Taking Revenge

It was the middle of the night. The moon hung low in the west, stars filled the sky, and dew covered the ground, bringing a chill to the air.

In her bedroom, Shen Xiu, the Eldest Young Lady of the Sacred Family, crossed her arms in front of her chest, propped one leg over the other, and narrowed her phoenix eyes as she stared impatiently at her bed.

The bed stood straight up at a ninety-degree angle. A yellowing, thick hemp rope was tied to its crossbar, creaking rhythmically as it rubbed against it.

"Why hasn't that dead girl Yu'er come back yet? Could the Old Monster have eaten her?" Shen Xiu furrowed her willow brows, her face full of worry.

She had sent the girl down to gather information. The Old Monster shouldn't give her a hard time, after all—it still had to rely on Shen Xiu to break its seal!

She was wondering whether to go down herself when a little head popped out of the hole.

Yu'er blinked her curious, wide eyes. She looked very cute.

"Yu'er, what's going on down there? What were those loud noises and all that smoke?" Shen Xiu got to her feet and hurried over. Her translucent silk nightgown did nothing to conceal her full, perfect figure.

At that moment, she might as well have been standing naked in front of Yu'er, her alluring body on full display.

Shen Xiu reached out her slender hand and pulled the dazed girl up.

For some reason, the girl had suddenly become as heavy as a stone roller.

"Why is your nose bleeding?" Shen Xiu asked, puzzled, as she looked at Yu'er. "Did the Old Monster hurt you?"

Yu'er wiped the blood from her nose and shook her head.

When Yu'er didn't answer her question right away, but instead found a stool and sat down, staring fixedly at her private parts, Shen Xiu glared at her in embarrassment and anger.

"How dare you! Get up!" Shen Xiu shrieked, pointing at Yu'er's little nose like a furious wildcat.

Yu'er got to her feet.

More precisely, she lunged at Shen Xiu.

Caught off guard, Shen Xiu was knocked straight to the ground.

Yu'er clamped one hand around Shen Xiu's slender neck and covered her mouth with the other, leaving her unable to make a sound.

Shen Xiu was utterly furious.

This was outrageous! How dare a servant lay hands on her mistress? She was asking for death!

She immediately activated Demon Spirit Possession and transformed into a Fox Spirit.

At once, fiery red fur sprouted all over her body. Her ears grew long and pointed, her teeth sharpened like blades, and a fluffy tail appeared behind her.

"Die!"

She thrust out her Nine Yin White Bone Claw and stabbed viciously at Yu'er's face.

But Yu'er raised her knee and brutally forced Shen Xiu's wrist down.

Terror spread across Shen Xiu's face. Yu'er was just an ordinary person—how could she have such terrifying strength?

She was a Silver Three-star Demon Spirit Master. After activating Demon Spirit Possession, her strength was comparable to that of a Silver Three-star demon beast, yet Yu'er had subdued her with ease.

No, that wasn't Yu'er! Who was this woman?

"Bo Chi, your grandpa Chang Ping just clawed his way back from hell!" a gruff male voice boomed from Yu'er's mouth.

Straddling Shen Xiu's chest, Chang Ping pinned her arms down with his knees. He released her neck, his huge, fan-like hand, then slowly peeled the Human Skin Mask off his face.

The face revealed to Shen Xiu was utterly ordinary, yet unforgettable.

"Mmmph! Mmmph! Mmmph... (Aren't you dead?)" A flicker of panic crossed Shen Xiu's phoenix eyes. Could the Old Monster have done this?

Chang Ping opened his mouth, revealing two rows of white teeth. He bent down until their eyes were level, pressed his forehead against hers, and grinned. "You must be wondering how I'm still alive, right? Want to know why?"

Shen Xiu hurriedly blinked several times. Chang Ping had her head pinned firmly to the floor, and she couldn't move at all. All she could do was blink.

If the Old Monster had brought him back to life, then they were allies now, and Chang Ping shouldn't give her too much trouble.

If not, she was in serious trouble.

"I'm not telling you!" Chang Ping suddenly headbutted Shen Xiu. The pain brought tears to her eyes.

He now had over six thousand pounds of strength, and his Dark Energy could completely bypass her defenses. If he hadn't held back, Shen Xiu's skull would probably have burst open.

"I won't let you die so easily. That would be far too good for you. I'm going to torture you horribly, using every method I can think of! Now, I'm going to use the first one..."

At his words, Shen Xiu's face turned deathly pale.

It seemed... the Old Monster hadn't brought him back to life.

"If you don't want these embarrassing photos of you making the rounds, keep your mouth shut. Understand?" Chang Ping flung a stack of high-definition photos onto Shen Xiu's flushed face.

He had exchanged for a Simple Camera that could take, print, and copy photos, with no limit on the number of shots.

And such a useful thing had cost only a hundred Strength Value.

Wrapped in a quilt, her hair a mess and her lips swollen and bruised, Shen Xiu sat slumped on the floor, quietly sobbing. She picked up the strange sheets of paper Chang Ping had tossed her. The moment she saw what was on them, her face turned as pale as paper.

Chang Ping sat boldly on the table, one foot propped on a stool. As he licked the crumbs from a plate of pastries, he said, "What's the matter? Feeling sorry for yourself? If you hadn't dug out my heart, why would I have tortured you? You deserved it!"

"Listen carefully. I'm not just going to torture you now. I'll keep torturing you in the future, and make sure you live in my shadow for the rest of your life. Don't even think about killing yourself. If you die, I'll torture your corpse, then send photos like these all over the streets and alleys of the Glory City."

"You... demon!" Shen Xiu burned the photos to ashes and glared at Chang Ping through clenched teeth.

When had the lofty Eldest Young Lady of the Sacred Family ever suffered such humiliation?

Shen Xiu swore to herself that she would have her revenge. She would tear Chang Ping limb from limb.

"Demon, my ass!" Chang Ping slapped Shen Xiu across the face. "No matter how much of a demon I am, I'm still better than a poisonous woman like you, who eats people's hearts and drinks their blood! Tell me, why do something so twisted? Was it just for fun, to get your kicks?"

Chang Ping gripped Shen Xiu's slender neck and questioned her in a cold voice.

Shen Xiu glared defiantly at Chang Ping. She clenched her fists, thought it over, then slowly relaxed them.

As long as the green hills remained, there'd be no shortage of firewood.

"You've probably already met the Old Monster. I cultivated the Bloodthirsty Demonic Art it gave me. It can quickly raise my Soul Force, but the price is that I have to drink the heart's blood of a Virgin Boy. The older the boy, the better the effect. Your blood had the best effect of any I've ever drunk."

Shen Xiu lied without even batting an eye.

The Bloodthirsty Demonic Art had actually been given to her by Ghost Fiend of the Dark Guild.

Still, if she said the Old Monster had given it to her, Chang Ping probably wouldn't suspect a thing.

"Don't think I need your praise!" Chang Ping slapped Shen Xiu across her other cheek.

Shen Xiu burst into tears. He'd actually hit a woman! What a complete lack of gentlemanly manners! Waaaaah...