Li Yuluo was woken by a faint, uneven sound of labored breathing—soft, yet it made an itch crawl across her heart.
She slowly opened her eyes, and before her was a young girl in the prime of youth.
The girl’s hair strands fell down, covering the side of her face.
At this moment, Li Yuluo was lying on a bunk bed, and the girl in front of her was leaning on the edge of the bed with both hands, arching her back and lifting her hips, completely naked.
Tiny, crystal-clear beads of sweat trickled down her fair skin tinged with pink, resembling ice and snow on the verge of melting, capturing all of Li Yuluo’s attention.
Especially the girl’s charming, melodious voice, which made Li Yuluo’s heart race.
Two large hands, incongruous yet present, rested on the slender waist of the beautiful girl, steadying her balance.
The owner of those hands was none other than the culprit who had imprisoned and tormented Li Yuluo—Zhang Yuge.
Zhang Yuge?
Then who was this woman…
Li Yuluo quickly sat up, ignoring the sharp pain from the many scars still aching on her body.
She brushed aside the strands of the girl’s hair to finally see her beautiful face clearly.
This girl, now subdued beneath another person’s body, was the same maid who had mercilessly whipped her until she passed out.
The shadows of that beating still haunted Li Yuluo’s mind.
Terrified, she hurriedly stepped back, only to hit the cold white wall behind her.
The chill from the wall against her back reminded Li Yuluo that her own situation was no better than that of the maid before her.
Although not completely naked, Li Yuluo was now inexplicably wearing a nearly transparent violet silk slip.
“Wh-what is this?”
Li Yuluo asked in panic.
Two small knots were tied on the shoulder straps, and with just a gentle pull, this last piece of modesty would be gone.
“This is a little gift from me, Young Master,”
Zhang Yuge said with a smile.
“After bathing, you need to wear something. Otherwise, how can you keep proper decorum?”
With a casual chuckle, Zhang Yuge reached forward and grabbed Zhang Qingyao’s wrists.
Then, with a backward pull, like a knight pulling back from the edge of a cliff, the bent girl raised her head and straightened her chest, proudly displaying her figure to Li Yuluo.
“W-wait, Young Master, please spare Qingyao. Qingyao knows her mistake, don’t—ugh…”
Before the girl could finish, Zhang Yuge grabbed her chin and forced her to turn her head.
He silenced her endless pleas by pressing his lips against hers.
“Qingyao’s mouth was too stubborn before and didn’t taste right. Now that it’s softer, this is the best time to savor it.”
The tight clapping of hands mixed with hoarse cries filled Li Yuluo’s ears.
Watching the scene unfold, Li Yuluo’s lips trembled slightly, unable to utter a word.
With a violent shudder throughout her body, Zhang Qingyao collapsed weakly, lying prone at the edge of the bed.
“That’s not good enough? I’m not done yet,” .
Zhang Yuge sighed, reluctantly letting the disobedient maid off for now.
“Touching my things without permission is a small punishment for you. Remember that?”
“R-remember…”
the girl whispered, barely alive.
Only then did Li Yuluo understand—Zhang Yuge was punishing his own maid.
As for what this woman had touched of Zhang Yuge’s, Li Yuluo was still unclear.
At that moment, she noticed Zhang Yuge was looking her over.
“W-what do you want? Don’t come closer!”
With nowhere to retreat, Li Yuluo threatened him:
“I am a prince of the Great Zhou, the Emperor’s own younger brother… if you dare harm me, I will definitely…”
“Enough noise. Shut up.”
With those words, the room suddenly fell silent.
Huh?
He told me to shut up, and I actually did?
“Come here, help me clean up.”
Zhang Yuge said, but the girl remained indifferent.
Soon, Li Yuluo felt a burning heat on her lower abdomen, as if scalded with boiling water.
Then an electric current surged through her body, making her convulse in pain.
What’s happening?
How could this be…
Li Yuluo noticed that on her lower abdomen, an unfamiliar tattoo had appeared—a heart-shaped mark flanked by tiny bat-like wings.
“Did you do this?”
she asked through clenched teeth, struggling against the pain.
“Correct. It was me. You cannot disobey the Young Master’s orders unless you can endure endless suffering.”
Zhang Yuge’s arousal still stood firm, faintly dripping several drops of heather flower nectar onto the floor.
“Hurry up. Look, the floor’s getting dirty,”
Zhang Yuge urged.
“…In your dreams!”
Li Yuluo clutched her stomach, writhing violently, refusing to approach him.
“Is that so? Then I’ll turn up the pain and see how long you can hold out.”
As the words fell, Li Yuluo’s whole body became unbearably painful.
Seeing the girl struggle desperately, Zhang Yuge’s face lit up with excitement.
Finally, Li Yuluo couldn’t take it anymore and begged him.
“Please, stop…”
“So, will you clean or not?”
“I—I will! I will!”
The cursed tattoo stopped burning and clicking, giving Li Yuluo a brief reprieve.
Weakly, she crawled toward Zhang Yuge.
Suppressing her discomfort, the girl reached out her hand, about to touch the still erect abomination.
“Stop.”
Zhang Yuge’s command froze her in place.
“I said use your mouth, not your hands.”
“…Ah?”
Confused, the girl withdrew her hand, biting her lip in distress.
“My patience is limited. You have one minute.”
“No way, you’re dreaming! Kill me if you want, but I will never submit to you!”
The girl couldn’t accept Zhang Yuge’s demand—this was simply impossible.
Li Yuluo turned her head away in shame, unwilling to face him.
“Little princess, don’t tell me you think this Slave Mark of mine is only good for this?”
Zhang Yuge said confidently.
The Slave Mark technique taught to Zhang Yuge by Yun Lan gradually grew stronger with the user’s mastery.
From initially inflicting punishment to force slaves into submission, it later influenced their subconscious thoughts and actions.
Li Yuluo ignored Zhang Yuge’s question.
Better to die than suffer humiliation—she had already prepared for death.
But who was Zhang Yuge?
He wouldn’t kill her; if he could humiliate, then humiliation it would be.
Her mind filled with thoughts of how Zhang Yuge might execute her.
Yes, she was afraid of death, but she hated his coercion even more.
Yet when she came to her senses, she found herself kneeling before Zhang Yuge.
Her mouth and nose were only inches from the battering ram.
She could smell the foul stench of heather flower, even feeling a few drops fall on her cheek.
Li Yuluo came to full awareness at the last moment—but it was too late.
The battering ram crashed down fiercely; the city gate shattered at the first blow.
The city fell, and the army collapsed like a landslide.