The scene that followed nearly stopped Qin Yuanming's heart altogether. Wei Zhao's true qi had actually taken up residence inside his dantian and begun a savage, merciless battle with the poison qi. Both forces were extraordinarily domineering, and in an instant they turned his dantian upside down. Qin Yuanming could neither live nor die; the agony had him rolling back and forth across the ground, howling in torment.

How long it went on, he could not say. By the time Qin Yuanming felt as though his whole body were about to come apart, the incomparable agony finally began to fade. A survivor of the ordeal, he was soaked head to toe in cold sweat, utterly drained.

"Seems your willpower isn't bad, managing to pull through after all." Wei Zhao was rather surprised. Seeing the baffled look on the other man's face, he said, "Since you're still alive, take a careful look at what's going on inside you."

Qin Yuanming stared blankly for a long while. When he next turned his gaze inward upon his dantian, wild joy burst across his face: Wei Zhao's warm true qi had been slowly withdrawn, and the poison qi from the Center's improved elixir had vanished without a trace!

This came as no surprise to Wei Zhao whatsoever. His five-element killing qi was all but invincible among true qi, and even at the level of a five-poison flood dragon it remained greatly useful. Troublesome as the poison qi of the Center's improved elixir might be, in the end it could not escape being strangled to nothing.

"Th-thank you, Grand-Uncle Master!" Qin Yuanming came to his senses and hurriedly kowtowed to Wei Zhao. With his crime exposed today, he had thought death a certainty; never had he imagined the situation would turn around like this, with Wei Zhao instead ridding him of the very poison that had held his life in its grip. It was truly beyond all expectation.

"Thank me for what?" Wei Zhao found it rather amusing.

"Naturally I'm thanking Grand-Uncle Master for sparing my life. From this day on, your disciple will follow Grand-Uncle Master and none other, and will brave fire and water without the slightest hesitation." Qin Yuanming hurried to pledge his loyalty. He was no fool; Wei Zhao's meaning was plain enough. Having discovered his betrayal, the man had not only refrained from killing him but had even stepped in to rid him of the poison—without question, he clearly intended to make Qin Yuanming his own.

Betrayal, like anything else, grew easier with practice. The first time Xue Jianming dragged Qin Yuanming into the muck, he had still been hesitant and awkward; now, though, he had become remarkably deft about it. Having already betrayed the Cangwu Sect of the North Island, he could, now that the poison no longer threatened him, just as easily betray the Center and switch his allegiance to Wei Zhao. After all, if Wei Zhao wanted him dead now, it would be all too simple—he would not even need to lift a finger; a single word would suffice.

"Oh, I think you've misunderstood. I never meant to save you. This was purely for research. Now that the research is done, it's time to send you on your way." Wei Zhao curled his lip.

"What? On my way?" Qin Yuanming was scared out of his wits once more. His emotions today had been like a roller coaster; no heart, however sturdy, could withstand such battering.

Casting aside the last shred of self-respect, Qin Yuanming kowtowed to Wei Zhao and begged frantically for mercy. By now the little pride he had left had long since been ground away by the earlier agony, and to stay alive he would do anything at all.

Qin Yuanming had already been tortured half to death, and after begging for a good while he was sprawled flat on the ground, unable even to climb to his feet. Looking at the sorry, gasping sight of him, Wei Zhao finally spoke: "Very well. I've always been a soft-hearted man. Since you're so sincere about it, sparing your life isn't out of the question."

"Truly? Your disciple thanks Grand-Uncle Master for sparing my life! Such great kindness and virtue I shall never forget so long as I live!" Qin Yuanming was overjoyed.

"However..." Wei Zhao had uttered only three words, and Qin Yuanming's heart leapt back into his throat. Then the man went on: "I can't spare you for nothing. Frankly, I simply can't trust a creature with a prior record of betraying his sect—especially one who has betrayed twice in a row."

"Uh..." Qin Yuanming was choked red in the face by these words. Every one of them was true, but a man wants his face as a tree wants its bark. And he had betrayed them only recently; his hide was not yet thick enough to be impervious to fire and water. Still, to stay alive he hurriedly asked, "Pray instruct me, Grand-Uncle Master."

"Simple. The Center didn't trust you, so they used poison qi to control you. I likewise don't trust you, so I'll have to plant a gu in you as well." Wei Zhao spoke calmly. He intended to use the same method he had once used on Wei Shenjin. Against a man like Qin Yuanming, this was the only way; otherwise he would sooner or later be bitten in return.

"Plant a gu?!" Qin Yuanming's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, and he wailed inwardly. Damn it all—this was out of the wolf's den and straight into the tiger's lair!

"Not willing? Then I won't force you. I'll just send you on your way after all." Wei Zhao looked utterly indifferent.

Seeing that Wei Zhao was about to act, Qin Yuanming panicked and hurriedly begged for mercy: "No, no, no! Your disciple is willing, your disciple is willing! This is only proper. Please, Grand-Uncle Master, trouble yourself to plant the gu in your disciple!"

In his heart Qin Yuanming was on the verge of weeping tears without tears. Wei Zhao was going to plant a gu in him, and he still had to shamelessly beg for the privilege—was there ever anything so wretchedly pathetic?

Wei Zhao found it amusing too, and was just about to plant the gu when a voice suddenly came from behind him: "Hold on!"

Qin Yuanming's heart leapt with joy. His savior had come!

But before he could even begin to rejoice, the voice went on: "With the little skill you've got, you've got the nerve to plant a gu in someone? Let me do it, before you botch it and make a fool of yourself. When it comes to skill in gu, you're still a hundred thousand miles off, boy."

Thud! Qin Yuanming's knees gave way and he collapsed to the ground once more. Today's roller coaster had twist upon twist and turn upon turn—his heart simply couldn't take it...

The speaker was, of course, Lin Dongfang. Wei Zhao turned to look at him. "What are you doing here too?"

"Cut the crap. You've got this thing howling like a banshee and raising hell—it disturbed my afternoon nap, so of course I had to come." Lin Dongfang spoke irritably.

"This is seven or eight li away, and it still disturbed your afternoon nap?" Wei Zhao was speechless. True, Qin Yuanming had just now been put through the wringer, but even his howls had been forcefully suppressed; the noise had not actually been very loud. If that could still affect Lin Dongfang, it would be truly bizarre.

"This old man has sharp ears and keen eyes." Lin Dongfang gave a snort and casually slapped Qin Yuanming on the shoulder. Then he said, "Done."

"Done?" Qin Yuanming could not help but freeze. He had assumed the process of planting a gu would be excruciating; who would have thought Lin Dongfang would simply give him a casual slap and be finished?

He carefully searched within his body, but found nothing unusual even after two passes. Only on the third did he faintly detect something: it seemed a needle's eye had appeared in his mind, so tiny as to be almost imperceptible. It appeared to have no effect whatsoever, yet when he focused on it there was an inexplicable sense of dread, as though his very life were held within that needle's eye.