They were not stupid or foolish women without brains. They knew this was not the time to act tough. The refugees were rioting, extremely vicious and evil. Just for money, silver, and women, they could do anything. Moreover, there were four people here, three young ladies, all of outstanding beauty. If this was Bianjing, it would be fine, but in such chaotic times outside, beauty had become an ominous sign.
With no one managing things above, if disaster struck in the end, they would only have themselves to blame.
Gu Ying pressed her lips and made a decisive decision to put out the fire. "Let's go. Before it gets dark, let's find a safe place to stay for the night and continue our journey tomorrow. The day after we'll be able to enter Yueyang City."
"Yes."
The few boarded the carriage again.
In the evening, when dusk had fallen, they finally found an abandoned temple under Ning Si's guidance.
Ning Si got off the carriage, smiled and said, "No one comes here often. I used to often sneak out here to play with my brothers. Tonight, let's make do and stay here for the night. Tomorrow at daybreak we'll set off again."
Gu Ying lifted the curtain and got off the carriage. Standing at the entrance of the dilapidated temple, she broke out into a cold sweat all over.
She trembled as she raised her thick long lashes...and swept her gaze across the broken signboard at the entrance of the temple.
The memories of her being raped in a dilapidated temple flashed through her mind, stabbing her heart tightly.
She tried taking a step but her face went deathly pale. Her whole body seemed to be placed in an ice cellar, shivering from the cold.
Yin Lan hurriedly took out a cloak and wrapped it around her, puzzled as she asked, "My lady, what's wrong? Is there something inappropriate about this ruined temple?"
Feeling the warmth of another person, Gu Ying's whole body shuddered as if suddenly waking from a dream. She pulled the corners of her white lips and said, "I'm fine. We'll spend the night here tonight."
Ning Si suspiciously held her cold hand. "Ying Ying, are you really alright?"
Gu Ying's small face was white. She swallowed and said, "I'm fine."
She could overcome this.
She was no longer the Gu Ying of her last life. What was there to be afraid of entering a ruined temple in this life?
She mustered her courage, took a step forward, just about to enter the temple, when a sharp scream of a woman came from inside.
"Help! Help!"
"Save me!"
"Is anyone there!"
The woman's voice was extremely miserable, ear piercing, mixed with the lewd laughter of several men.
Gu Ying's body stiffened, as if instantly transported back to the moment in her last life when she had been thrown into the dilapidated temple.
Her whole body seemed to be beaten red. Her tendons had also been cut off by Gu Jia...In the ruined temple, the Buddha statues were solemn and dignified, but the wind was cold and the floor was hard. She lay in unbearable pain on the floor...Without anyone coming to save her.
Several hooligans walked towards her with drool dripping, their eyes filled with desire.
They tore her clothes and skirt...
Speaking vulgar words and laughing wickedly while their lustful gazes roamed all over her body.
She was soon dragged onto the grass pile and pressed down by them one by one. They bit her lips and neck. She felt as if the flesh on her body was being eaten by them. She couldn't tell where she hurt anymore...
Finally she fainted unconscious, her vision blurred. She seemed to see Gu Jia and Jiang Yin's figures faintly at the entrance of the ruined temple.
Desperate and helpless, she crawled towards Jiang Yin, shouting his name in her heart, begging him to save her...
But he kicked her back in.
He kicked her back into the pile of beggars and rogues, kicking her into the endless abyss of hell...
Gu Ying closed her eyes again, trying hard to dispel those cruel and frightening memories from her mind.
Ning Si and Yin Lan also heard the voices from inside. After all, they were young ladies who had not experienced such things. Both their faces were grave, lips bloodless, holding Gu Ying's hands on both sides.
Huai An immediately shielded the few ladies behind him. "My lady, I'll go in and take a look."
Gu Ying's voice was bitter, but still said, "Huai An, you must save that girl."
"Yes." After speaking, Huai An flashed into the temple.
Ning Si and Yin Lan wanted to pull Gu Ying back to the carriage. "Ying Ying, let's just wait in the carriage. Seeing you like this wouldn't be good if someone saw."
But Gu Ying stood still, shaking her head. "I want to go in and take a look too."
She was worried that something might happen to that girl.
Having suffered before, she didn't want another innocent to walk down the path she took and have her life ruined in the end.
Ning Si and Yin Lan stopped her at once. "My lady, you can't go in! It's dangerous inside!"
Gu Ying bent down and grabbed a handful of dust from the ground, wiping it on her face. She laughed. "With Huai An inside, I'll be fine. And have you forgotten I know martial arts too? Ordinary rogues are no match for me. Now it's dark outside with seemingly no one around, it's in fact more dangerous. We might as well follow straight in."
Yin Lan still hesitated a little.
Ning Si said, "What Ying Ying said makes sense. We don't have extra guards around us. It would be more appropriate to stick together with Huai An."
Only then did Yin Lan nod.
Gu Ying led the two into the ruined temple. The moment she stepped in, she deeply felt the innate fear and horror that seeped out from her bones.
She stood at the broken entrance of the main hall and saw a girl in plain clothes with disheveled hair sprawled on the floor.
Huai An fought fiercely with several refugees.
How familiar was this scene...
Those endless days and nights in the ruined temple...that wicked laughter and vulgar ridicule...as well as her own helpless and desperate cries...
Every memory reminded her how undeserving she was back then.
Gu Ying stood stiffly there as tears welled up in her eyes little by little
"Miss, please...save me..."
She heard the girl's pleas for help and lowered her head to see her somehow crawling to her feet, grabbing onto the hem of her clothes with a pitiful hand.
Meeting that pitiful pleading gaze, she finally came to her senses.
Gu Ying squatted down and firmly grasped her small hand. Her gaze instantly turned sharp. "Ning Si, protect her."
After speaking, she stood up with the dagger sliding out of her sleeve.
Her eyes were like swords. Holding the dagger in reverse grip, she charged into the inner hall with three quick steps, bringing those few refugees down swiftly in just a few moves. That wasn't enough. Amidst their screams for help, she ruthlessly swung her dagger without mercy, slitting their throats.
Blood spurted out like a fountain.
Yet Gu Ying seemed to have left her soul behind, expressionlessly stabbing the dagger repeatedly deep into those people's hearts.
Until a long, long time had passed...so long that the entire dilapidated temple was deathly silent without a hint of sound.
Ning Si and Huai An stared at Gu Ying in disbelief.
They had never seen her so ruthless and merciless before. She was a lady from a distinguished family...How could she have it in her to take all those lives...
Yet Yin Lan's expression remained tranquil as before, only the tenderness in her eyes as she gazed upon Gu Ying's back.
Disregarding Ning Si's tugs, she resolutely stepped towards her lady and knelt to hug her from behind. "My lady...don't be afraid, they're dead..."
Gu Ying was stunned motionless before sadness spread through her body.
She stiffly raised her head to look at the dilapidated statue of Buddha in the main hall.
A fog of blood obscured her vision and she couldn't see clearly. Only feeling a spell of dizziness overtaking her as pain churned in her belly.
"It hurts so much...Yin Lan..." Clutching her lower abdomen like a child, she leaned powerlessly into Yin Lan's embrace, her face ghastly pale as white paper.
Shortly after, her body tilted to the side as she fainted.
Yin Lan was frantic with anxiety as she held her tightly. "My lady!"
...
They were not stupid or foolish women without brains. They knew this was not the time to act tough. The refugees were rioting, extremely vicious and evil. Just for money, silver, and women, they could do anything. Moreover, there were four people here, three young ladies, all of outstanding beauty. If this was Bianjing, it would be fine, but in such chaotic times outside, beauty had become an ominous sign.
With no one managing things above, if disaster struck in the end, they would only have themselves to blame.
Gu Ying pressed her lips and made a decisive decision to put out the fire. "Let's go. Before it gets dark, let's find a safe place to stay for the night and continue our journey tomorrow. The day after we'll be able to enter Yueyang City."
"Yes."
The few boarded the carriage again.
In the evening, when dusk had fallen, they finally found an abandoned temple under Ning Si's guidance.
Ning Si got off the carriage, smiled and said, "No one comes here often. I used to often sneak out here to play with my brothers. Tonight, let's make do and stay here for the night. Tomorrow at daybreak we'll set off again."
Gu Ying lifted the curtain and got off the carriage. Standing at the entrance of the dilapidated temple, she broke out into a cold sweat all over.
She trembled as she raised her thick long lashes...and swept her gaze across the broken signboard at the entrance of the temple.
The memories of her being raped in a dilapidated temple flashed through her mind, stabbing her heart tightly.
She tried taking a step but her face went deathly pale. Her whole body seemed to be placed in an ice cellar, shivering from the cold.
Yin Lan hurriedly took out a cloak and wrapped it around her, puzzled as she asked, "My lady, what's wrong? Is there something inappropriate about this ruined temple?"
Feeling the warmth of another person, Gu Ying's whole body shuddered as if suddenly waking from a dream. She pulled the corners of her white lips and said, "I'm fine. We'll spend the night here tonight."
Ning Si suspiciously held her cold hand. "Ying Ying, are you really alright?"
Gu Ying's small face was white. She swallowed and said, "I'm fine."
She could overcome this.
She was no longer the Gu Ying of her last life. What was there to be afraid of entering a ruined temple in this life?
She mustered her courage, took a step forward, just about to enter the temple, when a sharp scream of a woman came from inside.
"Help! Help!"
"Save me!"
"Is anyone there!"
The woman's voice was extremely miserable, ear piercing, mixed with the lewd laughter of several men.
Gu Ying's body stiffened, as if instantly transported back to the moment in her last life when she had been thrown into the dilapidated temple.
Her whole body seemed to be beaten red. Her tendons had also been cut off by Gu Jia...In the ruined temple, the Buddha statues were solemn and dignified, but the wind was cold and the floor was hard. She lay in unbearable pain on the floor...Without anyone coming to save her.
Several hooligans walked towards her with drool dripping, their eyes filled with desire.
They tore her clothes and skirt...
Speaking vulgar words and laughing wickedly while their lustful gazes roamed all over her body.
She was soon dragged onto the grass pile and pressed down by them one by one. They bit her lips and neck. She felt as if the flesh on her body was being eaten by them. She couldn't tell where she hurt anymore...
Finally she fainted unconscious, her vision blurred. She seemed to see Gu Jia and Jiang Yin's figures faintly at the entrance of the ruined temple.
Desperate and helpless, she crawled towards Jiang Yin, shouting his name in her heart, begging him to save her...
But he kicked her back in.
He kicked her back into the pile of beggars and rogues, kicking her into the endless abyss of hell...
Gu Ying closed her eyes again, trying hard to dispel those cruel and frightening memories from her mind.
Ning Si and Yin Lan also heard the voices from inside. After all, they were young ladies who had not experienced such things. Both their faces were grave, lips bloodless, holding Gu Ying's hands on both sides.
Huai An immediately shielded the few ladies behind him. "My lady, I'll go in and take a look."
Gu Ying's voice was bitter, but still said, "Huai An, you must save that girl."
"Yes." After speaking, Huai An flashed into the temple.
Ning Si and Yin Lan wanted to pull Gu Ying back to the carriage. "Ying Ying, let's just wait in the carriage. Seeing you like this wouldn't be good if someone saw."
But Gu Ying stood still, shaking her head. "I want to go in and take a look too."
She was worried that something might happen to that girl.
Having suffered before, she didn't want another innocent to walk down the path she took and have her life ruined in the end.
Ning Si and Yin Lan stopped her at once. "My lady, you can't go in! It's dangerous inside!"
Gu Ying bent down and grabbed a handful of dust from the ground, wiping it on her face. She laughed. "With Huai An inside, I'll be fine. And have you forgotten I know martial arts too? Ordinary rogues are no match for me. Now it's dark outside with seemingly no one around, it's in fact more dangerous. We might as well follow straight in."
Yin Lan still hesitated a little.
Ning Si said, "What Ying Ying said makes sense. We don't have extra guards around us. It would be more appropriate to stick together with Huai An."
Only then did Yin Lan nod.
Gu Ying led the two into the ruined temple. The moment she stepped in, she deeply felt the innate fear and horror that seeped out from her bones.
She stood at the broken entrance of the main hall and saw a girl in plain clothes with disheveled hair sprawled on the floor.
Huai An fought fiercely with several refugees.
How familiar was this scene...
Those endless days and nights in the ruined temple...that wicked laughter and vulgar ridicule...as well as her own helpless and desperate cries...
Every memory reminded her how undeserving she was back then.
Gu Ying stood stiffly there as tears welled up in her eyes little by little
"Miss, please...save me..."
She heard the girl's pleas for help and lowered her head to see her somehow crawling to her feet, grabbing onto the hem of her clothes with a pitiful hand.
Meeting that pitiful pleading gaze, she finally came to her senses.
Gu Ying squatted down and firmly grasped her small hand. Her gaze instantly turned sharp. "Ning Si, protect her."
After speaking, she stood up with the dagger sliding out of her sleeve.
Her eyes were like swords. Holding the dagger in reverse grip, she charged into the inner hall with three quick steps, bringing those few refugees down swiftly in just a few moves. That wasn't enough. Amidst their screams for help, she ruthlessly swung her dagger without mercy, slitting their throats.
Blood spurted out like a fountain.
Yet Gu Ying seemed to have left her soul behind, expressionlessly stabbing the dagger repeatedly deep into those people's hearts.
Until a long, long time had passed...so long that the entire dilapidated temple was deathly silent without a hint of sound.
Ning Si and Huai An stared at Gu Ying in disbelief.
They had never seen her so ruthless and merciless before. She was a lady from a distinguished family...How could she have it in her to take all those lives...
Yet Yin Lan's expression remained tranquil as before, only the tenderness in her eyes as she gazed upon Gu Ying's back.
Disregarding Ning Si's tugs, she resolutely stepped towards her lady and knelt to hug her from behind. "My lady...don't be afraid, they're dead..."
Gu Ying was stunned motionless before sadness spread through her body.
She stiffly raised her head to look at the dilapidated statue of Buddha in the main hall.
A fog of blood obscured her vision and she couldn't see clearly. Only feeling a spell of dizziness overtaking her as pain churned in her belly.
"It hurts so much...Yin Lan..." Clutching her lower abdomen like a child, she leaned powerlessly into Yin Lan's embrace, her face ghastly pale as white paper.
Shortly after, her body tilted to the side as she fainted.
Yin Lan was frantic with anxiety as she held her tightly. "My lady!"
...
