Chapter 20: Another Person
Ying Tong hadn’t expected these people to be so shameless. They even absurdly thought that she had gotten the name wrong. Was she that foolish? She could clearly tell the difference between “J ī ng” and “J ì ng.”
Even if she had mistaken the name of the city, could she really have mistaken a person’s name?
She hadn’t planned on explaining the reason at first, but these people kept blaming this and that, never considering their own mistakes.
To prevent them from brainwashing themselves into believing their delusion, Ying Tong kindly had someone give them a hint.
When Fentian entered the room, he saw Ying Li, who was engrossed in eating. Worried, he said, “This is already the fifth table, isn’t it? If she keeps eating like this, won’t there be a problem?”
As he spoke, Fentian couldn’t help but glance at Ying Li’s stomach.
Despite eating so much, Ying Li’s stomach hadn’t swelled at all; in fact, it had slightly caved in.
Upon hearing this, Ying Tong shook her head and said, “Don’t worry, it’s fine. She has a unique constitution. The food she eats is instantly converted into energy and absorbed by her body.”
“She hasn’t eaten anything good before, so her body was in a dormant state. Now that she has suddenly awakened, she naturally needs a large amount of food.”
After all, it was just some food.
“By the way, didn’t you say you found two? Where’s the other one?” Ying Tong suddenly asked.
“In another room. He should be awake by now but still can’t move,” Ye Ying replied.
…
Ying Tong entered the other room, and as soon as she pushed open the door, a strong stench of rot hit her.
She approached the bedside, where a frail boy lay. His eyes were dull, and even though he noticed someone approaching, he didn’t react at all.
Half of the boy’s face was already rotten, leaving only the other half intact.
But the rot continued to spread, and it wouldn’t be long before the remaining half of his face would be beyond saving.
Ying Tong recalled seeing Ying Xin in a dream, his face covered in horrifying scars, his body also scarred all over. That’s why he usually wore a mask to cover his face and dressed in black to wrap himself completely.
“What happened?” she asked.
At that moment, Ye Ying appeared and explained, “He was poisoned by the Bloodthirsty Bat King while trying to save his fiancée. His cultivation was destroyed, his meridians were severed, and even his body has been continuously corroded.”
“And what about his fiancée…?”
“Naturally, she abandoned him.”
Hearing their conversation, Ying Xin, who was lying on the bed, suddenly became agitated. His eyes were filled with rage, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
At that moment, his heart was full of regret. If he had known things would turn out this way, he would never have chosen to save that woman. He wouldn’t have ended up in his current miserable state.
Now, aside from the physical pain he endured, every time he opened his eyes, his mind would automatically replay the scene of being abandoned, over and over again, cutting his soul to pieces, leaving him emotionally and physically torn apart.
“The Bloodthirsty Bat King’s poison?”
Ying Tong looked at the bedridden Ying Xin and a flash of realization crossed her mind. No wonder, later on, he would turn into that kind of person, living on fresh blood.
The Bloodthirsty Bat King’s poison wasn’t fatal, but when it acted up, it could make a person wish for death. The skin would rot, and the body would feel like it was being devoured by thousands of ants. Only fresh blood could provide relief.
And among all types of blood, human blood was the most effective.
Looking at the boy on the bed, Ying Tong could clearly see the intense hatred in his eyes.
And hatred was justified. After all, who wouldn’t feel the same? He had sacrificed himself to save someone, and it was his fiancée, no less, only to be repaid with betrayal, a broken engagement, and such a terrible fate. Any normal person would harbor hatred.
Moreover, Ying Xin didn’t just suffer betrayal from his fiancée but also from his brothers and family.
Overnight, the once kind and loving family members suddenly began to hurl harsh words at him. Anyone in his place would have struggled to accept it, let alone a boy of only fifteen or sixteen.
“Save me, please,” Ying Xin uttered slowly and painfully, enduring the agony that wracked his body.
Hearing this, Ying Tong responded with a question, “If I save you, what will I get in return?”
“I will give you my life,” Ying Xin said with fervor.
Although he didn’t know exactly who these people were, the fact that they had managed to secretly take him away from that place without anyone noticing showed they were not weak.
Even though he was poisoned, his mind was still clear. These people had specifically brought him, someone who had become a useless wreck, here for a reason. They must have some ulterior motive.
But he didn’t care about their intentions. After all, his life was already worthless. He wouldn’t mind if things got worse as long as he could exact his revenge. He was willing to pay any price, as long as he could personally kill that despicable couple. Nothing else mattered to him.
“Agreed,” Ying Tong nodded readily.
“I will save you, but remember this: from now on, your life belongs to me.”
Ying Xin was stunned for a moment, not fully understanding the weight of that statement, but it didn’t matter to him.
“Alright, I agree,” he replied.
At that moment, Ye Ying, standing nearby, casually pulled out a piece of paper with a mischievous grin on his face and said, “Well then, young man, let’s get this over with—just sign this contract of servitude.”
“Contract of servitude?” Ying Xin looked at the slightly yellowed parchment in front of him, squinting his eyes in an effort to read what was written on it.
After struggling for a while, he realized that the writing on the parchment wasn’t anything he recognized. It looked more like random scribbles than actual words.
Without any hesitation, Ying Xin raised his hand and pressed it down on the parchment, leaving his handprint.
In the next moment, the parchment transformed into a beam of golden light, splitting in two. The smaller piece entered Ying Xin’s body, while the larger piece merged into Ye Ying’s.
With the task complete, Ye Ying stepped aside. Ying Tong took out a vibrant green feather from her sleeve, radiating with a sense of life.
“This feather can help you detoxify. It also has another function: it can enable you to harness the poison of the Bloodthirsty Bat for your own use. However, this requires the poison of the Bloodthirsty Bat King to remain in your body. You need to decide which option to choose,” she explained.
In the dream, Ying Xin suppressed the toxins in his body by absorbing blood. At the same time, he also used the poison of the Bloodthirsty Bat King to enhance his cultivation.
This indicated that he was actually suited for this path; otherwise, he wouldn’t have created such a huge calamity that ultimately led her to bear the consequences.
After Ying Tong left with Fentian and Ye Ying, Ying Xin looked at the green feather in his hand, as if he had made a certain decision, and his gaze gradually became resolute.
In the next moment, the feather transformed into green starlight and integrated into his body.
Ying Xin could feel the pain in his body diminishing, and the areas that had been rotting were visibly healing at a noticeable speed.
Meanwhile, the Bloodthirsty Bat King’s poison within him, now under Ying Xin’s control, was all gathering at his dantian.
