" ...Wouldn't that be poisonous" he mumbled, gritting his teeth.He spoke without moving his lips, probably so the security guards controlling the crowd wouldn't notice we were talking.I lowered my hea...He looked to be in his early twenties, and his facial features were quite delicate.

To be so young and endure such torment, yet still hold on And as soon as he caught his breath, he started barking orders. He must be a very capable and strict chieftain in his usual demeanor.

He swallowed down the metallic-tasting blood in large gulps. As I put down the bottle, a few drops of water ran down his chin from the corner of his lips and splattered onto the carpet.

My nose is very sensitive to smells, especially the smell of blood and medicine.

At this moment, I feel as if I'm feeding a tiger with my own body - is this creature good or evil

"Your blood... is very useful... it seems the Dragon King had his reasons for wanting to capture you." He spoke in a hoarse voice, his deep and unseeing eyes boring into mine.

I kept quiet. The more I said, the more wrong I could be. It's better for me to keep a low profile and stay safe.

"Come here...I have a needle in the back of my neck, help me take it out..." he whispered.

“This is too much,” I shook my head. “No, no, who knows if you’ll attack me… Tell me how to escape first, then I’ll decide whether to continue helping you.”

"On the sea, it's like a death sentence. We have to wait until we reach land."

He speaks so softly that I need to stand up straight to hear him.

"You... is your voice naturally like that I'm having a hard time hearing you." I couldn't help but ask.

"... Poison burn, maybe it will recover later... That doesn't matter, just make sure you can understand." He said impatiently.

Okay, okay, I don't understand the world of big shots. Even though they're so hurt, they can still pretend it doesn't matter.

"Then tell me, what is your name How should I address you" I pressed on, refusing to give up.

He was unwilling to reveal his identity, speaking in a low voice: "I'll tell you later, but not now... This ship will probably dock at dawn. We'll be transported to the Dragon King's territory. On this journey, we have to find an opportunity to escape. If you hesitate and miss my instructions, don't even try to escape. Just obediently become a hostage puppet of the Dragon King."

"I want to escape, and someone will come to save me!" I don't believe Mu Wanchen hasn't found a way to look for me, but I am now lost at sea. He can't get here immediately.

"In this world, relying on others is inferior to relying on oneself." He sneered and shook his head self-deprecatingly.

I wanted to keep investigating him, but he wouldn't say a word.

He just told me his large acupoint on the back of his neck was blocked and needed acupuncture. That's our family tradition, I can do it with my eyes closed.

"Then tell me what the Dragon King wants from you, so I can figure out if you're friend or foe. I'll give you a prick, and my skills are excellent." I boasted.

He paused for a moment, then whispered: "… Over the years, the Dragon King has gained fame through sorcery and secretly cultivated souls and ghosts, amassing a fortune. But it seems he's not content with just exorcising spirits... He wants to know how to refine corpses. If he can use both corpse refining and soul refinement, his power will increase greatly."

"Then he grabbed you for…"

“Many secrets only I know, if he doesn't arrest me, who will he arrest I rarely deal with officials. He bribed people at customs to detain me for about... four or five days.”

"Four or five days You've been locked up like this for four or five days How can you still be conscious"

"Didn't I already say there was a secret method Why are you asking again" He said impatiently, "If it weren't for your blood to dispel the poison, I wouldn't be able to tell you so much."

It's awkward living with a weirdo.

I wanted to stay away from him, but his voice was damaged. I couldn't hear him speak a yard away, so I had to stand within two feet of him, like a rabbit with its ears pricked, to listen to what he said.

Tired and hungry, but I dare not sleep.

He wouldn't let me remove the small hook from my collarbone, saying to wait for the right moment. He told me to secretly take it out when we were about to disembark, hanging a tiny piece of skin on it as camouflage. All he needed was for me to pull the needle out of his back of neck.

But I dare not pull it. I feel like it's a seal, and if I pull it out, what if he goes mad

So I pretended to be tired and hungry, saying he had bitten my right wrist and it hurt so much that my hands were shaking. I told him I needed to calm down before I could help him with the acupuncture.

He did not urge her, anyway, there was still time before dawn broke. Soon, he lowered his head and let out a soft breath, as if trying to conserve his energy quickly.

I recalled what Mu Wanchen had told me. He once took me through a barren mountain range, saying that the soul-searing punishment inflicted by their master on those who practiced corpse refinement had almost completely eradicated them.

Although it was to save the junior wife, as a venerated god of the underworld, such deep involvement in mortal affairs would also burden the master with karmic debts.

Therefore, now Master almost only cares about the safety of his junior wife. He doesn't want to interfere with anything else.

According to Mu Wanchen's account, the Necromancer had only a few children left. Mu Wanchen couldn't bear to see such carnage, so he begged his master to spare these people—could this young man be one of those who remained

Actually, speaking rationally, misfortune should not befall parents and children should be innocent of their parents' crimes. While exterminating the entire clan is indeed cruel, considering the complex background of the cultivator at that time, it was perhaps a last resort.

If this person is a descendant of the corpse refiners, if he knew I was related to the one who destroyed their clan, would he want to kill me for revenge

In apprehensive anticipation, the ship continued its journey towards its destination.

I heard the sound of a wooden board being lifted outside, and someone was speaking in a language I didn't understand.

"Come on, hurry up and get started." the strange man croaked.

He didn't open his eyes, but I started to get nervous—what if he was going to put a bag over my head, hit me with a blunt object, and throw me in a container

It's like those human organ trafficking mafia...

"Want to live" the freak asked again.

I swallowed nervously, stood up quickly, and reached back to feel his head.

"One more ghost needle" I touched an extremely fine silver needle.

"...elbow, ankle." he whispered.

I immediately followed the touch and, in the chain winding around his elbow's cun point, I felt another needle; and between the spaces of his shin meridian points, I also felt one.

"One needle for the ghost pillow, two needles for the ghost official, two needles for the ghost road... is there anything else" I looked up and asked him.

He glared at me with icy eyes and said in a cold voice, "Are you an expert"

"Um... I, understand a little..."

"...That's it, just this much. This acupuncture technique really works on me. The Dragon King is truly putting in a lot of effort." He let out a cold snort.

Threaten me Then I'd better keep my needles handy, just in case you go berserk and need to be calmed down.

In my heart, I secretly started to calculate. I wrapped up the needles I had picked with a piece of cloth and hid them away privately.

When I pulled out the small iron hook from his collarbone, he endured the pain without making a sound, but his whole body was tense with agony. I had to press hard on his pulse to prevent it from gushing out: "Don't struggle so much, or the wound will burst open even wider. With few doctors and scarce medicine available now, you could die!"

He gritted his teeth and sneered: "...I won't die."

This person is crazy...

If he were truly a monster, I'd believe he couldn't die. But he has body temperature and a heartbeat, he feels pain, yet he says he won't die

Commendable spirit.

I retracted the small iron hook until he could pull it out himself. He looked up at me and asked, "What's your name"lowly returning. I felt like I was wrapped in something...The touch felt like soft, yet slightly firm, plush. I pulled away the obstruction near my head with force and took in my surroundings.A faint...