KyokaSuigetsu
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Chapter 34: The Branding
🕑 Added 2025-04-21 07:24:46 +0000 UTCBehind Ningli stood her entire tribe, all relying on her to gain favor with "Solon" so that their people might receive better treatment.
Though Ningli was petite, those slender shoulders bore the weight of her entire clan.
Feixiao, in contrast, had been born a war slave—thrown into battle as cannon fodder before even reaching adulthood. She felt no loyalty to any tribe, her heart set only on breaking free from her chains.
Thus, it came as no surprise that when faced with a choice, the two women made completely opposite decisions.
Even though she already knew the answer, Feixiao stubbornly kept her eyes locked on Ningli, as if unwilling to accept it until she heard the words herself.
Steeling her heart, Ningli leaned into Solon's embrace.
"Salen, I am His Majesty's slave—now and forever! I obey no one but my king!"
Finally, Feixiao received the answer she had dreaded, the one that shattered whatever hope remained within her.
Her heart splintered into countless pieces, the light in her bright eyes dimming into nothingness.
"Well said, my little fox! You deserve a reward!"
Solon gripped the back of Ningli's head and crushed his lips against hers in a brutal kiss. He sucked at her mouth greedily, as if determined to drain every last breath from her lungs.
When he finally pulled away, Ningli gasped for air like a drowning woman. A thin, silvery strand of saliva stretched between them before snapping.
Pleased, Solon made his decree.
"Ningli, I grant your tribe emancipation from slavery!"
Overjoyed, Ningli cried out, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Without needing to be told, she dropped to her knees in reverence.
"Hah—!"
Solon exhaled deeply after a long moment.
Ningli slowly rose, rubbing her sore knees before massaging her aching cheeks.
Having finished his appetizer, Solon cheerfully wheeled out a small cart laden with bottles, jars, and several brushes.
Some containers held dried remains of bizarre reptiles, others held unidentifiable plants, and a few were filled with mysterious powders. The whole collection looked like props for some sinister ritual.
After tinkering with the mixtures, Solon produced a small dish of semi-coagulated crimson gel.
A sense of foreboding suddenly pierced Feixiao's numbness.
"What are you doing?!"
Solon picked up the dish and a brush, approaching her with a vicious grin.
"Keh keh keh! My little fox has grown too wild. Time to give you a 'collar.'"
He held the dish of red gel in front of her.
"This is a cursed poison from the Dulan era."
Feixiao sneered.
"Trying to kill me? Don't bother with poison—just cut my head off!"
She jerked her chin toward a nearby weapon rack.
"Poison? After all the effort I've spent training you? I wouldn't dream of it." Solon leaned in, his breath hot against her ear. "This is a blessing... You'll see what kind soon enough."
His twisted smile sent chills down her spine. The dread in her heart grew heavier.
"Kill me, you spineless bastard!"
Feixiao resorted to crude insults, hoping to provoke him.
But her defiance only excited him further.
Wasn't this proof of her fear?
With a brush soaked in the strange pigment, Solon made the first stroke on Feixiao's smooth abdomen.
Immediately, a scorching sensation spread from the point of contact, burrowing deep beneath her skin. Before the burning faded, an unbearable itch took its place—like new flesh writhing beneath a wound.
The torment was too much. Feixiao thrashed violently, her toned waist twisting frantically to evade the brush. Clearly, she had trained those muscles well.
Her wild movements made it impossible for Solon to continue.
Her resistance enraged him.
He clenched his fist and drove it into her stomach.
"Stay still!"
The punch held no mercy. Feixiao's firm abdomen caved in under the blow, leaving a clear fist-shaped imprint when he pulled back.
For a moment, she felt like her organs had been crushed.
"Gah—!"
Blood sprayed from her lips as she slumped limply against the restraints.
An ordinary person would have been reduced to pulp by that strike. The fact that Feixiao only coughed up blood spoke volumes.
"Becoming an Emanator really does make you more durable~"
Solon chuckled darkly.
Perhaps influenced by his body, or perhaps because his inner beast had fully awakened, a savage impulse surged within him. He yearned to take a whip to Feixiao's body right then, to revel in her screams. How delightful they would sound!
"Hmph!"
Despite her weakness, Feixiao lifted her eyelids just enough to shoot him a contemptuous glare.
"Good, good! I love breaking stubborn ones like you!"
Solon laughed instead of growing angry.
He resumed painting the eerie design onto Feixiao's stomach.
With her unable to resist, Solon finished the last stroke unimpeded.
A grotesque symbol took shape—resembling a flattened heart, or perhaps the twisted outline of female anatomy.
As the final line was drawn, the pattern glowed briefly with a bloody light before drying instantly, searing into Feixiao's skin like a tattoo.
Solon pressed his palm against the mark, stroking it gently.
Feixiao shuddered violently. Heat radiated from his touch, seeping into her body. With every movement of his hand, a familiar, tingling pleasure stirred deep inside her.
The sensation terrified her—yet against her will, a thread of desire uncoiled in her heart.
Feixiao bit her tongue hard, using the pain to fight the unwanted arousal. Her voice was hoarse as she spat,
"Just get on with it! What are you waiting for?!"
"Patience. Soon, you'll be begging me. Let's see how tough your mouth is then."
Solon's grin turned monstrous as he channeled a surge of Abundance energy into the cursed sigil.
The mark flared with an ominous crimson glow.
Instantly, Feixiao felt as if fire had been lit inside her.
Burning. Tingling. Pleasure and pain erupted from her very core.
