“Don’t talk nonsense! Master… she was only a little strict with me. She’s not wrong. It’s all because I wasn’t good enough, not obedient enough!”
He blurted it out, the defensiveness in his tone carrying a morbid stubbornness. It was an instinct carved into his blood and bone by the Young Slave Pavilion, and it was the only survival line he had left—one he didn’t dare break.
But the moment the words left his mouth, a cold, calculating light flickered deep in his eyes. The cowardice he had deliberately layered on earlier now served as the most perfect disguise.
He lowered his head, his shoulders shrinking slightly as he returned to that timid and submissive state. His voice became light and soft, as if he were afraid of disturbing something.
“I’m not saying you have to follow her… I’m just very afraid that something will happen to you.”
He paused, his gaze falling on the damp floor of the Basement. His fingertips unconsciously picked at the bedsheets.
“At least don’t think about escaping. If you’re caught escaping, it will be very, very miserable.”
“Look, these scars on my body are all from when I was caught during previous escapes. They were punishing me.”
Lu Yu bit his lip and rolled up his sleeves, pointing at the various large and small scars. His eyes welled with tears as he spoke.
Su Ling glanced at those numerous wounds. Just a single look was enough to make him feel overwhelmed. He didn’t dare imagine what would happen to him if those scars ended up on his own body.
‘I would definitely go crazy, wouldn’t I?’
“And you must be obedient. If you aren’t, this will happen. They won’t care if you live or die…”
As Lu Yu spoke, he couldn’t help but recall scenes from his time at the Young Slave Pavilion. It wasn’t just a matter of being beaten for disobedience; if even the slightest thing was done poorly, one would be beaten and scolded!
In fact, those were the lightest punishments…
A single tear slid down quietly. Even though he wanted to trick Su Ling into doing something out of line to enrage that woman and get him punished, the painful memories were real. How he wished he could have a normal life instead of staying in a place like that since he was a child.
He had no home. He never had one since he was small. He didn’t even know what a home was supposed to look like.
He wanted a home. In the beginning, he thought Qin Siyu could give him one, but after that day, he no longer thought so.
They were all the same. They all tortured him, punished him, and forced him to become submissive. Any slight sign of defiance would bring about endless beatings and verbal abuse!
“I’m sorry. Did I make you remember something bad?”
“No, it’s nothing…”
Lu Yu wiped away his tears, forcing a meager smile onto his face.
“It’s nothing. Oh, right… I haven’t told you about the issue with your body yet.”
Su Ling was startled. He only just remembered that Ye Moran had said Lu Yu knew about the state of his body before she left.
“There’s nothing wrong with my body, is there?”
“Um… there shouldn’t be. The ears on your head look like Cat Ears. You should have Cat Genes.”
“Wait, Cat Ears?”
Su Ling reached out and touched them. He easily felt his own ears and didn’t feel a hat like he had imagined!
Only then did he realize he hadn’t been wearing a hat from the beginning—or rather, he had completely forgotten about it. Now that the other person had seen his Cat Ears, would they think he was a monster?
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. You… you continue…”
“I heard others say before that cats have a very high tolerance for pain, which is why you can barely feel any… Also…”
“In this state, your recovery speed should be a bit better than a normal person’s.”
Lu Yu carefully recalled information regarding Half-beasts. When he was in the Shao Shou Ren, he often saw these Half-beasts.
However, they usually had a Master or a fixed patron. They didn’t have to serve all kinds of different guests like he did!
Although he had only been responsible for massages and accompanying people for drinks and hadn’t actually done anything with those people…
That was only because there hadn’t been enough time before Qin Siyu bought him.
“You… you don’t think I’m a monster?”
“With me looking like this, others would think I’m a monster…”
“No.”
Lu Yu gave him a strange look.
“I won’t think you’re a monster. You look quite good like this. Many people will like you…”
“Mm… thank you.”
Su Ling couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was good that the other person didn’t think he was a monster. At least this way, he wouldn’t lose a friend.
“It’s nothing.”
Lu Yu said softly and lowered his head. He didn’t want to talk anymore. The more he spoke, the worse he felt, and his mind was constantly filled with those terrible images.
Seeing him like this, Su Ling also felt bad. He bit his lip hard and hesitated for a long time before finally speaking his mind!
“Lu Yu, let’s run away together!”
“Huh?!”
“I don’t want to stay here. I hate her!”
“I want to run. I want to leave this place, leave her, and go somewhere she can’t find me.”
He paused and reached out to gently touch Lu Yu’s arm. His gaze was clean and stubborn, devoid of any calculation, filled only with pure empathy and hope.
“You’ve suffered so much, too… won’t you come with me? Let’s escape together. No matter where we go, it will be better than staying here. We won’t be beaten anymore, we won’t have to be afraid, and we won’t have to listen to them.”
Su Ling poured out all the thoughts from the depths of his heart. He was like a small beast trapped in a cage for too long, only wanting to smash the cage open. He didn’t even have a concrete concept of how to escape; he was only fixated on the idea of “leaving”!
Lu Yu lowered his eyes, his fingertips secretly tightening. On the surface, he still looked startled and timid, but a terrifying thought was growing boldly in his heart!
‘Let him run!’
‘Then I’ll go inform on him. When this fellow is caught again, he’ll be miserable. He definitely will!’
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the dark passage to the Basement, Ye Moran had stood still at some unknown point in time. An ice-cold, bone-chilling pressure emanated from her.
She had originally only doubled back to retrieve something, but she had heard every word of Su Ling’s blunt and reckless thoughts of escape.
Those eyes, which usually carried playfulness and obsession, were now as deep as a frozen pond. The smile at the corners of her mouth faded bit by bit, leaving only a suffocating coldness.
Her Little Fellow not only dared to be unwilling, but he actually dared to think about escaping—and even wanted to take someone else with him.
He had certainly grown bold!
Standing to the side, Qin Siyu’s eyes also flickered with a cold light. Ye Jin was indeed a restless one; he actually dared to mention escaping in front of her small Pet!
‘If my small Pet really has such thoughts stirred up within him!’
‘It seems that after we go back, I’ll have to use an even thicker Chain to lock him up!’
It was a pity she couldn’t do anything to Ye Jin right now. Otherwise, she really would have liked to give him a slap to make him realize his current situation!
However, the next words from her small Pet caused a smile to instantly bloom on her face!
“No, escaping is absolutely impossible! I won’t escape!”
“If you want to run, run by yourself. I’m not going!”
“You!”
Su Ling hadn’t expected the other person to refuse. He thought that because the other person had experienced more pain than he had, he would agree. He never expected this result!
But he still didn’t give up and continued to persuade him.
He hadn’t noticed the approaching danger at all!
“I really want to escape… Let’s escape together, okay? As long as we leave this place…”
“Leave this place?”
A cold voice, saturated with a chilling frost, suddenly shattered the peace of the Basement like an ice pick stabbing through the air.
Su Ling’s entire body went stiff. The Cat Ears on his head instantly perked up as he looked toward the passage in terror.
Ye Moran walked slowly out of the darkness. The sound of her high heels clicking against the ground felt like each step was landing directly on a heart.
Her gaze was coldly locked onto the pale, trembling Su Ling. Then, she glanced indifferently at Lu Yu, who had immediately knelt on the ground, not daring to move. Her tone was gentle, yet it carried a world-destroying pressure.
“My Little Fellow, were you… just talking about escaping?”
“And you even wanted to take him with you to leave me?”