"Your Highness."
As if sighing, as if murmuring.
Only Shen Yue's brows grew increasingly somber. These repeated calls of "Your Highness" brought back memories of how Shi Wei had respectfully addressed her as "Your Highness" while simultaneously performing those disgusting acts upon her.
Her fingers, hanging by her side, trembled slightly. Her face was pale, and her chest felt as if a large wad of cotton had been stuffed into it, making it impossible to breathe.
Her stomach churned unpleasantly, with a thick, viscous sensation.
It was utterly nauseating.
The corners of her eyes turned slightly red, adding a touch of allure to her beauty.
She took out the dagger she carried, crouched down, and pressed the sharp blade against the man's vulnerable throat.
With a gentle slash, blood would spurt out like rain, never to stop until all the blood in her body had drained away.
It would surely be a beautiful, stunning masterpiece.
She smiled, and her fair, snow-white face became even more striking, like a datura flower blooming in the depths of sin, its fragrance rich and its poison potent.
"How about I first cut off your tongue, then gouge out your eyes, and after that, chop off your limbs and pickle you in brine like a 'rén zhì'?"
As she spoke these cruel, violent words, she smiled ever more radiantly and purely, her dimples shallow, causing dizziness.
Shen Yaojin stepped forward. He didn't look at the disheveled Shi Wei pinned to the ground, but rather spoke gently to Shen Yue, "Fourth brother, let's tend to your wounds first. You're bleeding."
As he spoke, he bent down and reached out to touch the bite mark on Shen Yue's neck, his eyes as deep as an abyss, his pupils slightly dilated.
Shen Yue's hand, holding the dagger, slashed out. A cold glint flashed, and Shen Yaojin felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand. Warm liquid flowed down. He looked down slowly, only then noticing a deep, bone-revealing gash on the back of his hand. Bright red blood surged out rapidly.
Ignoring the wound on his hand, he slowly straightened up, his face expressionless, his deep, dark eyes terrifyingly unfathomable.
Shen Yue looked at him with calm eyes, her tone gentle and devoid of any sharpness. She softly, unhurriedly, countered, "Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"
"You hate me that much? You found this kind of trash to disgust me, Shen Yaojin, you're truly ruthless."
She was indeed smiling, and her gaze towards Shen Yaojin held no resentment or any negative emotions. It was as if a thin veil was cast over her, obscuring all her feelings, creating a hazy expanse that made her inscrutable.
Shen Yaojin's heartbeat abruptly stopped. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat felt blocked by a layer of fine sand, dry and stinging, preventing any words from escaping.
However, Shen Yue didn't seem inclined to hear him speak. Soon, the still-dripping dagger was pressed against Shi Wei's neck. With a slight forward movement, the sharp blade pierced the thin, fragile skin, and blood began to flow.
The blush on Shi Wei's face had not yet faded; it was a sickly red. His eyes, greedy and hazy, gazed at Shen Yue's exquisite, beautiful, and frost-covered eyebrows.
He felt no fear. On the contrary, it stirred his heart.
Death, in itself, was a frightening thing.
But if it were to be at the hands of Your Highness, then it would be a sweet reward.
He was willing.
Just as the dagger was about to slice into the blood vessel, a large, dark hand clasped her wrist. Though firm, the grip controlled its force, ensuring Shen Yue felt no pain.
Shen Yue's eyes remained red. She glanced sideways.
Shen Yaojin's face remained impassive, but the depths of his eyes gradually darkened.
Upon seeing Shen Yue's expression, he was momentarily stunned.
It was strange. Shen Yue's face showed no sadness or distress, yet it gave Shen Yaojin an indescribable, even heart-stirring feeling.
Her dense, long eyelashes drooped slightly, casting crow-feather-like shadows beneath her eyes. Her beautiful, alluring face was devoid of color, terrifyingly pale, with only her full lips displaying a decadent crimson.
Her eyelashes were slightly damp, and small red marks, caused by forceful sucking, dotted her neck.
Ambiguous and glaring.
Shen Yaojin's expression was blank, but in the depths of his eyes, a monstrous killing intent surged with sinister gloom.
Shen Yue stated faintly, "Are you going to stop me?"
If Shen Yue were to become emotional, enraged, or display some sort of frantic outburst, it would have seemed quite normal. However, her tone was so calm, so eerily calm.
This was not Shen Yue's usual disposition.
She was the type who, if someone displeased her, would demand blood.
But now, she seemed very composed, apart from her slightly reddened eyes.
Shen Yaojin pursed his sharp, thin lips, his gaze dark and inscrutable, like a calm sea surface on the verge of a storm, only to be quietly concealed in an instant.
His Adam's apple bobbed. His voice was hoarse, as if forced out.
"...You cannot touch him."
It was not the right time, and therefore, Shi Wei could not die.
In truth, after their prolonged struggle, if Shen Yue had truly exerted herself, Shen Yaojin would not have been able to flit around before her for so long.
She felt guilt towards Shen Yaojin.
This was why she had indulged him time and again, allowing Shen Yaojin to grow from an innocent, defenseless young beast into the formidable, ferocious beast he was today.
That guilt made it impossible for her to strike decisively whenever she saw him.
In the dead of night, she occasionally had nightmares.
In her dreams, Shen Yaojin was still that oblivious, simple little fool, constantly clinging to her, smiling innocently and sweetly, calling her affectionately.
"Fourth brother."
"Fourth brother."
Like a bothersome piece of taffy, impossible to shake off no matter what.
Then, the scene would abruptly shift.
The little fool was covered in blood, his legs almost gnawed away, leaving pitted wounds where only bleached bone was visible.
He crawled towards her with difficulty, his fingers bleeding from being scraped on the rough ground. He seemed to feel no pain.
Each crawl left a bloody imprint, as if a vengeful spirit from the depths of hell had crawled out to claim her.
He was crying, crying heart-wrenchingly, his suppressed, agonizing sobs seeming to be drawn out, bit by bit, from the very depths of his soul.
Those sharp, broken cries echoed in her ears, never ceasing, clear even when she covered her ears.
"Fourth brother, save me..."
"Don't abandon me, please, Fourth brother..."
"Fourth brother hurts so much, so much..."
Each word was like a soft knife cutting flesh, causing her heart to contract, and the air in her lungs to be completely squeezed out.
She wanted to rush to save that fool but could never touch him. The moment she tried, the dream would shatter like broken glass, disintegrating and vanishing.
These dreams tormented her daily.
Now, Shen Yue could allow herself this one last moment of softness.