The sky was beginning to lighten. The ground was littered with empty wine bottles. I quietly savored the subtle atmosphere before dawn, a chill breeze continuously brushing past.
The Earth Soul and I were still waiting. He said Ma Yongjie should return early this morning. Thinking of Ma Yongjie made me nostalgic for the days in the Monastery of Desire. If it weren't for the five of them, I wouldn't have made it through.
With a creak, the door opened. The baleful aura surrounding Old Stone's sleeping spot dissipated, and Old Stone staggered out.
"Go back to sleep. It's still early."
Old Stone shook his head, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag. He placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Take care of yourself, Qingyuan. I'm leaving."
I responded with a hum, not asking anything more. As for where Old Stone was headed, it was probably related to those various families.
"You're not going to keep asking, Zhang Qingyuan?"
Old Stone was already gone. The Earth Soul muttered something beside me, and I shook my head.
"Even if you knew everything, what difference would it make? Everything that's happened is probably a nightmare Old Stone won't ever escape for the rest of his life."
The Earth Soul walked slowly over to my side.
"Looks like you've grown a bit wiser."
At that moment, what I wondered most was why the Earth Soul knew the Immortality Society's techniques. There was only one answer: Ma Yongjie had taught him. Just then, a familiar aura approached. My defensive Ghost Thread sensed it from afar, and now my Ghost Thread twitched slightly—someone was pinching it.
I opened the door directly. With a bang, a shadow—Ma Yongjie—was already standing before us. Yet I didn't recognize this ordinary-looking man. The aura was definitely Ma Yongjie's. Suddenly, I thought of 001's ability and glanced toward the house.
"Shouldn't her ability be able to..."
"It's impossible, Qingyuan. Even if you could distort a soul's essence, you need a complete soul to do it. Your friend Fang Datong's soul has already been modified and mixed with other things—it's no longer whole. Besides, twisting a soul's essence requires tremendous power. That little girl can't manage it right now."
I responded with an 'oh.' The Earth Soul chuckled. Ma Yongjie walked up to me and extended a hand.
"Sorry, Qingyuan—I couldn't help you back then."
I shook his hand and shook my head.
"Everything's fine now. Ruoxi has come back."
We sat down. Ma Yongjie smiled at me, while the Earth Soul's expression grew heavy.
"Let's get to the point, Ma Yongjie."
The Earth Soul explained what Old Stone had told us. I couldn't speak, only watched quietly from the side. Before long, Ma Yongjie understood the situation and nodded.
"The Immortality Society's recruitment methods are simple and brutal. They're all desperados or people willing to do anything for money and power. There are countless such people in society, and they're the easiest to control. They all have one weakness: fear of overwhelming power, and they submit to it. With psychological torment and training, plus external controls, they become utterly loyal Death Thralls for the Immortality Society—no longer afraid of anything, or rather, they've abandoned fear altogether. They'll use any means to achieve their goals. This twisted, vicious loyalty is what the Immortality Society is built on. From what I've seen, it's far stronger and more complex than you realize."
The Earth Soul and I both nodded. For these heartless husks, words are useless. The will called 'immortality' won't be easily shattered.
"As for Xu Fu and the thirteen founders of the Immortality Society using substitutes, I'd heard a little about it long ago. But that's not something low-level agents like us could ever touch. Back then, we were led by a Red-faced Man and other Black-faced Men to carry out the mission in the Forest of Desire. Once inside, our own greed killed us. I nearly died—if not for swallowing the liquor."
"There's another selection method—the one I just described."
Ma Yongjie nodded, then lowered his head and shook it helplessly.
"I've witnessed it many times, and it's always brutal. The final survivors are always promoted. Human nature has many sides—the simplest are good and evil. The Immortality Society excels at twisting people’s minds into the shape they want, calling it 'creating a perfect self.' They break a person's spirit completely, then subtly warp it, until their values are utterly transformed, becoming pawns for the Society. There are plenty of people with backbone—money and power mean less to them than feelings. The Society regularly takes such people back for trials and selection."
My breathing quickened. Ma Yongjie spoke calmly, but the thought of the Ghost Burial Squad twisted my chest in pain.
"Keep going, there's no need to stop."
The Earth Soul chuckled. I glared at him. Ma Yongjie nodded, and the Earth Soul put away his smile, staring at me blankly.
"This world isn't just light—there's also unspeakable bloodshed in the shadows. If you want to become stronger, whether in darkness or light, you have to accept it, or you'll achieve nothing."
I didn’t refute the Earth Soul. I knew what he was trying to tell me.
"The most common method is to lock several people together somewhere. At first, everyone works together to escape, but as time passes, when water and food run out, people start killing each other—no one wants to die. Or their loved ones are used as leverage, forcing them to fight. Sometimes, it's like killing a chicken to scare the monkeys—they make everyone watch as someone is tortured to death, then tell them: if you don’t want this, survive."
As Ma Yongjie spoke, his expression suddenly darkened, as if recalling something painful. His hand on the table clenched slightly.
He’d told me bits and pieces about his own past before, but only in fragments.
"That’s how it was for me. Because my will was weak, my wife and child died horribly. Back then, I’d just joined the Society, but I still missed them. When the higher-ups noticed, I killed my wife and child with my own hands."
In that instant, my eyes widened. Ma Yongjie spoke as if it was easy, but I knew it wasn't. He lifted his head and smiled.
"Maybe I should have died with them, but in the end I chose to survive and became a loyal slave of the Society. People say retribution comes in time, but that doesn’t apply to the Society. I used to think, no matter how many years it took, I’d destroy them—but maybe it’s all futile."
Ma Yongjie fell silent. I didn't know what to say. The Immortality Society is even stronger now—these days, more people will do anything for money and power. They're easy for the Society to control; all it takes is a small price to gain wealth and authority.
"But maybe this is our only chance to kill those people from the Society."
Ma Yongjie turned to look at me and the Earth Soul.
"It's a pity I can't join you for the Dark Banquet, but I can tell you some of their weaknesses. You know the Society's strength lies in their forged bodies and devastating Quanji techniques. All of it comes from the hearts they've cultivated—hearts that beat far more intensely than normal, pumping blood through their bodies in rapid cycles, allowing them to use inhuman techniques. The heart is their only weakness, but it's extremely hard to destroy. Only one person has ever done it in centuries."
"Yin Choujian?"
I asked. Ma Yongjie nodded.
"To train the body for Quanji, they soak themselves in a special drug that invades every organ, combined with baleful aura and other energies. Many can't survive this stage and remain White-faced. Those who make it become Black-faced, and if their bodies get strong enough, they're taught Quanji. Anyone who surpasses three extreme thresholds becomes Red-faced. The Green-faced are even more brutal—I'm not sure of the details, but the ones you've seen are just the lowest tier. I've never met the higher Green-faced, but maybe they're Xu Fu's body doubles."
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound. Ma Yongjie tore off his coat. I swallowed hard—there was a small opening over his heart, and black tendrils emerged from it. He stuck his hand into the hole and pulled out a black heart.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"
I asked, scalp tingling. Ma Yongjie shook his head.
"As long as the heart isn't completely removed, I can still move. Qingyuan, watch closely—this heart."
There was a thumping sound—the heart, covered in tendrils, was beating. Suddenly, I saw two small holes on its surface, one at the top and one at the bottom. It was strange.
"These two small holes—one in, one out—are the heart’s core. Their position changes. To stop the heart completely, you have to destroy one of them. Then the heart will stop beating."