They were right under her nose, this whole time.

Feixiao — General Feixiao — liked to believe that she was always five steps ahead of her foes, out of harm's reach and untouchable by the claws of deceit. With her trusted healer, Jiaoqiu, she was certain she could face the whole world and lead the Xianzhou Yaoqing to glory.

Or so she thought.

For months now, a small group of people gained more and more allies on the Yaoqing, plotting her downfall from the shadows before finally making a public appearance — the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, worshippers of the Plague's Author, Yaoshi. They were the enemy of the Hunt, the enemy of the Xianzhou and thus, her enemy. And for a long time now, her knights had done put great effort into finding and neutralising the threat they posed.

Thankfully, nothing catastrophic happened, and sooner rather than later, she was informed of the successful capturing of nearly all Disciples. Those who weren't caught fled. Good. As for the others, some were sent to the Shackling Prison on the Luofu, while others still waited and rotted away in her own dungeons. And one of them was you.

Your cell, though not particularly comfortable, proved quite interesting to you. Why? For every day, at sunrise, light would beam through a crack in the wall, which served as your only connection to the world outside. And so, every day you'd climb on your cot and try to peak outside through the crack, just enough so you could spot the young apprentices sparring outside or the superior knights ordering each other around.

That's how Feixiao found you, doing the same thing you had been up to for the past few weeks since you were brought in. "You're up already?" She chuckled, tilting her head to the side and taking in your ragged appearance. "I'm assuming you still won't talk either, will you, disciple?"