Her life was slipping away as well.
Cocolia had taken her, but she had no intention of letting the Gem of Desire remain in her body.
She had not yet become a Herrscher. Removing the gem would not kill her immediately.
But she would linger in pain.
Bai Yan was next.
The boy lay quietly on the experimental table, wholly focused on sensing the Hyperdimensional Space.
It was almost time.
That door was already within reach.
"It seems there's no point in continuing the observation." The chief stood and delivered his conclusion.
"What should we do with this one?"
"Leave him for now. We'll wait for Lady Cocolia's decision."
"What a pity."
"Yeah, what a pity. He was so close to undergoing a qualitative change."
"He's only a little better than the last test subject. But test subjects capable of succeeding are just too rare."
"What a shame Schicksal took her away."
"Yeah, if only we could..."
Whispers continued without end as the entire laboratory relaxed somewhat.
The experiment was over. It had failed.
Cocolia had not flown into a rage. Perhaps she had already accepted the result.
They would survive, perhaps even continue to be valued.
Wendy was going to die, and Bai Yan would eventually be replaced by a better test subject.
After pondering for a moment, the chief looked toward the operating table.
He froze.
That test subject was gone!
He stood there, stunned, unable to react for a long time.
The next instant, cries of alarm filled the laboratory, sweeping away the relaxed atmosphere.
At his shout, everyone turned to look.
The chief person in charge had cried out, and the other lab coats followed suit, because they all knew what had happened...
Hyperdimensional Space.
Cool, clear water washed over Bai Yan's body, while the pain receded like a tide.
The markings on his legs that represented the corrosion had stopped, as though they had fallen into lifeless silence.
Long boots stamped through the clear water as she ran desperately, her long hair whipping about as if a gale were howling.
Almost the instant she entered, Jingliu noticed something unusual about Bai Yan.
She crouched down and carefully felt around Bai Yan's body, staring intently at the terrifying markings on his thighs.
"Corrosion from some kind of power? It seemed to have been nearing its end even before he came here. If it continued, his legs would be completely ruined.
"It doesn't look like he did this to himself. Someone deliberately implanted this thing into him."
Jingliu stared at the Gem of Desire, already imagining a scene where Bai Yan had been captured and experimented on.
She was almost entirely right.
After escaping the Xianzhou Alliance, Jingliu had wandered the universe for a long time and seen many things.
She knew this sort of situation well.
Killing intent surged up at once, and even the strange clear water of the Hyperdimensional Space could barely suppress the power within her.
Fury suddenly filled her heart, as though the Mara-struck was acting up.
But the next moment, the abnormal change in Bai Yan's body interrupted her emotions.
A wind suddenly rose, slowly spinning around Bai Yan.
The spiraling wind kept rising, and the clear water beneath their feet seemed to be drawn along, spreading in ripples.
The wind grew stronger and stronger. Jingliu could not help standing up and looking at this extraordinary gale.
After watching for a while, her gaze fell upon the Gem of Desire once more.
"The power isn't strong, but it... Right, this thing was brought in by Xiao Yan.
"So does it count as part of his body now?"
Just as she thought that, the Gem of Desire immediately began trembling, as though answering her question.
"What?!"
The pale green gem seemed about to break free from that body, shaking frantically.
Jingliu did not stop it. She had long seen that the gem was the source of the corrosion in Bai Yan's body.
The gem continued to vibrate, as though drawn by some force, gradually beginning to loosen.
Soon, the gem became looser and looser, and its trembling grew stronger.
At last, the gem fell free and floated in midair.
Then it drifted to the space between Bai Yan's brows.
It merged in.
The markings on Bai Yan's legs vanished then, replaced by new markings spreading across his forehead.
Jingliu frowned, and an icy longsword appeared in her hand.
If possible, she would try to help suppress it. After all, this space could not completely suppress her own power.
Though she could easily become exhausted. The suppressive force here was still very strong.
However, the clear water beneath their feet suddenly began to rise.
Startled, Jingliu looked down, only to find that the matter was not so simple.
It was not rising upward. The water level was increasing out of thin air.
The waterline swallowed Bai Yan all the way up until he was completely submerged.
Jingliu bent down and gathered him into her arms, but discovered that the markings' spread suddenly accelerated. She quickly put him back into the water, leaving only his face exposed so he could breathe.
Yet the markings did not disappear completely, merely retreating beyond the waterline.
Seeing this, Jingliu submerged Bai Yan entirely.
"The corrosion disappeared... Can he breathe in this kind of water?"
Jingliu dipped her head into the water.
After breathing for a moment, she raised her head again and sharply flung her white hair.
Water droplets scattered at once.
"Just as I thought!"
Looking at herself submerged in the water, Jingliu felt somewhat helpless.
"At this rate, will it drown that huge boulder too... Still, he looks like he's all right now."
She shook her head and continued watching Bai Yan.
Volume One: I, the Herrscher of Wind!
Only after an unknown amount of time did Bai Yan's consciousness gradually return completely.
I survived?
I seem to be underwater. Looks like it worked.
The pain had disappeared too.
"Mm, glug glug... Mm?!"
Bai Yan suddenly snapped awake, opened his eyes, and immediately sat up.
Splash!
The instant the boy sat up, Jingliu beside him became drenched once more.
Water dripped from her in beads, slowly sliding down.
"Uh, Master?"
Jingliu looked at him, then reached out and felt his forehead.
The cold back of her fingers touched both sides before she finally relaxed.
"What happened?"
Jingliu's gaze burned with intensity, determined to get to the bottom of it.
Bai Yan subconsciously touched his knees—
They were gone?!
"That gem floated into the space between your brows on its own. You didn't seem to be aware of that?"
"It floated into my forehead?!"
Bai Yan instinctively touched his forehead, but felt nothing.
A moment later, he noticed a special sensation within his body.
It seemed that he had gained another permission within the Hyperdimensional Space?
"You felt it?"
"Yeah."
Jingliu's expression had already improved.
That was not only because Bai Yan was out of danger. Even she had felt it.
She could now bring items into the space, though there were limits.
She could bring one item each time, and only something she could carry herself.
Bai Yan moved his body around. The previous pain and utter despair had ebbed away, but the feeling still left him deeply frightened.
Jingliu watched him quietly without urging him.
After a moment, Bai Yan spoke.
"I was carrying out a mission. I didn't expect someone to set me up.
"The people who captured me wanted to implant a gem in me and turn me into a Herrscher, but the experiment failed.
"If it hadn't been for the Hyperdimensional Space, I might have become a container for the Gem of Desire and stayed like that forever."
Jingliu's eyes flickered at his words.
She had already decided to kill.
"What's your situation now?"
"I'm still tied up. If I go back now, I'll still be tied up.
"So I want to combine the opportunities from two days and buy some time, so my companions have enough time to act."
Jingliu's gaze shifted slightly at that.
She said, "Can you let me return once? I'll bring something over. Five minutes will be enough."
Before you continue