Fates Parallel Chapter 380 - Disclosure

They made it a week before the cracks started to form. Xiao Chong had to hand it to them, for a bunch of people who mostly hated each other, they’d kept it together surprisingly well. Certainly better than her former sect had managed.

As with Xiao Chong, they’d been placed in a situation deliberately designed to break them. The others didn’t get it, but to Xiao Chong, who’d lived through something similar already, it couldn’t be more obvious. The constant stress, no time to rest or meditate, and an endless pressure bearing down on them as they slowly starved themselves out.

It wasn’t a perfect analogue, but she could see the ways in which the trial was designed to push them to the edge. Yoshika was so focused on the enemy outside the walls that she was blind to the ones within. Maybe Xiao Chong could have warned her, but it was more fun to watch it all fall apart.

And it started with an urgent meeting called by Yoshika. A rapid assembly of key figures during a rare lull in the fighting, to plot out the remaining three days of the trial.

“We aren’t going to last another day, let alone three. Miss Yoshika, we can’t continue as we are. We have to try it.”

Xiao Chong cocked her head at Zheng Long. He’d managed to worm his way into a position as one of Yoshika’s main advisors, which meant that he was effectively second in the loose chain of command that had formed within their little group.

Fair enough, she supposed. He was the only person present that she’d already known. Not that she’d met him or anything, but you’d have to be living under a rock not to know about the Awakening Dragon’s star prodigy. He was as handsome as the rumors suggested. His soul was sure to be delicious.

Yoshika shook her head.

“No. I’m not budging on that.”

Only one of them was present—the dark-haired one. Xiao Chong was still trying to figure out their deal, but she’d picked up on the fact that they were dual cultivators and the two of them were more or less interchangeable, with some exceptions.

Normally, the white-haired beastkin was the diplomatic one, though, so it was odd that she’d stayed behind to cover the walls. The fact that they could manage that at all was insane. The qi pressure in the tomb was bad enough that Xiao Chong thought her core would shatter if she let her guard down, but Yoshika’s range had been steadily expanding throughout the week.

Zheng Long groaned in frustration.

“Then give us a better plan, because otherwise we’re all going to die.”

Xiao Chong wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but she was willing to make a bet on her best guess.

“Are you guys talking about that divine artifact you found in one of the huts?”

All eyes fell on her. Zheng Long and Yoshika’s expressions didn’t betray anything, but she knew she was right. She could feel it. The dragon girl looked confused, but the fat alchemist sneered at her.

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, demon, just leave. Actually—why is she even here?”

She grinned and sneered right back.

“Because without me, none of you would have made it a day. But don’t try to change the subject, I’m right, aren’t I?”

Zheng Long sighed.

“No. And what even led you to make such a wild accusation?”

“The fact that you’re being all cagey about it. Let me guess, boss thinks it's cursed or something?”

Yoshika grimaced—she hated being called boss for some reason, but wasn’t willing to admit it or ask Xiao Chong to stop.

“Not exactly, no. I do think it’s probably a trap of some kind, and even if it’s not it’s a technique. I don’t see how a new cultivation method is going to turn things around in only three days.”

Zheng Long stared at her incredulously.

“Why would you give all that away?!”

“Like you said, it’s only a matter of time before the others figure it out. Better to just come clean than to let rumors spread.”

Xiao Chong could see where she was coming from. If you let people assume, they’ll just assume the worst, but by revealing the secret, she’d also admitted that she was keeping the secret.

Long Ruiling frowned and scratched her head.

“Wait, so there is a divine artifact?! Why haven’t we been using it?”

Yoshika shot her a dirty look—she’d really messed up using her dark haired persona for this meeting.

“I just explained that! Even if it’s real, it wouldn’t help us.”

Ruiling shook her head.

“You don’t know that!”

The stress was getting to them. They all understood that Yoshika was the strongest, but they were starting to question her. They’d only known each other for a short time, and trust was easy to break, but difficult to build. Did Yoshika really care about their survival, or was she just using them?

Like the tiny ration of qi crystals that the demons fed Xiao Chong and her former sect members, the divine artifact was the seed of something darker. Yoshika was right—it was a trap—but not because it wasn’t what it appeared to be. The trap was something deeper, and more insidious. It was the darkness that lay in the hearts of anyone selfish enough to chase immortality.

Greed.

Give people a common enemy to unite against, and they can form powerful bonds—but give them something to fight over, and those bonds will shatter like faulty glass.

Xiao Chong had survived it once, and she would again. She’d play the meek little minion and do as she was told. Then, when her fellows began to tear each other’s throats out, she’d be there to goad them on and clean up the leftovers.

She looked forward to the feast.

“Fine. You’re right.”

Xiao Chong looked at Yoshika and blinked. Had she missed something?

“What? Who’s right?”

Yoshika let out a huff and grimaced.

“All of you. Xiao Chong, we’d have been overwhelmed days ago if not for your strength. Han Yu’s qi restoration pills have kept our strength up, and Zheng Long’s advice has been invaluable. None of us can do this without each other, and I’m not going to let something as petty as fighting over treasure break our spirits after we’ve come this far.”

“Wait, you—”

“We’ll decide what to do with the divine artifact afterwards—I genuinely don’t think it can help us now, even if it might have been useful before. But I’m going to do something I should have done from the beginning.”

Something in her words captured the attention of the people around her, but Xiao Chong just sneered in disgust. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! Where was the fighting? The backstabbing? The bloodshed?

Ignorant to Xiao Chong’s inner protests, the second Yoshika arrived, with her strange white hair and those intense golden eyes. Xiao Chong braced herself as the woman held out a hand, but with a flash dozens of artifacts fell to the ground around them.

Xiao Chong stared down at the items in disbelief. Weapons, enchanted robes, what looked like Goryeon spell talismans, and even some extremely powerful looking restorative medicines beyond anything the fatty could have managed.

“What—what is this?”

Yoshika’s white-haired body smiled, and the contrast against her crabby dark-haired half was stark—had she planned this?

“Everyone take your pick, and feel free to distribute them to your allies. My team is already fully equipped, but the Flowing Purewater sect and Princess Seong Misun made sure that we were fully stocked before we left. I shouldn’t have held back, and I’m sorry.”

She was insane. This was a fortune that would have been worth fighting over as much as any divine artifact and she was just giving them away? To her enemies?!

Xiao Chong bent down and picked up a short sword—practically small enough to be a dagger. It attuned to her easily, drinking in her Miasma essence like it was made for her. Yoshika had literally just handed her a dagger to stab her in the back with.

It was so naive—so stupid—that Xiao Chong could do nothing but stare down at the weapon in mute incomprehension.

The divine artifact was practically forgotten as they others scrabbled excitedly over the wealth of treasure that Yoshika had so casually offered. Han Yu found medicines that he could use to dramatically improve his restoration pills, Zheng Long quickly identified artifacts that would be suited to him and his remaining lackeys, and even Ruiling was able to find weapons for her and her strange ilk.

Xiao Chong could only stare down at the dagger in her hands and shudder in revulsion. This was wrong. She’d made a mistake. Yoshika was the strongest, but that wasn’t what made her dangerous. She twisted the natural order—forced her own way onto others and somehow unified people that should have been completely at odds.

It was Xiao Chong’s worst nightmare. She couldn’t survive this. If they banded together instead of falling apart, there would be no pile of corpses for her to preside over. No confusion for her to take advantage of.

Then, once they got through it all together, where would that leave her? The demon. The selfish hoarder of power. The predator who fed upon the essence of others to survive. Once they no longer had a common enemy, it would be Xiao Chong that they turned their sights on.

As the atmosphere around her shifted from one of hopeless exhaustion to optimistic excitement, Xiao Chong became certain of two things.

They were going to make it to the end of ten days without breaking.

And Yoshika needed to die.