The more the young Thieving Heaven screamed in agony, the more gleefully the old Gu Master laughed.
But before long, the youth caught on. He clenched his jaw and fell silent.
"Hm? Still trying to resist, you little brat?" The old Gu Master noticed the change and flew into a rage. He slammed his foot down hard on the young Thieving Heaven's chest.
Crack-crack-crack!
Several ribs snapped under the blow. The broken bones jabbed straight into his heart and lungs, plunging him to the brink of death in an instant.
Yet from start to finish, he never uttered a single sound. He ground his steel-like teeth until they nearly shattered, eyes bulging with fury — but not one scream escaped his lips.
"Heh heh heh!" The old Gu Master's rage twisted into laughter. He aimed directly at the young Thieving Heaven and unleashed a Gu Master's technique.
This time, the agony was far worse than simple pain. Waves of numbness, soreness, throbbing, and itching crashed over him in relentless succession.
"Ahhhhh —!" He could endure no longer. A horrific wail tore from his throat as his limbs thrashed wildly, ten fingers clawing at his own skin with maddening desperation, his body rolling across the ground.
The old Gu Master roared with laughter. "Had enough suffering? How dare you resist me, Sha Xiao! Hmph — even if your bones were forged from iron, you'd still be groveling before me. Beg for mercy! Just call me Grandpa Sha, and I'll let this grandson of mine go. Ahahaha!"
But inside the young Thieving Heaven's heart, fury burned like wildfire.
Sha Xiao's words only stoked his blood further. He swore silently that no matter how he itched, ached, tingled, or burned — he would never beg!
Sha Xiao waited. All he saw was the youth rolling about, fingers shredding both clothes and flesh, crying out in such anguish that his voice had gone hoarse and broken — yet still not a single plea for mercy.
In the end, when the young Thieving Heaven could bear it no more, a savage gleam flashed through his eyes and he hurled his head toward the well wall.
"You'd rather die?!" Sha Xiao's expression changed. He lunged forward to stop him.
The youth was too weak to resist. He could only submit to Sha Xiao's intervention.
Sha Xiao not only saved him but also treated his injuries. Before long, the severe wounds had been reduced to minor ones.
"You've got backbone, brat. Even I have to admit I'm a little impressed." Sha Xiao's tone shifted. A greenish glint flickered in his eyes.
He gazed down at the young Thieving Heaven, who lay on the ground utterly spent, and spoke in a low, unhurried voice: "But if you die, what happens to your family? I won't lose a wink of sleep over it — but your parents? Your brothers and sisters? Heh — do you have a sweetheart? Does she know how you feel about her? If you die, what becomes of her?"
At these words, the young Thieving Heaven's expression shifted.
In this world, he had lived for over a decade, but ultimately he was still a traveler — rootless, unattached. Yet in his original world, he had a family, living parents, and a beloved fiancée.
"I can't die."
"I have to survive!"
"I have to find a way out of this world and go home. There are people waiting for me!"
Sha Xiao was old and cunning. The moment he saw the change in the youth's face, the corner of his mouth curled upward.
The young Thieving Heaven met Sha Xiao's gaze fearlessly. "The only reason you haven't killed me is because you want to use me. Fine — tell me. What do you want me to do?"
Sha Xiao burst into laughter and gave the youth a thumbs-up. "You've got nerve, brat, talking to me like that."
But the instant those words left his mouth, Sha Xiao's face transformed. The wild grin vanished without a trace, replaced by twisted fury.
He kicked the young Thieving Heaven square in the face, sending him flying.
Then he thrust out a finger. A beam of strange light shot forth and struck the youth's body.
Ssss-ssss-ssss…
A series of soft hissing sounds echoed through the bottom of the dry well.
The young Thieving Heaven's face went pale. Every inch of his body screamed with pain. He tried to stand but his limbs had no strength — he could only collapse back to the ground.
Blood covered his face. The bridge of his nose had been kicked clean through.
Black spots swam before his eyes, and the pain nearly drove him unconscious.
A sliver of his vision caught his own hand, and horror seized him.
His palm was rotting away, corroding as though doused in concentrated acid.
And it was not only his hands. His face, his arms, his neck, his entire body were putrefying.
Before long, the corrosion reached his eyes and he lost his sight entirely.
Sha Xiao's sinister voice drifted over. "You thought I couldn't do without you? Heh heh heh — me using you was your good fortune! Daring to speak to me like that — what's your death to me? I'll just find another one to mold. Hahaha!"
"Now — last chance! I'll give you one final opportunity. If you don't want to die, get on your knees, kowtow to me, call yourself my grandson, and obey my every command."
"Take your time deciding. No rush. You've been hit by my lethal technique — your body is rotting away as we speak. In less than a dozen breaths, you'll be rotten through. Your bones will be all that's left. Heh heh — and when that happens, I'll stomp on them a few times and see just how tough those bones really are."
The young Thieving Heaven was silent.
Sha Xiao said nothing more after that. His sinister gaze remained fixed on the youth.
The latter sat motionless on the ground, like a statue.
His muscles had begun to rot as well. A foul stench billowed upward, filling the bottom of the well.
The horrifying injuries, the searing pain — and above all, the torment in his heart — twisted his features into a grimace.
"I am the great Ben Jiesun — a noble by birth, a general commanding three armies. How can I kneel and beg for mercy?"
"But… if I die here, will I be leaving my family and my beloved in another world waiting for nothing?"
"Ahhhhh!!!"
A sigh as heavy as a mountain tore from within the young Thieving Heaven's heart.
He slowly shifted his posture — from sitting to kneeling — and then his head descended, inch by inch, until his forehead touched the ground at the bottom of the well.
He spoke, his voice feeble and scraped raw: "I admit defeat."
"Hahaha!" Sha Xiao cackled triumphantly, eyes bulging as he stared down at the young Thieving Heaven. "Then what should you call me?"
"Grand… Grandpa." The young Thieving Heaven clenched his teeth. His whole body trembled, and hot tears rolled from his rotting eye sockets.
"Ga ga ga — good grandson!" Sha Xiao swelled with satisfaction, his voice shrill and piercing — like a crow cawing across an autumn graveyard.
Amid that laughter, the young Thieving Heaven reached his limit and passed out cold.
Fang Yuan was plunged into absolute darkness once more.
Once again, the dream was violently dissolving his soul.