Qi Buyan was about to continue when He Sui’an instinctively grabbed his hand.
He stopped, his eyes seemingly able to see through the multiple layers of skirt ribbon to her.
He Sui’an was also looking at Qi Buyan.
After his upper face was covered, whenever someone looked at him, they would automatically focus on his lower face and the exposed part of his neck extending from his collar—tempting, yet somewhat fragile.
Thinking of the words “extremely fragile,” He Sui’an’s eyes flickered, feeling she must be crazy to use such a description for Qi Buyan, who could kill someone as easily as squashing an ant.
Looking at Qi Buyan again, he remained calm.
After a while, she relaxed and said, “I’m sorry, I’m a little nervous.” Then she asked if he could check other places first to make sure there were no Yin Corpse Gu before examining her.
Qi Buyan casually responded with a “hmm,” bypassing the previous spot, planning to check it last, and moved towards her waist and abdomen.
As soon as he pressed her waist and abdomen, He Sui’an cried out in pain.
The Yin Corpse Gu, seemingly sensing the external pressure, started moving around restlessly before it could lay eggs, trying to escape to other places. Qi Buyan raised his hand, and a small dagger fell from his wrist guard.
The moment He Sui’an saw the small dagger, her vision went black, and her limbs stiffened.
Was he going to dig it out directly?
Inconceivable.
Qi Buyan’s words confirmed her guess: “I need to dig it out now and then burn it to death. It will hurt a lot.”
He removed the sheath from the small dagger.
He Sui’an didn’t know what she looked like at that moment, perhaps pale-faced and nearly colorless lips, but she clearly knew her voice sounded trembling: “O-okay, go ahead.”
The dagger touched He Sui’an’s skin.
Sharp and cold were her current sensations. She wanted to look down for a glance but didn’t dare face the scene of the dagger cutting through her body.
He Sui’an asked Qi Buyan if there was any medicine to make her sleep for a while. He said yes, but the person must remain conscious during the Gu extraction; otherwise, the Gu could harm the body, causing idiocy.
She had no choice but to give up.
Pain is fleeting; just endure it, and it will pass. He Sui’an gathered her spirit.
Qi Buyan noticed the person in his arms trembling, his hand holding the small dagger paused in mid-air, the tip grazing He Sui’an’s flat stomach.
He Sui’an couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
Still very scared.
“Don’t be afraid.” His voice was so tender it seemed almost liquid, yet as he spoke, he slowly and steadily pushed the dagger into her waist and abdomen. He was like a merciless executioner, but he also appeared very gentle.
Her waist and abdomen were cut open, revealing blood and flesh inside.
His movements with the dagger were skillful, his cutting precise, avoiding vital spots, and decisively aiming for the Yin Corpse Gu.
He Sui’an groaned in pain, gritting her teeth, but still let out pitiful whimpers, her eyes red at the corners, filled with tears.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
The pain was so intense that He Sui’an wanted to faint, but rationality told her she couldn’t, at least not until the Yin Corpse Gu was removed, or it would all be for nothing.
Qi Buyan’s slender index and middle fingers moved together, following the cut made by the dagger, slowly stirring through her blood and flesh, searching for the tiny, mosquito-like Yin Corpse Gu.
This was no different from death by a thousand cuts.
He Sui’an couldn’t help but bite down on Qi Buyan’s shoulder, like a cat in pain, whimpering helplessly, her body subtly trembling.
Qi Buyan allowed He Sui’an to bite his shoulder, using two fingers to pinch the Yin Corpse Gu and withdraw it from her body. He Sui’an, now drenched in sweat, weakly asked, “Did you get it?”
He said yes.
He Sui’an’s eyelids flipped, a sign she was about to faint. Qi Buyan calmly set down the blood-stained dagger, first placing the struggling Yin Corpse Gu into a porcelain jar, then whispering in her ear.
“Don’t worry, I will kill the person who made the Yin Corpse Gu.” Qi Buyan showed a clean and sincere smile, his palm covering the bleeding wound on He Sui’an’s waist and abdomen.
She couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed into his arms.
Her breathing grew faint.
Qi Buyan’s blood-stained fingers brushed over He Sui’an’s sweat-drenched hair, as if sighing, “How are you more fragile than the Gu I raise? Raising people is really hard. Maybe I should turn you into a Gu person.”
Fainted, He Sui’an couldn’t respond to Qi Buyan. She lay motionless in his half-embrace, silent, her small face pale, and her slightly chubby hands still clutching his clothes.
Qi Buyan bandaged He Sui’an’s wound and dressed her.
The girl’s dress was intricate, taking a moment to put on.
The ribbon tied around Qi Buyan’s eyes also returned to He Sui’an’s waist, simply knotted, with the ends hanging at her sides.
The spiders, black snakes, and other Gu awoke.
A black snake slithered onto Qi Buyan’s hand, flicking its tongue to lick the remaining blood.
Qi Buyan looked down at the black snake: “Why do you like He Sui’an’s blood so much?” The snake couldn’t speak but rubbed its head against him affectionately before continuing to lick He Sui’an’s blood.
The room was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Qi Buyan brushed off the black snake and picked up the dagger that had been inside He Sui’an. The blade was still stained with fresh blood. He opened his mouth, letting his tongue catch the few drops of blood about to fall from the tip.
This was his first time tasting human blood.
He Sui’an’s blood.
Something seemed to surge through his entire being, as if trying to tear him apart. Beneath his beautiful appearance was a pile of bones seemingly rotted and crawling with maggots.
In the room, a mirror on the left side allowed Qi Buyan to see himself. His long black hair reached his waist, his features were as if painted, his skin pale and fine, and his slightly upturned thin lips were stained with blood.
He looked like a demon that had just finished eating someone.
His shoulder still bore the marks of He Sui’an’s bite, faint teeth marks, and a slightly darkened spot on the fabric from her saliva.
—
The moon was at its zenith, and lights were on in every home.
He Sui’an, lying on the bed, slowly opened her eyes, still a bit dazed. After a few moments, her eyes began to focus, and she remembered that this was not her room but Qi Buyan’s.
She tried to get up, but any movement tugged at the wound on her waist and abdomen, causing her to stop in pain.
She waited for the pain to subside before getting out of bed.
Three candles were burning in the room, providing bright light. The window was open, revealing the twinkling stars outside. They had returned early that morning, and now it was evening, meaning she had slept for a whole day.
Seeing that Qi Buyan was not there, He Sui’an quietly untied her outer clothes and lowered her skirt to check the bandaged wound on her waist and abdomen. Several layers of gauze were still slightly stained with blood.
It ached even when she didn’t move.
The memory of the dagger slicing through her skin and fingers stirring inside to find and remove the Yin Corpse Gu was still fresh.
Not wanting to recall the extraction of the Yin Corpse Gu, He Sui’an patted her head, re-tied her skirt and outer clothes, put on her shoes, and left the bed, thinking of finding Qi Buyan outside or returning to her own room to rest.
At that moment, the sound of screams rose and fell, coming through the window facing the main street.
He Sui’an turned her steps towards the door but quickly walked back to the window to look outside.
The street below was in chaos.
