A Dangerous Awakening and a Desperate Plea

Lin Xingjian woke up slowly, but did not open his eyes immediately.

As a cultivator of the Shadow Sect, he was well aware of the taboos after being captured. If he opened his eyes rashly, he would most likely be discovered by his captor.

He continued to feign unconsciousness, using his other senses to gather useful information and seek an opportunity to escape.

He first attempted to move his body, only to find it exceedingly difficult.

His entire body was tightly bound by ropes.

With the slightest movement, the coarse ropes chafed against his skin, sending a searing pain through him.

He gently sniffed the surrounding air, and a pungent, acrid stench of medicinal pills assailed him.

The odor, a mixture of putrid flesh and scorched herbs, made him almost gag.

Lin Xingjian remained exceptionally cautious; besides the foul stench, he also detected the intoxicating scent he had encountered before.

It seemed Yao Qing’er had prepared these drugs around the room as a precaution.

“My dear, are you awake?”

The woman’s voice whispered softly by his ear, like a gentle spring breeze, yet laced with threads of danger.

Her scorching breath fanned against Lin Xingjian’s sensitive neck.

His skin instantly prickled with fine goosebumps, yet he remained as steady as Mount Tai, revealing not a single flaw.

“How could this be?”

“The dosage I administered wasn’t much; you should be waking up by now. Could it be, my dear… you’re deliberately feigning sleep?”

Upon hearing Yao Qing’er’s words, Lin Xingjian’s heart lurched.

‘Damn it, this Yao Qing’er is actually so clever.’

‘How had I never noticed this when I was close to her in the past?’

Back then, Yao Qing’er had always maintained an icy demeanor, her entire focus immersed in her alchemy and poison experiments.

She spent her days surrounded by peculiar herbs and cauldrons emitting an eerie glow.

“If you’re still not awake, then a little prank from me wouldn’t be too much, would it?”

Yao Qing’er continued.

Lin Xingjian immediately felt a soft weight pressing down on him. Is she lying on top of me? he wondered.

‘What exactly does this madwoman intend to do?’

Countless horrifying thoughts flashed through his mind, and he grew so tense he could barely breathe.

“My dear, you smell so good!”

In that instant, Lin Xingjian felt his lips sealed by something soft, a warm, tender breath washing over him until his teeth were parted.

Utterly shocked, he instinctively widened his eyes, meeting Yao Qing’er’s alluring, silken gaze.

While her eyes seemed laced with boundless affection, Lin Xingjian felt only profound fear.

The soft touch made him intensely uncomfortable; he wanted to struggle but was bound by the ropes, unable to move.

He could only emit muffled grunts.

“What are you doing? How dare you take liberties with me?”

Lin Xingjian demanded angrily.

He had never imagined that he, a man, would be the one defiled by a woman.

This was an absolute disgrace for a man!

He turned his head, attempting to distance himself from Yao Qing’er, only to be met with her increasingly brazen laughter.

He quickly assessed his internal condition.

Within him were several toxins, all designed to stagnate his bodily functions and block his meridians.

Just how many poisonous pills had she forced upon him?

“My dear, are you pleased with my surprise?”

Yao Qing’er pulled back slightly from Lin Xingjian, a triumphant smile gracing her face.

Lin Xingjian looked around.

This dim, sunless chamber was pitch black.

Damp moss crept along the walls, exuding a decaying odor.

The meager light filtering through the small skylight seemed swallowed by darkness, illuminating only the woman’s delicate features and making the entire room appear even more eerie and terrifying.

‘Could this be an underground chamber?’

Lin Xingjian inwardly speculated, his dread deepening.

“Young Lady Yao, I believe there might be a misunderstanding between us.”

“I am merely a subordinate acting on orders; every debt has its owner. You can certainly seek out my client to settle this. I earnestly implore you not to harm the innocent.”

Lin Xingjian strove to keep his voice calm, attempting to persuade Yao Qing’er with words.

“Harm the innocent?”

“For these past months, it was you who accompanied me every day, you who treated me with such attentiveness every day. You were so good to me, yet now you tell me… this was just your mission?”

Yao Qing’er’s gaze instantly turned cold, her alluring eyes now glazed with ice.

Lin Xingjian swallowed hard, his throat dry and aching.

As a Shadow Sect cultivator, he had to strictly adhere to one principle: never reveal client information.

“Indeed, Young Lady Yao, everything is as you perceive it.”

However, that was a rule the Shadow Sect had long since abandoned. His Master had once said that as long as one could save their own life, what did a client truly matter?

‘Where there’s life, there’s hope.’ (TL Note: Chinese idiom meaning as long as one can survive, there is always a chance for a comeback.)

The previous client met with an unfortunate end, yet it didn’t affect the next client placing an order.

When it was time to confess honestly, he had to confess honestly.

He couldn’t sacrifice himself, even if it meant sacrificing others.

“This matter is my dereliction of duty, and I will certainly compensate you, Young Lady. I hope you will be magnanimous and grant me a way out. I assure you, I will never trouble you again.”

As Lin Xingjian spoke, he carefully observed Yao Qing’er’s expression.

“Heh heh.”

“I know who you are, and I know what power stands behind you. That person already told me… the Shadow Sect, right?”

“A shadow lurking beneath the Xuantian Dao Sect, once its blood-stained blade.”

“To think that the sword which struck fear into countless sects has finally rusted? To stoop to such a base act as seducing women?”

Yao Qing’er sneered, each word like a sharp blade piercing Lin Xingjian’s heart.

A flicker of indignation crossed Lin Xingjian’s eyes.

That sentence hit a raw nerve.

Why had he joined the Shadow Sect in the first place, if not to become Xuantian’s sharp blade, an assassin?

But what was the outcome?

Before becoming a cultivator, Lin Xingjian had endured unimaginable torment and devastation that countless others could not fathom.

He could never forget those years as a mortal under his Master’s tutelage.

The system wouldn’t help him alleviate the pain of his training.

Every day before dawn, his Master would drag him from his bed to cultivate in icy, snowy conditions; the slightest slackening resulted in a brutal beating.

In those days, his body was always covered in wounds, new injuries appearing before old ones had healed.

Having endured so much suffering, was it all just to use disguise and endurance to seduce women?

Indignation and resentment filled his heart.

However, as a Shadow Sect cultivator, he calmed down in an instant.

“Young Lady Yao, since you know my identity, I hope you will let me leave. The transaction between us is hereby nullified. If you have any demands for compensation, please feel free to propose them to me.”

Lin Xingjian wasn’t worried about his identity being exposed.

The Xuantian Dao Sect’s territory was vast, spanning hundreds of miles across the Southern Frontier.

The Shadow Sect was merely a small corner within it, and moreover, ‘a cunning rabbit has three burrows’ (TL Note: Chinese idiom meaning a clever person has multiple escape routes.).

The Shadow Sect’s hiding places were ‘as numerous as ox hairs’ (TL Note: Chinese idiom meaning extremely numerous or abundant.).

Even if Yao Qing’er knew his identity, what could she do?

As long as he could escape, Yao Qing’er would never find him again in this lifetime.

“Compensation?”

“What kind of compensation could you possibly offer me?”

Yao Qing’er sneered, letting out a soft hum.

“Perhaps you don’t know, but I am the illegitimate daughter of the Pill Sect Master. Do you think I would care for your paltry compensation?”

Yao Qing’er subtly lifted her chin, her eyes filled with disdain, mocking Lin Xingjian’s overestimation of his own capabilities.

Lin Xingjian remained silent.

He was aware of this fact.

Not only the Pill Sect, but every sect beneath the Xuantian Dao Sect had a sect master managing it.

These sect masters held high positions of power, controlling a region of the Dao Sect.

Yao Qing’er, standing before him, was the illegitimate daughter of the Pill Sect Master.

Although this matter hadn’t spread outside the sect, it was enough to be a trump card in her hands.

“Then… what do you wish to do, Young Lady?”

Lin Xingjian asked cautiously, his voice tinged with helplessness and resignation.

“It’s simple. I want you to compensate for my losses by becoming my true Dao Companion (TL Note: A partner in cultivation, often implying a deep spiritual and romantic bond.). From this moment forth, alive, you are my Yao Qing’er’s person; dead, you are my Yao Qing’er’s soul.”

Yao Qing’er’s eyes revealed a hint of madness and obsession, having already decided Lin Xingjian was her prize, firmly within her grasp.

“Absolutely not, Young Lady Yao! I am merely a subordinate of the Shadow Sect; how dare I be worthy of a noble young lady? I implore you to seek a fated partner of matching status.”

Lin Xingjian quickly refused, attempting to dissuade Yao Qing’er by emphasizing their vast difference in status.

“No, I want you.”

“I am the Young Miss of the Pill Sect; when I say I want you, no one can stop me.”

“I still don’t know your name, but my heart yearns for you. You’ve already stolen my heart.”

Yao Qing’er’s tone was resolute, leaving no room for doubt.

She reached out, gently caressing Lin Xingjian’s cheek, a touch that made him shiver.

Lin Xingjian turned his head, evading Yao Qing’er’s hand, his heart filled with resistance.

“Why are you unwilling? Give me a reason.”

Yao Qing’er’s eyes grew even colder.

With her fair hand, she gripped Lin Xingjian’s slender neck, her fingernails nearly digging into his skin.

“If your reason isn’t sufficient, your life won’t be safe.”

“Be-because I am the hope of the Shadow Sect; I cannot leave it. My Master still hopes I will expand the Shadow Sect and restore its former glory.”

What Lin Xingjian said was not false.

His Master had indeed harped on about this every day in the past, to the point where Lin Xingjian’s ears ached.

He had always turned a deaf ear to it.

Now, however, he presented it as a reason to save his life.

‘It’s perfectly reasonable, isn’t it?’

‘Nothing wrong with that, right?’