Cat Enters the Embrace

Deep within the corridors of the Zhu Residence, the rhythmic footsteps of patrolling soldiers still echoed in the distance. Yet, in this cold fortress of war, time seemed to stand still because of that one embrace.

Gu Tian could clearly feel that the young girl in his arms was impossibly light, like a wisp of weightless cloud. Due to her prolonged state of terror and despair, her muscles were as rigid as cold iron. Even now, having fallen into that warm embrace, her slender fingers still subconsciously gripped Gu Tian's lapels with a death grip.

"Na'er, let's go. It's too dangerous here." Gu Tian looked down at Zhu Zhuqing, who was trembling with her eyes closed in his arms, his tone involuntarily laced with a chilling, murderous intent.

"Mm!" Na'er set aside her usual playfulness, her sensible nature taking over. Under the flickering light, her porcelain-carved face looked exceptionally grave.

Gu Tian wrapped one arm around Zhu Zhuqing's waist while holding Na'er's hand with the other. Na'er's slender fingers brushed through the void, and ripples of space perfectly concealed the presence of the three of them behind the seams of the plane.

The heavily guarded defenses of the Zhu Residence seemed so ironic in the face of Na'er's spatial laws.

In less than half a stick of incense, they had left the thick walls of the Zhu Residence and descended before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the hotel's top floor.

Gu Tian carried Zhu Zhuqing steadily onto the soft carpet.

Inside the hotel room, the lights were dim and cozy. Xiao Wu and Gu Yue, who had been chatting by the bed, were startled by the sudden spatial fluctuation and stood up in unison.

"Brother Gu Tian, who did you bring back this time?" Xiao Wu hopped over, but when she saw the figure in Gu Tian's arms, she froze.

Gu Tian offered no explanation; he gently placed Zhu Zhuqing onto the soft velvet sofa. Only then, under the bright glow of the Soul Guidance Lamp, did he truly see the wretched state of this little kitten.

Zhu Zhuqing's black, form-fitting combat suit was torn in several places, the fabric stained with the dust and grime from the floor of the council chamber. Her exquisite, cold, and beautiful face was not only devoid of color but also streaked with black soot from her desperate escape. Tangled in her messy hair were even a few strands of dried weeds.

What pained Gu Tian the most were her lips, which she always kept tightly pressed; they were bitten until they were covered in blood, the dark red scabs looking shocking under the light.

"Yue'er, Xiao Wu, don't ask questions for now." Gu Tian took a deep breath, suppressing the rage in his heart, and turned to Gu Yue. "Go prepare hot water and help her take a proper bath. Her body is very cold; she needs to warm up. Xiao Wu, bring out that red Brocade Pleated Skirt I bought for you this afternoon."

Although Xiao Wu was full of questions and even felt a subtle hint of jealousy, the sight of the girl curled into a ball on the sofa stirred a sympathy that, as a woman, instantly took precedence.

"Alright, I'll go get it." Xiao Wu quickly rummaged through Gu Tian's Soul Tool.

The sound of splashing water echoed from the bathroom.

Gu Yue led Zhu Zhuqing into the mist-filled room. Throughout the process, Zhu Zhuqing did not say a single word. She was like an exquisite puppet that had lost its soul, allowing Gu Yue to remove her filthy clothes and letting the warm spring water wash away the dust from her body.

She merely stared blankly at the warm yellow Soul Guidance Lamp by the bathtub, her eyes hollow enough to be frightening.

About half an hour later, the bathroom door slowly opened.

Zhu Zhuqing emerged wrapped in a large white towel, her long hair still dripping. Her once-pale cheeks, flushed by the steam, finally showed a faint trace of color.

When her gaze fell upon the new red dress Gu Tian had prepared on the bedside, her delicate body trembled violently.

What a dress it was. The fabric was made of red Cloud Brocade, embroidered with golden koi fish at the edges, shimmering with a festive and warm luster under the light. To the current Zhu Zhuqing, that splash of red was like a basin of charcoal fire, instantly igniting a heart that had been on the verge of freezing to death on an Antarctic ice sheet.

"Waa--!"

A shrill, suppressed cry erupted from the depths of Zhu Zhuqing's throat without warning.

Ignoring the white bath towel that slipped to the floor, she rushed toward Gu Tian like a madwoman, her jade-like bare feet pounding against the floor.

Before Gu Tian could react, a warmth carrying the fresh scent of a bath collided into his arms.

"Wuwuwu... wuwuwu..."

Zhu Zhuqing hugged Gu Tian's neck tightly, hanging onto him and burying her head deep into the crook of his neck. She sobbed so violently that her entire body shook, as if she were venting all the grievances, anger, confusion, and fear she had suppressed during this time along with her tears.

In that moment, the shyness of a young girl and the constraints of worldly etiquette vanished from her collapsing mental world. She only knew that by holding this boy before her, she was truly alive.

"Don't be afraid, it's alright now. From now on, as long as I am here, no one will be able to hurt you."

"If you shed a single tear, I will slaughter a city; I will slaughter a city."

Gu Tian sighed softly. Without a single lewd thought, he gently wrapped his arms around Zhu Zhuqing's smooth back, his large palm stroking her cold hair as his voice remained low and firm. "Cry it all out. Let out everything that is unclean. From this day forward, you are no longer a prisoner of the Star Luo Empire; you are my Zhu Zhuqing."

Zhu Zhuqing cried and cried, until her voice turned hoarse, until she finally collapsed in Gu Tian's arms from sheer exhaustion, her shoulders only occasionally twitching.

Gu Tian heart-achingly carried her to the bed and tucked her in. Afterward, he went to the kitchen himself, using ingredients from his spatial ring to brew a bowl of porridge to warm her stomach.

After she finished the last spoonful, Zhu Zhuqing finally succumbed to her extreme fatigue, clutching one of Gu Tian's hands as she drifted into a deep sleep. Even in her dreams, her brows remained slightly furrowed, clearly showing that the nightmare had not yet fully dissipated.

In the outer suite, the atmosphere was stifling to the extreme.

Gu Yue and Xiao Wu sat to the side. Although they didn't know the details, they had sensed a sickening evil from Zhu Zhuqing's desperate cries earlier.

Na'er held their hands, sitting in the center of the sofa, and recounted everything she had overheard in the Zhu Residence council chamber in the lowest possible voice.

"What?! A funeral sacrifice?!"

Xiao Wu stood up abruptly, her nimble rabbit ears standing straight in anger, and a red, murderous intent flickered in her eyes. "That useless prince of the Dai Family ran away, so what does that have to do with Zhuqing? By what right do they force her to be a sacrifice for that piece of trash!"

Gu Yue's dark green eyes were cold as frost, and the elemental energy at her fingertips flickered out of control. "The Star Luo royal family... the Zhu Family... a place like this doesn't deserve to exist on this continent. For the sake of so-called family face, they would treat their own daughter as a sacrificial offering. It is even more disgusting than the most savage soul beast."

Xiao Wu's eyes were red with rage. She looked at the closed door of the inner room and gritted her teeth. "Brother Gu Tian was right to take her away! If it were me, I would strip that man named Zhu Ganglie of his military uniform and ask him if he even has a heart left!"