Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 386 373: Trial of Heart Tribulation 7 - The "Soiled" White Moonlight

Fan Xuan screamed herself hoarse, begging Shang Miaoyan to spare Pei Yuhang.

But little did she know, her cries were like those of a blood-soaked fawn, bleating at a hungry wolf.

A fawn's pained pleas would not stir the wolf's mercy; they would only excite its glee and fuel an even greater lust for violence.

At the sound of the fawn's weeping, the wolf would only become more bloodthirsty!

On the other side of the Liuli wall, hidden from Fan Xuan's view...

Shang Miaoyan was growing more and more excited, impatient to conquer the beautiful boy.

...

Shang Miaoyan closed her eyes, absorbing the Primordial Yang she had seized from Pei Yuhang.

As she circulated the Great Yin Yang Scripture, the signature art of the Yin Yang Sacred Land's Saintess, a brilliant halo veiled her porcelain-white skin, and a faint white mist even began to circle around her.

A moment later, Shang Miaoyan opened her eyes. Her aura was even more powerful, so deep it was unfathomable, putting Pei Yuhang on high alert.

"Xiaohan, why did you lie to me..."

Her red lips parted. By using Pei Yuhang's Primordial Yang, she had essentially skipped years of arduous cultivation. Her foundation was now completely repaired, and she could stand above all the proud prodigies of her generation.

Yet, Shang Miaoyan felt no joy whatsoever.

Because she had discovered that she had never truly seen through Pei Yuhang.

Pei Yuhang was no good-for-nothing; he was a peerless genius with talent that rivaled her own.

The sheer immensity and purity of his Primordial Yang Power was simply unprecedented.

'If Pei Yuhang had revealed his talent that day at the Jade Field, the Sect Leader might have taken him for himself. It never would have been my turn to enjoy him…'

"So, why did you hide your true strength! Why did you conceal it from me!"

Shang Miaoyan's hand shot out, clamping around Pei Yuhang's neck and pinning him against the rumpled bed.

She, Shang Miaoyan, did not like it when her possessions slipped from her control!

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Having already anticipated this, Pei Yuhang's expression remained placid. His starkly clear eyes held nothing but composure and just the right hint of confusion.

Shang Miaoyan stared at Pei Yuhang's face, and after a long silence, she let go.

"COUGH, COUGH—"

Pei Yuhang rubbed the red fingerprints on his neck. He coughed twice and tried to rise, but Shang Miaoyan pushed him back down.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Xiaohan... We still have round two."

Shang Miaoyan was not an easily satisfied woman. She was greedy in every respect.

Especially after her first taste of the forbidden fruit. An ordinary woman might need a day or two to recover from the physical discomfort before she could begin to savor the aftertaste.

But Shang Miaoyan needed no rest; she only wanted to plunder more from Pei Yuhang, and she wanted it now.

Especially now that she'd discovered he was hiding secrets from her, she had the nagging feeling that he didn't belong here, that he could vanish from her side at any moment.

This made Shang Miaoyan feel deeply insecure. She felt a desperate need to leave her mark on Pei Yuhang, to make him completely hers, ensuring he would never leave.

She leaned in to kiss him, but Pei Yuhang turned his head aside, and her soft lips only grazed the cool corner of his mouth.

He raised a hand to her shoulder in a final act of resistance.

"Wait. You can continue, but you have to agree to one condition."

Shang Miaoyan didn't shut down his attempt to bargain. She found she had extra patience for this mysterious, beautiful boy.

"Let's hear it." The end of her sentence lifted, laced with a playful tone.

"Release Fan Xuan. And promise me you won't take pleasure in her suffering."

Shang Miaoyan suddenly chuckled. Her fingers, nails painted red, slid from his chin to his Adam's apple, feeling the slight tremor beneath her touch.

"Is that all? I thought you would try to gain some advantage for yourself. I didn't expect you'd ask for something for her.

Pei Yuhang, you don't seem like the type to be a selfless fool, helping others unconditionally. The little bit of help Fan Xuan gave you these past few days... surely that's not enough to make you this concerned about her, is it?"

She suddenly leaned in close, her nose nearly touching his, their warm breaths mingling.

"Fan Xuan is just a lowly Maid. I'm also certain you two had never met before this. What exactly do you owe her?

Or could it be... love at first sight..."

Shang Miaoyan's gaze on Pei Yuhang grew increasingly dark and profound.

Pei Yuhang's expression didn't change, but his eyes grew colder.

"Your imagination is running wild. I simply don't want to see an innocent person suffer because of me."

"Fan Xuan is innocent."

"Innocent?"

As if she'd heard the funniest joke, Shang Miaoyan let out a low laugh. Her fingernails traced his skin, a barely-there touch. Her voice was languid, but laced with pressure.

"She didn't know her place. She coveted what belongs to me, her master. Is that what you call innocent? She's greedier than I am, and more foolish, isn't she?

It was merciful of me not to have her executed on the spot."

"I have never been your possession."

Pei Yuhang swatted away her caressing fingers, his tone resolute.

Whether his spirit was broken or his body defiled...

...this was one conviction he would never abandon.

As Pei Yuhang's words reached Shang Miaoyan's ears...

HUMMM—

For a split second, the world before Pei Yuhang seemed to warp.

But it returned to normal just as quickly.

Pei Yuhang frowned slightly, thinking he must have imagined it.

Shang Miaoyan, however, stared into Pei Yuhang's starkly clear eyes for a moment. 'She knew this beautiful boy was still hiding something from her.'

'But it didn't matter. She was the one in control.'

'She would tame this rebellious little wolf.'

"Fine. I promise you, I'll release Fan Xuan in a little while."

Shang Miaoyan had agreed to half of his request.

With a snap of her fingers, the Liuli wall behind them blurred, obscuring both the sight and sound of Fan Xuan.

...

Fan Xuan's throat was raw and aching from shouting. By the end, every cry felt like a blade scraping her throat, but she stubbornly kept her head raised, continuing to call out, hoping the Holy Daughter would hear her.

Hoping she would sense her sincere repentance and spare Pei Yuhang.

"Someone... I want to see the Holy Daughter... Pei Yuhang is truly innocent... Don't kill him."

"Anyone..."

Ngh—

A low, suppressed moan suddenly rang out.

Fan Xuan's eyes flew open.

'What was that sound?'

At first, she thought she was hearing things, but as the sound grew clearer, she was sure it was no illusion.

As a Cultivator who had grown up in the Yin Yang Sacred Land, she knew exactly what that sound was.

She was certain that sound was—

A flush crept across Fan Xuan's pale face.

The wounds from the whipping began to faintly burn and itch, making her body squirm unconsciously and causing the chains to jingle softly.

At the same time, Fan Xuan couldn't help but feel puzzled.

'This is a hidden chamber in the Saintess Hall. Where could such a shameless sound be coming from?'

She instinctively looked up at the Liuli wall before her, and her pupils suddenly constricted.

Because within the translucent wall, there were two blurry human figures!

'What is going on?'

'A projection? Or some kind of Illusion Technique…'

'Why is the Holy Daughter making me watch this?'

As Fan Xuan watched the two blurry figures in the Liuli wall, their "struggle" growing more intense, her own breath grew hotter.

It felt as if her whole body was on fire. The aftereffects of the Six Desires Indulgence Whip, which she had barely managed to suppress, surged up once more, fiercer than ever.

It left Fan Xuan, suspended in mid-air, in agony and humiliation.

Tears streamed down her pretty face. She bit down hard on her lower lip, only letting go when the taste of blood startled her.

'Is the Holy Daughter doing this just to humiliate me?'

Fan Xuan thought with a self-deprecating smile. 'But if this is what it takes for the Holy Daughter to vent her anger, then so be it…'

'Once the Holy Daughter has calmed down, maybe she won't move against Pei Yuhang?'

She closed her eyes, letting the tears roll down freely.

Even though she was in a cold, dark dungeon, even though she was the one covered in wounds, her mind was still filled with thoughts of that cool, aloof boy.

She didn't want her own lack of judgment to bring harm to that innocent, beautiful boy.

Fan Xuan suddenly gave a bitter laugh and muttered to herself, "Xiaoxuan, oh Xiaoxuan, how long have you even known that boy? How can you already value him more than your own life?

At first, all I wanted was to make things difficult for him, to get him to leave the Saintess Hall as quickly as possible..."

"Xiaohan... yes, right there. You're so good~"

The cloyingly sweet voice pierced the darkness like a sharp knife, stabbing deep into Fan Xuan's heart!

Fan Xuan's eyes shot wide open.

'That's the Holy Daughter's voice!'

'What does this mean?'

'Why is she calling out to Pei Yuhang? And why does her voice sound so... lewd?'

An unprecedented wave of disgust rose in her throat.

Fan Xuan felt her stomach churn. The Holy Daughter, whom she revered as a goddess, was now calling out the name of that boy—as cool and remote as the Moonlight—in such a wanton tone!

The breathless whispers and lovers' talk that made one's face burn continued to echo in her ears. Though the sounds were soft enough to melt the very bones, they stabbed into her nerves like poisoned needles.

Even while she was being whipped, Fan Xuan had felt not a shred of resentment toward Shang Miaoyan, only that it was a punishment she deserved.

After all, she was the one who had first harbored improper thoughts about Pei Yuhang.

But now!

Fan Xuan's eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at the blurry figures within the Liuli wall.

She wasn't a fool. How could she not have guessed by now who was behind that Liuli screen?

'But... Shang Miaoyan and Pei Yuhang together... isn't that to be expected?'

'Pei Yuhang came to the Saintess Hall to be the Holy Daughter's Cauldron Slave.'

'I should have known all along that this would happen.'

'Then why, now that I'm actually seeing it...'

'...does my heart ache so much?'

The sound of Pei Yuhang's clear, boyish voice calling her "Teacher" echoed faintly in her memory.

Fat tears splashed onto the floor.

She finally understood—

—Shang Miaoyan's greatest punishment for her.

The most painful punishment wasn't being whipped, but... watching the Moonlight get dragged into the mire.