Chapter Fifty-Two: Captivity

At that moment, more travelers arrived at the inn, seeking lodgings. There were four in total—one woman and three men. The men followed closely behind her, clearly serving as her guards.

Though the woman was plainly dressed, she left a lasting impression. Every word and gesture radiated a strange, ethereal grace. Of the three men behind her, two seemed to defer to the middle-aged man in their midst, making it obvious he was the leader and possessed the highest cultivation.

The other two men were both at the peak of the Origin Foundation realm, while the middle-aged man’s strength was masked, likely due to some technique concealing his aura. Still, since two peak Foundation experts treated him as their head, his cultivation could not be lower than the initial stage of the Origin Core realm.

If that were true, this woman's resources were extraordinary indeed—using a Core realm expert as a bodyguard. In the great cities of the Grand Xia Empire, a person of such cultivation would be an elder or clan leader.

Perhaps thinking the lively company would be good for business, the innkeeper invited Chen Mu and the guards waiting outside to join the gathering inside, insisting they partake in food and drink. Chen Mu and his men, unable to refuse such hospitality, accepted the invitation.

Fine wine and dishes soon filled the tables. The woman in the corner, however, did not touch her food. The middle-aged man accompanying her performed a secret art over the spread before anyone ate, likely checking for poison.

Such caution suggested the woman was the scion of a powerful sect. She appeared to be seventeen or eighteen, yet her cultivation was already at the late Foundation stage—a rare accomplishment at such an age. In the Grand Xia, only prodigies like Chen Wuhen could compare.

Chen Mu ate and drank heartily, not realizing a wave of drowsiness was creeping over him until it was too late. Suddenly, a crash came from the woman’s table—the middle-aged man slammed down his cup. “Who are you people?” he demanded. “I personally checked the food and drink for poison—why are we poisoned? Where did you hide it?”

The mention of poison startled Chen Mu. He tried to warn the others, but they too were succumbing to sleep as he was. Some slumped over, others fell unconscious.

A sinister laugh echoed from the innkeeper. “I heard the daughter of the Nine Nether Sacred Sect’s leader would come here to pick the Seven Dreams Sorrow Flower and stay at this inn. So I slaughtered the original staff and took over as the innkeeper myself, waiting for your arrival. There was no poison in the food or wine—the trick was in the candles. They were made from Dreamfall Incense, colorless and odorless. Only those who took the antidote beforehand could resist its effect. Now, if you behave yourself…”

Before Chen Mu could hear more, he could not resist the drug’s power any longer. He slumped forward onto the table and fell into a deep sleep.

When he awoke, he found his hands bound. The entire merchant caravan had been imprisoned in a pitch-black cell.

Alarmed, Chen Mu checked himself. His storage pouch and storage ring were both gone, but fortunately his spirit beast bracelet, which could be absorbed into his body, remained. When he summoned it to his wrist, he felt somewhat reassured.

The rest of the caravan had awakened before him. They whispered nervously among themselves, afraid to alert the black-clad guards outside.

Chen Mu shuffled over to one of the caravan’s guards and asked, “What happened? Why have we been captured?”

The guard glanced at him and replied, “I don’t know. It seems their real target is that group with the woman from the inn—we’re just collateral.”

“If we’re not who they’re after, why imprison us instead of killing us?”

The guard sighed, “It’s not that they’re sparing us—they’re saving us for their beasts to eat. Soon, we’ll be thrown to those creatures as food. Haven’t you noticed a few people missing from the caravan? They’ve already been dragged out to feed those monsters.”

Chen Mu’s expression darkened. He looked around and saw that the three guards from the woman’s group were in the adjacent cell, but she herself was missing—likely held somewhere else.

Among the caravan, only one guard had reached the peak Foundation stage; the rest were at the late stage at best. It was clear their captors had at least a Core realm expert overseeing things—otherwise, they would not have dared to challenge the mysterious middle-aged man from the woman’s party. If there was any hope of escape, it would be by joining forces with him.

Their shackles sealed their cultivation, making it impossible to break free by force. Escape would only be possible during the chaos of being dragged out as beast food—then, he could release Rou’er to help break the damned chains.

With this plan in mind, Chen Mu began to shout from his cell, “Let me out, you black-robed bastards! If you’ve got guts, fight me one-on-one! What sort of cowardice is this? Is trickery all you know?”

The others shook their heads at his outburst. Was he trying to get himself killed? Surely, drawing the attention of the black-clad men would only make him the next one dragged off to feed the beasts.

A guard snarled, “Shut up if you want to live!”

A black-clad man stormed in, opened the cell, and beat Chen Mu mercilessly. “You’ll get what’s coming to you when Lord’s Sky Eagle gets hungry,” he sneered, slamming the door shut again.

The others looked at Chen Mu as if he were a fool—just a hot-headed youth, soon to regret his actions.

Chen Mu ignored them, a cold smile on his lips. It was inconvenient to release Rou’er here, but once he was being led away, the situation would be different. As long as Rou’er appeared in time to slay whoever tried to throw him to the Sky Eagle and break his chains, everything would change.

The other prisoners edged away from him, afraid to be implicated. Chen Mu glanced at them, then closed his eyes and rested.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the guards came to feed a prisoner to the Sky Eagle. The black-clad man opened the cell and hauled Chen Mu out. “This one’s in a hurry to die,” he said. “He caused a ruckus earlier—let him meet the King of Hell.”

The escort sneered, “Come with me, boy. Lord’s Sky Eagle will enjoy your tender flesh—the meat will have a nice chew to it.”

Chen Mu said nothing, letting himself be pushed forward. They left the cell, entered a narrow corridor—his chance had come.

He reached out with his spirit, communicating with Rou’er and explaining the situation. Light glimmered along his arm. The escort turned instantly alert. “What are you doing?” he barked, striking out at Chen Mu.

But Rou’er had already appeared. A flash of dragon-fox ghostflame erupted, and the escort was reduced to a charred corpse.

Rou’er swiftly broke the shackles suppressing Chen Mu's cultivation, grumbling, “How could you be so careless and get yourself captured?”

“How was I supposed to know they'd use Dreamfall Incense against us? Even though we weren't the target, they still bound us and want to feed us to their Sky Eagle...”

Rou’er was immediately enraged. “Feed you to some filthy eagle? They must be tired of living! I’ll teach them a lesson later!”

Chen Mu chuckled, “Rou’er, you’re the best. Go back to the bracelet for now—I need to return to the cell and rescue the others.”

After coaxing Rou’er back into the bracelet, Chen Mu returned to the cell. The black-clad man was startled to see him. “How did you get back?”

Before he could react, Chen Mu unleashed a falling-sun strike, blasting the man’s head apart.

The others stared in shock—especially the middle-aged man. When Chen Mu had made his earlier scene, he had barely spared him a glance. No one had expected that the youth, who seemed destined to become beast fodder, would return unscathed. Was the commotion earlier a deliberate ploy to create a chance to escape?

Chen Mu approached the middle-aged man’s cell. “I know you’re above the Core realm. Our best chance of escape is with your help—if you’re willing to cooperate, I’ll set you free.”

The man’s pupils contracted. This youth could see through his strength—he was no simple character.

After a pause, the man replied, “I’ll cooperate, but only if you help rescue our young miss.”

“Agreed,” Chen Mu answered readily.

Only then did the man nod. Chen Mu shattered the chains binding the man with pure Yang energy. The other prisoners pleaded, “Help us too! Free me, and I’ll reward you handsomely!”

“Let us out—take as much of the caravan’s goods as you want!”

Chen Mu replied, “I’ll free you, but you’ll have to follow my lead. There’s going to be a tough fight when we get out, and I’ll need your help.”

After a brief silence, they all nodded. Satisfied, Chen Mu broke the suppressive chains for each of them.

The three men with the middle-aged leader thanked Chen Mu and introduced themselves. The leader was named Xu Changye; the others used only code names—Shadow Three and Shadow Five. When Xu Changye realized Chen Mu didn’t recognize his name, he realized the youth wasn’t from the Bright Moon Empire.

With Chen Mu in the lead, the group began their jailbreak. Xu Changye, watching Chen Mu’s every move, was astonished. Chen Mu used an art to conceal himself even better than Xu Changye’s own Phantom Veil technique, and dispatched several black-clad guards with ease.

The plan was for Xu Changye to lead a diversion while Chen Mu searched for the young mistress.

After a moment’s hesitation, Xu Changye decided to trust him—he had the feeling that Chen Mu could escape with or without his help.

Thus, Xu Changye rallied the others and launched a rebellion against the black-clad men. The guards, shocked to see the prisoners free, sounded the alarm. Chaos erupted as battle broke out within the prison.

Hearing the commotion, the leader of the black-clad men flew into a rage. “What’s going on? How did they escape?”

The fake innkeeper replied, “Chief, could it be Xu Changye’s doing?”