huff huff
"Brother! Brother Ling! Are you sure about this?!"
A dry voice questioned huffing and puffing in a dark underground passage.
"Hah! What do you think?"
Came a cold reply with no trace of fear or nervousness to it.
There were only two individuals present in this dark expanse. The first, a thin, sickly young man wearing torn shreds exposing nearly all of his malnourished body underneath and the second, a scholarly young noble in expensive robes and a dangerous looking sword radiating a red glow in hand.
"That cruel big brother of mine has finally left me behind. Do you think I can survive in this hellish palace without him?!"
The young noble gazed back at the way they had both escaped from and gave the malnourished young man a deep look. Vaguely he could hear the sound of weapons clashing and explosions from there.
"Brother Xue.. haven't you seen me suffering for the last eight years?
Those people.. especially that father of mine are nothing short of monsters! He was actually preparing to use me as a blood cauldron… a literal blood cauldron just like you!"
The young noble's voice grew loud in anger and while the malnourished young man couldn't see it because of the darkness, the young noble's eyes were close to the point of turning red from sorrow and disappointment.
"Brother Ling, I…"
Sounding somewhat hesitant, the malnourished young man's voice took on a stern tone and reprimanded.
"Still you shouldn't have gone this far. Reporting the hidden secret of your family to the Church? You've endangered the lives of everyone! What do you think your big bro–"
"Shut up! Will you just shut up! It's always big brother this, big brother that!"
The young noble roared furiously and shoved his index finger at the malnourished young man's chest.
"I've had enough of you pretending Mr. Nice Guy! Do you think I'm not aware of the intense hate you harbour towards the whole of my family?"
The young noble's face appearing slightly downcast, he spoke as if complaining to nobody.
"I can see you hate me as well… and yet you seem to trust my big brother greatly."
"Are you actually so naive to believe in that hypocritical big brother of mine?!"
"Giving you a new name? Providing you with everything you asked for? Letting me accompany you everyday in that basement? It was all just to keep you from giving up on life. Can't you see he's been using you from the very beginning!"
Grinding his teeth in hatred, the young noble's voice turned scornful.
"Heh. Or is it that you've grown used to your life as a dog to my family and don't wish to part with it? The life of a blood cauldron that'll have his blood essence extracted every time leaving you just a step away from death?"
"My, oh my. Brother Xue, so that's your secret for surviving eight long years as a blood cauldron? You were secretly a masochist all along!"
Despite being mocked in such a blatant manner, the malnourished young man remained utterly calm and just when he was about to speak, the other party beat him to it.
"Stop complaining, it's the only way for both of us to live!"
Saying as much, the young noble was about to strike the back of the malnourished young man's neck to make him unconscious when suddenly a heavy pressure settled upon both of them.
"Oh hoho. So it is actually an Oceanic Fragment. No wonder, no wonder I found this smell so familiar."
A middle-aged woman in grey robes, her ethereal but imposing figure fully visible despite the darkness, appeared before the both of them.
Giving the malnourished young man a cursory glance, the woman's gaze settled on the young noble or the necklace adorning his neck to be precise.
"The Oceanic Fragment. Young man, give it to me and I'll let you both die peacefully."
The woman stated matter of factly and approached with light steps clearly unconcerned about whatever the duo might do in retaliation. Just then, a blood red arrow instantly appeared behind her head seemingly on the verge of impaling her head.
"Heh, petty tricks."
The woman caught the arrow with her bare hands only to be left slightly dumbstruck as her vision went blank while a confused look crossed her face.
"Time for you to leave. I'll hold her off for a bit and escape when I see the chance. Remember, do not return no matter what happens."
The young noble instructed the malnourished young man along with a stern warning and with a hesitant expression pulled out the white-crystal necklace from his neck.
"If you find yourself in a dead end, swallow this thing. It'll guarantee your survival. Brother Xue… Di Tanxue, please don't think of doing anything stupid and just live your life as a free man now."
Giving this speech that was more akin to a final goodbye, the young noble shoved the white crystal inside the malnourished young man's mouth and kicked his rear such that he was sent flying far ahead in the distance before he could even realise what was happening.
"Goodbye my friend. I trust you'll be tenacious enough to survive this ordeal."
Murmuring as such, the young noble found the illusion he had somehow managed to place upon the woman weaken and fade out of existence.
Far in the distance, the malnourished young man, Di Tanxue was letting out a string of curses in his mind as he landed rear first on the solid ground. Fortunately, the young noble had placed a protective barrier on him so he did not suffer any injury due to the fall.
"Damn coward…"
Standing up with a curse, Di Tanxue looked back hesitantly for a moment but eventually decided to run away. Returning back would only prove to be a fatal choice for not just him but for the young noble as well.
Roaring at himself in his heart, Di Tanxue ran with all his might. Ten breaths of time. That was all the time he got to run when the familiar laughter echoed from behind.
"Oh hohoho, young man, why are you in such a rush? Won't you say goodbye to your dear friend?"
At one moment the voice seemed to echo from far away but the next moment it was just a step behind. Feeling a chill running down his spine, Di Tanxue's steps froze in place.
In front of him stood the middle-aged woman with a severed head in her hand… the head of Brother Ling, the young noble.
"Young man, I'll recommend you to spit out the Oceanic Fragment. You must be aware what swallowing it down would entail right?"
"Spit it out and I'll let you go. Think about it. What can a second stage Mortal Transcendence cultivator like you do even if I let you go? You don't pose a danger to me so I can let you go easily."
Unlike her previous look of fearlessness and utter confidence, the woman appeared rather haggard with a deep exhaustion covering her face. She tried to reason with Di Tanxue, persuading him against swallowing the white crystal but alas.
Di Tanxue swallowed down the crystal with a heavy heart, waiting… waiting for the miserable fate that awaited him to arrive.