How long had it been since he had been defeated and captured alive by Shangguan Bing Xue? Xuanyuan Wentian was not really sure, he had lost track after the first week.
Inside this dungeon the sunlight never reached any prisoner and the walls were so thick coupled with the great depth in which it was located that even the loudest screams could not be heard by them.
Under such a practically hellish environment it was impossible to know if the moon was in the sky or if the sun had already risen to mark the beginning of a new day, so it was no wonder that even a soul evolver as strong as Xuanyuan Wentian did not know the day, time, or how long he had been there.
All he felt was that his life was over and that it had probably been at least 3 or 4 years on the exterior.
The only communication Xuanyuan Wentian had with the outside world and human life was the jailer who came 3 times a week to deliver him a bowl of rice porridge, but even the jailer did not address him the slightest word as he was strictly prohibited from talking to the prisoners.
In fact, even in the darkness it was not difficult for Xuanyuan Wentian to see the contempt in the eyes of the man so he eventually gave up trying to communicate with him.
Sitting in that corner where he spent 99% of his time since he was locked up in this place, Xuanyuan Wentian looked down at his one hand resting on the straw. His head was down, and his formerly neat and beautiful silver hair was a long, dirty mess that ran down his face like a net of spider webs.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when his ears twitched imperceptibly at the sound of approaching footsteps.
From the weight of the footsteps, the sound, and the fact that he could sense no aura on the other side he judged the approaching man was very probably the jailer.
The footsteps stopped just in front of the bars of his jail, but Xuanyuan Wentian not only did not raise his head but had long since given up trying to initiate any kind of communication in the hope of learning a little of the situation on the outside.
Seconds passed, and just as Xuanyuan Wentian felt it was strange for the jailer to stand there as he always left after leaving the bowl of food on the floor he heard a sound that made his eyes twitch slightly.
The unmistakable sound of a key being inserted into the lock and its subsequent opening was simply too striking in this dark world where the sounds never changed.
Xuanyuan Wentian remained seated in the same position without moving. Even when he heard footsteps of a person walking into the small river and stopping two steps ahead, his posture did not change.
Finally, after what seemed like several minutes, a voice that Xuanyuan Wentian would never forget even if he was turned to ashes sounded above him.
“It seems that being here for around 1 year can tame even the proudest and most powerful of men.”
Xuanyuan Wentian’s pupils fiercely contracted to the size of needles.
That young voice… That tone that was dominance-filled and authoritative… Although that person had never spoken to him, Xuanyuan Wentian remembered that battlefield in the middle of the snow when he saw the only soul evolver he came to fear despite not having faced him and only having witnessed his confrontation with Shangguan Xinyue.
Like a robot that needed oil to regain the past fluidity of its movements, Xuanyuan Wentian raised his head and through the spider web that was his hair his silver eyes met a pair of black eyes as bright as stars.
“You…”
His voice was hoarse and raspy, sounding like two sandpaper rubbing against each other.
“It’s been maybe a little less than a year but you’ve changed quite a lot.” Bai Zemin pulled out a chair from his storage ring and placed it in the low water. After sitting down, he stared at the man in front of him without showing any particular emotion.
Xuanyuan Wentian looked at him silently for a few seconds, and noticing no contempt or mockery on his face or in his tone of voice he forced out his voice despite his throat hurting horribly, “It’s only been …. 1 year?”
“Approximately. Less, actually.” Bai Zemin nodded calmly as he pointed, “I was in another world for half a year after you forced me to open that portal to drive away the nuclear missile you fired that day.”
Xuanyuan Wentian was taken aback before slowly lowering his head and muttering to himself, “Just…. less than 1 year…”
He thought it had been 3 or 4 years but it had only been 1 at most? Xuanyuan Wentian felt his despair grow enormously as he realized that his stay in this hell would become much, much crueler and longer mentally than he had expected.
In fact, it was quite surprising that he had not lost his sanity yet.
The number of soul evolvers imprisoned in this place who were slaughtered after they completely lost their sanity was not low; such was the cruelty of this prison where no sound other than the water flowed relentlessly and where the sun had no way of penetrating.
The two were silent for a long, long time; probably more than 30 minutes in all.
Xuanyuan Wentian had his own thoughts and feelings while Bai Zemin had his as he watched the man in front of him slowly begin to despair more and more to the point where his aura began to plummet.
Finally, Xuanyuan Wentian asked without looking up, “Are you here to kill me?”
Bai Zemin did not reply but looked at him silently for another minute before opening his mouth.
“Xuanyuan Wentian, what are your feelings for Bing Xue?”
After a moment of silence, Xuanyuan Wentian replied, “I’m supposed to have any particular feelings for a person I never shared even a single minute of my life with?”
Bai Zemin felt a burst of anger burn like fire in his chest and subconsciously extended his hand like an eagle’s claw forward straight toward the heart of the man. However, he suddenly remembered a suspicion he had been having lately so he stopped just as his fingers lightly dug into the bare skin of the man in front of him.
Xuanyuan Wentian could feel the pain being transmitted from his chest, he could also feel five thin lines of blood falling from the small, inoffensive holes left by the claw of the young man sitting in front of him. However, this kind of pain was insignificant in comparison to everything he had experienced therefore his expression did not change at all nor did he move from his position.
“How can a man be this insolent…?” Bai Zemin slowly withdrew his hand and sat up straight once again. He took several deep breaths to calm himself, and finally pointed out, “She didn’t spend time with you because you, her father, abandoned her. Did you forget that it was you the one who pushed the mother-daughter duo aside as if they were pieces of refuse?”
Xuanyuan Wentian said nothing for a while.
He raised his head and with surprisingly bright eyes looked at Bai Zemin’s as he said in a hoarse voice, “There are laws that even the strongest cannot break. If those laws are broken not only will you get into trouble but you will end up dragging others down as well.”
Bai Zemin narrowed his eyes, and after a brief silence said slowly, “Are you talking about the law of only one natural child per family?” He snorted and added, “Don’t look at me like a fool or think that because I am young you can bullshit on me. Do you really think I got this far just by shaking my fists?”
Xuanyuan Wentian looked at him silently before calmly pointing out, “There are things even you can’t do, you can’t break certain rules to avoid your kingdom falling and your family ending up involved because of your actions… What makes you think I was any different?”
Bai Zemin naturally knew that Xuanyuan Wentian was right about this aspect of the conversation.
For example, he could not force himself upon a woman; if such a thing were to come out not only would everyone turn against him but no one would ever trust him again, and there would probably be people who would seek to punish him by attacking his loved ones since he was too strong to be a direct target.
However, Bai Zemin was not satisfied and remarked, “Let’s say you are right. However, why didn’t you provide support in disguise? You didn’t even have an hour in over 20 years to meet with your daughter? You fucking bastard son of a bitch… you even fired a warhead missile without a second thought directly into your own flesh and blood!”
The more he spoke the angrier he got so in the end his voice boomed off the walls as he cursed.
Xuanyuan Wentian finally sighed and lowered his head. Slowly, he nodded, “I am aware that I was not and probably could never be a good father. I do not seek forgiveness from anyone, I know better than any living being in this world that what I did is unforgivable from a sentimental and family point of view. However, my only goal was always the well-being and development of China and its citizens; even if that meant being a bad father or a bad husband.”
In fact, Bai Zemin learned after some research that Xuanyuan Wentian’s proper family hardly saw him as the man worked so hard that he sometimes only came home once or twice a year.
It was undeniable that China had come a long way in terms of economy and general security in the years that Xuanyuan Wentian had been at the helm. Unfortunately, his actions could never be approved by Bai Zemin.
“In my eyes, the most important thing is and always will be my family.” Bai Zemin stood up, the chair disappearing. A small remote control shaped device appeared in his right hand, and as he held the center button down he said in a cold voice, “Scram. I do not want to see you ever again, are we clear?”
The sound of something opening rang out again for the second time in less than an hour inside the prison.
Under Xuanyuan Wentian’s shocked eyes, the bracelet that restricted all his Mana and did not allow him to activate skills detached and fell to the ground.
He heard the young man’s footsteps walking away, and after a brief moment of silence asked in a low voice, “Are you doing this for that girl? Was she the one who asked you?”
Although Xuanyuan Wentian was speaking in a whispering voice the silence in the dungeon was such that Bai Zemin heard him even when his body had already become one with the distant darkness.
“Just as you feel no affection towards her, Bing Xue feels nothing towards you other than indifference. Even if I were to kill you right here and now she won’t blame me… Do you really think she would ask me to let you go after everything you did? Open your eyes to reality, that arrogance of yours is what brought you to this dungeon.”
Bai Zemin’s voice sounded more and more distant in Xuanyuan Wentian’s ears.
“I do this for my own reasons and for my own suspicions, that’s all. You would do well to heed my words, Xuanyuan Wentian… This is something that will not happen again.”
“If you ever get in my way again or try to harm even a hair of my loved ones, including Bing Xue, I will personally take it upon myself to make you experience a hell far worse than this dungeon.”
“That’s a promise, and I keep my promises.”
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