Fear pierced my heart and lungs like a sharp blade.
Lin Mo wants to see me? Li Hu thought to himself. Does that mean my death is near?
Well, he already knew his fate before he set off.
As long as it's not to see that guy named Ran Min, it's fine.
That man was Li Hu's nightmare. Every time Li Hu saw him, he would lose a finger or a few teeth.
He wanted to resist, but he had no strength. His strength had been drained, drained by the whipping, drained by hunger, drained by the torture of skinning.
He contemplated suicide, but was always saved.
To prevent himself from biting his tongue and committing suicide, Ran Min even knocked out all of his teeth.
Stepping out into the courtyard, night was just beginning to fall over Xichuan City, and a full moon rose above the eastern city wall. Under the cool moonlight, the shadow of the high city wall was cast on the frozen earth, resembling a row of black reflections.
The air was cold and damp, carrying with it the scents of distant, hazy memories.
"This is the world," Li Hu told himself. "This is the taste of the world." He didn't know how long he'd been in the dungeon, at least half a year. Could it be five years, ten?
How would I know? Could it be that I've gone crazy down there?
No, I'm too stupid.
It seems like these were the same two people who came last time. If ten years have passed, they must have aged considerably.
Oh no, I can't become stupid.
He can take my fingers and toes, blind me, and cut off my ears, but he can't make me obediently become an idiot.
The wind swirled through the courtyard, passing through his dirty, thin, tattered clothes, raising goosebumps all over his body. The night was cold and damp; although there was no snow yet, it was clearly winter.
How many fingers do I have left? How many toes? He raised his hands to examine them, and their withered, pale appearance overwhelmed him.
"My hands are old."
"Has it really been ten years?"
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the main hall of the Prince's Mansion.
The place was dimly lit and filled with smoke.
The air was filled with the aroma of fine wine and roast chicken, which made Li Hu's stomach rumble and his mouth water.
A familiar face appeared at the head of the hall.
"Lin Mo!" Li Hu blurted out, "He hasn't gotten old, and I haven't gone crazy!"
That means I've only spent a maximum of a year in the dungeon? Or even less, just a month?
Upon seeing Li Hu, Lin Mo smiled, "General Li? Long time no see!"
Seeing this, Xu Chu straightened up and stared at Li Hu for a long time. "My lord, you're not lying to me, are you? This guy is Li Hu?"
"Exactly!" Lin Mo said, "You don't recognize me because my hair is a bit grayer and I've lost weight?"
Xu Chu looked at him again, then exhaled sharply. "It's him? Unbelievable!" he said. "Haha, he was so arrogant when I saw him before, how did he become such a monster?"
"It's all thanks to General Ran!" Lin Mo said with a smile. "By the way, General Li, weren't you always smiling? Why aren't you smiling anymore?"
“He’s embarrassed to smile now,” Ran Min said. “His once beautiful, white teeth look like some of them have been knocked out.”
“My lord, in my opinion, it would be better to slit its throat,” Xu Chu said. “The only appropriate punishment for this damned bastard is to skin it alive.”
“Really? Old Xu, I did skin him, bit by bit!” Ran Min said.
"Huh?" Xu Chu was shocked. "Did I see wrong?"
Upon hearing this, Li Hu felt a chill run down his spine.
Ran Min's so-called "peeling" actually involved peeling off the skin from the fingers and then letting the exposed flesh dry, crack, and rot.
Li Hu had been stabbed and whipped by prison guards, but none of those cruel tortures could compare to half the agony of being skinned alive.
The pain is maddening; no one can endure it for long.
Li Hu tried to bite off his finger with his teeth, but found that he had no teeth left.
He experienced this pain three times: in his right little finger; and in his left index finger and thumb.
Lin Mo poured himself a full glass of wine. "General Li, I have some good news for you. I'm getting married. His Majesty has found two great beauties for me."
One is Her Majesty the Empress's own daughter, Princess Yongning. The other is the daughter of Lord Sun Mian.
"Princess Yongning?" Li Hu exclaimed in shock, "His Majesty will bestow the princess upon you in marriage?"
"She will become the Queen of Xichuan City, and I will be her husband."
"She's not even eighteen yet," Li Hu thought. "No, that's impossible!"
"What's impossible?" Lin Mo laughed. "I've summoned you here today because I want you to attend my wedding."
"What?" Li Hu was stunned for a moment.
"No need for that expression. Although you have done many things to hurt me, I am magnanimous and will not hold it against you."
"No, absolutely not, you're lying to me, you're lying to me!" Li Hu was somewhat hysterical.
"Lie to you? What do you mean?" Lin Mo asked. "The matter of His Highness bestowing the marriage? Or the matter of me forgiving you?"
"Both of them!" Li Hu cried out, shaking his head. "No, I know now, I'm dreaming, it's all a dream. You, Lin Mo. You're all fake!"
"Ran Min, look what you've done," Lin Mo laughed. "Look what you've done to our Great Xia Tiger General."
Ran Min grinned and said, "General Li, since you think this is a dream, then let me help you wake up from it."
As he spoke, Ran Min stepped forward and took out the skinning knife that Li Hu knew all too well.
"Guards! Seize him!"
Soon, guards stepped forward, subdued Li Hu, and then forcibly handed his mutilated right hand to Ran Min.
"General Li, I think your right thumb also needs some skin loosening?"
As he spoke, Ran Min gently slid the peeling knife across Li Hu's thumb.
A cold touch jolted Li Hu awake. "No...no!"
He cried out in a sob, "Please...please...don't!"
"Ask whom?" Ran Min smiled wickedly. "Ask what?"
"Don't cut my skin, Your Highness, General Ran, please don't!" Li Hu was on the verge of collapse. "You just promised me you wouldn't hurt me anymore."
"I said I wouldn't kill you, not that I wouldn't harm you," Lin Mosen said with a cold smile.
Upon hearing this, Li Hu trembled uncontrollably. "No, Your Highness, please don't!"
"Oh? So you're planning to attend my wedding?"
“I will participate,” Li Hu said. “If you wish, Your Highness, I will participate!”
“Oh, of course,” Lin Mo said. “In that case, we need to arrange for you to come out of that simple basement. Take a good shower, dress decently, and have a good meal.”
I have a small task for you, one that requires strength to serve me. And I know you truly want to serve me.
Li Hu hesitated for a moment, but Ran Min's skinning knife mercilessly tore a gash in his right thumb.
"Ah..." Li Hu cried out pitifully, "Your Highness, I am at your service with all my heart," he trembled all over, "Please tell me what I need to do?"
Lin Mo nodded in satisfaction. "Then please, General Li, expose Wei Maozhen's heinous crimes!" he said sternly.
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