Chapter 9: An Unexpected Visitor

Words : 1799 Updated : Nov 13th, 2025

After he finished tempering his flesh, Stefan felt his muscles grow unyieldingly tough. Even a sharp dagger driven into his body would struggle to break the skin. He didn't let himself grow complacent. If he could cultivate, then so could others in this world; he had simply been too lowly before to cross paths with people of that caliber. So he kept grinding forward. Only relentless cultivation would let him walk out of this prison with his head held high, and only then could he hunt down Jacob and settle the score. At that thought, hatred flashed in his eyes. "Jacob, just you wait. I'll be out of here soon, and that day will be your end." And everything had started with Hailey. He'd never let her off easy. He let out a long breath, steadied himself, and pushed those thoughts aside. His mind sank into the blurry pattern etched on the millstone. The memory of last time's horror twisted his gut, and he nearly recoiled. But his will held firm. He clenched his jaw, forced down the fear, set his technique in motion, and fixed his gaze on that hazy pattern. Very quickly, the feeling of a fate worse than death returned. But this time, he was prepared. He endured one heartbeat, two, three, then yanked himself out of the visualization. He gasped for breath, cold sweat pouring off him. The sensation had been pure terror. But the effort hadn't been wasted. It was a door. A door that radiated overwhelming power. And on that door, there seemed to be three bold characters. He simply couldn't make them out. "Tomorrow, I'll keep at it." He knew he couldn't rush. He sat cross-legged on the bunk and recovered quickly. Once his strength returned, he tested his divine sense. To his surprise, it had sharpened again. Yesterday, it had stretched only five meters; today, it reached ten. The pace of his progress thrilled him. What excited him most was that, with his divine sense strengthened, he could truly multitask. So, while tempering his flesh, he sorted through the knowledge in his mind. Geomancy, medicine, fate-reading, physiognomy, divination; spellcraft, artifact forging, alchemy-one glance and he got it. He knew this boon came from his divine sense. Like a sponge, he absorbed tirelessly from that inner sea of lore. Without realizing it, he went straight through to dawn. Stefan exhaled slowly, stood up, and stepped out of the cell. He touched up the array markings he'd carved the day before. They had been cut into the floor; without a touch-up, they would fade quickly. If he had spirit stones to power the array, it could have held for a year. For now, this had to suffice. Fortunately, replenishing the lines costs far less than carving them fresh. After he reinforced all nine nodes, half his power still hummed in his core. Back in the cell, he did a reading with Divine Calculation. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he murmured, "Carlos Lapwood, you really didn't let my little stratagem go to waste." Right then, Anya arrived. "Stefan, someone's here to see you." There was something odd in the way she looked at him. He caught it at once. "What is it? Who came?" Her expression turned even more inscrutable. "You'll know when you get there." "Seriously? Leaving me hanging?" He shot her a look and headed for the visitation room. When he saw who waited on the other side of the tempered glass, he froze on the spot. She was a stunning woman of twenty-five or twenty-six, about five feet nine, all long legs and flawless lines. A heart-shaped face, features cut with exquisite precision, and a cool, distant bearing. Like Anya and Hailey, she was the kind of beauty you almost never see. Yet her fine-boned face seemed sealed in ancient ice, and her eyes burned red. The way she looked at him brimmed with bottomless hate. She was no stranger. It was Christina. The sight of her hit him like a thunderclap. He had never imagined she would come. If Stefan felt hatred for Hailey, then what he felt for Christina was raw, sinking guilt. He had been a victim that night, too, but the fact remained: he had slept with her. And it had seemed to be her first time. "How... come you're here?' His voice trembled. He had no idea how to face this wounded woman. "Stefan, you monster!" Christina quivered with rage, eyes fixed on him like a cornered beast's. She slapped the tempered glass repeatedly. If not for that barrier, she would have rushed in and torn him apart with her bare hands. "Ms. Scurr, please think. You're smart enough to know I was a victim too. I had no motive to commit the crime, and I didn't have the means." Her stare made his scalp prickle, but he forced himself to speak. "The evidence is ironclad, and you still lie through your teeth? You expect me to believe your excuses?" She roared, eyes bloodshot, as if she might rip him limb from limb. "Stefan, I came to tell you I can't wait that long. I'm done waiting for you to die. Every second you keep breathing is torture to me. I will pay to have someone go in there and take your life." From sentencing to execution, the process required multiple layers of approval. It would take at least a month. Christina had no intention of waiting. She wanted him dead now. Stefan held her gaze, silent, bitter. Her world had been blown apart; her parents and kin had died violent deaths. Whether she raged or acted on impulse, nothing about her fury surprised him. "When you're dead, I'll find a way to get your corpse. I'll mince your body into paste and feed it to the dogs." The Scurr family was a people of standing in Jenos. Their Flourish Group was a billion-dollar conglomerate. Christina had enjoyed a happy home and never worried about money. She had stood at the top of the world. And Stefan had shattered all of it. He met her eyes and said, bitterly, "Do you hate me that much?" "You ruined my name and slaughtered my family. I want to skin you alive and eat your flesh." With that, she shot him a murderous glare, turned on her heel, and swept away. "Christina, wait!" Panic tightened his chest. From what he had just observed, Christina was in grave danger of violence.

Chapter 9: An Unexpected Visitor

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