Everything faded away, including sound, memories, and images.
In the darkness, Qi Si lost all sensation, as though he were floating in an ocean formed from surging banks of dense fog, surrounded by invisible things.
He could see nothing, yet he could feel a gaze wandering through the depths of his soul as if it had substance, prying into the most exposed parts of him—or rather... searching.
Yes, searching.
Qi Si felt like a pile of cotton stuffed with a pearl, while a hand peeled him apart layer by layer from the inside out, meticulously searching for that pearl.
Of course, the hand was not a hand in the conventional sense. It was more like an aggregate formed from indescribable things such as a gaze, thoughts, and intent—a sensory imagination of an impossible-to-describe image.
Qi Si could only try to understand what he was experiencing and what was about to happen to him through the chaotic fragments of imagery surfacing in his mind.
He realized that this misfortune had probably befallen him because "a man is guilty by reason of his wealth." Even if that was not entirely the case, it was likely part of the reason.
Considering that he was already half-dead, he simply remained motionless and focused on playing the part of a lump of rotten flesh, letting the other party diligently search him.
Gradually, he grew somewhat annoyed by all the rummaging and asked, "What are you looking for? Tell me. I'll help you look."
The other party seemed not to have expected him to be so kind. The hand froze for a moment before silently continuing its search.
Second by second, time passed. Qi Si wanted to fall asleep, but under that watchful gaze, he could not sleep.
...It would be nice to have a blanket.