Chapter 5

Piously posturing, a seamless disguise.

..

“Ah—” Li Youqing clutched her hands tightly over her chest, her heart filled with grief and indignation.

But how could she possibly cover those two pale mounds? The full shape created by her pressing hands was all the more alluring, sparking one’s imagination.

Xuan Rui’s face darkened. He reached out and shut the window tightly.

Seeing this, Li Youqing panicked again. She shuffled sideways, her voice trembling. “What… what on earth are you doing!”

A petal, carried by the wind, had landed in her dark hair, which cascaded over her shoulders. Against her snow-white skin, she looked exceptionally bewitching. Terror filled the beautiful eyes on her palm-sized face, and her long, damp eyelashes quivered with a silent accusation.

Being stared at by such a pair of eyes would make anyone feel utterly villainous, regardless of the truth.

Xuan Rui turned around, his voice cold and heavy, tinged with a fierce edge. “Don’t scream. Get dressed first.”

His tone made Li Youqing’s heart clench in fear. The lingering memory of yesterday’s kick was still potent; she didn’t dare defy him. She quickly rushed to the bedside to find her clothes.

Though she tried her best to hold back, tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes, falling onto her pink dudou and soaking a large patch.

She had just tied the sash of her cover shirt when she heard the man’s cold, deep voice from behind her. “This General will now ask you a few questions. You must answer truthfully.”

The moment Li Youqing heard his voice, her shoulders flinched. She scrambled to finish dressing, sniffled, and said, “Then ask.”

Hearing the unconcealable sob in her voice, Xuan Rui turned around, his sharp eyes landing on her.

His scrutinizing gaze was so intense it was suffocating.

Even though he was quite far away and the room was spacious, Li Youqing could still feel the cold, harsh aura emanating from him, like a fierce wind cutting at her face.

In the dim light, Xuan Rui’s burly frame looked like a giant’s, and the shadow he cast covered her feet, as if he were a monster about to devour her.

She instinctively took a step back, avoiding his elongated shadow, and then took a deep breath.

Xuan Rui watched her movements coldly, his face devoid of expression. He asked curtly, “How did you fall into the hands of the Eerhai people that day? Did they—”

His gaze swept over her small, tear-streaked face. Still crying—

A trace of impatience flashed in Xuan Rui’s eyes, and his tone grew sterner. “Did they do anything to you?”

Li Youqing dug her nails into her palm, forcing herself to calm down, and raised her head to meet his gaze.

This time, she saw his face more clearly.

His brows and eyes were cold and deep, his features handsome and defined, and his gaze held a hint of wildness.

Judging by his imposing and formidable aura alone, one could never associate him with words like “lecherous” or “indecent.”

But he was just that—piously posturing, a seamless disguise.

How could this man, after committing such a beastly act against her, immediately transform into this prim and proper state?

What left her even more speechless was that although she was clearly the victim, she was completely suppressed by his imposing manner.

Li Youqing felt as sick as if she had swallowed a fly. Pinned by his unblinking stare, she had no choice but to answer truthfully. “During the banquet at Lu Ming Mountain, we were ambushed by a group of Eerhai people. I was abducted in the chaos and then brought to this residence.”

The man’s brow furrowed slightly, clearly dissatisfied with her brief answer.

Li Youqing thought for a moment, then added, “I fainted at their camp. When I woke up, my clothes had been changed, but… there was nothing unusual about my body.”

The real violation had happened after she arrived at the General’s manor.

Seeing her muddled state, Xuan Rui figured he wouldn’t get much more out of her tonight. He would have to capture those Eerhai men and interrogate them to get the full story.

The night was deep and still. A man and a woman, alone, had just been in a tangle by the window. It was truly unsuitable for them to remain in the same room.

Just as Li Youqing was trying to think of an excuse to send the man away, she saw him suddenly take a bundle of chains from a wall cabinet and toss it at her feet. “Will you do it yourself, or shall this General do it for you?”

Li Youqing’s brow twitched. She stepped back, her voice filled with disbelief. “General Xuan, what is the meaning of this?”

“Are you aware that you suffer from sleepwalking?” Xuan Rui had no desire to get entangled with her and stated it bluntly. “My manor is filled with mechanisms. The next time you wander around, you won’t be so lucky.”

“What do you mean?” Li Youqing’s eyes went wide. His words twisted her beautiful face into a somewhat childish expression.

Seeing the man resort to such tactics to intimidate her, she couldn’t contain her anger and blurted out, “Is the General suggesting that you touching me and taking advantage of me while I was unconscious last night, and your improper advances toward me at the window just now, were all because I was sleepwalking?!”

She might have been delirious from her illness, but she wasn’t blind. It was clearly him who was overcome by lust, and now he was trying to shirk responsibility with the excuse of sleepwalking and even wanted to bind her with chains.

Her gaze fell on the pile of rope on the floor, which was thicker than her arm. Li Youqing wanted to cry but had no tears. Spurred by a rush of anger, she spoke recklessly. “To think the General would use a trick played by the palace eunuchs on this… on this young lady. Do you know that my father is the current Prime Minister? He must be sending people everywhere to find me right now. If he finds out I’ve suffered such humiliation, he will not let you go!”

The young lady stomped her foot in frustration, pointing at him with the ferocity of a newborn wildcat, utterly oblivious to the gravity of the situation.

As if in response to her accusation, a series of wolf howls suddenly rose and fell outside the window. The long, drawn-out cries carried a brutal, bloody scent.

The howls terrified Li Youqing so much that her knees went weak. She stumbled backward and fell onto the bed, her eyes staring blankly at the window.

No wonder he had shut the window so tightly earlier… there were actually wolves in this residence!

Xuan Rui took a few steps closer, crossing his arms over his chest. He said coldly, “I’ve already told you, the manor is full of mechanisms and traps, which include over ten tamed desert wolves.”

Seeing the young lady shrink back on the bed, curled into a terrified ball, he bent down and picked up the rope from the floor. His face was expressionless as he said, “It’s fine if you don’t want to be tied up. It just so happens that these beasts haven’t had a taste of human flesh in a long time.”

Li Youqing stared at him, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.

How had she taken off her clothes? How had she ended up pressed against the window by him? She had absolutely no memory of it.

Could it be that she really did sleepwalk?

More importantly, he kept over ten wild wolves in this manor… This man was depraved enough to keep wolves!

While she was lost in a daze, the man’s dark python pattern robes swept past, stirring a faint breeze.

Was he really planning to just leave like that?

Li Youqing suddenly grew anxious. She jumped off the bed and caught up to him in a few quick steps, her hands gripping his wide sleeves tightly.

Her pride as a princess reared its head, making it impossible for her to voice any plea for help.

How could she… How could she beg him?

Besides, this whole thing might be a trap he had set to trick her into willingly relying on him. After all, in this desolate desert, she had no one to depend on but him.

This place was a den of demons, and this man was the unforgivable demon king!

“What is it?” Seeing her conflicted expression, Xuan Rui showed no mercy, jutting his chin toward the rope. “If you don’t want to go out and feed the wolves, do it yourself.”

Li Youqing stared at his blade-like jawline. After a long silence, she finally lowered her gaze to the bundle of rope.

She had seen such things in the room of the grand eunuch Zhang Heng in the Eastern Palace, used to toy with the palace maids. It was utterly disgusting.

A roar echoed endlessly in her mind. Seeing the man’s heart of stone, she slowly released her grip and walked back to bend down and pick up the rope.

When she saw the Mystic Iron Shackles at both ends of the rope, her breath hitched.

“General…” She looked up at the instigator, her eyes unknowingly filling with tears, red like a bullied little rabbit’s.

Xuan Rui’s hands, hidden in his wide sleeves, couldn’t help but clench into fists. He thought to himself, What’s going on? It’s as if I’m actually bullying her.

When he saw the young lady carefully slip the shackle onto her snow-white, slender wrist, his breathing grew even tighter.

Then came a click. The shackle locked. As if waking from a dream, he turned to the side and said to her, “Tie the other end to the bedpost.”

This guest room had once been an interrogation room, which was why the cabinet contained many tools for questioning prisoners. He had just grabbed this chained rope casually, not expecting it to create such an indescribable, strange feeling at this moment.

“Yes.” Li Youqing no longer expected any humanity from him. All she wanted now was to get through the night. Everything would be better in the morning.

She used all her strength to keep her tears from falling, then picked up the other end of the rope and, as he had instructed, tied it to the bedpost.

Because her wrist was cuffed, her movements caused the chain to clink with the sound of striking metal, which echoed in the silent night.

The slightest sound was infinitely amplified.

Xuan Rui was filled with regret. From the moment he returned to the manor and saw her wandering around alone, he shouldn’t have meddled.

The young lady’s every action and expression looked so aggrieved. From time to time, she would glance at him fearfully, as if worried he would pounce on her at any moment.

Xuan Rui had used the wolves to scare her just now, little knowing that in her eyes, he himself was the most ferocious hungry wolf.

“General Xuan, are you satisfied now?” After securing both ends of the rope, Li Youqing sat obediently on the bed.

She was dressed in a pure white silk nightgown, its small standing collar embroidered with red plum blossoms. Her waterfall of black hair cascaded over her body, making her figure appear even more petite and pitiful.

Perhaps because her pride was too wounded, she tucked the shackled hand behind her back, trying her best to hide it under the quilt. Her other hand clutched a pillow as she sat with her head bowed, perfectly still.

From Xuan Rui’s angle, he could see her hunching her upper body as much as possible, as if trying to minimize her presence.

Although the young lady was bundled up tightly, at this moment, he inevitably recalled every curve of her body.

According to the customs of the Central Plains, regardless of the reason, he had indeed done something terrible to her.

He, Xuan Rui, prided himself on being an upright man who never bullied the old, the young, or the weak. But from the moment he saw her yesterday, his actions had indeed been too reckless.

“Is your injury any better?” As if possessed, he suddenly asked.

The young lady seemed startled by the question. Her wrist tugged slightly, again making the sound of the chain, though it was muffled by the bedding.

Li Youqing didn’t dare to anger him and shook her head gently. “It’s better now.”