Chapter 27: Flaying Skin and Extracting Bone to Appease the Departed Soul

"Ah—"

Li Ao’s agonizing screams echoed incessantly, yet no one appeared to save him from his plight.

"It was your own greed that led you to brutalize so many innocent women. Today, you are merely reaping what you have sown."

Lu Lanxi swung her blade again, slicing deep into the base of Li Ao’s thigh. Flesh and muscle were shredded, exposing the bone beneath.

"You bitch! What did I do wrong? Seven emotions and six desires are only human nature. Even if I hadn’t slept with them, someone else would have. What difference does it make who does it?"

"Hah, you truly are incorrigible. You destroyed the purity of so many women; today, I act on behalf of the heavens."

Lu Lanxi tossed her sword aside and pulled a small box from her robes. Though Li Ao was already riddled with holes and the stench of blood was enough to make one gag, she felt it was not yet enough.

"You left them as heaps of bleached bones, rivers of blood, and corpses in withered wells. So, I shall make you experience a fate worse than death."

Lu Lanxi crouched down, licked the blood from her fingers through her black veil, and casually smoothed her clothes.

She favored black attire for her missions, as it matched the vibrant red of blood perfectly. When killing, black clothes left no visible trace once the blood had dried. In her previous life, she had always worn black, following Lu Zhouzhou to protect him, fighting his battles, and risking her life for his sake. She had thought that by marrying Zhuang Huanjin, she could escape such a life of walking on thin ice, only to find that it was merely another kind of hell. Thus, she concluded that men were the most unreliable, cold-blooded animals in existence.

"You... what are you doing? I only took a few lowly women. Do you really have to kill me over it? Are you not afraid of death?"

"Those women were meant to be played with by men, weren't they? They are all sluts who have been ridden by thousands; why play the part of the virtuous? Who told them to dress so beautifully and seduce me?"

Seeing the bloodthirsty look in Lu Lanxi’s eyes, Li Ao was struck by absolute terror.

"I was wrong, Lady Hero! This was all forced upon me by that bitch Liang Ruoxue. You should kill her instead! She is the devil—she is licentious and devoid of female virtue. Everything I did was under her coercion... I am a victim too!"

Li Ao glared at Lu Lanxi with venomous eyes.

"Women? Hah. Without a woman, where would you have come from? Or were you birthed by your father? I doubt your father could ever spawn a piece of filth like you. Or perhaps your mother was used by a thousand men, which is why she birthed a monster like you."

"If Liang Ruoxue harmed you, take your revenge on her. Why involve those innocent women? What did they do wrong? Why should they be the sacrifices between you and Liang Ruoxue?"

Lu Lanxi smiled faintly and opened the small box. A plump little insect crawled out lazily, disappearing into Li Ao’s body.

"You bitch! What is that? Take it out! If I live to get back, I will skin you alive, pull your tendons, extract your bones, and turn you into a human pig for all to watch!"

Li Ao, seeing the fuzzy, wriggling thing moving under his skin, felt a wave of nausea and primal fear.

Lu Lanxi paused. Memories of her previous life—of Zhuang Huanjin having her tendons cut—surged like a tidal wave. Surely Li Ao had a hand in that too; after all, he and Lu Wanhe were cousins who had been thick as thieves, both carrying the blood of the Li family. Their cruelty was indeed a shared heritage.

"Live to get back? I think you’re being a bit too optimistic..."

"Since you despise women so much, it is only fitting that you die at the hands of one. You won't be losing out."

Lu Lanxi tilted her head, batting her large, expressive eyes, her red lips curling into a smile. Were her tendons really such a prize? Everyone seemed so obsessed with cutting them. Though Li Ao could not see her face, he could sense her beauty. He felt his blood boil; even though he had been crippled, his lust remained.

Moments later, however, his head felt as though it were about to explode. He clutched his skull with his remaining arm, slamming it repeatedly against the doorframe.

"Is it painful?"

"Pain... ful..."

Li Ao could no longer speak. If he could, he would have loved to play this woman to death, burn her in a fire, and scatter her ashes to the wind.

"Pain is exactly what you deserve."

"Weren’t you going to skin me, pull my tendons, and extract my bones? How exactly is it done? Won’t you teach me?"

Li Ao glared at her with hateful, dilated pupils, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Lu Lanxi picked up the sword from the floor and, without hesitation, sliced down. With a sickening sound, Li Ao’s foot tendons were severed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh..."

"I wonder if my method is correct? If not, please bear with me; I will be very gentle, I promise."

Then, bit by bit, Li Ao watched as Lu Lanxi used the blade to carve away his flesh and extract his bones...

He was truly suffering a fate worse than death.

Lu Lanxi watched as Li Ao succumbed to the agony of a thousand insects devouring his heart, his orifices bleeding, his skin and flesh torn apart, until he finally breathed his last.

"Li Ao, do not blame me for being ruthless. If you must blame someone, blame yourself for your own sins!"

"When you harmed those women, humiliated them, destroyed their chastity, and left them in darkness, you should have known that cause and effect are cyclical and retribution is swift. Today, I strip your skin and pull your bones to pay tribute to those lost souls!"

This scene was witnessed in its entirety by Piaoxu, who was hiding in the wardrobe.

"Come out."

Lu Lanxi put away her insect. It required blood to survive, and since she would not harm the innocent, only the blood of the damned could feed it.

Piaoxu, pale with fright, stumbled out and fell to her knees before Lu Lanxi.

"Thank you, Miss, for saving my life."

"Piaoxu, is it? Did I frighten you?"

Lu Lanxi helped her up, looking into eyes as pure and clear as those of Bai Zhi. She felt fortunate that her rebirth had not come too late.

"Do not worry, I will not harm you. I killed him because he deserved to die."

"This place is not safe. Let me take you away."

With that, Lu Lanxi scooped up Piaoxu and vanished without a trace.

On the outskirts of the capital, inside a carriage, Bai Zhi was frantic as the sky turned pitch black, waiting in vain for Lu Lanxi to return. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared, and Bai Zhi’s heart finally settled.

"Miss, you’ve finally returned. He is already asleep."

"Piaoxu, the person inside is your brother. I had Bai Zhi bring him out first. Here is some silver; take it and go far away with your brother. Do not return. Find a place to change your names and live a quiet life. Li Ao’s death will have wide repercussions, and the Li family will not let this rest. If you stay in the capital, you will not escape their wrath."

Piaoxu opened the carriage curtain and saw her sleeping brother. Tears streamed down her face as she knelt once more.

"Miss, it was you who sought justice for us. Without you, I would never have escaped his clutches today."

"I am lucky to have met you, Miss. Unlike Cui'er... she died such a miserable death."