As for a solution?
Ling Qinghe, of course, possessed a method to break the deadlock. After all, when Silvia was still a woman, there were several individuals he deeply cared for and cherished.
For instance, the Three Primary Colors team—Qiye, Weizhan, and Xincheng—as well as Xia Naxin, who stood right beside her.
Speaking of which, the former female Silvia and Xia Naxin had once been lovers.
But now, Silvia knew that everything had shattered, that there was no turning back. Having lost all will to live, he no longer harbored any desire to survive.
Ling Qinghe pondered, deciding to approach the problem from this angle. Memories, after all, are the most potent lever for prying open emotions.
“Cheyin, give me your phone. Open the album…”
She extended her hand without turning, and Ling Cheyin bit her lower lip, obediently handing over the phone. Her fingertips trembled slightly. Was she truly going to play that kind of pleasurable video?
The phone screen lit up, revealing roughly a hundred videos in the album. Each thumbnail glowed with a reddish hue—the color of hair. Most covers featured close-up beauty shots of a blushing, naked red-haired girl.
Alongside these were live action images, every frame capturing the red-haired girl in her most intimate poses and expressions.
It was Qiye!
Her eyes were unfocused, her hair disheveled, and she was panting heavily, appearing flushed and delicately weary. The scene depicted was utterly indescribable.
At that moment, Ling Qinghe turned the volume to maximum, broadcasting the girl’s broken sobs and seductive laughter:
“Ahhh!”
“Louder… mmm~”
Following this, Qiye’s muffled cries could be heard.
****
The video was displayed right before Silvia.
Within the footage, Qiye lay completely naked on a bed, the rumpled sheets entangling not just her limbs, but also the most shameful ‘secrets’ beneath the halo of Magical Girl Crimson Star and the leader of the Three Primary Colors team.
Ling Qinghe, meanwhile, held the phone steady in front of the camera.
And… Ling Cheyin, also ‘bare,’ had climbed onto the bed, seemingly preparing to force herself upon Qiye, laying bare Qiye’s rawest desires and vulnerabilities.
Ling Qinghe shook the phone, her nail scratching the screen.
“Look, even her pleas for mercy… are so melodious. My sister loves listening to cries like these~”
“Zhennu Yibai, you wouldn’t want Qiye… to forever become a plaything for my sister and me after you die, would you?”
“Perhaps you don’t know this, but actually… Qiye, she’s already fallen in private, you see~ Her first night, her first kiss… do you think they’re still hers? Hmmph~”
“Those things~ they long ago bled crimson beneath my palm. Did you truly believe the magical vow at her collar… could safeguard her purity?”
Hearing the obscene sounds from the video, Silvia finally reacted, his body trembling. How could the girl who was always sunny, cheerful, and passionate, who vowed to protect the Iris Kingdom, be involved with a witch in private? And now, in the most humiliating posture, she was shattering his… will to die?
****
Yet, it wasn’t over. Ling Qinghe continued her threats:
“If you don’t want to live…”
She deliberately drew out her words.
“Then I… will simply upload all these recordings online, utterly ruining Qiye’s reputation~”
Ling Qinghe zoomed in on the hickey on Qiye’s neck in the video.
“Just imagine, the leader of the Three Primary Colors team, Magical Girl Crimson Star, secretly ‘fallen’… indulging in depravity with a witch…”
As she spoke, she grabbed Silvia’s hair, forcing his gaze onto the screen.
“Tell me, if I expose this, will she be imprisoned? Will she face judgment? Hehehe~ Imprisonment, universal scorn—and all of this—”
Ling Qinghe released her grip, letting Silvia slump to the ground.
“—will be all thanks to you.”
Upon hearing that Qiye would be implicated because of him, Silvia hastily opened his eyes a fraction. No, Qiye couldn’t be dragged into this. Silvia knew that, knowing the Great Witch Ling Qinghe’s character, if she said it, she would undoubtedly do it. That child, Qiye, couldn’t have her career and life ruined because of this. Such a thing… absolutely could not be exposed.
Seeing Silvia’s reaction, Ling Qinghe nodded with satisfaction. Finally, she had managed to rekindle a glimmer of Silvia’s will to live. But it wasn’t over yet.
Ling Qinghe then proceeded to press her advantage:
“Silvia…”
This time, Ling Qinghe addressed him directly by name.
“Tell me, if you die, what will become of Xia Naxin? Years from now, whose wife will she be, and whose daughter will she hold?”
“Hehe~ If she comes to offer incense at your grave every year, she’ll bring another partner to visit you, holding someone else’s child in her arms… And you! Dead, you’ll become a lonely, wandering ghost, watching Xia Naxin marry and have children…”
Upon hearing this, Xia Naxin’s eyes had already reddened. Although it felt unseemly, for the sake of reigniting Silvia’s will to live… this was the only way.
She bit her lip, trembling as she grasped Silvia’s cold hand.
“Silvia, I’m sorry. That day, I broke your heart… but now, I understand. I… still deeply love you.”
“So, don’t give up… I’m still waiting for you.”
These insincere words, however, struck like heavy hammers, pounding against the defenses of Silvia’s heart. He clearly remembered how Xia Naxin had been driven away in disgust by him that day, yet now she was saying… she still loved him?
“Oh~ right, and there’s Weizhan and Xincheng…”
Suddenly, Ling Qinghe let out a cold laugh.
“Hehe~ If you die, I’ll capture them, tie them to a bed… and let Cheyin ‘entertain’ them thoroughly. Speaking of which, I’d also like to sample… the Three Primary Colors ‘donburi’~”
“Do you think, when the wanton cries of the Three Primary Colors team echo, defiled by a witch… will the citizens of the Iris Kingdom still remember them as heroes?”
At this, Silvia was filled with dread. If he died, every woman he still cared for deep down would fall into the clutches of the Great Witch Ling Qinghe. He… began to fear death.
His lips trembled.
“Don’t… don’t hurt them, please… I beg you…”
Immediately, Ling Qinghe raised the blade, still stained with Silvia’s blood.
“Beg me? Don’t you think it’s a little late… Hmm, alright, I’ll give you a chance.”
“This knife of mine is dirty. You can lick it clean, can’t you?”
The blood flowing on it was Silvia’s own. As he faced licking his own blood, a wave of humiliation surged within him, yet Silvia had no choice but to comply. Eventually, he extended his tongue and licked the blood from the blade.
Tears of humiliation streamed down his cheeks, yet in his heart, a new cage was built—a resolve to live, for the sake of those cherished, innocent smiles. The taste of rust spread in his mouth. All of this was for Qiye… for Weizhan, Xincheng, for all the women he cared about. It wouldn’t be too late to seek death once they were safe, would it? Yes, that was it. Unbeknownst to him, such a thought had taken root in Silvia’s mind.
Ling Qinghe watched Silvia’s ‘obedient’ demeanor. This was merely the first step of ‘taming’ him. The blade had already been coated with a special aphrodisiac poison, capable of stirring the deepest emotions within a person. Alas, Silvia’s heart was already as still as stagnant water; the toxin had only exerted less than one-thousandth of its effect, and it had taken considerable effort and persuasion to even achieve that. It truly wasn’t easy.
However, it didn’t matter. As long as he harbored a will to live, she had already won the first step of this psychological battle. Sooner or later, she would ‘tame’ his soul into the perfect puppet.
****
Silvia lowered his gaze, licking the blade clean. A muffled sound of swallowing blood echoed in his throat, and he obediently… handed the knife back to Ling Qinghe.
The cold wind howled. Ling Qinghe, with a half-smile, toyed with the blade, still warm and slick with saliva.
“I’ll say it again: I have a way to help you turn back into a girl. But as a price, you must become my possession afterward… Tell me, do you want to, or not?”
Upon hearing this, Silvia’s gaze swept over the video on the phone, showing Qiye’s curled form, ‘suffering’ utter humiliation. Ultimately, considering that Qiye’s weakness was still in the Great Witch Ling Qinghe’s grasp, he had no choice but to agree. Just as he was about to speak, Xia Naxin stepped forward quickly, grabbing Ling Qinghe by the collar and pinning her against the fortress wall.
Her eyes blazed with fury, and uncontrolled psionic energy surged around her, causing the air to hum with a piercing whine:
“What did you just say? You’re going to make Silvia your possession? What kind of joke is that? Are you mocking me?!”
How was this any different from putting horns on her head right in front of her? However, Ling Qinghe remained composed. She whispered a few words to Xia Naxin. Xia Naxin’s pupils contracted sharply. Her grip on the collar tightened for a moment, then she reluctantly loosened it. She took a step back, pointing at Ling Qinghe and threatening menacingly:
“If you dare to lie to me, hmph~ I’ll kill your sister…”
Hearing this, Ling Cheyin swallowed hard, trembling with fright, a flurry of thoughts racing through her mind: ‘Why did Sister Xia suddenly turn her aggression towards me?’
Seeing this, Silvia finally nodded with difficulty:
“I agree.”
At this moment, the long-extinguished flame of ‘will to live’ reignited in Silvia’s eyes. However, that cluster of flames no longer flickered for himself, but burned with… the obsession to protect others.
Xia Naxin hurried forward, supporting the tottering Silvia. She could feel a long-missed body warmth. Silvia no longer felt like stagnant water or a pile of mud; at least, there was a breath of life. This subtle change allowed her anxious heart to settle slightly.