Chapter 16 – The Empress (3)
These things were trifle matters for her.
Su Xin had Fourteen with her and with it, she had the whole world at her hands.
As a strong but not omnipotent AI, as what it said, Fourteen has collected a lot of worldly information. Erudite and informed does not begin to describe it.
Su Xin easily adapted to this fictional world under the guidance of Fourteen. On some occasions, Su Xin found herself engaging in poetry. Without the technology she was so used to, a poet suddenly emerged from her.
Ah! This ancient world could certainly do miracles to her in ways that her old self would never expect.
Fourteen was nevertheless, the ulterior agent in Su Xin"s new found hobby. Su Xin wrote like a true connoisseur in poetry as she winded up verses from Fourteen"s innovative ideas.
That"s right, innovation.
As a system with poetic grace, writing poetry as well as composing music was nothing sort of difficult for Fourteen.
Sometimes, Su Xin felt like Fourteen was more talented than she will ever be. Its complex code enables it to do the most splendid of things.
Being a poet is acceptable, but being jealous to an AI? Su Xin felt that she might have a loose screw in her head.
[Thanks to the creator.] Fourteen calmly answered. The creator, in order to suffice the task"s needs, embedded the necessary codes to Fourteen.
I see.. Master Fourteen, I have always been curious about this. What exactly is the significance of the system? What is it built for?
Su Xin didn"t quite understand the justification behind giving a person another shot at life while taking away their soul in exchange.
Fourteen avoids this topic like taboo but not today. Su Xin wondered what the system had eaten for it to finally open up to her.
[My creator is a genius from a higher plane, but G.o.d does not give a person too much. No doubt, his body is currently in poor health. Simply put, his soul"s force is very weak. I remember that the host had asked about what the client had to pay to have her destiny changed. My dear host, she had to sacrifice her soul to my creator.]
Life could be so cruel to some, that"s why it is no surprise that many people want to have their destinies changed. Nothing was more perfect than having your fate drawn according to your desires, to see yourself living on the cloud nine that you"ve always envisioned in your mind during those moments of self contemplation. Having someone do it for you is an extra perk.
But with this privilege comes an equal price. Once the task was completely rendered, the client" soul would be fully dedicated to the creator. It would replenish his weakening soul force and therefore, preserve his life. This is a fair transaction which requires mutual consent between both parties.
Su Xin remembered the woman who stood before her formerly, dressed in ancient attire and a genuine smile plastered on the same face she was bearing. She could still recall her vague confusion the moment the woman uttered her wish. But everything happened so fast that Su Xin wasn"t given the chance to know the depth of her reason.
What I don"t understand—for the t.i.tle of being the fairest of all, is it worth it to give up your soul?
[Everyone is ent.i.tled to the choices they make. Maybe the client does not only aspire to be the most beautiful woman of the four countries, but she also wants to escape from her own fate.]
In the world, there exists the brave men and of course, the cowards. To fight or to yield is a choice but this is not always true. A choice sometimes doesn"t root alone from one"s will, but it is rather affected by external circ.u.mstances. With that, one could say that choices are simply virtual reflections of people"s state of life.
The original Xue Yao might have succ.u.mbed to her fear of the future that awaited her. Her youth will wither and beauty will fade, making her nothing but a dirt in everyone"s shoe. When she could no longer serve her purpose, she will have to live the rest of her retired life as a nameless prost.i.tute of the capital.
However, Xue Yao was not to blame for the grime situation she was in. From the time she was sold into the building, the tragedy of a lifetime began.
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Su Xin proved to be a strong contender as the days pa.s.sed. She never failed to impress everyone with her flawless performance during the trainings. Showing just the right amount of finesse, their mentors couldn"t help but praise Su Xin at every turn.
Unlike her, some contenders tend to exaggerate in delivering their performance, making them too agonizing to watch. Seeing Su Xin getting all the attention they badly wanted, the four conniving women got all riled up. Su Xin"s unbeatable grace inflamed their hostility and they began to get more physical with their a.s.saults against Su Xin.
Shu Juan"s eyes were red and cheeks were blotchy as she stood in front of Su Xin. Her face was marred by a scratch that was obviously sc.r.a.ped by a sharp fingernail. It was bleeding a bit which showed that she got the wound just recently.
But it was not her wounded face that caused Shu Juan"s red rimmed eyes, it was the exposed feet of her master that was covered in several ugly bruises. Deep purple and blue color tainted the once delicate pale feet of Su Xin. It was quite a miserable sight.