Immortalis

Death Hex Sixteen

Until the very moment Cao Zhao opened the box, Yang Wujian still held a sliver of hope in his heart.

Gu Yun and Mingshan’s martial arts far surpassed his own—he refused to believe they could die so easily at Cao Zhao’s hands.

Yet, as Cao Zhao opened the box, Yang Wujian stared blankly at its contents, a metallic taste rising in his throat before he abruptly vomited a mouthful of blood.

Inside each box were ten fingers, a pair of kneecaps, and a pair of eyeballs.

Yang Wujian had grown up with Mingshan and Gu Yun, familiar with every callus on their hands…

He could not mistake them, nor could he ignore the truth—losing these parts meant even if they lived, they would be crippled.

“Lord Tu truly has a violent temper. Who would have thought cornered beasts would choose death in the end? Lord Tu, enraged, mutilated the corpses like this… A pity, I cannot show you the whole bodies.”

Cao Zhao sighed, holding the box, then closed the lid again and asked, “Do you wish to take a closer look? When a person is reduced to this state, it’s hard to recognize them at once, isn’t it?”

“Yang Wujian…”

Shen Qingshi’s face was deathly pale.

She had intended to offer some explanation, but now, any words seemed futile. She watched helplessly as Yang Wujian, overwhelmed by fury and despair, vomited several mouthfuls of blood in succession, until he finally let out a bitter, strained laugh.

“You still haven’t found the Longevity Heart Sutra, have you?”

Wiping the blood from his lips, Yang Wujian spoke word by word, “The Longevity Heart Sutra is not in the Longevity Palace. So, despite all your scheming, sending her to my side, it has all come to nothing in the end.”

“Whether it’s nothing for me remains to be seen, but for you, Yang Wujian, the Longevity Palace has become nothing. What do you think you have left now?”

Cao Zhao, long stationed in Zhaoming Prison and skilled in interrogation with countless tortures at his disposal, excelled most at crushing the spirit.

He put away the box and said unhurriedly, “Last time I told you, Qingshi was raised by me—her life belongs to me. You didn’t seem to believe it, but now, it was she who revealed the Longevity Palace’s location to me, and she who led me here in search of the Longevity Heart Sutra. Would you like to see Qingshi’s letter?”

“…”

Shen Qingshi’s heart lurched violently.

When had she ever written such a thing?

But the writer must have known the Longevity Palace and their whereabouts… Who could it be?

As shock gripped her, Cao Zhao had already taken a sealed letter from his robes and tossed it over.

“I promised Qingshi that if she told me the Longevity Palace’s location, I would not kill you. I keep my word. Today, I will not kill you. You may leave.”

The letter drifted lightly to land before them.

Shen Qingshi wanted to stop Yang Wujian from taking it, but he moved swiftly, picking it up almost instantly. After reading just the first few lines, his hands trembled so violently he could no longer hold the two thin sheets of paper.

The letter not only detailed the Longevity Palace’s location but also informed Cao Zhao that to obtain the Longevity Heart Sutra, one needed Tian Ting and the Cicada Molt.

It even mentioned the Aconite Kiln.

This matter was known to no one in the world except Gu Yun, Mingshan, him, and Shen Qingshi.

“Bringing her back was my choice… I will bear all consequences for it.”

Recalling his own words from that day, Yang Wujian felt as if his heart were being sliced by knives, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood, staining the letter.

Bear the consequences?Those unblinking severed heads lay before his eyes, and Yang Wujian let out a near-desperate, roaring laugh.

How could he bear such consequences?

How could his worthless life ever compensate for the entire Longevity Palace?

The thought that the place he had always regarded as his homeland was now completely gone, and that everyone who had raised him since childhood had been killed because of him, sent Yang Wujian into a complete breakdown. Coughing up blood uncontrollably, his face streaked with tears, he turned to Shen Qingshi.

"Is this how you plan to protect me? By trading the Longevity Palace for my survival?"

"I..."

Shen Qingshi’s mind was in turmoil, utterly at a loss for how to defend herself.

She truly hadn’t written the letter, but if not her, then who?

The matter of the Aconite Kiln had only been disclosed to them by Gu Yun—how could the Zhaoming Division have spies among them?

"Qingshi, I won’t kill him, but whether he wants to live is up to him."

Cao Zhao interjected with a laugh.

As the Bi An Envoy, he knew best how to strike at a person’s weaknesses and sore spots. Seeing Yang Wujian’s state, he knew that even without lifting a finger, Yang Wujian was unlikely to survive.

A person who wants to die is beyond anyone’s reach.

"Yang Wujian, calm down first..."

Shen Qingshi could clearly see that Yang Wujian had lost the will to live, but at this point, she had no idea how to save him.

After all, those severed heads were undeniably real.

As the two remained locked in a stalemate, Cao Zhao tossed a knife over and said with a laugh, "Your fellow disciples were quite principled—they’d rather slit their own throats than fall into the hands of Lord Tu and me. It’s just a pity for the children, who had no idea what was happening and were dragged into this, dying under the blade."

"Yang Wujian..."

Shen Qingshi had heard Cao Zhao’s piercing remarks countless times since childhood. She knew full well that Cao Zhao intended to push him to his death.

Yet, she couldn’t stop Yang Wujian from listening.

Cao Zhao added, "I’ll say it again—I’m giving you a chance now. You can leave."

"Leave?"

At these words, Yang Wujian merely lowered his head and let out a low, bitter laugh.

He picked up the knife. "Lord Cao, what if I don’t want to leave?"

"Then what do you want to do? Care to share?"

Cao Zhao was patient. He was eager to see just how long this person, whom Shen Qingshi was so determined to protect, could hold on.

Yang Wujian seemed to suddenly calm down and took a few steps toward Cao Zhao. "Does Lord Cao truly wish to know?"

"If you want to kill me, feel free to try."

Cao Zhao had encountered far too many prisoners like Yang Wujian, cornered and facing death.

With keen interest, he raised his hand, and the Zhaoming Guards lying in ambush all raised their bows.

A single flick of his finger, and Yang Wujian would be pierced by ten thousand arrows.

"I said I wouldn’t kill you, but if you try to kill me, then don’t blame me for what follows."

Cao Zhao watched as Yang Wujian’s fingers tightened around the knife, poised to strike. Suddenly, Shen Qingshi moved like lightning, striking a palm toward his chest. Yang Wujian sidestepped, his eyes blazing red. "Shen Qingshi, you should have killed me long ago!"

Shen Qingshi didn’t respond, merely swung her palm again. The two became locked in a fierce struggle.

Yang Wujian, having lost all reason, aimed his blade at vital points, yet Shen Qingshi didn’t evade, meeting the knife head-on. Soon, she forced him toward the narrow vertical shaft on the ground.

"Shen Qingshi."

With another vicious slash, Yang Wujian’s blade grazed Shen Qingshi’s neck, leaving a trail of blood."I told you, if you betray the Longevity Palace, I will haunt you even as a ghost."

He spat through bloodstained teeth, "Why did I ever trust you back then..."

The thought that he had personally invited the wolf into their fold made him wish he could slice Shen Qingshi into a thousand pieces immediately!

But... if Shen Qingshi deserved death, what about him?

Now, nearly a hundred Zhaoming Guards had emerged from the Aconite Kiln. At Cao Zhao's command, they remained stationary, silently observing this one-sided fight.

Cao Zhao waited patiently, curious to see what choice Shen Qingshi would ultimately make.

After all, if it were her, she should understand clearly.

The Zhaoming Division might tolerate Yang Wujian for a while, but they would never allow him to live out his days.

Earlier, after bringing Zui Xiang back to the Zhaoming Prison, they had learned from her that eternal youth pills could be crafted from fetal flesh... Although Zui Xiang's ageless body was far more fragile than he had expected, unable to withstand the torture, she still confessed before dying that the Cicada Molt, long sought by the Longevity Palace, was the ultimate elixir in this world. Only by finding the Cicada Molt could one shed their mortal flesh and attain immortality.

After ten long years, he had finally found it.

Cao Zhao thought, if the Cicada Molt was real, and Tian Ting was real, then since immortality truly existed in this world, those who ultimately achieved it should not be these people from the Longevity Palace.

Qingshi, if it were you, what would you do?

Sensing Cao Zhao's gaze on her back, Shen Qingshi said softly, "Yang Wujian, things are not as you think."

"As I think?"

Yang Wujian was nearly deranged, agonized as he cried, "No matter what, they're all dead! Shen Qingshi, tell me, where in this world can I go now! Why should I even keep living!"

His lifespan was already short, and he had clung to life only to find a sliver of hope for the Longevity Palace's people. Now that this purpose had vanished, Yang Wujian had no idea how to go on living.

He couldn't kill Cao Zhao, nor could he even kill Shen Qingshi.

After a long standoff, Yang Wujian let his hand drop as if all strength had left him.

Staggering backward unsteadily, he reached the edge of the vertical shaft.

"Shen Qingshi, why haven't you killed me yet?"

In utter despair, Yang Wujian laughed bitterly, "If I had known it would come to this, I should never have saved you fifteen years ago. If I hadn't saved you, everything I cherished would still be here..."

"Wu Jian... don't blame me."

Hearing this, Shen Qingshi hesitated no longer. With a forceful palm strike, she struck his chest. This time, Yang Wujian offered no resistance and was immediately sent plummeting into the vertical shaft by her blow, vanishing into the darkness below.

"I've heard this is a Meat Well that was never excavated—a one-way trip with no return... Qingshi, are you so unwilling to hand him over to me?"

A while later, when Cao Zhao approached, Yang Wujian was no longer visible in the shaft. Shen Qingshi stood silently, staring into the abyss, her breathing so faint it was almost inaudible.

Based on Cao Zhao's understanding of Shen Qingshi, he had expected her to keep him alive, waiting for a chance to turn things around later.

But now, she would rather kill him with her own hands than let Yang Wujian suffer any longer.

It seemed Shen Qingshi had indeed changed a lot these days... It was time for her to return and refocus.

"You've protected him to the very end, fulfilling your duty—you haven't failed him."

Cao Zhao gripped Shen Qingshi's slender shoulder tightly but received no response. After a long pause, when Shen Qingshi looked up again, her expression had returned to exactly what it was in the past."Brother Cao, the person you just shot is Tian Ting."

She said indifferently, "To worship longevity, one needs Cicada Molt and Tian Ting... With Tian Ting, we can find the Longevity Heart Sutra hidden in the Underground Heaven."

Cao Zhao watched her evade the topic but wasn't easily fooled.

"Qingshi, does my appearance today feel too cruel to you? You probably don't want him to know it was you who led me here, right? I just told him those things, pushing him to this point—do you hate me for it?"

He wanted to test Shen Qingshi's reaction, but Shen Qingshi merely picked up the blood-stained letter from the ground and calmly said while looking at the handwriting, "I was previously affected by the Blood Cleansing Pill, sometimes my mind wasn't clear, and I nearly ruined important matters. Please punish me, Brother Cao."

Shen Qingshi spoke lightly, her eyes like stagnant water without a ripple.

Cao Zhao narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing carefully, but the various signs of hesitation that had appeared on Shen Qingshi not long ago seemed to have been taken away by Yang Wujian, vanishing without a trace.

"Brother Cao, let's go. As long as we make Tian Ting talk, we can find the Longevity Heart Sutra."

After speaking, Shen Qingshi followed Cao Zhao without looking back.

Her voice was very calm, but only Shen Qingshi herself knew how much effort it took to barely suppress the sharp pain deep within her body.

...It hurts so much.

As if her eyes had become wounds, blood about to flow down.

In the past, in the cage of the Longevity Palace, taking those medicines, enduring those beatings—was it ever this painful?

For a moment, if not for wanting to go back and investigate thoroughly who wrote this letter, Shen Qingshi was in so much pain she even thought of jumping into the well.

However, in front of Cao Zhao, she couldn't even clench her fists, forced to endure and walk back with him... Just as the pain was about to reach its limit, Shen Qingshi dazedly raised her head and unexpectedly saw, among Cao Zhao's men not far away, someone she never thought she would see here.

"Lord Cao is truly ruthless. Since childhood, I've never seen that child Yang Wujian cry like that."

A White-faced Old Daoist stood there smiling, merely casting a glance from afar toward Shen Qingshi, making her blood run cold.

"You see, if he hadn't let you go back then, wouldn't these things have happened today?"

The White-faced Guest smiled: "How about it? Having killed him with your own hands, can you feel the pain now?"