IWOL Chapter 209: Human Chair

The treatment of the people living in the cold palace wasn’t very good. Dong Linhai found an old suit of clothes that might have been left behind by a palace maid. Regardless, it was better than his wet clothes, so he decisively changed into it.

After Dong Linhai pressed his hands into the broken locks, the metal melted into liquid at room temperature and gathered in his hands. He patted them along the windows and doors, and the liquid metal quickly solidified, sealing the room.

After doing this, fatigue flooded his limbs and bones. Having suddenly turned into a little girl, Dong Linhai had a hard time adapting; he was too used to being strong.

The bed was very damp and not knowing whether the comforter was hiding cockroaches or other bugs, he didn’t bother using it. Instead, he leaned against the wall, intending to make do with this kind of rest.

A small rustling noise sounded.

Dong Linhai had just closed his eyes, but now they snapped open. The sound seemed to be coming from under the bed.

He clenched the metal sheet next to him and retreated vigilantly to a place easier to defend himself. The sound continued, as if something was trying to come out and had ended up getting stuck.

“Who’s there?” a young girl’s timid voice rang out in the dilapidated room.

Finally, a hand mottled with a mixture of dried and fresh blood stretched out from under the bottom of the bed.

Immediately afterward, a part crawled out from under the narrow bed. Dong Linhai’s breathing caught in his throat as he almost instantly realized what was in front of him.

It seemed to be a person. His body was twisted to look like a chair. The joints of his legs and arms were twisted to form the four legs of the chair, while the torso was bent, forming the back surface of the chair.

Some complex structures of metal and wood were embedded on her, making her look like a chair.

This was…a human chair?

Dong Linhai hadn’t witnessed the circus’ freak show. Now that he suddenly saw this strange shape, goosebumps prickled all over his body at the effect of this uncanny valley. He swallowed hard, and his voice was a little jerky as he said, “…..Who are you?”

In fact, this was similar to steampunk, wherein certain parts of the body was converted into machinery, but this was much more disgusting and grotesque.

And…was he voluntarily made like this?

“Don’t be afraid.” The chair person seemed to have difficulty speaking. His vocal cord appeared to be damaged, turning his voice hoarse and unrecognizable. The mentality was likely that chairs don’t need to speak.

“I used to be a person like you,” the human chair said. “You escaped from the National Teacher, right?”

Dong Linhai had no idea what the plot development was. Once he arrived, he’d been trying to escape and avoid the soldiers that had been chasing after him.

“In order to refine the elixir of life, the National Teacher began capturing virgins and using sorcery to draw their blood and essence. Although the people with their blood drawn won’t die, they would age rapidly. These aging children often become useless, and then they are sent to the Bureau of Heavenly Studies and are made into various pieces of furniture.” The chair said sorrowfully, “I was…I was the first person the National Teacher used to test his alchemy.”

Dong Linhai was startled. Although he’d seen some peculiar wooden mechanical products on the road, he thought this was a historical setting and never expected it to be like a fantasy.

Talking seemed to be a great burden to the human chair. He gasped for a while and continued, “Even if you try to run away, the emperor’s shadow guard will catch you and other escaping raw materials. No matter where you go, you will be found.”

Dong Linhai asked, “Then how can I survive?”

“Survive? It’s easy to survive. Am I still not alive?” The human chair laughed, but his face was cold. “To end this, your only choice is to kill either the National Teacher or the Emperor. This is the only way.”

At this very moment, the task panel issued a mission update: [Challenge Mission: Kill the National Teacher]

“There is a secret passage under the bed, which connects to the scrapyard for machines. I came from there.” The limbs of the human chair machine were affixed by wood and metal, making it difficult for him to rest. He could only maintain his terrible and distorted posture, and he seemed extremely tired as he finished talking to Dong Linhai.

“Remember, he must…must be killed. Or else, there will be many people like me, who want to survive but can only die…Don’t forget.”

His voice gradually weakened, and his eyes didn’t close but continued to stare at him.

A dead stare.

To Dong Linhai, this feeling was even more terrifying than the ghosts and monsters that appeared in front of him. He stood frozen for a long time before finally stepping forward and melting all the metal on the chair and removing the wood pieces that trapped the person.

But the person’s joints seemed to have set, because even though the wood and metals were removed, he remained in the same fixed position.

Dong Linhai struggled to push the bed and it finally shifted slightly. Fortunately, he was now a little girl so he could crawl directly under the bed.

Sure enough, there was a secret tunnel underneath.

The rancid smell became heavier. It seemed to be coming from the “scrapyard.” Who knew how many people had been mutilated like this in the Bureau of Heavenly Studies. In the darkness, Dong Linhai fumbled forward.

In the challenge box, if you fail to complete the tasks proposed by the box, you will be punished. Therefore, considering the commission of the chair and some human rights issues, he will have to kill the National Teacher.

******

It was already dark.

Xia Qiongyun was in the dark, and the darkness and the black shadow guard uniform shrouded her completely.

She became a man after entering and was now number seventeenth of the emperor’s trusted and respected shadow guards. However, before she even had time to adapt to this suddenly much stronger body, the emperor issued an order, which was the same as the task issued by the challenge mission.

[Hunting target: 0/4]

Four children had escaped from the National Teacher. Her mission as a member of the shadow guards was to capture these four children. Xia Qiongyun thought hard about why they must escape and what the National Teacher needed them for.

If she arrested them, what punishment would befall them?

But at the same time, if she failed to complete the mission, she would also be punished by the box.

Except for those who stayed behind to protect the emperor, nine people were sent out to capture the runaway children. After the children were captured and sent into the National Teacher’s hands, their clothes were smoked with a special spice that would allow them to be quickly traced.

Xia Qiongyun took out a small porcelain bottle and poured some of the liquid on the path. The liquid quickly spread in a certain direction. Completely not conforming to natural law, it became a thin line, pointing after an escaped child.

Xia Qiongyun stepped on the palace wall and chased after it.

On the other side, Dong Zheng relied on his enhanced hearing to dodge people. They followed along the palace path and didn’t see many people searching for runaways. Instead the palace people seemed to be focused on doing their own things.

They sneaked into a quieter courtyard, bypassing the maid who was trimming the flower branches. Dong Zheng and Cui Zuojing turned into the side hall where it seemed that someone wouldn’t come over for a while, and finally they could rest for a bit.

There should be a concubine living in this outer courtyard. Even the side hall had some good things. There was a small table on the couch and on top of the table were some exquisite snacks that were round and looked delicious.

Cui Zuojing grabbed the plate politely, took a tentative breath, confirmed that it was really sweet, and sent two to Dong Zheng’s mouth.

Worthy of being something the imperial concubine could eat.

Two fake loli sat on the bed, holding a plate and eating snacks and grapes. From time to time, they would spit out a piece of grape skin. Cui Zuojing saw that Dong Zheng looked miserable, particularly after he’d drilled through a dog hole. So, he found a comb to tame the messy hair stuck full of grass clippings and re-combed it neatly.

Dong Zheng wasn’t concerned about this, but since Cui Zuojing was willing, he wouldn’t reject this rare delight.

After taking care of Dong Zheng, Cui Zuojing looked at himself in the mirror left and right, and he sighed. “Sure enough. No matter what I become, I am so handsome, so beautiful, so cute.”

Dong Zheng laughed and said, “Don’t you have a younger sister? Does she look like you now?”

“I look very much like her, but she was much uglier when she was younger. It took her a long time to grow out of it. I was worried that she wouldn’t be able to marry out.” Cui Zuojing curled his lips as he spoke in a way common to brothers, one that would make all sisters want to beat them up. Although he and Dong Zheng were both elder brothers, the attitude in which they dealt with their younger siblings was entirely different.

Da Da Da…

“Someone’s here.” Dong Zheng keenly heard a noise that sounded like someone was running and jumping on the roof.

Cui Zuojing’s hearing wasn’t as sensitive as Dong Zheng. He held out two fingers, wiped his mouth, and grabbed a valuable in the palm of his hand, ready to act should someone come over.

The footsteps gradually approached, and now even Cui Zuojing heard it. Soon it stopped when it was directly above them.

Cui Zuojing stepped back silently to the window and gave Dong Zheng a look. In response, Dong Zheng lightly pressed his hand on the window, stepped on the low stool, and prepare push open the window and run on a moment’s notice.

Three seconds passed. Another three seconds passed.

There were no other movements. Dong Zheng’s hands began to tire, but the person on the roof seemed to have gone because there was no other sound at all.

Cui Zuojing and Dong Zheng exchanged glances. Cui Zuojing stabilized his breathing rate, but still didn’t relax.

They didn’t hear the sound of someone leaving, so that person must still be there.

It happened all of a sudden in the next second.

After ascertaining that the people inside had relaxed their vigilance, the person outside blew apart the roof tiles. A sturdy man dressed completely in black descended down and saw a body half out the window. There was still a girl waiting.

Whoosh—!

The sound of a weapon broke through the air as it shot toward her face. Xia Qiongyun raised her hand, using the dagger tied to her arm to block the pearl earring. The momentum shook her arm slightly, and the refined dagger directly bent into a pit. It was hard to believe that this came out of a little girl.

This was…

Cui Zuojing?!

This familiar mode of attack allowed Xia Qiongyun to recognize her teammates. In her surprise, the two children had already quickly turned out the window and ran away. Xia Qiongyun hesitated. If the two children were her teammates, what should she do about her mission task?

She didn’t catch up immediately. As if noticing her hesitation, a sudden tingling pain burst out from her waist and traveled along her spine to the back of the head. It was as painful as an electric shock, and Xia Qiongyun almost screamed.

Xixi: Merry Christmas, you all!

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