Just a Life? Here, You Can Have It!

Thump, thump, thump.

The two walked one after the other. Their footsteps echoed in the narrow passage, creating a tense, uneasy atmosphere.

There was almost no light. They could only navigate by the faint, inexplicable fluorescence shimmering from the stone walls.

They walked for about two minutes. Wu Wang's senses told him they had descended dozens of meters underground.

Then, the path ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a source of light.

What greeted his eyes was a magnificent and spectacular pavilion.

That's right. There was a goddamn pavilion buried deep underground.

The cavernous space was at least two hundred square meters. In the center stood a medicinal furnace that towered over him, so tall he couldn't see the top even if he jumped.

Perhaps only someone like the Prince, who stood over two meters tall, could glimpse its peak with a leap.

Not only that, but the surrounding walls were lined with countless cabinets, most of them bearing small wooden labels.

Wu Wang glanced over them.

"Angelica, Fo-ti, Horny Goat Weed, Solomon's Seal, Dendrobium, Deer Antler…"

The cabinets were all labeled with the names of various Chinese herbal medicines. Seeing the sheer number of them, he reckoned that few pharmacies on the outside could boast such a comprehensive collection.

Buddy, does your family sing opera or sell medicine?

The troupe leader spoke placidly.

"This is the place where the Five-colored Spider Lily is refined. The furnace in the pavilion is ready. Take any herbs you want."

He gestured around the room.

"This way, you won't have to tire yourself by leaving the opera grounds."

Hearing this, Wu Wang's heart sank.

As expected, the Instance wouldn't make it so easy for players to leave. It had even accounted for the possibility that the Prince would send someone out to buy medicine. With such a complete collection here, there was no reason to go outside.

The troupe leader then walked to one of the walls. The cabinets here bore no wooden labels. Instead, they were covered in dense, indecipherable scratches that looked like crawling insects.

He pulled open one of the cabinets and took out a ceramic medicine jar. Carefully, he reached inside and retrieved a pill, black with a hint of dark green.

He held it out to Wu Wang, a smile on his face.

"Eat it."

Wu Wang stared, speechless.

Buddy, do you hear yourself? If I were to reach into my crotch right now, pull out a grimy Leg-Stretching Eye-Staring Pill, and tell you to eat it, would you?

Seeing Wu Wang's lack of response, the troupe leader raised an eyebrow.

"Since you have seen all this, I must ensure you will not reveal it to anyone."

He explained further.

"This is a Gu-poison pill the Prince gave me long ago. Only after you have eaten it can I consider you to have truly agreed."

Wu Wang could understand the logic.

With a helpless expression, he took the pill. He hesitated for a moment, then tilted his head back and forced himself to swallow it.

A strong, earthy taste filled his mouth. He could vaguely feel a strange heat welling up in his abdomen and flowing throughout his body.

He couldn't help but ask.

"This isn't one of those things from storybooks, is it? The kind where I need a regular antidote to suppress the poison, and if I betray you, I'll die a horrible death from not taking it?"

He pressed on.

"Aren't you afraid I'll find the antidote beforehand? Or that I'll just pretend to swallow the pill and spit it out later? You know, pull off a classic 'Mission: Impossible' plot twist?"

The troupe leader looked baffled.

What in the world is this kid rambling on about? You've said everything, so what's left for me to say?

But he understood Wu Wang's meaning and chuckled disdainfully.

"I don't know what ‘Mission: Impossible' is, but this is not something an antidote can handle."

With that, he turned the ceramic jar upside down. After a few shakes, a dark green centipede, as thick as a thumb and nearly as long as a forearm, fell out.

He then reached into another cabinet, pulled out a fist-sized mouse, and tossed it in front of the centipede.

In an instant, the centipede pounced on the mouse and bit its leg.

The mouse squeaked in terror from the intense pain, frantically kicking its little legs as it tried to escape. It barely got to its feet and took half a step before its limbs went rigid and it collapsed, motionless.

Its body began to glow with a dark green light. Then, it dissolved right before Wu Wang's eyes, melting into a puddle of stinking corpse fluid that left only a clean, bony skeleton behind.

Wu Wang crouched down, watching the centipede on the ground with great interest. This was clearly not a creature that existed in the real world.

Normal biological toxins were usually proteins. Producing them required energy, and the organism itself needed some resistance to its own poison.

To reduce flesh and blood to fluid in seconds, corroding it until only a skeleton remained…

You can't expect a centipede to carry half a bucket of strong acid in its stomach just to cosplay for you, can you? Do you think you're in Alien*?*

Splat!

Before Wu Wang could get a closer look, the troupe leader lifted his foot and squashed the centipede into paste.

He then said coolly, "No need to be so curious. You have quite a few of these in your stomach now."

"The pill you just took contained its eggs. It will hatch into about ten larvae of the 【Corpse-dissolving Demon】."

"From this day on, I will suppress them for you once a day to prevent the eggs from hatching."

"The day the Five-colored Spider Lily is successfully refined, I will help you remove them."

"But if you betray me, then you can wait to become a skeleton."

As he spoke, seven familiar Ghostly Shadows of opera performers materialized behind him. Some went to open the furnace. Others picked up cleaning tools to dispose of the mouse's remains. One came to Wu Wang's side, holding a wooden bucket for medicinal dregs.

The Ghostly Shadow gently placed a hand on Wu Wang's abdomen.

A cold, chilling aura passed through his clothes and skin, seeping into his body. A moment later, the burning heat in his stomach gradually subsided.

The troupe leader seemed somewhat surprised.

"Oh? You looked unwell a moment ago. I thought you were about to vomit, but you held it in?"

He was shocked that Wu Wang had no real reaction after learning the pill he ate was a clutch of insect eggs.

To his surprise, the young man just rolled his eyes.

“Buddy, I've been to the Hundred Insects Banquet in Chuncheng. I've seen it all. You think one little centipede is going to scare me?”

Big deal. I'll just die and see.

Of course, Wu Wang would never say that last part out loud.

The troupe leader looked at him with a strange expression. This fellow's behavior these past few days had been utterly bizarre, always spouting incomprehensible nonsense.

But since Wu Wang had eaten the pill, and the Ghostly Shadow had confirmed it was in his stomach, he didn't worry too much. This was just an insurance policy. In reality, Bai Sha—the name he knew Wu Wang by—most likely wouldn't betray him.

After all, Bai Sha also needed the Five-colored Spider Lily. He needed it to open the Yellow Springs Road, rebuild the Bridge of Helplessness, and bring his beloved back from the Ghost Gate Pass. The troupe leader had investigated all of this long ago.

But the troupe leader didn't know the truth.

Wu Wang dared to eat that thing not because of loyalty or desperation.

It was because he truly wasn't afraid of death.

Turning into corpse fluid? So what? Even if you ground his bones to dust, it would be useless.

Isn't it just a life? Here, you can have it!

The troupe leader broke the silence.

"Alright, hurry up and refine the medicine. If you can present it to the Prince before tonight, you might please him and even receive a reward."

He added, "For a commoner like you, such a favor would be an immense honor."

Hearing this, an unusual glint flashed in Wu Wang's eyes.

Commoner? Why would a word like that come from the troupe leader's mouth? Isn't he also a low-status actor?

As expected, there's a huge problem with this guy's identity!

On the surface, however, Wu Wang just smiled cheerfully and went to select the herbs.

He already knew exactly what kind of medicine he should make for the Prince.