Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Chapter 3, Part 1

A cup of murky, dark red tea was placed before her.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, carrying a stifling stillness that seemed to halt the very air.

Looking at the unnaturally thick, crimson liquid in the cup, Lin Chenxin's heart pounded wildly.

All the bizarre, unsettling premonitions reached their peak at this moment.

She pressed her lips tightly together, her fingers gripping the teacup with force, unsure whether to drink it or not.

Though there was no sound around her, the silence was heavy with an oppressive gloom, like silent pressure and a wordless urging.

After a moment, Lin Chenxin took a deep breath, her expression resolute.

Having come this far, bottoms up!

She downed the tea in one gulp, swallowing back the surge of a fishy, metallic taste, but her pupils trembled uncontrollably.

An emotionless voice came from above.

"Whether you can endure this or not, the Chen family will ensure you are taken care of."

What did that mean!

Lin Chenxin jerked her head up, but her stomach churned with nausea.

The tea she had just swallowed surged uncontrollably up her throat. She opened her mouth, but what she vomited out was thick, dark blood.

This tea... it's poisoned!

She reached out a hand, her eyes reddening as she tried to see the people in front of her clearly, but her swaying bridal veil blocked her vision.

In the end, her hand fell powerlessly onto the cold floor.

The three people sitting in the front hall all lowered their eyes, watching the collapsed Lin Chenxin with detached indifference. Their three faces, shrouded in shadow, appeared like specters from hell at that moment.

—

Lin Chenxin thought she saw her parents.

But her parents were staring at her in shock, gesturing frantically for her to leave.

Her heart was filled with the joy of returning to her parents' side. She couldn't hear clearly what they were saying, only pouring out all the hardships of these years and her longing for them.

Slowly, her mother embraced her, and her father also reached out, stroking her hair, his heart aching.

Lost in the reunion, she suddenly thought of something and, as if possessed, blurted out that she was married.

Her mother froze for a second, then immediately took off her shoe and started spanking her bottom. Her father was also momentarily stunned, but seeing her get hit, he instinctively stepped in front of her.

Lin Chenxin felt both pain and a perverse sense of satisfaction, thinking it had been so long since she'd been spanked like this.

"Dad, Mom, I missed you so much."

She stood there motionless, her eyes growing moist as she looked at their faces.

Her parents' eyes were reddening, but her mother still didn't pull her punch, giving her a hard smack.

"If someone bullies you, don't you come crying!"

She wouldn't be that weak!

A sharp slap made her mind go blank.

A flash of white light. She gasped, her eyes flying open as she sat bolt upright in bed like a corpse.

Silence all around. Her senses snapped back instantly.

Looking at the unfamiliar furnishings, a heavy, hollow feeling of loss pressed down on her heart.

She rubbed her temples and sighed, suddenly feeling excessively cold. A chill seeped inch by inch into her body, like ice penetrating the cracks of her bones.

Only then did she notice how profoundly dark the room was. The doors and windows were tightly shut. She couldn't tell if it was still dark outside or if all light was blocked by the heavy curtains.

She raised a hand to touch her lips. Dried blood had caked there, with a persistent, fishy stench.

Other than that, she felt no particular discomfort, except for one thing—she was ravenously hungry.

She glanced at the wedding dress she was wearing, pulling the collar tighter around her neck as she felt a chill. Just as she was about to throw back the covers and get out of bed, the dragging *clank* of chains sounded from outside the door.

In the silent darkness, the heavy clanking of chains sent a chill through her.

Lin Chenxin immediately "whooshed" her legs back under the covers, wrapping herself entirely in the quilt. Her wide eyes stared fixedly at the door, hardly daring to breathe.

The door was pushed open. Through the light from outside, a tall, thin shadow stretched long across the floor.

Lin Chenxin covered her eyes with her hands, then secretly peeked through a gap between her fingers.

She wasn't afraid of anything... except ghosts.

She'd heard that when dead people become ghosts, they maintain the appearance they had at the moment of death. During the time after her parents passed away, she had both hoped they would come to see her and secretly wished they would at least dress up a bit.

She wasn't sure she could bear it.

In reality, though, her parents had only visited her once in a dream, and she couldn't even see their faces clearly.

She felt relieved, but also sad.

The light from outside the door spilled into the bedroom, causing the somewhat distorted shadow of the figure at the doorway to crawl along the light and onto the bed.

Lin Chenxin remained motionless, staring intently through her fingers at the tall, slender figure.

Backlit by the light, she couldn't see the person's face—just a dark silhouette. She could only tell they were very tall and very thin. Long hair fell down their back, over their shoulders, and across their chest. As the person moved, the shifting light and shadow created a bizarre, phantasmagoric quality.

Slowly, she made out the person's form. They were wearing a long robe and holding a tray, walking slowly into the room. It was then that Lin Chenxin realized where the sound of chains was coming from.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the bare feet. Heavy shackles, like those used to bind prisoners, were locked tightly around the person's ankles.

*Clank.*

*Clank.*

*CLANK!*

Lin Chenxin swallowed hard, unable to tell if what she felt was shock, absurdity, or fear. Her eyes were wide open. The more afraid she was, the more she couldn't look away, and the more she wanted to see clearly.

A gaunt figure stopped before the bed, cutting off the light from the doorway, leaving only a few thin rays falling on Lin Chenxin's face.

Lin Chenxin's gaze slowly traveled upward from the other's legs, taking in the threadbare robe, the bony, gnarled hands...

She flinched violently, fixed her eyes on the black fingernails for a moment, then shifted her gaze to the prominent Adam's apple and chin...

Before she could get a clear look, the tray landed on the bedside table with a loud *clang*. Lin Chenxin jolted, her eyelashes batting rapidly, and she immediately hid her face under the covers like a wary squirrel.

The heavy, dragging *clank* of chains started up again, slow and ominous. Lin Chenxin quietly pulled the blanket down a little, watching that specter-like figure.

However, just as the figure was about to cross the threshold, he suddenly glanced back. Lin Chenxin instantly yanked her head back under the covers and held her breath.

A long shadow stretched across the bed, blocking the light from the doorway. Soon after, the light vanished, the door creaked shut, and the figure was gone.

A long while later, Lin Chenxin finally emerged from under the covers, drawing deep breaths.

Just what kind of person *was* that?

No... was that even a person?

Lin Chenxin had never seen anyone like that before.

Terrifyingly tall, frighteningly thin, the skin on the hands deathly pale and bloodless, fingernails inky black as if dipped in venom, jagged like knives.

Even in that brief glimpse, she had seen it—on the other's skin, streaks as red as blood, like spreading blood vessels or blood-carved talismans. They extended from the sleeves, from the wrist to the back of the hand, even onto the slender fingers, and from deep within the collar, they crept up the neck, still crawling their way toward the chin.

She dared not imagine if the other's face bore such horrifying marks as well.

A chill shot through her limbs, and her breath caught. The more she remembered, the more vivid and horrifying the images became, searing themselves into her mind.

What kind of monster was this Eldest Young Master Chen?

Yes, a monster.

Lin Chenxin could find no other fitting word to describe him.

That heavy chain also became a massive stone weighing on her heart. What kind of person would be shackled with such cold, terrifying fetters?

Remembering those bare feet, bloodless, marked only by chafing bruises and old, indelible scars accumulated over the years.

Lin Chenxin's face paled as she realized she might have stumbled into a den of wolves.

Thinking of the words she heard before passing out, she was certain the tea she drank earlier must have been drugged.

It was highly likely that Eldest Young Master Chen's previous two wives hadn't made it past this point.

Lin Chenxin touched her chest; her heart was pounding wildly, startled.

But for some reason, she also thought her own constitution was surprisingly tough.

To just vomit some blood and be fine...

She took several deep breaths, trying her best to calm down.

No wonder the Chen family was so generous—they were hiding such a huge secret at home.

A determined glint flashed in her eyes as she clenched her fists tightly.

Once her younger sister's surgery is done, she *was* finding a way out of here!

But for now, she needed to solve the problem of her empty stomach.

She patted her belly, glanced at the plain congee and side dishes on the table, then looked toward the tightly shut door. Picking up the bowl, she sniffed it, then cautiously stuck out her tongue to give it a tentative lick.

Smacking her lips, she tasted a bit of saltiness and the savory aroma mixed with minced meat.

Her eyes lit up, and her stomach growled loudly.

Never mind.

She picked up the spoon and took a big, full mouthful, squinting her eyes in satisfaction.

So delicious.

Opposite her, the clock on the wall ticked steadily.

In truth, it wasn't that dawn hadn't broken, nor that all light was blocked by doors and windows.

It was that Lin Chenxin had slept for two days and two nights.

It was already the evening of the third day.