The first pain was sharp, like a red-hot nail being driven into my flesh. I groaned, and cold sweat instantly broke out on my forehead.
But that's not the worst part; the real pain comes from what follows!
The needle tip must cut along the gap between the skin and muscle; the pulling sensation of the skin and flesh separating during the peeling is enough to make any tough guy scream in pain.
I broke out in a cold sweat. No wonder skinning was one of the most painful forms of torture in ancient times.
I had to do it myself, and I also used this pain-relieving powder, because the pain was almost unbearable.
But people in ancient times didn't care about such things. They were as rough as they could be. I heard that some people even sprinkled salt water on the wound.
I comforted myself, thinking that this pain was much better than that of prisoners in ancient times.
But that's just something I tell myself to comfort myself.
No matter how much pain others suffer, it's because others did it, but I had to peel my own skin off.
I could clearly feel my skin being cut as the knitting thread slid across it, followed by the tearing of subcutaneous fat and connective tissue.
At the same time, I also have to make sure that my hands don't tremble even slightly, otherwise there will be a lot of unnecessary wounds.
Blood flowed down my back, the warm liquid running down my spine and soaking my waistband.
"Hiss," Li Huai gasped, unable to bear watching any longer, and turned his head to the side.
Luo Tianhe gritted his teeth.
He knew I did this not only because I didn't want to break my promise to that ghost bride.
It was because I still held onto a sliver of hope that the ghost bride would intervene and heal the corpse spots on Old Knife's body.
As the peeling continued, my body began to tremble, and my teeth clenched so tightly they clicked.
I deeply regret my decision, but I've already gone halfway through, and I can't just stop now.
"Chen Yan, hold on."
Master Zhang Qingxiao was right next to me speaking, but to me it sounded like he was coming from a very far place. I realized that I was already somewhat dazed.
Generally speaking, severe pain can keep one conscious, but prolonged severe pain can cause confusion.
This is a subconscious protective behavior of the human body.
I was panting heavily, but I forced myself to stay alert and continued peeling.
And the next step is the most painful one: peeling!
I released the triangular bone needle with my left hand, letting it fall to the ground.
Seeing this, Li Huai carefully took a step forward, picked it up, and carefully wiped away the dirt on it.
I used two fingers to pinch the cut corner of skin and pulled it outwards forcefully.
I can't describe the feeling. I could almost hear the tiny tearing sound of skin separating from muscle, and feel every nerve ending screaming.
Sweat, blood, and tears mingled together, blurring my vision.
I felt the world spinning, and a buzzing sound filled my ears.
But I didn't stop. My fingers mechanically pulled and tugged, peeling the entire piece of skin off my back little by little.
When the last bit of connection was severed, I let out a long sigh of relief, everything went black, and I collapsed forward.
A pair of hands supported me; it was Luo Tianhe.
"Chen Yan, Chen Yan, are you alright?"
He was like a ghost calling back, and my previously hazy consciousness gradually returned to normal with his shouts.
"I'm fine, don't shout." I barely opened my eyes, my voice barely audible. "The skin's been removed, right?"
“It’s off,” Master Zhang Qingxiao replied, holding in his hand what was clearly the skin on my back.
Li Huai turned around. Having seen all sorts of disgusting ghosts and monsters, he had never vomited before, but at this moment he couldn't hold it in and vomited.
Luo Tianhe's tears fell on my face, scalding hot.
"Alright, stop crying, I'm not dead. Use this piece of skin as bait," I said, panting and straining.
Master Zhang Qingxiao took a deep breath, walked to the tomb, and placed the human skin on the white candle.
The moment the human skin came into contact with the flame, the candle flame shot up dramatically, its color changing from eerie green to blood red.
"Step back!" the Taoist priest shouted.
Li Huai and Luo Tianhe helped me back.
The Taoist priest bit a finger on his other hand, used the blood to draw a complex talisman on his palm, and then slammed his palm down on the ground.
"Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe borrows its power, break!"
As the Taoist priest finished speaking, the ground shook violently, and the cracks continued to widen.
The next moment, purple lightning shot up from the crack, illuminating half of the mass grave!
"Holy crap, Master, what happened to you?! Who did this?! I'll skin them alive!"
An incoherent voice rang out; it was none other than Lei Jijian, who had already escaped from the tomb.
My lips twitched, but I couldn't be bothered to pay him any attention.
Luo Tianhe, also looking speechless, shouted at Lei Jijian:
"Chen Yan doesn't need you right now, you should assist the Taoist priest first!"
Lei Jijian naturally knew about the relationship between me and Luo Tianhe. Seeing that I was not in a good state, he rushed to Zhang Qingxiao.
At this point, my human skin had been completely burned away.
Then, wisps of black smoke drifted out of the tomb, coalescing in the air into distorted human faces.
Those faces roared silently, their eyes filled with resentment and pain.
The yin energy of the entire mass grave seemed to be stirred up, and the branches of the locust trees in the distance danced wildly, with a blurry human face appearing on the trunk.
I recognized him immediately—that ghostly Taoist priest! Wasn't he the one who sewed human skin? Why was he sewing himself into a locust tree?!
"Now!"
The Taoist priest shouted, while simultaneously forming hand seals and chanting incantations faster and faster until I could no longer hear what he was saying.
Luo Tianhe asked Li Huai to support me, while he rushed towards Lao Dao.
Old Dao stood there, his expression struggling between clarity and confusion. The black lines that had disappeared were now covering his face again.
Luo Tianhe didn't have time to worry about anything else; he directly stabbed the man between the eyebrows with his copper coin sword.
"Old Dao, come with us!"
At this moment, Lao Dao's forehead seemed to be stuck to the copper coin sword, and Luo Tianhe couldn't take it back even if he wanted to, but this suited him just fine.
He grabbed the copper coin sword and, like leading a sheep, pulled the old knife over.
But just as we retreated to the edge of the burial mound, something unexpected happened.
From the direction of the locust tree, an extremely dark shadow shot out. It was not a physical object, but a dense mass of dark, ink-like yin energy! It twisted and deformed in the air, transforming into the shape of a ghostly claw, and finally grabbed at the burning candle.
After the candle burned my human skin, it seemed to undergo a strange change!
Not only did the flame turn red, but the candle also changed from white to the color of human skin.
Looking at it from afar, the candle seemed to resemble a corpse oil lamp.
"They've taken the bait!" the Taoist priest shouted, throwing out three peach wood nails soaked in black dog blood.
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