Chương 150: Moving On - Kill Me.
"Everything looks fine, they should all recover enough to move around within a week, then a month or two before they should return to work as long as they follow what I prescribed them" Shu He spoke to the surrounding nurses and the mayor, he had just finished going over every patient to make sure they had begun to heal properly, and that the expulsion process was going well.
"That's great, it's been such a boon that an envoy like you was sent over!" The mayor clasped his hands together with a greasy smile.
Shu He gave him an odd glance "You know I wasn't come here to do this, right? There's no way someone would have been sent this quickly".
The mayor panicked "It wasn't? Then what were you here for?"
"…Just passing through" Shu He said, deciding not to say what he actually came here for. 'It's over already anyway' he thought, he needn't bother looking over the town when one of the higher ups was captured by the sect.
"But… what about the payment? I thought you'd get paid by the city lord…." The chubby man dabbed his brow with a cloth.
'That's what you're worried about?' Shu He frowned, he hadn't really put much thought in to what he wanted for a reward, rather he didn't care much about receiving one, the mayor couldn't give him much of interest after all.
"We don't have much someone like you may want, but I can give you a lot of money, or maybe some valuable jewels or…" The mayor began listing items like he was trying to audit himself.
"Stop, I don't really want anything honestly".
"Please, take something, we'll feel bad if you leave without accepting something for our thanks" Yu Ya, the older nurse encouraged him.
"You say that but I'm a traveller, I can't really take much with me and I don't think there's anything I need here…" Shu He awkwardly avoided their stares as he swept the mayor's estate with his territory.
Again, there wasn't a single thing that interested him, all of the gems the mayor had were normal, mortal items, there weren't any hidden scrolls or such stashed away either.
"Then, how about I offer you something" Suddenly, a brutish sounding voice barged into the conversation as a few heavy thuds could be heard approaching them.
"Captain! You should still be resting!" Yu Ya scolded him, preparing to drag him back to his bed before he held his hand out to stop her.
"I'll return in a sec, just let me say what I need to say!" He huffed as he got closer, passing the old lady and approached Shu He before collapsing to the floor.
"Z-Zou Qiang!" Some of the nurses yelled, running to pull him up but-
"STOP!" He bellowed "I didn't fall" he said, causing them all to freeze in place.
Shu He looked down at the man who was on all fours, he touched in head to the floor in bow, the atmosphere turned silent.
"I thank you, Doctor Shu, for saving me and my crew!"
"…" Shu He didn't say anything, half because he was speechless seeing someone thank him like this, and half because he could yell he wasn't finished talking.
"It was all my fault, I took a risk we didn't need to take and made these fools follow along with me, because of that, we almost died!".
"By all rights, we should be dead, or on deaths door right now! But we aren't, because of you! When we thought we were done for you appeared out of the blue and saved us!"
"It wouldn't be wrong to say our lives belong to you!".
Shu He frowned; he didn't like his wording "I'd rather not own someone else's life".
Zou Qiang raised his face, a pained smile from his injuries plastered on it "Yeah, I thought you'd say that" he then tried to stand up and failed, the nurses came and helped him up, but it clearly took a lot out of him because he was short of breath.
"So, how about this, whenever you want, our vessel is yours to use! With the crew of course, can't sail without them!" The smile turned in to a grin as his eyes became filled with vigour.
Shu He paused as he thought for a second 'A ship that size must be hard to come by, being able to use it for what I want, at anytime in the future?' he didn't need to think twice.
"Yeah, that sounds great" He accepted it on the spot 'I always wanted to ride a boat as well'.
"Great!" The captain was overjoyed, so much so he started a coughing fit that made him almost faint, so he was promptly returned to his bed.
"So, the payment has been settled, no?" Shu He turned to the mayor that was glancing at him with worry.
"Is this really okay? Surely you'd want something more-"
"It's fine! Settled! Leave it!" Shu He cut him off, he really wanted this deal to be over and done with.
"I-if that's what you say… then, would you like to come to my mansion for a superb meal tonight? I'll even crack open some aged wine for the occasion!".
Shu He raised his brow at the sudden invitation but shook his head "I really must be going; I've overstayed my welcome here".
"Nonsense! You'll be welcome here for as long as your please!".
"No, I've already decided I'm leaving later in the afternoon".
"Oh… Then, thank you for all you've done, you've saved our town a lot of trouble".
"I've already said, it's fine, I just did as I wanted to" Shu He shook his head, leaving the warehouse to return to his room in the mansion that he had prepared for him.
It had been a day since the black sect incident, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Su Wen nor the sect members that followed him.
'Were they sect protectors? But that veil… it was the same as the lady that guided me to the Sect Master's quarters, are they a different group?'
All he knew was that-
They were strong!
Just their sheer presence gave of the feeling of 'strength', their statures were solid and trained, they moved with utmost efficiency and grace; One of them ran through a cultivator of the 5th tier with ease, and he wasn't a normal 5th tier cultivator either.
'Whoever they are, they must be important to the sect'.
The Protectors were disciples that decided to give their lives up for the livelihood of the sect, to put their lives on the first line of defines whenever a threat appeared.
They could be defined as the sect's 'Shield'.
If so…
'Those people would be the sects 'Sword'', Shu He thought he was correct in this thinking.
He sighed and stretched, looking at the sun that had just reached the highest point in the sky.
'Time to set off, this spirit beast seems interesting, but it could also get out of hand easily….'
He began packing, thinking of the road ahead, it should take just over a week to make his way to his final destination for this mission, a medium sized village named Pure-Pond.
'I wonder what kind of other cultivators are gathering there…'
…
Just over a week later, in the depths of the Titanic Steel Sect, so deep that light would never reach, was a room that would be pitch black lest it be lit by eerie blue torches that were in pairs following the four cardinal directions, the walls were octagonal and made of a thick plated metal, impervious to all but the strongest attacks.
At the four sides there were doors, yet each and every one of them was shut tight, barely a small outline to show the existence, the room was locked tight, not even a fly could escape.
Around the walls, eight figures stood at each corner, their faces covered with a veil marked with the 'Metal' symbol, they stood stock still as if they were only decorations, lifeless dolls that existed for a single reason.
To watch, guard, and supress.
In the centre of the room was a large structure, a formation, one that would be familiar to Shu He had he seen it.
It was an identical version of the Five Elements Formation used in his entrance exam, except on a larger scale, and in the centre of that formation was a man.
His short black hair had begun to fall from his head, his skin taut, pale, and dry while his veins pushed to the surface like fish desperate for oxygen.
"Kill- me- PLEASE- KILL ME!" He screamed from the bottom of his throat, red flecks travelling with his voice as drool dripped from the side of his mouth.
His voice was filled with pain, like he had endured a hundred-year trip through a desert without water and the chains that bound his limbs and body rattled, there were spikes that dug into his flesh preventing him from even sensing Qi, he was nothing more than a mortal right now.
"Hideout locations, future plans, allies, conspirers…" Su Wen stood near a pedestal stroking his moustache while another stood near him, a veil covering her face as she recorded words on a tablet.
Su Wen then placed his hand on the pedestal and twisted it, the formation light sprung to life as the five points began to hum and light up.
"N-NO!" The man squealed, but it was too late.
The lights shot towards him, digging into his body as the energy run rampant, he felt the simultaneous pain of crystals growing in his body, his blood reversing and ravaging his organs, the air in his lungs and body threatening to burst out, the heat in his skin threatening to cook him among hundreds of other reactions.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
His screeching filled the room, yet didn't reach a single millimetre beyond, not a single person flinched nor revelled in his suffering, they just watched with unsympathetic stares.
When it finished, his body was mangled beyond belief, but he was still alive albeit barely.
Then the formation light changed, and his body began to heal until he was in a slightly less than perfect state like before, his eyes shaking with fear.
"please, please, please, please, please" he muttered again and again.
"You know nothing of 'Him?'" Su Wen asked nonchalantly, his hand pressed against the pedestal still.
"I DON'T! We rarely met in person, never in the same location, his messages would be delivered by someone different every time! I've told you everything!" The man blabbered as fast as possible, his eyes filled with desperation, he would be clawing at the stone floor if he could.
"So- Please- Just- …kill me… please…" He began sobbing, begging, and rocking like a baby, there wasn't a single wisp of will to live left in the man.
A flicker of distain passed through Su Wen's eyes at he stared at the man.
'Fools who use such methods always break quickly' He thought.
Using Baleful Qi could be considered a shortcut, it was all about amassing the Qi and none of the complicated procedures normal cultivation requires, but it had many flaws, namely driving people that use it insane, or killing them through instability, but too many cultivators turn to it when they suffer a setback, or fall behind, their desire for power eclipses their morals.
But at the same time, these kind of people are the ones with the weakest wills, there are exceptions, but they are an entirely different kind of person.
"You don't deserve to die for all that you've done, but we can't stand you existing for any longer" Su Wen twisted his hand, activating the formation.
"Ah…" The man heard the familiar hum, but this time he wasn't scared, he was relieved.
It was all over now.
Finally.
The formation light darted towards him and-
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
His screaming filled the room once more.
"I never said I'd kill you quickly" Su Wen whispered, the light of the formation flickering in his eyes that were weary from such activities.
Three minutes later, his screaming ceased.
And five minutes later… the formation deactivated; the man was no longer there.
All that was left were the shackles he wore laying in a pile of ash.
Su Wen walked away, his footsteps signalling the end of this torture.
As he passed the veiled woman he stopped and spoke.
"Make sure the Sect Master passes this over to Iris as soon as possible".
Afterwards, he left and the door slid open, letting him out.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
ShiroN3K0
ShiroN3K0 Somehow, i actually reached 150 chapters... I'm honestly surprised i've kept it up this long! Gotta keep it up... Though, is anyone still reading? It's hard to trust the data when there's no actual feedback.
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