[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 36

The glare from the sword’s edge dazzled Shiliu’s eyes. It took her a moment to react, and then she began to tremble, instinctively trying to pull her slashed gown closed.

But his sword was faster. The cold metal pressed against her pale, delicate skin, the sharp blade indenting her flesh, lying horizontally between her bre*sts. The soft fullness spilled out slightly, seemingly caressing the blade.

He moved closer, bringing the gleaming sword with him. Her flesh was pressed down even more pitifully, and even her small nip*les stiffened subtly under this absurd threat.

Li Xuanci looked down at the overconfident little Taoist. His wrist relaxed slightly, but before she could catch her breath, he flicked the sword again, directing its tip toward one of the small, budding peaks.

It stopped right there. The hard edge, with the slightest pressure, grazed the cherry-colored tip. Though he used no force, it trembled violently against the cold steel, almost like a coquettish plea.

Unrestrained pleasure rushed to his head. Li Xuanci lazily savoured the thrill of dominance.

A wounded cub falling into a trap looked just like this—helpless, bewildered, awaiting an unknown fate.

He relished that look. On the hunting grounds, he could take a prey’s life with one arrow or let it go. Everything hinged on his whim.

A living, breathing life, panting in the palm of his hand.

“Will you take it out yourself, or shall my sword do it?” he whispered, the veins at his temples throbbing with excitement.

The taste of manipulating another’s will was utterly intoxicating.

Shiliu gritted her teeth. She didn’t cry or beg for mercy. Instead, her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched tightly, suppressing the trembling in her fingertips. Then, she reached into her trousers and pulled out the ridiculous prosthetic.

Li Xuanci tightened his grip on her wrist. A numbness shot through Shiliu’s arm, and the object fell to the ground.

The tip of his black boot nudged the false member, made from rolled-up undergarments, then stepped on it without mercy. The grime from his sole soiled the white cotton as he crushed it viciously.

That thing had been modified from a chest binder that Shiliu sewed herself. She was poor and frugal; she carefully washed every piece of clothing herself, treasuring them, using them again and again.

Her master and senior brothers were good to her, but they were still men. She had to endure her periods in silence, bear the pain of her bound chest—Shiliu wasn’t cunning. All her cunning over the years had been spent silently guarding her secret.

Even if she had scissors handy, she probably wouldn’t have had the heart to actually cut it up.

Watching him trample her soiled chest binder, a stubborn spark ignited inexplicably in Shiliu’s eyes. She looked up recklessly, no longer afraid of provoking him further, and asked directly, “How did you find out? Let me die with clarity.”

Li Xuanci raised an eyebrow.

“That business with the clay figure spirit. You said plant ash generally isn’t something men would recognize, which confirmed Wang Qi’s suspicion. But you forgot—if that’s the case, why, as a man, are you so familiar with it yourself?”

Li Xuanci spoke, enjoying the rare shift in Shiliu’s expression.

She fell silent for a moment. So, he had suspected her from that early on, yet never said a word. He was so wicked; how could she ever outmaneuver him?

“And your Adam’s apple.” His fingertip lightly traced Shiliu’s slender neck, feeling her barely suppressed shudder. “It’s very realistic.”

“But last night, when I touched your neck, you couldn’t help but swallow. Yet your Adam’s apple didn’t move with it. I assume it’s a scar carved into the skin as a disguise.”

Watching the light in Shiliu’s eyes dim further, a violent thrill shot up his spine. He hadn’t felt this delighted in a long time.

“You thought yourself clever, realizing I would never touch a man’s body, so you deliberately teased me last night, retreating only to advance. Today, you came up with this ludicrous method. However…”

“You’re probably a virgin, unaware that a man’s… equipment… is usually soft. If you were truly so exceptionally gifted, that night at the residence when you wore only your inner robe, I definitely wouldn’t have missed it.”

Li Xuanci suddenly turned sideways, leaning close to Shiliu’s ear. They were extremely close; he could even hear the frantic beating of her heart beneath her silent exterior.

“Caught you, little Taoist.”

After he finished speaking, he straightened up. There was no warmth in his eyes, only the icy chill of frozen icicles hanging from a winter cliff, ready to fall and pierce her head until it bled.

Even his teasing and amusement carried a cruel edge.

Shiliu let out a soft breath. Her biggest secret had been uncovered. With someone like Li Xuanci, neither sophistry nor denial would work. Besides, she was currently naked; her own body was the evidence, leaving no room for doubt.

“You’ve caught my biggest secret now, and you’re feeling quite pleased with yourself, aren’t you?” Shiliu simply told the truth. After all, she was neither good at nor fond of beating around the bush.

“So, what are you planning to do?” she asked, then answered herself, “Kill me? You’re not that foolish.”

“Torture me? If you wanted to, you would have done it already.”

“That leaves only one option: control me.”

“Then I’ll just let you control me. I never had much ambition anyway. Before, I listened to my master. After meeting you, I’ve always been in the palm of your hand.”

“So why kill me?”

Shiliu looked at him, her eyes bright like stars, stripped of panic and despair, leaving only straightforward honesty.

Li Xuanci’s beautiful eyes fixed intently on her. After a long moment, the corners of his ink-painting-like eyes curved slightly, his pupils filled with rare delight.

Interesting. Truly interesting.

It was only at this moment that Li Xuanci finally understood why he had repeatedly spared this inconspicuous little Taoist.

For him, everything came too easily. When happy, he could spend extravagantly; when displeased, he could kill. There was nothing in this world he wanted but couldn’t obtain.

Because it was too easy, it became boring, nauseatingly so.

During his first royal hunt, when his arrow pierced the body of a beast, when they roared trapped in snares, when they finally grew exhausted and bowed their heads—that sense of conquest deeply fascinated his younger self.

But it didn’t take long for Li Xuanci to discover that these so-called fierce beasts were merely creatures driven into the hunting grounds early, herded to help nobles bolster their reputations.

Once caged, they became even more boring. With claws and fangs removed, they were no different from docile cats or dogs.

From that point on, he grew tired of hunting. Later, he became fascinated with killing people—at least human resistance was more interesting. But soon, watching heads roll on the ground also lost its thrill.

And now, through a bizarre twist of fate, he was bound by a Fate-Link with this absurd little Taoist.

He couldn’t kill her, couldn’t harm her. He couldn’t end it cleanly with a single stroke as he usually did.

He could only watch this little Taoist act shamelessly, with a bit of cleverness yet gluttonous, full of ever-changing ideas, sometimes scheming, other times straightforward as a straight line.

Neither wholly good nor wholly wicked, she had actually managed to deceive him for so long.

Just like prey escaping its cage, he couldn’t help but let it run a little longer before taking its life at the last moment.

And now, driven into a corner with no way out, she had instead shed all her defenses, laying her heart bare. Her words sounded defeatist, yet she was strategizing for a chance to survive.

Torture, humiliation, broken pride, forced submission—nothing could shatter her will to live.

She had never truly submitted to him.

Li Xuanci thought that he had probably become re-addicted to the game of hunting. After all, he had found the perfect prey to entertain himself with for a long time.

A disobedient prey was far more interesting.

Li Xuanci reached out and grasped Shiliu’s chin, which was held high. She was still too inexperienced; a truly weak and defeated person wouldn’t hold their chin so high.

“I won’t kill you. Don’t worry.”

He said with a smile, then released her and left the room.