"Ah!"
A heart-wrenching scream echoed within the ancient tomb.
Her tender, fair skin instantly sloughed off, revealing skin blisters of varying shades on several parts of her body, some deep, some shallow, with clear or viscous fluid oozing from their depths.
A burning pain spread throughout her entire body.
Lu Zhu's face was as pale as paper.
Not a single patch of skin on her body was intact.
"A Meng, it hurts terribly, doesn't it? I know, just bear with it, you'll be all better soon."
Her flesh, nearing the texture of cooked meat, began to redden and swell further where it peeled.
Wu Cheng stood before the wooden bed, his bony hand caressing Lu Zhu's face, the only part of her that was still presentable.
When he withdrew his hand, he leaned in and covered her lips.
Lu Zhu resisted him vehemently, but unable to move, she could only let Wu Cheng kiss her as he pleased.
The burning sensation had not subsided from her body. Enduring the pain, she bit down hard.
"Mmph!"
The taste of blood filled their mouths.
Lu Zhu knew clearly that she had bitten off a piece of flesh from Wu Cheng's lower lip.
Yet... Wu Cheng did not release her, continuing to kiss her.
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Zhu fainted from the pain.
When she awoke, she was still on the wooden bed, still naked.
Her long legs were forced apart, her ankles bound with black cloth strips, securing her feet.
Her exposed, shameful "garden" made her feel shy and mortified.
"Wu Cheng, what are you doing?"
The reddened, peeling skin all over her body seemed to have been treated.
The blood blisters were gone.
It was as if a new layer of skin had been grafted on, and the burning pain had vanished.
As she looked at Wu Cheng, Lu Zhu noticed the skin from his neck downwards was red and raw, as if his skin had just been freshly peeled.
Lu Zhu's pupils constricted.
So... Wu Cheng had cut off his own skin and given it to her?
With his profound Wu techniques, he could achieve this.
"A Meng, it's alright, you were dirty here too, I'll wash you clean, and you'll be all better soon."
Wu Cheng held a strangely shaped dagger in his hand.
The light glinting off the dagger's tip reflected on the wall beside them.
"No, Wu Cheng, what are you going to do to me, you..."
Her shyness was replaced by fear.
Lu Zhu twisted her body, resisting him with all her might.
"A Meng, years ago, you said you would marry me, be my wife. But my father insisted you be the Saintess. He took you away from me. He deserves to die!"
Wu Cheng's eyes were filled with hatred.
"Just because he is my father, I cannot disobey him. But..."
He pointed to his chest: "But... it hurts here, A Meng, do you know? I love you so much, so very much."
Wu Cheng moved closer to the wooden bed and gently brushed a stray strand of hair from Lu Zhu's ear.
His movements were very gentle.
But as Lu Zhu looked at Wu Cheng, her eyes held only fear.
"I wanted to take you away from here, so I found your mother back then, hoping she would agree to let me take you. But..."
At this point, Wu Cheng suddenly laughed.
He laughed with a hint of madness: "But... do you know what your wretched mother said to me?"
His large hand gripped Lu Zhu's chin, his eyes brimming with hatred: "She said... Wu Cheng is not worthy of you. You are the Saintess of Wu Sheng, the most noble girl in the entire tribe. And I am merely the son of the Great Elder of Tian Ji. Hahaha..."
Wu Cheng's fingers tightened suddenly, leaving imprints on Lu Zhu's cheeks.
"Haha... it's utterly laughable. I am the young master of Wu Cheng, the most powerful young master of our tribe. She actually looked down on me? Humph... Why? A Meng, tell me, why?"
Wu Cheng released Lu Zhu's chin, bent down, and exhaled into her ear: "A Meng, tell me, why did she look down on me?"
Tears streamed down her face, wetting the strands of hair on her cheeks.
Lu Zhu turned her head, glaring fiercely at Wu Cheng, and growled, "So... you killed my mother!"
Wu Cheng covered Lu Zhu's mouth with one hand: "Shh... don't make a sound." When he removed his finger, he added, "A Meng, didn't she deserve to die? Everyone who disagrees with us being together deserves to die, including my damned father. A Meng, do you know? After you left, my father forced me to marry another woman. He told me to forget you. He really deserves to die, doesn't he?"
"So... I punished him. I controlled him with the Spirit Control technique and ordered the tribal chief to torment him daily. For years, I watched him suffer, and I was very happy. A Meng, do you remember the Persian cat we raised together? At first, it was very obedient, and I treated it very well."
"Later, it got bored and wanted to leave me, to find another owner. My things can only be mine. Anyone who tries to snatch them away, anyone who betrays me, deserves to die! So... I broke its legs, cut off its claws, stuffed it into a wine jar, and let those poisonous creatures eat away at its flesh, its organs, its head... A Meng, do you know? That little cat was left with nothing in the end. Haha, it was so amusing."
Wu Cheng caressed Lu Zhu's jaw, moving slowly downwards...
"A Meng, do you know? You've been gone for five years, and I've been searching for you for five years. During these five years, I thought of you every day. I always believed that even if you escaped from here, you would eventually come back when you came to your senses. As long as you returned, we could be together again. Even if you were still the pure Saintess and I was still the young master of Wu Cheng, it wouldn't matter, because in the near future, the entire Wu tribe would be mine. By then, no one here would dare to oppose us."
His fingers landed below her flat abdomen and suddenly stopped. A sinister smile played on his lips: "But... why aren't you clean anymore? It doesn't matter, though. I'll wash you clean. Your entire body, and you... here!"
The dagger spun in his palm, while his other hand covered her "garden."
"This needs to be cleaned, A Meng. Just bear with it, you'll be all better soon."
"Wu Cheng, don't touch me, please... don't touch me."
Lu Zhu cried out.
The words "don't touch me" suddenly provoked Wu Cheng.
His large hand roughly clasped...
Pain!
Intense pain!
Lu Zhu's face contorted in agony.
More than the pain, it was the unspeakable shame.
Wu Cheng had insulted her in such a way!
She wanted to resist, but she was powerless.
"You don't want me to touch you, but someone else did. A Meng, why did you let someone else touch you? Why? Why!"
Wu Cheng's hand tightened forcefully.
Blood flowed from her xx.
"Ah!"
Lu Zhu cried out in pain.
"Wu Cheng, I was forced. Those people hurt me."
Lu Zhu, in tears, revealed the truth.
She thought Wu Cheng might show some sympathy and let her go.
But...
"A Meng, it doesn't matter anymore. You are still mine. And those who hurt you, I will make sure they have no place to be buried. A Meng, don't worry, I will gently cut off everything here. Once it's cut off, you will be clean."
"No, Wu Cheng, I beg you, let me go, okay?"
Lu Zhu was terrified and pleaded.
Wu Cheng seemed not to hear: "A Meng, don't worry. Even if we can't consummate, I won't dislike you. As long as you are clean."
Lu Zhu cried and shook her head.
Wu Cheng pretended not to see.
He held the dagger and used its tip to cut open her xx...
"Bang!"
The ancient tomb door was blown open by an unknown object...