C31 Prison

"Mr. Sunn, we ran into this kid while we were out in the fields and thought we'd bring him to you," said Grandma Lee's eldest son.

"Excellent, I appreciate it. You three have done well. The ten thousand yuan is all ready for you," Sunn Youde replied as he directed someone to hand a thick envelope to the brothers.

Once they had the money in hand, they hurried off. I couldn't help but sneer and spit in disgust. It was no surprise that these three would ignore their own mother's death to capture me, all for a reward.

Sunn Youde had his men hold me down as he stared at me with fury, his face twitching with anger. "You little rat, I didn't think we'd meet again so soon. I'm not going to kill you that easily! Take him and lock him in the back room!"

I found myself in a windowless room, stark and bare, resembling an interrogation chamber. The air was thick with the stench of blood and rot. Struggling to my feet, I was just regaining my bearings when the door swung open and Sunn Youde entered with a sinister grin, carrying a case.

He opened the case to reveal an array of silver needles, sharp scalpels, steel rods, and funnel-like instruments.

"Recognize these, do you?" Sunn Youde taunted, waving a mercury-filled jar in front of me.

"You... Your son's dead. What's the point of using me to concoct some ghostly potion to extend your life?" I backed away, desperately looking for a chance to escape or to take this monster down with me.

"Who told you my son is dead? The Master will surely bring Xing Wang back!" Sunn Youde advanced on me, his demeanor bordering on madness.

Backed into a corner, I felt like a lamb to the slaughter. But just then, a raspy, icy voice came from outside the door, "This kid is still useful. Don't take his life just yet."

I looked up to see the Evil Taoist standing there, his eyes and eyelids scarred from lime burns, the blood-red skin and eerie green eyes creating a grotesque and loathsome contrast.

"Master, I must avenge my son. Please, don't hold me back!" Sunn Youde cried out in rage.

"Sunn Youde, are you so eager to join your son in death?" the Evil Taoist retorted, gripping Sunn Youde's shoulder with an icy touch.

Sunn Youde, intimidated by the Evil Taoist's chilling gaze, nodded fearfully and stammered, "Yes... I apologize, Master, I was mistaken."

With a dismissive snort, the Evil Taoist released him, saying coolly, "Step outside. I'll handle this. Rest assured, the boy's fate will eventually be in your hands."

Sunn Youde slunk away, leaving just the two of us in the gloomy room, where the Evil Taoist's demeanor turned eerily serene.

Inspecting my arm, the Evil Taoist noted the vanished mark and mused, "Your father must have seen through the ruse of the mark on your arm long ago. He anticipated my discovery of you and cunningly laid a trap, causing me to suffer backlash. Alas, if not for my own powers, I would have been ensnared by his ploy. Your father was indeed a formidable man, though tragically short-lived."

"Just kill me now. As a ghost, I'll continue to haunt you for vengeance!" I declared coldly.

"Hmph, I'm not foolish enough to kill you with my own hands and risk harm from that golden light again. I'm curious to see what you'll become after days without human flesh," the Evil Taoist sneered as he rummaged through my belongings and confiscated the specially prepared "Dry Meat," cackling malevolently before departing.

The door slammed shut, sending a chill through me. Uncertain of my eventual fate, I knew one thing for certain: without the Dry Meat, death was inevitable in a matter of days.

Time ticked away in the pitch-black room, devoid of water, food, and any sound from the outside world. I felt cut off from everything, with death seemingly the only certainty.

Eventually, I drifted into a heavy slumber, oblivious to the passage of time, until the door burst open, flooding the space with blinding light.

I glanced up just in time to see someone bring in a bucket of clear water. But before I could even grasp what was happening, they hurried out and the door was locked behind them.

Staring at the bucket, I let out a wry laugh. This wasn't a gesture of goodwill from the Evil Taoist; he was simply worried I might die of thirst before hunger could take me.

After a brief hesitation, I took several large gulps of water. Survival was key; as long as I was alive, there was hope.

Yet, over the following two days, that sliver of hope gradually eroded.

A person can survive for a week, maybe even more, on just water without food. But I couldn't bring myself to eat that so-called "jerky."

By the third night, my consciousness began to blur, and incredibly, my body started to wither away, my flesh desiccating. This eerie affliction mirrored the one my foster father suffered just before his death.