The inn was silent, a silence so profound one could hear a pin drop. The occupants felt as if they were sealed in a jar, their breathing slowing as the air within thinned.
Nan Shiying spotted a small incense burner on the inn's counter. She beckoned to Ying, who glanced at her before retrieving a porcelain bottle from his embrace and placing it in her palm. Nan Shiying fiddled with the bottle's opening, shaking it to listen to the echo. Then, she uncorked it and poured the remaining antidote into her hand.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on her hand. Was this the antidote? With only two pills left, did that mean only two of them would survive?
How could this be!
"Young Master, this humble one is willing to offer his lifelong accumulated fortune with both hands, solely seeking a chance to live!"
"Young Master, this humble one..."
"Young Master..."
Seeing one person beg for mercy, the rest, fearful of being left behind, all began to speak. The pleas overlapped, like a hundred mosquitoes buzzing around their ears, making their heads throb.
Nan Shiying frowned slightly. Xiao Man pointed at the crowd, took a deep breath, and let out a roar: "All of you, shut your mouths!"
As the sound wave passed, everyone wisely closed their mouths.
Nan Shiying's frown finally smoothed. Under everyone's gaze, she walked to the counter, opened the lid of the incense burner, crushed the antidote in her hand, and tossed it into the burner.
Everyone's hearts sank to the bottom.
What, did this person intend to silence them?
The blood-colored mist that had been lingering in the inn was swept outside by the wind, yet the pervasive smell of blood in the room was so thick it couldn't dissipate. Their fear surged to its peak, and an unspeakable anger and resentment welled up from their chests.
Some, with bloodshot eyes, stared at Nan Shiying, their faces contorted and distorted as they cursed her, wishing she would fall into the eighteen layers of hell after death to suffer the torments of blade mountains, seas of fire, and oil pots.
"I curse you, I curse you to have a terrible end, I curse you..."
The curse was abruptly cut short. Ying's sword sliced across the man's throat. The man remained in his previous posture, but his pupils had lost their light; he was as dead as could be.
Nan Shiying paid no mind, her gaze fixed on the unburnt incense in the burner. After a moment, the incense spontaneously ignited. Nan Shiying was quite pleased. Her eyes had evolved, the user manual updated to version 2.0—now capable of starting fires, lighting incense, and replacing tinder!
Nan Shiying closed the lid of the incense burner and turned back. She saw Ying standing amidst the blood pool, his sword in his grasp. Her gaze swept over the unlucky fellow beside him, who was undeniably dead, without lingering for even a second. She walked to Kuang Dao's side, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and effortlessly lifted him.
However, considering the difference in their builds, while it was said she lifted him, Kuang Dao's legs hung limply due to his weakness and could not bend. Thus, it was more like dragging. Kuang Dao was dragged like a sack to the side of the incense burner.
Nan Shiying casually tossed him aside.
Xiao Man ran to Kuang Dao's side and squatted down, propping her chin in her hands as she watched him. "Do it like me, huff~ breathe~ huff~ breathe~ Yes, yes, good. Do you feel anything?"
Kuang Dao wore a wry smile. Xiao Man's slightly upturned eyebrows and her gentle, praising words reminded Kuang Dao of the dog he had raised as a child. Oh, don't misunderstand; he wasn't saying Xiao Man looked like a dog at that moment, but rather that the way Xiao Man praised him, and her demeanor, were exactly like how he used to praise his puppy.
Kuang Dao remained silent for two seconds, deciding to suppress the thought in his mind. When he heard Xiao Man ask if he felt anything, he was taken aback. Feel? What feeling?
As he pondered, he raised his hand and rubbed his scalp.
Wait, his hand?
He could lift his hand?
Excitedly, Kuang Dao pushed himself up with his arm.
"I can move?" Kuang Dao wiggled his arm, then tried to stand up from the ground. Although his body still felt a bit weak, he could indeed stand.
"I can move, I really can move!"
Seeing Kuang Dao stand up, the others tried moving their arms. The limp feeling from before had vanished. They braced themselves on the table, sat up, then sat down again. Afterward, they circulated their internal energy, which flowed smoothly, no longer stagnating and blocking their meridians.
Was the poison on them resolved?
The crowd paused for a moment. When they saw the burning incense burner, they suddenly realized that the person crushing the antidote was not intending to kill them, but was employing a temporary measure when the antidote was insufficient. They looked down again at the unlucky fellow who had cursed out of fear and was then beheaded.
They felt both fortunate and a lingering fear.
Looking at the person before them, who appeared listless, with lowered eyebrows and his imposing aura restrained, appearing as gentle as a boy next door, they felt a moment of disorientation. Yet, the corpses on the ground and the blood-soaked surroundings repeatedly reminded them of this person's ruthlessness and madness.
"Thank you, Young Master, for sparing our lives!"
The crowd, unsure of what she was thinking and not daring to speculate, stood up and bowed deeply to her.
Kuang Dao was a beat late, but he also clasped his fists, bowed, and gave Nan Shiying a deep bow!
Nan Shiying seemed somewhat tired, disinclined to engage with the crowd. Her gaze remained fixed on Gong Zixun's corpse, wanting to dissect and study it. However, recalling the worms that could burrow into others' bodies, she felt a sense of aversion.
After a moment's thought, she stood up and walked to Chi Zu's side.
She extended her hand to Xiao Man, who handed her the dagger from her embrace. She then squatted down, looking at Chi Zu and then at Nan Shiying, her eyes shining reflectively. "Sister, are you going to dissect it??"
Nan Shiying nodded and then said to her, "Move further away."
Xiao Man blinked. Although she didn't quite understand why her sister wanted her to move away, she obediently shuffled back a few steps. Squatting, she couldn't see much, so Xiao Man stood up. She tiptoed, then felt her feet ache. She looked around, and finally stepped onto a chair, standing on the table, before squatting down contentedly.
The crowd, having bowed and received no response, suddenly heard a childish voice nearby. They looked up towards the source of the sound.
They watched as Nan Shiying inserted the dagger into Chi Zu's abdomen and then cut her open. Even those accustomed to the bloodshed of the martial world felt their stomachs churn. Amidst the upheaval, some gagged nauseatingly, while the novices among them directly vomited.
"Ugh~"
The sounds of retching were incessant.
Nan Shiying paid no attention to the reactions of the crowd. She was solely focused on dissecting Chi Zu's corpse, constantly observing the worms that had entered Chi Zu's body and were rapidly multiplying.
A worm crawled along the dagger towards Nan Shiying's hand, attempting to burrow into her body through her pores. Nan Shiying flicked her hand, and the worm, the moment it fell to the ground, instantly dissipated like smoke.
So, these worms must rely on flesh and blood to survive, but are they not limited to living beings?
Could isolated organs sustain them?
"Waiter, bring me a jar!"
She turned and ordered the inn's waiter.