Captivity

Chapter 4: Reality

Wu Zhi did not remember how he was brought away by that person, or how he was settled down. After he was brought there, he had a high fever, and when he woke, he was completely befogged. He did not know why that person showed up in front of him; he did not know how he survived the virus; he did not know what exactly this world had become.

Do not think. Do not look. Do not listen. As if Wu Zhi was living in a dream, everything around him turned into a distant blur. That person took care of him very well. All of his wounds were perfectly cleaned by him. His meals were fed by him. His showers were taken with his help. Everything around him was taken care of by him. Wu Zhi was like a nonautonomous puppet letting anybody move him about.

Until one day, Wu Zhi suddenly woke up. There were no signs. Just like that, he abruptly roused from his dreams. Then, reality was placed so clearly in front of him, with the same cruelty as before.

“…… Ye…… Qingling……”

Wu Zhi spoke in broken phrases. Because he had not spoken in too long, his voice was extremely hoarse. Ye Qingling gazed at him calmly, pouring a cup of water for him. Wu Zhi reached for the cup, but caught sight of his own exposed arm as the sleeves slipped down. It was paper-thin and paler than before. Dark red lines formed a picture on his skin. It looked like a mark of a demon and exuded an odd bewitching beauty.

Ye Qingling moved past Wu Zhi’s hand hanging in the air, bringing the water naturally to Wu Zhi’s lips. Used to being tended to, Wu Zhi reflexively drank the water, his actions as natural as if they were one being in the first place. Seeing Wu Zhi smoothly drink the water, Ye Qingling’s pale lips seemed to arch upwards. He reached out with his slightly transparent nails, and before Wu Zhi could react, he gently cut open Wu Zhi’s clothes. Wu Zhi looked down instinctively, and realized that it was not just his hands. His entire body was filled with red blood lines, as if someone had drawn a blood sacrifice curse on his body with a red marker.

“I cut open your dermis and damaged a great portion of capillary blood vessels to expel the virus,” Ye Qingling explained softly, his fingertips sliding down along the red lines on Wu Zhi’s body without genuinely touching his skin. “Because it was your dermis layer that was damaged, it left behind some scars.”

Ye Qingling raised his eyes, meeting Wu Zhi’s gaze earnestly. “I’m sorry.”

All of a sudden, Wu Zhi could not quite meet Ye Qingling’s overly serious gaze. Even when blocked by his glasses, there was still a fiery sense to it. Wu Zhi lowered his head to button up his clothes and evade his gaze. He worked to ensure his voice sounded completely indifferent.

“What’s there to apologize for? A man’s scars are a symbol of his accomplishments.” Wu Zhi touched his own face. “Speaking of which… If I go out now, will I destroy the beauty of the city landscape?”

Ye Qingling looked at him with a very odd gaze. Those peerlessly bright, black eyes seemed to swallow up all the light. The spot where the sclera and iris met emitted a faint red light.

“No, you won’t.” Ye Qingling chuckled softly. Wu Zhi could not find words to describe the gaze Ye Qingling looked at him with.

Wu Zhi was suddenly curious about his current appearance. As usual, Ye Qingling was good at understanding others. He reminded him softly, “There’s a mirror in the bathroom.”

“Oh.” Wu Zhi did not think much of it, putting down his legs to get up — he got to his feet in the very normal manner like before. This was an action that could not be any more ordinary, but Wu Zhi could not complete it. Reality gave him a depressing blow.  Even if Wu Zhi was gently caught by Ye Qingling before he could hit the ground, he could still only stare dumbly at the void where his left lower leg should be, unable to return to reality.