Chapter 4: Creation of Magical Veins

“Ahhh!!!” Dylan screamed crazily. He didn’t know what kind of array Shen Jie had used, but his entire body was locked in place.

No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t even move an inch. All he could feel was the intense pain ripping through his hand.

“What? Screaming already?” The old man mocked, picking up a golden worm using his gloved hands. “This is just the beginning. I have merely used a wisp of eternal fire to hollow out a small section of your hand.”

He dangled the golden worm close to Dylan’s face. “Now, I will let this worm weave its way through your flesh, creating new magical veins.” His expression took on a fanatic appearance as he let the golden worm crawl onto Dylan’s wrist. “Finally, I can see the divine worm’s miracle with my own eyes.”

The golden worm dug into the hollow created by the fire and started secreting silky threads. It was very thin, but the pain caused by its movement was unbearable.

The worm crawled under his skin, slowly wiggling and moving forward. After moving an inch, it would stop for a while to rest. This made the process painfully slow.

‘Damn it! RO, don’t you have any way to help me with this pain? If I have to endure it anymore, I will go crazy.’

‘I do have a way. I can shift the area of contact of the death seal to block your sense of touch. That way, you won’t feel any pain.’

‘Can you really do that?’

Dylan was tempted. He couldn’t stop Shen Jie’s actions, but if he lost his sense of touch, he would at least be free from suffering.

‘I can, but you would have to put on a good show, scream, shout, maybe even beg a bit. Locking your sense of touch can be risky. If that old guy suspects that something is wrong with the death lock, and tries to use something worse than it, we would be doomed.’

Dylan gritted his teeth and his eyes lit up with determination. ‘Never mind, I will just endure everything.’

Even though Shen Jie wanted to torture Dylan, he cared about the success of the experiment. So, every time Dylan was on the verge of breaking down, he would heal him.

The process of creating magical veins lasted for fifty-nine days and nights.

On the sixtieth day, Shen Jie burst into a peal of excited laughter. “I have done it. Holy Fire God! I have really done it.” He checked Dylan’s newly formed veins and then checked his heartbeat. “The entire network of meridians is constructed, and this boy is still alive.”  

Dylan was lying limp on the ground. His body was broken and charred in many places. You can say that he was close to becoming a bag of bones, but this had nothing to do with Shen Jie. He was basking in the sun of joy and accomplishment.

“Servants!” He hollered enthusiastically. “Send out the invitations, decorate the mansion, make ample preparations. Three days later, I will be throwing a banquet to celebrate my success.”

The servants carried Dylan to Gerard’s room and left him on the cold bed, not bothering with anything else.

On the eve of the banquet, two servants walked in and used a green crystal to activate the healing array.

“Say, do you think the experiment has really succeeded this time?”

“Who knows? This isn’t the first time our lord is hosting a banquet to celebrate his success. Every time there is a slight new discovery, he goes crazy.”

The servants became silent after that and focused all their attention on healing Dylan. Once his body was healed, they soaked him in a tub of divine herbs.

“This guy is quite lucky to be alive till now,” One of the servants couldn’t help but comment again. “He looks so young. I think he must be only ten or twelve at most. It’s a pity that he got caught in our lord’s clutches.”

“What are the two of you doing?” A sharp voice sounded from the door. “Aren’t you afraid that Lord Shen will hear you?” He threw a small bottle towards the servant and added, “Hurry up and feed him the pill to wake him up. Our Lord wants to meet him.”

Dylan had already woken up, but the feeling of soaking in warm water was so comfortable that he didn’t feel like moving.

Naturally, he heard the conversation between the servants. After the pill was put into his mouth, he groaned and opened his eyes.

But, when the servants brought him out of the tub, he swooned and dropped on the floor again. After such a long ordeal, he had finally gotten a chance to catch his breath.

Dylan didn’t want to ruin it by meeting that crazy man. He had decided that no matter what the servants did, he won’t wake up.

You can say that after lying still for sixty days, Dylan had become quite accustomed to it. The servants used healing magic, frost magic and even kicked him a few times but Dylan remained still as a log.

In the end, the servants had to accept that Dylan had slipped into a coma. They carried him back to his room, laid him on his bed, and left to report it to Shen Jie.

Dylan held his breath and stayed motionless under the covers. An hour passed, then two. When Dylan was sure that Shen Jie wouldn’t send anyone else to look for him, he finally sat up.

“I wonder if these would really allow me to control seven elements,” Dylan mutters as he gazed at the transparent threads gleaming under his skin. For a long time, he sat there trying to observe the changes in his body. Apart from feeling weak and hungry, he didn’t feel any difference.

‘Dylan,’ RO’s voice pulled him out of his reverie. ‘If you want to escape, this is probably the best time. Once that crazy man presents you to everyone at the banquet, it will be even more difficult to go into hiding.’

‘You are right. Apart from Gerard and a few guards, I don’t think anyone has seen me closely. As long as I can leave this mansion, I can assume another identity and go into hiding. But how in the world am I supposed to leave?’

‘Since Shen Jie is throwing a huge banquet, servants must have a million things to do. It’s impossible that they won’t leave the mansion. Go out and see if you can find a cart or carriage.’

Dylan took a deep breath and stepped out of the room. Thankfully, there was nobody guarding it. He kept to the shadows as he walked around the mansion quietly.

The night air was cool and crisp, carrying with it the faint scent of blooming flowers. As Dylan made his way through the mansion, he could hear the chatter and commotion. The servants were all busy making plans and preparations for the banquet.

The rich fragrance of roasted meat tantalised his nose, causing his stomach to grumble. He couldn’t help but walk in the direction of the smell.

‘Damn the death seal! Such great aroma but I can’t even taste it.’

‘Even if you didn’t have the death seal, you wouldn’t have been able to taste it.’ RO’s voice made him stop in his tracks. ‘There is a very complicated array in front of the kitchen. The moment you cross the boundary, you will be trapped.’

‘You aren’t toying with me, are you?’ Dylan grumbled. ‘From the time I woke up, I have been listening to you. Who knows if you really are my nano assistant or something planted by my enemies?’

There was a static buzz, and a wave of dizziness struck Dylan. He was about to panic when RO’s voice rang in his brain, ‘After seeing the array matrix, if you still want to move forward, I won’t stop you.’

He felt a warm sensation in his eyes and everything around him became clearer, as if some strange force had magnified his vision.

It was vague, but he could see red lines arranged in strange patterns around the block.  

Dylan’s expression turned ugly, but he turned around and moved in the direction suggested by RO’s vision prompt. Even if this was an illusion created by RO, he didn’t want to take the risk.

After walking around the mansion for about a long time, he finally reached a section that didn’t have any defensive arrays.

The soft glow of the fire lanterns spilled out from the open doors, casting dancing shadows across the polished marble floors.

His heart raced in his chest, a mix of anticipation and fear. Every creaking floorboard beneath his feet made him pause and hold his breath, afraid of being discovered. The darkness enveloped him like a cloak, providing both cover and a sense of anonymity.

As he ventured further into the block, he found large jade boxes with different labels: spirit fruits, carps, divine lobsters, etc.

He tried opening one of the boxes, but it was sealed using magic.

“Damn it,” he cursed under his breath. “Seems like even the servants know how to use magic.”

The sound of approaching footsteps rang in the corridor, followed by distant voices.

“Caira, take those jade boxes with you to pick the ingredients tomorrow morning.”

“Is that really necessary? I mean, the guests would be consuming everything right away. It’s such a hassle to carry so many boxes to the market.”

Dylan’s heart skipped a beat in anticipation. The servants were going to carry the boxes out of the mansion. If he could hide in one of them, he might be able to escape.

‘Don’t be too hopeful,’ RO’s voice sounded in his head. ‘The probability of this plan succeeding is less than five percent. First of all, you have to find a way to open the box and get inside. Even if you do, the servants and the guards might check it before leaving.’

‘Do you have a better way?’

‘I have been constantly analysing the structure of the mansion ever since we left the room. There are dozens of arrays and check points. It’s next to impossible to leave quietly with your current strength. How about we stay here longer? You can try to manipulate that old man into teaching you magic.’  

Dylan frowned, then took in a deep breath; the thought of escaping, of reclaiming his freedom, fuelling his determination. ‘Since there is no other way, I will hide in this room. Who knows, someone might leave a box open or something?’

‘The probability of something like that happening is less than 0.00001% but it’s worth a try.’

0.00001%? Didn’t that mean it was next to impossible? Damn this guy! Did he really have to pour cold water on me like this?

Dylan felt disheartened. Still, he crawled behind a huge urn and hid himself. He wanted to wait until that 0.00001% turned into absolute zero.