The sword dance ended, and thunderous applause erupted from below the stage. When the crowd quieted down, the madam who had greeted them earlier immediately walked onto the stage and said, “From the reactions of you gentlemen, I believe you are all very satisfied with our Miss Yingying. I won’t waste any more words today. Gentlemen, please make your offers. Let our Miss Yingying feel your sincerity.”
As soon as her voice fell, someone in the audience immediately called out: “Five hundred gold pieces! Miss Yingying, would you accompany me to admire the moon tonight?”
“Eight hundred gold pieces!”
“Ten gold!”
“Twenty!”
The bidding below the stage continued to escalate, but Yingying, the center of attention, showed no reaction, as if their auction had nothing to do with her. Her expression was calm, revealing no emotion.
“This is too much!” Lin Wuxi, in the private room, clenched her fists, her eyes flashing. She desperately fought the urge to rush out and take Yuan Ying away.
Yu Huang also frowned. She didn’t understand how these people could so brazenly and shamelessly auction off a young woman’s purity like a commodity in public, nor why this group of men was so fervent. But she suppressed her anger and held Lin Wuxi’s hand. “Calm down. This isn’t the right time for us to intervene.”
“I know,” Lin Wuxi replied, her voice a little sullen.
Cool fingers pressed into Lin Wuxi’s palm. A stream of refreshing energy flowed from the palm along her meridians into her mind, and her tensed nerves relaxed.
“Thank you.” Lin Wuxi turned her head and gave Yu Huang a slight smile.
Seeming a little stiff, Yu Huang gestured for Lin Wuxi to pay attention to the bidding below, but she didn’t withdraw her hand from Lin Wuxi’s.
“Sixty gold! Sixty gold!”
Such a price immediately deterred most of the bidders, and for a moment, an uproar spread through the audience below.
The madam on the stage was already beaming, not caring that the thick makeup couldn’t hide the wrinkles creasing her face. She gestured excitedly on stage, “Sixty gold! This master bids sixty gold! Is there anyone higher? Anyone higher than sixty gold?”
The audience below finally quieted down somewhat. There were no more fervent bids. Although they all desperately wanted to spend a night with Lady Yingying, the price of sixty gold was indeed too high. Regretful, they had no choice but to give up.
Seeing that no one else bid for a long time, the madam understood that sixty gold was likely the final price. Although Yingying was the Gold Pavilion’s top courtesan, this price for one night was indeed extremely high. Realizing this, the madam’s smile widened, and she immediately announced that the master who bid sixty gold was tonight’s winner.
But Lady Yingying, who hadn’t spoken, stood up. Her voice, unlike her gentle appearance, was laced with sarcasm: “Though I am of humble status, I know my looks are ordinary and hardly catch the eye of officials and nobles. This master, willing to spend sixty gold, must be quite handsome and dashing. For a mere brothel girl like me to earn his favor is truly a blessing of three lifetimes; I couldn’t ask for more.”
Her words were full of insinuation.
Yingying’s words stunned everyone. The experienced old madam was the first to recover. She glared at Yingying, then quickly forced a smile. “It seems our Lady Yingying is very pleased with this master. Next, I shall announce—”
“Wait a moment.” A deep male voice resonated throughout the hall. “My master bids two hundred gold.”
Instantly, the entire hall erupted. Two hundred gold! What did two hundred gold represent? It was enough for an ordinary family to live on for ten years. Everyone immediately turned to look at the private room the voice had come from, but their view was completely blocked by a thick screen, preventing them from seeing who had made such an outrageous bid.
In the end, Lady Yingying was naturally taken away by the master who had spent so lavishly. For the onlookers, this became a topic of gossip for days to come, but for them, the matter was concluded.
But for some, this matter was far from over. In the most luxurious room of the Gold Pavilion, Lady Yingying was led in, blindfolded. The door was shut behind her, but there was no sign of the blindfold being removed.
She heard a man stand up nearby. Heavy footsteps approached and stopped right in front of her. Before he could make another move, Yingying spoke, “I am but a poor girl from a remote village. I don’t know what virtue I possess to deserve such favor from you, Master. I know my status is lowly, but I still wish to see the true face of the master who values me. Would you allow me to remove this blindfold and behold your heroic appearance?”
The man let out a low laugh, then suddenly pulled Yingying into his embrace. His hot breath rasped in her ear, “My little beauty, as long as you satisfy me tonight, you can have anything you desire.” With that, he yanked off her blindfold and pulled her towards the bed.
Yingying suppressed a cry of alarm and forced a seductive smile. “Thank you, Master. Tonight, whatever you desire… I will accommodate you.”
“Hahahahahaha!” The smug man, triumphant, impatiently threw Yingying onto the bed. Without even removing his clothes, he pounced on her.
“Please, don’t be so hasty, Master,” Yingying cooed. “I have good wine and food here. Why don’t we have a drink first? The night is still long, after all.”
The portly man had no intention of stopping. “Beauty, tonight I only want to have fun. Drinking wine? That’s not for you to decide.”
His fat lips were already pressing against her. Forcibly suppressing her disgust, Yingying went along with the man’s actions, letting out intermittent moans.
While the man fumbled with his own clothes, his fat hands groped at Yingying’s dress. His obese body writhed like a disgusting maggot.
Without him drinking the wine, her chances of success were only about fifty percent. But she couldn’t wait any longer. At worst, we’ll die together. Unseen by the man, though moans still escaped her lips, her once hazy and seductive eyes had turned resolute. Her right hand slipped quietly under the pillow. A gleaming dagger rose, aimed at the man’s back.
A battle-hardened warrior’s sharp intuition ultimately saved the man’s life. Though his back was wounded and his left arm rendered useless, the dagger hadn’t struck a vital point. The man managed to palm-strike Yingying away and shout for help.
Yingying knew time was short; the guards outside could rush in at any moment, and her assassination attempt would likely fail. Her eyes darkened. No, this man must die. Ignoring the disparity in their strength, Yingying lunged with the dagger, determined to strike again.
The man was a general of this country, having spent his life in military service and achieved illustrious merits for the nation. But those who had died by his hand included not only enemies but also innocent civilians of his own country.
He was bloodthirsty by nature. Countless enemies had fallen before his iron cavalry, but killing enemies alone couldn’t satisfy his murderous instincts. When the mood struck him, even innocent passersby on the street could become victims of his blade. Rape, pillage, plunder—he did it all.
This country naturally had authorities, but the Emperor needed him to secure the empire’s foundations. Thus, such matters were covered up if possible, and if not, resulted in only minor reprimands. The general was notorious in the capital; everyone who saw him kept their distance.
This was something everyone knew.
“Years ago, did you pass by Xu Village near Furong Town? Over a mere verbal dispute, you slaughtered the entire village—more than a hundred lives! You didn’t even spare a three-year-old child!”
The blood-soaked village—Yuan Ying had never forgotten it for an instant. Her parents, decapitated and lying in pools of blood, appeared in her dreams every night. It was this demon who had slaughtered the entire Xu Village! Every single person, killed by the sword, their bodies dismembered!
Kill him. This was the sole conviction that had kept Yuan Ying alive for decades.
“I distinctly remember all one hundred and fifty-two villagers perished. No one survived,” the general said, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. “How are you still alive?”
“You’re wrong! Xu Village only lost one hundred and fifty of its own. Two of those you killed were relatives visiting the village for the first time with their newborns! And besides me, Xu Village did have other survivors!”
With a cold laugh, Yuan Ying raised her dagger and lunged at the man. The room was small, and the general, unable to dodge completely, snatched a sword from a nearby table and slashed at her.
The general’s face glinted with a strange light. His previously injured body now moved without any impediment. The long sword reached Yuan Ying in an instant.
Yuan Ying saw the sword coming. Though the general was unexpectedly agile, she had no path of retreat. Even if we die together, I must kill this demon with my own hands!
Bright red blood spurted. Yuan Ying’s clothes were soaked crimson. She looked at the corpse on the floor, a sword plunged through its heart, then collapsed. Her chest… that was where his sword had struck her. It was already stained with her blood.
But unseen by Yuan Ying, a streak of light flew out the window.
