Chapter 045: Bewildered

"Well, well, kid! You sure can take a beating, huh?!"

Zhao the Hunchback's voice was tinged with both surprise and suspicion. I struggled to glare at him, catching sight of his hideous, twisted face, now painted with utter disbelief.

Right now, I wanted nothing more than to curse at him, but I dared not open my mouth. I was afraid that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from screaming.

“Hmph, damn it! Once my Qi shreds your internal organs to pieces, I refuse to believe you’ll stay silent!”

“Yes, precisely! I simply don’t believe anyone could endure such agony without making a sound!”

“Kid, your face is already turning purple! You really think you can keep this up?!”

…

Zhao the Hunchback kept muttering at my side.

After he struck, I forced myself not to cry out, though my breathing had grown ragged. This seemed to offend his pride.

I was certain he hadn’t expected me to be so stubborn. Perhaps he now thought that striking me again would only bring him further humiliation, which was why he resorted to taunting me verbally.

He claimed that the Qi he sent into my body would mangle all my internal organs. I didn’t know if he was lying, but the more he threatened, the more obstinate I became.

If my organs were truly to be shredded, I’d be dead anyway. Why should I give in to him? So, I bit down hard on my teeth and, come hell or high water, refused to utter a sound.

There are two phrases: “pain to the point of wishing for death,” and “a fate worse than death.”

Right now, my condition perfectly embodied both.

Truly, every second felt like a year—endless and excruciating. If I died now, it would almost be a relief.

Zhao the Hunchback kept up his incessant prattling, but I could no longer hear his words.

Suddenly, a numbness shot through my tongue, as if a jolt of electricity pierced right through it. I thought I heard a faint “pop,” as if something had shattered in my mouth.

Immediately, my mouth flooded with saliva, and a faint, metallic sweetness spread across my tongue.

In an instant, this taste transformed into a warm current, gliding from the base of my tongue down into my abdomen, then slowly radiating outward.

As it spread, the pain in my body began to ebb away, little by little.

How to describe this sensation?

It was like parched earth finally blessed by rain.

Like finding a stove ablaze with warmth in a world of snow and ice.

Or—though this is hardly a refined metaphor—like being constipated for ages, your legs gone numb on the toilet, and then, suddenly, everything is released…

Ahem… Crude as it is, that’s exactly how I felt.

“Hoo…”

I let out a long breath, then lay back and moved my limbs, discovering that all the pain had vanished.

Not only was I free from agony, but I felt as comfortable as if I’d just soaked in a hot spring.

I had no idea what had happened to transform my torment into bliss.

Had Zhao the Hunchback relented and let me go?

That couldn’t be right.

I turned my head and looked at Zhao the Hunchback. He too seemed utterly confused, his face a mask of bewilderment.

I cleared my throat and sat up.

“Huh!”

Seeing me rise, Zhao the Hunchback’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as he scrutinized me. “Kid! You… you…” He pointed at me in shock.

As he raised his hand, I instinctively flinched.

I couldn’t help it—it was a reflex, beyond my control. The mere memory of the pain he’d inflicted by raising his hand sent a chill down my spine.

“You decrepit old fiend! What do you want? You think you can keep torturing me? I’d rather die than let you have your way!” I shouted, pointing at him.

Then, without warning, I leapt up and slammed my head against the wall.

I wasn’t trying to kill myself—just to knock myself out. I knew I was no match for this old bastard, but if I lost consciousness, at least I wouldn’t have to endure any more torment.

Zhao the Hunchback clearly hadn’t expected this; he cried out, “Hey!”

But I’d already run a short distance and smashed my head with full force against the wall. My head rang, and darkness engulfed me as I lost consciousness…

I had no idea how much time passed before I awoke, shaken back to reality.

“Wei! Wei!”

“Wei, are you alright?”

Two faces hovered over me, my mind still blank and unresponsive.

“Wei, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” As my vision slowly focused, I recognized the people before me.

It was the brothers, Shang Wuyong and Shang Wuwei.

“Wuyong… Brother Wuyong…” I mumbled weakly.

“What happened to you? Why are you lying here? Are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Shang Wuyong bombarded me with questions, giving me no time to answer.

I shook my head, feeling as if it were filled with lead—heavy and aching.

Shang Wuwei helped me sit up, his voice filled with concern. “Are you okay?”

I raised a hand to rub my head, struggling to piece together my memories.

Suddenly, a short, hunchbacked figure flashed through my mind.

“Ah?” I exclaimed, glancing around.

I was still in the very place where I’d encountered Zhao the Hunchback, but now only Shang Wuyong and Shang Wuwei were with me.

“What are you looking for, Wei?” Shang Wuyong asked.

“The Evil Aspect! Did you see him?” I asked, still shaken.

“Who?” they both replied at once.

“The Evil Aspect! Zhao the Hunchback!” I almost shouted.

“You… you’re saying you met the… the Evil Aspect? That… that Zhao…” Shang Wuwei stared at me, eyes wide with horror.

“That’s right! He… he was just here!” I insisted, utterly bewildered.

I remembered everything now. I knew I’d knocked myself out by ramming the wall. But after I passed out, Zhao the Hunchback had simply left?

This… this…

To use Shang Wuyong’s own words: this makes no sense!

I glanced down, feeling over my body. Aside from the massive lump on my forehead, there was nothing else amiss.

What the hell was going on? Why had Zhao the Hunchback disappeared so inexplicably?

The Nine Corpses Thunder Array on the rooftop had to be his doing. Now that I’d discovered it, there was no reason for him to let me go.

What had happened after I lost consciousness?

Did someone rescue me?

Impossible—the Celestial Master Xu’s people couldn’t have arrived so quickly.

But if not them, who else had the ability to save me from Zhao the Hunchback?

“How did you find me?” I asked the brothers.

“We got up and went to your room, but no one answered when we knocked. We tried calling, but you didn’t pick up. So we asked the hotel front desk to open your door.”

“When we saw you weren’t inside, we started searching everywhere. Luckily, Manager Xu reminded us to check the security footage. We saw you had left the hotel early in the morning, then returned about half an hour later.”

“The cameras showed you never left the hotel again, so we searched the whole building. It took us a long time to find you here…”

“Yeah, good thing I decided to check this side! As soon as I came over, I saw you lying on the ground!”

Hearing this, I rubbed my head, even more confused.

“Right! Quick, come with me to the roof!” I staggered to my feet.

Shang Wuyong and Shang Wuwei hurried to steady me. “What’s on the roof? What are we going to see?”

“You’ll know when we get there! Hurry!” I quickened my pace, though I was still shaky and nearly stumbled. Fortunately, they held me up.

With their help, I stumbled and staggered back to the stairwell leading to the rooftop.

Looking up, I saw that the door, which had been locked before, now stood wide open!

No question—someone had been here after I left.

“Hurry!” I rushed upstairs.