Elara's mind was a maelstrom, a chaotic blend of fear, regret, and, overwhelmingly, bewilderment. Despite dragging things out until this very moment, she still hadn't conceived a single viable escape plan, and a cold knot of panic began to tighten in her chest.
She was, after all, still far too young, no match for an experienced, calculating old fox like Physician Mor. Her carefully constructed composure, her strained attempt to keep her expression neutral, was a flimsy disguise that Physician Mor pierced with contemptuous ease. The fine beads of sweat that had materialized on her forehead were a merciless betrayal of her 'paper tiger' facade.
Physician Mor missed no subtle flicker in Elara's expression, thoroughly pleased with the immense pressure he was exerting. He had always maintained that the truth could only be reliably extracted when a person's mental defenses had crumbled.
"You imagine I've been deliberately negligent, impeding your cultivation progress?" Elara was blindsided by the sudden, utterly perplexing accusation.
"Naturally! Two years, and you still haven't mastered the fourth layer? Did you truly believe I couldn't see through your little charade?" Physician Mor's voice was glacial. "The first three layers, you completed them in a mere three years. Even if the fourth layer is considerably more arduous to cultivate, and without the assistance of elixirs, it's inconceivable that you'd make not one iota of progress in two full years!" His eyebrows arched sharply, radiating a palpable aura of menace. He seemed to have harbored dissatisfaction with Elara for a long time, his frustrations only now erupting.
So, it seems no matter what I say, Physician Mor won't believe me, Elara thought, a bitter, internal smile twisting her lips. She hadn't anticipated that her recent decision to conceal her cultivation progress would be the very catalyst for this crisis. She had truly shot herself in the foot. Whether provoking Physician Mor's outburst and unveiling this entire enigma prematurely was ultimately to her benefit or detriment, she couldn't yet discern.
"There's no need for further words. Nor do I have any interest in ascertaining the authenticity of your past actions," Physician Mor sneered, then slowly, deliberately, delivered the most pivotal sentence of the day. "Listen very carefully. I will ask you only one question now: if I grant you one additional year, can you cultivate the 'Breath of Eternal Life' to the fourth layer?" Then, without so much as blinking, he fixed his gaze intently on Elara, gravely awaiting her response.
Elara's mind was icily clear. She knew that her answer to this question would not only seal his fate a year hence but was also the absolute key to her own survival in this very instant.
"You must know in your heart that I cannot offer you any other answer," Elara said, a sudden stillness settling over her, her tone becoming strangely light, almost detached. "Come now. Undo my restraints first."
Hearing her words, Physician Mor's severe expression softened marginally, a flicker of what might have been admiration in his eyes. Yet, he made no move to release Elara's bonds. Instead, he cautiously retrieved a small, square, exquisitely carved sandalwood box from within his robes.
"Your verbal promise alone is insufficient reassurance. What if you decide to engage in duplicity, feigning compliance while secretly neglecting your efforts? How would that differ from your previous conduct? For the sake of both our lives, it is prudent to add an additional layer of insurance," he said, his voice laced with a sinister undercurrent.
He carefully lifted the lid of the box. A single, milky-white pill lay nestled on the velvet lining in its center.
Physician Mor reached out and, with a swift motion, pressed a point on Elara's body, releasing her restraints. Before she could react, he thrust the sandalwood box before her.
"You are an intelligent girl. I need not waste further words. You understand what must be done," Physician Mor said, his eyes narrowing, a glint of unambiguous malice within them.
Elara flexed her slightly numb limbs. Without uttering a sound, she reached out, accepted the sandalwood box, and with two fingers, delicately plucked out the pill. Directly in front of him, without a second glance, she placed the pill in her mouth and swallowed.
Clap, clap! "Excellent! 'He who understands the times is truly astute.' As long as you assist me in returning to normal, you will be handsomely remunerated in the future. I will not attempt to deceive you with empty platitudes. Since a significant rift has already formed between us, it is impossible for me to sincerely accept you as a disciple. However, I can still guarantee you a lifetime of affluence and status," Physician Mor clapped his hands a few times, offering Elara this "sincere" and substantial promise.
"Should you not inform me of this pill's function now?" Elara stated, her expression impassive, showing no hint of being swayed. "Lest I unwittingly transgress some prohibition and forfeit my life."
"Heh heh. This pill is known as the 'Corpse Larva Pill.' It is not, strictly speaking, a medicinal draught, but rather a parasitic egg, cultivated through a certain clandestine art. After you ingest it, it will lie dormant within your body for one year. Rest assured, it is entirely safe during this period; it will not impede you in any activity. After one year, provided you consume the specially formulated antidote, it will harmlessly dissolve, leaving no residual ill effects. But if, after one year, the antidote is not administered… hehe! Then the larva, having absorbed sufficient sustenance, will hatch. It will then proceed to devour every organ, large and small, within the host's body, while the victim remains conscious. One would thrash in excruciating agony, unable to find solace in life or death, screaming for three days and three nights before finally, slowly, succumbing to an unyielding torment." Physician Mor described the pill's terrifying properties with an air of detached casualness, his words a clear, unspoken warning to Elara.
Hearing the pill's utterly vicious nature, Elara's body gave an almost imperceptible tremble. Her face became deathly pale, and she fought to suppress the inferno of fury that threatened to consume her. But Physician Mor's true, decisive blow was yet to fall.
"Incidentally, I hear you have a considerable number of family members back home. Are the silver coins I dispatch each month still adequate? If not, do not hesitate to inform me. I am quite… concerned for the well-being of your kin, you understand," Physician Mor drawled, his words ostensibly solicitous. Only now did he truly bare his fangs, sinking them with brutal precision into Elara's most vulnerable point.
Elara's face had turned a ghastly, ashen hue; she was utterly incapable of maintaining the state of focused serenity and undisturbed mind advocated in the cultivation texts.
She summoned every last shred of her willpower, biting her lower lip so fiercely she could taste blood, terrified she would either erupt into a torrent of curses or debase herself with desperate pleas. She understood with chilling certainty that no amount of begging or threatening would compel him to relinquish this ultimate, damning leverage over her.
"You may rest assured," Elara said, her voice strained, forcing the words through clenched teeth, each syllable laden with an animosity she no longer bothered to conceal. "Within one year, I will reach the fourth layer."
Under such a blatant, inescapable threat, she could only offer temporary submission. She was not yet so hardened as to disown her kin, to disregard the lives and safety of her parents and relatives.
With her fatal weakness now so cruelly and effectively exploited, Elara had to relinquish even the fleeting notion of a desperate, mutually destructive struggle. In this first direct confrontation with Physician Mor, she had suffered a comprehensive and undeniable defeat.
Upon hearing Elara's strained words of submission, Physician Mor released a long, slow breath, the tension visibly ebbing from him. His own anxiety moments prior had been no less acute than Elara's; he had merely concealed his inner turmoil with an impeccable facade of bizarre, ever-shifting expressions and postures.
"This 'Breath of Eternal Life' is truly uncanny… This young slip of a girl, yet so remarkably difficult to manage!" Physician Mor cursed inwardly, his thoughts a venomous brew of envy and resentment.
In truth, while the 'Breath of Eternal Life' did indeed possess certain qualities of refining the body and awakening the mind for its practitioner, its specific efficacy was highly dependent on the individual. Elara had been naturally more precocious and keenly intelligent than her peers from a very young age. After commencing cultivation of the 'Breath of Eternal Life,' her innate wisdom and capacity for cunning had developed to a degree that far surpassed those of ordinary youths.