One Silver Coin For a Pound of Demon

Chapter 4

Draft
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177 grabbed the side of the bathtub and almost collapsed there. When you took out the third bottle cap, it couldn't even kneel.

Its claws dig through the ceramic bathtub wall as you take out the cap, making a harsh sound. You hope it doesn't leave scratches there, but you feel that if its response is just scratching the bathtub, it would be quite worrying. Among all the things you cleaned, it reacted better than 70% of stray dogs, 80% of stray children, and 90% of stray cats. 177 doesn't scream in a way that makes your ears throb in pain, it doesn't get water everywhere, and doesn't struggle or bite you indiscriminately. If it wants to leave a few scratches on the bathtub, let it go.

You wrap the bottle cap in a paper towel and throw it into the trash can to avoid scratching the garbage collector. 177, for the time being, doesn't have the strength to mess around. You take the shackles and wash them in the sink. You washed them till they're all shiny, you also washed your hands, soaped twice, and cleaned the blood under your nails. After doing this, you wipe your hands on a towel and say to 177, "Wait a minute ." One minute later, you returned to the bathroom, wearing rubber gloves and holding a palm-sized water bottle. 177 was still on its spot, shoving itself into a ball at the corner of the tub, which means it knelt on its calf again, still holding the bathtub, but no longer lying flat on it. It looked up at you when you came in, showing no expression.

You are a little surprised because the water bottle in your hand is the standard most common colour. Any demon soldier who sees it should know what will happen next (though not necessarily knowing the details), you don't know why it can be unresponsive.

Of course, this isn't to say that this reaction's a bad thing.

You put the water bottle on the sink and put back the shackles that were removed from 177. You unfold the folding bed in the corner of the bathroom and fix it on a concrete pillar. This thing crowded the bathroom a bit, but your residence isn't big, only the bathroom is covered with tiles and is easy to wash. You take out a roll of plastic sheet and spread it on the folding bed, carefully spreading two layers in total. You look at the folding bed and the demon in the bathtub, not sure if this bed can withstand it.

It was a camp bed, you bought it in the supermarket. In recent years, more and more military supplies became available in supermarkets. The cross metal frame is tied with canvas, an ordinary person can sleep in it and a cat can be tied up here. In fact, you bought this thing to tie up cats. You sterilize them on the camp bed in the bathroom. The shelter's unwilling to pay the money, it'd not easy for them either. People want to spend less money more and more these days. Some people think that spending money simply to take care of cats and dogs is crazy. In fact, you don't know why cats and dogs are still in containment, but since they're still there, there's a reason for their existence.

You chanted a scripture, this time it has to be spoken, you're not very familiar with this kind of mantra. 177's body slid down the edge of the bath, moving his fingers, trying to grasp something but not able to grasp anything. Its muscles relax, like it's being anaesthetized, it can make insignificant movements. You drag it onto the camp bed and it blinks, finally showing a bit of vigilance.

It's a mistake to recite the mantra first. You should've let it lie down on the bed first, you think this as you wipe off your sweat. You spent 177 silver coins. It weighs 177 pounds and is very heavy and difficult to carry.

To be safe, you still pin down 177. Its hands were handcuffed to the concrete pillar and its legs were bent and separated, tied to one side of the bed. Its lower body is completely exposed to you, like a pregnant woman waiting for delivery. You unscrew the cap of the water bottle and use a large syringe with the needle removed to draw the liquid inside, you insert the syringe into 177's hole and push down on the thumb rest.