Chapter Fourteen: Living Hell

Xie Yingying’s joy had barely taken hold when her expression suddenly changed, a wave of familiar agony crashing over her once more. Her face turned deathly pale, cold sweat beading and dripping down in large drops as she doubled over in pain.

A muffled groan escaped her lips.

This searing pain that wracked her body was all too familiar; Bai Shengyun had tormented her like this more than once before.

Beside her, Bai Qirui was startled out of his wits, his face full of concern. “Miss Xie, where do you feel unwell?”

Just moments ago, she had been talking and smiling, and now she was like this. He was truly frightened, leaping up in alarm, utterly at a loss as to how to help her.

He wanted to take her pulse and check her condition, but before he could reach her, Xie Yingying curled in on herself, clutching her abdomen with white-knuckled hands, her face even paler than before.

Seeing her agony only intensify, Bai Qirui was completely helpless. “Where does it hurt? What can I do to help you?”

Xie Yingying was in such pain she could scarcely breathe, yet she gritted her teeth, swallowing down her low moans of distress.

With tremendous effort, she grasped the corner of the table and forced herself upright. “Don’t… don’t touch me!”

What mattered most now was to find Bai Shengyun at once; no one else’s help would avail her. This was like a curse, lurking always within her body, with Bai Shengyun holding the reins. At the mere flicker of his will, she was wracked with unbearable agony, powerless to resist.

Bai Qirui instinctively reached out to steady her, but before his hand could make contact, another pained moan escaped her. He could only hover there, unsure.

“I’ll fetch a physician. Please, endure it a little longer—I’ll be back at once!” With that, he hurriedly made to leave for help, desperate to alleviate her pain.

In this situation, having no knowledge of medicine, he could only watch as Xie Yingying suffered, unable to offer any assistance.

“No!” Xie Yingying forced out through clenched teeth, her voice faint but enough to halt Bai Qirui in his tracks.

She was already barely able to stand, but she ground her teeth, bracing herself against a pillar with difficulty, and managed to rise. “It’s useless. Don’t fetch a physician.”

Only Bai Shengyun could inflict such torment—he had to be nearby. Only by finding him could she hope to end this suffering.

Otherwise, if this continued, she would surely be killed by the pain before long.

Bai Qirui grew even more anxious, his voice urgent. “But what should I do to help you?”

Xie Yingying, step by painful step, made her way toward the stone railing, supporting herself as she moved. “There’s someone—only he can help me. No one else will do.”

After saying this, she paused to take a shuddering breath, barely able to endure the agony in her abdomen.

But she knew this was no solution; this bout was fiercer than any before, the pain doubling, redoubling, a torment far beyond what she had suffered.

Bai Qirui watched her struggle forward and urged her, “Miss Xie, where are you going? Why don’t I call a physician, and you wait here?”

Xie Yingying drew a deep breath, riding out a fresh wave of pain, and forced a wan smile. “It’s an old ailment. I have my own way—let me step out, I’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll go with you.” Without hesitation, Bai Qirui quickened his pace to follow. He simply could not be at ease leaving her alone in such a state.

Were he not so helpless, how could he bear to see her tormented while he stood by, useless? But her condition had come on so suddenly, without warning, and there was nothing for him to reference, nothing he knew to relieve it.

Xie Yingying forced herself to search for Bai Shengyun, determined to find him. Gritting her teeth through the pain, she stumbled through the garden, wandering aimlessly until, finally, in a secluded corner, she found him.

Staring at Bai Shengyun as he stood in the shadows, she forced out a hoarse accusation: “What madness are you up to now?!”

At this moment, an elder stood behind Bai Shengyun, his expression shifting through a kaleidoscope of emotions at the sight of Xie Yingying.

But Xie Yingying paid the elder no mind, her eyes locked on Bai Shengyun. She was now in such agony she could no longer take a step forward.

Yet her eyes never wavered, fixed on him with such intensity it seemed she wanted to skin him alive.

Forced to endure such excruciating torment, all while having to play along with Bai Shengyun’s manipulations, her resentment and anger had reached their limit.

“If you want to kill me, just do it! Why torment me like this?”

As she shouted these words, Xie Yingying felt truly desperate. Had she not been pushed to the brink, she would never have dared speak to Bai Shengyun this way.

Bai Qirui, sensing something, turned to Bai Shengyun and asked, “Brother, do you have any way to ease Miss Xie’s pain?”

Bai Shengyun ignored them both, not sparing Xie Yingying even a glance. He turned, flicked his sleeve, and departed, leaving behind only his cold, aloof silhouette.

As he left, Xie Yingying let out a cry of pain, bending over until she was nearly doubled up on the ground.

She had never imagined Bai Shengyun could be so cruel, tormenting her almost to death.

But even as she wracked her brain, she could not understand what she had done to provoke him, what had stirred his wrath to such a pitch.

Bai Shengyun had gone, but the elder remained. The grand elder stepped forward, sizing Xie Yingying up and down with a critical eye, his tone laced with disdain. “So, you’re the infamous beauty of the Evil Sect, Xie Buxiu. Truly, you live up to your reputation.”

When word had come that Bai Shengyun’s intended bride was Xie Yingying, the elders’ feelings had been complicated to say the least. No matter how they considered it, the marriage seemed preposterous.

To think that Bai Shengyun, with his spotless reputation, would fall into Xie Yingying’s hands, and in the end be forced to keep her, granting her a title.

At the thought, the elder’s tone grew even more mocking. “Don’t think that just because you’ve followed the Young Master, everything will be smooth sailing. A woman as wanton and disgraced as you is hardly worthy of him.”

Xie Yingying, despite the pain, rolled her eyes and retorted with a weak, mocking laugh. “I never wanted to climb up to Bai Shengyun in the first place!”

Were it not for her secrets being held against her, how would she have fallen to such a state, suffering torment at every turn?

The elder’s temper flared, his voice sharp as he jabbed a finger at her. “You stubborn witch! It’s an honor for you to enter the Heavenly Fox Clan, and you don’t even know to be grateful!”

As the elder’s sneers rang in her ears, Xie Yingying had no strength to fight back. The pain inside her was like a storm surging and crashing, as if her very organs were being torn apart.

She trembled uncontrollably, barely able to remain standing.