25: Chapter 25 The Survivors in the Iron House

The black cloth still swayed behind Sect Master Di Kun. The scratching sounds from the iron cages in the front yard pressed in along with the night, one by one, like beast claws digging into human bone.

Sect Master Di Kun did not look back.

He gripped the key to the iron house; the serrated edge of the key pressed into his palm, leaving white marks on his skin.

The Sect Protection Elder trailed on his right, dragging his blade. The old blood on the edge was moistened by the night dew, releasing a metallic, fishy stench.

The Dark Souls Youth carried his broken wooden sword on his shoulder, his feet squelching softly in the mud as he walked. The Life-Skill Player clutched a wax-sealed medicine bottle, his cuffs stained with grass ash and medicinal powder, suppressing even his coughs in his throat.

The iron house was in the darkest corner of the back yard.

Three locks hung on the door, their keyholes clogged with oil and mud. No light leaked through the gaps, only the sour, suffocating stench of something confined for too long.

Someone inside heard their footsteps; first came the soft clinking of iron chains, followed by a few hushed gasps.

"Who is it?"

The voice from inside was dry as cracked wood.

Sect Master Di Kun stopped three steps from the door and raised a hand in a silencing gesture.

Everyone froze.

He did not open the lock immediately but spun the key half a turn between his fingers, the metal scraping against his palm.

A Yao Beast in the front yard slammed against its cage again, the iron chains rattling as if urging him on.

"After the door opens, if you want to live, shut your mouths, follow orders, and don't hold us back." Sect Master Di Kun stared at the gap in the door, his voice low, yet every word seemed to strike the iron plating. "Whoever screams, runs around, or draws the pursuers here, I will not turn back to save you a second time."

The room inside went silent for a moment.

The Sect Protection Elder frowned, his blade tip drooping slightly. "Sect Master, they've been imprisoned like this; there's no need to be so harsh."

Sect Master Di Kun did not look at him and simply inserted the key into the first lock.

Click.

The first lock opened.

Someone inside gasped more frantically; another seemed to want to cry but swallowed the sound back down.

"He is right."

A man's voice came from the left side of the room, weak but steady. "They aren't here to run a charity. If they can take one person, they take one. Whoever ruins things, we all die together."

Sect Master Di Kun's hand paused for a fraction of a second.

The second lock opened.

The Sect Protection Elder glanced through the gap in the door, suppressing anger in his eyes.

The Dark Souls Youth lowered his broken wooden sword, its tip touching the ground, and twitched his lips. "This guy understands dungeon mechanics even better than I do."

The Life-Skill Player glared at him. "Shut up. Check the injuries first."

The third lock was turned, and as the iron door was pulled open, the hinges emitted a harsh, grating sound.

A foul stench rushed out to meet them.

Five people were curled up in the darkness.

Three were slumped against the wall, wearing nothing but rags. Their wrists and ankles were covered in festering sores from the rubbing of chains, with blood and pus matted together; they struggled even to lift their heads.

The other two were still able to sit up. One was a tall, thin man whose messy hair covered half his face, though his eyes were bright; his left arm had a long gash from an iron hook, crudely wrapped with cloth strips. The other was a man dressed as a Mountain Dweller, his legs trembling, but with broad shoulders; he gritted his teeth and stood up, leaning against the wall.

"Who was the one who spoke just now?" Sect Master Di Kun asked.

The tall, thin man raised his hand, the iron chains clinking softly with the movement. "Gu Heng. A Loose Cultivator."

"Why were you captured?"

"I took a wrong turn while delivering medicinal herbs and was detained by the Red Snake Sect. I saw something I shouldn't have, and they wanted to refine me into beast feed as well."

Sect Master Di Kun looked at him.

There were dried blood scabs on Gu Heng's face, dark circles under his eyes, and cracked lips, but he lacked that utter, shattered softness of someone completely broken by fear.

When he spoke, he would always glance outside the door first, then at the key in Sect Master Di Kun's hand, as if calculating how much survival he could trade for every word.

Sect Master Di Kun shifted his gaze. "Life-Skill Player, examine them."

The Life-Skill Player immediately entered the room.

He knelt beside the three most critical victims first, took out the hemostatic powder from his cloth bag, and pinched open the rotting cloth with two fingers, his movements so swift it made one grit their teeth.

As the powder was sprinkled on, white foam immediately bubbled at the edges of the wounds. The old Mountain Dweller lying on the ground arched his back in pain, and the Dark Souls Youth stepped forward to press him down by the shoulders.

"Endure it. Pain means you can still be saved," the Life-Skill Player said without looking up. "Don't move around. If the powder is wasted, it's your loss, and mine too."

The Sect Protection Elder drew his blade and severed several chains; they hit the ground with a dull thud.

The Speedrun Youth stood guard at the doorway, his eyes constantly scanning the path between the stone house and the front yard, clutching two pebbles in his hand.

Sect Master Di Kun crouched down halfway and pulled open the collar of one of the injured, noticing black bruised patterns near the collarbone.

He pointed to it with his finger. "What is this?"

The Life-Skill Player leaned in to look, rubbing his finger over the bruise, and sniffed. "It's not poison. It looks like it was pressed in by long-term binding. Tracking powder is usually found in clothing seams, hair roots, or the back of the neck. I might not be able to identify a Soul-Locking Seal accurately."

"I will look."

Gu Heng walked over, leaning against the wall, the chains on his ankles dragging on the ground with a soft, fragmented clinking.

The Dark Souls Youth immediately blocked him with his wooden sword.

Gu Heng stopped and raised his relatively intact right hand. "Before I was locked in, I saw them marking the beast slaves. The tracking insects don't smell blood; they smell a specific medicinal seal."

Sect Master Di Kun looked up.

Gu Heng pointed to the Mountain Dweller who could stand. "Behind his neck."

The Mountain Dweller's expression changed, and he raised his hand to touch it.

Sect Master Di Kun grabbed his wrist and pressed it down. "Don't touch it."

The Life-Skill Player went around behind him and brushed aside the messy hair on the back of the Mountain Dweller's neck.

In the dim light, a fingernail-sized, light-brown mark was stuck to his skin. The color was so faint it almost blended into the grime, but there were tiny, fine ring patterns along the edges.

The Life-Skill Player cursed. "There really is something."

The Sect Protection Elder's expression darkened. "Can it be washed off?"

Gu Heng did not answer, only looked at Sect Master Di Kun.

Sect Master Di Kun took out his short blade and wiped the surface of the blade with his cuff.

Beast Master Luo's blood still remained on the edge; after a swipe with the cloth, it revealed a cold, sharp blade.

A sound squeezed from the Mountain Dweller's throat. "Sect Master, I..."

"Bite down."

Sect Master Di Kun stuffed a piece of broken wood into his mouth.

The Mountain Dweller looked at the knife, then at his three companions on the ground, his fingers trembling violently.

A moment later, he bit down on the wood, his hands gripping the door frame tightly.

The Life-Skill Player spread out the medical cloth and pressed his fingers on both sides of the Mountain Dweller's neck. "Don't cut deep. Just the surface flesh, digging out the mark is enough."

Sect Master Di Kun made the cut.

The tip of the knife sliced along the edge of the seal, the skin and flesh parted, and blood surged out instantly.

The Mountain Dweller went rigid, the wooden piece cracked from his bite, and a muffled, crushed groan rolled out of his throat.

Sect Master Di Kun gripped his shoulder bone with his left hand, twisted his right wrist, and the piece of flesh with the seal was flicked out, landing in the mud.

The Life-Skill Player immediately pressed the medicinal powder on, then wound the cloth strips tightly around it.

The blood was absorbed by the cloth; the white powder heated up upon contact with the blood, emitting a wisp of steam.

The Dark Souls Youth's face tightened as he watched. "This treatment method is way too hardcore. Bad review, definitely a bad review."

The piece of wood fell from the Mountain Dweller's mouth to the ground. His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed but was caught by the Sect Protection Elder.

Gu Heng looked at the piece of flesh on the ground without speaking.

His fingertips curled in his sleeves, then slowly relaxed.

Sect Master Di Kun used the tip of his blade to pick up the piece of flesh and threw it into a broken pottery basin in the corner.

The Life-Skill Player took out a pinch of fire powder and sprinkled it on. A flame flared up with a poof, burning the flesh into a black curl, and a scorched stench spread through the iron house.

"Who else has a mark left?" Sect Master Di Kun asked.

The Life-Skill Player checked their hair roots, clothing seams, and ankles one by one, and had Gu Heng point out two other places where powder could be easily hidden.

All five were thoroughly checked; only a small amount of tracking powder was found in the collar of a woman who was unconscious.

The Life-Skill Player cut off that piece of the collar, rubbed it into the grass ash, and pressed it down with mud.

Time was slipping away bit by bit.

The beast sounds in the front yard grew increasingly agitated, occasionally mixed with the shouting of guards, the noises becoming more frequent than before.

Sect Master Di Kun stood up, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the five survivors.

Three of them could not leave.

One old Mountain Dweller was cold on one side of his body, with a wound on his leg so deep the bone was visible; one woman was unconscious, her breathing so thin it could stop at any moment; and one young man had his abdomen torn by a whip hook, which the Life-Skill Player had barely managed to staunch after applying three layers of medical cloth.

The only ones capable of moving were Gu Heng and the Mountain Dweller who had his medicinal seal carved out.

The Sect Protection Elder also understood, his facial muscles tightening. "Sect Master, we can't take them with us?"

"If we take them, they will die on the road," Sect Master Di Kun said as he sheathed his blade. "And we will be dragged to our deaths by them."

The young man in the iron house heard this, his eyes turning red instantly. He braced against the wall to try to stand, but fell back to the ground halfway up.

The woman remained unconscious, and the old Mountain Dweller reached out to grab the hem of the Sect Protection Elder's robe, the skin on the back of his hand so thin only veins remained.

The Sect Protection Elder's hand tightened on his blade.

Gu Heng suddenly said in a low voice, "There is an abandoned feeding pit behind the Beast Taming Ground, where sick beasts were kept years ago. Nobody goes there now; the stench is heavy, and tracking insects don't like to crawl into it."

Sect Master Di Kun looked at him. "You know the location?"

"I was taken there once to clear out bones." Gu Heng pointed to the back left outside the door. "There is a narrow path behind the back wall of the iron house; you'll find it if you go through."

The Sect Protection Elder stared at Sect Master Di Kun. "Hide them there?"

Sect Master Di Kun crouched before the young man, placed a waterskin by his side, and pressed the medicine packet handed over by the Life-Skill Player beneath the waterskin.

"Listen clearly," Sect Master Di Kun said. "We will hide you in the feeding pit, leaving water, medicine, and a short blade. Do not make a sound before dawn, and do not crawl out even if you hear chaos outside. Wait until the pursuers have all chased into the mountains, then escape into the scattered woods yourselves."

The young man's lips trembled. "You aren't taking us with you?"

Sect Master Di Kun placed the short blade by his side, the handle facing inward.

"I am giving you a chance to live, not the right to drag everyone else to their deaths."

The old Mountain Dweller's hand, which had been gripping the Sect Protection Elder's robe, loosened slightly.

The Sect Protection Elder closed his eyes for a moment, then bent down and carried him on his back.

The Dark Souls Youth picked up the unconscious woman, but as soon as he stood steady, the weight caused him to stumble forward. He cursed under his breath, "My character's load capacity is overloaded."

The Life-Skill Player pressed another layer of medical cloth onto the young man with the abdominal wound. "Talk less. If you want to live, swallow the blood back."

Gu Heng leaned against the wall to make way, his eyes sweeping over the position where Sect Master Di Kun kept his account book close to his body, then quickly shifted away.

Sect Master Di Kun saw it.

He did not expose him, but simply took the account book from his bosom and, by the faint light at the edge of the iron house door, flipped to the last few pages.

The line "As for the Sect Affairs Bureau, divide the accounts as usual" was still pressed onto the paper.

He pressed his fingertips onto the page, tore off the two most critical pages, folded them into small pieces, and tucked them into the deepest part of his inner garment. He wrapped the rest of the book in oilcloth again and handed it to the Speedrun Youth.

"If the whole book is lost, we still have these two pages," Sect Master Di Kun said in a very low voice. "You take the book. If you get separated, hide in the direction of the Taichu Sect; don't wait for anyone."

The Speedrun Youth took the account book and pressed his fingers onto the oilcloth. "Understood. Between saving my life and saving the book, I prioritize the book."

The Dark Souls Youth, while carrying the person, couldn't help but click his tongue. "You have the potential to be a capitalist with that statement."

"Shut up. Move."

The narrow path was even harder to traverse than Gu Heng had described.

Behind the back wall of the iron house were piles of discarded iron cages and rotten wooden troughs. The stench of decay rolled out from the underground feeding pit, making their eyes sting.

The pit entrance was covered by a few rotten wooden boards. The Life-Skill Player kicked the boards away, revealing a dark hole half a man's depth deep. The walls of the hole still bore the marks of beast claws.

The Sect Protection Elder jumped down first and placed the old Mountain Dweller in a slightly drier corner.

The Dark Souls Youth passed the woman down, and the Life-Skill Player moved the young man with the abdominal wound inside, leaving two waterskins, three packets of medicine, a short blade, and half a bag of dry rations.

Sect Master Di Kun stood by the edge of the pit, looking at the three faces below, which were swallowed by the night.

"The blade is only for cutting ropes, digging dirt, and killing things that approach you," he paused. "Don't use it to cry out in grievance."

The young man looked up, his lips moving a few times, and finally, he just hugged the short blade to his chest.

The wooden boards were covered back up, and the Life-Skill Player sprinkled rotten grass and beast dung ash over them.

The stench covered the scent of blood, and the pit entrance looked like a patch of wasteland again.

Just as they finished, a sharp beast roar suddenly came from the front yard.

Immediately following that were the angry curses of guards and the chaotic clanking of iron chains being dragged.

Torchlight flickered through the gaps in the fence, and more and more footsteps ran toward the medicine shed.

The Speedrun Youth leaned his head around the wall, took one look, and pulled back. "The inspection was moved up. The front yard is in chaos. Someone will reach the iron house in half an incense stick's time at most."

The Sect Protection Elder whispered, "Leave now?"

Sect Master Di Kun glanced at the iron house, then looked toward the stone house.

The dead Beast Master Luo in the stone house, the signatures on the account book, the beast-taming medicinal liquid in the medicine shed, and the fierce beasts in the cages in the front yard were all still in this mountain hollow.

If they just left, the Red Snake Sect would clean up the bodies, seal off the clues not taken from the account book, and wash this place clean again.

He raised his hand to tug at his inner garment, confirming that the two pages of the account book were still pressed against his body.

Gu Heng whispered from the side, "You can leave via the water ditch on the back mountain. Prisoners have seen the guards changing shifts through the cracks in the iron house before. Following the ditch down can avoid two open guard posts, but the path is slippery, and it's difficult for injured people to walk."

Sect Master Di Kun turned his head to look at him.

The Dark Souls Youth immediately switched his broken wooden sword to his left hand and stood half a step away from Gu Heng.

Gu Heng noticed this, twitched the corner of his lips slightly, and said nothing more.

There was another beast roar in the front yard, and the iron cages were slammed with a thunderous sound.

Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand and pointed toward the medicine shed and the grass storage area. "We're not in a hurry to leave."

The Sect Protection Elder's eyebrows jumped.

Sect Master Di Kun tossed the ring of keys from Beast Master Luo to the Speedrun Youth and handed the remaining half bottle of high-concentration beast-taming medicinal liquid to the Life-Skill Player.

"Before we leave, burn this place down."