A glimpse into the intricacies and Magnificence of Mushrooms

I seem to be quite misunderstood in the outer world on three Aspects-One, I was a female, two, I was some kind of aloof character, three, I was the heir to Tranquil Mountain. Senior brother had eloped only recently. Are our Tranquil Mountain's secrets so easily spilt?

Well, none of us cares whether our gossip is spread.

I promptly corrected her, "I am not the heir of the tranquil mountain."

"Right, Right, Whatever. Don't you have a policy to not kill?" She ridiculed.

"We don't kill humans," I stated, bluntly.

Her smile faded, a cold glint entering her eyes, "Of course, those on the top are the most hypocritical."

"Whether they stand on the peak or in the mud, humans will be human." I bent down, my eyes facing her raging red, "But you will never be."

Those who sold their souls to the devil, those who committed atrocities, I would never accept them as humans, lest they trouble actual humans.

My self-control waning, I pierced my dagger into her shoulder and twisted. She bit her lips, withholding her scream. My dagger dug deeper and deeper until it sensed the strength of bone and the slight gap in the shoulder socket. Promptly, my dagger disintegrated, mixing into her blood as ash. My wooden needle sprung out from her bloodstream and demolished into dust.

"I changed my mind." I disclosed, "Your every step, every action will be known by me. But you'll not die. You'll be my puppet."

Her lips moved, words failing to escape. Her face distorted in agony, and she clutched her throat, forcing out few basic sounds.

"If you act against my will," I patted her head, "You will feel the pain of a thousand knives."

"You…Such…a…vicious…art…" She managed.

"It's an orthodox art based off the unorthodox Puppetry domain." I exposed, "Oh, what's your name? I should at least be aware of my subordinate's name. Oh, my apologies, you are not my subordinate but my dog. I call you Xiao Hei then."

My words seemed to infuriate her further. Even If my master labelled me as a person who didn't know how to communicate, he knew, when I wanted to be nasty, I could be especially cruel with curious politeness. I understood the fact too.

For the species loathed, how could I spare any kindness?

But there was another presence in the vicinity, a presence more cowardly the quaking rabbits, hidden carelessly behind a peculiar broad tree.

"Are you satisfied?" I glared at the tree, "Was the show entertaining?"

The man who I had spared earlier, guiltily left his hiding place, his stature small and humble. His bravery and aggressiveness from earlier had been dissipated.

"Well, little immortal-"He addressed me politely, "My greatest apologies from earlier. This one is Chen Mo…Could I hear immortal's name?"

"Xue Ying." Recalling the coldness of my voice, I instantly changed my tune, "You are older than me, you shouldn't be so polite-"

"Nononono!" He desperately refuted, "This one may be older but is inferior! Unable to distinguish black from white!"

"Don't be scared," I chuckled, "This demon won't be able to do evil anymore."

The man gulped, fear reeking from his form. His object of terror was evidently, not the subdued seductress but me. However, stating it out loud would be counterproductive. My master told me to always try to excuse myself from the fear and hate of people.

"You…You are from this village?" I recounted, "What exactly is the mist? How come even demonic cultivators are chasing after it?"

"About that…" The man's voice faltered, "I would have to show you a place."

"Take me." My eyes fell on the demoness, "You come too."

My curiosity was hitched. I followed the man to the forest, hearing him narrate about his biography. Although in the entirety, it was worthless information, some crucial points could be derived.

"I am called Chen Mo. I came to this village ten years ago in an Illegal Slave Caravan." The man disclosed, pulling back his sleeve showing scars of Handcuffs, "When the procession was travelling through the forest, the mist curtain had already fallen. My memories are actually quite fuzzy.

I remember blacking out and when I woke up, the caravan had disappeared, leaving me alone. Not even blood traces were remaining.

It was as if the forest had devoured them up. Another abnormality was the location I had awakened after blacking out. We carriage were clearly keeping away from the river where people are common, but I found myself awake against a tree near the river."

He halted near a drooping willow, its hanging leaves and broad shoulders greatly resembling a tender grandfather watching his grandchildren. The wind whistled through its leaves, and birds nested with their young upon its bending branches.

He crossed the river swiftly, and from a hallow between the willow's dense surface root, dug out a slab of pink marble, not bigger than his palm. With extreme tenderness, he passed over the slab to me. Curiosity perked, I rubbed away the mud and inspected its surface.

My thoughts blanked.

"Mushroom, Mushroom…" I murmured, "How come I never realised mushrooms were such a sacred thing?"

Engraved exquisitely was the portrait of the little mushroom, not a single detail offhand. The slab of the stone itself was exceptionally luxurious, it's surface sleek and shimmering with a pleasant touch. Even the nitpicky would be captivated by its dimensions cut in refined rectangular ratios. Although I could recognise every rock in every locality of the discovered map, this pink material was not registered in my mind.

"This is a relic from the secret place." I concluded, "Some kind of identity token?"

"I think so too!" Chen Mo excitedly exclaimed, "The person who saved me must have given it to me then!"

I regarded him suspiciously, "Do you really not remember anything?"

He spluttered, "Uh…There was a beautiful immortal wearing outrageous clothes?"

"Outrageous?" I prodded, "How so?"

"Extremely…short clothing." He flushed, "Her sleeves and legs were bare..."

Xiao Hei who had remained silent, sneered, "You guys can strut naked, but we show a little skin and become outrageous- "

I glared at her and she coughed, shooting me a fierce look.

"Xiao Hei, Xiao Hei!" Chen Mo chimed in, "How could such a beautiful girl fall like you into the demonic way!"

"I am Gu Xin Xin!" She exploded, "Beautiful girl? Isn't that the reason I ended up like this? You hypocritical-"

"You are chatty." My voice pierced coldly through their bickering.

Chen Mo lept back into the conversation, shamelessly "So…Leader…What are you going to do?"

"How old are you? Don't you want face calling a fifteen-year-old leader?" I chided, "I don't have subordinate weak as you!"

"Mean! I am just seventeen!" Chen Mo emphasized, "Seventeen!"

Silence Rang. Me and Xiao Hei gaped at him, stupefied. Where on his body, did he look seventeen?

"Well, seventeen with foundation stage is rarely found." I hastily admitted, "Very well, I'll take you in. Follow me and you'll be an immortal in no time…"

His attention was no longer on me but on the evil beside me.

"How old are you…" Chen Mo's eyes trailed from me to her, "Xin Xin?"

"Twenty-Seven." She reluctantly related, "I am the oldest here."

"You won't be getting any respect either way." I lazily notified.

"I don't need any from a bastard." She deflected.

I placed the slab into my pockets, and dictated, "When the next mist falls, you both are coming with me!"