Chapter 9 - Chapter no.9 An Otherworldly Warning

[ Black Lotus Cult - Demon Prison Cave ]
[ Cell HGG42 ]
The wind howled through the darkened halls of the Demon Prison Cave. Yet, for Biyu, this was just another day on the job. She had seen many gruesome sights in her time here, but the nauseating stench that emanated from behind the metallic door at the end of the hall made even her stomach turn. Ignoring the dead body lying in front of her, Biyu approached the door with a confident stride.
As she drew closer, she heard a strange sound, a low growling that seemed to come from within the room. Biyu raised an eyebrow, curious about what could be making such a noise. Suddenly, a pair of centipede legs shot out from the darkness, hurtling towards her with deadly force. Without breaking stride, Biyu dodged the legs with effortless grace, her years of training in martial arts and demon cultivation allowing her to move with the agility of a cat.
"Excuse me, can you hear me? My name is Biyu, I am here to help you," she called out into the darkness, undeterred by the attack. The growling continued, but now she could hear something else as well, a faint voice that seemed to be calling out for help. Biyu approached the door cautiously, her hand hovering over the hilt of her sword.
Pushing open the door, she was hit by a wave of putrid air, the stench almost enough to make her gag.
The small voice that answered Biyu's call belonged to a lean, almost emaciated person, with tear-streaked cheeks and sunken eyes.
"Are you here to save me?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Biyu presented herself as if her heart went out to me, knowing that I had likely suffered greatly during my time in the Demon Prison Cave.
"Yes," she replied, stepping forward to offer me a hand.
"What's that behind you?" Biyu asked, her instincts on high alert. I seemed to tense up at her question, my eyes darting back and forth between Biyu and the centipede legs.
"It is nothing, madame," I said, my voice strained as I revealed the corpse of the centipede behind me. "I was just offering this bountiful offering to a goddess like you." I smiled, but Biyu could sense the danger in my demeanor.
As I got closer and closer, Biyu seemingly let her guard down. I felt a rush of excitement as I prepared to strike as I threw the corpse at Biyu while my fingers elongated as I had cut my nails in such a way that they turned into human claws covered in the centipede's glowing venom, and I slashed at Biyu's neck with inhuman strength as Qi enveloped by nails surprising Biyu.
The force of my attack was so great that it left deep gouges in the stone walls.
But as I glanced to the side, I saw that Biyu was standing there perfectly fine, a look of surprise on her face. It was then that I realized I had been fooled. She had outsped my attack, and I had only landed it on an afterimage.
" Impressive!" Biyu commented as she appeared in front of me in a flash, placing a talisman on my head that froze me in place. I watched in awe as she channeled her Qi into her tassel, causing the ribbon to harden into a blade.
I braced myseld for the pain or death that was sure to come.
" You can open your eyes, boy," Biyu said with a giggle," You are not dead."
I found myself released from the restrictive force and fell to the ground as I looked at my newly trimmed nails in shock, amazed by the display of swordsmanship.
Even though I had experienced it firsthand, I thought that this was just a dream. But as I looked around, I realized that I was still in thid prison, and that the danger was very real.
"Well, that was an interesting first experience. Why don't we introduce ourselves? My name is Biyu," she said, her warm smile in stark contrast to the harshness of our surroundings.
But I backed up towards the wall, trying to contain my fear. Even after all the training physically, I couldn't even make this woman flinch, what chance did I have to kill her ?
"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to save you," she said with a warm smile, her hands on her hips.
"So let's introduce ourselves," she continued, causing my eyes to narrow in distrust.
"I don't remember my name."
Biyu nodded understandingly, asking, "Then what should I call you?"
"I don't care," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
Biyu sighed, placing her hands on her hips once more. "Now that won't do. Can I call you Xiǎo nánhái (little boy)?" she asked, her voice gentle and kind.
"Whatever," I muttered, feeling a few tears escape my eyes. It made sense, though. After living in the dark for so long, my eyes weren't used to such bright light.
"Then let's go," Biyu said.
"Where?" I asked.
"You'll see."
"Miss Biyu."
"That won't be necessary, just call me Pretty Sister," Biyu said, brushing a strand of hair aside.
"Pretty Sister, can I ask you something?"
Biyu clicked her tongue when I didn't show any reaction to her beauty. "What is it?"
"Can I see my room for the last time?"
It was a strange request, but Biyu agreed nonetheless. "Sure."
I stood up to get the torch, but Biyu was a little faster. Her ribbon grabbed the torch and threw it at me, and I caught it easily.
Biyu smiled at me, and I rolled my eyes. "I wasn't going to try to escape," I thought as I walked back into the darkness.
Despite the excruciating pain in my eyes, I needed to confirm something - were the murals I saw in this place real, or just a figment of my imagination to help me cope with the insanity of my situation? With the help of the torch, the room was finally lit up, and I could see that the murals were indeed real - they were intricately carved into the stone walls of the room.
Relieved that my mind wasn't playing tricks on me, I took a deep breath and began to read the murals from the very beginning. As I read through each line, I realized that they held the key to my survival in this place.
[ If anyone is reading this, my name is Alexander Jones, I have lost everything, my home, my family, my world and now I am in another world inside some kind of prison in a body that isn't mine, Oh Lord, it is so hard to gain information from the foggy memories of this new body of mine,] I read out the passage that I read a hundred time.
"Hey, we don't have much time," she called from the back of the room.
Realizing that I needed to focus on survival, I nodded and turned back to the murals, reading each line with a sense of urgency.
[Day 10! Goddamnit, this isn't a dream, Oh, God, I wished if this was all just a dream.... a nightmare that I would wake up from but it isn't.....]
.....
As Biyu and I walked down the hallways, the darkness around us seemed to intensify with each step. My mind was racing with thoughts, and my heart was pounding in my chest. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of world I was about to step into. The murals that I had just read were still fresh in my mind, and the weight of their words bore down on me heavily.
Biyu, on the other hand, seemed completely at ease. She whistled a happy tune, as if she had not a care in the world. Her demeanor was a stark contrast to the fear and uncertainty that I was feeling. I couldn't help but wonder how she could be so carefree in a place like this.
As we turned a corner, I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. It was a shadow, darting quickly down the hallway. My heart leapt into my throat, and I reached for Biyu's arm. "Did you see that?" I whispered, my voice barely above a whisper.
Biyu looked at me with a confused expression before following my gaze down the hallway. "See what?" she asked, her voice laced with amusement.
"That shadow," I said, pointing down the hallway. "There was something there."
Biyu chuckled. "Relax, there's nothing there. It's just your imagination playing tricks on you."
I wasn't so sure. The darkness around us seemed to be alive, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. I tried to focus on the task at hand, but the murals were still weighing heavily on my mind. What was I supposed to do? Who could I trust?
The silence was broken only by the sound of Biyu's whistling, but it was enough to make me feel like I was completely alone in the world.
[Don't trust the people that will come to save you.]
The weight of Alexander's words still hung heavy in my mind, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was walking into a trap.
As we continued down the hallway, my mind continued to race. I couldn't help but wonder what was waiting for me at the end of this journey. Would I ever see the light of day again? Would I ever be able to trust anyone again? The answers to these questions remained elusive, and I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever find them.