Chapter 58 Death Desire: An addiction more radiant and intense than death itself...

Outside, only a sliver of sunlight shone through, while inside the room, it felt as if dusk had fallen. Layer upon layer of gauze curtains covered one beaded curtain after another, creating a scene so quiet that one could hear the soft breathing behind the curtains.

The honey incense has burned out, leaving only the sweet aftertaste of peach and pear blossoms in the room.

A tear still clung to the corner of her eye, and Meng Shutai was about to rub it away with his finger when he realized his fingers were still wet and he hadn't had time to clean them.

His gaze lingered on the glistening liquid on his fingertips for a long while, unwilling to wash it away. Meng Shutai chuckled and could only lower his head, sticking out the tip of his tongue to scoop up the teardrop.

It's icy cold and salty, breaking easily on the tip of your tongue and melting in your mouth.

It doesn't taste good.

It was probably because he had absorbed too much of her resentment; like swallowing a mouthful of mint, the chilling taste assaulted Meng Shutai's lungs.

He placed the person in his arms back on the pillow, then reached under the blanket and untied the golden bell and red rope.

The red string was soaked through, and the little golden bells were glistening with moisture. Meng Shutai sat quietly at the head of Le Jin's bed, admiring her slightly furrowed brows as she slept. Casually, he popped each little golden bell into his mouth, his tongue slowly moving and gently caressing it until one bell was warm before moving on to the next…

It tastes better than tears.

The bite marks on his neck throbbed faintly, but Meng Shutai didn't care, focusing intently on savoring the taste of the bell.

The person on the pillow groaned softly in her sleep, her brows furrowing even more. He leaned in to listen to what she was trying to say, but the murmuring stopped again.

"You're messing with me."

He laughed in exasperation, but didn't turn around. He just kept a close distance from Le Jin and carefully observed her face.

There is a soul that can come and go freely inside this body, right?

The foot-long red rope on her tongue was originally meant to be wrapped around her neck and strangle her to death; she should have died last night.

When she was Jiu'an, Meng Shutai could still tolerate setting a trap to lure and trick her into killing him; but now his patience is like the morning mist, gone as soon as the sun shines.

He wanted to coax her back to trusting him completely like before, and then break her neck when she was at her most innocent and naive... That's how he always dispelled his boredom.

But yesterday, even the wind and snow that blew him along the way couldn't quell the anger in his heart. He could still deceive himself into thinking that the man was delusional, but this time, when he saw the crimson undergarment, all he could think of was a pool of blood.

He lost patience and killed them all.

If this free spirit were to choose someone else one day, he would lose all his enjoyment.

But as if possessed, he held the red rope in his hand and thought: What if I can't kill Le Jin? Should I stab him again years later?

The wound on my ribs, which had long since healed, suddenly ached strangely.

Yes, he couldn't end her so hastily. After all, Le Jin was the person in this world who knew him best, understood him most, and hated him most. She was his dark shadow, harboring sin and madness. How could he bear to strangle her?

He personally strung a bell onto the red string, making it a possession of his boudoir.

There was no way to calm his murderous intent; he had to make her "die" at least once. However, to everyone's surprise, the moment his fingers were tightened by the warm, damp place, Meng Shutai almost died himself.

Le Jin braced herself against his chest and pushed him away with all her might, but Meng Shutai remained unmoved. She was nearly fainting with her eyes closed, unaware of the sudden change in his gaze, her Adam's apple bobbing uncontrollably…

how so?

He probed deeper, but there were only layers of soft walls there. The suffocating feeling of death he had just felt came from there.

Strange, how could this person in his palm kill him without using knives or guns? The soft wall his fingertips touched instantly changed, transforming into a tremendous fear that devoured his fingers, palm, and wrist like a monstrous beast, then moved upwards to consume his entire body.

Suddenly, my chest felt empty. All the boredom, the oppression, the fascination with death vanished. Only a tingling, slightly itchy feeling remained on my ribs, like a vibrant, flourishing flower blooming in my chest, replacing my heart.

That bouquet even produced a kind of addiction more radiant and intense than death itself.

This addiction drove Meng Shutai to pity her, feel sorry for her, and even desire to be killed by her, as if he wanted to kill her himself.

Just thinking about it sent a ravenous hunger churning through my bones, a throbbing, unbearable pain. Thankfully, the obedient wetness on my fingers provided sustenance for the internal ache…

As Meng Shutai personally brought warm water to wipe Le Jin, the sky outside the window was bright and clear, and two or three birds were fluttering their wings and chirping.

He strode to the window, opened it, looked out, and sighed softly.

“My little darlings, she’s tired. Let her rest out of kindness.”

The bird, being quite intelligent, actually flew away upon hearing Meng Shutai's plea. He was momentarily surprised, then contentedly closed the window and turned back, gazing at the person under the soft blankets with a playful smile.

He got slapped twice after he did it to her last time, which he actually liked. But this time he really hurt her; she'll definitely be angry with him when she wakes up…

A pair of delicate hands wrung out a soft cotton towel until it was half-dry and half-wet, then carefully slipped it into the quilt and gently wiped Le Jin.

"I've served you so kindly, please have mercy and forgive me..."

Meng Shutai whispered something in Le Jin's ear. Seeing that she was asleep and not moving, he smiled happily, as if he had received some kind of blessing, and gently kissed the corner of her lips.

——

When Le Jin opened her eyes, the sun was already setting; she had slept all day. But she felt aches and pains all over, her legs were weak and her stomach ached. She didn't have any nightmares, but they made her feel even more nauseous than if she had.

She pushed aside the quilt, revealing that her underpants were already properly on, while her upper body... was still wearing that damned bellyband from yesterday.

The hand gripping the blankets clenched into a fist in an instant. Le Jin gritted her teeth in anger and threw the blankets to the ground in frustration.

That bastard!!!

Le Jin was about to open her mouth to curse when she felt a dry pain in her throat... she had lost her voice last night.

"woke up?"

He's a bastard, a complete bastard.

Meng Shutai walked into the room with a smile, carrying an octagonal, four-tiered food box. "You've slept all day, would you like something to eat?"

He laid out all the dishes from the food box, all of which were Le Jin's favorites, along with a stack of pastries from Jude Winery and a cup of osmanthus honey tea.

Although she had slept for a long time, Le Jin's spirits had not recovered at all, and her head was still dizzy.

"My back hurts so much, I can't get out of bed."

She had to stop and catch her breath while listening to her speak. Meng Shutai chuckled to himself as he walked onto the bed, sat down beside her, and looked at her: "Shall I rub it for you?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a pair of small hands reached straight for his long neck.

"Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell!"

This time, Le Jin's temper completely exploded. She grabbed his neck and wouldn't let go, baring her teeth and threatening to kill him.

Meng Shutai chuckled hastily, then leaned backward. Le Jin seized the opportunity, straddling Meng Shutai's waist, gathering all her strength in her hands.

A force pressed down on his neck, and Meng Shutai's cheeks instantly turned red. He felt choked up and unable to swallow.

In the moment when he was almost suffocating, what kept replaying in his mind was the most cramped pleasure he had experienced on this bed the night before.

His eyes were brimming with tears, bloodshot yet his expression was hazy and ethereal.

Is his desire from last night about to come true today?

Without realizing it, he wrapped his hands around Le Jin's hands and helped her pull.

"ah!"

Le Jin screamed and immediately rolled off him. "Are you crazy!"

Did Meng Shutai want to strangle himself?

An indescribable sense of horror shot up her spine to the back of her head, exploding into a cold, colored firework. Le Jin trembled all over, hugging her knees and staring at Meng Shutai, who was lying on his back.

When she was consumed by hatred, she wished he were dead, but after being tormented all night, how much strength did she have left? She couldn't possibly strangle him; she was just venting her anger.

He should die far, far away. Why should he go through her troubles? She has no interest in being a murderer; she doesn't want to walk the same path as this bastard.

As the restraints around his neck loosened and fresh air flowed into his lungs again, Meng Shutai felt a sense of loss and disappointment. His watery red eyes turned to gaze at Le Jin, her face filled with anger and hatred as she stared back at him, like a little wolf with fierce eyes.

Perhaps if she were to nurture him any longer, one day she might actually be willing to kill him.

Meng Shutai smiled, his jade-like face softening, exuding a carefree and elegant air, the manic rage of death seemingly vanished. "Still angry? Why don't you eat something before you get angry?"

"Pooh!"

Le Jin dragged her face and spat, but Meng Shutai just smiled.

Le Jin was so angry she almost choked. Overnight, he was getting increasingly mad…

——

Luoyang is snowy in winter. After the first snow, the weather was sunny for only two days, and then heavy snow continued to fall.

Le Jin moved out of the dormitory, vowing never to share a room with Meng Shutai again, and came to squeeze in with Bao Yin.

Bao Yin was her only source of security in the Meng family, but this action terrified Bao Yin, who repeatedly kowtowed to Le Jin, urging her to go back.

"It wasn't Baoyin who betrayed his wife, it was the son-in-law..."

What's wrong with him?

Baoyin pouted and burst into tears: "Young master... young master said... if my wife doesn't come back for a day, he'll pull out one of my fingernails, if she doesn't come back for ten days, he'll pull out ten of my fingernails... He also said that I encouraged my wife to have an affair... He'd even beat her to death, pulling out my fingernails is already merciful..."

"You're mine! How dare he!"

Le Jin's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, but then she realized that she was the one who had dragged Bao Yin into this mess.

She knelt down, cupped Baoyin's hands in her own, and rubbed them together, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."

Meng Shutai was certain that she would protect Baoyin and not want her to be hurt, but Le Jin was stubborn and would never agree to share a room with him again!

"Baoyin, let's go."

Where are we going?

The wind and snow are so heavy today that the mountain road is now only a narrow strip, and the carriage can no longer pass.

Le Jin led Bao Yin off the carriage and headed into the deep mountains without looking back, ignoring the coachman's attempts to dissuade her.

"Young Madam! Let's go back! The Master will be furious if he finds out!"

"Go back and tell Meng Shutai that if he has the guts, he should kill everyone in the Meng family and ruin his good reputation!"

What kind of hero bullies Bao Yin? He thinks he can just manipulate her and that she won't fight back?

Let him go crazy if he wants; everyone in Luojing is watching him, especially the Prince of Zhennan, who is eyeing him covetously, wondering if he'll give up the facade he's built up over the years.

As Le Jin held her hand firmly, Bao Yin felt a surge of emotion, no longer afraid of trudging through the heavy snow. Not long ago, her wife had constantly beaten and scolded her, but in the past six months, her wife had completely changed. Bao Yin no longer felt anxious and relied on her sincerely.

If she doesn't want to go back to the Meng residence, then she doesn't have to. Anyway, she'll go wherever her wife goes.

"Wife, why are we going into the mountains?"

"Looking for someone to stay with."

"Ah...who is it? Will they agree?"

Le Jin grinned, but a gust of wind made her teeth feel cold, so she quickly covered her mouth. But the thought of being far away from Meng Shutai made her incredibly happy, and she kept smiling even with her mouth covered.

"Yes, she definitely will."

Night was falling, and the sky was overcast with heavy snow clouds. Guided by her memories of the original book, Yue Jin knocked on the wooden door in the mountains.

Jiang Yingyun poked her head out, clearly stunned: "Why are you here?"

-----------------------

The author's note: Love, lust, and the desire for death, at their most extreme, actually have no boundaries. It's just that this madman, Meng Shutai, doesn't know that.

And what do you mean by "daily tens of thousands"? I don't know anything about "daily tens of thousands," I never said that [covering face and peeking][covering face and peeking][covering face and peeking] Please leave me alone...