Chapter 197 | This Healer Is Built Different

The Greatswordsman lay on his back on the gravel ground, the wound on his shoulder constantly seeping blood. He pressed his fingers tightly against the edges of the wound, but blood still leaked continuously through the gaps of his fingers.

Bai Xuan's boots stepped on the gravel, making a clear sound. The Greatswordsman's body suddenly tensed up, and he subconsciously wanted to shrink back, but behind him was a cold stone wall; there was nowhere left to retreat.

His gaze slowly moved up from Bai Xuan's boots, finally stopping at the hem of the pure white robe, convinced in his heart that the other party had come to finish him off for good.

Just then, Bai Xuan raised the staff in his hand and pointed it at his shoulder, the tip of the staff instantly lighting up with a dazzling golden glow.

The Greatswordsman's breathing suddenly quickened, his pupils contracting sharply as his body instinctively struggled backward. This movement directly tore open the unhealed wound, and blood gushed out in large quantities instantly.

Having seen this staff slay too many of his own men just moments ago, despair had already taken root in his heart. He slowly closed his eyes, quietly waiting for death to arrive.

The expected death did not come; instead, a strange aching sensation swept through his entire body. The Greatswordsman clenched his teeth, the veins on his temples bulging as a muffled groan of pain was suppressed in his throat.

As the golden light slowly dissipated, he was astonished to find that the wound on his shoulder had completely healed, without leaving even a single scar.

He stared down at his intact shoulder, his fingers trembling slightly. He wanted to touch it, yet was too filled with dread to let them fall.

He raised his head, but the moment his gaze brushed against Bai Xuan's face, he hurriedly looked away.

“You...” His lips trembled repeatedly, squeezing out only a single word before he found himself unable to say anything else, swallowing down all his doubts and terror.

He quietly nudged his body backward again, his breathing rapid and chaotic. His gaze remained pinned to the tip of the staff resting on the ground, never daring to look up and meet Bai Xuan's eyes.

Before he could calm his mind, Bai Xuan raised the staff once more. Right before his eyes, the head of the staff slammed heavily onto his left leg. A crisp crack of fracturing bone suddenly rang out.

First, the Greatswordsman felt a heavy, blunt pain, followed immediately by the clear sound of bones shattering echoing in his ears.

Before his brain could even register the pain, his legs completely lost all sensation. A shrill, agonizing scream erupted uncontrollably from his throat.

Curling his body, he instinctively wanted to protect his injured left leg, his fingers hovering over the injury but not daring to touch it.

He could clearly feel that the bones beneath his skin had already dislocated and deformed. His vision was completely blurred by welling tears, allowing him to only vaguely make out the white-robed figure standing before him.

The familiar golden light lit up once more—the very same light that had healed his shoulder wound just moments ago. This time, the gentle golden glow completely enveloped his fractured left leg.

The dull sounds of broken bones snapping back into place kept echoing, as if an invisible force was forcefully aligning the displaced bones within his skeletal gaps.

A fresh wave of intense pain suddenly exploded, an aching, piercing torment spreading from deep within his bones, brutally forcing the dislocated bones back into position piece by piece.

His body arched uncontrollably, the back of his head slamming hard against the gravel ground, but this minor pain was long since overwhelmed by the extreme agony in his leg, leaving him completely numb to it.

All his attention was locked onto his excruciatingly painful left leg. The moment the golden light faded, the bone-chilling pain vanished abruptly.

He gasped heavily, cold sweat dripping from his forehead into his eyes. He blinked several times before barely clearing his vision to see the scene before him. Looking down, his left leg was outwardly perfectly intact, showing absolutely no trace of the fracture from moments ago.

Bai Xuan raised his hand, lifting his staff for the third time.

“Wait—” The Greatswordsman's voice had already cracked, filled with extreme terror and panic. “What on earth do you want? Just tell me your purpose!”

Bai Xuan turned a deaf ear to his pleas, letting the staff fall steadily, slamming it onto his right leg. The same crisp crack of bone fracturing and the same heart-wrenching pain struck once more.

The golden light lit up as expected, forcing the dislocated bones back into place. In an instant, the excruciating pain vanished, and his right leg was restored to perfect health once again. From beginning to end, Bai Xuan's face remained cold and expressionless, repeating this cruel process without a single word.

Not far away, Yvonne turned her head away, unable to bear the sight. The dog-eared youth stared fixedly at Bai Xuan's repetitive actions of raising the staff, letting it fall, and emitting the golden light, his ears pinned flat against the back of his head.

Rex stood a short distance away, quietly gazing at Bai Xuan's indifferent back. After a moment of silence, he turned his head to look at Jesse.

Noticing the movement, the cat-eared archer turned to look at Jesse, her eyes filled with questioning confusion. The dog-eared youth also twitched his ears slightly, looking at Jesse, waiting for an explanation.

Meeting everyone's gazes, Jesse could only slowly shake his head; clearly, he had never seen Bai Xuan employ such methods either.

By the time Bai Xuan raised his staff for the fourth time, the Greatswordsman had completely given up on struggling.

He lay slumped on the gravel ground, his eyes vacant and hollow, his entire body so drained of strength that it felt as though all life had been siphoned out of him. His lips parted slightly, his voice raspy and dry, weak as a thread: “What... what on earth do you want...”

Bai Xuan slowly lowered his staff, the tip resting lightly on the ground, as he finally spoke to question him: “How did Zane find out about me?”

The Greatswordsman's voice was faint and drifting: “At the very beginning... Zane didn't even know you existed. It was only after occupying Calais Town and piecing together all the clues that he slowly locked onto you.”

He paused for a moment, swallowing hard with difficulty, and confessed honestly, “The unusual curse movements in the mining area, the flow of information regarding the Gemstone, and that incident where the Gemstone was stolen... in the end, all suspicious leads pointed to you.”

“What about the trap set up to surround and kill me?” Bai Xuan continued to press.

“Zane, he...” The Greatswordsman's voice grew increasingly low and weak. “He placed a curse on Jesse. As long as the curse is triggered or purified, this side will immediately receive a warning signal, which then activates the magic circle to surround and kill you.”

“He also set up a trap over at Blackcreek Town. I don't know the specific layout. My task was only to guard this place and wait for you to appear.”

Bai Xuan looked down at him, asking in a flat tone, “Do you really know nothing about Blackcreek Town?”

“I really don't know!” The Greatswordsman's voice trembled. “Zane only ordered us to guard this place and wait for your arrival. He never told us about any of the other deployments.”

Bai Xuan did not press any further. He slowly stood up and raised his hand, lightly tapping the Greatswordsman's legs with the tip of his staff. Two crisp cracking sounds of bones fracturing rang out almost simultaneously.

The Greatswordsman let out a long, drawn-out scream, though his breath was weak and the sound was far less intense than before, having already exhausted most of his strength.

Having done all this, Bai Xuan turned and signaled to the adventurers behind him. The cat-eared archer and the dog-eared youth immediately stepped forward, firmly binding the limp Greatswordsman.

At this moment, Jesse walked over slowly, supported by Yvonne. He was in terrible condition, his body weak and powerless, taking each step with extreme slowness.