Water Dungeon

The Water Dungeon was a high-security prison used exclusively for the most dangerous murderers in the city of Jinling.

Zi Yuexi had only been dragged by two outer disciples to the threshold of the Temple of Eternity.

"We'll need something to transport her with…" one of the disciples murmured, looking at his senior martial brother. "A handcart could work."

Su Tiayu looked at Zi Yuexi, who was unconscious on the ground. His expression remained neutral. He knew this would happen sooner or later, but he could not help asking himself why. It made no sense at all.

"Bring a handcart so we can leave this place as soon as possible," he said, making a lazy gesture with his hand.

The disciples clenched their fists and bowed.

"As you command, Brother Tiayu."

Su Tiayu gave a slight nod, signaling for them to leave at once.

As the disciples walked away, Su Tiayu could not help thinking about the previous events. It was suspicious in every possible way. Zi Yuexi had not acted the way someone in her position should have. Quite the opposite.

Ever since he met her, he had seen her as weak, yet always carrying an irritating pride that he did not like at all.

When they rescued her from imprisonment, not only did she not beg for forgiveness, but she also destroyed the dungeon where she had been confined for years.

"Destroy the dungeon…" Su Tiayu whispered in an almost inaudible murmur, realizing something.

"Why did she destroy the dungeon?"

That was even more suspicious.

When Zi Yuexi was taken prisoner, she herself mentioned being sealed, but then she spoke about how the Jing could not be destroyed, and he simply paid no attention to her.

He believed she was arrogant for explaining those things to him out of nowhere, but the more he thought about it, the stranger everything seemed.

She never defended herself nor complained during the journey. The only display of power she made was destroying her own cell to intimidate him.

But the question that lingered in his mind the most at that moment was a completely different one.

"Who imprisoned Zi Yuexi and abandoned her until she ended up in such a state? She destroyed her home in a desperate attempt to gain authority and avoid being trampled on. She was a weak woman without a family; she had to show some kind of strength, didn't she?"

He frowned even more as he thought about all of it, but he felt it was not worth dwelling on it for too long. The sect's investigation would answer his questions one by one. There was no rush.

A few minutes later, the disciples returned with a handcart with rusty, crooked wheels.

"Why did you take so long?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The two disciples were panting. Sweat ran down their foreheads as they caught their breath; one was bent over while the other had his hands on his waist. They had clearly been running for quite some time.

"We are very sorry, Brother Tiayu," one of them said, straightening up as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand.

"We couldn't find a handcart. This was the one we found."

He pointed at the rusty handcart, which looked as though it was about to fall apart. Su Tiayu did not know what to say. He rubbed his face with both hands, evidently tired.

"Leave it. Let's go at once."

The disciples looked at one another, wondering how they were going to carry her or who was going to lift her onto the handcart. It was obvious that none of them wanted to touch Zi Yuexi.

Seeing the disciples' hesitation, a vein throbbed at Su Tiayu's temple. He approached Zi Yuexi, slipped one hand beneath her neck and the other beneath her knees, lifted her himself, and set her down roughly on the handcart.

"There. That's it. Let's go at once."

He brushed the invisible dust from his robes with poorly concealed impatience.

After leaving the temple, Su Tiayu and the disciples crossed the training grounds, which were empty because of classes and the cultivation practice of some disciples.

The ground of the training grounds was made of packed earth and gray stone slabs, worn down by years of footsteps, weapons, and daily sparring. It was a spacious area, surrounded by wooden stakes and racks holding practice weapons, where dust drifted lazily beneath the sunlight.

Engraved into the ground was the symbol of a right hand in a peculiar pose: the little finger and the ring finger were crossed over one another, intertwined in an asymmetrical knot. Surrounding the outline of the hand, seven Jing Gems were embedded into the surface, forming a perfect ring that emitted a faint, rhythmic pulse.

They crossed the training grounds and reached the corridors guarded by other outer disciples, who, upon seeing Su Tiayu, gave him a respectful bow.

"Brother Tiayu…" many of them said in unison whenever they saw him approaching. He merely responded with a nod.

They followed a specific path that led to a downward spiral staircase. The place was not guarded by anyone, since many disciples were forbidden from entering that area without special permission.

There were one hundred and thirty-seven different paths, distributed across several sections from A to Z.

Su Tiayu led the unconscious Zi Yuexi before an imposing, rusted abyssal iron gate, marked with the sect's emblem and the letter "A," indicating that they were in the first area.

Using his Jing Gem, he activated the mechanism that granted access to the high-security prison.

Su Tiayu was one of the disciples responsible for managing the Water Dungeon, as he knew the assigned areas by heart.

During the war against Zi Yexue, thirteen years earlier, many disciples of the Celestial Clouds Sect had been sheltered and treated in that place.

The prison not only served to keep prisoners confined, but also to prevent anyone from entering.

Upon entering, the screams of both men and women could be heard. The first area was designated for minor murderers; in other words, they were civilians who disturbed the peace among themselves.

The cells had neither doors nor locks, but instead a barrier of Primordial Disintegration Fluid that disintegrated anything that attempted to pass through it without permission.

"Help me, please! I'm burning!" a prisoner screamed, followed by more screams. "Help, please, save me! I'm going to die! My hand! Ahhh!"

The screams followed them to the end of the corridor, where another great door, this time marked with the letter "B," appeared before them.

The disciples walking behind Su Tiayu had turned deathly pale from the cries for help.

Su Tiayu glanced at them out of the corner of his eye before placing the Jing Gem. "Don't worry too much."

The gigantic doors opened, revealing the area where the disciples responsible for supervision and security replaced the Jing Gems used for access.

"The acid doesn't kill them; they only lose a limb because of their own decisions."

One of the disciples bit his lower lip. He was a little worried, but he said nothing. The other disciple asked Su Tiayu directly,

"Do they really need such a brutal punishment?"

They walked toward the reception area, where Su Tiayu left his entrance Jing Gem before turning toward the disciple.

"They are people who killed others while trying to escape. It won't kill them; it will only hurt a little."

The disciple bit his lower lip again. He wanted to keep asking and insisting, but he could not contradict his seniors.

At the reception, three older inner disciples of the sect were waiting for them. All three had been assigned to guard Zi Yuexi. In theory, she was supposed to be sent to Area A, since she was nothing more than a civilian, but they were not sure they could do so.

"Brother Tiayu, here."

One of the disciples approached him somewhat lazily; he looked mentally exhausted and unwilling to be there.

He carefully removed the entrance Jing Gem hanging from Su Tiayu's neck and placed five more around it.

"After this area, you are permitted to enter Area Z, but as you know, you need access to the other areas in order to pass through them."

He gave him a pat on the shoulder before glancing sideways at Zi Yuexi. With a long sigh filled with suspicion, he turned around once again.

Su Tiayu looked at the access Jing Gems hanging around his neck and nodded, making sure everything was correct.

"Thank you. I'll deliver the daily reports."

He raised his head to ask him more questions, but the other disciple had already left with another senior martial brother.

The three men resumed their journey toward Area Z, which was designated for high-risk prisoners. That was absurd, since Zi Yuexi was nothing more than a civilian. However, she could cultivate again. Her talent for cultivation appeared to be very high, and the sect was unwilling to risk letting her go free.

Areas C, D, and F were occupied mainly by disciples requesting permission to enter other areas and exchanging worn-out entrance Jing Gems. They did not stop at any of them.

From Area J to Area P were the medium-threat prisoners, who, although manageable without requiring much effort, were still dangerous.

From Area Q to Area Z, the Jing Gem was no longer used for entry; instead, a manual identification system was used.

"Stop there."

Su Tiayu raised his hand for the disciples to stop. He looked at the great stone door with a frown.

He turned around to look at Zi Yuexi, who was still unconscious because of the Sect Master's seal.

He turned his attention back to the door and, after a long sigh, walked toward a rock at one side.

He approached a black obsidian hemisphere embedded in the wall of the entrance. The mineral, smooth and cold as ice, had a perfect whirlpool carved into its center, its grooves imitating the lines of a human fingerprint.

As soon as he placed his palm over the vortex, the stone reacted instantly. The lines of the whirlpool began to glow with a flow of energy that traveled up the veins of his hand, recognizing his identity before releasing the heavy locks.

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