Experiment

"Insects..."

The faint call drifted through the food slot and into the cell.

Suddenly, the cell door was slammed hard, letting out a tremendous clang. The Undercover Agent, already so delirious he could no longer tell Yang Ning's voice from that of their instructor, Scorpion, still felt the bone-deep terror stirred by that word, carved into his very marrow: "Insects."

At that moment, he was at the other end of the cell, banging his forehead against the door again and again, each dull thud echoing through the room.

Yang Ning cleared his throat and opened his palm, revealing a dark-red pill. He held it out in front of the food slot and lowered his voice as much as possible. "Take this."

The Undercover Agent's trembling hand slowly emerged from the darkness. After days of torture, his fingers were badly rotted, and dark-red scabs covered the places where his nails had fallen off. Carefully, he pinched the pill between his fingertips, then slowly withdrew his hand.

"Insects, two days from now, eat what I just gave you."

Yang Ning had deliberately set the time for two days later, so the Undercover Agent's Death Time would fall on the night of the third day. This timing would greatly reduce suspicion about his visit today. And with Xu Yinyin, a personal disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall, as his witness, he should be able to ensure no one suspected him.

Just as Yang Ning was about to relax, thinking the deed was done, and close the partition, he suddenly realized that the cell was sealed off from daylight. The Undercover Agent had no way to count the days.

Yang Ning frowned and immediately corrected himself. "Starting now, take it after your next meal. If you understand, point once. If you don't, point twice."

The battered finger slowly emerged again and pointed once. Yang Ning's frown was just beginning to ease when the finger pointed a second time.

"Tsk—" Yang Ning sucked in a breath, trying to figure out how to make this delirious Undercover Agent understand the concept of time, when the rumble of the underground passage door opening suddenly came from afar.

Yang Ning's heart tightened. Xu Yinyin was back!

As he hurriedly thought of a plan, footsteps rang out in the passage leading downstairs. They were rapid and urgent. Xu Yinyin was clearly desperate to bring back the Spirit Fruits.

After Xu Yinyin left the mortuary, she had raced at full speed out of the underground level. Once she opened the passage door, she even channeled True Qi, hurrying back to Ziyun Pavilion as fast as she could.

In her room, she hastily lit the candle. Holding a cloth bag in one hand and the candle in the other, she carefully picked out the unripe green Spirit Fruits. Before long, she had filled the bag. Without pausing for breath, she immediately set off for Zhaoyu Tower.

She didn't dare waste a moment on the way. By the time she returned to Zhaoyu Tower, the Guard Disciples had already been waiting for ages with their tokens, just as she had instructed before leaving. Xu Yinyin ran as she took the token from her waist and called out, "Three, two, one!"

The two tokens touched the screen at the same time, and the passage door swung open. Xu Yinyin slipped inside in a flash.

As the passage door slowly closed, the two Guard Disciples looked at each other.

"What's wrong with Senior Sister Xu? Did the Hall Master give her an important mission?"

The other disciple shook his head. "Don't ask what you shouldn't. I've never seen Senior Sister Xu in such a rush. It must be some crucial task beyond the likes of ordinary disciples like us!"

"Right, you're right! Then we absolutely can't doze off tonight!"

"Mm, looks like you're pretty sharp, too."

The two nodded at each other and immediately sat up straight, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

That was what they said, anyway. By the next morning, when the other disciples came to relieve them, both of them were already sleeping like logs.

Xu Yinyin dashed down the passage steps, the Spirit Fruits clinking inside the cloth bag against her chest. With only ten steps left, she executed a graceful forward somersault, tracing a beautiful arc through the air before landing steadily with the fruit in her arms.

She furrowed her brow and turned to look at the corridor beside her. There was nothing unusual beyond the dim passage and the wavering candlelight. Frowning, she murmured, "Is nobody here...? Did I imagine it...?"

Xu Yinyin shook her head and continued running toward the mortuary.

The instant Xu Yinyin pushed open the door, she saw Yang Ning sitting on the stool where she had sat earlier, a kettle hanging around his neck. He held its lid in one hand and the kettle itself in the other.

Yang Ning glanced at Xu Yinyin, picked up the kettle, and took another sip. Feigning confusion, he said, "Uh... It's empty."

Xu Yinyin reached out and weighed the kettle hanging around Yang Ning's neck. She showed not the slightest impatience, and her voice brimmed with concern. "Do you want more? I can go fill it up for you."

Yang Ning quickly waved her off. "No, no need." He joked, "If I drink any more, I'll turn into a frog."

Xu Yinyin smiled and set the cloth bag of Spirit Fruits aside. She reached over and took the kettle strap from around Yang Ning's neck. "All right. If you get thirsty, just let me know."

Yang Ning nodded, untied the cord around the cloth bag, and took out a green Spirit Fruit.

Xu Yinyin explained, "These Spirit Fruits are grown by our Law Enforcement Hall on the back mountain. Every harvest, there are always a few unripe ones in each basket. Last time, I accidentally ate one and my teeth went on edge."