Antidote (Jie Yao) – Chapter 28 (2025)

解药
(Antidote)

「Chapter 28」

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Translator: Firagara
English Proofreader: havinsomelitoast

(NOTE: Please DO NOT re-distribute/re- translate without our permission. We may cease thisproject if found shared/re-translated online without permission)

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The BL donghua “Antidote” was adapted from this novel.

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Cheng Ke couldn’t remember the first time he watched A Wicked Ghost, only that it was when he was quite little. Both he and Cheng Yi called over their respective classmates to their house to watch it together.

Everyone was scared half to death, and the girls were so scared, they forgot to scream.

Other than being scary, Cheng Ke’s other memory was how calm Cheng Yi was, without a hint of fear on his face. In fact, he couldn’t stop himself from laughing when seeing their classmates scared out of their wits.

Cheng Ke couldn’t understand why he kept this film all these years, occasionally bringing it out to watch. Other than because it left such a deep impression of fear, could it also be because of Cheng Yi’s derision?

He always felt that he subconsciously minded Cheng Yi’s various mocking laughs, no matter who those were directed at, honing it to him through a sensitivity he couldn’t detect from himself.

He was aware of this state that made him very unhappy but remained hard to control.

Perhaps he wanted to try watching the film till one day when he would no longer feel scared, as if it would help bring him out of Cheng Yi’s derision.

Yet among all horror films, this remained the one he would always be scared off when watching.

Real fear is fear rooted in your childhood.

On reaching here from his train of thoughts, Cheng Ke couldn’t help but glance over to Jiang Yuduo.

Jiang Yuduo had something he was afraid of. Even though Cheng Ke didn’t know who “they” were, whether they were human, incorporeal, or something else altogether, the fear underneath all that swagger from Jiang Yuduo’s composure was real, and was perhaps related to his childhood experience.

As to what it was… He had no clue.

Mutt.

Someone else’s mutt.

What kind of person would call their child a mutt?

Cheng Ke disliked wasting energy thinking about many different things. Jiang Yuduo counted as someone he thought about a lot, expending much of his energy, tiring him out.

Be as it may that people are “friends”, don’t think too deeply about the relationship between them.

It’s tiring.

When it gets tiring, it won’t last.

“Weren’t there some cushions on the sofa originally?” Jiang Yuduo’s eyes never left the screen.

“I often lie here, so I stored them elsewhere,” Cheng Ke said, “You want them?”

“Bring me one,” Jiang Yuduo’s eyes were glued to the screen, “When I’m hugging something, I get less scared. I can’t be hugging you, can I – you’re so large.”

Cheng Ke lifted himself up and headed to the bedroom. As he opened the closet door to take a cushion, Jiang Yuduo yelled from the living room, “Hurry up!”

Cheng Ke took a cushion, and after a moment’s hesitation, another.

What if he wanted to hug something too.

With the two of them each hugging a cushion, sitting on the sofa and watching an ancient horror film, Cheng Ke felt like laughing out of nowhere.

Originally thinking that with the two of them watching it together, Cheng Ke wouldn’t be as scared, but he ended up with someone like Jiang Yuduo who looked vicious but was more frightened of horror films than he was…

Yet Jiang Yuduo was different from him. If Cheng Ke was scared, he would turn his eyes away, and steal glances from the corners of his eyes until the horror shots were over, but Jiang Yuduo would stare at the scene, eyes bulging wide.

What’s up with that?

Because the lights were off and it was snowing outside, other than the projector screen being lit up, the rest of the house was dark.

The atmosphere was well set up.

At the beginning, Cheng Ke felt okay, and although Jiang Yuduo said he was scared, he sat there without fidgeting or letting out scared groans.

As Cheng Ke could remember the plot, he could still tolerate the horror.

Up till the point where the protagonist’s friend went to the bar restroom, with a long-haired banshee following her with a hand on her shoulder, did Cheng Ke start to feel scared.

Just because of this scene, whenever he went to a bar restroom, he would look over his shoulder.

“Fuck.” Jiang Yuduo swore under his breath.

Cheng Ke felt that he needed a sip of water to calm his nerves, and was about to get up after putting down the cushion when Jiang Yuduo gripped his arm, “Where are you going?”

“To get a cup of water,” Cheng Ke said.

“I want one too,” Jiang Yuduo nodded, “I’m thirsty.”

“Okay.” Cheng Ke stood up and walked into the kitchen. As he turned on the lights, he daren’t look at it, for fear of seeing another hand.

After pouring a cup and drinking it hastily, he took another and scampered back to the living room.

Jiang Yuduo took the cup and gulped twice, wiping his mouth, “Fuck, as you walked into the kitchen, I kept looking at your back, afraid that someone would touch your shoulder.”

“Fuck off!” Cheng Ke felt a chill down his spine, and hurriedly slammed himself down onto the sofa, feeling more secure with his back touching the sofa.

“Tell me if there are any scary scenes later,” Jiang Yuduo said, “Spoilers are necessary at a time like this. If you don’t spoil it, you’re a dick.”

“Right.” Cheng Ke responded.

To spoil it for him, Cheng Ke had to be watching the film himself…

“All the people in the village are dead.” Cheng Ke whispered softly, “This grave’s owner is the ghost, Cho Yan-may.”

“Yeah,” Jiang Yuduo whispered too, “Is the ghost coming out?”

“Coming! From behind!” Cheng Ke quickly looked away.

When the ghost appeared behind the protagonist, Jiang Yuduo gnashed his teeth and yelled, “Bastard! You scared the shit out of me! Isn’t that a man?”

“A villager, killed by Cho Yan-may.” Cheng Ke said.

“Right.” Jiang Yuduo nodded.

In order to forewarn Jiang Yuduo, Cheng Ke had to focus on how the movie unfolded next, and perhaps because of this shift in focus, he found himself less frightened than before.

“Toilet bowl!”

“What’s with the toil-” Before Jiang Yuduo could finish asking, hair emerged from the toilet bowl. He squeezed against Cheng Ke violently, “Christ!”

Upon being squished, the relatively calm Cheng Ke found that his childhood fear had rekindled, and squeezed himself up against Jiang Yuduo’s side as well.

With both of them forcefully shoving into each other, they stared at the projection together.

“I need to ask,” Cheng Ke went off-topic to release his tension, “If you’re this scared, why do you keep looking?”

“Huh?” Jiang Yuduo eyed him, and quickly looked back at the screen, “They said that the more frightening it is, the more you should look at it.”

Cheng Ke didn’t speak.

Jiang Yuduo’s reply mysteriously added to Cheng Ke’s fear.

But because he had to continue spoiling the jump scares, his emotions calmed down slowly. In the end, when the heroine’s face became that of a ghost right in front of the protagonist, though the shot was not too frightening, perhaps because he didn’t spoil the scene properly, it still gave Jiang Yuduo a fright.

“Fuck!” He roared, and gripped Cheng Ke’s arm.

The worst thing to have to deal with while watching a horror film is to have your limbs or body be grabbed by someone. Anyone would think they’d been grabbed by a ghost.

Cheng Ke also yelled from being grabbed suddenly, and returned the favour.

The two of them gripped each other’s arms as if in some kind of tango.

When they heard the dialogue “You really love her”, Cheng Ke relaxed his hold on Jiang Yuduo and leaned back onto the sofa.

“God damn it,” Jiang Yuduo also sank into the sofa after a long pause, “With 30-year-old special effects, this was supposed to be the least scary jumpscare. You can already guess what’s going to happen.”

“Yeah,” Cheng Ke said, “Yet it took you by surprise this much?”

“I don’t understand it either,” Jiang Yuduo waved his hand, “Hurry up and turn it off.”

Cheng Ke smiled, and turned off the film and swap the projection to that of a television programme. He turned on the living room lights again, and felt all tension leave his body.

“Want some water?” Cheng Ke raised the cup and asked.

“Will I get possessed after drinking it?” Jian Yuduo asked after a pause.

“Can you not?” Cheng Ke turned to look at him.

Jiang Yuduo laughed, “Sure, I want some.”

As Cheng Ke got to the kitchen to pour water, he couldn’t help but look around again, and without filling it fully ran back to the living room. As Jiang Yuduo stretched his hand to receive the cup, he started drinking from it.

“Fuck.” Jiang Yuduo looked at him with his arm outstretched.

“Wait a moment.” After Cheng Ke finished his drink, he ran to the kitchen to fill half a cup and bolted back again.

“I’ll do it myself.” Jiang Yuduo stood up, “You’re no less scared than I am! You didn’t even watch that much and you’re like this?”

“The point of horror films is to give yourself a scare,” Cheng Ke, “The only thing that can frighten you is yourself.”

Jiang Yuduo stopped just short of the kitchen door upon hearing these words, and turned his head, “Is that so?”

“Yeah, the things we fear most …most of them,” Cheng Ke pointed at his head, “Come from here.”

“Things you experienced? Or imagine?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“The scarier the experience, the more it’s demonified in our minds,” Cheng Ke smiled after saying this, “I’m just spitballing, that’s what I think.” Jiang Yuduo didn’t reply, and entered the kitchen.

Maybe he was trying to prove that he was braver, but he finished his drink before coming out of the kitchen.

“Let’s watch some straight-laced Channel 7 news,” Cheng Ke took the remote and changed channels, “And go to sleep afterwards.”

“Isn’t that the agriculture channel?” Cheng Ke gave a glance, “What’s straight-laced about it?”

“Agriculture, military,” Cheng Ke pointed at the screen, “Look at that, life in the military is very straight-laced. After watching ghost films you’ve got to temper the fright with some dicks full of Yang energy*.

(*T/N: In Chinese culture, females, the underworld, introversion, passiveness, etc are called Ying-heavy concepts, and males, the physical plane, extroversion and aggressiveness are called Yang-heavy concepts. The vagina is literally called the Ying channel in Chinese. Ghosts in general are said to either cause people to have heavy Ying chi or induce having Ying chi.)

“Oh.” Jiang Yuduo looked at the screen, and back at him.

After a while, Cheng Ke noticed Jiang Yuduo hadn’t moved at all and eyed him from the side, only to see that his face was full of suppressed, unspoken thoughts.

Cheng Ke realised what he said and sighed, “My intentions are chaste*, get your mind out of the gutter.”

“I feel like this would be as if I were watching a beauty pageant,” Jiang Yuduo sat down, “Throughout the show, I wouldn’t be chaste* at all.”

“That’s just you,” Cheng Ke tutted, but thought for a bit and was surprised, “You know what chaste means? I thought you didn’t go to school.”

(*T/N: Actual text uses a four word Chinese proverb, so just *insert any profound phrase uneducated people might not understand here*)

“Yeah,” Jiang Yuduo lit a cigarette, “But whatever the case, I know words, I’ve read a lot.”

“That’s good, you had books to read. I’ve loved reading ever since I was little.” Cheng Ke let out a sigh of relief, if Jiang Yuduo could read in his childhood, it shouldn’t have been too bad?

“There’s a difference.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“How?” Cheng Ke asked.

“I’d get beaten whenever I read.” Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke fell silent.

After saying that, Jiang Yuduo stared at the television without speaking, and did not even spare a glance at Cheng Ke.

Cheng Ke was also forced to finish watching this military life show in a state of speechlessness.

As the next programme began after the commercials, Jiang Yuduo yawned, and as if catching it, Cheng Ke yawned as well.

“Tired.” Jiang Yuduo rubbed his eyes.

“Want a shower?” Cheng Ke asked, “I’ll hand you a towel.”

Jiang Yuduo hesitated before nodding his head, “Okay.”

Cheng Ke suddenly felt like it was an inappropriate question, as if he thought Jiang Yuduo stank and had to shower before heading to bed, so he added, “It’s fine even if you don’t want to.”

But it felt as if it was made more apparent after saying that.

Fortunately, Jiang Yuduo didn’t seem to notice, “I will. It feels better sleeping after a shower.”

Cheng Ke lent him a set of his own pajamas, and took a new pair of underwear, a new towel and brush.

“So complete,” Jiang Yuduo accepted them and sighed, “My place won’t do at all, I only have one set of everything.”

“I bought a bunch.” Cheng Ke smiled.

Cheng Ke didn’t know how Jiang Yuduo was going to shower with the injury on his hand. Regardless, it took a long time, and when he came out of the bathroom Cheng Ke was almost asleep on the sofa.

“I thought you were going to shower till tomorrow.” Cheng Ke stood up.

“While I was standing under the shower,” Jiang Yuduo cleared his throat, embarrassed, “I accidentally fell asleep.”

Cheng Ke was in awe, “Are you a horse? You’re able to fall asleep standing?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Yuduo nodded, “If one had to stand day and night, how can one cope without dozing off?”

Cheng Ke couldn’t understand that sentence, but before he could pursue the matter, Jiang Yuduo had already headed to the bedroom, laid down, and moved no longer.

Straight-forward as he was, he slept on the bed when allowed to, without some false courtesy of declining first.

Cheng Ke entered the bathroom and began showering. With his hand supporting him against the wall, he tried to sleep standing.

He didn’t succeed.

What kind of amazing ability is this, and what kind of circumstances would lead one to train for it?

As Cheng Ke got out from the bathroom, he looked over to the bedroom. Jiang Yuduo didn’t close the door, and he was still visibly sleeping in the same posture as before, without a blanket on him.

Cheng Ke entered, took out a blanket, and laid down on the sofa.

He was pretty tired, the sort where you could fall asleep just by closing your eyes. Even if the lights were off, his eyes were shut, and a blue-clothed banshee appeared in front of his eyes, it didn’t take a few seconds of fearful moments to fall asleep.

But the result of this speedy fall into sleep probably led to the rise of those horror scenes that Cheng Ke didn’t have time to process previously in his dreams.

Especially because it was a dream, it was ultra-realistic, with movie stereo sound and omni-directional view.

Finally, when Cheng Ke was scared awake, he could still hear his own huffing and puffing, as if he had been doing something naughty.

The view outside was brighter, and Cheng Ke looked at his phone. It was 6am.

A nightmare that lasted the entire night?

Cheng Ke panted so much that he felt thirsty.

He sat up, took a cup to the kitchen, and felt better after downing some water.

As he headed back to the living room he glanced at the bedroom and gave a start.

There was no one on the bed.

“Lao San?” Suppressing his voice, he asked, “Jiang Yuduo? You’re up?”

No one answered.

He left?

Cheng Ke headed towards the bedroom wondering if he was on the balcony.

He pulled open the curtains and could see past the glass window wall that there was no one on the balcony either.

“What the fuck?” Cheng Ke was at a loss, and was ready to head to the living room to call Jiang Yuduo.

As he turned around, he saw someone between the corner of the room and the closet.

This gave him a scare and he reeled before stopping, his heart thudding.

His senses caught up to him and he recognised it was Jiang Yuduo.

“Why are you standing there?” Cheng Ke asked. “You scared me.”

Jiang Yuduo didn’t speak, but slowly raised his head.

Without an open door to let in the light, Cheng Ke could not see his expression, but felt that something was off. Looking at Jiang Yuduo’s eyes, it reminded him of the time he was flipped onto the floor by him when they were slipping on the blanket covers.

“Are you awake?” Cheng Ke asked again, and headed towards the front edge of the bed where the light switch laid.

Jiang Yuduo still didn’t speak.

This situation made Cheng Ke uncomfortable, and he hastened his pace to the switch.

But as he walked by Jiang Yuduo, he suddenly stood up.

Cheng Ke’s subconscious raise of his arm withstood the punch that Jiang Yuduo swung towards his face, and he silently swore.

He didn’t have time to swear out loud, as Jiang Yuduo’s next punch was approaching.

This time it was aimed at his stomach.

Cheng Ke’s arm quickly lowered to parry, and he pressed Jiang Yuduo’s wrist and led it askew, grazing his waist.

“Jiang Yuduo!” Cheng Ke roared. He was lucky to have been more awakeor the fist would have connected.

Jiang Yuduo didn’t stop, and lept towards him, pressing him on the bed, flinging a fist towards his face.

With his shoulders trapped, Cheng Ke’s arms couldn’t raise in time, and his face took a clean hit.

It was a heavy blow, andCheng Ke saw stars.

The strength of the punch made Cheng Ke frantic,scaring him a million times more than watching A Wicked Ghost, because he could feel from that punch that Jiang Yuduo was serious.

Jiang Yuduo was giving his all to assault him.

“Jiang Yuduo! You motherfucker!” Cheng Ke raised his voice and yelled again. Weaving his arms through his torso, he shoved Jiang Yuduo’s arms away from his sides, “Are you sleepwalking!?”

This is the only explanation he could imagine at this point.

Sleepwalking.

Otherwise he couldn’t understand why Jiang Yuduo would act like this.

Losing the support of his arms, Jiang Yuduo slammed onto his body. As Cheng Ke was about to push him off, a pain shot from his shoulder.

The agony was too much for him to cry aloud.

Jiang Yuduo had bitten his shoulder, and followed up with a punch to below his ribs.

In this split second, a single thought rose in Cheng Ke’s mind.

Jiang Yuduo wasn’t in his right mind.

He gritted his teeth to calm himself, grabbed Jiang Yuduo’s wrist and twisted it hard.

He mustered all his strength to do this, and any ordinary person would flip themselves in pain along the direction of the twist to prevent dislocation.

But Jiang Yuduo seemed to not have felt it, pressing his other hand onto Cheng Ke’s shoulder without releasing his tension.

Cheng Ke could feel his hand inching towards his neck next, so he steeled his heart and twisted the wrist further.

A second later, he heard a loud crack.

Jiang Yuduo lost his balance and fell, which Cheng Ke made use of to roll over and to try to knee Jiang Yuduo in the stomach.

But the mattress was too soft, and the leg supporting his body wobbled.

In this small window, if Jiang Yuduo countered, Cheng Ke would be kicked down the bed to the floor, and with Jiang Yuduo’s strength, he would not have any chance of winning.

Amitabha.*

(*T/N: Common Chinese exclamation by people into Buddhism that’s so culturally overused it’s lost all original meaning. Please treat it as saying “Jesus Christ!”, or “Good Lord!”.)

Cheng Ke didn’t know why but instead of thinking of a counter strategy, his mind came up with this useless exclamation.

But he wasn’t shoved off the bed. Jiang Yuduo’s raised hand suddenly stopped in mid-air, then slammed hard onto the mattress.

Without giving further thought, Cheng Ke grabbed the bedsheet, draped it over Jiang Yuduo’s body, and rolled him inside the cover like a kebab.

In this state, Jiang Yuduo couldn’t do anything.

“Are you awake yet!?” Cheng Ke held his knee on Jiang Yuduo’s stomach, his neck wedged by his hands.

Jiang Yuduo looked at him. WIth the light from outside, Cheng Ke could finally see his face clearly.

Cheng Ke didn’t know what expression he wore a moment ago, but right then, Jiang Yuduo was looking at him, his eyes full of sadness.

“Jiang Yuduo!” Cheng Ke shouted again.

Jiang Yuduo didn’t speak, and closed his eyes.

If he was having a fit just now, Cheng Ke could conclude that he should have regained his sanity by now.

“Your wrist might be dislocated,” Cheng Ke said, “Don’t move.”

Jiang Yuduo closed his eyes, and neither spoke nor moved.

Cheng Ke released him carefully, and climbed off the bed.

Watching the ummoving Jiang Yuduo for a moment, he switched on the light.

The corner of Jiang Yuduo’s eyes were damp.

Cheng Ke looked at him, walked to the bedside and took his phone, “I’m calling Chen Qing.”

Jiang Yuduo remained silent.

Cheng Ke found Chen Qing’s number and called.

“Third Bro?” Chen Qing answered quickly.

“It’s me, Cheng Ke,” Cheng Ke looked at Jiang Yuduo, “Come over immediately, Jiang Yuduo he…”

“He what?” Chen Qing asked immediately, “He fainted?”

“No,” Cheng Ke didn’t know what to say, with Jiang Yuduo lying there. If he used the wrong phrase… He chose a neutral perspective, “We had a fight.”

“He attacked you, didn’t he?” Chen Qing asked.

Cheng Ke was surprised at his knowing response.

“He mistook you for someone else… It’s been years since it happened,” Cheng Ke’s voice was laced with concern, “I’ll be right there.”