Choice is in your hands
"Open it..." Chen Wei says after carelessly throwing Li Xin face-first into the basement door, "...I'm not in the mood to wait."
Chen Wei is impatient because dawn will soon break, and according to what he learned from the village herbalists, the blood orchid blooms at night. So if he hasn't finished dealing with Li Xin and the hairy women by dawn, he'll have to wait another day to start refining.
This wouldn't be much of an issue in a normal situation, especially since refining Rank 2 gu can take multiple days. But he knows that by now, word of him must have reached the Huo Clan, which must have sent various high-level specialists to investigate this supposed high-level demonic gu master that is Chen Wei.
And even though he is confident in dealing with them in a fight if it is done in a ideal situation according to his arrangements, being in the middle of gu refining is the complete opposite of ideal situation and could easily result in his cruel death. So it is more than natural for him to want to avoid it.
Of course, Chen Wei is almost entirely sure that this won't be the case; otherwise, he wouldn't have acted as he did. But it doesn't change the fact that caution is essential, especially in this world where recklessness is heavily punished in the overwhelming majority of cases.
"Yes, young master! I would never dare waste your precious time!" Li Xin quickly turns the lock on the basement door with his hands trembling with nervousness while he cries softly, "...just a little more, hold on a little longer!"
His women and daughters don't dare utter a word, especially after Chen Wei threatened to make Li Xin's situation seem like paradise if they didn't stay silent, as he didn't want to be discovered, at least not yet.
Soon the door opens to a fully alert Chen Wei, ready for any trap or last trick up Li Xin's sleeve as he approaches with his guard up the entire way.
But the only thing that happens is a putrid, horrible smell assaults Chen Wei's nose while he maintains an impassive expression, looking at the dungeon filled with chains that bring a bit of nostalgia to him.
Of course, this is not the focus of his attention now, but rather the three girls with strange appearances because of their long brown hair that covers their entire bodies. They look at Li Xin with horror while trying to get closer to each other for comfort, despite the difficulty because of being bound by rusty chains.
He calmly looks at the three hairy women, who seem to shiver under his gaze. If Chen Wei had to describe his first impression of seeing them, the words that come to mind would be "strange" and "disgusting."
He can't help it because it's not something easy to describe in words. Only by seeing someone can one understand what he feels when he says they have such a human appearance that it's enough for him to see in their caramel-colored eyes that they are poor innocent girls, just terrified of a traumatic situation, and that, like him, they have souls and emotions.
But at the same time, every alert and instinct sensors seems to be going off in his mind, as if he were seeing a macabre and strange being from the nightmare of a madman.
Mainly because these hairy women in their current state don't seem like cute, furry little creatures like Chewbaccas but rather strange beings like a depraved and abused human.
If anything, Chen Wei wouldn't even know how to say where or how, but almost as if a primitive instinct seems to arise in his blood that makes him want to eliminate these harmless girls to protect himself. But of course, he easily suppresses this little instinct.
Actually, they remind Chen Wei of the uncanny valley feeling that he and most people get when seeing humanoid robots that use skins to look more human, but what he sees now is even more disturbing, he could say.
"A hairy woman in person..." Feng Hua is unimpressed, as in her world of origin, she saw many non-human beings. "They remind me of the mountain people..."
"God...I understand why the Great Primordial Origin despises these beings so much..." Wang Mei makes a sign of the cross on her chest while looking disgustedly at the three girls, "...I can't even imagine how human beings can interbreed with these things."
Yu Lian looks at Wang Mei with surprise but also indignation at the heartless words of the cute-looking girl who never acts like one, except with Chen Wei.
Chen Wei is not impressed by Wang Mei's opinions, as she has said far worse things, like when she discovered that in his world of origin, he was from America, which she called a land of barbarians and slaves not worth existing. And that's one of her kinder comments.
"What are your names?" Chen Wei says simply and bluntly, trying to put a more gentle expression on his face. "I can assure you I have no intention of harming you."
But of course, the highly traumatized hairy women only continue trembling in a corner of the dungeon, even after hearing Chen Wei's words, which was expected since he entered with Li Xin by his side.
Yu Lian just sighs at this and then puts on a kind and loving expression as she slowly approaches the three. "Hi... I know you must be terrified, but we're not with Li Xin."
"In fact, my husband..." Yu Lian cuts herself off after saying this part subconsciously, having repeated the lie many times, "...well, look at this old bastard; he was beaten by him without mercy!"
Chen Wei, seeing the scene from afar, has a simple smile, which earns him a jab in the ribs from Wang Mei, who misunderstands him. He's not interested in Yu Lian's words but in the fact that while she continues to speak gently to the three hairy women, she seems to be gaining their trust.
"You two, help her," he says to Feng Hua and Wang Mei, who nod and do as he commands.
Meanwhile, Chen Wei approaches Li Xin, whose face shows fear as he curls up in a corner, seemingly praying that Chen Wei will forget he exists. But being pulled by the hair a second later destroys the small hope he had.
"Tell me what this damned old man did," Chen Wei asks the hairy women, who look doubtfully at Yu Lian, who nods in agreement.
"We were separated from our families a few months ago..." The oldest hairy woman speaks with a hoarse voice, "...he captured us and brought us to this dungeon."
"He made us suffer demonic tortures every day!" She says with tears streaming down, wetting the hair on her face. "We couldn't eat or sleep... he cut us, beat us, abused us... as if we were cheap cattle."
"And all to keep us quiet slaves to refine his gu!" She says, looking with pure hatred at Li Xin, who struggles desperately while being held by the hair by Chen Wei. "My sister even lost her baby because of the beatings!"
Wang Mei, who has been quite irrelevant and unsympathetic to the three hairy women all this time, now seems to have her maternal instincts activated as she looks at Li Xin before turning to Chen Wei, indicating only one thing with no room for negotiation.
He just sighs, not only because of Wang Mei being immature but also because the hairy woman's words that are hoarse and require concentration to understand, and dont give him nothing valuable in terms of information.
But this was expected from three girls in such trauma and fear that only one of them seems capable of speaking intelligibly with him. Fortunately, he knows he will have plenty of time to ask more relevant questions about the hairy men refugees, so there is no need to push the matter unnecessarily.
"You should kill this bastard..." Yu Lian murmurs, looking at Li Xin with pure rage and disgust in her eyes, "...you planned to kill him from the start, so why not do it now?"
"Miss, please have mercy! I had no idea what I was doing!" Li Xin kneels on the ground, begging, but he only receives even angrier glares from Yu Lian.
Chen Wei, hearing these words, just looks at Yu Lian, who seems to be holding back tears of anger. For the first time he can remember, she is openly wishing for someone's death, which is surprising, considering that even after Chen Wei killed the Xiong Mao Clan, she only cried quietly, never expressing a desire for his death out loud.
"I thought you were against killing..." Chen Wei says simply. "...did you change your mind about your ideals so quickly just by seeing a bit of cruelty?"
Of course, he cares little for Li Xin's life; if it weren't for Yu Lian's words, Li Xin might already be dead. But now that he's heard what she said, he's thought of a way to increase both his understanding of Human Path and Yu Lian's personaly by observing her actions. So he adjusts his actions accordingly.
"I... I... you're going to kill him anyway, so at least this time, when the victim deserves it, you should just do it!" Yu Lian speaks indignantly, clearly not supporting the killing of innocent people, but Li Xin is far from innocent. "This type of person who enslaves others is the most despicable!"
"Despicable or not, he is of some use to me alive..." Chen Wei hears Li Xin sigh, possibly crying tears of happiness at these words. "So tell me why I should kill him just because you want me to?"
Wang Mei looks at Yu Lian with pity and thinks about helping her convince Chen Wei, since she also wants to see Li Xin dead, but a single look from him is enough to silence her before she can speak. Feng Hua, beside her, doesn't even seem to want to get involved, trying to ignore Yu Lian.
"You... well... they might be loyal if you kill this old bastard..." Yu Lian stammers, speaking with excitement because she's doing something she never imagined: arguing for someone's death. "You want them to use their hairy woman abilities to refine gu for you, right?"
"Since when do I need to do favors to maintain loyalty? Or loyalty to make people do as I wish? Especially for mortals..." Chen Wei looks deep into Yu Lian's eyes, who seems unable to counter his words, not profound or wise, as he is more interested in evoking emotions in her than saying something logical.
"You hate me for what I did to the Xiong Mao Clan, right? And you'll betray me if given the chance, right?" He says to Yu Lian, who, hearing these words, freezes, trying to deny them.
But instantly, she realizes that she really has no way to deny the obvious, like her hatred for him or anything. But to her shock and self-disgust, she realizes she wouldn't betray him because she doesn't feel safe without his protection.
In fact, she now realizes that in many moments, she not only didn't try to betray him but also sought to please and prove useful to him, which leaves her emotionally conflicted now, especially since she knows Chen Wei is a much greater sinner than Li Xin, but she doesn't wish for his death as she does for the old man.
Lastly, she even feels greatly disgusted to admit it, but she feels intense envy of Wang Mei for the care and priority Chen Wei seems to place on her safety and well-being, even though she brings nothing "beneficial" to him.
"... I can imagine in your first world, your people were oppressed as human Variants, right?" Chen Wei and Yu Lian flinch and try to avoid his gaze, which seems to see her without any secrets. "Well, if you want to kill him now, so be it. I won't stop you!"
Li Xin, hearing this, seems to have his hope completely shattered in an instant, and the same goes for his daughters and wives, who are quietly crying while under the watchful eyes of the two guards who have remained silent the whole time.
"But if you gave the death sentence, then swing the sword. This is the rule of my people from my first world," Chen Wei continues talking, speaking two lies every one word with a serious face. "You must do what your heart tells you, and let it be righteous."
He speaks with a calm voice, like a seductive demon on the shoulder urging one to sin. But Chen Wei's interest is solely to increase his understanding in Human path and see the side of Yu Lian's personality that could make her so talented in the Poison Path, having the same demonic tendencies as the Blood Path.
"And if you want a life to be taken, it must be by your own hands, taking responsibility for your actions!" Chen Wei finishes his words and lends the Blood Cut Gu to Yu Lian, who now has a blood blade tattoo on her wrist.
Yu Lian looks helplessly at the beautiful tattoo on her wrist while thinking deeply, trying to contain her melancholy as she tries to make a choice she knows will shape her future from now on.
In fact, these are thoughts she should have had a long time ago because she knew the old ways of her first life couldn't be maintained. But out of fear of what she might choose, she always tried to ignore these thoughts as much as possible. Now, Chen Wei has forced her to face them.
Which she dislikes intensely, as this choice is truly ugly, especially since she knows the only decision that will allow her to move forward in this world goes against all her past vows and beliefs.
Yu Lian sighs before looking at the hairy women who have eyes pleading for justice for their suffering, then at Li Xin, whose eyes are begging for mercy without making the slightest sound.
"May the goddess have mercy on me... and may I be doing the right thing!" Yu Lian makes her decision and swings her hand toward Li Xin, closing her eyes and asking for forgiveness.