Prison Block Seven.
Elder Yue's temporary office.
Room smelled like medicinal herbs and blood. Not fresh blood. Old. Soaked into walls over years.
Elder Yue sat behind desk. Same ice-chip eyes. Same expression that saw people as tools.
Two guards flanked door. Both Earth Realm.
Shuan stood in center. Hands bound. Suppression collar around neck.
Expected this.
Planned for it.
Elder Yue studied him. Long silence.
"Wei Zhao. That's the name you gave."
"Yes."
"Lie."
"Correct."
Her eyebrow raised slightly. "Honest about dishonesty. Interesting."
Leaned forward.
"You claim to know Lin Shuan's location. His plans."
"I do."
"How?"
"We trained together. Briefly. Before he escaped." Mixed truth with lie. Best kind of deception. "He trusted me. Told me his backup plans."
"Why betray him?"
"Because he left me behind when sect came. Saved himself. Abandoned me." Let bitterness show. Real emotion, wrong reason. Convincing. "I owe him nothing now."
Elder Yue's eyes narrowed. "You're lying."
"About what?"
"About your relationship to Lin Shuan. About your motivations. About..." Pause. "Everything except knowing his location."
Smart.
Expected that too.
"Does it matter?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I need to know what you really want. Information is worthless if I don't understand the price."
Shuan smiled. "You want to dissect my psychology? Fine. I'm pragmatic. Lin Shuan humiliated your division. You want him back. I want Chen Bo freed. Simple transaction."
"Nothing is simple with Lin Shuan." Elder Yue stood. Walked around desk. Circled him. "He was our most successful subject. Four years of resources. Countless pills. Elder Feng's expertise. All invested in creating perfect combat asset."
"And he destroyed it all in one technique."
"Yes." Voice cold. "Shattering Step. Forbidden technique that tears meridians apart. He knew the cost. Chose freedom over power."
Stopped in front of him.
"That kind of choice reveals character. He values autonomy over everything. Even survival." Eyes locked on his. "So what does that make you? Someone who claims to know him but betrays him for stranger's life?"
"Makes me practical. He gets captured eventually anyway. Might as well profit from it."
"Profit how? Chen Bo is nobody. Fisherman. No resources. No connections."
"He saved my life."
"So sentiment."
"So debt." Corrected. "I don't like owing people."
Elder Yue smiled. Thin. Sharp.
"Interesting distinction. Not morality. Accounting." Returned to desk. "Very well. Tell me where Lin Shuan is. Prove information accurate. Chen Bo goes free."
"First, guarantee his safety. In writing. Sect seal."
"Bold demands."
"Necessary ones. Your word means nothing without enforcement."
She actually laughed. Brief. Cold.
"You're right." Pulled scroll. Wrote quickly. Stamped with official seal. Pushed across desk. "Contract. Chen Bo released unharmed upon verification of information. Signed by me as Elder of Research Division."
Shuan read it. Careful. Looking for loopholes.
Found three. Expected five.
Good enough.
"He's heading to Northern Border. Small town called Frost Harbor. Planning to buy passage on merchant ship. Leave sect territory entirely."
"When?"
"Five days from now. Maybe six. Needs time to recover. Gather resources."
"How do you know this?"
"He told me. Had backup meeting point. I didn't show. Sent message instead saying I couldn't make it. He replied with new plan."
Elder Yue studied him.
"Truth?"
"Partial truth."
"Which parts are false?"
Shuan smiled. "That's for you to verify."
She considered. Then nodded.
"We'll send team to Frost Harbor. If they find him, contract honored. If not..." Eyes turned colder. "You die slowly."
"Understood."
"Take him to holding cell. Chen Bo stays until verification."
Guards moved forward.
Shuan didn't resist.
Phase one complete.
Now phase two.
Holding cell.
Two hours later.
Shuan sat in corner. Suppression collar still active. Hands still bound.
Didn't matter.
Started circulating Qi. Slowly. Carefully.
Suppression collar worked by disrupting meridian flow. Preventing cultivation.
For normal cultivators.
But Shuan's meridians were shattered. Reformed wrong. Grade Eight roots meant pathways barely functioned anyway.
Collar trying to suppress something already broken.
Doesn't work properly.
Found gaps. Tiny. Enough to gather thin thread of Qi.
Not much. But enough.
Reached into hidden pocket—missed during search because it wasn't pocket. Was space between skin and muscle. Tiny scar. Self-inflicted. Perfect hiding spot.
Pulled out single pill.
Berserker Pill.
From Elder Feng's stash.
Temporary power boost. Severe side effects.
Worth it.
Swallowed.
Research Division.
Archive Room.
Elder Shen's investigation team tore through shelves.
"Found it!" Formation specialist pointed to hidden compartment. Behind third shelf. Exactly where tip said.
Elder Shen approached. Opened compartment.
Inside: Ledger. Coded.
Brought to decryption expert.
Twenty minutes later.
"Elder... this isn't what we expected."
"Explain."
"Ledger is legitimate. Resource allocation records. All approved. No hidden subjects. No unauthorized experiments."
Elder Shen's jaw tightened.
"Someone fed us false information."
"But why? Why lead us here if—"
Explosion.
Distant. But loud.
From direction of Prison Block Seven.
Elder Shen's eyes widened.
"Trap. It was all trap. Not for us—"
"For Research Division security." His lieutenant finished.
They ran.
Toward prison.
Toward chaos.
Prison Block Seven.
Three minutes earlier.
Berserker Pill kicked in.
Shuan's body temperature spiked. Muscles swelled. Veins bulged.
Power flooded meridians. More than they could handle.
Don't care.
Only need thirty seconds.
Stood. Suppression collar sparked. Overloaded.
Shattered.
Chains binding hands. Reinforced steel.
Pulled. Meridians screaming.
Snap.
Broke.
Guards burst in. Saw him free.
"Prisoner escaping—"
Shuan moved.
Bone Fracture Palm.
Technique he learned in tournament. Trading bone integrity for striking power.
Hit first guard. Center mass.
Guard flew backward. Crashed through wall.
Second guard drew sword.
Shuan grabbed blade. Bare hand.
Cut deep. Blood flowing.
Didn't care.
Twisted. Broke sword.
Used broken blade. Stabbed guard's shoulder.
Guard screamed. Dropped.
Shuan ran.
Not toward exit.
Toward prisoner cells.
Found Chen Bo's cell. Third level. Heavily warded.
No time for finesse.
Pulled out second pill. Essence Restoration.
Swallowed.
Qi surged. Temporary. Artificial.
Gathered everything. Every scrap of power.
Iron Meridian Method. Triple circulation.
Crimson Overload. Triple that.
Body couldn't handle it. Meridians tearing.
Don't care.
Only need one strike.
Punched cell door.
Formation array shattered. Door exploded inward.
Chen Bo inside. Beaten. Bruised. Alive.
Looked up. Eyes widened.
"...Wei Zhao?"
"Move. Now."
Helped him up. Chen Bo could barely walk.
Alarm blared. Throughout prison.
Guards converging.
Shuan looked around. Saw window. High. Reinforced.
No choice.
Grabbed Chen Bo. Threw him over shoulder.
Ran. Toward window.
Guards appeared. Blocking corridor.
"Stop!"
Didn't stop.
Used last bit of Berserker Pill power.
Crashed through guards. Through formation. Through window.
Glass shattered.
Fell three stories.
Hit ground. Rolled. Absorbed impact.
Chen Bo groaning. But alive.
Shuan's body shutting down. Pills wearing off. Meridians destroyed. Again.
Worth it.
Debt paid.
Stood. Barely.
"Can you run?"
"I... I think—"
"Good. Run."
They ran.
Toward forest. Toward darkness.
Behind them, sect exploded into activity.
Horns blaring. Cultivators mobilizing.
But Shuan knew these woods. Knew every path. Every hiding spot.
Three years as disciple. Information was power.
Used it now.
Led Chen Bo through maze of trees. Across streams. Through caves.
Six hours later. Dawn breaking.
Collapsed.
Miles from sect. Safe. Temporarily.
Chen Bo beside him. Breathing hard. Staring.
"Why?"
"Owed you."
"You... you destroyed yourself. Again. For debt?"
"Yes."
"That's insane."
"Probably."
Silence.
Then Chen Bo laughed. Weak. Pained. But real.
"You're crazier than my son was."
"Probably."
"Thank you."
Shuan said nothing.
Closed eyes.
Debt paid.
Now we're even.
Can leave with clear conscience.
Lost consciousness.