novelraw Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20: Lingering Hatred
Qi Shanshan finished bandaging my wrist, stood straight, and put down the scissors, saying, “I ate her!”
Qin Ke, behind her, jumped in fright.
Lately, she’d heard team members say food would soon run out, and cannibalism might follow.
Qi Shanshan turned, looking at me calmly watching her, and huffed, “All you care about is your Senior Sister Cai—I’m jealous! Don’t worry, she’s safe.”
She knew I wasn’t asking casually.
I was probing her.
So she answered seriously, adding, “You guys lack perception. Days ago, I noticed Xie Tianshu and Kong Fan meeting often. This morning, when the ghostly clouds parted and you were all studying ancient scripts, those two sneaked into the kitchen tent.”
“I didn’t dare follow or know what they were up to, but it felt wrong. To be safe, I pulled Yutong to hide.”
“Better safe than sorry.”
I saw no flaws in Qi Shanshan’s expression or words— her answer was watertight. I stood, smiling, “Don’t answer so seriously; it feels like an interrogation.”
“Aren’t you interrogating me?”
Qi Shanshan, a bit annoyed, headed out of the medical shack.
I followed, wanting to apologize. When we first fell onto the bronze ship, she saved my life. In the clash with Lab 705, her cross pendant helped— without it, my fight with Han Qin could’ve gone either way.
Qi Shanshan turned abruptly, colliding with me. “Ouch!” she yelped, frowning, patting my chest: “Why walk so fast? You hurt me!”
“I have more to say. Your brother’s injuries are severe. His arm and knees have comminuted fractures, with damaged blood vessels and nerves. With the ship’s medical conditions… prepare yourself. Even if he pulls through, he might be bedridden for life.”
Her warm, soft embrace lingered, but I had no mood for it. I hurried back to the shack, channeling the scorching airflow from my right foot to my palm, intending to try infusing it into his wounds.
But I stopped.
The airflow only traveled my silver veins. Without them in Senior Brother, it’d likely cause more harm.
Like a palm strike hitting him.
“Senior Brother practiced the Jade Void Breathing Technique. If he wakes and keeps practicing, he might cultivate that mysterious airflow. But…”
“With his legs like this, can his soles generate it?”
My chest tightened, like a thousand-pound stone pressed there. Ideas swirled, including giving him Black Dragon blood— it might heal him.
But recalling Xie Tianshu’s monstrous form, I couldn’t decide for him.
Then.
From the bow, a woman’s faint song drifted.
“A wide river, waves flowing,
Rice blossoms’ scent on both shores,
My home by the bank,
Used to the boatmen’s calls,
Familiar with the sails…”
Who was singing?
I and Qi Shanshan were puzzled.
Qin Ke realized, “It’s Liu Ying! We looked but couldn’t find her, thought she hid in the tomb forest…”
“Trouble.”
I and Qi Shanshan rushed out.
Liu Ying, wrapped in a filthy blanket, sat on the bow’s hull, legs dangling.
Her face, legs, shoulders, and arms, exposed from the blanket, were bruised and scarred.
Her eyes held hollow despair, memories of home, parents, and a safe, lawful world. Tears streaked her cheeks, the sea wind lifting her hair, her mournful song hoarse and low, almost reciting: “Everywhere… there’s… peaceful sunlight…”
Footsteps hurried behind.
Without lingering, she jumped.
I saw her leap, just a dozen steps away, but the hull was empty.
Qi Shanshan and Qin Ke caught up, panting.
Qin Ke reached the hull but didn’t look down, knowing Liu Ying was being devoured by souls below. Tears fell like rain.
Qi Shanshan comforted her: “After what happened, how could she live? It’s okay, don’t fear. With Weiyi here, that won’t happen again— he’ll protect us.”
My mood was heavy, furious. Sword in hand, I walked silently into the misty tomb forest.
Passing the dying Chen Hong, I abandoned leaving him for Senior Brother’s revenge. A punch pierced his chest, and I tossed him into the sea like garbage.
Were they human?
Less than garbage.
…
Besides Xie Jin, the other four escapees were caught in the tomb forest.
Some buried themselves in grave soil, leaving only mouth and nose.
But breathing and heartbeats betrayed them to my keen hearing.
Learning Liu Ying jumped, Gao Huan and Xu’s students beat the two who assaulted her half to death. In rage, they pushed them into the soul sea.
Faintly, I heard camel bells in the tomb forest again, used the Jade Void Breathing Technique to clear my mind, and felt deep suspicion.
The other two were beaten but not thrown into the sea.
Some suggested using them for experiments.
Xie Tianshu’s transformation, though grotesque, granted true extraordinary power, possibly longevity of centuries.
Compared to that, losing human appearance was nothing.
The strong don’t fret over looks.
I didn’t object, sharing Senior Brother’s view.
Once someone shows fangs, they’re no longer human!
This wasn’t becoming the dragon you slay— it was showing no mercy to enemies. They wouldn’t be grateful, only harboring resentment, striking when you’re weak.
I also wanted to test Black Dragon blood to gauge saving Senior Brother.
…
In one day, too much happened.
All corpses were handled— thrown into the sea or buried. Exhausted, everyone collapsed.
At first.
No one could sleep, lighting fires, gathering, fearing more chaos.
Xie Jin’s absence, like a thorn, kept them uneasy.
But by midnight, fatigue won. Except for two guards, others slept by the fires.
I went alone to the ship’s other end, under the Black Dragon’s corpse.
Wearing the dragon-patterned ring on my left thumb, I touched the purple-red ice crystals of its blood. Frost formed on my fingers.
The ring reacted, its dragon-scale pattern faintly glowing.
Xie Tianshu’s first words after transforming were, “My severed arm, thanks to you, can’t regrow with Black Dragon blood and the ring.”
I’d guessed the ring aided his transformation.
That afternoon’s experiments confirmed it.
The first subject, without the ring, drank the blood and soon burst apart, dying from blood loss.
The second, wearing the ring, drank and survived, beginning transformation. His blood fueled the ring, speeding the change.
No one dared let him fully transform, removing the ring early.
The transformation halted, and he died worse, flesh exploding.
“Either way, it’s a way to save Senior Brother.”
I murmured.
The mist was ghostly.
The tomb forest, lit by the Golden Crow’s glow, was serene yet eerie.
A familiar perfume scent wafted.
My sense of smell, though not as keen as the Ghost Bear Emperor’s, far surpassed normal.
I knew who it was!
I’d waited here for her.
Silently, I hid behind the massive Black Dragon corpse. Light footsteps approached, and a tall, graceful figure passed, heading toward the nine-story tower.
Emerging from the shadows, I watched.
Her familiar silhouette entered the passage between the tower and hull, toward the stern.
The meter-wide passage, lined with expressive stone statues, was misty and terrifying, but Qi Shanshan moved fearlessly.
The tower’s first floor had bronze doors, over three meters tall, too heavy for human strength.
Halfway through the passage.
The mist faded.
A hazy celestial glow, like smoke, replaced it.
This ghostly ship seemed transformed, like an immortal’s jade palace vessel.
The stern and bow were two distinct worlds.