Backlash Part 1

Chapter 154: Keep Your Voice Down

The door opened and Nie Mingjue suddenly bolted past a very surprised Wen Qionglin. Wen Qing was not offended that he didn't trust her. Wen Qing probably would have been just as mistrusting if their roles were reversed, but she would like to think she'd be a bit smarter about how she acted on her distrust.

Wen Qing was running after Nie Mingjue. If he had been some average cultivator, or been here longer, then it would have been no problem to catch up to him. Unfortunately Nie Mingjue was not average and he did not rely on his golden core for all of his strength. Wen Qing just barely managed to grip the back of his robes and pull him to a stop as he tried to turn a corner.

"You are literally running away from the exit. Do you want to be caught?" Wen Qing hissed.

Wen Qing was starting to question whether or not Nie Mingjue had actually ingested some of the things they had been trying to give him. Was this a normal level of paranoia and desperation? It seemed a lot more ineffective than she would have expected. Perhaps he was suffering from dehydration. It was known to cause confusion.

Nie Mingjue's behavior, while founded on something that made sense, was certainly confusing to her. Although, if Nie Mingjue hadn't consumed any fluids since arriving at the Flame Palace, then Wen Qing is fairly certain he should actually be dead. Without access to his golden core Nie Mingjue could not flaunt the limits of the human body the way strong cultivators often did.

The tracking of fluid consumption by the Flame Palace cultivators was not great. They only really noticed large changes in the offered bowls. She didn't remember any notes about water being offered, only medicated tea. It wasn't impossible it was missed, not all the torturers thought about noting offered water. They were not all as obsessively meticulous as Meng Yao.

Nie Mingjue opened his mouth like he was about to retort with something when Wen Qing heard footsteps rushing down the hall. Wen Qing cursed internally. Not only were they further away from the exit, but they had drawn attention. Wen Qing opened the closest door and shoved Nie Mingjue inside without even looking.

The door closed behind them just as the footsteps rounded the corner. Wen Qing slapped her hand over Nie Mingjue's mouth and prayed he understood the completely unsubtle gesture. Voices murmured in the halfway, loitering just outside. A sound of breaking pottery in the distance echoed through the halls. After a brief hesitation the footsteps outside the door began to retreat towards the noise.

Wen Qing let her hand fall away from Nie Mingjue, no longer blocking her speech. Wen Qing pressed her forehead against the door as she attempted to slow her racing pulse. That was entirely too close for comfort. Wen Qing pretended she couldn't feel the shaking in her arms.

'Deep breaths Wen Qing. You're scared, but you have to stay calm enough to think clearly. You have to stay calm to get this moron out of Nightless City.' Wen Qing coached herself through taking several slow and steady breaths.

Wen Qing stood up straight and took in the room they had entered. Recognition quickly pulled a low groan of frustration from the back of her throat. They were in one of the 'resident' rooms. An empty one that Wen Qing guessed had been recently vacated. The blood had not yet been cleaned from the floor, but it wasn't fresh. The dark rusty stain was dry and flaking. Wen Qing did not envy the person who needed to clean such rooms, but this one was in better shape than most after their resident departed.

"Fantastic." Wen Qing muttered sarcastically. Nie Mingjue frowned at her. He attempted to open the door. Something one of them should do, just on principle, but which Wen Qing already expected to be pointless. She was right. The door didn't budge.

"What is the meaning of this?" Nie Mingjue managed to sound like he was shouting even when he whispered.

"Well, since someone decided to run deeper into the Flame Palace. Instead of letting me lead them towards the exit. Our options for hiding from the cultivators that you drew the attention of was this or a dozen rooms just like it." As far as Wen Qing knew there were no offices in the Flame Palace that shared a hallway with torture chambers. Wen Qing kept her gaze sharp as she eyed Nie Mingjue. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were cooperating with Meng Yao to set a trap for me." It would be an excellent trap, but Wen Qing could not imagine Nie Mingjue ever doing something so underhanded.

"That traitor..." Nie Mingjue began, his voice rising with rage before Wen Qing abruptly slapped a hand over his mouth once more.

"If you keep shouting and draw more cultivators here again we are going to run out of the meagre amount of luck I have." Wen Qing hissed. Nie Mingjue glared at her, but there was a begrudging spark of understanding in his eyes. He grabbed her wrist, not gently but not bruising either, and guided her hand away from his mouth.

"I will endeavour to keep my voice down. Why are we locked in this room?" Nie Mingjue asked at a much more reasonable volume.

"All the rooms that hold prisoners are warded so that they can only be opened from the outside." Wen Qing said with a sigh as she slumped against the door. Nie Mingjue frowned.

"So you're giving up?" Nie Mingjue scoffed. Wen Qing massaged the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Nonsense, but we are stuck here for the moment until my didi finds us and can let us out." Wen Qing replied. She pulled out a qiankun pouch and began removing things from it. Nie Mingjue frowned down at her. "Sit down. It will take him at least a few minutes since he has to make sure the Flame Palace cultivators have moved on before he can begin opening doors."

"I have been sitting ever since I got here." Nie Mingjue stated gruffly.

"Uh huh... You're very strong and well rested, which is why your legs are shaking just standing there." Wen Qing did not even bother to look at him. She could still feel the glare. "Sit down. I have food and water from outside of here. You can drink and eat. Hopefully rest enough to be able to walk out of here."

Nothing happened at first. Then slowly Nie Mingjue sat, upright and dignified like he was sitting in his own reception hall. Wen Qing offered him water and fruit to start with. Nie Mingjue stared at it.

"How do I know you haven't drugged the food and water?" Nie Mingjue inquired. His voice was quieter, laced with distrust. It was just shaky enough that Wen Qing might have suspected Nie Mingjue was a little bit afraid of accepting what she offered. Wen Qing took a large sip of water. Then she took a bite out of the fruit. She handed both back to him.

"Normally I would say you should never accept anything to eat or drink in the Flame Palace. Plain water being a necessary exception. Meng Yao instituted drugging food and beverages as a common practice when he became Principle Torturer." Wen Qing said dispassionately. "I was going to offer you this after getting you hidden in a cart, but with how shaky you are I don't think I can afford to wait that long to at least get some fluids into you. I need you to be able to walk if we're going to get you out of Nightless city. You're about the size of an ox. If I have to drag you we won't even make it out of this room." Wen Qing commented. Nie Mingjue huffed, sounding something between annoyed and amused. Wen Qing would call that progress.