The Perfect Path To Insanity-Chapter 42: The Plague Spreads

General Bai’s sword edge still pressed against the skin of Fei Ming’s throat.

The sword drew a thin red line at his neck.

"You think I won’t cut you down right here?" His voice echoed through the open field, gripping the hilt tighter.

Fei Ming kept his chin level. His eyes stayed on Bai’s. "You won’t. At least not yet. You want answers first. And you want the credit of delivering me yourself."

Clenching his jaw, Bai’s sword remained in place for a while. Then he stepped back, lowering his blade.

"Search him," he ordered. "Every fold, every seam. If he so much as twitches wrong, break his fingers."

Two soldiers behind General Bai moved in fast.

One seized Fei Ming’s left arm and twisted it behind his back.

The other soldier patted down his coat, sleeves, waistband, boots, even roughly pried open his mouth, jabbing their fingers between his lips and cheeks, forcing his jaws wider to inspect his teeth and mouth.

More fingers probed the lining of his collar, the cuffs of his pants. They found nothing—no hidden blades, no potions, no system-linked items still active. The polearm blade had already been taken at the border, left leaning against the sentry post.

Satisfied, they forced his wrists together.

Mildly irritated by the taste left in his mouth, Fei Ming spat on the dirt. Soon, he found himself shoved inside a prison cell.

Iron cuffs locked around them, connected by a length of chain. The chain’s other end was bolted to a heavy ring in the cell wall. They

Bai stood in the doorway, sword sheathed now but his hand still rested on the hilt.

Fei Ming shifted his weight. The chains rattled softly. He looked back over his shoulder, glancing at the strict middle aged general. "Do you know... there’s a current plague in the Grey sector?"

Bai studied him. The lean man stood with shoulders relaxed despite the cuffs. Tousled black hair fell across his collarbones, damp from the earlier rain. His face held no strain. As blank as a plain canvas.

This made General Bai grimace. How could a man have no sort of emotional essence? Not even pride?

"The Grey sector may deal with any plague as they wish," Bai replied. "It has nothing to do with me. So it has nothing to do with you."

The soldiers pushed Fei Ming one last time. His back hit the far wall. The chains pulled taut as he settled against the stone.

Bai’s eyes narrowed. "Why have you surrendered yourself? A man’s pride will never do such. Or have you had enough of your own calamity and now turned coward?"

Fei Ming lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. The motion made the chains clink again. He said nothing.

Bai turned away. "Fine. The chains are induced with a B-tier game core. All the skills you own won’t work here." He signalled to his soldiers. "Let him be. Lock the cell."

The rusted iron cell door slammed shut.

In the corridor, a soldier of his, Kim, a brown haired man, fell in beside him. "General," he called. "What shall we do with him? Shall we inform Great Lu Yuan that he surrendered himself? Or kill him on the spot?"

The General kept walking. His boots struck the floor in even, heavy steps. However, his mind turned over the same question. Every man carried some pride—small or large. This murderer’s eyes had never shown defeat. In fact, they were focused, and determined. Not a single one had lost hope.

So why walk into chains?

A wet cough broke the silence behind them.

"Ah!" Kim folded in pain. His hand flew to his mouth. Blood speckled his palm when he pulled it away. Another soldier nearby coughed loudly, too.

"Do you have a cold from the rain, Kim?" Bai asked him. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Shoulders shaking, Kim coughed even more loudly.

Then another soldier coughed violently. That sharp, rising sound spread down the line.

When the coughing was beyond control, General Bai turned to his men. Three of them were already on their knees.

Kim writhed in intense, excruciating pain. His face constricted and hands clawed at his throat. Blood dripped between his fingers onto the concrete.

Bai’s face hardened when he saw them. ’What is happening?’

Quickly, he barked at the remaining soldiers still standing. "Tend to them! Get them to the infirmary—now!"

The healthy men hesitated a little, but they obeyed, nodding. They dragged their coughing comrades away, helping them up and aiding them.

Bai stood alone in the corridor for a moment.

Then he turned back toward the cell.

The door swung open again, and he stepped inside, seized poor Fei Ming by the front of his coat, and slammed him against the wall.

BAM!

His forearm pressed across Fei Ming’s throat on a chokehold.

"What have you done with my men?" Bai’s voice shook with fury. Veins stood out along his neck. The intense heat seeped into Fateless’ skin.

Fei Ming’s fingers clawed at Bai’s arm. His breathing rasped under the pressure. "This... is a bad move."

Bai held the chokehold another second. Then he released him.

Instantly, Fei Ming collapsed to the cold floor. He caught his breath and took a slow glance at the General. His plan must have worked.

Staggering back, Bai pointed his finger. "You... The reason you mentioned the plague... Were you infected?"

Fei Ming pushed to his feet. He brushed dust from his coat sleeves. The chains rattled with the motion. "I am not. Rather, your precious men are. And now, including you."

A harsh cough tore out of Bai’s chest. He staggered, catching the iron bars of the door to stay upright.

Fei Ming stepped forward. The chains allowed him to walk just right where Bai was. Despite all, his face remained expressionless.

"Very soon, all the lower-rank Krat soldiers will fall to the plague," he said. "Without a cure, it may take out all the Krat soldiers. Even you."

General Bai coughed again. The sound scraped his throat raw. Pain spread across his chest in tight bands. He rasped, "What makes you—what makes you think you won’t catch the plague too?"

He forced a short, bitter laugh. "Haa! What a crude plan! In no time, there will be a cure. Even the Game may provide one as a prize. You won’t last long if you’re the carrier."

Fei Ming watched him. "Killing you will solve none of my problems. Neither will killing me solve yours. Do you even know what a plague means, Bai?"

Bai’s knees buckled, dropping him to one knee, then both. Palms slapped the floor, catching his fall. The sword at his hip clinked against stone.

"Wh-what?" His voice cracked. "How dare you talk—!"

"You just lost the ability to walk," Fei Ming said. "Any more and you’ll be fully paralyzed."

He took a step closer.

"Has a Game ever repeated itself, General? Drop the bounty. Only then will you find a cure."