Chapter 402

After Wen Ya struck with that palm, her chest throbbed with pain, she let out a muffled groan, feeling as if her innards were about to burst, she clutched her chest, her beautiful brows furrowed, her peerless bearing even surpassing Xi Shi clutching her heart. A shadow covered her eyes; Wen Ya endured the pain and lifted her head, only to see that Hu Xiaotian, whom she had just knocked down, had already scrambled to his feet in an instant, the front of his robe torn completely open, revealing his well-built musculature. His eyes fixed on her chest, his gaze burning and mad, his handsome face twisted into something hideous and terrifying.

Wen Ya bit her lip, forcing herself to forget the pain in her chest; the pulse point on her left hand split open from the earlier movement, fresh blood dripped continuously onto the frost-covered ground, like a blooming red plum, especially alluring, possessing an indescribable tragic beauty. Summoning all her strength, Wen Ya threw a punch at Hu Xiaotian's jaw, intending to knock him out with one blow. But the unbearable pain and the rapid depletion of her inner energy distorted and slowed her movement.

Hu Xiaotian opened his blood-red eyes, his hands like bird talons, and in one motion seized Wen Ya's wrist; under his powerful grip, her wrist bled even more. Wen Ya lifted her leg to kick him, but before her foot could land, Hu Xiaotian shoved her away; Wen Ya flew through the air like riding clouds and mist, landing on the jade bed, the back of her head striking the headboard hard, stars flashing before her eyes.

Like a madman, Hu Xiaotian lunged forward, pressing Wen Ya's wrists to the bed before she could rise, his knees pressing between her legs, forcing her body into a spread-eagle shape.

Wen Ya felt every part of her body exposed to Hu Xiaotian's gaze, an unprecedented sense of humiliation that threatened to drive her mad. Straining to struggle, her chest rose, yet it pressed tightly against Hu Xiaotian's scorching body.

Gazing at Hu Xiaotian's eyes filled with evil fire, Wen Ya trembled as she said, "Release this palace!"

Hu Xiaotian stared at Wen Ya, stunned for a moment.

Wen Ya thought this scoundrel had finally regained his senses, but seeing his gaze clear for a moment before immediately clouding again, her fear grew. She struggled desperately, yet due to massive expenditure of her inner power she could muster only a tenth of her normal strength, unable to break free from Hu Xiaotian's hold. With no alternative, she gathered all her yin inner energy in her lungs and blasted it at his face. In an instant a layer of frost coated Hu Xiaotian's face, as if a transparent mask had been placed over his head; Wen Ya, having exhausted all her inner energy in this final resistance, lay there gasping violently.

The frost on Hu Xiaotian's face quickly melted from his scorching body heat. His handsome features regained clear contours, and droplets of water slid from his hair down his forehead and cheeks, falling one by one onto Wen Ya's immaculate white chest.

Hu Xiaotian's gaze followed the trail of the droplets, drawn to an object hanging from Wen Ya's chest—a finely carved coiling-dragon jade pendant; he seemed to recall something, but his gaze soon grew confused again, and he sank back into frenzy.

Wen Ya said, "Hu Xiaotian, you scoundrel, take a good look at this palace—I am not Le Yao..." Her heart began to fill with fear.

Pa! Hu Xiaotian raised his palm and brought it down hard on Wen Ya's face; his lust-filled visage showed not a trace of pity or tenderness.

Wen Ya did not know whether he had lost his nature; the slap left her head spinning, but she immediately felt Hu Xiaotian's scorching body lunge at her. In her memory, Hu Xiaotian had never shown such strength and savagery; she had believed she fully controlled the initiative, yet this sudden turn left her unprecedentedly weak and powerless before the now nature‑lost Hu Xiaotian—she had no strength to resist.

The medicinal power of the seven Scarlet Yang Burning Yin Pills fully unfolded within Hu Xiaotian's body, like a sky‑rocketing flame surging from deep underground to the peak of a snow mountain; he felt the evil fire inside him about to ignite and explode, and he needed an outlet to vent the blast.

Wen Ya's already icy, numb delicate form was about to fall into frozen slumber, yet the roaring subterranean flames revived her, bringing her back to life. The despair of near death seemed to sense the arrival of rebirth, just as every rebirth comes with labor pains; Wen Ya's bodily recovery began amid those pains, and her long‑paralyzed frame started to move against her will.

At first she tried to resist the surging heat with icy seals, but her internal yin cold collapsed instantly under Hu Xiaotian's devastating heat wave; her consciousness and reason kept urging her to resist, yet her body unknowingly submitted, her subconscious craving that warmth and heat, just as Hu Xiaotian's violent, frenzied inner energy desperately needed a cold receptacle to vent and calm. Attack and struggle, resistance and surrender. An abnormal scorching current surged through Wen Ya's meridians, her heart pounding wildly; the blood‑shadow golden worm eggs embedded deep in her myocardium began to writhe within their shells, the pain making her cling ever tighter to Hu Xiaotian's body, feeling his tremendous impact; the eggs detached one by one from her heart muscle— to overcome yang with yang, a supreme‑yang poison must be met with supreme‑yang means.

Hu Xiaotian's powerful yang energy might be the only way she could expel the golden worm eggs from her body—perhaps this is the tribulation destined for her.

Night wind slipped through the lattice window of the Moon‑Bright Palace, stirring the scroll on the desk by the window; it fluttered down to the floor, where the picture showed bees diligently working among the stamens, candlelight flickering, vivid blossoms lifelike, as if one could hear the bees' hum and feel the stamens tremble. Darkness may reduce all things to silence, yet darkness also heralds a fresh renewal.

The extinguished palace lamps flared back to life; the naked Wen Ya stepped down from the jade bed, her delicate form seeming to be draped in a crystalline glow under the candlelight, her breathtakingly long legs dotted with scattered red petals like falling blossoms; her steps were a little unsteady, she had no time to dress, she gathered her breath and circulated her qi— at the smooth left shoulder‑collarbone a bump appeared, throbbing, driven by her inner energy to her arm, then inch by inch along the meridians of her left arm until it surfaced at the wound on her pulse point, glowing gold, a thumb‑thick golden worm crawling out from there.

Wen Ya snatched up a brocade box with her right hand and quickly placed the golden worm inside. The Blood‑Shadow Worm King had absorbed countless red scorpion toxins, slain thousands of its kind, evaded Wen Ya's icy‑yin true qi extermination, and been forged by extreme‑yang true qi before taking shape; this Blood‑Shadow Worm King's body contained not only Wen Ya's true qi and blood, but also another person's essence‑blood. Only such a once‑in‑a‑thousand‑years coincidence could produce such an evil poisonous worm.

Wen Ya slowly put on her clothes, draped herself in a black sable fur coat; her pretty face against the dark fur grew ever paler, icy and frosty, extraordinarily cold. On her jade bed lay Hu Xiaotian, naked, sleeping peacefully, even emitting a sweet snore.

Wen Ya's beautiful eyes brimmed with killing intent; she stepped toward the bedside, raised her right hand, and in an instant her palm turned semi‑translucent, exuding thin wisps of cold air. Her murderous aura was sharp as a blade. Her gaze fell on Hu Xiaotian's naked body; her pale pretty face flushed slightly with shame and anger. Her palm, like a blade, slowly approached his throat—one strike would sever his head from his body.

Death loomed near, yet Hu Xiaotian remained oblivious, still deep in sleep.

Wen Ya's eyes showed a hint of hesitation; her hand rose and fell several times, but suddenly images that made her blush and heart race flashed through her mind. In the end she shook her head and murmured, "For today I'll spare your head—I will let you live, I will make you wish you were dead."

Hu Xiaotian jerked awake from his dream, hearing urgent cries for help from outside.

"Fire! Come help put out the fire!"

Hu Xiaotian bolted upright from the bed, only to see the window awash in red; instinctively he glanced at himself and found he was completely naked, with not a stitch of clothing. Faint memories of what had happened surfaced, and he suddenly realized he was still in the Moon‑Bright Palace—had he stumbled in a daze onto the Talented Person's bed? Hu Xiaotian was shocked beyond measure; he flung himself off the bed in one motion, but in his panic he stumbled and fell with a thud on the floor. By the firelight outside he could just make out the furnishings—this must be his own room.

By now Hu Xiaotian had broken out in a cold sweat from the fright; he felt for his clothes and put them on, and only then did his mind begin to regain a little clarity—he truly could not fathom how he had ended up back in his own room. His mind kept flashing with tender, alluring images, his ears still echoed with soul‑stirring pants, and he could not recall what had actually happened. He dared not think about it, nor did he have the leisure; he flung open the door to see the Moon‑Bright Palace's main hall engulfed in flames shooting skyward, the entire hall already plunged into a raging inferno.

The first person who came to Hu Xiaotian's mind was Wen Ya; he bellowed and sprinted toward the Moon‑Bright Palace, joining the firefighting crew.

Among the onlookers, a pair of clear eyes watched Hu Xiaotian's back; seeing him charge fearlessly into the flames, a hint of relief appeared in her gaze. Taking advantage of the crowd's inattention, she turned and slipped into the night, reaching a deserted spot, lightly tapping her toes as she rose like a light cloud onto the high palace wall. Looking down, she turned back for a final glance at the blazing Moon‑Bright Palace, the corner of her mouth curling into a cold smile: "Hu Xiaotian, one day I will make you wish you were dead, and regret ever coming into this world…"

Extra chapter for 150 monthly tickets delivered! (To be continued…~^~)