How am I not dead...?

He had lost the fight against Lee Shaan rather quickly, considering how badly his energy had been drained previously, but when his right eye cracked open the slightest amount and he took in a strangled breath, Huang couldn't understand how he was still alive.

His vision was nauseatingly blurry, and when he tried to move at all, a heavy weight piercing through his chest easily held him pinned in place on a large stone slab. It didn't take his throbbing mind long to realize that he was still run-through with Lee Shaan's large sword.

That made him even more confused. There was absolutely no way he should still be alive, yet the horrific pain coursing through his bloody body did not lie. His heart still beat... somehow.

His mind slowly began to turn to more reasonable subjects, simply accepting the illogical fact as it were, and trying to figure out a way to make his broken body move well enough to escape a second attempt at being killed.

Not going to happen.

He just didn't have the energy. Not a single drop remained that wasn't being automatically directed to somehow keeping his heart pumping. He wasn't even sure he had enough blood left to sustain his body.

Perhaps I'm just at the end of my life. Waiting for my system to finish succumbing.

It made the most sense out of any of his other guesses. Either way, if it would stop the horrific pain radiating through every inch of him, he'd gladly close his eyes for the last time. He'd done as much as he could to help Han Qi and Zen. Of course, he wished that he could have done so much more, but that was clearly not meant to be.

"Life... is a fickle thing," he rasped, surprised that his whispered voice was even audible enough for his ears to pick up.

The sound of something rustling stole his attention a moment later, but he quickly gave up trying to locate where it was coming from. It wasn't like he could see much of anything, let alone be able to react to an attack. So, he waited in silence.

A cold, gloved hand soon found its way to the side of his face. Its thick fingers moved to grip his chin tightly, turning it this way and that, as if trying to figure out the same question he wanted an answer for.

How on earth was he still alive?

"What do you make of this?"

Lee Shaan...

Having an enemy so close made him want to attack, or cast a defensive barrier, or simply push his right eye to fully open enough to see well, and yet, he could do none of those things.

"I've not seen something like this before," came an unfamiliar, awed voice.

The owner of it came closer, his warm, nervous hands fiddling with Yuen's face and checking the pulse at his neck and wrists.

"He should truly be dead, and yet he clearly still lives," the unknown voice said as Huang felt the man's hands wander to his chest and begin cutting away at his torn clothing there.

"Ah, there is our answer, my lord," he said as he brushed something away from Huang's bare, bloody skin right where the sword pierced his flesh.

"His soul cannot leave. This body owns less than half, somehow. It cannot leave unless it has the majority."

There was tense silence for a long moment before Huang felt Lee Shaan grab hold of the hilt of his massive blade. The slight motion it caused within his chest made him unable to hold back a muffled cry.

"That is a sound I have dreamed of hearing for many, many years," Lee Shaan said as he abruptly yanked his giant sword from Huang's chest.

Blood pooled in the back of his throat, making him cough constantly or risk suffocating on it... if he could actually die. He wasn't really sure how, because he knew that he couldn't move himself, but he suddenly found himself being turned onto his side, allowing him to let the blood run freely from his slightly parted lips.

"Is there no way to kill him without finding the other piece of his soul? I'd bet this devil tore it out on purpose so that he could not be slain," Lee Shaan said as Huang heard him sheathe his bloodied sword.

"There is no way to kill him," the other man said nervously as he began moving tangled, bloody hair from Yuen's face, likely in order to see it better, then helped him roll back onto his back. The large leather glove returned to grasp part of Huang's neck at that moment, adding pressure for a moment as he spoke.

"Not even here? It is quite hard to live without a head," he said, making Huang's heart speed up for the briefest moment before fatigue calmed it down.

He knew the answer to that question since the initial reason for his lack of dying had been confirmed.

"He would live, but he would be without his senses or an understanding of anything any longer," the man said, earning an interested hum for Lee Shaan.

"How long would it take for him to recover if left him here alone?" he asked then, perhaps not fond of him being unaware of his suffering if he were to decapitate him.

The other man thought through the question for a minute before responding.

"There's no way to really tell. He has less than half a soul, so his recovery will definitely not be swift. If I had to guess, I'd say at least a week before he can even move enough to sit up. And that's if you bother to give him any food or water and he can still use his spiritual skills."

Lee Shaan scoffed at that statement.

"Waste such things on him? I would never," he spat out before Yuen heard him begin to walk away.

"Do what you want with him. I can tell you want to study what is going on. If you find any good ways to torture him, I want to know immediately when I return," he said before Huang heard what sounded like the flap of a tent being swung open, then drift closed a few moments later.

The energy from the man now quickly bustling about made him nervous. He was already in enough pain after having been stabbed straight through the heart, he desperately just wished for a few sips of water and some rest.

"What to do first. What to do first," the man said to himself as the sounds of him sorting through items met Huang's ears.

"I wonder how your soul was torn apart without killing you," he asked in excitement, though the question was more to himself than Huang.

Either way, he decided to try his luck with it. After giving a few more meager coughs to expel some of the remaining blood in his throat, Huang whispered, "I tore it out to save... someone worthy of it."

He heard an excited hum from the man, who had clearly not expected to get an actual answer to his mumbled question.

"Oh? You tore it out yourself?" he asked, the eagerness in his voice practically begging for more answers.

Instead of giving them to him, however, Huang struggled to lick his cracked lips. When that didn't give him any respite, he spoke again.

"Water..."

The man hesitated for a long moment, clearly considering his request. Huang knew that Lee Shaan would not waste water on him, but he did not say whether his physician could or not. He had just told him to do what he wanted.

His request was soon fulfilled when he felt the man's hand gently turn and lift his head just enough to allow him to slowly pour some cool water between his chapped lips.

Thankfully, the man was generous, allowing him to have quite a bit before he lowered his head back down and put away his water flask. Huang took a few moments to relax before he answered the excited man's previous question.

"I tore it out myself, twice."

The man clapped abruptly, clearly happy with his confirmation.

"Magnificent! Your reputation is well earned. Very well earned, indeed," he said as Huang heard the man lean over him and then felt him begin to poke around the hole in his chest left behind by Lee Shaan's blade.

"I'm surprised my lord was able to beat you without much damage to himself. When he told me who you were, I expected him to come back with much graver wounds..."

When the man's sentence ran off into silence, Huang wasn't sure how to respond. Did he want an answer at all, or was he simply mumbling to himself again? Since he was already extremely limited on energy, he decided to close his barely-open eye and try calm himself as much as possible. Thankfully, the man was sprinkling some sort of numbing agent around the area he was poking about, making it at least somewhat bearable.

"Don't tell my lord that I am using numbing powder on you. He would have my head faster than yours," he said, making Huang silently agree to hold his tongue on the subject.

He had no reason to make his own life harder. It was already about as bad as it could get at that moment.

They both remained silent as the man slowly explored his injuries, specifically paying close attention to the tiny portion of his heart that he could see through the large gash in his chest. He then spent some time on smaller cuts and a few blue areas spread out along his lower left arm, left leg, and right torso.

Lee Shaan's freezing spell on his sword had caught him a few times once he'd begun running out of energy to dodge well or put up barriers.

"You have quite some frostbite, too. It will heal, though you may have trouble with those areas in the future," the man said as he cut a small sample from one of the damaged spots on his left arm.

Once done with his initial check, the man, to Huang's surprise, returned to where his head rested and gently lifted it again. A few moments later and he felt a gentle flow of water slip between his lips. He drank for a few seconds before being laid down again. Not a minute later he heard the flap to the tent swing open again, and the now-familiar heavy footsteps of Lee Shaan sounded as they grew closer.

"Find anything yet?" he asked, clearly having no patience when it came to figuring out a good way to torture his new prisoner.

When Huang heard no immediate response from the physician, he was grateful. Of course, there were plenty of ways to torture him right then. His heart was even easily accessible to damage further, but it seemed like Lee Shaan wanted a permanent solution. Either death, or something that would keep him from recovering, forcing him to stay in the same horribly-pained state for the remainder of his days.

"Nothing yet, my lord, but I did find out how he lost the other part of his soul," the man said, making Huang nervous.

"Oh? How did that happen? Perhaps we can simply go take it back. Then we can rid the world of this filthy demon once and for all," Lee Shaan said, his words sounding far too interested for his liking.

To get back his soul, they would have to tear it out of Zen. That would kill him even if his body remained intact... but it would also kill Han Qi because of their cursed bond.

"He said that he tore it out himself to give to someone else," the man said, making Lee Shaan bark out a disbelieving laugh.

"Tore it out himself? This bloody murderer? Who could possibly matter more to him than himself? I doubt that he even cares if his father lives or dies, yet he told you that he tore his soul out himself, to give to someone else?"

It truly was hard to believe. And the fact that he had actually done it twice even baffled his own mind. Luckily, that last time he'd done it to save Zen from his possessed weapon had given the young man just enough of it to literally hold his life in his hands. Now, if Zen died, all three of them would perish.

Strong gloved fingers grabbed his jaw, forcing his head to tilt slightly. If he could open his eyes, he'd have no doubt that he'd be looking right into the Lee Shaan's burning ones.

"Who is so great that they made the king's own curse master son tear himself apart for them?" Lee Shaan asked tauntingly, then added. "Was it a woman? Did his fake highness fall for a lassie?"

Huang kept his mouth closed, not daring to answer. He barely had enough energy left to concentrate on the mans words, if he let anything slip, he might not be able to explain the repercussions of acting. He had no doubt that the man would cut Zen down if it meant getting to Qi, but Lee Shaan didn't know that Qi's life depended on Zen's, and he doubted that the man would believe him if he said that killing the man's young guard would end his highness's life, too.

"Ah..."

What?

"You gave it to that little curse. Han Qi's guard," Lee Shaan said, putting the pieces together quite quickly.

"That solves one mystery I've always been curious about. I knew that it was impossible to create a living, breathing curse, and yet Qi's little guard was walking about just fine when we first met all those years ago. He is still well, even now. I'm sure there is more to it than just that simple explanation, but it gives me the information I need. I will banish that curse, and retrieve the remaining piece of your soul. Then you will die by my hands and Qi will take his place at my side," Lee Shaan said, clearly content with his idea.

Huang knew that he needed to explain the stipulations that were involved immediately so he channeled as much of his remaining energy as he could and put it all toward his next, carefully-chosen words, and prayed with his entire being that Lee Shaan cared more for Han Qi than he did for getting his revenge.

"Killing Zen will kill Qi."

A firm, suffocating grip wrapped around his throat, cutting off his already-damaged airway.

"Do not think that I will not cut out that venomous tongue of yours, you bastard. I will not tolerate lies from you!"

Huang gasped mutely as he began feeling his consciousness fade away. He'd already been struggling to breathe, so it was no surprise when he began to feel his mind slipping.

"Master, please forgive me, but he is not lying. You know that I can always tell when others lie. His words were correct. Somehow, if my lord kills the young curse at Qi's side, then Han Qi, himself, will perish, too."

He immediately felt the man's hand tighten around his neck, making Huang nervous that he might actually break it.

"My lord, it is good that we have this knowledge. You favor master Qi, but do not care for his guard. You would have dispatched him easily if this man had not gotten in the way. If you had done that, you would have unintentionally killed his highness, too," the physician reasoned, making Lee Shaan's hand eventually loosen its grip, then disappear.

Huang didn't even have the energy to cough much as he struggled to remain breathing. He heard a faint grunt of frustration from Lee Shaan, but when a hand moved to cover his mouth, he thought that he'd somehow ordered the physician to finish suffocating him into unconsciousness. However, instead of feeling his remaining oxygen fade away, he felt an invigorating wave flow through his lips and swim through his battered body.

To his surprise, he was allowed to use the offered spiritual energy for several minutes, replenishing far more strength than he thought possible.

"Enough," came Lee Shaan's order after a decent amount of time, making the lifeline effectively shut off without further warning.

Huang felt the terrible pain return quickly, but he used a good amount of the energy he'd received to help heal some of his more terrible wounds enough to no longer be life-threatening... if he did ever get his soul back abruptly. Which he hoped he never would. Once that was done, he was mostly drained again, but at least his breathing was less ragged and he could open his eyes the slightest amount.

"Quite impressive," the physician said with an enthusiasm that Lee Shaan clearly didn't share.

Instead, he turned and glared at Huang, making him, for the first time in his life, avert his gaze. He understood his situation well enough.

"Chain him up against the rock wall and cast a silencing spell. I do not want any mistakes," Lee Shaan said, earning a quick nod from the other man before heading for the door.

He stopped at the exit, then turned to meet Huang's risen eyes, which were quickly averted again.

"Blindfold him, too."

He was then gone, leaving him with his thankfully-nice, physician.