“What?! ” Xu Chen was stunned. “Y-You’re the legendary Sister Fantian?!”

“Oh? You know me?” the phantom of Fantian asked calmly.

“Big Sister Fantian! My name’s Xu Chen, I was originally a boy! After coming to this Demon Realm I got hit by some weird curse and turned into a girl. And this curse isn’t normal at all, it seems to be connected to your scroll, and I heard only you can undo it! Please, Sister, teach me how to break it!”

“A boy? Really can’t tell. Let me guess, even when you were a boy, you already looked a lot like a girl, didn’t you?” Fantian said with a light laugh.

“Hehe, Sis, that doesn’t matter anymore. I just want to turn back. Please point me the way!”

“Indeed, I can feel something special about your body. Heh, it really is an unbelievable punishment technique. Even if you went to the Heavenly Emperor, he’d be helpless. But I, Fantian, could remove it for you. However, I’m just a projected thought, one sliver of Fantian’s consciousness. I don’t have that power. And to undo such a law-defying secret art, even my true body would only be able to do it by dancing the impossible ‘Honey of Heaven Dance’. That dance would cripple my primordial energy, and it comes with other side effects as well. In short, even if you find my true body, there’s absolutely no way I’d dance it for you.”

“Huh?!” Xu Chen’s face fell. “But I have to turn back into a man no matter what! I—I and my sisters… originally… uh… anyway, I have to become a guy again so I can protect them! No matter the cost, I’m willing to pay it! Please tell me, what will it take to make your true body help me?!”

Xu Chen stared at Fantian’s phantom, eyes full of determination.

“Mm… didn’t expect someone with such a girly face to be this stubborn. Actually, it’s not like I can’t help you. It’s just that dancing the Honey of Heaven Dance costs my true body too much—so much you can’t even imagine. Unless you can pay a price on that level, I might agree, and only then.”

“What kind of price? Please, Sister, spell it out!”

“I, Fantian, became the number one dance girl of the Heavenly Realm when I was only thirteen, and my strength was also among the top there. But my talent and effort didn’t bring me happiness or glory. What they brought me was filthy desire, schemes, traps, threats, coercion, and trades of power and flesh. Even though I fought with everything I had to keep myself clean, I’ve already seen all the filth of this world. For me to dance the Honey of Heaven Dance again, it would have to be for the most sincere, most kind, and purest-hearted man in existence. Whether in the Heavenly Realm or the Demon Realm, I’m always surrounded by pursuers. Even the Heavenly Emperor once hinted he wanted my favor. But all of them only care about my looks, my dancing. All they have is disgusting, dirty lust. No one has ever truly loved me with a genuine heart. If I’m going to dance for a man again, then that man has to prove he’s worthy of the number one peerless dance of the three realms.”

Fantian’s phantom looked distant, her voice full of firm oath, but with a faint trace of sorrow.

“Sister Fantian… feelings between a man and a woman depend on fate. If you put conditions on it like this, it might not be true love anymore, right?”

“That’s why! This man has to prove to me that he has that kind of true heart. Fate—what you said isn’t wrong. But how do you prove it’s fate and not calculation? There are plenty of experts in the three realms with bizarre arts and terrifying intellect. They could easily design traps and make me fall into some man’s snare. So over these years, I’ve realized the real way to test a good man. If he can, without using any force or coercion, win the hearts of the Four Great Beauties of the Demon Realm, then that man is worth me dancing for him at all costs.”

Fantian’s tone was decisive; she’d clearly made up her mind and left Xu Chen no room to bargain.

“The Four Great Beauties of the Demon Realm?” Xu Chen, Star Dance, and Qingyin all froze.

“That’s right. I think it’s a waste of breath to even tell you. But just so you can give up yourself, I’ll explain the condition. If you want my true body to dance the Honey of Heaven Dance for you, you must win the hearts of all Four Great Beauties of the Demon Realm through non-violent means!”

“Uh? That’s… I…”

Fantian ignored Xu Chen’s protest and kept going. “Those Four Beauties are: the Purgatory Siren, Zi Wan; the Witch of Shura, Lianhua; the Demon Emperor’s Consort, Sakiko. As for the last one—once you’ve won the hearts of those three, then come find my true body. You’ll be told the final name then.”

“Wait??? P-Please, wait! Leaving aside the last one for now, just these first three—what kind of women are they? I think I heard something about a ‘consort’? Don’t tell me you want me to chase after another man’s wife?” Xu Chen asked, baffled.

“Hehehehe, you’re not wrong. The Demon Emperor’s Consort, Sakiko, isn’t just another man’s wife. Her man is no ordinary person at all—he’s one of the absolute top powers in all this vast Demon Realm: Emperor Kui. Emperor Kui’s strength is sky-high, and he’s insanely brutal. Even the Heavenly Emperor would frown when facing him. And Sakiko is that Emperor Kui’s wife. So? Want to back off now?” Fantian looked at Xu Chen with mocking eyes.

“Hmph! For my sisters, I dare do anything! So what if he’s some ‘Emperor’! It’s just that they’re a proper married couple. Going after someone else’s wife, that’s really an unjust act. How could I, Xu Chen, do something like that?” Xu Chen said.

“Hehe, Xu Chen, since I set this condition, I naturally have my own reasons. If this is my standard for a good man, why would I make you do something unjust? It’s pointless to explain it all now. When you’re strong enough to actually get close to Sakiko, you’ll understand.”

“Uh… Sakiko? Emperor Kui?” Xu Chen suddenly thought of the letter he’d picked up before. “Could it be… the Heavenly Realm woman mentioned in that letter, the one who was trapped by some conspiracy?”

“I get it now! Sister Fantian, I believe in your kindness, and I believe you wouldn’t make me hurt innocent people. Those three women—no matter how high their status, no matter how powerful and dangerous the forces behind them—I’ll do my best to pursue them. It’s just… I’ve never been good at dealing with girls. Even with my sisters, we only ended up traveling together by chance. To have me actively go chase a girl… I’m afraid that even if I want to, I might not be able to pull it off,” Xu Chen said.

“Hmph, that’s your problem. If you can’t even manage that, then you don’t deserve to know who the last woman is.” Fantian turned her head away, clearly done entertaining Xu Chen.

“Then… no matter what, I’ll at least try. But Sister, what about you now… what are you going to do? We’re leaving. Staying sealed in this filthy place’s scroll—doesn’t that wrong you too much?”

“Me?” Fantian’s gaze softened. “You know I’m only a wisp of will, a phantom, and you still worry about me? …Maybe telling you all this wasn’t a waste. Xu Chen, you don’t have to care about me. I’m just a lingering fragment of consciousness. Now that I’ve passed the message on, I’ll dissipate…”

“Please wait, Sister, I still have questions! About Mengyan—do you know it? One of my companions is trapped in Mengyan. How can I save her?”

Fantian’s voice was getting weaker and weaker. “Heh, you really do have a lot on your plate. Mengyan is the greatest secret of the Demon Realm. It’s… Even as a Heavenly Realm dance girl, no matter how strong I was, I never knew the truth. But if you can really win the heart of that Demonic Consort Sakiko, you might learn a few clues…”

“W-What? Sister, that…” Xu Chen stared at Fantian’s phantom, eyes full of reluctance.

“Hehe, why be sad? I told you, I’m just a strand of awareness. I’ll vanish, but my true body still lives. If you want to repay me, then find my true body and treat her well…”

As she spoke, Fantian’s figure grew fainter and fainter, until it finally scattered into the air.

The scroll in front of them turned into an ordinary ancient painting, its special aura completely gone.

“Sister Fantian… I don’t know why, but even though you gave me such harsh conditions, I just feel like you’re a pitiful woman too… I’ll definitely find you…”

Even though Fantian’s will had vanished, Xu Chen still put the scroll away, as if it held the short memory of their meeting.

“Xu Chen, are you really going to chase those Four Great Beauties of the Demon Realm?” Qingyin asked, worried.

“I… honestly, I don’t want to. But if there’s no other way to regain my male body…”

“Qingyin, look at Xu Chen now. Even if he stays by your side alone forever, you two would only stare at each other. What else can you do?” Star Dance said.

“Eh? I-I never said I wanted to do anything…” Qingyin’s face flushed bright red.

“Alright, Qingyin-sis. Even if you don’t think for yourself, you should think for the other sisters. If this is our only lead, Xu Chen has no choice but to try. You and I should support him,” Star Dance said.

“Hmph! Fine, I get it! It’s just… he looks way too eager to accept this ‘difficult mission’!” Qingyin still sounded a bit upset.

“Enough. Xu Chen, what’s your plan? Which comes first—saving Izayoi or ‘capturing’ the four Demon Realm beauties?” Star Dance asked.

“Star Dance-sis, do you even need to ask? Rescuing Izayoi is obviously the top priority! It’s just… we have no clue about Mengyan at all. From everything we’ve learned, both trails seem to point to that woman named Sakiko,” Xu Chen said, thinking hard.

“The Demonic Consort Sakiko, huh. If she’s the wife of such a powerful being, then maybe once we reach the Demonic Capital, we can pick up some information. Right now it’s clear that the Demonic Capital is the most prosperous city in the whole Demon Realm. For the wife of a top-tier existence, there’s no way she has nothing to do with a city like that,” Star Dance said.

“You’re thinking the same thing I am, Star Dance-sis. Looks like we should head for the Demonic Capital right away,” Xu Chen said.