Chapter 29

ZHEN

Zhen opened his eyes. A strange, dull pressure throbbed inside his head. The gray stone ceiling swam above him—it took him

a moment to realize it was actually the floor.

He was suspended upside down in the center of a vast, windowless chamber. The manacles and cuffs were gone; instead, chains

around his ankles were attached to a hook, which was rigged to a complicated pulley system anchored to the ceiling. His arms

were bound by his sides with rope.

He turned his head to get a better look at his surroundings. A narrow flight of steps led down from a level above, and flickering

oil lamps threw shadows across the bas-reliefs of deities carved on the walls. This place must have been used by Daoist monks

as some kind of meditation hall. Probably underground, judging from the stale, musty scent.

Directly beneath him was a perfectly circular pool, like a black moon sunk into the stone floor. The surface of the pool was faintly disturbed even though the air in the chamber was oppressively still, which meant the agitation had to be coming from within its depths.

The sound of hinges grinding made Zhen look up. Footsteps descended the flight of stairs, and Fahai came into view.

Zhen remembered Feng's stoic expression as he had handed him over to Fahai at the base of the pagoda. Fahai had waited for

Feng to leave before he clamped a handkerchief soaked in some kind of acrid chemical over Zhen's nose and mouth. Zhen had

choked as burning fumes filled his nostrils and throat... then he had woken up here.

Fahai's eyes glittered as he waved at the stone chamber around them.

"Monks used to spend hours, days, even weeks down here, cultivating martial arts skills." It was as if the court adviser had

removed his mask of geniality, and beneath lay something ruthless. "A snake spirit like you would be familiar with xiū liàn —the mystical practice of cultivation that can lengthen one's life, increase one's powers, and, finally, bestow immortality."

Fahai pulled a lever on the wall. The contraption on the ceiling, which was rigged to the chains around Zhen's feet, began

to move. Cogs turned, pulleys creaked, and Zhen's stomach lurched as he found himself being slowly lowered...

"Seven years ago, you took something very precious that didn't belong to you," Fahai said. A chill coursed up Zhen's spine. Xian must have told his court adviser everything. "The pearl you consumed has immense power that is worth five hundred years of cultivation. You foolishly squandered some when the pearl turned you into a snake spirit, but there should be at least three hundred years left, which is more than enough."

More than enough for what? Was there a way to give back the pearl's power after it had been swallowed? Is that what Xian meant

when he said Zhen was the cure that would save his mother's life?

"The pearl is divine, and once consumed, its purity and strength cannot be forcibly taken from the person who possesses it,"

Fahai replied, as if guessing the questions running through Zhen's mind. "You must surrender its power willingly, which obviously

you will not do. That's where this cultivation pool comes in."

A dark, ancient aura seemed to emanate from its depths, a cold whisper of sinister power that made Zhen's skin prickle.

"This cultivation pool is one of only a few that exist in the world." Fahai watched Zhen's descent toward the pool, now unnaturally

calm. "It has the ability to accelerate the cultivation process, which is why monks built the pagoda above this underground

chamber—to keep the pool secret from all except those who are worthy."

Zhen raised his eyes as the pool steadily drew closer. Its surface gleamed opaquely, like the inverse of a mirror, drawing

in light and reflecting none.

"I've spent a lot of time and energy altering the fundamental nature of this pool," Fahai continued. "Now, instead of enhancing cultivation, the waters will gradually draw out the pearl's power—and by the end of seven days, the essence of the pearl will have been fully extracted from your body."

Zhen was just a couple of feet above the pool—panic set in and he struggled, but it was useless.

"I had to remove the bīn collar inhibiting your abilities, otherwise the pool would not be able to absorb your power," Fahai

added. "But once you have been submerged for the first time, you will not be able to change form."

Up close, the pool glinted like black ice. Zhen sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed his eyes shut as he plunged headfirst

into the water.

Except it wasn't water. Zhen had never experienced anything like this. His entire being was swallowed up by something intense,

unspeakable, empty—like falling into another universe, another eternity. The darkness seemed to enter his nostrils, reaching

deep into his core and siphoning away a sliver of his soul—

He felt a distant jerk at his ankles and was yanked out of the pool, gasping and convulsing like a fish struggling on a hook.

He shivered uncontrollably, as if he had been submerged in a frozen lake. His teeth were chattering and he couldn't speak,

could barely breathe...

When he raised his head, Fahai was standing by the lever, wonderment on his face, as if Zhen were an experiment that showed

great promise.

"The mechanism is steam-powered by the furnace in the laboratory above us," he told Zhen. "It will immerse you in the pool at regular intervals. Not long enough for you to drown, of course. We certainly wouldn't want that."

"Does Xian know?" Zhen's voice was hoarse, his breath still coming in harsh stabs. "What you're doing?"

Fahai uttered a laugh. "Why do you think he didn't bring you to me personally?"

Don't make this harder than it has to be .

Cold realization crystallized in Zhen's heart, jagged as hoarfrost. Xian knew. That was why he hadn't come to see him during

the rest of the journey after the first night. Why he'd sent Feng to deliver him to Fahai.

Goodbye, Zhen.

The pulley system on the ceiling began to move, lowering him again. Zhen shut his eyes in dread as he sank closer to the pool.

He braced himself just before he touched the surface and let the blazing dark engulf him whole.