Chapter Thirteen: Doubt

But just as Qu Hanchen turned to flee in panic, a sudden surge of water rose up, forming a barrier that blocked his path.

No matter how fiercely Qu Hanchen tried to break through, the immense force of the water swept him back again and again—let alone pass through it.

“In my opinion, this beast isn’t born of a true dragon, but the offspring of some licentious dragon and a tiger demon, imprisoned here by a powerful master,” Duan Lingqi said respectfully, standing behind Su Yuanbai.

“It’s dead… Who will prove my innocence now…” Xi Chunxue murmured in a low voice.

“Ha, unless it were a beast sired by a true dragon, only then could it clear your name. But such a creature would have long been revered and worshipped by mortals, transformed into a divine or auspicious beast—how could it be confined to a place like this?” Duan Lingqi glanced sidelong at the human woman standing at the center of the corpse, his goatee trembling slightly as he sneered coldly.

Even aside from how many years it must have cultivated to survive until now, the worship and faith brought by the traditional decorative patterns of this beast on important artifacts or architecture would have granted it tremendous power.

A child of a true dragon—how could such a prison restrain it?

“But he said there was a beast here…” Xi Chunxue’s empty gaze lingered on the corpse lying across the cell corridor, her voice barely audible.

The corpse was tiger-like in build, skin a pale yellow, claws like those of an eagle, with the tail of a mythical beast. Its body stretched over six meters long and nearly three meters wide.

There were no obvious wounds upon it, save for a shallow round injury at the center of its forehead, from which a dense, rotten stench emanated.

“This fellow didn’t use the dragon’s horns and whiskers for refining pills, nor did he strip its tendons or skin for crafting artifacts.

He only took this counterfeit dragon pearl? Could it be he merely wished to increase his cultivation by a few centuries?” Duan Lingqi ignored the muttering, resentful woman in prison garb behind him, his eyes appraising the corpse of the beast as he spoke.

Though not a child of a true dragon, its appearance at least hinted at some dragon lineage. Duan Lingqi did not know how many years this beast had cultivated, but he was certain its dragon blood was far richer than his own.

He himself had cultivated for nearly a thousand years, yet was still merely a malicious flood dragon, with only two protrusions atop his head—not a single horn had grown.

From a serpent just awakening its intelligence, to the flood dragon he was now, Duan Lingqi knew he had reached his limit.

Without some external aid, even another thousand years of cultivation would leave him stranded here.

That damned brat from Lake of Clouded Caverns.

The thought made Duan Lingqi curse inwardly.

While Duan Lingqi scrutinized the corpse and Xi Chunxue muttered in a daze, Su Yuanbai seemed indifferent to the beast at his feet. His attention was fixed on Qu Hanchen, who was held back by the watery barrier.

“Can you let him come over?”

Su Yuanbai turned his head to ask Duan Lingqi, who was still examining the corpse.

“You mean him? Certainly,” Duan Lingqi responded, snapping out of his reverie at Su Yuanbai’s question.

He brought his hands out from behind his back—three-toed, snake-patterned fingers curled slightly. The water barrier before Qu Hanchen abruptly transformed into a bubble, enveloping him.

Qu Hanchen had no time to react; he could only watch as the bubble enclosed him and gently carried him to stand before prisoner number one.

“If you try to run again, you may not even know where your life ends,” Duan Lingqi smiled at the clueless jailer, reaching out with one toe and lightly puncturing the floating bubble. The water splashed across the ground.

Qu Hanchen collapsed to the floor, soaked through, gasping heavily for breath.

Enclosed in the bubble, he had felt as though he were drowning—unable to breathe.

“We meet again,” Su Yuanbai looked down at Qu Hanchen, who was drenched from head to toe. For some reason, he felt a strange familiarity with this jailer.

When he first awoke in the prison, among the two jailers, his eyes were immediately drawn to this gaunt, haggard-faced man.

Whenever he needed answers, his gaze would unconsciously drift toward this jailer.

Yet, if the jailer spoke truly, he had only worked in this prison for a few years and had never spoken with Su Yuanbai.

Where did this peculiar sense of familiarity come from?

“I… I brought you… clothes,” Qu Hanchen bowed his head, stammering as he offered the already soaked garments forward, inwardly full of regret.

If only he had listened to Changhong’s advice and reported the events in the dungeon to the three deputy wardens, he wouldn’t have acted on misplaced kindness by bringing these clothes himself.

He wondered anxiously whether the two silver-armored guards at the dungeon gate could stand up to the three prisoners before him.

“Thank you,” Su Yuanbai calmly accepted the drenched clothing, handed it casually to Duan Lingqi behind him, and then looked at the jailer who dared not raise his head.

“Your name is Qu Hanchen?” Su Yuanbai asked.

Duan Lingqi took the clothes from Su Yuanbai. Although he had given his own garment to Su Yuanbai, he still wore an elegant inner robe, and truly looked down on the coarse, rough material of the brown prison attire in his hands.

But since these clothes were handed to him by his master, Duan Lingqi could not help but ponder.

After much thought, he donned the brown prison garb.

He could not understand his master’s intentions, but obedience was never wrong. Though he did wonder why his master had lately taken to asking everyone’s name.

Duan Lingqi felt a tinge of suspicion, but his face remained placid.

“Yes,” Qu Hanchen replied without looking up, but inwardly was startled. He could not recall ever telling this prisoner his name—could he have overheard it during a conversation with Changhong?

“From Qu Family Village, Pu Yu County, Wei Qi Prefecture, Northern Youzhou?” Su Yuanbai asked calmly.

This time, Qu Hanchen was so shocked he raised his head, staring into Su Yuanbai’s tranquil, dark eyes, feeling a deep sense of dread.

He hadn’t even told Tang Changhong these things—Changhong only knew he was from Northern Youzhou. Yet this man named his village.

“Is that so?” Su Yuanbai asked quietly.

Qu Hanchen nodded blankly.

“This dungeon only holds the three of us?” Su Yuanbai pressed on upon seeing Qu Hanchen’s acknowledgment.

“Now… only the three of you,” Qu Hanchen replied after a moment’s hesitation, his lips dry with anxiety.

“You killed it! You wanted its dragon pearl! You want to transform from flood dragon to true dragon!” Suddenly, Xi Chunxue, who had been muttering in a daze, rushed to Duan Lingqi’s side and grabbed the collar of his inner robe.

“Out of my sight,” Duan Lingqi lifted his gaze, his brown vertical pupils coldly regarding the impudent woman. A surge of water burst forth from him, mercilessly sweeping her to the far end of the corridor.

His respect was reserved for his master, not for others.