The whip rose high, then lashed down hard.
Its barbs tore away flesh, leaving bloody welts.
Ning Ke trembled all over, cold sweat seeping from his forehead with the pain. His eyes kept losing focus, only for the effects of the Windwake Grass to force them clear again.
He had bitten his lower lip bloody, and his mouth tasted of rust.
Watching the man whipping him, Ning Ke drifted between confusion and clarity, fragments of the past flickering through his mind.
Ten thousand years ago, that man had held him tenderly and soothed him in a soft voice.
Ten thousand years later, that man had clasped his hand and called him his little junior brother.
He had given him a sachet, given him a jade hairpin, indulged his antics, and clumsily tried to make him happy...
But Ning Ke knew he did not deserve any of that.
After killing Aunt Bai and the disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect with his own hands, after destroying everything Lou Yunxiao had, he had lost the right to remain by this man's side.
He was an executioner.
The one who had brought disaster upon Lou Yunxiao...
So everything he suffered now was what he deserved.
If it allowed Lou Yunxiao to vent even a little of his hatred, then Ning Ke would have achieved his goal...
He had no idea how much time passed. Long enough for his whole body to turn cold, until he could no longer muster the strength even to lift his eyelids.
At last, the whip stopped.
Ning Ke was already drenched in blood. Lash marks covered almost every inch of his skin, leaving scarcely a patch of flesh intact.
Splash-
Ice-cold salt water suddenly poured down over his head.
It flowed over the countless wounds and seeped beneath