The dark basement was filled with a nauseating stench.
A woman, filled with scars, was suspended on an iron frame. Her long hair stuck to her body in a matted mess. Her fingers were at an unnatural angle and all ten fingernails had been ripped out, revealing raw, gruesome flesh. It was a sight that screamed pain.
Her face, little by little, was corroded by sulphuric acid. Her once recognizable features were now a bloody pulp, leaving behind an eerie, terrifying visage. The sound of her flesh being corroded seemed to still echo in her ears.
“Sister, why are you being so stubborn? Just tell me where the ring is and it will be better for everyone. As your younger sister, it breaks my heart to see you suffering like this…” An smug feminine voice echoed in the cold and empty space.
The woman with this voice possessed a delicate face and was clad in name-brand clothes. She deliberately put on an insincere show of concern, the pretentious act filled with malicious intent. It only inflamed Jun Hua's loathing to see her, wishing she could drink her blood and eat her flesh!
"Your hypocrisy is revolting! Jun Ting, I don't know anything about the ring, and even if I did, I would never tell you!" Jun Hua recalled when she was kidnapped and brought here while shopping with Jun Ting. Jun Ting started tormenting her before even questioning her about the ring.
Withstanding the tormenting pain which was enough to drive anyone insane, Jun Hua prevented her voice from trembling. All she had in her heart was hatred. The bone-seeping pain coupled with the boundless hatred had sent her emotions spiraling out of control. She was on the verge of a breakdown!
She felt blind. Blind to consider her “sweet” younger sister as understanding and obedient. Who could have imagined? Who could have?!
Jun Hua's face, rendered unrecognizable from torture, contorted further in pain. Why? Why was she so stupid?!
"Sister, why are you being so stubborn? It's not worth it to endure so much pain for a mere ring. Don't you know that Brother Mo Min has been wanting this ring too?”
Jun Ting let out a sultry laugh. Her sweet voice sharply contrasted with Jun Hua’s hoarse one. Her face, adorned with makeup, wore an expression of regret. She covered her pretty rosy lips with her hand, feigning sympathy for Jun Hua. It was so fake, so infuriating!
“Didn’t you like Brother Mo Min a lot, sister? Why not just cooperate?” Jun Ting casually dropped another bombshell.
Cooperate with Brother Mo Min?
What?
Suddenly, the air stiffened, and time seemed to halt. The anger and pain on Jun Hua's face froze over, replaced with confusion. Her bloody and mangled face seemed lost, her voice filled with a touch of despair, “What… What did you say?”
Knowing Junhua's oblivion, Junting laughed even more enchantingly. She coquettishly said, “Sister, don’t you know? If it wasn’t for Brother Momin’s intervention, how could your sister possibly capture you? Oh, by the way, all of this was instructed by Brother Momin... Ah, it’s a pity about Brother Momin's child..."
Junting's soft and charming face starkly contrasted Junhua’s frightful, distorted features. However, when she mentioned the child, her eyes revealed jealousy and malice.
Instructed? Child?
These two words continuously echoed in her mind. Child… Child… Junhua felt as if she was struck by lightning, and her body started to violently tremble.
Her child, her child was gone. She just felt a warm sensation down below. She realized that she lost her child with Momin. Connected by maternal instinct, she felt like a part of her heart was being ruthlessly carved out at that moment, she was in unbearable pain!
Her child was gone, the horrific person in front of her, her once closest sister, had taken her child away. Her child, her child!
Jinhua was in pain!
She felt hatred, intense hatred! Why was she so cruel? Why did she do this to her!
Her heart was about to break from the physical pain, despair, and overwhelming hatred.
Now, after hearing Junting's words, she paused. She tried her best to stay calm and not fall, but she already seemed tottering, swaying like the slightest breeze could send her flying away, “You say… all of this… was commanded by Li Momin?”
Her voice was soft, completely unlike her previous hysteria. So light that seemed like it might break at any moment. The surrounding air felt like a large hand ruthlessly tightening around people's necks, as if all the light was pushed back by darkness.
Junting exaggeratedly enlarged her red lips and pretended to be troubled. She said, "Ah, Sister really doesn’t know, huh? Will what I’m saying upset her? But well, we should always be clear about the truth. All of these things, brother Momin indeed instructed me to do. Otherwise, what was I doing looking for a ring? Brother Momin would buy whatever kind of ring I want."
With that, Junting giggled again, appearing rather shy and smug.
The darkness enveloped the whole place. Junhua looked at her dully, her eyes wide and vacant. She saw her appearance, so completely different from before, that soft yet malicious, beautiful yet cruel. At that moment, she felt herself a fool for the first time.
There was a void in her mind, as if her neck was choked and she couldn't breathe. The previous fury and pain seemed to have completely disappeared, and what's left was only mockery, Junhua, Junhua! Your life is a joke, a big fat joke!
"Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!" Within the silent room, Jun Hua suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks. Each salty and bitter teardrop flowed down her face, drenched in open wounds, heightening the sensation of pain. Yet, it seemed as though she could no longer perceive the torment. She let the tears carelessly wash over her injuries.
Her only remaining response was laughter, boisterous, hysterical, wild and unrestrained.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
This laughter echoed through the dim basement, a lonesome, quiet space. It was jarring to the ears, sending chills down one's spine.
Hearing such outrageous laughter, Jun Ting shivered, overtaken by fear. She watched as this frantic, completely broken Jun Hua, who was bound to an iron frame, suffered unbearably. Each of her limbs were shattered - she was utterly helpless. 'She's already tied up and rendered useless. What do I have to be afraid of?' Jun Ting comforted herself with this thought.
With that in mind, Jun Ting's carefully applied makeup appeared even more radiant.
Suddenly, the basement door swung open, the sound jarring, causing Jun Ting to jump.
Li Mo Min had arrived.
Seeing the situation before him, Li Mo Min couldn't help but frown, looking at Jun Ting he said, "Has she confessed yet?" His voice revealed an impatience.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Jun Ting immediately rushed into his embrace. Her delicately shaped eyebrows drew together, and fear was written all over her face. She played the part of a frightened little woman perfectly. Likely, anyone who saw a woman like this would feel a surge of protectiveness. Surely, any man would dream of possessing such a woman.
Unfortunately, she failed to see the impatience and disgust hidden within Li Mo Min's eyes. Jun Hua, on the other hand, saw it clearly.
It only made her laugh louder, more boldly, without any restraint or fear.
"Li Mo Min! Li Mo Min! Ha ha ha ha! I must have been blind to not see your true colors. You are a treacherous and faithless creature, ha ha ha!" This man never loved her. The joke was, she had been so confident, so foolish, to think that a man of such stature genuinely loved her. Ridiculous, just ridiculous! Ha ha ha ha ha!
It felt as if her heart was being continuously ripped apart, the pain was suffocating, but she had never felt so awake. The pain, the hopelessness, it all kept her alert like never before!
"Jun Hua, I am running out of patience. Where is the ring?" Looking at the severely tortured Jun Hua, Li Mo Min showed no signs of sympathy. His heart was cold, unaffected even by the sight of the bloodstains between Jun Hua's legs. His pitilessness was chilling.
"It's laughable that I actually thought I had caught your eye, that I thought you truly loved me. How laughable that I gave you my first time and even bore your child. This is how you treat me! A ring? What ring? I don't know! And even if I did, I would absolutely not tell you. Absolutely not!" Jun Hua's voice was torn, and her throat was nearly ruined. Her emotions were extraordinarily explosive. The hatred filled the air as if there was no light left in the world.
If Heaven were to grant her another chance, if she were given another chance! She would definitely not be so naive, so kind!!
Her following words obviously infuriated Li Mo-Min. His lips were tightly pressed together, and his eyes were devoid of any warmth. "Your first time? You think too highly of yourself. How could I possibly touch a shameless woman like you? I guarantee whoever touched you that night certainly wasn't me."
Jun Hua was quite the beauty in the past, delightful to behold. But now, her beauty ruined and her emotions chaotic, she seemed outlandishly tragic. If female ghosts existed, they would certainly look better than her. Just a glance at her was enough to instill disgust in Li Mo-Min, as if he were too pure to bear her sight.
After hearing Li Mo-Min's words, her heart felt like it had been viciously stabbed yet again. It wasn't him? Panic surged within her. Yet almost immediately, relief took over. Indeed, it wasn't him! She even felt like it was the best news she heard that day, like a heavenly melody on this same hell-like scene. It wasn't him. Thankfully, it wasn't this brute!
The look in Jun Hua's eyes became lethal, but her person started to grow calm. Her laughter ceased, and it was as if her earlier agitation was but a figment of imagination. Still, her gaze cut deeply, it scraped at one's nerves like a sharp knife.
Seeing this, Li Mo-Min cruelly said, "Do you want to know who you slept with and whose bastard child you're carrying?" It was clear that he wanted to taunt her further.
But to his surprise, Jun Hua became even more composed. She just glared at him, filled with resentment, before saying with deliberate slowness, "I'd rather have slept with a beggar than with a beast like you. At least a beggar is human!"
Jun Hua bit back her vulnerability, especially not wanting to show it in front of these gossipmongers. If she were given a chance, if she were given another chance, she would make these two dogs beg for mercy, make them long for death and yet denied of it!
Looking into Jun Hua's ominous eyes, Li Mo-Min felt as if a snake had coiled around his neck, the icy coldness crawling down his spine. Becoming even more infuriated he knew Jun Hua would never reveal the whereabouts of the ring. In his hand appeared a black pistol. The barrel pointed straight at Jun Hua, "Humph, remember who sent you to Hell when you get there."
There was no hint of fear in Jun Hua. She stared coldly at Li Mo-Min, her twisted face terrifying. She calmly said, "Li Mo-Min, I will haunt you even if I die."
Bang!!
Like a bloody monarchia flower, her blood splatters in all directions. And then, the world fell into silence.
