"Stop hitting my grandfather!" A boy of fifteen or sixteen, dressed in tattered clothes, threw himself over the old man.
"You little bastard, you're asking for it!" The young man snorted coldly and lashed down with his whip.
With a crack, the boy's back was left streaming with blood.
Though he'd taken a lash, the boy was remarkably resilient, merely letting out a muffled grunt.
"Child, don't worry about me!" The old man's voice was hoarse, tears brimming in his clouded eyes as he tried to push the boy away.
"No." The boy shook his head firmly.
"Tough bones, eh!" A vicious look flashed across the young man's eyes. With a cold smirk, he raised the whip once more.
Just as the young man's whip was about to fall again, Nie Li shot forward and, with a crack, caught the whip in his hand.
The young man tugged at the whip but couldn't budge it. He shot Nie Li a cold look. "Who are you? Let go!" Since Nie Li was dressed well enough, the young man didn't dare act rashly until he'd figured out who he was.
"My name is
"Lei Zhuo?" Something stirred in the young man's memory. He glanced at Sikong Hongyue nearby, and as she walked over, the two exchanged a knowing look.
"Young Master Lei, I am
"Sikong Shou, watch your manners. Young Master Lei is an honored guest of our Silver Wing Family." Sikong Hongyue's voice was low and firm.
"Yes!" Sikong Shou gave a slight bow and stepped aside.
"Miss Hongyue." Nie Li greeted her, though any goodwill he might have felt toward this girl had been entirely replaced by disgust.
Sikong Hongyue glanced at Nie Li and said, "Young Master Lei, this Crimson Blood Crystal mine is a vital territory of our Silver Wing Family. Holding up our extraction here really isn't appropriate. These are nothing but lowly slaves—why should Young Master Lei stand up for them?" Her words were utterly devoid of emotion.
This woman was completely inhumane—he simply hadn't realized it before.
"Miss Hongyue, I'd like to take this boy with me. Would that be alright?" Nie Li asked, looking at Sikong Hongyue.
Sikong Hongyue furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Everyone in this mine has been branded with a slave seal. If anyone goes beyond a thousand meters from the mine, their body will burst apart and they'll die. These people come from rival families—how could our Silver Wing Family not take precautions?"
A blood seal? A chill ran through Nie Li's heart. He hadn't expected the Silver Wing Family to be so ruthless. Once a blood seal was branded onto someone, it could never be removed unless they broke through to the Gold rank. Every night, the victim would be wracked with unbearable torment, and if they strayed more than a thousand meters from the caster, death was certain.
Looking at the grandfather and grandson lying on the ground, Nie Li sighed inwardly. Child, I'm afraid I can't save you.
Sikong Hongyue's lips curved slightly upward, a hint of contempt in her gaze at Nie Li's compassion.
Nie Li stepped forward and crouched before the grandfather and grandson.
The boy raised his head. Though his clothes were tattered and his face was smeared with grime, his features were still quite refined, and his eyes burned with fury and defiance.
"What's your name?" Nie Li looked at him and asked.
Spotting Nie Li's fine clothes, the boy snorted and turned his head away. Though Nie Li had stopped the young man who'd been flogging them, in the boy's eyes, Nie Li was just another one of the Silver Wing Family's people.
Looking at the stubborn set of the boy's face, Nie Li gathered a wisp of Soul Power in his right hand, moved with blinding speed, and tapped the boy's brow. A silent sigh passed through his heart: There's nothing I can do to save you. It all depends on you now. I hope these hardships forge you into something greater.
After channeling the wisp of Soul Power into the boy's brow, Nie Li stood up. Sikong Hongyue and the others had witnessed his actions but had no idea what he'd actually done.
In that brief instant, Nie Li had compressed an entire cultivation technique into a thread of Soul Power and implanted it in the boy's mind. As for what the boy would become in the future, that was no longer in Nie Li's hands.
Nie Li rose and turned to Sikong Shou. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier, brother. I hope you can forgive me. Please accept these few medicinal pills as a gift. I would ask that you and your men leave this grandfather and grandson alone from now on."