“You seem to have been living quite comfortably these past couple of days.”
Hua Yanyun looked at He Shu with a half-smile, pressing down harder with her foot.
“Uwuuu…”
He Shu whimpered under the pressure, letting out soft, muffled cries.
“Today this monarch is in a rather good mood, and I have plenty of time to spare. You look like you’re in decent shape, so why don’t we play a little game?”
He Shu saw the playful look on Hua Yanyun’s face and alarm bells rang in her mind. She had a feeling Hua Yanyun was about to pull something big.
“The rules are simple. I ask, you answer. If your reply satisfies me, you’ll get a reward. If it doesn’t, there will be a punishment.”
He Shu’s heart sank to rock bottom as she listened. Hua Yanyun called it a question-and-answer game, but it was clearly just interrogation dressed up as play so she could extract information.
After locking her up alone for five days to wear down her will, then using the carrot of rewards and the stick of punishment, Hua Yanyun’s scheme had to be significant.
Thinking this, He Shu took a deep breath. She absolutely could not let Hua Yanyun learn anything from her.
A woman like Hua Yanyun had a deep and calculating mind. Even the smallest, most insignificant clue would be chased to its roots.
If she were given even the slightest opening, it would be extremely harmful to her mother, to Southwind Immortal Kingdom, and to herself.
“Hua Yanyun, if you have something to say, just say it outright. Stop with all the twists and turns.”
He Shu spoke firmly, catching Hua Yanyun slightly off guard.
“Well, well. As expected of someone who managed to stay undercover for nearly twenty years without a sound. You really do have guts. Not bad at all. This emperor likes that kind of spirit in you.”
“But little one, speaking so directly like this—are you truly unafraid of punishment, or are you just pretending to be calm?”
“Hua Yanyun, spare me the act. I don’t know anything useful anyway. Asking would be a waste of your time. You might as well drop the idea.”
The atmosphere between the two grew tense for a moment.
Hua Yanyun looked at He Shu’s stubborn, “do your worst” expression, let out a soft laugh, and withdrew the foot pressing down on her body. She crossed her arms over her chest and gazed down at He Shu from above.
“Hehe, the little one really is tough.”
“Never mind, never mind. Since the little one put it that way, this monarch won’t ask you anything about Southwind Immortal Kingdom. We’ll change the game.”
Hua Yanyun looked at He Shu, the amusement on her face growing even stronger.
“It will still be me asking and you answering. I’ll only ask you five questions. A satisfactory answer gets a reward; an unsatisfactory one gets a punishment.”
He Shu saw how easily Hua Yanyun had let the matter go and felt her wariness rise instead of fall.
Under He Shu’s vigilant gaze, Hua Yanyun posed the first question. “First question: Do you think you can answer this one correctly?”
He Shu: “???”
“Are you joking?”
He Shu shot back. Hua Yanyun answered with that same half-smile. “Oh dear, the little one’s answer to the first question doesn’t satisfy me. That’s one punishment recorded.”
He Shu: “?????”
Without giving He Shu time to stay stunned, Hua Yanyun continued straight to the second question. “Second question: What do you think of my attitude toward you? You must tell the truth.”
He Shu’s mind raced. Thanks to the first question, she realized Hua Yanyun was setting another trap.
Hua Yanyun’s attitude toward her was obviously extremely hostile. Even though she demanded the truth, answering honestly would mean falling into the pit Hua Yanyun had dug. Yet if she said Hua Yanyun treated her well, she would surely be punished for being dishonest.
After careful thought, He Shu gave a safe, noncommittal reply. “It’s… average.”
Hua Yanyun still wore that half-smile as she looked at He Shu. “The second answer is far too perfunctory. That’s another punishment recorded.”
He Shu: “????????”
“Two punishments already~ It seems the little one isn’t being very honest.”
Hua Yanyun then fired off three more tricky questions in a row. Without exception, He Shu was shot down by Hua Yanyun for a variety of reasons each time.
“Tsk tsk tsk. Not a single one of the five questions satisfied this emperor. It looks like the little one still hasn’t learned her lesson.”
Hua Yanyun shook her head with feigned regret, but the motion looked unbearably punchable to He Shu. Even though she could not actually hit Hua Yanyun and would only end up getting hit herself, it did not stop her from thinking it.
He Shu felt rather sullen inside.
Hua Yanyun clearly just wanted to bully her and had gone to the trouble of dressing it up with all these grand excuses. Since He Shu could not resist anyway, Hua Yanyun could have simply bullied her without the theatrics.
“Little one, why don’t you try guessing what the punishments and rewards will be?”
Hua Yanyun’s voice drifted over. He Shu turned her head away, refusing to respond.
“Since the little one doesn’t want to guess, this emperor will just have to reveal it.”
Hua Yanyun showed no irritation at He Shu ignoring her. Instead she pulled away the half-blanket covering He Shu’s body and pressed herself down on top of her.
“The punishment is to be fucked senseless by this emperor once. The reward is to be gently fucked senseless by this emperor once.”
He Shu: “????????????????”
The words were so shameless that even if He Shu had tried to pick a fight with them, she could not have come up with anything more outrageous. They had come straight out of Hua Yanyun’s mouth, clear as day.
He Shu felt her future turn pitch-black. The light faded from her beautiful eyes.
……
The next afternoon, when He Shu woke up, her entire body throbbed with tearing pain. The memory of the terrifying scene from the night before sent chills down her spine, and cold sweat broke out uncontrollably.
Last night Hua Yanyun had kept her word. She had ruthlessly fucked He Shu senseless five times in a row.
She tried to lift her arm and, as expected, failed. There was not a single ounce of strength left in her body. It felt as if a small mountain were pressing down on her.
“Miss, your body…”
Mu Xinlian’s concerned voice came from beside her. He Shu remained silent.
“I really am so tired.”
She murmured the words to herself. A sour ache rose in He Shu’s chest. She could not just sit and wait for death. She had to actively look for a way out.
Even though that was what she told herself, finding a breakthrough in what was essentially a dead-end situation was easier said than done.
Seeing He Shu lost in a daze, Mu Xinlian released her divine sense to examine her body. The moment she did, she received a shock. Mu Xinlian was instantly frightened by the severity of He Shu’s injuries.
He Shu had eleven separate bruises all over her body, most of them concentrated around her waist and thighs. Two more were on her right calf and left shoulder respectively.
She spoke up, her voice filled with undisguised urgency. “Miss, your body is badly injured.”
He Shu gave a slight nod at Mu Xinlian’s concern. Of course she knew how terrible her condition was.
“Little Mu, you should go back first. I want to rest alone for a while.”
“Miss, are you really not going to eat anything? With your body in this state, if you don’t eat soon you might actually die…”
Mu Xinlian’s tone grew anxious. As a cultivator who practiced medicine, she knew exactly how dire He Shu’s current condition was.
The food box delivered at noon today had once again contained only a bowl of white porridge and a single small steamed bun. The moment she received it she had hurried straight to He Shu’s room and stayed outside the cage until He Shu finally woke from her unconscious state.
“Little Mu, be good and go. I can’t even sit up right now, let alone eat.”
He Shu’s voice carried a rare note of firmness, yet Mu Xinlian still did not leave.
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