'Impossible. This is definitely a trap.'
'She's exploiting his kindness again. Too bad — his kindness was reserved for good people. Villains like her only deserved his blade.'
Cheng Shi watched her for several tense seconds, then quietly flicked a scalpel from his sleeve into his palm.
He raised the blade, aid two precise passes at the back of Poison's skull, and then—
Flung it at the window beside him, shattering the glass. Without a mont's hesitation, he leapt through.
He'd never intended to attack. He just wanted to leave!
'Are you kidding? A peak warrior couldn't kill her after fighting for ages. Cheng Shi certainly didn't believe he could one-shot her. He had that much self-awareness.'
'Just like taking down Mo Shu's substitute — even with every trick in the book, he could only burn through one of a peak player's lives. Since killing her was out of the question either way, why invite trouble?'
'Besides, he and Poison had no blood feud. Wasn't running the obvious call?'
'Get away from danger. Problem solved.'
But reality had a habit of defying intentions.
Just as Cheng Shi launched himself toward the window, a powerful arm shot up from the floor and seized his ankle, yanking him back inside.
"..."
Cheng Shi seed to have anticipated this. Without missing a beat, he used the montum to flip back, landing heavily beside the now-awake Poison. He sneered:
"That was a quick resurrection for a corpse."
Poison's face had gone pale again. She blinked weakly: "You want to leave
that badly?"
Cheng Shi nodded coldly: "Yes. Desperately. Can I go now?"
A flash of hurt crossed Poison's eyes. She pressed her lips together, expression torn: "Then go."
She turned her head away and began to whimper softly.
"..."
Cheng Shi didn't move. Not because he'd changed his mind — but because Poison's hand was still clamped around his ankle. He was afraid that one wrong step would cost him the leg.
"Had enough performing? Then let go. I told you — no intel, no healing.
"Though from what I can see, you probably don't even need healing."
"Who says I don't? I'm really hurt."
Poison stopped crying instantly. The emotional switch was so jarring that her reddened eyes returned to normal in the blink of an eye.
She studied Cheng Shi with evident fascination, scrutinizing this old acquaintance, and smiled:
"So — you're interested in the Gift of Sores too?"
Cheng Shi glanced at her but said nothing. Seeing herself ignored, Poison sighed:
"Looks like you can't let go of your bias against
either...
"It's fine. I'm used to it. This has always been a world full of bias.
"But when everyone is biased against everyone else, isn't that itself a kind of correction for the world?
"Perhaps bias... is the most authentic lens through which the masses see reality.
"But let
make one thing clear: I have no bias against you, little priest. I know you're a good person. You always have been.
"So the instant I saw you, I was overjoyed. Because I knew this trial finally had soone I could trust with my back."
With that, Poison sat up and turned away from him. Right before Cheng Shi's eyes, she peeled off her tattered down jacket — revealing a bare back streaked with blood, riddled with wounds.
Yes. Bare back.
"..."
Cheng Shi was stunned.
'Lady, what kind of person wears nothing under their down jacket!?'
His expression stiffened, mouth twitching helplessly: "The 'back' you want to entrust shouldn't be this kind of back!"
Poison held a hand modestly over her chest and glanced back, mildly surprised:
"Of course not. I just wanted you to see my wounds.
"Oh~
"I see. So you're into this?"
"..."
Cheng Shi's face froze. He spun around to leave, but the instant he took one heavy step forward, Poison spoke again:
"The Gift of Sores is inside this trial. If you leave now, you'll never get it."
Cheng Shi's foot halted. His brows knotted tightly.
'Truth!'
'She's actually telling the truth!'
'The Gift of Sores is really here?'
'So Hu Wei and Da Yi's target truly was this!'
'And the Fun God — what's His angle?'
'Does He want
to go after that dagger — the one every assassin dreams of — the Gift of Sores?'
'Hiss—'
'An Envoy's soul... that is genuinely tempting...'
'No, no, no. Rember what that being said: greed is the path to death. Before understanding the trial's background and everyone's motives, he couldn't let [Corruption] manipulate his greed!'
'The [Corruption] Chosen One standing right in front of him was actively influencing his desires!'
'The priority now was to figure out where they were, why Poison was here too, and whether she... was also after Dizel's soul.'
While Cheng Shi frowned in thought, Poison spoke up once more:
"Little priest, I've already paid the deposit. So isn't it ti... for the session to start?"
'Session?'
'What kind of person calls healing a "session"?'
Cheng Shi's expression beca quite colorful. He glanced at the two bloody holes in Poison's shoulder, then sighed and casually flung a healing spell her way.
The holy light of restoration settled across Poison's back, stanching the bleeding wounds. Feeling her body stop hemorrhaging, Poison curled her lips and let out a breathy, trembling sigh of satisfaction.
"Don't stop. Keep going."
"???"
'Lady, if you keep this up, I'm going to start seeing the world through tinted lenses. Could you maybe not make those noises?'
Cheng Shi was exasperated. He wanted to curse her out, but when he turned back, his expression slowly grew grave. Because he realized the healing spell had only stopped the bleeding — the wounds on her back hadn't healed at all.
Which ant the [Silence] hunter's bolt really had inflicted devastating damage on Poison. Even now, residual energy continued tornting the battered assassin.
Not a light wound. A severe one. Extrely severe.
And yet she was acting like nothing was wrong, spouting nonsense.
"You're really hurt?" Cheng Shi said in disbelief.
Poison turned her head, eyes brimming with wounded innocence, and nodded. She pressed her bloodless lips shut without a word.
Cheng Shi frowned, imdiately launching a Purification spell, followed by Healing, Spirit Spell, and Calming Spell — one after another, hamring into Poison's back in rapid succession.
Under the barrage of restorative magic, Poison's condition finally began to improve, slowly.
But just as she felt her strength creeping back — approaching perhaps a third of capacity — the healing abruptly stopped.
Poison spun around in confusion, only to find Cheng Shi watching her with a cold smirk:
"The deposit session is over. Tell
where the Gift of Sores is, and I'll add an extra session."
Poison's expression blanked for a mont, then brightened with delight:
"How long can you add?"
"Until you're fully healed."
"Oh?
"Then... can I add so special services, lit~tle~ priest~?"
"..."
'Great. The snow was turning yellow again.'
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