He stumbled forward a few steps, caught just in time by his companion. He kept muttering something under his breath, his words slurred and unintelligible.
Jesse stood in the middle of the corridor, looking at the tortured souls before him. His lips trembled slightly as he wanted to call out each of their names.
Supporting him, Yvonne took half a step forward. Her gaze fell upon one of the cells, her brow furrowing slightly before she spoke in a soft voice, “Darren.”
Her voice carried a hint of a tremor. The man she called slowly raised his head to meet Yvonne's gaze. His cracked, peeling lips parted repeatedly, but no sound came out.
Standing at the back of the group, Rex silently swept his cold gaze over the prisoners, remaining quiet the entire time.
He then turned his gaze to Clement, whom he held in a tight grip, and raised his boot, kicking hard right against the bend of his broken leg.
Caught completely off guard, Clement let out a blood-curdling shriek of agony. His body lurched violently to the side, but Rex held him fast, keeping him from collapsing to the floor.
His face flushed red before turning deathly pale. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and his body shook violently.
Bai Xuan glanced sideways at him, his tone calm yet carrying a chilling weight: “Shut up.”
Clement immediately clenched his teeth, not daring to make another sound, though his uncontrollable trembling forced soft groans of pain through his lips.
Unaware of the commotion behind him, Jesse, supported by Yvonne, walked past the cells toward the deepest part of the corridor.
At the very end stood a heavy iron door. No light escaped from the pitch-black gaps around it, and a narrow viewing window was set into the door itself.
The burly young man stepped forward and pushed the door open. A pungent odor of rust and thick blood rushed out, far more intense than the smell outside.
The interrogation room was small. The walls were covered in dark, uneven bloodstains, the floor was paved with rough gravel, and discarded chains and frayed whips lay piled in a corner.
Right in the center of the room stood an old, rusted iron torture rack. A man hung suspended from it.
Not a single patch of his skin was left unmarred. Rusted iron shackles bound his wrists and ankles tightly. He looked shriveled and stiff, with only the faint rise and fall of his chest proving he was still alive.
His left eye was gone, leaving only a charred, hollow socket surrounded by heavily scarred skin from severe burns.
The man leading the way quickly stepped forward, carefully unlocking the iron shackles. Losing his support, Edmund's body began to slump, but two of the men caught him steadily and gently laid him flat on the floor.
Jesse knelt beside him. In the dim light filtering in from the corridor, he could clearly see the man's wretched state. He called out softly, “My Lord.”
Edmund did not respond immediately. His remaining right eye rolled slowly, his dilated pupil struggling to focus on the figures before him.
He gradually recognized Jesse, then Rex standing behind him, and finally, his gaze fixed on Bai Xuan.
His lips parted repeatedly, but his throat was too severely damaged to make a sound.
Jesse gently held his hand, offering warm reassurance, “My Lord, it's all over now.”
Edmund's breathing was shallow and weak, and his brow twitched slightly.
“My Lord, please don't try to speak yet,” Jesse quickly urged. “You will only aggravate your wounds.”
With that, he turned to Bai Xuan. “Sir, I beg of you!”
Bai Xuan stepped forward to stand before Edmund, looking down at his gruesome wounds. He then raised his staff, hovering its tip just above Edmund's chest.
A soft, golden glow gradually emanated from the head of the staff. The light was warm and gentle, rippling outward like warm water.
“This might hurt a bit,” Bai Xuan warned calmly. “Hang in there.”
The golden light seeped into Edmund's chest, like fresh water soaking into parched earth.
The raw, festering wounds slowly began to close within the light. The intense pain caused Edmund to suddenly arch his back, a raspy, suppressed groan escaping his throat.
He clenched his teeth tightly and shut his eyes, the veins on his temples bulging as he forced himself to endure the excruciating pain.
Bai Xuan knew exactly where this pain came from. His healing ability did not just repair physical wounds; it could also mend damage at the soul level. This was the true nature of his power, which he had only fully grasped after advancing to Level 8 Transcendent.
Since his power acted on both the soul and physical levels, the process of restoration was bound to be accompanied by extreme pain.
He had tried to separate physical healing from soul restoration, but he had never succeeded. At least, he couldn't do it at his current realm.
Perhaps once he broke through to the next Transcendent rank, he would be able to split the two abilities. When that time came, healing would no longer cause severe pain, and the therapeutic effects would be even more precise and efficient.
But for now, he could only let the patient bear the agony.
The golden light over Edmund's chest lingered for a moment before slowly fading away. His rapid breathing gradually steadied, and his tense, arched body slowly relaxed.
His wounds were completely healed, and he was finally out of mortal danger.
As Edmund's breathing grew steady, Bai Xuan retracted his staff and took half a step back, standing to the side.
Jesse knelt to check on Edmund's condition. Seeing that the older man's eyes had regained their clarity, he asked, “My Lord, how do you feel now?”
Edmund slowly blinked his right eye as his fractured, chaotic memories and senses finally fell back into place.
He did not reply immediately. He first looked at Jesse, then turned his gaze toward Bai Xuan. “Thank you for saving me, sir.”
Bai Xuan nodded. “It was nothing. You should focus on resolving the issues in your town first.”
Jesse turned to Yvonne and instructed, “You experienced this monster tide firsthand. Explain the situation to My Lord.”
Yvonne nodded and stepped forward to report. “This monster tide was highly unusual. The average level of the monsters was exceptionally high, and many species have never been seen in this region before. They typically only exist in dungeons.”
“The defensive line in the Outer Town was previously held by the men Zane left behind, but it was already on the verge of collapse. Just as the line was about to be breached, a grey-robed lady stepped in to hold back the monster army.”
She paused briefly, recalling the harrowing scene, and let her gaze rest on Bai Xuan for a moment. “The grey-robed lady was extremely powerful, but even she couldn't hold out for long. Afterward, this gentleman appeared and, entirely on his own, routed the entire monster tide.”
Edmund stared at Bai Xuan, falling silent for a long time. “For dungeon monsters to emerge on such a massive scale is by no means a good sign.”
His voice was still weak, but clear and heavy with gravity. “Truly, I must thank you for your aid, sir.”
Jesse added from the side, “The elite forces Zane left in town had also set a trap in secret, intending to ambush and eliminate Mr. Bai Xuan.” He paused before revealing the final outcome. “However, the gentleman dealt with all the ambushers entirely on his own.”
Edmund spoke no further, but the gaze he directed at Bai Xuan was filled with deep admiration and appreciation.
Rate on N.U.
