(The author notes that in this chapter, the author has made some significant alterations to Vivian's experience at the Order of Glorification, making Vivian ordeal even more tragic.)
( Vivian fans can skip this and just consider it as Lu Yingheng rescuing Vivian.)
(Those who don't mind can watch it; it will explain why Vivian is so persistent with Lu Yingheng.)
--
In the dark, sunless basement, the sounds of punches and kicks echoed, accompanied by some foul language.
"Damn banshee! It's all because of you! If it weren't for you, my father wouldn't have died!"
A purple-haired girl, dressed only in tattered clothes that barely covered her private parts, huddled on the cold floor.
She clutched her head tightly with both hands, trying to hold back her sobs, as fists and shoe tips pounded against her body again and again.
As the number of wounds on her body increased, she was almost at her limit, feeling a pain that felt like ants gnawing at her.
The little girl in the lead kicked her in the stomach again.
"Why don't you just die already?!"
A little boy looked at the motionless purple-haired girl. "Boss, she seems to be dying..."
The girl in the lead nudged her again with the tip of her shoe, and finding that the purple-haired girl didn't react at all, she sneered:
"It's good that she's dead. A witch who only brought curses to people—her death is a service to the people!"
Another little girl cautiously opened her mouth:
"Boss Tina, Lord Landon's will states that Vivian still has significant value and cannot die just yet..."
"Shut up!" The lewd little girl kicked the purple-haired girl in the stomach again.
"Who's the boss, you or me? What if she curses you one day?"
The little girl in the lead coughed deliberately, spat on the purple-haired girl's dirty face, and led a group of children away from the basement arrogantly.
After an unknown amount of time, the purple-haired girl on the ground struggled to open her eyes.
Those were a pair of alluring and beautiful red pupils, the only flaw being that, at this moment, those eyes were Hollow.
She felt intense pain coursing through her body, enduring immense agony every second.
"Hiss..."
She curled up even more, the pain in her stomach from the kicks intensifying, far more intense than the pain of prolonged hunger.
After a long, long time, she seemed to have finally gotten used to the pain and carefully got up from the dirty ground.
The purple-haired girl leaned against the wall, tears streaming uncontrollably from her red eyes.
She had lost track of time and couldn't tell how many times she had been beaten.
In this dark and gloomy basement, all she could feel was emptiness and the pain emanating from her body.
Ever since she foresaw Lord Landon's impending death, and Lord Landon did indeed die as predicted.
Her best friend Tina changed overnight.
Tina seized power swiftly and decisively, then locked her up in the basement.
She leaned against the wall in pain, her body almost entirely covered in wounds, her face pale and bloodless.
There was also a strong stench of garbage in the surrounding area.
The basement was originally used to store garbage, and people used to come and empty it every day.
But ever since she was locked up here, whether it was on Tina's intentions or not, no one has come to clean up the trash anymore.
At first, she could only smell the strong stench.
Now, she can't smell anything at all.
She painstakingly rummaged through the garbage to find moldy bread.
This was her only food.
Every time Tina came over to beat her, she would throw her a moldy piece of bread with a look of disgust.
It seems they didn't want her to starve to death; after all, if she starved to death, there wouldn't be such a useful punching bag left.
It's so hard... I can't bite it.
This was one of her few ideas.
But she had to eat; she felt hungry in her stomach, accompanied by intense pain.
She couldn't tell if the pain was from hunger or the lingering pain from being beaten.
I feel so awful... I'm so hungry and in pain...
The purple-haired girl struggled to finish the moldy bread, trying to distract herself with thoughts; she was in so much pain.
I'm really not a banshee... nor am I some cursed witch.
I didn't want to, I really didn't want to...
sorry...
The purple-haired girl tilted her head and fainted.
She didn't know how much time had passed, or how many more times she had been beaten; the purple-haired girl had become completely numb.
It's been a long time since anyone has hit me.
I'm starving...
She felt the intense hunger rising in her stomach, and this was the only thought left in her mind.
Perhaps dying like this would be a kind of relief?
Suddenly, the basement door was kicked open.
She instinctively shuddered, looked up, her eyes Hollow, and the sliver of light from the doorway stung her eyes.
So Tina, you're finally coming to hit me again?
It will really hurt, but at least there will be bread to eat.
I really can't stand that feeling of hunger anymore...
She had been locked in the basement for so long that her sense of time had almost completely disappeared.
She had no idea how long it took her to adjust to the dimly lit environment.
Surprisingly, there was no immediate sensation of being beaten, nor was any moldy bread thrown at me.
The purple-haired girl slowly raised her head, only to find a completely unfamiliar, handsome man standing before her.
She swore that she had never seen such a handsome man in her entire life.
The black-haired youth was wearing a military overcoat, his right foot in a military boot, still in a raised position.
It's obvious that this is the leg that kicked the door open.
He was very handsome, wearing a military cap, and the rank insignia on his shoulders looked very high.
Especially those dazzling golden eyes.
The purple-haired girl couldn't help but meet his gaze into those dazzling golden eyes.
She thought that someone like herself, covered in stench and filthy trash, would soon be completely purified under the sun-like sunlight, right?
Unexpectedly, the man walked up to her, his tone unexpectedly gentle:
"May I have your name?"
She instinctively wanted to answer, afraid that if she was a step too slow, she would displease the handsome man in front of her and get beaten up again.
But she couldn't speak at all; she hadn't spoken to anyone in so long that she was almost unable to speak anymore.
The purple-haired girl met his gaze, her body instinctively filled with fear, unwilling to meet those golden eyes.
But she was so greedy for the tenderness in those eyes.
She hadn't felt this emotion in a very long time, and she just wanted to be focused on it a little longer.
It'll be over in a minute.
After a very long time, it seemed she finally regained her strength under the gaze of those eyes:
"Vivian... Vivian."