“Why is the Spirit Temple even allowed to operate in the Golden Kingdom in the first place?” Ji Bingxue muttered.
“Because their main business isn’t the soul trade; it’s assassination,” Mistress Huang said. “Ironic, isn’t it? They promised the Church that they wouldn’t engage in any funny business North of the border, since killing is so common and assassinations are unavoidable.”
“Not to mention the Spirit Temple could assassinate at least a quarter of their high-ranking members in one night if they set their mind to it,” Bai Ling added. “Since the Spirit Temple doesn’t test their bottom line, they turn a blind eye.
“But back to the three options. Our first one is straightforward: we confess to the Church of Justice and our whole organization pays the price. Mu Feilong and his allies will likely deny our accusations and dispose of the evidence, so they’ll be hit very lightly by our allegations of blackmail. Their competitors, on the other hand, will all be subject to a ruthless inquisition for sheltering our old members. The Golden Kingdom will fight with the Spirit Temple, and by the time the red dust settles, we’ll all be prisoners despite not having personally committed any crimes. Most of our sisters will likely be executed.”
“That doesn’t sound like a real option,” Ji Bingxue said.
“It’s the lower-risk option that locks in our losses but allows some of us a chance at survival,” Bai Ling said. “On the bright side, we won’t even need to recapture our stray members causing havoc in the kingdom; they’ll do that for us.”
“But we lose control,” Hong Xin said. “I don’t know about everyone else, but I like existing on my own terms. Does anyone feel differently?”
No one answered.
“That leaves us two options,” Bai Ling said. “In both cases, we make a deal with Mu Feilong and his organization. We’ll set up a very favorable contract for them, and while we won’t be happy with it, they’ll give us enough funds to continue operating. One doesn’t buy slaves without feeding and clothing them, after all. How onerous the contract is depends on how we respond to the supplementary information. Do we recapture or eliminate our members, or do we let them continue with their ghastly work?”
“What do you think, Bai Ling?” Hong Xin asked.
“The Spirit Temple is too powerful,” Bai Ling said without any hesitation. “We’re better off slowly whittling them down via assassinations or ambushes. It’d take decades, but if we played our cards right, we wouldn’t have Spectral Assassins breathing down our necks for the rest of our lives. Another benefit is that Mu Feilong would have less leverage on us. We’d be able to make some profit, giving us a chance to repatriate the rest of our members in the city.”
“But they’re doing horrible things,” Ji Bingxue protested. “Our members are very effective at manipulating hearts, and this is exactly what we came here to prevent. We have a chance at stopping a lot of suffering. Why not take it?”
“And for what?” Bai Ling snapped. “We’d eliminate our rogue membership, but the Spirit Temple’s demands for souls won’t disappear. They’d find someone else to do it for them. We’re here to stop evil, psychopathic members, not throw our lives away.”
“Please try to be constructive, you two,” Hong Xin said. “Mistress Huang?”
“I’m fine with either approach,” Mistress Huang said. “Though I’d like to remind everyone that both options also have benefits. Leaving the Spirit Temple alone gives us safety, but we also lose control over their future actions. The members at the Spirit Temple might be busy with their work for now, but I doubt they’ll forget old grudges. Or let a threat like us continue existing. They’d be a problem just waiting to happen.”
Bai Ling grunted. “True. Initiative is important, and as long as we’re controlling the game, we might be able to find a way to turn it around.”
“And it’s the right thing to do,” Ji Bingxue said.
“And it’s the right thing to do,” Bai Ling said, rolling her eyes. “In the end, it’s the Headmistress’s decision.”
Hong Xin sighed. “How many core-formation guards have we been able to recruit? How many active members do we have?”
“We have about fifty active members and half as many guards,” Mistress Huang said. “We’d only need to leave five or so here to control the grand formation if we want to secure the premises.”
“All right,” Hong Xin said. “Well, I don’t know about you ladies, but I like deciding how I die. At the same time, other rogue members in the city haven’t done anything particularly nasty. They aren’t the problem we came to fix. If all we did by coming here was eliminate those evil women under the Spirit Temple’s control, then I’d call that a win.” She turned to Mistress Huang. “Please gather all available sisters—make sure we have equal numbers of oathbound sisters and free members.”
“As you command,” Mistress Huang said.
“Bai Ling?” Hong Xin said.
“I’ll use the data we’ve gotten to organize strikes for tomorrow night,” Bai Ling said. “No sense giving them an opportunity to change plans. All these locations can be reached within twelve hours, and I have confidence that two dozen teams consisting of one free sister, one oathbound sister, and one guard will be sufficient. I’ll need enough communication jade to make this work, however. Please make sure I have them.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Hong Xin said. “Ji Bingxue?”
“Don’t worry, I know my strengths,” Ji Bingxue said, swaying her hips slightly. “I’ll go motivate the guards. This is a bit of a departure from their contract, but I’m sure I can… convince them to accept a secret mission.”
“Thank you, everyone,” Hong Xin said. “We’ll be in for a world of hurt after this. Regardless of how tomorrow turns out.”
Twenty hours later, Hong Xin found herself hiding near a small village ten hours away from Gold Leaf City. It was a farming community with a few thousand villagers, and
