Chapter 3
Li Gou Wa couldn't figure out many things. Whether he was led in by the steward or just handed over the wooden sign, he was smelling the pungent smell of medicine. The most thing he could think of was to help slaughter livestock.
The steward had been willing to bring them broth a few days ago, perhaps to let them recuperate. Today, they came to test their courage and select those who could work to work in the kitchen. As for what to slaughter, the nobles in Chang'an probably slaughtered differently from the villagers. The only things he had slaughtered in the village were chickens and fish. It was because of that chicken theft that his parents sold him here.
This thought seemed to bring back his courage. Although he still didn't want to meet those uncomfortable eyes, he satisfied his curiosity and began to glance around. Of course, he saw nothing. He didn't see any living creatures that needed to be slaughtered, nor did he see anyone else in the house besides someone dressed like that man.
But the smell of medicine mixed with a strange smell was getting stronger and stronger. It must have come from this room. "Lie down."
A hoarse voice sounded in his ears. Li Gou Wa was frightened and trembled. Then he saw clearly that the closest thing to him was... a chair much smaller than the bed, with strips of cloth scattered on it.
He was about to shake his head when he thought of the broth he'd drunk a few days before, so he listened to the man and lay down. Even if he wasn't much of a man, he'd been bought by the owner, who'd personally pressed his handprint on the cloth. If anything went wrong, the master he'd met that day wouldn't ignore him. If what he was about to do today was what that master wanted, shaking his head wouldn't matter; getting a beating wouldn't be worth it.
Li Gou Wa thought about this and, unusually obediently, lay down on the chair, staring at the man with the cloth strips. He hadn't imagined that the cloth strips scattered on the chair were used to tie him up. He inevitably struggled a few times, which only made the man tie him even tighter.
He finally knew why he was so panicked just now, but with his current brain, he could never have imagined what he was about to encounter before it happened. Now he could only be tied to a chair and stretched out, lying straight in the room.
The two children who had followed him in were also tied up in the same way. He tried to turn around to look at the person lying next to him, but a thick piece of linen was stuffed into his mouth. Fortunately, it was clean, and the smell of medicine on it was not as strong as the smell on the man's sleeve.
He bit the linen cloth in his mouth, unable to shake his head, and stared at the man as he took out the knife. Unlike any knife he had seen before, it looked thin and long in the man's hand, and clearly had a sharp blade.
Li Gou Wa began to tremble. Even the bravest would still be afraid of such a thing. He thought he was going to be ripped open or cut open to bleed, so he used all his strength to break free.
His eyes were also covered with a cloth, and now he could only smell the unpleasant smell of medicine. He cursed the man, the steward, and the master in his heart. What a good life! He had been drinking meat broth every day to fatten himself up. He must have been doing some alchemy or cultivating immortality. He just kept saying it was bad luck. He should have run away when no one was watching.
His cheap parents probably never imagined that he would be sold to someone for 750 cents and could be killed or cut at will. I wonder if they would regret selling him for a chicken after seeing this scene.
Li Gou Wa's mind was so preoccupied with these thoughts that he didn't immediately realize the slicing of the linen beneath him. He only realized it when he felt the blade of the knife between his legs. He had given up trembling, believing it was his fate. A short pain was better than a long one. Whether it was bleeding or cutting flesh, he should at least chop the neck first, just like killing a chicken.
He didn't know what happened after the neck was chopped off. Anyway, it should be similar to killing a chicken. If the chicken stopped crowing, it would not hurt anymore, and he should not feel any pain either. He was thinking wildly, and the smell of medicine lingering in his mouth and nose became stronger and stronger. He felt that the man was dragging his feet, so he might as well give himself a quick death.
So when the pain worse than death spread throughout his body, Li Gou Wa bit the thick cloth stuffed in his mouth and almost fainted. He couldn't describe the pain. It was completely different from falling from a tree or being cut by a knife. He seemed to only feel pain.
This kind of pain wasn't instantaneous; he only wished he could die instantly like a chicken and be roasted and eaten. Waves of intense pain followed, bringing tears to his eyes, though he couldn't detect them.
Li Gou Wa had nearly bitten through the thick cloth in his mouth. He could no longer smell the bitter medicine. He could only think of the pain in his lower body. He could no longer feel the knife cutting him, so he closed his eyes. He broke out in a cold sweat and felt weak.
He suddenly felt like laughing again. He had only enjoyed a few days of good life and now he was in such pain. He might as well have been beaten and scolded by the merchant. The increasingly severe pain almost made him pass out, but as if fate was against him, he couldn't faint. Even if he closed his eyes tightly and even bit his teeth to the point of breaking, he was still awake.
He endured the pain while awake, not knowing when the bandages on his hands and feet were untied, nor when the man's actions stopped. He didn't even feel the medicine being applied to his wounds. He still bit the linen tightly and continued to endure the pain.
The man wiped the blood off the knife and had them carried out. Li Gou Wa could only let himself be manipulated. The slightest movement would cause him to feel a piercing pain as if he had to move. He also felt that this kind of pain was the worst pain in the world, even skinning, tendons pulling, and beheading were no more than this.
He lay flat on his back, not knowing where he was carried into. When he was lowered, his wound wouldn't be affected, adding to the pain. He slowly loosened his jaw and tried to open his eyes, but the slightest crack of his eyes made him feel dizzy. Fortunately, he finally couldn't bear the pain of being castrated anymore and fell asleep.
Li Gou Wa didn't get the chance to sleep for too long. When he woke up, the pain in his lower body was still there. He had to keep his eyes open, trying to look around to distract himself, only to find that his hands and feet were still tied to the wooden board beneath him.
He could only gasp for air, trying to regain some strength to escape the excruciating pain, but it was all in vain. After a moment, Li Gou Wa realized that this would only strain the wound, so he stopped and let go of the deeper pain.
He didn't understand why he hadn't died in such pain, nor did he understand what awaited him after enduring such pain. The rain outside hadn't stopped yet. He could hear the sound of raindrops in the silence of the house and smell the strong smell of medicine inside, as if... it was coming from him.
Gradually, Li Gou Wa was able to turn his head. Beside him were people like him, still unconscious from the pain. He could vaguely see blood stains on the white cloth covering them, which must be the smell that could not be masked by the smell of medicine.
He slumped his shoulders and let himself limp against the board, his body gradually getting used to the pain, so there was no chance of him passing out.
The pain didn't slow down; Li Gou Wa felt like he was being cut by a knife over and over again. When he came to his senses, he still couldn't figure out why he was doing this. Being tied up here only exacerbated his anxiety, and he was afraid he'd have to experience the pain again.
The noise outside the door had stopped at some point. Li Gou Wa listened as they carried one person after another in. There were exactly eight or nine people, and if there were more, he couldn't have counted them. No one in the house lit a light, and as the sun set outside the window, the room grew darker.
He heard soft sobs and cries, but he began to feel annoyed. In his heart, he counted the people who had caused him to be like this, and cursed them one by one. The pain covered up the temporary hunger and deprived him of the opportunity to fall asleep.
Li Gou Wa closed his eyes, and when he regained consciousness, the pain in his lower body eased, but only slightly. The room remained dark. He couldn't see a thing when he turned his head, and the little moonlight that filtered in was worse than nothing. He had to admit he was a little scared. The pain and hunger mixed together, and he could smell the nauseating smell of medicine every moment.
Even after waiting until dawn, no one pushed the door open. He'd grown accustomed to the pain, and then the hunger crept in. After having broth with every meal, this was the first time he'd been hungry for almost a whole day and night. Li Gou Wa began to savor the flavor of the broth, the salty, fresh porridge, and the oily liquid floating on the soup.
"Is anyone there?" He couldn't bear it any longer. He endured the pain in his lower body and tried to break free from the sackcloth that bound him. "They've made him like this and won't give him any food. Are they trying to starve him to death?" Then why did they stab him so many times? His bloody flesh was torn painfully by the movements.
Li Gou Wa gritted his teeth and repeated it again, using up almost all the strength he had gathered. The only responses he got were sighs and hoarse sobs, one after another.
That was the next day. By evening, he had lost all his energy even to shout. Still, no one came. The house gradually became filled with a foul smell. He even thought that someone had died in the house.
Li Gou Wa opened his eyes and stared at the beams across the house. He didn't need the broth anymore. Like the merchants, he could just make some wild vegetables. Or even just boiled weeds he could pick up from the roadside and drink them. But no one came tonight.
He still retained his consciousness in the midst of extreme hunger. If, if no one wanted him to die, then tomorrow, there would be food - he could already endure the pain of the knife cutting, but he could not stand this empty hunger, as if his whole body was empty and needed countless flesh and blood to fill it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
