As we were speaking, Da Xiong burst out laughing from the inner room, rushing out while exclaiming, "Look, I actually found the liquor!"

I turned back just in time to see Da Xiong hurrying out, clutching a dark ceramic jar.

Taking the jar from him, I sniffed the contents; it was indeed the scent of rice wine.

Da Xiong greedily swirled his finger inside the jar, brought it to his lips for a tentative sip, and declared, "No mistake, a bit sweet—a fine brew. We’ll save some for tonight after we treat the wound."

I sighed inwardly, thinking we didn't even know where we'd be sleeping tonight.

I carefully wiped the herbal poultice from Da Xiong's hand with tissue paper and saw that although the wound hadn't worsened, it remained a stark, dark black, and the small red spots around it were also beginning to darken. If we hadn't found the rice wine, his hand could have been ruined.

Without another word, I turned to him. "Where’s your combat knife? Put the handle in your mouth."

Da Xiong stared, then scoffed, "Damn it, are you joking with me? I didn't even take anesthetic when they pulled the bullet out. What’s a little pain?"

I said gravely, "Drawing out corpse poison is not ordinary pain; it's worse than childbirth."

Da Xiong laughed. "Fine, I’ll never have the chance to experience childbirth anyway, so let me try."

I glanced at Nie Chuan, who stood with his arms crossed, looking thoroughly amused, and said, "Just let him try."

After a moment of hesitation, I told Da Xiong to lift his arm, and then I slowly began to pour the wine onto his wound, drop by drop.

The first drop made contact with Da Xiong’s wound, sputtering like water hitting red-hot charcoal, emitting a sharp hiss.

Da Xiong’s entire face instantly flushed red, and his body convulsed once.

I quickly stopped, managing a faint smile. "How was that? Still trying to act tough?"

Da Xiong gritted his teeth, gripping his injured wrist with his other hand, and managed to choke out, "Bring it! Continue!"

I sighed, preparing to pour more wine.

But Da Xiong snatched his hand back. "Wait a minute!"

Unsure what new mischief he was plotting, I asked, "What is it now?"

Da Xiong took a deep breath. "Let me catch my breath first."

I couldn't help but feel a mixture of exasperation and amusement as I watched him inhale so deeply his face puffed up like a balloon.

Then I poured the rice wine onto his wound again. Amidst the sizzling sound, Da Xiong managed to hold back for a full three seconds before letting out a sharp cry.

Seeing him pull his hand away again, I grew slightly irritated. "Are you going to let me treat this or not? If not, let it rot."

Da Xiong wiped the beads of sweat the size of beans from his forehead. "Is it done yet?"

I said without patience, "Let me see."

Da Xiong hesitated for two seconds before tentatively extending his hand for inspection.

I saw that the blackness had receded from the wound, replaced by redness, so I nodded. "It’s nearly there, but to be safe, we need to rinse it once more with clean water."

Hearing this, Da Xiong quickly interjected, "Good. You don't need to do the water rinse; I'll handle that myself."

I thought to myself, I’m trying to help him heal, and he acts like I’m about to take a bite out of him, so I ignored him.

Da Xiong didn't seem to mind my attitude and went off to the side to wash the wound with clear water by himself.

Turning back, I saw Nie Chuan still staring intently at the sword. "Stop looking at it. You know the Muramasa; it’s not something mortals like us can wield. Legend says only those who have killed thousands, whose aura of malice is strong enough, can suppress the blade's wicked energy."

Just then, Da Xiong spoke up from his washing area. "Did you guys hear that?"

I paused and listened carefully to the surroundings. All I could hear was the rustling of the sea of grass outside the hut being moved by the wind; there was no strange sound.

Nie Chuan also cocked his head, seemingly hearing nothing unusual either.

But then Da Xiong spoke again. "No, it sounds like someone is calling my name, telling me to come over."

Seeing that he wasn't joking, I became wary. "Where is the sound coming from?"

Da Xiong didn't answer. His gaze became fixed, standing motionless as if intently listening to a specific sound.

Nie Chuan looked at me. "Did the corpse poison not clear completely? Is it acting up now?"

I shook my head. "Corpse poison doesn't make people foolish. Look, the kid’s eyes look like he has incurable schizophrenia."

"He’s calling me, definitely calling me..." Da Xiong continued to murmur.

I noticed the direction of his unwavering gaze was fixed on the inverted skeleton. Instantly, goosebumps prickled all over my body, and the atmosphere suddenly felt deeply unsettling.

"It's blood!" Nie Chuan suddenly pointed at the blood slowly trickling from Da Xiong’s arm after washing the wound. "The Muramasa smelled the blood! It’s summoning Da Xiong! Quickly, hold him down, don't let him touch the knife!"

As soon as he finished speaking, I realized it was too late. Da Xiong took long, purposeful strides and charged toward the evil Muramasa blade.

I practically dove, tackling Da Xiong around the waist, while Nie Chuan quickly moved in front to block his path.

However, Da Xiong possessed brute strength, and coupled with his current delirium, I couldn't stop him at all.

Da Xiong merely reached out, effortlessly lifted me up, and tossed me over three meters away. Thankfully, my backpack cushioned my landing; otherwise, I would have definitely suffered a concussion.

Even so, some hard objects inside the pack dug painfully into my back.

As I struggled to sit up, Nie Chuan, who was blocking in front of Da Xiong, was directly slammed aside by him, crashing into a nearby table and shattering it completely.

We were left watching helplessly as Da Xiong reached the skeleton, grabbed the Muramasa, and yanked it free.

Da Xiong held the sword in his hand, his gaze still unfocused, but his hand gently caressed the blade as he seemed to murmur something.

He whispered a short phrase, then his whole body suddenly jerked, and he looked at me with a nervous tension.

Sitting on the ground, I was startled, thinking he might be about to use me as a target.

Just as I was frantically considering how to avoid being cut down by Da Xiong, he asked me, "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

Then he glanced at Nie Chuan beside me. "Did you break that table up there?"

Seeing that he seemed lucid, we both breathed a sigh of relief.

Struggling to my feet, I asked Da Xiong, filled with suspicion, "Exactly how many people have you killed?"

Da Xiong looked at me quizzically. "Killed people? I’ve never killed a person. Though I’ve certainly dispatched a few 'Zongzi' [zombies/corpses]."

After saying this, he suddenly noticed the sword in his hand and flinched, asking me, "Why did you put a knife in my hand?"

I nearly spat blood. "You walked over and took it yourself."

Da Xiong looked confused. "Oh, right, I remember now. Someone seemed to call me just now. Was it this sword?"

Before either of us could reply, Da Xiong declared, "This is a good sword. Alright, I’ve decided to keep it. Do either of you have an objection?"

I was speechless, having no idea what to say.

Nie Chuan, however, looked worried. "If you carry this sword, aren't you afraid there will be times you can't control yourself?"

Da Xiong shook his head. "Can't control myself? No problem. I like this sword; I feel like we have a connection."

At his words, we all felt speechless, not knowing what to say.

Da Xiong, however, seemed quite pleased and said to us, "Come on, let's go outside and test the blade."

We followed him out the door and saw the sun was already low on the horizon, meaning it was getting late, and we had nothing to show for our efforts.

Da Xiong then found a large millstone and asked us to stand on either side while he brought the sword down in a mighty chop. The stone let out a loud clang, completely unmoved.

Da Xiong looked at us with an embarrassed expression. "I didn't use much force; I was afraid of nicking the blade."

Nie Chuan and I were both speechless, simply staring at Da Xiong.

Da Xiong then gave a nervous little laugh. "Alright, no more testing here. Later, we’ll find a Zongzi or some other monster to try it on."

With that, he started walking down the small stone path on his own.

Nie Chuan and I followed behind him. Nie Chuan asked me, "Did you see that millstone?"

I nodded. "I saw it. Not even a scratch on it."

Nie Chuan said, "Then is it really a Muramasa? Could we have been mistaken?"

"You saw the edge and the dark markings on the blade yourself; it shouldn't be wrong. But there must be something strange about this sword," I admitted, feeling perplexed.