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117 - The Depths of Corruption
🕑 Added 2024-11-20 18:42:02 +0000 UTCA sickly middle-aged man sporting long black-trimmed green robes walked down a hall. A thin mist of water vapour condensed on his skin, only to be pulverized by the qi emanating from his flesh, contrary to his weakened demeanour.
The hall was made of intricately carved hard stone, depicting an art style long out of date from a forgotten era. Maybe a few of the remaining living immortals might have lived through these ages; however, they were nowhere to be seen.
The hall branched into countless adjacent rooms; some were used as libraries of knowledge while serving a more secretive purpose.
As the man strolled, countless others wearing similar colours turned to face him, bowing slightly as they awaited him to walk out of sight. He ignored most of them, only nodding somewhat to the most seniors of them.
“Elder Guo! Did you achieve what the Lord asked of you?”
A white-bearded old man stood before a massive stone door at the end of the hall. He wore identical clothes to the sickly elder, with only a single difference. A single line of silver separated the black trim from the rest of the green robe, while Elder Guo's was gold.
"Unfortunately, the envoy seemed to have other plans," Elder Guo said as he walked past.
The heavy door opened by itself as the elder arrived in front, causing a tremor to resound throughout the mansion. Yet, countless runes flashed on the walls, preventing any vibration from propagating down the hall. With a wave of his hand, Elder Guo prompted the white-bearded man to enter with him.
“A shame,” the old man said. “The Lord will be most displeased with this.”
Within was a small table in the corner, but also a desk with pieces of paper strewn onto it and pieces of spirit stones glowing slightly. If one were to look closer, countless inscriptions were inscribed on its surface and deep within, yet it showed none of them as they were practically microscopic, needing a special instrument to read them.
"There's nothing we can do," Elder Guo said as he sat at the table.
With a wave of his sleeve, the ring on his hand flashed, and two cups of tea appeared before him. He took one and offered the other. Still, the old man remained standing, his eyes frowned as he looked at the sickly man in silence. Only after what seemed like an eternity did Elder Guo sigh again as he put down his cup.
"See for yourself," he added before tossing one such spirit crystal to the old man.
The old man caught the crystal easily before using his divine sense to probe its depths, analyzing the countless characters within. As he read, his expression went from surprise to deep consternation, only to crush the crystal into a pile of dust that scattered out of the hall through a slight breeze even though they were much too far away from the nearest window.
"How is that possible?" the old man exclaimed, anger clear on his face. "There's no way he could have survived. There must be a mistake."
“Maybe,” Elder Guo shrugged. “After all, we couldn’t confirm his well-being, but the fact that the formation remains would point as such.”
“What about the other two? I doubt they remained still once the envoy left.”
“The Raging Sect elder reacted as expected," Elder Guo said, sipping his tea. "As for that woman, who knows what that sect is thinking. For all we know, they may simply be awaiting the right moment to strike. It would be foolish to believe they have no plans."
The silence lingered, yet the old man's expression couldn't be much worse. On the contrary, Elder Guo seemed utterly unconcerned. In fact, he only sipped on his tea without a care in the world.
“The Lord will have to be told about this,” the old elder said grimly. “He will no doubt seek an explanation.”
“Probably,” Elder Guo replied casually, yet something caught his attention.
The edge of his robe moved as if caught in a breeze. His eyebrows rose ever so slightly, and he turned his gaze toward the far side of the room, toward the massive bookshelf containing countless leather-bound books and thick rolls of parchment. However, the protective formation that kept the dust away pulsed at regular intervals, proving nothing was wrong. He nevertheless scanned it with his divine sense but found nothing out of the ordinary, and yet, he offered a slight smile, which couldn't help but catch the old man's attention.
"What's so funny!" he exclaimed, enraged. "Both of our lives are on the line! Do you think the Lord will forgive such a failure?"
“You are already old. Your end was always near. What does it matter if it comes merely a bit sooner?” Elder Guo chuckled, turning back to face the old man. “As for me, I’m already dying, so why should I care?”
A fire started to burn in the old man's eyes, yet he managed to restrain himself. Still, his aura flared for a moment, filling the room with its might, even crashing against the bookshelf, prompting the formation to life. Still, there was a single place where the formation seemed to dwindle, which couldn't help but draw Elder Guo's attention away, prompting the old man's fury to rise even more.
With gritted teeth, the old man turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, his aura still spilling out of him, even prompting those who were attracted to the door opening for a second time to be struck unconscious before he left Elder Guo with some parting words.
"If this is how little you care, don't blame me for what happens next!"
The door closed automatically once again, leaving Elder Guo alone with his thoughts. He smiled slightly as if the old man's threat hadn't registered in his mind. In fact, his gaze was fixed on the bookshelf as if he had found something much more interesting.
"Aren't you going to go after him? I'm sure what he plans will be detrimental to you?"
A voice emerged from the void exactly where Elder Guo's gaze was fixated, yet his expression didn't shift. He remained remarkably calm, but only after a while did his smile grow slightly wider as he recognized the owner of that voice.
“Are you sure you wish to reveal yourself?” Elder Guo asked. “Whatever means you used makes it extremely hard to notice your existence.”
“What’s the point in hiding when you already know where I am?”
With but the sound of a single step, the void trembled, and a being emerged from the distortion, wholly garbed in black and long black hair tied to the back of his head. It was Qin Yun, appearing out of thin air with his usual calm expression. However, this time, he couldn't help but be curious.
"How did you find me?" he asked as the two men faced each other. The tension was rising, yet none opted to resort to violence; they only observed each other. "If you don't wish to say, that's fine, too."
Without being prompted, Qin Yun approached the small table and sat facing the middle-aged elder. With a raise of the green-robed elder's hand, a cup of warm tea appeared before Qin Yun, which he promptly took a sip from, savouring its slightly bitter taste. Its sweet aroma filled the room but also moistened the dry desert air before disappearing just as fast.
Elder Guo observed Qin Yun closely and couldn't help but be surprised at how casual he was.
"Aren't you afraid I might have poisoned this cup?" the elder asked. "I'm sure you know what our cult specializes in."
Qin Yun put the cup down. A slight trace of tea remained at the corner of his lips, which he wiped away with a dark handkerchief before examining it, yet there seemed to be no change in colour.
“This room is already full of poison, so why would you need to poison this cup?” Qin Yun shrugged.
Elder Guo leaned onto his chair's backrest, holding his tilted head with his fist as he observed Qin Yun closely.
“And yet you checked after the fact, which means you are confident in your ability to resist most of them,” he said. “But beware, our cult’s poisons work in mysterious ways. You may already be dead without even realizing it.”
“Was that how you found me?” Qin Yun asked, slightly intrigued.
“Perhaps,” the man replied before letting the silence linger.
It was thick and heavy, almost tangible enough to be cut with a sword, yet neither made any sudden motion, almost like the calm before the storm. Still, Qin Yun relished this tension, feeling more alive than usual. While his ultimate goal was to remain alive, he couldn't help but seek such thrills. He knew that one day, it would come back to bite him. However, that day wasn't today.
“So, what do you seek by coming here?” the elder asked.
“What everyone else seeks,” Qin Yun replied. “Answers.”
“And you think you’ll get them from me?” the man shrugged before pouring himself another cup.
“Why not?” Qin Yun smiled. “You seemed to be a reasonable man.”
“I don’t do charity. What do you have to offer?”
“It would be a shame if our dear envoy were to learn what your cult's disciples were up to during the siege," Qin Yun said, taking up his cup once again before bringing it to his lips. Yet he abruptly stopped, for the elder's eyes didn't shift at all. The man remained as calm as a windless lake.
“Blackmail, is it?” the man finally smiled. “Go ahead. I’m sure the envoy would appreciate it.”
“Don’t you care?” Qin Yun said as he frowned. “This could implicate your entire cult. What would the Alliance think of it when it gets out? They might even order a purge.”
“Then so be it,” the man shrugged. “You must have heard. I’m already a dead man. My time on this plane is limited, so why should I care about the fate of others? The cult isn’t what it used to be, anyway.”
Qin Yun's eyes opened wide, surprised to hear this. However, what surprised him wasn't the fact that the man was dying. After all, the man's pale and sickly complexion already showed as much. His hairs were thin and the point of his fingers had blackened, as did his lips; all apparent signs of long-term poisoning.
Of course, as a poison master, the elder was well-aware of his own condition, which was more than likely self-inflicted through years of research and experimentation. Qin Yun turned to the side, observing the large bookshelf full of bound books and rolled parchment. This most probably was that man's legacy—a deadly legacy that would soon take even that man's life.
“Is the Emerald Lord compromised?” Qin Yun asked, seeking an honest answer.
Elder Guo was taken aback by how straightforward Qin Yun's question was and couldn't help but return a smile. He remained silent, pondering something, yet Qin Yun chose not to press further, letting the man reach a conclusion on his own.
“Who knows?" Elder Guo finally replied, a sad expression on his face. "A small outer elder like myself can rarely come in contact with the inner sect, much less meet the Lord himself. But, from what I've seen, the corruption runs deep. As for how deep it runs, I wouldn't be able to tell you."
Qin Yun's expression turned grim for the first time. While the worst wasn't confirmed, he knew just how bad things were. This was like having a wolf posing as a sheep-guardian dog, only waiting to strike when they least expect it. In fact, those dogs may not even realize they are wolves until their teeth have drawn blood, flooding the plains with millions of corpses. Still, Qin Yun had an ace to play.
“How much would you sacrifice, if only to remain alive?” Qin Yun asked, looking straight into the green-robbed elder’s eyes.
