Chapter 58

The men got to work and release the ropes of his hands. Forcefully separating Xuan Di away from Jae-in, the two of them grab the end of his wrist on each side while the executor grab hold of an iron bar. With the vengeful eyes of Xuan Di piercing through him, Qi Zheng liked what he is seeing, so he smiled with satisfaction.

Even though he couldn't torture Jae-in directly in the ways he wanted, it is much more fun to destroy someone who is affiliated with her. That way, the guilt will be built up within her and further corrupt her mind and her sense of justice.

Being fed with the Ruan Jing San, Xuan Di could not fight for that small chance of redemption. Closing his eyes, he knew he had to accept this defeat. Preparing himself to take the hit, the moment the force of the bar hit against his arms, it shot his eyes right open once more.

He heard the sound of his bone cracking like a crushed cracker and felt the numbing pain the spread through his nervous system, as though his arms got severed and tear off from his body. The continuous beating from his arm to his forearm for both side, made him went weak on his knees. Before he could recover from the excruciating pain, the men did not slow down their process of torture. Another group of men reaches out to his long and slender fingers, clamping the well-known torturing device firmly onto them.

Once the men broke every part of his bone on his arm, they let go of him and did not bother to support his weight, causing him to fall straight to the ground with his knees hitting hard onto the cement floor. Another cracking sound filled his ears, this time he knew he had broken his kneecap.

Leaning his body forward with no strength, using this short breather time, the new group of men proceeds with their 2nd round of torment. Refusing to give him a break, they each pull the strings from each side, causing the wooden sticks to tighten and create pressure onto the bones of his fingers. Like a splash of water effect, Xuan Di instantly woke up from the trance of his pain and released the hidden roar of endurance.

Qi Zheng, who is now sitting onto the chair with his right hand pressing against his wound, enjoyed how Xuan Di is dying out of pain. In his eyes, you can't see a reflection of his rationality, only the demons that feed on his dark emotions.

Xuan Di has never been through sufferings before, never once being shamed in such a way like this.

Right now, regret is filling him, and he wants to direct this fault to someone. If only he did not come out and chase after Jae-in, things will not be ending this way. If only he let her go and live her own desired life, he would be safe and sound, sitting comfortably on his throne. Why has he forsaken his own comfort zone just to chase after a woman? For the stupid reason of wanting to know her? What good does he get by knowing the true her? In the first place, they were not fated to be a couple filled with love.

And now, because of this woman he is mocked at, attacked and being degraded as a man.

Negative emotions swirls in his head with the intense pain he is feeling. Conflicting feelings appeared and this is the crucial moment that test his humanity and moral values. But the resentment is too strong for his mind to conquer.

After all, it is easier to blame and hate someone than facing their own actions and fear.

Turning his head to find his source of hate, only to see her sit on the floor with blood still running down her eyes, and a wounded back that dyed her clothes red. Looking lost with no direction with a pale face, at that moment, he felt that what he had gone through was incomparable to her.

Only then, something hit him hard.

That's right, she lost her eyes. She will be blind forever. She is in such a worse state in comparison to him. Yes, he got his bones broken, every single one of them for his arms. But, he is not totally crippled, he just needed time to recover them. But Jae-in ... She is blind. She can't see anymore.

Who is the cause for this? The answer is him.

If only he did not forbid Wu 'Er to follow him on this rescue plan, he might be able to have an extra hand to save her. If he wasn't that full of himself, thinking he is that great of a man who need no one to save 2 ladies. If he wasn't that incapable to protect and save her when the gang fought against him, they will not be returning to the cell. As a woman herself, she fought head on with Qi Zheng with no fear of losing anything, a quality that he lack as a man is now making him embarrased. A sense of guilt filled within him, shamed of his own abilities, first-hand seeing the outcome of his actions made him felt responsible for the damage.

As a man, he should be the one taking the hit and not having a woman to block them in front of him. Ha ... He remembered that this is the 2nd time she put him in this position. Afterall, his main aim was to save her, not to ruin her.

With all these thoughts in his head, it works well as a distraction from the ongoing finger torture. As his eyes stare blankly at the men who are trying so hard to pull the strings of the wooden sticks that tighten even harder onto his broken bones, his mind drifted off to a forgotten memory from one of his dreams.

"Your Imperial Majesty. I did no such thing and I refuse to acknowledge the accusation."

She firmly stood her ground and stand in a poise posture with confidence emitting from her. Glancing over to my right, Xiao Qing cower in fear and look so fragile like an injured bird seeking for shelter. Using my arm to pull her closer so to make her feel secure, I looked up and face her.

"Your Imperial Majesty, you have mistaken! Sister Jae-in did not inflict any injuries on me, it was because I was too careless and did not react in time when Sister Jae-in made her movement towards me, causing my pinky finger to be broken."

Xiao Qing grabs the sleeves of my golden robe with pleading eyes so that I won't make a scene out of it. How nice of her to defend someone who intentionally hurt her. She can be the nice person, but I will be the bad one. Glaring at her, with no sign of remorse, I felt annoyed at how she doesn't show other emotions on her face. As though, nothing can ever stir anything within her.

Probably this is like a challenge to me, I decided to order a finger torture punishment to see her react and behave like a human. Will she show me a different side of her when she is being tortured? Will she be more humane if she broke that mask she is wear, with tears running down her face or her eyes squinting in pain?

As I wondered in my head, the punishment carried on right in front of me.

Forcefully kneeled onto the floor with the maids clamping hard onto her fingers, ah ... she is giving me the look that I wanted. She looks like she is in pain, but struggles to put on a strong and unaffected mask. Her disobedient eyes that refused to bow down to the humiliation that I gave her.

Through that eyes that stares right into my soul, my heart felt warm and it kept beating faster. She is looking at me with emotions and not a cold wooden doll. Refusing to admit, I love the eyes she had right now, she is actually looking at me. But, seeing her inflicted with the red marks onto her jaded white fingers, a rising anger grew within me.

[A/N: Xiao Qing is a nickname for Xue Qing]

Enduring this shaming torture, Xuan Di promised to avenge for Jae-in and himself. Such grievances will be swallowed for now and be revenged in the future.

Xuan Di bit onto his lips to prevent any more sound from leaking out of his mouth, he didn't want to worry Jae-in with his torture when she has been badly injured. Qi Zheng smile at the look Xuan Di is giving and glance over at Jae-in who seems to be oblivious of the pain her comrade is going through. He wonder how she will react to know if she knew that he just made her friend crippled.

Releasing the wooden sticks, Xuan Di's face fall flat onto the ground. He cannot move a single inch of his body. Qi Zheng stood up and walk towards him to admire the injuries inflicted, then turn towards Jae-in and kneel down to her height.

Throughout the torturing process, Jae-in couldn't see what was going on, but her hearing senses heighten and so her mind can envision the image of Wang Xuan being tortured. She bit onto the side of her cheeks, refusing to let any tears to fall. She cannot let Qi Zheng know that she is concern about Wang Xuan, if he does, he will use him against her.

Luckily, the back that has been stabbed avoid the vital points, so she knows that she is not in a severe condition. However, her eyes ... she has no confidence that it will heal in the future. Sensing Qi Zheng getting closer to her, she remain calm and not moving an inch away from him. As his breath got closer to her left ear, her fist clenched up automatically.

"Let me share with you something. Do you think Qi Yuan will like my present?"

" ... "

"At this current point, I shall not hide anymore. Yes that's right! I was also the one who plan to kidnap Ai Le and plot her to be sold of as a sex slave to Xiang Hua Lou. How dumb can she be? Chasing after a man that doesn't love her, and now she has to pay the price of losing herself to other man. You think that Qi Yuan doesn't care about her? No no no, you are wrong.

Even though Qi Yuan portray himself as someone who is not interested in Ai Le as a man, I know that he treasure her as a friend. They have been childhood friends for over 10 years now, I bet that he can never leave her alone in danger. Being caring and attentive to his friends is definitely a trait of him that cannot be changed.

Ooooo ... imagine the face he will have when he sees Ai Le being played by multiple men like a toy right in front of him. Breaking every part of her soul, and bring her to the depth of hell, I wonder how regretful he will be. Unable to save her, the guilt he has to harbour for the rest of his life. Afterall, he isn't that heartless of a man, the aftermath of the broken Ai Le hating him for eternity! Ah ... It is an amazing scene to watch."

Finishing what he wanted to say, he stood up and swipe his arm to motion the men to bring them back to the cell.

*** ***

"W-wang Xuan, are you alright?"

Jae-in use her hands to feel the floor for direction to reach to Wang Xuan. However, there is no response from him because he is out of conscious from the torture. Using her clothes, she tore away part of the cloth and temporarily tie them onto her eyes. In a crawling position, she finally reach him.

Her bloody hands carefully feel the back of his shoulders and to the sides of his arm. Feeling his bones, it is definitely broken and would need immediate attention if not, he will lost both his arms. Reach down further to his fingers, she clicked on to her tongue as she did not expect the men to be that vicious to break all 3 different part of his fingers.

Running her hands to touch his face and his forehead, he is burning up with a fever due to inflammation of his wound.

With an unknown hand touching his body, Xuan Di woke up and saw Jae-in with a white cloth on her eyes, with blood seeping through them, using her hands to caress his face and touch his forehead gently. Right now, he couldn't bear to look at her. Turning away with guilt, Jae-in sense his motion.

"Wang Xuan? You awake?"

Silence was what she got and she tried to ask once more. Unable to ignore her concerns, Xuan Di struggled with his response.

"En."

"Good, at least you aren't unconscious now. We need to get out here, if we wait one more day, we will never be able to survive. Qi Zheng is sick in his mind, gods know what plans he have for us. So, we need to get out of here immediately."

"But ... your eyes ..."

"It's okay, you can be my eyes, I shall be your arms."

"But ... my kneecaps are broken ... I can't walk."

"Then I shall hold you up."

"No. I refused. Jae-in, you should escape on your own. Don't bother bringing me along, I am just going to be a baggage to you. Please go and survive. I just want you to be alive."

"What are you talking about? I am not the kind of person who will desert my own comrade just for my selfishness to survive! Who do you think you are to sacrifise yourself? Both of us are going to leave here together, ALIVE!"

"Just don't bother me! Like what you said! You hated me! You dislike me! You don't want to be my friend, so why bother saving me? After all, we are just strangers! We are not close in the first place, so don't even feel that you are responsible for my life! You are nothing in my life and so am I! Right now, we got no time, please go! Don't care about me! Just leave right now!

I beg you ..."

Jae-in face Xuan Di who is lying on the floor, not sparing a look at her. Just before she wants to make a point to him, the door opened with a familiar face peeking by the sides.

"L-lady Jae-in. Are you okay?"

"Xiao Lang?"

"Yes I am here! I want to apologize for my cowardness as I did not have the courage to break free from this dark world that I have lived in. But, you and him are different. You guys don't belong here. Let me salvage on my mistake, let me bring you guys out!"

"Yes, you come just in time! Come, you shall carry this stubborn fool and I will follow your lead."

Without much violent protest from Xuan Di, Xiao Lang went ahead to carry him on his back while holding onto Jae-in's hands. The three of them moved silently like a mouse escaping in the dark. With little people guarding them as they assume that they can't do much since one is blind while the other is crippled, Xiao Lang used this opportunity to bring them out of the dungeon and head to the back of the mountain.

However, Xiao Lang is unlucky to catch the eyes of one of the men who saw them heading out of the village. Thinking that he will be awarded with an increased of rank for exposing a betrayer, this man gather his own underlings and follow suit.

An unavoidable fight took place once Xiao Lang saw his own comrade caught his betrayal acts, carefully putting Xuan Di at the side with Jae-in holding onto his body, Xiao Lang demonstrate his fighting skills. Knowing that this is a fight that he is bound to lose, he decided to give his all to put on the last show in front of the woman he was attracted to. He wants to leave no regrets.

Finally, the one last move caused Xiao Lang to slam his body onto the ground with blood flowing out of his mouth. Turning his head to look at Jae-in who is unknown of his near death, he recalled her beautiful face and wants to stare at her as long as he can so that he will never forget about her even after drinking the soup from the Dream Popo at the bridge of afterlife.

As he closed his eyes, a smoke bomb caused panic among the gang. An unknown man appeared out of nowhere, sliding through the thick smoke, not giving them any chance to react, he slit off their throat accurately causing them to fall dead.

Jae-in and Xuan Di choked onto the unexpected smoke, wrapping her arms tightly onto Wang Xuan as she is unaware if this uninvited guest is a ally or a foe. Xuan Di who is struggling to keep himself awake, widen his eyes to see his enemy. He can't possible endanger the both of them as he is the only one with eyes.

A young looking man that he is not familiar walked towards them.

A moment of panic arise in Xuan Di and he look up at Jae-in's face, despite him not being able to use his hands, he used his butt to scoot closer to Jae-in and block her behind his back. The young man looked at the 2 pathetic state of his clients and felt empathetic for their situation.

A frown made him look upset as he saw how his client is badly injured.

"Huo Gu Niang?"

With her name being addressed, she look towards the sound.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Chen Jue. I am hired by your brother, Huo young master, to rescue you."

"M-my brother?"

"Yes, he said that you always love flower pendant."

Jae-in freezed with the mentioned of the secret code that only she and her brother know. Once again, feeling emotional, tears spill out of her wounded eyes, further tainting the white cloth with blood. Chen Jue panic when he see Jae-in cried out with red tears.

"Huo Gu Niang, it's not the time for me to tell you who I am. Let me escort you and your friend to a safer ground."

Carrying Xuan Di on his back, grabbing the sides of Jae-in, Chen Jue used his qing gong and flee from this disatrous place.