CHAPTER 259: SCAMMING A MIST EYE SECT SENIOR DISCIPLE

She had no idea what that meant.

Still on guard but no longer openly hostile, she tightened her grip on her sword. "Who are you? Why help me?"

He tilted his head slightly, then reached into his cloak and flicked out a small jade token. It bore the insignia of the Mist Eye Sect, though the details weren’t shown clearly before he tucked it away again.

"Let’s say I’m... an internal investigator," he said vaguely.

"You’re with the sect?"

He gave no reply to that.

Then, turning his attention to the paralyzed red-eyed woman, he spoke again. "Do you carry any paralytic poisons? Something potent but not fatal."

Meng blinked at the strange request, then slowly nodded. "Yes... I have a vial. For emergencies."

"Good. Feed it to her."

She hesitated.

"Why?" she asked, still trying to gauge his motives.

He stood and turned his back to her. "Because I asked. And because right now, I’m the reason you’re still breathing."

Meng’s eyes narrowed, but she couldn’t deny it.

She knelt beside the red-eyed woman and produced a tiny silver vial from within her robes. Uncorking it, she tilted the paralytic poison into the woman’s mouth. It seeped in, and moments later, the signs of deep unconsciousness followed.

The masked man watched it all silently, arms folded.

Meng rose to her feet again, staring at him with a mix of suspicion and respect. "You saved my life... and you clearly know what you’re doing. But you also asked a strange question... Why keep her alive?"

The figure didn’t look at her. His gaze was fixed on the forest beyond.

"There’s more at play here than either of us knows," he murmured. "And corpses don’t speak."

Meng was silent for a long moment.

Then, voice softer, she asked again, "Who are you?"

The masked man finally turned back to her, his tone still low and unreadable.

"You shouldn’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to."

With that, he turned and scanned the surroundings for any potential threats or more disciples.

Meng stood still, surrounded by the dead, the unconscious, and the unanswered.

She shivered slightly, though the air was not cold.

A few seconds later, Han Yu’s voice broke the silence like a blade cleaving through fog.

"Interrogate her."

Meng blinked in confusion, still kneeling beside the unconscious red-eyed woman. "What?"

"I said interrogate her," Han Yu repeated, his tone harsher now. He took a step forward, his eyes narrowing.

Then his voice turned sharp, fierce—dripping with contempt and cold authority.

"Do they not teach disciples these skills anymore? Did you lose your fangs?"

The change in demeanor startled Meng.

That calm, almost ghostlike presence was gone, replaced by someone who commanded obedience. Someone who carried the weight of countless battles. Her back stiffened as instinctive fear crept up her spine.

This wasn’t just some rogue cultivator with illusions and tricks—this was someone with experience, power, and command.

Her gaze dropped immediately.

’Ghostly Senior, your abuse is coming in handy!’ Han Yu thought to himself. ’Who knew pretending to be like you works so well!’ He was pleased.

Senior Sister Meng though was startled by it all.

"No," she said quickly. "I—I can do it. It’ll take some time, though. She’s still under the influence of the paralytics. She’ll need a bit to wake up."

Han Yu’s expression remained unreadable. "That’s fine. I’ll observe."

Meng frowned slightly, still cautious. "Observe... me?"

Han Yu folded his arms behind his back, his voice lowering again to that same unreadable tone.

"I wish to see if you’re worthy."

Meng felt a shiver run through her. There was something strange about this man. Not just his strength, but his words. "Worthy" of what? Of being spared? Of being trusted? Or... of something far greater?

She nodded nonetheless, and began her work.

Roughly thirty minutes later, the red-eyed woman stirred. Her fingers twitched. A low groan escaped her lips as she tried to move—but found her limbs bound tightly by ropes and her cultivation sealed by Meng’s energy-restraining talismans.

The woman’s eyes opened groggily.

"Wh... what...?"

Meng didn’t speak. She moved swiftly, pulling out a different vial—slightly larger than the first one. The liquid inside was a murky green, glowing faintly under the moonlight. She forced it down the woman’s throat before the latter could resist.

The woman gagged slightly, coughing, but the poison was already working.

Han Yu, watching from the shadows, tilted his head slightly.

Meng turned to him as she wiped her hands.

"It’s called Falsebane Poison," she explained. "Rare. Hard to make. Induces a dazed state where the victim is compelled to speak the truth... but it strains the heart and meridians. Death usually follows within a few minutes."

Han Yu nodded. "Then don’t waste time."

Meng turned back and began.

"What were you planning? Why did your group attack me?"

The red-eyed woman’s eyes were foggy, dazed. She blinked slowly, then spoke in a slurred but clear tone.

"Our orders were to capture you... kill if necessary. You got too close. The elders said you might figure something out..."

Meng’s brow furrowed. "Which elders? What are they planning?"

"The elders... two from the Inner Hall. They didn’t give names... just that a power slumbers beneath the earth. The remnants of the Magma Ancestor... hidden in an altar beneath the Slumbering Caldera..."

Han Yu’s eyes widened beneath his cloth wrap mask.

’The Magma Ancestor again?’

He instinctively touched the pouch where the vial still rested. That tiny, obsidian-glassed vial filled with what looked like living flames... He’d thought it strange, perhaps even cursed. But this...

’A hidden altar? Forbidden power? Elders of the Mist Eye Sect dabbling in ancient remnants?’

It all made far too much sense now.

"What do you know about the altar?" Meng continued, pressing for more.

The woman coughed again, her breath shortening. Blood leaked from the corner of her lips.

"Nothing more... they’re still searching... just said it’ll awaken soon..."

Her words trailed off into a gasp.

Then, with a final jerk of her body, the red-eyed woman went still.

Dead.