Sa Min jolted awake, his eyes instantly darting to the right where he felt someone pulling that needle that had put him to sleep. He could smell smoke, but he could see nothing.
Surrounding him, all blackness. There was not even a trace of light, as though he hadn’t opened his eyes.
However, from the touch on his face, and from the sound of his stinky breath, very close, filling his ears, it was clear there was a covering draped over his head, blocking both his sight and hearing.
Tiredness was still aching his eyes and head a bit. It couldn't have been long since he lost consciousness.
Sa Min didn't panic. He had an idea of who might have attacked and apparently kidnapped him.
Must be the Qing family’ he thought to himself, though he was not entirely certain yet.
It could be the one who had marked his back, or perhaps just some random criminal who happened to meet him and loot him.
Many possibilities could have happened, and he had prepared himself for the worst.
Trying to move, Sa Min felt this familiar feeling. His hands were heavy, as though there was lead within them, pulling him down.
He frowned. I’m chained.
And this brought him some horrific memories that he didn’t really mind. However…
If there was something Sa Min despised from the depths of his heart, it would be to be chained.
And why the hell do I need these chains anyway? I haven't opened his essence core yet.
Drawing a deep breath to calm himself, Sa Min sat up and spoke up, making sure to sound worried, "Where am I? Is there anyone here…"
The cloth lifted, and the dim light of the hall's lanterns and fresh air attacked him. His breathing was no longer heard. He blinked. Then, ignoring the man beside him, he focused his attention on the elderly ahead.
Sa Min held in a smile of relief. He recognized him.
With only a smattering of long, white hairs on his head, the Qing family’s head, Qing Xieren, glared down at him. People in the city often called him ‘The Man with a Mount’, referring to his arched back.
And though he tried to conceal it behind his stern face, Sa Min could clearly see his helplessness.
This reassured his heart.
Because if he possessed some Mind-Highway Yantra that could dig into memories — or some similar investigation-type Yantras — and had used it on him to search for their questions, he wouldn’t be standing there before him like that.
And Sa Min wouldn’t be sitting here like this.
Sa Min glanced around. This seemed like a normal hall with no windows.
“Who told you about the Key?” The gravelly voice of Qing Xieren spoke then, throwing the parchment Sa Min had written towards him. "How the hell do you know about this?"
Sa Min looked up at him, his heart as cold as calm. Qing Xieren gave him a chilling look that would terrify the shit out of anyone at his rank. But not Sa Min. Who is Sa Min? Not to mention, he had known this moment would arrive. And he had already thought of the best way he could benefit from it.
Frowning as though frightened, Sa Min stared down at the parchment at his feet. Who had told me about the Key, huh? Understandable question. They don’t believe someone who hasn’t opened his essence core and has never traveled beyond this city can know about such a concept. Good. This is what I want.
Someone must have told him, they thought, and they were partially right. Someone had indeed told him.
"I can tell you. But... how can I be sure you won't just ki—?" And a fierce punch to his temple slammed him aside. He turned his head a bit and watched the man who had been beside him approach.
He had a cigarette between his thick lips. “Who told you about the Key? Answer the damn question!”
You don’t threaten people with annihilation and expect them to act rationally, Sa Min sneered in his heart.
“I’m not going to tell you until yo—” And the man’s black boot came slamming down into his face brutally. The blow was so powerful that Sa Min blacked out for a few seconds.
Chained and without having even opened his essence core, Sa Min looked powerless. They could kill him easily if they wanted, as easily as drinking water, and his 600 years of experience could do nothing to protect him. He was weak, far too weak.
But he wasn’t really helpless, though. In reality, it was they who were.
"Do you want to die?" the man screamed.
Blood trickled down from Sa Min's left ear and nose as he struggled to sit up. “No, I don’t want to die,” he said, shaking his head. Then he motioned to Qing Xieren. “You want to die?”
“Are you threatening…us?” The shaven-headed man threw a swift blow towards Sa Min’s head, sending him flipping across the wooden floor a few feet.
With a blank face, Sa Min raised himself once again, spitting out a mouthful of blood. It’s time to show some dominance.
"Every single word on that parchment is a fact," he reminded them, his blue icy eyes fixed on Qing Xieren. "If anything happens to me, everyone will know that you’re the one responsible for the kidnapping and killing of the colored-eyed people.”
Furious, the man drew near once again and Sa Min squinted his eyes, expecting another blow. But then, Qing Xieren spoke up, “Qing Yun.” He gave him a look that told him that it was enough.
Qing Xieren approached, his arms behind him. “You understand the meaning of your words, do you?”
Of course, I know. Your destruction. Your death, Sa Min thought coldly.
"Do you know what a cat pushed into a corner with no escape route does?"
Sa Min remained silent for a moment. He understood the meaning behind his question, and he was right.
" I have no intention of exposing you. This parchment," Sa Min glanced down at it momentarily, "is but a way, an insurance if you people come for my blood.
He spoke nothing but the truth.
Qing Xieren squatted down. "Hmm," he murmured, unconvinced. His old, wrinkled face was so close Sa Min saw white hairs sticking out from his nostrils.
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"Why do you think I've never informed the authorities of what you’re doing, even though I know all about it?" Sa Min noted.
“Fear, perhaps.”
“Trust me. The reward they’re offering is enough to wipe away any fear.” Sa Min spoke in a confident tone.
And once again, he was telling the truth. The bounty offered varied depending on the usefulness of the information shared. However, if you were to provide clear evidence of their true identities, a huge reward would await you—10,000 force apples.
The thought of claiming that reward, which could help him very much in his cultivation, had crossed Sa Min’s head. However, he knew that doing so would put him in grave danger as well. How did he come to know about them?
Unless he decided to report anonymously, but then he would get no bounty. Besides, if he could enter the Inner Domain, it would be way, way better.
Reporting them was not a good idea…right now.
The old man gazed into his blue eyes, and Sa Min’s eyes didn't waver one bit.
They sat there like that for a time, silence hanging heavy between them. Then, with a sigh and a frown, Qing Xieren rose. Perhaps because of the stench emanating from Sa Min.
Or perhaps he’d come to believe that Sa Min, though looking defenseless and weak and young, had the ability and capability to destroy him and his family, and he could do nothing with his rank 8 and his whole family to stop him.
Perhaps it was the latter.
Sa Min observed him with his expressionless face as he strolled away. "So, what do you want?" he asked Sa Min.
A faint smile came to Sa Min’s lips, and he wiped the blood from his mouth to hide it. "All I want is to leave this place alive."
"Nonsense!" Qing Xieren barked, turning around abruptly. "Why the hell were you following my son, then? Clearly, you want something. And how can we trust you to let you go? How can we be sure you won't run straight to the authorities and inform them?"
"What if I told you there's a way for you to be completely certain that I'll keep my mouth shut and you keep your thing going?" Sa Min suggested, the sly smile growing out of control.
Qing Xieren snorted. "Why should we trust a word you say? Why were you following my son?” he repeated.
Sa Min nodded. "I understand your doubts, and I am ready to answer your questions and address all your concerns. but first..." He glanced at the gray, heavy stony chains binding his hands.
Qing Xieren's frown deepened. "What is it that you are after?"
"You need to understand my situation too. Take off these chains as a gesture of goodwill, and I'll wipe out all your doubts. How I know about the Key, how I came to know about your search, and why I was following your son. I will explain everything."
Qing Xieren remained silent, weighing his options, and what options did he really have?
He signaled Qing Yun with a slight nod, and Qing Yun approached. With force, he pulled Sa Min's hand up. Sa Min threw a cold glance at him, though he didn’t really mind. He was considering his next words.
Qing Xieren made his way to his chair. "Let's start with how you know about the Key."
Sa Min said nothing, waiting for Qing Yun to remove the chains. Only when the chains fell away and he rubbed his wrists did he bother to look up. "The answer to your question is simply…”
----------------------------------------
The sun shone brightly, the rain had stopped for a while now, leaving Tetra Blessing City with the scent of damp earth.
"Why the hell are they taking so damn long?" thought Qing Liang, anxiously pacing back and forth outside the main hall, his eyes locked onto the door.
Every time he imagined what would happen if the city lord found out about them, fear would creep into his heart, pressuring his chest.
The entire Qing family was freaking out. They were running around like crazy in the wide courtyard, on high alert. The family head had given orders to be ready to bolt out of the city at any given moment, just like they did the last time.
And last time they had to fight their way out; a huge number of them had ended up getting killed.
Most of them had no clue about the Key or what the family was doing in the city. It was too risky. Anyone could rat them out to get that reward from the Investigation and Justice Office.
Only a closed circle of a few knew the danger in which the family was facing right now.
At that moment, a scruffy-looking man with an urgent look on him rushed up to Qing Liang. It was his subordinate, the same man who had attacked Sa Min and brought him here. He always tailed Qing Lian from the shadows, keeping an eye out for any danger that might face Qing Lian while searching for the Key. That's why he was able to find out about Sa Min.
Qing Lian stopped at his subordinate, looking straight at him. "Well?" he asked impatiently.
"We just communicated with your sister, young master, she said..." the man hesitated.
Qing Lian felt a tightness grip his chest. "Did you tell her to hurry up and come to the meeting spot?"
"Yeah, but she said she can't make it in time."
"Damn it." Qing Lian pulled out a mini bottle, took a swig and then hurled it angrily to the ground. “Damn it”
In moments like these, he couldn't help but regret the day he crossed paths with that weird, black-clad man who had told him about this cursed Key.
He opened his mouth, about to tell his subordinate to gather some guards and rush to Sa Clan and get his sister out there, but then he remembered that the Sa Clan's security was tight, only those with the Sa name could get through their walls.
That's the reason Qing Xieren had sold his daughter to that patriarch in the first place. They needed to search Sa Clan territory for the Key as well, and that was the only safe way to do it.
This is it. I can’t wait any longer. I have to open my essence core now.
Originally, he had intended to save the Black Force Olive until he opened his essence so he could advance in transformations quickly. However, the situation had changed. If a bottle were to break, he didn't want to be left without a weapon."
And the Ka wielders’ weapons were the Yantras, and there was no Yantra without Imprints and there were no Imprints without the essence core.
As Qing Lian was about to retreat to his room to consume the Force Olive, the main hall door swung open with a cracking sound, and Qing Lian turned immediately. What now?
A young man emerged, and it was Sa Min. His face was bruised and bloodied. He stepped out and paused, gazing blankly at the sun for a brief moment before he continued to walk away.
What the hell? Qing Lian frowned. Why is he… leaving? He was confused and he had no intention to wait any longer. He hustled his way towards the hall, looking at Sa Min as he passed him.
Sa Min, with that expressionless face, didn't even bother to give him a glance. It was like he had no idea who Qing Lian was, like they hadn't talked just yesterday, like he hadn't been tailing him just hours ago. He was just strolling away, acting like nothing at all had happened.
What the fuck?
Qing Lian pushed the doors and walked in.
His father, sitting in the main chair, clutching his wrinkled head with one hand, and Qing Yun stood before him, puffing away on a cigarette. They seemed so wrapped up in heavy talk, that they didn't even bother to glance his way.
He silently greeted them and moved closer to stand beside Qing Yun. It didn't seem like a good time to interrupt them, so he just tried to listen, hoping to learn what the fuck had happened. Why was Sa Min allowed to go free?
"...a vision from Heaven?" Qing Yun exhaled the smoke through a chuckle. “Did he seriously expect us to believe that?"
“How do you think he knew about the Key?” his father asked Qing Yun. His face looked heavy.
“I think there is another group in the city searching for it.”
His father nodded. "And they know about us. That kid Sa Min may have said some truth. I think he has really prepared and written that parchment just to protect himself,” he paused. “Killing him would’ve only harmed us."
“There are still some questions I can’t…" Qing Yun said. He didn't look as worried as he should be, but he did look confused. "If they already know about us, why don't they just report and eliminate us so that they're the only ones who know about the Key?"
“Because by doing that, not just us, the entire city will find out about the Key. And with the City Lord's involvement, they won’t stand a chance of getting it.'"
Qing Yun puffed away at his cigarette. "And why would anyone want to recruit someone who hasn't even opened his essence core?"
"Maybe it’s because he’s just like Qing Lian," Qing Xieren finally looked at his son, then stood up. "Weak people are good for not attracting attention. Or maybe... the other group Sa Min is working for is actually his family."
Qing Yun squinted his eyes. "The Sa Clan?"
"The Liuo family," Qing Xieren corrected. "I'm not certain yet, but there is something in that family’s past that... do you know what happened to Sa Liuo Long 60 years ago?"
Qing Yun’s eyes widened in shock.
Qing Lian frowned, wondering: Liuo family, isn’t that Sa Min’s family?