Chapter 76 Humiliation leads to an abyss.
"Crossing the river and then dismantling the bridge?" Jiang Xu's tall figure completely shrouded her in shadow. Shi Wan didn't want to show weakness, but this familiar, repeated confrontation meant that the other party was familiar with every unintentional or intentional resistance she had ever shown.
She always had the illusion that she was completely seen through.
It's like... before, Jiang Xu didn't not want to do it this way, he just didn't want to.
Unwilling? The thought was quickly dismissed as soon as it crossed her mind. Could that be possible? Could a man like him have such a soft heart?
Coming to her senses, she looked up and suddenly met Jiang Xu's complicated gaze.
At some point, he changed from kneeling to standing, looking down at her as if he were looking down at something he already possessed. Shi Wan found it hard to describe what kind of gaze it was.
It was a mixture of disgust, hatred, and intense interest, and even... a few traces of love.
It must be her imagination.
He is now...
I hate her so much.
"You think you can get what you want by deliberately doing these things?" Jiang Xu's voice was low and hoarse, his emotions unreadable. "Deliberately hurting yourself, turning yourself into this bloody mess."
He chuckled softly, "...How pitiful." Then, his laughter abruptly stopped, and he said, his tone neither sad nor happy, "Shiwan, don't you feel any pain?"
Tiny beads of blood, congealed bloodstains—all these combined to form a festering wound, stretching across his tender, white ankle, swollen and raw. He had assumed that a woman like Shi Wan, who relied on her looks, would be exceptionally attentive to every inch of her skin.
People care about their appearance.
But she didn't care.
What does she care about?
A certain unpleasant answer surfaced in her mind again. Jiang Xu looked at her coldly, "Or is it... that you are so willing to debase yourself?" She would rather feel pain, rather shed tears, rather suffer than bow her head or make peace with him.
Inside, the candlelight was dim, and even the bright moonlight outside the window could not penetrate. The incense burner was specially lit with calming sandalwood incense. However, due to repeated friction and injuries, Shi Wan always carried a lingering smell of rust.
The stench of blood mingled with the woman's sweet fragrance, creating a contradictory yet provocative atmosphere.
Seeing that she only pursed her lips and didn't say anything, Jiang Xu exerted more force on her hand.
Shi Wan felt a tremor run through her body as intense pain spread from her red, swollen, and broken skin. She instinctively tried to shrink back, but the man held her tightly.
Her large hands were just big enough to accommodate her feet.
Seeing that she truly had nowhere to escape and was at his mercy, Jiang Xu suddenly laughed again.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
"I'm ignoring you, but you still keep asking me, between the two of us, who is the one who willingly debases themselves?" Shi Wan bit her lower lip, her face pale from the pain, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, but her amber eyes, which she looked into at Jiang Xu, were still clear and stubborn, filled with tears. "Don't try to cry wolf."
Jiang Xu, his eyes half-closed, pressed his fingertips harder against the bloody wound on her ankle. Warm, sticky blood was still slowly seeping out. "The thief is crying 'stop thief'?"
"Isn't this exactly what you wanted?" His tone was like poison. "Grinded like this, it looks like even the bones are about to be exposed, just to soften my heart and make me untie you."
Upon hearing this, Shi Wan subconsciously pinched the soft flesh between her fingers, "You've always known."
"...You did it on purpose too."
Her intentions were exposed, and her bravado became even more apparent. She simply said, "The way you're acting makes me think... you're crazy."
A madman in disguise, who thinks he's normal.
"Like this?" Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow, as if humbly seeking guidance. "Like what?"
The vast difference in physical strength between the two, the utter suppression and unavoidable moves—all of these things filled him with immense pleasure. "Who is it that made me who I am today?"
Shi Wan was taken aback. Her aggressive gaze froze for a moment before quickly returning to its cold indifference. "You never asked me."
"Why must I necessarily meet you?"
“Yes.” Jiang Xu slowly admired her desperate attempt to hide her despair. “But you can’t escape.”
He is about to unify the north, his sword pointing towards Luoyang, and he has the power to contend for the world. She can only stay by his side, and he can spend his time with her as he always imagined.
One day...
One day...
Now, it's just a matter of changing to a method that he prefers and that is more suitable for him.
As his thoughts returned, Jiang Xu gently brushed aside a few strands of Shi Wan's black hair that were stuck together with cold sweat. Seeing that she still refused to show weakness, he smiled slightly, while his other hand rubbed the heavy shackles. "Since you don't want them to bind you so much."
His voice burst with joy, mixed with a touch of madness from a dream come true, "Then I can help you too."
"I'll help you... forget about it for now."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Xu suddenly exerted all his strength and yanked the shackles down hard.
"ah......!"
Caught off guard, Shi Wan gasped, "You...him, Mom's gone mad?" She was pulled by the enormous force and fell off the bed, crashing heavily to the ground.
The mangled flesh around her ankle was scraped again, the excruciating pain almost making it impossible for Shi Wan to maintain her composure. Her vision blurred, and she nearly fainted.
However, Jiang Xu just stared at her silently, his body covered in cold sweat and trembling uncontrollably. Before Shi Wan could react, he took the opportunity to pounce on her.
He forcefully suppressed all her struggles and curses, their lips met, and malice and hatred surged in his eyes. "Aren't you trying to make me soften?"
“Look…” Jiang Xu picked up a bronze mirror from the table. In the mirror, Shi Wan’s tearful face was clearly reflected. “How beautiful.”
The man's warm breath brushed against her ear. He noticed that she had deliberately half-closed her eyes, not allowing her to escape. He moved closer to her lips again and gently nibbled at them. In a moment, he swallowed all of Shi Wan's moans.
“Shi Wan”.
"Open your eyes and look at me."
After being humiliated by him, Shi Wan remained frozen for a moment before finally opening her eyes. Her vision was blurry for a brief instant, and then she realized that she was feeling unwell.
Jiang Xu's voice remained steady as always, its delicate notes lingering in the ear, so much so that the sound of the brocade tearing was only noticed afterward.
"No, no..." No, he can't do this.
She absolutely, positively cannot get pregnant with Jiang Xu's child!
Jiang Xu almost completely blocked her movements. In an instant, Shi Wan was easily restrained by him. The cold shackles made a heavy sound, and the rough iron rings dug into Shi Wan's slender ankles.
The warm, sweet scent of agarwood mingled with the pungent smell of blood in the air, and salty tears slid down her cheeks. By the end, Shi Wan even found it difficult to breathe.
Jiang Xu stopped looking at her and ignored any actions that might cause her pain. He continued his relentless, almost torture-like actions, relentlessly taking her possession.
Like a wild beast, they plunder almost instinctively.
Shi Wan's eyes were vacant. After an unknown amount of time, she had no strength left to resist. A suffocating sense of humiliation spread endlessly through her heart.
After a long while, she finally closed her eyes.
Inside, in complete silence, only the heavy shackles tapped rhythmically on the cold floor tiles.
......
*
When Shi Wan woke up, there was no one beside her.
She subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, then a burning pain shot through her ankle, and her whole body felt as if it had been crushed by a heavy object, her bones almost falling apart.
The room was empty. Shi Wan lay quietly for a while, regaining some strength. After a moment, she realized that the shackles on her ankles were still there, and her heart ached even more.
Her ankle must have been treated with medicine; it felt cool to the touch. Shi Wan tried hard to recall everything from last night, but it was all in vain. Looking out the window, the sky didn't seem to be fully bright yet. Here, the boundaries of time were blurred, and she didn't even know exactly how much time had passed.
Humiliation and anger gripped her throat like a cold hand.
Shi Wan felt a lump in her throat, and the next moment, she bit her lip tightly, holding back her tears.
Crying is useless.
useless......
useless......!
After a moment, she managed to compose herself and staggered to her feet as if in self-torture. The shackles were still locked around her ankles, rubbing against her skin as she walked. This time, Shi Wan didn't even look at them.
Outside the door, the long, dark passage still seemed endless.
With her feet on the cold ground, she had only one thought in mind.
She has to leave here.
Immediately, right away.
Even the cost of leaving...
It is death.
Shi Wan didn't remember how long she had been running. The guards she had seen last time were nowhere to be seen. She limped along, looking disheveled, running and stopping as she made her way out.
The gray-blue morning light outlined her thin shadow, so small that it seemed as if she would be swallowed up by the dim light at any moment. In the distance, a familiar voice drifted intermittently into her ears.
Shi Wan couldn't even tell if it was real or a hallucination. She almost instinctively ran to a higher place. When she was exhausted and finally stood still, she realized that she had run to a high platform that resembled a watchtower.
However... this tower is extremely luxurious.
The steps, resembling a ladder to the clouds, are carved with white jade at the four corners, with crouching stone beasts with dragon heads, making it look extremely grand and much taller than the height we just roughly saw...
Shi Wan then seemed to wake from a dream, and looked down in a daze.
Jiang Xu had heard the commotion at some point; he must have rushed back. Not far to his side, horses were neighing.
Their eyes met, and he remained silent, only slowly nodding slightly before standing still, gazing at her quietly.
The scenes of madness and humiliation from a few hours ago flooded into his mind without warning, along with those cold, black eyes, completely overlapping with the person in front of him now.
Shi Wan suddenly felt a chill, accompanied by a sense of powerlessness.
She couldn't help but start trembling.
seem......
Step forward.
It is a bottomless abyss.
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