Since he couldn't back out, Leon went all in when detailing the specifics of her 'worst experience'.
Of course, he changed some key details a little.
He wasn't comfortable telling her about how he was born from the core of a planet or that his parents were survivors of Earth. That's why he just told her what happened but switched some words.
'High School' became 'Sect'.
'Students' became 'Martial Apprentices'.
Even though some of it was altered, it didn't change the core and feelings of the story.
Essentially, what happened was quite unnerving to the point Cyra kept silent as she picked up Baila.
Him telling his mother's past didn't change what kind of person he was, and she could live with it.
She wasn't some paragon of justice. The only thing that bothered her was seeing injustice with her own eyes. Baila's condition didn't seem as bad as she thought, but she couldn't believe he could treat a pregnant woman like this. It made her nauseated.
Still, although Leon was an enigma to her. His words started to clue her into why he acted 'evil'.
No, why he seemed like the embodiment of it...
The young Child of Gaia told her about how his mother got pregnant after falling in love with someone in her teens. When it actually happened though and her partner had to deal with the consequences, he rejected her in an extreme way.
First he called her a slut and pretended her child wasn't his own, but when the truth came out, he used her feelings for him to manipulate her, to the point she agreed to meet him alone in the evening.
That day, she suffered from a miscarriage even though she was already many months into it.
Even though she chose to value the life inside her instead of aborting it, her partner didn't feel the same. She almost died that day, but that was nothing compared to the pain of losing her child.
Miraculously, one of her children survived. As she was about to have twins, one of her children was able to make it out despite being crippled. The child had a mental disability and a wasted leg that would never heal, but she loved it anyway.
Doing everything she can, his Second Mother forged her path to independence by hook or by crook. Making use of her sociability, she even became an icon that many adored as a friend.
She raised her child with love and care. Even going as far as to put most her daily expenses into keeping her child happy. It was a good life until she once again was betrayed by someone chose to her.
He wasn't a lover. This time it was her own mother who killed her child out of a sense of honour.
The woman secretly despised the child born with disabilities that to her, only ate away at their money. To her, his Second Mother's baby had no worth. That's why she killed the 'pitiful' child.
That woman believed herself to be 'giving mercy'...
It was these two incidents that was worse than anything his Second Mother had ever experienced.
Even having her body toyed with and discarded by that Incubus wasn't as bad as losing her children.
When Cyra heard the story and connected the dots to figure out the identity of the woman paralysed in her arms, she started to feel less nauseous once the world around her started making sense again.
Even though what he did to her was intolerable, it was thanks to him being so upfront that she felt better about the whole situation. At least, knowing nothing would have made things unacceptable.
She hated him a little, but couldn't deny that he was still useful to her. Taking a page from Leon's own book, she used the sorrowful feelings he felt to her advantage. Cyra continued their 'exchanges'.
"I don't want to sleep with you again."
"Fair enough. You can take everything." Seeing that he had gone on bad terms with her, he was a little disappointed. He might not have feelings for the girl, but she WAS the first woman he slept with.
On top of that, he still needed her...
"I never said we're cutting ties though." She waved her finger, making him understand what she meant.
Until he repaid her appropriately, she wasn't going to cut off a connection that could change her life.
Leon accepted her conditions and helped her become a proper member of the Tang Sect.
He opened her meridians and Qi Pathways before teaching her assassination skills that could be useful. Fighting techniques weren't the main focus since there wasn't enough space to train, and that she was too late to train them as she was now.
He taught her everything that his First Mother wanted to pass down to someone like herself.
The 'Blooming Dark Web Formula' which perfectly incorporated hidden weapons and trickery was taught. Since she only needed a partner to check whether she was executing the technique discreetly and silent enough, she trained it well.
It was to the point she acknowledged his apology and accepted it. Her grudge against him vanished.
In that timespan she spent training, the Inn girl ignored Baila. She didn't want to intervene when there wasn't any advantages to helping her. The only thing it would do was harm her 'client'.
Once their relationship deteriorated, she had no idea what the dreadful man teaching her would do.
He was an evil man, after all..,
Leon himself started to notice the strange mental state that Baila was in as they trained together.
Everyday, he would always make time to talk to her rather than leaving her alone at the edge of the room. Instead of showing hate, he took care of her every need as she was fusing with the cocoon.
"Do you like that snaggletooth?" One day, Baila finally asked after dispensing all pleasantries.
"What? Are you jealous of her?" His smile was chill inducing, but she was already used to his act.
"...We're only tools to you."
"True."
"That 'thing' you shoved into me is slowly corrupting my body. Are you planning to do 'that'?"
"If you're talking about 'Soul Domination'. Then no."
"Then what's the point of doing this?" Once she grew strong enough, she would be able to use her spiritual energy to eject the foreign material corrupting her body. He definitely know this too.
The answer was more complicated than she thought. He sighed before speaking frankly:
"I don't trust you Succubi. I'm the type of guy who wouldn't want anything good to happen to my enemies. To me, an 'enemy' isn't human." She had already understood this from his regular attitude.
He continued by explaining his overall plan:
"The one-of-a-kind 'cocoon' I placed into you will slowly replace every cell in your body with something that will obey me. Even now, I'm using the lowest level of a new Cultivation Technique I created to entrench myself into your psyche."
"So it's the same as Soul Domination."
"Close, but completely different things. What your Sect calls 'Soul Domination' is only what a Cultivator can do. Through torture, an imprint of the person using it can literally 'dominate' a soul.
This is what's used on Human Cauldrons as a means of control. By controlling their soul, the hearts of the dominated become commodities. It naturally makes human trafficking easier." Leon explained, which made her feel confused.
She wasn't an idiot. What he was ultimately saying was that he was trying to dominate her body and mind rather than her soul and heart. That way, he would be able to completely control her existence.
"The end result is still the same."
"True, but I could've give you a worse fate."
"I know..." For that, she was a little bit thankful to her luck. After all, she had seen what happened to a Martial Apprentice Sister of hers who had targeted him with the same intentions as before.
Even though Leon had been avoiding to actively bait more Succubi since doing so would eventually give away the location they were vanishing, there was a particularly persistent Succubus that targeted him. Her fate... was worse than expected.
Since he didn't need to learn anything from her and had no way of controlling a Cultivator other than Baila, he chose to sell her to a dumb nobleman who was crazy enough to buy a Succubus as a slave.
She watched as that perverted old man stared all over her body, only to conclude because of her belly that she wasn't worth anything. His gaze sized up the opposite sex as if they were objects.
Leon may be evil, but at the very least he had a clear purpose for every one of his actions.
In comparison, the nobleman he brought in was nothing but trash. An immoral and disgusting fatty.
When among evil men, the Child of Gaia was able to manoeuvre around easily like a fish in water. He quickly formed a bond with the nobleman about things others would hesitate to talk about, then showed off the tied up Succubus like a commodity.
He empathised her best traits, groping her and opening her legs so the nobleman could ascertain the value of the 'slave' he was selling. The way the young man acted was like a crooked professional.
The Succubus could struggle, but she couldn't make a sound as her body was toyed with.
Her squirming only made the nobleman more filled with desire to possess the Succubus. With her cultivation sealed and meridians sealed, her eyes blindfolded and her mouth gagged, the nobleman laughed sinisterly. He got a subordinate to box her.
After taking her away, Leon seemed to tell him something that made the nobleman swear never to visit him ever again. He thanked the Child of Gaia with a smile and left a way to contact if needed.
"So... I guess you're planning to keep me close?"
"I only need one person to lure out that Incubus. If you do well, then I promise to treat you well."
"You're not going to release me afterwards?"
"Would you believe such an obvious lie?"
"...No." She wasn't a fool. After getting to know so much about him, the only escape was death.
Once he had finished using his new technique to dominate her mind, she would become his pawn.
Of course, Baila also considered all possible routes of escaping. However, nothing would benefit her.
Refusing to talk to him didn't mean his technique would stop working. On top of that, she correctly deduced that Leon was a devil who would do literally anything to achieve his ultimate goals.
Resistance only made him motivated...
Therefore, her answer was to accept reality. She wanted to strive for happiness even if she was destined to live under his thumb. Plus, he made it clear that she would still be able to cultivate even if her existence slowly became dominated by him.
For this, she was willing to have 'good behaviour'.
Seeing that she was compliant to his will, Leon sighed in relief as he prepared to get his revenge.
As her stomach became smaller, he also had no choice but to reveal to Cyra what he did to her.
When she heard of Baila's pitiful condition, her face paled once again as she stepped away from him. It was only a few days later that she was able to visit him again while acting as if she heard nothing.
Even Baila admired her willpower, as others would have gone crazy in terror after being told that.
Even she, who experienced it all, was only able to barely cling onto her sanity only because she had used her body as a tool since the beginning. To see it be 'moulded' by someone else terrified her.
But after overcoming it, she gained mental fortitude. Perhaps even true death wouldn't faze her anymore. To her, death became more of a way to escape her circumstances rather than 'the end'.
Though since she was alive, she intended to live as long as she could. Morality and pride be damned!
She'd step all over her self-respect to live longer...