Seeing how unafraid of death I was, the Wizard began to panic too.
He feared that if he delayed the important business back home, he would be punished when he returned.
That punishment had to be severe, severe enough to terrify him.
He pulled out the knife and stabbed me again.
He stabbed nowhere else, only that same spot.
The pain was unbearable, but I also knew giving in would bring me no good end, so I still refused to swallow the pill.
"Swallow it!"
"Swallow it, damn you!"
Soon, two more people came over, and all three beat me savagely.
I wasn't afraid of death, but I couldn't withstand their abuse. They literally beat that pill down my throat.
"Quick!"
"Perform the ritual!"
The Wizard hurriedly grabbed his ritual implements, chanting incantations I couldn't understand as he hopped and jumped around me, as though he were dancing on his own mother's grave.
Jiang Yuan also took out an object that looked like a rolled-up painting.
I didn't know what they were planning, but Seventh Master and Song Xiaotian were already on their way. If these people still weren't leaving, they were clearly doing something very important.
I couldn't let them get their wish.
I couldn't let them manipulate me as they pleased.
As long as my resolve held firm, as long as I held fast to my Dao Heart, I was still me, a firework of a different color.
The Wizard chanted, and I began chanting too.
He recited his words; I recited mine.
"Supreme Goodness Is Like Water. Water benefits all things without contending, dwelling in places that all people disdain, and thus comes close to the Dao. In dwelling, choose good ground; in heart, value depth..."
Halfway through my recitation, someone walked over and slapped me across