"How is the Hound?" Queen Cersei asked Maester Lucius, standing by the Hound's bedside.
"His internal organs suffered only minor damage; the main problem was extreme fright," Scholar Lucius said respectfully. "To put it bluntly, he was scared out of his wits."
The hunting dog, capable of hearing, moving its eyes, and even thinking, cursed loudly: "You damn scholar, you'll regret this once I recover, scholar!"
Unfortunately, the hound couldn't utter a single word. He was unable to speak or eat, relying on the strange and unpalatable liquid food prepared by the scholar to replenish the nutrients his body needed.
"He's been scared out of his wits by the Mountain!" Joffrey exclaimed in surprise, then smirked contemptuously. "I knew long ago that the Hound was a coward with no guts. He usually hides it well and fools everyone, but I saw through his little tricks long ago!"
The Hound rolled its eyes, trying to see Prince Joffrey's face and glare at him. A single glance from it would silence the coward. Unfortunately, the Hound couldn't; its eyes could move, but its neck was immobile.
Damn venom!
Damn it, he was meant to be used against the Mountain, but who knew the Mountain would use the Hound's sword to stab the Hound himself.
During last night's duel, the venom entered the Hound's body, quickly paralyzing him.
To the hound's utter shame, he had been carried back by the men in red robes last night. His body trembled strangely the entire way, from Ruby Beach to the Earl's residence in the town.
Because of the Mountain's enormous size, the Hound was worried that he wouldn't have enough venom, so he used almost the entire vial on the blade. He used more than ten doses at once.
Then, he got the rare opportunity to experience the effects of this precious venom.
The facts at least prove one thing: Maester Lucius was indeed telling the whole truth about the effects of the venom.
The hunting dog was indeed terrified of fire, and for many years he had been working to overcome this psychological barrier, with some success. On the surface, his reaction to fire appeared no different from that of an ordinary person; his fear was deeply and well hidden within him!
Last night, when the Mountain threw the torch in his face, the heat of the flames washing over him, his fear erupted like a torrent, uncontrollable. This outburst of fear caused his body to spasm increasingly violently, intensifying the drug's effects and deepening his poisoning. The deeper the poisoning, the more it affected his bodily functions, making his fear of fire even greater.
Thus, in full view of His Majesty the King, His Majesty the Queen, His Highness the Prince, His Majesty the Prime Minister, His Majesty the Minister of Justice, the Kingsguard, the Royal Inspector, and dozens of other courtiers and knights, the Hound became a man trembling with fear, trembling as if his whole body were dancing.
This was more painful for the hunting dog than having his head chopped off!
A hunting dog has a strong sense of self-respect when it shouldn't; when it should, it often wants to throw its self-respect away like a rag.
In the language of the world the Mountain traveled from: The Hound might have a mild form of split personality!
"Heal him, maester!" Queen Cersei said calmly. Her superior arrogance carried an inherent coldness that kept others at a distance.
"Yes, Your Majesty, please rest assured that when our carriage arrives in King's Landing, I guarantee you will have a healthy Ser Sandor Clegane."
Cersei nodded, glancing at the Hound, whose eyes were wide open as if he were dead drunk. The Hound met Queen Cersei's gaze, and he saw in her eyes the usual indifference, the queen's arrogance, and a deep contempt for a dog.
The Hound's eyes remained fixed on Cersei's figure until she left the maester's room.
His head was positioned perfectly facing the main entrance, allowing him to see people coming and going. He couldn't see people at other angles, like the cheerful Joffrey muttering to himself at the foot of the bed. The Hound hated that he didn't have a third eye, unable to glare at Joffrey and shut him up.
Joffrey was quite pleased to see the hound unable to move. He chuckled and asked, "Scholar, is the hound afraid of fire?"
"I don't know, Your Highness!"
"I have a way to find out," Prince Joffrey said with great interest. "Do you want to know?"
"Your Highness, please enlighten me!" Scholar Lucius said politely.
"Bring the fire close to his face. If his eyes widen in terror, if his expression is abnormally fearful, then he's definitely afraid of fire!" Joffrey's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Maester, my dog suffered far worse injuries before, yet he managed to take down a guard with one hand that same day." Joffrey's eyes darted around, his voice revealing the thrill of discovering the Hound's secret. "I bet he was terrified by the torch the Mountain threw in his face. Tell me, what kind of person would be so afraid of fire?"
"Fuck you!" the Hound cursed at Joffrey. "I'm not afraid of fire, you little bastard, I'm not afraid of anything!"
Scholar Lucius chuckled, "Your Highness, a person bitten by a snake will be terrified of snakes at the sight of them; a person bitten by a dog will be terrified of dogs. Hehe… it's a psychological condition… Your Highness!"
Joffrey walked to the other side of the bed and looked at the terrible scar on the Hound's left cheek. "I see, Maester. When the Hound was a puppy, he played with fire and set his bed on fire, burning his face. Look at his left cheek, even his ear is burned down to a tiny hole. Tsk tsk, how ugly would he be if the other side of his face was burned down to just an ear canal?"
"I can't imagine!" Scholar Lucius laughed.
Lu Xiu saw the veins bulging on the Hound's neck, and he was struggling violently with his hands and feet. Unfortunately, he had used too much venom, and the Hound was too deeply poisoned. What would normally be a few days' recovery might take the Hound half a month or even longer this time.
"Go, Maester, light a candle for me immediately!" Joffrey commanded Maester Lucius.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
A twisted growl escaped the hound's throat, low but clear; he had indeed made a sound. Was he afraid? Joffrey longed to meet the hound's eyes, but he dared not. This fear of eye contact didn't stop Joffrey from experimenting with the fire. He was a good boy who acted on his impulses; he never hesitated to play pranks or torture others! This was an excellent quality he had always possessed!
Scholar Lucius cheerfully brought over a burning red candle.
He was a scholar with a solid medical background and extensive knowledge, so he could naturally see that the hound was indeed deeply mired in fear, which gave him a malicious pleasure.
If the Mountain hadn't told Maester Lelouch to ensure the Hound's survival, because he would duel the Hound a second time and, without the King and Prime Minister present, he would have burned the Hound alive after winning the duel.
If the Hound dies before that, the Mountain will burn Lelouch alive!
This forced Lucius to abandon his plan to add a slow-acting poison to the hound's nutritious liquid food, because the Mountain had not specified when he would come to challenge the hound to a second duel. If too much time passed and the hound died or was maimed by the poison, the Mountain would hold Lucius responsible.
By then, the Mountain had promised him that he would find Lucius, whether in heaven or on earth. If the Hound was still alive but unable to fight, the Hound sneered, "Mountain, tonight is not last night!" He suddenly moved with unparalleled speed, shifting left and right, and was in front of the Mountain, his longsword gleaming coldly, aimed straight at the Mountain's face. If he wasn't strong enough even alive, then burning the maester to death was merely the lightest of all the methods the Mountain used to torture him.
Maester Lucius faithfully kept his promise to the Mountain, but this did not prevent him from assisting Joffrey in conducting fire experiments on the Hound.
Joffrey dripped the burning red candle onto the Hound's left cheek, avoiding the Hound's gaze: "Scholar, look into the Hound's eyes. Aren't they filled with fear of fire?"
"…Yes…Your Highness…the hound is afraid of fire…very afraid of fire…he's about to faint…Your Highness!" Scholar Lucius's voice was tense, but he was secretly overjoyed. "Your Highness…I can't bear to watch…please come quickly…the knight can't take it anymore…"
"I don't want to see." Joffrey was trembling with excitement. "Whenever I see a hound staring at me, I want to poke its eyes out with a needle, but Mom won't let me…"