Perhaps it had something to do with everything packed into his belly. His face had swollen beyond recognition, and his waterlogged, distended skin squeezed his eyes into two barely visible slits. After the white cloth was lifted, the eyes within those slits only swept listlessly over the scene before him, but when he spotted the players in the crowd, they lit up.
"Mmph, mmph-"
Lu Wei struggled desperately toward the others, but his restrained body could do nothing beyond rocking a few times, sending water sloshing inside his enormous belly. He kept trying to say something through his tightly corked mouth, seemingly begging them for help, but every word came out as an indistinct "mmph."
The sight sent a chill through everyone. They stood frozen, as though they had suddenly lost control of their bodies, unable to move, let alone step forward to save him.
But it wasn't over yet.
Just as the "Holy Candle" had to be lit, the "Holy Wine" hadn't been brought out merely to sit there and "broaden the players' horizons"-
The man in white robes picked up a small silver knife. He raised it high, and the dancing red flame of the "Holy Candle" fell across its reflective blade, lending its sharp edge an eerie gleam.
"Open the Holy Wine-"
As the words fell, the silver knife traced a full moon through the air and plunged straight down, viciously stabbing into the top of the "Holy Wine's" head. With a pop, the "wine barrel," already filled to bursting with liquid, split under the sudden impact. A second later, cracks spread outward and downward at an astonishing speed. Like a water-filled balloon suddenly punctured, the entire "wine barrel" burst apart.
Almost simultaneously, the thick liquid inside the "barrel" broke free. The pressure built up from being