The siblings kept their mouths tightly shut, their shoulders slumped, showing absolutely no intention of giving in.
The whip in the Twelfth Elder's hand suddenly tightened. A trace of helplessness softened her beautiful, delicate features as she let out a soft sigh. “Fine. I really don't have the heart to torture children.”
She looked at the cultivator beside her and instructed, “How about this? Go to Baicao Peak and borrow a few Heart-Devouring Pills.”
The cultivator was visibly startled. “Heart-Devouring Pills? But... after taking them, the pain is unbearable. It feels as if poisonous insects are gnawing at one's heart. Although it's not life-threatening, there is no antidote, and the victim will suffer for the rest of their life. Isn't that a bit too cruel for children?”
The Twelfth Elder replied, “It's fine. It only hurts a few times a month. They'll get used to it.”
Hearing this, the children in the back shuddered in fear once more.
However, the two standing at the front remained exceptionally calm. They seemed convinced that the people of the Nine Saints Hall were righteous and kind-hearted, and would not actually do anything to them.
The Twelfth Elder frowned slightly. Steeling herself, she signaled the cultivator to go fetch the “Heart-Devouring Pills” she had just made up on the spot.
While waiting, she turned and asked the guard in a low voice, “Where is Xie Zhou?”
Xie Zhou had plenty of methods; it probably wouldn't be difficult for him to pry some information out of these kids.
Before the guard could reply, a lazy voice echoed from the corridor behind them. “Why make it so complicated?”
The Twelfth Elder whipped around to look. She saw Song Yao walking over slowly with her hands tucked into her sleeves. Her eyes were half-lidded, still clouded with a trace of drowsiness.
The elder was taken aback and asked in surprise, “L-Lin Mu? Why are you here?”
“Just here to lend a hand,” Song Yao replied casually. Too lazy to waste words, she raised her hand and made a pulling motion in the air.
Several children curling up on the bed in the depths of the cell were instantly swept up by an invisible spiritual force. They were thrown out of the cell one after another, tumbling onto the cold stone floor of the corridor in a crying, terrified heap.
No one expected her to act so suddenly. While the Twelfth Elder was still dazed, she heard Song Yao yawn and instruct, “Tie them all up and interrogate them. If they talk, great. If not, whatever. I'm heading to Frost City today anyway, so I'll just drop them off there on my way.”
The guarding cultivators were all shocked.
They all knew this Seventh Senior Sister. Though she usually seemed a bit aloof and distant, she was actually very gentle and easy to get along with once you spoke to her.
Why did she seem like a completely different person today?
The Twelfth Elder snapped back to her senses and said coldly, “Why are you still standing there? Do as she says.”
The cultivators hurriedly replied, “Yes, Elder!”
The children on the floor, already bruised and disheveled from the fall, panicked even more when they heard Song Yao's words. As the cultivators grabbed them by the arms and lifted them up, they struggled in terror, crying in unison, “No! No! I don't know anything!”
“We don't know anything!”
“I want my mom and dad!”
...
The chaos outside caused the calm expressions of the siblings inside the cell to falter. They nearly lost their composure.
Shuang Xi was the first to regain her bearings. She gritted her teeth.
She refused to believe that the people of the Nine Saints Hall would actually send these children back to Frost City.
Besides, back in the Nine Saints Hall's realm, they had eaten with this girl named Lin Mu. She had looked like nothing more than a pampered young disciple protected by her elders. Such a person had to be kind-hearted; there was no way she would actually do anything cruel.
She pressed down on her brother's slightly trembling hand and barked coldly, “Stop crying, all of you! If you still want to see your parents, shut your mouths—”
Before she could finish, the “kind-hearted” girl strolled over. She pulled a pitch-black pill out of her spatial pouch, pinched her brother's chin, and forced the pill down his throat.
Shuang Xi's voice cut off instantly, her eyes widening in shock. “W-What did you feed him?”
Song Yao stepped back out of the cell. With a curved-eyed smile, she waved her hand, and Shuang Xi was violently thrown out of the cell as well.
A cheerful voice drifted into her ears. “Nothing much, just a Qi-Replenishing Pill. I don't know how to refine any Heart-Devouring poison anyway.”
The cell door slammed shut behind her, leaving only Shuang Ming inside, bewildered and panicking after being inexplicably fed the pill.
Shuang Xi scrambled up from the ground in embarrassment, her expression hardening further. “No matter what tricks you play, I will never—”
Thud!
A heavy thud echoed from inside the cell.
Shuang Ming had suddenly closed his eyes and collapsed backward, crashing heavily onto the floor.
Shuang Xi gasped in shock. The other children began to struggle even more frantically. “Senior Brother!”
“Let go of Senior Brother!”
“What did you feed him?!”
“You guys—”
“Ahhh! It's so hot! So hot!”
A miserable shriek cut them off.
In the next instant, Shuang Ming began to thrash and roll around on the floor, his face twisted in sheer agony.
Before anyone could react, he scrambled to his feet and scurried up the wall like a gecko, darting wildly all over the cell.
The visual impact was simply too overwhelming.
Not only did the tearful children freeze in a daze, but even the Twelfth Elder and the guarding cultivators stood frozen, not daring to move a muscle.
Only Song Yao crossed her arms, watching the spectacle with great interest.
She then conjured two more porcelain bottles in her hand and handed them to the cultivator nearest to her, instructing, “Let them all have a taste, and then lock them in there too. Otherwise, they'll run all over the place.”
...
The way the children looked at Song Yao had completely changed.
A poison cultivator.
This girl was absolutely a poison cultivator.
Several children began to sob quietly. “I don't want to go crazy. I don't want to, waaaah!”
“Me neither! I don't want to end up like Senior Brother!”
...
Shuang Xi had never seen anything like this either. Her legs felt strangely weak, but she forced herself to maintain a facade of composure. “T-There must be an antidote, right?”
Song Yao replied, “Of course there is.”
Before Shuang Xi could even sigh in relief, Song Yao added, “But I haven't refined any yet.”
Shuang Xi demanded, “Why haven't you refined it?!”
Song Yao draped an arm over her shoulder and said with a beaming smile, “Isn't this fun? Why would I refine it?”
Shuang Xi: “??”
What part of this was fun?!
Song Yao watched for a moment longer, then furrowed her brow and said to the cultivator beside her, “Why haven't you fed them the pills yet? Feed them and throw them in. Maybe we'll get to see them fight.”
The children: “!!!”
The cultivator: “...Yes, Senior Sister.”
...
She was completely in a panic now. Yet, Song Yao still had the nerve to comfort them with excitement: “Don't worry, you don't have to talk if you don't want to. I'm going to send you back to Frost City anyway. Once you take the pill, you might look even more terrifying than demons!”
“So, isn't it exciting?”
The scene instantly turned into a chaotic mess.
The children wailed and struggled, desperately covering their mouths to avoid being fed the pills. Shuang Xi clenched her fists, her entire body trembling as she battled with her inner thoughts.
As the wailing grew louder, she looked at Shuang Ming inside the cell, then at the terrified children around her. Finally, she gritted her teeth and spoke up, “Stop feeding them! I'll talk. I'll tell you whatever you want to know.”
The Twelfth Elder and the cultivators let out a massive sigh of relief, secretly giving Song Yao a big thumbs-up.
They had finally cracked them.
Yet, Song Yao merely blinked and flatly refused, “No. I don't feel like listening anymore.”
Rate on N.U.
