Gu Lianxian awoke from a jumble of chaotic nightmaresher mind hazy and heavy.
These past few daysshe had been living in constant fear of being discovered. The endless tension had driven her to the brink of collapseand nowat lasther body had reached its limit. She had faintedeven if only for a brief moment.
In that short lapseher mind had run wildconjuring a dream that felt like a longsuffocating nightmare.
When she opened her eyesshe even felt a trace of relief.
Thankfully, it had all been just a dream.
Once she wokeshe thought she would find herself back on her softfragrant bed. Her mother would be sitting at her sidestroking her foreheadscolding her gently and lovinglyasking how her silly daughter had managed to make herself sick again...
But when Gu Lianxian blinked awakeshe found nothing but darkness before her eyes. Her heart sank at oncepanic flooding in.
The stone cavern behind the cold pool did have a faint light sourcebut with her Six-Grade Martial Courage Realm cultivationeven in complete darkness she should still have been able to see as if in daylight.
It was impossible for her vision to fail entirely.
Soonas her senses returnedGu Lianxian realized that her eyes were covered with a blindfold!
And her body was soaked with freezing water from the cold pool. The thin fabric clinging to her skin pressed against the wounds on her bodysending sharp stings of pain through her.
The chill made her shiver violently. Terror and shame flooded her heart.
There was someone here!
She had been discoveredand in this statenearly naked.
Even when she sparred and was injuredit was always her maids who helped her apply medicine. She had never had to do such things herself.
To tend to her wounds earliershe had found it troublesome and simply stripped off her blood-soaked clothesleaving only her undergarments.
After allthere was no one else in the cavewho could possibly see her?
But she had failed to consider what would happen if someone did find her afterward.
Nowshe realized the gravity of her mistake!
If this person had come for the "Lotus Concealed in the Womb," he could easily tell whether or not she had it. There was no need to blindfold her or pour water on her. Such behavior was needlessunless he had another intention entirely.
Even if he was enragedthe worst he could do was kill her with a single sword strike.
But this... this was different. His purpose was clear as day!
Gu Lianxian was youngbut she had secretly read her fair share of storybooks. She wasn't ignorant of such situations.
"Who's there! You... you'd better leave now if you want to live!" she shouted in a trembling voice. "When my father arrivesyou'll all be dead!"
As she barked out her threatshe desperately groped around for the clothes she'd used as beddingbut a low chuckle echoed through the cave.
A man's voicefamiliaryet strange in the way it reverberated against the stonesounded right beside her.
"Heh. The little daughter of Gu Yuye... truly raised to be naïve and adorable."
The voice was so closeat the level of her earthat she could almost feel the breath against her cheek.
Gu Lianxian froze. In her mind's eyeshe pictured a man crouched beside hercalmly watching her confusion and panic with cruel amusement.
She dared not remove the blindfold. She had read about this in her storybookstooif she didn't see the man's faceshe might still survive.
But if she saw himhe would kill her for sure.
She shrank backher voice trembling but trying to sound fierce.
"Since you know my father is Gu Yuyeyou should know the might of the 'Saint of War'! When he comesit'll be too late for you to regret!"
The girl secretly tried to summon her inner energyto break the seal restraining her power.
But if she hadn't succeeded beforethere was no chance now...
The man clicked his tongue twicethen leaned closerseizing her wrist in one hand. His other hand brushed her cheek.
Her bodystill wetmade his touch feel cold and slicklike a snake coiling up her skinflicking its tongue against her face.
All her pent-up fear crashed down at once. The sword that had been hanging above her head for days finally fellpiercing straight through her heart.
Her already fragile mental defenses shattered completely.
"Whatwhat are you doing?!" she screamedher voice crackingthe last of her composure vanishing. She twisted franticallytrying to pull away.
But his grip was like iron. No matter how she struggledshe couldn't break free.
Despair deepened.
Her spiritual energy was sealedbut her physical strength remained. Even with her Sixth-Grade physiqueshe couldn't budge him. That meant he was at least her equalor stronger.
Even at her peakshe would have to be cautious against a Sixth-Grade opponent.
Now? She didn't stand a chance.
The man sneered.
"Naïve and adorable? Nofoolishreally."
"It's been almost four days now. If Gu Yuye wanted to send someone to save youthey'd be here already."
"He's the 'Saint of War,' remember? Who could stop him from rescuing his own daughter?"
His fingers trailed from her cheek down to her chin as he leaned closehis voice a whisper by her ear.
"Look at youlittle princess... lying here like a helpless white lamb. So pitiful that even I almost feel sorry for you."
"Our great Wei's 'Saint of War,' your dear fatherhow could he bear to let you suffer like this?"
"A Third-Grade powerhousetowering above allwith power second to noneand yet a few Fifth- and Sixth-Grade cultivators are enough to stop him?"
"Or is he just afraid?"
"Afraid of mea nobody? Some 'Saint of War' he isa frauda useless coward!"
Gu Lianxian's body trembledbut she lifted her chin stubbornly and shouted backher voice shaking,
"Youyou're lying!"
"My father must have been delayed! Yessome vile man must have plotted against himkeeping him from coming!"
That "vile man" could only refer to one personher hateful cousinthe Northern Garrison Prince's heirGu Fangchen.
"Oh? A vile man powerful enough to delay the Saint of War for four whole days? How impressive!"
The man's tone turned mocking.
"Well thenI'll stay here and torment his beloved daughter... let's see how long it takes him to come."
"Let me witness the brilliance of the man famed for flawless strategy!"
Gu Lianxian's chest tighteneda chill spreading through her body. A moment latershe was seized by the wrist and shoved roughly down into the mud.
The movement tore at the wounds on her backmaking her gasp in paincold sweat bursting from her forehead. Her body arched in reflextrembling uncontrollably.
Then a large hand gripped her slender waist.
"Mmm..."
Tears finally burst from her eyessoaking into the blindfold so that they could not be seen.
Her gazeunfocused behind the fabricstared upward blankly.
For a fleeting momentshe clung to a desperate hope.
It's fine... it'll be fine...
In the storieswhen a heroine was capturedsomeone always came to save her in the nick of time.
If she just endured a little longerher father would come
He loved her most of all. There was no way he would let her suffer!
He would come. He had to come!
She bit her lip hardrepeating the words in her heart like a spelltrying to steady herself.
But she could not see her own facecould not see how her expression twisted with despairlike a belief collapsing before her eyes.
The man's hand slid from her waist up along her stomachtracing the scars that crossed her abdomenand the faintlotus-shaped crimson veins beginning to glow there.
His fingers pressed against those marksharder and harderreopening her wounds.
A faint golden light flickered withinmaking the torn flesh seem to shimmer like strands of silk.
But his hand did not stop. It pressed deeperthrough the pulsingslippery fleshuntil his fingers sank into her abdomen.
Threads of invisible golden light poured outdrifting into the air.
A half-transparent lotus sigil appeared faintly upon her skin.
"Ugh..."
Gu Lianxian's eyes widened in horrorher body shaking violentlyher teeth nearly drawing blood from her lip.
"Whatwhat are you doing?! Stop! Stop it! I said stop!"
Her body arched from the painher pale neck stretched tautvulnerable and exposed.
"Beast! Filth!" she criedkicking and flailing helplessly.
But it was no use.
For all her lifeunder Gu Yuye's protectionshe had never known true fear.
Nowshe finally understood.
Gu Yuye would not come to save her.
The so-called "Lotus Concealed in the Womb" truly was hidden within the womb.
Her sobs turned to whimpers. Her struggles weakened. Her hands fell limpfingers dragging lines through the mud.
Only the strange sensation in her belly grew sharper.
She bit her lip until it bledturning her head awayeyes squeezed shutface pale as death.
Yet that only made his touch feel clearer...
As a Sixth-Grade martial artistshe had always been aware of every movement within her body.
She had heard of the depraved practices of certain beaststhose who preyed upon female cultivatorsfinding perverse delight in their regenerative bodies.
They would toy with them in ways only martial artists could enduremaking them suffer without breaking their bodiessometimes even forcing them into pregnancy without the act itself.
And nowshe was enduring that very horror.
Only monsters could commit such acts.
...
Gu Fangchen's expression was serious and focused as he worked at her abdomenhis fingers searching carefully.
His thoughts were complicated.
From the outsideit looked like he was doing something perverseandwellit was perversebut in truthhe was handling an important matter.
Breaking Gu Lianxian's faith in Gu Yuye was only one step.
His real goal was to plant the counterfeit artifact within her body.
He glanced at the ethereal lotus hovering in the air nearby.
That translucent bloom was merely the visible manifestation of the "Lotus Concealed in the Womb."
The real thing was a network of vein-like filaments.
Once merged into a hostit would spread throughout the bodyreplacing the meridians and dantian.
That was what people called "remolding one's spiritual foundation."
The true lotus could not be removed once fusedunless the host died.
All Gu Fangchen could do was implant the fakeletting it overwrite the real one's signature.
That wayhe could deceive the Tara Sect.
At this point in timethe Tara Sect had not yet fallen to villainy. Princess Prajna's goal was simply to retrieve the sacred relicshe wouldn't kill Gu Lianxian outright to verify its authenticity.
Once he shattered the potential alliance between Gu Yuye and the Tara Secthe could continue stringing Prajna along...
"Wellmaybe this process looks a bit excessive," Gu Fangchen mutteredlowering his head to study the girl's despairing face.
"But my goal's the same anyway. If anythingthis just makes the effect stronger. No harm doneno harm done."
He focused his mindand the lotus drifted downsettling on Gu Lianxian's abdomen.
The cold touch made her flincha soft sob slipping out.
Her beautiful face was streaked with tears.
She truly looked bullied beyond endurance.
The lotus petals slowly dissolved into her skinleaving only a pulsing red core.
Gu Fangchen pressed it in with his hand.
A flash of golden light burst outthen faded.
Gu Lianxian gaspedclutching at his arm as if grasping her last hope.
Her voice trembled through her sobs.
"It hurts... please... someone save me... I don't want this..."
Gu Fangchen pulled his arm away without hesitation and said lightly,
"See? Gu Yuye still hasn't come."
"Looks like that's how much you really mean to him."
...
Gu Lianxian felt as if she were falling into a bottomless pit. All hope had gone.
Thensuddenlythe roar of the waterfall split the silence.
The strange man beside her stiffened and shouted coldly"Who's there?!"
Moments latershe heard the sounds of battle.
Then someone gently lifted her up.
Her blindfold was untiedand when she blinked her eyes openshe saw a young man kneeling before herdraping his outer robe over her shoulders.
He smiled softly and said"Don't worry. You're safe now."