"Your mind is far too agile. If you could move around freely, then I'd really have a headache," Doctor Mo said calmly. He then extended an arm, effortlessly picked up Han Li, and strode out of the room.
Outside, the blazing sun was still scorching hot. Although Han Li felt he had been inside the room for ages, it had actually been only a very brief time.
Carrying Han Li like an object, Doctor Mo walked casually through the herb garden beside the house and arrived before a remote stone wall. The giant man followed silently behind, like his shadow, never leaving his side.
Through his eyes, Han Li clearly saw that in front of him, without his noticing when it was built, stood a stone hut he had never seen before. It resembled the stone chamber where Han Li used to meditate, constructed entirely of stone, the only difference being that its outer wall had been simply whitewashed with lime water.
Judging by the materials, the hut was roughly built, but it was obviously completed very recently. If Han Li still had his sense of smell, he would surely have been able to detect the pungent odor of lime water.
"Tie Nu, stay outside. If any stranger approaches this hut, kill them without question," Doctor Mo issued a bloody order, clearly afraid of an accident ruining his plans.
The stone door was easily pushed open. Without hesitation, he walked inside, then casually closed the door behind him. It was evident that this hut was no stranger to Doctor Mo; he had most likely built it himself.
The stone hut was enclosed, with no windows. Once the door was shut, Han Li had expected it to be pitch black inside, where nothing could be seen. Instead, he saw the room filled with all kinds of oil lamps and candles of varying thickness. Despite the limited space, the lamps and candles blazed brilliantly, illuminating the interior as brightly as daylight.
The scene inside left Han Li speechless. Of course, even if he had questions now and wanted to speak, he couldn't.
But all that was unimportant. What truly unsettled Han Li was a strange pattern several meters in diameter painted in the center of the stone hut. It seemed to be made from some kind of powder, but because Han Li couldn't get closer to examine it, he couldn't tell exactly what it was.
Around the edges of the pattern, several pieces of fist-sized jade were embedded. The jade gleamed translucently under the candlelight, clearly a rare material. If an expert who appreciated such things saw this fine raw jade wastefully set into a stone floor, they would likely be so heartbroken they couldn't sleep for nights.
Han Li was hiding inside the body, staring intently, when he heard a "thump." His body was thrown onto the exact center of the pattern, lying flat on the ground, only able to see the ceiling.
Han Li felt a bit anxious. At such a critical moment, being unable to see Doctor Mo's every move made it impossible for him to feel at ease. But he was at the mercy of another, and there was nothing he could do. He could only comfort himself with the thought that at least he wasn't facing downward, otherwise he wouldn't even get to see the ceiling.
"Pff," "pff," "pff"...
A series of strange sounds rang out. Han Li was puzzled, but then he quickly realized the light had dimmed considerably, understanding that Doctor Mo had extinguished most of the lamps and candles.
He didn't know what significance this held.
After a moment, Doctor Mo suddenly spoke.
"Is the method you described truly reliable? You must know, I've staked everything on this," his voice was incredibly cold and detached.
Han Li was confused. Was he being addressed? The tone didn't sound like it. But apart from the two of them, there was no one else in the stone hut. Or had Doctor Mo forgotten so quickly that Han Li, still stuck with that damned yellow paper, couldn't speak at all?
"There's absolutely no problem. Did the 'Seven Ghosts Soul Devouring Technique' and the 'Soul-Stabilizing Talisman' I passed to you earlier ever contain any falsehoods?" A strange man's voice suddenly appeared in the room. Listening to the voice, he seemed quite young, only in his twenties.
Han Li was numb. The bizarre events he had experienced today were far more than he had heard of in all his previous years. Now, another voice popping up so abruptly didn't seem that remarkable after all.
"Hmph! What use is it that it worked before?"
Doctor Mo's use of coarse language startled Han Li. If this were before, it wouldn't be a big deal. But thinking of Doctor Mo's current handsome appearance, yet spewing such vulgar words, could only make Han Li find bitter amusement in the situation.
"If you deliberately held back a trick at the final moment, causing me to fall into a trap, who would I turn to?"
Before the young man could answer, Doctor Mo continued, talking to himself:
"Don't say you can serve as a guarantor. You know very well you should be dead, and the one who killed you was me. Is it possible you have no hatred in your heart? That you wouldn't secretly deceive me?"
Doctor Mo fired off questions without leaving room for rebuttal, as if venting all the unease from his heart.
Following that, apart from Doctor Mo's heavy breathing, there was a long silence.
After quite a while, there was still no response from the young man.
Hearing these words, Han Li felt a chill in his heart. This young man who suddenly appeared was someone who had died once. Could he be a ghost? And from their conversation, it seemed the strange technique Doctor Mo had just used was obtained from this very person.
"What more do you want from me? I have already sworn a terrible oath in the name of my ancestors, my parents, my entire family, even my whole clan. Isn't that enough to satisfy you?" The young man finally spoke up indignantly.
Han Li's heart skipped a beat. This young man was so depraved, using so many close relatives as collateral for an oath, just to gain Doctor Mo's trust. He was clearly a heartlessly cold-blooded individual. The spark of sympathy Han Li had felt due to their shared plight instantly vanished.
"Indeed, I can't do anything to you. Your physical body is already destroyed, and only your Primordial Spirit remains here, unable to see the light of day forever. It's probably no better than being completely obliterated," Doctor Mo's tone softened, apparently unwilling to completely fall out.
(End of Chapter)