Elder Yan Tie looked at Wang Xie’s bound form with a complicated gaze. It was complicated not because he held mixed emotions towards the wayward disciple, but because he was conflicted over the decision of whether to kill the fellow or not. His loathing of Wang Xie had reached the point of pathological obsession, but there were few in the sect who would outwardly blame him.
Wang Xie’s publicized crimes had already made him deeply unpopular with the sect members, and Fairy Bai Yun aside, there had been none who had protested his sentence. Yet, Yan Tie’s disgust with him went far deeper. Even looking at Wang Xie’s unconscious body now conjured a feeling of anger.
Amongst the seventeen sect corpses that Wang Xie was responsible for, one of which was Yan Tie’s beloved daughter, Yan Ai. Wang Xie had not only dragged Yan Tie’s face through the mud, by fabricating an order in his name, but had also miraculously gotten his daughter killed in one fell swoop. And to think that he had once thought highly enough of this piece of trash to lend him his Elder Token: his sign of authority in the sect.
“Truly, no good deed goes unpunished.” He muttered bitterly.
The Sect Leader gave him a sympathetic look, patting him on the shoulder.
“Elder Yan Tie, do not beat yourself up over the matter. I know you have many grievances with Wang Xie, but do not let your personal matters cloud your judgement like it did with him. You have been rewarded amply for the services you have rendered to the sect. This time will be no exception.”
Giving a wan look in return, Yan Tie responded, “I would not forget my duty to the sect, Sect Leader Bai Qing. I understand this matter with Wang Xie is of great importance.”
“I’m glad to hear that. If the regeneration of a special physique is truly all that it takes to puncture Dark Watery Prison’s formation, then our sect has a great issue in our hands. Who knows how many imprisoned within it have had a special physique in the past? If what Wang Xie implies is true, I would be the great sinner of the sect to allow such an oversight to occur.”
“Sect Leader Bai Qing, that simply isn’t true! You have been a great sect leader. If anything, the fault lies with me as the Punishment Hall Elder.”
Bai Qing gave a wry smile, saying, “That may indeed be so, Elder Yan Tie.”
Yan Tie’s lips twitched. Deciding not to thank the hand that slapped him, he quickly changed the subject.
“Sect Leader, do you have any idea where Elder Zu Nan might be? We have waited at the Medicine Hall for quite some time now.”
“Naturally.”
Despite saying so, the Sect Leader did not offer any further elaboration. Yan Tie felt an increasing urge to hit something.
“Then, would Sect Leader like to share his idea?”
“Why didn’t you say so before? I believe Elder Zu Nan is still gathering spiritual herbs in the Verdant Ancient Valley.”
Yan Tie suppressed the growing urge.
“On a sect mission? I had thought that the Demon Empire had already claimed that region. Wouldn’t it be very dangerous for Elder Zu Nan to explore there?”
Bai Qing gave a short laugh, “What does it matter if the Demon Empire has claimed the valley? Can they exercise control over its entirety? I’d like to see them try. Besides, Elder Zu Nan has gone there of his own volition, not at the sect’s behest. He’s trying to further improve that medicine of his.”
“The Seven Star Fragment Potion?”
“No, no, the other one.”
“The Black-Yellow Oil Concoction?”
“Not that one, the other one.”
Yan Tie’s eyebrows wavered.
“How about Sect Leader directly names it so that we can save some time from guessing?”
“Why didn’t you say so to begin with? I believe it was his Nine Age Ginseng Pill.”
Yan Tie took a deep breath.
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“I see. I thank Sect Leader for informing me.”
Bai Qing chuckled again, slapping him on the back.
“It’s not good to be so uptight, Elder Yan Tie. It is good to carry out your duties, but it is also good to be happy.”
“It is as Sect Leader says.”
Bai Qing gave him another look, not pushing the subject.
“Alright, then I shall leave this task of guarding Wang Xie’s body to you. I still have many things to do. You have my spiritual imprint, so let me know when Elder Zu Nan returns. There’s no need to send me off.”
With a wave, Bai Qing quickly escaped the Medicine Hall.
Yan Tie looked at his rapidly departing form without much remorse.
---
By the time Elder Zu Nan had arrived back to his post, the sky had already darkened, and Yan Tie was not in the best of moods (not that he had ever been in a particularly good mood since a certain event some years previous.) The Medicine Hall Elder took no note of the Punishment Hall Elder’s scowl on his face and stated very bluntly, “You must have a lot of time, waiting in the Medicine Hall in order to bother me.”
Sometimes, Yan Tie really hated the flippant attitude the Medicine Hall Elder and Sect Leader seemed to share. He took a deep breath to calm himself, because his nerves really were frayed after days of scrambling about to identify the issue with the prison.
“Elder Zu Nan, I’m here on official sect business.”
Zu Nan curled an eyebrow as he seemed to finally register the prone, bound form of Wang Xie besides Yan Tie.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, the Sect Leader has task—”
“The Medicine Hall is closed for tonight. I will attend to the injured body in the morning.”
Yan Tie took another deep breath. Why were all of his colleagues so difficult? Besides the fact that it would be absurd for any of the various Sect Halls to close, it would be even more absurd that the Medicine Hall closed. The Elder had never heard of any injuries waiting for a doctor to tend to them; untreated injuries just resulted in dead bodies.
“Look—”
“I am looking.”
“—None of the Halls ever close and I would enjoy it if you were to cooperate with sect orders and stop wasting time.”
Zu Nan looked directly into Yan Tie’s eyes for a moment before flicking them back down at the unconscious body. Squatting down, and before Yan Tie could do anything to stop him, he ripped the hood off of Wang Xie’s head. The ugly sight of the mildly burnt, mildly beaten, and mildly unconscious face of Wang Xie greeted him. The Medicine Hall Elder sighed, stuffed the hood back onto the prisoner’s head, and stood back up to address his fellow Elder.
“Alright. I believe I understand the situation now. What did you ask the Sect Leader for? To grind his bones up into a fine powder for you to mix in with the pig trough to feed the pigs?”
“What?”
“No? Was it to extract his blood and use it to fertilize the crops?”
“What? No! Stop. I am not here to torture Wang Xie.”
“You’re not?”
Zu Nan seemed genuinely surprised. Yan Tie’s hatred for the boy was legendary. No one besides the other Elders even dared to mention either his daughter or Wang Xie before him. Yan Tie was satisfied with that, because it meant that they treated the tragedy with the solemnity it should be regarded with. But that wasn’t the point right now.
“No, I’m here on orders by the Sect Leader to investigate the cause of the disturbance in Dark Watery Prison.”
Saying so, Yan Tie quickly relayed the information about the situation at hand. For once in the conversation, Zu Nan seemed to be treating it with some level of seriousness. He nodded along as the Punishment Hall Elder explained that the security of the prison was possibly compromised, how Wang Xie was the likely culprit, and also the sole clue about identifying the exact flaw in the schematics. The Medicine Hall Elder seemed to look at the ex-disciple in a new light.
“Alright,” He said, after a while, “What would you like me to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly that: what would you like me to do? I presume you would like my assistance with this investigation, but how would you like me to deal with Wang Xie? Do you want me to dissect him? Interrogate him? Heal him?”
Yan Tie paused, finally understanding.
“There’s no need to interrogate or heal him. I’ve already done the former, but he played dumb in the interrogation and there’s no good reason for the latter. A full dissection would kill the ingrate, and it’s no guarantee we could fully understand the cause after doing so. Besides, I want him to suffer as long as possible.”
Zu Nan smirked, there was the viciousness that everyone associated with the Punishment Hall Elder.
“Alright, then what?”
This time, it was Yan Tie’s turn to give a look.
“You’re the expert here, and the Sect Leader commanded me to consult you, not the other way around, so why don’t you think of an answer?”
“Hm…why don’t we do a forceful memory retrieval? It probably won’t kill him, and we’ll get a good bit of information from his mind.”
Yan Tie blinked, surprised by the good suggestion. The only issue was that the memory retrieval could kill Wang Xie, and it would require a highly tedious and invasive process of invading the target’s mind. To be done properly, it would require at least two high-leveled cultivators versed enough in the technique, a good assistive formation or two, some spiritual herbs, and most importantly, a secure environment.
Zu Nan spoke, breaking him out of his thoughts, “You have good timing, we have everything that is required here, provided that you don’t kill him when we delve into his mind.”
Yan Tie grinned, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”