Chapter 81

"I didn't! I..." Yun Chi instinctively began to defend herself—a reflex etched into her very bones, a self-protective mechanism that made her deny everything, whether or not she'd actually done it.

Lin Yu didn't respond. She finished brushing the dust from her robes, then settled into an even more relaxed posture, slouching shamelessly as she nearly leaned back against the offering table behind her. She continued watching Yun Chi with that same careless expression.

Seeing Lin Yu so nonchalant—with no intention of interrogating her or confronting her with her secret—as if she were merely making casual conversation and didn't care how she answered, Yun Chi's taut nerves finally loosened.

Yun Chi hesitated before speaking. "The cushion isn't for sitting on, and you can't turn your back to the deity's statue. That's great disrespect."

"Oh." Lin Yu replied casually, reaching out to grab Yun Chi's wrist. Caught off guard, Yun Chi was tugged downward, and before she knew it, she was seated beside Lin Yu on the cushion.

Lin Yu looked at Yun Chi with utmost sincerity, and Yun Chi's heart suddenly quickened. Only then did she realize how presumptuous her lecturing Lin Yu about disrespecting the deity had been—she had just said something far more irreverent herself, so she had no right to criticize Lin Yu.

She had been a priestess for so many years that etiquette and rules had been carved into her very marrow. The one time she finally overstepped, she'd been caught red-handed.

When she'd seen who it was, Yun Chi had briefly reverted to her usual masked demeanor, but Lin Yu had shattered it within moments.

Yun Chi gave up the struggle. "You heard everything?"

"Heard it, and even answered," Lin Yu said carelessly. "Wanting the Crimson God dead is perfectly normal—I want him dead too."

Hearing this, Yun Chi pressed her lips together. Lin Yu's response was so unexpected that she didn't know how to face her. But Lin Yu only glanced at her reddened eyes, then reached up, grabbed a piece of offering from the high altar, and stuffed it into Yun Chi's mouth.

Yun Chi, whose mouth had just been abruptly stuffed just as she was about to speak: "?"

The tears that had been about to spill from Yun Chi's eyes were choked back. She didn't know what she was eating, but anything that could be placed on the altar during the Spring Sacrifice was bound to be a rare spiritual herb that others would kill for. Previously, Yun Chi had only known these things were precious, but now she inexplicably savored a different flavor.

Lin Yu only spoke after she finished eating. "What are you crying for? You've already killed him. If you do nothing now, didn't the High Priestess die for nothing?"

"You saw everything?" Yun Chi had killed for the first time, and her victim was her master of six years. By the rules, she deserved death, so she couldn't help but feel guilty.

She raised her head to look at the statue above, then at the two of them sitting on the cushion, eating the gods' offerings. She felt she deserved death even more.

A person committing a bad deed alone doesn't feel much, but being caught in the act changes everything. Yun Chi's conscience was heavy, and shame washed over her.

Just moments ago, she had been resolved to trample the High Priestess to rise, to cease worshipping the Crimson God. But now she retreated again.

"Nope," Lin Yu said carelessly.

Yun Chi was stunned again. "Then you said..."

Lin Yu grabbed another offering from the table. "Oh, I guessed. I figured you'd make a move—the timing today was too perfect. Not taking advantage of it would've been a waste."

When Lin Yu had slipped into Bushou Hall and heard the Xianzun say the High Priestess was also missing, she'd guessed Yun Chi had made her move. She wasn't surprised; in fact, she thought it would've been more unreasonable for Yun Chi not to kill him.

But killing only requires a moment of impulse. The fear and lingering dread afterward, the crushing guilt—those were the real trouble. Yun Chi was sensitive and had been suppressed for so long, so Lin Yu had guessed she'd go to the temple to beg the gods for forgiveness.

What Lin Yu hadn't expected was that Yun Chi would start by asking the Crimson God to die. That exceeded her expectations.

But after that burst of bold words, Yun Chi reverted to her usual timid self, and Lin Yu felt a sense of frustration at her lack of backbone.

Lin Yu had long noticed that Yun Chi was a repressed person—not by nature, but by the world. Her true disposition was lively and unrestrained, but because of her position, she couldn't be herself. Years of not daring to speak up, of constant negation, had made her increasingly timid.

After entering Heaven's Mandate Tower, Lin Yu had seen Yun Chi a few times. The first time was at the grand ceremony where Lin Yu was installed as the Divine Maiden.

At the time, Yun Chi had been composed and elegant, assisting the High Priestess in leading the ritual. She had been quiet and reserved, saying nothing, her face completely expressionless. She seemed calm, but her fingers had been tightly gripping her skirt, and her cheeks were tense, as if she were clenching her jaw.

Lin Yu had looked at her a few more times. Just as the ritual was ending and the worshippers were about to disperse, Yun Chi made a mistake, and the High Priestess dragged her away and scolded her on the spot, showing no mercy.

There were many spectators, and they all merely stood by watching without moving, occasionally low laughter drifting over. Yun Chi kept her head bowed very, very low.

At the time, Lin Yu had been puzzled. Given the usual hierarchy in Heaven's Mandate Tower, Yun Chi ranked just below the High Priestess, and a priestess held a far higher status than the disciples. How could random people, even menial disciples, dare to openly mock Yun Chi?

But Lin Yu had things to do then, so she only glanced back at Yun Chi briefly. As coincidence would have it, Yun Chi looked up at her at that exact moment, and their eyes met. There seemed to be a glimmer of moisture in Yun Chi's eyes.

Lin Yu later discovered that although Yun Chi was called the High Priestess's successor, the High Priestess had never actually trained her. After five or six years as a priestess, Yun Chi still made mistakes during rituals. Whenever she did, the High Priestess would berate her on the spot, leaving her no face at all.

Yun Chi went through this cycle of suppression in every ritual. Sometimes, when the High Priestess just glanced back at her, she would tremble with fear, dreading another round of verbal torture. Fear had become second nature to her.

Lin Yu later saw Yun Chi a few more times, always meditating under an old tree with a thick stack of ancient ritual texts before her. The books were old, their text yellowed and faded—clearly not from Heaven's Mandate Tower, but found by Yun Chi from elsewhere.

Lin Yu had read a few of them herself. Like all the ancient texts she'd read, they were obscure and nearly incomprehensible.

How could anyone learn from such texts by themselves? How could she not make mistakes?

Eventually, the High Priestess, using Yun Chi's constant mistakes as an excuse, tried to persuade the Xianzun to kill Yun Chi. That night, Yun Chi had quietly left her quarters and gone to sit by the altar for a long time—the same day Lin Yu was planning to enter the underworld. They'd met halfway up the mountain.

The High Priestess didn't want a fragile woman to inherit his position. He wanted Yun Chi dead; once she was, he could reasonably find another priestess to be his disciple.

Yun Chi had realized this as well. That night, their already strained teacher-disciple relationship fully transformed into enmity. Yun Chi bore no ill will toward the High Priestess, but the High Priestess was determined to kill her, so only one of them could survive—either Yun Chi died, or the High Priestess did.

Lin Yu only heard about this two days after her return from the Snow God. The Snow God's true form was a lynx, and no one suspected him. He came and went freely in Heaven's Mandate Tower, unblocked by anyone, and his harmless appearance had made him close with plenty of people, which gave him plenty of information to pass to Lin Yu.

Lin Yu looked at Yun Chi and said, with weight, "Killing someone is easy, but hiding the body is hard. There are still plenty of people looking for him right now—have you dealt with the High Priestess's corpse?"

Yun Chi shook her head and sighed. "No."

"You killed him for self-preservation, but didn't you think of anything else? Like replacing him?" Lin Yu was still smiling. "You were already his only disciple. With him dead, you should become the new High Priestess. There's no dispute about that."

Lin Yu's words struck straight at Yun Chi's heart—she'd been thinking exactly that. She had deliberately chosen today to kill the High Priestess so she could take his place at the ritual for the shen hour. But now, she felt fear. She was genuinely scared.

She had hesitated once during the act, which gave the High Priestess time to react. He'd counterattacked with his staff, the blow grazing past her head. She'd nearly died right there; her body was still burning with pain.

Of course, that wasn't all she feared. After years of suppressed resentment, she was a priestess in name only—she knew nothing, just followed the High Priestess's motions and faked it. Even with him dead, she still had no confidence. When the Xianzun had tried to use a blood ritual to possess Yun Chi a few days ago, Yun Chi was certain the Xianzun didn't even know her name.

The Xianzun didn't remember her—perhaps he didn't even know the High Priestess had a disciple. In that case, would he really choose her as the new High Priestess?

When people do something beyond their limits, they always hesitate. The excitement of avenging herself had worn away bit by bit. Only after calming down did Yun Chi realize how far she had gone. She'd already done it, but when it came to taking the next step, she still wavered.

That was the kind of person she was—hesitant and indecisive. She felt utterly useless.

Yun Chi took a deep breath to steady her racing heart. "I... I'm scared."

"Being scared won't help. If you don't take the next step, you're the one who'll die," Lin Yu said. "Once today passes, if you can't destroy the evidence, they will find the High Priestess's body. And when they do, you won't be able to escape."

Lin Yu continued, "You already planned this. Today is the Spring Sacrifice, the tower is crowded and full of all sorts of people, so you chose today to kill the High Priestess and take his place to lead the second ritual. Your plan is half done—why retreat now?"

"But... I don't even know how to conduct a sacrifice!" Yun Chi blurted out. "I'm useless, a useless piece of trash. I haven't improved in years. Once they find me making mistakes, they'll kill me! I only killed him in a moment of madness... I..."

She wanted to say she wasn't a bad person, that she couldn't play-act with a clear conscience, that she didn't want to step back onto that flawed altar. But Lin Yu didn't seem to care at all.

Lin Yu was unexpectedly calm. "Aside from the High Priestess, is there anyone else in the tower who knows the full ritual?"

Yun Chi froze for a moment. "No."

"Then it's settled." Lin Yu straightened her robes and rose to her feet. "You go lead the Spring Sacrifice. Without the High Priestess, who would be able to tell your process is wrong? Who would notice you're reciting the incantations incorrectly? Remember—the only person who knew has died."

The High Priestess was dead. No one would find her mistakes, no one would rush out to accuse her.

"You killed the High Priestess, so there's no one left in the world to stand in your way. The ritual you taught yourself is absolutely correct. No one dares question you, because you are the High Priestess now. Whatever anyone says doesn't matter—do they have proof? They don't understand rituals."

"It doesn't matter if you know how or not. What matters is that you take that seat first."

Lin Yu extended her hand to Yun Chi. Sunlight from outside the temple spilled into the room, outlining the figure before her. Yun Chi stared at her, forgetting to breathe for a moment. Compared to the lofty deity statue above, the person before her seemed to radiate a more divine glow.

"Come on, it's almost time, High Priestess," Lin Yu said softly.

Yun Chi let herself be pulled to her feet by Lin Yu. Together, they gazed up at the towering statue of the Crimson God. Lin Yu spoke. "I'll help you dispose of the High Priestess's body."

Yun Chi asked, "How? There are too many people today. We can't get his body out. They'll come to search the quarters tomorrow for sure."

Lin Yu smiled lightly. "Who said anything about carrying it out? Today's opportunity is perfect—why not just burn it with the offerings?"

Yun Chi's pupils contracted slightly. That thought had never crossed her mind.

Heaven's Mandate Tower did no honest work. The sacrificial victims found outside lived or died by a coin flip—some arrived alive, but more arrived dead. Whether a victim was dead or alive when captured depended on their obedience, which determined whether the people collecting them killed them or not.

But before being brought to the altar, they would kill them all anyway, because the living were the most unpredictable. They feared a living sacrifice rebelling before the worshippers and causing trouble, so better to have them dead.

"Do you think the gods really protect us, taking all our offerings?" Yun Chi stared blankly at Lin Yu and suddenly asked.

"No," Lin Yu said without hesitation, in a resolute tone. "They only protect themselves. They don't care about mortals. If it were truly as the legends say—that the gods love the world—they would never have allowed people to be used as offerings in the first place."

She turned to Yun Chi. "Has the god you worship ever protected you?"

Right. She had prayed before that statue for so many years, and in the end, she still had to rely on herself.

Yun Chi didn't answer. The moment she stepped into that temple today, she had already decided she no longer believed in the gods, and Lin Yu's words only confirmed that stance.

The gods didn't listen to her prayers. The gods didn't help her escape her fate. So she killed the High Priestess. If the gods were useless, then she would lift herself to the highest position. Only herself was reliable. She was her own god.

Better to beg yourself than to beg the gods.

Since the gods were useless, there was no need to show them any respect. Useless things—let them die.

"Of course, I'm not helping you for nothing. You have to do something for me in return."

"What?"

Lin Yu's lips curled up. "Let's conspire together—destroy Heaven's Mandate Tower, and destroy the Xianzun. How about that?"