WangXian Forever 3

Chapter 53 Breakthrough

The whole morning went by in a flash. Wei Ying took on the job of talking to the children while Lan Zhan wrote out their names and ages in his impeccable brush strokes.

Three children, oldest of the lot, stood out from the rest as possible candidates for what Wei Ying wanted to do.

Once the list was compiled, he asked them to one side.

"I want to ask you something." He told the children.

They stared back at him warily.

"You can say no, but I'm really hoping you will be brave."

"What do you want?" The eldest boy asked, eyes fierce.

"I want to perform Empathy." At their questioning gazes, "it means I will be able to see everything that happened to you. This is so important to our investigation."

"I'll do it." The girl standing next to him said. She straightened her shoulders, and the gesture reminded Wei Ying of his daughter.

The boy shoved her behind him. "I should be the one to do it."

"But Lim-ge, it's okay. It wasn't so bad for me." She put a hand on his shoulder.

He stood unmoving. To Wei Ying, "Don't listen to them. I'll be the one you can use."

Wei Ying liked him already. "Alright, come with me."

"Can I come too?" She blushed. "I-I just want to be there for you."

The boy blushed too. Wei Ying smiled internally, delighted at this budding romance.

"Deal!" He said before the boy could protest.

He and Lan Zhan took them both to his Grandmother.

She had already prepared the ledge by placing a soft blanket and a pillow on it.

"This will be easier if you're lying down." Wei Ying explained.

The boy lay down, nervous despite his bravado.

"If it gets too much, just take your hand away." Wei Ying reassured him.

But he gripped his hand firmly. "I'm ready."

*****

Wei Ying saw the boy playing with his friends in the courtyard of a large building, one of the orphanages, he guessed. A woman beckoned him over and he went to her happily. She led him to the kitchen and placed a sweet in front of him, which he eagerly accepted. He was just about to return to his friends, when his legs gave out and he crashed to the floor.

The woman seemed to be waiting for this to happen and picked him up effortlessly, no surprise on her face.

Wei Ying was already angry.

She took him inside a small room, checking furtively around before entering. Wei Ying followed alongside, taking mental notes. The room had cleaning supplies like the one they'd visited before.

This time however, the long corridor was well lit. She marched along without hesitation, a sureness in her steps.

The corridor opened up into a large room. Beds lined the walls, some of them occupied with little bodies. She put the boy down on one and wheeled the bed to the centre of the room, in front of the mysterious machine.

Already, Wei Ying was terrified for the young man.

She switched on the machine. As it whirred into life, she grabbed the round head of it and placed it above the the boy's abdomen.

Wei Ying wanted to stop her.

The boy began to whimper, little cries that gradually became louder. The machine copied his volume, also getting louder. A blue light began to emanate from the boy, channelling into the machine. As it became stronger, the boy began to scream until his throat was raw. Silent tears left his eyes as he cried out, but no more sound came out of him.

He completely lost consciousness, but still the woman left the machine on, only stopping when a single red light came on, at the side of the machine.

Humming in satisfaction, she removed the circle arm from his body and wheeled his bed back into place.

Another man in white robes entered the room. She bowed to him as he crossed over to her. He checked the machine and then patted her on her back.

"This one was good, then?" His voice was friendly if authoritative.

"Yes, Master. You were right. This one yielded double of the others. If only we can find more like him, our job will be done in half the time." She replied, gleefully.

Wei Ying hated her. Both of them.

"Indeed." The man was saying. "It is unfortunate that we lost our friend in Yilling. He had a unique...talent. But I think we are doing well. Most of the children recover at a good rate, and if we supply them with the correct medicine, we can harvest them again and again."

He looked around the room. "What's happening with the single use donors?"

"We are gathering them together. Senior says we can wait for a week."

"And everything else is going according to plan?"

"Yes, Master."

They walked out of the room, still talking.

Wei Ying was still reeling from what he had just heard. He stumbled back, still trying to comprehend what they had been talking about. In his agitation, he moved back in the real world. Lan Zhan caught him, preventing him from falling down.

He was still shaking, blinking slowly as he regained his bearings. Lan Zhan wiped his face. The little girl standing by the boy did the same as he also woke up weeping.

As soon as he could stand, Wei Ying pulled him into a hug.

"Grandmother, we need to get statements from all the children. If we can provide solid proof to the sect leaders, we might be able to stop them."

"What did you learn?" She came to stand by him.

"They're...they're harvesting spiritual energy from the children. More than once!" Wei Ying started sobbing.