"What… what are you talking about?" the Sect Leader stuttered slightly. He was taken aback by the hatred and ferocity that surfaced in the saintess' eyes.
"I was captured, tortured and disfigured by a demon cultivator…" Xu Lu spoke hoarsely as the voice in her mind continued to scream.
"He carved my face apart… inch by inch… forcing me to endure horrific torture…"
"And he did that to me while my master waited… she could have rescued me earlier, but she waited… she waited until he turned me into a monster…"
"And the poison that he used on his blade… it prevents my face from healing… no matter how strong the pill… my face remains unchanged…"
Xu Lu's voice lowered to a mere whisper as the emotions of the original Xu Lu flooded her mind with fear, self-hatred, and loathing.
(Don't trust him! He's just like all the rest of them!)
(Run! Run! Run Now!)
(Listen to me! GET AWAY NOW!)
Xu Lu paused for a moment but opened her mouth and continued to speak. At this point it was too late to stop now.
"He kidnapped me while I was still living on the fifth peak… somehow, he snuck past all the wards and protective barriers without alerting my master," Xu Lu spoke solemnly.
"Yeah… I find that very hard to believe…I think she let him… she let him capture me."
"And then she warned me to keep the matter a secret. To not tell anyone and to cover my face so that no one would know."
"She has been torturing me for years in the guise of training…"
"Xu Lu… I… I had no idea…" Shi Jian's voice trembled as he took a step back with numerous thoughts running through his mind.
"There must be a mistake… my junior sister… she is not that kind of person… she loves you."
"Love?" Xu Lu laughed bitterly as she watched the elderly man looked at her with an expression of shock mixed with horror.
"If you truly believe that then you never knew her at all…"
Shi Jian's fingers shook violently as he looked at the saintess who stood steadfast and unbroken.
She did not appear to me lying… her voice was steady and unwavering.
And that terrified him greatly.
If what she was saying was true, then…then… he had no other choice. There was really only one decision that he could make.
"I'm sorry…" the Sect Leader whispered softly.
"I am truly… truly sorry… you deserved better… I… the sect has failed you."
Maybe the saintess heard something in his voice because she tried to activate a movement technique, but it was too late.
He swung the training sword and slammed the blunt edge of the weapon against Xu Lu's temple.
The young woman crashed motionless to the ground in a state of unconsciousness.
Shi Jian let out a deep breath and then flung his wooden sword to the side. He hated himself more in this moment than he had in his entire life.
The choice that he was about to make… was for the good of the sect.
Even if what Xu Lu was saying with true… Lei Ying was a powerful cultivator who was going to be his successor.
He could not expel her. They needed her strength to maintain their position as one of the top sects on the continent.
And with Xu Lu's face… no… not just her face… the hatred in her eyes…
Shi Jian placed his right palm on his face and wiped away the tears that were forming along the corners of his eyes.
Even if the saintess increased her cultivation level… she would make a mockery out of the Holy Sword Sect by being their representative.
She was just too… broken.
The Sect Leader drew in a deep and shuddering breath as he approached the fallen girl and gently picked her up.
Blood stained his fingertips as a long gash had opened up along her temples where the training sword had struck her head.
Before making any rash decisions, he would need to investigate the matter further to see if the saintess' words were correct.
He would need to talk to Lei Ying.
Only then would he be able to rest easy… although… he may not be able to rest at all.
He was condemning an innocent girl to death… all in the name of the betterment of the sect.
Shi Jian's back slumped and in that moment, the powerful sect leader suddenly appeared like a frail old man.
But he was not going to kill her… at least not until he got the full story about what had happened to the saintess…
Then he would make the choice whether or not to end her life.
The Sect Leader jumped on his sword and flew towards the back of the sect. The mountains here were desolate and the sand was dry and dusty.
The environment here resembled a desert in direct contrast to the forests teeming with life in the other parts of the sect.
Xu Lu groaned softly but did not wake up. The Sect Leader refused to look at the young woman in his arms as he continued to fly forward.
He couldn't… because the guilt eating away at his heart would intensify.
Was this what his master would have wanted?
Was this the right thing to do?
Doubts filled the Sect Leader's mind but that did not stop him from approaching a large metal door that had been dug into the face of a mountain.
There were five guards standing near the door but they all quickly fell unconscious as the Sect Leader knocked them out using his sword qi.
He opened the door, and it swung open to reveal a damp, dark environment. Shi Jian walked through the darkness holding the saintess in his arms.
The tunnel continued for several hundred kilometres until it finally widened to reveal a large open space where hundreds of cells had been carved into the walls.
Inside each cell were men and women in various states of madness.
Some screamed until their throats were sore, others laughed madly while the rest curled up on the ground and refused to move even a single muscle.
"Oh, my goodness… fresh meat…" a seductive voice purred from the darkness.
The Sect Leader turned in the direction of the sound and say a woman wearing a ragged yellow robe smiling at him with fanged teeth.
"Little Shi Jian… is that you? My… you look… old…" the woman jeered mockingly as her eyes flicked towards the masked figure in the sect leader's arms.
"What a cutie… I don't suppose you'll let me… play with her?"
"Shut up fiend," Shi Jian barked angrily as he strode past the woman who blew him a kiss and then laughed to herself.
He continued to walk for several more minutes before arriving at an empty cell. With a heavy heart he lay the saintess on the ground and then closed the door.
For a moment the Sect Leader was tempted to stop this madness. Release the saintess and arrest her master for abuse but…
The needs of the many would always outweigh the needs of the few. Lei Ying was needed for the sect to survive in the future.
Xu Lu was talented, but she was but a seedling and there was no guarantee that her genius would one day blossom.
The Sect Leader walked away leaving the saintess lying down on the floor in complete darkness and surrounded by cells filled with hardened criminal and demonic cultivators.
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