The moon and stars cast a dim halo of brilliance over the glistening lake’s crystalline surface and refracted light upon Yun Wu’s body. Her pale and colorless face shone with a sort of suffocating beauty.
Perhaps she was not aware of it, but in the eyes of the man hiding in the dark, she resembled a fallen angel; so painfully beautiful and alluring, especially with those crimson droplets sliding down her skin.
A cool night breeze brushed by Yun Wu’s ears. She felt a perturbing gaze staring closely at her from the dark. This feeling of being secretly watched was not new. At first, she had thought it was merely her imagination, but after three days of it, she would be a fool to still believe that.
She smeared the chewed-up herbs on her last uncovered wound before stretching out her hand, swiftly grabbing her tattered clothes and quickly throwing them on. When she rose, she simultaneously snatched up her usual feldspar.
All of a sudden, Yun Wu’s ear twitched. She turned her head slightly, just in time to see a thread of powerful qi force whisk towards her.
Her figure promptly flickered, and at the same time she evaded, her poisonous feldspar tore through the air at the target behind her. As long as the perpetrator moved, then no matter how perfect their concealment technique, their location would still be given away.
Riiip! The sound of clothes tearing. Behind her, she saw a vague silhouette leap into the air and immediately disappear again into the dark forest.
Her attack had surprisingly only scratched the perpetrator’s clothing; she was facing a keen opponent.
Just then, an indistinct stream of chilling green light surrounded the vicinity, and the clamor of beasts snapping their jaws rang out from all four corners.
Was it the smell of blood on her body that attracted the beasts, or was it because of that person? Regardless of the reason, anything that came close to her—kill!
Yun Wu promptly darted behind a large rock, feldspar in hand, her dormant posture akin to that of a wild beast. Her cold eyes gleamed.
A pair of sly eyes noted every single movement of hers. The man’s compressed lips curved into an amused, bloodthirsty smile. He knew she had been aware of his surveillance. Alas, she didn’t have the ability to pinpoint his location yet, but he had a feeling that this little pipsqueak would soon be brimming with radiance.
“Really, what a fascinating little pipsqueak.” A magnetic low mutter, and then a tall figure emerged from the darkness.
Truthfully, the man was the most beautiful person Yun Wu had ever seen in both lifetimes; enchanting silver hair, shapely eyebrows, twinkling black eyes, skin like snow, and a pair of seductive lips.
His body seemed to be emanating a strange magical force, making it so that a single glance would make one feel as though their state of mind was being snatched away.
Even Yun Wu fell into a moment of absent-mindedness, but quickly, her eyes recovered their clarity and took on a murderous look.
“You know the Soul Assimilation Technique?”
That strange feeling… she had experienced this allegedly advanced form of hypnotism before, in her past life when she was carrying out a task in a remote country.
Her first impression of this man: Too dangerous.
The smile on the man’s thin lips widened. “This is my first time encountering a woman who didn’t get mesmerized by me. Little pipsqueak, what are you called?”
Cautious of the approaching man, Yun Wu’s dormant body immediately went on guard, and she snarled icily, “Don’t get any closer, or else I’ll take your life!”
The man laughed. “There are countless people who wish to take my life. Unfortunately, not a single one could. If you, little pipsqueak, have the ability, then I wouldn’t mind handing my life to you….”
He turned a deaf ear to her threat and drew closer, his slender eyes serene yet devilish.
Swoosh! The sound of a sharp weapon slicing through the air, followed by the scent of blood.
Surprisingly, although the beasts detected the smell, they did not advance and instead seemed to be frightened by it. They quickly withdrew. Yun Wu’s eyes flashed with disbelief as she stared at the man.
He hadn’t bothered to dodge, allowing her feldspar to pierce his broad palm.
Poison, he was unaffected by.
The injury, he readily accepted.
Drops of crimson blood dripped down from his hand, immediately withering the flowers they came in contact with.
“Looks like you’re unable to take my life. Then…. Tonight, I have taken yours. You shall belong to me.” The magnetic voice carried with it a hint of domineeringness.
Yun Wu’s eyes widened and chilled. She had just thought to move when in an instant, she felt her consciousness dim.
“You…”
In her last moment of consciousness, she swore she saw the man laugh enticingly before swooping down to take her into his arms and leaning down to kiss her red lips…
She never would’ve imagined that one day, she would —out of nowhere— fall into the hands of a man.
…..
It was daytime.
There was no telling how many days had passed since that night. A blazing hot, tingling, and unbearably itchy sensation pulled Yun Wu’s consciousness from the abyss.
As soon as she opened her bright eyes, she subconsciously bent her fingers, wanting to give her body a good scratch. It was that moment, she realized her arms were spread and bound on both sides. She struggled but found that her body was so itchy, she couldn’t even find the strength to lift a finger.