HLnovel Chapter 240 Becoming a Monster
Chapter 240 Becoming a Monster
The crescent moon is enchanting.
The beauty's hair was slightly disheveled, her soft breasts half-hidden. Her head rested on the man's rough, calloused chest, listening to the pounding of his heart, which was clearly showing signs of aging. Her lips curved into a sweet smile.
"Master, you mustn't forget what you promised me?"
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes alluring, captivating the man.
For money, for wealth and status, she was willing to sacrifice herself to accompany this old man who was about to die. No, she sacrificed not only herself, but also her daughter.
The old woman doted on her granddaughter and feared she would be chosen as a sacrifice, so she asked her to find a replacement. As luck would have it, her family had one readily available. For fifty taels, she sold her daughter to the Zhang family.
As agreed, her daughter was to be sent to the Zhang family two days in advance. Regardless of who the Black Goddess chose, Cui'er would be the one offered as a sacrifice in the temple. It took her a lot of effort to bring Cui'er out of the house and coax her into the Zhang family. The gossipy people in the Zhang family even revealed her agreement with the old man in front of Cui'er.
Cui'er went mad. First, she pushed over the Zhang family's servants, then bit her own mother, and rushed out without a care in the world. They chased after her all the way to the Niangniang Temple.
That wretched girl, possessed by some unknown evil, actually carried a dead object out of the temple. Just as they were about to approach, a strange phenomenon occurred on the river. The people who were offering lanterns scattered in panic, and when they finally reached the temple, Cui'er was gone. They shone their lanterns into the temple, but it was eerily empty and devoid of anything.
She thought the old man would blame her and turn against her because of this. But to her surprise, he acted as if nothing had happened and went to bed with her.
He's a man after all; he only has so many thoughts on his mind.
She hooked her arm around the man's neck and teasingly rubbed her lips against his beard. Regardless of what the old man thought, her daughter was gone because of the Zhang family, and she was determined to link this matter firmly to them. Even if she couldn't become the old man's concubine, she would still extract as much benefit from him as possible.
Master Zhang squinted, not missing the woman's expression, and secretly sneered at her foolishness. What he wanted was never the life of that little girl Cui'er, but her and the entire Liu family.
His hand gently stroked her back in rhythm with her movements, then squeezed hard when he reached a certain joint. The sudden pain contorted the woman's features, and she instinctively grabbed the old man's arm.
Mr. Zhang's expression changed, and he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away. Besides the pain, there was also stiffness and numbness; the woman couldn't feel her legs, and an unprecedented panic instantly enveloped her.
She looked at Master Zhang in horror. Master Zhang smiled and took a pill from the bedside table and put it into her mouth.
"Be good, it will be over soon."
"You, what did you feed me?"
"Medicine, the medicine of the gods." Master Zhang touched her face: "If you eat it, you will turn into the Black Queen, the Black Queen who will make the whole Chunfeng Town tremble with fear."
The woman shook her head, horrified to find that her head had fallen off.
Mr. Zhang, unfazed, gently supported her head and adjusted its position. Her hearing was still intact; she could clearly hear cracking sounds. Even without Mr. Zhang saying anything, she knew it was the sound coming from her neck.
Under her terrified gaze, Master Zhang grinned maliciously and turned her head around. Now, her face and her back were in a straight line.
An ordinary person would have died long ago, but she is still alive.
Even more horrifying, Master Zhang didn't stop. He broke her hand, contorted her arm into a strange shape, and then her legs and feet. After doing all this, Master Zhang opened the door and had someone bring over a huge bronze mirror.
Even the most promiscuous woman cannot withstand such humiliation.
She was currently wearing only a thin, gossamer-thin garment, and what lay beneath was clearly visible. Four male servants carried the bronze mirror, and they seemed unfazed by her presence. After setting the mirror down, they didn't leave, but instead stared intently at her with strange eyes.
The discomfort of being stared at so intently vanished the moment the woman looked at her reflection in the bronze mirror. In the mirror, she had become a monster only seen in ancient books. Her head was tilted back, her hair hanging to the ground. Her body was upside down, her limbs like a dog's. Before she could utter a sound, she saw two maids in the mirror. They wore very strange clothes; one carried a bucket, the other a brush.
The women didn't know what was in the bucket; they only knew they were brushing themselves. Everywhere they brushed emitted a pungent, aromatic scent, like the barbecue sold in Beijing.
The woman sniffed greedily; if she weren't paralyzed, she would have bitten herself twice.
The thought had barely formed in her mind when she panicked. She wasn't a glutton; how could such a terrible idea have come to her?
Master Zhang noticed this, walked up to her, bent down, pinched her chin and said, "You really are a special woman. You are so greedy, yet you have been able to persist for so long? It's alright, soon, soon your suffering will be over."
The woman shook her head, begging Master Zhang to spare her, but the sound that came out of her throat was not human.
She turned into a monster, completely black, a monster that only exists in storybooks.
In the inn, the prince looked at the only bed and said with difficulty, "I'll go find Zuo Yi and squeeze in with him."
Lu Zhiyuan sat on the bed looking at him: "Husband, are you disgusted with me?"
The Crown Prince quickly replied, "No, absolutely not. It's only A-Yuan who dislikes her husband. How could I dislike A-Yuan? I just remember my promise to A-Yuan to keep our distance until she is willing, and to be a husband and wife in name only."
"We're just sleeping in the same bed, it's not like we're really going to do anything." Lu Zhiyuan unfolded the quilt: "Everyone in the manor thinks we're a real married couple who have consummated our marriage. When you go to see Zuo Yi, do you want him to misunderstand that we've quarreled, or do you want to tell him that we're just a fake couple?"
"Zuo Yi is not a talkative person."
“I trust Zuo Yi completely.” Lu Zhiyuan patted the inside of the bed. “Husband, have you forgotten? Zuo Yi went to investigate the He and Liu families. Without him covering for you, it’s even more unclear if you sleep in his room. Those who know will say you’re trying to avoid me. Those who don’t will think there’s something between you and your little bodyguard, Zuo Yi. After all, I’m not so poor that I have to take a bodyguard’s room.”
The Crown Prince scratched his head, looking embarrassed: "I promise I will never have any improper thoughts about you, A Yuan."
"It's no use having improper thoughts. I'm only fifteen, I haven't even matured yet." Lu Zhiyuan took off her outer garment in front of the Crown Prince: "If you bully me, you are worse than nothing."
The crown prince smiled wryly, feeling that he had married a troublesome woman.
At fifteen, she was still a green, unripe fruit, not yet ready to be picked. Had he known she cared so much about age, he would have waited two more years. The thought had barely formed when he quickly shook his head. No, no, his A-Yuan was too outstanding. Within the family, there was Lu Yun and Han Ting; outside, there was Xiao Yebai. If he didn't marry her soon, not only would the fruit be gone, but the tree itself would be uprooted.