"What, scared?" Gu Tianze's smile became even more terrifying. The arm around her waist suddenly tightened, as if he wanted to cut Ling Ruoke in half. He pulled out a soft leather belt from his waist, wrapped it around Ruoke's hands, and then locked it.
Ling Ruoke's wrist ached from his ministrations, but she only frowned and remained silent. Looking into his eyes, however, she couldn't help but feel fear. It's difficult for a woman not to be terrified of being raped by a man who isn't her husband, unless she is inherently promiscuous.
Gu Tianze dragged Ling Ruoke into the house by pulling on his belt, his movements were very rough, as if he was venting his anger.
Ling Ruoke's foot struck the stone, the pain bringing a cold sweat to her back, yet she remained silent. Her heart pounded wildly, pounding painfully in her chest, and she struggled to breathe. She wasn't afraid of Gu Tianze torturing her physically, but she dreaded his use of such vile and despicable methods. But fate seemed to be against her; what she feared most came to pass!
If at first she still hoped that Gu Tianze was just bluffing, when Gu Tianze reached out and ripped open her clothes, hearing the sound of buttons snapping, her fear instantly expanded to boundless proportions. "Gu Tianze, if you dare touch me, Qingfeng will never let you get away with this!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Tianze threw his head back and laughed heartily, as if he had heard the funniest joke. "He won't let me go?" Then, his face darkened. "That depends on whether I let him go or not."
With a tearing sound, Ling Ruoke's clothes were ripped, revealing her white body covered only in her underwear.
Ling Ruo struggled with all her might, trying to kick him, but he dodged and pinned her down completely, unable to move.
Gu Tianze didn't immediately rape her; he simply lay on top of her, watching her struggle in her death throes with a wicked smile, seemingly enjoying seeing her like this. Then, his eyes suddenly hardened, and he said in a sinister tone, "The torment Xiao Zheng suffered back then, I'll take it all back from you, bit by bit. After I've tormented them enough, there are my men too. They haven't seen a woman in months, perfect for a treat! The previous woman and boy were both good, but they're all insane now, no fun to play with. Well, here you are!"
Ling Ruoke shrank back. Had Chen Xinyi and Li Chen gone mad? "What have you done to Chen Xinyi and Li Chen? I want to see them!"
"You still have the nerve to care about them? I think you should worry about yourself first." As he spoke, he pinched her sensitive area hard, causing her to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
Just as Ling Ruoke was despairing and thought she was going to be defiled by this beast, another voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.
"Captain." A deep male voice rang out, and then a figure appeared in the doorway, blocking most of the light.
Ling Ruoke instinctively turned her head away, but the light was too bright for her to see the other person's face clearly. However, a pleading look appeared in her eyes. This person's sudden appearance had temporarily saved her from her crisis, so she momentarily forgot that this person was also in cahoots with Gu Tianze.
Gu Tianze actually released Ling Ruoke, got off her, and stood up.
The light was too bright for Ling Ruoke to see clearly what gesture the man made before Gu Tianze went out with him. Once she was alone in the room, she gasped for breath, her lungs aching terribly. It was summer, yet her ripped shirt made her feel a chill.
Ling Ruoke shrank back and began struggling to untie the leather straps binding her hands. She just wanted to break free of the restraints as soon as possible and then pull her clothes up properly, completely ignoring the fact that the straps had injured her wrists.
Outside the house, Gu Tianze and the man who had suddenly appeared walked to the top of the cliff and stood in the howling wind.
"Say what you want to say." Gu Tianze took out a cigarette and lit it. He put his hand on his head and ran it through his hair.
The man was as tall as Gu Tianze. Judging from his posture and facial expression, he was also a soldier, or at least had been. He wasn't as handsome as Gu Tianze, but he didn't have Gu Tianze's sinister and evil aura; he gave off a better impression.
"Captain, before killing Huo Qingfeng, don't rush to touch his women. Don't forget, your sister-in-law and nephew are still somewhere. If we really provoke Huo Qingfeng, he might disregard his military status and fight to the death. Besides, he's not someone to be trifled with; provoking him won't do us any good. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your sister-in-law and nephew."
Gu Tianze scoffed. "To put it bluntly, you're still just a chivalrous woman who can't stand seeing women suffer."
"Partly. But I'm telling you the truth, it's always good to have a way out until we've really won a complete victory."
Gu Tianze remained silent, puffing on his cigarette, his brows furrowed deeply. "Thinking of my sister's tragic death, and the humiliation she suffered before her death, I wish I could repay all of that to the woman in the house. I want Huo Qingfeng to taste that kind of pain too."
"There will be opportunities, but not now." The person slowly squinted in the wind, concealing what was in their eyes. Even the expression on their face was not clearly visible.
After a long while, Gu Tianze finally uttered five words through gritted teeth: "I'll give it a try."
Inside the room, Ling Ruoke finally managed to break free of her restraints, at the cost of her wrists being scraped and bleeding profusely. She seemed oblivious to this, focusing only on adjusting her clothes. Several buttons snapped off, forcing her to clutch her collar tightly. Her eyes were fixed warily on the doorway, fearing Gu Tianze might suddenly burst in again.
She wondered what Qingfeng was doing, whether he had found Gu Tianze's trail... Thinking about this made her easily distracted. So when Gu Tianze came in, she almost screamed in fright. She shrank back, her eyes wide open.
Gu Tianze looked at her coldly, without a trace of warmth. Such a person was born with a cold and hard heart, destined to bring disaster to the world.
Ling Ruoke clutched her clothes tightly, her legs tucked in as if to defend herself against any outside intrusion. She dared not blink, for fear that if she did, he would pounce on her.
Gu Tianze slowly squatted down, coldly looking at her. "Scared? Xiao Zheng was gang-raped by several men before she died. Do you think she wasn't scared? But those men didn't let her go. So why should I let you go?"
"Gu Zheng's death has nothing to do with me, so why are you blaming me? I was lucky to be saved back then, otherwise I would have been the one violated. So, can Huo Qingfeng or my relatives also blame Gu Zheng and let more people torture her to vent their hatred? Are the people of your Gu family human beings, and everyone else just ants?" Ling Ruoke was furious because of Gu Tianze's words and couldn't help but retort loudly.
Gu Tianze laughed coldly. That was just the kind of person he was; nothing could make him repent. His conscience had long since vanished. For a person without a conscience, only he was in control; those who obeyed him prospered, and those who defied him perished! As for reason and morality, they were never even on his radar. "You're wrong. In my eyes, you're not an ant; you're nothing! If it weren't to lure Huo Qingfeng out, I could kill you right now."
"You are a hopeless beast! It's unbelievable that such a beast exists in this world! Heaven has no eyes!"
With a "snap," Gu Tianze grabbed the belt and whipped her hard across the body.
Ling Ruoke felt a burning pain where the belt had struck. She groaned softly, then bit her lip tightly, refusing to make another sound to show weakness. Her eyes, however, remained fixed on him, filled with disdain and contempt.
Gu Tianze seemed to have suddenly gone mad, grabbing a belt and striking her repeatedly with brutal force. Soon, Ling Ruoke was covered in wounds, her skin torn and bleeding, her clothes ripped to shreds. Blood stained her clothes, a horrifying sight.
If someone hadn't intervened, Ling Ruoke might have died from his whipping.
Once she was alone in the room, Ling Ruoke finally couldn't help but let out a low moan. Gu Tianze had used all his strength, and her skin was so delicate that her wounds had now split open, exposing the raw, bloody flesh, which looked particularly horrifying.
Ling Ruo leaned against the wall, her body aching terribly, but her mind was perfectly clear. Gu Tianze had vented his resentment by beating her; hopefully, he wouldn't send anyone to abuse her again for the time being. She hoped so, she thought silently.
She was brutally beaten until her skin was torn and bleeding, the pain excruciating. The burning sensation, as if the pain was seeping into her very bones, quickly caused a layer of cold sweat to break out on Ling Ruoke's forehead. The mountain wind was strong, and it was already late, so she felt terribly cold. But there was nothing around to shelter her, so she could only ignore the pain and hug herself tightly.
Ling Ruoke closed her eyes, enduring the pain throughout her body. Her ears were perked up, listening to the sounds outside the door. She didn't try to escape, because she wasn't stupid; Gu Tianze wouldn't give her that chance. At least, not now, right after she was captured.
When she heard footsteps approaching from outside the door, she jolted and immediately opened her eyes. But it wasn't Gu Tianze who entered; it was someone else. The man was extremely tall, like a mountain, and you could tell from his gait that he was a soldier.
Ling Ruoke smiled wryly at her own judgment. It wasn't surprising that most of these mercenaries were former soldiers. But once they became mercenaries, they no longer needed to uphold the meaning and mission of that uniform. Therefore, whether they were soldiers or not was irrelevant to her.
Once a person embarks on a path of selling their life for money, their past identity and profession become irrelevant. Because for someone living for money, everything is worth selling, including their conscience.
The man casually put down a plate of food, said nothing, and turned to leave.
Ling Ruoke waited until he left before looking down. It was a bowl of rice and vegetables, with white rice at the bottom and a little bit of vegetables on top, not a large portion. The food was cold, without any steam. It wasn't cold yet, so cold rice wasn't a problem. But whether it was just a simple bowl of rice, no one knew.
After all that commotion, Ling Ruoke was starving, but she didn't look at the bowl of rice. Instead, she closed her eyes again. She didn't know if there was anything in the food, so she had to endure the hunger. A little hunger wouldn't kill her, and she didn't want to suffer the pain from the medication that Guzheng had inflicted on her again.
It got dark. A wind started to blow in the mountains, and it was terribly cold.
Ling Ruoke huddled up, hungry and cold. The combination of her injuries and the cold caused her body temperature to slowly rise, showing signs of a fever. She could feel it, but there was nothing she could do; she had nothing to warm herself and no medicine.
Later, Ling Ruoke's body really did become burning hot. She was in so much pain that she almost groaned, but she was still conscious, so she bit her lip tightly to endure it. It wasn't that she didn't want to show weakness, but she was afraid that if she groaned, she wouldn't be able to hold back anymore. Once she weakened, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold on any longer!
As night deepened, Ling Ruoke's fever intensified, making her delirious. Finally, her body slumped, and she collapsed to the ground, her mind becoming increasingly hazy. Even so, she made no sound, nor did she shed a tear. In her confused and disoriented mind, only one thought remained—I must hold on!
Because of the fever, her head felt burning hot, and the dizzy feeling was excruciating. She tried hard to think of something to distract herself and make herself feel less uncomfortable. Unfortunately, her mind wouldn't cooperate; she couldn't think of anything, only this painful feeling remained.
The night wind was biting, howling loudly. Accompanied by the roars of wild beasts, it sounded terrifying. The walls and roof of the wooden house rattled in the wind, as if they were about to collapse under the fierce gale.
Ling Ruoke struggled to open her eyes, peering through the crack at the cold moonlight outside. Through her blurred vision, she saw swaying tree shadows, like ferocious beasts about to pounce on her. She wasn't afraid, but the physical discomfort made the night feel exceptionally long. Time seemed to stand still, as if to imprison her in this state of pain forever.
Later, when I was really delirious with fever, I was in a daze and almost lost consciousness. But I still kept the last bit of consciousness to feel the pain.
The night was deep when the wooden door creaked open and a tall, dark figure walked in.
Ling Ruoke immediately opened her eyes, quickly adjusting to the darkness, and warily watched the approaching figure. Her mind was foggy with fever, and her vision was blurry. She held her breath, afraid to blink. Although her mind wasn't clear, she could still tell that this person had no murderous intent. The moment she relaxed, her head spun even more.
The man suddenly reached out, grabbed her chin, and forced her to open her mouth.
Ling Ruoke made two "hmm" sounds, trying to struggle.
Although the man had no intention of killing her, Ling Ruoke stubbornly pursed her lips and refused to separate them, so the man squeezed even harder. He pinched her so hard that she cried out in pain, and then he put something into her mouth and forced her to swallow it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com