Great Liang, fifteenth year, autumn.
A dark chamber in the princely manor.
Blood, torture instruments, wooden cages, branding irons – cramped and narrow, this was a living hell.
The glazed fires burning on the pillars on either side cast a more sinister, chilling, and terrifying glow upon this prison shrouded in an aura of death.
A man in a white robe sat quietly on a chair not far away, his expression languid, playing with a string of prayer beads on his wrist.
His white attire stood in stark contrast to this place filled with dark terror.
He raised his overly alluring crimson eyes and glanced at the woman tied to a wooden frame opposite him, who had fainted. His eyes were filled with a gloomy, wicked smile.
"Is she dead? How uninteresting."
"Your Highness, shall we drag her away to feed the Blood Fiend?"
A malicious smile played on the man's lips as he softly called out, "Blood Fiend!"
His voice was cold and indifferent, yet it evoked a fear that arose from the very depths of one's heart, a terrifying sensation.
The next moment, a blood wolf slowly walked in from the entrance of the dark chamber.
It crawled at the man's feet, its dim, cold green eyes becoming obedient and docile as it looked at the man.
The man lowered his gaze and smiled, his well-proportioned hands stroking the Blood Fiend's head as he spoke gently, "Go, your ghost food has arrived."
"Eat slowly, I wish to savor the sight."
The Blood Fiend seemed to understand the man's words, a strange glint of excitement flashing in its幽 dark green eyes. It walked steadily towards the woman tied to the wooden frame.
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Ye Luan was awakened by the intense pain in her body. As she opened her eyes, she met a pair of幽 dark green eyes.
A wolf?!
She was shocked, looking at the scene with disbelief.
The fear of death surged over her. The intense pain in her arm made her grit her teeth, and she kicked the blood wolf's abdomen.
Tearing, pain, and blood made her feel like she was dying.
Only then did she realize she was bound to a wooden frame, her hands and feet shackled with heavy chains. Opposite her, a red-eyed, white-haired man watched her with a playful smile.
The moment Ye Luan saw the man hidden in the black mist, she was startled.
The man's name immediately surfaced in her mind!
Xiao Chi Zhan!
Holy crap!
She… transmigrated into a book!
She moved her body in disbelief, unable to accept that the scene from the novel was actually happening to her.
But reality left her no room for disbelief; the wolf had already pounced fiercely towards her. Thinking of the original Ye Luan's fate in the book, she was terrified, her face turning pale.
Almost without thinking,
She leaped up, bracing herself against a pillar with her weakened body. Her feet, still shackled by heavy chains, kicked out with all their might, using the chains' momentum to throw the blood wolf aside. Her movements were fluid and natural.
Witnessing this, the surrounding Dragon Scale Guards' expressions changed.
Xiao Chi Zhan's bloodthirsty eyes slowly shifted as well. His previously wild and cruel demeanor gradually faded, replaced by a perverse desire.
He narrowed his crimson eyes, calmly observing the woman who had suddenly changed.
Eerily quiet.
It was as if a cold-blooded animal had captured delicious prey, filled with playful excitement and a terrifying bloodlust.
"Blood Fiend! Come back!"
His gloomy, eerie voice echoed chillingly in the empty dark chamber.
Ye Luan's body was covered in blood from her injuries. She was in pain and discomfort. She looked over with difficulty. The man's face was hidden in the black mist, but she could see it clearly.
Beautiful!
Simply beautiful!
Handsome, alluring, yet resembling an immortal from heaven. It was a face that could topple empires.
But he exuded a terrifying aura like a Satanic demon. Those cold, snake-like crimson eyes were fixed on her face, filled with perverse amusement.
Ye Luan's heart skipped a beat. Was this the treacherous official Xiao Chi Zhan mentioned in the book?
A flood of unfamiliar memories rushed into her mind.
She –
had indeed transmigrated into a book.
She had transmigrated into a cannon fodder character with the same name.
The original owner was also named Ye Luan, the daughter of the Minister's manor. She was a cannon fodder character who died within two chapters, her death extremely gruesome – she was torn apart and mangled by that blood wolf.
And the man before her was named Xiao Chi Zhan, a friend of the male protagonist, Tan Tai Ye.
His childhood was terrible.
Because of his innate异瞳 (Yi Tong - unusual eyes), he was considered an ill omen, highly unfavored, subjected to poison refinement and assassination, living in a filthy, terrifying environment, and suffering from severe psychological disorders.
When he was at his lowest, the original Ye Luan, along with bullies from the capital, had tormented him, forced him to kneel, splashed him with filth, and carved flesh from his body with a knife.
After his blackening, he murdered his father and brother, ascended to the throne, and fiercely retaliated against those who had bullied him, their deaths occurring in extremely brutal ways.
The original owner in the book was killed by his blood wolf.
Thinking of this, her whole body stiffened.
It was over. How could she have transmigrated to such an awkward moment?
How could she save herself?
In her previous life, she was born into a family of physicians and martial artists. During her leisure time before a mission, she had casually read this book. She was so speechless at the author's portrayal of Xiao Chi Zhan's sickly, perverse, and cruel methods that she had cursed him, and surprisingly, she had transmigrated.
Oh, dear mother.
Never again would she casually curse anything.
She tried hard to recall Xiao Chi Zhan's weaknesses from the book, but she couldn't remember anything. She had read it too casually, only flipping through a few chapters, and didn't remember any specific plot points.
Furthermore, the book primarily focused on the story of the male and female protagonists, with very little description of this瘋批 (Feng Pi - crazy, deranged) powerful official.
All she knew was that he was insidious, vicious, cold, harsh, obsessive, violent, mentally unstable, rebellious, and held immense power second only to the emperor in the capital.
He was friends with the male protagonist Tan Tai Ye, Great Liang's Prime Minister Liu Rong Ruo, and Great Liang's wealthiest man, Li Qiong Yu.
Together, the four of them dominated politics, business, and the military, virtually controlling the entire Great Liang empire, disregarding the emperor, and holding absolute sway.
They were incredibly arrogant!
Xiao Chi Zhan sat lazily on the pear blossom wood chair, watching the expressions on the woman's face change. A cold sneer curved his lips as he slowly stood up and walked towards her.
"Ye Luan, does it hurt?"
A great pain shot through her arm. Ye Luan suppressed the inexplicable fear in her heart and looked at him calmly.
The woman had abandoned her previous timid demeanor of fear and crying. Her dark, fox-like eyes stared directly at him, filled with assessment, scrutiny, and mostly curiosity.
Curiosity?
Xiao Chi Zhan raised an eyebrow, his thin lips curling into a playful smile. He caressed her face, his rough thumb carrying a chilling and terrifying sensation that permeated Ye Luan.
Unaccountable goosebumps prickled her back.
"What must I do for the Prince of Dingbei to let me go?"
Xiao Chi Zhan suddenly laughed maniacally for a few moments. "Let you go?" He paused, his hot breath fanning her ear, and his sinister voice whispered, "Never in this lifetime!"
"Then if Your Highness intends to kill me, please proceed."
He was inherently rebellious and wouldn't listen to her.
The more she resisted, the more excited he would become. Conversely, he would lose interest.
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Content Warning: In the early stages, the female lead is truly ruthless, and the male lead is truly insane, both intending to kill the other. (The male lead is not a good person, truly a despicable and venomous treacherous official.) Deep love that they don't realize, chasing the wife in a crematorium situation. Double virgin. Although the male lead is despicable, he is not lecherous and is a career-driven male lead. This is not a brainless, empowering female lead story (though I think it's quite thrilling, with the female lead's personality being decisive and ruthless). Proceed with caution if you are sensitive. No angst, no female competition, 1v1.