Chapter Sixteen: Why Is It Him?

Before she even had time to be shocked, a fierce beast collapsed to the ground right before her eyes. The woman’s face grew even paler, her lips trembling as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out. The beast that had fallen before them quickly turned to ashes and drifted away into the air. Zhao Yuan’s face betrayed no emotion; he seemed so accustomed to this kind of slaughter that he calmly sheathed his blade at his waist, utterly unruffled.

It wasn’t until the beast’s remains had completely vanished that the woman came back to herself. Slowly, she stood up from the ground, moving stiffly toward Zhao Yuan’s side, her expression still vacant as if the beast’s presence lingered at her feet.

“Are you alright?”

It was Zhao Yuan who spoke, not the woman. Seeing how pale she looked, he asked out of genuine concern.

She took a moment to collect herself, and some color gradually returned to her cheeks. She forced a smile, though it was rather awkward.

“I’m fine. But how can you be so powerful? Do you realize the beasts guarding the Demonic Severance Forbidden Ground have cultivated for centuries, some for over a thousand years? Even Su Lie might not be able to handle them, yet you’ve slaughtered four with ease!” Her face was full of astonishment as she gazed at his impassive countenance, unable to believe what she was witnessing.

This man was truly terrifying. He had remained unmoved by her attempts at seduction, and she knew firsthand how formidable the beasts along this path were—yet he had dispatched them with ease. She had even seen him slay a thousand-year guardian beast with her own eyes.

Ignoring the woman’s shock, Zhao Yuan stepped past her and continued forward, his gaze fixed on the stone door ahead. He had a persistent sense that something inside was beckoning him.

He had just raised his hand when a deafening rumble sounded. Zhao Yuan quickly drew his blade from his waist, ready to face any threat.

The woman, however, seemed completely unworried. She walked right up to the door and stood before it as it slowly opened with a thunderous groan, dust cascading from its ancient hinges that hadn’t moved in years.

With a faint look of distaste, Zhao Yuan lowered his weapon but did not sheathe it, uncertain of what dangers still lay ahead.

As the stone door swung open, a cloud of dust billowed out. Zhao Yuan turned his face aside to avoid the grit, while the woman covered her mouth and nose, though she still inhaled some and coughed several times.

“Let’s go in.”

Zhao Yuan saw the stone door was now fully open, the dust all but settled. Without glancing at the woman, he strode inside, the interior landscape still hazy and indistinct.

The space was vast, more like a grand hall than a room, so large that his footsteps echoed eerily.

“Who’s there?” Zhao Yuan spotted a figure standing rigidly in the mist. Startled, he realized he hadn’t sensed anyone else but themselves when they entered. It was impossible for someone to stand there so motionless without him noticing.

Unease prickled his heart. He raised his blade, ready to strike if the figure approached, advancing cautiously. Yet as he drew closer, he saw the figure did not move at all.

In stark contrast to Zhao Yuan’s vigilance, the woman strode right up to the figure, stopping before him. She reached out and checked for breath beneath his nose.

Only then did Zhao Yuan see that the man was bound by chains as thick as an arm, securing his limbs and forcing him to stand upright, another chain encircling his neck.

“Who is he?” Zhao Yuan remained alert, unable to sense this person’s presence before. Yet the woman’s expression did not suggest the man was dead.

She gave no answer, instead sweeping the hair from the man’s face to reveal his features. From her waist, she took a flask and carefully fed him some water.

Seeing the man’s face, Zhao Yuan was stunned, barely able to believe his eyes. “Father?” he stammered.

How could it be him? Zhao Yuan could scarcely believe his own father had been tortured to this state. He watched as the dry, cracked lips gained a hint of color from the water, but the pallor in his face was heartbreaking.

He moved closer, stepping up to the man. Zhao Yuan’s blade slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground as he reached out to gently stroke the man’s cold, bloodless cheek, the icy touch filling his chest with anguish.

“He seems to be unconscious,” the woman observed after offering water, not seeing any sign of awakening, though she had clearly felt his breath before.

Zhao Yuan released his father’s face and motioned for the woman to step aside. Picking up his blade, he examined the chains that bound his father, his eyes growing dark.

He noticed the lightning talismans etched into the chains and felt a wrenching pain in his heart. His father had been so cruelly tormented, and he had known nothing of it until now.

Noticing Zhao Yuan’s intent, the woman’s expression changed drastically, and she cried out, “Don’t! Zhao Yuan, you’ll alert the others!”

But Zhao Yuan no longer heard her. He cared only about rescuing his father. With a slash, he severed the chains, and the old man collapsed heavily to the ground.

“Father! Father, are you alright? Father... It’s me, Zhao Yuan. Please, look at me, open your eyes. Your unfilial son has failed to save you in time…” Zhao Yuan’s voice was choked with tears as he cradled his father, guilt and remorse etched across his face.

Seeing their tightly entwined figures on the floor, the woman grew frantic. She knelt and tried to pull them up, supporting the unconscious old man in an attempt to escape.

“We must go now! Breaking those chains will have alerted Su Lie and the others. If they come, none of us will get out!” she urged.

But Zhao Yuan paid her no heed; she was too weak to lift the man alone.

Zhao Yuan stared blankly at his father’s ashen face, his heart heavy with sorrow and burning with rage, determined to find the one who had hurt his father.

From his waist, he took out a medicinal pill and placed it in his father’s mouth. Though the old man remained pale, he still breathed and had a pulse, which gave Zhao Yuan a measure of relief.

He had given him a pill to protect his heart and replenish his blood. Now, all Zhao Yuan wanted was for his father to wake as soon as possible.

Elsewhere, Su Lie, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly felt a pang of unease. His bed shook violently, jolting him awake from his dreams.