🌱
Chapter 9: The Carriage Stops
The system message [Doubted Reactive Points +4] floated in the system notification panel like something that refused to leave Yin Zhe's mind. His head felt heavy. And his thoughts were still swirling around the system like a pot boiling for far too long.
The strange part was how the notification carried a faint echo, he muttered to himself. That was when it clicked.
"Wait.. did It all come from Ren Tie?. Wait.. tsk.. one, two, three and four.. so that means the reactive points had come from all four of them" Yin Zhe blinked. "Hmmm… from them?" he muttered under his breath.
Ren Tie narrowed his eyes. if he felt like something off. Yin Zhe had ignored him completely. He felt insulted. The cog wheel in his brain started to spin " that's odd.. I didn't even see him cultivating…"
ding!!.
[Doubted Reactive Points +1]
Yin Zhe could now understand the system a bit more. "He's clearly doubting me right now isn't it"
Ren Tie paused for a bit as his jaw tightened. The shock in his eyes appears to linger. Growing sharper. He rubbed his fingers together, he kept on replaying a moment in his mind and failing to make sense of it.
He turned to stare at Yin Zhe with an expression between suspicion and confusion.
To Ren Tie, Yin Zhe looked like a mad man.
Someone who hit his head on wooden bars to vent their frustration, while screaming at invisible gods, and prayed like a broken monk, someone that breathes like a dying ox.
But even with all those downgrading factors… he had now decided to pay more attention to Yin Zhe now. There was definitely something strange about this boy. Something that kept poking his curiosity.
Meanwhile, Yin Zhe wasn't even paying attention to Ren Tie at all.
He had his head down, staring at the space in front of him. The space where the system message had been, he was thinking hard.
"Hmmm… this system…" he muttered. "at least I know why I'm getting notifications whenever people think about me…? Or when they react…?"
His brows pulled together. He didn't know if he was lucky or cursed. "This might as well be a blessing. My Reactive system can see through every possible poker face... Hehehe"
the carriage creaked. As it moved forward in the wet mud.
creak… creak…
Rain drummed on the rooftop of the carriage like fingers tapping.
Tap… tap… tap.
Five of them. All prisoners. sat in their own small wooden cells. Each cell is just big enough for a human to stand. Thick and old wooden bars. The wood felt Cold to the touch. But can quickly warm up when held for a brief moment. There was a faint smell of dampness and metal.
The Night outside was filled with nonstop Rainfall. They couldn't see anything past the small gaps in the wood because of the darkness.
Ren Tie kept circling around cultivation thoughts.
Yin Zhe who seemed insane to his fellow cell mates was still focused on the reactive system.
The two silent prisoners in the far cells, Wen Chong and Tian Zuo just stared at the floor, each sunk into their own thoughts.
A nice moment of quiet peace.
Ren Tie sighed lightly and lifted his head. Breaking the brief silence.
Ren Tie began to mumble to himself. "I'm the highest level cultivator here," he thought. "Well That's Aside from the trafficker outside… the one driving this damn carriage… that one is the real monster."
He slowly shook his head.
Even thinking about that driver made his stomach tighten. He had a cold sweat.
"The one outside wasn't just a pushover cultivator. He was a high ranking immortal." Ren Tie whispered.
"He's Someone on a whole different level. Someone who could lift this entire carriage with one hand if he wanted. Such power" Ren Tie thought.
The rain outside grew louder.
Drip… drip… tap... Tap...
Yin Zhe leaned back a little. His body ached from hitting his head on the wooden bars and floors earlier, but he gritted his teeth and pushed the pain down. He was about to re-open his system panel again when something suddenly happened.
SCREEEEEEECH!
The carriage jerked hard.
"ow!" Yin Zhe grunted as his head slammed against the bars again. THUD!!. "damnit"
Ren Tie had braced against the sudden jolt. Meanwhile Bao Zi yelped like when someone stepped on a cat's tail.
The system panel vanished from Yin Zhe's view.
He blinked hard.
"What was that…? What's happening now?"
He pressed his ear toward the bars, trying to hear. At first, there was only the sound of rain dripping.
Then soon came muffled Voices. they sounded deep and rough at the same time.
He strained his ears harder. The wooden bars felt wet and cold against the side of his face.
"Hmmm… come on… talk louder…" he whispered. His heartbeat thumped in anticipation. Then he heard a louder sound.
creak… creak... clack…
The sound of a heavy metal lock being opened outside the carriage was heard. Then The door opened. And the cold night air rushed in. It was Mixed with the smell of wet earth.
A man dressed in full black robes stood at the entrance.
Every step he took let out a soft shhhh… shhhh…. His presence filled the small space. The air around him rippled. Then white cold and smooth mist began flowing out of him. The mist Crawled along the floor like a living thing.
Just as the mist reached them, Yin Zhe's system buzzed with a notification.
Ding!!.
[Attacked Reactive Points +1]
The system message made Yin Zhe's eyes widened. "The mist is some kind of attack?" He looked at the man once again. He looked like a high level cultivator. Yin Zhe couldn't detect his cultivation level. That made him feel that this guy must be dangerous. Someone whose aura alone felt like a blade pressing against their necks. Even The others felt it too.
Ren Tie tensed instantly. And His fingers curled into fists. But even he didn't dare move.
Bao Zi was shaking so hard his teeth almost clicked.
Yin Zhe's thoughts scrambled.
"He's also a high rank… very high rank… way higher than Ren Tie…"
The mist crawled up his legs. It felt Cold and somehow Soft. This was Strange. "Isn't this supposed to be an attack?. Is the system wrong?." Soon Yin Zhe started feeling drowsy.
"hmph…" he muttered, trying to hold on to consciousness. But the overwhelming power of the mist was too strong. His vision began to blur at the edges.
Before long Ren Tie dropped to his knees. Bao Zi leaned against the bars. The others slumped where they sat.
The mist wrapped around Yin Zhe's face like a blanket made of air. His eyelids grew heavy. His heartbeat slowed. Everything felt far away.
He thought,
"Not again… don't tell me… I'm blacking… out… for the second time"
And then.
Everything faded.