Gu Poison in the Bones

Xie Guannan grew up in the Ten Thousand Serpent Cavern. He was a monster, a chosen living sacrifice, and the Dragon God's bride.

On their wedding day, the Dragon God Xi Anzhu didn't come. A stone at the mouth of the cavern stood in for him and completed the ceremony.

First, they bowed to Heaven and Earth: to the miasma-filled valley.

Second, they bowed to their elders: to the silent statue inside the cavern.

Finally, they bowed to each other: to a blue-black stone.

Xie Guannan looked into the cavern through his red wedding veil. Straight ahead hung a statue of the Goddess Mieluo. The goddess's expression was compassionate and tender, as if lamenting the strange, unpredictable turns of fate.

Later, Xi Anzhu forcibly planted a symbiotic Gu worm inside his body, trapping him in a fate worse than death.

The symbiotic Gu worm allowed them to share pain.

Xie Guannan discovered that stabbing Xi Anzhu with a knife had no effect on him, but a casual remark, "I don't love you," left Xi Anzhu's heart aching as if cut by a knife.

So Xie Guannan smiled slightly. Got him.

The Southern Serpent VS the Evil Dragon

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You are the only fellow prisoner in my human-shaped cage.

Theme: Selfhood and freedom.