Yun Ji had already passed the peak of terror.
Her mind had gone completely numb, activating some sort of self-preservation mode that simply shut down all thought.
The surroundings were too dark for her to see what exactly she had touched, so her hands instinctively began exploring, mapping out the face beneath her palms.
It was hairy, with hair.
There was a nose bridge too – she poked it and found two nostrils, so probably not an alien.
The cheeks were icy cold, and made crisp sounds when patted twice – not very soft.
Continuing downward, she found a mouth and a chin.
Then nothing.
Wow, there’s actually no neck.
—This is a human head!!!!!
Yun Ji’s mind finally screamed to life. She slapped the head away and jumped up to run again.
But then she suddenly heard an extremely faint sound coming from the direction of her palm:
“Coo.”
Yun Ji: ?
Did she just hear someone cooing?
Yun Ji tentatively called out: “Aow aow?”
“Coo…”
“Aow aow!”
“Coo!”
The responding sounds grew progressively louder, and Yun Ji’s eyes brightened accordingly.
There really was something alive here!
So cute, and it can coo too!
Excitedly, she reached toward the source of the sound, only to touch the head she had just slapped away.
But this time, as soon as her fingers made contact, pain shot through her knuckles.
She’d been bitten.
This head could actually move.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, she swiftly extended both hands and scooped up the head.
The environment was too dark to make out the head’s appearance clearly, but she could vaguely see disheveled hair and feel the cheek muscles trembling slightly beneath her palm.
Before she could speak, she finally deciphered what the head was saying:
“Get—get away—”
Heavens!!!
Yun Ji’s eyes widened, and the next moment she excitedly pressed the head against her own face: “Aow aow ah aow!”
[You’re actually alive!]
In this darkness that could drive anyone mad, having someone alive to talk to was incredibly precious!
Even if it was just a head, it would do!
When she pressed against it, the entire head seemed to freeze for a moment.
But soon it seemed to gather its strength, its voice rising sharply: “What are you doing? Don’t touch me!”
Wonderful – it’s an energetic, lively head that looks very healthy!
Yun Ji happily cradled the head, quickly scanning her surroundings like she’d stolen something precious, then hunched over and crept along the wall back to her previous spot.
Afraid someone might try to steal her head.
Having been pent up for a long time, she immediately began chattering nonstop as soon as she settled into her familiar position.
You feel so cold, just like a dead person.
Where’s your body? How come only your head remains? You have so much hair – feels like a dog’s nest!
What’s your name? How can you still talk with just a head? Are you some kind of robot?
The head didn’t respond, only the veins at its temples bulged more prominently as it breathed heavily.
Yun Ji grew even more amazed: “Aow ah!”
No neck but still can breathe!
This time the head’s voice became completely distorted, even to the point of tears starting to roll out, crying while sounding fiercely: “Get away!” Didn’t you hear me tell you to leave? Don’t touch me with your dirty hands! I’ll kill you, I will definitely kill you!”
Unfortunately, Yun Ji wasn’t the type to soften at the sight of tears. She automatically ignored the head’s furious tirade and flashed a brilliant smile.
The head nearly fainted from rage.
The guard brought over a basin of food and from afar saw Yun Ji kneeling by the prison bars with disheveled hair, her head tilted to the side. Her swollen face had eyes narrowed into slits, a malicious smile hung at the corner of her lips, and her exposed white teeth gleamed ominously in the darkness.
What mattered most was that she was cradling a bloody, weeping human head in her arms.
He paused mid-step and turned back the way he came.
It wasn’t that he was scared—he definitely wasn’t scared—it was just a bit frightening. He’d come back after composing himself.
But the moment he turned around, a piercing voice rang out behind him:
“Awoo aah—aah awoo—awoo aah—”
It sounded no different from a wild boar being plucked by a butcher on a moonless, windy night.
What a waste of such a powerful voice to end up in the Death Row Prison. She ought to have joined the Sound Sect for proper cultivation—one shout from her could scare off a hundred thousand wild boars.
Resigned, the guard turned back.
Yun Ji was in the middle of loudly singing a song for her newly acquired little companion. When she saw the guard approaching with a lantern, she was overjoyed and howled even more vigorously.
The guard’s face wrinkled up in the same familiar expression of utter disgust:
“I’ve brought your food. Stop howling—you won’t starve to death!”
Yun Ji didn’t reply.
By the light of the guard’s lantern, she finally got a clear look at the head she was holding.
The entire head seemed soaked in blood, its neck cleanly severed. Clumps of dried blood matted the messy hair, obscuring its original color—so tangled that even fingers couldn’t comb through it.
The face was covered in dried blood, but the strong, well-defined features were still visible. It must have been a rather handsome man’s head.
Strangely, though, there was not only a footprint but also a slap mark on his face. They looked fairly fresh, left by some unscrupulous scoundrel, no doubt.
At that moment, the head was furrowing its brow intensely, its gaunt cheeks taut with rage. Eyes with pitch-black pupils glared with a disgust so palpable it seemed to solidify, directed at everything in sight.
Especially when it looked at Yun Ji—the loathing in its eyes nearly overflowed.
At the same time, large teardrops rolled down.
“I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you!” it shrieked through its sobs, even dropping the royal “We” in its fury.
Yun Ji belatedly recalled that she had tripped over something in the dark.
She blinked twice, then grinned unapologetically.
It was too dark—what could she have done?
Gently, she stroked the head’s face and earnestly soothed, “Awoo.”
[Sorry for stepping on you! I didn’t mean to. Don’t cry! Just stick with me—I promise I’ll raise you plump and fair as long as I’m alive!]
The head’s expression grew even fiercer.
Who asked her to raise him!
“Get lost, all of you, get lost!”
Yun Ji had nowhere to go, but the guard certainly made his exit. He set down the food and left without his usual sarcastic remarks, as if ghosts were chasing him.
Yun Ji’s world returned to complete darkness.
She really wanted the guard to leave the lantern behind, but no matter how she called out, his only response was to bring food.
This time, however, plunged into darkness, she was noticeably less fearful than before.
She hugged the head tightly.
The head’s voice turned strange again, as if something were choking its vocal cords. Gasping for breath, it wanted to curse but was too enraged to form the words. Trembling with hatred, it spat out:
“You damned madwoman! Did they send you to humiliate Us? You vile, despicable scum, all of you!”
Seeing how violently it was shaking, Yun Ji patted its head soothingly.
Upon closer inspection, this human head was actually quite frightening.
She wasn’t some kind of pervert – under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t be interested in a human head at all.
But for her current situation, having no head to keep her company was no different from being killed:
“Owwwoo.”
[I won’t hurt you.]
[I just want to talk with you.]
[Can you be my chat companion?]
The head’s furious cursing suddenly paused.
After a moment of silence, it let out a sarcastic, mocking laugh.
Yun Ji didn’t mind, using her sleeve dipped in the water the Guard had brought to wipe the head’s face.
She focused intently on cleaning the entire face, though the environment was too dark to see the results clearly.
But for her, being able to find something to do in this silent Death Row Prison was satisfaction enough.
The head looked at Yun Ji with disgust as she used her sleeve to wipe its face – the rough fabric couldn’t compare to the golden cloud silk it was accustomed to using.
It started crying again: “Who gave you permission to touch this venerable one? Don’t touch this venerable one! It’s filthy! You bastard, you’re dead!”
“Hehe.”
Yun Ji shamelessly hugged it and lay down.
The sound of its resentful cursing in her ear felt strangely comforting.
She had barely slept during this period, and as soon as she closed her eyes, drowsiness overwhelmed her.
The head hadn’t expected Yun Ji to dare hug it while lying down, immediately trembling with rage, crying as if its chastity had been violated, tears soaking Yun Ji’s sleeve:
“Bastard! Heartless bastard! You’re utterly shameless! This venerable one will kill you kill you kill you—”
Yun Ji: “Grr.”
This living head’s voice was quite pleasant – without vocal cords, she wondered how it produced sound.
Head: “Can’t you hear? This venerable one will kill you wuwuwu, will chop off your head, chop off your limbs, make you wish you were dead!”
Yun Ji: “…”
Head: “You dare ignore this venerable one! Are you looking down on this venerable one! Wuwu you’re dead, this venerable one will torture you to death, tear you into thousands of pieces!”
“…”
Yun Ji began snoring.