Chapter 216
Chapter 216
The Monstrous Beast whose eyes had been gouged out and which had been named River God drifted in the filthy water.
Its labored gasps echoed through the pitch-black laboratory.
A century ago, that machine had tortured it every single day.
True agony was not something one could grow accustomed to, no matter how much time passed.
As the years went by, the machine’s lever had become like a dog trainer’s whistle. Even before anyone pulled it, phantom pain would begin tearing through its body.
River God finally realized that the woman who had fled in panic not long ago was no fool.
There was not a trace of softhearted mercy in her.
River God had no choice but to abandon its evasive, mystifying answers and tell the truth.
“Eyes.”
A Xi Nang’s eyes could transform into ocher stones capable of creating a confined domain.
River God had used that power to escape through the Guixu Rift. Even after losing its eyes, it had retained the same trait.
It was the reason the space near Qingzhai had folded two different periods of time together.
Qin Ying stared at it coldly and confirmed that it was not lying.
“Your eyes possess another ability, just like mine,” River God said.
But when Qin Ying pressed it for details, the half-bodied civet could offer no explanation.
It was not lying. Qin Ying took her hand off the machine’s lever, and River God visibly relaxed.
Just then, a torn scrap from a red dragon-and-phoenix wedding robe floated to the surface of the pool.
River God no longer bothered trying to hide the fact that it ate people.
It stretched out its neck, attempting to persuade Qin Ying.
“We can work together.”
Qin Ying merely scoffed. “You trapped all of us here, and now you want to talk about working together?”
River God chuckled under its breath. “As long as you release me, I’ll let all of you leave immediately.”
Qin Ying laughed again.
The first half had been completely sincere. The second half was nothing but a lie.
This thing had already decided to kill them, or, more precisely, her.
What a coincidence. She had no intention of letting it go either.
Qin Ying knew that but did not expose it. Instead, she said unhappily, “Didn’t you say you were willing to pay any price?”
“I want more than answers to a few questions.”
She stated her demand outright. “I want your Marrow Fluid.”
Chains clattered as River God seethed in the pool.
Qin Ying said leisurely, “I was only asking to be polite. If you won’t give it to me, I’ll extract it myself.”
River God’s entire body went rigid.
When Qin Ying reached for the machine again, it hurriedly said, “I’ll give it to you.”
“Come closer.”
Qin Ying bent down, found a Specimen Bottle on the floor, and tossed it over.
The glass bottle shattered against River God’s head. Murky liquid and the lump of flesh preserved inside slid down its face.
“In your dreams.”
River God’s mutilated chest heaved violently.
After a long while, just before the lump of flesh from the Specimen Bottle could slide off its forehead, it flicked out its tongue and lapped it up.
Without even chewing, it swallowed the lump whole.
The enormous gulp echoed through the room as Qin Ying found several test tubes among the pile of rotting wood behind the machine.
Presumably, they had originally been used to portion out Marrow Fluid.
Qin Ying could no longer afford to worry about contamination. She tossed the test tubes directly to River God in the pool.
“Catch!”
River God’s reactions were sluggish. Its withered claws caught only two, while the rest fell to the bottom of the pool.
It gave Qin Ying a long, searching look, then lowered its head.
Reaching awkwardly behind itself, it pulled out one of the rubber tubes embedded in its spine.
A small amount of pale yellow Marrow Fluid mixed with blood oozed out.
Panting all the while, River God held a test tube beneath it.
The process was extremely slow.
Qin Ying waited with considerable patience.
Suddenly, the Thunderbird hidden inside her hood shifted and pecked the back of her neck.
The Thunderbird made no sound, merely warning Qin Ying that there was something above her.
Splat.
A small lump of white adipocere fell into the standing water.
Qin Ying patted her hood, signaling the Thunderbird to remain calm.
She didn’t want to get distracted now and miss this chance to obtain the Marrow Fluid.
She casually shifted one step to the side.
In the pool, the River God finally filled both test tubes.
He held the unstoppered tubes between his fingers and said to Qin Ying, “See? You still have to come over here to get them.”
“Or… let me go.”
Qin Ying merely smiled and walked up to the railing.
At the sight of her approach, a fleeting gleam of delight flashed through the eyes of the River God.
Just as he eagerly waited for her to come closer, Qin Ying raised her right hand slightly.
Two slender metal wires shot from her sleeve like lightning.
No thicker than strands of hair, the wires moved as nimbly as snakes. In the blink of an eye, they reached the River God, snatched away the two test tubes, and recoiled.
In an instant, the two foul-smelling test tubes filled with cloudy yellow liquid were in Qin Ying’s hand.
She sealed them with two preservative-treated wooden stoppers, then held them up for the River God to see. “Thanks.”
Perhaps the River God had been trapped and dormant for too long. It wasn’t until Qin Ying had put both test tubes into her backpack that he finally reacted.
His misshapen mouth slowly fell open. “Di Shang,” he said incredulously.
“How is Di Shang in your hands?”
“You passed through the gate, didn’t you?”
Viscous saliva sprayed everywhere as he interrogated her.
He strained too hard in his agitation, squeezing black slime from his eyeless sockets.
“Take me back. As long as you take me back, I’ll obey your every command.”
Earlier, his words had been half sincere and half deceitful. This time, however, the River God genuinely meant them.
Qin Ying merely arched a brow. “Oh? You know Di Shang?”
So this River God really was the Flesh Embryo that had escaped through the Guixu Rift.
The instant the words left her mouth, a jelly-like blob lunged from the ceiling toward Qin Ying’s back.
It tried to knock her into the pool.
A smile appeared on the grotesque face of the River God as he spread his claws wide.
But Qin Ying seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. As she twisted aside, a slender silver whip lashed from her right sleeve.
Di Shang hadn’t consumed enough gold and wasn’t large enough, so it could only transform swiftly into a long, threadlike whip.
It might have looked like a whip, but its edge was as sharp as a blade.
In the blink of an eye, it sliced the blob of rotten, jelly-like flesh falling from the ceiling in two.
The two halves of the Wax Corpse thudded to the floor.
Qin Ying stepped back in disgust and said to the River God in the pool, “Has being locked up for so long rotted your brain?”
She had known the Wax Corpse was coming in. How could she possibly have let down her guard?
Qin Ying sneered coldly. “Stupid thing.”
The outstretched arms of the River God froze. A heartbeat later, he thrashed wildly through the pool in impotent fury.
After spitting out several filthy curses, he pleaded again, “Please. Open the gate and send me back.”
The Xi Nang that had once fled through the Guixu Rift to escape pursuit by the people of Great Xia was now begging someone to send it back.
Apparently, this world was even more terrifying.
Qin Ying chuckled. “Impossible.”
Both sides had their own agendas. Why would she send him back into the Box just to stir up trouble?
If the River God had truly been willing to give up everything to cooperate, he would have handed over the Mark of Submission long ago.
All his extravagant promises now were nothing but empty lies.
Qin Ying brought one high-top hiking boot down on the head of the Wax Corpse struggling on the floor.
The head of one of the main culprits behind this whole mess split open.
Its contents spilled across the floor.
Amid the wet, muffled crunch, each Specimen Bottle in the darkness shattered one after another.
The overpowering reek of formalin filled the air, accompanied by the slap-slap of approaching footsteps.
Expressionless, Qin Ying climbed onto the railing and perched there. Then she patted her hood.
A small purple-blue bird fluttered out.
After making sure its master’s feet were clear of the water, it wheeled once through the air.
As the monster from the first Specimen Bottle splashed through the water and charged, the bird burst into joyful song.
Purple-blue lightning coiled around its wings. Then fine arcs of electricity rained down indiscriminately across the entire room.
In the pool, the River God let out a bloodcurdling shriek.