Elara turned and walked towards the door. Just as she reached it, she paused, looked back, and posed a question, "The esteemed individual standing behind Physician Mor, the one who hasn't uttered a single word – might I inquire as to their origins?"
Physician Mor, hearing Elara's abrupt query, offered a faint, shrewd smile and deftly evaded it. "You are remarkably perceptive. Why not venture a guess? You might just unravel the mystery yourself."
Elara simply shook her head and walked out of Physician Mor's small hut with crisp, unwavering decisiveness. It remained unclear whether she truly couldn't guess or was merely unwilling to expend the mental effort.
The moment Elara stepped outside, her expression turned grim.
In this confrontation with Physician Mor, I was utterly powerless, effortlessly subdued by him. This demonstrates I am still far too naive, believing I could contend with him through mere petty cunning. In the end, the corrosive venom I painstakingly concocted was confiscated before it could serve its intended purpose. I must return and seriously re-evaluate how to bolster my own strength. With this resolution firming in her mind, she strode purposefully towards her own small hut. It was evident she was not prepared to remain under Physician Mor's thumb.
Inside his hut, Physician Mor stared, dumbfounded, at the wooden floorboards. A black hole, the approximate width of a bowl, had shockingly manifested there. Only moments before, he had casually attempted to activate the contents of the metal tube. The venom that had sprayed forth had effortlessly corroded straight through the floor. Witnessing the bizarre and potent corrosiveness of this venom, Physician Mor could no longer suppress the wave of retrospective fear that washed over him. He leaped to his feet, erupting in curses, "That little whelp! When did she learn to create such a vicious substance? I never taught her anything of the kind! I presumed it was merely some ordinary hallucinogen or perhaps a paralyzing powder! This young hellion, she's truly ruthless and chillingly quick to turn hostile!"
Unaware of the profound shock she had inflicted upon Physician Mor, Elara returned to her hut, immediately collapsed onto her bed, and plunged into a deep sleep. The day's tumultuous events had exacted a heavy toll on both her mind and body; she urgently required rest to recuperate her depleted strength.
Her spirit fully restored, Elara gradually surfaced from her slumber. She sat up and glanced at the sky – the eastern horizon was already tinged with a pale white. It appeared she had slept soundly until the following morning; it had been a rather substantial period of rest indeed.
Sitting upright, Elara didn't immediately rise from bed. Instead, she cupped her chin in her hands, her forearms resting on her knees, and began to meticulously contemplate methods to extricate herself from Physician Mor's control.
It was glaringly obvious that, for the duration of this one year, she was absolutely secure. For the sake of his own survival, he wouldn't dare to harm her; on the contrary, he would exert every effort to ensure her well-being. But whether her safety would persist beyond that year was far from certain.
Regarding the cultivation of the 'Breath of Eternal Life,' Elara harbored no significant concerns. She had already mastered the fourth layer some days prior. Breaking through to the fifth layer within a year, she reasoned, would not prove overly arduous and thus didn't warrant excessive preoccupation.
The matter of the 'Corpse Larva Pill' also seemed potentially manageable. When the time arrived, she merely needed to demonstrate her cultivation progress. Then, before he could implore her to perform the healing art, she could use this as leverage, compelling him to surrender the antidote first. He would surely not risk antagonizing his sole lifeline over such a seemingly minor concession.
Suddenly, a thought struck Elara. She fumbled within her garments, retrieved a small vial, and from it, tipped out an emerald-green pill. Tilting her head back, she swallowed it. After a short interval, allowing the medicinal effects to manifest, she began to quietly inspect the condition within her body using an internal viewing technique.
"Hmph! That old fiend Mor… he genuinely wasn't deceiving me about this 'Corpse Larva Pill.' Even the Clearspirit Draught, which can purportedly neutralize a hundred poisons, has absolutely no effect on this accursed pill. It seems I will genuinely have to wait a full year to obtain the antidote from him," Elara muttered to herself, a note of keen frustration in her voice.
After carefully returning the vial to her robes, she rose from the bed and moved to stand beside it.
She commenced pacing around the solitary small wooden table in the room. With her hands clasped behind her back, she walked with slow, deliberate steps, her mind continuing to grapple with the myriad problems before her.
Truthfully, Elara did not entirely credit Physician Mor's pronouncements; she intuited that his words were undoubtedly laced with numerous falsehoods. Regrettably, despite this awareness, the threat against her family's safety rendered her incapable of open defiance.
Elara harbored profound skepticism regarding Physician Mor's intention to honor his promise after the year concluded. If matters were truly as straightforward as he asserted, the situation would be easily navigated; she would have no need for any form of resistance. Her overriding fear, however, was that he had concealed certain critical details detrimental to her. Should he then decide to betray her and act malevolently, if she had made no preparations whatsoever, would she not be left without even the slimmest chance to resist?
Elara turned these thoughts over and over in her mind, a growing conviction that no foolproof solution presented itself.
Currently, a state of mutual apprehension existed between her and Physician Mor: he feared she would not cultivate diligently, thereby jeopardizing his life; she, in turn, worried that he would seek to eliminate her once his own pressing concerns were alleviated.
Ordinarily, she might have leveraged this to exert some pressure, compelling him to tread cautiously. But now, with her opponent holding her family as an unassailable point of leverage, her options were severely constrained, forcing her into a reluctant, compromised position.
"Am I truly to resign my fate to his hands, to merely hope he will be overcome by a moment of compassion and spare me when the time comes?" As this thought surfaced, Elara felt a chilling wave of despondency.
"No! Absolutely not!" she then fiercely countered, a renewed strength flaring within her. "My own destiny shall not be dictated by the capricious whims of any other individual! To surrender all agency, to allow another to manipulate one's entire existence, is the epitome of folly!" With that, she decisively, forcefully, dismissed the cowardly notion.
After cudgeling her brains, Elara finally arrived at what could only be described as a makeshift solution.
She resolved to systematically enhance her own capabilities across multiple fronts, to devise methods to augment her own strategic leverage, thereby deterring him. Even if he ultimately resolved to strike a lethal blow, she aimed to possess, at the very least, the capacity for self-preservation.
This was, admittedly, not a brilliant stratagem. It was more akin to a reactive, passive defense, one that still ceded the initiative to him. Yet, given the current circumstances, it appeared to be the most prudent and viable course of action available.
Her mind made up, Elara decided a walk was in order. She pushed open the door of her hut and stepped out into the open space beyond. She stretched languidly, a wide yawn escaping her.
Facing the crisp, somewhat biting chill of the early morning wind, gazing at the sun already halfway ascended above the horizon, a powerful surge of defiance welled up within her. "My destiny," she vowed silently, her voice a mere breath against the wind, yet resonating with unshakeable conviction, "can only be grasped by my own hands. I will never allow anyone else to manipulate it!"
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