CHAPTER 267: CHAPTER 267: HOLD STILL

They walked the long corridor back in silence, each step echoing against steel and sorrow. The bunker’s walls seemed closer than before, like they were leaning in, listening, breathing.

People passed by, some whispering, others staring, but none dared speak aloud. They all knew something had happened. Blood still clung to Shen Li’s sleeve, her cheek crusted dark with it. Qingran angled her body subtly, shielding her as best she could, but the stares remained.

By the time they reached their room, Shen Li’s shoulders had curled inward.

Qingran closed the door behind them, the lock clicking softly.

"Alright," she said. "Take off your clothes."

Shen Li froze. "What?"

"I need to check," Qingran said gently but firmly. "He might’ve... left something on you. A mark. A tracking seal. We can’t be sure until we look."

Shen Li shook her head, her face flushed. "I—I can’t..."

Qingran’s voice softened. "I won’t touch you, I promise. I just need to be sure."

Shen Li hugged herself tighter. "Can I... can I do it under the blanket?"

Qingran hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. Just... tell me if you see anything unusual. Any symbol. A bite, even small. Anything that wasn’t there before."

Shen Li ducked under the blanket, her movements awkward and stiff.

Qingran turned around to give her space.

She stared at the door instead, her jaw clenched. She was already calculating. The time, the risks, the steps she’d have to take now—everything had to accelerate. Because Wei Sheng wasn’t the end.

He was the beginning.

And whatever he answered to... had finally opened its eyes.

"Qingran," Shen Li’s voice came, small and uncertain. "There’s something on my back..."

Qingran turned, heartbeat tightening.

"What does it look like?"

"...I think it’s moving."

Qingran didn’t hesitate. The moment Shen Li said it was moving, she yanked the blanket back, her heart pounding.

Her breath caught.

There it was.

Latched along Shen Li’s upper back near her shoulder blade, reddish-blue, the size of a grown man’s palm, slick like raw meat but segmented like a millipede. Its tiny legs writhed with grotesque precision, burying into the skin, drinking deep.

Qingran felt bile rise in her throat.

It wasn’t just embedded, it was feeding.

Feeding off Shen Li.

"Don’t move.." she said, voice low and tight. Her fingers clenched once before she reached into her system space and pulled out a narrow blade, silver and curved, specially forged for small cuts.

"Shen Li.." she said, keeping her voice calm, "I need you to bear the pain. I’m going to remove it."

Shen Li whimpered but nodded, her eyes glassy with tears.

"You can bite down on my sleeve," Qingran added, pushing the thick fabric toward her. "But never, never bite your tongue. Understand?"

"Y-Yeah..." Shen Li’s voice trembled.

Qingran knelt behind her, blade in hand, eyes fixed on the creature as it squirmed deeper. It was too aware of its surroundings. Its bulbous black eyes blinked up at her, almost knowingly.

She didn’t let herself hesitate.

"Hold still."

With swift precision, she slit along the edge of its body where it joined with the skin. The moment the blade touched flesh, Shen Li’s scream tore through the room like a banshee’s wail.

The girl thrashed involuntarily.

"Stay still!" Qingran barked, locking Shen Li’s shoulder with one arm.

The sudden jolt, made Shen Li’s breath seize.

Shen Li’s teeth sank into Qingran’s arm through the cloth.

Qingran hissed but didn’t stop.

The millipede twitched violently, sensing danger.

It tried to slither back in.

"No you don’t!" Qingran muttered through clenched teeth.

With a deft motion, she drove the blade in deeper, slicing the anchoring legs off. The parasite squealed not audibly, but with a sharp vibration against Shen Li’s skin.

Then it broke free.

Like lightning, it leapt out, an arc of wet muscle and gleaming legs flying straight for the ceiling.

Qingran’s hand was faster.

Her palm blazed blue with her Azure Flame.

The creature never reached the ceiling.

The moment it left Shen Li’s body, Qingran caught it mid-air and incinerated it in her grasp.

A high-pitched screech echoed through the room, fading as smoke curled from her fingers.

Black ash rained down softly onto the bedding.

It was gone.

Qingran didn’t pause to rest. She turned back to Shen Li, whose body now quaked from pain and exhaustion.

Blood oozed sluggishly from the open wound, dark and laced with something oily and iridescent.

"I’m going to use my flame to clean the wound," she said. "It’ll hurt. Just bear with me."

Shen Li nodded weakly, tears slipping down her cheeks, teeth still clenched into Qingran’s sleeve.

Qingran pressed her palm close to the wound, igniting just enough Azure Flame to purify but not burn her skin.

The fire kissed the injury.

Shen Li let out a muffled cry, her spine arching slightly, the pain was raw and immediate.

The blue flames burned away the infected blood, the lingering essence of whatever mind-bound filth had laid its seed inside her.

Qingran could see faint whorls of blackness writhing in the wound as the flames seared them out, little tendrils of malevolence shrinking into nothing.

After what felt like an eternity, the wound stopped oozing.

Qingran let the flame fade.

She breathed out sharply, her body coated in sweat. Her arm bled from where Shen Li had bitten her, but she didn’t care.

Shen Li had slumped forward, trembling but alive.

"Shen Li.." Qingran said softly, "it’s over. I’ve got you."

Shen Li turned her head slowly, eyes dazed. Her lips were trembling too much to speak.

Qingran gently wiped her face with a warm towel from her space.

"Rest now.." she whispered. "Im going to clean you up, and I’ll stay right here."

A soft knock echoed from the door.

"Is everything okay in there?" It was Yu Song’s voice, his voice cautious but concerned.

Qingran glanced toward the door. "Yes. Don’t come in."

"...Understood."

She looked back at Shen Li and quietly wrapped her in a clean shirt. The girl was shivering still, her strength spent.

Qingran pulled her close, pressing a hand to her back.

"Im so sorry.."