Successfully refining his first finished pill put Xu Qian in a good mood for several days. Even when he brought the Mute Martial Monk his daily "extra-seasoned" meals, his footsteps felt noticeably lighter.
And his continuous, silent "secret treatment" had gradually begun to show results in the Martial Monk.
Through the Qi Gazing Technique, Xu Qian could clearly see that the gray-black evil qi, which had originally coiled around and clogged several of the main meridians in the Martial Monk's body like venomous snakes, had visibly faded and thinned. When his blazing, surging qi and blood flowed through those areas, there was still some obstruction, but it no longer crashed against them as violently as before, almost reversing its flow. The Martial Monk's perpetually furrowed brows had also relaxed slightly, and his breathing had grown longer and steadier while he sat in meditation.
That afternoon, Xu Qian carried a bucket of water to Cell C6 as usual. As always, he passed the ladle through and "casually" swept his gaze across the inside of the cell.
The Martial Monk was still sitting cross-legged in the corner like a clay statue, his eyes slightly lowered and utterly unresponsive to the water held before him.
Xu Qian did not mind. He was just about to set down the ladle and leave.
At that moment, the Martial Monk's figure, steady as a boulder, moved ever so slightly.
He slowly raised one hand. Instead of taking the ladle, he reached toward the ground beside him, where several inconspicuous pebbles used to pave the floor lay scattered.
Xu Qian's heart stirred. He stopped and watched without revealing a thing.
The Martial Monk pinched up a pebble between two fingers and began writing stroke by stroke on the hard, icy floor!
His movements were incredibly slow, as