Long story short — I stayed.

  No drama, no blood-bound decisions. I simply stayed.

  Novak had accomplished his objectives in Yellow Pine. I hadn’t. And Mendoza had offered payment. Ignoring that would’ve been foolish. But there was no need to go courting trouble, either. My pn was to slip out of here as soon as I’d completed the bare minimum. I told her that openly and left the ball in her court. I said, “At your discretion, Master.”

  She was far too seasoned a diplomat to fall for such a cheap trick. Mendoza cited her ck of familiarity with my cultivation and the challenges it presented, and asked me to at least hint at what I might need. So I did.

  Tea.

  Asking for breakthrough materials after the main danger had passed would’ve been pushing it. And if she had given me something, it certainly wouldn’t have been red-grade. So I was left with two reasonable options: essence, which I could trade for myself, and tea.

  “Tea! Something for the nerves, or better sleep, or faster cultivation. At your discretion, Master.”

  Judging by the barely noticeable nod Novak gave, I’d made a good call.

  As for the situation with the demons, much more was said, but it all boiled down to a few key points:

  - The local demons couldn’t affect global events. Wormholes couldn’t be opened at will. The technology was too complex.

  - Humanity still didn’t know how interstelr travel actually worked. But scientists had been theorising about it for over a century, and some of those theories bore an uncanny resembnce to the mechanics described by the captive demons.

  From that st fact, Novak drew a strange conclusion: humanity was doomed. Earth’s humanity, to be specific, because, as it turned out, we weren’t the only humans in this gaxy.

  The next raid, no matter when it happened, would be Earth’s st. Our civilisation had come too close to technologies that could make us a legitimate pyer on the gactic political stage. Weak and inexperienced, yes, but undeniably hostile to the demons. And they didn’t want that kind of neighbour in their back garden.

  And yet Novak radiated a kind of samurai calm. As if to say: we have time, we have a chance, and death is not the end of the path.

  Well, that was one bit of strange knowledge we happened to share. Whether every death was truly the end or not, though, that remained an open question.

  What if cultivation killed your chance at reincarnation? There had to be a reason demons couldn’t switch bodies once they reached the Fourth Stage...

  I just hoped Mendoza would go with the tea for nerves. Forty years till the great battle. Forty years of stress. I’m going to lose my mind waiting.

  After deciding to stay, I thought I’d be left alone. But no, this time, Mendoza had other pns. She considered the promised tea a fair investment, and now I wasn’t just a guest, I was a temporary member of her team. Which meant I had to be useful.

  Now only half of my time belonged to me. Obviously the second half, because the next task was marked urgent.

  The mission seemed simple enough: a final check and recruitment attempt for Zhang. Through me.

  Patel came along, though his role was purely technical. Well, and security, in case things went south. His job was to make things look official and handle the equipment we’d been issued. This time, the case he carried was much smaller.

  The odds of things going south were minimal. Mendoza already kept a watchful eye on every close contact her disciples had, and Zhang’s logs had been reviewed three times in recent days.

  My role in this little py was more diplomatic: offer the test, assess her reaction, and gauge her willingness to cooperate.

  Her room was nearly identical to mine. Same kitchenette, same table, same fake window showing a sunset over some mountain range.

  Zhang greeted us warily.

  “Well, you took your time,” she said. “So what now? Am I supposed to cut all ties, disown my family, and swear an oath to your secret Order of Righteous Crusaders?

  “I’ve been thinking...” she went on. “Yesterday you told me about this ‘United Organisation of Evil’, present both in the Lotus and here in Yellow Pine. But you’re from Bck Lotus, working under Mendoza... So you must belong to some organisation yourself. The Order of Righteous Crusaders, I imagine, fighting Evil in all its forms!”

  “Ha!” I ughed. “Something like that.”

  “How do I know you’re not part of some criminal group?” she asked seriously. “And I’m also bothered by the fact you told me not to contact the Order.”

  Wow. She’d come up with a lot overnight. I wasn’t ready for this line of questioning.

  Honestly, my first thought was to threaten her. That worked on me. Novak nearly killed me, and now I’m his disciple.

  Then again, Novak had much stronger reasons than just a few uncomfortable questions...

  "Your silence isn't exactly reassuring," Zhang said.

  "What do you want me to say? Swear on my mother’s life? I’m trying to figure out how to convince you without revealing too much." And without resorting to threats.

  Just because that worked on me didn’t mean I was thrilled about it.

  "Listen!" The idea struck me. "The fact that I’m even bothering with this and giving you a choice — that should tell you something!"

  "Hardly proof," she grimaced.

  "It’s what you’ve got." I turned towards the door and pointed at it. "I can leave. Then you’re on your own."

  Zhang frowned and gnced at Patel, who had left the entire conversation to me, even though he was two stages higher.

  "Why are you the one speaking?" she asked.

  "I’m a Third Cross Knight in our Order, and Patel’s just a Double-Square Squire," I replied with a completely straight face.

  Zhang glitched. Not that she believed it exactly, but she couldn’t dismiss it entirely either. She might’ve believed it, if Patel hadn’t let a smile slip.

  "You’re taking the piss!"

  "A bit," I admitted. "If we’re done with the stupid questions, let’s talk seriously. We’re fairly sure you’re not a threat. But if you want revenge for Soro, and want to work closer with Mendoza, she wants to be certain. Completely."

  "And what if I don’t want to work with Mendoza?" Zhang asked defiantly.

  I shrugged.

  "Then just keep your mouth shut. Not everyone’s meant to be a fighter," I said without judgement. I was thinking of Nur.

  Still, Zhang took the remark as an insult.

  "I am a fighter!" she said firmly.

  "I can see that. So, do you want to be part of the battle?"

  "I was preparing to fight demons, not people!" she snapped.

  "The choice is yours," I said, holding out my hands.

  "Either you pass the final check and join us, or you stay out of it. And by the way, cutting ties with your family isn’t required. When’s the st time you saw them?"

  "Had a video call st week," she muttered.

  “In person I mean.”

  “Four years ago, before I was sent to Verdis. Why?”

  “To say that cutting ties with your family isn’t required.”

  “You made it sound terrifying yesterday. I thought the ‘United Organisation of Evil’ had the resources to reach my family on Earth.”

  “They absolutely do,” I said, “but it would be a waste of resources. You’re not that important, yet. And by the time you are, your parents might not even be alive anymore. Although, realistically, the invasion will likely happen sooner.”

  “What’s the test?” Zhang finally gave in.

  I nodded to Patel. He stepped up to the table and opened the case. The device he took out looked like a porcupine on a tripod. As soon as he set it down and powered it on, the needle-like sensors began to move, scanning the space around it, while a single lens locked onto Zhang.

  Patel gave me a nod.

  From this point on, I was to do the real talking, so the first question needed to come after the sensors had activated.

  “Heard of truth serum?” I asked.

  “It exists?” Zhang asked, brows raised.

  Patel pulled a pstic pouch of dried herbal mix from the case.

  “Yes,” he said. “Put the kettle on.”

  “Truth serum is tea? You’re mocking me again, aren’t you?!” Zhang snapped. But this time, Patel didn’t smile.

  “Half,” I said. “The tea is half the serum.”

  In reality, the packet contained Evening Sun — a rexing herbal blend. It turned me into a vegetable. A very happy, very calm vegetable.

  The tea bnked the mind, rexed the body, and made it incredibly easy to rest. In that state, it was hard to watch your words. Thoughts tangled, and it took conscious effort to keep them straight. Far more effort than you wanted to exert in that condition.

  It didn’t guarantee honest answers, that’s what the porcupine was for. It registered spikes in brain activity and cognitive stress.

  The final secret ingredient was a mild sedative that further enhanced the effect.

  Patel oversaw the brewing process personally: purified water, precise temperature control. The kettle never actually boiled. The water was heated just below boiling point, no more.

  Patel dropped the leaves into a tall, lidded cup, poured the water over the dried blend, and set it to steep near Zhang, whom we’d seated at the table.

  Patel pced the porcupine right in front of her. The camera lens focused on her face several times, then the device rotated all its antenna-like needles towards her.

  Zhang tensed up, clearly nervous.

  “Can we hurry this up?” she asked.

  “No,” Patel replied. “The tea hasn’t steeped yet.”

  I sat across from the porcupine. A few more minutes passed before Patel removed the lid from the cup, pulled out a pstic ampoule of sedative, twisted off the cap, and squeezed its contents into the tea.

  “Drink it while it’s hot,” I said. “And don’t worry. You’ll enjoy it.”

  “Just as long as I don’t end up in a box like that first-year,” Zhang replied, then took a big sip.

  Too big, and far too hot. She had to make an effort not to spit it out, but she forced it down, convincing me even more that she was simply a random victim caught in the middle of all this.

  A real truth serum wouldn’t have worked on her. But this tea had a different effect, not coercion, but a slow dissolving of mental defences.

  After the first sip, she felt nothing but a burnt tongue. After the second, her shoulders lowered. After the third, she settled into a more comfortable position.

  Her jaw unclenched, the muscles in her face rexed. Her gaze softened, her breathing steadied. The sensors registered the stabilisation of her vitals, and Patel gave me a nod.

  Time to begin.

  “Are you a demon?”

  “What?” She looked up. “Of course not.”

  She said it without a trace of irritation, though there was a hint of surprise.

  “Stupid question,” she muttered, but didn’t have the focus to eborate.

  “Heard of demons?”

  “Everyone has,” Zhang replied.

  “Do you suspect anyone of not being human?”

  “Not human?” she repeated, confused. “Like who?”

  “A demon.”

  “No. The demons haven’t arrived yet.”

  “You know demons can disguise themselves as humans, right?”

  She paused to think.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s going to be hard,” she said.

  “What is?”

  “Fighting them. But why...”

  The tea was taking deeper hold. She lost focus.

  “Did you know the demons are already here?”

  “On Verdis?” Her eyebrows shot up, then settled back.

  “In Yellow Pine.”

  “Nonsense...” she muttered, shaking her head and yawning like she was about to swallow me whole.

  Patel and I exchanged gnces. That was our cue to wrap things up — she was on the verge of passing out.

  “You said you were preparing for war,” I told her. “Congratutions. You’re in it. Just a little earlier than pnned.”

  Zhang’s eyes blinked slowly. She didn’t understand. All her strength was going into staying awake.

  “Mmm...” she mumbled, propping her chin on her palm.

  “That’s it. You did well,” I said, getting to my feet. “Lie down. Tomorrow’s a new day. In the evening, you can ask your questions. I’ll answer honestly. You have my promise.”

  Spoiler alert — she didn’t wait for evening.

  She found me in the Bde Garden and hissed angrily into my ear: “Demons?! Seriously?!”

  MaksymPachesiuk