"Xiao Ran's" cool, delicate face was now ten times more horrifying than an evil spirit. Huo Qilang had torn apart the false skin used for the disguise, leaving only half of it on the face, shriveled and wrinkled after so much time. From the exposed half of his real face, Tuoba Sanniang had gouged out an eye, and bloody tears streamed from the empty socket.
His limbs twisted, he lay limp on the ground like a shadow puppet with its strings cut. Four snow-white human tendons extracted from his arms and legs lay drying nearby. Even Huo Qilang found the sight cruel and sighed. "Third Senior Sister went a little too far."
Tuoba Sanniang disagreed, blaming Wei Xun instead. "It's all that damned brat's fault for striking my pipa with his palm. I can't play a thing without replacing the strings. It needs five strings, and I'm still one short."
Baozhu's vision darkened, and nausea surged through her stomach. Covering her mouth, she fled the cellar. She had thought herself reasonably brave, certain she would never lose her nerve unless faced with a vengeful ghost. Yet witnessing Tuoba Sanniang extract tendons from a living person proved more than she could bear, and she beat a hasty retreat.
Huo Qilang immediately followed her upstairs.
The false bride had disguised himself with Xiao Ran's face, so neither family had dared touch him. At first, they had kept him comfortably installed in the bridal chamber. Then Huo Qilang tore away half his painted skin, leaving his face half human and half monstrous, and frightened off every ordinary person present. His treatment immediately deteriorated. Locked in the cellar, he encountered the ruthless Pipa-Tone Demon, who soon worked him over until he scarcely resembled a human.
Baozhu braced herself against a tree and dry-heaved for