Chapter 23: The Deal

Dr. Zhao hesitated as he glanced at Qi Xia, who was equally at a loss for how to respond.

“Can we use this?” Qi Xia whispered.

“It should work,” Dr. Zhao nodded. “Medical sutures often use curved needles. As long as it’s sharp enough.”

After a moment of thought, Qi Xia turned to the female shop assistant and spoke up, “Miss, we don’t have any money. Can we trade something with you instead?”

“Money?” The shop assistant stared blankly at Qi Xia, as if trying to comprehend the meaning of the word. After a long pause, she finally said, “I don’t want money. Sleep with me.”

“Sleep…?” Qi Xia’s lips twitched. “What do you mean?”

“After we sleep, we can eat the piglets!” The shop assistant’s expression twisted into something manic, and she even drooled a little.

With that, she walked over to the filthy bed, bent down to sit, and patted the spot beside her—a spot stained with a large patch of dried blood.

“Come on, hurry up.”

She swiftly removed her top, revealing her bare, emaciated body covered in grime and bloodstains, resembling a skeleton.

After a long silence, Qiao Jiajin nudged Qi Xia with his elbow and said, “Just take one for the team.”

“Why don’t you do it?” Qi Xia snapped irritably.

“She picked you,” Qiao Jiajin said with a smirk. “Didn’t you hear? If you sleep with her, we get to eat the piglets in her pot. Plus, the writer’s life depends on that fishhook. This is practically a heroic sacrifice…”

Before Qi Xia could respond, the shop assistant seemed to overhear and turned to Qiao Jiajin. “You can come too! All four of you can!”

“Huh?” Qiao Jiajin froze. “Me…?”

“What the hell…” Officer Li finally couldn’t hold back. After years in law enforcement, this scenario was beyond his comprehension. “Miss, what’s in it for you? We’re just here to buy something. Why throw yourself into the mix?”

“I…” The shop assistant’s eyes widened before she suddenly screamed, “I want to eat piglets!!”

Then, as if remembering something, she hurriedly placed the fishhook and fishing line on the bed and rushed to the iron pot to peer inside.

“The piglets… mustn’t let them overcook…”

Worried, she picked up a stick and poked around in the pot.

Seizing the moment, Qi Xia quietly moved to the bed, grabbed the fishhook and line, and handed them to Dr. Zhao. “Go save him. We’ll handle things here.”

“Got it!”

Dr. Zhao took the supplies outside, found a relatively clean stone, and began preparing the hook. He briefly explained the situation inside to the women.

Even Tian Tian, a professional in her own right, couldn’t make sense of the shop assistant’s behavior.

“Never mind that. Qi Xia’s right—save him first,” Lin Qin said, taking the fishing line and turning to check on Han Yimo.

Dr. Zhao used the stone to scrape off the rust from the hook and sharpen it, while Lin Qin untangled the line.

“Almost done…” Once everything was ready, Dr. Zhao turned to Han Yimo. “I’m going to remove the harpoon and stitch the wound.”

“Alright…” Han Yimo nodded weakly.

“But we don’t have anesthesia,” Dr. Zhao said apologetically. “The pain might be unbearable.”

“It’s fine… At least I’ll live, right?” Han Yimo forced a bitter smile.

“If the wound doesn’t get infected… you should make it.”

“Good… Go ahead…”

…

Inside the house, the three men stood behind the shop assistant, watching her stir the pot.

She was completely naked, yet none of them felt anything but the urge to flee.

“Hey, conman,” Qiao Jiajin whispered. “What if she gets mad when she realizes you stole her ‘goods’?”

“No idea,” Qi Xia admitted.

Officer Li, silent for a moment, murmured, “We still have a ‘Dao.’ Maybe she’ll take that?”

“Are you serious?!” Qiao Jiajin scowled. “That ‘Dao’ cost all of us our lives, and you’d just hand it over to this lunatic?”

“We’re saving lives here!”

As they argued, the shop assistant slowly turned around.

Seemingly reassured, she calmly walked back to the bed, where the fishhook and line had been—now gone.

She hesitated, eyeing the empty spot. “Huh?”

But she quickly shook her head. “Right… sleeping. Which of you four is first?”

She looked up at the three men, her expression flickering with confusion. “Not four? Were there always three of you? Whatever, three’s fine.”

Qiao Jiajin sighed. “See? She’s crazier than I thought.”

“Mm…” Qi Xia, dazed, finally spoke. “We don’t want to sleep with you. We just came to buy something.”

He pulled a golden ‘Dao’ from his pocket and placed it beside her. “I don’t know if this counts as valuable, but it’s all we have.”

Qi Xia assumed that people living here would recognize the animal masks and know about ‘Dao.’ Something earned with lives had to have value.

Curious, the shop assistant picked up the bead, squeezed it—it had a strange elasticity—then, to their horror, popped it into her mouth.

*Crunch.*

She chewed, swallowed, and shook her head. “Not tasty… nowhere near as good as piglets.”

“…”

The three men were speechless. Their life-earned treasure had just been eaten like a snack.

“If you won’t sleep… then leave…” She sighed in disappointment. “Someone else will come.”

Though baffled, they were at least free to go.

As they stepped outside, wondering how to explain the lost ‘Dao,’ they saw Dr. Zhao pulling the harpoon from Han Yimo’s body. Blood gushed, his face drenched in sweat.

“Help us!” Lin Qin shouted.

Qiao Jiajin and Officer Li rushed over to pin down Han Yimo’s limbs—pain like this made people thrash uncontrollably.

“Han Yimo, look at me!” Dr. Zhao commanded. “Do you know who I am?!”

“You’re… Dr. Zhao…” Han Yimo gritted through clenched teeth.

“Good. Stay awake!” Dr. Zhao threaded the hook and pierced his flesh.

Han Yimo groaned.

“Talk to me!” Dr. Zhao said calmly. “Distract yourself—what do you like?”

“What I like…?” Han Yimo gave a pained smile.

“You’re a novelist, right?” Dr. Zhao pressed. “Tell me about your work.”