When Mo Ehuang woke up, she was on a pile of body parts. A choked scream caught in her throat as she scrambled backward, her shoulders hitting a cold, stone wall. A heavy chain clanked against the floor, a dark shadow pulling her gaze down to her right ankle. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw them: dead bodies and scattered limbs everywhere. The unbearable stench of human decay hit her, and she vomited on the floor next to her, bile burning her throat. She was in a dungeon, a graveyard of corpses.
She finally realized where she was. This was Miao Mingzhu's laboratory, the notorious place where she created her poisons. Terror and rage clawed at her, and she began to cry, the tears a hot track down her cold face.
As Mo Ehuang whimpered, her mind, desperate to escape her horrific reality, fled to a time when her world was still whole. What went wrong? She had been a respected lady with everything she could ever want. Now, she had lost it all because of a man she loathed, a man so greedy he clung to a past he refused to let go of. She clenched the chain on her ankle, its cold metal a painful anchor to the present as memories of her happy days flooded her mind.
Mo Ehuang was in the backyard, her sword a silver blur as she cut the petals of a floating blossom. She wasn't the best swordsman in the world, but her skills were better than those of many other young women her age. Among her peers, she was the second most beautiful woman in the martial arts world, a rank only bested by Kuo Wenqian. It wasn't that Kuo Wenqian was prettier, but she was lucky to be the daughter of Kuo Jinsong and have better fighting skills. Even so, Mo Ehuang never truly cared about it. She loved her simple life, practicing sword forms for the flowers and birds in the quiet solitude of the Mo Manor's backyard.
Mo Ehuang heard her father call her name. She stopped practicing swordsmanship, turning to face him.
Mo Jingsheng smiled, a playful smirk on his face. "Become more of a lady," he said. "You should practice music and sewing more."
"But didn't you introduce me to the sword?" she teased, a hint of mischief in her eyes.
He laughed. "I deeply regret it. Your mother has given me a dozen lectures about it."
"Father, when will you teach me a new level?" she pressed, her voice full of a hopeful anticipation.
Mo Jingseng looked at her with a mock-serious expression. "Your mother says you are a lady and should act like one. I don't know if I can teach you a new level."
Mo Ehuang's brow furrowed. "That's not fair! You've taught everyone but me. I'm your daughter; you should teach me more. Even your disciples are more skilled than me."
Mo Jingseng let out a hearty laugh. "If you cook a delicious meal for me, maybe I will teach you the next level."
Mo Ehuang's frown was instantly replaced with a bright smile. "Deal! I'll cook for you the day after tomorrow."
"Why the day after tomorrow?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Because you're getting old and forgetful," she teased, her eyes sparkling. "Tomorrow is your birthday."
Mo Jingseng laughed, a warm, hearty sound. "I am getting old," he said, shaking his head. "I even forgot my own birthday."
"Don't worry," she said, her voice filled with love and warmth. "I'll stay by your side and remind you every year."
They shared a moment of laughter, watching the blossom petals drift on the wind. Then, Mo Jingseng took her sword and began to show her the next level of the Mo sword manual.
The sweet memory of her father was suddenly replaced by the gag-inducing smell of rotten flesh. The pleasant past gave way to the sharp, bitter reality of her present. She remembered the day Mu Dishi had killed her father. She remembered how the people who had called themselves friends and family abandoned the Mo Clan, leaving her with nothing. It was then, at the end of her rope, that she met Hua Jian. She would never forget the night she traded her pride for revenge. No one came to her father's funeral.
She knelt alone in the dark, silent room, tears streaming down her face as she looked at her father's coffin. A single footstep echoed, and she raised her head to see Hua Jian standing in the doorway.
Hua Jian's voice was calm as he stepped into the room. "I came to express my condolences for your loss."
Mo Ehuang's voice was a whisper. "Thank you."
"There's no one here?" he asked, his eyes scanning the empty hall.
"When my father was alive, this hall was full of people every day," she said, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "Now that he's been brutally murdered, no one has appeared to pay tribute."
"That is the reality of life," Hua Jian said, his voice flat. "People will only hold you tightly when you are powerful."
"I want to kill Mu Dishi," she confessed, her voice thick with hatred. "But I lack the skill. I don't think I can ever kill him."
"Give up the Mo Clan," Hua Jian said simply.
"How can I?" she spat, her voice thick with pain. "My father built it with his own hands!"
"What I mean is, trade yourself for it," he said, his voice dropping to a low, conspiratorial tone. "You are the second-most beautiful woman in the martial arts world. I'm sure if you offer yourself, many men will be willing to kill for you."
Mo Ehuang's eyes narrowed. "Even you?"
Hua Jian smiled, a cruel glint in his eyes. "Yes," he said. "Even me."
"Do you even know who my enemy is?" she asked, a fiery rage building in her chest.
"Everyone in the martial arts world knows your enemy," he said, his smile unwavering. "But even if he is invincible, he can still be killed. As long as the price is high enough, even a nine-headed dragon can be killed."
Mo Ehuang wiped the tears from her cheeks, her voice a defeated whisper. "What should I do?"
"Offer yourself and the Mo Clan leader seat as the prize," Hua Jian said, his voice a low, tempting hiss. "There will be many men who will be willing to die for you."
Mo Ehuang slowly stood up, her body a vessel for her hatred. She began to undress herself. When she was completely naked, she stood before him, her dignity gone. "Help me kill Mu Dishi," she said, her voice hollow, "and you can take my virginity."
Hua Jian pulled her into his arms, his lips finding hers in a hungry, cruel kiss. "This price is high enough," he murmured against her mouth. "I accept."
The taste of her own tears brought her back to reality. That night, she had swallowed her pride and let Hua Jian have his way with her. After he took her virginity, they made a plan to murder Mu Dishi. But when Hua Jian saw Mu Dishi inside that inn that day, he changed his mind and fell in love with him instead. This betrayal made her angrier, and her hatred for Mu Dishi grew even stronger.
When she discovered Mu Dishi hiding in Tianshan, she slept with many martial artists and offered the title of Mo's leader to anyone who could kill him. But her plan failed again and again. Her last move was to make a deal with the Yueguang Sect. She couldn't afford the money for their poison arrows, so she made a plan to steal them from Miao Mingzhu. And that is how she ended up in this dark dungeon.
She was once the second-most beautiful woman in the martial arts world, but her life had been turned upside down by a single man: Mu Dishi. After Hua Jian's betrayal, she had become smarter, her mind honed into a cold instrument of revenge. She would ensure that both Hua Jian and Mu Dishi died by her hand. Mu Dishi was the man she hated most, and she would never forget how he had destroyed her happy family.
A loud groan of metal sliced through the silence of her thoughts. The iron gate to her cell swung open with a chilling cry. Mo Ehuang looked up, her eyes meeting the cruel gaze of Miao Mingzhu.
Miao Mingzhu walked into the dark dungeon, the hem of her robes dragging across the filthy floor. She let out a weary sigh. "I have a new poison," she said, her voice apathetic. "I want to experiment on you."
"I will not die at your hands, Mingzhu," Mo Ehuang declared, her voice resolute.
Miao Mingzhu's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "Don't worry. I won't let you die. If you happen to, I'll just revive you and continue experimenting with my strongest poisons."
"Do what you have to do," Mo Ehuang said, her voice defiant. "I am not afraid."
"We will see about that," Miao Mingzhu whispered, her eyes glittering with sadism. "I would love to hear you beg me to kill you."
"I will never beg," Mo Ehuang declared, her voice firm and unwavering despite her fear.
For the next three months, Miao Mingzhu subjected her to poison after poison. No matter the agony, Mo Ehuang never begged. When she would awaken from the poison, Miao Mingzhu would amuse herself by cutting into her flesh, then sprinkling salt into the fresh wounds. As soon as the skin began to knit itself back together, Miao Mingzhu would slice it open again, restarting the cycle of pain.
Through it all, Mo Ehuang remained silent. She found her strength by twisting the torture into her own kind of revenge. She would close her eyes and imagine that it was Mu Dishi being cut and poisoned. The more suffering Miao Mingzhu inflicted, the more satisfaction Mo Ehuang felt, and the greater her resolve became.
The more Mo Ehuang thought about her misfortune, the angrier she became. She would recall the moment Mu Dishi was sitting in front of her badly wounded, and how she had failed to kill him with her own hands. He had ruined her life the moment he stepped inside the Mo Manor on her father's birthday. He had taken everything. She hated him with every single beat of her heart.
Tonight, Miao Mingzhu brought a new kind of torture. She led three male disciples of the Yueguang Sect into the dungeon and instructed them to have their way with Mo Ehuang. As the three men forced themselves on her, she didn't make a sound. When they were finished, she just lay naked on the cold stone floor, a cold smile on her lips. She didn't shed a single tear, nor did she beg for mercy.
Mo Ehuang smiled to herself, a chilling, triumphant sound. "Mu Dishi," she murmured softly. "No matter what they do to me, I will not die here. I will live. If I can't kill you, then I will make it my life's purpose to ruin you just as you ruined me."