You Tanzhi's hand froze halfway to his mouth.
For a heartbeat his mind went blank, only Ron's words echoing over and over.
Rayleigh blinked, surprised.
"Didn't take you for a doctor, kid."
He leaned in and muttered by Ron's ear, "Think you could do somethin' about my kidneys? Name your price—old man'll work it off."
Ron pushed his face away, deadpan.
"I do have a cure-all."
"What cure?"
"You'll need a seven-point-two degree protein infusion," Ron said, completely straight-faced.
Rayleigh squinted. Familiar… too familiar.
Hold it—wasn't that just—!
He was about to curse when You Tanzhi suddenly dropped to his knees and knocked his forehead against the floorboards with a hard thunk-thunk-thunk, iron mask ringing.
"As long as you can save A'Zi," he choked out, "I'll be your beast of burden for life!"
Rayleigh gaped.
"…The hell? You just—kneel? Where's your pride? Your face? A dog ate 'em?"
Ron didn't answer him. Inwardly he asked the system, How many points for the Shenmu Royal Cauldron?
The Shenmu Royal Cauldron—his world's sacred tool. With it, that filthy "Energy-Absorbing Art" became twice as quick and half as dangerous. A perfect auxiliary treasure. Right now it was in A'Zi's hands—You Tanzhi's goddess, tormentor, and reason for breathing.
[Ding] Exchange value: 2,000 points.
Ron stepped out from behind the counter and helped You Tanzhi up.
"Bring me the Shenmu Royal Cauldron. I'll fix A'Zi's eyes."
You Tanzhi hesitated. Stealing it would be easy. But if A'Zi found out, she'd never look at him again. In that case… wouldn't it be simpler just to gouge out his own eyes?
"Another condition… is that possible?" he asked, tentative.
Ron returned to the bar and shook his head with a smile.
"You don't have a choice."
Sure, the Sutra Repository in Shaolin had nicer toys—but the moment You Tanzhi stepped in, the Sweeper Monk would snap his legs like twigs. So Ron settled for the closest prize within the man's reach.
"Let me think," You Tanzhi said with a wry smile. He grabbed the bottle and drank deep.
Rayleigh sidled over. "What's this guy's story, really?"
"He's pitiful," Ron answered quietly, threading Armament Haki through his voice so only Rayleigh heard. "And he and A'Zi… both have kinks."
"That mask," Ron went on, glancing at the iron plate welded to You Tanzhi's face, "she heated it red and pressed it on herself. To 'test' its sturdiness, she shoved his head into a lion cage and nearly got him killed."
"For her amusement, he let himself be strung up like a human kite, flapping for heaven knows how long. For her poison training, he put his hand in a jar crawling with venomous bugs. Now that she's blind, he's ready to dig out both his eyes and gift them to her."
"And he's never complained. Not once."
Rayleigh stared, shaken to the core.
Every single one of those things was something normal folk can't even imagine enduring. And this man not only endured—he cherished it. A simp this far gone… it beggared belief.
"That woman's vicious," Rayleigh muttered, frowning.
Ron only smiled. The truth was uglier than the word "vicious." Ever since his first glance, You Tanzhi's love had twisted itself into devotion—piety masquerading as lust. In the original tale, the first time they met he hugged her calf and slobbered like a worshiper at a shrine. Disgusting? Yes. But that was the only way to explain how he could offer up everything without blinking.
At last You Tanzhi lowered the bottle and lifted his head, as if he'd come to a decision.
"I agree," he said, eyes shining through the mask's slits. "Tomorrow I'll bring what you want. Please… cure A'Zi's eyes."
As Ron spoke, he'd been remembering every moment with A'Zi—every scrap of warmth, every needle of pain. He laughed at himself.
"Truth is," he said softly, "when A'Zi went blind… that was the happiest I've ever been."
"I held her soft, slippery hand, and she followed me quietly along the road. For a brief while I tasted what they call love."
"And when she stopped calling me 'Iron Freak' and said 'Brother Zhuang'…" His voice trembled. "I, You Tanzhi, rose from the abyss of hell to the blinding joy of heaven."
He stopped. He didn't dare go further. Beautiful things should end there, like fine wine sipped, not gulped.
He didn't want to trap A'Zi in darkness forever. That wasn't love, not really. So he chose theft over self-mutilation—not because he wasn't willing to sacrifice, but because if he lost his eyes, how would he ever see her again? Someday, when she understood everything, when the truth came out… she'd forgive him. He believed it.
Rayleigh clapped, eyes misting.
"Brother, that's devotion."
"Devotion?" You Tanzhi drained the last swallow and stood.
"You're wrong. Every man could do this for the woman he loves. Most lack the courage. I don't."
"For A'Zi, I'm willing to die. My only wish, before I go, is that she remembers I am a man, named You Tanzhi—"
"Not an animal. Not a clown."
"May you win your beauty in the end," Ron said, rising to see him out.
You Tanzhi nodded, left two gold ingots on the counter, and walked into the night.
Compared to when he came in, his back was bent, shoulders caved—like a dog whose spine had been pulled clean out.
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