Stab Me

The terrifying thing about the uncanny was that even without leaving their cages, they could silently erode a person's emotions.

The corpses of his colleagues Ye Wuyou had seen earlier bore no injuries at all. The uncanny had eaten away at their minds, killing them outright through madness or agony.

He had learned this from Lu Caiwei.

She had reached the third realm of cultivation and had an "old grandpa" protecting her, so she could resist this erosion to some degree-but only resist it.

For him, however, all of this could be summed up in a single sentence.

Ye Wuyou was unaffected.

[Even a mere Great Dao remnant dares attempt to erode you...]

Ye Wuyou slapped his forehead in mild agony. Great. More barking.

Having wiped away her tears, Lu Caiwei looked at Ye Wuyou. "Y-you, you... are you feeling its effects too?"

"No."

Ye Wuyou shook his head. The barking was just giving him a headache.

Rather than himself, Ye Wuyou was more concerned about her condition.

After all, she was his only "surviving" teammate at present, and she had considerable fighting strength.

If something happened to her, he would not be far from death himself in this place.

"How are you doing... is it affecting you?"

Lu Caiwei shook her head, indicating that she was fine.

Fine, huh...

Ye Wuyou leaned against the stone wall. The dim, flickering candlelight seemed like a hypnotic melody to him now. After everything he had been through, his eyelids finally began to flutter. He had no idea how long passed before he could no longer resist and sank into a deep sleep.

His first day trapped in the Heavenly Prison came to an end.

The second day?

With no sense of time inside the Heavenly Prison, Ye Wuyou did not know how long had passed.

When he opened his eyes and shifted his body, the same figure in white greeted his gaze.

The young woman was looking at him.

Ye Wuyou felt somewhat embarrassed. In such a dangerous place, he had actually fallen asleep without realizing it. He was about to speak, but only a hoarse sound emerged.

Cultivators could go several days without eating, but...

He was still only a mortal, after all. Almost a day without food, coupled with intense physical exertion, had left him utterly exhausted.

Lu Caiwei seemed to notice his predicament and lightly waved her hand.

Ye Wuyou froze at the sight of the water and dry rations she conjured out of thin air. So that was a storage ring.

"Thank you..."

Ye Wuyou did not overthink it and accepted the food from her.

"How long was I asleep?"

Lu Caiwei withdrew her gaze and closed her eyes, suppressing the emotions in them as she spoke.

"A... about eight hours."

"That long!" Ye Wuyou jumped in surprise. He looked around, but there were no new traces of anything.

Apparently, nothing had happened while he was asleep.

By his reckoning, it should have been the second day.

The stone door engraved with seals behind them remained utterly still. Clearly, the Prison Warden Lu Caiwei had mentioned did not seem to have returned yet.

Ye Wuyou's gaze swept around before finally settling on Lu Caiwei.

He did not urge her to rest. In this damned place, someone had to keep watch.

His own fighting strength was practically zero, so he could only leave that task to her.

Except...

Ye Wuyou glanced at her wrist.

Just as yesterday, there was still a streak of deep crimson there, and its color had grown even more vivid.

"Your hand is bleeding."

Only after a long silence did Ye Wuyou receive her slightly weary reply.

"It's fine... I, I, I cut it myself."

Lu Caiwei did not seem inclined to explain further. Her tightly closed eyes never opened, though her delicate brows drew together slightly on her lovely face.

Ye Wuyou watched in silence.

[What a ruthless woman. She even enjoys hurting herself when there's nothing else to do. This sort of play cannot help but arouse your lust. Since she is relying on the pain of self-harm to stay lucid anyway, why not lend her a hand yourself...]

Fuck!

This damned system is fucking useless. Nothing but filthy garbage.

The second day quietly passed...

The third day.

The stone door behind them still stood there. There was no sign of movement, not even the slightest sound.

Was the Heavenly Prison soundproof?

The continued lack of activity made Ye Wuyou wonder whether everyone in the Heavenly Prison had already died.

Lu Caiwei remained seated cross-legged in meditation, never once opening her eyes.

There was simply another wound on her arm.

Could the uncanny's erosion really wreak such havoc on the mind?

As Ye Wuyou's thoughts wandered, movement suddenly came from beside him.

The young woman rose, stepped forward, and stood with sword in hand.

The light in her eyes was gone, replaced by a hint of exhaustion.

Before Ye Wuyou could understand what was happening, he abruptly looked ahead.

At the other end of the passage.

Beneath the dim candlelight, several figures faintly emerged from the darkness.

Of course, Ye Wuyou knew perfectly well that there were no people here besides him and Lu Caiwei.

Those things could no longer be called human.

His former colleagues staggered forward, their bodies withered, their eyes nothing but a deathly white.

Lu Caiwei drew a soft breath, then raised her sword horizontally before her. The bloodstained hem of her long dress fluttered slightly, moving without a breeze.

That keen pressure Ye Wuyou had felt before appeared around him again, making his whole body tense.

In the next instant, the flowing white figure vanished from where she stood, and a dazzling light appeared within the dim prison.

Sword Rises with Wind and Thunder.

How strong was a Third Realm cultivator?

Ye Wuyou had yet to truly begin cultivating, so he had no clear conception of it.

But that did not prevent him from recognizing "strength."

Those staggering former "colleagues" looked vacant, yet their movements seemed to retain their awareness from life. They even used cultivation techniques and martial skills when attacking.

At the very least, Ye Wuyou was no match for them.

So all he could do now was count on his fingers, silently keeping track.

Sixteen breaths...

From the moment Lu Caiwei struck to the moment she returned covered in blood and filth, only sixteen breaths had passed.

Ye Wuyou's gaze lingered briefly on the corpses, then turned aside.

Pieces of white, jelly-like skin wriggled out of the corpses, eventually gathering into a single mass and forming a monster the size of a child.

It was considerably larger than it had been that day.

The monster had no eyes, but perhaps because Ye Wuyou could see it, he could sense it sizing up the two of them.

Was it hesitating?

Only when Lu Caiwei raised her sword again, guided by her senses, did the white, jelly-like monster quietly retreat.

At the sight, Ye Wuyou's heart lurched.

These monsters really did possess intelligence.

Clearly, it was wary of Lu Caiwei-wary of the sword in her hand.

And that monster plainly knew that the longer they stayed here, the deeper the uncanny's erosion would reach, and the weaker they would become.

Its appearance this time seemed to have been little more than a probe.

What about next time?

And the time after that?

If the Prison Warden never came to open the door, would the two of them really be trapped here until they died?

Clang!

The sound of metal striking stone rang out beside Ye Wuyou.

He turned to see Lu Caiwei retreating a few steps in a daze, her sword falling to the ground.

Holding her forehead with one hand, she slowly curled up and sat down. Her normally cool eyes were now open only a sliver, as though she were suppressing an endless tangle of emotions, and pain showed on her lovely face.

She reached out, trying to pick up the sword that had fallen to the floor, but her body could not move a step, leaving it beyond her reach.

Lu Caiwei's gaze sharpened slightly as she looked at Ye Wuyou. She lightly clenched her teeth, seeming to regain a little clarity.

"Quick, stab me."