...
The footsteps of the patrol team grew closer, echoing in the narrow corridor like the drums of death. Twelve prisoners stood amidst a sea of white bones, their faces pale. A bluish-gray light from a crack in the ceiling shone down on the empty eye sockets of the countless skeletons, creating a ghostly dance of light and shadow.
Lam Tich stood there, his hands clasped behind his back. His breathing was steady, a stark contrast to the frantic heartbeats of those around him. In his mind, numbers danced:
[Void Energy: 92/100]
[Collective Reliability: 75%]
[Time remaining before the patrol team arrives: ~3 minutes]
"Sir... Sir," Tam Tu stammered, his eyes fixed on the secret tunnel they still hadn't found. "We... couldn't find any rotten wooden planks!"
Lam Tich didn't answer immediately. He was calculating. Three minutes. Enough to stage a play, but not enough to find an escape without knowing the exact location.
He took a deep breath, feeling the icy air fill his lungs. In this Bone Chamber, besides the smell of dry bones and the dust of time, there was another smell—the musty smell of rotting wood.
"Van Khue," Lam Tich called, his voice icy.
Van Khue flinched, still trembling from their previous encounter. "Yes, sir?"
"You were once a strategist. You know how to observe the airflow. Tell me, from which direction is the coldest wind blowing?"
Van Khue was stunned for a second, then suddenly understood. He closed his eyes and tentatively reached out. After a moment, he pointed to the northwest corner of the room, where a towering pile of bones lay tilted like the Leaning Tower of Pisa made of dead people.
"Over there. The wind from the cracks in the ceiling converges there and is sucked away somewhere... perhaps a void behind it."
Lam Tich nodded. "That's right. The escape is behind that pile of bones. But before we run, I need you to do something for me."
He turned to look at the approaching patrol. From the echoes in the corridor, he estimated there were about fifteen fully armed guards.
"Dai Hung, take five men to block the entrance. Don't fight, just slow them down."
"How?" Dai Hung asked, his eyes fixed on the entrance, which was shaking from their footsteps.
Lam Tich smiled—a smile that would send shivers down even the toughest prisoners' spines.
"By showing them 'That Thing' is awakening."
He walked toward the nearest pile of bones, placing his hand on the skull of an unusually large skeleton. "You know, in this Eternal Prison, not all the dead rest in peace. Some... still harbor such intense resentment that even death cannot free them."
Lam Tich closed his eyes. In his mind, the System appeared:
[Skill: Concept Borrowing - "Temporary Resurrection of a Vengeful Spirit"]
[Requirement: Minimum Collective Trust 70% (Achieved)]
[Consumption: 30 Void Energy Points/1 minute]
[Limit: Maximum 5 "entities" simultaneously]
"This will be the first time I truly borrow a complex concept," Lan Xi whispered to himself. "Succeed."
He shouted, his voice echoing with false authority: "O souls imprisoned in bones! Do you hear the footsteps of the enemy? Do you remember the feeling of a sword piercing your chest? Are you still bloodthirsty?!"
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. The temperature dropped by several degrees. The prisoners trembled as they looked around, and they saw... something.
Tiny, pea-sized specks of green light began to flicker in the empty eye sockets. A collective groan, so faint it was almost like wind, emanated from the countless skeletons.
[Collective Trust: 82%] [Void Energy: 62/100]
"Stand up!" Lan Xi roared, raising his right hand despite the excruciating pain. "Stand up and defend your last remaining territory! Show these captors that death is not the end of hatred!"
CRASH... CRASH... CRASH...
The five nearest skeletons began to tremble. They slowly rose, their bones creaking like rotting wooden doors opening. The green specks in their eye sockets blazed fiercely.
"A... a miracle..." Dai Hung whispered, his eyes wide.
"Not a miracle," Lan Xi said coldly, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. He was burning energy at an incredible rate. "This is pure resentment. I'm just... giving them a direction."
"Five men, follow Dai Hung, take up arms!" Lam Tich ordered. "You will stand behind these skeletons. When they attack, shout, bang your weapons against the wall, creating the sound of an army. But don't fight directly. Just do that for a minute, then retreat here."
Dai Hung nodded, his face showing a frenzied determination. He chose five of the strongest prisoners, each picking up long bone fragments to use as weapons.
Just then, the patrol arrived.
Fifteen guards in leather armor, their hands holding gleaming swords, stopped at the entrance to the Bone Chamber. The captain, a middle-aged man with a diagonal scar across his face, stared wide-eyed at the scene before him.
"Five... five skeletons standing?" He muttered, his voice full of disbelief.
Then the skeletons advanced. Their steps weren't as unsteady as the zombies of legend, but almost... purposeful. They held sharp ribs like spears, advancing toward the patrol.
"You bastards! What kind of magic trick is this?!" the captain shouted, his voice trembling slightly.
Dai Hung and five prisoners behind the skeletons began to cheer, banging bones and kicking against the walls. The sound echoed in the confined space, like an entire army charging forward.
"Captain! Someone said there are vengeful spirits in this prison!" A young soldier stammered.
"Shut up!" the captain yelled, his own hands trembling. "Attack! Destroy them!"
Swords slashed down. One skeleton had its spine severed and collapsed. But before the bone fragments hit the ground, they suddenly flew back, reassembling into their original shape—thanks to Lam Tich's remote control and the remaining 30 Void Energy points.
"Magic... magic!" another soldier exclaimed.
[Reliability (Patrol Team): 45% and increasing]
[Void Energy: 32/100 - Warning!]
Lam Tich gritted his teeth. "Van Khue! Have you found the escape route?!"
"Found it!" Van Khue shouted from behind the large pile of bones. "There's a rotten wooden plank here, behind it is a tunnel!"
"Good! Everyone, retreat! Dai Hung, order a retreat!"
Dai Hung and the five prisoners immediately fled towards the tunnel. The five skeletons continued to advance, holding back the patrol team.
Lam Tich was the last to retreat. Before entering the tunnel, he turned back for one last look. The captain was ordering his subordinates to surround the skeletons, but fear had clearly paralyzed their will to fight.
"See you later," Lam Tich whispered, then severed the connection.
The five skeletons collapsed simultaneously, returning to lifeless piles of bones.
[Void Energy: 2/100 - Critical!]
[Status: Exhausted - All attributes reduced by 80%]
Lam Tich staggered into the pitch-black tunnel. He gripped the damp wall to keep from falling. Everything around him spun.
"My lord!" A voice called out, then a strong arm caught him. It was Dai Hung.
"It's alright," Lam Tich panted. "It's just... too much energy. Let's go. Where does this tunnel lead?"
Van Khue led the way, holding a torch made of bones and rags. "It seems to lead to a ravine behind the prison. I smell vegetation."
They walked in the darkness for about fifteen minutes, the tunnel gradually sloping upwards. Finally, real light appeared – warm, golden daylight, filtering through a dense curtain of trees obscuring the exit.
Dai Hung pushed the curtain aside with force.
The group stepped out. Before them was a primeval forest, lush with trees, filled with the chirping of birds. The air was fresh, cool, and filled with the scent of earth and leaves.
They had escaped the Eternal Prison.
Twelve prisoners (except Lam Tich) collapsed to the ground, many sobbing with joy. They had survived.
But Lam Tich was not happy. He stood there, his blind eyes gazing into the distance, his face showing a thoughtful expression.
"My lord, we are free!" Tam Tu exclaimed, clinging to a tree trunk.
"Freedom?" Lam Tich murmured, his voice bitter. "We have just escaped a small prison to enter a larger one – this world."
He turned to look at his followers. Eleven pairs of eyes gazed at him with expectation and... dependence.
[Trustworthiness (Dai Hung): 85%]
[Trustworthiness (Van Khue): 60% (Still skeptical but subdued)]
[Trustworthiness (Collective): 80%]
"We can't stay here long," Lam Tich said, trying to keep his voice calm despite the excruciating pain in his body. "The Lam family will send people to pursue us. We need to split up and move south, to the border town of Van Trach."
"And then what, Lord?" Dai Hung asked.
Lam Tich pursed his lips. In his mind, a plan began to form. A plan involving the "blind physician" persona he would create.
"Then I will open a small pharmacy," he said, his voice lowering. "And you... you will be my eyes, my ears, and my hands in a world I cannot 'see'."
Van Khue blinked. "My lord intends... to live a normal life?"
Lam Tich chuckled softly, a weary and sarcastic smile. "Normal? No. I'm just preparing the stage for the next play."
He looked towards the horizon, where distant mountains were hidden in the clouds.
"This Cang Lan Realm has too many self-proclaimed 'Holy Sons' and 'Holy Daughters' who consider themselves justice. They need a lesson in truth—that the world isn't clearly divided into good and evil, only stories that are told well and stories that are bad."
Lam Tich turned to look at his followers.
"And I... I will be the one to tell the best stories. The story of a kind blind physician. The story of a cruel Lord of Darkness. And the story of an informant who knows all the secrets."
A chill ran down Van Khue's spine. In that moment, he realized he had just escaped from a dungeon, but had stepped into a web far more complex and dangerous.
"First," Lam Tich said, his voice becoming practical. "We need money, clothes, and information. Van Khue, you and two others go ahead to Van Trach to investigate the situation. Dai Hung stay with me. We'll go slower."
"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison.
As the prisoners began to part ways, Lam Tich stood alone under the trees, clutching his broken arm. The pain was now unbearable.
[Void Energy: 2/100 - Insufficient to alleviate pain]
[Status: Severe fracture, mild infection, exhaustion]
"This life..." he whispered to himself. "I swear I will never be a sacrificial lamb again. Even if I have to become a wolf, a demon, I will survive."
In the distance, from the Eternal Prison, the alarm horn sounded. The pursuit had begun.
But Lam Tich was not afraid. In his hands now lay not only his own life, but also eleven pawns—eleven people willing to believe his stories.
And for a storyteller, belief is the most powerful weapon.
"Let's go, Dai Hung," Lam Tich said, turning his back to the dungeon. "The real play... has just begun."