Chapter 307: End (I)
Chapter 307: End (I)
The world around Xiang Ling was a hazy blur, indistinguishable shapes and muffled sounds floating through her senses. She lay still, her body heavy and unresponsive, as if she was submerged in a thick, suffocating fog. Gradually, the fog began to lift, and she became aware of a persistent throbbing in her temples, a dull ache that pulsed with each heartbeat.
The first sensation she recognized was the cool, slightly rough texture of the ground beneath her. Her fingers twitched, brushing against the coarse surface, and she realized she was lying on the hard and cold floor. Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking against the brightness that seemed to pierce through her skull.
Sounds started to filter through the haze. The distant murmur of voices, the rustling of metals, and the soft sound of someone breathing reached her ears. She focused on these sounds, grounding herself in their familiarity.
Her eyelids fluttered again, heavy and reluctant, resisting the pull of awareness. With some effort, she managed to open them again, this time only a sliver, squinting against the dim light filtering through the lanterns burning around the place. The world was a blur of darkness and some colors, slowly shifting into recognizable shapes. She tried to move, but her muscles protested, weak and uncooperative.
A groan escaped her lips, the sound raw and unfamiliar to her ears. She swallowed, her throat dry and scratchy, and tried again, managing to lift her head slightly. The world tilted and spun, and she squeezed her eyes shut, willing the nausea to pass.
Moments stretched into eternity before she felt stable enough to try again. This time, her vision cleared enough to see her surroundings. She was in an empty room, the dark stone walls pressing in on all sides. As her eyes scanned the room, she was surprised to find an unconscious Xu Wei sitting against the wall opposite her.
Memories began to trickle back, disjointed and confusing. She remembered drugging Xu Wei, but then she ended up being drugged too. The last thing she recalled was the sound of someone opening the door of her bed-chamber and stepping inside.
She tried to move to a sitting position, and immediately realized that she was bound by some sort of divine ropes. Whatever drug she had consumed, it was too powerful that she wasn’t even able to sense her divine powers at the moment.
"Xiao Wei..."
She tried to call the young man, but her voice was nothing more than a mere whsiper. She tried to relax and clear her throat before she called again. "Xiao Wei..."
Despite her voice being louder compared to before, it still didn’t succeed in waking him up. However, before she could have tried for a third time, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching.
She quickly closed her eyes, pretending to be still unconscious. The sound of footsteps grew closer before she heard an iron gate opening. The next moment, she was able to feel the presence of a new person in the room. But what really surprised her was the evil aura that immediately filled the room upon the arrival of this particular person.
"Young Lady Chen, you don’t have to pretend to be asleep. You can open your eyes and have a look at what your stubbornness has cost you."
The voice was unfamiliar and the coldness in it made Xiang Ling shiver. She immediately opened her eyes and looked at the man, only to find a figure clad in a black cloak with his face hiding under the long hood.
"Who are you?" She asked through her dry throat, her voice sounding somewhat better compared to before.
The hooded man chuckled as he stepped closer to Xiang Ling and crouched down to look at her face closely. "I seriously admire how your eyes doesn’t carry even an ounce of fear. But unfortunately... this bravery of yours is exactly what brought you here."
Xiang Ling struggled against the bindings to get herself freed. However, the more she struggled, the tighter those ropes became, causing her to gasp as pain shot through her body.
"Stop struggling. These are devil vines. They will cut you down into pieces if you kept struggling. Though with your cultivation powers you can easily take care of these, but the drug you consumed has cut off your contact with your divine energy. Right now, you are nothing more than a mere helpless mortal." The hooded man warned Xiang Ling with an evil chuckle before he stood up and walked to the other side of the room where an unconscious Xu Wei was sitting.
Xiang Ling watched with concern as the hooded man closely observed Xu Wei. She was worried that he might hurt the unconscious young man. In order to keep his attention on herself, she quickly found a question to ask. "Why am I here? What do you want from me?"
Her idea worked as the hooded man stood up and turned to face her, and even though his face was hidden, she was able to sense the anger that was radiating from him. "All I wanted from you was for you to behave like the Mortal you are and stay away from my matters. I really appreciated your talents and knowledge. I was even thinking about offering you a place among my people. But time and again, you kept interrupting my matters. I still would have ignored your previous audacity, but then you decided to join those stupid cultivation sects to harm my army. This time, I indeed have enough, Xiang Ling. If I don’t stop you now, you will become the biggest hindrance in my path tomorrow."
Xiang Ling stared at the hooded man in shock, her brain struggling to make sense of everything he just said. "You... " She tried to speak, but it was like her voice was lost somewhere as it refused to come out. "... you are... the Shadow Lord." It wasn’t a question, because she already knew the answer.