Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 384 371: Trial of Heart Tribulation 5 - Xiaohan, You Wouldn't Want Me to Break Fan Xuan, Would You?

INHALE... EXHALE...

Pei Yuhang took rhythmic and long breaths under the sun. His porcelain-white skin seemed to be veiled in a gauze of light, as if sunlight was actively pouring into his pores.

A few breaths later, Pei Yuhang slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

'I've reached Qi Cultivation Great Perfection.'

'In another two days, I'll be able to transition smoothly to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Even though suppressing my aura has slowed my cultivation speed, the trade-off is stealth. It's all been done in secret.'

Feeling the burgeoning power within him, Pei Yuhang felt a renewed sense of security.

'But why hasn't Fan Xuan come to teach me yet? She's usually here by now, isn't she?'

An inexplicable sense of dread washed over Pei Yuhang. He gazed toward the small path at the end of the bamboo forest, hoping to see her tall, elegant figure.

Soon, the bamboo forest stirred, and a figure in a purple qipao emerged.

It wasn't Fan Xuan, but Fan Ya.

"Young Master Pei."

Fan Ya dipped into a slight bow before Pei Yuhang, her cool, clear voice laced with a hint of distance.

She lifted her eyes, which were as deep and dark as a Cold Pool, and said expressionlessly, "The Holy Daughter requests your presence at the Saintess Hall."

'To the Saintess Hall...'

Pei Yuhang's long, slender fingers trembled almost imperceptibly. He forcefully suppressed the unease surging in his heart, but a trace of concern still leaked into his voice:

"Where is Fan Xuan?"

At his words, the corners of Fan Ya's lips curled into a scornful smile. Her slender fingers clenched her sleeves, knuckles turning white from the force.

"Young Master Pei will find out once he arrives."

Fan Ya's voice was laced with a chilling coldness.

'In her eyes, this was all the fault of the handsome young man standing before her.'

'As the Holy Daughter's personal plaything, does he have no self-awareness at all?'

'He knew Xiaoxuan has had little contact with men, yet he still used sweet words to toy with her affections, using that handsome face of his to bewitch her.'

'Making Xiaoxuan anger the Holy Daughter—'

Fan Ya's chest heaved slightly, then she turned around without another word.

"Come with me, Young Master Pei."

Pei Yuhang was wary, but after a moment's hesitation, he followed Fan Ya.

Soon, a majestic palace built of gold and jade suddenly appeared before Pei Yuhang. Sunlight shone on the Liuli tiles, reflecting a dazzling, dizzying brilliance.

When Pei Yuhang saw the two large, gilded words, "Saintess Hall," his eyes grew dazed, then gloomy.

The memories he had deliberately sealed away came rushing back like a tide—

The bewildering, lust-inducing smoke rising from the gilded censer, the pale white bodies entwined passionately behind the brocade curtains, and the ever-present panting in his ear—arrogant, triumphant, and possessive...

This place held many of his terrible, decadent memories.

It was the last place he ever wanted to be.

Pei Yuhang clenched his fists slightly, stepped over the vermilion-lacquered threshold, and his figure was quickly swallowed by the shadows within the hall.

"Your Highness, I have brought Young Master Pei."

Fan Ya curtsied, bowing respectfully to the woman resting with her eyes closed on the Gilded Phoenix Throne.

"Mm, you may leave now."

Shang Miaoyan waved her hand dismissively, her fingertips tapping lightly on the armrest. She tilted her head slightly, and a lock of black hair slipped out from under her Golden Crown, making her exquisite face look even more languid.

"Next, I want to chat with Xiaohan alone."

"Yes."

Fan Ya glanced at Pei Yuhang beside her, pressed her lips together, but ultimately said nothing before leaving the grand hall.

After only Pei Yuhang and Shang Miaoyan were left in the hall, Shang Miaoyan seemed to drop some of her pretense, stretching her graceful waist like a relaxed, elegant cat.

She leaned forward, her red lips curling into a teasing smile.

"Xiaohan, how have you been enjoying your stay?"

"Well-fed and well-clothed, but not free."

Pei Yuhang said evenly.

Shang Miaoyan wasn't annoyed by Pei Yuhang's complaint. Instead, she walked up to him with great interest and said with a smile:

"Why do you feel you aren't free?"

"Because I am being kept by you, Holy Daughter."

Shang Miaoyan was stunned for a moment, her red lips slightly parted. Then, as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world, she burst out laughing, her body shaking with laughter. The Jade Bead Golden Ring on her wrist jingled along with her laughter.

Pei Yuhang stood silently in place, his gaze calm as he watched the most beautiful woman under heaven laugh.

Shang Miaoyan was the most beautiful woman Pei Yuhang knew. Even though he detested her, he still had to admit her beauty.

Especially the Shang Miaoyan of now, in the bloom of her youth, at the most beautiful stage of her life.

And at this time, her personality was also at its worst.

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Shang Miaoyan suddenly straightened up, her fingertips gently wiping away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes.

When she looked up at Pei Yuhang again, her peach-blossom eyes were filled with frost, and the words that came from her red lips were like poison-tipped ice needles.

"A pet, daring to express dissatisfaction to its master."

"And your little dalliance with my Maid, Fan Xuan, was that also your way of rebelling against me, your master? How clever of you!"

"There is nothing between Fan Xuan and me. This is all just a product of your own greed and possessiveness, Holy Daughter."

Shang Miaoyan stared silently at Pei Yuhang's clear eyes. They were the most beautiful, purest eyes Shang Miaoyan had ever seen.

Under the gaze of those eyes, the killing intent that had been in Shang Miaoyan's heart quietly dissipated.

'Just as I thought. I still can't bring myself to kill him.'

Shang Miaoyan was silent for a moment, then said: "I believe you feel nothing for her, but the same can't be said for her feelings toward you…"

"I know, Xiaohan, that you are not afraid of physical pain. If I punish you, you won't remember the lesson.

But someone as kind-hearted as you can't bear to see others suffer, can you?"

"Now, I'll take you to see poor little Xiaoxuan~ I'll use her to make you understand, Xiaohan, that you should never show that damn gentleness to other women again. It will only bring them harm.

Your gentleness can only belong to me, even if I don't need it."

Shang Miaoyan breathed a fragrant whisper into Pei Yuhang's ear, then opened a hidden door in the Saintess Hall and gestured for Pei Yuhang to follow her inside.

In the darkness, two Maids dressed in black stood waiting in a corner, holding blood-stained whips.

The chains rattled softly.

The shocking, bloody welts from a whipping stood out starkly against her porcelain-white skin.

Hearing Pei Yuhang's fists clench beside her, Shang Miaoyan licked her red lips, feeling a strange sense of excitement.

She flicked her fingertip forward, and in an instant, a thick, semi-transparent pane of Liuli rose from the floor.

Pei Yuhang looked at Fan Xuan, who was now separated from them by the Liuli wall, his mind still echoing with her tragically beautiful appearance.

"Holy Daughter, what are you planning to do?"

Pei Yuhang's breathing was a little ragged, making no effort to hide his anger.

"What? Does it pain you to see little Xiaoxuan after I've punished her?"

With a flick of her fingers, Shang Miaoyan took out a large bed from her Jiezhi Storage Ring, causing Pei Yuhang's brows to furrow.

"What are you doing?"

Shang Miaoyan's red lips curled up as she took out a Bell.

"I know you refuse to submit to me. Today, I shall thoroughly correct that disobedient nature of yours."

"From now on, you must completely obey my every command. Otherwise, I will ring the Bell. One ring of the Bell, and Xiaoxuan gets whipped three times."

As she spoke, an intoxicating flush spread across Shang Miaoyan's face, and her breath grew hotter.

"Oh, Xiaohan, you have no idea how potent that Six Desires Indulgence Whip is~

Especially for a virgin girl like Xiaoxuan, every lash on that tender skin is no different from the pain and itching of ten thousand ants eating her heart."

Shang Miaoyan extended her hand and made a grasping motion in front of Pei Yuhang, as if to imply that he was completely in her control, never to escape the palm of her hand.

"Xiaohan, Fan Xuan has taught you for so long. You wouldn't want her to be beaten until she breaks, would you~"