349: Chapter 349 You want to imprison me?

The moment Murong Xue stepped into The Ark, her footsteps faltered.

It wasn't fear, but shock.

As she stepped onto the corridor floor, she felt a warm, slightly resilient sensation under her feet, unlike the stone, soil, or grass on the ground.

The light in the corridor was a warm white, spilling evenly from the ceiling. There were no open flames, no fluctuations of Qi, yet the entire corridor was as bright as day.

She looked up at the ceiling, which consisted of flat, square panels embedded in the metal walls, with edges so smooth that no seams were visible.

She had never seen anything like this before.

"What kind of Magical Artifact is this?"

Her voice was hoarse, but the curiosity in her tone outweighed her exhaustion.

Qin Lin, walking beside her, glanced at her: "It's not a Magical Artifact. It's a lamp, powered by electricity."

Murong Xue did not press for more details, as she did not know what "electricity" was.

She simply added another question to the dozens of others already weighing on her mind.

Her leg was still bleeding, her Qi was depleted, and her body was weak, yet she continued to observe everything around her.

The metal walls, the automatic doors, the circular window at the end of the corridor.

Outside the window was a gray sky. The Ark hovered above the ground without vibration or noise, as steady as a mountain.

Qin Lin took her to the Medical Room.

Han Qing was already inside, having prepared the instruments and ointment.

Murong Xue sat on the bed, and Han Qing knelt down to treat the wound on her leg.

The wound was deep, extending from her knee to the middle of her lower leg, with the flesh torn open to reveal the tender pink meat beneath.

Murong Xue did not cry out in pain, nor did she frown; she simply watched Han Qing's hands working on the wound.

"Your Physique is very good; your wounds heal faster than an ordinary person's."

Han Qing said while bandaging, "But it will still take a few days for complete Recovery. Do not engage in strenuous exercise or overuse your Qi during these next few days."

Murong Xue nodded, her gaze shifting from Han Qing's hands to the glowing screens.

Numbers and waveforms danced on the screens. She couldn't understand them, but she could sense a faint energy flowing within those instruments, different from Qi.

"What is your name?" Murong Xue asked.

"Han Qing, the doctor on The Ark."

Murong Xue glanced at her, then looked at Qin Lin, who was standing at the doorway.

"You saved me. What is the condition?"

Qin Lin walked in and sat on the chair opposite her.

He looked at Murong Xue. Her face had been wiped clean by Han Qing, revealing the fair skin beneath.

Without the cover of blood stains, her features were even more distinct.

Her brows and eyes were picturesque, her nose bridge high and straight, her lips thin and rosy.

Her face was small, her chin pointed, and her neck slender.

Even wearing tattered clothes, even wrapped in bandages, and even sitting on the bed in the Medical Room, she still possessed a beauty that made it impossible to look away.

It was not the beauty of careful adornment, but a natural, innate beauty that emanated from her very bones, polished by decades of Qi and Heaven And Earth Treasure.

Qin Lin's gaze rested on her face for a few seconds before shifting away.

"Stay on The Ark."

Murong Xue was stunned for a moment.

She thought he would want the treasures of the Murong Family, their Cultivation Technique, or their connections and resources.

Her Storage Pouch contained Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, and Magical Artifacts, each one worth a fortune.

As the Young Miss of the Murong Clan in the Central Region, she could give him anything he wanted if he only asked.

But what he said was, "Stay on The Ark."

"Are you trying to imprison me?"

Murong Xue's voice was not loud, but her tone held a hint of vigilance.

Qin Lin shook his head: "No. This is just the condition I want, and it is my only condition. However, you can stay if you wish, or leave whenever you want. The hatches of The Ark will not be locked for you."

Murong Xue looked at him, remaining silent for a long time.

Her gaze moved back and forth across his face, his body, and the corridor behind him, as if searching for traces of a lie.

But she found none.

Murong Xue lowered her head, looking at the bandages on her leg.

The bandages were wrapped very neatly, the edges carefully tucked in by Han Qing so they wouldn't stick out and snag on her clothes.

Han Qing left, leaving only her and Qin Lin in the Medical Room.

The light outside the window changed from gray to pale gold. The sun emerged from behind the clouds, and the light passed through the protective shield of The Ark, casting a soft halo of light in the corridor.

"Fine," Murong Xue said. "I will stay."

Murong Xue settled down on The Ark.

For the first few days, she barely left her room, not because she didn't want to move, but because her wounds needed time to heal.

Her room was on the first level of The Ark, arranged by Han Qing. It was numbered 017, in the same row as Qing Yue and the others' rooms.

The room was not large, containing a bed, a table, a wardrobe, and a window.

Outside the window was the corridor, not the sky, but she didn't care.

It had been a long time since she had slept in a safe place.

The night the Murong Clan was breached, she escaped from the burning courtyard, passed through the collapsed walls, broke through the encirclement of her pursuers, and fled south.

She hadn't had a full night's sleep, hadn't eaten a full meal, and hadn't stayed in one place for more than half a day.

Now, she lay on a soft bed. The quilt was white, the pillow was white, the sheets were white. The room was very quiet, with only the faint humming of The Ark's life support System.

She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

She slept for a long time, so long that she didn't know how many days she had been asleep.

When she woke up, the light outside the window was still bright.

The Ark's lighting System did not distinguish between day and night, always remaining a constant warm white.

She sat up and touched the bandages on her leg. The wound no longer hurt; it was itchy, a sign that the flesh was growing back.

She got out of bed and walked out of the room barefoot.

The corridor was very quiet, with the night lights dimmed to their lowest setting.

She walked slowly along the corridor, passing one door after another.

The numbers on the doors went from 001 to 016. Every door was closed, and from inside, one could occasionally hear talking, laughter, and the babbling of an infant.

She walked to the end of the corridor, where there was a window looking out at the starry sky.

It was not the gray, hazy sky she saw on the ground, but a real, pure starry sky, unobstructed by the energy of the rifts.

The stars were dense, like a handful of scattered diamonds.

Murong Xue stood in front of the window, watching that expanse of stars.

She had never seen a sky like this before.

On the ground, the energy of the rifts obscured most of the starlight. The sky was always gray and hazy; one couldn't see the sun during the day or the stars at night.

Now that she saw it, it turned out the starry sky was so beautiful.

Footsteps came from behind her.

Qin Lin walked over, stood beside her, and followed her gaze out the window.

"Is it beautiful?"

Murong Xue did not look at him, her gaze still lingering on that sea of stars.

"Beautiful. I have never seen a starry sky like this."

"That's because you are in space now. The Ark is currently sailing in orbit around the planet, hundreds of kilometers from the ground. Looking at the stars from here, without the obstruction of the atmosphere, they are much brighter than on the ground."

Murong Xue turned to look at him, her eyes holding a light he had never seen before.

It was not surprise, nor shock, but a kind of realization, an "I see now."

"Space."

She repeated the word, as if tasting a strange flavor.