Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 422 I'm Crippled!

Three days elapsed!

Within the tightly secured healer's tent, the flow of time dragged on sluggishly.

Bai Zihan rested still on the jade bed, his breaths shallow yet even, encircled by multiple defensive arrays and subtle scents of healing herbs. His fingers stirred faintly.

Hardly noticeable.

Suddenly-

"Argh!"

A rough, tormented moan slipped from his mouth.

Torment surged over him like an overwhelming flood.

It filled every part.

Through his arms and legs.

Across his torso.

Deep in his skeleton.

Even inhaling once felt like pulling broken shards across his insides.

Bai Zihan's eyes cracked open unsteadily.

Hazy brightness overwhelmed his sight.

His skull pounded fiercely, recollections sluggish and scattered, unwilling to connect. "Where... am I...?"

His tone came out feeble, parched, scarcely like his own.

He attempted to shift.

Immediate remorse.

A fierce burst of suffering tore across his frame, drawing a choked breath as he fell back against the bed.

His thoughts spun wildly.

Scenes emerged in sequence.

His eyes contracted sharply.

"...Right."

Remembrance hit him fully now.

The battle against Mó Zūn.

Grand Elders' prompt intervention and the caution given to Mó Zūn.

And afterward-

Blackness.

His respiration sped up a bit as yet another recall emerged.

"Feilian..."

He called out on reflex.

No effect.

No reply.

His chest tightened.

Again, he attempted it.

Quiet!

Bai Zihan gritted his teeth.

"...Feilian?"

Yet no sound.

Regret seeped into him, weighing more than the hurt.

The details replayed vividly in his mind.

She had channeled her entire Soul Power to him without a second thought—solely to offer him an escape route.

A path that almost drained her completely.

Yet he rejected it and pushed to keep battling.

And his reward?

Zero.

He remained clueless about Luo Qing's location—or if she even survived.

All that came back was his brush with death, plus Feilian depleting her Soul Power.

It had been a foolish choice.

He sensed Feilian's essence lingering in the Soul-Confining Artifact, though it felt like she slumbered.

That awareness sparked a trace of comfort—but it failed to lift the burden from his soul.

Bai Zihan shut his eyes, his breaths irregular.

(Luo Qing... why did they seize her?)

If the goal was leverage against him—or the Bai Clan—then Mó Zun would have used it by now.

She hadn't been present in that camp anyway.

So why?

A random event?

The idea arose—but he dismissed it at once.

Maybe... yet he doubted Demonic Cultivators would snatch a commoner instead of targeting a Bai Clan figure.

His gaze lifted gradually.

Icy determination flickered amid the ache.

"Just wait..."

Though faint, his words carried a cutting edge.

"No matter the motive, I'll drag the truth from you personally."

Whatever the cost.

Right at that instant-

"You're awake?!"

A known voice echoed.

Bai Zihan tilted his head a touch.

Bai Xueqing lingered by the tent's entrance, her eyes round with obvious surprise.

A weak grin pulled at Bai Zihan's mouth amid the suffering.

"What?" he rasped. "Did you expect me to perish?"

"You-!"

Bai Xueqing parted her lips for a comeback, yet the retort died unspoken.

She halted.

And just gazed at him.

Moments ticked by.

The quiet lingered—dense and uncomfortable.

Bai Zihan moved a fraction, then flinched.

"Ahem!"

He cleared his throat, shattering the strain.

Bai Xueqing's eyes fluttered—as though emerging from a daze.

"I-I'll fetch Father!"

She spun sharply and dashed from the tent.

Soon after, rapid steps resounded beyond.

The entrance flap parted.

Bai Tianheng strode in ahead.

Trailing him were a few Grand Elders.

Chu Ziyan joined too, her look brimming with concern—and joy.

Along with the healers.

"Zihan'er... you've come to."

Bai Tianheng's voice stayed soft, yet the ease in it shone through.

He advanced quickly, halting near the bed.

For an instant, the mighty Clan Head resembled no leader of forces—merely a parent who dreaded losing his child.

The healers moved without delay.

The chief healer approached, face serious, and sent out his spiritual sense anew.

Soft currents of Qi flowed over Bai Zihan's form while the group observed quietly.

Moments slipped away.

At last, the healer pulled back and breathed out.

"His state has steadied," he declared. "No more threat to his life."

A quiet sigh of ease spread across the space.

Bai Tianheng shut his eyes for a second.

"Thank the heavens..."

Yet the healer stayed tense.

He paused, then went on. "Still—"

The atmosphere turned thick once more.

"Young Master Bai, etch this firmly in your mind," the healer stated, voice stern.

"The wounds you endured... they've never been seen before. You outlasted what ought to have ended you instantly."

His stare fixed on Bai Zihan.

"Nearly all your meridians lie ruined past mending."

Quiet descended!

"A regular existence awaits you," the healer pressed on deliberately. "But starting now, cultivation is forbidden."

"Should you try channeling Qi once more," he cautioned, "the leftover meridians will break apart fully. Your dantian might rupture, sealing your fate."

The tent hung utterly silent.

This went beyond harm.

It served as a sentence.

A ruined cultivator, reduced to mortal status.

Chu Ziyan's face grew rigid, her hands clenching tightly.

Bai Tianheng faced his son again, eyes burdened.

They lingered.

Anticipating fury.

Utter hopelessness.

Rejection.

At minimum—some fierce response.

Yet Bai Zihan's features stayed steady.

His look held serene.

Nearly detached.

It mirrored the face he showed amid combat.

Bai Tianheng's spirit dropped.

"Zihan'er," he queried softly, tone milder than any there had witnessed,

"do you grasp the doctor's words?"

Briefly, they suspected he missed it.

Maybe the blow had dulled his senses.

Maybe the message hadn't landed. Then Bai Zihan replied.

"Yeah, isn't it that my meridians are nearly all wrecked?"

Nothing more.

No resentment.

No outcry. No sorrow. Zilch.

The tent stayed hushed.

A disturbing hush.

As though the ruling held no sway over him whatsoever.

"Do you really get what that implies?"

Bai Tianheng pressed.

Bai Zihan understood his father's probe.

He sought comfort—to prove it was trivial and readily curable.

But his gaze locked with Chu Ziyan's.

(Maybe... this could be a chance.)

"Isn't it straightforward?" Bai Zihan responded evenly.

"I'm crippled!"