Volume One, Chapter Five: A Toxic Night Encounter, Lives Intertwined Between Life and Death

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At the West Wing of the Prince Qingya Mansion.
The secret guards moved with astonishing speed; before they returned, all her few belongings from her previous rented place had been restored here.
At this moment, Wen Shiyan sat on her bamboo bed, her back chilled with panic.
This was no prince’s residence—
It was a den of bandits.
Not far from her, Liang Jiang sat at the tea table, repeatedly sipping cup after cup of water.
From her vantage point, she could only see his profile.
“Third Prince?”
The effects of the aphrodisiac were gradually taking hold; Liang Jiang’s cheeks and neck flushed an unnatural red, and his breathing grew heavy.
Wen Shiyan silently thought, this is bad. She couldn’t stay in the same room with him any longer.
While he still retained some rationality, this was her last chance to slip away.
Her soft call scratched at his heart like an ant, causing veins to throb on Liang Jiang’s forehead.
He tugged at his collar irritably, and the surroundings blurred into an illusion, with only the figure leaning against the wall moving with distinct clarity.
“Ah Yan?”
Wen Shiyan didn’t expect him to approach.
Just as she stepped out, her waist was suddenly gripped.
She stumbled backwards, the door slammed shut before her eyes, and the last breath of cool air was shut outside.
Wen Shiyan swallowed, frozen stiff.
This was terrible—if anyone found out he had died beside her…
“Ah Yan.” Liang Jiang nuzzled her ear like a cunning cat.
Wen Shiyan was irritated, “Third Prince, calm down.”
“Ah Yan.” Liang Jiang murmured her name with persistence, as if drawing comfort from it. “There’s something wrong with the wine today.”
His mind was partly conscious, but barely.
He sensed what he was doing but could not control it.
Wen Shiyan pressed her dry lips together. “How could that be? You’re just drunk.”
“Hmph.”
That sound brushed her neck, making it tingle.
Liang Jiang scooped her up, his voice hoarse. “Were you trying to leave me just now?”
He carried her toward the bed.

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Wen Shiyan’s heart hammered wildly, her hands flailing against him. “You sober up. I won’t leave—you leave, okay?”
Soon, she was pushed onto the bed, and he followed.
“No, let’s talk through the night, like before.” Liang Jiang shifted uncomfortably, pulling the fleeing shadow back beneath him.
Wen Shiyan’s eyes reddened. Talk through the night? Do people talk while piled on top of each other?
She never expected such self-inflicted misery to come true; fate was never fair.
“Let me go!”
Smack!—
She struck with all her strength, yet failed to awaken the fire burning inside him. Instead, he seemed even more aroused.
Liang Jiang tilted his head, dazed for a moment, then gently kissed the tears from her cheek.
“I’m Ah Yan!”
Wen Shiyan struggled desperately, trying to snap him back to reality with her ‘husband’ identity.
But she was wrong.
Before her words finished, Liang Jiang seemed possessed, deeply kissing her lips, one hand clutching her neck, the other undoing her waistband.
His movements were anything but gentle, overlapping with the ruthless image of the third prince who had killed his father and brothers.
Half his clothes discarded, Liang Jiang suddenly paused, “No…”
No time for a second thought; the drug’s fierce effect surged again, assaulting his reason with even greater force.
His lower body felt like a ravenous beast, and before him lay a fat sheep dripping with blood.
That deadly desire clogged every pore, intoxicating yet agonizing, driving him to the brink of madness.
“Ugh!” Liang Jiang let out a low roar.
Wet but undefeated, he remained defiant.
He knelt down, his palm uncontrollably reaching forward.
Wen Shiyan’s legs were raised high, bound by humiliation and resentment.
Suddenly, the back of her head hit something hard.
She remembered that the neighborhood she once lived in was rife with thieves, so she had hidden a dagger under her pillow during that time.
Perfect! Wen Shiyan thought, quickly feeling for it.
She plunged the blade in.
Liang Jiang groaned in pain, his scattered soul briefly returning.
Seizing the moment as he stared down at the blade embedded in his shoulder blade, Wen Shiyan slipped free and shrank into a corner.
She should have pulled out the dagger then, but now she was at a disadvantage again.

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Frustrated, Wen Shiyan’s breath caught at his next move.
He grabbed the end of the dagger and twisted it slowly and fiercely.
The extreme pain pulled him back to his ‘human’ self; sweat poured down his forehead in heavy drops, his face contorted grotesquely, yet the corners of his mouth twitched into an uncontrollable grin.
It was no smile, but the pleasure born of near madness.
Self-harm?
He would rather hurt himself…
Wen Shiyan bit her lip hard, forcing herself not to feel pity.
Compared to the wounds he once inflicted on her by his hand, all this pain was but a mere trifle.
Liang Jiang gasped for breath, blood dripping steadily from the wound, disheveled and pitiful.
He seemed to suppress some of his lust, his gaze turning again toward the corner where she hid.
Wen Shiyan cautiously reached out, but all within reach was soft bedding, utterly defenseless.
Liang Jiang’s eyes glazed over for a moment; snapping back, he bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain keeping him from looking away or closing his eyes.
He forcefully threw the bedding over her, covering her completely.
Done with this, he rolled off the bed, his legs weak and trembling, barely able to support himself as he collapsed to the floor—like a mad dog about to commit vile acts.
Liang Jiang shook his head; sweat dripped from his hair onto his face like flames igniting.
No…
Wen Shiyan lifted a corner of the blanket, slowly moving to the foot of the bed, reaching for a vase on the windowsill.
Even if it couldn’t kill him outright, it would cause enough bleeding in his unconscious state to be fatal.
The shadows beneath the candlestick lengthened, a black shape stretching over Liang Jiang’s head.
“Ah… Yan.” His voice suddenly broke out, hoarse and strained.
Wen Shiyan’s knuckles whitened. She hesitated for two seconds, then decided not to respond.
Her arm raised high.
Liang Jiang knelt with his back to her. “Don’t be afraid, I…”
Her motion to strike froze mid-air, a tear slipped from her chin.
Just then, the door was flung open violently.