Another month passed in leisurely fashion, but then Yang Qingzhou’s letters suddenly stopped. Previously, he had mentioned that Zhongli Court was like a falling tree with its monkeys scattering; it was at the end of its rope, and its various branch sects had been entirely eradicated. The Vertical and Horizontal Alliances were preparing to join forces for a final siege on Zhongli Court. Judging that the war was nearing its conclusion, I decided to head to the island to ask Yang Su for an update.
Yexiao had been struck by a "mysterious paralysis" over the past two days, unable to even crawl out of bed, so Yelan stayed by his side to care for him. Recently, the hidden guards who used to tail me had all vanished. It seemed the war was indeed reaching a critical point, leaving them no leisure to watch over a trivial corner like mine. Thus, I made my way to the island in the middle of the lake quite openly—though the process of getting on and off the boat by myself was rather thrilling.
If only A-Tan were by my side.
The attendants at the gate who were there during my last visit had been withdrawn, so there was no one to announce my arrival. I knocked, but no one answered. Listening closely for a moment, I found the silence on the island eerily strange.
A mist seemed to have risen from the center of the lake, permeating the island with a dense, lingering vapor.
The lacquered doors were ajar and unlocked. I pushed them open and walked a few paces inside when I caught a whiff of a strange fragrance. Before I could identify it, my vision went black.
I didn’t know how long I was unconscious, but I gradually drifted back to lucidity. As my consciousness returned, I felt my entire body shivering with cold. The stone floor, in the depths of winter, was bone-chilling. Pressed against the freezing ground, my hands and feet had lost all sensation, and I lacked even the strength to lift my head.
"Can't endure torture? What a joke." A voice spoke with easy nonchalance, the sound of turning pages accompanying it.
"Young Master, this person’s constitution is too poor. He won't last half a day," someone nearby replied respectfully.
"He cannot die yet; I still have things to ask him." The man rose and paced over to me. He roughly clamped my jaw, forced a pill inside, and slammed my head against the floor. Amidst the sharp pain, the pill slid down my esophagus.
He then pressed his fingers against the pulse point on my wrist. "His cultivation is actually quite decent. A hidden threat." He paused briefly, then said tonelessly, "Destroy it."
As soon as the pill hit my stomach, my internal organs felt as though they were being scorched by fire. The cellar that had been freezing just a moment ago instantly transformed into a blazing furnace. The pain was so intense I couldn't help but curl my body, but I was immediately pinned down.
"How is it?" the man whispered, gripping my chin to force me to meet his gaze. He smiled faintly. "The finest life-sustaining medicine of my Zhongli Court. They say even if you pour it down a dead man's throat, he’ll get up and charge into battle. I haven't treated my guest poorly, have I? Do you like it?"
My vision was blurred by the heat, making it hard to discern his features. I forced myself through the agony to focus for a split second. His brow and eyes were familiar, bearing a seventy-percent resemblance to the Eldest Young Master, Zhongli Zixu. However, his pupils were a sickly, metallic silver, and a single tear mole sat at the corner of his left eye. Though his face was that of a young man in his twenties, his hair was a mottled mess of grey and white, like that of a dying old man—sinister and bizarre.
This man was predatory and cruel, sending a chill down one's spine.
The Second Young Master?
How did I end up in his hands?
My endurance had always been poor; I couldn't suppress my groans when the pain hit. Fortunately, the Second Young Master didn't truly need me to answer. He let go, allowing me to fall back to the floor. "This broken, sickly body of yours... was it left behind from saving Ye Sha? Hmph... I was almost fooled by you too, thinking he was lucky enough to meet someone sincere."
He then spoke through gritted teeth, "You took Ye Sha to the One Sword Tomb, yet only you returned. Didn't you also sacrifice Ye Sha? How are you any different from me?"
These words were disjointed; rather than questioning me, he seemed to be talking to himself.
Delirious with pain, I still managed to retort in my mind: *You’re the one who harmed Ye Sha the most, yet here you are acting like you’re seeking justice for him.*
Someone nearby brought over a bowl of scalding medicinal soup and forced it down my throat. Moments later, a violent agony erupted in my meridians. My internal energy began to crash around uncontrollably like a raging storm, as forceful as crashing waves and jagged rocks. It felt as if someone were using a sharp blade to flay my skin and scrape my bones, systematically stripping away every meridian in my body. The previous burning pain doubled in intensity, and my vision swam with darkness.
I had clearly reached the absolute limit of pain, yet I didn't pass out. Instead, my senses became even sharper—no doubt the effect of that damned life-sustaining medicine. I truly wished I could just bash my head against the wall and end it.
A cold, clear voice said, "The medicine has taken effect. I will go and disperse his cultivation."
The Second Young Master sneered. "What is this, Ye Jun? Are you feeling pity?"
"I am afraid of wasting Master's time," Ye Jun replied steadily. "After all, the number of people captured from the Horizontal Alliance is as numerous as ox hairs. Our hands are tied with the executions."
The Second Young Master hummed coldly, presumably in agreement. Ye Jun dragged me up and gripped my vital points. Only then did I realize that the discomfort of using the Breath-Inducing Technique to adjust and disperse internal energy was nothing compared to the agonizing pain of having it forcibly drained.
I was drenched in cold sweat, my throat long since gone hoarse. In my daze, I realized that this was Zhongli Court; they likely used the same drugs back then.
Back then... when Ye Tan had his internal energy drained by Zhongli Zixi, was he in this much pain? How on earth did he manage to endure it without a word, and even offer a smile to the Second Young Master...
A-Tan... A-Tan...
Mercifully, he wasn't here. I only hoped he would never leave seclusion, never find this place.
In the end, I didn't lose consciousness. I felt every second of that bone-stripping torture with absolute clarity.
Ye Jun let go and reported, "Young Master, it is done."
My meridians throbbed with a dull ache, the pain not fading in the slightest. Hearing this, the Second Young Master grabbed me by the roots of my hair and forced my head up. "Speak. Where do you come from? Who was your master? Who sent you?"
Being my sincere self, I immediately reported the truth: "I'm a local. I have no master. No one sent me."
A cold snort escaped the Second Young Master’s nose. "I couldn't tell that someone as frail as you would be so stubborn."
...I'm screwed. Even I wouldn't believe that answer if I were him.
But what could I do? I was in despair too.
"No matter. I have plenty of time to waste on you." The Second Young Master narrowed his silver eyes and stood up. "Now that the Horizontal Alliance has been wiped out, I was worried I’d have nothing to do. If you don't give me a challenge, I’ll truly have no fun left."
The Second Young Master stepped out of the study and glanced back. "Bring him out. Don't get my floor dirty."
Ye Jun led the way, dragging me into the courtyard. The ground was covered in fine gravel, and the weight of my body being dragged across it left trails of blood. The Second Young Master stopped before a grove of emerald bamboo and said to Ye Jun, "Sword."
Ye Jun complied, unsheathing his sword and presenting it with both hands. The Second Young Master drew the blade and shaved a small sliver of bamboo from a stalk, leisurely carving it until it was the thickness of a finger.
A servant understood the cue and brought over the *zanzhi*, fitting my ten fingers into the wooden frame and pulling them tight.
The Second Young Master half-knelt before me. Holding that bamboo sliver, which had been shaved as thin as a cicada's wing, he gently pressed it against the gap between my index fingernail and the flesh of the fingertip. He asked with a wicked smile, "I’ll ask one more time... where do you come from? Who do you work for?"
I saw his intent. I was chilled to the bone, filled with absolute terror.
The Second Young Master pursed his thin lips and shoved hard. The bamboo sliver stabbed violently into my fingertip.
I was pinned firmly to the ground by a servant, my hands pulled taut by the *zanzhi*, yet I still jerked violently from the pain. This slight movement caused the bamboo sliver to slant; it pierced through the finger bone and tore out through the joint, blood spraying everywhere. With total indifference, the Second Young Master yanked it to the side, tearing the entire fingernail away along with the flesh.
Having received no satisfactory answer, the Second Young Master proceeded to strip away my other fingernails one by one.
The pain in my fingers shot straight to my heart. I drifted in and out of consciousness. The interrogations and threats felt distant, as if they were happening on the other side of the world; I simply had no strength left to care.
In my blurred consciousness, I was dragged into a dungeon, followed by an endless cycle of punishment.
Chains pierced through my flesh, fixing me to a rack. They applied the most severe tortures while simultaneously applying the best medicinal salves. Every time I was on the verge of death, they would take me down to treat and rest me, repeating the cycle endlessly. I didn't know when it would end.
With my hands bound, I couldn't access the Modifier. I could only endure it with great difficulty.
A hundred thousand curses born of pain swirled in my mind.
Ye Jun often came to monitor me. One day, he looked at me and sighed. "Why did you go to Yang Lake? I wanted to let you go, so why did you have to deliver yourself to the door?"
I struggled to ask, "The Horizontal Alliance... wiped out... what does that mean?"
According to Yang Qingzhou’s letters, the war had been going smoothly. Even if they couldn't take down Zhongli Court in one go, the Second Young Master shouldn't be this relaxed.
Ye Jun hesitated for a moment. "The outcome is already decided, so there is no harm in telling you. The so-called 'exterminated' sects—the Qingcheng, the Ren Sect, the Jin'guan Pavilion, the Changluo Hall—they are all perfectly fine. It was merely a ruse; they burned their own headquarters and went into hiding, waiting for the Horizontal Alliance to walk into the trap. Not only that... the entire Vertical Alliance... is a set of chess pieces the Second Young Master spent ten years recruiting and arranging."
I sighed inwardly. The Horizontal Alliance hadn't lost unfairly. "Yang Qingzhou... and the others... how are they..."
Ye Jun said, "In a similar situation to yours."
Speaking those few words was my limit. I used the last of my strength to plead with him, "Can you... please... kill me..."
I just wanted to die quickly now.
To escape this endless torture. Next time I loaded my save, I’d just stab the Second Young Master first and be done with it.
Ye Jun shook his head. "If you die, what will happen to Ye Sha?"
I froze.
The Second Young Master was convinced that Ye Tan had died at the One Sword Tomb. Why didn't Ye Jun think so?
Ye Jun was indeed as clever as Ye Tan had said. He saw through my confusion at a glance and smiled. "I have tracked you over these past days. I know you are not like the Second Young Master. You would never let Ye Sha die for nothing while you returned to live in peace." After saying this, Ye Jun rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Though I cannot understand how you convinced someone with a nature as fiercely loyal as Ye Sha to part ways with you."
I was in too much pain to answer. Ye Jun frowned slightly, fiddling with a small porcelain bottle in his hand. "This is a fine medicine that can both stop pain and protect the heart... unfortunately, due to my position, I could not give it to Ye Sha then, and I cannot give it to you now."
He lowered his head in dejection for a moment, then added, "I am the Second Young Master’s man; I cannot do anything to help you. But I also hope... that you can hold on, and that there will be a day when you escape and reunite with him." Ye Jun bit his lip and said firmly, "Do not die. Don't leave Ye Sha alone again... I beg of you."
He didn't stay any longer after that, leaving in a hurry.
My desire to end my life actually faded because of his words.
Yes, I couldn't give up so easily.
If I hadn't spent all this time relying on my 'Creator' privileges and living in idle comfort, I wouldn't have fallen to this state.
Besides, everything we had been through... I couldn't let it all go to waste.
I hung on the rack for several days until even the sensation of pain became numb. I lost track of time and couldn't tell if I was awake or asleep. One night, the moonlight was incredibly bright, and a person suddenly appeared in the cell.
He wore heavy, somber black robes, accented with a dark, blood-like crimson. His face was covered by an eerie fox mask.
He stood at the cell door and walked gracefully down the steps. I didn't see him strike, nor did I smell any knockout gas, yet the guards in the cell collapsed one after another.
He walked slowly to me and stopped, looking at me gloomily. He was half a head taller than me; it took a great effort for me to look up at him.
The aura about him was both familiar and strange, making my heart race.
"The medicine Zhongli Zixi gave you is a 'Wolf and Tiger' drug; its nature is overbearing and violent. Even if you escape, you won't live past three years." He extended a pale wrist from his wide sleeve, a pill as white as mutton-fat jade held between his fingers. He pried my mouth open and forced it down. "Swallow it. It will ensure you can live out your days like an ordinary man."
As soon as he spoke, I recognized the voice, and I felt the blood in my body begin to burn. "A... A-Tan?"
Hidden behind the fox mask, his expression was unreadable. It was clearly a reunion after a long separation, yet I felt no joy, only panic. "Run... watch out for the Second Young Master... don't... worry about me..."
He gave a cold laugh. "Of course it's not my turn to worry about you. Your precious shadow guards are coming to save you right now."
I was deeply confused. *My shadow guard... isn't that you?*
But I had no strength left to ask. The lock on the cell door was silently picked, and a figure in night-traveling clothes slipped inside. He rushed to me in a few bounds and cried out, "Boss! I finally found you! Whoa, how did you get hurt like this..."
It was Yexiao.
I looked back at the man in the fox mask, but he had vanished.
There were no other exits in this cell. How did he leave?
Yexiao’s lock-picking skills were top-tier; he easily picked the shackles on my hands and feet, and I slid into his arms. Yexiao tapped several major acupoints on my body, dulling the pain significantly. I took a breath and said, "A-Tan... he..."
Yexiao curled his lip. "Forget it, Boss. Big Brother hasn't finished his seclusion yet, so he can't come to play the hero saving the beauty. You'll just have to make do with me."
I shook my head. "I just... saw... him..."
"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. Can we save the public displays of affection for when we get back?" Yexiao brushed me off like a child and stealthily carried me out of the cell. The bright moon hung high, and all was silent outside. But as soon as Yexiao stepped onto the ground, his movements suddenly froze.
"Oh boy, Boss," he said.
The flickering shadows of the trees around us suddenly moved. They were all hidden guards lying in ambush.
The Second Young Master’s airy voice drifted from afar. "You really are quite restless. I'm getting a little angry."
The moon was at its zenith, and a cold wind swept through like winter snow, carrying an air of desolation and slaughter.
The high wall was dozens of yards away; our situation was not optimistic. Yexiao gritted his teeth and suddenly bolted toward the wall, gathering his energy to force a breakthrough.
The Second Young Master gave a slight wave of his hand. Countless hidden arrows whistled through the air, covering the sky like a torrential downpour, possessing the force of a thunderbolt.
Yexiao was forced back several feet by the rain of arrows. Holding me, he had nowhere to hide and could only try his best to shield me. At the critical moment, a figure leaped in front of him, blocking most of the onslaught.
Yexiao snapped, "Yelan, what are you doing out here?!"
No matter how fast Yelan’s hands were, he couldn't knock them all down. A large number of feathered blades were buried deep in his body, his blood hidden by the night.
Startled by the shout, he looked back blankly. "Ah... sorry. I didn't think... I just moved."
The Second Young Master’s defenses were so tight he must have been prepared long ago. We weren't leaving today.
I struggled to say, "Second Young Master... let... them go. Whatever you want to know... I will tell you."
I was thinking of how to fabricate some lies to stall for time. It wouldn't be any worse than it was now, anyway.
The Second Young Master sneered. "Where do you get the confidence to negotiate with me?"
Yexiao knew this battle was unavoidable. He whispered, "Yelan, you're faster than me. Take the Boss and go first. I'll hold them off."
I knew he intended to fight to the death. Before I could speak, Yelan asked vacantly, "What?"
Yexiao frowned. "Don't play dumb with me at a time like this."
Yelan thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not leaving."
Yexiao raged, "I said what I said! Why are you talking so much back?"
"It wasn't like this. It wasn't like this before..." Yelan shook his head repeatedly, a chaotic, turbid air rising in his eyes. "You used to cry and beg me to save you. I tried my best, I really did... but I couldn't beat them. I couldn't save you..."
"...Damn it, this idiot is having another episode." Yexiao gritted his teeth and freed a hand to smack him hard on the head. "Wake up, you bastard! Take the Master and get out of here!"
Yelan’s expression cleared slightly, but he refused flatly. "No. I want to protect you. I don't want to protect him."
Yexiao was exasperated. "Do you understand? He is our Master! We must protect him even if it costs us our lives!"
Yelan said firmly, "I understand perfectly. I don't care about my own life, and if the Master can't be protected, so be it... but you have to live." He lowered his voice, muttering to himself, "I've worked so hard. This time, I absolutely won't let anything happen to you again."
The Second Young Master had seen enough of the show. With a light command, the surrounding hidden guards didn't give the two any more time to argue and closed in with their blades drawn.
I struggled out of Yexiao’s grip and shouted, "Zhongli Zixi has questions for me; he won't kill me! You two escape on your own! Don't be rash!"
I was already used to the torture anyway. As long as I survived this period, I could always fix things later.
We didn't necessarily have to escape today.
The Second Young Master was amused. "Oh? You want to test if I dare to kill you?" He notched a short bow and lightly released his fingers. An arrow flew toward me.
My reactions weren't what they used to be. I was prepared to take the hit, but Yexiao rushed over, falling to the ground with me in his arms. The arrow pierced straight through his shoulder, instantly staining it red.
"Gui Mao!" Yelan’s reaction was also fast, but he lunged toward Yexiao.
I was startled and wanted to check Yexiao’s wound, but I was suddenly pushed away by Yelan’s back, falling backward and unable to get up.
Yexiao called out hoarsely, "...We... we won't resist anymore! Just don't hurt my Boss!"
The hidden guards nearby moved to bind him, but Yelan stood before him and ruthlessly repelled them.
The Second Young Master notched another arrow, aiming it at me, watching Yelan with a playful smile.
If this continued, Yexiao and Yelan would only die here for nothing. I had never hated my own helplessness so much. A-Tan wasn't here; how many times could the others save me like this?
"Go... go save the Master..." Yexiao struggled to crawl out of Yelan’s arms, his voice barely audible. "I am a burden now... you still have strength left. You can at least take one person away..." The arrowhead was specially made; it gouged into the flesh and bone, instantly numbing half his body with pain.
Hearing this, I naturally tried to stop him, but Yelan suddenly changed the subject, asking first, "Is it true that if the Boss is dead, you won't have to protect him anymore?"
My heart skipped a beat.
Before anyone could react, Yelan’s figure leaped up. Those clear, emotionless eyes suddenly enlarged in my vision, gazing at me calmly, without a single trace of hesitation.
In my chest was the bone-chilling cold unique to cold steel.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
钟离苑 | Zhongli Court | The antagonist's sect/manor.
纵横二联 | Vertical and Horizontal Alliances | The two major coalitions of sects in the story.
夜君 | Ye Jun | A shadow guard serving the Second Young Master.
钟离子息 | Zhongli Zixi | The Second Young Master of Zhongli Court; the primary antagonist of this chapter.
一剑冢 | One Sword Tomb | A location mentioned where a significant event occurred.
拶指 | Zanzhi | A torture device used to squeeze the fingers.
修改器 | Modifier | The protagonist's meta-ability/cheat system.
癸卯 | Gui Mao | Yexiao's former designation/name as a shadow guard.
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Fatal to Pretend With a Cheat | Chapter 52 | A Blade from the Shadows | Novela.app | Novela.app
