My heart skipped a beat, and I focused my attention on Li Mazi, who was lying on the bed and making strange sounds.

What"s he doing? Gnas.h.i.+ng his teeth?

No, perhaps he was trying to vomit!

I woke up Yin Xinyue, and after seeing Li Mazi, she also panicked. "Quickly stop him! He"s trying to vomit! This is the same method I used when I was trying to lose weight!"

I dashed forward and held Li Mazi down.

Maybe it was because he"d been lying face-down for a long time, but Li Mazi"s face was red, and his mouth was full of blood. He"d definitely bitten his tongue, although the gravity of the injury was still unknown.

Seeing my military officer outfit, he was frightened and curled up in one corner of the bed, not daring to utter a word.

Yin Xinyue coughed, signaling to me that it was time to start the performance.

However, I was no professional, and I was afraid that she"d laugh at me.

But, before I could even say my lines, Li Mazi muttered, "Hungry, hungry..."

Shortly after, he bit at the sheets and stuffed them into his mouth.

The bed sheets didn"t seem to satisfy him. He soon gave up on eating them and started to pace. Moreover, his posture was very strange. His feet were bent at a strange angle. I didn"t even know when he"d broken them!

After rummaging through the room, he was unable to find anything edible. Finally, his vision fell on my body. "Meat... I want to eat meat..."

In the next moment, he pounced toward me.

I was caught off guard and was pinned to the ground. I struggled, but Li Mazi"s strength was astonis.h.i.+ng. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn"t break free.

Yin Xinyue was also frightened. She thought of getting Li Mazi off my body, but there was no way she could succeed with her strength.

"Say your lines, quick!" Yin Xinyue was on the verge of tears.

Unfortunately, I couldn"t say my lines with Li Mazi choking me!

Yin Xinyue ran toward the door. "I"ll go look for the Daoist priest!"

However, the mysterious man had locked the door from the outside, and there was no way to open it.

Yin Xinyue"s face was covered in sweat. At last, she mustered her courage and shouted, "Father!"

During the Han Dynasty, no one had used terms like "dad" or "daddy", and the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt had advised us to only use "father".

Surprisingly enough, Yin Xinyue"s shout was really effective. Li Mazi"s hold weakened.

Although my throat was still sore, I shouted, "Chao Cuo, you"re really daring! Do you want to revolt?!"

Li Mazi"s body s.h.i.+vered. He looked at me with fearful eyes, and his hold weakened further.

I stood up and held my head high. "Chao Cuo, the Emperor judged you as guilty! You"re to be executed by getting cut in two at the waist. However, seeing that you served the Emperor well in the past, you have the right to make one last request. Speak quickly!"

"This va.s.sal..." Chao Cuo knelt and looked at me with fearful eyes.

"This va.s.sal... is innocent."

"How bold! The Emperor found you guilty, and yet you still dare to speak such nonsense?! Whatever! Such being the case, you"ll be executed immediately!" I said my lines and prepared to take action.

"Wait!" Chao Cuo gasped for breath. "This va.s.sal... would like to see his child. Please, grant this request of mine."

"Very well. I"ll grant this wish of yours. Father, you can now get to know your daughter!" At the same time, I winked at Yin Xinyue.

Yin Xinyue squeezed out a tear. She was truly a professional who could cry at will!

She knelt in front of Chao Cuo and burst into tears. "Father, your daughter has come to see you."

Chao Cuo also wept. He gently wiped Yin Xinyue"s tears and said, "My child, forgive this incompetent father of yours who couldn"t see you grow up."

"Father, I don"t blame you. You can go without worries."

"My child, don"t think about avenging your father. Live a happy life, and accompany your mother."

Yin Xinyue sobbed. "Father, don"t worry. You can go in peace."

"Please, tell your mother that if there"s a next life, I"ll do my best to repay her kindness."

"Father, you don"t need to worry about a thing."

"Wait, something isn"t right..." Chao Cuo pushed Yin Xinyue away and grabbed his head. "You aren"t my child. My child has yet to be born, how can you…?"

Seeing that we were about to be discovered, I roared, "Chao Cuo, time is up. Accept your fate! Moreover, this is indeed your daughter. Not only did you fail to witness her birth, but you"re even trying to push the blame on her?!"

Chao Cuo sighed. "My child, your father was wrong."

Seeing that Chao Cuo had believed my words, I took out an axe soaked in eel blood and mercilessly hit Li Mazi"s waist.

Li Mazi called out in pain, rolled his eyes, and crumbled to the ground.

He kept starting at Yin Xinyue as he pa.s.sed out, but his wrathful face was now filled with smiles.

We"d brought him justice!

In the meantime, the door was pushed open, and the mysterious man came in, stuffing some salt into Li Mazi"s mouth.

Shortly after, Li Mazi coughed and woke up.

The first thing he did was to cough all the salt out. He coughed so fiercely that even his tears and saliva were running.

After drinking a cup of water, he gasped for breath and looked at me. "What happened? Did you succeed?"

The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt nodded. "Now, you only have to defecate the Human Bones Necklace."

"Defecate?" Li Mazi was embarra.s.sed. "Can my virgin b.u.t.t even defecate something that big?"

I said, "If you don"t want to, you can leave it in your belly. Maybe later generations will one day find your legacy."

In the end, Li Mazi took some laxatives and stayed in the toilet for 3-4 hours, defecating the Human Bones Necklace.

After was.h.i.+ng the necklace a few times, we said goodbye to Song Longji and returned to mainland China. We entrusted the necklace to Yin Xinyue, who then gave it to her boss.

However, I still urged her not to use it. Although we"d managed to get rid of Chao Cuo"s resentment, it was still an otherworldly item; nothing good would happen if it was used for a prolonged period of time.

Some time later, the company that had hired us launched a group of young stars that rose to fame overnight, becoming a hot topic on several entertainment-related websites.

The boss of the company was extremely pleased and added an extra million to the reward. We gained four million renminbi[1] altogether, which Li Mazi and I divided equally.

Still, I wasn"t happy with this money. I wasn"t sure if I"d helped or harmed the other party.

Human greed knew no bounds, and people would never stop chasing fame and money. One day, the Human Bones Necklace would strike again…

[1] Four million renminbi is around 570,000 USD.