Chapter 12
After hesitating for several days, I finally decided to see what the Mortal World Old Ghost had spoken of was really like, so I entered the bead.
When I saw that door again, I did not hesitate. I knocked straight on the door that had intrigued me for so long.
Once the door responded, I reached out, pushed it open, and stepped inside.
White light flashed. While I was still dazed, an impatient voice suddenly came from ahead.
"What are you waiting for?"
My vision cleared, and I looked around.
I stood in a dimly lit corridor.
The corridor was not narrow, but its ceiling was low. Torches hung at intervals along both walls, and the scorched smell of burning pine resin filled my nostrils.
Between each pair of torches were rooms-no, cells!
I knew because I saw a man standing four or five meters ahead of me, wearing a jailer's ocher uniform with black trim.
One hand rested on his saber's hilt, while the other held a ring of keys. He was watching me impatiently.
Instinctively, I glanced down at myself.
Fortunately, I was not a prisoner.
"Are you looking for trouble?"
When the jailer's hostile voice reached me, I felt a surge of malice.
With no time to dwell on my shocking situation, I lowered my head and walked over.
"Coming, coming."
"Hmph. Behave yourself!"
The jailer shoved me into a cell.
Inside, I saw a corpse lying on a platform in the center of the room. Various instruments of torture hung on the surrounding walls.
For a moment, I had no idea what to do. While I stood there in a daze, the man behind me spoke again.
"You have two hours. Fail to stitch it up properly, and you'll pay for it!"
Then I