Chapter 15: One More Lash

Entering the Heavenly Action Secret Realm

The Heavenly Action Secret Realm opened.

All who paid spirit stones received a wristband.

It was the key to entry.

Gu Chi, among the crowd, blended in.

Fire Phoenix Sect’s holy daughter, Feng Xizhi, entered first, her status lofty.

He followed, stepping into the spatial vortex.

A slight dizziness and weightlessness hit.

Closing his eyes, he opened them to a desert wasteland.

Above, a black sky with two illusory moons cast silver frost over the sands.

Gu Chi cursed his luck.

The realm had forests, oceans, and deserts.

He landed in the resource-scarce desert.

No matter—he wasn’t here to explore.

Collecting Feng Xizhi’s payment was his goal.

He donned his Qingmian mask.

Taking a red cord, he wrapped it around his finger.

Infusing it with spiritual energy, the cord’s tip pointed a direction.

This was Feng Xizhi’s treasure, left at Lingyun Pavilion for contact.

Their dealings always went through the pavilion, never direct.

The desert was desolate.

Gu Chi walked under moonlight.

A brown python rested on a tree; he stepped lightly, avoiding it.

His endurance was strong.

Used to solitude, four hours of trekking didn’t bore him.

The cord warmed—Feng Xizhi was within a thousand meters.

Ten breaths later, they met under a massive boulder.

Its shadow blocked the moonlight.

The Transaction

Gu Chi faced Feng Xizhi in her red skirt.

Her petite frame, even in high heels, forced her to tilt her head to see his masked face.

He produced a recording stone—capturing his spank on Fang Xiyu’s rear—and her undergarments.

He handed them over.

Feng Xizhi’s eyes lit up.

She activated the stone.

The image showed Fang Xiyu, the aloof Moon Wheel fairy, biting her lip.

Her face flushed with shame and fury, body trembling, toes clenched, expression pained and angry.

Feng Xizhi’s body shivered with delight.

Her gaze shifted to the undergarments, sneering.

“Acts so cold, yet wears such shameless underclothes.”

Gu Chi thought: only I’d see them, so what’s it matter?

But Feng Xizhi had a point.

He didn’t engage, just extended his hand.

“Pay up.”

Satisfied, she pulled out a spirit stone note.

Not the expected five hundred, but a thousand-stone Lingyun Pavilion note.

“I don’t have change.”

He spoke softly.

“No need.”

“I’m thrilled—extra’s your reward.”

Gu Chi had no pride to bruise.

He reached for the note.

But she yanked it back, hands behind her.

A condition gleamed in her eyes.

“One condition.”

“Hm?”

He frowned.

“We’re accomplices now.”

“Leak this, and Fang Xiyu will hunt me endlessly.”

“With our shared secret, can I know yours?”

“What do you want?”

“Your identity, of course.”

“I’m just an Eastern Domain rogue.”

“Seeing my face changes nothing.”

“Friends should know each other’s faces.”

“I don’t plan to befriend women like you.”

He thought: she calls Fang Xiyu a friend, yet paid to humiliate her, to break her dao heart.

Befriend her, and risk betrayal?

She caught his unspoken doubt but wasn’t fazed.

Arms crossed, she smirked playfully.

“You kidnapped me for ransom, and I didn’t scorn you.”

“You scorn me?”

He shook his head, smiling, silent.

All relationships were trades, even friendship.

“Be my friend—you’ll gain more than you think.”

“Or lose more.”

He replied coolly.

“My patience is thin.”

“One incense stick’s time, or I tie you up, hang you, and beat you.”

“You’re all tough talk.”

Her lips curved.

“I’ve investigated you.”

“Your worst deed? Robbing rich sect disciples’ resources.”

“Never the poor rogues.”

“The bloody, filthy acts—I know they’re not you.”

“So sure?”

“Last year, you said it wasn’t you.”

“Someone like you, if you did it, you’d own it, not lie.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“My money does.”

He sounded impatient.

“I’m mid-Core Formation.”

Her lashes lifted.

“I want to test you.”

Her fingers reached back, unclasping a red jade crystal necklace.

It transformed into a jade-red whip in her hand.

She stepped back, locking eyes on him.

“No reveal? I’ll rip that mask off myself.”

The Whip’s Sting

Half an incense stick later.

Feng Xizhi hung from a tree.

Her soft, fair body bound by Gu Chi’s immortal-binding rope.

Her jade whip now in his hand.

He raised it; the whip cracked in the air.

Before it struck, tears welled in her eyes.

“Change whips—this one hurts too much.”

He hesitated for a moment.

Hope flickered in her gaze.

Then the whip struck her skirt-clad thigh.

Her protective aura shattered.

The skirt tore, petals scattering.

A red mark bloomed on her tender leg.

Biting her lip, tears streaming, she swung like a pendulum from the strike.

She dropped back, comical yet pitiful.

He raised the whip again.

Another crack—her dress at the stomach ripped.

A red mark crossed her snow-white abdomen.

Her toes lifted, tears pouring, eyes rolling in pain.

She screamed, shrill and wretched.

He tossed the whip to the ground, eyeing her coolly.

“You knew you couldn’t beat me.”

“Why play the fool?”

She didn’t answer at first.

Sobbing softly, she finally spoke.

“How’d you know?”

“I took your job to kidnap Fang Xiyu.”

“My strength’s above mid-Core Formation.”

“You likely can’t beat her, hence your jealousy.”

“You knew I’d win, yet challenged me.”

“Not your style to be so stupid.”

He exposed her oddity.

He’d held back—else she’d be bloodied, voiceless.

“Books say you get stupid when you love.”

Her voice still choked.

He froze, then raised the whip, threatening another lash.

“No, no! It really hurts… I’ll break…”

“So?”

“Play scripts about tortured love…”

“I’d shiver in bed, tingling.”

“I wanted to feel it…”

Her face lost its pleading, tongue grazing her lips.

“Blame you.”

“You kidnapped me in that cave.”

“Threatened, scared me.”

“I had to grovel, seduce you, like a pathetic dog.”

“Back home, I’d dream of it.”

“Woke up… undergarments soaked.”

He studied her.

Her tone was earnest, no act.

“I don’t care for your inner journey.”

“Don’t repress—makes you mad.”

“Give me the stones.”

“Our deal’s done—paths diverge.”

He knew little of her.

Last year, in that cave, he’d kidnapped her.

Day one, she talked endlessly till he stuffed her sock in her mouth.

Day two, she coaxed, begged, even got extra ransom from her father.

He fed her well, played chess to pass time.

Day three, she tried seducing him.

He ignored her; her frustration had her rolling in the cave.

That was all he knew.

Her past, her connections—foggy.

Now, he glimpsed her darker, twisted side.

He didn’t care.

He was a heartless madman himself.

Madmen understood madmen.

“One more lash, then the stones.”

She looked at him, expectant.

He picked up the whip.

It reverted to her necklace.

Approaching, he re-tied it around her collarbone.

Shaking his head at the tiny lolita dangling in the air, he took his pre-mixed salve.

With a fingertip, he gently spread it over her fair skin.