I Am Loaded with Passive Skills

"Someone, come!"

In the corner of the wall, Yuegong Hui, who was completely paralyzed, seemed to have finally adapted to the power of the weapon prohibition order and the Cold Prison, suddenly mustered a trace of strength and roared angrily:

"Yuegong Mo! Yuegong Leng! Yuegong Li! Yuegong Niu!"

"Someone, quickly come here!"

These few shouts were abnormally high-pitched, forcefully disrupting the rhythm of the gambit between Hallmaster Dao of Sky City and Yue Gongnu without leaving any time for reaction.

But after shouting, Yuegong Hui despairingly realized –

Dao Daier, sitting behind the ice table, glanced at him with an amused smile, showing no surprise in his eyes.

His expression seemed to say: Keep shouting, go ahead. Today, even if you scream until your voice breaks, no one will ever find you.

"Can't… hear?"

Yuegong Hui lowered his head lifelessly, left with nothing but bitter laughter and shaking his head.

He actually understood – the Cold Prison was located beneath the depths of the Cold Sea, in one of the most remote places within the Cold Palace Emperor Realm. Normally, no outsiders would appear here.

And even if he shouted more accurately, invoking the saint's name directly…

The rules of the Cold Prison restricted the effectiveness of calling out a saint's name directly as a means of summoning. Otherwise, the daily and nightly greetings from the prisoners here – who could endure that?

"You were hoping to catch the attention of the Yin God Guards watching over the Cold Prison, right?"

Dao Daier rested his delicate fingers against his cheek, leaning on the icy table, chuckling softly:

"But did it occur to you that among those maids coming to visit your Big Sister Yue Gongnu, where are they now?"

"The only one you saw earlier was me alone, waiting by the door for your arrival, wasn't it?"

Yuegong Hui was stunned.

Indeed, back then, the maids once came to the Cold Prison in groups of three or four, but now, inside Yue Gongnu's cell, not even a single one could be seen.

So in that case, was Hallmaster Dao truly waiting outside the door, purely to wait for him?

Was he so certain he would take the bait?

Even going so far as to hand him the identity jade card, instructing him to visit the Guardian Spirit Hall during the night?

"I..."

"You're not wrong; you're just useless." Dao Daier's words were always colder than the Cold Prison itself.

"Spare me..." Yuegong Hui had no strength to argue, he could only plead: "Hallmaster Dao, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but I..."

"I just want to live!"

"This old man only wants to live!"

Agony and humiliation overwhelmed Yuegong Hui, and uncontrollable tears flowed from his eyes.

He desperately wanted to use his words to move Dao Daier, but upon realizing that this was truly an impossible endeavor, his throat choked, making him unable to utter a single sound.

"Please... spare me..."

Never before had Yuegong Hui's will to survive been stronger than it was at this moment.

As a youth, he had once fantasized about gallantly resisting capture amidst political struggles in the Cold Palace Emperor Realm, imagining himself as a hero who would die but never yield.

But now he discovered – the gap between fantasy and reality was far too vast!

He was unable to accept his current pathetic state. This wasn't the behavior or the fate befitting a Guardian Spirit Hall Hall Order, nor its dignity!

"Who am I?"

"I am Yuegong Hui!"

"I have endured through generations to finally secure this comfortable post at the Guardian Spirit Hall."

"My future life is what generations in the Cold Palace Emperor Realm dream of—high above the clouds, sitting still while countless others serve me..."

"Yet because of a maid!"

"I, Yuegong Hui, am to die in the Cold Prison?"

Judging by Hallmaster Dao's actions from earlier, even if Yuegong Hui were utterly foolish, he could tell – he would never leave the Cold Prison alive.

But...

"I said, I won't kill you."

Dao Daier, however, unwaveringly adhered to his principle of not killing defenseless weaklings.

"Then how will I die?"

Yuegong Hui couldn't imagine. He stared blankly as his gaze drifted aside to see Yue Gongnu gripping her sword tightly...

Bang!

His mind went blank.

...

"You want me to kill him?"

Yue Gongnu naturally caught Yuegong Hui's gaze.

Recalling Hallmaster Dao's earlier declaration that he does not kill, but Yue Gong Hui would nonetheless die, led her to a straightforward conclusion: either Yuegong Hui would commit suicide, or she would kill him.

But...

"Do you think I would kill the Guardian Spirit Hall Hall Order, one of my own clan, for you, an outsider?" Yue Gongnu could no longer understand Hallmaster Dao.

She was born into an aristocratic family herself.

She ought to understand – regardless of what sins Hall Order Hui had committed, it was not her place to personally end him.

This was not how rules worked.

The people of the Cold Palace Emperor Realm, no matter how grave their transgressions, were subjected to the judgment of the Cold Palace Emperor Realm's laws.

"Zheng..."

Dao Daier did not respond to her, ignoring Yue Gongnu for the second time.

He began plucking his instrument again, continuing the unfinished "Injury Nan Ting" from earlier.

The grim and murderously tense melody echoed throughout the cell.

Yuegong Hui trembled, not daring to speak another word, fearing that if he disrupted the atmosphere even slightly, Hallmaster Dao might use it as an excuse to end him.

Yue Gongnu also quieted down.

As the music progressed, she gripped the Angry Immortal Buddha Sword, again feeling the bone-piercing chill sinking deeply.

That chill brought clarity.

A chance?

Hallmaster Dao never granted anyone a chance!

He had always been someone who extinguished risks while they were still in the cradle.

Since he had given her this sword...

Were it someone else, they might ignore the connection between the Angry Immortal Buddha Sword and her and thus leave behind a flaw.

But he was Hallmaster Dao.

Could he possibly fail to notice that the Angry Immortal Buddha Sword contained sword cognition?

Could he possibly not predict that she might be able to wield the Angry Immortal Buddha Sword?

Yet he still gave her the sword...

Granting a weapon to an unarmed person wasn't an act to destroy himself; it was borrowing her hand to kill.

Yue Gongnu listened to the music, her gaze shifting toward Yuegong Hui, who too looked at her with tearful Sahā eyes.

From his expression of desperate pleas and the trembling lip movements, Yue Gongnu discerned two moving words:

"My Lady..."

...

Clang!

The piece ended.

The silence Dao Daier maintained was broken by himself.

Resting both hands on the strings, he first smiled faintly at Yue Gongnu, with slight expectation in his tone, and asked: "Big Sister Yue Gongnu, what do you think of my skill on the zither?"