A scream tore the air. It was the tormented cry of someone being tortured. Then came the smell of burnt flesh. Another scream—this one tinged with despair. It sounded like her own voice, torn from her throat in agony.
Bai Xunli gasped awake, panting and panicked. I have to get out of here! Her vision was a blur, but her survival instinct kicked in. She tried to move—and found her hands and feet were no longer chained.
No. They were wrapped in some kind of white cloth.
I can't really see what it is. I must leave!
She tried to check her body and found that she was wearing a clean and proper clothes – as far as her eyes can tell. What's going on? Why am I wearing a proper clothes?
She got off the bed. One foot touched the floor—
Wait! My feet are wrapped too! What kind of sick torture is this now?!
Then a thought hit her.
They cut off my limbs?!
Bai Xunli's mind was spinning. Her body swayed. She felt a massive headache coming and pain from all over her body. She habitually tried to circulate her spirit energy and found that she couldn't. It hit her like a brick. Her world was crumbling down.
That's right. I'm crippled.
She couldn't access her spirit energy. She was as weak as a regular human. Could easily be stomped on, killed.
She felt claustrophobic. Everything seemed to be closing in on her. Nothing was right.
She slid down to the floor, leaning on the bed. She couldn't hold it anymore, and broke down in tears.
Then she heard footsteps. Her cry came to an immediate stop. Terror set in.
NO! They're going to torture me again!
She tried to move and hide, but her body refused to listen.
The footsteps were getting closer. Sounds of two people tensely conversing came to her ears. Bai Xunli was truly in panic mode. She forcefully moved and ignored the pain. Her body hit the table which seemed to appear out of nowhere.
She yelped in pain.
The voices stopped. Then fast movements were heard, doors opening.
What? Why there isn't a lock sound? Or chain?
She saw a blurry figure –no, two figures entered the room and braced herself. Only to hear –
"Captain Bai! Are you okay?! What are you doing on the floor?! You're not supposed to get off the bed yet!"
Lin Qian was shocked when she entered the room. She rushed to Bai Xunli's side and tried to help her get up, but she noticed that Bai Xunli was shaking and her bandaged eyes were wet, her lips trembling.
Lin Qian immediately changed her voice to lower register and her tone gentle and calm. She retracted her hand, she couldn't touch Bai Xunli. Not yet. She wasn't ready.
"Captain, it's okay," Lin Qian spoke slowly, soothing her. She imbued her voice with spirit energy, to calm her down.
Bai Xunli's breath hitched. Who is she? I've never heard her voice before?
Then she gasped lightly. Is she… Is she my executioner? Is it time?
"Are… are you… is… is it time?"
"Time for what, Captain?"
"My… my execution…"
Silence fell.
Bai Xunli heard movements. The second figure, who was still standing, stepped away. Then she heard other voices approaching and few exchanges. The voices stopped. Door closed. The second figure moved again, stepping closer to her.
Bai Xunli recoiled, whimpered, and tried to make her body and presence as small as she could.
Then the second figure stopped, just a few steps from her.
And a cold, sharp, but somehow gentle voice said, "I'm not going to come any closer. Not until you allow it. You are now safe, Captain Bai Xunli."
Safe. A foreign word to Bai Xunli. She had been tortured continuously for days – she didn't know how many days. After a while, it became a blur.
And now she heard it. Safe.
She wanted to believe that voice so much, she was shaking. A little sob escaped. Followed by bigger sobs. Bai Xunli tried hard to stop crying, fearing her torturers would be annoyed or overjoyed by it.
Nothing was heard in the room but Bai Xunli's broken sobs.
Lin Qian grew worried. Bai Xunli was in no condition to move. Her body was broken so badly that it would take weeks if not months. And it may never recover if Lin Qian couldn't open her blocked meridians. Yes, contrary to what Bai Xunli believed, she was not crippled. But she might be soon, if Lin Qian couldn't get her to calm down and received treatment.
But she also couldn't rush it. Bai Xunli's mental condition didn't allow her to act recklessly. But they were losing time.
Lin Qian looked up to Xuan Tian, who was watching Bai Xunli like a hawk. Jaws clenched, fists clasped tightly, his face contorted. One could see clearly that Xuan Tian was fighting his rage and disgust.
He noticed Lin Qian looking at him and he shook his head.
"We can't force her, doctor." Xuan Tian spoke to Lin Qian telepathically.
"But, General, like I've explained, we don't have much time. If we wait, more spirit energy would be required to unseal her cores."
Yes, Bai Xunli's condition was grim. When Lin Qian found out that both her Immortal Core and Heart Core were sealed, she was shocked.
Cultivators, in general, had three cores: the Immortal Core, the Heart Core, and the Mind Core. But in most emergencies, the first two determined whether a person could survive.
The Immortal Core, located in the dantian (lower abdomen), was the most vital. If destroyed, death was immediate. If permanently damaged, cultivation would stagnate, regress, or vanish entirely. Most cultivators would rather lose a limb than risk this core.
The Heart Core functioned like a second heart—except instead of blood, it refined spirit energy. Every circulation passed through it, purifying and weaponizing the energy. The more laps it made, the sharper the result. No matter how much spirit energy one had, if the Heart Core was weak, the output would be unstable, diluted—or worse, backfire.
Bai Xunli's cultivation was Mid Immortal 5, one level away from High Immortal Stage. What it meant was, her Heart Core should be as protected as her Immortal Core. Lower cultivators only cared about their Immortal Cores, but Mid Immortal 5, should understand that the Heart Core was also as important as Immortal Core.
For someone who can seal both cores, it spoke volumes of their knowledge and cultivation levels. Unsealing them would require the same if not higher level of cultivation with abundance and stronger spirit energy.
Which brought Lin Qian to Xuan Tian. Beside him, no one present can help Lin Qian unsealing Bai Xunli's Immortal and Heart Cores.
And like any other medical conditions, the longer the seals stayed, the more difficult unseal them without damaging the cores.
That was why Lin Qian was anxious to get Bai Xunli treated.
"It's alright, doctor. I can still do it." Xuan Tian answered her.