Ye Baiyi channelled energy into his palm, and tore the gate down in one go. Then, he pushed the door open and walked in with a brazenness born of his peerless skills. The three of them followed close behind, but stopped at the same time as Ye Baiyi did--in this small cell, there was a bed, on which a person was bound in thick iron chains.

He was an old man, his hair and whiskers entirely white. Both his eyes were lightless; they had gone blind, because he had lived in darkness for too long. Like he had heard noises, he turned his head towards them. His skeletal body shivered involuntarily.

A long while later, Ye Baiyi finally asked, “You...are Long Que?”

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The author has something to say ：

Orders for Huaidao’s custom print are open~ Sorry everyone, this is my first time doing this, I’m still a little clumsy at this, some of you have given feedback that the cover is too ugly, *clutches face*...

When Qi Ye preorders open, I will try to make it look nicer

Chapter 50: The Key

The old man turned his ear towards them. He gave a neurotic twitch, and the chains on him jangled together with the movement. Furtively, Zhang Chengling tugged at Zhou Zishu, and asked in a small voice, “Shifu...those chains, are they stuck through his pipa bones[31]?”

Zhou Zishu shushed him, glanced over with a frown--and discovered that the chains on this old man weren't wrapped around him, but were pierced through him. Though the pipa bones, through the kneecaps, the wounds there had festered, leaving only bone. In Zhou Zishu’s view, to be able to still survive like this was already a difficult feat.

The stench within the house was overpowering, with faeces and piss everywhere. The original colours long faded past recognition, the old man’s clothes could not even cover his body, totally depriving him of the decorum a human being should have had. He opened his mouth, and like he had not spoken in a very long time, his pronunciation was slow and slurred as he asked them hoarsely, “Who...are you? Where is...Long Xiao?”

Ye Baiyi asked, “Is Long Xiao a quadriplegic in a wheelchair? He’s dead--how was he related to you?

Hearing this, the old man was stunned for a long while. Suddenly, he opened his mouth wide. The expression on his face seemed to be one of hearty laughter, but not a single bit of sound came out. Then, a few murky teardrops slowly seeped out of the corner of his eye, fell instantly, and vanished. Ye Baiyi ignored him, merely squatted down to examine the iron chains on him, and let him laugh and cry intermittently like a lunatic.

A good while later, Ye Baiyi finally extended his hand to Zhou Zishu. “Lend me your sword.”