Chapter 112: The Cut
Zhou Qian’s struggles and convulsions were becoming more frequent.
If he hadn’t been tortured to the point of complete exhaustion, there’s no way Huai Yu’s meager strength would’ve been able to restrain him at all.
But now, with his hands tied, he could only let Huai Yu trace patterns across the back and center of his palms.
She really was just tracing—everything so far was mere guesswork and experimentation. Huai Yu had no experience with this. She hastily burned the eggshell a little (though to be honest, with the mutated spider venom being this potent, she wasn’t sure if burning it even mattered).
Still, there was no better option at the moment.
It had only been a few minutes since Zhou Qian was taken off the potion, and his tolerance was plummeting while the pain spread even faster.
A grotesque black swelling on the back of his hand, connected to his palm, began to squirm slowly, spider-web-like lines radiating from it.
Seeing this, Huai Yu didn’t hesitate any longer.
She grabbed the eggshell knife and gently sliced along the grotesque mark from the back of Zhou Qian’s hand down to his palm.
She really did do it gently!
She swore to the heavens!
But the eggshell knife turned out to be far sharper than she expected. With just that one stroke, the entire blackened patch of skin flipped open, and red blood mixed with thick black fluid gushed out, quickly forming a foul-smelling puddle on the floor.
And then—Huai Yu pulled away the towel from Zhou Qian’s face and found that his tightly knit brows had slightly relaxed. Clearly, the pain had lessened.
It worked!
Overjoyed, she cautiously poured the Celery-leaved buttercup potion from the bucket onto his wound.
His hand suddenly clenched tight, the wound tore open further—but even more of that black fluid gushed out.
Before long, only bright red blood remained.
Huai Yu was ecstatic!
Her gaze quickly moved to Zhou Qian’s arm.
Zhou Qian awoke from a hazy stupor to pitch darkness. A damp towel with a strange smell was draped over his face, and his breath felt hot and humid.
Then came a full-body wave of pain.
It felt like his flesh had been torn apart by a thousand hands, his body beaten for three days, and his leg… violently hacked off.
He struggled weakly—his entire body ached and was numb. His arms were tied, and one leg brushed against what felt like a confined space.
Through the fog in his mind, he recalled—
The aerial roots of the banyan tree had crushed his leg bones, the spider silk from the Kou Spider had bound him tightly to a web, and then it had bitten down on his immobilized leg.
At that moment, the leg had gone cold, like something had burrowed inside. Then came the mind-splitting pain, so intense it broke his sanity. He only remembered someone returning, dragging him away—
“The neurotoxin is already spreading—”
“The Kou Spider’s digestive enzymes have already started dissolving the shattered bones and leg flesh…”
“The left leg is swollen and necrotic—don’t press it! The tissue under the skin is already liquefied…”
“Hurry! Don’t hesitate. Where’s the electric saw? Amputation is the only way to survive—”
“The neurotoxin is too strong. Antivenom isn’t working! He’s in shock—”
“The electric knife…”
Countless chaotic images and voices flooded his mind, but only the pain stood out vividly—growing worse and worse, until he couldn’t endure anymore—
And then Huai Yu!
She came!
Zhou Qian’s eyes snapped open.
Had he… already fallen into a coma in the Rose Corridor?
But if he was already comatose, why did he still feel pain and blindness…?
He moved his head, and the damp towel slipped off his face with a soft plop, falling into the water.
Darkness remained. There was only a faint flicker of fire from the stove. But his vision was blurred—he couldn’t make out anything.
He opened his mouth to speak, but only a hoarse rasp came out. Then a hand reached out, precisely finding the towel in the dark, gave it a token squeeze, and draped it back over his face.
The motion brushed against his cheekbone and face, causing a sharp burst of pain.
The world returned to darkness, and the strange wet smell surrounded his mouth and nose.
His body felt like ants were crawling all over it—numb and prickling—while also aching as though he’d been roasted alive. Speaking of roasting—he was starving. His stomach was twisting in knots.
He couldn’t help but jerk his head again, and the towel fell off once more with a “plop.”
“Sigh…”
From the darkness, someone sighed in exasperation and muttered, “It fell off again?”
Zhou Qian opened his mouth, and after a long pause, managed to squeeze out some sound, “…Huai Yu?”
The room was suddenly filled with the clattering of falling objects, then a loud thud, followed by Huai Yu’s sharp gasp—She must have bumped into something.
A moment later, light gradually filled the room, and Zhou Qian blinked through the haze until he finally saw the limping young woman making her way over.
After a pause, he gave a faint smile and whispered, “Little Yu.”
Huai Yu looked at him, her eyes lighting up with blazing joy, “Zhou Qian Zhou Qian Zhou Qian Zhou Qian!!! You’re finally alive!!”
She rushed over and naturally picked up the towel, soaking and slapping it back on his face. Then she seemed to realize something and hurriedly pulled it off.
The coarse cotton brushed against Zhou Qian’s face, instantly making him wince in sharp pain.
“Hiss…”
Huai Yu fumbled awkwardly. “Sorry, sorry! I’m just used to it… Do you feel anything now?”
Zhou Qian wanted to smile, but his body hurt too much. He didn’t understand what state he was in either, so he just answered honestly, “Pain.”
Seeing the girl’s face grow tense, he quickly added, afraid of scaring her, “It’s strange… my leg’s the one that got cut off, but it’s numb now. The rest of my body feels like it’s been sliced up into a hundred pieces.”
Huai Yu: …
Her face turned more and more awkward.
Zhou Qian looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
As he spoke, the motion tugged on his cheek and cheekbone wounds, causing another sharp sting and a tight sensation that covered a wide area. He couldn’t help but wince again.
“N-nothing…”
Huai Yu stammered. “The poison in your body was too strong. I had no other option, so I tried something desperate… uh… I used a little knife to cut open your skin and help drain the toxins.”
“And, um, the drainage area…”
She held up her pinky, “Might be just a little bit… large.”
Then she casually splashed the water surface, seemed to notice it wasn’t warm enough, so she scooped out a basin and expertly added hot water from a kettle nearby.
Zhou Qian’s chilled body slowly began to warm.
He smiled gently, looking as kind as ever, “It’s alright. Just being alive is the greatest luck.”
He thought his smile was full of reassurance, but Huai Yu only glanced at him once before quickly lowering her head again.
—
Author’s Note:
I’m back, but still writing!! Goodnight for now on this side.
