Promise and Betrayal: A Mo Dao Zu Shi (the Untamed) Story

Chapter 8

**PSA! This chapter contains torture at the end of it. Don't skip the entire chapter, but feel free to skip the descriptions of the violence if you so choose. It's not that graphic, but it's there.

The wagon stops its jostling progress. I hear footsteps, men shouting, horses whinnying. We have arrived.

Hands push me out of the wagon, shoving me onto the frozen ground. Only here, the ground is not frozen. No, the soil is soft and warm. Just as I have heard, Qishan and the Nightless City lay atop a volcano.

"Move," a commander orders from behind me. It is accompanied by another rough push, propelling me forward. They make no move to take off my restraints. I am still gagged, blindfolded, and tied. If they desire to make a scene when introducing me to all the others, they will succeed, but they will also succeed in arousing curiosity. For why is the sole heir to the Xiao Clan, the notorious master dual wielder, tied, gagged, and blindfolded? What did he do? I will, once again, be an enigma.

We begin to ascend stairs. I count the steps, arriving at over four hundred before we return to flat ground. After a few more steps onto the structure, they remove my gag. I huff out a breath, content to consider it sufficient annoyance at my restricted communication. Then they remove my blindfold.

The sunlight stabs my light-starved eyes, having been submerged in the darkness of the blindfold for too long. Once my eyes adjust to the blinding sunlight, I see I am standing on a platform of white limestone, adjacent to a rather large party of cultivators. They are, as I suspected, the heirs and close relations of China's most influential clans. I see Jin Zuxian standing proudly in front of his delegation; Nie Huiasang concealing his quivering before his delegation; Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian—Wei Ying—standing crossed-armed before their delegation; and Lan Zhan, impassively staring up at the landing, his delegation mirroring their second master's expression.

They are all staring at me. I stare back, letting a bit of arrogance and dissatisfaction leak into my expression. I am not here of free will--I was dragged as a prisoner. And while their presence here means they are also prisoners, they did not arrive in a wagon meant for transporting dogs.

"Allow me to introduce our newest arrival," Wen Chao says, lounging on his chair like he fancies himself an imperial prince. "Xiao Shelan, the legendary dual wielder. And the sole heir to the Xiao Clan, which has been eradicated. He will join you in your indoctrination."

I chafe at the phrasing he used. My clan has not been eradicated. They have been enslaved. They are still alive. There is still hope. "You have not eradicated my clan," I spit at him, "until you have killed me." I know it sounds like an invitation for death, but they will not kill me. If they wanted me dead, it would have happened in that clearing, while my entire family could watch me take my dying breath.

Wen Chao chuckles, but says nothing else. He cannot, for he has clearly expressed no intention of killing me. Any response to my comment would only diminish his position. He, instead, addresses the guards escorting me. "Well, what are you lunatics waiting around for? Put him in line with the others!" Their response is more shoving in direction of the edge of the assembled cultivators. Once I am in line, they untie my hands. While they do, I resist the extremely strong urge to kick them. I will not crack, not here--especially not here.

"Now that you've all been acquainted," Wen Chao says, lounging on his so-called throne, "let's begin."

The guards snap to attention, subtly tightening their perimeter. I level a glare at Wen Chao, a glare that immediately expresses to him my displeasure, and a promise to make him regret it the next the chance I have. His gaze passes over me like I do not exist, instead surveying the gathering of young masters.