The anticipated pain did not come.
He Shu cautiously opened her tightly shut eyes, only to meet Hua Yanyun’s teasing gaze.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Has Consort He become this skittish after being tormented by me these past few days?”
Hua Yanyun extended her left hand and pressed He Shu back down onto the bed.
Her right hand formed a loose fist, condensing a ball of white light in her palm.
The white light slowly sank into He Shu’s body.
He Shu felt a tingling, itchy sensation spread throughout her entire being.
It was as if thousands of ants were crawling all over her.
Combined with her extreme sensitivity, the unbearable, half-numb feeling made her body convulse and her eyes roll back.
This sensation lasted for quite a while before finally disappearing once the white light flew back into Hua Yanyun’s palm.
The white light earlier had been Hua Yanyun’s method of examining He Shu’s body.
Although the process was far from pleasant, it provided extremely clear results.
Indeed, even with my methods, I still cannot detect any anomalies between her physical body and soul. It truly deserves to be called an immortal dao supreme physique.
Hua Yanyun thought this to herself, but what she said aloud was something different.
“I just stimulated all the spiritual meridians in your body. The fact that you can still feel it proves that your meridians are completely intact.”
“You… what… are you trying to say?”
He Shu was covered in fragrant sweat, her voice still carrying a slight tremor.
The corners of Hua Yanyun’s mouth curved into a smile.
“I will give you a chance to make a fair transaction with me on equal terms. When I crippled your cultivation, I did not destroy your spiritual meridians. This is the sincerity I am showing.”
Hua Yanyun’s tone was domineering, as if she had He Shu completely figured out.
He Shu fell silent for a moment after hearing this.
In her heart, she despised Hua Yanyun for being able to say something so self-righteous.
Although she looked down on her, He Shu knew that refusing would be pointless.
Since that was the case, she might as well listen to what kind of deal Hua Yanyun was proposing.
“What kind of deal do you want? What capital do I even have left that is worth you making a deal with me?”
He Shu asked cautiously.
In a sense, her entire person was now Hua Yanyun’s property.
She genuinely could not think of anything worth Hua Yanyun offering a “transaction” for.
“I am very interested in your body.”
Hua Yanyun did not answer He Shu’s question directly, instead giving an ambiguous reply.
She was indeed eager to study He Shu’s Mystic Soul Pure Sound Physique in order to explore the Heavenly Dao.
However, crudely extracting her spiritual meridians would not work.
Once spiritual meridians left their original owner’s body, they would quickly lose all vitality.
To ensure the extracted meridians remained valuable for research, they would need to be transplanted into a new host before they deactivated.
While transplanting spiritual meridians was feasible and had many successful cases, it would cause irreparable damage to the meridians themselves.
Moreover, He Shu, stripped of her meridians, would undoubtedly die on the spot.
He Shu’s value was not limited to her spiritual meridians.
What was even more valuable was her physical body.
The Mystic Soul Pure Sound Physique was a constitutional rarity, while her top-grade spiritual meridians were merely an added bonus.
Therefore, Hua Yanyun immediately dismissed the idea of digging out He Shu’s spiritual meridians and transplanting them into a more obedient person.
What she needed was a living He Shu, and a complete Mystic Soul Pure Sound Physique—not a cold corpse.
“Although I have some interest in your appearance as well, what fascinates me more is your special physique.”
Hearing the words “special physique,” He Shu’s entire body stiffened.
An extremely ominous premonition rose in her heart.
She naturally knew she possessed the Mystic Soul Pure Sound Physique.
It was precisely because of this that she had chosen to cultivate the sound dao.
Hua Yanyun looked down from above at the black-haired girl lying limply on the bed.
Her magenta eyes contained an emotion that He Shu could not decipher.
“Our deal is very simple. I want to study your Mystic Soul Pure Sound immortal dao supreme physique. Since it is research, I will need your cooperation.”
“In exchange—”
Hua Yanyun raised two fingers.
“First, you will no longer need to stay locked in the cage. I permit you to move freely within your room. Second, you will no longer need to remain hungry. I will allow you to eat—two meals a day. As long as the ingredients exist within the palace, I will have someone prepare whatever you want.”
Hua Yanyun withdrew her hand and crossed her arms over her chest, her tone playful.
“How about it? Isn’t this very fair?”
He Shu listened to the conditions Hua Yanyun offered and opened her mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
Seeing that He Shu seemed to want to say something, Hua Yanyun raised her brows slightly.
“What? Are you dissatisfied with the price I’m offering? Very well, then I shall add one more condition.”
“You were unconscious for a full week. During that week, that little girl named Mu Xinlian stayed by your bedside the entire time.”
As she spoke, she glanced back at Mu Xinlian, who was hiding behind the door and peeking out with her small head.
The glance frightened Mu Xinlian into a shudder.
“I permit her to continue staying by your side and will not transfer her away.”
After speaking, Hua Yanyun paused, then added:
“I will give you three breaths of time to consider. Of course, you may refuse. I will not force you.”
“Right now, your entire being belongs to me. If I wanted to study you, I could do so directly. I only hope that when the time comes, you will not regret the decision you make at this moment.”
Her tone carried an undisguised threat.
She then truly began counting down.
“Three.”
“Two.”
He Shu listened to Hua Yanyun’s countdown.
She had already resigned herself in her heart.
She could not refuse Hua Yanyun’s demand.
Just as Hua Yanyun said, she belonged entirely to her now.
He Shu’s voice was filled with indescribable exhaustion.
She spoke with difficulty, “I… agree.”
After saying this, He Shu’s entire body went limp like a deflated ball as she collapsed back onto the bed.
Being treated like experimental material and having my body researched… This feeling is truly awful…
Her mood inevitably sank.
He Shu pulled the blanket over her head, hiding herself completely.
Hua Yanyun looked at He Shu, who had wrapped herself in the blanket and clearly did not want to see her, and let out a soft laugh.
“I will only begin my research after you have fully recovered from your injuries. There is no rush for now.”
Before leaving, Hua Yanyun spoke with her back to He Shu:
“Oh, right—”
“If you find that little girl Mu Xinlian’s hands too dishonest, I can have them chopped off for you.”
This statement was directed at both He Shu and Mu Xinlian.
She was reminding He Shu while also warning Mu Xinlian.
With that, Hua Yanyun left without looking back.
After Hua Yanyun departed, Mu Xinlian walked over to He Shu’s side.
Her voice was filled with concern.
“Young Miss, I… I heard everything you and Her Majesty discussed.”
He Shu remained silent.
She did not feel like speaking and simply ignored Mu Xinlian’s words.
The grievances in her heart had nowhere to go and could only pile up inside.
“Go to sleep. After a good night’s sleep, everything will be better.”