His hearing returned first. All was quiet around him, save for a few crisp birdcalls and the plink of a drop falling from a pipe into still water.
Next came his sense of smell. The cedar-scented air freshener that perpetually filled the Viscount's Castle flooded his nostrils, dispelling the lingering smell of Hell's endless magma.
His sight returned last. Xie De opened his eyes, his dark green pupils still hazy, and sat up in bed with a soft groan.
He rubbed his forehead with one hand, then blinked slowly, as though something had dawned on him.
He looked down at his wrist. The bloody wound had already been dressed and wrapped in white gauze. The ends were secured neatly; it was probably the Butler's handiwork.
"Meow."
Coal Ball jumped onto the bed and nuzzled his face with its furry head, its tail held high.
Xie De gently pushed its head away and looked up at the clock. Only two hours had passed since he left, and those two hours might well have been the time he spent unconscious after returning from Hell.
The door was gently pushed open.
The Butler walked over gracefully, balancing a tray in one hand. He set it on the bedside table, bent one knee, and knelt beside the bed. Drawing Xie De's injured wrist toward him, he examined it and spoke with a touch of dark humor.
"Wonderful, sir. You've come back from the dead. Hmm, how should I put it? Resurrected? I know you must be feeling terrible right now. Rest assured, I've had a similar experience."
The Butler handed him a warm glass of honey water and joked, "At last, there are no living people left in our Castle."
Xie De smiled helplessly, closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead. He took a