"It's not hard to commit a crime. The hardest part is to stop committing it once you're used to it."

Bazhe to Lingyu—A Hymn of High Demons

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Standing there and watching the General's back fade into the darkness, every rational thought fled my mind. My gaze fell onto the coins lying on the dirty floor to the open door, and finally to the sword buckled to the waist of a soldier.

Bastard. Bastard. Bastard.

Coldness enveloped every part of me, urging me to bend down and retrieve the money, to leave the court and follow Lord Hua.

Why should I? I couldn't stop him even if I wanted to.

The woman Lord Hua had just assaulted suddenly walked up to my table, gave me a shaky nod, and started clearing the table. With still-trembling hands, she swept the china onto a steel tray, but she accidentally knocked over the teapot. It fell onto the ground with a loud smash, jagged pieces of porcelain scattering everywhere.

She let out a soft cry of despair, knelt down, and gathered the broken pieces. In her haste, she cut her finger, and blood splattered the dust-coated floor.

A flare of coldness shot through my body as the sharp, coppery smell of blood hit me. I knelt beside the woman and helped her clean up the mess.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She looked so tired. Her cheeks were hollowed, and her eyes were devoid of hope. Too plain to be a pleasure-woman, she was cast to the kitchens where she would spend the rest of her live serving the Imperials, enduring her suffering in silence.

Blood was still dripping from the cut on her palm.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"Take care, sister." I straightened up, grabbed the coins off the table, and left the hut.

The Pavilion was a large and luxurious building near the Jade Palace, founded and paid for by the first Imperial family. It was their promise to their generals and allies—to sate their desires and keep them in line. The Pavilion was shaped like a pagoda, boasting ten levels. Tassels covered in glitter hung from the rafters, and pleasure girls hung out at the balconies, waving their silk handkerchiefs and giggling so loud, they could be heard from a mile away.

I stood at the arched doorway of the building, staring at the black sign which proclaimed its name in glory. Once, I had stood here, my tiny frame shadowed by the people around me, discussing my worth.

I'd expected to feel fear, but I was dangerously calm. There were no palpitating heartbeats, no shortness of breaths. I was aware of the women swathed in perfume dancing around me, their arms looped around their clients as they went into their respective rooms, the sound of money clinking onto tables and being exchanged, and the thick smell of dragonwood swathing the entire ground floor.

I was a drop of oil in a pool of water.

My eyes fell onto Lord Hua, who was engaged in a conversation with Mama Ruga by the staircase, away from the common room where scantily-clad women entertained the men with dances and songs.

I inched closer toward them, making sure I was well-hidden behind the door frame. Mama Ruga was laughing, covering her mouth with a red silk handkerchief in an attempt to make her appear more feminine.

"We have a new girl, yes." My enhanced hearing picked up their conversation. "Very young and not yet tarnished. I think you'll love her."

Lord Hua's breath hitched, and I could already imagine the greedy gleam in his eyes.

"Five-hundred Gold Credits for the lass," he groused. "She is mine."

I didn't have to even think. My feet knew where to go. No-one stopped to ask where I was going, for they were too caught up in their endeavors.

Second floor, the small room on the right.

This was where Mama Ruga kept all the rich silk dresses and jewelry, reserved for the highest tier of pleasure ladies and gents. I pulled open a wardrobe and pulled out a gold dress with thin shoulder straps—ones that could be jerked loose with a single tug. There were a dresser and a full-bodied bronze mirror at the end of the room.

Ensuring the door was bolted shut, I changed back into Qara. I slid into the dress, its softness bringing out the curves and bumps in my body, and I let my hair fall down my shoulders, enough to give a tease. I brushed pearl-white powder across my face, finishing it with black xian across the eyelids and blood-red lips.

I finished the look by wedging my scalpel in between my bare skin and my chemise. Then, I gave myself a radiant smile in the mirror.

The Erdenese had a name for people like me—NüYao. Piercingly beautiful, devastating to near. A woman beautiful enough to seduce thousands to their downfall and then bask in their sorrows. I was never considered lovely enough to be called a NüYao.

But now, I was one. And I wasn't afraid to own the name.

I made my way up to the third floor. I was certain the new girl was held in the Red Room, a luxurious chamber where "debut nights" were carried out. No one was allowed near the Red Room whenever there was a new addition to the Pavilion, but we could hear the terrified screams of the girl inside even when we were five floors down.

But not tonight.

Softly, I pushed open the door of the Red Room and entered. A girl dressed in a sky-blue silk dress sat on the bed, her eyes wide and her hands trembling. She let loose a small scream when she saw me and scrabbled to the other side of the bed.

The hand around my heart gave it a tight squeeze, and I stalled.

She was just a child, like I was when I was trapped in this very room.

"Forgive me." I threw back the muslin curtains. The girl opened her mouth to scream, but I hurled a Whisper in her direction.

Sleep. You shall not wake until I command so.

Her mind was as open and clear as a green meadow on a windy day. My Whispering hit her right in the consciousness. Her eyes snapped shut, and she fell backward onto the pillows.

This was for the best. No child should endure what I went through.

I lifted her body off the bed and hid her in the wardrobe. Then, I assumed her position. I drew the curtains around the bed to create an air of mystery, so when Lord Hua entered, all he saw was a silhouette kneeling on the bed. I also made sure my back was slightly bent. Fear, that was the smell Lord Hua loved the most.

My heart pounded in my chest, and I pressed a hand on it, feeling it beat against my flesh. I couldn't tell if it was anticipation or fear, or a mix of both. Vengeance was so near, tilted at the edge of my tongue, and it tasted victorious.

Footsteps. I held my breath as the door swung open and Lord Hua entered the chamber.

"Ah," he sighed. "Muslin curtains. You sure do like to tease me."

Click. There was the sound of the door being bolted shut—the sound I'd been waiting for. Grommets clinked as he pushed back the curtains and gazed at me. I gave him a sweet and suggestive smile, licking my lips ever so slowly.

The man froze as his eyes took in the stately curve of my body, the richness of my hair as it fanned across the pillow, and his eyes bulged.

"You look a lot older than I was told," he finally drew out the words.

I pouted. "Am I not good enough for you, my Lord?"

"N-no," he stuttered. "High Immortals, you're so beautiful."

Lust seeped from his pores like sweat. It perforated the room, evident in his trembling, impatient hands as he tore off his shirt and his breeches. His sword lay discarded on the ground as he removed the last of his clothing and crawled next to me.

He gasped as I straddled him, my hands against his chest.

"You're a wild one," he chuckled. "Rarely do I have someone as eager as you on their debut night."

"I heard you like it rough." I traced his brow with a finger.

He chuckled. "You've got that right."

I leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"And I've heard you like pain."

He tried to sit up. "Wha-"

I drew the long pin from my hair and jammed it into his right eye.

Blood exploded. Hua screamed, but I stuffed a corner of the blanket into his mouth. He writhed and struggled, trying to throw me off, but I was stronger, stronger than he ever would be. I kept his torso pinned down with my legs. Adrenaline surged through my body was I soaked in his pain. Hearing his muffled shrieks made the hair on the back of my neck stand. Not in fear, but in relish.

With one hand, I held him down. My other hand ripped Qara's face from mine.

"Hello, Lord Hua." I smiled. "Do you remember me?"

The burly general froze, as though he had forgotten how to move.

"You." His splutter was barely intelligible through the gag. "I thought you were dead. I burned you."

"Take a good long look at me, General." I let the words fall slow. "I want you to memorize my face, to see what you did to it. I want this face to be the last thing you'll ever see."

His eyes widened. I tasted his fear, and I wanted more. More. I wanted him to feel the terror he had caused me, to experience the pain as my skin cracked open in the coals, and the fire entered my veins. Most of all, I wanted him to bathe in the humiliation of being helpless at the hands of a slave.

Yes, Hua. Struggle. Struggle with every ounce of energy left in your body.

There was a wet squelch as I pulled the pin free and drove it into his other eye.

That was for my family, and this was for myself.

"Did you feel that, Hua?" I whispered as I scratched his chest gently with my fingernails, running it down to his crotch. Still writhing, his hands went up to his eyes, screaming into the scrunch of cloth in his mouth.

My grin was wide enough to tear my face into two as I reached into my dress for my scalpel.

This was it—the moment I'd been waiting for my entire life. I had imagined this scenario hundreds of times, running it over and over in my head, wondering what it felt like to be able to destroy him. Would I feel happy? Overwhelmed? Scared?

Can you do it? my inner voice whispered. Can you kill a human being, Sarna?

I gazed down at the naked man lying in front of me. He looked pathetic.

Isn't this why I came here for? I answered. To kill the crown prince?

He's not the crown prince, the voice said.

I smiled. Does it matter? He works for the Imperials. They're all the same.

The power of execution was in my hands. Hands trembling with excitement, I removed the sheath of my scalpel, and brought it down with one quick swipe, cutting off the man's most prized possession.

The color of vengeance was striking against the gold of my clothes and the brown of his flesh, splattering the sheets, the bed, and the curtains.

The shriek tearing Hua's vocal chords was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.

I pressed my blade against the soft flesh of his pulsing throat. The Imperial General of Erden was sobbing, his hands clutching the pitiful stump of what used to be his greatest pride.

"Remember his, Lord Hua." I brushed my lips against his ears. "You were killed by a slave."

I slashed his throat open, and laid down next to him, watching the life bleed out of his eyes. I was bathed in his blood, but surprisingly, it didn't disgust me one bit. I had dealt with fresh corpses where I had failed to remove their faces properly, and I'd be covered in stale blood. It prepared me for this day—the day where I had claimed my first life.

And it was glorious.

Perhaps it was the fact that he was an affiliate of the Imperials that made the killing easier. I couldn't imagine myself torturing and then murdering a little child, like how Hua had. They were innocent, but none of these people were. From the slavers to the Imperials, they had a river of blood staining their hands. These people deserve more than a gruesome death to atone them of what they had done to this empire and its people.

I laid down beside the corpse of the man who had robbed me of my innocence a bit longer, taking in his ruined eyes and body. He'd never be able to hurt another child or woman again. Never ever.

I smiled.

I'll see you again in the Eighteen Hells, Lord Hua of Erden.