Chapter 6: A mistake?

In the annals of the Great Jade Kingdom, where mountains pierce the celestial vault and rivers of spiritual mercury flow into the sea of ​​eternity, the name of the Immortal Lotus Sect is not merely a designation, but a decree of existence.

It wasn't always like this.

During the Dark Age, when the Blood Abyss Demons devoured the earth's Qi veins and the skies turned an ashen gray that forbade ascension, humanity was nothing more than livestock to the primordial entities.

It was in this mire of despair that the first ancestor of the Lotus arose, a mere mortal who refused to accept his fate as dust. Unlike the ancient sects that were born from divine lineages or blessings from the Gods of Creation, the Immortal Lotus sprouted from the humblest root: human will.

Through eons of marrow refinement, soul tempering in the forges of the Seven Suns, and meditation under the ice waterfalls of the Far North, the sect ascended.

From a small group of outcasts who could barely ignite a spark of Qi, they transformed into a force that defied the natural order. They achieved the impossible: climbing the cosmic hierarchy until they became one of the Nine Immortal Sects.

At its height, the Immortal Lotus Sect controlled three thousand lesser worlds. Its white jade pavilions floated on clouds of golden essence, and its disciples were capable of slicing through oceans with a mere wave of their hand.

They were living proof that a mortal could, through sweat and spirit, compel the universe to acknowledge their sovereignty. The Empress of the Crimson Lotus, the current sovereign of this lineage, was not merely a leader; she was the culmination of ten thousand years of perfect cultivation, a being whose very presence forced the laws of physics to their knees.

For the Lotus Sect, the word "limit" was a lie told by the weak to justify their mediocrity.

They had conquered death, subdued the dragons of the void, and written their names in the stars with ink of divine fire...

—...So you're saying you're not a Spirit? —Shido's question cut through the atmosphere, breaking the spell of the epic narrative.

The silence that followed in the Fraxinus conference room was almost painful.

Lian, who had been gesturing with her closed fan as she recounted the story of her sect with a passion that made you feel as if you were in that incredible story, blinked her golden eyes, visibly disconcerted by the interruption.

"Hmm?" Lian tilted her head, her regal expression mingling with genuine confusion. "Well, technically, I was human in my beginnings. But cultivation involves elevating your existence to a level comparable to the Great Spirits of the world. Considering that I have refined my essence to the Yin Spirit Manifestation Realm, that my Golden Core is flawless, and that I am intrinsically immortal... I possess a level of Spiritual Essence that your rudimentary instruments can barely measure. So... I suppose according to your labels, I am?"

Shido ran a hand over his face, feeling that his head hurt.

For a moment, the story of the Lotus Sect had sounded so real, so vast and ancient, that she could almost see the jade pavilions. But then she remembered where she was: on a high-tech ship, facing a woman dressed as a character from ancient China who had just turned the AST into her undead servants.

At the back of the room, Kotori Itsuka kept her arms crossed, with the lollipop making a "clack" noise against her teeth.

He exchanged a quick glance with Shido, and they both knew what the other was thinking. Their minds traveled for a second to the memory of Kaguya and Yuzuru Yamai, the sisters who spoke as if they were characters from a dark medieval epic, only to mask their true nature.

"She's a chuunibyou," Kotori thought with a mixture of relief and dread. "She's a god-level chuunibyou with the power of a nuclear bomb. She's invented a whole Chinese fantasy novel lore to justify her Spirit powers. My god, she's even worse than Kaguya... at least she didn't kill anyone to make them into maids."

"I see..." Kotori said, forcing a diplomatic smile while her eyes screamed "help." "An immortal sect spanning three thousand worlds. Very impressive indeed. Reine, write that down: 'Origin of Spirit: Immortal Cultivation.'"

Reine, unperturbed as ever, typed on her tablet.

—Noted. The delusion—sorry, the background—is consistent with xianxia terminology. I suggest proceeding with the hospitality protocol before he decides to destroy the bridge because he's out of face.

Lian, oblivious to the internal judgment of those present, smiled smugly and hugged Shido again by the shoulder, pulling him close to her.

"I'm glad you understand, little redhead. Now, Shido, do your part. Take me to that resting place and show me that 'bread' you speak of. My noble body requires sustenance, and I'm curious to see how mortals live in this rather... peculiar world."

Deep down, Li Wei wanted to dig a hole and die. "Damn it, I went too far with that monologue! Now they'll all think I'm crazy! But... well, if they think it's delusions of grandeur, at least they won't suspect that I'm just some guy in a girl's body who doesn't know what he's doing. Keep your composure, Li Wei! You're the Empress!"

"Go ahead!" Shido said, guiding her toward the teleporter. "But please, Lian... I expect your 'maids' to stay away from the house. Many would be disconcerted by this display..."

'And they don't even know they're reanimated corpses...' Shido thought to himself, a certain horror creeping into his mind. Did he really have to lead a spirit like that? Tokisaki Kurumi—aka Nightmare—and her shadow clones were one thing, but this was on another level...

"And where will I put them?" Lian replied with a melodious laugh to the pale-skinned boy. "The beauty of my retinue is a gift for your unworthy eyes."

—I see...

The silence that followed Lian's words was not a silence of respect, but one of pure psychological survival.

On the bridge of the Fraxinus, no one—not even Shido, whose heart used to be an open port for empathy—dared to dwell too much on the subject of the spectral maidens waiting in the hangar.

It was the pink elephant in the room, or rather, the crimson elephant bathed in blood.

They had all seen the AST reports; they knew that those beautiful women in ethereal robes and veiled faces were, until just an hour ago, human soldiers with families, names, and mundane lives.

To speak of it was to admit that the woman who now tenderly embraced Shido was capable of necromancy so efficient it bordered on the divine. It meant accepting that for her, life and death were mere building blocks for her "dignity."

So, by a tacit agreement of collective cowardice, they decided to classify the incident as a "high-level magical invocation" and bury it in the darkest corner of their minds. If they didn't mention it, perhaps they could convince themselves that they were really just simple invocations from their Angel.

"Alright!" Shido exclaimed, his voice a little higher than usual. "Let's go home then! Tohka must be waiting for us!"

"Tohka?" Our family?

Lian asked with curiosity and...a certain coldness.

—Uh...something like that— Shido replied evasively, belatedly remembering that Kotori had just warned him that Lian might be a Yandere targeting him.

Perhaps he made a mistake?

That's what he thought as Lian squinted in his direction.

♦♦♦♦

Having made the perhaps mistaken decision to bring Lian home, Shido and the Empress were quickly teleported in front of the Itsuka residence.

Lian was unfazed by the technology (On the outside, that is; it was the first time Li Wei had seen something from science fiction as something real and he was amazed), but his golden eyes analyzed the structure of the house with a disdain that Li Wei tried to mitigate internally.

"It's a standard Japanese house, Lian. It's no jade palace, but it must have heating and Wi-Fi!" thought Li Wei, trying to calm his avatar's pride.

'What's that...?'

'¿Hmm?

Li Wei had the strange feeling that someone answered him.... He quickly dismissed it as his imagination running wild due to stress.

After Shido opened the door while Lian tilted her head in slight confusion, the voice of a beautiful girl was heard, calling his attention.

"Shido! You've taken too long! My stomach's already declared a state of emergency and—"
Yatogami Tohka stopped dead in her tracks in the hallway. Her amethyst eyes widened, shifting from Shido to the woman holding his arm, pressing her breasts against him.

Lian's presence was like a roaring bonfire in a small room; her Reiyoku (or Essence, as she called it) was not sealed, and her red and highly sensual Hanfu was almost as striking as the person who wore it.

"Who... who is she?" Tohka asked, her voice lowering as she unconsciously summoned a sliver of her own power.

Lian let out a laugh that sounded like silver bells, but with the edge of a sword. She stepped forward, letting the skirt of her dress open, revealing her legs with absolute confidence.

"So this is the 'Tohka' you were talking about?" Lian said, sizing Tohka up and down as if she were assessing the quality of a piece of furniture. "You have an interesting spark, little one. But your posture is sloppy, and your energy is... wild, unrefined. A diamond in the rough, I suppose."

"Small? Unrefined?" Tohka puffed out her cheeks, her purple hair standing on end. "I don't know who you are, but you dress weird and talk really strangely! And let go of Shido! He promised me kinako bread, not some random woman!"

"Kinako bread?" Lian smiled maliciously, approaching Tohka until they were mere inches apart. "A monarch doesn't fight over crumbs, child. But if you value that sweet so much, perhaps you should learn to serve the one who provides it better."

"GRRR! SHIDO! Tell her to stop saying weird things!" Tohka yelled, pointing her finger at her.
Shido stepped between them, sweating profusely.

"Wait! Tohka, this is Lian! She's a... guest in our house, a very important one... Treat her with respect! Lian, this is Tohka, a good friend. Please don't burn the house down in the first five minutes by arguing with her..."

Lian sighed, closing her fan with an elegant gesture.

—Very well. Out of respect for my "Treasure," I will keep the peace in this... humble shed.

Lian walked into the drawing room with the grace of an empress entering her throne room. Upon seeing the sofa, she didn't sit down; she reclined sideways on the main seat, letting her long crimson sleeves drape over the cushions.

Behind her, two of her spectral maidens appeared out of nowhere, standing on either side of the sofa like silk statues, their hands hidden in their sleeves.

Tohka was stunned to see the maidens.

—Shido... who are those ladies without faces? They're scary...

Shido felt a chill. He glanced at the "ladies," remembering that they had once been AST soldiers, and decided that kinako bread was the only logical solution.

"I'm going to get some food!" she shouted, running towards the kitchen. "Lian, Tohka, please share the TV!"

From inside, Li Wei looked at Tohka. "Wow, she's a really beautiful girl. Is she one of those Spirits? I think I saw her on the cover... Hmm... Although, she's far inferior to Lian in beauty, so her existence doesn't matter. Who could possibly be more beautiful than me?"

While thinking about something that didn't fit with his masculine self without realizing it, Lian picked up the TV remote with feigned curiosity.

—And how does this work? Is it some kind of magic wand in the lower realms?

Tohka, forgetting her anger for a second at the newcomer's ignorance, sat down at the other end of the sofa with her arms crossed.

"It's called a remote control, it's used to watch television. And you can use it to watch 'Space Cat' and the food news... But I have the remote because I got here first!"

Lian raised an eyebrow.

—You dare dictate laws before this Empress? Interesting... let's see who has the strongest will, brat.