Chapter 248: Cell

**Chapter 248: The Dungeon**

The pill scraped down his throat and plunged into his lungs, immediately igniting a searing, fiery pain.

Xiao Wu covered his mouth as he coughed, his straight spine bending soundlessly. Moments later, as if unable to suppress it, a streak of blood escaped from the corner of his lips.

Xie Shu glanced at the stage directions and, as dictated by the script, raised his hand to press his thumb against Xiao Wu’s lips, lightly wiping away the blood.

He smiled. “Lord Pingwu has only just arrived at Wuwang Palace, yet he’s already in such a state. How’s he going to last?”

The warm pad of his finger touched the corner of Xiao Wu’s lips, the sensation clammy and unnatural. Xiao Wu frowned, wanting to pull away, but then Xie Chunshan drawled, “Don’t move.”

The warmth lingered against his cheek. Xie Shu chuckled. “Even if the Immortal Lord doesn’t consider himself, he ought to spare a thought for Shangling Sect behind him, no?”

Xiao Wu stiffened at those words, yet forced himself to remain still, allowing Xie Chunshan to wipe the blood clean from his mouth.

Xie Shu gave a low chuckle, then stepped back, taking a damp cloth from a subordinate and leisurely cleaning his fingers. Before long, another person entered the hall. Xiao Wu, his cultivation crippled and eyesight gone, didn’t sense him until the footsteps drew close.

The man knelt before Xie Chunshan, bowing his head in deference. “Palace Lord.”

Xie Shu swirled his teacup. “Come, Lord Pingwu, let me introduce you. This is Xue Sui, Wuwang Palace’s overseer of the Abyssal Water Prison. Every last one of your former colleagues ended up in his care.”

Xiao Wu had clearly heard the name before—his eyelids twitched slightly—but he remained silent.

Though Wuwang Palace was crawling with monsters, to the righteous sects, only three figures truly inspired terror.

The first was Palace Lord Xie Chunshan, lawless and mercurial—one moment smiling, the next cleaving heads without warning. The second was Wu Buke, who had just used poison gu; his tricks were vile and merciless, impossible to guard against. The third was this very Xue Sui.

He presided over Wuwang Palace’s torture chambers, his fingers caked in decay and filth, his path paved with layers of bones. Just the mention of his name made the righteous sects shudder.

Xiao Wu said nothing, but Xie Shu had already turned to Xue Sui. “Go, greet Lord Pingwu properly. From now on, he’ll be a guest under your care.”

Xue Sui chuckled, his voice hoarse and his enunciation odd, paired with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes—a venomous edge to his words. “Now that Lord Pingwu is here, I’ll be sure to entertain him well.”

Xiao Wu still did not react.

He stood motionless in the center of the hall, like some finely crafted statue. No matter what Xie Chunshan said, it seemed nothing could stir his heart.

Xie Shu wasn’t angered. He swept his robes aside and returned to his seat behind the beaded curtain. “A guest from afar deserves hospitality. Xue Sui, show Lord Pingwu what ‘delights’ our Abyssal Water Prison has in store.”

Xue Sui: “As you command.”

He stood before Xiao Wu and began explaining in meticulous detail.

Xie Shu didn’t listen. Behind the curtain, he sipped his tea, resting his chin on his hand as he observed the hall. Xiao Wu was clearly at his limit—the agony of severed meridians had long since hollowed him out. Sweat rolled down the bridge of his nose, yet he remained unyielding and erect.

Xue Sui had run through a few techniques and was now elaborating on ripping tendons and snapping meridians. Only then did Xiao Wu stir slightly.

He turned his head toward Xue Sui, the corner of his lips quirking as if in silent mockery—but in the end, he said nothing.

Xue Sui cut himself off.

Ah, right. This one’s main meridians were already in ruins, leaving only a few auxiliary ones—barely clinging on. Even if he hadn’t come to Wuwang Palace, even if he had remained at Shangling Sect to recuperate, he’d have been dead soon anyway.

He couldn’t help but glance toward the beaded curtain.

Xie Shu was drinking his tea. Hearing the pause, he slightly raised a hand. “Enough. Lord Pingwu will have plenty of time to get acquainted with the Abyssal Water Prison’s ‘charms.’ Take him away.”

Immediately, two men stepped forward and took hold of Xiao Wu’s manacles.

However, the Palace Lord had said "please," so his subordinates, trying to gauge his intentions, dared not go too far. They merely restrained him lightly and escorted him out.

Only Xue Sui and Wu Buke remained in the hall.

Xie Shu said nothing more.

Idly swiping across the holographic screen, his eyelids drooped slightly as he recalled the details of the story.

The name Xiao Wu was painfully familiar to him—far more familiar than even System 66.

This was one of the NPCs he had personally designated for the game, even the very first NPC players would encounter.

*Feng Liu Yi* was a Chinese-style xianxia open-world game with single-player story and online features. At the start, the protagonist would stumble into a bamboo forest and become the disciple of a wandering cultivator, thus being introduced to the world of cultivation and uncovering the turbulent events of the immortal sects from three hundred years ago. And this wandering cultivator was Xiao Wu.

As a common practice in game design, developers would set up a few NPCs with impressive backstories and prestige early on to serve as hooks to draw players deeper into the game, or even as focal points for marketing. For instance, during *Feng Liu Yi*'s initial release, advertisements were plastered everywhere, with Xiao Wu’s gameplay trailer playing on large screens in commercial districts.

As the protagonist’s master, Xiao Wu naturally had to be steeped in mystery with a compelling backstory.

Given his importance, Xie Shu had personally reviewed and revised Xiao Wu’s design multiple times before finalizing it.

Xie Shu knew Xiao Wu’s backstory, his swordplay sequences, and his cultivation techniques. If the in-game model matched reality, he even knew Xiao Wu’s precise body proportions.

Had the model not been limited to surface details, he might have known even more intimate details.

The Wuwang Palace storyline was also simple—just a way to flesh out Xiao Wu’s character further. As the world’s strongest, it was best if he had once fallen from grace, lost all his cultivation, and endured immense suffering. As the protagonist’s master, he needed to remain kind, patient, and steadfast despite his hardships. And as a marketing hook, his combat style had to be visually stunning, with a dramatic return to power. Combining these three elements gave rise to the Wuwang Palace arc.

—The former supreme leader of the immortal sects, now inexplicably fallen, his meridians shattered, trapped by his enemies in the palace. By chance, he rediscovers a secret technique to rebuild his meridians. Though the agony drives him to the brink of death, he endures. Then, at the grand assembly of the immortal sects, just as the Demon Sovereign dominates the scene, he materializes like a phantom, turning the tide and pressing his blade against the Demon Sovereign’s throat.

Xie Shu’s task was straightforward: first, complete the protagonist’s suffering arc; second, ensure Xiao Wu’s martial prowess is restored; and finally, wait for the pivotal moment at the demon sect’s assembly before returning to the modern era.

Everything was normal, except for one peculiar detail—this "Xie Chunshan."

There was no such character in the game.

Game development takes time, and it's impossible to wait for the writing team to finalize every detail before moving forward. Moreover, the launch version wouldn't involve the Wuwang Palace storyline. The Demon Sovereign's design was still just a proposal—a silhouette in the documents, with neither name nor appearance finalized, pending further development.

Yet, when Xie Shu logged into the game during the beta test, the account name he used was "Xie Chunshan."

He lightly traced the rim of his teacup.

Compared to the Wuwang Palace, where one had to constantly stay alert amidst lurking dangers, Xie Shu found the modern world more comfortable.

The moment the Palace Lord zoned out, the two subordinates standing below felt goosebumps rising. Xue Sui stammered, "P-Palace Lord? If you have no further orders, may I take my leave? That Lord Pingwu has been so insolent—I'll go deal with him..."

Xie Shu cast him an indifferent glance.

He had no intention of doing anything to Xiao Wu.

Why bother someone so pure and bright? In this dreamlike world, whatever he did would simply be a small comfort.

Xie Shu lowered his gaze slightly. Earlier, when he spared the maid, the system issued no warning—meaning that small changes to side stories were permissible. Xie Shu disliked being constrained. Before risking passive violations, he would first test the limits of the rules.

In Xie Chunshan's script, there were no details about Xiao Wu's time in the Guixu Water Prison. After all, the Demon Palace's lord wouldn’t waste time visiting prisoners every day. Theoretically, this had nothing to do with his role-playing.

Thus, Xue Sui saw the Palace Lord raise his hand and make a subtle "calm down" motion.

Xie Shu said, "I dislike bloodshed."

Xue Sui blinked in confusion.

The corner of his eye twitched.

—"That’s not what you said when you took action back then."

Xie Shu: "Shattering someone's arrogance—I prefer to do it myself."

After speaking, he paused.

Sure enough, the system showed no reaction.

Xie Chunshan had spoken vaguely, never mentioning Lord Pingwu. To the system, this was merely a meaningless conversation between the Palace Lord of Wuwang Palace and his subordinate—idle talk, an unimportant part of the plot node.

As for what the subordinate might think, what did it have to do with Xie Shu?

Xie Shu added, "I recall there’s a special cell in the Abyss Prison."

This was another plot point from the game proposal. Xie Shu wanted to test if he could exploit this loophole. After all, he had only mentioned the Abyss Prison without specifying the cell—he needed to test whether such an opening existed.

Sure enough, Xue Sui and Wu Buke locked eyes, both seeing the storm in each other’s gaze.

Xie Shu, meanwhile, glanced at the screen—still no reaction.

He scoffed inwardly, thinking, "Seems this AI isn’t very smart."

With that, he had more wiggle room.

Xue Sui stammered, "M-Mylord? That, that cell, that…"

Xie Shu: "It hasn’t been cleaned in centuries. Have it cleaned."

Again, it had nothing to do with Xiao Wu—as if mentioned offhand.

Xue Sui dropped his eyes: "...Understood."

They bowed and backed out.

On the way, Xue Sui returned to the Abyss Prison, while Wu Buke headed back to the herb garden. Where their paths diverged, Xue Sui couldn’t help but lean toward Lao Wu: "Hey, Lao Wu, what do you think Mylord means by this?"

Wu Buke glared at him: "How should I know?"

Xue Sui wore a pained expression: "So… should I make my move or not?"

Wu Boke: "Think about it. The Lord’s last two statements—one about not being fond of gore, the other about doing it himself. What do you think?"

Xue Sui smacked his forehead.

Wu Buke: "Right now, he looks weak and pathetic. If the Lord plays with him half-heartedly, he’ll die too soon. If you act first, wouldn’t that rob the Lord of his amusement?"

Xue Sui: "But what about the cell?"

Wu Buke cut him a sideways look: "The previous Palace Lord is dead. What difference does it make which cell it is?"

Xue Sui immediately clasped his hands in salute: "...I see now."

He hurried off.

*

In the cell, once the escorts had left, Xiao Wu’s last bit of strength left him.

He braced against the wall and slumped to his knees, his back drenched in cold sweat. Every fiber of his being hurt, every severed meridian howling in torment.

Xiao Wu struggled to execute his sword technique, attempting to control the raging qi within his body, but the next moment, his throat filled with the iron tang of blood, and he spat out a mouthful.

It hurt.

Yet even as the pain made it hard to breathe, Xiao Wu still channeled the last remnants of his qi, completing a full cycle.

He weakly curled the corner of his lips.

His main meridians were shattered, leaving only a few collateral ones intact—barely functional.

If things continued like this, he would likely be ground down and tortured in the Wuwang Palace until death.

He had no idea when Xue Sui, the punishment overseer, would arrive or what he would do, but Xiao Wu had no choice but to endure.

He wasn’t even permitted to seek death, for behind him stood the mighty Shangling Sect.

While Xiao Wu was attempting to channel his qi, Xue Sui—who had arrived at some unknown time—stood a few meters away, watching the cell with a complicated expression.

Xiao Wu couldn’t see, but Xue Sui could clearly observe that the cell was impeccably clean, with a low couch placed against the wall. On the wall itself, three large vermilion characters were written in cinnabar:

Siyou Pavilion.

In the game, if a setting was too monotonous, players would lose interest in exploration. As the Demon Palace’s largest prison, the Abyssal Water Prison couldn’t be designed too small without losing its grandeur, so the developers packed it with numerous side quests. As part of this, there were also unusual cells serving as trigger points for missions.

If Xiao Wu had been a player, upon entering the cell and clicking on the vermilion characters, he would have received a location description:

—Siyou Pavilion. The former Palace Lord’s favored concubine once quarreled with him and voluntarily imprisoned herself here. The Palace Lord, at his wits’ end, specially cleared out a cell for her. Though many years have passed, with the carpets rotted and the paintings faded, traces of its distinction from other cells could still be seen.