Chapter 668: Extra Chapter 1: Soul Seizure

Shi Rou, wake up! Wake up quickly!

I was shaken awake by Jin Wuya from my sleep, my heart thump-thumping.

Jin Wuya saw me open my eyes and immediately said, "Shi Rou, you seemed to be caught in a nightmare just now, having a bad dream?"

I sat up, calmed my emotions, then said, "Hmm, I dreamed of that female corpse again."

I told Jin Wuya about the dream I just had.

Jin Wuya said, "It's likely day-long thoughts causing night-long dreams; we've been talking about the merfolk these past two days, and you've been brooding over it."

I nodded and said, "That female corpse had already weathered away before I even turned into a corpse, leaving no bones; she couldn't possibly reappear, especially since there's no water in the ancient tomb at all."

The sky was already faintly light, I had no more sleepiness, so Jin Wuya kept me company chatting to distract my mind.

After breakfast, I was taking my medicine when Huang Fan returned.

He reported to Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, "It's strange; in the latter half of last night, the water level of that body of water inexplicably dropped by about ten centimeters, the flow wasn't turbulent, and we don't know where the water went."

Hearing Huang Fan's words, my heart gave a jolt, and I involuntarily recalled my dream.

I hurriedly asked, "Could it have flowed backward into the ancient tomb?"

The entrance of that ancient tomb is on the mountain, but the tomb chamber itself is sunken; its lowest point should not be far from the ground. If water were drawn back into the tomb…… how likely is that possibility?

Huang Fan scratched his head and said, "Shi Yin's people have been guarding the tomb's perimeter; we can't enter, so we can't investigate."

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui furrowed his brows: "Has Shi Yin never left the tomb's vicinity?"

"Yes." Huang Fan said, "Not only has Shi Yin himself not left, but none of his men have either; the perimeter staff are few, with the main forces inside and outside the tomb."

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui analyzed, "According to Shi Rou, the female corpse in the golden-thread nanmu coffin has already decomposed, Shi Rou has been rescued by us, Shi Yin should have immediately gathered his men to compete with us for people and the mermaid pearl; why are they still lingering around the tomb?"

"That ancient tomb is huge, and the area we've explored is limited." I said, "Could there be something more important in other chambers that they need to guard?"

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui pondered, "Something more important than the mermaid pearl…… could it be……"

"The merfolk's true form?"

"Merfolk!"

I and Xiao Jiu Zhanggui almost spoke in unison.

The same answer left us silent again in an instant.

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui said, "Don't panic, Huang Fan; send someone to scout again. The Hall of Gray Immortals has many members skilled in water and digging; borrow a few to try."

Huang Fan immediately set off on his orders.

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui reminded me to keep taking my medicine and soaking in medicinal baths, then she went to find Lord Liu Seven to discuss this.

Today I took my medicine and didn't vomit again.

But when it came time to soak in the medicinal bath, I felt something different from usual—my feet felt a prickly numbness that was uncomfortable.

At first I thought it was because I'd soaked in the medicinal bath three times in a row, my skin had become waterlogged, and some spots might be too fragile, tearing open.

But after soaking for an hour, the prickling pain on my feet gradually became clearer.

And that prickling sensation wasn't like the pain from cracked skin being soaked in medicinal liquid; it felt as if sharp blades were slicing my skin, the pain coming from within the flesh.

I'm usually someone who can endure hardship and tolerate pain, but today I panicked uncontrollably; I finally couldn't hold back, got up from the medicinal tub, braced my body on the high rim of the tub, lifted my right foot to step on the edge, and lowered my head to look.

Upon seeing that, my whole body's blood seemed to freeze, and a shrill scream startled Jin Wuya.

Jin Wuya rushed in from outside, flustered, and asked, "Shi Rou, what's wrong?"

My terrified eyes were locked on the tops of my feet, my lips trembling, unable to speak.

Jin Wuya followed my gaze.

He also froze.

"How could this be? This is…… fish scales?"

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui and Bái Sōnglán quickly came over as well.

By then, with Jin Wuya's help, I had dried myself off and changed into clean clothes.

I sat in a chair, bare feet resting on a low stool.

On the tops of both my feet lay a layer of tiny black fish scales, varying in density, thick and close-packed.

Bái Sōnglán examined them, then asked me to put both feet into the water.

As soon as the feet entered the water, the fish scales on the tops of the feet began to grow rapidly, increasing in number and size.

Once the feet were removed from the water, those scales immediately stopped growing.

Bái Sōnglán pondered for a moment, then pinched my chin to look at the mermaid pearl in my mouth and said, "It must be the mermaid pearl affecting you. This is the first time I've encountered such a situation; I can only explore slowly. Since the scales stop growing when out of water, let's avoid water for now."

That's all we can do.

Jin Wuya worried, "If we can't touch water, we can't take medicinal baths; will that affect Shi Rou's health?"

Advancing is difficult; retreating is also difficult.

Bái Sōnglán sighed, "We can only take it step by step."

Bái Sōnglán reminded me to constantly monitor my bodily changes, and to call her over if anything seemed off.

I didn't soak in the medicinal bath again; at noon I took my usual bowl of medicinal liquid, in the afternoon I grew a bit drowsy, and Jin Wuya guarded me while I napped.

Even this nap wasn't peaceful.

I had that dream again, but this time the female corpse turning into a human-with-fish-tail wasn't there; instead, it was me.

What's more frightening is that I knew it was a dream, yet I couldn't wake myself from the nightmare; the pain in both legs was intensely strong and real.

It was so real that when Jin Wuya woke me from the nightmare, my two calves still hurt so badly I sucked in cold air.

After I fully woke from sleep, I realized the pain in my two calves was still there.

Furthermore, I became unusually thirsty, constantly urging Jin Wuya to bring me water; I drank cup after cup, yet still wasn't quenched.

I suffered so much I was grinding my teeth, begging Jin Wuya to give me water.

Jin Wuya initially obliged every request, but soon he realized something was wrong; he immediately called Bái Sōnglán to explain the situation and ask her to come over again.

After Bái Sōnglán came over and gave a thorough check, she said, "Why not… put Shi Rou in the water to see?"

Jin Wuya whispered doubtfully, "If her feet touch water they'll grow fish scales—what do we do?"

Bái Sōnglán said, "These two things are connected; don't ask too many questions, just do it."

Jin Wuya had no choice but to fill the medicinal herb bath tub with water, completely submerging my two lower legs.

Sure enough, after my two lower legs were thoroughly soaked in water, they no longer hurt, and I wasn't thirsty either; only the fish scales on my feet were rapidly growing.

Bái Sōnglán sighed and said, "Basically we can now confirm that Shi Rou is being affected by the shark pearl, her body is undergoing rapid changes."

"That's not right." Jin Wuya objected, "Shi Rou hasn't swallowed the shark pearl, nor merged it into her body to cultivate with it; her body shouldn't be affected by the shark pearl, should it?"

Bái Sōnglán said, "It's not the shark pearl itself affecting Shi Rou; it's likely a worse situation—the owner of the shark pearl is gradually performing a Body Seizure on Shi Rou..."