Chapter 103: Past Life (2)

Ning Yin could already predict what would happen next.

Yu Lingxi’s secret delight would soon turn to panic, followed by desperate pleas beneath the blade. When she realized begging was useless, she would curse him in despair…

All these emotions would bloom like flowers across her beautiful, terrified face—and then, abruptly, cease.

Ning Yin waited patiently.

But Yu Lingxi walked to the door, then slowly turned back, lowering her head and standing still.

The amusement in Ning Yin’s eyes faded.

“So eager to die?” he asked.

Yu Lingxi shook her head lightly, her voice soft. “Beyond this palace lies another cage. This humble girl merely thinks… if life is worse than death, then it’s better to die cleanly.”

This woman was so utterly dull that it somehow made her interesting.

So he laughed—a faint, derisive sound, like a serpent’s hiss.

He stepped past the frail girl in the crimson skirt and leisurely took a seat in the chair. In the dim light, his unnaturally pale face looked ghostly, cold as he spoke, unhurried: “Do you know my methods?”

Yu Lingxi stayed silent, unsure whether to nod or shake her head.

“With beauty like yours, you’d be best suited for a full skinning—your hide stretched into a lantern and hung from the eaves.”

Ning Yin picked up the thread himself, his fingers gliding over the jade hilt of his cane. “To preserve the skin’s color, it must be done while you’re still alive.”

He enunciated each word deliberately, relishing the elegance of cruelty.

Yu Lingxi bowed her head even lower, her dark lashes trembling like raven feathers as she clenched her fingers.

Steeling herself, she tightened her grip.

Last night, when she had seized the blade, she’d cut her hands. Untreated, the wounds soon split open again, blood seeping between her fingers and dripping onto the floor.

Yu Lingxi stared at the gashes in her palm. After a long moment, she pressed her lips together and said, “This humble girl is already injured. The skin would be flawed, and the lantern might leak air.”

In other words: Could she choose a different way to die?

Ning Yin was almost impressed by her stubborn indifference. His patience had reached its limit.

Leaning back in the chair, he studied her for a long moment before speaking softly: “Come here.”

Yu Lingxi hesitated briefly, then forced her trembling knees to carry her forward, step by step, until she stood before the ruthless, beautiful regent.

She didn’t see him move—only felt a sudden chill at her throat as Ning Yin’s hand closed around her neck.

“Choke” wasn’t quite the right word. His long, powerful fingers rested against her slender throat, seemingly without force.

Yet somehow, she couldn’t breathe. The air thinned instantly.

A flush spread across Yu Lingxi’s cheeks, vivid as a flower blooming in its final moments. Her lips parted in a futile gasp, but she didn’t struggle.

There it was again—that deliberate, provoking calm, as if she welcomed death.

Ning Yin felt as though he were holding a lifeless doll. Disappointed, he released her.

Yu Lingxi’s eyes reddened as she collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.

Her soft, ink-black hair cascaded around her, framing a face so delicate it seemed it might shatter.

A woman like this—frail in appearance yet daring enough to toy with his intentions—was rare.

Killing her as she wished would be such a waste.

With eerie gentleness, Ning Yin tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. A new idea took shape in his mind.

From then on, every time Ning Yin left his bedchamber, he would see that woman kneeling far away beneath the corridor, asking in a weak voice, “Will Your Highness kill me today?”

If he said “yes,” Yu Lingxi would do everything she could to make the most of her last day, then tidy her appearance and wait quietly for death.

But each time, Ning Yin did not kill her.

He was waiting—waiting for the day her mental defenses would collapse.

Half a month later, Yu Lingxi was still alive.

Ning Yin even silently allowed the servants to fulfill any material requests she made.

This was an unprecedented privilege in the prince’s residence, and for a time, many of the servants regarded Yu Lingxi with newfound respect, thinking she might soon rise to great favor…

Unfortunately, this “phoenix” was not so fortunate. After days of living in fear, she fell gravely ill.

Ning Yin was busy eliminating his rivals, and by the time he realized no one had come to ask “Will you kill me today?” for many days, Yu Lingxi was already on the brink of death.

The sickly beauty on the bed breathed weakly, withering like a flower deprived of nourishment, her cracked lips trembling as she murmured incoherent words.

Ning Yin leaned closer, his cane in hand, and finally heard her calling for her “father and mother.”

She said she was so cold. She wanted to go home.

“The Yu family’s graves stretch across the mountains—you no longer have a home.”

Ning Yin laughed at her mercilessly.

With rare patience, he picked up a chipped porcelain bowl from the table, pinched her cheeks, and forced the last sip of cold, murky tea down her throat.

Though most of it spilled down her chin and into her collar, the act alone shocked the surrounding servants.

Since leaving the Immortal Capital of Desire, Ning Yin had not served anyone in a long time.

It wasn’t out of pity—he was a man who recognized no bonds, not even to his own father, whom he had tortured to death. He had long discarded emotions like compassion.

A spider fattens its trapped prey before devouring it, savoring the ultimate feast. But if the prey dies before it’s plump enough, it would be such a disappointment.

His heart was far crueler than a spider’s.

With Ning Yin’s tacit permission, Yu Lingxi soon recovered.

In less than half a month, she was well enough to walk again.

Perhaps she had dreamed of something during her delirium, or perhaps she remembered some unfinished task, but after her illness, her will to live grew stronger.

Occasionally, she would even gather the courage to brew tea or wine for Ning Yin, no longer anxiously asking about her impending death. Though still frail, there was a new brightness in her eyes.

Now that she cherished her life, things were going well.

On a sunny late autumn day, Ning Yin seized the perfect moment and summoned her before him.

On the table lay a bowl of dark brown medicinal soup. Judging by the dozen or so poisonous insects and snakes listed on the prescription beside it, the concoction was undoubtedly terrifying.

“This prince has been refining poison lately and lacks a test subject.”

He folded his hands and leaned back in his chair, tilting his chin slightly toward her. “Drink it.”

Caught off guard, Yu Lingxi could only stare in stunned silence.

She should have known—the notorious regent would not tolerate her so easily. These days of peace had been nothing but an illusion.

Ning Yin was quite pleased with her reaction. At last, that delicate lotus-like face showed a surge of emotions rather than the numb resignation of one seeking death.

“Indeed, raising her for a month before striking makes the experience far more delightful.”

Ning Yin couldn’t quite explain why he went to such lengths to torment Yu Lingxi. Perhaps it was revenge for how she had outmaneuvered him during their first encounters. Or perhaps he simply enjoyed the thrill of destruction—seeing others in pain brought him joy.

After all, what logic could one expect from a madman?

“Will you drink it, or shall I feed it to you?”

He tapped the jade handle of his cane slowly with his knuckles—a sign of his growing impatience.

Yu Lingxi didn’t want to find out what happened to those who tried the regent’s patience.

Forced to swallow the medicine, she sat stiffly for a moment before asking hoarsely, “Will it… be quick?”

“If I knew, why would I need you to test it?”

Ning Yin rested his chin on his hand, spinning lies with a straight face. “At its fastest, it’ll be over in a quarter of an hour. At its slowest…”

He deliberately drew out his words, languid and ominous. “…Well, who can say?”

Yu Lingxi nodded, then moved to her dressing table and began fixing her hair and applying makeup.

Even in death, she would go clean and beautiful—meeting her parents and siblings in the underworld with the most dignified appearance possible.

The thought of her lost loved ones finally broke her composure. Tears spilled over, dampening her cheeks.

Ning Yin watched her movements with keen interest.

Her back was turned to him, but he saw her quickly wipe her eyes, take several deep breaths, and then, with red-rimmed eyes, reapply her powder and redraw her brows.

When the drug took effect, she swayed to her feet, dragged her heavy body to the bed, and lay flat on her back, hands folded over her chest, waiting for death to come.

Someone who had already brushed with death once cherished life all the more—she couldn’t help but resent her fate.

Ning Yin savored the suppressed emotions flickering across her face and sneered. “If you have any last words, say them now.”

Yu Lingxi thought for a long time before murmuring drowsily, “If I become a ghost… I’ll come back for you, Your Highness…”

Then her eyes closed, her breathing steadied, and she fell into a deep slumber.

Leaving the regent sitting darkly by the bed, itching to shake her awake.

He measured the slender column of her neck with his hand, fingers flexing once before releasing her with a twisted smile. “Good. When you become a ghost, don’t you dare forget to come find me.”

At the time, he didn’t know that those words would one day come true.

……

Yu Lingxi never expected to wake up again.

When she saw that sinister face beside her bed, her heart clenched in dread. Had this capricious madman chased her into the afterlife just to torment her further?

Perhaps her confusion was too obvious, because the lunatic actually deigned to speak like a normal person for once, propping his head up lazily. “Stop looking. You’re still alive.”

Before her muddled mind could fully process this, his low voice came again, sickly sweet. 

“Finish what you were saying earlier. What exactly will you do when you come back for me? Hmm?”

She had made her grand threat—only to survive.

Yu Lingxi was at a loss for words. Could anything be more humiliating?

Previous

Next