TM CH10

Chapter 10 Bone-piercing Silver Needle

The fever lasted for three whole days.

Rong Qi’s condition fluctuated, sometimes improving and sometimes worsening. During his worst episode, he even started speaking deliriously. This cycle of ups and downs lasted three days before his condition finally stabilized. Later, even Gu Yunxing developed a slight nasal tone in his voice, though it wasn’t too severe.

Rong Qi had lost a lot of weight. He was already slender to begin with, but now he had lost another layer of flesh. His expression was perpetually listless, devoid of energy. The fierce, combative edge he’d carried on the first day had completely faded. When he encountered something unpleasant, he’d only offer a few sarcastic remarks, but they didn’t bother Gu Yunxing at all.

“I have no appetite.” After being ill, his appetite had greatly disappeared, especially with the food hardly changing. On the fourth day of his sickness, Rong Qi rejected the roasted rabbit once again, weakly grumbling, “Can you only catch rabbits?” It had been rabbit meat for several meals in a row. He was beginning to suspect that Gu Yunxing had emptied out all the rabbit burrows on the island.

Gu Yunxing sighed and pulled a few shriveled fruits from his sleeve, offering them to him. “How about trying these?”

Rong Qi glanced up, then turned his head away in disappointment.

He’d eaten these fruits several times already. Sour, bitter, and dry things. Looking at them only made him lose his appetite more.

Seeing his reaction, Gu Yunxing sighed again and pulled over another rabbit leg. “I added some salt. It should taste different from the last time.”

Rong Qi lifted his eyelids slightly, not bothering to ask how the salt had come about. Over the past three days, he had come to realize how terrifying Gu Yunxing was. This person seemed capable of conjuring up various things every so often. Asking too many questions would only highlight how helpless he was.

However, he still had one question. “Gu Yunxing, are you always this good-tempered?” He had been so picky, yet Gu Yunxing didn’t get angry at all?

Gu Yunxing smiled. “Can’t say this humble Gu is good-tempered. I just have a bit more patience when it comes to sick people.”

Rong Qi looked at him — True. After days of living like a parasite, being cared for by Gu Yunxing, he had almost forgotten that the man in front of him was someone who would snap a wrist without a second thought. Although he didn’t know what had gotten into Gu Yunxing to treat him with such gentleness, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the man might suddenly turn cold and ruthless again. It was better for him to stay cautious.

Gu Yunxing: “Alright then, since Right Protector Rong has no appetite, then…”

“Wait!” Rong Qi interrupted. “I suddenly feel a bit hungry.”

Gu Yunxing glanced at him and considerately held the rabbit leg out to him.

Rong Qi propped himself up, took it, and reluctantly took a bite.

As the rabbit meat entered his mouth, a rich fragrance bloomed on his taste buds. The fresh fragrance of the rabbit meat and the savory saltiness blended together, unexpectedly creating a rare treat on this deserted island.

A faint light gleamed in Rong Qi’s eyes, and the look he gave Gu Yunxing held a bit more disbelief.

Gu Yunxing smiled and asked, “Is it to your liking?”

For once, Rong Qi didn’t retort. “Not bad.”

“By the way, there’s one more thing.” After Rong Qi finished eating, Gu Yunxing suddenly smiled at him.

Rong Qi’s eyelid twitched, and he became alert. “What is it?”

Gu Yunxing pulled out something.

Rong Qi focused his gaze and immediately recognized what it was. It was the cloth pouch where he kept his hidden weapons.

!!!

How did it end up in Gu Yunxing’s hands?

He quickly recalled the events and realized, with a jolt, that Gu Yunxing had stripped him clean that night in the storm. When he woke up the next day, his inner garments had been put on by Gu Yunxing… It must have been then! He’d been so muddled from the illness that he nearly forgot something so important!

Gu Yunxing: “These little things are quite useful. I took one of the silver needles. Right Protector Rong doesn mind, right?”

Rong Qi stared at his smiling face, remaining silent for a long time. Finally, he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth, “To take without asking first is what a thief does.”

Gu Yunxing, with a knowing smile, gently returned the cloth pouch of weapons to him. “Then, let’s return it to its rightful owner.”

Rong Qi tightly gripped the pouch he thought he’d lost, his face darkening. He quickly began to check the contents in front of Gu Yunxing. The pouch held several of his usual hidden weapons, such as poisoned darts, sleeve arrows, and steel rings, each carefully arranged in its rightful place. Inside a hidden compartment, two bottles of antidote were still there.

Just as Gu Yunxing had said, the only thing missing was a silver needle that had been stripped of its poison.

But the signs of it being rummaged were very obvious.

Rong Qi carefully checked again. The hidden weapons were all accounted for, but… he quickly opened the bottles of antidote, counted them, and his face darkened. This hypocritical and sanctimonious person had taken two antidote pills for himself!

“Would you like to eat some more?” Gu Yunxing, showing no hint of embarrassment for being caught, casually offered the remaining rabbit meat.

Rong Qi expressionlessly put the cloth bag away, thinking to himself: He intends to rob me openly.

At this point, questioning him would only make him look ridiculous!

The right protector of the demon palace grabbed the rabbit meat in a fit of frustration, chewing with an air of aggression. The thought that this salted roasted rabbit had been exchanged for two of his valuable antidotes made his heart ache. If only he could defeat Gu Yunxing…

Gu Yunxing, as if nothing had happened, casually pulled out the harmless silver needle from his other sleeve.

Rong Qi spoke in a low voice, “This is the silver-ringed bone-piercing needle. With inner strength, it can pierce through bone.”

Gu Yunxing nodded. “Before setting sail, this humble Gu specifically inquired about Right Protector Rong’s skill with hidden weapons. It’s a pity you don’t use them often.”

Rong Qi shot him a glance. “These worthless things can be dealt with by a sword.” The implication was that he would only resort to a sneak attack when facing a formidable enemy.

Gu Yunxing: “So, by that logic, since this humble Gu has had the honor of experiencing Right Protector Rong’s hidden weapons, does that mean you think this humble Gu is not so bad in your eyes?”

Rong Qi tugged at the corner of his mouth. Catching Gu Yunxing’s movements, he asked, “What are you doing?”

Gu Yunxing was fiddling with the silver needle. One hand pinched the needle’s tip, while the other gripped the tail end and applied pressure inward. From the way he was handling it, it seemed like… he was trying to bend it?

Rong Qi’s gaze grew complex, unable to figure out what Gu Yunxing was trying to do.

Gu Yunxing didn’t answer. He remained focused, slowly bending the silver needle. After a while, the end of the needle was twisted into a small loop. Then, the Tianji Sect Master lifted his outer robe, found a gap in his inner garment, pulled out a long, thin thread… and began to thread the needle through the small loop?

Rong Qi stared at him, his expression one of disbelief. After a long pause, he finally spoke, “What are you doing with my needle?”

Gu Yunxing examined the length of the thread and then pulled hard to snap it off. “I’ve processed the rabbit fur. If I stitch it together, it might make a blanket.”

Rong Qi: “……”

Gu Yunxing carefully set the needle and thread down on the sand. “Later, when the Right Protector is resting in bed to recover, I’ll have to trouble you to put in some effort and sew them.” He stood up and limped over, carrying six rabbit pelts of various sizes, putting them next to Rong Qi within reach. His intentions were all too clear.

Rong Qi furiously shot back, “This venerable one is not doing this kind of work!” Why should Gu Yunxing assign him tasks? And besides, his silver-ringed bone-piercing needle was no embroidery needle!

Gu Yunxing stared at him for a moment, then picked up two pieces of rabbit fur. After comparing them, he grabbed the needle and thread and awkwardly poked a few times, managing to start a stitch. He hesitated before saying, “It’s probably something like this.”

Rong Qi: “……”

He fell silent.

Gu Yunxing fell silent as well.

Both of them looked down at the messy, tangled thread, and then simultaneously raised their heads to meet each other’s gaze, both seeing bewilderment and helplessness in the other’s eyes.

Neither of them knew how to sew.

But the temptation of the rabbit fur blanket was hard to resist.

Rong Qi had no choice but to carefully examine Gu Yunxing’s stitching. After a while, he nodded seriously. “Not bad. You have some talent, Sect Master Gu.”

Gu Yunxing cleared his throat. “I’m ashamed. I’m not skilled with a needle. But when it comes to needle techniques, who in the jianghu doesn’t heard of the Lord Right Protector’s bone-piercing needle technique?”

Rong Qi’s mouth twitched. “Everything is difficult at the beginning. Tianji Sect is proficient in all things, so mere women’s work should be no problem.”

Gu Yunxing: “Right Protector Rong, you’re exceptionally intelligent and skilled with your fingers. This humble Gu has no doubt you’ll handle this with ease.”

The two of them stared at each other for a long time.

Rong Qi gritted his teeth. “…Don’t look at me. This venerable one doesn’t know how!”

The next day, Rong Qi sat cross-legged on a rock by the sea, his hair disheveled. His expression was serious and focused. Between his fingers, he held the infamous silver-ringed bone-piercing needle, a weapon that struck fear into the hearts of those in the jianghu His eyes were fixed on the two rough pieces of rabbit fur. Suddenly, a cold gleam flashed, and the needle was stabbed deep into the fur!

As for the task of sewing the rabbit fur blanket, Rong Qi was extremely reluctant.

However, his sickly body was weak, and just walking a few steps left him gasping for breath. Over the past few days, he had relied on Gu Yunxing, the limping man, to go out and hunt for food. Although Gu Yunxing’s leg was injured, he had no trouble catching wild rabbits.

Thus, this troublesome task fell to him.

According to Gu Yunxing, all he had to do was move his hands and try to stitch the two pieces of rabbit fur together. He could stop and rest whenever he felt tired.

Rong Qi sneered at this idea, but, having no choice, he gritted his teeth and endured.

However—

The silver needle, which he usually wielded with ease, now seemed as if it had rusted, refusing to obey his commands.

The rabbit fur that Gu Yunxing had processed was not soft or smooth at all. Instead, it was stiff and rough, and the silver-ringed bone-piercing needle was so fine that it was quite difficult to push through.

Originally a deadly weapon, the silver-ringed bone-piercing needle could pierce through bone and flesh, or, if left in the body, remain to torment its victim with constant pain, making it impossible for them to eat or sleep. The latter was often used by him as a method of punishing traitors, and because of its cruel and sinister nature, it struck fear into many.

Now, however, it had taken on a new purpose.

After pricking his thumb and index finger several times, the six pieces of rabbit fur were finally joined together. Although the seams had three or four small holes, Rong Qi swore that if he heard even a hint of mockery from Gu Yunxing, he would tear the damned thing apart right in front of him!

When Gu Yunxing returned, he not only refrained from mocking him, but instead praised him sincerely.

The more Rong Qi listened, the more something felt off. “Even if you praise it to the heavens, don’t expect there to be a next time.”

Gu Yunxing: “……”

Rong Qi rubbed the needle marks on his fingers, feeling more and more that this illness had cost him far too much.