him from now on and not cross the line by letting his body grow accustomed to lust, then even if the influence of the Starfall Curse couldn’t be completely prevented, he’d still be able to live a normal life for a few years.
That was far better than their current situation.
But how difficult it was to hold fast to one’s principles.
Fan You stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded.
“You…”
He felt the heat that had burned from his soul into his internal organs ebb considerably.
His mind, hazy and muddled, was once again under the control of reason.
As his vision focused, he finally saw Zhang Yang clearly and noticed the coldness in those flirtatious, peach-blossom eyes.
He shook his head, forcing himself to stay calm.
With difficulty, he tore his gaze away.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Zhang Yang asked, “Why would it be hurting someone?”
Fan You struggled to sit up, letting his wounds split open and blood seep through.
“The Starfall Curse has now accumulated to two layers in me. With one layer, the effects can still be minimized… but with two, at your age, you’re likely to be easily affected by it…”
Zhang Yang said, “That’s exactly what I want, to be affected.”
Both Shen Zhi and Fan You thought they must have misheard.
Zhang Yang repeated herself.
Yes, she wasn’t messing with them.
One of the reasons she had taken Fan You in was that she wanted to experience “desire,” something she had never felt before and could never naturally feel.
From the moment she awakened to her own consciousness, from the moment the three million foster grandchildren of the opening-day scavenger granny flooded into the little base, she had known that she was nothing but game data.
Her body was made of cold code, unlike the flesh-and-blood bodies of the observation samples in the real world.
The observation samples had said that game developers dial down sensory data when making virtual reality games.
And since this game was designed for all ages and promoted a wholesome, harmonious gaming environment, content reserved for players-only-30-and-over channels was completely banned.
She couldn’t see what was forbidden.
Boss skills could already rip players apart and reduce them to a bloody pulp.
If something that gruesome could be shown, what was there to be so wholesome about?
The observation samples covered their faces in despair.
No sexy stuff.
Certain parts of players’ bodies weren’t allowed to touch each other.
And without the game technology to support it, no matter how wild a player’s imagination got, their in-game character’s body wouldn’t respond at all.
Zhang Yang naturally needed to understand every aspect of humanity if she wanted to pass as human.
But as an NPC made of data, she was also constrained by the game’s wholesome atmosphere.
She couldn’t engage in anything sexy, couldn’t feel those kinds of emotions, and had no desire.
So she was curious.
The empathic experience brought on by the Starfall Curse on Fan You could perfectly bypass the game’s mechanics.
“Let me feel your desire.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Fan You and Shen Zhi’s faces twisted in unison for a moment.
They knew perfectly well Zhang Yang meant something different from what they understood, but no matter how they heard it, it sounded wrong.
Fan You still hadn’t moved, and Zhang Yang’s already limited patience was rapidly running out.
She was just about to pull out the gold brick and give him a warning when Fan You forced out a drop of heart’s blood, gritting his teeth against the pain.
He trembled all over.
Mustering his strength, he said, “Don’t regret this.”
Zhang Yang was about to ask what she should do when the system log sprang into action, asking whether she would accept the drop of blood.
Naturally, she chose to accept.
The blood drifted toward the space between her brows.
The moment it touched her skin, it was absorbed completely.
At the same time, Zhang Yang sensed an unfamiliar, faint, trembling presence in her spiritual sea.
Perhaps because of this presence, Fan You looked much more agreeable to her now, and she stuffed the half-drawn gold brick back away.
Shen Zhi couldn’t stop her.
He asked petulantly, “How does it feel?”
Zhang Yang blurted out, “What? Has it started already?”
Shen Zhi: “…”
He noticed that Fan You’s flushed cheeks returned to their normal color after only a few breaths.
His mind was clear, and he looked nothing like someone who had just been driven almost to the point of a painful breakdown by the Starfall’s curse…
Shen Zhi asked uncertainly, “Is… is it over?”
Fan You: “…”
Meeting two pairs of youthful eyes filled with shock, he was at a loss for words for a moment.
In the end, he closed his eyes in despair, as if giving up entirely.
“Don’t say anything. And don’t ask me.”
He knew best what it felt like when the Starfall Curse took hold.
That urge to fall into depravity and sink into ruin, strong enough to drive even the soul mad, could torment anyone into insanity.
When the Starfall’s curse was only at its first level, he could still use reason to suppress the impulse.
When it reached the second level, he had also just lost a battle and become a prisoner.
Even smashing his legs with stones from his cell and then breaking both his hands could only suppress it for a while through sheer physical agony.
The intervals between episodes grew shorter, and each episode lasted longer.
He knew then that he was probably finished.
If he wanted to cling to life, he had to give in and submit.
If he didn’t, he could take his own life.
There was no third option.
But this time, the episode had ended far too quickly.
It happened so quickly he didn’t even have time to react.
Seeing this, Shen Zhi realized Fan You had made it through.
There was no doubt what had done it.
He stared at Zhang Yang as if she were some kind of monster and blurted out, “Are you the Heart-Cleansing Incantation come to life?”
Fan You: “…”
With all due respect, the Heart-Cleansing Incantation wasn’t that effective.
He was just about to thank Zhang Yang when he saw her gaze fixed on him, dark and suspicious, as if she were looking at a con artist who’d swindled her.
“What happened to all that desire you promised?”
“That’s all you want?”
“You were ready to kill yourself over this? What a wimp.”
Fan You: “…”
He didn’t know why she called him a wimp, but he was pretty sure she didn’t mean a vegetable.
Zhang Yang hit him with another question before he could get a word in.
“When’s the next time?”
This wasn’t what she’d been sold.
What a fraud!
Fan You: “…”
Shen Zhi was too stunned to even gape anymore.
He just felt mortified.
When Fan You didn’t answer, Zhang Yang pressed him for an answer.
All he could do was say, “This isn’t something anyone can control…”
Strands of black hair clung to his face.
His handsome, refined features were damp with sweat that hadn’t yet dried.
As the flush of desire faded, his original sickly pallor showed through, making him look utterly pitiful.
At that moment, he was like a respectable young woman cornered with nowhere left to run, while Zhang Yang was the bully.