Peng Chen led May to the other end of the basement. It was a storage room, full of cobwebs and dust. It wasn't a very pleasant place to talk, but it was certainly secluded from the rest of the basement.

  “Well, now that we're alone, you can go ahead and tell me what's going on,” he said with a slight fear in his heart. “It's probably about my sister, so what about her?”

  May decided to start by relaying the information directly from Zu Chen. “The fly has died.” At her words, Peng turned pale.

  “Are you sure...?” he asked incredulously. “No, you wouldn’t know about it otherwise, damn it… Zu…”

  “What’s going on, exactly? Judging by your expression, it means trouble, doesn’t it?” May asked. “She was training in the training hall. The room was completely destroyed, with blood and fingernail marks on the walls…”

  The boy seemed to be lost in thought. He looked up at May.

  "When we were little, my sister was a different person. She was cheerful, always smiling and talkative. Like a fly buzzing around your ear. Back when we were very little, everyone in our clan thought it was cute. However, over the years, that attitude changed. As she grew up, she ceased to be an energetic child and became an intrusive and irritating insect."

  “So...”

  “Father made sure to beat all the joy out of her. Those were difficult years,” he said, thinking intensely about something. “In the end, however, beating alone was not enough. Pills, and she was fed with them, May. She stopped being herself.”

  May didn't know what to say. So she sat silently and stared at Peng. He continued: “One day, her father announced, 'The fly has died! And the whole family burst out laughing. Except for me, who felt rage towards them, but also except for Zu, who felt nothing anymore.”

  “I'm sorry...” Those were the only words May could utter.

  This family... Can they even be called that? How vicious! You can't treat children like that, especially innocent ones.

  “In the end, the pills proved to be strong, too strong. Her undeveloped body began to show side effects,” he said. “Anyone can see what kind of shape she’s in, like a bag of bones.”

  “So it's because of the pills...”

  “Yes. At that time, they were replaced with somewhat milder, weaker ones, but the damage was irreversible.” He explained, pacing around the room. “I tried to get her back... But her body was addicted. She needs the pills to live and function.”

  “She was shaking all over and was pale… Does that mean she…?”

  “I think she’s trying to quit. However… The last time we tried this two and a half years ago, she went berserk… She attacked one of our cousins and broke all her limbs. As far as I know, she still is limping, barely escaping death.” He said, trembling at the very thought. After a moment, he added something that sent shivers down May's spine as well. “I was there when Zu woke up after her rampage. She was convinced she had killed our cousin. Do you know what she said then? ‘The fly has died.’ Ha! She thought it was her revenge on the family.”

  May swallowed hard. “If that's true, she's not doing well right now. If she wants to stop taking those pills, that's fine, but... She should do it gradually.”

  “It's not that easy. Those pills were made so that she couldn't stop taking them. It's not just any drug, but something made especially for her to be so strong that she could never become independent from our clan. It's her leash, her cage.”

  May was shocked by this sudden confession of abuse, but the immediate problem was how to approach the situation

  “But if she knows how it will end, why is she doing it?” May asked.

  If the absence of pills drove her to madness, she must have known that it would most likely end in another tragedy.

  “That's what we argued about,” he said dejectedly. “She told me about her idea, but she didn't listen to what I said. I understand why she wants to stop taking them, I would want to myself, but in this way... It would only hurt herself and others.”

  “That's why I don't understand...” May replied. “She's smart. She must know that she won't be able to overcome her addiction on her own and that she'll only cause trouble for everyone.”

  “She didn't explain anything to me, but maybe that's what she wants. To cause trouble.”

  May remembered the ceremony. That was where Zu Chen asked the leader for permission to stop cultivating and leave the sect. She was rejected, though. Could it be that she wanted to cause trouble and be forcibly expelled from the academy?

  “But... Even if that's the case, will it really go her way... In the end, your cousin only luckily survived her attack... And she was a member of your family, but if Zu, in her rage, kills the child of an influential cultivator, I'm afraid she won't be expelled from the academy, she'll be hanged!”

  “If anything, she'll be thrown into the Junlin Pass. That's beside the point,” Peng Chen replied apprehensively. “If she has an excuse in the form of being drugged by the clan... That could somehow mitigate the situation. Maybe she even thinks she could frame her own family for it.”

  May was surprised. “Is that possible?”

  “Possible, but doubtful. It's unlikely that they would even take her side in this case,” he replied reluctantly. “They would probably say something like, 'That's why she was taking those pills! She stopped taking them, so she went on a rampage! If anything, our clan is not to blame, we were only trying to reduce her madness. Something like that.”

  “If you are aware of this, then she surely is too.”

  “Unfortunately, it's just as much of a mystery to me. I have not understood her feelings for a long time,” he replied. “However, she is not suicidal, nor does she want to die. I think she wants happiness more than anyone else.”

  “In that case...”

  “But to achieve that happiness, she goes into insanity and does things she wouldn't normally do.”

  May had no problem understanding this; after all, didn't everyone ultimately strive for happiness? Money, love, family, or power; regardless of what was most important to someone in life, in the end, it was only a means to achieve happiness.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  May was no different; after all, why did she cultivate herself? Immortality or gaining power were just ways in which May believed would bring her happiness.

  “I don't know what Zu's plan is, if she has one at all, but I'll help you with it,” May announced, having no intention of leaving Peng alone with it.

  I'm meddling in other people's business again, but it's too late now. How could I do nothing when I found out that children in this academy could suffer?

  A raging cultivator at the sixth stage of Qi Refinement could do a lot of damage. It would be good if it ended with only the victims' injuries.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, afraid that he had already taken too much advantage of her. “It's a family matter, and you've already done so much.”

  May shook her head and looked him straight in the eye.

  “You could use some help, couldn't you? In that case, I'm happy to help, since I'm already involved in the matter.” She replied firmly.

  The boy blushed. May immediately noticed that Peng seemed embarrassed. Although he was still shaken by the news about his sister, he seemed equally moved by May's attitude.

  “Thank you,” he said quietly.

  May didn't particularly like the atmosphere that had suddenly descended, so she cleared her throat.

  “So, do you have any ideas...?” she asked, and the boy quickly returned to his former self.

  “The best thing would be to convince her to go back on the pills,” he replied, perplexed. “Although that might be difficult.”

  May knew it was the simplest solution, but it didn't seem quite right to her.

  “Unfortunately, that won't solve the root of the problem,” May replied.

  The boy sighed and shrugged. “I wish there was another solution. But for now... we should start with that.”

  Isn't there any way to cure it? Hmph, I guess even with 21st-century Earth technology, addiction couldn't be cured just like that. However, there is a way...

  “A magical way to heal Zu Chen's body and mind, huh?” Minnie paraphrased her, saying everything in a serious tone in spite of everything. Old Minnie would certainly mock her now.

  Yes. Find me something cheap. As cheap as possible, but something that works.

  “Cheap things usually don't work as well. With your current resources, I don't have a single thing that could completely cure it,” Minnie said.

  Nevertheless, she decided to look at the available options.

  Unfortunately, Minnie was right, and even the cheapest thing that could have helped her was absurdly expensive. For that kind of money, you could buy yourself a pretty nice property and live in luxury.

  As I guess, relying on the system is out of the question. Are we really going to have to force her back into addiction?

  “The human psyche is complex, and addiction affects both the physical and mental spheres. The existence of something as useful as Lesser Rainbow-Mind Healing Fluid is a miracle in itself,” Minnie explained.

  “Have you thought of anything?” Peng suddenly asked, and May felt embarrassed, realizing that her conversation with Minnie had made it look as if she was thinking deeply about something while standing awkwardly still.

  “Unfortunately, I don't have a better idea,” she replied.

  “Don't worry about it, I wasn't expecting anything anyway,” said the boy. “We have to stop Zu after classes tomorrow. We have classes at the same time, so it will be easy. We have to convince her to give up her whole idea somehow.”

  May nodded, but she was afraid that it wouldn't go their way at all.

  The next day, however, Zu Chen was absent from class. Attendance was mandatory, so not participating was not an option. None of the lecturers seemed to care, though.

  May and Peng confronted one of the professors, who informed them that he had been notified of Zu Chen's absence in advance. According to him, she had been excused from class because she had taken on a mission from the sect!

  “A mission from the sect?” Peng Chen couldn't believe it.

  “I was surprised too. The academy started just a few days ago,” replied Professor Kun Yang. “Normally, this wouldn't even be possible in the first year... But she had permission.”

  Students could take missions from the sect and temporarily take a break from school with the consent of the academy administration. However, this was unheard of and even forbidden in the first year. This meant that Zu Chen must have had someone's support.

  “Professor Yang, do you know what this mission is and how long it will last...?” Peng asked.

  Kun Yang looked at him sideways, clearly surprised that her twin brother seemed to know nothing about it.

  “The mission is only supposed to last three days and isn't very dangerous. Rank F. I guess that's why it was approved.” He replied, clearly unhappy that the freshman already had his missions. “As for the content of the mission, I don't know anything. However, it is under the supervision of Professor Chunyang Hu.”

  May and Zhifang walked away in confusion.

  “Do you know anything about that Chunyang Hu? We don't have classes with her.” May asked, hearing the name for the first time.

  “I know her a little. From what I understand, she often stayed at our estate when our great-grandmother was still alive, but I don't remember this personally. She is very distant family, and we rarely visit each other these days. However, I don't know why they would be working together…”

  “What does this professor specialize in?” May asked, thinking that if she found out, she would be able to deduce a realistic reason.

  The boy snorted. “Music.”

  “Music?” May was surprised. “I thought Cloud Academy only dealt with cultivation fields.”

  “You're not wrong. Officially, Aunt Chunyang is an archer at Cloud Academy, having participated in the war a hundred years ago, but if you would have asked her, she would have told you that she is primarily a song-poet.”

  Hmmm. Yes, I have no idea how someone like that could be related to Zu Chen's situation.

  Looking at Peng, she quickly discovered that he didn't seem to have a clue about it either.

  “What kind of person is she?”

  “To be honest, I barely know her. Zu always seemed to like her quite a bit...” He said thoughtfully, “It's a bit of a shame. If it weren't for her constant traveling, maybe my sister would have one more person she could trust in the family.”

  “She traveled a lot, but now she's a professor?”

  The boy just shrugged. “As it turns out, it's hard to make a living just by singing and drinking. Apparently, she ran out of money, so she came back to earn some and then leave again.”

  “If that's the case, it sounds to me like she also wants to help your sister... Is she trustworthy?”

  “Like I said, I barely know her. But I think so... Although she is a little...” The boy wanted to say something, but blushed.

  May frowned. “She's what?”

  The boy cleared his throat and whispered awkwardly, “Of loose morals, to put it mildly.” He said awkwardly, suddenly trying to quickly change the subject. “Anyway, there's nothing we can do about it now. We'll have to wait until they come back, and then we'll find out more.”