The moment Su Su recalled how this person would scrutinize her with a measuring gaze in the Demon Palace in the future, she couldn't help but grit her teeth lightly.
The youth before her appeared timid and humble, but Su Su refused to believe that the future Demon King could have possessed such a temperament in his youth.
Most likely, it was all an act.
Countless memorial tablets flashed through her mind, along with the cruel "Graveyard of Ten Thousand Immortals," stirring a surge of fury within her.
Su Su retrieved a box from beneath the bed, inside which lay a blood-red whip.
Tantai Jin watched the whip, his fingers slowly clenching within his sleeves.
Su Su lifted her gaze to meet his.
To put it bluntly, it was rather twisted—the original host's greatest resentment in this life was having been forced to marry Tantai Jin, to the extent that she would vent her anger by whipping him every night.
This had become a ritual; skipping a single night of whipping would leave the original host feeling deeply unsettled.
Su Su had never used a whip on anyone before, but she held no goodwill for this naturally born evil entity. While she didn't believe all Demonic Beasts were inherently wicked, the one before her was undoubtedly destined for darkness.
Only once in millennia does a person born with an Evil Bone appear.
He was fated to be a lone star of calamity, gradually descending into a violent and uncontrollable nature.
Su Su swung the whip, the lash tearing through the air as it struck toward the youth.
Tantai Jin did not evade. The whip landed on his chest, causing him to stagger back a step.
His pitch-black eyes, deep as ink, fixed intently on Su Su. In his gaze, she finally glimpsed the deeply concealed disgust and pain.
This was how it should be.
Good and evil were never meant to coexist.
Imitating the original host's nightly taunts, Su Su sneered, "It's because of you that the Sixth Prince refused to marry me! Why don't you just die!"
She delivered another lash across the youth's arm.
He grunted in pain, his body trembling slightly.
Having knelt on the ice for so long, Tantai Jin's body was already swollen and aching. These two lashes, striking his already numb arms, amplified the pain exponentially, sending spasms of agony deep into his bones.
Su Su's hand holding the whip hesitated. Was he on the verge of collapse?
After all, a mortal body was exceedingly fragile.
Su Su took a deep breath, reciting the Heart-Cleansing Mantra several times in her mind. She glanced at her own delicate fingers—her mission was not to kill the young Demon King. Moreover, even if she were to end his life, she ought to grant him a swift death, not subject him to humiliation.
Since childhood, her father had taught her not to bully the weak. Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all beings as straw dogs. As a cultivator, she must never actively create karma.
Suppressing her desire to avenge her fellow disciples, she put away the whip and declared, "I'm tired today, and the sight of your face disgusts me. If I ever find out you're involved with Ye Bingshang again, I won't let you off easily."
She tossed the whip at Tantai Jin, then turned over, presenting her back to him.
Closing her eyes, Su Su recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra over a dozen times. Only when her Dao Heart stabilized did she realize a faint discomfort lingering within her.
This was a sign of her Dao Heart wavering.
She would not evade her mistakes. Tonight, following the original host's habit of humiliating him had been wrong.
She would not repeat it.
Tantai Jin caught the whip. His face, already pale from weakness, grew even ghastlier after the two lashes.
He lifted his gaze to the young maiden's retreating figure.
He had long prepared himself to be whipped half to death by Ye Xi Wu, yet today, he had been spared dozens of lashes.
Beads of sweat dotted Tantai Jin's forehead as he painstakingly laid out his bedding on the floor.
Something pressed against a wound on his neck, sending a sharp pang of pain. He reached to retrieve it.It was a long-faded talisman of peace, strung on a black thread, hidden for years beneath his robes.
The candlelight reflected in his eyes, dispelling some of the coldness.
Tantai Jin carefully tucked away the talisman and turned over. On this winter night, the wind howled fiercely outside.
The shadows of trees cast upon the window resembled the menacing forms of Chimei Wangliang.
Suddenly, Tantai Jin recalled the maidservant Yin Qiao, who had been stabbed countless times two days prior.
Her body had been stiff, her expression pained—who knew if she had regretted her choice to help Ye Xi Wu escape?
Tantai Jin’s gaze remained calm, dark and unreadable.
At that time, the maidservant’s body had not yet grown cold, her blood staining the snowy ground, winding its way to his feet.
Her eyes, wide open in death.
He stepped over her indifferently.
Su Su could not sleep in the middle of the night.
With the evil being slumbering right beneath her bed, no matter how carefree she was, she could not simply close her eyes and drift off.
The mortal realm had already entered the depths of winter. A gust of cold wind suddenly blew the window open, flooding the room with icy air.
The charcoal fire in the room had gone out.
After the original host’s marriage, the maidservants no longer attended to the inner chamber. Su Su naturally would not call them in the middle of the night to close the window.
She endured for a while, but soon realized her mortal body could not withstand the cold. So she threw off the covers and went to shut the window.
On her way back, as she passed the young man lying on the floor, she noticed something was wrong.
His breathing was heavy and labored, his entire body trembling unconsciously.
Su Su fetched a glass lamp and knelt beside him.
The young man’s originally pale face was now flushed bright red. Though he remained unconscious, his jaw was clenched tightly.
Something seemed amiss.
Su Su was startled—he could not die.
She had not yet extracted the Evil Bone. If he died, her mission would fail. Once expelled from this timeline, the cultivation world would be doomed.
After a moment’s hesitation, Su Su reached out and touched his forehead.
It was burning hot beneath her hand.
She withdrew her hand. If a mortal burned up like this, wouldn’t they die?
Su Su had never imagined that the evil being from five hundred years ago could be so weak.
He could be injured, he could be broken, but he must not die—otherwise, the Evil Bone would awaken.
Su Su hurriedly picked up a teacup from the table and stepped outside.
She gathered several cups of freshly fallen snow before returning.
Su Su exhaled a puff of warm breath—it was so cold.
Not daring to delay, she found a dress, tore it into strips, wrapped the snow in the cloth, and pressed it against the young man’s forehead.
He was still covered only by an autumn quilt, shivering violently from the cold.
Su Su brought down the quilt from her own bed and draped it over him.
She sat cross-legged beside him, her small face weary and discontented.
She wanted to kill him but couldn’t—instead, she had to save him.
Her teeth chattered from her brief trip outside in the middle of the night—so cold...
Su Su wrapped herself in a heavy cloak, finally feeling somewhat better.
She had to keep watch over Tantai Jin, changing the snow compress on his forehead to reduce his fever.
Leaning against the bed, Su Su felt utterly resigned.
What kind of situation was this?
If she had known, she wouldn’t have beaten him.
Tantai Jin felt as though he were dying.
His body alternated between chills and fever, wracked with pain everywhere.
With his eyes closed, he felt surrounded by endless darkness and icy cold.
No one wants to die—otherwise, what was the point of enduring all these years?
He knew he could not succumb to sleep; he had to save himself. He struggled to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as if weighed down by a thousand pounds.
He fought against the agony for what felt like an eternity, nearly on the verge of giving up, when a soft finger gently touched his forehead.
The cool sensation made his eyelashes flutter.
But it was gone in an instant.Fortunately, the person soon returned, and a cool sensation touched his forehead once more. Before long, warmth spread through his body.
In the winter night’s room, he faintly caught the scent of a warm, girlish fragrance.
He thought coldly, how could such an absurd illusion exist?
By dawn, Tantai Jin’s fever had finally broken.
The young man lay with his eyes closed, no longer shivering.
Su Su disposed of the cloth strips and melted snow, then hugged her own quilt and collapsed onto the bed.
So sleepy.
As the horizon lightened with the first glow of dawn, Chun Tao lifted the bed curtain to help Su Su get up.
The servants dreaded this task the most. The third young lady had a fiery temper—once, a servant who tried to wake her had even received thirty lashes.
Chun Tao, being young and timid, was always pushed into doing this.
Trembling, she called out, "Third Young Lady," her heart in her throat…
The girl drowsily sat up in bed, and Chun Tao hurriedly helped her into her clothes.
The third young lady rubbed her eyes and yawned.
A small strand of hair even stuck up adorably on her head.
Chun Tao stole a quick glance and realized for the first time that the third young lady’s appearance was actually this soft and endearing.
For some reason, Chun Tao found it amusing, and much of her fear dissipated.
Throughout the entire process, the third young lady didn’t scold her even once.
Su Su, having been up half the night, was now forced to rise early.
She glanced toward the couch—Tantai Jin was already gone, having slipped away at some unknown hour.
The maid Xi Xi waited outside, curtsying and saying, "The General and Old Madam are waiting for the third young lady to join them for the morning meal."
Su Su nodded.
At the Ye family’s breakfast table, Su Su looked around but didn’t see Tantai Jin.
Remembering she needed to keep an eye on that sinister creature, she quietly asked Chun Tao about him.
Chun Tao replied, "Has the young lady forgotten? You forbade His Highness Hostage from sharing the table with you and ordered him to eat in the servants’ quarters with the others."
Su Su blinked.
Well, that’s… impressive.
Su Su discreetly observed the large Ye family.
Old Madam sat at the head of the table, and beside her was the stern and imposing man, General Ye Xiao.
Ye Xiao, now thirty-eight with a beard, appeared even more dignified and serious.
After the death of his official wife, he had not remarried all these years.
As Ye Xiao put it, a man who fights on the battlefield carries his head on his belt—he could end up wrapped in a horse’s hide any day, so there was no need to take another official wife and make her live in constant fear.
His words sounded noble, but Ye Xiao had three concubines.
Su Su’s gaze swept over the three concubines’ faces—each was a completely different type, each with her own charm.
The household consisted of four young masters and three young ladies.
Aside from Su Su, who was the only legitimate child, all the other siblings were born of concubines. The second young master’s mother was unknown, making his position the most awkward.
The eldest and third young masters were born to Concubine Lian, who had been Ye Xiao’s chamber maid in his youth. Two years older than Ye Xiao and of ordinary looks, she held a high status in the household due to bearing the eldest son.
Old Madam often entrusted her with managing the household affairs.
Concubine Du had upturned eyes and a somewhat petty, coquettish air—she was the mother of the second young lady, Ye Lanyin, and dressed the most flamboyantly.
Old Madam disliked her the most.
As for the last one, Su Su looked over and saw Concubine Yun. Compared to the previous two, she appeared elegant and gentle, wearing a simple hairpin. She resembled a lotus emerging from water, carrying an indescribable grace.
This aura alone far surpassed that of the other two concubines.
She was the mother of Ye Bingshang and the fourth young master, and she was also General Ye’s most favored concubine.Although Su Su hadn't met Ye Bingshang yet, just by looking at Aunt Yun she could guess that Ye Bingshang was a beauty.
The entire family sat crowded around one table.
Su Su couldn't help feeling somewhat disdainful toward General Ye. In their cultivation world, there was no such thing as concubines—only one sole Dao Companion.
Su Su's mother had passed away a century ago, yet her father still polished her mother's bone flute every day.
Sometimes he would even wipe away tears while cleaning it.
Of course, there were some less desirable practices too, such as keeping cultivation cauldrons. Such things were only done in secret, as they were considered shameful to speak of openly.
Humans weren't as powerful as cultivators, yet they suffered from the bad habit of keeping multiple wives and concubines.
"Third Young Miss, what's wrong? Are you still unwell? Your complexion looks so pale," Aunt Yun's gentle inquiry made everyone look at Su Su.
Su Su set down her chopsticks.
Having stayed up half the night, how could her complexion be good? But this wasn't something she could mention.
It would have been fine if Aunt Yun hadn't pointedly mentioned Su Su, but the moment she did, Ye Xiao put down his chopsticks and shot Su Su a displeased glance: "The matter between you and your elder sister at the last palace banquet reached the Empress Dowager's ears. Her Majesty requests your presence at the palace today."
Su Su swallowed the small glutinous rice ball in her mouth and sighed.
She hadn't been the one to cause the trouble, yet now she had to bear the blame for it.
Truly, trouble had found her while she sat peacefully at home.
The Old Madam couldn't bear to see her darling suffer, and immediately said: "Xiao'er, Xi Wu is still young. There must have been misunderstandings during that conflict between sisters. Besides, the eldest girl surely won't hold it against Xi Wu, right, Aunt Yun?"
Aunt Yun smiled: "Of course."
From that smile, Su Su could detect some reluctance. Well, if her own daughter had been wronged yet she had to smilingly forgive the perpetrator...
Aunt Yun must be feeling quite upset inside.
"When Third Girl enters the palace later, make sure you protect her," the Old Madam instructed the General.
Ye Xiao sighed, not daring to disobey his mother, and nodded: "The Empress Dowager is merciful and won't hold it against a junior. As long as Xi Wu shows proper respect, this matter will pass."
The Old Madam patted Su Su's hand, signaling her not to worry.
Su Su smiled at the Old Madam and nodded. With General Ye present, at least the Empress Dowager wouldn't reprimand her too harshly.
The original host having such a grandmother was truly wonderful.
After the meal, Su Su boarded the carriage to the palace. Her mindset remained quite positive—since she was using Ye Xi Wu's body, she should help resolve Ye Xi Wu's troubles.
Since she was here, she might as well make the best of it and handle whatever came her way.
Su Su prepared herself to be the scapegoat and resigned herself to face the storm of criticism.
A maid approached and curtsied: "The General requests that Third Young Miss please wait."
Wait for what?
Su Su soon found out.
Before long, Tantai Jin emerged from another part of the residence. The young man's lips were pale, giving him a sickly appearance.
He came from the direction opposite the Ye family main hall.
Su Su remembered Chun Tao's words—Tantai Jin took his meals in the servants' quarters.
Su Su tried to detect any resentment in his eyes, considering how she had whipped him the previous night.
Yet until he approached Su Su, his expression remained completely calm.
He lifted his gaze, letting his eyes linger on her equally pale face for two extra seconds, then indifferently looked away.
Su Su: Huh? No way, no way! Why isn't this person pretending to be humble and timid anymore!
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