Chapter 570: Labyrinthine Cage

Chapter 570 -567: Labyrinthine Cage

“It’s definitely not changing anymore. We’ve reached a deeper area.” Li Luo looked at the electronic screen in her hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

“The distance between the high walls is getting wider, too,” Xi added, surveying the nearby walls.

The passage between the walls was now wide enough for several vehicles to pass through at once. Not only that, but the corners and crevices were also becoming fewer and farther between. It seemed the maze’s complexity was decreasing here.

The rabbit Li Luo was leading was still sprinting frantically. She had a feeling they would soon reach the center of the maze.

But just then, Big Eye nudged Xi’s thigh, pushing him toward a fork in the path while whining and grumbling nonstop.

Xi froze for a moment, then began to listen carefully to Big Eye’s cries. Soon, he understood what it meant.

“Down that path, you smell Poke?”

WHINE, WHOOO~

“And the smell of herbs?”

WHINE.

It seemed Big Eye had sensed something. Xi told Li Luo what he’d found, and after a brief discussion, they decided to check out the side path.

“As long as we have the rabbit, we can get back to the main path anytime. Let’s go.”

And so, the two of them headed down the forked path.

It wasn’t long before they found a scattered pile of herbs in front of a crevice in one of the high walls.

Although this maze was chaotic, the ground had always been spotless. This was the first time they had seen anything on the ground.

Big Eye rushed forward excitedly, circling the herbs. Xi immediately followed, crouching down to examine the out-of-place pile. But the more he looked, the more worried he became.

“What kind of herb is this?” Li Luo asked curiously.

“It’s a type of hallucinogenic plant. When dried and lit, it releases a smoke that causes creatures to fall into an illusion,” Xi explained.

“A hallucinogenic plant?” Li Luo was surprised. “Why would something like this be here?”

“I don’t know.” Xi picked up a stalk with his fingers and rubbed it a few times. A tiny flame sparked to life on the herb, and a wisp of white smoke immediately began to drift from it.

“We used to use this herb to understand the cause of illnesses. After a patient inhales the smoke, they start to hallucinate. Their hallucinations are projected onto the smoke, allowing us to peer into their memories and understand the reason for their sickness. However…”

Xi’s tone shifted. “This hallucinogenic herb doesn’t just have one use. Most races use it for interrogation.”

“Interrogation?” Li Luo froze for a second, but she quickly understood how it could be used.

“Yes, because you can peer into memories,” Xi explained. “When someone is hallucinating, fragments of their subconscious memories are revealed. The memories they try hardest to hide are the ones most likely to be exposed. An interrogator can use this to break through mental defenses.”

“Aren’t the hallucinations random? What if they’re all useless memories?” Li Luo pressed.

“No… If you’re a patient, and someone comes to treat you while you’re sick, what would you think about? It would definitely be about the illness—the cause, the symptoms, the environment where you got sick… Your thoughts can’t be controlled. The moment you think it, it triggers a hallucination, and that hallucination is displayed on the smoke.”

“By the same token, if you’re being interrogated, you’ll deliberately try to hide a secret. This makes you involuntarily recall the memory of that secret over and over. Your thoughts will burst forth like a breaking dam and appear on the smoke. At that point, every secret will be laid bare.”

“When you’re gravely ill, you think about the illness. When you’re being interrogated, you think about the secret. You don’t think about climbing a ladder while you’re eating, or about raising a pet while you’re climbing a mountain. Hallucinations are based on thought, so of course they’re not random.”

After hearing Xi’s explanation, Li Luo nodded.

“Since those giant black spheres are capturing other creatures, it’s highly likely these herbs are here to be used for ‘interrogation.’ What secret could they possibly want to know?” Li Luo fell into thought.

‘Or maybe… these herbs were just left behind by a previous healer, and I’m just overthinking things?’

As Li Luo was thinking, Xi snuffed out the burning herb in his hand and stood up.

Just then, Big Eye started nudging him with its head again, wanting him to continue into the crevice.

“Let’s keep going.” Xi didn’t hesitate. He walked straight past the pile of herbs and toward the crevice. Li Luo stopped letting her imagination run wild and hurried to follow.

After rounding a high wall that blocked their path, the two arrived in an open area. It was enclosed by a circle of high walls; if Big Eye hadn’t led them, they never would have found this place under normal circumstances.

The ground here was covered with the same hallucinogenic herb they had found earlier, but neither Li Luo’s nor Xi’s gaze was on the herbs. They were both staring at the center of the area.

There, more than ten healers were trapped motionless, half-buried in the ground that was covered with hallucinogenic herbs.

They were all buried from the chest down, their arms trapped underground as well, leaving only the upper part of their bodies exposed. The synchronized orbs of light flickered dimly, like candles about to be extinguished.

Even more terrifying, chains made of black spheres pierced through the healers’ chests, stringing them all tightly together…

Seeing this, Xi began to tremble uncontrollably.

Then, Xi looked at one of the healers and cried out in shock:

“Poke?!”

After a moment of stunned silence, Xi rushed straight over, arriving in front of Poke.

He tremblingly reached out and placed a hand on Poke’s shoulder, but his companion remained motionless, as if deep in slumber.

At the same time, Big Eye also rushed to Poke’s side and circled him, but Poke still didn’t react, completely still.

The orb of light on Poke’s head flickered for an instant before vanishing, returning to its dim state. Xi didn’t know if that was Poke’s response.

The surrounding black chains plunged deep into the high walls, connected to some unknown place. The thick chains formed a stark contrast with the healers’ emaciated bodies. Dark red blood continuously seeped from the wounds in their chests, even leaving blackish-red stains on the iron links.

Perhaps the wounds were already infected; a ring of yellowish-white pus surrounded the edges, making the injuries look even more gruesome.

But even so, the healers were not dead. Their healing powers seemed to be struggling to hold on, preserving the last vestiges of their lives.

The hallucinogenic herbs on the ground were covered in filth. They likely hadn’t been used in a long time. The original Grass and Wood Fragrance was completely gone, replaced by a rotten stench.

Xi looked at his dying companions and clenched his fists.

“Li Luo, I’m going into their Healing Space to take a look. Keep watch for me.”

“Understood. Be careful,” Li Luo replied. Looking at the healers strung together by the chains, she felt a bad premonition.

These healers were just like Xi when she first saw him, trapped in some kind of “slumber.” Xi had been trapped in his Healing Space, so it was possible these healers were in the same situation.

‘Their bodies are trapped… are their minds trapped too?’

The more Li Luo thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. This seemed to be a cage designed specifically for healers.

She wanted to warn Xi, but then she saw he had already entered that dazed state.

‘Looks like he’s already gone in…’