Chapter 78. She was his; he possessed her completely…
Sheng Zhiyi returned to Danyang Palace, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
She sat at the table and poured herself a cup of tea.
The tea was ice-cold, but her whole body was burning up.
She did it; she really said those seductive and dangerous words.
How will Yuan Lang react? Will he immediately report it to Ji Fuguang? Or... will that seed truly take root in his heart?
Fear and lingering dread washed over her like waves. But at the same time, a strange, almost numb calm enveloped her. The worst outcome would be nothing more than Ji Fuguang's wrath. And she had already rehearsed that kind of anger far too many times in the water dungeon and in the repeated humiliations.
She closed her eyes, awaiting her fate.
Time passed slowly, but the expected arrest did not occur. Outside the hall, there was only the sound of a gentle breeze, and everything was so calm that it seemed as if nothing had happened.
This calm, however, made her even more uneasy.
"Bang, bang." Huanlu knocked on the door and asked, "Miss, may I come in?"
"Come in." Sheng Zhiyi composed herself and watched as Huanlu carried the food tray and placed the dishes on the table one by one.
After setting out the food, noticing that Sheng Zhiyi seemed preoccupied, Hu Lu asked with concern, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Sheng Zhiyi lifted her eyelids, pondered for a moment, and slowly said, "When the jade pendant fell before, I happened to meet a general and asked him to keep an eye out for it... Now that you've found the jade pendant, the matter is considered closed. I'm thinking, both morally and logically, shouldn't I tell him..."
Huanlu nodded. "That's only right. I'll go and tell them which general it is."
Sheng Zhiyi stared intently at Huan Lü's expression, "His surname is Yuan, and his given name is... right, I think it's Yuan Lang..."
Huanlu's expression froze for a moment, and she replied, "I...I understand."
Grabbing Huanlu's wrist, Sheng Zhiyi said in a deep voice, "Huanlu, what's wrong? Are you hiding something from me?"
Huanlu's face was pale, and her voice was extremely low: "Miss, General Yuanlang has been punished and sent to the North Sea Ice Cave... just now..."
The North Sea Ice Cave is a bitterly cold and dangerous place for the demons, where malevolent energy corrodes to the bone.
Sheng Zhiyi's hand, which was pouring tea, suddenly trembled, and the tea spilled out, leaving a dark water stain on the table.
Her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an icy hand.
It's here. Ji Fuguang's response has arrived.
So fast, so precise, so brutal!
He didn't lay a finger on her, nor did he question her at all.
With a mere flick of his wrist, he easily crushed the pebble she had thrown, clearly conveying to her in this way:
I know what you did.
Your struggles are in vain.
You will never escape my grasp.
A chill more biting than the water prison instantly swept over Sheng Zhiyi's entire body. She felt a suffocating despair. Her few words with Yuan Lang, exchanged in the blink of an eye, when no one was around, had been known by Ji Fuguang.
"Miss... what's wrong?" Huanlu asked worriedly, looking at her face, which had turned pale instantly.
Sheng Zhiyi raised her head and looked into Huan Lu's clear eyes, her gaze gradually becoming complicated.
"Huanlu, why have you come to Danyang Palace?"
Even such subtle movements could be noticed by Ji Fuguang. What role does Huanlu, who is by her side every day, play? Is he just an ordinary person?
"I... I was sent here by His Majesty." Huanlu was somewhat flustered under the sharp gaze.
"Your Majesty?" Sheng Zhiyi sneered. "He ordered you to keep an eye on my every move, ready to find a reason to deal with me at any time, is that right? What exactly is your identity, a demon disguised as a mortal?"
"I...I just..."
"Stop lying to me! You keep playing tricks on me, watching me get fooled time and time again. Is that fun?"
Huanlu was startled by Sheng Zhiyi's words. She knelt down with a thud, grabbed the hem of Sheng Zhiyi's skirt, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Miss! No, no, I am truly just a mortal, I am not lying to you! His Majesty said that finding a mortal might put your mind at ease! If His Majesty truly wanted to toy with you, why would he specifically instruct the use of calming incense and the preparation of soft pillows, saying that you are filled with fear and cannot sleep peacefully…”
As soon as she finished speaking, Huanlu was stunned. She quickly covered her mouth, her eyes filled with terror.
She actually leaked His Majesty's orders behind his back!
Sheng Zhiyi was also stunned.
Did they deliberately invite a mortal? A calming incense? A soft pillow?
These subtle details that she had never paid attention to before were actually... his orders?
The sense of absurdity was like ice water poured over her head, chilling her to the bone.
While he trampled her into the mud and humiliated her wantonly, he also showed her this incomprehensible care in such trivial details.
An indescribable chill crept up her spine. Sheng Zhiyi suddenly realized that the most terrifying thing was not pure evil, but this twisted mixture of good and evil, which could not be understood in the usual way.
madman!
He is a complete madman who cannot be understood by common sense!
Just then, the palace doors were silently pushed open.
Backlit, a tall, slender figure in black stood at the doorway, having been there for an unknown amount of time.
Ji Fuguang's gaze swept lightly over Huanlu, who was kneeling on the ground trembling, his voice devoid of emotion: "Get out."
Huanlu felt as if he had been granted a pardon and hurriedly withdrew, closing the palace door tightly behind him.
The footsteps gradually approached and finally stopped in front of Sheng Zhiyi.
Ji Fuguang lowered his eyes and looked at the top of Sheng Zhiyi's hair, which was piled high like clouds.
When she was in the Tianyan Sect, she always wore plain clothes and no makeup. Now that she has changed her clothes, people realize that she is already a woman of marriageable age.
A silent silence spread between the two, like a sword hanging over Sheng Zhiyi's head, refusing to fall.
How exactly did he intend to punish her? Thirty strokes of the cane? Sixty strokes of the rod? Or should he continue to imprison her in the water dungeon?
The air grew increasingly tense, and Sheng Zhiyi even began to yearn for Ji Fuguang to punish her immediately.
Finally, Ji Fuguang made a move.
With a wave of his hand, a smooth, mirror-like obsidian stone appeared in front of the two of them, its surface shimmering with light and shadow, clearly showing the scene from the corner of the palace corridor.
Sheng Zhiyi spoke to Yuan Lang in a low voice, and Yuan Lang's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, with undisguised fear in his eyes.
The hall was deathly silent; the air seemed to have frozen into ice.
Sheng Zhiyi froze for a moment, then looked up at Ji Fuguang.
Her bright eyes sparkled with a stubborn and indomitable spirit.
She did it, so what? At most, she'll just have to go to the water dungeon again and suffer humiliation once more. What's the big deal?
If he doesn't kill her completely, she will definitely continue to find ways to resist.
She could never be a puppet that satisfied him.
Ji Fuguang reached out, pinched Sheng Zhiyi's chin, leaned down slightly, and stared into her eyes.
Strangely, amidst the offended anger, there was also a hint of "I knew it" and an extremely eerie joy.
She was definitely not a weak person who could only cry and endure; her indomitable resilience and stubbornness were finally put to good use in this situation.
Those eyes, no longer filled with suppressed calm and indifference, finally shone brightly again.
The bright starlight illuminates the entire sky.
Sheng Zhiyi felt her jaw being pinched painfully. She stared intently at Ji Fuguang, her gaze gradually shifting from defiance to resentment.
This hatred was like a soft thorn, piercing Ji Fuguang's heart.
It's unpleasant.
Ji Fuguang reached out and slowly stroked her pursed lips with his fingertips, the movement carrying a cold, scrutinizing quality.
"It seems the lesson from the water dungeon wasn't deep enough." A deep voice sounded in her ear, like a venomous snake coiling around her. "My patience is limited, Junior Sister."
Sheng Zhiyi turned her head to try to avoid the chilling touch, but his other hand held her head firmly in place, preventing her from moving.
Her eyes glared, the hatred in them growing thicker and deeper.
"If you've got the guts, then kill me!"
Ji Fuguang chuckled softly, as if he had heard an amusing joke.
"Death?" His breath brushed against her earlobe. "That would be too easy on you, and too... boring."
He suddenly released her hand, and just when Sheng Zhiyi thought the torment was temporarily over, a cold, dark silk ribbon emanating a faint demonic aura appeared out of thin air, gently covering her eyes and tying it tightly behind her head.
In an instant, the whole world was plunged into darkness.
"what you do?!"
Sheng Zhiyi panicked and reached out to tear off the ribbon, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed and twisted behind her back.
With her sight gone, her other senses were amplified. She could clearly hear his breathing so close to hers, feel the cold fabric of his black robe rubbing against her arm, and smell the chilling, dangerous aura emanating from him.
The faint scent of pear blossoms was now completely overwhelmed by a violent demonic aura, which finally confirmed to her that the one who existed now was the Demon Lord Ji Fuguang.
Panic engulfed her like a tidal wave.
Ji Fuguang scooped her up in his arms. Sheng Zhiyi gasped and struggled in vain, like a mayfly hitting a rock, completely futile. He carried her to the large chair behind the desk, then sat down, trapping her between his legs and his embrace.
Sheng Zhiyi's back was pressed tightly against his cold chest, and she could feel the terrifying power contained beneath it. One of his hands encircled her waist, like an iron hoop, locking her firmly in place.
“Since you have the energy to sow discord among my subordinates,” he said, his chin resting lightly on the top of her head, his voice calm yet cruel, “why not take a good look at what happens to those who defy me.”
With a light touch of his fingertip, the horrific scene of the North Sea ice cave instantly appeared in the mirror. Yuan Lang struggled to stay upright amidst the fierce winds, suffering immense pain.
Sheng Zhiyi felt ice-cold all over. Even though she couldn't see, the voice in the mirror and Ji Fuguang's description burrowed into her mind. Because she couldn't see, her imagination became even more terrifying.
He held her in his arms, forcing her to listen to the consequences of resistance. It was an incredibly intimate gesture, yet it was the most cruel form of mental torture.
"Do you understand?" His icy voice pounded in her ears. "This is the price."
Sheng Zhiyi bit her lower lip, almost tasting the blood.
Humiliation, fear, anger, and a profound sense of powerlessness nearly consumed her completely. She was like a pet, forcibly placed in the Destroyer's arms, forced to endure it all.
Ji Fuguang stopped speaking, and the only sounds in the hall were the occasional sound of him turning the pages of documents, and the slight trembling that Sheng Zhiyi tried to suppress but could not control.
He held her in his arms, feeling her trembling; every tiny reaction of hers was under his control.
The violence that arose from her resistance was strangely soothed, and an indescribable sense of control and satisfaction arose spontaneously.
Yes, that's it.
She sat there obediently, her eyes and heart filled with only his image.
She was his, and he possessed her completely.
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