She immediately looked toward the severed head.
The head’s eyes were tightly shut, and its mouth wasn’t moving.
The head hadn’t woken up.
The voice that had just spoken didn’t sound like the head’s either—the head’s voice was clearer and more youthful, carrying a boyish quality.
Then who had spoken?
She glanced around, but unfortunately, the Soul Lamp’s illumination range was limited. She could only see her immediate surroundings clearly; beyond that lay only darkness.
Had she been in the dark for so long that she was hallucinating again, or… had her new cellmate woken up?
The moment the thought crossed her mind, her body had already sprung into action. She lifted the lamp and ran toward where her new cellmate was.
Over the past few days, she had made a habit of checking on her new cellmate daily and had long memorized his location. Even with the Soul Lamp’s visibility limited to about a meter, she quickly found him.
The new cellmate, pinned to the stone wall, had opened his eyes and was calmly staring at her.
She had seen his eyes before and knew they were very dark.
But up close, they were even more striking—like polished obsidian, capable of capturing one’s gaze instantly.
It wasn’t a hallucination; her new cellmate was really awake!
Finally, someone she could talk to!
Happily, she raised her hand in greeting:
“Ao ao!”
[Hello!]
The new cellmate watched her for a few seconds before speaking:
“You have a short lifespan. You won’t live long.”
Yun Ji: ?
What an infuriating way to greet someone.
Yun Ji, maintaining her good temper, nodded: “Ao ao ao ao!”
[That’s right, that’s right! I really only have three months left to live. The Guard said I’ll be struck by lightning in three months—eight hundred bolts of lightning!]
The new cellmate didn’t respond, and it was unclear whether he had understood.
He silently observed the blood staining her entire body, then glanced at the Blood Pool where the severed head rested. His expression grew somewhat peculiar, and he repeated his initial question:
“What are you doing?”
But as soon as he asked, he saw Yun Ji’s eyes widen as she looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes.
His expression visibly shifted to confusion:
“What’s wrong?”
Yun Ji threw herself forward and gave him a big hug!
Yun Ji was crying tears of joy.
Who could understand? Finally, someone to chat with when the Guard wasn’t around!
Moreover, compared to the severed head, this new cellmate seemed more like a normal person—someone she could communicate with properly!
Under her new cellmate’s horrified gaze, she withdrew her hands and excitedly howled:
[I’m putting my little companion’s body back together! He’s unconscious. I thought if I could reassemble his body, he might wake up!]
[What about you? You won’t fall unconscious again, will you? Do you have a way to get down from the stone wall?]
[Although I’ve never been pinned like that, it’s pretty impressive that you’re still alive despite being nailed up like this!]
She even threw in a compliment for her new cellmate.
But this compliment clearly missed the mark. The new cellmate couldn’t stand her noise, his expression growing increasingly grim. The earlier calm shattered as he finally lost patience and snapped irritably:
“Shut—”
The word “up” never left his lips as he met Yun Ji’s tearful, overjoyed eyes.
Somehow, that “up” got stuck in his throat.
…He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was bullying a little hamster.
But Yun Ji was covered in blood, her face speckled with stains, filthy from head to toe—hardly reminiscent of a fluffy hamster. A rat would be more fitting.
Under the influence of his inner demons, he couldn’t control his emotions. At this moment, all sorts of feelings were uncontrollably transforming into rage.
But he didn’t want to vent his anger on Yun Ji, who was nearly dead, so he simply closed his eyes:
“I’m resting with my eyes closed.”
Yun Ji blinked. “Oh.”
[Fine, close them then. Why announce it?]
His new cellmate’s temple twitched.
Though his eyes were shut, his ears remained open.
After he closed his eyes, Yun Ji began rustling around, doing who-knows-what.
Growing increasingly suspicious, he warily opened his eyes—only to find a face inches from his own.
He nearly shot backward off the stone wall in shock!
“What are you doing?!”
Yun Ji gave him a blank look, stood on her toes to touch the nail piercing his shoulder, then waved her fists around cheerfully. “Aow aow oh!”
[Not doing anything, just checking your wounds for bleeding like usual.]
[You’re very healthy today too! No signs of bleeding from your wounds!]
The new cellmate slowly shifted his gaze to the nail Yun Ji had touched, only then realizing all his wounds had stopped bleeding.
He sharply furrowed his brows and glared at Yun Ji.
These nails piercing him were called Blood Soul Nails, capable of draining the flesh, blood, and essence of the impaled. Once removed, this essence could be used to nourish others.
Ever since being pierced by the Blood Soul Nails, his wounds had never stopped bleeding—another effect of the nails, keeping him in a state of extreme exhaustion.
But now the bleeding had actually stopped?!
No wonder he didn’t feel as weak as usual upon waking this time.
“You—”
His gaze fell on Yun Ji’s face, but he didn’t finish his sentence.
Yun Ji only found her new cellmate’s stare unnerving.
It was as if he were tearing open her flesh with his eyes, peering straight into her bones.
“Truly a pure Sword Bone after all.”
The new cellmate murmured softly, his words fading into the air too quietly for Yun Ji to catch.
Seeing Yun Ji looking at him curiously, he tightly shut his eyes, a fervent sensation boiling in his chest.
When he reopened them, only regret and resentment remained, the earlier anger having largely dissipated. He said gently,
“Thank you for stopping my bleeding.”
Yun Ji beamed radiantly, raising both hands in celebration. “Aow aow aow!”
[You’re welcome! It’s my duty! Helping each other is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation! Patriotism, dedication, integrity, and kindness!]
The new cellmate narrowed his eyes, straining to understand Yun Ji’s meaning.
He could grasp the words she expressed but struggled with their underlying significance.
What virtues? What kindness?
Now he understood why that head had become so noisy after encountering Yun Ji.
But it didn’t matter. Even if Yun Ji was mad, it was unimportant—as long as her innate talent remained intact.
Seeing that Yun Ji seemed capable of chattering endlessly, with nine out of ten sentences incomprehensible, he quickly interrupted her,
“I am Shen Yinshuo. May I ask your name?”
“Aow aow!”
[Yun Ji!]
Yun Ji immediately gave her name.
Only after saying it did she realize her name might not be the same as the original body’s.
But now she had no way of knowing this body’s name.
The only source of information, the Guard, was an eccentric who constantly tried to stuff her with food, his mind full of cooking.
“Yun Ji, is it?” Shen Yinshuo softened his voice as much as possible, his gaze fixed on her with obsessive intensity. “Would you like to learn Swordplay Techniques with me?”
Yun Ji blinked.
Before even considering the Swordplay Technique that defied her common sense, she first realized something very important.
Shen Yinshuo seemed to be able to communicate with her without any barriers?
When the head spoke to her, it did so freely, mostly venting various complaints, saying whatever came to mind. She couldn’t be sure whether the head could fully understand her wild boar language.
But Shen Yinshuo was different!
“Oink oink oink oink?”
[Can you understand me?]
Shen Yinshuo nodded. “It’s not difficult. That head can understand you too. For us, language has never been an issue.”