Chapter 286: Malicious Humiliation

Chapter 286: Malicious Humiliation

Jiang Shuning naturally refused, gritting her teeth and forcing out two words from the depths of her throat: "Shameless!"

Immediately, she struggled with all her might.

But she was pinned tightly against the cold, rough stone wall, unable to move at all.

Xiao Lingchuan paid no heed to her resistance; instead, he leaned down, his scorching breath spraying across her face, carrying a shudder-inducing malice.

"If you won't let me kill him, then I have to make him utterly despair!" His voice was pressed extremely low, like a lover's whisper, yet the words he uttered were steeped in deadly poison. "From now on, he won't overestimate himself and try to take you from my side again!"

"Don't speak so high-and-mighty!" Jiang Shuning's eyes blazed with fire, her voice trembling with anger, "You're clearly just satisfying your own sick pleasure!"

At this, Xiao Lingchuan let out a low laugh. The vibration of his chest transmitted through their pressed bodies, sending a chill of revulsion through Jiang Shuning.

"If that's how my wife wants to see it, then let it be so."

As his words fell, his bony fingers reached directly under her skirt.

Jiang Shuning froze, shame and terror overwhelming her senses.

She abruptly turned her head and bit down hard on his shoulder.

Her teeth sank into flesh, and she tasted a hint of blood.

He winced in pain, but instead of pulling away, his fingers grew even more reckless, as if punishing her fierce resistance.

"Since my wife has bitten me," his voice took on a dangerous hoarseness, "then I have no choice but to repay her in kind."

As his voice faded, he lowered his head and bit down mercilessly on her pale, delicate neck.

A sharp sting shot through her, and Jiang Shuning couldn't help letting out a cry of pain.

This short, shrill scream pierced through the darkness of the cave like a venomous blade, striking precisely into Xiao Huaijin's heart.

"Please... let Miss Jiang go! I'll give you anything you want!" Xiao Huaijin's eyes were bloodshot, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

He was pinned to the ground by two tall masked men, unable to move. All he could do was beg in a hoarse voice, every word laced with blood and tears.

In response, the masked men around him burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Prince Ning, our boss just wants to have some fun with Miss Jiang right now. Even if you offered a mountain of gold and silver, it wouldn't matter, hahaha!"

These words, like a bucket of ice water, snuffed out the last spark of hope in Xiao Huaijin's heart.

He had been pampered since childhood, a favored son of heaven. Everything he desired, his mother and uncle would pave the way and place it before him.

He had never known what it meant to seek something and fail, or to be powerless.

It wasn't until he met Jiang Shuning that he learned the pain of loving someone unrequited.

And now, he tasted the heart-wrenching agony of watching his beloved suffer humiliation while he could do nothing. This despair was more terrifying than death itself.

Inside the cave, Xiao Lingchuan clearly heard Xiao Huaijin's anguished screams and desperate pleas from outside.

The corner of his mouth curled into a cruel, satisfied smile.

He leaned close to Jiang Shuning's ear, speaking in a voice meant only for her, maliciously whispering: "Wife, that scream just now was good. Scream a few more times, and my fifth brother will soon go mad!"

His venomous words, like a slimy snake, slithered into Jiang Shuning's ears, churning her insides.

A violent spasm seized her stomach. She couldn't help it—she retched dryly at the man before her.

Xiao Lingchuan was savoring the pleasure of revenge, but he suddenly sensed something wrong.

He stopped all movements, his expression shifting dramatically. His mocking eyes turned sharp in an instant.

"What's wrong with you?"

His sudden concern startled Jiang Shuning.

Instinctively, she tried to hide it, pushing down the nausea and saying coldly, "Xiao Lingchuan, you make me sick!"

These words bit deeper than her earlier bite and hurt him even more.

Xiao Lingchuan's face turned extremely ugly in an instant.

It was just a little punishment for his fifth brother, who had everything handed to him since birth, and she was repulsed to this extent?

A flicker of sinister anger ignited in his eyes, as if the air in the cave froze.

"The act is over. Let's go out!" Xiao Lingchuan abruptly released her, his voice cold as ice, carrying an undeniable authority.

He quickly put his mask back on, covering his sinister face, and then lifted Jiang Shuning into his arms without hesitation.

His arms, like iron, squeezed her waist so tightly it caused her pain and made it hard to breathe.

Jiang Shuning bit her lower lip, enduring the physical discomfort, her brows furrowed, humiliation and hatred flashing in her eyes.

He leaned down, his threatening breath brushing her cheek like a cold blade: "If you show even the slightest flaw in front of Xiao Huaijin, don't blame me for taking his life."

She lowered her eyes, suppressing her fear and resentment, and replied softly, "I understand."

When Xiao Huaijin saw Jiang Shuning in the arms of the man at the cave entrance, his world came crashing down.

Her clothes were disheveled beyond recognition, a few strands of hair stuck messily to her flushed cheeks. But most glaring of all was the deep red bite mark on her slender, fragile neck.

That mark branded itself onto his heart like a hot iron, making it impossible for him to breathe.

Remorse and guilt overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.

"Miss Jiang..." His voice was hoarse beyond recognition, every word a jagged rock forced from his throat. "It's me... who harmed you..."

All his usual dignity and composure were gone, leaving only wretchedness and endless guilt.

Xiao Lingchuan, still masked, let out a contemptuous snort, deliberately rubbing salt in the wound: "Yes, Prince Ning. If you hadn't been so reckless, insisting on bringing such a beautiful lady to this godforsaken place, how would you have run into my brothers and me?"

His voice, muffled by the mask, sounded dull and mocking, "If you can't protect her, don't try to play the hero. That's no different from pushing her into the fire yourself."

Xiao Huaijin's eyes were bloodshot, fixed on the man. Ignoring the gut-wrenching mockery, he asked, word by word, "Now, can you release Miss Jiang?"

"Release her?" Xiao Lingchuan laughed as if he'd heard the funniest joke, his laughter echoing through the wilderness. "Alright, kneel down and kowtow to me three times, and I'll think about it."

At these words, Jiang Shuning, still trapped in his arms, suddenly raised her head. Her almond-shaped eyes blazed with fury as she glared at him.

This bastard!

How could he do this?

She struggled, but Xiao Lingchuan's arm tightened around her like an iron vise, leaving her unable to move.

At that moment, Xiao Huaijin's spine, which had always been straight, actually bent.

With a dull thud, his knees hit the hard, gravelly ground.

The muffled sound made her heart tremble.

Without hesitation, he lowered his head and banged his forehead into the dust—once, twice, three times.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Each blow landed like a heavy hammer on Jiang Shuning's heart.

She watched the man who had been as noble and unsullied as the bright moon kneel in the mud and kowtow to Xiao Lingchuan, who was disguised as a bandit.

His dignity and pride were shattered, trampled into the dirt.

An unspeakable hatred erupted from the depths of her soul, coiling around her innards like poisonous vines.

She hated Xiao Lingchuan!

Hated his vileness, his shamelessness!

Even more, she hated that she was carrying the child of a man rotten to the core!

Xiao Huaijin raised his head, his forehead already swollen and smeared with dust, looking utterly miserable.

But he didn't care. He only looked at Xiao Lingchuan with bloodshot, pleading eyes. "Is this... enough? Please, let Miss Jiang go!"

Yet, his humiliating plea only invited deeper malice.

At the sight of Xiao Huaijin like this, Xiao Lingchuan curled a triumphant smirk beneath his mask.

"Tsk, Prince Ning sure kneels fast, no hesitation at all. Seems like royal blood isn't so special after all," he drawled lazily, his words dripping with contempt and mockery. "Too bad I'm never a man of my word."

He paused, then pronounced his cruel verdict, word by word: "Even if you kowtow till you die, I'm not giving this beauty back to you!"

"You—!" Xiao Huaijin's eyes nearly split in rage, a roar of a trapped beast tearing from his throat.

If she weren't being physically restrained, Jiang Shuning had no doubt that Xiao Huaijin would have charged at him and fought to the death.

But Xiao Lingchuan didn't spare him another glance. Holding Jiang Shuning, he turned and walked away.

"Let her go! You despicable coward! Come back!" Xiao Huaijin's desperate cries and curses followed behind them, filled with heart-wrenching agony.

Jiang Shuning was trembling all over—not from fear, but from raging fury.

She bit her lip hard, refusing to look back.

She was afraid—afraid that if she saw that man, as pure as a clear breeze and bright moon, dragged into the abyss by her, his dignity shattered beyond repair, she would go mad.