CG Chapter 150: The Ghost Orchid Blooms from Within
Within his isolated chambers, the old ghost held a dagger before his abdomen in a bizarre way.
If anyone was there to witness his actions, they would most likely think that he was a deranged old man who wanted to slice his own intestines out.
Yet, when the blade edge reached only a few breaths away from his body, he stopped.
In the next moment, as if by some divine intervention, a knock sounded in the small room.
The old man paused and turned his head toward the door with a smile.
Without checking who, or what was there, he flashed forward and opened it.
A young boy, no older than ten, stood outside. The boy had a large crooked nose, and both his clothes and face were stained with mud and dirt.
Yet despite this, he had a wide smile on his face as if the dirt and mud were just part of his life.
In his hand, he held a straw basket, and within it, there were a myriad of herbs and natural materials.
Seeing the full basket, the old man smiled at the boy before handing him a full silver coin, and beneath that coin hid a copper nickel.
The boy's smile brightened at the silver, but what made him even happier was that the old man didn't play any mind games or try to trick him out of his hard-earned money, like the other one.
But when he noticed the copper nickel, his face tensed looking like it was about to explode, as he tried to keep his mouth shut.
Unfortunately, he couldn't keep it in and said, "Mister… My… my father said that he only asked for a single silver coin from you, and it seems like you added another nickel by accident."
Hearing his question, the old man placed his aged hands on the boy's head before ruffling his hair.
He winked, his eyes warm. "Then let's keep this between us. Treat yourself and your little sister to some candied hawthorns from a stall before you go home."
The boy's foolish smile returned as he swiftly nodded his head before running out in joy.
On the other side, Aretius's kind smile disappeared as if it had never been there.
He held the basket, making sure all the materials he needed were there.
He placed the basket on the wooden table, planning on doing something big.
But before that, he moved some of the room's furniture in front of the door to make sure no one would come, or at least to give him enough time to get his balance.
This was mostly unnecessary since no one knew his identity other than that kid, Qi Hao, who thought he was some kind of great master. Still, he believed that you couldn't be too careful.
Aretius embodied the very ideal of a demon. When the benefits were great enough, he wouldn't hesitate to leap into the depths of the netherworld or face an immortal with nothing but a broken sword.
Yet if there were no benefits to be gained, then he would be more cautious than a small rabbit digging a thousand burrows instead of ten.
From there, he had the basket on one side and a wooden bowl in the middle of the table.
Taking a deep breath in, he grabbed a bunch of herbs in a way that would seem a little bit better than random.
However, these herbs were anything but random, as each of them was chosen carefully by Aretius, using his vast knowledge and cross-referencing herbs into a new remedy that wouldn't require any special treatment before use.
He swallowed half of the herbs and held the other half in his mouth.
From there, he held the old dagger with one hand, pouring some of the Burned Liquor he had bought not long ago on the blade.
He made sure that all preparations were completed, he took a final look at the dagger, and with a wide smile he…
Whoosh!
Without a single moment of hesitation, Aretius used the blade to slice through the right side of his own stomach.
But he didn't stop there, nor did he care for the enormous pain that coursed through every inch of his body. Blood poured from the wound, staining his skin and clothes a deep shade of violet.
Yet the moment it touched the ground, it did not spread like ordinary liquid. Instead, it curled upward in thin steams, rising as smoke, as if the blood was some kind of incense offered to none other than himself.
'The snake devours the broken world.'
'A Flower blooms in the marrow of bones.'
'The Ghost Orchid blooms to command.'
'All those who come after must obey the original.'
'If there is a lord, then I.'
'If there is a haven, then under me.'
'I command thee, and thee commands three.'
'A flower from within. A serpent without. All who come beneath me.'
As these words echoed in his mind, his right hand plunged into the opening.
Fingers searched, sliding past the heat and slimy squirming organs, pushing aside what seemed to be his ribs and finally touching his goal.
He found it. He seized it.
In the next instant, and without hesitation, his hand grabbed the organ before tearing it out of his body.
Boof!
If the blood coming from him before could be said to be a river, then now it was like a sea of violet.
That did not stop him. In the next second, he swallowed the organ as if it were not his own, as if the blood gushing from him were someone else's problem.
Crunch!
His rotten teeth worked their purpose, grinding the remaining herbs and flesh together, until both green and yellow merged.
Swallow! Gulp!
A swallow followed by a big breath.
This organ that Aretius just swallowed was none other than his own gallbladder.
From the first moment he read the manual, he felt like it was made for him. However, he wasn't content to simply use the gallbladder of any serpent.
With this came the idea of using his own gallbladder. After all, what serpent would have a better gallbladder than his own? What serpent would dare to claim that it was as pure and as potent as his?
Not to mention that this wasn't just the gallbladder of any serpent, but something more….
Smoke came from his mouth, and his whole body seemed to be screaming in pain.
This, however, was but the first step, and unfortunately he couldn't relax just yet, as there was one more step to complete.