Chapter 94: Corrodes the Bone and Corrodes the Heart

Chapter 94: Corrodes the Bone and Corrodes the Heart

The pain struck with sudden ferocity, sharp and overwhelming.

Master Liu let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Presumptuous!" Bei Qing snapped, his expression cold and severe. "What are you doing in the presence of the Master?"

However, as he turned to look at Master Liu's hands, his sharp reprimand faltered. His eyes widened in shock.

Master Liu's hands, which had been perfectly intact just moments ago, were now a horrifying sight—swollen, blackened, and decaying. The flesh had turned an eerie blue-black hue, a telltale sign of necrosis and rotting blood.

A nauseating stench filled the air.

Bei Qing instinctively took a step back as he watched Master Liu's hands deteriorate at an alarming rate. The skin and flesh bubbled and split, oozing pus and blood, as chunks of dark, rotted meat began to fall away from his hands.

The grotesque pieces hit the ground with wet, sickening thuds, releasing an even more potent stench. The sight was so surreal that even Bei Qing, accustomed to bloodshed and violence, stood frozen in stunned silence.

How could a person's hands disintegrate like this in mere moments?

Beside him, Feng Yu reacted quickly. His sharp gaze flicked to Master Liu, and his expression darkened.

"This liquid… it wasn't made by you, was it?" Feng Yu's voice was icy, his words cutting. "It was crafted by someone else. You were greedy and tampered with something you shouldn't have. And now, you're paying the price."

He stepped forward, grabbing Bei Qing and pulling him back.

"This poison is vicious," Feng Yu warned, his tone grim. "It could corrode a person's flesh down to the bone in an instant. If you touch it, there's no telling what it might do."

Master Liu was beyond reason. Writhing in agony, he couldn't form coherent words.

The saying "ten fingers connected to the heart" was no exaggeration—his fingers, blackened and rotten, throbbed with excruciating pain. Worse, the corruption was spreading rapidly up his arms. If it continued, his entire body could rot away until nothing but a skeleton remained.

This realization sent chills down Master Liu's spine. Trembling violently, he cried out in desperation.

"The man in the black robe! It was the old man in the black robe! I have to find him! I was wrong—I shouldn't have tampered with his medicine!"

His panicked words tumbled out as he turned and bolted from the room.

Feng Yu didn't need to say anything. Master Liu had connected the dots himself. The moment he thought of Luo Qingtong, fear overtook him completely.

The memory of Luo Qingtong's parting words struck him like a hammer. He'd been played—poisoned without even realizing it. The most terrifying part? Luo Qingtong had known he'd switched the medicinal solution but hadn't called him out. No, she'd let him doom himself to suffer.

Her poison was nothing short of terrifying.

Master Liu's hands shook as his thoughts spiraled, but he dared not linger. His survival depended on finding Luo Qingtong and begging her for the antidote. Without it, he was as good as dead.

He stumbled out of the room, his rotting hands leaving behind a trail of pus and blood.

Back in the main hall, Ye Qianshan, seated on the high dais, finally stirred.

"The old man in the black robe?" Ye Qianshan murmured, his frown deepening. "Not… her?"

His eyes flicked to Master Liu's skeletal, disintegrating hands. The horrifying sight didn't faze him, but Master Liu's words gave him pause.

"Send someone to follow him," Ye Qianshan ordered, his tone sharp. "Also, summon the general manager of the auction house. I want to know everything about this black-robed man."

"Yes, Master!" Bei Qing and Feng Yu answered in unison before swiftly leaving the room.

Meanwhile, in the underground fighting arena, Luo Qingtong was being treated like an honored guest. Ushered into a private VIP room in the back, she was met with the unusual sight of a group of bloodthirsty arena leaders—men who lived by violence and spilled blood without hesitation—all standing before her with warm, obsequious smiles.

The sight was almost comical.

Their smiles, forced and fawning, looked out of place on their scarred, brutish faces. In fact, their awkward attempts at politeness made them appear more intimidating than when they were snarling in anger.

But Luo Qingtong was entirely unfazed.

She had dealt with men like them many times before—people who lived on the edge, surviving by licking blood off the blade. She knew they wanted something from her.

And when someone wanted something from her, she held all the cards.

If it's a dragon, it must bow. If it's a tiger, it must lie down.

Her lips curled into a faint smile. This game was one she played exceedingly well.