The smells she had endured until now seemed insignificant compared to this stench, which pierced through her very core with just a whiff, stirring nausea so intense it felt as if her insides were being torn apart. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a dimly lit cavern filled with countless corpses and the cold chains binding her hands and feet.
“Hoho, you’ve awakened.”
The grating laughter of the Head Craftsman jolted her into consciousness.
The person she had viewed as merely an object of hatred just days ago now appeared as nothing less than a demon wearing the skin of a human.
“You… what have you done in this place?”
Atrocities no human should ever commit were all gathered here. Spreading her arms as if presenting an achievement, the woman spoke with pride.
“Experiments to advance, to become more perfect.”
A mad light poured from her eyes; it could barely be concealed by her mask.
Tang Seon Yeong bit her lip hard. She wanted nothing more than to tear the demon before her into a thousand pieces, but the chains restraining her limbs only deepened her helpless frustration.
“…You weren’t insane.”
“Hoho, that’s right. I’ve always been perfectly sane.”
“Yes. You were just… a demon, that’s all.”
No ordinary madman could commit such horrific acts. Only a demon who nurtured darkness within and was willing to shed their human form for their desires could commit such atrocities.
“To see the young lady who once cowered before me grow so poisonous, it seems time has indeed passed.”
The woman remarked with a mocking smile.
“That’s right. I’ve grown prettier, and you’ve become an old, ugly wretch.”
“Oh…?”
Her interjection carried a faint trace of irritation. Regardless of age, a woman always wishes to remain beautiful.
“Are you trying to provoke me?”
Jin Mi Yeon chuckled softly.
“Well, you’ve succeeded. I’m just a little… upset.”
And so.
“I suppose I’ll share something that will make you just as upset.”
Tang Seon Yeong scoffed.
“Hmph! I have no intention of letting someone like you toy with me any longer.”
She had spent her whole life dancing in the palm of those wrinkled hands. Even if it meant dying, she refused to be manipulated any further.
But Jin Mi Yeon paid no heed to her defiant attitude and began to speak.
“Do you think I brought you here to use you as a test subject? No, that’s not the case.”
Regrettably, Tang Seon Yeong had no choice but to listen.
“After your marriage arrangement was finalized, your value had already been determined. You were no longer someone I needed to concern myself with or someone worth conducting further experiments on.”
And yet.
“Why do you think I brought someone like you to this secret laboratory?”
Her words grew increasingly ominous.
“The reason is quite simple… it was to use you as bait.”
“What…?”
For the first time, Tang Seon Yeong, who had remained indifferent, couldn’t help but respond.
Bait? Was there anyone in the Tang clan for whom she could serve as a valuable hostage?
No. There wasn’t.
After her marriage arrangement had been finalized, she was treated as someone halfway out the door.
There was no one in the Tang clan who would risk their life to find her.
But then—
Ah!
Suddenly, the face and name of a certain man came to mind.
When her expression froze in shock, Jin Mi Yeon burst into loud laughter and replied,
“Hoho! That’s right. The person you’re thinking of right now is the one.”
There was only one person in the Tang clan who would stake their life to come looking for Tang Seon Yeong.
The Jade-Faced Divine Dragon Baek Woo Jin.
“The moment I first saw that man, I was completely captivated.”
Jin Mi Yeon, who had handled countless human bodies, recognized it instantly.
The powerful, solid, almost beautifully sculpted body hidden beneath his clothing.
“At my age, I couldn’t help but get excited like a fool. I wondered, what kind of expression would that man make if his flesh were cut open and his muscles torn apart?”
The thrill in her voice made it clear she wasn’t exaggerating.
In Tang Seon Yeong’s mind, she could see Baek Woo Jin lying on an experimental table with all of his organs ripped out and his lifeless body thrown away.
“Ha, don’t make me laugh…”
Feigning composure, she opened her mouth with a calm expression.
“Yes, it’s true that he and I share some positive feelings. But do you really think a fleeting connection from our youth would drive him to risk his life for me? How naive.”
Baek Woo Jin was a man of sharp judgment and a broad perspective. His decisiveness was admirable enough that one could entrust their life to him.
Thinking of him, she knew it wouldn’t take long for him to realize how reckless and absurd it would be to risk himself trying to save her.
And yet—
And yet, he would come for her. He would overcome countless trials to reach this place and appear before her.
Wasn’t she already captivated by that sight of him?
“Hoho! Unfortunately for you, he has already begun to move. I heard that the nanny desperately sought him out, begging him to save you.”
Tang Seon Yeong’s expression twisted in frustration.
The nanny was a woman who had lived her entire life in secrecy alongside her. She knew all her secrets and had become someone incapable of taking even a single step outside in order to protect her.
If the nanny had really ventured out, it could only mean one thing. Jin Mi Yeon had orchestrated everything to ensure that the nanny reached the distant guest room safely.
“You…!”
He was coming.
The mere thought of it made her heart swell uncontrollably, and for the first time, she despised herself for it.
Please, please…
She wished with all her might that he wouldn’t come. And yet, he would.
If I die…
Even if he arrived here, there was nothing he could do as long as she was held captive.
But if she died, leaving Jin Mi Yeon without a hostage, the enraged man would cut down that demon and find solace in avenging her.
She was terrified of death. After spending her life in a cage, she had finally dared to dream of a free and radiant future with him just within reach.
Even so, the reason she could resolve herself to die was simple. If he died because of her, she would have no reason to live either.
In that case, wouldn’t it be better for at least one of them to remain in this world?
As she smiled faintly in resignation, Jin Mi Yeon shouted urgently.
“You wretch!”
Jin Mi Yeon rushed toward her in a panic before forcibly prying open Tang Seon Yeong’s tightly closed mouth.
Her mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood. In that brief moment, she had bitten her tongue, determined to end her own life.
But she had failed. While her mouth was filled with blood, it wasn’t enough to bring her to death.
“Let go, let me go…!”
She screamed, spitting out the blood pooling in her mouth.
A wrinkled hand struck her cheek sharply.
Smack!
“To think you’d make it impossible to let our guard down for even a moment, you truly are remarkable.”
With those words, Jin Mi Yeon pulled out a pill from her sleeve and forcefully shoved it into her mouth.
As soon as she swallowed the pill, her entire body began to burn. In the depths of despair, an uncontrollable heat overcame her, turning her face a deep red.
“Hohoho! Soon enough, my dear, you’ll either become a lust-crazed lunatic or a complete wreck.”
Tang Seon Yeong realized the strange changes overtaking her body.
The aphrodisiac that had saturated her entire system was no longer seeping outward but was now invading inward instead.
“Here, take this.”
Jin Mi Yeon forced another pill into her mouth. Almost immediately, the overpowering heat engulfing her body began to subside, as if it had never been there.
“This pill temporarily stops the spread of the aphrodisiac.”
Tang Seon Yeong who was now panting heavily glared at Jin Mi Yeon with fiery eyes.
“Just kill me already…”
Her words came out as a desperate plea, but they fell on deaf ears.
“I am planning to make a deal with this man, and I will use you as a means for that.”
“……”
“I’m quite curious to see what decision he’ll make.”
Her consciousness began to fade into the distance.
***
“Hohoho!”
“Ah… no…!”
Before she could finish her sentence, she closed her eyes and let her head droop.
“Very well.”
With a voice filled with elation, the deal was sealed.
At Jin Mi Yeon’s snap of her fingers, two slender women emerged from the shadows.
They were one of the reasons Baek Woo Jin couldn’t make a rash move.
One of them approached Tang Seon Yeong while the other one walked over to Baek Woo Jin and held out a hand. In their open palm was a pill no bigger than a finger’s segment.
“If you take this, we’ll administer the antidote to the young lady.”
Baek Woo Jin accepted the pill without resistance.
“Just so we’re clear.”
The icy gaze he directed at Jin Mi Yeon froze her in place, leaving her unable to move.
“It would be best if you didn’t lie. Judging by how heated you are to use me as a test subject, I’m guessing it’s a priority for you. But I can end my own life at any moment.”
“If you don’t want to lose your test subject in vain, you’d better stick to your promise.”
It was a bold bluff.
If someone else had said it, Jin Mi Yeon might have dismissed it as an act. But she couldn’t dismiss his words so easily.
His sharp gaze, as if it could cut if touched, burned with an eerie light. It was a fire that seemed to confirm that there was not an ounce of falsehood in his words.
“An uncooperative test subject is never efficient. You needn’t worry. Since I’ve invoked the term ‘deal’, I’ll stake my life on keeping my word.”
Though twisted and warped, his tone carried a strong conviction.
After receiving a clear answer, Baek Woo Jin swallowed the pill without hesitation. It slid down his throat, and not long after it entered his body, its effects began to manifest.
The internal energy coursing through his body gathered entirely in his dantian. Then, as if determined to ensure it could never circulate again, it was firmly sealed.
“It’s Nobleman’s Pill. I made it myself. Isn’t it remarkably effective?”
To a martial artist, internal energy was both lifeblood and life force. A wellspring of confidence that allowed them to walk with pride.
Many who once shouted about honor and righteousness had fallen to their knees in despair after taking this pill. They pitifully begged for their lives and pleaded endlessly.
For that reason, Jin Mi Yeon was curious. How would Baek Woo Jin react?
“Oh, it works well. My internal energy is completely sealed.”
“Ha…!”
He was surprisingly calm. In a relaxed tone, he even praised the effects of the pill, as if the sealing of his internal energy posed no threat to him.
Just as he said, she was growing increasingly uneasy. And the more Baek Woo Jin revealed his true nature, the more pronounced that unease became.
Jin Mi Yeon gestured to the woman standing by Tang Seon Yeong’s side, signaling her to give the antidote.
In Jin Mi Yeon’s mind, Tang Seon Yeong had become as good as nonexistent. At that moment, her thoughts were consumed only with the idea of exploring every inch of his body and cooling the heat that surged within her.
“Escort the young lady to her quarters. Treat her with utmost courtesy.”
The woman carried Tang Seon Yeong on her back as she walked past Baek Woo Jin.
From her position on the woman’s back, Tang Seon Yeong’s eyes fluttered open slightly. As their gazes brushed past each other, Baek Woo Jin offered her a bright, reassuring smile.
It was as if to say, don’t worry at all, just wait.
And so she safely left the secret laboratory.
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