Hearing Tu Lingduo’s words, Suo Lun was once more astonished.
What had become of this world? Those who ought to betray did not betray, while those who ought not to betray did so without hesitation.
Looking again at Gui Qinshao, she had now closed her eyes, appearing completely resigned to her fate, waiting for Suo Lun to use the bone-etching knife to ruin her face.
“Open your eyes.” Suo Lun said.
Gui Qinshao opened her eyes once more. Her originally large, watery eyes had been both spirited and alluring. Now they were filled with bloodshot veins, filled with exhaustion and pain.
Suo Lun let out a deep sigh. He gently stroked her face, then looked upon her wounded and battered delicate body.
From the day she was born until now, she had likely never suffered such torment.
From head to toe, she had endured who knew how many lashes. Everywhere were marks from scalding candle wax, and swollen welts from poisonous caterpillar stings.
Even more, there was a faint odour upon her body, not from the pain of torture, but from being frightened by that final box of caterpillars.
Although this woman’s martial arts were not inconsiderable, from childhood to adulthood she had never suffered the slightest hardship. She had trained in martial arts for over a decade, yet had never truly fought in battle, nor ever been wounded.
And today, she had endured all the suffering of the past twenty years in a single day.
Hearing Suo Lun’s sigh, Gui Qinshao seemed to be stirred by a memory from a very distant past.
Then, certain memories that had been washed away actually surged up once more.
They were the memories from the dungeon on Chaos Rock Island, where she had been tormented by Suo Lun and lost all her dignity.
At that time, she had been starved for days and nights. Merely to survive, for the sake of a single stale and stinking steamed bun, she had abandoned all her dignity and trampled upon her own pride.
It was precisely because of this humiliating memory that she had come to understand her own weakness and frailty. She no longer had the capital for righteous and justified pride. Every day she was unable to eat or drink, silent and withdrawn, no longer blooming like a flower.
Thus, Gui Qinshao had been compelled to take her to have her memory cleansed.
Gui Qinshao had retained her memory of being defiled by Suo Lun (which in fact had not happened), and had the spirit master wash away the latter half of her memory, the part where she had been weak and humiliated.
However, that spirit master believed that a person must face their own truth. Thus, he had not truly cleansed this memory, but merely hidden it away. At the appropriate moment, with a single signal, this memory would be reawakened.
And Suo Lun’s sigh, filled with tender pity, was exactly like the sigh from that night in the dungeon. It pulled her back from the edge of utter degradation.
At that time, in order to survive, she had directly picked up that rotten and stinking steamed bun to eat. Once she truly ate it, it would become a lifelong nightmare she could never shake off, piercing through the bottom line of her dignity.
Yet at that very moment, Suo Lun had stopped her and brought her a fresh, hot steamed bun.
At that time, it was as though she had ascended from hell to heaven.
And now, she was once more being pushed towards hell by Suo Lun, facing the prospect of being disfigured.
And then, another sigh.
Suo Lun once more pulled her back from hell.
Instantly, a strange sense of sweetness welled up in Gui Qinshao’s heart once again.
This scoundrel before her eyes pitied her. He could not bear to truly push her down into hell.
Ling Ao treated her well, but she had grown accustomed to it and did not find it precious.
Yet Suo Lun tormented her so, abused her, but showed mercy at the final moment. This made her feel sweet and warm.
And this time was different from the last.
The last time, she had not preserved her pride and dignity.
This time, she had.
Because she would rather die than betray her father. Thus, in the future she would have even more reason to be proud, or rather, to be willful and indulgent.
Even more, there was a more perverse thought in her heart.
It was one thing for her father to dote upon her. But even Suo Lun, that great demon, in the depths of his heart… pitied her. What reason did she have not to be willful and indulgent?
Suo Lun untied her ropes and lowered her down.
Instantly, her wounded and battered delicate body collapsed directly, going limp in Suo Lun’s embrace.
Suo Lun carried her into the inner room.
There was a bathing tub here. The petal bath water above had long since gone cold.
Suo Lun lit a fire to heat water, adding hot water to the bath until it reached a comfortably warm temperature.
Then, he placed Gui Qinshao’s wounded and battered delicate body into the bath water.
The warm water stung all her wounds, causing her to tremble violently from the pain.
“Can you wash yourself?” Suo Lun asked.
Gui Qinshao shook her head.
Suo Lun took the softest silk and gently wiped every inch of her delicate body.
Although the silk was soft, when it scraped across the wounds, it still hurt.
But this pain once more gave Gui Qinshao a strange sensation.
As though a kind of energy was gradually permeating into her body, into her very bones, even into her heart.
For a moment she could not find the words to describe it. After thinking for a while, she found them.
Gentle pain.
Or, painful gentleness.
This was like the relationship between her and Suo Lun. For the vast majority of the time, they hated and killed each other, hurting one another.
Yet that occasional thread of tenderness was utterly bone-etching, imprinted into the depths of the soul.
Back then, Tu Lingduo had the words “Suo Lun was here” written upon her buttocks with the bone-etching pen, and for over a decade she was in agony.
And now, the tattoo of the rose flower forming the character Suo upon Gui Qinshao’s lower abdomen gave her a perverse sense of satisfaction, a strange sense of happiness. In short, it caused her no pain whatsoever.
Not only that, when tattooing this rose flower, Suo Lun had specially added a kind of medicinal liquid.
This medicinal liquid would cause her to feel a slight pain, a slight soreness, a slight itch every few days. Not severe, but lingering and entwining, like the taste of longing.
Even, it would have an addictive quality.
“Will it leave scars?” Gui Qinshao asked.
“It should not.” Suo Lun said, “Only swelling and bruising, but no broken skin. In a moment, I shall apply a salve for regenerating flesh and beautifying skin for you.”
Then, Gui Qinshao lay lazily in the bathing tub, accepting Suo Lun’s washing and wiping.
It was truly a strange sensation. Ling Ao was her betrothed, yet he had not even touched her body. The moment he merely drew near, the hairs on her body nearly stood on end, like a kitten with its fur completely bristling.
Yet with Suo Lun, every inch of her skin he touched, every pore on her body was relaxed and lazy.
It was as though a little cat was comfortably accepting its master’s caress.
Previously, Gui Qinshao had not been entirely certain of this feeling. Now she completely understood.
After understanding, her heart was filled with bitterness.
…
After bathing, Gui Qinshao lay upon the soft **.
Suo Lun took out an extremely expensive medicinal cream. He first warmed it in his palms, then evenly applied it upon every inch of Gui Qinshao’s skin.
This was a specially made salve for regenerating flesh and beautifying skin, which Suo Lun had obtained from the sorceress Yaomeng.
And within it was another very special ingredient, similar to a hallucinogenic drug, capable of producing a floating, wonderful sensation.
Suo Lun first applied it to the skin of her body, then massaged vigorously with pressure, driving the medicinal power deep into the skin layers, ensuring no scars would remain.
By now, Gui Qinshao could no longer feel any pain. Instead, she was as comfortable as though in paradise.
For the past several hours, she had been subjected to terrible torment, completely immersed in agony beyond endurance. And now, she was in paradise.
This was truly from hell to heaven. That feeling of happiness was like wandering in a desert for half a year, then drinking iced mint honey water.
This feeling of happiness was truly an opportunity one might never encounter in a lifetime, making one willing to give everything in exchange for it.
Gui Qinshao did not wish to think about why this was so. She simply immersed herself completely in this happiness.
Her delicate body still possessed a devilishly alluring curve, still so exquisite that it drove men mad.
Suo Lun asked, “You are no longer practising the Nine Swords of Tribulation?”
“How did you know?” Gui Qinshao asked.
“The skin upon your body is not as taut and firm as before. It is a bit soft.” Suo Lun said.
Instantly, Gui Qinshao deliberately tensed her delicate body, trying to make her skin more taut and elastic. Unconsciously, she cared very much about Suo Lun’s feelings and judgement.
“Why did you stop practising?” Suo Lun asked.
Gui Qinshao said, “I practised for so many years, yet I was still no match for you after you practised for only a few days. I even lost to you in a duel. So I no longer wish to practise.”
“If you do not practise, your figure will deteriorate.” Suo Lun said, “Besides, is it not normal to lose? Continue practising in the future.”
“I will not practise.” Gui Qinshao said, but in her heart she had already begun to secretly rehearse the forms of the Nine Swords of Tribulation, hoping she could pick them up again after nearly a year of neglect.
A full hour later, the medicinal cream upon Gui Qinshao’s body had been completely applied.
Then, Suo Lun took out a set of clothing and said, “Sleep for a while first. After daybreak, go home on your own.”
Then, he was about to walk towards the outside.
Gui Qinshao’s heart was filled with boundless disappointment. She wished to call out to him.
“Do not go. Stay and keep me company…” she said in her heart, but her proud self ultimately did not speak the words aloud.
Even more, what she most desired in her heart now was for Suo Lun to gently hold her as they slept. She wished to lie in Suo Lun’s embrace and sleep, and best of all for Suo Lun to have nothing on his body at all, for the two of them to be pressed completely close together with nothing between them.
But these words she also could not speak at all.
She was proud, willful and indulgent. It was men who knelt before her, begging for her favour, not she who actively begged for a man’s tender pity.
Suo Lun simply went out like this, not even leaving a single kiss.
Gui Qinshao’s heart was filled with boundless disappointment, yet she was still suffused in the lingering aftertaste of happiness and sweetness.
To describe it in one phrase, it was imperfect beauty.
In the future, she would always remember this feeling. She longed for a kiss from Suo Lun. She longed even more to fall asleep in Suo Lun’s embrace.
And this feeling would become a memory, surging into her mind from time to time, gradually fermenting into something akin to a first love.
She loved this man!
Now, Gui Qinshao was completely certain of this.
The reason she had come to the Rainflower Pavilion was not shamelessness, not knowing she would be abused yet coming anyway. It was because she longed to come here.
Then, she watched Suo Lun’s departing back in silence, her thoughts in turmoil.
…
When he came to the outer room once more, he was met by Tu Lingduo’s gaze, filled with coldness and mockery.
“Did you not get the intelligence you wanted from her mouth? Or could it be you could not bear to, could not bear to see her trample upon her bottom line and betray her father?” Tu Lingduo asked.
Suo Lun did not reply.
Tu Lingduo sneered coldly, “You men are truly shallow. You always like these gorgeous yet shallow, vain and proud women.”
Suo Lun still did not reply, for she spoke half a truth.
Although, the one she loved was her elder sister, and the one she pitied most of all in her heart was Yan Naier.
But for the vast majority of men, Gui Qinshao’s allure was the greatest. Just as for most women, what they liked were scoundrel pretty boys like Suo Lun.
Taking a deep breath, Tu Lingduo looked towards Suo Lun and said, “Do you wish to know how many troops, how many ships, and when they shall attack in this campaign to destroy the Suo Clan?”
Suo Lun said, “It is not strange that Gui Qinshao knows, for Ling Ao would carelessly leak it to her. But how do you know? The true number of people who know of this campaign to destroy the Suo Clan does not exceed seven or eight.”
“That is none of your concern. I naturally have my own channels.” Tu Lingduo said, “I can tell you completely, even how many troops each family contributes, how military expenses are divided, what their combat strength is like. I can tell you all of it, as long as you agree to one condition of mine.”
“What condition?” Suo Lun asked, “If the condition is too harsh, I may not be able to agree. And what I find even stranger is, why would you tell me? Gui Qinshao would rather die than betray her father. Are you willing to betray your own family?”
Tu Lingduo said coldly, “To return to my family, to obtain the position I deserve, I can resort to any means necessary. Moreover, if this campaign to destroy the Suo Clan is victorious, it brings me no benefit. It is the beginning of my disaster. Yet, if this campaign to destroy the Suo Clan is defeated, then my engagement to Tu Liyang might be dissolved, for the Tu Li family would no longer be of great use to us. And I might even be employed once more, for if even my father and the others lost, then it was only natural that I lost to you before.”
Suo Lun was startled. Tu Lingduo spoke with great reason.
If this campaign to destroy the Suo Clan were defeated, it would certainly be unfavourable for the Tu Ling family, but it would not damage their foundations. Instead, it would change Tu Lingduo’s fate.
Instantly, Suo Lun recalled countless examples from Earth, examples of internal strife. For the sake of one’s own interests, one would betray not only family and company, but even country without hesitation.
“What condition?” Suo Lun asked.
Tu Lingduo said, “I want a promise from you.”
“What promise.” Suo Lun said.
Tu Lingduo said, “In the struggle against Zhi Li, should there come a day when you win, please give the Tu Ling family one chance. One chance to choose sides anew. Do not completely exterminate my Tu Ling family.”
Suo Lun was instantly startled. His gaze towards Tu Lingduo also became unfathomable.
“Very well, I agree.” Suo Lun said, “However, why do you think there is even the slightest chance we might win?”
Tu Lingduo said, “I said it is a chance of one in ten thousand, so minuscule it is almost impossible. But for someone like me who has been completely abandoned, I can only gamble on this one in ten thousand chance.”
Then, Tu Lingduo said, “Altogether, one hundred and ten thousand troops, five hundred and ninety warships, six hundred cargo ships. The forces shall be divided into two routes. One route of thirty thousand shall attack Chaos Rock Island. One route of eighty thousand shall attack the territory of Tianshui City. And the specific troop contribution proportions of each family are…”
Next, Tu Lingduo told Suo Lun the intelligence from the secret meeting to destroy the Suo Clan completely and thoroughly. The troop contribution proportions of each family, the division of military expenses, the post-war distribution of interests, and so forth.
After one pass through, Suo Lun had already memorised all the intelligence clearly.
One hundred and ten thousand troops, nearly six hundred warships, a force more than ten times that of Tianshui City. It was so powerful it inspired despair.
How should he survive this calamity? How could he win this battle? It was more difficult than ascending to heaven.
And right at this moment, Tu Lingduo suddenly began to undo her clothing, revealing her long and athletic body.
Suo Lun could not help but say in astonishment, “What are you doing?”
Tu Lingduo said, “Whatever you did to me before, do it to me again now!”
Suo Lun was completely stunned and said, “The family rules of your Tu Ling family are exceedingly strict.”
Tu Lingduo said, “Who here would know? Come. Abuse me. Viciously take revenge upon my family.”