Chapter 15: Shattered Perceptions

‘How pointless this is. When there’s clearly nothing there, why bother with a bra? Wouldn’t it be more economical to go without?’

Su Qin clicked his tongue, and though Gu Yuhe didn’t lift her head, she seemed to sense a brazen gaze lingering on her, causing her vision to momentarily darken.

“This tea tastes different from the one I had a few days ago.”

Uttered without discernable emotion, and barely a question, these words nonetheless drained the color from Gu Yuhe’s face, as if all vitality had been siphoned from her body.

Su Qin took another sip, his gaze fixed silently upon Gu Yuhe.

“Ah, I understand now. Yuhe didn’t poison the tea today.”

A shiver ran through Gu Yuhe, her pupils losing all focus.

‘He knew all along. No, this is precisely how Master is.’

Helplessness, sorrow, and the suffocating grip of a demon on her throat—her limbs gradually grew cold.

A person lives on their spirit, and Su Qin had utterly crushed hers; she nearly collapsed to the ground, her only full parts—her hips and thighs—twitching uncontrollably.

She had witnessed countless times how Su Qin dealt with his adversaries; no matter how resolute they were, a single encounter with him invariably led them to beg for death.

‘Is it finally over? Perhaps this is for the best. No longer will I suffer under the torment of this demon.’

It was the Ghost Spirit Pill (TL Note: A fictional elixir) from that fateful day that had triggered a flood of forgotten memories.

She was certain it wasn’t an illusion; each recollection brought a warmth to her heart.

The past few days had been a tumultuous blur, a torment even more unbearable than Su Qin’s usual methods.

A chilling aura of bloodlust emanated from Su Qin, his abyssal eyes fixed in a silent, unwavering stare.

“Strip off your clothes, lie on the ground, and tell me everything.”

Once confidence and dignity had been sufficiently nurtured, they needed to be brutally shattered, a stark demonstration of his unyielding power.

At this moment, Gu Yuhe was indistinguishable from a puppet, her obedience to his commands purely mechanical.

She slipped off her silk skirt, unfastened her crimson bellyband, and with trembling hands, removed her last undergarment.

Her normally rosy skin was now impossibly pale, and even her ample curves had lost their vibrant luster.

She meticulously folded each item of clothing, one by one, before finally removing her hairpin.

‘Master…’

A sudden memory of the hairpin surfaced in the young woman’s mind: it had been a gift from Su Qin on her fifteenth birthday, marking her coming-of-age.

That was the last image of a gentle Master she held in her memory.

Then she lowered herself, her body splayed out like the Chinese character ‘大’ (dà, meaning ‘big’), pressing perfectly against the ground.

However, Su Qin had already spread a soft blanket beforehand, ensuring she wouldn’t feel the chill.

“Begin. Name every one of them.”

A pallor of death already clung to Gu Yuhe; her world had lost all color, now nothing but shades of gray.

“Are your senior sisters involved? It seems these rebellious disciples cannot be allowed to remain.”

Upon hearing these words, Gu Yuhe’s pupils constricted, and a flicker of desperate struggle appeared in her beautiful eyes.

From childhood into adulthood, her senior sisters had always doted on her, shielding her from even a single lash.

She absolutely could not implicate her senior sisters; she would bear this burden alone!

“It… it was all me.”

Su Qin responded with a cold sneer, his icy laughter echoing through the grand hall, each reverberation like a dagger twisting within Gu Yuhe’s body.

All color drained from Gu Yuhe’s eyes; she lay motionless, consumed by despair, loneliness, and the strange, liberating relief that her suffering had finally reached its end.

‘The demon is truly invincible after all. This is fine; let it end like this…’

Su Qin did not strike, but instead lapsed into a gradual silence.

The timing was perfect; further assault would be counterproductive. Gu Yuhe’s confidence and self-respect had been utterly shattered, and it was time for a softer approach.

Just as Gu Yuhe’s heart turned to ashes, a warm, large hand gently stroked her head, causing the young woman to visibly flinch.

Su Qin carefully helped her upright, as if handling a piece of fragile jewelry.

Gu Yuhe’s eyes were wide with astonishment, unable to comprehend what was unfolding before her.

Su Qin’s hands continued their work: undergarments, inner robes, and outer garments were meticulously placed back on her, one by one. He then carefully tidied her disheveled hair.

The bra, however, remained discarded, as it was utterly superfluous.

‘Why?’

Gu Yuhe gazed at the man before her with a bewildered expression, a shiver running down her spine.

‘This must be another one of his perverse punishments. Master always engages in such strange behavior.’

Yet, as the candlelight flickered, a different image surfaced in her mind.

In a similarly dim light, she lay utterly exhausted from play, resting in her Master’s embrace, while he, by the same flickering lamp, meticulously mended her robe that had been snagged by branches.

She was utterly disoriented, a state almost more agonizing than death itself.

“You’re old enough to know better by now. Why are you still running wild with your senior sisters?” Su Qin remarked, his tone a mix of affection and gentle exasperation.

What Gu Yuhe feared most was implicating her senior sisters, and she yearned to deny his words.

But a voice deep within her urged her to accept his conclusion.

She no longer wished to bear this accusation, much like a child’s reluctance to tarnish their image in their parents’ eyes.

“No, it’s not…”

Her mind felt utterly chaotic, suddenly unable to discern right from wrong.

Su Qin offered no further coercion; instead, he gently took her small hand, and together they settled onto the grand throne.

This familiar posture triggered a cascade of further memories for her. Su Qin, for his part, secretly mused on the convenience of her small stature, taking up so little space.

The first step had been achieved: inducing cognitive dissonance.

Next came the second step: shaping her perception and solidifying their united front.

“You needn’t say anything, nor must you shoulder the blame for them. I raised you, and I know you are a good child.”

“Master…” Gu Yuhe’s small mouth slightly opened.

Since childhood, she had never entertained the thought of harming another. Her act of poisoning her Master had, in truth, been primarily an attempt to rescue her senior sisters.

Yes, she shouldn’t bear the crime of patricide. Her desire to poison her Master wasn’t for her own sake; this accusation shouldn’t be laid upon her.

Gu Yuhe’s inner resolve completely crumbled.

It had been so long since she had seen her Master so gentle. For some inexplicable reason, all she wanted now was to gaze upon his face and listen to his words.

“All of this is my fault, Master’s fault for doting on you too much.”

Su Qin let out a sigh, and a tremor ran through Gu Yuhe’s heart; her own spirits inexplicably dipped in response to his lament.

“Because you are different from your senior sisters, your nature is inherently kind. I never wished to treat you as I do my other disciples.”

‘It truly seems that way, doesn’t it?’

Master had never once punished her. Though her senior sisters often intervened, if Master had been truly set on punishing her, he would have done so.

Considering this, she truly was special.

‘Could it be… Master truly cherished her above all others?’

“It was also Master’s oversight, you know. Your senior sisters deeply envy you, even to the point of jealousy.”

‘Jealousy?’

Gu Yuhe sensed something was amiss, yet she couldn’t articulate what it was.

“Within the Demonic Sect, such inherent kindness is destined to be your undoing. That is why I, your Master, decided to temper you, so you might gain the ability to survive independently.”

“But I never anticipated that other disciples would seize the opportunity to sow discord, causing you to harbor so many misunderstandings about me.”

Gu Yuhe lowered her head, her expression unreadable.

Reflecting on it now, there were indeed inconsistencies.

Su Qin’s past torments, though etched deeply into her memory, had always pushed her precisely to the limits of her capabilities, and afterward, she invariably reaped immense benefits.

‘Could it be that Master truly had her best interests at heart, wishing only for her to mature more swiftly?’

“No, it’s not…”

Her senior sisters had always been so kind and caring towards her.

Gu Yuhe suddenly realized that the world she thought she knew had seemingly been turned completely upside down.

She gasped for breath like a dying person, utterly drained of vitality, her limbs twitching uncontrollably.

“That’s right, child, Master speaks the truth. You must accept reality.”

At precisely the right moment, Su Qin offered his warm embrace, his long, slender fingers gently stroking her soft hair.

Gu Yuhe’s eyes were clouded with confusion, yet her head, as if by muscle memory, instinctively nestled against his warm, comforting hand.