Bai Yu sat on the cold wooden floor of his room, his back pressed against the rickety bedframe as the faint glow of the moon seeped through the paper window.
Silently, he reached under his bed and pulled out a small, unassuming wine gourd. His fingers traced the worn surface before uncorking it. At once, a dark, slender form slithered out.
It was a centipede. But it was not just any centipede, this was the Bone-Eating Gu.
Its segmented body shimmered faintly under the moonlight, its legs clicking softly against his skin as it curled around his wrist.
Bai Yu's lips quirked up in a cruel smirk as he stroked the creature's smooth shell with an affectionate touch.
"You've been starving, haven't you?" he murmured.
He bit his thumb like it was nothing, and little beads of blood seeped out. The Gu quivered at the scent before eagerly latching onto the wound, drinking greedily.
Bai Yu watched it feed, his blue eyes dark and calculating.
