Chapter 200 | This Healer Is Built Different

Clement's voice dropped a bit. “There are still guards, but not many.”

The group slowly walked past the entrance of the church, its heavy doors tightly shut. He swept a casual glance over the grayish-white building and didn't linger, walking straight ahead.

As Clement was dragged past the church, he instinctively glanced sideways before quickly withdrawing his gaze.

“What about the White family’s estate?” Bai Xuan's voice came from behind.

Clement froze for a moment before responding, “They left people there too, more than at the church.”

Fearing he hadn't made himself clear enough, he hurriedly added, “But I don't know the exact number. I was staying at the church until we set out.”

Bai Xuan asked no further questions, and the sound of the group's footsteps echoed once again in the silent street.

Seeing that Bai Xuan wasn't questioning him further, Clement breathed a small sigh of relief. But before he could completely relax, the gates of the White family estate came into view.

The gates were tightly shut. Rex stepped forward and pushed hard, but they didn't budge.

He took half a step back, turned to look at Bai Xuan, and gestured for him to come forward.

Bai Xuan stepped forward, wedged his staff into the gap between the doors, and leaned in with a gentle pry. A crisp cracking sound immediately echoed from behind the doors as the latch snapped open.

The gates swung open to reveal a chaotic courtyard. Several people lay scattered across the ground; two or three were still curled up and struggling, while the rest had long since given up resisting.

A few people who were still standing held weapons, their blades stained with fresh blood, but they weren't swinging them.

They stood around a few bound captives, whispering among themselves, completely oblivious to the commotion at the entrance. It wasn't until the gates creaked open that one of them suddenly whipped his head around.

He first saw Rex, then noticed Clement being propped up by him. His gaze fell on Clement's twisted, broken leg before slowly drifting upward to his deathly pale face.

The fingers he had tightly wrapped around his sword hilt subtly loosened. Following his gaze, the people beside him also noticed the pathetic state of Clement.

When they clearly saw Jesse walking in right behind them, the noise in the courtyard instantly died down, as if suddenly cut off.

In the next second, someone shouted, “Steward Jesse!” The shout rose sharply, filled with unmistakable excitement.

A burly young man squeezed out from the crowd. He stopped abruptly two paces away from Jesse, quickly scanned the captive Clement, and then looked back at Jesse.

“It's wonderful that you're alright!” his voice filled with relief.

Several others quickly gathered around. Although they hadn't let go of their weapon hilts, their tense shoulders suddenly relaxed. That single shout relieved the tension that had gripped everyone for days.

“We thought you had...” The man stopped halfway, unable to finish his sentence.

Supporting himself on Yvonne's arm, Jesse stood steady. His gaze slowly swept over everyone present, as if counting heads, confirming that everyone was safe and sound.

His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but after a brief silence, he only spoke softly: “I'm back.”

Having said that, he turned his head to look at Bai Xuan beside him.

“Calais Town was only able to survive this disaster because of this gentleman.” Following Jesse's gaze, everyone's eyes landed on Bai Xuan.

He stood quietly a few paces away, staff in hand, the hem of his white robe slightly dusted with dirt, looking calm and serene.

“He was the one who defeated the monster tide,” Jesse's voice rang out clear and powerful in the quiet courtyard. “He also dealt with all the ambushers Zane left behind in the town. And it was he who healed my severe injuries.”

These few words filled everyone's eyes with astonishment and respect as they looked at Bai Xuan. They bowed their heads slightly in greeting and silently sheathed their weapons. The heavy burden weighing on everyone's hearts was completely lifted.

The burly young man let out a long breath, completely shedding the tension of the past few days. “After most of the Cross family members left behind here went out, we took the opportunity to try and rescue the trapped people before they returned.”

He looked at Jesse, then toward the depths of the courtyard. “We originally planned to clear out the remaining enemies in the estate before going to rescue them, but we didn't expect you to return first.”

After listening, Jesse slowly looked around at everyone and spoke in a deep voice, “Everything is over now. Next, we need to deal with the remaining forces left by the Cross family.”

“There are still Cross family men at the church. Go and deal with them.” A few men in the back acknowledged the order and quickly left the courtyard.

Seeing that things here had mostly settled, Bai Xuan looked toward the depths of the courtyard. “Where are the holding cells?”

The burly young man immediately stepped forward and said respectfully, “This way, sir.” He turned to lead the way, and Bai Xuan followed closely behind.

Clement was dragged past the crowd by Rex, his head hanging low the entire time. Cold glares pierced him like freezing water. A whisper drifted into his ears: “To think he'd see this day too.”

The group crossed the courtyard, bypassed a row of low-roofed outbuildings, and entered a narrower corridor.

The corridor was deep and narrow. Most of the wall lamps on both sides had gone out, leaving only a single flickering light at the far end.

Propped up in the middle of the group, every step Clement took dragged his broken leg along the ground, sending excruciating pain shooting through him.

At this moment, he finally experienced firsthand the agony felt by those he had once locked away when they walked down this very path.

At the end of the corridor stood an unlocked iron-barred gate, left slightly ajar. A dim, yellow light seeped through the gap, and the air was thick with a stifling mix of dampness and the scent of blood.

The young man stepped forward to push the iron gate open and stepped aside to let them pass. The space behind the gate was deeper than Bai Xuan had anticipated—a long, narrow hallway stretched inward, lined with rows of holding cells on both sides.

The lighting inside the cells was dim. Behind the iron bars, only faint, blurry silhouettes could be seen, making it impossible to distinguish their features.

The sound of the gate opening startled the prisoners. Some slowly raised their heads to peer out, while others remained completely motionless.

Bai Xuan's gaze swept across the rows of holding cells. The prisoners curled up in the corners were so emaciated that they barely looked human. Their oversized clothes hung loosely over their shriveled frames, wrinkled and utterly devoid of life.

The prisoners in the neighboring cells were in similar conditions—each of them skin and bones, covered in wounds.

Some slumped against the walls, lifeless, while others curled on the ground, letting out faint, agonizing groans. In a corner lay a rotting, foul-smelling corpse, yet a few people still sat beside it, completely motionless.

The young man quickly stepped forward, took out a ring of keys, and unlocked the iron padlocks one by one. Crisp clicking sounds of locks opening echoed consecutively through the silent corridor.