If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

In the darkness, the stone slabs in front of the pavilion still retained some warmth. Zhou Yang sat there, the hilt of his knife slightly damp.

Footsteps approached from afar, a soft, continuous sound.

He looked up and saw that it was the saintess. Her white robes no longer shimmered, but were instead covered with night dew.

"You're back." His smile was forced.

She stopped by the door, holding an old roll of sheepskin in her hands.

"I brought a letter," she said, handing it over.

He took it and opened it.

It has a brand on it, with a diagonal cross stamped on it.

"Tenrikyo?"

She nodded, her voice much lower.

"They've arrived in the county seat."

"What are you doing here?"

She did not answer immediately.

Have you seen that picture?

As she spoke, she spread the sheepskin out on the table.

The drawing depicted a tower surrounded by tiny figures. He pointed to one spot and asked, "This pool of blood?"

"That's an altar."

"What does the altar need?"

"Living beings."

Her gaze darted back and forth in the shadows cast by the flames.

"The royal princess wrote to me personally, saying that she was welcoming the celestial realm."

"The Immortal Realm?"

"The Upper Realm".

She paused and looked at him.

"They are not here to protect people."

"They've come to reap the rewards."

She rolled up the sheepskin and held it in her palm.

"The cultivators from the upper realm exuded a golden aura that made it hard to breathe. Every night, pillars of light would fall from the sky like luminous arrows. Everyone knelt. The royal family provided them with blood, and the earth's veins offered them sacrifices."

"With so much blood, how many lifespans would you need?"

"enough."

"So what do we need to do?"

"acting."

She spoke very softly.

"What they want is food. They want living people. They want the souls of Anyang County."

"Listen," she continued, "when the Holy Land was in trouble, they rushed over immediately. The Heavenly Principle Sect's actions were extremely precise. The royal blood sacrifice was just a cover. The real target was to welcome a Celestial Envoy."

Zhou Yang closed his eyes.

"That celestial messenger?"

"He never truly appeared. He only cast his shadow at night. Each time it fell, those around him convulsed. The pills those captives swallowed by the altar would make them tremble in the sunlight, but they would live longer. The immortal was the one who gained immortality. We were the ones who suffered."

"so."

She raised her hand and pointed at him.

"We need to make them believe that you can't absorb them all, so you have to use more people. Make them offer up the people of Anyang County, the royal family, and everyone we can see."

"You want me to act as a conduit."

"You're the only one who could withstand that light without being swallowed up. Only you know the truth about the half-corpse hostage."

Her eyes shone as she said this.

"Do you know that not a single drop of passion in your body belongs to you? The power you extracted from the corpses of the Heavenly Principle Cult was something they picked up. What you inherited from those corpses was merely a damaged spark. The real ability to absorb it in reverse is due to the cracks in your body, which make you half-human, half-corpse."

"I know."

He looked at her.

"Scientifically speaking, it's a bloodline mutation."

"Destiny".

She uttered the word softly.

"They want to enter the upper realm, not for the gods. They want to eat us."

"So what do we do?"

She didn't look at him.

"You act like a selfish egoist. Make them believe you'll be drained dry. Make them sacrifice Anyang County."

"and then?"

"When the celestial envoy appears, you will absorb it in reverse."

"In the opposite direction."

"The corpse poison within you acts like a reflector to that light. You can absorb the power they desire and then tear that celestial envoy to shreds."

"You desire the power of the higher realms?"

She bit her lip.

"What I want is freedom. I've fallen into their net, and the deeper I go, the more certain it is to end. You can fight back. You can suppress the higher realms. Then, we won't need to be anyone's pawns anymore."

Zhou Yang remained silent.

"To be able to survive."

She nodded.

"No, it's about living a more enjoyable life."

He turned to look into the distance. The lights at the execution ground were also lit.

Why would you believe me?

You have no reason not to believe it.

She moved her lips slightly and smiled.

"You are both alive and dead. As long as you live, they can drain you dry. What you have to do is not struggle, but swallow it."

"Swallow it?"

"Eat them."

She pointed to the courtyard.

Will the people here cooperate?

"As long as I'm here, they will. What you can't do, I will do."

He remembered the talisman on the table.

"You want me to be a vessel for sacrifice."

"I didn't mean that."

She swallowed her words, then whispered, "I mean, put on a show. Follow their rules. When the celestial messenger appears, take him back. The Heavenly Principle Sect and the royal family are afraid of you. Because they know that once you've absorbed their resources, you won't need them anymore."

"They will be afraid."

"Fear leads to chaos."

A breeze rose behind her.

"What we need to do is make them fall into chaos even faster."

Does anyone know?

She shook her head.

"Besides you, there's only me. We have no other choice. Only you can turn this gamble around."

He looked out the window again.

A low chanting came from the altar.

"I want to hear the truth from you."

"I don't want to be a sacrifice anymore."

"Then let them think that you are."

Her voice was tinged with laughter, and the candlelight flickered as she blew it.

"What you need is to survive, and to live longer."

"Living longer," he repeated, "is your bottom line, and it's mine too."

He reached up and touched his chest, where the black flames were still burning.

"Are you still planning to lie to them?"

"We must put on a spectacular performance."

She stood up.

"You don't need to do anything."

"Then what should I do?"

"wait."

She looked at him.

"Once that celestial messenger passes through your body, he will never return."

She took a few steps outside, then turned back.

Someone is waiting for you.

"Who?"

She paused.

"The fate of Anyang Prefecture."

She walked away again.

Zhou Yang watched her disappear into the darkness, the hilt of the knife in his hand growing cold.

He tilted his head back and swallowed the last breath of the night wind.

The wind carries the crisp sound of morning dew.