As dawn broke faintly, Fang Yuan woke up.
The early morning and late night were always the coldest times of the day. Gusts of chilly wind blew, leaving Fang Yuan with no desire to sleep any longer.
The first thing he did upon waking was glance at Bai Ningbing beside him.
This time, she hadn't tried to escape again. Instead, she was shivering uncontrollably, curled up tightly—clearly unable to withstand the current temperature.
After all, her clothes had all been torn to shreds by Fang Yuan.
So she could only sleep naked in the wilderness, unable to rest properly.
On top of that, her body was covered in dried mud, and she reeked of urine—hardly inspiring any interest in toying with her.
Thus, Fang Yuan hoisted Bai Ningbing onto his shoulder, walked to the edge of the rocky cliff, nimbly leaped and shifted a few times to reach the sandy beach below, and headed straight toward the riverbank.
The intense movement caused Bai Ningbing to wake groggily.
As soon as she came to, she felt the violent jostling and, unsure of what was happening, instinctively struggled a few times—but to no avail.
Reaching the river, Fang Yuan set her down, cupped some river water in his hands, and splashed it on his face to refresh himself.
Bai Ningbing had only just fully awakened and hadn't yet figured out the situation.
Suddenly, Fang Yuan grabbed her and dunked her into the river.
The early morning river water was extremely cold—bone-chillingly icy.
Bai Ningbing thrashed violently, like a fish yanked onto dry land.
But Fang Yuan paid no mind, treating her like an object to be cleaned as he vigorously scrubbed and rubbed her body.
His slightly calloused palms scraped back and forth across her skin.
After washing like this for several minutes,
Bai Ningbing's struggles gradually weakened, her movements growing smaller until she stopped resisting altogether.
Worried she might freeze to death, Fang Yuan pulled her out of the water.
The once filthy Bai Ningbing was now scrubbed completely clean. Her delicate skin, glistening with water droplets, made her look even more alluring.
"Hmm, that's more like it. At least now you're barely worth looking at," Fang Yuan commented, appraising the cleaned-up Bai Ningbing.
On any other day, Bai Ningbing would probably have cursed him out.
But now, frozen until her entire body was red and trembling nonstop, she didn't want to say a word.
It was simply too cold, too miserable.
"Cold?" Fang Yuan leaned down and asked her.
Bai Ningbing turned her head slightly, glaring at him before fixing him with an angry stare.
In response, Fang Yuan immediately dunked her back into the water, holding her until she was nearly at her limit before pulling her up again.
"Huff... huff..."
Bai Ningbing gasped desperately for fresh air. Being submerged in the icy water was excruciating.
Though unwilling in her heart, to avoid further suffering, she no longer dared to show defiance.
Seeing his method was working, Fang Yuan continued: "Bai Ningbing, remember this well. Your fearlessness of death means nothing to me—I can make you wish you were dead. Now, I ask you: are you willing to submit to me? To obey any command I give?"
Faced with the threat, Bai Ningbing gritted her teeth and spat out three words.
"You... can... forget it!"
Without hesitation, Fang Yuan pressed her into the water again.
"Mmmph... glug glug..."
Bai Ningbing thrashed in the water, while Fang Yuan remained coldly indifferent.
Earlier, through Heaven's Will permeating the entire Gu world, he had discovered that because he had raped Bai Ningbing, the arrangements of the ten venerables had begun to shift noticeably.
New measures were being deployed; some old ones were being eliminated or modified.
This told him he needed to act even more ruthlessly and decisively, without appearing overly obsessed with lust.
So Fang Yuan planned to use some methods to force Bai Ningbing into submission as quickly as possible.
Even false submission would suffice.
The current Bai Ningbing still hadn't grasped the harshness of reality; she remained highly resistant and stubborn. Only by utterly crushing her bottom line and dignity—making her realize resistance was meaningless—could he possibly make her choose submission.
Though it wouldn't be genuine, it would at least allow him to use her temporarily.
It wasn't that Fang Yuan truly expected great help from her; it was mainly to mislead the ten venerables, convincing them that their deductions via the River of Time were correct—that they knew the general outline of what Fang Yuan was experiencing, and everything was under their control.
With this in mind, Fang Yuan pulled Bai Ningbing from the water once more.
"Submit?"
Still the same cold question.
"You... you... forget it!"
After another prolonged dunking, Bai Ningbing was clearly much weaker—her skin turning from red to pale, her voice feeble—but she remained defiant, refusing to yield.
As he pressed her into the water again, Fang Yuan pondered: "It seems physical pain alone won't break her. I need a different approach."
"Bai Ningbing isn't afraid of death, so threats of killing her—the usual tactic—won't work. She has no one she cares about, so threatening others is pointless. Beating her severely would be even less effective."
"What a hassle."
Dealing with someone who feared neither death, nor had attachments, nor pain—Fang Yuan couldn't think of many ways to handle her.
After racking his brains, he finally came up with one.
Bai Ningbing refused submission because she found it humiliating.
If he could make her realize that not submitting would be even more humiliating—choosing the lesser of two evils—she would know what to do.
With this idea, Fang Yuan quickly pulled Bai Ningbing from the water, rushed to the beach, took out flint to start a fire for warmth, and covered her with bedding.
Feeling much warmer, Bai Ningbing looked at Fang Yuan in confusion.
Fang Yuan gave her a gentle smile: "Ningbing, are you wondering why I tormented you just now, only to suddenly treat you kindly?"
Seeing his warm smile, Bai Ningbing thought for a moment and nodded.
So Fang Yuan began to explain slowly.
"Ningbing, do you know? From the very first moment I saw you, I fell in love with you—even when you were still a man."
"But I knew the gap between us was too vast. You had a ten-extreme physique, while I was merely C-grade aptitude. So I did everything in my power to grow stronger, and in the process, I discovered Gu Yue First Gen in the village and learned of his plan."
"Thus, I used him to turn you into a woman and elevate my own aptitude to A-grade."
"Through all my schemes, I finally obtained you."
"But you were never willing to be with me, so I had no choice but to use every method to keep you by my side."
"Yet your unyielding will made me understand."
"No matter how I forced you—even threatening death—you would never submit."
"So, I will make it so you have no choice but to be with me."
"I will cripple your cultivation, chop off your limbs, turn you into a human stick, and keep you by my side forever—occasionally slicing meat from your body to eat."
"That way, even if our hearts cannot be together, our flesh will be forever united."
"What do you think, Ningbing?"
Fang Yuan drew a cleaver, smiling as he approached her.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared on Bai Ningbing's face.
In all her life, she had never encountered someone so twisted.
The thought of Fang Yuan turning her into a limbless torso and regularly carving flesh from her to eat filled her with terror.
"Fang Yuan... you... you said you loved me? How could you do this to me?" Bai Ningbing said in panic and fear.
"Yes, I love you deeply. But since you're unwilling to be with me, this is my only option."
"If you are willing, we can travel southern border together, becoming an enviable immortal couple. Then, I would naturally cherish and pamper you with everything I have."
"But since you're not, I'll have to turn you into a human stick and keep you with me."
Fang Yuan's tone carried regret as he stroked the sharp blade.
Bai Ningbing finally understood.
If she didn't submit, she would likely be reduced to a human stick—and have meat sliced from her daily to be eaten.
Such a life was utterly horrifying.
The idea of submitting to Fang Yuan had already taken root in her mind, but she decided to wait a bit longer—perhaps this cunning old fox was bluffing.
But before she could think further, Fang Yuan swung the cleaver down onto her thigh.
Blood sprayed instantly.
"Ah!!!"
The searing pain from her thigh convinced Bai Ningbing that Fang Yuan was serious.
If she didn't submit now, her leg would be gone.
And soon after, he'd probably cook and eat it.
"Stop!!!"
"Fang Yuan, I'm willing to be with you."
Faced with this mad, perverted Fang Yuan, Bai Ningbing chose false submission—for now—planning to kill him when the chance arose.
"You should have said so earlier. Look, you're bleeding now—it breaks my heart." Fang Yuan set the bloodied cleaver down, took out some hemostatic medicine, and applied it to her wound.
The gash was long—about three or four cun (several inches)—so blood flowed quickly. In just ten-odd seconds, her entire thigh was covered in it.
Fortunately, having experienced many life-and-death battles, Bai Ningbing could endure this level of pain.
After a few minutes,
Fang Yuan finished applying the medicine and bandaged her leg, concluding the treatment.
Bai Ningbing was about to say something when she saw Fang Yuan pick up the bloodstained cleaver and lightly lick the blood from the blade.
"Ningbing, your blood is truly delicious." Fang Yuan's tongue and lips stained red, he grinned at her.
Bai Ningbing felt that this Fang Yuan was utterly terrifying. She had to find a way to escape soon.
Otherwise, she might break down completely.