Starting with the flesh-based stimulant

Zhou and his body were carried on the back of a meat vendor. After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at a deserted temple.

The temple is small, with gray bricks running from top to bottom.

There was no door; it was pitch black inside.

Wild grass grew in the cracks between the bricks, swaying in the distant wind.

A "snap" sounded.

A tile, due to years of disrepair, fell and landed on the ground, stirring up dust.

Zhou He was carried into the temple by the old hunchback.

The temple was dusty and gray, with clumps of wild grass growing in the corners, and a fat rat squatting beside the grass.

The mouse wasn't surprised to see the old hunchback come in. It slowly carried a round object in its mouth and scurried behind an altar.

Zhou He squinted and looked in the direction the mouse had gone.

The altar was black and shiny, as if it was frequently cleaned.

It doesn't match the dilapidated state of the temple at all.

Looking up again, the place where the statue of the deity should have been was hazy and indistinct.

It looked as if all the dust in the dilapidated temple had gathered together, obscuring the image of the deity.

The hunchback beneath him continued walking, approaching the offering table, and turned his back.

"Thump"

With a thud, Zhou He was thrown face up onto the table.

The altar was small, and Zhou He's hands and feet dangled to the ground.

It was only then that he realized he was completely naked.

The warm, smooth feel of the offering table was clearly transmitted to his mind through his skin.

Amidst this strange feeling, Zhou He recalled what the young man had said earlier:

"Discard the meat."

So I was originally a piece of meat?

The fear he had previously suppressed surged again in his mind, sweeping over and assaulting his reason.

He quickly closed his eyes and forced himself to close them again.

But this time, the fear was not suppressed as hoped.

This is because it stems from the fear of being denied and alienated as a "human being".

If he could move, Zhou He could try to struggle and resist.

But right now, I am being treated like a piece of meat, thrown onto the offering table.

Zhou He gave up trying to convince himself and shakily opened his eyes a crack.

While trying to shift your focus, try to see if you can find any turning point.

Although he didn't know what had happened, he was very clear that he wasn't actually flesh.

He could never admit that he was just a piece of meat!

He watched as the hunchback pulled a dirty red cloth bag from his person.

The bag contained an old metal box.

The hunchback opened the box, broke off three sticks from a pack of incense, and then bent down and rummaged under the offering table for a long time before pulling out an incense burner.

"Three incense sticks, one lamp... Where did that damned rat take the lamp?"

Zhou He saw that the hunchback had crawled completely under the offering table.

He guessed that this sex worker probably didn't talk to others much because of his profession.

So he always talks to himself.

That's understandable, since people are generally unwilling to associate with someone dressed in tattered clothes and acting strangely.

The butcher was still muttering:

"That young man even said he'd open his eyes if we didn't deliver it. Meat with open eyes, meat with open eyes! We've been meat connoisseurs for half our lives, how come we've never seen anything like it before?"

"Who exactly is the 'meat customer'? They're barely grown pubic hair and already trying to scare people!"

"What the old folks say is all nonsense. How could flesh possibly open its eyes? If it opens its eyes, it's awake, awake—"

The meat vendor paused for a moment, then continued:

"So you're not meat anymore once you're awake! Hey, you dead rat, you even gnawed a hole in Buddha's foot to use as a nest, no wonder I couldn't find our lamp."

On the offering table, Zhou He gritted his teeth.

He could no longer control his fear.

He realized that in the old hunchback's eyes, he was no different from the rat that stole the oil lamp under the table.

No, that's not right.

Even a rat can get a few curses from a hunchback.

And I am just a piece of meat placed on the table, unable to move!

From his shoulders to his abdomen, and then to his two feet dangling outside the offering table, he trembled uncontrollably.

Zhou He couldn't control it; he wasn't even sure if he wanted to.

With a jumble of thoughts running through his mind, Zhou He tried to calm himself down.

He focused on the most important thought:

The fact that I can tremble and clench my teeth now means that the muscle relaxant is slowly losing its effectiveness.

Is there a chance to get more places moving?

He lowered his consciousness, sinking it to the tip of his right index finger.

"Huh?"

The old hunchback's voice reached Zhou He's ears from the side of the offering table.

"Is that leg of meat... moving?"

Zhou He squinted and saw the hunchback crawl out from under the offering table.

Fear gripped his entire body, making him stiffen and his blood feel like it had frozen.

The hunchback was clutching a dark, filthy oil lamp, frowning as he stared at his legs.

Then he took a step and walked towards himself.

Zhou He didn't have time to think further and closed his eyes tightly.

Then I focused all my willpower on my eyelids—I couldn't open them, I couldn't open them, I couldn't open them.

He tried to hypnotize his body, suggesting to himself that he was lying in bed.

Everything is safe. Relax, relax completely, and don't shake.

Little by little, gritting my teeth, I soothed my body, starting from my shoulders, down to my abdomen, my knees, and my ankles, letting every muscle relax and every nerve quiet down.

He can do it.

He has to do it.

I don't know what will happen if this hunchback discovers that I have my eyes open.

But Zhou He knew that the most important thing right now was to resume physical activity as much as possible.

It absolutely cannot be discovered now.

The hunchback's breath hit Zhou He's face, and the stench from his body also entered his nose.

Zhou He remained still, relaxed and natural.

He heard the hunchback mutter to himself again:

"Young man, you're talking nonsense! How could I possibly believe you? Young Master Zhou has taken the medicine; how could he possibly move before the rooster crows?"

The footsteps faded into the distance, probably indicating they had returned to the offering table.

Zhou He risked opening his eyelids a crack.

Watching the hunchback pull a wad of white cotton from the old box, ponder for a moment, then tear off a small piece, put the rest back in the box, and casually take out a box of matches.

"When making oil lamps, the key is to make them sharp and thin with a strong tail. A sharp and thin tail makes it easy to start a fire, and a strong tail makes them stable."

The hunchback skillfully wrapped cotton around the match and then inserted the thick end of his tail into the hole of the oil lamp.

Sure enough, it went smoothly.

He seemed to admire his own skills, looking himself up and down.

The old hunchback nodded and took out a reddish-brown bottle containing medicine from the box.

Pulling out the stopper, a thin stream of yellowish oil dripped from the bottle opening onto the freshly rubbed wick of the oil lamp.

He struck a match and lit the oil lamp.

Zhou He saw the hunchback light three incense sticks on the oil lamp, insert them into the incense burner, kneel before the offering table with his buttocks pressed against his heels, and begin to chant:

"By boat, by sedan chair, by motorcycle, we sat at the Buddha's little table;

The table is set with the same three dishes as always. Buddha, listen to what this old man has to say.

The host's family, surnamed Zhou, has a lot of property; today, they're craving meat and are cutting some for themselves.

After cutting the meat and washing the pot, the young master of the Zhou family had something to say.

He's the first person to believe in Buddhism; he won't even eat his own food, he'll just ask you to do it.

After finishing his rambling, the old hunchback kowtowed, but the hunchback behind him stretched out so that his head didn't actually touch the ground.

Zhou He looked at him, and he didn't seem particularly devout.

After kowtowing, the old hunchback stood up and sighed:

"Such good wild meat, it would be a waste not to eat it."

When he said this, Zhou He could tell that his tone had changed.

It's no longer the kind of rambling, incessant chatter that used to be.

It did carry a hint of anticipation and covetousness.

Like a chef trying to sneak a bite, he drools as he comments on the ingredients on the plate.

The word "regret" was the old hunchback's last concern.

Zhou He clearly sensed that the desire for food was gradually overriding the hunchback's concerns.

The food he craved.

It's myself displayed on the table.