I looked at him in surprise. He nodded, his attitude very gentle, but it made me break out in a cold sweat.
"Haven't you eaten all day? Hurry up and eat something, otherwise how will you have the strength to be punished?"
You knew Nangong Ling wasn't that kind-hearted. He always gives you a piece of candy first and then whips you. He feels justified in doing so, and no matter how wronged you feel, you have no reason to protest.
When you're in a bad mood, eating tastes like chewing wax. The craving you felt while watching them eat vanishes completely, and with a pair of chilling eyes staring at you, how can you possibly eat?
"Alright, I'm full. If you're going to punish me, then do it quickly."
He leaned back on the soft couch, his golden brocade robe making him appear elegant and noble. When he smiled, there was always a touch of nonchalant languor, a beauty that was intoxicating. His phoenix eyes sparkled with a captivating light, their shape flowing like water, brimming with alluring charm, enough to steal one's soul in an instant.
"What, these dishes don't suit your taste, Miss Rong?" He glanced at the dishes on the table that had only been partially touched.
"No, I'm full, really full." I nodded to show that I was telling the truth, but actually I just felt that if I ate any more, I might lose most of my soul. But I would never say that out loud.
He got off the bed and walked over. After stopping in front of me, he bent down and pulled a gold-threaded handkerchief from his robe with his slender hand...
Without a doubt, Nangong Ling is wiping my mouth, and with a gentle touch, as if she were wiping a very precious and fragile piece of porcelain.
Fortunately, I've gotten used to his occasional erratic behavior, although it still makes me feel uneasy.
"Now that we're full, let's begin."
He pulled me out, casually tossing a fine gold-threaded handkerchief onto the table.
Chapter 15
A dark and windy night, a night for murder.
The candy given today may not be very sweet, but the whipping that follows will be merciless!
Dodging Nangong Ling's wind blades is harder than climbing mountains of knives or wading through seas of fire. Tonight, the wind is strong, so he has all the advantages of timing, location, and support. Even if he didn't have all the advantages, I still couldn't defeat him! Otherwise, today I wouldn't be at his mercy, but he would be kneeling and begging me, serving me like a slave!
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" I clung to the tree, with no choice but to beg for mercy.
"Didn't I tell you to eat your fill before being punished? You couldn't hold on any longer?"
He fell from the tree, landing with a light and graceful gait, as if an immortal had descended to earth.
"If you lay a hand on me, who can withstand it... no, who can live! If you want me dead, just say so, no need to beat around the bush..."
Hiss! That's the sound of the wind tearing through clothes.
He was standing in front of me in the blink of an eye, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous light.
"Die? How could I bear to let you die?" He grabbed my hand, his grip so tight he almost twisted my wrist off. "What would I do if you died?"
I stared at him, speechless. Was the wind too strong, or was I hallucinating? ...It took me a while to suddenly realize that he couldn't bear to part with someone who had no right to complain no matter how he treated her. If I died, he would have no one to entertain him with. How could this pervert miss out on that? But for a moment just now, I clearly misunderstood. How could I misunderstand? What a damned misunderstanding!
"I...I was wrong, please be gentle, it hurts!"
"You feel pain too? Aren't you heartless?" He loosened his grip, but still held on tightly. "If you don't eat those poisonous things, how come you can't break free with your internal strength?"
Speaking of this, my throat tightened. But it's not entirely my fault. It was you who forced me to take this step because I had no other choice.
"Fortunately, I've taken my medicine on time every day, and I'm recovering quite well. I've lost over ten years' worth of internal energy, but at least it hasn't left any lasting health problems." Her smooth, soft hand caressed mine, giving it a slightly tingling sensation. "Don't you feel it's a pity to lose your internal energy?"
"Of course it's a pity. At least I never cut corners when I was practicing internal energy cultivation. It would be painful for anyone to lose it all at once."
"Then how about this..." His eyes softened, but his smile was so enigmatic it made one wary, "How about I transfer my internal energy to you?"
I glared at him, trying to pull my hand away and get away from him, but he tightened his grip as if he had expected it.
"Are there any conditions?"
"You've gotten smarter, huh?" His fingertips were cool but felt nice. "Come on, beg me."
"No! I can practice on my own." Anyway, I already know the Rong family's internal energy cultivation method by heart.
"How can the Rong family's limited resources be enough? I can give you something more powerful, like something that can subdue Qionghua with a single palm strike, how about that?"
If it were just the initial statement, I would never agree, but the promise of being able to subdue Qionghua with a single palm strike... that's something I'm a little tempted to do. After all, there are very few people in the world who can subdue the Great Protector Qionghua with a single palm strike.
"Just by speaking, you can gain the internal strength that others take thirty years to cultivate. Do you want it?"
"...How could you possibly have such profound internal strength?" I looked at him suspiciously. "You're not even twenty yet, and you're only nineteen at most this year. Let alone whether you have thirty years of internal strength, if you give it to me, wouldn't you be finished?"
"What, are you worried about me?" He smiled, his mood suddenly improving.
"I'm just confirming. Anyway, if I ask you to give me all my inner strength, and then you're finished, wouldn't I be able to live a carefree life and maybe even revive the Rong family..." I was so happy that I forgot to look at his expression, so I didn't look up until my hand started to hurt again.
"You can forget about reviving the Rong family in your next life, you really are..." He sighed helplessly, "Forget it, anyway, I've given you this much internal energy, so you can rest assured. Not only will I not die, but I'll also be more than capable of healing you."
Why should I say it? It's all because this person always has such a bright smile on his face. Who can resist being bewitched by him?
In the end, of course I refused to ask him for help, and so my thirty years of internal energy vanished like fleeting clouds.
Chapter 16
I looked at Shao You as if I had seen a ghost. He was sweating profusely from my gaze, but he couldn't show it.
"I don't want to."
"But...this was sent by the Palace Master..."
Shaoyou held a fine piece of brocade in his hands. On a crimson background, layers of large peonies were outlined in gold thread. The material was exquisite, the weaving meticulous, the patterns rich and beautiful, and the colors vibrant and dignified—both opulent and elegant. This outfit would cost at least several hundred taels of silver; it was not something ordinary people could afford. If I, with my current status, were to wear such a garment, it would be excessive. Even young ladies from ordinary families might not be able to afford such clothes, and given my current awkward position, it was even more unreasonable for me to accept it.
"Take it back! Take it back!"
"Miss, please don't make things difficult for me. If we take it back like this, I'm afraid the Palace Master will blame us..."
But he ruined my clothes yesterday, which made me even more self-conscious about what I already have. He even knew to bring me clothes, but why couldn't he have chosen something more ordinary? I'm really torn.
"...Okay, I'll take it. Whether I wear it or not is my business. When I get back in a few days, I can sell it and get some money."
Shao You twitched his lips helplessly, his smile truly forced.
"Well, I advise you to dress properly, Miss."
I frowned, looked at the plain white cloth robe I was wearing, and still felt that this was the best way to dress.
"Please put the clothes in my room. I still need to go to Miss Yue's place."
"No, no, no, this won't do. How can a servant like me enter Miss's boudoir?"
Why is this child so polite to me? Come to think of it, it makes sense. Some of the people around Nangong Ling are not only polite and courteous to me, but also exceptionally respectful, completely different from the attitude of other servants. So I felt a sense of superiority creeping over me again. I happily took the clothes, threw them into the room, and then headed towards Yue Linghe's side.
Bieyun Manor is very large. Although Yue Linghe and I share a front courtyard and a back courtyard, she is a young lady, so of course she lives in a large and comfortable four-room courtyard. It takes quite a while to get there from my small courtyard. This old steward really gave me a hard time by choosing such a courtyard. Judging from how pale he looked when he saw me, he was clearly trying to make things difficult for me.
"Oh, isn't this Rong Lian?"
I stumbled and almost tripped over my right foot with my left.
"Good morning, Master Jun." I turned around with a forced smile.
“It is early.” He nodded and looked westward. “But the sun hasn’t risen in the west yet.”
Why can't I get up early? My heart was clenching, and I wished I could conjure up a sword and chop the person in front of me into eight pieces.
"Hehe, Sect Leader Jun is too kind. Rong Lian has other matters to attend to, so please excuse me."
Before I could even turn around, the man wrapped his Qilin whip around my hand.
"What's the rush? I have something to tell you." He sat comfortably in the soft chair, holding the Qilin whip in one hand and taking the teacup handed to him by the servant in the other.
But I have nothing to say to you. If I were to actually say it, he would definitely whip me first.
"Are you content to stay in the Moonless Palace like this?"
"If you say you're willing, would you believe it if I told you?"
He took a sip of tea and smiled slightly, "I don't believe it."
"That's settled then, but what can I do even if I'm unwilling? Just because I disliked him when I was a child, this petty and short-tempered man still holds a grudge. Every time I slam my fist on the table and shout that I'm not convinced and want to rise up in rebellion, it always ends in a crushing defeat. Now, the Rong family only has my three brothers who have retired from worldly affairs, my mother, and me left. Now that things have come to this, what's the use of being unwilling?"
"So Miss Rong is someone who accepts her fate so easily. I thought no one could change your stubborn temper. It seems that the Palace Master is quite capable."
"Well, I was blind. If I had known he would be so talented, I would have erected a plaque for him and worshipped him!"
"Yeah, if you could see that I could become a great demon who dominates the martial arts world, wouldn't you have stabbed me in the heart with your sword?"
Sigh, I only whispered this to Nangong Ling, how did he know?
"Ha, ha, ha... Ridiculous! Who would dare to disrespect you? That would be suicidal!" I've gotten better and better at saying these insincere compliments these days.
He was indeed taken aback, looking me up and down in disbelief, as if I were a monkey that had suddenly jumped out of the artificial hill next to us.
"How could such a wicked person say such things?" He raised his narrow eyes, revealing his flirtatious nature in an instant.
"People change." I rubbed my lips; forcing a smile is really tiring.
Jun Guan began to smile, a beauty so captivating it could shame the moon and shame the flowers, a beauty beyond description. But such a person, beautiful as he was, was best admired but not touched, lest he end up with a hand full of poison—a loss far outweighing the gain. However, his poison differed from Nangong Ling's, which was visibly potent. Jun Guan's poison was merely a mask beneath his beautiful face; those who met him for the first time were invariably struck by the gloom in his eyes.
"Alright, if you ever truly feel unwilling to stay in Wuyue Palace and can no longer bear it, come find me."
"You'd be that kind?"
He laughed again, noticing that a large portion of the flowers and grass at his feet had withered.
"Didn't you say that people change? Besides, I've said before that it's not bad to keep you at home as a decoration. Even if you're a fallen phoenix, you're still a real phoenix after all."
As he spoke, he put away the Qilin Whip, and with a wave of his hand, the servant boy took the whip from his hand.
"Don't you have something to do? Or are you planning to return to the Heavenly Annihilation Sect with me so soon?"