Lio Han walked calmly through the corridors of the Alchemists Association.
His steps were firm and asured, the pace of soone who knew every inch of that place, who had walked those staircases thousands of tis over the decades.
Kyrian walked beside him.
The two descended the stairs toward the first floor while occasionally conversing about herbs and alchemy, about the properties of rare materials, about refining techniques from different regions, and about the differences between the Northern and Southern alchemical schools.
Lio Han seed genuinely interested in Kyrian’s answers. The young man not only knew what he was talking about, he had opinions. Perspectives. Real understanding, not re morization.
But before they could even reach the exit...
A scream echoed through the hall.
"AAARRRGHHHHH!"
The sound was so loud that it reverberated through the walls, multiplying itself, creating a cacophony of pain that filled every corner of the space.
Then ca another.
"AAAARRRGHHH!"
And another.
"FOR THE LOVE OF THE HEAVENS, SOONE HELP !"
And another.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
A scream filled with despair. With pain. With pure suffering.
Lio Han imdiately furrowed his brows.
"It still hasn’t ended?"
Kyrian also looked toward the entrance.
From the intensity of the screams, their tone, their frequency, the way they echoed, it was obvious they belonged to the sa man he had observed through the window.
The two exchanged glances.
Lio Han sighed, a long, weary sigh, the sigh of soone who already foresaw trouble.
"Let’s go see what’s happening."
Kyrian did not refuse. In fact...
He was curious as well.
The two continued walking until they passed through the association’s main doors.
The doors were enormous, made of dark wood reinforced with bronze fittings, heavy enough to withstand spiritual attacks.
Outside, two guards remained at their posts.
Their armor was black, their swords remained sheathed, and their postures were rigid and professional.
The mont they saw Lio Han, they imdiately bowed, lowering their heads and placing their hands over their chests.
"Elder Lio."
Lio Han nodded, a brief and practical gesture.
"What happened here?"
One of the guards answered quickly, his voice firm but carrying a hint of frustration.
"That man entered the association so ti ago."
"He bought a few herbs, nothing unusual, nothing that drew attention."
"But shortly after leaving, he started screaming."
"Then he collapsed onto the ground."
"Since then, he’s been like this."
The other guard completed the explanation, shaking his head.
"Several physicians and alchemists tried to help him."
"People from the association itself. Outsiders. Specialists who happened to be passing by."
"Nothing worked."
"He keeps getting worse."
"The man seems completely insane."
"But he’s clearly not pretending."
The screams returned. Louder. More desperate.
"AAAHHHHH! MY GOD! MY GOD, WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ?!"
"SOONE KILL ! PLEASE, SOONE KILL !"
"THIS ISN’T LIVING! THIS IS HELL!"
It was impossible not to feel discomfort hearing them.
The pain within those words was genuine. The desperation was real.
Lio Han sighed once again.
Then he began walking toward the crowd. Kyrian followed closely behind.
When the people realized who was approaching, they quickly made way.
"It’s Elder Lio!"
"Let him through!"
"Quickly!"
"Maybe he can help!"
"Finally, soone important has arrived!"
The people stepped aside. A corridor naturally ford.
And then, Kyrian finally saw the man up close.
His expression hardened.
The situation was far worse than it had appeared from the third floor. Much worse.
The man’s veins were bulging grotesquely, thick and dark beneath his skin like living worms.
So had taken on a horrifying greenish coloration, a pale, sickly green that should never be present in human veins.
His eyes were red.
Not rely irritated, not the superficial redness of soone who had cried or gone without sleep.
Completely red.
As if the blood vessels within his eye sockets had burst.
His entire body was covered in bruises. Purple. Green. Yellow.
So were fresh, swollen, and painful.
Others were older, already in the process of healing, but there were many.
Fingernail marks, deep scratches, so still bleeding.
Wounds, cuts, scratches, bites.
All caused by himself while thrashing about. The sight was horrifying.
Even so cultivators looked away.
Lio Han approached.
A gentle wave of Qi erged from his body, neither aggressive nor violent, rely controlled.
It pressed the man against the ground.
Instantly, he was immobilized.
Not completely, his fingers still twitched, and his eyes still moved frantically.
But enough to prevent him from continuing to injure himself.
Then, Lio Han closed his eyes. His spiritual sense expanded. It penetrated the man’s body.
He investigated his ridians. Analyzed his dantian. Examined his Qi flow. Everything.
Kyrian imdiately understood what he was doing.
’He’s looking for the cause.’
’What’s causing this? Where is the source of the pain?’
Several seconds passed. Then several more.
And then...
Lio Han opened his eyes. Frowning more deeply than before.
Kyrian asked,
"What is it?"
Lio Han shook his head slowly, thoughtfully.
"I don’t know."
The people around them were stunned.
"Even Elder Lio doesn’t know?"
"How is that possible?"
"What’s happening to him?"
"This isn’t normal... this isn’t normal at all!"
Lio Han ignored the comnts.
"His body appears normal."
"His ridians are normal, without blockages, ruptures, or abnormalities."
"His spiritual core is normal, rotating at the correct speed and producing the appropriate amount of Qi."
"There are no signs of poison, no toxins in the tissues, no residue in the ridians."
"There are no signs of possession, no strange spiritual presence, and no external energy controlling his movents."
"There are no signs of cultivation deviation, his Qi flow is correct, aligned as it should be."
Even he appeared confused.
Kyrian also observed the man. More carefully. Trying to find sothing strange. So abnormality. So clue.
One minute. Two. Three.
’But he found nothing.’
Absolutely nothing. None of this made any sense.
Lio Han then retrieved a small pill from his spatial ring. A recovery pill, one of the most potent, one of the most expensive.
He opened the man’s mouth and placed it inside. The pill dissolved quickly, transforming into dicinal energy that spread throughout the body.
The effect should have been imdiate. But...
Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. The man continued screaming. Continued thrashing. Continued suffering. Like an animal being slaughtered.
Lio Han sighed.
The situation was becoming problematic.
After all...
This was happening literally in front of the Alchemists Association.
On one of the busiest streets of the Sky Caravan. In front of dozens of witnesses.
It was not a good image. Not a good image at all.
But he also could not simply kill the man. Nor could he solve sothing he did not even understand.
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