"Liu Qi pulled a smile on his thin face and grabbed Zheng He's arm with one hand, while with the other hand he lifted the blanket and asked again, 'Look, look! Haven't I already turned into a dragon?'"
The candle flame was dim, and the darkness under the quilt was pitch-black, making everything indistinct.
The old man said only a few words before starting to cough softly, trembling as he unbuttoned his bloodstained, darkened shirt.
He had only three fingers left on his hand.
Everything before his eyes made Zheng He's temples pulse fiercely.
Beneath the clothes, the original flesh and skin had long since disappeared, replaced by a mottled patchwork of red and black bloodstains.
His body was already completely decomposed.
Zheng He looked at the pool of bloodstains, which seemed like a mass of intestines, and as if something was wriggling inside her intestines. When Zheng He's eyes fell on it, the intestines rose and fell as if greeting her.
Every inch of Liu Qi's skin was oozing blood, and the veins and meridians in his internal organs twisted like living creatures, more full of vitality than the lifeless Liu Qi himself.
They moved and stirred, as if they were crawling towards Zheng He like a snake!
Zheng He suddenly stood up, her eyebrows knitted into a knot, a chill running up her spine. Her facial muscles twitched and then were forcefully suppressed, fearing that the nearby Liu Qi might notice anything out of the ordinary.
The old man, however, didn't let her move too far away. He grasped Zheng He's wrist even harder and carelessly displayed his own unusual condition.
He raised the withered skin, smiling to reveal only his gums, "Child, look, hasn't my father already turned into a dragon?"
He twisted his body and rolled the bloodstained quilt to one side, revealing his two legs which had merged into a snake's tail. Scales covered his skin, writhing and undulating on the bed.
Zheng He looked down at the distorted snake-like body, bones, flesh and skin fused together. From the perspective of the second floor, Liu Qi's face was blurred under the red bed curtain. But that peculiar aroma mixed with paper ash wormed its way into Zheng He's nostrils like a poisonous charm, stimulating her nerves.
"A Ho, why don't you speak?"
"Do you see me, am I a human, or a dragon?"
Liu Qi's voice seemed to come from the underworld, twisting like a snake, wrapping around slowly.
Zheng He tilted her head slightly and forced out a single word from her throat, "Dragon."
The sudden release of the mysterious pressure made Liu Qi stare at Zheng He with a smile, "Dragon! Yes, it's a dragon!"
"Ha ha! I knew it! I knew it! I've become! I've become!"
"The sun and the moon as my eyes, white waves as my teeth, biting the heavens and the earth, transforming me into a dragon!"
"Transform me into a dragon!"
The snake tail quivered, making a rustling sound, and surprisingly supported Liu Qi's hunched-over body from the bed, raising himself up. The veins in his body bulged, as if there was a huge net inside him that had tightened around his muscles and bones, preventing him from breaking free.
"I've become!"
"I've become a dragon!"
It was unclear if it was just an illusion, but Zheng He felt the whole Jiaomujian was trembling because of his smile.
With Zheng He's confirmation, Liu Qi crawled out of the quilt, his snake tail coiling around the bed. After a moment of acting crazy to himself, he excitedly bent down and looked at Zheng He.
His eyes were terrifying, but Zheng He didn't feel afraid either because he looked just like Grandpa Lou or because she couldn't feel any alertness. Her nostrils flared slightly, and she quietly inhaled a deep breath of the blood scent that permeated the room, her lips licking over her dry lips.
So fragrant...
Zheng He suspected that the old man might have set up a small stove in the room.
How else could she smell the roasted chicken scent beneath the smell of paper ash?
Liu Qi's eyes gradually softened, and he lowered his body, gasping for breath as he lay back in the quilt, "A Ho..."
"A Ho..."
Even if he truly became a dragon, it would be a disabled one.
Zheng He sighed and tucked the quilt corners over him.
Just then, Liu Qi had used most of his energy in that movement. He touched his swollen pulse and said, "As long as you're alive, it's all right. They are all family, squabbles and jokes are common. They are all ordinary people, you don't need to argue with them too much. Otherwise, you will damage your own blessings and understand?"
Fighting and joking?
The previous owner had their heart removed and fed to someone!
Being thrown into the sea by someone, does this qualify as fighting and joking?
However, seeing Liu Qi's pitiful and miserable look, as well as his decrepit appearance, Zheng He pondered for a moment and did not immediately refute. She just nodded and didn't say "know" or anything else.
Liu Qi probably noticed her reluctance. He reached out from the quilt and grabbed Zheng He's wrist, "Stupid child, why argue with them? They are just greedy for those drinks, at most some wealth and property. What's the harm in giving them those things?"
His fingers looked like withered grass.
Zheng He lowered her head and noticed that the old man's fingers were pitch black, with only four out of five remaining, and each one missing a nail.
The bald nail beds were still oozing black blood.
Zheng He furrowed her brow, "This..."
Was it done by Old Wen's group, or did the old man do it himself?
The old man showed no concern for his own condition. His tone was sinister, and he grabbed Zheng He's arm as if holding onto a lifeline.
"Our Jiaomujian roams the Forbidden Sea, relying on those gold and alcohol for survival?"
"What's the rush? Child, they can do their own thing. We don't need to get involved. Just know that in my heart, only you can inherit my position and only you are worthy of my Golden Pill!"
Golden Pill?
This old man is actually a cultivator?
Remembering the web novels she had read in the past, could this be her Golden Finger?
Zheng He's voice was hoarse, "You..."
Liu Qi pulled her down to sit next to him on the bed again, and his voice was a bit softer. He squeezed Zheng He's hand, as if telling her not to be afraid, "I have become a dragon. This human body is no longer useful. When I become a dragon and leave, I will give you all my things, including this Jiaomujian."
He pulled a twisted and terrifying smile on his lips, "They've poisoned me with this Xerotic Toxin. They want me to die, and I know."
"On this ship, no, in this world, they can't accept a dragon, can't accept me! They are all waiting for me to die, only you, you hope I live..."
"I have no son or daughter, so this Jiaomujian is the most precious thing I have in this lifetime. Of course, it will go to the people I love most, Zheng He. For so many years, we may not be family by blood, but we've been like family to each other. When I die, you must take care of the Jiaomujian well and remember what I've told you."
"By the way, this child is about your age!"
His words were eerie, as if he was treating the ship as a living creature, implying an intention to entrust it to someone.
"As an offering, consuming me will strengthen the spirit and benefit the marrow, allowing you to communicate with the gods!"
He spoke incoherently, resembling the old man Lu's late-stage dementia.
Although he smelled of roasted chicken, Zheng He couldn't find much appetite for such a withered old man, so she patted the bed covers to comfort him, "Alright, I'll do as you say."
Liu Qi coldly laughed, "I will become a dragon from now on, Zheng He. It will be hard for you to stay in the human world."
"No matter what schemes those ordinary people have in mind, they are all futile."
"Child, you can rest assured that Jiaomujian is definitely yours, and no one can take it away!"
His facial muscles twitched slightly, and a cold light shone in his eyes, "I'll see who dares to kill you on Jiaomujian!"
He propped himself up on the bedboard, supporting his body, and grasped Zheng He's wrist again.
"When I shed this shell and leave, throw all these things into the sea."
He pointed to the intestines still writhing inside, "Then dig out my Golden Pill and pull out my spine. Soak the Golden Pill in clear water for a day and a night. Grind the spine into powder, mix it with hot human blood, and drink it all up. Don't eat or drink for three days. Your body will become light and pure, and that Golden Pill will be yours."
"Jiaomujian will also be yours!"
"Only you are worthy of my Golden Pill!"
"After I obtain the Golden Pill, let them see clearly who is the chaff and who is the true immortal!"
The old man's eyes were bloodshot, and his demeanor was madness.
