Chapter 159

Mary knew I couldn't sit up, let alone hold the wooden bowl to eat the meat inside.

Suddenly, she pulled something out from behind her, smiling as she looked at me.

When I saw what she was holding, my eyes welled up with tears.

It was a wooden spoon.

Back home, it wouldn't be anything special. But on this deserted island, the spoon was a precious item. It had small carvings on it, clearly made with care.

"Thanks," I said, my voice choked with emotion.

"No need to thank me. Kurt made it. He said once you're better, you can have as many spoons as you want," Mary said, trying to lighten the mood.

Then Mary stopped talking and began feeding me the meat from the wooden bowl, spoonful by spoonful.

"Is it so delicious that it makes you cry?" she joked as she fed me.

I rolled my eyes and said, "I'm full."

Mary looked at the nearly empty bowl, satisfied that I had eaten enough, and walked away.

As she closed the door, she playfully stuck out her tongue. But once the door was shut, her demeanor changed completely, becoming somber.

She had been putting on a brave face for my sake, so I wouldn't worry about them.

I sighed, knowing Mary had been pretending. I had seen the redness in her eyes.

A moment later, the door opened again.

This time, Emily walked in. She stood in front of me, staring for a long time before speaking.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

I didn't respond.

"You are The Verdant Guardian. As one of your people, I can sense it," Emily said urgently, afraid I wouldn't tell her.

Of course, I was just a fake Verdant Guardian, so how could she sense anything?

Finally, I told her about the dream.

My voice was uncertain, unsure if Emily would believe such a bizarre story.

But I told her anyway, feeling I had no other choice.

Emily listened quietly, her expression unusually calm, without the disdain or dismissiveness I had expected.

"Are you sure the white figure was me?" she asked gently, her voice filled with trust.

I shook my head. Even though I had been close to the figure, I couldn't see her face clearly, so I couldn't be sure it was Emily.

Emily closed her eyes and said, "You can be sure you don't believe it. Even if it were me, I wouldn't harm you."

Realizing my words might have hurt Emily, I quickly explained, "It was just a guess. I wasn't certain."

My voice was full of apology, trying to make up for my mistake.

Emily shook her head and said, "You don't need to apologize. Just trust me."

Her words warmed my heart. I knew Emily truly believed in me.

My nose tingled, and I said, "I understand."

"Look at my palm," I said, raising my hand to show her.

I had just noticed it, so I hadn't mentioned it yet.

Emily's gaze fell on the tiny black dot in my palm, her eyes focused and gentle, searching for important clues.

"When did you find this?" Emily asked.

"It was there when I woke up," I replied.

Emily leaned in closer, her eyes fixed on the black dot, trying to see through it.

"Give me the dagger," Emily suddenly said.

I smiled and shook my head. "She's still sleeping. I don't want to wake her."

I looked at Helen, sleeping peacefully in my arms, feeling a pang of heartache.

Emily hesitated but said, "This needs to be dealt with immediately."

She carefully woke Helen and explained what she had discovered.

Though still groggy, Helen knew it was important and quickly got up.

"Sorry," Helen said.

Since I couldn't move, Emily needed Helen's help to retrieve the dagger from behind me.

Emily heated the dagger over the fire to sterilize it, preparing for what she had to do next.

She called everyone else in to help turn me over and hold me down.

Once they carefully turned me onto my stomach, Emily said, "Brace yourself."

I nodded and bit down on a small piece of wood.

Without anesthesia, I had to endure the pain with sheer willpower.

After biting down, I prepared for the impending pain.

"Here I go," Emily said, taking a deep breath and gripping the dagger tightly.

With swift and decisive movements, Emily plunged the dagger into my palm.

Kurt and the others widened their eyes, worried the force might harm my hand.

But Emily remained calm.

Her hand moved quickly, and in a blink, the dagger pierced my palm. With a flick of her wrist, the dagger tip emerged with a hair-thin black thread wriggling on it.

Everyone winced at the sight.

I broke into a cold sweat, my face pale.

Emily placed the thread on a clean leaf and checked my other hand, finding nothing unusual.

"It's gone!" Emily said seriously.

She had seen it, but now it had vanished.

Emily frowned, sensing something was wrong.

"Take off his clothes and bring a torch," she said, her voice urgent.

Kurt and the others realized something was amiss and quickly brought a torch.

Since I was lying down, they didn't remove my clothes but searched from my wrist to my shoulder.

Finding nothing, Emily's unease grew.

With no time to waste, she turned me over.

My consciousness was fading, and I bit down harder on the wood.

"It's at his heart!" Helen suddenly shouted, her voice urgent.

Emily and the others focused on my chest, seeing the tiny black dot.

Emily's eyes were sharp, locking onto the dot.

She noticed a nearly invisible black thread moving slowly toward my heart.

Without hesitation, she plunged the dagger toward my heart, aiming to sever the thread before it reached my heart.

Helen screamed and closed her eyes.

After a while, she slowly opened them to see Emily had extracted the hair-thin black thread.

Expecting a bloody scene, she was surprised to see only a tiny wound on my heart.

As the thread was removed, I felt an immense relief but passed out from the pain.

Emily checked me thoroughly, finding no other black dots.

Seeing my color return, she sighed in relief.

Noticing everyone staring at her, she said, "It's over."

"Thank goodness!" Laura said happily.

Everyone finally relaxed.

Emily examined the black thread closely, her brow furrowed.

Kurt asked, "What is it?"

Emily hesitated but said, "It looks like a snake."

Her voice was uncertain.

"How could a snake get inside Kevin?" Mary exclaimed, incredulous.

Even Emily was puzzled, unable to explain the situation.

Thinking of the dream I had told her about, Emily fell into deep thought.

I woke up in the middle of the night, trying to sit up, only to find something pressing on my arm.

Turning, I saw Helen sleeping beside me.

I gently stroked her head, feeling a pang of heartache.