Chosen: Beyond Fate

Ji Jue said he’d give oral treatment, and he really delivered. The moment he got confirmation, he shoved his hand straight into the flesh mountain's gaping mouth. And then, he immediately regretted it.

The slick, slimy texture and the unsettling writhing, along with that basin-sized, foul stench of a mouth, vividly illustrated an unshakable truth of the world: Making money was hard, and some jobs were downright disgusting.

Why was it so hard just to make a bit of money from these guys?

Crack.

The flesh mountain, eyes flashing with vicious light, suddenly lost all feeling in its jaw. Ji Jue dislocated it with his left hand as his other hand’s agile fingers slipped directly through the esophagus, rummaging freely among the deformed internal organs compressed into unnatural shapes.

He seized hold of an absurdly thick heart. The intricate patterns of Pacifier emerged between his fingers, and then the alchemy began.

Without mercy, he began the extraction. From between his tightening fingers, sizzling fat seeped out, while the rich, surging spirit matter within was violently plundered and compressed.

“Ghh... ghhghh... AHHHHHH!!!” A distorted, piercing scream came from the gaping mouth. The flesh mountain convulsed fiercely, and beneath its taut, paper-thin skin, strands of spirit circuits spread like living things from its blood vessels.

This was the manifestation of Fluid Alchemy. All the blood flowing out from the heart had been transformed into the medium of Fluid Alchemy, transmitting the power of Pacifier throughout the entire bloated body on the verge of bursting.

“Be quiet.” Ji Jue raised a finger, looking down as he signaled toward the flesh mountain. The screams stopped abruptly as the vocal cords were removed.

The flesh mountain continued to convulse, twitching uncontrollably in rolling waves. On its heavily layered face, the eyes rolled until only the whites remained, faintly emitting a ghastly glow. And beneath the thin skin, one could see streaks of radiant light converging through the blood vessels.

With a dull, pump-like rumble, all the souls the flesh mountain had devoured were forcibly extracted with the power of Pacifier, including its own. Countless strands of silver light converged along the veins toward the heart. All the larger fragmented remnants of spirit were instantly shattered by Dissociation Technique, then refined through Fluid Alchemy into the purest, clearest form of essence. It coiled around Ji Jue’s fingers, growing ever more brilliant with dazzling light.

In just a few seconds, the flesh mountain was drenched in layer upon layer of greasy sweat. Its terrifying bulk shrank and withered. In the end, only an exaggerated, cumbersome layer of skin was left to wrap the skeleton. The faint light in its eyes flickered on and off like a dying candle in the wind.

When Ji Jue finally pulled his sticky arm out of her mouth, she could no longer hold it back. She opened her mouth and vomited, like a sewer pipe bursting, completely emptying her swollen stomach. A nauseating waterfall followed. Thick gastric fluid, undigested meat paste, and even fragments of bone were all expelled.

Inside that pool of foul, acidic vomit, there was only a disfigured monster left, its chest rising and falling weakly.

Ji Jue, prepared for this, grabbed the stunned family member beside him and used him to shield himself and Tong Hua. Like an umbrella, the family member blocked all the splattering vomit.

Ji Jue turned back and handed the thing in his hand to Tong Hua. “Hold this.”

“Ugh, disgusting.” Tong Hua picked up a basin from the floor and put the lump of solidified, grease-like substance there. She frowned as she leaned back. “What is this?”

“Glycerin.”

The brief answer made her hand tremble again.

“Since we’re already here, and there’s so much fat, we might as well not waste it,” Ji Jue told her in a comforting manner. “Don’t worry. Before it reacts with nitric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid, its properties are still quite stable.”

With that, he finally let go of the family member whose head and face were drenched with vomit, and looked down to examine his work with approval.

“See? She has a much healthier complexion now.”

Only then did the disheveled, filthy family member finally react. Trembling, he turned around. “You... you said it was an oral treatment?”

Ji Jue spread his hands. “Yup.”

“Doesn’t that count as curing the disease? She was malnourished, and now she’s no longer malnourished. Hasn’t her condition improved?” The gaunt monster’s face twitched as he looked at his wife, who was barely clinging to life on the hospital bed, his rage growing stronger. “T-this doesn’t comply with regulations.”

He turned back, staring dead at Ji Jue, his eyes filled with ferocity. But without his greatest backing, he hesitated and did not dare to lunge forward. Instead, he squeezed out through clenched teeth, “I’m going to file a complaint. I’m going to... I’m going to...”

His face was covered by a shadow looking down at him, freezing him in place under its gaze. Ji Jue was looking down at him.

“I’m very compliant with regulations. I’m extremely, completely compliant. You made a request, I gave her a diagnosis, and I explained the method. You then exercised informed consent, accepted the plan, and made the decision. The treatment achieved perfect results. Now that the illness is cured, you’re telling me you want to complain?”

Ji Jue leaned closer, staring into his face, enunciating each word clearly. “Could it be... that you don’t want to pay?”

The gaunt monster’s face twitched once, twice, as if he was trying to bare his teeth and hiss. Under Ji Jue’s gaze, all his viciousness and rage gradually dissipated, until it could no longer hide his fear and unease.

“I... I will pay... I will pay...” He racked his brains, desperately trying to use his limited intelligence. “But you didn’t say how much! This is fraud, this is a scam! I want to see the director, I...”

Ji Jue’s smile was gradually swallowed by a shadow, becoming outright eerie.

“‘It doesn't matter how expensive it is.’ Those were your exact words, right?”

“I... I...”

“Don’t worry. Don’t worry about not being able to afford it. I’m not a greedy man.” Ji Jue raised a finger and smiled gently. “Just a little is enough. Relax. It won’t hurt.”

For a brief moment, the monster’s eyes seemed to brighten, as if pleasantly surprised. “R-really?”

“Shh. Don’t talk.”

Ji Jue raised his left hand with his fingers spread and placed it lightly and gently over the gaunt monster’s face before grasping it. As the monster screamed in terror, Ji Jue twisted his wrist slightly, as if he plucked a ripe fruit from a branch.

Crack!

The scream cut off abruptly. The shriveled corpse collapsed backward, still twitching and clawing helplessly at the air in futile struggle. From his severed head, the last thing the monster’s eyes had seen was a gentle smile. And behind that smile, the man erupted into flames. A boundless fire of despair rose up, engulfing everything.

Pacifier’s effect activated once more. With the assistance of Flawless Craft, the Spirit Primacy over matter, and Pacifier’s power, the flesh, hair, and blood on that head withered, peeled away, and turned to dust in a second. Only a smooth, snow-white skull remained. Circles of spirit matter circuits surfaced upon it, inscribing layer upon layer until they formed a sealed structure resembling a prison.

In just a few seconds, using the original vessel of the soul as a base, a simple spirit cage was completed. The massive amount of corrupted spirit matter Ji Jue had extracted with his right hand was poured into it. A faint emerald light ignited within the hollow eye sockets of the skull, indicating that there was still plenty of remaining capacity inside.

“Looks pretty decent.” Ji Jue nodded in approval. After wiping his hands on the twitching, headless body, he picked up a necklace lying nearby. Well, the neck was basically gone anyway, and the necklace couldn’t be worn anymore. Might as well take it for himself.

He clasped his hands together, then opened them again. The original silver necklace had been transformed into a chain hook. One end was fastened to the top of the skull, the other attached to the belt under his white coat.

“Mm, looks quite presentable.” Satisfied, Ji Jue turned around. “How does it look?”

Tong Hua, who had witnessed everything while holding the basin of glycerin, was trembling uncontrollably. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Under the chilling wind and the eerie atmosphere, she simply couldn’t form any words. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

So this is a Chosen One of the Ember Path... How terrifying.

Ji Jue put his hands on his hips and flashed a grin at the other trembling patients in the ward. “Mm, since the treatment is done, I won’t waste your time. I’ll be back tomorrow to take care of everyone else. Those who didn’t receive treatment today, don’t worry. Everyone will get their turn. If you need anything, remember to press the call button for nurses and doctors.”

With these final warm words, the ward rounds concluded, and Ji Jue led Tong Hua through the door.

The moment the door closed, the deathly silent ward finally erupted with long-suppressed piercing and sharp wails and screams. Mixed within them were faint sounds of chewing and sobbing. As the lights went out, everything sank into darkness and was no longer visible.

Seeing Ji Jue smile, now boasting the “medical fees” hanging at his waist, the patients in the corridor instantly vanished without a trace, fleeing as far as they could. They were terrified he would give them a free consultation next to help relieve their suffering.

Ji Jue turned around, took the basin from Tong Hua, and reshaped it into a thick bucket. He stared at the glycerin slowly melting inside, full of anticipation.

But before they could even return to the office, dreadful footsteps came from the end of the corridor. As if ripped from a nightmare, a doctor stitched together from corpses appeared before them.

Ji Jue raised his head and looked at the now-familiar face. “Long time no see, Mr. Qian. Is there something you need from me?”

The attending physician still wore that exaggerated grin from where a streak of blood slowly crawled down, slipping into the gaps between his teeth as those sharp fangs opened and closed hungrily. A foul, fishy stench hit them head-on. “I received a patient report. Someone has violated hospital rules. Was it you?”