Chapter 25: Do you like the gift?
In the capital, there was the largest brothel. It was a place where women could seek pleasure and have fun. Unlike other small brothels that were smoky and dirty, only the wealthy and noble could come here.
At this hour, it was the busiest time at the brothel. When officials and nobles came here and saw a courtesan they liked, they could take them to a pleasure room. It was truly a night of flutes and strings.
In a pleasure room on the second floor of the brothel, Luo Yi was drinking the wine handed to her by the courtesans while embracing them. The courtesans were wearing thin, transparent gauze clothes and were all crowding around to serve her.
“Miss Luo, you haven’t come to find this servant for many days~” A courtesan pouted while nestling in Luo Yi’s arms.
“Uh, I, uh, haven’t I come now?” Luo Yi joked while hiccupping.
She was already immersed in this paradise of beauties, her clothes disheveled. One hand reached into a courtesan’s clothes, fondling, while the other hand caressed another courtesan’s thigh. The pleasure room was constantly filled with the courtesans’ moans, obscene and endless.
She only left the brothel at the third quarter of the hour of the Ox, stumbling and staggering along the street. Fortunately, tonight’s moonlight was bright enough for her to see the road.
She walked while humming a little tune, occasionally hiccupping.
Suddenly, she seemed to see a figure ahead? Luo Yi rubbed her eyes and looked again. Hmm, uh, it was indeed a figure. She thought it must be someone who had just come out from having fun like her.
She walked towards the figure without concern, only to see the figure’s eyes emitting a faint, cold light under the moonlight, staring at her.
If it were Luo Yi on a normal day, she would have been frightened. But as they say, alcohol can boost courage. She still approached the figure without concern. She even started muttering, “Standing there, uh, what for?”
“Don’t, uh, block this young lady’s way. Get lost.”
As she spoke, she reached out to push the figure away, but the figure disappeared before she could touch it. Luo Yi rubbed her eyes and looked carefully for a moment, “Uh, where did the person go?” Suddenly, there was a severe pain in the back of her neck, and her vision went black as she passed out.
The figure grabbed the collar at the back of the unconscious person’s neck, lifted her up, and disappeared with a few leaps.
……
Luo Yi was awakened by the cold, feeling as if she was lying in an ice cave. She lay on the ground, holding her neck, and let out a muffled groan.
She opened her eyes and was stunned by the scene before her. Where was this? Wasn’t she at the brothel?
Trying hard to recall, that’s right! She encountered a person on the street and then passed out…
She began to feel panicked and shouted, “Is anyone there? Who is it? Who brought me in here? Do you know who I am? If you don’t let me out, I’ll make you pay!”
It was as if she was talking to the air. There was no response other than an echo.
Luo Yi became more afraid. What did this person bring her here for? Was it for money? She shouted at the air again, “If you want money, let me out. I can have my mother give you a lot of silver!”
The response was still an echo, as if mocking how foolish her actions were.
Luo Yi’s eyes were vicious. If she found out who knocked her out and locked her up here, she would make that person wish for death.
The cold air crept into her collar, and Luo Yi shivered, hugging her arms and looking around. The walls on all sides were cold, as if the cold air was seeping out from the windows.
It was like an empty and vast dungeon. Luo Yi rubbed her arms, and her eyes inadvertently looked deeper inside. It seemed like there was a pit?
Luo Yi crawled up from the ground and slowly walked in that direction.
But at this moment, footsteps sounded. She abruptly looked in the direction of the footsteps.
Tap, tap, tap.
The footsteps were light and slow, as if indicating the owner’s leisurely mood.
Luo Yi listened as the footsteps got closer and closer. She swallowed and no longer had the fierceness of her earlier boasts. She was just a petty person who dared to be overbearing by relying on her mother’s wealth. She was used to being served and had never experienced this before.
The footsteps got closer and closer. When Luo Yi saw the face clearly, her own face twisted, and her voice was shrill, “It’s you, you wretch!”
Luo Shaoxuan heard her shrill voice and looked slightly annoyed, “Second Sister, how can you, at this age, still be so lacking in propriety?”
Luo Yi pointed at him with a trembling finger, not knowing if it was anger or something else. Her voice seemed in disbelief, “You, you wretch! How dare you treat me like this! I will definitely tell Mother about this and have her kill you!”
Luo Shaoxuan looked at her as if looking at a fool. How could there be such a stupid person in the world? Why would she think she could get out of here?
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and he said softly, “Don’t worry, Mother will be able to accompany you soon.”
At first, Luo Yi didn’t understand what he meant. When she realized it, it seemed like she heard something unbelievable. Her eyes widened, and she looked at him in disbelief, “You, you want to kill me?”
“It seems Second Sister isn’t too stupid.”
He smiled at her.
Although he was smiling, there was no mirth in his eyes. Luo Yi could feel that he wasn’t joking… He really wanted to kill her!
The space was already cold, but now Luo Yi felt it was even colder. Her teeth began to chatter, “Third, Third Brother, don’t, don’t joke like this…”
This was the first time she called him Third Brother. In the past, she always looked down on him and despised him, so how could she acknowledge him as a brother?
Luo Shaoxuan looked at her terrified yet self-deluding appearance and found it quite interesting. He covered his mouth and laughed softly, “Ah, it’s the first time Second Sister has called me Third Brother.”
“You, you are my brother!” Seeing him laugh, Luo Yi was delighted in her heart, thinking he must be a soft-hearted person, and she played up their kinship even more.
“Second Sister is making me feel reluctant to make a move.” Luo Shaoxuan said as if he was troubled.
He was just a man after all. How ruthless could he be? Hmph! When she got out, she would make sure he met a terrible end! Luo Yi thought viciously, but her face showed a hypocritical smile, “Third Brother, no matter what, we are family, right? It’s not appropriate to joke like this.”
Luo Shaoxuan’s eyes were filled with coldness as he stared straight at her. Her little schemes were simply not worth mentioning.
On the surface, he seemed to agree with her words and said leisurely, “Then, Second Sister, how about I give you a gift?”
A gift? Was he trying to make amends with her?
Luo Yi’s originally frightened face changed to her usual look, with a hint of disdain in her eyes, “Oh?”
He pointed his finger towards the long pit inside, “The gift is there. Second Sister will know when you see it.”
Luo Yi’s gaze turned to the pit she had wanted to look at earlier, and images of gold, silver, and jewels appeared in her mind. Her eyes filled with greed, “Third Brother, what treasure is that?”
“Second Sister will know when you see it, won’t you?”
The corner of his mouth curved into a strange smile.
At the thought of gold, silver, and jewels, Luo Yi couldn’t contain her joy, “Then I’ll take a look.”
She quickly walked over.
Expecting to see gold, silver, and jewels, Luo Yi instead saw a… corpse?
Luo Yi’s mouth gaped open, and she looked at the snow-white corpse in the pit with immense fear. She could clearly see something squirming under the corpse’s skin. What made her even more terrified was… why was her elder sister’s corpse here… Wasn’t her elder sister missing for two years?
How could this be…
The scene before her brought her endless shock. She collapsed to the ground, staring at the corpse with wide, terrified eyes, her chest heaving violently.
Luo Shaoxuan was very satisfied with her reaction. He was in a good mood and tidied the black hair falling in front of him. His voice was pleasant, “How is it? Does Second Sister like this gift?”
His voice pulled her thoughts back. She finally realized what this was.
“Ah, ah, ah!” She let out a shrill scream, scared out of her wits, crawling backward on all fours.
Luo Shaoxuan looked at her trembling form coldly, finding it quite amusing. He remembered that the two sisters had a great relationship back then.
He spoke coldly, “What’s wrong? Does Second Sister not like my gift?”
Luo Yi’s eyes were wide open, filled with madness as she pointed at him, her voice even shriller than usual, “It’s you, you bastard! You killed Elder Sister! You bastard, you won’t die a good death! I’ll kill you!”
Luo Yi pounced at Luo Shaoxuan in a frenzy but was easily subdued by Qing Huo.
She was pressed to the ground, raising her head to look at him with eyes full of resentment, “You bastard won’t die a good death! I will definitely dismember you!”
“Tsk, noisy.”
Luo Shaoxuan looked down at her from above and spoke coldly, “I seem to have warned you long ago. It appears you don’t want your tongue anymore.”
“Rip it out.” This sentence was directed at Qing Huo.
Qing Huo obeyed the order without hesitation. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t break free as Qing Huo pried open her mouth. Qing Huo’s fingers were exceptionally strong, directly grasping the root of her tongue and pulling it out with a single yank, ruthlessly tearing it off.
Qing Huo tossed the severed tongue to the ground and released her, leaving her to roll and struggle on the ground, clutching her bloody mouth.
Luo Shaoxuan glanced at her expressionlessly and walked towards the corpse in the pit. He beckoned to Qing Huo, who understood and stepped forward, placing a small jar in his hand.
Luo Shaoxuan poured the powder from the jar onto his hand and spread it evenly. He then squatted down and reached his hand towards the corpse’s thigh. The corpse had long been reduced to a mere shell. With a gentle dig of his fingers, he scooped out the Gu worms.
The Gu worms were pale black in color, squirming incessantly on Luo Shaoxuan’s hand, as if trying to break free from his grasp.
Luo Shaoxuan looked at the wriggling Gu worms, the corner of his mouth curling slightly. He slowly turned around and walked towards Luo Yi.
Luo Yi covered her mouth, her eyes filled with fear mixed with hatred as she looked at the approaching Luo Shaoxuan. She shook her head frantically, making muffled sounds, while using her feet to push her buttocks and continuously scoot backward.
Qing Huo, who was beside her, pressed her down, allowing Luo Shaoxuan to place the Gu worms on her body.
As soon as the Gu worms broke free from his hand, it was as if they had gained liberation. They eagerly burrowed into her flesh. Luo Yi could only watch helplessly as the Gu worms drilled into her body.
Luo Shaoxuan had Qing Huo release her and quietly observed her reaction. This was also his first time using Gu worms, and he wanted to see the effects.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, Luo Yi began to roll and convulse violently on the ground, her face contorted as if enduring immense pain.
Watching Luo Yi struggle and become increasingly distorted on the ground, Luo Shaoxuan nodded with satisfaction. It seemed that raising these creatures had not been in vain.
Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, Luo Shaoxuan left the cold cave with great satisfaction, leaving Luo Yi to struggle there.
In the end, he didn’t forget to turn his head and instruct Qing Huo behind him, “Once she’s dead, don’t dispose of the corpse for now. I have use for it.”
“Understood.”
The cold cave fell silent, with only the heart-wrenching shrieks and screams remaining.
__________
*Spotlight on Finished Novel Translations*
Men In The Royal Harem All Yearn For Her (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The men (young empress, young empress dowager, crown prince) in the harem all yearn to become her consort.
Synopsis:
The female protagonist is a wildly popular heartthrob with a natural halo.
The male protagonist is a crazily obsessed and self-abasing loyal dog.
Qiu Shu, the top scholar’s daughter, is pure, elegant and incomparably enchanting, captivating countless admirers.
Being favored by the eldest prince, the most handsome man in the capital, and becoming his wife in a single move is truly the pride of a poor student.
However, what they don’t know is that the seemingly bright and splendid female protagonist lives in a battlefield of jealousy every day.
The cute and adorable young empress is unusually attached to her.
The gentlemanly and upright young empress dowager has an ambiguous relationship with her.
Even her aloof and proud eldest prince is actually a gloomy and petty jealous husband.
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.