Chapter 7: Water Prison

Chapter 7:
Water Prison

 

“PLEASE WEAR THIS, Senior Shen.”

As soon as Shen Qingqiu lowered his head, a strip of black cloth covered his eyes.

In truth, this action was entirely superfluous. Given the hundreds of twists and secrets of Huan Hua Palace’s maze array, even if Shen Qingqiu held a video camera for the entire trip and recorded everything, he probably wouldn’t remember how to enter and leave.

The air in the Water Prison was damp, the ground slightly slippery. With his eyes blindfolded, his only choice was to let the escorting disciples lead him.

“Gongyi Xiao,” he said.

Gongyi Xiao had been following close behind him the whole time, and he quickly answered. “Senior?”

“While waiting for the four sects’ joint trial, am I allowed any contact with outsiders?”

“Only those with Huan Hua Palace’s authorization pass3 have free passage inside the Water Prison.”

Therefore, it would be a bit difficult for Shang Qinghua to visit and discuss the plan to use the Dew Mushrooms. Shen Qingqiu thought for a while, then asked, “How were those sowers dealt with?”

Gongyi Xiao faithfully answered in full. “After they were burned, the masters from Zhao Hua Monastery took them back to perform rites for their souls.”

From the side came a disgruntled voice. “Shixiong, why are you telling him so much? Now that you’ve entered this Water Prison, could it be you still think to leave?”

Such a familiar voice… It was once again that pock-faced disciple who seemed to have a grudge against him.

“Don’t be rude!” Gongyi Xiao scolded him.

Shen Qingqiu smiled. “Currently, this one’s identity is that of a prisoner. There’s no need to scold him. Let him do as he wishes.”

As he spoke, they arrived in the place where he was to be held in temporary custody. After the black cloth was undone, his vision became faintly brighter, and he saw that they were standing before a giant stone cave.

Below them was a dark, murky lake, while dim yellow torches were scattered unevenly on the surrounding walls. The flames reflected in the water, where they danced wildly with the ripples. From the center of the lake jutted an artificial platform of white stone. Sparkling and translucent, its color was almost like jade; it had no doubt been made out of a special material.

Gongyi Xiao took out a ring of keys and felt about an area of rock. After his hand performed some sequence, the sound of gears turning came from the lakebed, and up rose a stone path that led directly to the platform at the heart of the lake.

Gongyi Xiao said, “Senior, if you please.”

That pock-faced disciple picked up an ordinary stone. “Watch!”

He threw the stone into the lake water, and it floated without sinking. After a moment, there came a sizzling noise, like meat grilling on an iron griddle. The surface crawled with bubbles, at which point the stone rapidly corroded and dissolved until it vanished completely.

“This particular prison doesn’t get used often,” the pock-faced disciple said gleefully. “Anyone who wants to escape or break someone out from here is dreaming! Deluded!”

Shen Qingqiu was astounded by the ferocity of this liquid. If someone took a tumble into that lake, it was likely not even their bone shards would remain.

Wasn’t Huan Hua Palace a famous righteous sect? Where were they sourcing so much of this ferocious, obviously illegal liquid?!

As Shen Qingqiu walked along the stone path, he was especially careful. If he were to slip, he wouldn’t have any fun at all. Once he arrived on the platform at the lake’s center, Gongyi Xiao turned the key again, and the path leading to it once again sank back into the lakebed.

Shen Qingqiu sat down on the stone platform and observed his surroundings, secretly trying to determine if a sword could render all this corrosive lake water pointless. He’d just had this thought when Gongyi Xiao pulled on a mechanism next to the keyhole.

From above him there came the gurgling sound of flowing water. Shen Qingqiu raised his head just in time to see dark and murky water descend all around him, forming an airtight curtain that hemmed him in on the twenty-by-twenty-meter stone platform.

I was wrong! Forget about people, even a fly wouldn’t be able to leave, okay?!

Huan Hua Palace’s Water Prison’s reputation was well justified. No wonder all the sects had unanimously elected it to serve as the public prison.

 

***

 

Shen Qingqiu knew that someone would definitely come looking for trouble, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so fast.

He was woken by a basin of cold water woke splashing all over him.

Shen Qingqiu jolted up, freezing. At first he thought he’d dozed off and fallen into the lake. He shook his head and blinked as hard as he could. The sensation of icy lake water in his eyes was supremely uncomfortable, and only now did he become certain that he had been doused with ordinary liquid. The hundred and eighteen immortal-binding cables twined around his body might have been incredibly thin, but they firmly shackled his meridians, binding him tightly until even his blood flow was restricted, so his cold resistance had greatly decreased. He couldn’t stop himself from shivering a bit.

The water curtain around him had stemmed, and the adjustable path connecting the stone platform to the outside world was now raised.

His vision gradually cleared. Turning it upward, he first saw a pair of dainty, exquisitely embroidered shoes, then looking up further, the pink hem of a skirt.

In the end, he beheld a maiden dressed entirely in pink and bedecked with jewels, with shapely brows and almond eyes, a metal whip over her shoulder. She was staring at him.

Shen Qingqiu internally rolled his eyes.

Luo Binghe was really too good at tormenting people; these wives of his were enough to make a person beg for mercy. It was like he was on a horseback “flower”-viewing trip: they popped up one after another, and each gave him more trouble than the last.

There’s no need to keep turning up! I’m not the original flavor—I have no interest in molesting beauties, okay?!

The maiden pointed at him with her whip. “If you’re awake, don’t play dead. This palace mistress has things to ask you!”

With her seniority and her ability, irrespective of how wretched Shen Qingqiu might be at present, she could never have the right to interrogate him. So, Shen Qingqiu said, “This doesn’t seem like something the Little Palace Mistress should do.”

The pearl on the Old Palace Master’s palm and the apple of his eye, the unruly head of Luo Binghe’s harem, spoke without the least bit of courtesy. “Enough with the blather! Since you know who I am, then you must also know my reason for coming.”

The rims of her eyes reddened, and she said through clenched teeth, “You Demon Realm colluder. You vile, despicable traitor to your own comrades! The heavens have eyes. Now that you’ve fallen into this palace mistress’s hands, I will make you pay!”

“I don’t remember admitting to collusion with the Demon Realm,” said Shen Qingqiu.

The Little Palace Mistress stamped her feet. “You think that just because you haven’t admitted to it, I can’t teach you a lesson? You’re a long-famous senior, yet you were still so cruel, so ruthless to Luo-gege. Naturally, you would be capable of doing things like colluding with the demon race as well.”

Genetic inheritance is truly powerful. With this logical prowess, you’re undeniably the Old Palace Master’s child by blood!

Shen Qingqiu was silent for a while, then said, “Did he really say that I was cruel and ruthless to him?”

The Little Palace Mistress’s delivery was beautifully passionate. “Luo-gege is such a good person, so of course he wouldn’t say it. The wounds he’s suffered are all hidden within his heart, where no can touch them, where no one can see them… But do you think that just because he doesn’t say it, I wouldn’t be able to tell? Have I not eyes nor heart?”

…

These heartfelt feelings… Shen Qingqiu’s entire body felt like it was about to burst from all the oversharing.

Is this a motherfucking poetry recitation contest?!

He really didn’t know whether to pound the ground in hysterical laughter or to start crying hot tears.

I’m sorry! I know laughing at a girl who’s sincerely expressing her profound love is terrifically rude! But this is really way too embarrassing! It’s basically humiliation play!

Though Luo Binghe’s harem was vast, it was honestly a barely functional mess with all sorts of personality types. This was the result of biting off more than you could chew, valuing quantity over quality. It was also the result of Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky’s insistence on writing a stallion novel despite being a shitty otaku who’d barely ever touched a woman’s hand.

Serves you right, ha ha ha ha!

“What kind of expression is that?” the Little Palace Mistress said with sudden suspicion.

Shen Qingqiu swiftly pulled himself together, checking to see if his face had just been stretched in a grin. Offending this brat wouldn’t yield any good results.

As expected, the Little Palace Mistress flew into a rage. “Were you laughing at me just now?”

The Little Palace Mistress had originally been in love with her childhood sweetheart, Gongyi Xiao. But after Luo Binghe appeared, all her passions had surged toward the male lead. There was nothing to be done about it; since ancient times, in a war between a fated love and a childhood friend, the fated love’s victory was never in doubt.

This kind of setup—where the target of affection changed one way or another—was actually incredibly common in stallion novels, because there were many cuckold fetishists in the world: whether it was cucking others or being cucked themselves, they derived a strange pleasure from this type of plot. The person whose affections drifted would, of course, believe that they hadn’t done anything wrong because they were pursuing their true love, but eventually the guilt would weigh on their conscience. Whenever they saw someone’s expression grow a little off, they would feel like that person was laughing at them.

Just so, the Little Palace Mistress’s shame became anger. She swung her arm and the whip cracked forth.

That whip’s momentum was immense, its crack shrill beyond compare. Shen Qingqiu’s spiritual circulation was obstructed by the immortal-binding cables, but his agility had yet to deteriorate. He rolled along the floor, and the whip just happened to smash down less than a meter from his foot.

The smash sent rock shards and pulverized dust flying from the stone platform. In a half-kneel, Shen Qingqiu steadied himself.

Holy shit, what’s a young maiden doing, using this kind of barbed iron whip?! It doesn’t fit your image!

What fit even less was the fact that, in the original work, the Little Palace Mistress’s refined iron whip had only been used for attacking love rivals. It was a tool for fighting over men and getting into b-【 beep—】fights, only ever used to hit pretty women if Luo Binghe stared at them for too long—so why was it being used to hit a man?!

Your whip is crying, can’t you hear?! And I’ve had enough! Can you stop giving me this kind of script?!

Having missed, the Little Palace Mistress’s rage grew. With a sweet-sounding cry, she pulled back her whip and retook her stance. The stone platform was only so large, and Shen Qingqiu was moreover tied up, so however fast his reflexes were, the whip’s wind inevitably grazed him and ripped his clothes in several places, though it had yet to do him real harm.

After continuous dodging, he was soon backed to the edge of the stone platform. No matter where he looked, he saw nowhere to retreat, meaning he could only directly take a lash. Shen Qingqiu clenched his teeth and braced himself, shutting his eyes and waiting for the pain to strike.

But even after waiting for some time—a long time—he felt no physical pain.

He quickly opened his eyes, and his heart instantly sank.

Luo Binghe was gripping the whip’s lash in his bare hand. Two masses of ghostly, pitch-black fire seemed to burn within his eyes, both cold and terrifying. “What are you doing?” he asked, enunciating each word, his voice frozen down to its core.

The Little Palace Mistress hadn’t noticed him appear and started in fright. But what truly scared her was that frigid, severe expression she’d never seen before. She shivered despite herself.

Ever since they’d become acquainted, Luo Binghe had always been incredibly kind, good at coaxing and lifting moods. Never before had he turned this manner of murderous gaze upon her. The Little Palace Mistress found herself backing up several steps as she stammered, “I…I…I asked Daddy for the authorization pass so I could interrogate him for a bit…”

“The joint trial is in a month,” Luo Binghe said frostily.

The Little Palace Mistress suddenly felt aggrieved. “He’s hurt so many of my shixiong and shijie—so many!” she shouted. “And he was terrible to you! What’s wrong with me teaching him a lesson?!”

Luo Binghe yanked her whip clean out of her hands, treating the sharp barbs like they were nothing. He didn’t seem to use much strength, but when he relaxed his fingers, he revealed that the refined iron whip’s segments had been reduced to a pile of metal scrap.

“Go back,” Luo Binghe said impassively.

Having just watched a beloved possession be reduced to a handful of tiny fragments, the Little Palace Mistress let out an “ah” in outright disbelief.

Sobbing, she pointed at Shen Qingqiu, then at Luo Binghe. “You, you’re going to treat me this way? I’m angry for your sake, yet you won’t let me touch him?”

Luo Binghe gave her no answer and threw the shards of the destroyed whip into the lake. The hissing sounds as they corroded filling their ears, unending.

The Little Palace Mistress’s lip trembled. In that instant, she suddenly felt that what Luo Binghe actually wanted to crush mote by mote, until he threw it into the corrosive lake…was her. And this was not remotely a joke.

Filled with sorrow and indignation, Little Palace Mistress yelled, “I was doing it for you!” Then she turned and fled in tears.

The script is wrong! Shen Qingqiu howled internally. The fuck?! Motherfucker, something’s gone wrong—

He hadn’t finished before Luo Binghe’s gaze shifted to him.

Shen Qingqiu felt like his teeth, stomach, and balls were all aching from stress. At this moment, he’d have preferred to receive a hundred and eighty lashes from the Little Palace Mistress’s whip. At most, it would be a surface-injury kind of ache—and it would still be better than being with Luo Binghe in an enclosed area while every bit of his body hurt!

The two of them looked at each other in silence for a long time, then Luo Binghe took a step toward him.

Shen Qingqiu unconsciously maintained a distance between them, his manner aloof.

Luo Binghe’s outstretched hand halted in midair for a while, then he withdrew it. He humphed. “There’s no need for Shizun to be so wary. If I wished to do something to you, I wouldn’t need to touch you at all.”

Hugely true. A single drop of heavenly demon blood inside one’s stomach was akin to a time bomb planted within one’s body, only the possibilities were unlimited. If Luo Binghe wanted, a crook of his finger could puncture Shen Qingqiu’s intestines and destroy his stomach, or cause him enough pain to make him wish for death.

Shen Qingqiu sat back down in a meditative pose and lifted his eyes to meet Luo Binghe’s gaze.

One month.

No matter what, he had to hold out for one month. Afterward, he’d be a bird soaring high and free.

A big whatever to all this crap! Who gives a shit?!

The two of them were silent for a while.

Shen Qingqiu deliberated for a moment before he said, “If you do wish to do something to me, there’s no need to rush. If you wait until after the joint sect trial, my reputation will be ruined and I’ll have no chance to turn things around. If you wait until then to settle all debts, wouldn’t you have a just reason to do so, and won’t it be powerfully satisfying?”

He spoke these words totally based on his understanding of the original Luo Binghe’s way of thinking. Logically, it should have been an excellent argument in accordance with Luo Binghe’s tastes.

Unexpectedly, not only did Luo Binghe’s expression fail to clear, it became even more bitingly cold. He narrowed his eyes. “Why is Shizun so certain the joint trial will find him guilty?”

“That should be a question for you, shouldn’t it?” asked Shen Qingqiu.

“For me?” Luo Binghe repeated. He laughed forbiddingly. “Again, me.”

Shen Qingqiu had no words for him.

This Jin Lan City plot line was a new addition. In the original timeline, Luo Binghe would have still been leveling up underground at this moment, and he never would have appeared at all. Thus, Shen Qingqiu didn’t have the advantage of an omniscient POV. But Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky had guaranteed one thing: after Luo Binghe completed his leveling process and returned to the surface, every scheme and murder had something to do with him. However you thought about it, he was more suspicious than anyone.

Luo Binghe’s expression was sullen; he paced a few circles back and forth, his hands behind his back, then sharply turned around and said in a bitter tone, “I dare ask, Shizun, are you going to blame every last one of the demon race’s sins, their murdering and marauding, their crimes and evil deeds, on me?”

Shen Qingqiu furrowed his brow.

His lack of answer made Luo Binghe lazily clench his fist. “Once, you clearly trusted me so much, but now you suspect me of harboring ulterior motives at every turn. Is the difference between realm and race so profound that it could so wholly change your attitude toward someone?”

Shen Qingqiu was simply unable to hold back. He gathered his courage and said, “If that’s the case, I also have a question for you.”

Luo Binghe tilted his head. “This disciple is listening.”

“If you deny harboring ulterior motives, for what reason did you turn Huan Hua Palace to your side?”

Why wasn’t the male lead following the original plot? Having suffered the constraints of the System and the plot himself, Shen Qingqiu had to ask this question.

Luo Binghe started to move his lips as if he were about to speak, but in the end, he hesitated to open his mouth.

Shen Qingqiu was a bit surprised. “You can’t answer?”

Where was that silver tongue capable of taking on the entirety of Cang Qiong Mountain with eloquence alone? Was this the cost of going through the Endless Abyss plot arc too speedily and not properly training and XP farming? Luo Binghe hadn’t sufficiently leveled up his speech skill tree.

“Shizun doesn’t trust me either way,” said Luo Binghe. “Whether I answer or not, what’s the difference?”

In the shadowy Water Prison, the water reflected the trembling firelight. Shen Qingqiu’s heart seemed to tremble along with it.

After facing each other in silence for a while, Luo Binghe suddenly said, “But I hope Shizun can give me an honest answer to one question.” Pursing his lips, he stiffly added, “Just one question.”

“Speak.”

Luo Binghe sucked in a light breath. He said quietly, “Do you regret it?”

Shen Qingqiu closed his mouth and did not reply; his eyes moved, looking Luo Binghe up and down from head to toe. This “do you regret it” was all he’d said, nothing more.

He had to be asking if Shen Qingqiu regretted kicking him into the Endless Abyss.

Nonsense. Of course he regretted it—his intestines had twisted into knots with regret. But what did Luo Binghe mean by asking this?

Shen Qingqiu’s temples were twitching when a giant window abruptly popped up before him.

【 Please peruse your choices:

Choice A: Yes. This master regretted it from the start. These past few years, there wasn’t a moment that I did not spend racked with remorse, though it was far too late.

Choice B: (A disdainful laugh.) After seeing what you’ve become today, I know there was no need to regret!

Choice C: Maintain silence. 】

…How about you go die?

You upgraded, and this was the fucking update? What the fuck is with those parentheses?! You’ve even set the tone and expression for me! Do you think we’re playing a dating sim?!

This is worse than the original low-tech version. Quick, who can give me a System 1.0 installation package—I’ll thank their entire family!

Shen Qingqiu’s face filled with black lines as he complained in his head. “A is way too fake! If I were Luo Binghe, not only would I not believe me, I’d be disgusted. And what the hell is B? Are you sad he didn’t snap my neck last time?”

【 Please make a selection. 】

“C, C, C!”

【 Character depth level +10. 】

“Can’t you tell me how this ‘character depth’ is calculated?”

So, he gazed fixedly ahead and kept his silence.

Unable to get an answer, Luo Binghe’s tightly clenched fist gradually loosened, and he laughed at himself. “I knew the answer, but I still asked Shizun. I’m so stupid.”

If Shen Qingqiu hadn’t known that Luo Binghe was the power source of all the Systems in this world, he would definitely have suspected that he’d been replaced by his own impostor via transmigration. Which was to say, if not for his omniscient understanding of the plot, Shen Qingqiu would have suspected that…Luo Binghe really was a bit sad.

Silence was golden; more words meant more mistakes. Shen Qingqiu closed his eyes and sat without speaking, his legs crossed.

Facing this voiceless spell, Luo Binghe spoke in a light, icy voice. “Shizun, you were always a man of few words. But you were once willing to say those few words to me, and now you won’t do even that.” After a pause, his tone suddenly changed, and he sneered. “But it doesn’t matter. I have plenty of ways to make you talk.”

As this last syllable left his lips, Shen Qingqiu’s eyes flew open.

A dense spate of stabbing pains erupted from his abdomen.

Speaking makes you unhappy, refusing to speak also makes you unhappy. Why! What crime did I commit?!

After a moment, the stabbing pain disappeared, and it was replaced by the strange sensation of something crawling inside his blood vessels.

The heavenly demon blood had been in hibernation for many days, and it had since totally adapted to the environment inside its host’s body. Impelled by its master, it had coalesced into insects and was beginning to explore its host’s internal organs.

Luo Binghe said leisurely, “Spleen, kidneys, heart, lungs.”

As he listed each organ, an utterly bizarre, itching pain would burst from that location. It was veritably both an itch and a pain, like rows upon rows of tiny, densely packed teeth biting down, and it was accompanied by a burning sensation.

Though it wasn’t to the point of extraordinary anguish, it was still awful to suffer through.

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t remain sitting up any longer, and he folded over at the waist, resisting the urge to curl up into a ball. Cold sweat dripped down together with the beads of water still on his chin.

This action finally seemed more like Luo Binghe’s style, but too bad it was being used on him. Fuck, his stomach hurt so much—was this what it felt like when girls got their periods?!

“Shizun, where do you want them to start biting?” Luo Binghe asked warmly.

Nowhere! Wait, they haven’t even started biting yet? What will it feel like when they do?!

Shen Qingqiu slapped the System window. “Think of something, okay?! I’m still your customer, right?!”

【 Use key item Fake Jade Guanyin? Please note: This item may only be used once. 】

“What’s Luo Binghe’s current anger level?”

【 Thirty points. 】

“How is it so low? Are you sure you didn’t calculate wrong?! This is entirely unscientific!”

Use a godly item that could eliminate five thousand anger points on a thirty-point problem? Absolutely not!

“Are there any other options? What’s the second-highest rated method in the field?”

【 Activate Small Scenario Pusher? 】

From name alone, it didn’t sound exceptionally high-tech. But if this was the second-highest rated method in the field, it would do. Shen Qingqiu decisively selected it.

Luo Binghe sneered, “You don’t want to look at me, you don’t want to talk to me. Do you think I’m filthy?” As he spoke, he took an unexpected step forward and humphed. “If so, I refuse to give you what you want!”

He reached out to grab Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder.

As he moved, Shen Qingqiu unconsciously dodged. Luo Binghe caught nothing but a corner of his clothing.

Shen Qingqiu’s outer robe had already been ripped to shreds by the Little Palace Mistress’s whip. With this tug, over half of it tore straight off his shoulder.

Neither of them could have expected this development. Both were frozen on the spot, petrified.

A basin of cold water had been dumped all over Shen Qingqiu, and even now, his clothes and hair stuck wetly to his fair skin, while strand upon strand of immortal-binding cable as thin as red thread was wound around his body. Even if the shocked expression on his face couldn’t have been any more proper, his entire person looked extremely…improper.

Luo Binghe’s eyes suddenly opened wide.

He stared for a while, then whipped his hand away and spun around like he had been scalded by an iron.

As Luo Binghe backed away, the blood mites that had been writhing in Shen Qingqiu’s internal organs seemed to startle as well. They scattered like birds and beasts, and the sense of blockage in his blood vessels instantly disappeared.

Shen Qingqiu panted, his heart flooding with tears—his period was finally over!

Now how exactly does this Small Scenario Pusher work? Does it just make me lose some of my clothes? Might as well call it Small Stripping Assistant. What’s the logic underlying the function? Does it just take advantage of Luo Binghe’s physiological disgust upon seeing a man’s half-naked body?

Luo Binghe stood stiffly with his back turned for a while, like he didn’t know where to put his limbs. Without warning, he tugged off his outer robe at top speed and tossed it behind him.

The robe hit Shen Qingqiu full in the face.

Shen Qingqiu was speechless.

What’s the meaning of this?

This scene, these actions, why did they make him so thoroughly uneasy for no discernible reason? He couldn’t help but be reminded of that classic bad trope wherein, after a violated young maiden was rescued, her boyfriend draped a warm coat over her…

Shen Qingqiu’s hair stood on end. He lifted his arm, letting Luo Binghe’s black robe slide from his shoulders.

The soft, fine fabric dropped to the ground, silver light shimmering along the exquisitely sleek embroidery. At the rustling sound, Luo Binghe turned back to look and saw his robe abandoned on the ground. Shen Qingqiu had even cautiously pushed it toward him a bit.

Shen Qingqiu had actually also considered folding it for Luo Binghe, but he was only thinking about it and hadn’t yet made a move to do so. When he looked up, Luo Binghe had already turned around, and his eyes were blinding as they reflected the firelight. It seemed like he was in a fury; the veins on the backs of his hands popped, his fingers clenching and unclenching several times. Then, as if trying to vent his rage, he fired off a succession of spiritual blasts.

He was in fact launching these attacks with no target at all. A few hit the surface of the lake, striking waves of water high into the air. Another hit the wall of the cave, opening a giant crater. Pieces of stone rolled down, and the torches shook and fell into the lake. However, they weren’t extinguished, and instead they continued to burn brightly on the water’s surface, casting Luo Binghe’s face in a flicker of light and shadow, lending him a ghostly air.

Luo Binghe carefully drew back. “I almost forgot. Shizun dislikes anything the demon race has touched.”

The oh-so-mighty male lead had given up protecting his image to throw a tantrum for no reason.

How is this any different from a little child kicking their toys all over the place when they don’t get their way? You’re cutting your own ratings, really.

A perfectly good cave and its perfectly good walls were chock-full of holes before Luo Binghe finally finished raging.

He turned to find Shen Qingqiu still observing him, unperturbed. A vein seemed to jump a few times in Luo Binghe’s temple, and he forced out through gritted teeth, “In a month, I want to watch every step of your fall from grace with my own eyes!”

Having thrown down these words, Luo Binghe swept his sleeves and stalked away, slamming a hand onto the mechanism as he exited the cave. With a rumble, the water curtain poured back down.

Shen Qingqiu sat in place, staring upward in bewilderment: He was already a prisoner for Luo Binghe to do with as he pleased—so why was he so angry?

The inside of the cave was dark and gloomy. When the frigid wind blew, Shen Qingqiu’s wet clothes stuck to his skin, freezing him until he was shivering in earnest.

To the side, Luo Binghe’s robe still lay where it had been tossed on the ground.

Shen Qingqiu’s mind wandered despite his circumstances. When Luo Binghe had studied on Qing Jing Peak, he’d never even randomly thrown tantrums, forget about demonstrating such volatile mood swings. But the way he’d looked while shaking out his sleeves and storming off had, unexpectedly, given Shen Qingqiu a shadow of a glimpse of the little lamb he’d once known.

When he returned to himself, his entire body was racked with cold, and he wanted to sneeze. With no other options, Shen Qingqiu’s fingertips gingerly closed over that black outer robe, and he hesitantly draped it over himself.

It couldn’t be helped. It wasn’t like he was being tsundere earlier, just that he had been frankly unable to make himself do this in front of Luo Binghe.

After all, in the original work, hadn’t Luo Binghe given girls this exact robe every time after they had sex?!

So how could he wear it right in front of the protagonist?!

 

***

 

Shen Qingqiu had learned that whenever he tried to meditate or clear his mind, there was always some form of outside disruption. For example, that time at the Ling Xi Caves, and now again in the Water Prison.

The stone path rose, and the corrosive water curtain stopped flowing. Gongyi Xiao hurried down the path. With only a glance at Shen Qingqiu, his feet slipped out from under him.

“Se…Se…Senior Shen, you…” he stammered.

“What about me?” Shen Qingqiu had no idea what was wrong.

Gongyi Xiao had a strange look on his face, like he didn’t know whether he should turn on his heel and retreat. He hesitated on the edge of the stone platform without continuing farther. Following his gaze, Shen Qingqiu looked down.

“That robe, isn’t it…?” Gongyi Xiao said hesitantly.

Shen Qingqiu sighed. Luo Binghe’s outer robe.

Gongyi Xiao finally reacted. He coughed shortly, then asked, “How has Senior Shen been these past two days?”

Shen Qingqiu replied, “All right.”

If he weren’t so popular he’d have been even more all right. Within the span of two days, three people had already visited. This luxury VIP single room in which he was temporarily detained must be the hottest, most popular suite in the history of Huan Hua Palace’s Water Prison.

“I heard that yesterday, Luo-shixiong…was in a terrible rage when he left. This junior was worried that he might have done something to Senior Shen…” As Gongyi Xiao spoke, his eyes involuntarily drifted back to that black robe.

Under his stare, Shen Qingqiu found himself pulling the robe tighter over his chest.

Done what? Luo Binghe had only thrown a tantrum and punched holes all over the place, collapsing half the cave. What’s with that look in your eyes?!

Shen Qingqiu sighed. “Luo Binghe has really taken to Huan Hua Palace like a fish to water.”

Gongyi Xiao smiled bitterly. “Not only that. Luo-shixiong’s spiritual power is outstanding, his conduct unwavering, and his actions swift and decisive. Everyone else is left in the dust, so it’s no wonder Shizun regards him so highly. If Luo-shixiong weren’t so insistent on not taking Shizun as his master, I’m afraid I would never have a chance of becoming head disciple.”

Sincere sympathy seeped into the gaze Shen Qingqiu sent toward him.

“This junior came to see you about an important matter,” Gongyi Xiao said resolutely. “This morning, Peak Lord Shang requested an authorization pass from my master, but his application was delayed, and he doesn’t know when he will be able to get through. He seemed to have some pressing business, and he asked this junior to bring a letter.” As he spoke, he reached into his lapel.

Fuck, it really was a letter. And it was only hastily folded twice, without even a wax seal or a sealing spell.

Shang Qinghua, how daring!

“Please relax, Senior, I’ve already looked through it,” said Gongyi Xiao.

Then “relax” my ass!

“However, I couldn’t understand what it said.”

Shen Qingqiu let out an internal sigh of relief. Good, it looked like he had misunderstood. Shang Qinghua wouldn’t fuck up that badly. In all likelihood, he’d used a secret code, so there would be nothing to fear even if someone did intercept it.

Shen Qingqiu shook open the paper with two fingers. After skimming it, his face turned green. After reading two lines, his face turned white. All sorts of colors bloomed and intertwined over his cheeks in a lively display.

He was speechless.

This letter was written in English.

No, not quite that: it was written in error-ridden Chinglish. The grammar was entirely Chinese, and any word Shang Qinghua didn’t know was replaced by its pinyin equivalent.

“Great Master” Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky: Did you not consider…

What if I can’t understand your shit-tier English?!

After puzzling his way through the general gist of the thing, Shen Qingqiu directed some energy to his hand. The paper broke into fragments and fell to the floor like June snow, exactly resembling his currently tumultuous mental state.

As it turned out, it was he who had underestimated “Great Master” Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky.

 

For Peerless Cucumber’s eyes only:

Everything is set, and the preparations are complete. The location has not changed. It’s just there was a small mishap with the time. In order to make the Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom mature as soon as possible, I fixed up a little something to promote its maturation—but I accidentally overdid it. Right now, it’s as mature as it will ever get, and it will rot in no more than a week. So I hope you can leave Huan Hua Palace’s Water Prison as soon as possible. Don’t worry, it was only a bit of something like chemical fertilizer, so there shouldn’t be any difference when you use the mushroom. Probably.

 

This wasn’t just going off recipe—did the concept of recipes even exist for this guy?

He’d used chemical fertilizer to ripen that all-natural, unpolluted life-form. Fertilizer! “There shouldn’t be any difference when you use it” was the sort of guarantee as trustworthy as the ones from used car salesmen!

Gongyi Xiao looked around. “Senior, are you done reading? If you are, please toss the letter into the lake to destroy it. Actually, yesterday, Luo-shixiong gave orders that no one but him was allowed to enter. I must leave as soon as possible so as to avoid being discovered and causing more complications.”

Shen Qingqiu grabbed Gongyi Xiao. “Do me a favor.”

Gongyi Xiao responded, “Go ahead and ask, as long as I—”

Shen Qingqiu didn’t wait for him to finish saying “am able” before he sincerely asked, “Let me out.”

Gongyi Xiao was silent until he said, with difficulty, “Senior…I really can’t do that.”

“I have a reason to insist,” Shen Qingqiu said solemnly. “I swear that I don’t intend to flee from the trial. After finishing my affairs, I will return to the Water Prison of my own volition to await judgment. If you don’t trust me, we can take a blood oath.”

One could not renege on a blood oath.

But in truth, after seeing to these affairs, it wouldn’t matter whether Shen Qingqiu returned to Huan Hua Palace’s Water Prison. So he was, in fact, running a scam.

“I certainly trust Senior, but wasn’t detention in the Water Prison primarily your request?” Gongyi Xiao said awkwardly. “Exactly what could be so critical that you would absolutely have to leave? If you’re willing to explain, I can report to the sect leaders and seniors participating in the investigation…”

Shen Qingqiu was having some second thoughts: Gongyi Xiao was a Huan Hua Palace disciple, and abetting the escape of a prisoner would be no small sin on any head it lay upon. This was an upstanding youngster. Throwing him to the wolves would be rather unkind. Within this seven-day limit, there were bound to be more opportunities.

Therefore, he changed his tone. “Forget it. It wasn’t anything serious.”

As he spoke, he struggled to collect all the paper fragments on the ground before tossing them into the lake to destroy the evidence. Because most of his body was bound by immortal-binding cables, movement was immensely difficult. After he shifted a couple of times, the black robe slid off his body.

Gongyi Xiao had originally bent down to help, but when he saw that black robe cast aside on the ground, he unintentionally looked up. His arms and legs went rigid at the sight.

Shen Qingqiu looked at him in askance.

The white garment on his body had been ripped clean from his shoulder; it was obvious at a glance that someone had violently torn it apart with their bare hands. In addition, fragments of fabric that looked like they had been shredded by a whip had been left hanging from what remained. More than a few pale red scrapes were evident on the fair skin exposed by the damage. If one looked closely, they would also detect the faint traces of bruises on his neck that had yet to fade.

Gongyi Xiao received a devastating shock to his worldview.

“Senior… You… Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked in a trembling voice.

No wonder Luo Binghe had forbidden anyone but him from entering the Water Prison, even if they had the authorization pass—why he had even confiscated Peak Lord Shang’s application.

So it’s like this! An insubordinate disciple! Devoid of conscience! Worse than a beast!

Gongyi Xiao inwardly cried tears of blood for Senior Shen.

As for himself, Shen Qingqiu said blankly, “Yes? I’m all right.”

Gongyi Xiao was shaken. How… How could Senior Shen have such a tranquil expression even in a moment like this?!

Shen Qingqiu finished tossing all the paper fragments into the lake. “You shouldn’t take the words I said just now to heart. You—”

Gongyi Xiao suddenly stood up, turned around, and left.

Shen Qingqiu’s face filled with black lines. I say you shouldn’t take it to heart and you just up and leave? Isn’t that a bit too brusque?

But before an hour had passed, Gongyi Xiao returned again, carrying something in hand. He walked over to Shen Qingqiu, unwrapped the seals binding that object, and slashed downward.

With a white flash, the bindings around Shen Qingqiu’s body abruptly loosened, and it felt like an electric circuit had been reconnected. He stretched his fingers. His spiritual energy was unmistakably back in operation and flowing smoothly. When he’d been imprisoned, he had been in the middle of a random Without a Cure flare-up, but after two days of being tied up by the immortal-binding cables, the poison had unexpectedly been suppressed again. Was this following the same principle as fighting fire with fire, or how two negatives make a positive?

The immortal-binding cables fell to the ground in pieces. Gongyi Xiao tossed over the object in his hands, and Shen Qingqiu reached out to catch it.

Xiu Ya!

Holding the sword, Shen Qingqiu was overjoyed and astonished. He looked over at Gongyi Xiao. “I thought this was supposed to be with the Old Palace Master.”

“Even if I risk being punished by my master, this junior cannot sit back and remain stoic while Senior is disgraced,” Gongyi Xiao said righteously. “I trust you, Senior Shen. Please follow me!”

Shen Qingqiu was involuntarily overcome by a sense of helplessness.

What’s this…? I keep feeling like…he seems to have misunderstood something very important… But…forget it… This is fine…

“All right!” Shen Qingqiu said resolutely.

Sure, the heavenly demon blood was still dormant within his body, and wherever he ran, Luo Binghe would always be able to locate him. But that knowledge didn’t matter so long as Luo Binghe couldn’t chase him there!

“Senior, you… Can you walk?” Gongyi Xiao asked, deeply worried. “Do you need me to carry…”

With a dark expression, Shen Qingqiu took a decisive stride and marched forward, using this action to prove that he could indeed walk, and walk very briskly at that!

Gongyi Xiao started, then promptly followed close behind. Unexpectedly, when they stepped off the surface of the stone platform and onto the path, the water curtain that had been raised rumbled overhead and water gushed down.

Shen Qingqiu, who’d been running quickly, also braked quickly, lest he take the spray head-on. He stepped back onto the stone platform along with Gongyi Xiao, and the water curtain gradually stopped.

It was basically deliberately stopping them from leaving. Wasn’t this design a bit too intelligent?!

Gongyi Xiao suddenly understood. “I forgot—once the Water Prison has been activated, there must always be someone on the stone platform. If this person leaves or there isn’t enough weight on the platform, the water curtain automatically reactivates, even if the mechanism has been shut it off.”

In the past, he’d never had any experiences with helping a prisoner escape, so naturally he hadn’t remembered this.

“In other words, one person has to be left on the stone platform before the others can leave?” Shen Qingqiu asked.

Gongyi Xiao nodded.

“Then you stay here.”

Gongyi Xiao was silent.

Shen Qingqiu shook out his sleeves and headed toward the path. Behind him, Gongyi Xiao weakly raised his hand. “Senior Shen, even though I am most willing to serve, if you don’t have me to lead the way, I’m afraid you won’t be able to get out… Ah…”

Shen Qingqiu looked back and added, “Wait for me to return.”

Gongyi Xiao stood in place, stupefied. He had a mind to follow, but he was hindered by the fact that he had no way to leave the stone platform, so he could only stand there and wait. A short while later, he heard a muffled sound from outside, and Shen Qingqiu walked back up, dragging a person by the back of their collar.

Shen Qingqiu hauled the still-unconscious pock-faced disciple onto the stone platform, patted Gongyi Xiao on the shoulder, and said, “I happened to see this one on patrol and borrowed him for a bit. Let’s go!”

In reality he hadn’t just “happened” to see him. There had been four people on patrol. Shen Qingqiu had secretly hidden himself, and only after careful selection had he grabbed this mouthy fellow.

Just now, it had also occurred to Gongyi Xiao to grab a random disciple to use as a weight, but the idea had flashed by only indistinctly. Now that Shen Qingqiu had done it himself—meaning there was no need for Gongyi Xiao to personally knock out a fellow disciple—he breathed a sigh of relief.

As they once more headed toward the outside, shoulder to shoulder, he saw Shen Qingqiu draw that black robe draped around his shoulders tighter, and a lump welled in his throat.

He could only feel agonized. He was already reluctant to see Shen Qingqiu, the leader of a peak, be imprisoned and humiliated. Yet now Shen Qingqiu needed to depend on a piece of clothing from the one who’d assaulted him to cover his body and conceal the marks of that humiliation. How could he not lament in distress?

Shen Qingqiu saw Gongyi Xiao’s expression flicker. It looked like sympathy, but also indignation. He could only face turbulence with tranquility, and he kept his expression blank.

Out of nowhere, Gongyi Xiao said, “Senior, please take it off!”

Shen Qingqiu stared. Huh?!

Without waiting for him to recover, Gongyi Xiao had already begun taking off his own outer robe. Shen Qingqiu was just considering whether he should toss a spiritual blast at Gongyi Xiao to try and return him to his senses when Gongyi Xiao offered him the outer robe he’d removed with both hands. “Please wear this!”

Shen Qingqiu suddenly understood.

Oh, so that was what he meant. Luo Binghe’s clothes were black, but the clothes themselves matched the person; like the male lead himself, they were sophisticated, luxurious yet understated. Obviously, Gongyi Xiao disapproved—wearing such a robe would only draw attention. But changing into a white robe that looked like it could belong to anybody would be more advantageous to their chances of escape. Such attention to detail!

Shen Qingqiu resolutely removed Luo Binghe’s robe and changed into Gongyi Xiao’s. Before leaving, he thought for a moment, then took the time to fold Luo Binghe’s robe. Only after this did he place it on the ground.

Navigation wasn’t particularly difficult upon first leaving the Water Prison, but the farther they walked, the more Shen Qingqiu came to appreciate that Huan Hua Palace’s maze array was indeed exceptionally terrifying. They traveled through cave after cave, path intersecting with path, and every couple of steps they’d circle around and around, to the point it made his head spin. Despite walking so close to Gongyi Xiao’s back, Shen Qingqiu almost lost him quite a few times. If Gongyi Xiao hadn’t known the assignments and schedules of the Water Prison’s staff like the back of his hand, who knew how many disciple guard patrols they would have run into?

After an hour, they finally made it out of the underground Water Prison. They walked many kilometers more without stopping and entered Bai Lu Forest, until they were about to cross the border of Huan Hua Palace’s territory. The Water Prison’s alarm had yet to sound, meaning that no one had yet discovered that the prisoner was gone. Luo Binghe’s order forbidding all others from visiting the Water Prison had inadvertently greatly aided Shen Qingqiu’s escape.

After a short rest, Shen Qingqiu said, “Young Master Gongyi, after this point, you needn’t stay to send me off. Hurry back now while we’re still undetected.” After a pause, he added, “Within seven days, go to Hua Yue City. You’ll definitely find me there.”

“If that’s the case, I won’t accompany you any farther,” Gongyi Xiao said. “Even though I don’t know what Senior intends to do about these future concerns, please be careful. And Senior, please don’t worry about the sects’ trial next month. It’s as you said: those clean will remain clean no matter what. The sect leaders will obviously exonerate you.”

Unable to help himself, Shen Qingqiu laughed. First, his dark history was set in stone and couldn’t be erased. Second, the trial next month had fuck-all to do with him, ha ha ha ha…

He immediately cupped his hands, carefree and satisfied. “May we meet again.”

The road from Huan Hua Palace’s border to Hua Yue City ran through the most densely populated and economically developed stretch of the Central Plains. This also meant that an especially large number of secular cultivation sects and influential families were located within the area.

The cultivators of this world highly valued aerial defense. Like in Jin Lan City, they often set up aerial defense barriers over their territories. If an immortal’s sword or spiritual artifact flew through it above the speed limit, it would undoubtedly be discovered and reported to that sect’s higher-ups.

Obviously, traveling in this way would be like bombastically broadcasting his escape trajectory via megaphone.

Shen Qingqiu flew part of the way and walked another without rest until he finally arrived at Hua Yue City the following night.

His arrival timing was terribly unfortunate, as a festival celebrating the establishment of Hua Yue City was in full swing. The city was adorned with colored lanterns and would be brightly lit the entire night. Soaring dragons and lion dances filled the streets, the drums and music thunderous. People were packed together, vendor next to vendor, peddlers shouldering their poles as they slunk down every street. Practically everyone had poured out of their homes.

Even more unfortunate was that, on his arrival, dark clouds covered the moon. Without the support of sun or moonlight, the chance his plan would fail greatly increased. Anxious about the odds, Shen Qingqiu decided to wait for the time being. At most one day. If after that day, the clouds had yet to disperse, he couldn’t afford to care anymore. If the chance of failure remained greater, so be it. A risk would still be better than clinging to an overripe Sun-Moon Dew Mushroom and crying about it. At that point, even if it was cooked and served with alcohol, it would just reek of fertilizer.

As Shen Qingqiu walked cautiously, he occasionally bumped into rowdy children or brushed past groups of laughing girls, and he felt, very slightly, that it really was a pity. If he weren’t currently fleeing for his life, he would’ve liked to take a thorough tour of the city.

Suddenly, several men all dressed in clothes of the same color were walking toward him, longswords slung over their backs. Each one held his head high and chest out. From a glance, one could tell they were arrogant disciples from a random sect.

Though it sounded strange, the smaller and more random the sect, the more afraid their disciples would be that others didn’t know they were cultivators. If they could have gotten away with it, they would have emblazoned their clothes with huge slogans.

Shen Qingqiu turned his body in a natural manner and smoothly picked up a demon mask from the side. He placed it over his face, then openly and confidently walked toward them. At the festival, six out of ten attendees were wearing masks; if he mixed in with them, he didn’t have to fear drawing attention.

“Shixiong, would that ‘Xiu Ya Sword’ really sit around in this city, waiting to be captured?” one man from the group asked.

“The four sects sent out the warrant for his capture as one—how could it be fake?” the leader berated him. “Didn’t you see how many sects have sent people here to box him in? Keep an eye out. You saw Huan Hua Palace’s bounty too. Don’t you want it?”

Myriad thoughts filled Shen Qingqiu’s mind. It turned out that, without his knowledge, he’d become a wanted criminal.

“It’s no wonder Huan Hua Palace put down such a large sum. What happened to them was really just awful…”

The most I did to them was knock out an insignificant disciple, Shen Qingqiu thought. I didn’t do anything else. So how did Huan Hua Palace suddenly become the tragic victim?

He wanted to keep listening, but they pulled farther and farther ahead, and the rush of people cut him off, so he could only give up.

While he was mulling over whether he should find an abandoned residence to rest, he felt a sudden weight upon his leg. When he looked down, he saw a small child clinging to his thigh.

That child unhurriedly raised his head. His face was pallid, like he was malnourished, but his eyes were both large and bright. They stared straight at Shen Qingqiu as the boy clung to his thigh, unwilling to let go.

Shen Qingqiu patted his head. “Who’s your family? Did you get lost?”

The small child nodded, and when he spoke, his voice was meek and sweet. “I got lost.”

The child’s appearance was naturally endearing, and it even seemed a little familiar, so Shen Qingqiu leaned over to pick him up, letting him sit on his arm. “Who did you come here with?”

The child clung to his neck and pursed his lips. “With Shizun…”

Was he some sect’s young disciple? Then if a grown-up came to look for him, Shen Qingqiu was in for a real headache.

But for some reason, the forlorn way the boy said “Shizun” stirred Shen Qingqiu’s pity down to the core. He just couldn’t harden his heart and toss the child to the side of the road, leaving him to continue huddling miserably. He patted the boy’s soft little behind. “Your shizun didn’t look after you properly—how incredibly awful of him. Where did you get lost? Do you remember?”

The child giggled into his ear. “I remember. Shizun personally threw me down himself, so how could I not?”

Half of Shen Qingqiu’s body went utterly cold.

It was as if what he held in his arms wasn’t the body of a young child but a poisonous snake—a massive snake that had wound around his neck and bared its fangs, poised to bite and inject venom into him at any moment.

He abruptly threw aside the person in his arms and turned around, his back covered in goosebumps. The fine hairs all over his body promptly stood straight up.

The entire street was looking at him. The ones wearing masks, the ones not wearing masks. It was like they were suddenly all immobilized, holding their breaths and watching him.

The ones wearing masks were frightening, with their sinister and demonic visages. But the ones not wearing masks were even more panic-inducing—they didn’t have faces!

Shen Qingqiu’s instinct in that second was to place his hand on Xiu Ya, but he shortly caught himself. He couldn’t attack.

This was what he’d once taught Luo Binghe: while within Meng Mo’s barrier, to attack the “people” who appeared in the dream realm was to in fact attack your own self.

Cold sweat dripped from Shen Qingqiu’s forehead. He had wholly, completely failed to realize that he’d entered this barrier. To be fair, people never remembered when and how exactly a “dream” began.

But he’d been fleeing! Surely he hadn’t been so dull-witted as to fall asleep on the side of the road while running for his life?

From behind him there came a tender voice. “Shizun.”

Moments ago, when this voice had been by his ear, it had sounded clearly and utterly adorable and innocent. But when he listened to it now, it actually possessed some unspeakably terrifying quality.

“Why don’t you want me anymore?” the child form of Luo Binghe asked faintly from where he stood behind Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu decisively refused to turn his head and immediately took off.

Though he said that all these faceless people were watching him… No, he couldn’t call it watching, because they didn’t even have eyes. But their faces still turned in Shen Qingqiu’s direction, and he could indeed feel the weight of countless gazes upon him.

Shen Qingqiu pretended he couldn’t see any of this and charged straight ahead, thrusting aside anyone in his way. Suddenly, a hand intercepted his palm. He turned his head to look. Though this hand was slim, it possessed terrifying strength, basically like an iron shackle.

A fourteen-year-old Luo Binghe firmly gripped his wrist. On his face was not only the bruising that had never been allowed to heal but an overflowing melancholy. Those pitch-black eyes stared right at him, almost within reach.

You’re still coming?!

Shen Qingqiu tried three times before he finally flung off Luo Binghe, then pushed aside the crowd and continued to flee. First was a child, second was a youth—if the adult version came next, he really wouldn’t be able to take it!

But this street seemed to go on forever with no end in sight. After a sequence of small stalls on either side, faceless playing children, and demon-masked girls appeared a second time, Shen Qingqiu was finally certain: this dream realm street was looping. Going forward was fruitless.

Since neither forward nor backward would work, he’d blaze a different trail. Shen Qingqiu looked left and right, then darted up to a liquor shop.

Crimson lanterns hung high over the shop’s doors, the red glow muted and beautiful, yet the wooden doors were tightly shut. Shen Qingqiu pulled open the doors and had just walked inside when they slammed closed by themselves.

The interior of the house was dark, and a cold breeze blew through it. Rather than being the inside of a liquor shop, it felt more like he’d entered a cave.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t think this unexpected. Dream realms couldn’t be understood using common sense. Every door had the potential to lead anywhere.

At this moment, a series of eerie noises drifted to his ear.

They sounded like the intensely labored, incessant panting of a person close to death, whose lungs had been punctured—who was in terrible agony.

Moreover, it didn’t sound like only one person.

Shen Qingqiu snapped his fingers, flicking a flame forth from his fingertips, and aimed it toward the origin of those strange noises.

The flame illuminated the scene in its entirety, leaving out not a single detail. His pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.

Liu Qingge held Cheng Luan, the blade aimed at himself, and was stabbing it into his own chest.

His body was stained with blood, large swathes covered with a deep and ghastly red. The wounds weren’t just concentrated in one place, and a stream of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. It looked like he’d already stabbed himself with the sword who knew how many times, yet his expression was both furious and crazed. It was obvious he was delirious, in the midst of a qi deviation.

Beneath the rays of dim yellow firelight, this picture was exceptionally horrifying. Shen Qingqiu momentarily forgot that this was still the dream realm and threw himself forward, wrenching Cheng Luan away. That sword had been staked in the center of Liu Qingge’s heart, and with only a light touch from Shen Qingqiu, fresh blood spurted violently forth, filling his vision with red.

At that, Shen Qingqiu’s mind cleared a little and he backed up two steps, only to bump into another person.

He jerked his head around. Yue Qingyuan’s head was lowered, gaze meeting his.

Though their gazes met, those two eyes were empty and devoid of light. From his throat to his chest, his four limbs and abdomen…were all pierced with a forest of pitch-black arrows.

Pierced with ten thousand arrows?

All at once, Shen Qingqiu understood the meaning of these visions: these were their original deaths.

The deaths that he had been meant to cause with his own hands.

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t stand it anymore. He far preferred being outside, getting aggressively stared down by a circle of faceless people, to this sort of thing.

He backed up in the direction from which he’d come, and he managed to brush those wooden doors. Feeling as if he’d been granted amnesty, Shen Qingqiu kicked the doors open and rushed outside.

His mind was a mess, his footsteps confused as he tripped and staggered along, cutting a rather sorry figure. Every “person” on the street watched him in a deathly silence, and while he was disoriented, he crashed headlong into someone’s chest.

That person’s hands swiftly came around to his back, gathering him into their arms.

The other party was a little taller than him, slender and willowy, dressed in clothes as black as ink that exposed only a fair neck. Above that, a sinister mask covered their face.

Shen Qingqiu hadn’t yet spoken when a smiling voice came from above: “Shizun, be careful.”

He had no need to lift the mask to know whose face lay underneath.

At once, Shen Qingqiu began to struggle. The other party didn’t hold him by force, so getting free wasn’t difficult. Only after retreating several steps and maintaining a safe distance did he right himself.

“You created this city?” Shen Qingqiu asked.

Luo Binghe casually removed the mask. His expression looked like he was sad that they couldn’t keep playing hide-and-seek. “Correct. What does Shizun think?”

Shen Qingqiu slowly nodded. “You truly deserve to be called Meng Mo’s succeeding disciple.”

To be able to create an illusion this detailed…he feared it was nearly as good as the city Meng Mo had created to trap them in, all those years ago. Furthermore, it had so accurately grasped his lurking fears.

Originally, Luo Binghe’s mood had seemed rather good, but on hearing these words, the smile on his lips faded. “I’m not Meng Mo’s disciple.”

“Didn’t you accept him as your master?” Shen Qingqiu asked, slightly curious.

Luo Binghe held his silence for a while before he answered in a peeved tone. “I didn’t!”

All right then. If he didn’t, he didn’t. Shen Qingqiu didn’t think there was any point wasting time on this.

“Shizun, if you’re willing to return of your own volition, you can ask for anything,” Luo Binghe said.

“Are you offering a plea bargain?” asked Shen Qingqiu.

“So long as I don’t dissolve the blood mites within your body, it will be futile to flee.”

“Oh. Is that so.” He smiled. “Then right now, why haven’t you personally come to catch me?”

Luo Binghe stiffened, sparks flashing in his eyes.

At this reaction, Shen Qingqiu became even more sure. “Something has gone wrong with that sword of yours, right?” he asked languidly.

The heavens smile down on me!

After falling into the Endless Abyss, while within the stomach of a huge, ancient beast, Luo Binghe had found a mythical sword that had been forged by a master demon blacksmith with an entire lifetime’s worth of painstaking labor.

This sword was called Xin Mo: “heart demon.”

The name alone tells you that it’s something super dangerous, right?!

And that was a must! The stronger the spiritual artifact, the harder it was to control. Since ancient times, Xin Mo had passed through the hands of more than a hundred masters, and all had been blessed geniuses from various races. Yet despite this, none of them had been able to escape the same fate, and they had all died to this very blade—their own sword.

Xin Mo lashed back against its wielder. If you could make it submit, it was a formidable weapon in your hand. But if one day you were unable to control the sword’s evil tendencies, you would become no more than another blood sacrifice to its hunger.

Only after starting the Demon Realm arc had the original Luo Binghe gone through his first bout of internal struggles wherein he narrowly escaped Xin Mo’s recoil. After that, for the sake of solving this problem, he’d begun a “side plot” that lasted five hundred chapters and involved collecting eight or nine more girls.

But right now, with the plot in disarray, it seemed the recoil incident had also moved earlier.

Xin Mo’s recoil was no joke. No wonder Luo Binghe hadn’t given chase. He was busy secluding himself to recover, so he was unable to come capture Shen Qingqiu in person.

Suddenly, Luo Binghe grabbed Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder and forcefully yanked.

Rip.

Why again?!

Luo Binghe’s face was almost as dark as the bottom of a pot. Each word he spat out sounded like he’d first ground it between his teeth. “Even if I can’t come in person for now, Shizun shouldn’t be too happy.”

That doesn’t mean you should tear my clothes! Shen Qingqiu clutched the remaining fabric tightly and indignantly said, “What are you doing?! Is this your only method of humiliating others?”

“It was clearly Shizun who humiliated me first!”

【 Satisfaction points +50. 】

You can add points for that too?! Gross! Why does this feel so sick?!

When Luo Binghe’s hand exerted force, the white robe’s fabric disintegrated into pieces, drifting away in the wind. His anger still unappeased, he pressed toward Shen Qingqiu. His expression made Shen Qingqiu fear that there would be no end to this. He’d never known Luo Binghe to have crazy clothes-ripping tendencies, but of course he couldn’t just sit there and resign himself to it. They exchanged ten or so blows, quick and nimble. Luo Binghe could obviously easily assume the upper hand, but like a cat playing with a mouse, he patiently engaged Shen Qingqiu in close combat.

Shen Qingqiu’s movements were swift, but it seemed that in Luo Binghe’s eyes, he was always one step behind. When he lashed out with a palm strike, Luo Binghe evaded within a hair’s breadth every time, calm and unhurried. Then, as if reciprocating a polite gesture, he perfunctorily returned the blow.

On top of that, the System was being extremely annoying, with satisfaction point notifications ringing without end: +20, +30, +50, etc. The infernal racket flooded Shen Qingqiu’s brain. After several back-and-forths, it was Shen Qingqiu’s turn to wear a dark face.

Where are you aiming?! Are you messing with me?! Shouldn’t the goal of a fight be defeating the other party?!

This wasn’t a fight—this couldn’t even be considered sparring. It was basically harassment!

As he thought this, Shen Qingqiu’s concentration slipped and he used too much force, falling into Luo Binghe.

This, Luo Binghe didn’t evade at all, and he let Shen Qingqiu crash into his arms with a thud. His voice carried laughter, like his mood had risen once more. “Shizun taught me this maneuver himself. When it comes to force, there’s a time for restraint and a time for release, and one must above all else avoid losing one’s balance. How could you forget that yourself?”

At this moment, Shen Qingqiu’s mind was bombarded with a colorful explosion of “little beast” ad nauseam.

Motherfucker! This maneuver really was something he’d taught Luo Binghe!

He still remembered that lesson, not long after Luo Binghe had moved out of the woodshed. Though he was blessed with shitloads of raw talent and had come up with a fighting style through random experimentation, other than the handful of cutting and stabbing maneuvers every new disciple knew, he’d known absolutely jack shit about any higher-level techniques.

After watching him practice a series of sword, palm, and foot techniques, Shen Qingqiu had held his forehead for a long time while Luo Binghe awaited his evaluation by his side, as anxious as he was nervous.

Shen Qingqiu had been unable to bear hurting him and, after a long while, had finally squeezed out a single line: “Pragmatic, and quite flexible.”

In the name of correcting Luo Binghe’s more tragic habits, Shen Qingqiu had put in a great deal of painstaking effort and given him daily private instruction. He had been unable to understand why a nudge wasn’t enough. Given Luo Binghe’s intelligence and comprehension, Shen Qingqiu shouldn’t have needed to tell him anything more than once. But in reality, Luo Binghe was incredibly stubborn. He would immediately forget his lessons, no matter how tirelessly taught, and always used too much force. He had slammed into Shen Qingqiu’s arms who-knew-how-many times, until Shen Qingqiu finally became angry.

Are you doing this on purpose?!

Unable to help himself, he had slapped the back of Luo Binghe’s head, neither heavy nor light, and shouted, “How is this anticipating and defending against your enemy? You’re basically throwing yourself into their arms!”

Only after this did Luo Binghe, face fully flushed, finally start practicing in earnest. He no longer dared to make mistakes so carelessly.

But in the present, Luo Binghe was the one lecturing Shen Qingqiu on his incorrect stance.

What nonsense is this?!

Shen Qingqiu felt like his dignity as a master had been challenged. He was about to counterattack when Luo Binghe’s hand trailed downward, following the line of his spine. Goosebumps exploded down Shen Qingqiu’s back in its wake.

“Luo Binghe!” he said through clenched teeth.

【 Satisfaction points +100! Congratulations! 】

Congratulations my ass!

Luo Binghe again plucked away a length of shredded white cloth. “Seeing Shizun in this robe makes me awfully unhappy. It would be better to rip it all off.”

Doesn’t that mean he won’t stop until I’m one hundred percent naked?

“Even if you hate me, there’s no need to take it out on this robe,” Shen Qingqiu said. “Moreover, it’s Gongyi Xiao’s!”

Luo Binghe’s face fell. “Shizun’s the one who truly hates me. You’re unwilling to associate with even a scrap of my clothing.”

Why?! Why were two grown men neurotically discussing a piece of clothing while surrounded by staring eyes?

Luo Binghe, are you actually the sensitive type? I even patted your robe clean and folded it for you—what more do you want? It can’t be that you wanted me to handwash and return it to you personally! Shen Qingqiu thought, his expressions shifting erratically.

“What is Shizun thinking?” Luo Binghe asked at the sight. He added coolly, “If it’s about Gongyi Xiao, let me advise Shizun: you needn’t think about him anymore.”

An ominous feeling rose in Shen Qingqiu’s heart, and he asked in a forceful voice, “What happened to Gongyi Xiao?”

Plot-wise, Gongyi Xiao being banished—forced to defend a desolate regional border and deprived of any future prospects—was only supposed to happen after Luo Binghe and the Little Palace Mistress slept together.

But now the plot was jumbled to the point where even Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky, the story’s own father, would no longer recognize it. So naturally, any scenario could have moved up.

Shen Qingqiu had yet to hear Luo Binghe’s answer when the faceless people nearby stirred.

Originally, they had only vacantly stood there, watching blankly as if they were mentally infirm or doing their own thing. Now they started to steadily gather around him. Shen Qingqiu was squeezed into the center of the crowd, but he couldn’t directly blast them away. He looked again toward Luo Binghe, whose brows were tightly furrowed, hand pressed to his temple, too preoccupied to notice anything else—as if he were enduring a mental assault.

Shen Qingqiu had a sudden epiphany. In all likelihood, Xin Mo had taken the chance to lash out and was trying to strike at Luo Binghe’s mind. As Luo Binghe could no longer spare the energy to maintain the barrier, the dream realm was beginning to fall into chaos.

If Shen Qingqiu didn’t leave now, then when would he get the chance?!

If Luo Binghe couldn’t expend any attention to stop him, so as long as Shen Qingqiu faced another illusion and overcame the related fears buried within his heart, he would be able to destroy this failing barrier.

Just like that, Shen Qingqiu left. Luo Binghe’s head hurt like it was splitting open, but he was unable to move. He could only yell, “I dare you to take another step!”

Shen Qingqiu took ten steps. Afterward, he turned his head. “How’s that?”

Luo Binghe looked like he was about to cough up blood. He ground out each word, one by one. “You just wait and see!”

Shen Qingqiu’s gaze didn’t falter. He spoke coldly and loftily. “Goodbye!”

You think I’ll wait just because you told me to? I’m not an idiot!

To the side, Shen Qingqiu glimpsed another shop. He kicked open the doors and leapt through them. Whatever appeared this time, he was absolutely certain he could face it calmly.

At the very least, his chance of success was higher than when facing Luo Binghe!

The doors closed behind him, and it was like the clamor outside had been severed away by a sharp knife. Within a split second, it was all deathly silent.

Shen Qingqiu held his breath and waited, soundless.

After a long while, it was as if someone had lit a candle, and his surroundings slowly, flickeringly, lightened. Shen Qingqiu looked down, and he came face-to-face with a countenance that was both foreign and familiar.

Before him knelt a frail-looking youth.

The boy wore coarse clothes and was crouched bent over on the ground. It was a crestfallen pose, and his hands were tightly tied with a thick, rough rope. Though his face was deathly pale, his eyes were full of life.

Shen Qingqiu met his gaze, unwavering.

This categorically wasn’t Shen Qingqiu’s memory, but this face was indeed exactly like his. The only thing it was missing was the polish of time and cultivation; instead, it possessed the inexperience of youth.

This was Shen Qingqiu, yet it wasn’t Shen Qingqiu.

If he had to be obvious about it: this was Shen Jiu.

Shen Qingqiu abruptly sat up on a wooden slab.

After startling awake, he took in his surroundings, and only then did he realize that he was lying within an abandoned residence. The sky was already bright, white light streaming through the worn-out window and cracks in the rice paper.

Then he remembered: the night before, he’d wandered at random through the festival, and not long into his wander had really found an old, uninhabited house. He’d originally only intended to rest a little, but by accident he had carelessly fallen asleep, allowing Luo Binghe to catch him within the dream realm.

As Shen Qingqiu considered the illusion he’d seen just before the dream realm collapsed, he couldn’t help but sink into thought.

Though his and the original flavor’s souls counted as two different people, in the end, he was using someone else’s body, so it made sense that there would be at least some influence from the prior owner. What he’d seen in the dream had likely been the original Shen Jiu’s childhood memories.

In a way, then, he had cheated his way out, because those memories had absolutely no hold on the current Shen Qingqiu. Thus, he had been able to easily and effortlessly break free of them.

Although in retrospect, Shen Qingqiu thought this fairly suspicious. The Shen Jiu within his dream had been tied up, so he’d assumed it was a memory from the time when Shen Jiu was still held by human traffickers. However, he’d been in a room decorated with a soft carpet, numerous cabinets for keeping valuables, and the walls hung with calligraphy, which had lent it a noble air. It hadn’t looked like a criminals’ den, but rather had unquestionably been a rich man’s study…

In other words, it looked like Shen Jiu had not been as doted upon at the Qiu estate as Qiu Haitang claimed.

Shen Qingqiu hopped up from the bare wooden couch and unconsciously felt up his form. At least all his clothes were still there. But even though his clothes were intact, he didn’t really want to wear them anymore. Though they were on his body, he had an ominous feeling that they could be ripped off at any moment.

 

Before he’d gone too far through the streets, Shen Qingqiu discovered that more than a few people had poured into Hua Yue City upon receiving notice of the warrant for his capture.

Though many of the cultivators put on an act and didn’t wear their sect colors while disguised as common people, when they sat down at roadside stands, their postures were entirely different from an ordinary person’s. Shen Qingqiu felt it was too dangerous to go as he was, so he found a corner, smeared his face with dirt, and haphazardly stuck on some whiskers. After making all these preparations, he carefully returned to the street.

When he glanced up at the sky, he saw that the clouds were thin, like they were slowly retreating. If nothing went awry, noon today would be the optimal time.

When he looked down again, a slender snow-white silhouette flashed through the crowd in front of him, fast and light, their profile outstandingly handsome.

Liu Qingge! His hired thug was here!

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes brightened, but just as he was about to chase after Liu Qingge, a delicate shout erupted from a nearby tavern.

“What are you saying with your filthy mouth?!”

This voice was clear, delicate, and extremely familiar. Shen Qingqiu unconsciously paused mid-step, the scene drawing his gaze. Right afterward, a sequence of crashes shook the air, and all the passersby cast glances as well.

At this time, another young woman humphed and said spitefully, “What, you have the guts for crime but won’t let others talk? No wonder Cang Qiong Mountain produced a degenerate like Shen Qingqiu. Everyone in the sect must be eager to bury their shame, especially Qing Jing Peak. Humph, unfortunately for you, everyone knows what kind of thing he is. You think you can hide it?!”

What a venomous tone. The young woman who’d spoken first jumped in to refute her right away. “Shizun absolutely isn’t the kind of person who’d do something like this. Don’t you dare slander him!”

What young girl would even now speak up for him like so? Who could it have been other than Ning Yingying?

Ming Fan’s voice carried into the street as well. “We were only polite to you out of respect for the Old Palace Master. You ought to be more polite as well!”

Though Shen Qingqiu had wanted to go look for Liu Qingge, having urgent matters to tend to, this strange atmosphere made him hesitate for a second. In the end, afraid the Qing Jing Peak disciples would be at a disadvantage, he stayed for a moment and ducked to the side of the building to hide and watch.

There were two distinct camps in this tavern.

One side was led by Ming Fan and Ning Yingying, while a crowd of Qing Jing Peak disciples stood behind them, their every face filled with displeasure. The Little Palace Mistress stood in front of the other side, her hands on her hips as she faced her opponents with a cold scowl. The Huan Hua Palace disciples behind her had already flashed their blades, their glares even more full of fury.

Two young women, one lovely and delicate, the other with gorgeous features, gracefully faced off. Even if the air was filled with crackling, sizzling sparks, the scene was still incomparably easy on the eyes.

Luo Binghe was setting fires in his backyard again. No, even Qing Jing Peak’s disciples were involved, and they had challenged Huan Hua Palace. This was the real “enemies meeting on a narrow road.”4

Shen Qingqiu could guarantee that if he left this scene and walked away right this instant, Qing Jing Peak would definitely suffer more casualties, and greatly. Remember: this Little Palace Mistress was domineering to the point that other than Luo Binghe, there was no one in the world she wouldn’t dare hit. Injury and crippling strikes were common dishes on her menu of retaliation!

The Little Palace Mistress humphed. “Not that kind of person? Then tell me, why would he flee in fear of punishment? And he…he…he did that sort of thing!” As she spoke, she clenched her teeth in hatred, the rims of her eyes going red.

“Shizun was never convicted. What do you mean ‘flee in fear of punishment’?” Ning Yingying shot back. “And there’s still no final consensus on who committed those deeds. Our Cang Qiong Mountain never blamed your Huan Hua Palace for being gullible and overly suspicious, or for insisting on imprisoning our Qing Jing Peak’s peak lord in your Water Prison without regard for the truth. If not for you, things wouldn’t have blown up into the situation today!”

The reason for this b-【 beep— 】 fight wasn’t the male lead but Shen Qingqiu?

Shen Qingqiu wiped his brow. By what merit does this humble Shen deserve this?

At the same time, the dark cloud over his heart that he’d been unable to wipe away grew even darker.

This argument just made it more evident that after he left, something had happened at Huan Hua Palace. And these new grudges and old debts had all fallen on his head.

The Little Palace Mistress flew into a rage—though to tell the truth, Shen Qingqiu felt that she was always in a state of rage.

“So you’re saying that our Huan Hua Palace only has ourselves to blame?!” she snapped. “Ah, Cang Qiong Mountain is so impressive, so high-up and domineering, so arrogant and unbridled, that not only do you refuse to apologize, you have the gall to be so brazen toward the victims! With this kind of behavior, you still have the face to call yourselves the number one major sect? Preposterous!”

Ning Yingying curled her lip. “Cang Qiong Mountain has already been acknowledged by the masses as the number one major sect. Whether you accept that fact doesn’t matter. Moreover, who came at us first and acted brazen? Our Qing Jing Peak was eating a perfectly peaceful meal in this tavern. What’s your justification for coming up and cursing us out, first saying that you want our whole Qing Jing Peak to kneel to you, kowtow, and apologize for our offenses, then saying that our entire Cang Qiong Mountain should be buried together? Exactly who was being preposterous? Hua Yue City is not your Huan Hua Palace’s backyard—or are you saying that the entire world is your house?”

Ning Yingying’s voice was delicate and crisp, and Shen Qingqiu was flabbergasted to hear it. How had the innocent, naive, and silly Yingying become so good at catfights? And why was the Little Palace Mistress acting like a beast not properly leashed in her cage, biting at everyone she laid eyes on?

“Our Qing Jing Peak has always cleaved to etiquette,” Ning Yingying continued. “Shizun was a proper teacher and said not to bicker with foul-mouthed little children. This is the only reason we’ve tolerated you thus far. Are you finished? If you are, then leave. Don’t get in the way of our meal—I can’t eat while looking at your face!” After she spoke, she picked up a cup of tea from the table and splashed it at the other girl’s feet.

The Little Palace Mistress didn’t dodge fast enough, and a few drops of tea splashed the hem of her dress. “You?” she screeched. “You shrew!”

Ming Fan couldn’t take it anymore. Throwing aside his chopsticks, he sneered. “Don’t think we’re afraid of you just because you’re the Old Palace Master’s daughter. After all, you’re just a little girl relying on her daddy. Neither your seniority nor your cultivation are worth anything—though when it comes to your ability to annoy, you’re first-rate. Shrew? The way I see it, you’re a bigger shrew than anyone else here. You’ve lost every last shred of Huan Hua Palace’s face!”

Shen Qingqiu was shocked.

Qing Jing Peak’s disciples had always been so meek in front of him; they wouldn’t even dare fart. If he told them to feed the chickens, they’d dare not walk the dogs too. If he told them to make rice, they’d dare not make congee. Yet it turned out they were actually quite the smack-talkers when let loose.

The Little Palace Mistress’s face went white with anger. She’d heard Qin Wanyue say that this soft, bewitching little girl had been sect siblings with Luo Binghe for many years, as well as childhood friends and innocent playmates. All at once, envy and hatred flowed forth from her, and she suddenly raised her hand, a black shadow shooting out from her sleeve like a poisonous snake.

Fuck, she has a new whip!

When the other customers in the tavern saw that it was finally coming to blows, they left at top speed. Although, as they passed Shen Qingqiu, their expressions were unperturbed, like this was nothing strange. It seemed that the residents of Hua Yue City had long since grown accustomed to this sort of scene. The waiter even adeptly stuck a bill on the post before he walked out.

The Little Palace Mistress was the Old Palace Master’s beloved daughter. Her martial skills were the product of his hands-on teaching, and her weapons were far from ordinary in quality, the whip’s strikes swift and fierce.

Meanwhile, Ning Yingying was the beloved youngest shimei who was pampered by the entirety of Qing Jing Peak; she very rarely encountered danger and had virtually no real battle experience. Her sword waved back and forth, and though she warded off the attacks, a keen eye could see she was having trouble.

For his part, Ming Fan wanted to aid her, but he couldn’t get past the circle of the iron whip’s dance and could only fret helplessly.

Shen Qingqiu assessed the situation, then casually plucked a green leaf from the flowerpot by his foot, which he sent flying.

The fragile green leaf was filled with spiritual energy. When it collided with the iron whip, there was a piercing crash of something hard on metal. The Little Palace Mistress was unable to see what had gone wrong, but she felt the space between her finger and thumb go numb before her whip slipped from her hand and flew away.

Ning Yingying also started. She’d been about to meet another attack with her sword, but once she saw that the Little Palace Mistress had no weapon with which to block, she hurriedly pulled back, afraid of really stabbing her.

But the Little Palace Mistress had no similar mercy, and her reaction was supremely fast. The second her weapon left her hand, she reversed the momentum of her arm to turn it into a slap.

A smack. Ning Yingying held her face, her head turned to the side.

Fuck!

The five fingerprints standing out on Ning Yingying’s face and the cheek already swollen on one side went to show that the attack had been utterly ruthless. Shen Qingqiu’s heart ached in terrible distress.

You dare hit a disciple who even I’ve never touched?!

However, at the sight of Ning Yingying’s pretty face made lopsided—one side swollen, one side smooth, and all over tremendously unsightly—the Little Palace Mistress was enormously satisfied and felt she had vented her resentment. She rubbed her wrist, raised her chin, and laughed. “If your Shizun won’t teach you, then let this Palace Mistress do it. Lesson one: One must consider propriety when speaking.”

Who the fuck are you, trying to teach my disciples in my place?!

Ming Fan drew his sword. “You bitch! You’ve gone too far! Let’s go all out!”

The Qing Jing Peak disciples couldn’t take it any longer. Their youngest shimei had been hit—how could they just let that go?! They yelled and drew their swords, their blades gleaming with dazzling light.

Shen Qingqiu was trying to figure out how to teach the Little Palace Mistress a lesson without inciting greater bloodshed or exposing his location as quickly as possible…when he suddenly noticed that within the crowd of Huan Hua Palace disciples, one person was behaving most strangely and suspiciously.

Shen Qingqiu observed that person for a few seconds, after which his heart thumped.

Not good, he thought silently.

It would no longer be so easy to slip away.