#29: Man-Made Disaster (2)

The next day.

Yao Yin had been imprisoned in the water dungeon for a night. The lowest level of Nightfall Palace’s dungeon was the water dungeon. For millions of years, countless souls had been scattered here. Whether you were an emperor, a general, a high god, or a wandering immortal, if you entered this door, you could forget about ever leaving alive.

Hua Li Luo walked all the way to the deepest part of the water dungeon, the crimson manjusaka flowers blossoming around her illuminating the dim stone slabs. The stone steps extended down eleven levels, with only one candlelight every hundred steps or so, making the visibility very dim. The stone walls on both sides of the stairs were covered with moisture, and silence reigned, broken only by the dripping of water on the ground. Descending the steps, both sides were mostly ancient wooden cells, mottled with shadows and stained with blood, appearing even more eerie and terrifying under the shimmering flower-fire.

Since Shi Yan became the Ghost Lord, very few people had been confined to the water dungeon. The old cells were lifeless. Hua Li Luo strolled through them, her steps showing no hesitation. On her face, which was almost blooming with joy, her exquisite eyes were filled with excitement.

She wanted to see if that wretched maid was enjoying herself.

In the innermost part of the water dungeon, the view became open. Beside a pool of black, stagnant water, various torture instruments were laid out, covered in a bone-chilling, faint glow. Against the wall, an iron box was placed, with an opening at the top. A pair of exquisite eyes shimmered with painful cold light in the dark cell, becoming the only sight.

“In nearly a thousand years, you are the first woman to enter the water dungeon.” Hua Li Luo placed her hands on the iron box, smiling faintly, “Are you still enjoying yourself?”

The empty water dungeon echoed with her voice. Undisguised excitement filled the entire cell. The only answer she received was Yao Yin’s ragged breathing and an almost inaudible sigh: “I told you... I don’t like Hua Jun Yan. Why bother me?”

“Hua Jun Yan... Hua Jun Yan! Is his name something you can just utter?!” With that, Hua Li Luo slammed her palm onto the iron box. The person inside immediately let out a pained groan. Hearing this, Hua Li Luo felt much better. She turned her head, smiled unhurriedly, took a key from the wall, and the moment she opened the iron box, a gush of blood poured out, flowing past Hua Li Luo’s ankles towards the dark pool.

Yao Yin sat inside the iron box, her eyes wide, staring straight ahead. Two blackened bones were inserted into her shoulder blades. These were the ribs of a dead Scarlet Cloud Beast. Whether it be a Great Luo Immortal or a small mountain demon, as long as their pipa bone was locked by the dead bones of a Scarlet Cloud Beast, their body would be no different from a mortal’s, unable to exert any magical power.

The four walls of the iron box were covered with countless small knives. The blades were entirely cold and covered with腥红 (blood-red) blood. Yao Yin, sitting precariously on the blades, her fingers trembled uncontrollably, her abruptly sunken fingertips already missing their nails. She was expressionless, trembling all over, sweat mixed with blood staining her white clothes crimson.

Hua Li Luo found this sight particularly satisfying. She had tortured her all night, and today she had planned to collect the corpse, but unexpectedly, this woman was still alive. She thought that although she had enjoyed the Master’s favor in Nightfall Palace for a thousand years, Hua Jun Yan ultimately gave her no official status. In the end, she was surpassed by this woman from who knows where, so she naturally felt much aggrieved. Moreover, that maid Shi Yan had constantly angered her, with nowhere to vent. The accumulated anger of a thousand years was now fully unleashed upon Yao Yin.

As Hua Li Luo thought, another nameless fire ignited in her chest. She casually grabbed Yao Yin’s collar, dragging and pulling her forcibly out of the iron box. The blades, already connected to Yao Yin’s flesh, were torn open again with a “shrieking” sound. The already battered Yao Yin became even more bloody and mangled, and another gush of blood erupted from beneath her.

“Beg me! If you beg me, I’ll make you feel better!” Hua Li Luo looked at Yao Yin, whose brows were tightly furrowed but still wouldn’t utter a sound. She raised her hand and delivered a heavy slap, the crisp sound echoing in the desolate and cold water dungeon, sending a shiver through one’s heart.

Yao Yin struggled, giving a bitter, noncommittal smile: “I truly have no intentions toward Hua Jun Yan...”

Hua Li Luo waited for a long time, but still heard that same sentence. In a fit of rage, she slapped her several more times, her palms becoming red and swollen from the force. However, Yao Yin’s face, likely from excessive blood loss, couldn’t regain its rosy color. On her blood-stained face, only her eyes remained clear and bright, without a hint of dullness.

“Heh, you’re a tough one. Let’s see how long you can keep up that tough act!” Hua Li Luo pinched Yao Yin’s chin and sneered, “You are clearly an immortal from the Heavenly Tribe, yet you pretend to be from the Ghost Tribe and infiltrate Nightfall Palace. If it wasn’t for Hua Jun Yan, why would you go through all this?”

Yao Yin’s eyes widened. Looking at the almost crazed Hua Li Luo, she actually felt a hint of sympathy for her. She had guarded Hua Jun Yan for thousands of years, yet he had flirted and taken one concubine after another.

“I heard... Hua Jun Yan has many concubines. Do you treat every one of them like this?”

“What do you mean?” Hua Li Luo looked down from above, her eyes filled with hatred.

Yao Yin bared her teeth and sneered, “If that’s truly the case, no wonder Hua Jun Yan dislikes you.” Her gaze was burning, filled with mockery.

“You! I think you don’t want those eyes anymore!” In a fit of rage, Hua Li Luo twisted her hand, and with two fingers, directly gouged out Yao Yin’s eyes. The swiftness and viciousness of her attack were absolute, without hesitation.

Yao Yin’s entire body violently trembled. Her frail body lay on the ground, convulsing severely, muffled groans escaping her lips, indistinct and broken from the pain.

“Let’s see how you’ll seduce the Master in this state!” Hua Li Luo said, grabbing Yao Yin’s collar and tossing her into the stagnant pool. Then she picked up the lantern and left without looking back.

In the empty water dungeon, only Yao Yin remained. The sound of dripping water still echoed, and the dungeon returned to its chilling silence. However, her broken body, it seemed, could never return to its former state.

“Hehehe...” A sinister laugh echoed in the water dungeon. Yao Yin clung tightly to the bank, a strange smile forming on her lips. Her whole body trembled violently, like a sieve, and she felt an increasing coldness all around her.

She thought, she must be about to die, right? Zi Chen had already broken up with her, and Yun Yan didn’t need her at all. She had made a trip to the mortal world, only to find in the end that she didn’t even have anyone to miss. How truly futile... At this moment, as she realized she would never see her master again, never return to her beloved Clear Heaven, she truly felt that the most precious time in a person’s life was the days spent with family and friends. She really missed them... but it was already too late.

Yao Yin’s body was saturated with foul, reddish-black liquid, which seeped into her nasal cavity, making her utterly filthy. The torment of the pain brought her back to consciousness. She floated on the surface of the water, expressionless, her empty eye sockets gazing upward, truly unsure if she was alive or dead.

“Yao Yin, hold on, I will definitely come to save you.”

An urgent male voice rang in her ears. It was Zi Chen’s voice.

Why would she suddenly think of him? Hadn’t he already conspired with the Ghost Tribe, fallen into depravity?

As Zi Chen’s voice sounded, a cluster of white light suddenly surged in the dim water dungeon. The light gradually revealed a human form. Zi Chen had followed Hua Li Luo all the way here. As soon as he landed, he rushed forward and jumped into the water, pulling up the bloody and mangled figure.

“Yao Yin! Yao Yin!” Zi Chen’s voice was filled with concern and anguish, as if he wished he could endure her pain himself.

As Yao Yin was on the verge of death, hearing Zi Chen’s call, her heart suddenly warmed. No matter what he had done before, or who he had been with, she no longer wanted to question it. At the brink of death, to have a familiar person care for her and be by her side was truly a joyous thing... Yao Yin reached out, but because she couldn’t see, her hand didn’t know where to go, trembling as it waved in the air, several times almost touching Zi Chen’s cheek, then waving elsewhere.

Zi Chen looked at her, his heart as if being sliced and slowly tortured. He grasped her hand, from which the fingernails had been pulled, and held her tightly in his arms.

His desire to protect someone reached its peak at this moment.

“I will protect you, so you never suffer any more harm.” Zi Chen caressed Yao Yin’s hair, pressing a kiss onto her blood-stained forehead. The touch on his lips was bone-chilling. He wished he could give her all the warmth in the world.

“Zi Chen... thank you.” A faint smile appeared on Yao Yin’s lips. She gently hugged Zi Chen back, resting her head in the hollow of his shoulder.

This warmth was enough.

The feeling of dying alone was too terrible. Having someone accompany her at this moment was better than anything.

Feeling the person in his arms grow colder and colder, Zi Chen stiffened all over, his eyes reddening. His voice trembling slightly, he smiled and comforted her: “Don’t be afraid. If you lose your eyes, then take mine to use. The suffering you endure, I will bear it for you.”

Yao Yin’s heart lurched, feeling as if his words were a warm current flowing into her chest, taking root and sprouting. At this point, on the verge of death, she suddenly felt some regret, regretting that her life had been so stifled. Her emotional life was a blank slate; she didn’t even have the chance to bravely devote herself to someone. Only at the point of death did she get the opportunity to be held in someone’s arms.

Yao Yin sniffed, then her head suddenly spun, and her consciousness was no longer clear. Her breathing hitched, and then she heard the sound of rushing water—she felt as if her entire being was passing through layers of huge waves, finally surfacing.

When she could breathe again, Yao Yin opened her eyes and took large gulps of air.

Still startled, she looked up to see a clear moon and sparse stars above. A gentle breeze swayed the willows by the Lizi River, creating a comfortable scene.

There were no mottled wounds on her body, nor any Purple Cloud Beast bones on her shoulder blades. Her hands were as fair as green onions, seemingly able to wring water, and she could clearly see everything before her, even more distinctly than before. Everything that had happened seemed like a dream, as if it had never occurred. Only her blood-stained clothes reminded her that it had indeed happened.

It was more than just a nightmare.

Noises of people chattered around her, coming from the direction of the Lotus Palace. The blazing fire in the sky cast a reddish glow over half the heavens. Yao Yin swam ashore. Although she had no injuries, she felt utterly exhausted, as if she had died once, her entire body numb. Now, seeing the scattered lights, everything felt like a lifetime ago.

What had happened that she didn’t know about?

She only remembered that before she fainted, she seemed to have seen Zi Chen...

“I heard Lord Hua Li Luo is going to dismember that female immortal.”

“Which female immortal?”

“The one who disguised herself as a ghost to seduce the Master, called something like Yao Yin... Yes, just Yao Yin!”

“She’s Madam Li Luo’s thorn in the side. Now there’s going to be a good show!”

“Such an extreme punishment, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen one...”

Yao Yin listened to the conversation of passersby and immediately felt her hair stand on end. Wasn’t the female immortal disguised as a ghost herself? She was standing here perfectly fine. Then who was about to be executed?

Yao Yin felt disoriented. She knelt by the bank, examining her reflection in the water under the dim light. Her hair was messy, and her face was covered in bloodstains. She scooped up a handful of clear water and cleaned herself. In the reflection, her eyes were fully intact in their sockets. She naturally recognized those eyes. Zi Chen stared at her with those eyes every day. Before, she didn’t understand her place in Zi Chen’s heart, but now, the pain felt as though it were her own, and his emotions enveloped her like an ocean. Her eyes filled with moisture, and tears welled up uncontrollably. The dull ache in her heart was more painful than yesterday’s torture.

Zi Chen... could it be that he bore all the pain for me, and these eyes embedded in my sockets are the very ones he gouged out of himself? If so, she’d rather not have them. The suffering she had endured, she wouldn’t wish on anyone else. This kind of favor, she couldn’t repay.

Yao Yin stumbled, joining the crowd and walking towards the Lotus Palace.