No one knew how much time had passed when the creak of a wooden door hinge finally roused Wu Qingsong.
He felt as if he had been trampled by a herd of elephants throughout the night. Every inch of his body ached, felt numb, and sore. Compounding his discomfort, the pangs of hunger and thirst became unbearable.
A sliver of light sneaked in from beneath the cloth that covered his cage, signaling a new day. Someone swiftly drew the cloth back, causing him to squint against the sudden brightness. It took him a few moments to readjust and fully open his eyes again.
The cloth gagging his mouth was yanked out.
"It seems you had a decent sleep," Kleine remarked sarcastically. His mood was visibly foul. While Wu Qingsong couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, he deduced it was likely related to yesterday’s defeat.
This thought slightly lifted Wu Qingsong's spirits.
"I slept alright. But you look as if you've spent the night with Feng Jie. Was it not satisfying for you?" Wu Qingsong cheekily responded.
Kleine furrowed his brow, puzzled by the reference, but sensing it wasn't a compliment.
He was tempted to shove the gag back into Wu Qingsong's mouth, or better yet, use the foulest rag he could find. But after enduring stern accusations earlier that morning, and with Lord Vals and other captains envious of his abilities aiming to exacerbate the situation, he wondered if this prisoner might provide a solution.
"Who are you?" Suppressing his frustration, he asked with as much composure as he could muster. "Where do you hail from? Where are you headed? Why were you found there?"
"Why don't you take a guess?" Wu Qingsong quipped. He tried to shift his position for comfort, but after being bound all night, every part of him felt numb and throbbing with pain.
While he might be outmatched by others, it was crucial for him not to lose his spirit and composure. Regardless of the physical torment he endured, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and persevere. He was already at the mercy of others, and if he were to lose his resolve and spirit as well, he would truly be left without any hope.
"Don't you wish to be freed from the ropes?" Kleine asked.
"Actually, I'm not particularly bothered by them," Wu Qingsong responded with a hint of indifference.
Kleine felt he was teetering on the edge of an outburst. Yet, the previous night's ordeal had shown him that Wu Qingsong was unyieldingly stubborn. Torture was futile against him.
"If you answer my questions truthfully, I'll release you from your bindings," he proposed, trying hard to mask his mounting frustration. Clearly, the half-elf was deriving pleasure from riling him up. The angrier Kleine got, the more satisfied Wu Qingsong seemed.
Kleine was baffled by this mentality.
On the battlefield, he could easily twist his opponent into a pretzel with just one hand. Yet, this man remained an enigma. He couldn't be finished off, nor could he be tamed through physical punishment. What could he possibly do next?
"Heh," Wu Qingsong let out a soft laugh. "Free me, and then I might think about answering your questions."
"Then remain bound!" Infuriated, Kleine swiftly shoved the cloth gag back into Wu Qingsong's mouth and draped the cage with the cloth curtain, then furiously exited the cellar.
***
"What exactly do you want?" Kleine demanded upon his return.
The stench of urine emanated from the cage, making Kleine's stomach churn. Yet, amidst this misery, Wu Qingsong seemed unperturbed, eyes shut and humming contentedly.
Kleine prodded him sharply with his sword. Only then did Wu Qingsong lazily open his eyes, remarking, "Oh, you've returned? Welcome back. Feel free to make yourself comfortable. Treat this as your own home."
"How pitiable you are," Kleine remarked with disdain. He could never fathom that someone could degrade themselves to such an extent. If roles were reversed, he believed he would have crumbled in a mere day.
Wu Qingsong slowly closed his eyes once more, continuing to hum as if Kleine's words were of no consequence.
With a swift slice, Kleine severed the ropes binding Wu Qingsong. Yet, after being restrained for so long, his limbs had become numb and stiff. It took him a moment to shake off the numbness and slowly stretch out.
"Ah~" A prolonged moan escaped his lips.
It was a mix of physical pain and inner jubilation. Though he had lost the battle, he had triumphed in this test of will.
Kleine couldn't help but snort, while Wu Qingsong slowly got up and gently moved his body within the cage.
"Just who are you?" Kleine demanded once more.
"I’m sorry," Wu Qingsong began, "I'm hungry, thirsty, and I stink. I'm really not in the best mood for conversation. How about you do me a favor and tie me up again?”
"You'd best not overstep," Kleine warned, a shadow crossing his face.
"So, are you tying me up again or not?" Wu Qingsong countered, attempting a smile.
***
Now in clean attire, with a covered chamber pot beside his cage, along with some fresh straw, it still spelled captivity. Yet, compared to his prior state, it was akin to luxury.
After savoring the final bite of roasted meat, Wu Qingsong released a contented burp and patted his belly.
"That hit the spot," he remarked to Kleine.
"Who exactly are you?" Kleine's expression remained stern as he posed the question once more.
"Given your evident sincerity, I suppose I can tell you," Wu Qingsong said, walking leisurely within his cage to aid digestion. "You can address me as Wu."
"Wu?" Kleine pressed further. "And where do you hail from?"
"From a place known as Karazhan," Wu Qingsong responded.
Throughout his captivity, as he constantly matched wits with this elf named Kleine, Wu Qingsong's thoughts centered on plotting his escape. Total silence was no solution. Although Kleine seemed at a loss by his non-violent resistance, the control remained in Kleine's hands. If Wu Qingsong truly bore no significance to him, Kleine could easily bury him alive or drown him. Survival aside, such a fate would strip life of any meaning.
Kleine's mounting impatience, coupled with his frequent compromises, hinted at his hope to gain something from Wu Qingsong. And if that goal remained unmet, more brutal methods would undoubtedly be employed.
Therefore, Wu Qingsong had to dangle a thread of hope, prompting Kleine to invest further, improving Wu Qingsong's circumstances and potentially providing an opportunity to escape.
"Karazhan?" Kleine echoed with a hint of skepticism, unfamiliar with the name.
"It's a tower located deep within a forest and swamp…" Wu Qingsong began, striving to look tormented by painful memories to hide his true emotions. Thankfully, his control over facial expressions had vastly improved over time, and Kleine couldn't discern any hint of deceit from him
"And where might this be?" Kleine persisted.
"I’m not sure. I roamed that forest alone for a long time, almost two to three months, before stumbled upon that village," Wu Qingsong replied, shaking his head. "All I recall is Medivh calling that area 'The Windward Path'. I've lived there for as long as I can remember.”
"Medivh? The Windward Path?"
"Yes," Wu Qingsong confirmed, suppressing a powerful urge to burst out laughing, and nodded solemnly. "Medivh is the lord of that tower."
Thanks to the many novels and films he had absorbed over the years, Wu Qingsong understood that the most persuasive lies contained a rich blend of detail and truth, peppered with just a hint of falsehoods.
Yet, revealing his true identity to Kleine was out of the question.
For Wu Qingsong, a game world that closely mirrored his present reality, and that had consumed vast amounts of his time and energy, became the natural choice to draw upon. Although it had been years since he actively played the game, given his preparations for the rigorous national college entrance exams, a recent CGI film based on the game had rejuvenated his memories. He even logged back in to revisit a dungeon he had mastered countless times before. These refreshed memories, combined with nuanced details from both the game and the film, became his tools for navigating Kleine's incessant questions.
As anticipated, while Wu's narratives closely matched Kleine's assumptions, the elf was insatiable in his quest for more details. Thankfully, Wu Qingsong didn't need to concoct a new world and characters from scratch. Instead, he painted pictures of characters and scenes he knew intimately. He also cleverly cast himself as an inconspicuous servant, constrained to limited quarters, allowing him to conveniently sidestep certain details due to his supposed lowly status which he wouldn't be privy to.
Medivh, the secluded, powerful, and somewhat schizophrenic mage. Moroes, the loyal steward. Cook, the portly cook. Khadgar, Medivh's only eager-to-learn apprentice. The magical, animated metal statues and the illusions that roamed the surrounding forest and abandoned town, resulted from failed spells. All these details swiftly painted a vivid, mysterious world for Kleine, aligning perfectly with his speculations. Wu Qingsong's familiarity with these characters and his casual recounts gradually dispelled Kleine's suspicions.
How could a half-elf possibly conceive that in Wu Qingsong's world, there existed a means to experience an entirely different life?
The great Archmage Medivh. The mage apprentice Khadgar.
Kleine etched these names deeply in his memory and resolved to deploy every connection at his disposal to investigate these two figures.
Although, according to Wu Qingsong's depiction, Medivh was an enigmatic and perilous archmage, the allure of potential success prompted Kleine to chance an encounter.
Wu Qingsong, of course, remained tight-lipped about his reasons for leaving Karazhan. Yet, Kleine believed he had seen through him. Even if Wu Qingsong truly played as marginal a role in the tower as he asserted, facilitating his return might just endear Kleine to the mage apprentice, Khadgar. Kleine was convinced that an elf, willing to abandon the luxuries of the imperial capital for rigorous tutelage, thereby inheriting the mantle of such a renowned mage, couldn't possibly be ordinary.
"Now you know everything you wanted to know, when will I be free?" Wu Qingsong inquired with feigned innocence.
"Once I ascertain the authenticity of your tale," Kleine responded.
'Ascertain the authenticity? I hope you live long enough and have broad enough connections,' mused Wu Qingsong internally, subtly stretching his limbs and offering a gentle nod.
