Xie Lian pushed back forcefully, "I know no one will come. It's none of your business."
Bai Wuxiang asked leisurely, "Then why did you poke a hole in yourself and leave it like this? Are you angry with someone? No one will feel sorry for you now."
Xie Lian continued to push back, "I'm happy to do that. It's none of your business."
Bai Wuxiang asked, "If someone comes to help you, what will you do? If no one comes to help you, what will you do?"
“…”
Xie Lian started cursing, “Why are you talking so much bullshit??? I’m going to throw up! It’s none of your business, none of your business!!!”
His words became increasingly vulgar and rude, his tone increasingly aggressive, but in the end he could only curse. Bai Wuxiang seemed to be amused by him and laughed out loud, sighing, "Silly child."
He turned around and said, "Forget it. There's only one day left anyway, so it doesn't matter if you struggle foolishly. No one will come to give you a glass of water or help you pull out this black sword. Remember—"
Bai Wuxiang reminded him again: "After sunset tomorrow, if you haven't unleashed the Human Face Plague, the curse will befall you."
Xie Lian listened quietly, not moving a muscle.
On the third day, Xie Lian was still lying in the human-shaped pit at the fork in the road, his posture unchanged.
Today's crowds were no different from yesterday's; they all avoided him and went their separate ways. Although the incident of the strange figure descending from the sky had been reported, upon hearing that it was most likely the plague god, and that he hadn't committed any crime, simply lying there like a dead person, they didn't want to go, perfunctorily saying they'd check back in a few days. This essentially meant they were letting it go. Who knew what the situation would be like in a few days?
A few curious children ran over, squatting by the pit to watch the figure. They picked up sticks and secretly poked and prodded at him, but Xie Lian remained motionless, like a dead fish. Intrigued, they tried to throw something at him, but were caught by their parents, scolded, and sent home.
The water vendor from yesterday had also been looking over here. Xie Lian hadn't had a drop of water all day and night, and a layer of dry, dead skin had formed on his lips. The vendor, feeling sorry for him, scooped up a bowl of water and seemed about to offer it to him, but his wife nudged him with her elbow, tipping the bowl over and forcing him to give up.
I don’t know if the weather wanted to join in the fun, but after noon, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.
The street vendors quickly packed up their stalls, and passersby rushed to get home. After a while, the rain intensified. Xie Lian's face, washed down by the rain, became even paler, and his entire body was soaked.
Silently, a figure in white appeared in front of Xie Lian.
The other people on the street didn't seem to notice the strange figure. Bai Wuxiang looked down at him and said, "Sunset is almost here."
Xie Lian remained silent.
Bai Wuxiang said, "You are not the Plague God, but they would rather believe you are than not. Back then, you defied heaven and brought rain to Yong'an, yet now they are unwilling to even give you a glass of water. Hundreds of swords piercing your heart might have been forced upon you, but now they are unwilling to even help you pull out a single sword, finding it difficult."
He said sympathetically, "I told you, no one will help you."
A voice in Xie Lian's heart screamed hysterically:
Admit it. He's right. No, no, no! Really no one, not a single one!
As if hearing the roar in his heart, Bai Wuxiang smiled, reached out his hand, grasped the hilt of the black sword, and said, "But it doesn't matter. If they don't help you, I will."
After saying this, he exerted a little force, raised his hand, and pulled the black sword out of Xie Lian's abdomen. With a "clang" sound, he threw it beside Xie Lian.
Then, the white-clothed figure in the rain chuckled softly, as if it had accomplished its mission and was leaving the rest to Xie Lian alone, and disappeared.
After pulling out the black sword, Xie Lian's wound was exposed, and the rain lashed at it, and the pain that had long been numb spread again. This was the only thing he could still clearly feel at this moment.
There was a sound of footsteps, a rush of running water, as if someone was hurrying through the rain. However, Xie Lian no longer had the same secret concern as before.
He sat up slowly, but just as he stood up, he heard a scream of "Ah!!!" and a person fell heavily beside him.
The man was carrying a large basket of things and a rain hat. Perhaps because the rain was so heavy, he didn't see a person in a pothole in the road. Xie Lian only realized it when he suddenly sat up as he got closer. Furthermore, the man was running so fast and braking so hard, he fell hard, landing flat on his face next to the human-shaped pothole where Xie Lian lay. He immediately started cursing, "Fuck your mother!!!"
The bamboo hat flew off, and the basket on his back also overturned, spilling the white rice all over the ground. The man sat on the ground and yelled in frustration. He slapped the ground, and the wet mud and rice grains splashed all over Xie Lian's face. He was furious, jumped three feet high, pointed at Xie Lian's nose and said, "What the hell?! I worked so hard and worked myself to death to earn some money to buy some rice, and now it's all gone like this. I've been unlucky for several lifetimes! Pay me back! Don't play dead, pay me back!!!"
Xie Lian didn't even notice him, and didn't intend to pay any attention. But the man persisted, grabbing Xie Lian by the collar and demanding, "Do you want to die? I'm asking you."
Xie Lian said coldly, “Yes.”
The man spat, "If you want to die, why don't you just go away and die quietly by yourself? You're blocking other people's way in the middle of the road. You shouldn't die peacefully. You're so immoral!!!"
Xie Lian let him grab his collar and shake it wildly, his face expressionless and extremely numb.
Curse, curse. It doesn't matter, just curse as much as you want.
Anyway, it won't be long before they all disappear.
The sun is about to set.
The man grabbed the unresponsive Xie Lian and demanded compensation. When he refused, he cursed him profusely, still not satisfied. After a long shove, he finally picked up his hat from the ground, put it on, and continued walking on, cursing. With a thud, Xie Lian was thrown back into the pit. Gradually, a clamor louder than the rain could be heard.
Those were the screams of thousands of undead souls trapped in the black sword.
As the sun sank lower and lower in the west, they howled like mad in Xie Lian's mind, cheering for the coming freedom and revenge.
Xie Lian raised a hand and covered his face.
Just as he stretched out his other hand tremblingly to grab the black sword on the ground, he suddenly discovered something strange.
The rain seems to have stopped.
wrong.
It wasn't that the rain had stopped, it was that something was covering his head, blocking the heavy rain for him!
Xie Lian suddenly opened his eyes and looked up, only to see a man squatting in front of him, putting his own hat on his head.
...It was actually the person who had just yelled at him!
He glared at the other person, who glared back, saying, "Why are you looking at me like that? What? Are you really going to die after I scold you?" He spat and said, "Isn't it unlucky to look so sad?"
“…”
The man had just revealed his vicious side, but now he seemed to feel a little guilty as he recalled it. He muttered a few words and then defended himself, "Alright, alright, that was my fault. But you deserved to be scolded. Who made you sick? Besides, who hasn't been scolded before?"
Xie Lian’s eyes widened, speechless.
The man said impatiently, "Okay, okay, it's my bad luck. I don't want you to pay for the rice. What are you still lying here for? You are an adult, not a child. Are you waiting for your parents to pull you up? Get up, get up, get up."
He urged, pulling and dragging Xie Lian to his feet, slapped him hard on the back twice, and said, "Stand up and go home quickly!"
Xie Lian was dragged out of this human pit, nearly falling to the ground from those two slaps. He was stunned. By the time he came to his senses, the man was already gone.
Only the straw hat remained on his head, reminding him that he had just been pulled out and it was not an illusion.
After an unknown amount of time, Bai Wuxiang appeared behind him again.
This time, he didn't smile, and his tone wasn't as relaxed. Instead, he seemed vaguely unhappy and uneasy. He asked, "What are you doing?"
The rain was still pouring down, and Xie Lian was wearing a hat given to him by someone else. Although his body was already soaked, at least his head and face were not wet.
However, his cheeks were still wet.
Seeing that Xie Lian didn't answer him, Bai Wuxiang said in a deep voice, "Sunset is almost here. Grab your sword, or you know what will happen."
Without even turning his head, Xie Lian said softly, "Fuck you."
Bai Wuxiang's tone was a little cold as he asked, "What did you say?"
Xie Lian turned to him and said calmly, "Didn't you hear clearly? Then I'll say it again."
Suddenly, he kicked out with a thunderous kick, sending Bai Wuxiang flying back several feet!
Landing on the ground, Xie Lian covered his wound with one hand and pointed in the direction Bai Wuxiang had flown. He cursed at the top of his lungs, "Fuck you! Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like that?! I'm the Crown Prince!"
Two lines of tears were already streaming down his face.
One person. Just one person.
Really, just one person is enough!
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