Cool light fell on the moon gallery, casting a layer of cold glow onto the girl being sacrificed.
Li Qiongyu watched intently, his eyes showing a cunning, hidden smile.
"Stop crying, can you... let me go?"
He didn't speak. Looking at her bare, jade-like body, he took off his outer robe and covered her.
His warm breath blocked the biting cold wind, and she felt her icy body gradually warming.
"You... are you going to let me go?"
She cried so hard that her throat felt as if it had been scraped by a knife, stinging with pain.
Silence surrounded them.
She couldn't hear any movement, trembling uncontrollably from fear.
Suddenly, a cup of water was offered to her lips.
Like a fish on the verge of death, she drank thirstily. After finishing, a belated fear struck her.
"Did you poison me?"
Li Qiongyu smiled, "I drugged you. Are you scared?"
Ah--
Crazy person!
Beast!
Her pale lips were moist, with a tender pink hue.
He glanced at them a few times, then leaned down and kissed her fiercely, without reservation.
Darkness enveloped everything.
She couldn't see, but her sense of touch amplified. Tears streamed down her face involuntarily.
Father, this is the trouble you've caused.
If she had known she would be kidnapped, no matter what Father said, she wouldn't have come to Yanzhou.
Wuwuwu--
"What... what did you drug me with?"
Li Qiongyu licked his lips. His gaze moved down. His cold hand grasped her small, smooth foot and kneaded it gently.
She instantly froze, a chill spreading rapidly from her back.
"Let go, let go of me--"
She struggled fiercely, unable to bear it.
Her delicate skin rubbed against the fixed buckle, causing red blood streaks.
Li Qiongyu narrowed his eyes in displeasure, gripping her foot to prevent her from moving.
"Move again, and I'll chop off your foot."
His voice carried an undisguised, malicious killing intent.
The girl, terrified, dared not move, allowing him to knead and play with her foot.
Shame, anger.
Her face flushed crimson.
Li Qiongyu watched her struggle to move but unable to, a low, hoarse laugh tinged with a hint of madness escaping him.
Listening to his voice sent shivers down her spine, mixed with an irrepressible fear.
But the next moment, a disgusting feeling, like a cold-blooded animal crawling over her entire body, almost made her vomit.
What kind of pervert was this, to do such despicable things?
She felt utmost disgust and nausea. Thinking of her plight, she couldn't help but cry, wetting a few strands of hair stuck to her cheeks.
"You--you're shameless, you're sick--"
"Shameless? Sick?" Li Qiongyu looked up, his smile wicked. "Your entire body-- I have."
The girl beneath him trembled visibly with fear.
The smile on his lips deepened. "Good girl, I'll do even more shameless things."
How could a beast that had tasted flesh be content with eating grass?
The mechanism activated.
With a bang, the heavy iron cage fell--
The railings of the moon gallery were instantly sealed.
Black cloth covered everything around.
She could feel that this place had suddenly become a sealed space, and the temperature was steadily rising.
Alarm, fear.
"You--what are you going to do?"
He chuckled lowly, his jade-like fingers meticulously undoing his belt, his voice gentle.
"I want to-- ah."
Shock!
"No, don't, let me go, let me go--"
She began to struggle violently, her tear-reddened eyes misting over again, her whole body trembling with fear.
In the dark night, her fair, slender neck glowed white.
He kissed her cheeks, her neck--
Presumptuous.
Greedy.
Terrified screams, the hissing of snakes and insects--
Everything sounded so pleasant and beautiful.
~
When Ye鸾 woke up the next day, she found that Li Qiongyu hadn't come to find them for a long time.
After washing up, she took Xueqiu and Lan Murou to the morning market outside to find food.
"Xiao Qi, where are the morning market stalls here?"
Xiao Qi was the helper Li Qiongyu had left for them. He heard he used to work in a shop in Yanzhou and was very familiar with the area.
"Misses, they're in the East Market. Just around this street. Lots of food, I'll take you."
"Okay, let's go."
The East Market stalls stretched along an entire street. The small vendors were already calling out their wares. As soon as they arrived, everything was steaming.
"Little lady, take a look. Freshly baked hot buns, red bean buns, vegetarian buns, meat buns. Not expensive. What filling do you want?"
Ye鸾 quite liked red bean buns.
She said, "Then I'll have a red bean bun. Murou, what filling do you want?"
"I want tofu filling."
"Alright, five copper coins."
Xiao Qi paid and handed the buns wrapped in oil paper to the two girls.
"Aluan, do you want to eat wontons?"
Many people were eating breakfast on the road, including strong men going to work at the dock, scholars, and aunts and uncles buying vegetables. The place was bustling.
Ye鸾 saw that the wonton stall was full of people and walked a few steps further.
"There's another wonton stall here. Do you want to eat?"
Lan Murou nodded.
"Wontons cooked to order. Two bowls for the two young ladies?"
Ye鸾 nodded. "Xiao Qi, you eat here too. Boss, three bowls please."
"Alright."
Xiao Qi, being cheerful and unpretentious, was very observant. He took a handkerchief to wipe the table and benches clean, then said with a smile.
"Misses, please sit."
Saying that, he sat opposite them.
Ye鸾, bored, chatted idly, "Xiao Qi, what's fun to do in Yanzhou?"
"You've asked the right person. People often say that the south has Jingchu and the north has Yanzhou. They are both favorite places for people in the palace to visit----"
~
After the three of them finished eating, they returned to find Li Qiongyu sitting downstairs drinking tea, a carefree smile on his face.
"Oh, you're finally back. What good food did you go eat."
Ye鸾's sharp eyes spotted the tooth marks on his neck and she raised an eyebrow, walking over.
"You went to the pleasure houses yourself without taking us. Selfish."
She also wanted to see what was so fun about those pleasure houses.
Li Qiongyu didn't hide anything, his smile playful. "We can't leave today anyway. I'll take you. But if those two hit me, you have to stop them."
"Ah, Aluan, are we really going?"
Lan Murou didn't want to go. She was afraid.
Ye鸾 fed the Xueqiu in her arms, curling her lips. "I was just teasing."
Li Qiongyu playfully pinched Xueqiu. "That scoundrel Xiao Chizhan never let us touch him. Now I can finally pluck his fur. It's so soft and warm~"
Xueqiu was unhappy at being pinched and bared its teeth at him, biting his hand without hesitation.
Li Qiongyu swiftly grabbed its mouth and chuckled, "Quite mischievous."
Ye鸾 watched this childish scene and asked, "When can we actually-- "
Before she could finish her sentence, a wail suddenly came from outside.
"Li Qiongyu, I'm going crazy! Eww, Murou, Aluan, you're here too. Wuwuwu-- I--"