Confrontation in the Hall

A solemn and murderous atmosphere hit me in the face.

Su Baiwei followed the guards leading the way into the fortified hall, their footsteps echoing in the emptiness. Two guards stepped forward silently, their crossed halberds flashing coldly, blocking their path. A cold gaze swept across, and her eyes met with one of them, instantly separating, so fast it seemed like an illusion.

The guards leading the way bowed timidly and retreated as if they had been pardoned. The guards inside the palace took over and led her into deeper shadows.

At the far end of the hall, a figure sat upright on a high chair, a silver mask covering half of his face, revealing only his thin lips as he elegantly sipped fragrant tea. Chi Lian's gaze fell on Su Baiwei, recalling Ding Kui's description of her three days ago: "her face was as pale as gold paper, and she couldn't stand steadily." Comparing her with the present, though still thin, her cheeks had a touch of rosiness, and she even managed to resist... A playful curve played at his lips. It seemed she had finally used up that bag of century-old dragon's blood mixed with "good stuff."

"Tsk, that idiot Ding Kui is becoming more and more useless." Chi Lian said lightly as if talking to himself, but his eyes were fixed on Su Baiwei.

"You don't even dare to show your true face to others. You are indeed a coward who can't stand the light of day." Su Baiwei's voice was as clear as ice, echoing in the hall. "That's right. How can you be so shameless as to show yourself to others when you betray your teacher and ancestors and occupy their nest?"

despair!

The bottom of the teacup touched the stone table, making a slight sound. Chi Lian's fingertips lingered on the wall of the teacup for a moment, and the white porcelain could not withstand the sudden increase in force, and a crack spread. The thin lips under the mask instead curled up deeper, and the smile did not reach the bottom of his eyes: "Being dishonorable to teachers and ancestors? Occupying the magpie's nest? Little niece, what do you know? Your father is ignorant of the times. The leader is a man of great talent and strategy. Following him obviously has a bright future, but Su Yuanshan insisted on clinging to those pedantic ideas and refused to cooperate. If he doesn't do it, I will. I am just fulfilling his duties for him. You should thank me."

"Thank you?" Su Baiwei almost laughed out of anger, hatred surging in her chest, her voice sarcastic, "You're jealous of him. You dream of becoming the master of the Holy Fire Hall, but Black Heart Tiger doesn't think you're qualified. He would rather visit my father three times to ask him to come out of retirement than hand the Holy Fire Hall over to you. You're just a pitiful substitute, you'll never be worth a finger of his!"

The false smile on Chi Lian's lips vanished instantly, and the sound of clenched teeth echoed from beneath the mask. A flicker of emptiness, stripped of its disguise, flashed across those bottomless eyes. The next moment, a sinister and furious rage erupted, completely devouring the moment of despair.

He slowly stood up and walked down the stairs. His steps seemed calm, but with each step he took, the invisible pressure grew heavier. "So what? Isn't his bloodline my toy now?" He stopped in front of Su Baiwei, looking down at her. "Kneel!"

A silver-armored guard nearby immediately repeated in a stern voice: "Kneel down!"

Su Baiwei's back was straight, like a bamboo that refused to bend in the wind and snow. However, a powerful force from behind kicked her in the knee.

With a muffled groan, she fell heavily to her knees on the hard ground. Almost at the same time, two pairs of cold, silver-armored hands grabbed her arms like iron pliers and twisted them violently behind her back.

Chi Lian walked up to her, stretched out his suede-gloved fingers, and frivolously grasped her chin, forcing her to lift her face. His sleeve slipped as he raised his hand, revealing a faint glimpse of a blood-red rune beneath his tunic. The moment his fingertips touched her skin, the arms holding her suddenly stiffened, and the silver armor covering them made a faint cracking sound at the joints. A breath of air was crushed deep in her throat through the cracks in her visor.

Beneath the silver armor, his vision was shattered. The cold touch of the Black Heart Tiger's black iron ring suddenly overlapped, and the humiliation of poison ivy tightened around his heart. Chop off this hand! Gouge out these eyes! Killing intent boiled within him, but the piercing pain in the crevices of the wrist armor, Su Baiwei's piercing nails, was like an ice spike piercing lava, freezing the roaring murderous intent in his throat.

His jaw was set as tight as iron, his back teeth nearly gnashing. His gaze was fixed on the stone pillar before him, his body straining to blend into the cold iron statue. Only a tiny tremor, visible through the clinging silver armor lining, betrayed that his endurance had reached its limit.

The hall was dead silent, an invisible pressure squeezing the air like a physical force. The guards standing solemnly on either side, under Chi Lian's sudden scrutiny, felt as if struck by a cold current. Their bodies, shrouded in armor, tensed even more, their breathing stagnated.

They sensed a hint of something strange, but it was more like a subtle resonance of armor caused by the internal force suppressing Su Baiwei's struggles. Mixed with Chi Lian's overwhelming rage and his own tense fear, it was vague and fleeting. Moreover, after a brief moment of movement, the silver-armored figure quickly returned to a dead, cold silence, like a lifeless statue.

Chi Lian's fingers, gripping his jaw, paused. A deep wrinkle formed beneath his mask. His playful gaze suddenly grew sharp as a knife. He abruptly shifted from Su Baiwei's face, his gaze piercing the silver-armored figure behind her with a cold, probing gaze and a hint of affronted scrutiny.

The guard closest to Tiao Tiao almost held his breath the moment Chi Lian's gaze swept over him. The muscles covered under the armor were stretched to the limit, as if they were about to withstand the wrath of thunder at any time.

"Ha!" Su Baiwei uttered a short, sarcastic laugh, forcing Chi Lian's attention back. "Today, I've witnessed the hospitality of the Holy Fire Hall. It's truly impressive. If this gets out, I wonder if you can still save your face."

The playful curve of Chi Lian's lips reappeared, even deepening. His fingers stroking the teacup paused briefly, his attention seemingly completely returned to the prey in his grasp.

"When entertaining guests, one shouldn't be so negligent," he said slowly, "but what's wrong with inspecting a 'blood cauldron'?"

The words "Blood Cauldron" burned her heart like a red-hot iron, and Su Baiwei's blood froze instantly. She suppressed her anger and nausea, trying to turn her head away from the scrutiny, but her jaw tightened even more.

"How come your niece Su's clothes are so tattered?" Chi Lian's fingertips slid down her chin and deliberately stroked the exposed skin of her shoulders, causing her to shudder. "Tsk tsk, it's even more fascinating than the actors in the brothels." He admired the anger and shame that suddenly ignited in her eyes.

Tiaotiao's eyes were bloodshot, his rage surging like molten lava beneath the ice. He sealed away his surging murderous intent, every muscle tensed with extreme restraint. Sweat formed icy streams under his inner armor, winding down his spine. The sharp pain of his wrists, where nails dug deep, was his only anchor.

"Don't touch me!" Su Baiwei struggled desperately, but was held down by the force behind her.

She suppressed her nausea, her voice growing colder with extreme anger. "Having come to this filthy place to meet a beast in human form like you, naturally I only deserve to wear such tattered clothes. What, you find it an eyesore?"

Chi Lian seemed to be amused by her words and clapped her hands lightly.

A guard entered, bearing a neatly folded scarlet dress. Another guard, expressionless, stepped forward and, with a swish, flung the dress open. The fabric rustled with a dry, scraping sound, and the glaring crimson, like congealed blood, suddenly fell in the cold light of the hall. Simultaneously, a faint, fishy aroma permeated the air. The scent penetrated Su Baiwei's nostrils, and her vision shifted strangely. Countless phantoms of medicine men distorted against the crimson backdrop.

"Seven Emotions!" Su Baiwei cried out, her heart trembling. This substance could stir the mind and amplify emotional fluctuations. Combined with the weakened state after blood was taken, it was enough to destroy a person's will. She immediately held her breath and concentrated, forcing herself to remain calm. "So what? My Heart-Cleansing Pills can control it..."

Tiao Tiao's eyelashes drooped.

"Oh? Our little medical immortal is truly knowledgeable." Chi Lian chuckled, a playful glint in his eyes, as if he had been waiting for this moment. He high-fived again. Another guard stepped forward, holding an exquisite wooden tray. On it lay a needle pouch, a broken white jade hairpin, and several small white jade porcelain bottles. One of the bottles was entwined with a honeysuckle vine pattern; it was the bottle that Su Baiwei had called "life-saving medicine."

"What a pity! Your Qingxin Pills and these odds and ends..." Chi Lian slowly walked to the tray, stretched out her suede-gloved fingers, gently picked up the delicate porcelain bottle, and played with it between her fingertips. Her eyes turned to Su Baiwei, whose face suddenly changed. "It's all here. What if you see it? Can you get it?"

Su Baiwei stared at the porcelain vase.

Chi Lian keenly caught her momentary panic, the curve of his lips growing ever more dangerous. He deliberately raised the porcelain bottle to his eyes, examining it against the light. "The thing that made Divine Doctor Su so nervous... could this be the 'antidote' you painstakingly researched to try to save those drugged people?"

Su Baiwei's pupils suddenly shrank, her face turned pale in an instant, and she trembled uncontrollably, with the fear and despair that was seen through leaking out of her eyes.

"Oh, it seems I guessed right." Chi Lian watched her expression change drastically with satisfaction, his eyes gleaming with cruel delight. He uncorked the bottle, and with a casual flick of his wrist, the sticky liquid slowly dripped onto the ground. Then, his fingers loosened, and the delicate porcelain bottle shattered with a loud "crack."

The crisp sound of the medicine bottle falling to the ground seemed to shatter Su Baiwei's last bit of support. Her pupils suddenly contracted like needles, and her body swayed, as if all the strength in her body had been drained away.

"Now, what else do you rely on?" Chi Lian's voice was filled with a sense of satisfaction, his eyes lingering on Su Baiwei's pale face. "Oh, yes, and your identity as the 'Blood Cauldron'..." He deliberately dragged out his words, as if savoring the humiliation brought by the title. His fingers frivolously stroked the bright red fabric, but his eyes were fixed on Su Baiwei's face, which was ashen with extreme humiliation. "Since you are the 'Blood Cauldron', you naturally have to dress appropriately for the sacrifice. This is the new outfit that your uncle specially prepared for you. Do you like it?"

He admired her body's violent trembling almost intoxicatedly, as if he were appreciating a beautiful painting on the verge of collapse, with a cruel smile on the corner of his mouth: "Oh? Niece Su seems... not to like it?" The smile deepened, "Do you think your uncle's taste... is not good enough?" He leaned forward slightly, his voice low, "If you don't like it... it's not up to you. Later, you must wash it clean and then change into this dress before you can be sacrificed." His eyes swept across the solemn iron armor standing on both sides of the hall, and finally fell back on Su Baiwei, "Will you wash it yourself, or let your uncle send someone... to 'help' you?"

Scarlet surged at the edges of her vision, and countless twisted phantoms tore at Su Baiwei's consciousness. A strange, sweet, and fishy aroma lingered, bringing waves of dizziness and nausea, and the rich taste of blood filled her mouth. Her father's dying eyes flashed through the chaos... Just before Chi Lian was about to strike the armrest to issue her ultimatum—

"I'll do it myself!" Su Baiwei suddenly looked up, interrupting his unspoken command. Her body swayed, then she was forcibly held steady. The fire burning in her eyes didn't die, but instead condensed into two icy rays of light, piercing the sinister eyes beneath the mask. "Sacred Fire Hall clothes, are you worthy of asking me to change into? I'd rather keep them for myself. If my father were here, you wouldn't even be qualified to be a sacrifice!"

The muscles on Chi Lian's face seemed to stiffen for a moment, and the knuckles in his sleeves tightened imperceptibly, and then the smile of control climbed back onto the corners of his mouth. The prey was finally forced into the cage, with no chance of a comeback. His eyes were like knives, pausing for a moment on the silver-armored guard behind Su Baiwei, as if he had caught some fleeting aura of disharmony, or perhaps it was just the habitual scrutiny of a superior. But this trace of strangeness did not linger, and his eyes quickly locked back on Su Baiwei, as if the previous glance was just an inadvertent glance. His fingertips caressed her jaw again with affection, arousing an even stronger shudder in her: "That's good. Be obedient, and you will suffer less." His voice was soft, but more piercing than the sharpest ice cone.

Su Baiwei suddenly closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling, and she forced herself to suppress the urge to bite the hand. Under the sleeve of her robe, the hand that was tied behind her back clenched the edge of Tiao Tiao's wrist armor with all its strength, as if warning and pleading.