Chapter 1203: Cooking Method in the Twelve Worlds (One)
In that moment, hope ignited in Lin Sanjiu's chest, burning so intensely that it felt painful. She couldn't help but reveal her expectations and wishful thinking. Even though she knew it was unlikely, she suddenly turned her head and stared at Bohemia with glistening eyes, "Is it possible that you..."
"What?" Bohemia opened her eyes, looking completely bewildered.
The words "are planning to use the NPC's hand to throw the item?" got stuck in Lin Sanjiu's throat at that moment. No matter who throws the item, once she thought "Someone might throw the [The Mountains Remove The Foolish Old Man] out," the [The Mountains Remove The Foolish Old Man] would no longer work. Besides, Bohemia wasn't aware of the complexities involved, so there was no reason for her to deliberately have the NPC throw it out.
She could feel that the light in her eyes dimmed instantly. She would rather take a stab than endure the agony of hope and despair alternating. Pressing her fingers against the pain in her temples, she asked in a low voice, "Did you... really not give that Special Item to the NPC?"
"No, why would I do that?" Bohemia lowered her head, reaching into the pockets of her layered clothes. "It's still here. Do you want it back? Oh, here it is."
Lin Sanjiu suddenly felt all her strength drain away. In that moment, she felt lost. She didn't know what she was doing, or if any of her actions even mattered. Right now, all she wanted to do was find a dark place to curl up and close her eyes—maybe when she woke up again, it would all be a dream.
At that moment, the alarm happened to stop, leaving a lingering hum in her tortured eardrums.
Lin Sanjiu turned her body back towards the utility room.
The door was half-closed, and the visibility inside was poor. She could barely make out anything. Another alarm drowned out all the footsteps of the guards in the distance. Clenching her fists, Lin Sanjiu suddenly realized that Bohemia had not yet given her the [The Mountains Remove The Foolish Old Man].
She felt a hand gently slip over, lightly holding her wrist, its fingertips cold.
"The fatty has awakened," Bohemia whispered. "Do you want to go and see him?"
Why should she see him?
The next seven or eight steps as she was pushed back into the utility room felt like a dream, as if they would never come to an end. Patiently taking step after step... it felt like she had been walking for centuries. Finally, she returned to the entrance of the utility room. She was still unsure of what had happened, and she didn't even know why Bohemia had led her back into the room. In a daze, the only thing she remembered was that Bohemia hadn't given her the [The Mountains Remove The Foolish Old Man].
"We need to be quick," Bohemia said in a low voice, pushing her into the utility room and closing the door behind them with a click, locking it. "A group of guards just passed by. Luckily, they didn't look this way, but we might not be so lucky next time."
Lin Sanjiu's gaze fell on the NPC.
The man who had lost both his legs was now slumped weakly against the wall, his eyes open. His breathing was shallow and short, and his hands rested where his knees would have been, one palm burnt black and bloody.
"What happened?" Lin Sanjiu looked at the NPC but still couldn't bring herself to look at Hei Zeji. Her gaze continuously avoided the other half of the utility room.
"I wrapped the little stone mountain in paper," Bohemia said, pointing at the NPC, "and then sprinkled some fire-starting powder on it. This is something used for cooking in Twelve Worlds. You sprinkle it on wood, and soon the entire wood catches fire."
"I... I don't understand."
"Turn around and take a look," Bohemia interrupted, and with a slap to the back of her head, she forcefully made Lin Sanjiu turn her head toward where Hei Zeji had fallen. "Is it enough if we threw it like this?"
Lin Sanjiu suspected that everything happening now was just a comforting delusion born from her desperation.
The [The Mountains Remove The Foolish Old Man] maintained the shape of a small mountain, lying amidst the scattered charred remains, right next to Hei Zeji's hand. That hand was no longer a withered dry branch; his flesh and bones had gradually become supple, and she could even clearly see the white scars carved into the skin of his fingers.
Then, his index finger trembled slightly.
"This fatty finally proved to be somewhat useful," Bohemia's voice continued to explain beside her. "I thought that if he caught fire, he would wake up from the pain. Then, once he woke up, he would definitely throw away whatever was burning in his hand. "
Lin Sanjiu didn't catch what she was saying at all.
She had already pounced on Hei Zeji and knelt beside him with a thud, inspecting the wound on his throat. The situation had indeed been reversed. The bones beneath his skin and his throat seemed to be slowly healing and reshaping. Air finally flowed into his mouth and nose again, and his chest, which had been stagnant, started to move slightly with barely perceptible fluctuations.
"Why..." She turned back, looking at Bohemia, for a moment not knowing how to put her doubts into words. "How did you..."
Even in this dim basement, Bohemia's triumphant expression was almost impossible to hide.
"Did I do well? Your goal was to get me to throw that Special Item, right? It's just that for some reason, you acted as if it's forbidden and like you absolutely couldn't let yourself be aware of it... When I was hiding behind the fatty before, I thought about it. You arranged for me to throw the Special Item, but then you came in. So, no matter whether I threw it or not, or when I threw it, you were already aware. If I think deeper along this line, your original plan might not have worked at all! I'm just a little smarter than you when it comes to using my brain. I thought that to maintain your plan and make it work, I had to deceive you and make you think that I still had the item and hadn't thrown it away. Only that way... Oh my god, how is he alive?"
1
After the emotionally turbulent explanation, Lin Sanjiu was tickled by Bohemia's exclamation and burst into laughter. With the hospital's alarm as cover, she laughed uncontrollably, falling down beside Hei Zeji, tears streaming from her eyes as Hei Zeji's breathing gradually stabilized and became clear.