Tempting The God - Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Whiplash
The corner of the wall, overgrown with weeds, was littered with shards of pottery. A jar of sweet fruit wine had fallen into the grass, its contents seeping into the soil, the aroma of alcohol dispersing with the wind, soon becoming imperceptible.
Shen Jixue sat on the bed, her expression dazed, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on the ground, not moving a muscle.
After brewing the mulberry wine, she had been so eager to share it with Lin Mozhi, hoping he would taste the delicious recipe she had learned from her mother. Instead, she was met with harsh reprimands, not even able to keep a single jar of the wine.
Lu Yi knelt down, wiping away Shen Jixue’s tears, softly apologizing, “Ah Xue, I’m sorry, it’s my fault. If I had told you earlier that our master detests alcohol, even the smell of it, today’s incident wouldn’t have happened.”
Shen Jixue, her eyes red, sobbed lightly, too frightened by Lin Mozhi to even cry out loud.
“It’s not your fault, sister,” she held Lu Yi’s hand, shaking her head, suppressing the sobs in her throat, whispering, “It’s my fault for not understanding what the young master likes, that’s why I made a mistake.”
Lu Yi opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but held back due to Lin Mozhi’s attitude towards Shen Jixue, ultimately saying nothing.
Previously, when Shen Jixue was injured, the master had shown pity because she was sold into the household by her parents at a young age. If it hadn’t been for Xu Chang confirming she wasn’t a spy, the master, valuing loyalty, would have compensated her in some way.
But after this incident, even if Shen Jixue wasn’t a spy, the master wouldn’t show her any kindness.
Lu Yi frowned, unable to think of a good solution, and could only advise, “After a couple of days when the master has calmed down, I’ll take you to apologize to him.”
“It was an honest mistake,” she continued to comfort, “The master is kind-hearted, he won’t be harsh on you, don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
Shen Jixue nodded, tears in her eyes, forcing a smile through her reddened eyes.
Lu Yi handed her two pieces of malt candy, wiping away the remaining tear stains from her face, “Don’t cry, have some candy.”
The young girl, at an age where nothing worries her, with red eyes and a heavy nasal voice, was cheered up by the sight of the candy in her hand, her eyes sparkling as she popped a piece into her mouth, offering the other back to Lu Yi, “Sister, you have one too.”
“You have it, I have more,” seeing her smile, Lu Yi finally relaxed, tapping her forehead lightly, chiding, “Look at you, silly.”
“It’s almost time for the master’s dinner, you guard the courtyard well,” she stood up, massaging her legs that had gone numb from squatting, carefully instructing, “Remember what I said, no matter what happens, don’t let anyone in, understand?”
“Understood,” Shen Jixue bent down to massage Lu Yi’s legs, nodding in agreement, “Sister, don’t worry, I’ll guard our courtyard well, won’t let anyone in.”
Lu Yi smiled, pinching her cheek, then stood up straightening her clothes, “Then I can rest assured.”
Shen Jixue watched her leave, the smile on her face instantly vanishing, replaced by a cold, emotionless expression, her clear eyes devoid of the liveliness and innocence she had shown to Lu Yi.
Rest assured, she would “guard” it well.
As the sun set, dusk approached.
Shen Jixue was carrying a bucket, scooping water to water the newly planted flower seedlings in the front yard when she heard a commotion outside. She was about to put down her things to investigate when a loud crash was heard—
The gate of Songhe Courtyard was split in two, the cut clean and sharp as if sliced by paper.
Amidst the flying debris, a delicate red lotus embroidered shoe stepped in first, followed by a crowd of people, blocking the broken entrance tightly.
“Long time no see, little bitch.”
Shen Jixue seemed stunned by the scene, standing frozen, her face pale as she stared at the approaching Lin Moyu, not reacting for a long time.
As Lin Moyu neared, instinct drove Shen Jixue to step back, her hurried steps nearly causing her to fall.
“Are you afraid of me?”
Lin Moyu stopped, curiously examining the frightened little girl, her wrist flicking, the fiery red whip in her hand like a flexible snake, instantly reaching towards Shen Jixue’s waist.
Shen Jixue’s eyes flickered; such a level of cultivation artifact was nothing to her, but as “Shen Weixue,” a mere mortal, she couldn’t escape.
The whip danced, the sound of it cutting through the air, Shen Jixue felt a strong force pulling her forward, instantly bringing her face to face with Lin Moyu.
Her beautiful face leaned down, a fierce aura between her brows adding a suffocating pressure.
“Why are your eyes red?” she suddenly realized, loosening the whip in her hand, “Want to go find that blind man to save you? Too bad, he probably can’t spare you any attention at this hour.”
“Don’t you dare insult the young master!”
Shen Jixue struggled with the whip around her waist, her face turning red from the effort but unable to move it, instead it tightened, making it hard for her to breathe.
Lin Moyu’s expression of triumph turned innocent, as if she just noticed the whip was too tight, covering her smile, “Did it hurt you? You should have said something, I would have loosened it.”
With that, her wrist flicked, the whip suddenly extended, flinging Shen Jixue out, “Bang!” hitting the courtyard wall at the end of the flower bed, then falling to the ground like a piece of rotten meat.
Shen Jixue felt like her whole body was falling apart.
The sharp ringing in her ears made her dizzy, her vision flickering black and white, her nose buried in the dust, breathing in the scent of flower soil.
She felt a surge of blood in her throat, unable to hold back a cough, spitting out blood, every bone in her body screaming in pain, the crushing pain rushing to her brain, clearly having injured her internal organs.
Not to mention moving, even breathing was painful.
Lin Moyu, the perpetrator, acted as if nothing had happened, covering her mouth in surprise, “Oh dear, I used too much force, are you okay? Do I need to apologize to you?”
Shen Jixue didn’t move, her eyelids slightly closed, it seemed Lin Moyu still harbored resentment from the previous apology incident, today’s visit wasn’t just aimed at her.
But… how did Lin Moyu know that Lin Mozhi would never leave his room at this hour?
Lin Moyu stood still for a while, seeing her lying on the ground silent, waved her hand, two familiar nannies stepped forward, roughly pulling her up from the ground.
Shen Jixue felt her already shattered internal organs churning again, the pain making her unable to control her twisted expression, groaning, she vomited another mouthful of blood.
“I thought you were dead,” Lin Moyu stepped back, disdainfully covering her nose with a handkerchief, “The lives of the lowly are indeed tougher.”
She waved her hand, the maids behind her pressed someone forward, forcing them to kneel before Shen Jixue.
“Just in time to meet your dear sister, she’s the one who brought me here.”
Lin Moyu turned Shen Jixue’s face, leaning close to her ear, but looking at Xing’er, her voice filled with malicious joy, “She’s also the one who told me that every day at this hour, no matter what happens in Songhe Courtyard, Lin Mozhi would be treating his injuries and wouldn’t come out.”
“Ah Xue, Ah Xue, I really didn’t mean to,” Xing’er’s tears fell like rain, “It was the second lady who forced me! I didn’t dare to disobey!”
Shen Jixue was in too much pain to even speak, she frowned at the panicked, apologetic Xing’er, blinked, slowly revealing a smile, her lips moving.
Xing’er, staring intently, naturally understood her meaning, then apologetically lowered her head, tears streaming down, wetting the bluestone in front of her knees.
—It’s okay.
Lin Moyu raised an eyebrow, the mocking smile at her lips fading, the look of wanting to enjoy the show instantly cooled.
The whip Chiyu, which had been lying on the ground, moved slightly with its master, “Although I didn’t use spiritual energy, Chiyu is a earth-level treasure, even a foundation-building stage cultivator couldn’t withstand ten lashes. Shall we see how many you can take?”
She paused here, glancing at the tightly closed main room not far away, leaning closer to Shen Jixue with a coaxing smile, “But if you kowtow and beg for mercy, I might let you off.”
Shen Jixue’s trembling eyelashes lifted, just glancing at her lightly, then lowered, resigned, making no further moves.
Seeing her refuse to take the easy way out, Lin Moyu’s face unusually calm, slowly straightened up, staring at her for a while, suddenly raised the whip Chiyu, and lashed down hard!
As the whip fell, Shen Jixue closed her eyes tightly, the tiny barbs on the whip burning like fire as they struck her body, tearing through her flesh as if reopening the burns, making the pain unbearable.
Seeing her bite her lip until it bled without crying out, Lin Moyu added more force, and with the last lash, she used a trace of spiritual energy.
“Stop!”
Before the person arrived, the voice was heard, the main room’s door was pushed open from the inside, Lu Yi supporting Lin Mozhi as they stepped out.
Lin Moyu, however, turned a deaf ear, sneered, and swung the whip.
The whip mark, carrying deep resentment, slashed from Shen Jixue’s left shoulder to her right abdomen, the end of the whip arrogantly flicking up, leaving a strikingly vivid blood mark at the corner of her eyebrow, blood flowing down through her eye.
Like a tear of blood, a sight that chilled the heart.
This lash, Lin Moyu had used spiritual energy, striking deep and hard, blood quickly soaking through the thin summer clothes, spreading out, from a distance, it looked as if Shen Jixue’s slender body had been split in two.
Suddenly hearing Lu Yi’s exclamation, Lin Mozhi tilted his head, waiting for her to quickly describe the scene before him, his expression unchanged, but his words full of threat.
“Second sister, today you have violated the prohibition of a cultivator using spiritual energy against a mortal, I will immediately report this to father.”
Lin Moyu looked back at Lin Mozhi, who had stopped not far away, smiling indifferently, “Father went out with mother today, if you can wait until they return, go ahead and report.”
Lu Yi instantly broke out in a cold sweat, having been by Lin Mozhi’s side for many years, she was all too familiar with this second lady.
Wait?
It was likely she wouldn’t let anyone in Songhe Courtyard off today, including Lin Mozhi.
Shen Jixue’s gaze was dazed, through the sticky blood hanging on her eyelashes, she could barely make out where the moon-white figure was, only lifting her face towards the sound, mustering all her strength, her voice hoarse, she shouted,
“Young master, run!”
Unexpectedly, her words instantly enraged Lin Moyu, in a fit of anger, her wrist moved, the whip coiled around Shen Jixue’s battered body, yanking her to the ground.
Lin Moyu raised her foot to kick towards Shen Jixue’s soft abdomen, but was shielded by Lu Yi who rushed forward, “Second lady, are you trying to ruin your own future?!”
“Future?”
Lin Moyu’s expression was strange, “Ah, you mean the upcoming disciple selection by the Xuanxiao Sect?”
“Exactly,” Lu Yi spread her arms to shield Shen Jixue, her thoughts racing, “I heard that besides talent, the Xuanxiao Sect also highly values ‘virtue’ in selecting disciples. If the second lady kills Ah Xue today, once word gets out, it will surely damage the second lady’s reputation, likely making her ineligible for the Xuanxiao Sect.”
Lin Moyu examined Lu Yi for a moment, chuckled lightly, her eyes filled with mockery, her words exceptionally arrogant, “By then, you’ll all be a handful of yellow earth, who would dare to speak ill of me?”
She leaned slightly forward, her eyes directly meeting Lü Yi’s, lowering her voice, like a ghost whispering, “Moreover, as long as that blind man lives, I will never have a reputation.”
