Chapter 112: Illusory Choices

Chapter 112: Illusory Choices

The illusion played on. Days passed, but more quickly than actual days. Blocks of hours vanished at a time, and nights passed in seconds. Only the worst moments played out in real-time. Hui ignored the boys life and focused on the flow of qi around him, zeroing in on the outward flow. Sending out a probe, he followed the flow back. As he traced along it, the link connecting the probe to him thinned and thinned, until finally it broke. The qi vanished, his probe gone.

Frustrated, Hui furrowed his brows. Where is my qi going? I cant search with the qi itself. Any mental energy I put into the qi is stripped out by whatevers taking it. I could try to kill the connection with death qi, but too much could go wrong with that. I cant stop the flow of qi, for one. What if all I do is infect the stream of qi with death qi, and end up tainting all my qi with death qi?

Then this small cultivator really will die! No, no, too dangerous. Not unless I have no other option!

Hui choked back his qi again, but even killing it completely couldnt stop the stream of qi from draining away from his body. He frowned. The illusion cant take all my qi at once, and itll have to trap me in here for months to take all my qi. Someone at a higher realm would have to be in here for years, and by then anyone would figure out how to escape! There has to be something else. Some point, some trigger

Alright, to be fair, Im ignoring the choices that drain my qi faster, but even so! Its not as if mind-cultivation isnt a thing. Other people have durable wills and deep patience. There has to be something else to this!

The boy leaned against a wall, simmering with anger. Despite his disinterest in the boys life, Hui felt the anger like his own. He focused on breathing exercises and managed to stifle it, distancing himself from the boy again. Dont get drawn in, no matter how hard the illusion tries!

Are you ready? Your future bride will arrive today. You have to look perfect! the second wife said, fluttering around the younger boy from earlier, fixing the last details of his robes.

Layered in finery, the boy stood stiffly, his arms blocked out from his sides by the thickness of the silk robes and fine ornaments. Mother

Qiu Beiling deserves someone like you. Im sure theyll transfer the engagement when they see what a fine child you are, she assured him, fixing a jade pendant that dangled from his belt.

Shes meant to be my wife, the boy murmured, his voice rough. It hitched when he spoke, his youth showing through.

Is this kid Master?

No, no. Master would have overturned this house long ago. Besides, he entered Starbound Sect at age five, far younger than this boy!

The scene sped up again. The boy leaped through the air and grabbed a sword from the wall. Maddened, his eyes red with bloodlust, he rushed through the house, massacring everyone he met. Even Hui, along for the ride, felt disgust at the blood splattering over the boy and staining the walls. The second wife fell. The servants fell. His once-betrothed and her servants all fell. He searched for the younger brother, but couldnt find him, and instead charged back into the hall.

At last, they stood before the kids father again. Chest heaving, the boy stood before his father, bloody sword in hand. Hed killed without technique, slashing randomly. If not for the qi pounding through his veins, powering his every move, he would have been felled by the adults long before now. He lifted his sword, and the scene stopped dead.

Hui felt the weight of the sword, felt the sticky, hot blood on his body. The father stared down at him, frozen in abject horror, his face bloodless. Time had stopped.

So this is it. The end of the illusion. The final decision point. If I dont make a choice, Ill be stuck here forever. But if I'm not careful about picking the right choice, Im sure the illusion will devour me!

Huis hands moved on their own, suddenly. The sword lifted to his throat. A second later, it dropped and pointed at the father instead.

Is that your answer? Kill yourself, or kill your father? Hui laughed aloud. This whole illusionwhoever you are, wherever you areits just to stroke your ego, isnt it? To assure you that you made the right choice! That there were only two choices!

Hui pointed the sword at the father, then shook his head. Wrong. It gets you nothing but more debt er, I mean karmic debt. Trust me, kid, theres no good that comes from your father dying. Its useless. You cant escape that way.

He lifted it to his throat. So suicide is the only other option you saw? Dont be ridiculous. Life is precious. You cant eat delicious food once youre dead. You cant meet beauties and befriend heros once youre dead.

No! This Hui refuses! The correct option is the same as its always been! He threw the sword away, then collapsed backward, faking his death.