Vessel of Worlds

While the dozen-plus girls each deployed their finest arts, Andy finished his careful search of the boudoir—and found nothing of note.

Which suggested the mechanism was most likely hidden within the jade beds themselves.

Andy looked over at them. By now the girls' displays had grown thoroughly brazen—several were fully unclothed, cheeks flushed crimson, soft moans rising in unbroken waves, while a few caressed and kissed one another in twos and threes, playing at phoenix-and-phoenix games.

Andy clicked his tongue in wonder, and—having enjoyed the spectacle to the full—took out the Blazing Heaven Blade and, without one shred of tenderness for the lovely, the alluring, the pure, or the sultry, gave it a light swing.

A crescent arc lashed out and sliced one jade bed cleanly in two. The girls upon it vanished into thin air, terror stamped on their faces.

Andy didn't pause—several more strokes in quick succession shattered every last bed.

The flower-lovely girls dissolved one after another beneath the blade, gone like scattered ash. All but two.

Only then did Andy recall: these two girls, dressed in semi-transparent gauze, had sat with bowed heads at the bed's edge from beginning to end, joining in none of it.

Now, with every bed destroyed and the rest of the girls gone, these two alone remained—staring at the red bone saber in his hand with terror-stricken eyes.

In figure and face the two were utterly identical—twin sisters, plainly.

Andy studied them closely. They didn't seem to be phantoms conjured by the formation—yet neither did they seem living women of flesh and blood.

"What exactly are you two?" Andy demanded in a low voice, raising the Blazing Heaven Blade, the threat unmistakable.

The two terrified girls exchanged a look, and one of them said, trembling: "Spare us, fellow cultivator! We two sisters have been imprisoned in this place for we no longer know how many years—nothing remains of us but a wisp of residual soul. We beg your mercy!"

"Mercy? Heh. The moment I entered this room, you laid your illusion to bewitch me. Were my will any weaker and I'd fallen into the snare, I imagine I'd be the one begging you two by now!" Andy said, a flicker of anger in his voice.

"You misunderstand, fellow cultivator! We sisters are prisoners of this formation ourselves—not its operators! If you doubt it, examine the array for yourself: its key lies beneath that jade bed," one girl protested frantically.

Andy ignored the plea and tilted the Blazing Heaven Blade meaningfully. "Whether or not you two triggered the array, you're clearly no wholesome creatures. Better to use this chance to destroy things like you—neither human nor ghost—and be rid of the trouble for good."

"Mercy, fellow cultivator! Our souls were torn from us and refined by another's hand—that is how we came to this state. If you strike now and extinguish what remains, we sisters will lose even the chance of reincarnation! If you must vent your anger, kill me alone—I beg you, show kindness and spare my younger sister!" One of the girls dropped instantly to her knees.

"Spare my elder sister instead! I will bear your anger alone!" The other knelt as well, pleading in a grief-stricken voice.

"Hmph!" Andy snorted coldly, deaf to their words.

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Yet he did not strike either. Instead, a considering look crossed his face. "Spare you both—and what do I gain by it? You two have dwelt here long. If I grow careless, I could stumble into some trap of yours at any moment. Why leave such a hidden danger alive?"

One of the girls caught the faint loosening in his tone and spoke quickly: "If you spare us, we two will gladly become your ghost servants and attend you all our existence!"

Ghost servants—Andy had read of them. Cultivators of the Ghost Gate often kept spirit-creatures called soul beasts as weapons, refined from the souls of powerful beasts and frequently possessed of uncanny abilities. When a human cultivator's soul was forcibly extracted and refined in the same way, the result was called a ghost servant. Ghost path cultivators commonly used them to keep their dwellings and manage chores; some Core Formation cultivators even refined ghost servants into their dharma treasures, making the servant part of the treasure itself and adding measurably to its power.

Naturally, this practice of refining human souls was despised by the orthodox path, condemned as an atrocity that wounded heaven and offended the Dao.

Andy cared nothing for any of that. If ghost servants could genuinely be of use, he had no objection to collecting a pair in passing. If nothing else, having them guard his dwelling and tend his spirit beast while he sat in meditation would be well worth it. But only on one condition: the servants must be absolutely reliable, without the faintest possibility of turning on their master—otherwise he'd be rearing tigers to his own ruin.

So he said, with open curiosity: "Ghost servants? Explain—in detail."

"Elder Sister... must we truly become ghost servants?" the other girl said, hesitating.

"Little Sister, matters being what they are, this is the only road left. Never mind whether this fellow cultivator will spare us—even if he does, another few thousand years imprisoned here and our souls will scatter to nothing regardless. Better to gamble!" The girl's expression was grave. Then she turned to Andy: "Fellow cultivator—we two sisters will gladly be your ghost servants, loyal and unflinching through fire and water. We ask only this: should you one day achieve the great Dao of the Nascent Soul, help us restore our soul-consciousness, that we sisters may fall once more into the wheel of reincarnation and be born human again!"

"Nascent Soul? Heh—I have no certainty even of Core Formation; how would I dare covet that misty, distant realm? But more to the point—how am I to trust your loyalty? Surely you don't imagine a few sweet words will settle me?" Andy stroked his chin, his smile not quite a smile.

The elder sister said: "On that point you may be entirely at ease. The greater part of our souls and consciousness is sealed within a soul vessel. Once you refine that vessel, our lives will rest in a single thought of yours—one flicker of intent, and our souls dissolve into nothing. Moreover, should either of us harbor the least ill will toward you, it will register in the vessel at once. We could never defy your command. Only—at your current cultivation, you cannot yet refine the vessel fully. That must wait until you reach Core Formation. And once the refining is complete, you will absorb a portion of the vessel's power as well—your spiritual sense will grow a measure stronger for it."

"Put that way, there's no harm in it for me. But since I can't refine the vessel now, what do I do with the two of you in the meantime? Carrying you at my side as you are would be far too dangerous—I certainly won't risk that," Andy said.

"That too is simple. You need only place the soul vessel in a jade box and seal it with Spirit-Calming Talismans and similar soul-settling arts—we sisters will sleep within. But not for too long: past a hundred years, our soul-strength may suffer, and we might no longer be able to serve you," the girl answered.

"It does sound workable," Andy said, nodding. "And you've laid every vital point before me without concealment—sincere indeed. But what do you two gain from this? Speak plainly. If it's within my power, I won't treat you shabbily."

The girl sighed long at that. "Our souls were sacrificially refined into the vessel; we cannot stray far from it—we have no freedom of movement at all. Becoming your ghost servants at least offers a thread of hope. Legend holds that Nascent Soul cultivators can perform a certain soul-restoration art, partially restoring a refined soul so it may reenter the cycle of reincarnation. If the day comes that you enter the Nascent Soul realm, we beg you: seek out that art, restore our souls and consciousness, and set us on the road of rebirth."

Andy fell silent in thought. After a while, his expression turned solemn. "Very well. I give you my word. If you two serve me faithfully, then should I be so fortunate as to condense a Nascent Soul, I will find that soul-restoration art and fulfill your wish."

"Thank you, fellow cultivator!" Hearing the depth of sincerity in his voice, the two girls bowed in overflowing gratitude.