Chapter 19: The Weight of Life
Deep underground, beside the Black Vatican's Curse Pool—
Jing Wuji fought the urge to vomit as he forced himself to open the cage door.
"You're free now."
He looked at the survivors inside with a conflicted gaze—uncertain whether to feel joy or sorrow. At the same time, he made a silent decision in his heart.
"Wuwuwu—"
The moment they heard those words, the imprisoned people broke into tears of joy—as if they had just stepped out of hell and into heaven.
"Keep it down!" Jing Wuji instinctively frowned. Being too loud might alert others, and he hadn't yet confirmed whether more Black Vatican members were nearby.
The survivors quickly stifled their sobs and began quietly whimpering. Thankfully, they still had some rationality left.
After scanning the area to confirm no one else was present, Jing Wuji asked,
"Can you walk on your own?"
A girl in a Mingwen Girls' High School uniform nodded. She was recently captured and still had the strength to move.
From her uniform, Jing Wuji immediately identified her as the missing student—Lin Yuner.
The others, however, looked troubled and shook their heads. It was clear they had been imprisoned for days and could barely move.
"Then stay in the cage for now. I'll take this girl up first. Don't worry—I'll come back."
It was the best solution Jing Wuji could come up with: rescue the ones he could first.
Hope lit up in the eyes of the others, praying he would indeed return for them.
Lin Yuner stumbled out of the cage, walking shakily toward him. Though her body was wracked with pain, she gritted her teeth and forced herself not to make a sound.
Jing Wuji dragged the Black Vatican member's corpse over and dumped it into the Curse Pool.
Sizzle...
A harsh sound echoed as the acid ate away at the body, quickly rendering it unrecognizable.
Then he restored the cage to its original state and left some compressed biscuits for the others.
Jing Wuji always kept emergency rations tucked inside his trench coat—never expecting they'd come in handy like this.
The survivors hungrily devoured the biscuits with water, and their confidence in escaping visibly strengthened.
"Let's go."
Jing Wuji carried Lin Yuner on his back and swiftly left.
He raced through the tunnels at full speed—every second mattered. No one knew when other Black Vatican members might return.
This was the first time Jing Wuji truly felt the crushing pressure of responsibility. Carrying someone else's life on his shoulders weighed heavily on him, pushing him to move even faster.
On the way, the girl timidly asked for his name, clearly wanting to remember her savior.
Of course, Jing Wuji didn't reveal his real name—he simply told her:
"Qi."
Lin Yuner understood it wasn't his real name, but seeing he didn't want to explain, she didn't push further.
The figure before her—his face obscured by a hood's shadow and a metal mask—grew even more mysterious in her eyes.
On their return trip, Jing Wuji didn't bother hiding his presence. He simply dashed at full speed. This time, it took only half an hour to reach the surface.
The moment he emerged from the tunnel into the back kitchen of the Mingwen school cafeteria, he realized someone else was already there.
"Who's there?"
A woman's voice called out.
Hearing that voice, Lin Yuner—still on Jing wuji's back—suddenly cried out with excitement:
"Sister!"
Jing Wuji stepped fully into the open. A tall woman in a mage robe stood next to the corpse of the Giant-Eyed Blood Rat. From her appearance, she did indeed resemble Lin Yuner.
The woman immediately noticed Lin Yuner on Jing Wuji's back, and her face darkened with fury.
"You're courting death! Surging Wave: Banish!"
A powerful elemental force surged in midair. Mist gathered in the air, and Jing Wuji's face was suddenly drenched in water droplets.
Behind Lin Yuner's sister, a brilliant blue star chart appeared—deep and magnificent, as if it held the entirety of the cosmos.
"Sister, stop!"
Lin Yuner pushed away from Jing Wuji and leaped off his back, stepping between them.
Seeing her sister blocking the attack, the mage woman was forced to cancel the spell. The dazzling star chart dimmed instantly.
"Why are you protecting him?" she asked.
"He saved me…"
Lin Yuner began telling her sister everything that had happened over the past few days.
The woman lowered her gaze from her sister and was about to apologize—
—only to discover that Jing Wuji had already disappeared.
Naturally, Jing Wuji had no time to waste on explanations. Since someone was now guarding the surface and Lin Yuner's safety was secured, he had no reason to stay behind.
There were still other lives depending on him.
Until he rescued them, Jing Wuji didn't dare relax for even a second.
This time, Jing Wuji used his Shadowstep to travel at full speed, and in just twenty minutes, he arrived back at the Curse Pool.
Seeing no trace of any Black Vatican members, he decided to evacuate everyone at once—before something unexpected happened. He had even made special preparations above ground for this.
"Let's go."
Jing Wuji unlocked the chains once more. The four prisoners inside were overjoyed—they hadn't expected him to return so quickly.
"Here, sit on these. I'll pull you all out together."
He handed them the items he'd brought from the kitchen—four large chopping boards, each big enough for one person to sit on.
Jing Wuji used chains to bind the four chopping boards together into one large platform, enough to carry all four of them.
After eating the compressed biscuits he left behind, the four had regained a bit of strength. They stepped out of the cage and sat down on the makeshift platform.
Jing Wuji gave the chains a tug to ensure they were secure, then slung them over his right shoulder and began pulling them with Shadowstep. Though the speed wasn't very fast, it kept him hidden.
He chose to move through the shadows not only to stay concealed—but also so these people wouldn't see the condition he was in.
Heavy.
Far too heavy.
The combined weight of four people, plus the friction against the ground, quickly tore through the fabric of his clothes where the chains pressed on his right shoulder. After walking a short distance, the chains began cutting into his skin.
When he switched to his left shoulder, it didn't take long before the same thing happened—the fabric and flesh tore together.
The searing pain gnawed at Jing Wuji's body, sending stabbing pulses through his head, but he grits his teeth and keeps moving.
After nearly an hour, he finally reached the cave where he had first encountered the two Black Vatican members. By now, both of his shoulders were a mess of bloody flesh, and the chains rubbing against his wounds made his body tremble with pain. Beads of sweat rolled down his face like rain.
The shoulder he had used the longest—his right—was so badly injured that the white of the bone could faintly be seen beneath the mangled flesh.
His hands, too, were shredded—his blood staining the chains that bound the platform.
But Jing Wuji never gave up.
He had made up his mind: if he was going to bear the responsibility for these lives, then the weight of those lives must rest squarely on his own shoulders.
He didn't even understand why he did it—maybe it was just a moment of irrational heat, a flicker of conscience… Or maybe, when he looked at these people, he saw himself—lost in that endless darkness not long ago.
Jing Wuji gave a bitter, self-mocking smile and tightened his grip on the blood-soaked chains.
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