The next day.
Study, study.
Diligently studying.
All just so I wouldn’t make Lu Xiu angry.
So I wouldn’t face Execution.
But deep down, I was always anxious, as if in the next second, Lu Xiu would pull out a remote and execute me on the spot.
There were fewer and fewer conversations between us, sometimes not even a single word all day.
He once asked me what was wrong. I didn’t tell him. I didn’t dare to.
The more I learned, the more afraid I became.
And as time went on, the look on his face only grew more serious, his brows often furrowed, sometimes sitting in the living room for half a day.
This feeling pressed down on me relentlessly, until—
***
XX year, June 28th.
Tonight it rained. Outside, the storm pattered on and on. Inside, it was quiet—only the steady crackle of rain against the window broke the silence.
Pa━
A porcelain plate crashed to the floor, shattering instantly, the harsh sound making me tremble all over.
My first reaction was to look up at Lu Xiu.
I saw his slight frown, and took a step back.
Pain.
A stabbing ache from the sole of my foot.
“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to…”
He let out a sigh.
“It’s fine, just go sit in the living room for a bit… Forget it, give me your hand.”
He reached out to me.
But I didn’t take it.
“What’s wrong?”
“I—I’ll do it myself…”
“You stepped on a shard of porcelain.”
Was he blaming me for breaking the plate?
I didn’t know. All I could do was piece together the meaning of every word he said with my own limited understanding—was it good or bad, punishment or reward?
Words that had once been direct now brimmed with layers of meaning; every gesture felt like thunder in a battlefield.
I no longer knew what Lu Xiu really meant.
I was just lost in fear.
Wanting to escape.
Seeing me rooted to the spot, Lu Xiu simply lifted me up and set me down on the living room sofa to treat my wound.
It hurt and itched, like tiny needles pricking me. I bit back the pain.
But it hurt so much.
Unlike the pain of being sliced in half before, this pain wasn’t violent, but it seemed to seep deep into my bones.
After bandaging me up, he stood and walked toward the kitchen, probably to deal with the mess I’d made.
After he cleaned up, what would happen?
Would he clean me up too?
I didn’t want to think about it.
But in my head, a voice kept whispering: I’m just a lamb waiting for slaughter, and the butcher is about to raise his knife.
Sooner or later, I’ll die by Lu Xiu’s hand.
【Do you want to just die here, never tasting anything again, or will you take a gamble? Trade for a boundless tomorrow?】
That voice, low and hoarse, repeated over and over.
【Boundless tomorrow, what does that mean?】
It fell silent.
But that line had already struck at my deepest fear.
And my most extravagant hope.
Freedom, or death.
【The Soft Mud Demon you’ve devoured isn’t fully digested yet, right? You should still be able to use its power.】
It spoke again.
【Mm.】
Turn into mud, or melt into a puddle.
But I had never tried it.
【With that, you could shake off the Yingdui Si’s pursuit, break free from the restraining device, and walk toward the free life you long for. By then, you could eat whatever you wanted—cake, apples, milk tea, even people.】
【……You can’t eat people.】
Lu Xiu had said so.
【Look at you, like a caged pet—lost your claws, lost your fangs, waiting to be fed, feeble and powerless. How can you live up to who you are?】
【I’m not a pet.】
【You are.】
【I’m not.】
【……】It paused again. 【Forget it. In any case, you only have one chance. Die, or live. It’s up to you.】
With that, the voice faded completely, as if it had all just been a figment of my imagination.
Escape…
I looked at the restraint on my wrist, and the Five-colored Buddha Beads on my other wrist; one of the beads seemed to have cracked.
As long as I became soft mud, I wouldn’t have to fear being blown up.
My heart started pounding.
I couldn’t help but glance at Lu Xiu and saw that he was still sweeping up the porcelain shards.
As long as…
As long as I survive.
I just want to live.
And maybe fill my stomach.
I quietly stood up.
“Where are you going?”
His voice sounded at once, freezing me in place.
“I… I want to take a bath.”
“You’ve just been bandaged; it’s best not to get it wet.”
Had he noticed something?
“Go to your room and get some sleep.”
“Oh, okay, alright…”
Stepping carefully on my sore foot, I slowly climbed the stairs.
The light at the stairway split the world—a curtain between brightness and darkness. I stepped into the dark.
Click——
The door closed.
I gently locked it, leaned against the door, and listened for a while, making sure there were no unusual sounds.
Standing still, I closed my eyes, recalling that strange sensation from before.
Transforming into soft mud, that loose, saggy feeling.
Flowing, unbound.
Gradually, a wave of dizziness came over me, and I couldn’t help but fall down, but there was no pain.
When I opened my eyes, the world had grown huge; the desk that had once been about my height now towered above me like a great spire.
I could clearly feel myself lying on the floor, my whole body cool and slick.
I’d turned into a small puddle of pink liquid.
Did it work?
I struggled to control my body and rolled forward, then looked back.
Those two gleaming silver restraining devices and the Five-colored Buddha Beads bracelet were left behind, watching me in silence.
In my heart, a new voice questioned: “Are you really going to do this?”
Once I escape, there will be no turning back.
I hesitated.
Click——
A few seconds later, the restraining device suddenly flashed red and started blaring an alarm.
Bad!
Now I had no choice but to run.
Gritting my teeth, I shifted back to my normal form, opened the window, leapt from the second floor, transformed back into soft mud, and slipped into the sewer below.
It stank—so foul in here.
So disgusting.
But I didn’t stop.
Because I was scared of being caught. If they caught me, all that awaited me was Execution and death.
I thought I heard someone calling my name, but the roar of the water drowned it out.
I kept flowing forward, swimming against the current, fleeing from this little home filled with my memories and feelings.
Toward the vast, dark city.
The rain still poured down, and beside a trash bin, my form slowly reassembled.
I wanted to vomit.
But nothing came out.
I leaned against the trash bin, rainwater soaking my clothes, cold seeping into every corner of my body, my back chilled by the trickle of icy water, shuddering.
I just lifted my head like that, looking up at the overcast sky.
At the gray, misty city.
At the endless curtain of rain pouring down.
Falling from eaves, sliding off glass, streaming down my cheeks.
Only now did I truly realize—
I had really escaped.
But what should I do next?
I reached out, catching a raindrop. It splashed and slipped through my fingers, merging with the puddle at my feet, fracturing my reflection.
I was finally free.
So why—
Did it feel like something was missing?
I stood up and staggered out of the alley, heading toward those dazzling city lights, toward that world so familiar yet so strange.
My stomach—was a little hungry.