The doors opened to a silent and extravagant palace. The palace was in the deeper parts of the ravine and the servants consisted of beautiful women. Some even had levels of beauty Cain thought defied logic by Spirit Land standards.
'These girls look artificial, there's no way they were born with such perfect proportions...'
Cain was someone who messed with the body, seeing such craftmanship he desired to learn how these women became so alluring. Not for lust of course, but for his prowess in the biological field.
'If whatever they did could help rejuvenate my Immortal Pestilence Body, I'm all ears. I yearn for regeneration without using my mist, for skin tougher than steel, for reaction time faster than sound! not to mention the raw strength that could level a city!'
Ever since he left Netherane, Cain had lost his peak state. He had reached a level even some Gatherers couldn't reach inside that Territory, if he became a ruler, it was likely he could turn Netherane into a land as powerful as some Middle Zone Territories.
Truthfully, Cain wasn't supposed to be as powerful as he was, but the system made a miscalculation. Contaminants, those thrown away like Cain, are sent to where they were sent because of the high mortality rate. Netherane was a picked territory for the weak and useless to die without a sound.
Cain destroyed that notion, rising above his status and bringing his people with him, only to kill everyone in the end.
The path he took defied the normal process everyone else took, and he could achieve this because he was a Contaminant, someone who didn't inherently conform because he couldn't, because if he did it would like be trapping himself in a cage.
It's the same reason criminals don't follow the law, it will only detriment them to their unique circumstances, unlike the rest of society.
Reminded of his past, of how he exterminated millions, Cain was apathetic. Only a few people made him feel regretful.
'If only Austen was still alive. At least I found someone who could replace him, Leon is truly the perfect servant, a pity I cannot use him currently. I hope I can let him out soon, I quite like our talks...'
Cain was human, he needed interaction from time to time, he would rather this time be spent with a wise and loyal servant like Leon than talking to his ignorant other self who was only a slave to his plans.
Why should he speak to a slave when he was the Emperor, it was stupid. Cain would rather speak with his advisor and general, that was far more fitting of his position.
'That reminds me, although there was some small success, that other self of mine won't reach the level of temperament I need. I've only reached the small completion stage for him, but letting him take control would ruin what I want to do now...'
Alas, Cain wasn't going to make himself whole with an unwilling participant, he also ruined his chances long ago. Even if his other self was still an idiot, Cain needed him to be intelligent somewhat.
'Creating him similar to myself is too dangerous, there will be a point where he could overthrow me. Instead, I would rather try the other method I thought of. The woman in the mirror spoke of Uniqueness, and to be unique, you must first have nothing...'
A layout of his plans built upon themselves in Cain's mind, but now was not the time for that, he was before a massive double door.
On the other side was the one who Charmed an Expert such as Zhu Huan.
The doors were pushed open by 4 busty servants, their curves outclassing any goods that could be found in a top-tier brothel. Cain didn't bat an eye and walked inside.
He was in a massive hall filled with purple and pink silks. Pillows littered the floor along with comfy chairs, suggestive furniture, and divans.
In front of him, stairs layered in velvet carpet led to one massive divan where a voluptuous figure lay, her scent cascaded down the hall, and with a single waft, Cain's heart fluttered.
'Dangerous!'
He was immediately set on guard, yet his outer appearance copied how he believed Zhu Huan would act. Thankfully, through the few memory fragments he got, he created a partial psychological profile for Zhu Huan.
A soft, cute voice came from above, Cain tilted his head as his ears twitched in delight.
"Hubby, why did you take so long, you know I can't wait so long!" The woman's soft voice was like a beautiful canary, it was full of playfulness and hidden irritation.
Cain internally frowned, he felt the woman in front of him was even more so dangerous after hearing her speak.
He could only act how he would think Zhu Huan would, "My love, you know I cannot act on my Desires, I almost even fell to the Demon inside me recently, I've had to go into closed-door cultivation."
Cain paused for a second before changing the conversation.
"Anyways, where is Little Xiaowen?"
...
Cain was in a yard deep in the valley, however there was light due to cracks from above.
Before him was a young boy not a day over 10 years old playing with a ball. The entire time, Cain had a face full of warmth, of love.
This was Zhu Huan's child, Xiaowen, or as he called him, Little Xiaowen.
Beside Cain was Tao Meili, also known as the Pinky Finger of the Ghostly Fingers, the woman who charmed Zhu Huan and bore his child.
"Hubby, you've been looking at Xiaowen for so long, why don't you play with him?" Tao Meili's fingers swept Cain's shoulders as she gave a relaxing massage.
"I've already explained why, my wife. My Desires must be suppressed...." Being reminded by Tao Meili, his face contorted to pain and despair.
Seeing him act so, the Ghostly Finger who Charmed such a great expert rolled her eyes, her massage came to a stop as her voice rose.
"I told you not to do it, but you refused, you're overconfidence caused your downfall. If you can't find a way to deal with this then I'll just leave you for someone else. Jericho, the Middle Finger might satisfy me, he's a beast of a man after all." She licked her lips.
Cain's face warped in disgust, but not too much, he was charmed, his head was not supposed to be clear. This was his edge.
Tongue-tied, he sat there in disbelief. He sat in silence for so long that Tao Meili became annoyed, clicking her tongue and taking Little Xiaowen, leaving Cain to contemplate.
'Heh, what a sly fox. She's hoping for me to either seek help from her Sect or deal with it on my own and give her toy another strength boost. But I have another idea, I might cause some problems in the process but when did that ever stop me?'
Seeing the coast clear, Cain's sulky appearance changed in seconds, his face curving upward as his eyes gained a hint of red. He left the garden where he watched his child play and went off to the libraries to read, it was only until night when he returned to the palace his wife and child lived in.
"Papa, can you read me a story, like always when you visit!" Xiaowen tugged Cain's pants, his eyes gleaming.
'Such pure innocence, to think I was like this in my past.' Cain's heart softened by the child's innocence and his face reflected such a feeling.
"Of course my Little Xiaowen."
The father picked up the son and brought him to bed, putting the child down and tucking him in. The entire time, the boy's eyes shined like diamonds.
The warmth in Cain's heart only grew, he was channeling the emotions of Zhu Huan intently. He had yet to diffuse the dead man's emotional memories into information, keeping them as whole memories yet to be digested.
This way, he could better act as Zhu Huan. But there was also a danger of causing a dissociative personality, but Cain was a master in such things.
Information and memories are two different things in the brain. Memories held information but more importantly, were connected to emotions. Information was void of any feelings or bias, being kept as is without interference. Of course, information could be wrong, but that was the consumer's problem.
Xiaowen excitedly asked his father, "Papa, what story will you tell me this time?"
Cain thought for a moment, going through all the books he had ever read, some of them were stories, but it was unknown if any of them were real.
Finally, he found an appropriate story, beginning to recall it, "Tonight, I will recall you the story of a Prince, my dear son. The story of a Prince and his Shadow."