NOVPUBThis damned bastard—don’t tell me he’s going to jump back up again!
Even though I’d clearly seen Ye Liusu’s intestines spill all over the ground—no doubt he was absolutely dead—I still went over and stabbed him a couple more times just to be sure.
Then I ran to pick up the magatama I’d thrown earlier and gave it a once-over. Not a single scratch. It was definitely much harder than ordinary magatama, and it even worked against ghouls. Honestly... that was money well spent.
No, wait. I didn’t have time to waste. Now that the killer was taken care of, I had to get that thing from Snowy—fast!
I ran over to Snowy, supporting her so she wouldn’t collapse, and spoke quickly and nervously:
“Snowy, are you okay?! Ah—damn it, what am I saying, of course you’re not!”
Without another word, I picked her up and sprinted toward where Rainie Bai was lying, speaking to her as I ran.
“I know you’re in a lot of pain, but Snowy—can you give me some of your saliva?”
“...Huh? You... want to drink it, Ethan?”
“Ah? N-No! I mean, I do kinda want to taste it, but that’s not the point! I don’t want it to drink—I need it to treat Rainie’s wound!”
I was so anxious my words were a mess. What the hell was I even saying?
But Snowy nodded, and I didn’t hesitate any longer. I brought her over to Rainie and gently laid her down. Then I unwrapped the torn strips of cloth I’d haphazardly used to bandage Rainie’s back earlier.
Even though the wound exposed a lot of skin, I didn’t have the mind—or the time—to admire anything. I cradled Rainie from the front, letting her rest her face on my shoulder, and then turned to Snowy.
“I’m counting on you.”
Snowy leaned in, slowly bringing her face close to the wound. Like a little kitten drinking water, she stuck out her tongue and gently licked at the injury, doing her best not to irritate it.
From time to time, she paused to smack her lips and moisten her tongue again before continuing.
As the blood was licked away, the wound stopped bleeding.
Rainie had said she’d used qi to stop the bleeding, and that must’ve helped too—because for a wound this massive, she had bled a lot less than I expected.
Thank God. Even though we didn’t get her to a hospital in time, Rainie didn’t seem to be in immediate danger from blood loss.
Still... that cut stretched nearly a meter—from her shoulder blade all the way down to her left waist.
A wound like that would definitely leave a scar. And when I saw the dried blood that had run down into her eyes... the memory of her collapsing into my arms replayed again in my mind.
My vision turned red. My gut twisted with unbearable heat, to the point I could hardly breathe.
Something inside me felt like it exploded. My whole body was drowning in weakness—I couldn’t even speak.
My voice came out hoarse, like something was lodged in my throat.
I was trying to say “go to hell”—but all that came out was a croaked, meaningless syllable.
That was the first time in my life I had ever truly hated someone from the bottom of my heart.
“Ethan...”
Snowy suddenly called my name, snapping me back to reality.
I quickly shook my head and asked,
“What is it? Did something happen? Is it not working?”
Snowy shook her head, then held up her blood-red index finger and pointed at her own outstretched tongue.
I looked carefully... What was wrong °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° with it?
Her lips were dry and cracked. Her light pink tongue had a faint coating over it—
Wait... tongue coating?
Suddenly it clicked.
“You’re out of saliva?”
She nodded. 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
“Ah—!” That actually made perfect sense!
I scratched my head furiously, realizing what was going on.
She’d been in multiple intense fights, lost a ton of blood... obviously she was dehydrated!
Her mouth was completely dry—of course she wasn’t producing enough saliva!
“Should I go find a water bottle or something for you to rehydrate?”
But even if she drank water now, it wasn’t like her mouth would start producing saliva instantly...
Ugh, what now?
“Forget it—for now, let’s leave it. Since the killer’s already been defeated... we should just...”
If only I knew whether Snowy had a first-aid kit at home. Or maybe there’s a pharmacy somewhere on Black Street?
Without Snowy’s super-effective “medicine,” I’d just have to improvise something...
At least all the killers were dead. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t even dare run around looking for treatment.
I slipped my hand under Rainie’s knees to lift her and carry her quickly—
But then Snowy stopped me, forcing me back down.
Huh? Why are you stopping me?
“What is it? Why not?”
“She’s... not going to make it.”
“What?!”
What do you mean, not going to make it?!
“There’s yin energy... on the blade.”
Yin energy? You mean death energy?
I’d heard of it before... but I didn’t think it was this fatal!
“Her blood... it’s freezing.”
That explains it! No wonder she wasn’t bleeding anymore. It wasn’t the treatment working—it was the blood literally freezing inside her!
Her skin was turning paler and paler. I lifted her body, placed a hand to her chest—
Her heartbeat was barely there!
Even if we found a first-aid kit, it would be too late!
“This.”
What is this?
“Kan Tsukiyo’s saliva.”
She’d prepared it in advance?!
It was saliva from Kan Tsukiyo, the corpse-eating ghoul! Thank God! So Snowy had thought ahead!
I quickly took the bottle from her, uncorked it, and smeared the contents over Rainie’s wound.
Thump... thump! Her heart started beating again—strong and rhythmic!
The body that had been on the verge of becoming a corpse stirred with life once more.
“It worked. She’s going to recover.”
“...Thank God.”
If Rainie had died saving me... I would’ve regretted it for the rest of my life.
Seriously—this kind of debt couldn’t even be put into words.
I owed both of them far too much.
I had no idea how I’d ever repay them...
“What’s wrong?”
Snowy didn’t answer me. She simply leaned her face against my left shoulder again—
Then slid sideways, limp.
I quickly reached out with my left hand to support her waist—and felt a handful of warm, sticky liquid.
I didn’t even need to look. I knew exactly what it was.
Blood.
It was Snowy’s blood.
It was like a chunk of her had been torn right off.
Only now, by touching her, did I realize how serious the wound on her abdomen really was.
Even with that kind of injury... she still pushed herself to fight Ye Liusu?
“What kind of idiot are you?! Why didn’t you treat your own wound first?!”
And then she pushed herself again just to help Rainie—what would I have done if she collapsed instead?!
Damn it—don’t you dare die on me!
You have to live!
“Ethan...”
“Don’t die!”
“I’m fine... this much won’t kill me...”
“No matter how you look at it, this is dangerous!”
Snowy shook her head slowly, and then—her hair turned pure white.
At the same time, her wound began to close.
So she could use her ghoul form to accelerate healing... I see! That’s how!
Both of them... both survived. No one died.
That was the best possible outcome.
Just as relief welled up from my chest—
I heard something.
Step. Step.
Footsteps!
Impossible! Who else could be here in Black Street?!
Were those ghost-hunters showing up now? Or...?
No time to figure it out—I had to get the two of them out of here!
I clutched Snowy and Rainie close, preparing to flee—
And then I heard a voice.
“Hehehe... Seems I’m a little late?”
I’d been tense hearing those footsteps, but the moment I recognized that familiar voice—my tension turned into confusion.
“Huh?”
Sure enough—coming from the other end of the street... was Lillian Ji.
