“Lou Yue!”
Xiao Rangchen suddenly began struggling.
Startled by his furious shout, Lou Yue’s movements faltered for a moment. She curled her lip in disdain. As if she wanted to take advantage of him. Even looking at a pig would be better than looking at him, okay?
She tightened the cloth over her eyes, tucking the corners in securely so it wouldn’t slip and soil her eyes midway. Then she moved behind Xiao Rangchen, out of his line of sight, and pulled his waistband down a little farther.
“Lou Yue!” Xiao Rangchen had never imagined that someone from a prestigious family, a young master no less, would disregard all sense of shame and pull down his trousers. He had never met anyone so unconventional and debauched.
Smack!
The whip landed with pinpoint accuracy.
Xiao Rangchen’s entire body went rigid, as if he had been nailed to the bench. Even his struggling ceased.
Smack—
Smack—
With his chin pressed against the surface of the bench, Xiao Rangchen’s disheveled bangs fell over his forehead, concealing most of his face. Only his tightly pursed lips were visible. They had already been pale from blood loss, but now his teeth clenched down so hard that not even the slightest trace of color remained.
The whip did not strike with much force, yet each blow was more unbearable than the last. Every time it came down, the muscles in Xiao Rangchen’s shoulders and neck would tense abruptly, while the fingers trapped beneath the bench clenched so hard they creaked.
When Xiao Rangchen was eight, he had once seen the little boy next door being disciplined by his father. The boy was a year older than him and usually spoiled and unruly. Relying on his larger size, he had often bullied Xiao Rangchen. That day, the boy had been stripped of his trousers and draped across his father’s knee. He had screamed at the top of his lungs, tears and snot smeared across his face, all his usual arrogance gone. His bare bottom gleamed especially brightly beneath the sun.
When the boy noticed him, he shouted, “Don’t look!”
His father gave him a heavy slap. The boy’s wail shot sharply upward as he kicked and thrashed, only to be pressed down more firmly by his father. The slaps continued to fall, one after another, against the reddened flesh.
At the time, Xiao Rangchen had felt only disdain—perhaps even a trace of childish schadenfreude.
But now, he and that miserable, sobbing boy from his memory had become one.
In his twenty years of life, Xiao Rangchen was experiencing for the first time the shame and indignation behind the boy’s cry of “Don’t look!” Yet he was no longer a child. The shame and indignation had transformed into even more violent anger and humiliation. Never had he hated anyone so much that he wanted to strangle them with his own hands!
Lou Yue had no idea that her humiliation had dredged up Xiao Rangchen’s childhood memories. After casually striking him a dozen or so times, she stopped. Roughly judging the position, she used the rope whip to perfunctorily pull his waistband back into place, then removed the cloth from her eyes.
Bound to the bench, Xiao Rangchen’s back was taut like a bow drawn to its limit, full of power with nowhere to release it.
Lou Yue figured he had probably suffered enough humiliation, so she walked around to stand before him. Xiao Rangchen raised his eyes to meet hers. His eyes were frighteningly bright, his pitch-black pupils seemingly tempered with ice, yet also burning with a dark fire. He remained silent, but the fury within him surged like a storm.
Lou Yue laughed. As expected of Long Aotian—he was truly furious.
When he refused to speak, Lou Yue added fuel to the fire, her tone smug and deliberately provocative. “Weren’t you shouting so boldly just now? Why are you so quiet now? Don’t tell me you’re feeling too ashamed to face anyone?”
Xiao Rangchen glared at her fiercely, his voice brimming with murderous hostility. “Lou Yue, one day, I’ll make you regret what you did today.”
Every word seemed to have been ground out from between his teeth. Anyone else confronted with such an expression—one that looked ready to tear them apart and drink their blood—might have retreated. But Lou Yue, rebellious by nature, was instead intrigued.
She blinked her alluring peach-shaped eyes, and even the tiny mole beneath her eyelid seemed to take on an air of arrogance. “Go ahead. Do you think I’m afraid of you?”
Xiao Rangchen’s face turned livid, and an intimidating chill burst from him.
Lou Yue straightened, the corners of her red lips curling upward. “But before that, you should think about how you’re going to escape from my hands.”
Xiao Rangchen was locked back in his cell.
To prevent any mishap—or his “dear mother” from striking her dead with a bolt of lightning—Lou Yue ordered the guards to apply medicine to the wound on Xiao Rangchen’s chest at regular intervals every day.
The medicine did have healing properties, but under her special instructions, applying it felt like pouring salt into the wound and was unbearably painful.
Lou Yue had watched once. Xiao Rangchen never even blinked throughout the entire process. He simply stared at her. Had it not been for his trembling fingers and the veins standing out on his body, which betrayed what he was truly feeling, Lou Yue might have thought they had used the wrong medicine.
Since she could not see Xiao Rangchen lose his composure, Lou Yue stopped going to offer herself up as a living target for his stare. While he was still at his weakest, she needed to seize her opportunity.
There was nothing she could do about being trapped in a man’s body. She could only rely on time to heal her wounded heart. But there was still hope of changing her doomed fate.
She could not kill Long Aotian. However, as long as she became strong enough that even Long Aotian could not kill her, the problem would resolve itself.
With the plot in her hands, stealing Long Aotian’s opportunities and cheat abilities would be easy. Perhaps she could even save the unfortunate sisters who had gone astray in the novel and spare them from being tormented by Long Aotian. But before those opportunities arrived, she had to improve her cultivation as quickly as possible and leave Long Aotian far behind.
The key to breaking out of this predicament was the mysterious “Lord Xuan.”
The book had never mentioned anyone with the surname Xuan. The original host had merely been an obnoxious supporting character, and the people who appeared at his side were usually referred to by titles or descriptions. Even when their names were mentioned, the entire novel ran for a thousand chapters, and she could not remember them at all. Still, given that the original host belonged to the Lou family, one of the four great clans, it made sense that he would have a powerful figure protecting him.
After getting up that morning, Lou Yue had Little Qiu tie her slightly curled hair high on her head. Then, between her favorite peacock green and moon white, she chose the moon-white outfit, which looked more obedient and suitable for currying favor with a senior.
“Where is Lord Xuan right now?” Lou Yue asked as she arranged her collar before the mirror. Only after confirming that everything about her was neat and proper did she speak.
Little Qiu answered without hesitation, “At this hour, Lord Xuan should be cultivating at the rockery on the southern side of the garden.”
Lou Yue raised an eyebrow. Lord Xuan certainly was diligent. His strength must be outstanding as well. With such an expert teaching her, a dramatic increase in her cultivation was surely just around the corner.
This concerned her life and death, so Lou Yue did not dare treat it carelessly. Before leaving the room, she asked Little Qiu once more, “In your opinion, what is my relationship with Lord Xuan like? If I were in danger, how would he react?”
Little Qiu froze for a moment before answering with absolute certainty, “If the young master were in danger, Lord Xuan would definitely protect you even at the cost of his own life. You and Lord Xuan are inseparable—you trust each other more than anyone else!”
Lou Yue was completely reassured.
She brought Little Qiu to the southern side of the garden. Beneath the morning light, the rockery stood tall and imposing. Dark-green vines wound through the seams of the blue-gray stones and climbed all the way to the steep peak. It was certainly full of life, but there was no sign of anyone.
Lou Yue looked around several times without finding him. She turned back and glanced at Little Qiu, questioning him with her eyes.
Little Qiu was just as puzzled, but then he suddenly slapped his forehead in realization. The young master must have quarreled with Lord Xuan again and needed him to smooth things over as usual!
Lou Yue saw Little Qiu nod discreetly and assumed he was going to look for someone. But instead, he came to her side, bowed respectfully toward the space beside her, and called out,
“Lord Xuan.”
Lou Yue: ?
She followed the line of sight upward to the highest point of the rockery. Calling it the highest point was a bit of a stretch—it was only about two meters high, and the very top was no larger than the mouth of a bowl. Yet perched on that tiny patch of space was an even tinier turtle. Its shell was ink-black, marked with crimson patterns.
When Lou Yue looked over, the turtle’s scarlet eyes met hers.
Wait—Lord Xuan wasn’t a senior cultivator. He wasn’t even human. He was a turtle?
A turtle smaller than her palm?!
Shock spread across Lou Yue’s face as a ridiculous scene flashed through her mind: her crawling around on the ground, demonstrating moves to a turtle and struggling desperately to communicate with it.
Lou Yue’s silence further convinced Little Qiu that the two of them had quarreled. As usual, he smiled and tried to smooth things over. “Young Master woke up asking about Lord Xuan. That’s why he came looking first thing this morning.”
As he spoke, he took a bag of dried fish from his storage ring and presented it with both hands. “Young Master personally instructed me to dry these a few days ago. They were only finished yesterday.”
The turtle addressed as “Lord Xuan” swept a chilly gaze over the bag of dried fish. The very next moment, the fish vanished from Little Qiu’s palm.
After handing over the dried fish, Little Qiu beamed as though he had accomplished something important and took his leave from Lou Yue. “Young Master, Little Qiu will be going down now.”
That left Lou Yue alone with a turtle, the two of them staring at each other.
Lou Yue had indeed wanted to have a private conversation with Lord Xuan, but she had no idea how to talk to a turtle... Especially since “Lord Xuan” was staring straight at her.
Lou Yue cleared her throat, looked up at the sky, then down at the ground. At last, she found an opening.
She pointed at the sun and traced a circle with her finger. Then she sat cross-legged on a flat rock nearby, closed her eyes, and struck a pose that suggested meditating and cultivating.
Her meaning was: The sun is shining beautifully today. It’s the perfect day for meditation and cultivation.
Lou Yue opened her eyes and looked toward Lord Xuan, both hopeful and nervous. She hoped he would understand and agree, allowing her to bring up the matter of improving her cultivation naturally. But she was also worried he might not understand her gestures at all.
Lord Xuan watched her earnest performance, then coldly turned his head away and closed his eyes.
Lou Yue: “...”
Was he dismissing her, or had he simply failed to understand her? He had accepted the bribe of dried fish, so surely he wouldn’t refuse to give her face?
Lou Yue rubbed her chin and muttered to herself, “He probably still didn’t understand what I was gesturing. But if he can’t even understand this, how am I supposed to discuss the important stuff with him later...?”
Suddenly, a strange sensation welled up inside her—a feeling of perfect mutual understanding, of hearts communicating without the need for words. And the other half of that connection was the “Lord Xuan” atop the rockery.
Little Qiu’s words echoed in her ears once more: “Young Master and Lord Xuan share life and honor, and disgrace and death. They’re the people each other trusts most.”
In a flash, Lou Yue blurted out, “You’re a contracted beast!”
Only a contracted beast and its master could share this kind of telepathic connection. And only a contracted beast bound by a blood contract would live and die alongside its master, never betraying them.
At the sound of her voice, “Lord Xuan” turned his head again. His eyes were still cold, but this time there was another emotion in them—something that seemed suspiciously like schadenfreude.
“You were struck by lightning,” it said, opening its mouth and speaking in a human voice.
“You can talk?!” Lou Yue was so astonished that she failed to notice the deeper meaning behind its words.
Her thoughts raced as she analyzed the situation.
When she had first transmigrated, her mind had been filled with thoughts of her inevitable death and the Long Aotian before her. She had never considered whether the original Lou Yue had a contracted beast. Now that she thought about it, the original did indeed have one. It had never been described in detail, but there had been several subtle mentions of it during her fights with Long Aotian.
It had already been five or six days since she transmigrated, counting the time she had spent recovering from her injuries. As a contracted beast connected to the original through their bond, Lord Xuan had not come looking for her or tried to settle accounts. That meant he had not sensed that the soul inside had been replaced.
She was safe!
Having reached that conclusion, Lou Yue relaxed at once.
A contracted beast? That would make things even easier...
Suppressing the smile tugging at the corners of her lips, she put on a pitiful expression and said, “Since you’re my contracted beast, I won’t hide it from you. A few days ago, I woke up after being injured and discovered that I’d lost my memory. I don’t remember your name or how to use spiritual energy. Other than remembering that my name is Lou Yue and that I have a father, I can’t remember anything...”
Seeing that Lord Xuan still wore the same expression of cold detachment and faint amusement, Lou Yue pressed on, her tone growing increasingly earnest. “Our honor and disgrace are tied together. Surely you don’t want to see other people bullying me, right?”
“If you stopped bullying other people, they’d be burning incense in gratitude,” the aloof Lord Xuan said blandly.
“...”
Seriously, why did everyone insist on thinking so badly of her? Her own mother had said the exact same thing. But she was the one who was being wronged here, wasn’t she? Were they saying she wasn’t even allowed to fight back??
Lou Yue lost her temper. Her already limited patience vanished in an instant. She crossed her arms, sat down on the rock, and shot him an irritated look. “I want to learn how to use spiritual energy. Are you going to teach me or not?”
Before she could finish speaking, a jade slip dropped from the sky and smacked her on the head. She hurriedly caught it in both hands.
“Focus your attention and sink into your mind.”
Lou Yue was just about to do as instructed when he added, “If you can’t understand it, read it more. Don’t ask questions. Even if you ask, I won’t know.”
“...”
Why did she have such an arrogant contracted beast?
Fortunately, she was exceptionally gifted. She was able to “see” the contents recorded on the jade slip.
The jade slip contained more than a single cultivation technique. It covered everything from profound spells to movement techniques and the use of magical artifacts. It was practically a comprehensive manual tailored specifically for her.
Lou Yue sighed in admiration. As expected of the wealthy and powerful Lou clan—even their children had personalized study plans.
As for why the jade slip was with the original’s contracted beast instead of the original herself, Lou Yue attributed it to the fact that the contracted beast was more reliable than its master and didn’t think much further. After all, in the novel, Lou Yue’s thoughts had been entirely occupied by women. If she hadn’t possessed countless magical artifacts to rely on, she might not even have been qualified to become Long Aotian’s rival in love.
The language in the jade slip was clear and easy to understand. Lou Yue became completely absorbed in it. Even after returning to her room at night, she couldn’t bear to put it down. She studied with more dedication than she had shown during her final year of high school.
It wasn’t until deep into the night that she finally fell asleep with the jade slip in her arms. But barely an hour after her head touched the pillow, urgent knocking shattered the silence.
“Young Master, this is bad!”
Little Qiu’s voice pierced through the door.
“Xiao Rangchen has escaped!”