The beast-taming grounds were located in Youzhou, within Tiandu.
It was a paradise for the nobility.
The relief carved on the gates of the underground city opened, and the roaring waves of sound from the beast-taming grounds, like mountains collapsing and seas surging, came in one after another.
Blood, slaves, and beasts were mingled on the vast grassland, a scene of utter chaos.
The princes and nobles who came for leisure rode their fine steeds, galloping excitedly in the enormous beast-taming grounds, their arrows mercilessly striking the fleeing slaves.
Ye Luan’s eyes widened as she watched the scenes unfolding on the grassland, her hands growing cold.
“Bet, I’m betting on this one. If you dare to lose, I’ll skin you alive.”
Not far away, on a wide, flat platform, two slaves in ragged clothes, wearing chains, snarled and fought each other.
Blood and human flesh filled the platform.
The young nobles outside the hunting grounds cheered them on, their excitement rising wave after wave, using humans as stakes and their lives as the ultimate gamble.
“What is this?”
Wei Qingge frowned as she looked at the scenes on the platform and replied, “Do you see the person with a tattoo on their back? They are called ‘Xing Nu’, slaves who have committed crimes.”
“The man fighting him, holding a club, is called ‘Da Nu’. They are fighting to the death. The one who survives will be taken away by the noble scions, and the one who dies will be fed to the beasts on the grassland.”
Ye Luan’s gaze was cold; she found the voices of those people incredibly grating.
“I heard that when the Prince returned to the capital to inherit his title, there was a massacre here. Nearly ten thousand people died, creating mountains of corpses and seas of blood.”
“Blood and bodies flowed into the Dingbei River, and it stank for many years.”
Ye Luan’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean? Did the Prince lead the troops in the massacre?”
Wei Qingge waved her hand. “I don’t know that. I only heard it through hearsay.”
“Didn’t they say the bone-pile stage in Tiandu was destroyed by fire back then? Why is it still here?”
Following Lan Murou’s direction, a high platform, built from piles of bones and corpses, stood not far away. A wooden cage was placed on it, and the person inside was being hawked.
“One hundred thousand taels for his bones, break them.”
People’s organs were being sold for the noble scions to play with.
Ye Luan felt a wave of nausea. “What’s so fun about this place? Let’s go.”
“Don’t! Let’s go to the beast arena. Galloping on horseback, it’ll be so exhilarating.”
The beast arena and the beast-taming grounds were only separated by a wall, but this side was clearly not as bloody. There were no slaves or blood within the enclosure.
As the three of them rode their horses into the arena, they encountered a group of noble ladies.
The leader was none other than Su Li.
“Miss Ye.”
Ye Luan had no intention of acknowledging them, but her path was directly blocked.
“Hey, I’m talking to you, why are you running?” A woman in a goose-yellow dress looked at her unpleasantly.
The other noble ladies were also sizing her up, their gazes varied.
Ye Luan sneered inwardly. Ever since she arrived in Youzhou, she had been confined to the Prince of Dingbei’s mansion. No one had seen her. Where did these women's hostility come from?
She glanced mockingly at Su Li, who was leading them.
She must have badmouthed her a lot outside.
“A slave locked in the Prince’s mansion, what are you being so arrogant about?”
“Exactly, what’s with that look?”
The chattering voices made Wei Qingge incredibly annoyed.
She flicked her horsewhip and cursed, “If you dare to spout any more nonsense, I’ll rip your mouths apart.”
“Damn it all, all of you get out of my way.”
The little chili of the Wei family from the capital was known for her fiery temper, and everyone present was aware of it.
A path cleared between them. Wei Qingge glared fiercely at the few noble ladies and said to the two behind her, “Let’s go.”
Ye Luan rode her horse, following leisurely. She looked at Wei Qingge, who was dashing ahead so freely and brightly, and smiled faintly.
Having a friend felt quite nice!
Su Li looked ahead, her expression turning cold, a hint of calculation in her eyes.
“Sister Su, this slut has a seductive face. The Prince won’t like her.”
“Hmph, her expression just makes me angry. If you ask me, gouging out her eyes and ruining her face, then selling her to the beast-taming grounds for entertainment, that would be so satisfying.”
As the few of them chattered noisily, a flicker of impatience flashed in Su Li’s eyes.
Wei Qingge saw them riding leisurely and thought they were quite boring. She directly said, “Your horsemanship is too poor. Just walk around the outer walls of the city. I’m going inside to hunt.”
After speaking, she left like a gust of wind.
“A’Luan, do you know the Miss Su from just now?”
Ye Luan smiled faintly. “No, I met her once at the mansion.”
Lan Murou rode alongside her and reminded her, “That woman is not to be trifled with. She’s a cousin of the Prince. Be careful.”
A lunatic who murdered his father and brother would show any cousin mercy?
“Coincidentally, I’m not a good person either.”
Hearing her cold words, Lan Murou was slightly stunned, then let out a laugh.
“Get out of the way, get out of the way! The horse is spooked, run!”
Suddenly, several piercing cries came from behind.
A startled horse charged directly towards her.
Su Li, on the horse, shouted with bloodshot eyes, desperately pulling on the reins, but she couldn’t control the spooked horse.
Ye Luan narrowed her eyes slightly. The horse’s eyes were bloodshot; it was obvious it had been drugged.
She looked at the blood-red horse charging at her with a cold sneer, not evading.
“Hurry and go, A’Luan, you’ll be trampled to death.”
Youzhou Tiandu was a world of slaughter and blood, where human lives were worthless. If you died here, no one would collect your body.
Lan Murou quickly rode her horse to the side to avoid it.
Ye Luan raised an eyebrow and rode her horse towards a less populated area. “Murou, you go to the periphery, don’t follow me.”
“How can I do that? What if something happens?”
Lan Murou quickly followed her, dodging to the side.
But the horse seemed to have gone mad, charging directly at Ye Luan and trampling her.
Wherever she ran, the horse pursued.
Heh.
As expected, it was targeting her deliberately.
“Oho, chase it, chase it–”
The beast arena rarely had such excitement. Everyone raised their whips and chased after them to watch the show.
The spooked horse ran at a breakneck speed, its eyes blood-red, as if it were going to devour people.
Ye Luan looked back, and the hidden weapon in her hand, wrapped in a chilling cold wind, swept past. Extremely thin, long silver needles entered the horse’s eyes.
As pain shot through it, the warhorse reared back and let out a long neigh.
Su Li, controlling the horse, was quickly thrown off.
The horse, as if possessed, began to run wildly.
“Sister Su–”
Everyone chased after them frantically.
Ye Luan leaped off her horse, grabbed the reins, and a strange scent emanated from her. The frenzied horse began to bolt.
Su Li, disheveled, opened her eyes wide, staring in shock as the horse lunged at her.
The woman on the horse looked at her with a cool, indifferent gaze. Hatred and killing intent immediately surfaced in her eyes.
Damn it.
Why could this slut control the crazed horse?
As it galloped towards her, she scrambled away on all fours.
“Help! Help–”
The horse’s hooves struck, and blood gushed from her abdomen, a sharp pain instantly overwhelming her.
Everyone was shocked.
“Ye Luan, what are you doing? Stop it, stop it–”
Ye Luan sneered, “When a beast disobeys, it needs to be disciplined properly.”