I Survived Again
I survived again. Because of this bitch, every seventeen-year-old in the count’s territory should have died without ever reaching eighteen, cursing “fucking hell, fucking hell” the whole way down. Come to think of it, the temple’s oracle hadn’t been slow at all. Wasn’t it still unfolding right now?
“Thanks. I couldn’t see a thing in front of me, so thanks for helping!”
“It was nothing. But… is it really okay for us to be this close?”
“Hmmm… Hmmm… It’s fine. Totally fine. Hehe.”
“Oh! By the way… Oppa? Darling? Whatever you are. Is it okay to just grab a girl you met for the first time, hug her tight, and do all that?”
Even while saying that, she stayed glued to my body. A sickening stench stabbed straight into my nose. No. That’s the smell of medicinal herbs. No. Eating this would kill me. No. This is the aroma of the rarest delicacy in the world. No. It’s spoiled. No. It’s sweet. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
My head felt like it would split open. I held my breath, inhaling only through my mouth until I managed to pull myself together.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt? Oh no… You can’t be in pain…”
After a little time passed, I couldn’t detect any scent or fragrance coming from her anymore. All that remained was the damp, cold smell of earth and moss, the cave’s unique musty odor, and the unholy stench riding on the sinister energy that filled every corner.
Az began moving with her. Even trapped in darkness, I could see ahead by channeling energy. Whether it was an effect of the poison arts or not, the world looked exactly like the night-vision scenes I remembered from dramas and movies in my first life. The cave was a cramped ant tunnel, so when I tried to look at her face it was too close; everything glowed white and I couldn’t make out any details.
This was the first time in this life I was gathering, applying, and using qi, so there was still a lot I didn’t understand. In my previous life I’d used it lightly and the monsters lost their minds, shrieking “Th-this! The pretty bitch tastes even better now!” before charging at me with their mouths wide open. Ah, so the poison arts apparently added extra savoriness for monsters.
And I! Am a man! You worthless monster bastards!
Since I’d never see them again, I sent them off with a refreshing curse of farewell.
“Oh! By the way, what’s your name? And… you don’t seem like you live here. How did you end up in a place like this?”
“Um… yeah. My name is Rusty.”
“My name is Atoz. Everyone calls me Az.”
“Az. Hmm, what a nice name! I like it! I don’t know what it means, though!”
“Shall we head back now? Let’s go. Um… my companion is pretty sick at the moment.”
“Okay!”
What the hell was that smell earlier?
When we returned to the puddle, Lady Chernih was sprawled on the ground.
Was she dead? I approached and poked her with a finger. Warm body heat answered. She didn’t even twitch. Az hurried to scoop water from the puddle and trickle it into her parched mouth, then tried to feed her the moss I’d gathered while exploring… No! This! Fuck… Whew, I almost force-fed her poison. I nearly delivered the killing blow with my own hands.
Fortunately the moss I gave her was the non-toxic kind. She chewed it obediently with soft, wet sounds. Even without her mind intact, it seemed she still wanted to live.
While I was feeding Lady Chernih the moss juice(?), the woman called Rusty scooped water with her hands and began washing her body. Maybe because we were farther apart now, or maybe because I’d been using it nonstop, the throbbing had lessened and I could see her clearly.
Her thin clothes, damp with water, clung transparently to her skin. The curves of her hips and breasts stood out completely; through the night vision she looked like she was naked except for the ornaments scattered across her body.
Night vision! Does it come with x-ray mode too?!
Oblivious to my stare, she hummed softly as she washed herself.
Hmm… Her breasts are beautiful. Teardrop shaped. They probably wouldn’t fit completely in my hands. When she shifted position I could even see a hint between her legs. Water that had run down her body collected there, falling in heavy droplets one after another.
My formerly purple-headed comrade, now a proud ocher warrior, seemed to declare, ‘Is it finally my turn to step forward?’ as it proudly revealed itself.
Oho! Is this the Yangui Sim-gong I read about in those martial-arts novels they served with meals back when I lived alone in that grand annex in Sichuan?
It looked far superior to that nameless Sichuan mental technique (and not the spicy kind)! I should train even harder and live in permanent night-vision mode from now on.
When she knelt and turned her back, I quickly looked away.
Still, I was troubled about what to do with this woman named Rusty. While stuck in this cave, the phrase that kept floating in my mind—or before my eyes—read:
If I’d seen it back when I was a child who couldn’t read, I would have definitely diagnosed it as illiteracy. This woman looked like the messiah of the devils who would one day invent Hell’s Christmas…
“Ah! I feel like I might actually live now. Az, come wash yourself too. Since your companion is a woman, I’ll wash her for you.”
“The puddle is small, but water keeps flowing from the rock wall. It won’t run out anytime soon!”
She flashed a bright smile.
“Really? That’s a relief. Then I’ll just wash a little.”
I scooped water in front of the puddle and glanced sideways. But Rusty’s expression as she moved to pick up the young lady was strange. She was carrying her with one arm while pinching her nose, brows slightly furrowed.
Why?
Fortunately I tore off part of my outer robe, soaked it in water, and scrubbed every inch of my body. Whew. I’d felt disgusting, but now I was clean. Living too long in this damp, clammy, chilly place would probably cover me in mold. Would my descendants have to reproduce via spores here?
A lot had happened in a single day. Was it even a single day? I couldn’t tell. I had no idea how much time had passed since I began training the poison arts at the cave entrance. Circulating the mental technique kept me from feeling too tired, but after wandering around for so long I was exhausted.
The mood naturally drifted toward sleep. Everyone must have been worn out.
Anyway, even if Rusty was a condemned sinner, it wasn’t my job to kill her, I didn’t want to, and besides—she was beautiful. If I slept with her once and died, I’d still cross one item off my bucket list. Not a bad trade at all.
My eyelids grew heavy. On the opposite wall, the young lady was now babbling in her sleep.
Ugh… I’m so tired……
……How much time had passed?
Something slithered.
Through the damp, cold air, I felt warm flesh crawling on top of me.
“Hup…?”
I opened my eyes in surprise. Rusty’s face was right in front of mine. How did I know? Because her pink pupils were staring into me and her breath was falling directly onto my face.
Her body scent hit me like a wave. It wasn’t the previous smell—this was thick, sweet, yet mixed with a faint fishy, bloody odor. The contradictory fragrance stabbed wildly into my nose.
The white letters floated before my eyes, trembling along with a headache.
I felt no fear of being devoured by her. The terror that rose from the abyss was the thought that in my next life I might get excited at the sight of fish.
I’d rather not reincarnate at all than watch myself thrashing in the middle of a seafood market.
She was a terrifying woman.
Her hand slid from the crown of my head, down my chin, across my collarbone, over my chest, and past my abs. Everywhere her fingers passed, my body tingled.
She pressed her nose against mine and whispered.
“Haa… Even if I die here, I don’t want to leave any regrets.”
“Uh. Yes?”
“Hic… How did I end up dragged here… only to die like this… Hic, hic…”
Something wet landed on my face.
“Uh… Are you crying?”
“I wanted to travel the world, experience so many things, meet people, laugh, talk, and share a drink at the end of every day. That’s how I wanted to live.”
She kept groping my chest.
“Thaaat… Could you please stop crying? Your tears are going up my nose and it stings…”
“……”
“You……”
“You really have zero sense, don’t you?”
Az was speechless. Even he had to admit he had zero sense. If he’d had any, he wouldn’t have followed those people in Sichuan thinking it was a good idea, taken a bath in a poison jar, or let them cut off his dick. Of course it had been against his will, but the memory of marching forward believing his suffering was finally over and good things were coming still stabbed his heart like a dagger.
She really was a terrifying woman.
“Ha… Fine. I’ll handle it myself. It’ll be a good experience for you too.”
She kissed me, rubbed her body against mine, and licked down from my ear. A rustling sound came from my pants.
“Huuu…”
Even while wondering whether the scent rising from her body was perfume or fishiness, my cock once again rose with the spirit of ‘It’s time to show the skill I’ve polished for fifty years,’ activating Yangui Sim-gong and seemingly ready to annihilate my pants first.
She glanced down, let out a coquettish nasal moan, and slid her hand lower. She undid my pants and pulled my cock free.
“Huuung… Huhng… Not bad at all.”
With one hand she stroked me while the other slipped inside my clothes to tease my nipples.
Ah, whatever—bucket list!!!
I lifted Rusty, laid her on the floor, and stripped off my clothes. Pouring qi into my eyes, I saw she was already completely naked.
“Huu… Huu…”
I buried my face between her breasts and kneaded her body without mercy.
“Heut… Haa… Heup… S-so good…”
I sucked and bit her nipple, then lifted my head and invaded her mouth.
Pinned beneath me, Rusty squirmed while grabbing and pumping my cock.
“Haap… Churup, chup… Haaang… Tsururup…”
When I reached between her legs, her entire pussy was soaking wet. Her pubic hair felt like seaweed drenched in water. So the earlier rustling had been her grinding against my pants.
“I thrust my bursting cock into her pussy.”
“Heut… Huuung… What are you even saying?”
“I tried to describe the situation with poetic flair.”
“What… what the hell are you talking about? This is completely insane… Huaaaa—mmph!”