Blood from the headless corpse crept slowly across the wooden floor, spreading in uneven lines before seeping into the narrow cracks between the planks. The foul scent of blood thickened the air, mingling with the lingering traces of incense that now felt grotesquely out of place.
Jiang Chen approached Zhou Mei unhurriedly.
Each step he took produced a soft splash, as if he were strolling along a riverbank.
Zhou Mei backed away until her spine struck the cold mud wall of the hut. Her eyes were wide, her legs shaking. The world before her had collapsed too quickly.
One moment there had been warmth and promises of love. The next, there was only death and this masked man standing before her.
"Do not come any closer." Her voice trembled, but she forced the words out. "Stay back, you demon! Don't touch me!"
Jiang Chen did not stop. His voice was mild. "Relax. There is no need to shout. I am not a violent person. I only—"
Her scream tore through the hut before he could finish speaking. Spiritual energy surged wildly through Zhou Mei's meridians. The air around her eyes darkened as a faint bluish black light gathered within them.
She lunged forward with a broken cry, teeth clenched. Like a cornered beast, she abandoned all thought of consequence.
The light in her eyes flared violently, on the verge of bursting free.
Jiang Chen snorted coldly.
In that instant, Zhou Mei lost sight of him.
Not a second later, her feet left the ground. A hand like iron clamped around her smooth, slender neck. She was lifted as easily as a doll. Her head snapped back, and the ceiling filled her vision.
A thin beam of light shot from her eyes. It pierced the roof and vanished into the night with a faint hiss.
"Not bad," Jiang Chen mused. "This ocular technique has decent power."
His fingers tightened.
Her face flushed red in seconds, panic etched across her delicate features. Breath refused to enter her lungs. She clawed weakly at his arm, her strikes powerless. Every movement drained what little strength she had left.
"No, no, please, I do not want to die." She begged and cried, but his grip never loosened.
Her begging soon dissolved into hoarse, broken sounds. Following which the edges of her vision began to darken, the world fading into a terrifying abyss.
Jiang Chen watched with detached interest.
He waited until her struggles slowed, until the life in her limbs dulled. Only then did he release his grip and fling her aside.
She struck the mattress hard and rolled onto the floor, coughing violently as air tore back into her lungs. Her chest heaved as if her lungs were tearing themselves apart.
Jiang Chen did not look at her.
He bent down and picked up the storage pouch from the table before tucking it into his robes. Only then did he turn back.
Zhou Mei had curled into the corner, her arms wrapped around herself as if trying to hold her soul in place. Terror, hatred, grief, and despair twisted together in her eyes.
"You really should not be so tense." Jiang Chen smiled lightly, his tone was light, almost friendly. "See. You are still alive. I told you I would not harm you."
She stared at him as if she were staring at a monster wearing human skin.
"I am not here to kill you," he continued calmly. "Killing is tedious. All I want is a little favor. If you help me, I will let you go. What do you say?"
His words, as polite as they were, only painted him as a madman in Zhou Mei's mind.
This was a man who could murder without blinking and speak politely while doing so. Now her life, her fate, her very existence rested on the whim of such a person. A cold despair filled her soul.
But when her eyes drifted to her lover's lifeless body behind him, pure hatred surged through her chest.
But this hatred could not keep her alive.
Fear pressed her head down.
'I have always been like this,' Zhou Mei thought bitterly. 'When there is no choice, I choose to give in.'
Her lips trembled. "If I agree… will you keep your word?"
Jiang Chen laughed heartily. "Of course! I am a man of principles."
Zhou Mei's lips parted slightly, then pressed shut. She said nothing. She did not trust his words, but what other choice remained?
Hope was what people survived on.
"Now, follow me outside. We have business to attend to." Jiang Chen turned to walk toward the door.
"Oh, I almost forgot."
He paused mid-step and retrieved a fist-sized, shimmering disc from his bag of holding. It was an information path treasure used to record images, something he had obtained from Shen Yu earlier to document his merits.
He held it above the headless corpse. The disc vibrated as a faint azure light rippled across the room, capturing images of its surroundings. The entire process took barely three breaths.
"It is done," Jiang Chen said, putting the treasure away.
As he turned to leave, his gaze swept over the naked Zhou Mei. She shivered, drawing her arms tighter around herself.
"Put something on. Then come out." He stepped into the cool night air.
Inside the hut, Zhou Mei collapsed to her knees. She stared at the corpse and finally sobbed. Her shoulders shook as soundless cries tore through her.
"Hurry."
His voice cut through her grief like a blade.
She wiped her face with trembling hands, dressed in haste, and stumbled out.
The moment she stepped outside, Jiang Chen grabbed her wrist. Wind howled past her ears as they dashed across the plantation.
They stopped before the formation guarding the Purple Ghost Flowers.
Jiang Chen extended his hand. A translucent barrier came into existence and repelled his arm.
'As expected,' he thought, before gesturing her.
Zhou Mei lowered her head, her eyes burning red. She walked ten paces to the side and placed a hand against the formation. The runes began to rotate slowly. Layers shifted and aligned like gears within a vast invisible machine.
Jiang Chen watched from the side.
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
A towering lance of condensed water erupted from the formation and shot toward him!
Jiang Chen hurriedly leaped aside as it smashed into the ground.
BOOM-!!
Earth and stone were pulverized as water qi exploded outward, carving a deep, flooded pit where he had stood moments ago.
There was no time to breathe.
The formation continued its onslaught. Pillars of roaring water descended one after another, crashing down with devastating might.
Jiang Chen glared at her fiercely as he withdrew.
Zhou Mei moved instantly.
'This is my chance. If I miss it, I die.' Her thoughts raced as her hands worked without pause. Runes morphed and aligned in a lightning fast sequence. For a brief second, the entire formation barrier vanished.
She rushed inside.
Then the formation materialized again, solid and impenetrable.
Zhou Mei staggered and leaned against the edge of the pool. Her breath came in ragged gasps. One hand clutched her chest.
"I am safe," she whispered. "He shouldn't be able to break this formation. That is why he needed me."
She smiled weakly.
She was going to survive!
Then cold metal touched her neck.
Zhou Mei's body froze.
It was like icy water poured down her spine.
A calm voice spoke behind her. "It seems you are not very cooperative. Then I can only do this."
Before she could even scream, before her mind could process the horror, the blade in Jiang Chen's hand moved with chilling speed. In one smooth brutal motion, her breasts, the soft mounds of her womanhood, were severed from her chest and fell to the ground with a wet sloshing sound.
A guttural primal scream ripped from Zhou Mei's throat, a sound of agony and incomprehensible violation. She collapsed while clutching her ruined chest. Blood gushed between her fingers as her body thrashed in unbearable pain.
Pain flooded her senses like a raging tide. It drowned out thought. It drowned out reason.
Jiang Chen stood a few steps away with his blade lowered. There was no excitement in his eyes. No anger. No pleasure.
He watched her the same way a cultivator watched a wounded beast caught in a trap. His heart unmoved.
Zhou Mei rolled on the ground screaming hoarsely. Her body convulsed and tears streamed down her face, but they did nothing to cool the agony.
Her mind screamed only one thought.
'I am going to die!'
Jiang Chen waited.
The night wind brushed past his robes and stirred the spiritual mist around the formation. The Purple Ghost Flowers swayed gently. Their petals glowed magically as if nothing in the world had changed.
'You can't die just yet.' Jiang Chen flicked his wrist. A sealing talisman flew out and burned itself into the wound. The bleeding slowed immediately, though the pain remained like molten iron.
Zhou Mei choked on a sob. She lay trembling in the dirt, unable to even crawl away.
Only now did she realize something terrifying.
He had never trusted her.
Jiang Chen stepped forward and placed his right foot on her face. Slowly he pressed down. Her cheek sank into the soil. Dirt filled her mouth. The smell of earth mixed with blood assaulted her.
"So noisy," he said flatly.
Her annoying screams were suppressed into a muffled whimper.
Jiang Chen looked down at her without emotion.
From the beginning, he had harbored a hunch that she would attempt to use the formation to cause him trouble.
Because of that suspicion, when they were about to leave the hut, he deliberately told her to put on some clothes and used that moment to step outside under the pretense of giving her privacy.
In that brief window, he quietly created a clone and ordered it to impersonate him and escort Zhou Mei to this location. At the same time, he concealed himself on the opposite side of the formation and waited patiently.
Finally, when the formation briefly vanished to allow her entry, he took advantage of that fleeting opening and slipped inside as well.
Everything unfolded as anticipated.
Now the formation stood sealed around them. Zhou Mei lay on the ground. Jiang Chen slowly removed his foot from her face and sheathed his blade before lowering himself to one knee beside her.
Two of his fingers lifted her chin gently, forcing her to meet his gaze. Her once-beautiful face now smeared with dirt, tears, and blood shone in the moonlight. Strands of hair clung to her cheeks and lips. Whatever pride she had carried was ground into the soil beneath her.
"Now, will you cooperate?" he asked gently.