Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds

Chapter 316: Chapter 315: Unable to Withstand Their Own Ancestors’ Methods

"AHHHH!"

Kishimoto Yuchu and Ogasawara Junhong awoke with a scream. Before them, the same scene materialized once more: a dark dungeon, iron bars glinting with a cold light, a dim yellow electric lamp, and exposed wiring.

"Celestial Master! Celestial Master, spare us!"

"We won’t do it again! We’ll never do it again! Please let us out!"

The two looked up at the ceiling and knelt, begging for mercy repeatedly.

But as soon as the words left their mouths, a CLICK came from the large door at the end of the dungeon corridor. A few soldiers and a middle-aged man in a white lab coat walked in.

Kishimoto Yuchu and Ogasawara Junhong couldn’t help but cling to each other, huddling together and trembling in a corner of the cell.

But no matter how they tried to hide, the men still walked up to the cell door and turned to them, their gazes dark. "These two will do."

"What experiment are we doing today?"

"Testing human body water content."

"What do you mean?"

"It means we steam a person dry and see the ratio of the desiccated corpse’s weight to its original weight," the man in the white coat explained gently. "Data on human water content is crucial. It’s foundational data for many human experiments."

"Sōka!"

"The water content of people of different genders, ages, and even different physical states varies. We need a massive amount of data to carry out this foundational experiment."

The man in the white coat smiled gently and calmly. "Fortunately, these ’maruta’ are numerous and worthless, so we can experiment on them as we please."

"No! Don’t!"

"Get away! Get away from us, you devils!"

No matter how much Kishimoto Yuchu and Ogasawara Junhong struggled, they were still bound, escorted to a special laboratory, stripped naked, weighed, and then thrown into a steamer.

"AHHHH!"

When they awoke once more, they were still in the dim dungeon.

...

"AHHHH!"

At the main entrance of the Celestial Master’s Mansion, all the tourists saw the two men—whose names clearly marked them as Sakura People—first stare blankly into space, then their eyes turned bloodshot as they began to roll on the ground, screaming their lungs out.

"Yamete!"

"Baka-yarō!"

"AHHH, tasukete!"

Aside from these common phrases that most Celestial Xia People could understand, they also spewed a string of words in the Sakura language. The average person couldn’t understand, but those who could wore expressions of utter shock.

"They’re shouting, ’Don’t inject them with horse blood! They’re Sakura People too, not maruta!’"

"What the fuck?"

"And there’s more! They’re saying their body water content is only sixty-four percent, not like the children with seventy-eight percent, so they don’t need to be steamed dry anymore."

"That experiment... it sounds an awful lot like..."

"They’re begging for their lives, saying ’Don’t perform any more live vivisections or freezing experiments on us!’ They’re calling the other party devils... and those names they’re shouting are all very familiar."

"Holy crap, what is going on?"

The surrounding crowd exchanged bewildered glances. Seeing the two men’s sudden descent into madness, no one dared to get close.

However, the expressions of a few people nearby soured as they listened. They indignantly went forward and started pulling at the two men on the ground.

"You’re just putting on an act to smear them, aren’t you?"

"Get up! Stop pretending to be Sakura People! Don’t think we can’t see you’re just acting!"

"You damn haters! Don’t spread baseless rumors and try to stir up trouble here for attention!"

However, before they could pull the two men up, the men’s blood-red eyes snapped open and they lunged, sinking their teeth into them. Those crimson eyes revealed endless terror, hatred, fury, and a madness that had long since become instinct.

"AHHHH!"

Chunks of flesh were torn from a few of the tourists, and they screamed in agony.

The crowd scattered in an uproar, and many people quickly called the police.

A short while later, after watching the peace officers arrive and take away both the two Sakura People and the tourists they had bitten, Gu Zhao finally appeared at the entrance of the Celestial Master’s Mansion with the two old Daoists.

"They’re..."

"They’ve gone mad," Gu Zhao said, shaking his head dispassionately. "A pity. They couldn’t withstand it."

From the men’s cries, Taoist Zhi Qing and Taoist Zhi Xiu also knew what they had experienced. They couldn’t help but shake their heads. "I’m afraid not many people could have withstood that."

Gu Zhao smiled, then said, "You two martial uncles should get ready and wait for me at the Yangcheng Taoist Research Institute. I need to make a trip to Sanmao Mountain to pick up Taoist Han Zheng and Taoist Han Xuan."

The two exchanged a smile and bowed. "Yes, sir!"

Just then, a short man slowly approached from a distance, kowtowing with every step. He would occasionally look up, his eyes filled with reverence and anticipation as he gazed at the three of them.

Gu Zhao gave him an indifferent glance, then vanished from sight right before his eyes.

The man was dazed for a moment. When he focused his mind again, he found he could no longer recall the young man’s face.

Taoist Zhi Qing and Taoist Zhi Xiu also looked at him. Meeting his fearful yet pious gaze, they shook their heads impassively. "We can both smell the stench of blood on you. The Celestial Master’s Mansion cannot accommodate you. You should turn back."

Taoist Zhi Xiu snorted lightly, and the Sound of Li Fire made the man’s heart pound heavily in his chest. "Do not cause trouble within our borders."

The man was shaken to his core, filled with both shock and awe. Thinking of the fate of the two Sakura Cultivators from earlier, he bowed his head deeply, all thoughts of resistance gone. "Yes..."

...

Meanwhile, Gu Zhao flew from the Celestial Master’s Mansion to Sanmao Mountain. A sweep of his Divine Sense located Taoist Han Zheng, the abbot of Wanfu Palace of the Shangqing Sect. At that moment, he was with Taoist Han Xuan, receiving a guest in a room in the palace’s rear courtyard.

"So that’s how it is."

"I never imagined that Master and Mr. Chen the Elder shared such a history," said Taoist Han Zheng, holding the hand of a man in his twilight years. "Thank you, Mr. Chen the Elder, for still thinking of my master. Unfortunately, he is not on the mountain at present."

"Not at all, not at all." Though the old man’s eyes were clouded, his spirits were still high. He chuckled. "Just knowing that Taoist Shen Hao is still alive and well, and can even travel off the mountain, is enough to satisfy me."

"Truly worthy of a Taoist Master. How incredible!" the old man exclaimed in admiration.

"Mr. Chen the Elder, you who fought bloody battles on the field and went to war for our country—that is what’s truly incredible," Taoist Han Zheng said with a serious expression. "In comparison, we have only done what is within our power. You, sir, are the backbone of this nation."

Mr. Chen the Elder waved his hand dismissively. "I’m not the incredible one; my comrades-in-arms were. It’s a shame..."

Surrounding the old man were men and women, both middle-aged and young, all dressed in ordinary clothes. As they listened to him speak, their expressions were all solemn.

"Back then, I was gravely injured. It was only because Taoist Shen Hao saved me that I had a future. Unfortunately, my comrades weren’t as lucky as I was."

Mr. Chen the Elder sighed, but then his face broke into a smile. "But now they are returning home in glory, batch by batch, to rest eternally in their homeland. I have seen our country’s prosperity on their behalf. When I go down to meet them, I’ll have something to boast about."