"Yes." Bai Tan pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly. "Lift your shirt and look again. Your clothes shielded that area from the slime, so you'll see it more clearly."
He struggled to lift his shirt with his other, uninjured hand.
Beneath his snow-white skin lay clusters of black worms.
They curled up like fingerprint-sized whirlpools, clearly visible beneath the skin.
"Less than two minutes after I discovered those white eggs,
they started hatching on my hand, growing and burrowing into my skin.
I had no choice but to cut that chunk of flesh out with a knife."
As Bai Tan spoke, he held out his blood-covered right hand.
A chunk of flesh was clearly missing. Perhaps because he had used a recovery item, the wound was slowly closing.
Li Hua broke down.
He screamed, clawing at his belly.
Blood ran down as pieces of flesh fell away, and the black worms began to struggle.
Li Hua cried out that it itched, scratching his entire body even harder.
The worms burrowed deeper into his skin, leaving only the tips of their tails exposed on the bloody surface.
The pain was so unbearable that he finally clung to Faceless's leg, sobbing and begging it to kill him.
Faceless was happy to oblige. Its sharp nails pierced Li Hua's temple.
His eyes flew wide open, and he died instantly.
Faceless stirred its fingers inside his temple, finally scooping out a piece of snow-white brain threaded with blood.
As though savoring a delicious delicacy, Faceless exhaled in appreciation.
Orpheus was closest to Moon Shadow, and the sight had already frightened him into a stupor.
If Li Hua hadn't moved to sit beside Yin Chao earlier, Moon Shadow could have protected him with her skill, just as she had Orpheus.
Having eaten its fill,