So, Ye Luqing removed Pei Ruyi’s blindfold.
After all, using a sword someone else gave her… she had to see it clearly.
Unlike her standard sword and her lifebound spirit sword, Pei Ruyi was deeply familiar with the first two. Even without seeing them, she could easily sense their aura.
“Mmph…”
Pei Ruyi’s eyes fluttered open, the sudden brightness disorienting.
But the moment she saw the cyan spirit sword in Ye Luqing’s hand, her pupils constricted sharply, as if an invisible hand had seized her heart.
It was the sword Hua Sheng had given her.
The Azure Jade Spirit Sword gleamed with a cold light, its tassel still tied with the blue-green knot she had personally braided.
“What’s the matter? Surprised to see an old friend?”
Ye Luqing toyed with the spirit sword, her fingertips tracing the razor-sharp edge, drawing a sliver of cold light.
Seeing Pei Ruyi’s expression, she knew she had guessed right.
“The sword Junior Brother Hua gave you. Quite fitting to use it for your… ‘training’.”
On Heavenly Sword Peak, from the outer to inner disciples, everyone was a sword fanatic. Gaining such a spirit sword, they would treasure it and prioritize using it themselves—they would never give it away.
Furthermore, someone who could afford a Profound-Tier Superior spirit sword had to be a top-ranked inner disciple or even a true disciple.
And among them, the only one with a relationship this close to Pei Ruyi was Hua Sheng, who had entered the sect at the same time as her.
“Mmph!”
Pei Ruyi struggled against the gag, her ice-blue eyes churning with resistance.
She could accept anything being done to her, but the moment it involved those who had helped her… she couldn’t bear it.
She tried to cry out “Don’t,” but the small ball in her mouth was an unbreakable wall, allowing only muffled “mmph” sounds, like a whimpering sob.
She turned her head away in avoidance, shutting her eyes as her body trembled violently, as if refusing to accept this reality.
‘Why… Why are you doing this…’
‘Hua Sheng, I’m… sorry…’
The guilt towards Hua Sheng inside her heart almost peaked. Six years of being both rivals and friends flooded her mind, but now, recalling those memories only brought a bone-piercing shame.
Yet within that shame, an inescapable sense of moral betrayal arose, mixed with the twisted pleasure of being dominated and corrupted by Ye Luqing.
Ye Luqing chuckled softly, watching Pei Ruyi. She slid the spirit sword under her chin, forcing her head up.
“That won’t do, Senior Sister Pei. You must watch carefully.”
“Watch carefully and see how this sword from your ‘good friend’ makes you utterly unable to resist.”
Smack!
A crisp sound exploded in the room as the flat of the Azure Jade Spirit Sword lashed directly across Pei Ruyi’s back.
Ye Luqing had added a little more force. It wasn’t heavy for Pei Ruyi, but for some reason, it stung.
Pei Ruyi’s body instantly tensed, her fingertips digging into the floor until her knuckles turned white.
She felt the fabric on her back split slightly from the sword qi, a burning pain spreading across her skin.
But what hurt more was her heart. It felt as if something inside it had cracked.
As the flat of the sword scraped across her arm, Pei Ruyi caught a faint scent of blood.
The odor mixed with the cold, clear aura of the Azure Jade Spirit Sword, creating a strange, perverse scent that, upon entering her nostrils, made her shiver with a morbid thrill.
She clearly didn’t want this.
She wanted to snatch the sword from Ye Luqing’s hand and shout, “I am not your plaything!”
But the lingering pleasure from the last beating hadn’t faded, and another lash landed.
This beating was more intense than with the previous two swords, forcing her soul to submit again and again.
Yet the mundane little ball in her mouth was like an Earth-Rank restriction spell array, sealing her lips tightly, only allowing fragmented whimpers to escape.
Even her body felt drained of strength, leaving her powerless to even lift a hand.
Ye Luqing seemed quite satisfied with Pei Ruyi’s reaction. She tilted Pei Ruyi’s chin up with the tip of the sword, forcing her to look at her.
“See? You’re actually enjoying this, aren’t you?”
The bright reflection on the flat of the sword mirrored Pei Ruyi’s flushed face—a complex expression tinged with guilt, but mostly the infatuated look unconsciously revealed after being trained.
Pei Ruyi abruptly turned her head away, her eyes red-rimmed, tears falling uselessly to the ground.
No.
That’s not it!
She screamed desperately in her mind, but only whimpering sounds could escape her throat.
The wounds on her back and arms were burning. But what terrified her more than the pain was that her body would tremble in anticipation before each stroke of the sword.
Not from pain, but because that sword qi, laden with humiliation and betrayal, stirred a strange throb and craving within her.
This complex throb and craving was like a venomous snake, slithering through her blood into her Sword Heart, gnawing at her last resistance.
Crack… Crack…
Her Sword Heart… was about to completely shatter.
After a while, Ye Luqing’s gaze sharpened, as if noticing something, and she stopped the beating.
“Remember this feeling, Senior Sister Pei.” Her voice was still playful, but laced with a hint of coldness. “This is the price of choosing submission.”
Beneath her, Pei Ruyi trembled slightly, her whimpers turning into soft sobs.
She slowly removed the ball gag, her eyes complex as she looked at Ye Luqing.
“Why… are you doing this…”
“Isn’t torturing me enough…? Why must you also humiliate those who are important to me?”
Even agreeing yesterday to temporarily forget Xiao Qingxuan was conditional on not doing anything to Xiao Qingxuan.
But today, with Hua Sheng, not only did Ye Luqing not ask her to stop thinking about him, she actively brought him up again and again.
Knowing this was her bottom line, she still deliberately provoked, belittled, and tormented her.
Were all those words Ye Luqing said yesterday just lies?
Ye Luqing looked down at Pei Ruyi, a cold snort escaping her throat.
“Heh, torture…”
“If Senior Sister Pei sees this as torture, then don’t come looking for me again.”
“To be honest, I’m tired of playing. How about this: if you still want to come back, give up your identity as a Direct Disciple of Heavenly Sword Peak and become my personal handmaiden. What do you say?”
“After all, that’s what you’ve been thinking too, isn’t it?” She looked at Pei Ruyi with mockery, her words dripping with sarcasm.
She couldn’t afford to be soft-hearted anymore.
The data for the second stage of Corruption Value had already been met. This was the best opportunity to push Pei Ruyi away.
If she continued, Pei Ruyi would only sink deeper, becoming an obstacle to her completing the mission and returning to Earth, creating unnecessary attachment and worry.
Hearing this, Pei Ruyi froze momentarily.
She looked up to meet Ye Luqing’s slightly mocking gaze, her eyes filled with unconcealable pain. Two streaks of clear tears fell from her eyes.
What did she mean, ‘tired of playing’…?
So she had misunderstood. She had never been in Ye Luqing’s heart; it was just her own wishful thinking.
What about “Fall in love with me”? She was the one who had moved her heart, but the one who spoke those words had lost interest.
Seeing the pained look in Pei Ruyi’s eyes, Ye Luqing felt a pang in her heart. Immediately, she steeled herself, turning her head away and ignoring Pei Ruyi, as if completely unconcerned with her feelings.
This was the right thing to do. They were just using each other; there was no need to get too deeply involved.
As a “stand-in” for Xiao Qingxuan, the current results were sufficient.
Continuing further could be dangerous.
[Name: Pei Ruyi]
[Cultivation: Early Nascent Soul Stage]
[Blackening Value: 42%]
[Devilification Value: None]
[Corruption Value: 100% (Second Stage)]
“I understand…”
Pei Ruyi bit her lip and stood up unsteadily.
Bright red blood trickled slowly from the corner of her mouth. Her hands trembling, she took the sword from Ye Luqing’s grasp and left the small courtyard without looking back.
She would never return.
