Entering the Game

Huang Bao left, and the room fell silent once more.

Li Tui sat down, took off his shirt, and untied the bandages from that morning. The strips were soaked through with blood, dried hard and black; when he peeled them away, they clung to his flesh.

The three claw marks on his left arm had mostly closed. A thin, dark-red scab covered them, with only faint redness and swelling around the edges.

Li Tui stared at the wounds, frowning.

Something was wrong.

When the Earth Lizard Demon's claw had swept across him last night, he had clearly felt a sinister chill and poisonous qi wrapped in its wind. Even if the wound had only been grazed, by now it should have turned blue-black and itchy, the flesh rotting away. But now...

He pressed a finger against the scab. It was firm, and the flesh beneath was warm, but not burning. Still, the wound was healing far too quickly.

He untied the bandage on his back. The bruise around his shoulder blade had also faded considerably. When he pressed it, the bone felt intact, with only a dull ache remaining.

Too fast.

Li Tui fell silent for a moment, then took a coarse-cloth pouch from his breast. The dried mud crust on the outside had cracked, and as he peeled it away layer by layer, a dark-red fleshy lump was revealed.

Last night, he had tucked the thing close to his body. The wound had felt warm ever since. Now it seemed this fleshy lump could not only neutralize demonic poison, but also promote healing.

A good thing.

But a thing that could get him killed, too.

Li Tui rebandaged his wounds, his movements more practiced now. He put on clean clothes and deliberately left the sleeve over his left arm long enough to hide the marks. His back was still somewhat stiff when he straightened, but he could conceal it.

Outside the window, dawn had yet to break.

Li Tui sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing. As his qi circulated, the impediment it met at his injuries was far lighter than expected. It seemed the lump had nourished not only his external wounds, but also the hidden damage to his meridians.

But there was not a trace of relief in his heart. Instead, a chill crept up his spine.

This fleshy lump... had come at far too convenient a time.

Everything about last night's events in the West Suburbs had been strange from beginning to end. The Earth Lizard Demon had appeared somewhere it shouldn't have, its claws had carried deadly poison, and yet, hidden inside its body, there had happened to be a strange object capable of neutralizing that very poison and healing the wounds it caused.

If it was luck...

Li Tui slowly opened his eyes and gazed out at the brightening sky.

In his previous life, through eighty years, the one thing he had never believed in was luck.

But if it wasn't luck, then it was a trap...

"But why me?"

Was it because of the schemes he had honed over two lifetimes? His paltry cultivation, with only two acupoints opened? Or his awkward status as an attendant and study companion from a collateral family?

None of that was enough.

If this really was a trap, what did the one laying it see in him? What did they want from him?

Li Tui couldn't figure it out.

The only thing he knew for certain was that he was standing on thin ice. Dark currents churned beneath it, and there was no way back. The fleshy lump was a burning coal in his hand, but also the warmth he had right now. Throwing it away might not help him escape; keeping it would likely bring trouble if anyone discovered it.

The next morning, the sky was gray and pale. Li Tui was already waiting outside the main room, back straight, left sleeve carefully arranged.

The door opened. Zhao Yuanchong stepped out in his robe and strolled forward, his gaze pausing on Li Tui.

"Can you walk?" he asked casually, without breaking stride.

"Thanks to the young master, I'm more or less fine." Li Tui followed half a step behind, his voice steady.

The two walked one behind the other along the corridor. At the corner, Zhao Yuanchong suddenly slowed and glanced sideways at Li Tui's left arm. "The Earth Lizard Demon's claws were poisonous. You got off lightly, considering you took a hit."

Li Tui lowered his eyes. "I suppose I was lucky. Its claws must have missed the mark."

Zhao Yuanchong gave a faint snort and said no more.

Breakfast was laid out in the eastern wing's flower hall. Zhao Yuanchong took the seat of honor, but didn't reach for his chopsticks. He looked up at Li Tui, who stood waiting nearby, and suddenly said:

"Roll up your sleeve. Let me have a look."

Li Tui obeyed, stepping forward and slowly rolling his left sleeve up to the crook of his elbow. The bandages beneath were white, with just a little yellow-brown medicinal stain seeping through at the edges.

Zhao Yuanchong stared at the bandages for a moment, then reached out, hooked a finger under the edge, and gave a gentle tug.

The bandages came loose, revealing the dark-red scab beneath. The three claw marks were clear, but the flesh had mostly closed, leaving only faint scars.

"You've recovered fast." Zhao Yuanchong tapped a finger against the edge of the table. His tone gave nothing away. "When Rot-Bone Poison enters the body, an ordinary cultivator takes at least three to five days to develop festering wounds. Your injuries are nearly healed already..."

The flower hall fell silent for a moment.

Li Tui lowered his eyes. "I find it strange myself. Perhaps the poison didn't reach my bones, or... maybe my constitution is a little unusual."

"Unusual?" Zhao Yuanchong smiled, the sound brief and cold. He suddenly leaned forward, his right hand darting out like lightning and pressing hard against the scab on Li Tui's left arm!

The force was immense. The scab immediately sank, and tiny beads of blood welled up along its edges.

Every muscle in Li Tui's body tensed. A vein showed faintly at his temple, but he forced the groan back down his throat. He looked up at Zhao Yuanchong, his gaze still calm, though a glint of cold light flickered deep in his pupils.

"Does it hurt?" Zhao Yuanchong asked, pressing down two degrees harder.

"It hurts," Li Tui answered without hesitation.

Zhao Yuanchong watched him for two breaths, then slowly withdrew his hand. He took a handkerchief from his sleeve and unhurriedly wiped the blood from his fingertips.

"Good. It hurts." He tossed the bloodstained handkerchief onto the table. "I was beginning to think even your sense of pain was unusual."

Li Tui said nothing. He silently wrapped the bandages around his arm again. The wound throbbed with pain as he moved, but he didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow.

Zhao Yuanchong picked up his bowl of congee and sipped from it. The porcelain spoon made a faint, crisp sound against the rim. He drank very slowly, his gaze resting on the rising steam, and said nothing for a long while.

After a long time, Zhao Yuanchong finally set down his bowl and absently traced a couple of lines on the smooth tabletop with his fingertip.

"The West Suburbs..." he suddenly said, his voice low and thoughtful. "It's been around for many years. I heard that some strange incidents happened there long ago. After that, people stopped wanting to go near the place."

He looked up at Li Tui, his expression unreadable, as if he were discussing some trivial matter. "You spent the whole night there last night. Did you see any other 'strange incidents'? Aside from that crazed demon."

Li Tui lowered his eyes. "It was dark, and I was in a hurry to get away. I didn't have time to look closely."

"Is that so?" Zhao Yuanchong replied, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. His fingertip continued tracing the tabletop. "But this morning I heard the night watchmen gossiping. They said that for the past few nights, green flames have been drifting in and out of sight deep in that old forest to the west. They appear and disappear, and look downright sinister."

He paused, his gaze settling on Li Tui's face. "Do you think... that Earth Lizard Demon wasn't alone? Could there be something else hiding in the forest?"

The question sounded casual, but every word carried a hook.

Li Tui's heart tightened. Zhao Yuanchong had made it sound like an offhand mention of a rumor, but he was testing him.

"I don't know," Li Tui answered cautiously. "If it's as the young master says, then that place may be... unsafe."

"Unsafe is good." Zhao Yuanchong suddenly smiled, though the smile never reached his eyes. "Life in this estate is too dull. We're in need of a little trouble to wake us up."

He stood, the hem of his brocade robe brushing the chair.

"Since your injuries are healing quickly, you don't need to stay cooped up in the courtyard all the time." He walked over to Li Tui and paused, lowering his voice with an almost intimate casualness. "If you get bored or feel like practicing... the wilds in the West Suburbs would be a fine place to go. Better than wasting your time on useless trash in the estate."

With that, he didn't linger, but strolled straight out of the flower hall.

His footsteps faded into the distance.

Li Tui stood where he was, then slowly raised his eyes toward the corridor where Zhao Yuanchong had disappeared.