This Damned Thirst for Survival

The blade twitches and buzzes.

The evil spirit’s leisurely form stiffened.

Jiang Luo slowly drew the knife out and gently ran it across the evil spirit’s thigh, “Afraid?”

The evil spirit nodded honestly, “A little.”

“After all, no man wants to suffer such pain.”

The corners of the dark-haired youth’s mouth turned up, the colour of his lips drawing away the evil spirit’s eyes as he whispered, “Doesn’t that find you in pain?”

The tip of the dagger slid dangerously.

“One clean cut. Why would I keep this for you when you’re trying to fuck me.”

Jiang Luo took his knife and brushed it dangerously several times. The evil spirit narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, but suddenly Jiang Luo stopped his hand and looked at it steadily for a moment, before looking up expressionlessly, “Are you a pervert?”

“Can you even feel at a time like this?”

The evil spirit looked down at himself, he seemed to raise his eyebrows in surprise, then smiled innocently, “Who knew it would be like this …… but a slave has this problem, as a master, shouldn’t you solve this problem for your slave.”

Jiang Luo snorted and raised his dagger, then stabbed down hard.

The crowd on stage gasped out in shock and drew in a cold breath.

Chi You grunted sullenly.

With a dagger in his thigh, the evil spirit was about to experience the pain of being castrated. Jiang Luo pulled out the dagger, made an inch-large cut on the face of the evil spirit with the tip of the blade and asked, “Is it done?”

The blood from the knife splashed onto Jiang Luo’s face, who wiped the blood from his cheeks and said grimly, “It’s a pity you’re still worth seven figures, but you can’t be castrated now.”

“But it doesn’t matter, this body wasn’t yours in the first place, it’s fun to castrate your own.”

Blood spilled from the wound on the side of the first mate’s face.

The blood dripped in beads and slid down the man’s face to his lower jaw. Jiang Luo lifts Chi You’s face to admire it, “Sure enough, it’s gotten more tasty.”

It dawned on him, “How can seven figures be enough? I’ll have to make your price point higher to do that.”

Jiang Luo straightens up, the whip tightening seemingly around Chi You’s neck.

“But before you do, answer me why you’re here on the ship?”

The evil spirit laughed low and returned, “Of course I came for you.”

Jiang Luo’s hand strangled the whip so hard that deep marks showed on the evil spirit’s neck, and he tilted his head to look at the graceful lower jaw peeking out from beneath the dark-haired youth’s mask with an amused smile, “We can exchange questions.”

He laughed, “Why did you deliberately give Yuan Tianzhu to me?”

“I just want to see how much a Yuan Tianzhu can restore you,” Jiang Luo said, “and to remind you to hurry up with your big plans once you’ve become stronger – like destroying the Chi family. One. If you can, you’d better teach the Qi family a lesson as well.”

“Ah, the filth of the house of Qi,” smiled the evil spirit, “there is no hurry, they will die sooner or later.”

The evil spirit said, “Then it’s time for me to answer the question.”

“I came on board …… because of you, of course.”

“There was a snap, and another whip sounded.

The tail of his whip whipped past Mr. Evil’s injured thigh, the dark-haired youth said lazily, “If you keep up this attitude, we don’t need to talk anymore.”

Chi You shrugged, his shape wretched but his spirit supremely relaxed, his dark blonde hair scattered in front of his eyes with sweat, surprisingly charming and sexy in a way that was down and out.

Jiang Luo suddenly smiled and said what he had wanted to say for a long time, “You really look like a cowboy.”

“Cowboy?” Chi You lifted his eyes to look at him and laughed in a low voice, ambiguously, “And is the guest satisfied?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m happy or not,” Jiang Luo said with a nasty smile as he stepped forward and swivelled his chair so that Chi You was facing the audience and he was propped up with his hands on the armrests, “it’s about making the audience happy, that’s what matters.”

The evil spirit jerked straight up and leaned forward, about to succeed in kissing Jiang Luo’s lips at the limit of where he was bound, but he suddenly paused and kissed Jiang Luo sideways on the corner of his lips, and the next moment he was yanked back into place by the seat. Chi You leaned back loosely, glancing at Jiang Luo’s lips and saying pleasantly, “They don’t matter.”

A pity, he thought to himself.

This is not my body.

Jiang Luo sneered and the tip of his knife abruptly slashed across the evil spirit’s blouse from top to bottom, the shirt splitting in half and exposing a slit in the upper half of his body beneath his uniform.

He turned the seat back so that the evil spirit in this appearance faced the crowd on the stage directly.

The catchlights are so dazzling that the extreme contrast makes it impossible to see much beyond them as a dim black area.

But several hot eyes were cast on the stage in the darkness, half on the bloodstained slave, half on the dark-haired youth.

The beautifully lithe owner knew beyond doubt what the crowd wanted to see as he gently picked at the rips in the slave’s torn clothing with the handle of his riding crop and teased, “Mr. First Mate has a truly enviable figure.”

Jiang Luo knows his stuff, from his chest to his abs, and the effect of the trap is most intriguing. He perfectly whets the appetite of the crowd with his slave, but what makes the heart beat faster is that the hand belonging to the owner, with its black leather glove, is sliding down the slit extremely slowly and charmingly.

The evil spirit leans back, relaxing like a king, enjoying Jiang Luo’s movements.

But the hand came to a screeching halt as it touched his abdomen, and the evil spirit opened his dark eyes with a mixture of dark fire and unsatisfied irritation. Just then Jiang Luo smiled and said to the stage, “A slave like this, with a base price of seven figures, does anyone wish to bid?”

The people on the stage were dumbfounded, and soon the first person tentatively called for a bid.

“Three million.”

“I’ll take five million!”

“……”

*

The show on stage was intense, and the owner-licensees who could not participate in the increasingly high bidding on stage could only look for other slaves with red eyes.

The atmosphere at the ball was agitated.

Kuang Zheng was on guard and carefully shielded his friend. But suddenly an old man took his hand, who looked cynically at Kuang Zheng’s healthy, strong body and said grimly, “I want you to be my slave.”

The card in Kuang Zheng’s hand was a slave card, and he was at a loss as to what to do when Zhuo Zhongqiu flashed the crown card Ge Zhu had given her, his eyes blazing, “He is my slave.”

The old man glanced at Zhuo Zhongqiu with resentment and reluctantly let go of his hand. His eyes flickered to Wen Renlian, who was being protected by Kuang Zheng, and his cloudy eyes instantly fixed on Wen Renlian, “You must be the slave card, I want to see your card.”

Several other people were in a hurry.

Lu Youyi had Ye Xun and Ge Zhu had Sai Liaoer, and now they could not protect Wen Renlian any longer. Kuang Zheng’s face changed and he was about to ask Zhuo Zhongqiu to protect Wen Renlian when he heard Wen Renlian laugh twice.

The laugh was inexplicable, the opposite of the usual gentle laughter, “You want me to be your slave?”

The old man’s eyes were dirty and critical, “You’re tall, but not bad looking.”

Wen Renlian stifles a few chuckles.

He said to himself, “That’s why I like to wear women’s clothes.”

Jiang Luo on stage heard the commotion from the crowd, and with a look on his face, he threw Chi You straight onto the stage and jumped off the stage, striding towards the area. As the old man reached out to grasp Wen Renlian’s wrist, he knocked the old man’s hand away and said coldly, “Who told you to touch my slave?”

The old man who was stopped was about to get angry when he saw that it was Jiang Luo, he flinched slightly and pointed oddly at Wen Renlian, “Your slave?”

On the stage, Chi You licked the blood off his lips and squinted at Jiang Luo.

His dark blue eyes held little emotion, and his handsome face looked like a lifeless corpse under the chasing lights. He saw the rich man pointing at him on the stage and questioned the dark-haired youth, “Who’s that on stage again?”

Jiang Luo pulled Wen Renlian behind him and said with a smirk, “I’m tired of playing Mr. First Mate on stage, so whoever pays is the new owner of Mr. First Mate.”

His words were heard by many, and those who were still bidding called out their bids even more fiercely. The evil spirit on the stage abruptly sank his whole face.

But at this point, no one cared if he looked good or bad.

Someone argued reasonably, “You’ll have to go cheaper when he’s being played like that.”

“Sorry, no haggling,” Jiang Luo said in a strong tone, “after the conditioning you have just done, you can already see the value of Mr First Mate. As a good slave, I think he is worth any price.”

Jiang Luo finished his speech and swept the crowd in a high profile manner. Pulling Wen Renlian with him, he turned around and headed out, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll leave you to it. The one on the stage is at your disposal, oh, and remember not to forget to call me for money.”

The dark-haired young man left without a second thought, taking the others with him.

Chi You watched his back with a blank expression.

A hideous black mist twists around him, and a ghostly face faintly emerges.

The ordinary people on stage who could not see this were still salivating to move closer to the stage to become the new master of the evil spirits.

The evil spirit abruptly wrenched free the leather handcuffs that bound him and rose from his seat.

Jiang Luo just threw him out to someone else.

*

Slaves are not allowed to leave the premises without permission, but masters are allowed to take their slaves with them.

Jiang Luo led Wen Renlian as he walked, “You’re much more dangerous in women’s clothes than in men’s clothes on an occasion like this.”

Wen Renlian still wears delicate make-up today, and is dressed in a modest but pretty woman’s outfit, an unobtrusive gentle lady to those who don’t know him.

“That’s what I wear women’s clothes for,” Wen Renlian walks up to his side and hands him a cigarette, the two blowing in the sea breeze, hair flying, his head down as he lights it, a feminine soft face but steeped in dark depths, “with women’s clothes, there’s always more darkness to see, to To experience more monstrous challenges.”

The words were mocking, “I could learn a lot from an experience like that.”

“Very interesting ……,” he said.

Jiang Luo listened quietly as the two men finished a cigarette and then began to calmly exchange messages with each other.

When the information from both sides is combined, a general account of what happened can be drawn.

The rich board the ship in search of blood eels, which have cosmetic and longevity benefits. The commoners on the cruise ship come for the benefits, they receive a bonus for boarding and a separate sum for participating in the various activities on board.

But who gave this money?

Jiang Luo and Wen Renlian both have the answer in mind.

It is the rich.

Why would the rich look for blood eels and why would they want civilians on board?

Jiang Luo was about to say something when he heard a noise from the corner. He and Wen Renlian looked at each other and gingerly moved closer to the corner.

When he came to the front, Wen Renlian said, “Who is it?”

There was a scarcity of shivering in the corner, and a few minutes later a little girl came out.

The little girl, about eight years old and dressed in a small dress, glanced timidly at Jiang Luo and Wen Renlian, ducking her head and not daring to speak.

Wen Renlian asked gently, “Little sister, who are you? Why are you here?”

“My name is Li Sha ,” Wen Renlian asked several times before the little girl whispered, “I play here.”

Jiang Luo propped himself up on his knees and looked at him, whispering equally softly, “Are you playing here alone?”

The little girl nodded obediently and looked up at them.

She looks as delicate as a doll, but is somewhat malnourished and pale. The clothes, although looking quite good, were no longer brightly coloured.

Not like a rich man, but a commoner can’t get into the bow without an invitation from a rich man.

Jiang Luo smiled more affectionately, ” Li Sha, who is your father? Can my brothers take you back.”

Li Sha turned her head and pointed to a few rooms behind her, “This is where I live. My dad was the captain of the ship and I know the place well.”

Oh, it’s the captain’s boy.

Jiang Luo asked, “Where is your mother?”

Li Sha whispered back, “Two years ago, Li Sha’s mum fell overboard in stormy weather and Li Sha has been left without a mum.”

So that’s it.

Without her mother and with her father being a busy captain, it was only because of this that she was unable to look after her daughter in a delicate manner.

The two men escorted Li Sha to the door of the room, and before they said goodbye, the little girl bit her lip and hesitated for a long time before suddenly tugging on Wen Renlian’s skirt, “Sister.”

Wen Renlian froze, then smiled and knelt down like a big sister, “What can I do for you?”

The little girl suddenly threw her arms around Wen Renlian’s neck and whispered in his ear, “Don’t drink the fish soup.”

Wen Renlian’s smile remained unchanged as she said in a calm tone, ” Li Sha can you tell sister why you can’t have fish soup?”

Li Sha silently shakes his head.

Wen Renlian asked no more questions as he patted the little girl on the back and said goodbye to Li Sha.

On the way back, they meet Cheng Li, the crew member who once threw a civilian off a boat.

Cheng Li, his clothes soaked to the bone, grimaced as he brushed past Jiang Luo and the two men.

Jiang Luo has a few drops of water thrown on him, he wipes his thumb over the water and holds it to his nose, smelling of the sea.

It is seawater.

Wen Renlian saw him move and asked, “Is there a problem with this man?”

Jiang Luo looked at a water mark on the ground, “He’s covered in seawater, in the middle of the night, did he go jumping into the sea?”

Feeling strange, he followed the water trail to the head and saw that at the stern of the boat, a dozen crew members were fiddling with ropes up and down. The ropes were tied to two crew members, who were wearing diving suits with fishing guns attached, and a team of men were lowering a lifeboat.

Seeing someone coming, the man overseeing the crew’s work approached and said, “Gentlemen, I’m crew member Dutai. We are very busy at the moment, so please go around this area.”

The sea breeze was blowing and the smell of fish was much heavier at the stern than at the bow. Jiang Luo looked at the side of the boat curiously and lowered his voice, “Is this fishing ……?”

He didn’t say the rest of the words, but the crewman called Dutai clearly understood what he meant. He laughed, “Sir, you’re in too much of a hurry. It’s only been a day since we sailed and we haven’t even reached the fishing spot yet.”

“And this is?”

“Mr Wilton jumped into the water and we’ve only just got him out.”

“But you needn’t worry,” Dutai said vaguely, “it’s their breeding season, and apart from getting Mr Wilton up, we would have been watching the water for their eggs at all times, so that we could identify where they were appearing based on their presence. ”

Wilton takes a dive?

Jiang Luo thought of the pig-like rich man running madly out of the gate and he asked in a low voice, “Dead?”

“There’s still a breath of air.” Dutai said.

Jiang Luo’s expression didn’t change as he turned to his main concern: “Is it not convenient to go into the water at night to look for eggs?”

“Day and night make little difference,” Dutai said with a flash of amusement as he looked out into the incomparable blackness of the sea, “the bottom of the sea is invisible.”

Having said that, he politely asked Jiang Luo and the two men to leave.

The rich don’t live on the same floor as the commoners. Jiang Luo says goodbye to Wen Renlian and returns to his room before remembering Chi You, whom he has left in the ballroom.

He grunted and laughed and stopped bothering.

He didn’t believe that someone like Chi You would actually be taken advantage of, and rather than worrying about that, he should prepare for how he would deal with the evil spirits in return.

For the next two days, the cruise ship was calm and quiet. Surprisingly, the evil spirits did not bother Jiang Luo. When he occasionally saw the first mate on board, he always looked as if he dodged and dared not look at Jiang Luo. Jiang Luo was so disinterested that he knew Chi You was leaving from the first mate.

It’s obviously the same body, but in Chi You’s absence, it’s a different person, and Jiang Luo is not the least bit interested.

And on the fourth day of the voyage at sea, a fine windy day, the Angonese managed to salvage a strange fish.

Jiang Luo watched the whole process of catching this fish.

In the huge net, the black fish, as big as two grown men, pulled the machine with a heavy “creaking” sound. The black fish was pulled by five crew members and placed on a scale in the middle of the boat, and someone beside Jiang Luo exclaimed, “Over 500 pounds!

“That’s a fish that would sell for millions, right? ……”

It sounded like the words of a commoner who knew nothing. The rich people had long been looking at the fish with glowing eyes, some of them even with slightly shaking hands.

This black fish is a strange looking fish.

There are no scales on its entire body, and its head is so large that it even stretches out a thin layer of blood from the skin of its head, and you can vaguely see the blood flowing under the black skin, as if it could be poked through the head with a needle.

Its entire body is covered in slippery skin that seems to be covered in a layer of sticky, transparent mucus, as if it were a mudskipper. Two copper bell-like eyes are set on the side, one left and one right, protruding from the outside of the head, and they are bloodshot.

The heavy smell of fish slowly spreads across the deck.

One woman couldn’t help but dry heave, “It’s fishy.”

The fishy smell was so strong that it smelled like rotting fish, and the faces of those caught in the wave of the smell did not look good. They took several steps backwards, covering their noses, and were reluctant to leave like that.

This is the blood eel.

After catching the blood eels, the Angonese stayed on this sea. The rich had no more time to play around, they returned to their rooms and waited patiently for the dinner to arrive.

Jiang Luo held back from throwing up on the deck when Wen Renlian slipped a note into his hand as he brushed past him.

Jiang Luo went back to his room and opened it, and there was only one sentence inside. Wen Renlian They found four people missing from the civilian population.

They asked the crew where the four men had gone, but they said that they had been played to death by masked rich men on the night of the ballroom. Wen Renlian and the crew hoped that Jiang Luo and Ge Zhu would find out who the murderers were and hand them over to the police when they returned.

Jiang Luo burned the note and went to the bathroom to wash off the fishy smell. The stench of blood eel was so persistent that Jiang Luo washed his body three times to get rid of the smell.

A fish that stinks so badly that you can’t even bring yourself to eat it. Can it really give people beauty and longevity?

Nobody doesn’t crave longevity and immortality, and when these two possibilities come together, the temptation multiplies exponentially. If it really worked, then even if blood eels tasted like shit, the rich would eat themselves to death.

At the dinner, the restaurant is noisy and Jiang Luo tells Ge Zhu about the disappearance of the four civilians, who ponders for a moment and looks over the crowd.

If it was a murderer, the face would be hostile or covered with a layer of blood. But Ge Zhu looked around at the people and wondered, “The faces of these rich people are either good or bad, and none of them look like they have taken a life in the recent past.”

Jiang Luo frowned, “Are all the rich people here?”

“They think they’ll have blood eels tonight and none of them are absent,” Ge Zhu lowered his voice, uncertain, ” Jiang Luo , do you think blood eels can really increase one’s life expectancy or bring back youth?”

“I don’t know.” Jiang Luo shook his head.

If it was before he crossed over, Jiang Luo would have laughed at such a rumour, “feudal superstition”, but now that he is in a world where evil spirits and black and white impermanence exist, Jiang Luo is really not sure if blood eels really have such effects.

The two of them whispered and sat fairly still. The other rich men, however, could no longer sit still and stood up to pace back and forth, looking out the door one after another.

Half an hour later, the captain entered the restaurant belatedly.

He apologised, “I’m sorry, but although I caught the blood eel today, it’s not time to eat it yet.”

“So when can we eat?” Before the captain’s words were out of his mouth, someone anxiously spoke up and asked after him.

The captain looked to him and said without haste, “Sir, the most delicious food requires the most patient waiting. We are preparing it, and in a week at the most, the blood eels will be ready for your consumption.”

“But with five hundred pounds of blood eels, very little of the fish meat will actually be effective. The first batch of meat that can be eaten has the best effect, but as past experience has shown, the first batch will only have rations for ten people at most.”

The captain gave a smile with deep lines of decree, “And who those ten will be will be decided by tomorrow night’s auction.”