Chapter 96: Broken Cage
He slept so deeply that he began to dream again.
This time, her dream was extremely dark and damp.
.
"Have you heard? Today, His Highness Prince Cang actually asked to marry the orphan of the Shen family in court. The Supreme Lord was furious and has ordered him to be confined to the palace!"
"The Shen family has two orphans. Which one are you talking about?"
"Who else could it be? Of course it's...that person!"
A rumor swept in like heavy snow, washing away the entire city of Chang'an.
Looking around, the sky and the earth are covered in white.
New Year's Eve should be an auspicious day with lanterns hung high and families celebrating, but the evil spirits and omnipresent dark energy that have been raging in the sky lately have shattered the original peace in the city, and the liveliness has disappeared.
People can only stay at home, keep warm in their own little space, or chew and talk over and over again the gossip they "overheard" in order to get a moment of fun and kill time.
In a remote mansion, in a dark prison, not even a glimmer of light could be seen, a person was tied up in the center of the palm-sized dungeon.
"Tick--" Blood flowed from the wrist, and the sound of dripping onto the ground was clearly audible.
In the center of the dungeon, a cross-shaped wooden stake rose from the ground, and a thick hemp rope bound the inhuman figure tightly. Her limbs and abdomen were tied so tightly that the hemp rope almost sank into her flesh, as if afraid that the person would break free and run away.
Only the occasional white mist that came out with breathing proved that it was a living person.
A faint glow of fire was seen coming from far away. A man came walking towards them, covered in snow. When he got closer, he clapped his hands and asked someone to extinguish the only light.
"Madam Shen, have you thought about it? Where is the remaining half of the gilded silver box hidden?"
The girl's eyelids were heavy, her limbs were numb from the pain, and even the other party's interrogation sounded like a layer of water film in her ears, blurry and muffled, and she could barely hear it.
She raised her wrist, feeling the life force draining from her body. Blood dripped onto the ground, freezing into ice, like streaks of red plum blossoms.
The fragile red plum blossoms are like Shunhua, easily buried and covered.
"I don't know. I don't know him."
"You're saying this again." The man seemed to have lost his patience. "Pinch her tendons." He gave the order lightly.
Her socks were taken off, and behind her ankle was a cold, rusty, and extremely blunt scimitar, which scraped her flesh.
The moment the coldness touched her, she shuddered. Then, the blunt knife began to slowly cut in. At first, it was just dull pressure, making her skin feel like it was being crushed by a huge rock. Then the pain gradually spread, spreading from her ankle in strands.
The blunt knife struggled to slice through her skin, each stroke like rough sandpaper rubbing against the wound, bringing a searing pain. When it touched a meridian, it felt like thousands of steel needles piercing simultaneously, the excruciating pain like a surging tide, wave after wave of pain battering her fragile and sensitive will.
It hurts—
She clenched her teeth tightly to stifle the cry of pain that was about to burst out. Big drops of blood flowed down instead of sweat. She was almost living a life worse than death.
“What do you think? Madam Shen, if you don’t tell me, your tendons will be severed, and you will be a useless person who can’t walk in the future.”
She gasped and spoke incoherently, "I don't know anything about the gilded silver box. I don't know him well. Who are you and why are you arresting me?"
"You're just like him, good at pretending, waiting for the right moment to strike everyone by surprise. Madam Shen, do you know how badly he fooled me?" He laughed heartily, his tone cold, "I used to think he was a fool who did whatever he wanted, only knowing how to kill some demons and hang around in the market. Even if he was in charge of the Imperial Guard, he would be just a useless empty shell."
"I never thought he would endure it for so many years, and then just raise his hand and turn my plan upside down!"
He had never expected that he had been holding back all these years! He had hidden it so well, so well! It had completely shattered his plans, and most of his hard work had gone to waste!
If I don't kill him, I will never be able to get rid of the hatred in my heart!
The gloom in his eyes had not yet dissipated. He waved his hand fiercely and said in a light tone: "Leave half and continue."
The half-cut tendons and veins were barely hanging on, and it felt like there was an invisible blade hidden in the flesh and blood. It would be more painful if they were completely severed.
The blunt knife pointed at her other ankle, and blood gushed out instantly. The strange feeling of the knife touching the tendons and veins made her scalp tingle. Her body became heavier, her head was dizzy, and cold sweat soaked her clothes. She was almost swallowed by endless pain and fear.
So dark——
Can there be a little light, even a little bit?
There are no ventilated windows here, only endless stone steps, tightly surrounding and oppressive wooden railings, and inevitable decay.
She could clearly smell the rotten smell on her body.
But soon the strong and pungent smell of rust overwhelmed the smell of decay, making no one notice it.
The man said to himself, "Today, he actually used his hard-earned military achievements to ask for the hand of the Shen family's daughter. What good is there in marrying a powerless orphan girl?"
He smiled playfully, "Madam Shen, why don't you guess which Shen girl your Good Cang King is seeking to marry?"
“…”
"But it doesn't matter. He's currently gaining momentum, and the Supreme One wouldn't tolerate him marrying an orphan girl. He immediately ordered his foot confinement. My good Saint will probably find a noblewoman of comparable family background to marry him soon."
Her eyelids fluttered.
"That's enough. Let's stop here for today." He curled his lips, "We'll continue tomorrow."
Before leaving, he ordered people to rub coarse salt on the wounds on her limbs. When the salt touched the wounds, it was like oil boiling over a raging fire, and instantly threw her whole body into the boiling oil pan.
She couldn't help but scream and struggle. The rough hemp rope rubbed her delicate skin, leaving bloody marks, but she pretended not to hear anything.
When she was completely exhausted, her head drooped limply to the side. The smell of blood faded, and the odor of decay seemed to become stronger.
If there was light at this moment, you could see that her lips were always closed.
Listen carefully, she is calling:
"Mother! Mother..."
The sound was like a cub that had lost the protection of a big cat, becoming weaker and weaker until it gradually disappeared.
.
The next day, the man came as usual, bringing with him a piece of news.
"He finally found out that you were gone. You know, he ran away. He actually disobeyed the imperial order and ran away. What an idiot! Hahahaha! Sure enough, the effort I put in to catch you was useful." He was very happy.
"I won't torture you today. Let's make a bet."
"Bet on when he can find you."
She lowered her head and said nothing. The man said to himself, "I guess you're hoping he'll come and save you. You know, my house is extremely secluded. He won't be able to find you in a short time. Don't think about him."
"I brought something good this time." He held a bamboo tube in his hand. In the pitch-black environment, his movements could only be identified by sound.
He opened the bamboo tube and a continuous and dense sound came out from it.
"There are four Gu in there that I've been raising for a very long time."
"This Gu doesn't have a name yet, so let's call it Gu for now. It's very magical, and you'll definitely be interested after hearing about it." He held up the bamboo tube and shook it in front of her eyes, even though she couldn't see it.
"It usually lies dormant in your brain, occasionally moving around to drink some of your blood. That's why your five senses sometimes disappear. If you're lucky, one will disappear, but if you're unlucky, all will disappear. However, they will recover quickly. After a month, it won't be satisfied with the blood anymore and will begin to gnaw at your brain. During this time, you will become extremely irritable, impulsive and easily angered."
"Brainless waste in short."
"Once it has eaten enough of your brain and you are almost dead, it will eat your eyes and crawl out of your eye sockets."
Her lips trembled imperceptibly.
"I released four in total, and I successfully retrieved all four. The effect was quite good. Do you want to know who my four testers were? You will be surprised to hear it."
"Li Yu and her unjustly bred son-in-law."
The girl's eyes suddenly widened, tears of blood streaming down her cheeks, and an inhuman sob emanated from her throat, "She is, she is yours, you, dear—"
"That's all bullshit!" He flew into a rage, as if a wound had been touched. "My good father probably only treats her as his own flesh and blood. He'll give her everything she wants, and we should be treated like enemies!"
He revealed a sinister smile, "Li Yu has become a loser obsessed with male chauvinism, and he actually let her do what she wants. Does that mean he'll give her the throne if she wants it in the future?!"
"Luckily, Li Yu and Gu Ze both died suddenly! They were both blocking my way, damn it!"
"Oh, by the way, when Gu Ze died, his brother actually discovered my Gu, so I simply captured him alive to feed my Gu. You didn't see how he wailed every day, with tears and blood flowing."
His words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the airtight dungeon. Her vision swirled, and in her confusion, she seemed to see the twisted look of satisfaction on his face.
"Dead, all dead!" He laughed so hard that he fell backwards, his voice so sharp that it was almost crazy.
"I used another on a love-struck loser. You wouldn't recognize him even if I told you."
He suddenly stopped smiling, a fierce glint in his eyes. He paced slowly, his soles rustling against the dry grass. "This is just the beginning," he said, his voice subdued and filled with an endless chill. "Those who oppose me will not escape. There are still a few reckless individuals in the court who dare to stand in my way. I will show them the price of defying me."
Despite her grief, the girl calmed down. Her calm voice contained a hint of madness. "You're panicking. You're scared."
The man's lips stiffened, then he flicked his sleeves and chuckled, "What am I afraid of?"
"You're afraid. You're afraid that the contents of the gilded silver box will be delivered to the emperor in advance. You're afraid that the evidence that could bring ruin to you and your family will be made public, causing you to fall from this lofty position." She pressed on, her words like two sharp knives stabbing into his heart. "You're still afraid that Li Daoxuan will take that position first.
That's why he panicked and killed people indiscriminately, which caused turmoil in the court and panic among the people in the country.
He couldn't laugh anymore.
"Since you are so good at guessing, why don't you guess how long you can live after these four poisons enter your body?" He suddenly approached her and poured all four poisons into the wound on her wrist before she was alert.
Without even causing any pain, the poisonous insects rushed through the wound and drilled into the skin.
Before he could laugh out loud, he felt a sudden pain in his neck.
The girl's cold and crazy voice came to my ears, "Light the lamp."
"I said light the lamp! Are you deaf?!"
She's going crazy.
No, she's gone crazy.
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