Chapter 2: Conflict, Cruelty 2

The youth's lips curved slightly, as if wearing a faint smile.

Truly, he was smiling.

But there are many kinds of smiles in this world, and you absolutely could not find a single one to describe his.

There was a trace of an indescribably strange eeriness... not like a smile a human should possess.

Then, his long, jade-like fingers had already reached between her legs...

Helan Jiu's small face flushed red, from fright and from anger.

Yet she dared not move recklessly, for she clearly saw the killing intent in the youth's icy gaze.

Damn it! Tonight she had only hidden underwater to evade Old Ghost Guo's pursuit and to conceal her scent, accidentally catching sight of his naked body.

Was there a need to fly into a rage out of humiliation?

Suddenly, Helan Jiu felt a sharp pain somewhere down below.

Then she saw the youth raise his hand; his fingertips were stained with threads of virgin blood.

Helan Jiu's pupils instantly dilated. She felt the world spin, an unprecedented shame and humiliation surging into her heart.

F*cking little bastard. Helan Jiu had transmigrated here from the 21st century three years ago, effectively living two lifetimes, yet she had never touched meat [metaphor for intimacy], her small hand had never been held, and her first kiss was still intact.

Tonight, she had actually lost her virginity just like that?!

However, just as the thought to kill him arose in Helan Jiu's heart, a strand of black mist condensed into substance shot out from the youth's palm.

The black mist eerily surged into Helan Jiu's meridians.

Quickly, Helan Jiu's palm-sized face turned deathly pale, contorting continuously. Blood spilled from her lips, her eyes full of unwillingness. And that strand of black mist was continuously destroying her body's meridians.

It's over! This time, she had hit an iron plate [metaphor for encountering an unbeatable opponent]!

Was her tragic life really going to end so ignobly?

No! Before she died, she would drag him down with her as a burial companion!

Suddenly, she withdrew the last breath of spiritual energy guarding her heart meridian, desperately condensing the water vapor in the air into sharp ice blades to use as hidden weapons. With lightning speed, she slashed them toward the youth's fair neck.

Unfortunately, at the critical moment, the youth actually dodged.

However, a shallow bloodstain was still cut across his neck, and a few strands of ink-black long hair broke off along with it, spinning a few circles in the air before drifting onto the water surface.

The youth's face darkened, a fierce light flashing in his eyes. He abruptly raised his palm to strike her temple.

Just at this moment, before Helan Jiu could even experience the taste of death, she ignobly fainted amidst the intense pain!

"Want to die? It's not that simple..." the youth muttered ruthlessly.

From a very young age, he had understood that for someone who wanted to kill him, one absolutely could not be soft-hearted.

...

Unknown how much time had passed. The sky was already bright.

Helan Jiu slowly woke up.

Her first sensation was pain in both wrists, then she discovered she was suspended in mid-air from a crossbeam in the grand hall. Her clothes were in tatters like rags, her feet unable to touch the ground. Like a little lamb awaiting slaughter, at the mercy of others.

A few steps away, a burly man held a torture whip, eyeing her covetously.

Shocked, what was going on?

Helan Jiu's silent gaze swept across the surroundings.

A luxurious grand hall, carved beams and painted rafters, displaying honor and nobility.

On the carved daybed at the head position, a youth in magnificent robes lay reclining. His long robe was half-open, faintly revealing a collarbone and pectoral muscles white as snow, inviting endless reverie. And those fingers, green-onion white as jade, lazily held a white jade wine cup, slowly bringing it to his lips.

The movement was beautiful, beautiful enough to dazzle the eyes... beautiful enough to make one forget his features were not absolutely peerless. Because the beauty of his bearing completely compensated for this flaw.