Water droplets fell from the cave roof, striking the crack along the edge of the stone stele and shattering into droplets that slid down the surface of the bronze token. Chen Wuya held the wolf-head bronze token in his palm, its obsidian-set eyes glinting coldly in the faint candlelight.
He did not look at it again. Instead, he slowly pressed his fingers back onto the spy's chest. The man was still alive, his breathing so shallow it was nearly imperceptible, but Misaligned Force had locked his pulse gate. His meridians were like ropes tied into dead knots; even the slightest movement made him convulse in pain.
Bai Zhi stood to one side. Her sword remained sheathed, yet she held it horizontally before her, the sapphire on its tassel swaying faintly against her fingertips. She stared at the spy's face and kept her voice low. "Can he still wake up?"
"He can." Chen Wuya withdrew his hand and lightly tapped the ground twice with his knuckles. "But we can't rush it. That last shock already stirred the secret technique protecting his heart. Force him any further, and he'll stop breathing outright."
She could not find the words, only nodded.
Chen Wuya closed his eyes briefly. A system prompt surfaced in his mind—
[An abnormal meridian-sealing response has been detected. Localized stimulation using the 'Countercurrent Disruptive Surge' method is recommended.]
He did not object. If anything, the suggestion suited him perfectly.
He raised his left hand, pressed three fingers together, and placed them beneath the spy's nape. His true qi took a divergent route, flowing in reverse from the Hand Taiyang Meridian into a branch of the Governing Vessel Meridian. This was no orthodox healing method. It was more like cutting a gash into someone's blood vessels with a blade.