Bai Xuan turned to look at him. “Don't be in such a hurry.”
Jesse looked up, anxiety written all over his face, about to argue back.
Bai Xuan continued to explain, “There's a high probability that the enemy still has backups and reinforcements hidden inside the Inner Town. You're in terrible shape right now; acting alone is too dangerous. Once I've finished questioning him, we'll go in together.”
Hearing this, Jesse fell silent. The anxiety and impulsiveness in his heart slowly settled, and he finally nodded.
Bai Xuan looked at Clement and asked, “How does Zane obtain other people's memories?”
Sensing Bai Xuan's gaze fall on him, Clement did not dare delay for a second and quickly answered.
“His Class is related to the undead.” His Adam's apple bobbed. “He can turn the deceased into undead, and he can also read the memories of the dead from those undead.”
Bai Xuan already knew about Zane's undead-related Class. Earlier in Blackcreek Town, Carson had mentioned to him that Zane's abilities were linked to the undead, but he hadn't mentioned the ability to transform and control them.
“Since he can extract memories through the undead, why is Edmund still alive? He could have just turned Edmund into an undead directly and read his memories.”
Clement swallowed nervously and quickly explained, “B-Because the memories obtained from the undead are very limited. He can only get the most superficial information, and there is only one chance.”
“If that extraction fails to get the key information, there's no way to obtain it afterward.” He paused slightly, adding, “So he wouldn't easily turn Edmund into an undead.”
Terrified that Bai Xuan would be dissatisfied with this explanation, he hurriedly added, “Besides, turning people into undead to extract memories is an old ability of his. He doesn't use that method anymore.”
“Now, he can directly extract memories from a living person's mind, but it has its limits too. He can only read superficial memories.”
“It's very hard for him to touch secrets that have been deliberately hidden deep and heavily guarded.” He paused, his tone dropping slightly. “That's also why Edmund is still alive. Zane plans to interrogate him slowly and dig deep into his memories.”
Bai Xuan listened quietly, swept his eyes over him, and slowly digested the information before asking again, “So how much intelligence has he gathered so far?”
Seeing that Bai Xuan hadn't made a move, a glimmer of hope rose in Clement's heart. His mind raced, and he hesitated for a brief moment.
But in that split second of hesitation, Bai Xuan's staff slammed heavily against his leg.
A crisp crack of bone shattering suddenly rang out. Clement had no time to react as a shrill scream of agony burst from his throat, and his body slumped violently to the side.
His hands instinctively reached out to cradle his injured leg, but froze in mid-air, not daring to touch it.
“Don't pause when answering. I hate hesitation.” Bai Xuan stood in place, looking down coldly at him on the ground.
Clement panted heavily a dozen times. Sweat slid down his forehead and rolled into his eyes. He blinked hard several times before he could barely see his surroundings clearly.
He didn't dare delay any longer. Enduring the intense pain, he quickly confessed, “Most of the White family's assets have now been taken over by the Cross family.”
Gasping for breath, he spoke in fragments, “Edmund's memories contain references to you. He knows who you are, and he knows you have the ability to purify curses.”
Taking a quick breath, he continued, “But he knows nothing about your true identity or origin. That information was hidden away securely by him.”
“As for the whereabouts of his family, those memories have also been completely locked down. Zane tried everything but couldn't read them, which is why he kept Edmund alive for continuous interrogation.”
Clement's gaze uncontrollably drifted toward Jesse before he quickly retracted it. “They also dug up some information about you from Jesse's mind, such as the fact that you were secretly passing messages.”
“Combining that with the clues gathered in Blackcreek Town earlier, they were able to completely lock onto you.”
After saying this, Clement fell silent, doing nothing but keeping his head down and panting heavily. His bent, broken leg rested on the gravel ground, sending wave after wave of intense pain through him.
After listening, Bai Xuan studied him with a dark gaze, discerning the truth of his words, before turning to look at Jesse. “Jesse, what do you think?”
Jesse stepped forward slowly, looking down at Clement curled up on the ground. After a moment of silence, he spoke to Bai Xuan in a deep voice.
“The information I have is basically consistent with what he said.”
Bai Xuan nodded slightly and didn't press further.
Clement looked at his twisted, injured leg as the bone-chilling pain continued to spread.
He instinctively channeled a trace of divine power to heal the wound, but immediately dispersed the energy.
Bai Xuan hadn't forbidden him from healing, but he hadn't permitted it either, and Clement didn't dare take the risk. Looking at his broken leg, he raised his hand to heal it, but ultimately withdrew it timidly.
After receiving Jesse's confirmation, Bai Xuan didn't set off immediately. He turned around to look at the bound captives. The cat-eared archer and the dog-eared demi-human were still guarding them in place.
Bai Xuan gestured to the cat-eared archer and ordered, “I'm leaving these captives in your custody. Don't let them escape.”
The cat-eared archer stood up, slung her longbow across her back, and nodded solemnly. The dog-eared youth beside her also stood up and walked silently to the pile of captives, pushing the outermost captive inward to prevent any escape attempts.
Without saying anything more, Bai Xuan turned to look at Rex. “Bring him along. We're heading into the Inner Town.”
Rex stepped forward immediately, grabbing Clement's arm and hauling him up.
With only one leg to support himself, Clement swayed violently and leaned into Rex.
Rex turned his body to prop him up, holding him by the shoulder as he dragged him toward the Inner Town like a piece of dead weight.
Clement's broken leg dragged across the rough gravel ground. Every step he took felt as if his bones were being repeatedly crushed.
He clenched his fists again and again, only to slowly release them, gritting his teeth hard to suppress the intense pain, not daring to let out even a whimper.
Bai Xuan walked slowly two paces behind Rex, while Yvonne supported Jesse, walking at the very rear of the group.
Passing through the town gate, the streets of the Inner Town were dead silent. All the shops along the street had their doors and windows tightly shut. A few half-open doors swayed in the draft, gently knocking against their frames with soft, clicking sounds.
The entire Inner Town seemed to have been emptied, with only abandoned clutter scattered across the road and a few torn rags blown down by the fierce wind, drifting in the middle of the street.
Bai Xuan slowed his pace, his eyes carefully scanning the rooftops and dark alleyways on both sides. “How many people are left in the Inner Town now?”
In front, Clement paused slightly upon hearing the question. “When the monster tide hit... most of the people fled.” His throat bobbed. “Those who stayed behind were basically here to set up a trap, w-waiting for you to arrive.”
Bai Xuan didn't press further, his gaze shifting toward the distant spire of the church. “What's the situation over at the church?”
Rate on N.U.
