Chapter 486: Sealing the Poison with Silver Needles

The past belonged to Death, but the future belonged to me. After successfully usurping fate, my destiny was firmly in my own hands. Although I was plagued by bad luck and my face was shrouded in a dark, bloody glow, I felt a long-lost sense of relief.

It was hard to describe—as if I had broken through some boundary and suddenly glimpsed a much vaster world.

I had agreed to the Underworld Live Show's conditions: wipe out the entire Three Yin Sect, including their mortal foundation, the Jiang family. Leave no one alive.

Murder demanded a life for a life. In a modern society governed by law, pulling off a large-scale massacre without being discovered was nearly impossible. Fortunately, the Underworld Live Show hadn't set a time limit, and I was more than happy to play dumb. If worst came to worst, I could just eliminate the ringleaders and drag the rest out for a decade or more.

The most pressing matter right now was expelling the yin poison from my body and recovering my health. It was already October 31st. In just two days, I had another livestream; in my current physical state, it would be difficult to perform.

'If worst comes to worst, I'll just have to use points to skip a livestream.' I checked my point balance. The Damaged Asura Mask was a gift from the Underworld Live Show, so I still had over fifty points left.

'I just hope I can recover my health before I spend all these points.' Truthfully, I had another concern. Going on a long hiatus would severely impact my channel's popularity, and my audience would steadily bleed away.

'Whatever, I'll take it one step at a time. As long as I'm alive, there's hope.' I pulled my thoughts back and prepared to leave. The interviewer didn't stop me; he hung his head, lost in whatever he was thinking.

When I reached the door, countless ideas flashed through my mind. I suddenly stopped, looked back, and asked, "Are the three of you the same person?"

The question caught the interviewer off guard. He paused unnaturally, and a deep voice sounded from beneath the Paper Doll Mask. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"But I've already gotten the answer I wanted." I chuckled and walked away briskly. I had kept my Judging Eye locked on the interviewer the entire time. Although he wore the Paper Doll Mask and I couldn't see his exact expression, that momentary lapse in composure spoke volumes. I had likely guessed the truth!

During my first interview, three examiners had sat behind the altar table. Their builds and physiques were nearly identical. The only difference was the condition of the Paper Doll Masks on their faces—some newer, some older.

The second time I came, the Old Granny gave me a hint, appearing respectively in the forms of childhood, youth, middle age, and old age. She was subtly telling me that the same person possessed different appearances at different ages.

The most crucial piece of evidence came when Lu Xing destroyed the dam. After he gathered the Eight Characters Divine Fiends to activate Jiangcheng's thousand-year Feng Shui array, I faintly saw a figure wearing a Paper Doll Mask beneath the city, bound by several chains.

Based on all of this, I had formulated a theory: the three interviewers were actually a single person.

I couldn't be entirely certain about this deduction; I was only about thirty percent sure. That was why I had suddenly popped the question right as I was walking out the door, aiming to deduce the correct answer from the interviewer's reaction.

The facts proved that my guess was likely correct. The interviewer's reaction had been strange, entirely inconsistent with his usual aura.

I didn't dare say anything else and quickly left. This little secret was nothing but the tip of the iceberg when it came to the entire Underworld Live Show, but it was still a significant leap forward.

'If the three interviewers are the same person, why would he do this? Aside from the interviewers and the streamers, is there anyone else in the Live Show?' My mind was overflowing with countless questions. I didn't even realize how I had left Room 444.

'It's probably only around one in the morning. What if the Three Yin Sect hasn't left yet and is guarding the outside? If I run out now, wouldn't I just be throwing myself into a net? Better wait until dawn.' I looked at my phone. The battery seemed to be busted; it wouldn't turn on at all.

"Talk about bad luck," I muttered, feeling my way along the wall as I walked out. There were no living people on No-Lights Road. Just to be safe, I planned to find a dilapidated house and make do for the night.

"Number 443, Number 442..." I passed by the doors of these rundown old houses. Most of them were tightly shut. A few were left ajar, but whenever I looked inside, I always felt like something was lurking within. Based on my intuition for danger, it was likely something far more terrifying than ordinary ghosts or monsters.

It wasn't until I reached the first intersection of the alley that I faintly saw a sliver of light.

That dim light appeared especially warm inside Lightless Alley. Unable to help myself, I walked toward it.

It was a White Goods Store. The rolling shutter was pulled down, and the light was spilling out from the crack beneath the door.

"I think I've been here before." I tapped lightly on the rolling door. The scrape of a moving chair echoed from inside as someone got up.

Not long after, the rolling door rose about half a meter, and I heard an old man's urging voice.

"Hurry up and come in!"

I ducked into the White Goods Store, and the rolling door quickly slammed shut behind me. I took advantage of the faint candlelight inside to survey my surroundings.

Paper houses, spirit horses, funeral wreaths, and burial clothes—the room was stuffed full of all kinds of white goods, leaving practically no place to even step.

"Making such a huge ruckus—you really don't know the meaning of the word 'death', do you?" The owner of the White Goods Store looked at me expressionlessly, casually tossing a half-painted paper doll into the corner. "Sit wherever."

"Thank you, sir." The old man before me was the paper-tying craftsman who had lent me a black umbrella previously. As they say, strangers the first time, acquaintances the second. Although I still didn't know his name, I could sense an underlying goodwill from him.

Without standing on ceremony, I found a small folding stool and sat down.

"Give me your hand." The old man took my hand, taking my pulse like a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. He muttered something under his breath, his expression growing increasingly grim. "Earlier, someone at the entrance of the alley was screaming about usurping fate. So that was you?"

"Sir, you can even read all that just from taking a pulse?"

"Knocking on death's door and you're still running your mouth. You really are something else, kid." The paper-tying craftsman helped me into the back room. He pulled back the bedsheet and threw the wooden bedboard onto the floor. "Lie down. I'll help you temporarily seal the affliction poison."

"Thank you. How can I repay you?" By stepping in to help me now, the paper-tying craftsman was essentially saving my life. This was a massive debt of gratitude that I had to repay.

"I'm only helping you seal the affliction poison to prevent it from spreading further. It's just a small favor, no repayment needed." The old man brought out a wooden box; it contained a complete set of traditional medical tools.

"How can I accept that?" I struggled to get up, wanting to make things clear with the craftsman, but he pulled out a silver needle and stabbed it directly into the top of my head. I didn't know which pressure point he had hit, but my entire body instantly went numb, completely drained of strength.

"Just lie down and behave. As long as you never show your face around me again, that will be the best repayment. I don't want to get tangled up with a Fate Usurper." The old man moved quickly, his hands wielding the needles as though two silver dragons were darting through the air.

At first, I could still feel the pain, but the sensation gradually faded into numbness. By the end, not only was there not a single trace of discomfort, but I actually felt completely relaxed, as if I had just stripped off a suffocatingly tight garment.

When the paper-tying craftsman pulled out all the silver needles, I exhaled a breath of stale air and stretched my limbs. "Incredible. Your medical skills are truly amazing, sir."

"I didn't cleanly purge the affliction poison from your body. A large portion of it is still sealed within your left arm." The paper-tying craftsman placed the silver needles over the candle flame one by one to sterilize them. I could clearly see black threads of smoke constantly rising from the needles. "Completely expelling the affliction poison is very difficult. Of course, you could always just chop off your left arm."

"For granting me a second lease on life, sir, I will definitely repay you in the future..."

"Keep your mouth shut. We don't know each other. When you go out, don't say you know me, and definitely don't tell anyone I helped you." The paper-tying craftsman looked as if he were trying to avoid a walking plague. "Stand up and test it out. Can you walk? If you can, hurry up and get out of here. And it'd be best if you never came back."

I could tell that the old man genuinely wanted no part of my karma. I hastily scrambled to my feet. Sure enough, my physical condition had improved significantly.

"Thank you, sir," I said, offering a solemn, cupped-fist bow to the paper-tying craftsman.

"Hurry up and go. I suppose I only have my own meddling to blame. If I hadn't lent you that black umbrella back then, you probably wouldn't have..." His voice trailed off, growing weaker, before he finally shooed me out the door in annoyance.

"What a weird temper," I muttered, sitting down on the stone steps outside the White Goods Store. The old man didn't seem entirely heartless, though; the candle inside the room remained lit, its warm glow continuing to shine through the crack beneath the door.

Leaning my back against the door, I felt groggy and seemed to doze off. When I opened my eyes again, the sun was already up.