Tang Qi felt a dull ache in his head, like he had swallowed sleeping pills last night and been forcibly dragged out of bed less than three hours later.
His breathing came unevenly, his chest tight. He opened his eyes with a gasp, only to find himself surrounded by impenetrable darkness. Then he realized he was wrapped inside a cramped vessel.
He tried to raise a hand, but branches were coiled around him. He could only tear away the vines covering his chest first and pull out the roots embedded in his chest,
and brain—
Strangely, it did not hurt. Instead, it felt like some part of his body was being pulled away.
Sap dripped from the roots onto his clothes, followed by a faint, pleasant fragrance. It was probably wild lily pollen.
His body felt weak. He tried to pull himself out of the solution, but no matter what he did, he could not muster any strength.
"Yiwu!"
Yiwu woke on his shoulder. With his newly grown, tiny fangs, he tore apart the vines, then used gravity to support Tang Qi until he stood steady.
"Good job."
Tang Qi gently stroked the little dragon's head with a finger, only to find it staring at him eagerly and repeatedly calling out, "Yiwu."
It was probably hungry.
He instinctively reached into his dimensional pouch.
Only to discover that his pack was gone.
He could only keep soothing the little dragon. "Can you wait a little longer?"
"Yiwu!"
Tang Qi immediately looked around. He could not tell whether his eyes had adjusted to the darkness or whether the scattered fireflies had illuminated the scene before him.
But he did clearly see the coffin beneath his feet.
It was a cocoon woven from willow-like vines. They had wrapped him against the ground, merging