Chapter 3: The Roasting Room

- Hey, dog.

Zero reaction.

- Hey, slave.

Zero reaction.

- Hey you, with the collar on! - Po Lay was furious.

- What? - said the Untouchable, not opening his eyes.

- Is there any water in here?

It had been a couple of hours since the funny group had been in the Roasting room. And if the first hour was quite bearable, from the second even the cultivators began to be thirsty. Not to mention the general state of the body, which had begun to show signs of overheating.

It was hot and stuffy - that's what Roasting room was all about. And if the older ones were holding on more or less, the kids quickly gave up and started whining.

- Three times a day. - The Untouchable came up short. - One liter of water every eight hours. It's the only way to measure time here.

- Uhm. Thanks. - Po Lay was pleased with the information he received. The people cheered up. Five days without water would be too much. In the Creating Wisps Sphere, cultivators still need to eat and drink. From the Soaring Core Sphere, on the other hand, they could do without worldly food.

The Untouchable, on the other hand, smiled mentally. These kids don't know yet how insidious the Roasting room is.

The news that there would be water pleased everyone. But the two older cultivators frowned. They were older not only in age, but also in cultivation level, both having reached the four wisps. The reason for their dissatisfaction was simple: they discovered another unpleasant side of the Roasting room. There was almost no Qi here. The heated air array on the floor was also absorbing all the free Qi, leaving a measly crumbs, unfit for cultivation. Simply put, cultivators wouldn't be able to cultivate the entire time of punishment, and they would have to suffer like ordinary mortals.

- Hey you, isn't that a slave collar? - Cheered up, Po Lay decided to kill time by talking to the Untouchable.

- Is the slave collar can be undone? - Instead of answering, the worker asked, one eye ajar.

- I think not. - Po Lay was confused.

The Untouchable sat up, fiddled with the back of his neck a bit, and removed the collar. Demonstratively he waved it in the air and put it back on.

- If you can take it off, why are you wearing it? - Po Lay asked stunned.

- As a precaution. - Reluctantly he explained. - I have no Qi and without the collar I could catch some fever here in a couple of days.

- So it protects you from the outside world? - Po Lay felt the injustice.

- They had it specially tuned for me. - Reluctantly he clarified. - It protects one from diseases. But I can feel everything, the heat, the cold, the wind. So, in that sense, you cultivators have the advantage.

- What is the chain for? - Po Lei couldn't help his curiosity.

- You'll find out soon enough. - The Untouchable's smile was tender to the point of shivers. - In the meantime, you'd better save your breath. It takes a lot of moisture to talk.

With these words, the worker lay down, with his back turned to his cellmates. And no matter how much Po Lay tried, there was no further response to the words.

***

By the end of eight hours, silence in the hall resembled a grave. Everyone's throats were dry, especially those who had talked a lot at first. It seemed that a desert had settled in the mouth, and now it was carefully sprinkling sand on the way down into the body. It was bad for everyone. Some got a headache, others felt dizzy.

The appearance of water, even at the rate of one liter jug, caused a storm of joy. Most ignored the additional food.

The Untouchable only took a few sips of water, watching indifferently as the children drank almost the entire jug at once. Now the second stage of suffering was about to begin.

The two older disciples had already figured out that this was not the first time the worker had been here and knew better how to endure the hardships of this place. Thus, it was better to be guided by him in their actions. They were also well aware that if they drank all the water now, there would be nothing to drink for the next eight hours. And the thirst will get stronger and stronger. So the older ones drank no more than a quarter, leaving the rest for later. The jugs were perfectly secured between the bars of the floor. They also followed the Untouchable's example by eating all the food offered. It was also energy, and would help sustain their strength in the absence of Qi.

Most of the teenagers, though they had the good sense to save some water for later, only looked at the food. They did not want to eat from the heat. Poor souls did not understand that in this heat the food would spoil very quickly, and in an hour they would not want to eat it for some other reason.

Some, unaccustomed to the hardships, drank all the water at once. They even asked for more.

Alas, their short joy was quickly replaced by more agony. They began to sweat. Moisture came out with their sweat. They were thirsty again, but there was not a drop left.

Watching their agony, the Untouchable took another sip of water, then fixed the jug between the bars and made sure the lid was tight against the neck.

The responsible elder watched with an impenetrable face. In his heart, he rejoiced at the misfortune of the youngsters. They were used to getting away with everything. That they could get what they wanted on short notice. They weren't used to calculating the consequences. That's how they got screwed in the first eight hours. And the real test hasn't even started yet. That's what will happen tomorrow...

The worst was for those who shared a cage with a neighbor. If one of them still had a drop of water, a fight broke out over it.

After a few more hours, the disciples began to faint.

Then Untouchable had a seizure. His body trembled and then arched. A wild scream pierced the silence of the Roasting room, frightening the disciples into wet pants. The chain on his collar glowed and stretched sharply, wrapping rings around his agonizing body. The tied up worker was lifted off the floor. One of the coils of chain slipped between the Untouchable's teeth, fixing his mouth, which immediately reduced the intensity of the screams.

The seizure lasted about ten minutes. The disciples stared in shock at the convulsing body. The screams of pain echoed inside, making the body grow cold and the hair move.

The elder in charge sighed softly. And so it was every day. Sometimes several times a day. Why to punish him further? Sometimes he had the feeling that the unknown elder had ordered all the fighters to be placed in one pile just to show them the real punishment.

At the end of the seizure, the chain slowly unwound, gently lowering the tortured body to the floor. Then it rolled up and returned to its usual state of bling on its collar.

The disciples stared dumbfounded at the Untouchable. Hearing that he was having seizures was one thing. Seeing with their own eyes is quite another. Those with weaker mental health were in for a long nightmare.

A few minutes later, the worker's body moved. The Untouchable sat up carefully. He waited a while until his hands stopped shaking, took out a jug of water and took a few sips. Then he put the precious water back where it belonged. He leaned against the side bars of the cage and stood still. Everything was done in familiar, mastered movements.

And then Po Lay suddenly understood why Untouchable had voluntarily dragged both the collar and the chain. Without them, he would have died of his seizures. It really didn't matter how it looked from the outside.

And with all of that, he still managed to stay sane and calm. Anybody else would have been hysterical by now. At least, Po Lay wasn't sure about himself.