Chapter Sixty-Seven: Pan Yunu’s Heart

"Ah, ah..."
In the human jar, only Qian Shanduo’s head was exposed. His hollow eye sockets brimmed with terror, and the blood streaming down his face seemed almost like tears.
Ming Tian had personally carried out the punishment.
He was not an ordinary person; after crossing into ancient times, he had killed before—those bandits outside Douhu Prefecture and on Zihua Mountain. But never had killing filled him with such pleasure!
This was the exhilaration of personally avenging a sworn enemy!
Now I finally understand why online novels are so fond of decisive, ruthless protagonists—because, damn, it really is satisfying!
Just the act of flaying the flesh off Qian Shanduo’s hands and feet took Ming Tian two hours. With every slice, he sprinkled pepper onto the wounds.
This was perverse—Ming Tian did not deny it.
When faced with someone you hate to the marrow, anyone would become a monster!
Altogether it took over a hundred cuts on his limbs; Ming Tian himself made twenty, and the rest he left to the kitchen staff.
Qian Shanduo’s tyranny had been intolerable, and these cooks already hated him deeply. A few of them, after cutting off pieces of flesh, even ate them on the spot.
Then Ming Tian made him into a human jar—gouged out his eyes, cut off his tongue, severed his vocal cords, sliced off his nose, leaving only his ears to hear.
He was left to listen to the rats squeaking in the jar!
Emperor Xiao Baojuan was fond of rats, so upon hearing of this torture, he was thrilled and even personally caught more than ten rats from the corners to throw into Qian Shanduo’s jar!
Before being sealed inside, Qian Shanduo’s body was smeared with lard, and the rats were now gnawing away at him from within.
Such agony was beyond what any ordinary person could endure.
It was clear that Qian Shanduo was suffering the torment of being devoured alive, but without tongue or vocal cords, he could only utter muffled, inarticulate sounds as the rats feasted.
Pity? Ming Tian felt none.
My sympathy is for the good and the diligent, not for scoundrels like you, guilty beyond redemption!
"Haha... ha... hahaha... how... how amusing, how very... amusing!"
Emperor Xiao Baojuan clapped with laughter at Qian Shanduo’s suffering.
Ming Tian regarded this emperor, who had only two hours left to live yet remained blissfully unaware, and frowned.
Is this really so funny? This is a deadly serious matter, isn’t it? And if you stutter, so be it, but why even stutter when you laugh? What is wrong with you?
In Ming Tian’s eyes, the emperor was exposing his own depravity completely.
Soon, Qian Shanduo’s struggles gradually ceased. While he was still alive, the rats inside had already ravaged his innards, leaving him barely hanging on to his last breath.
Ming Tian picked up his knife, laid it across his neck, and spoke coldly, "Do you know what my greatest regret is?"
The dying Qian Shanduo shuddered. A rat crawled out of his mouth.
Ming Tian’s grip on the knife tightened, the friction between his skin and the hilt producing a harsh, grating sound.
With a single stroke, he severed Qian Shanduo’s head.
"My regret is that I can only kill you once!"
Watching the bloody head roll away, Ming Tian exhaled deeply, feeling his hatred slowly dissipate.

When the emperor saw the head fall, he rushed down from the dragon couch, scooped up Qian Shanduo’s head, and kicked it away as if playing football, laughing all the while.
To him, killing a man was merely a form of amusement.
Immediately, he cheerfully hurried to Ming Tian, grinning foolishly, and handed him a gold medal.
This was the highest honor for a head chef in the royal kitchens: the Gourmet Gold Medal.
"Ming Tian, G... Grand Master Chef, I... I still want some of that Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup. Can... can you make it?" The emperor’s tone was polite, even a little pleading.
Taking the medal, Ming Tian was both amused and exasperated.
Receiving a reward from an emperor he had just killed was strangely awkward.
This foolish emperor had only two hours left to live; Wang Jingze’s army should be arriving soon. I don’t want to be stuck here when the place turns into a hornet’s nest.
"Of course, if Your Majesty wishes, I’ll return to the kitchens and prepare it immediately." With this, Ming Tian played along.
"Good, hurry... hurry! I... I’ll wait for you!" The emperor, delighted, broke into a broad smile.
The flavor of that soup had clearly conquered his palate completely.
Receiving his orders, Ming Tian bowed and left the hall.
However, just as he stepped outside, he was startled by the figure blocking his path.
Standing at the doorway was Yu Nizi!
She was dressed in golden silks and jade, her makeup elaborate, her face radiant as a peach blossom. Compared to when he first met her in Nanlanling Prefecture, her beauty was now extraordinary, almost unearthly.
"Consort Pan." Given the era, Ming Tian observed proper etiquette, bowing to her in greeting.
She was supposed to be his ally, helping him secure victory.
During the culinary contest, though she was present, when Ming Tian was nearly taken away, she remained unmoved, not even intervening with Xiao Yaoguang.
Who knew what this woman was scheming?
Ming Tian felt a bit dissatisfied with her, so he merely bowed, unwilling to become entangled and eager to return to his quarters, rendezvous with An Luo and Yin Chan, and then escape before Wang Jingze’s forces stormed the palace, to meet his beloved outside Jiankang City.
Qian Shanduo was dead, the gold medal was his, the ten thousand taels of silver already distributed among the kitchen staff.
Xiao Xinzhu had been rescued, the emperor had been poisoned; all that remained was the last step of the plan: to withdraw in triumph.
Yet Yu Nizi—no, to be precise, Pan Yunu—reacted in a way that left Ming Tian stunned.
"Zhuge Ming Tian, I am the empress, the emperor’s lawful wife. Upon seeing me, you only bow with hands clasped instead of kneeling? How arrogant can you be?"
She lifted her chin haughtily, her eyes utterly devoid of the crystalline light they once held when he first met her.
Dull, soulless—her very being seemed empty, as if she were carved from wood rather than a living woman.
Her tone was so icy that Ming Tian felt a chill run down his spine.
What the—? What’s happening? Are you really Yu Nizi? I haven’t done anything questionable lately; my vision is clear, so I’m not hallucinating, right?
"Kneel!" Pan Yunu’s voice rose sharply, confirming Ming Tian’s ears were not deceived.

What was going on? Something was definitely off.
Moreover, that look in Pan Yunu’s eyes seemed oddly familiar—but from where?
After two seconds’ thought, Ming Tian realized: it was the same look she’d had four nights ago, when An Luo kicked her out of the room.
Could it be...
Hey, girl, are you really going to turn dark? This isn’t a TV drama! It’s not my fault An Luo doesn’t like you; you’re not still holding a grudge, are you? Grow up! Oh... wait, you’re only seventeen.
But still! It was An Luo who kicked you out—it has nothing to do with me! Why take it out on me?
Fine, kid, you win. I won’t argue with you.
Ming Tian, with the experience of a man in his thirties, had no interest in bickering.
Though his body was only nineteen, he considered it proper to yield to his juniors.
Resigned, Ming Tian knelt down and, with some dryness, said, "Yes, Your Majesty the Empress. May you be ever blessed with peace and prosperity."
He almost slipped and said something inappropriate, but caught himself just in time.
Looking up, he saw Pan Yunu gazing at him coldly, offering no reply, merely snorting and heading for the main hall.
After several paces, she tossed back, "Go back, and take Yin Chan and An Luo with you. Leave the imperial city and never return."
Damn, that tone really rubbed me the wrong way.
Leave? What do you mean, 'leave'? Mind your words! Don’t think I won’t hit you just because you’re prettier than my lady!
Unhappy as he was, Ming Tian had finished his work and didn’t want any further trouble. He headed toward his quarters.
Moreover, the princess’s escape from disgrace was only possible because Yu Nizi sacrificed her own reputation.
For that favor alone, Ming Tian had no reason to bicker over mere attitude.
Yet the further he walked, the more he felt a chilling, sinister aura intensifying, cold creeping from his spine till goosebumps prickled his skin like beans.
What was happening? This sensation—
A gust of early spring wind made Ming Tian shiver, clearing his mind enough for the truth to dawn.
Damn, the weather’s colder again. I’d better grab a coat before I go.

...

Due to censorship issues, there was originally a chapter between 66 and 67 detailing Ming Tian’s torment of Qian Shanduo. However, my editor told me that the current limits on graphic content are very strict, so I scrapped that chapter and revised this one. It’s a pity I couldn’t kill Qian Shanduo twice.
Still, with the rats, the human jar, and my own flaying punishment, three types of torture were used, so old Qian met a well-deserved fate. Thanks to all the readers and friends who contributed ideas.