Ling Xiya tossed her whip aside and pulled Isayat into a crushing embrace.
Isayat was nearly suffocated by the strength of the hold.
She could clearly feel the bulge of the other woman’s arm muscles from the exertion, as well as the scorching, shivering heat radiating through their clothes.
She submissively pressed her cheek against the crook of Ling Xiya’s neck, but a cold arc curved at the corners of her eyes.
“Let go of me…”
Isayat’s voice carried a deliberately suppressed sob as her slender fingers pushed fruitlessly against Ling Xiya’s chest.
The weak struggle of the person in her arms felt like a feather brushing against her heart.
Ling Xiya’s possessiveness was instantly ignited, yet it transformed into a more paranoid Protectiveness the moment she touched the other’s shrinking shoulders.
She released her arms and instead cupped Isayat’s face, her thumb rubbing roughly against the delicate skin.
The churning darkness in her eyes nearly swallowed her pupils.
“Did I hurt you? But do you know, Master? Seeing you show even a hint of a smile to someone else makes my heart feel like it’s being carved out repeatedly by 1,000 sharp knives.”
She suddenly picked Isayat up in a horizontal carry, ignoring the other’s startled cry as she strode toward the bedroom.
“Ling Xiya! You’re crazy!”
Isayat sat up abruptly, her Shackles rattling loudly.
She deliberately made her voice full of shock and anger, but her eyes calmly observed the other’s reaction.
“Crazy?”
Ling Xiya slowly crouched down, her pale fingers brushing over the edge of the cold Shackles, and she suddenly let out a light laugh.
The laughter was gentle at first, but it quickly evolved into a near-manic cackle that echoed eerily through the empty room.
“Yes, I am crazy. From the first time I saw you on the battlefield, watching you fall in a pool of blood, I was already crazy.”
She suddenly grabbed Isayat’s chin, forcing her to look up and meet her gaze.
“But Master, you were the one who abandoned me first. You said we would be together forever.”
“I didn’t forget!”
Isayat interrupted sharply, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I just…”
“Just what?”
Ling Xiya’s voice turned cold, her knuckles turning white from the force.
“Master, you are always like this.”
Ling Xiya slowly crouched down and flirtatiously tilted Isayat’s chin up.
The Silver Silk flickered with a dangerous luster under the candlelight.
“Even though you’re trembling all over with fear, you still have to pretend to be strong. Do you think you can fool me? I’m the person who knows you best…”
“Look at me.”
Ling Xiya’s voice was as cold as ice.
She picked up the whip from the floor again and slowly lifted Isayat’s chin, forcing those tear-filled eyes to meet hers.
“Tell me, whose are you now?”
“I am Demon Lord Isayat…”
Isayat bit her lower lip, the metallic taste of blood spreading in her mouth.
She knew these words would completely trigger the other’s emotions, yet she repeated them word by word.
“I will never belong to anyone.”
The crisp sound of a whip echoed again, but this time it landed firmly on Isayat’s back.
A tear appeared in her Silk Nightgown instantly, and bloodstains surfaced quickly like winding snakes.
Isayat let out a muffled groan.
Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and her body trembled violently from the intense pain.
“Wrong.”
No emotion could be heard in Ling Xiya’s voice.
She slowly raised the whip, the bloodstains on the Silver Silk looking exceptionally seductive under the candlelight.
“Say it again. Whose are you?”
“I am…”
Isayat took a deep breath, forcing herself to meet the other’s crazed gaze.
“I am an existence you can never control, Ling Xiya. You can only ever follow behind me, watching my back—”
Before she could finish, the second whip strike fell, the force even heavier than the last.
Isayat’s vision went dark from the pain, but she bit her lip hard, refusing to let out a single plea for mercy.
She could clearly feel Ling Xiya’s breathing becoming heavy.
Those eyes, which were usually full of tenderness, were now burning with a flame that would destroy everything.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The whip fell like raindrops.
Every strike accurately avoided vital organs but brought extreme pain.
Isayat’s consciousness began to blur, but the intense pain in her body made her mind even clearer—she had succeeded.
The madness in Ling Xiya’s eyes had completely overridden her reason.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of the whipping finally stopped.
Isayat lay limp on the ground, her body covered in crisscrossing bloodstains, her consciousness flickering like a candle in the wind.
Ling Xiya suddenly leaned down.
Her warm breath fanned against Isayat’s neck, and a blood-scented kiss landed on the bleeding wounds.
“Master…”
Ling Xiya’s voice was hoarse and satisfied.
She stuck out the tip of her tongue to lick the beads of blood on Isayat’s back, the surging pleasure in her eyes nearly overflowing.
“See, how wonderful this is? Your blood, your pain, and your every breath—they all belong completely to me now.”
She suddenly pressed her ear against Isayat’s chest, listening to the slightly rapid heartbeat, a sickly smile curving on her lips.
“Listen, it’s beating for me. Master, you finally belong completely to me…”
Isayat’s consciousness drifted in the darkness, but she suddenly snapped awake when she heard those words.
She felt Ling Xiya’s fingers unfastening the Shackles, replacing them with a soft Silk Restraint Band.
When the other woman carried her onto the bed, she suddenly spoke, her voice so hoarse it was almost tuneless.
“Ling Xiya…”
“Hmm?”
Ling Xiya was carefully cleaning the wounds with a cotton swab dipped in medicine.
She paused at the sound and looked expectantly at the person in her arms.
Isayat slowly turned her head, the jumping candlelight reflected in her broken eyes.
A single tear slid down from the corner of her eye and landed on the back of Ling Xiya’s hand, shockingly hot.
“Don’t leave me…”
Ling Xiya’s body froze instantly, followed by an even tighter embrace.
She buried her face in the crook of Isayat’s neck, and suppressed sobs came intermittently.
“I won’t… I will never leave you… Master, my darling… We will be together forever…”
Isayat closed her eyes and let the darkness swallow her consciousness.