Killer Queen (GL) - Chapter 19

A whip cracked ruthlessly across Luo Yu’s back, nearly making her vomit bl00d. Luo Yu gritted her teeth and endured the pain, not daring to utter a single sound.

“Where is the body?” Another lash struck her spine. Without a body, whether alive or dead, Luo Han naturally couldn’t be reassured.

“I threw it on the back mountain,” Luo Yu blurted out a lie, deciding to deal with the consequences as they came.

“Luo Yi, send men to search the back mountain!” Luo Yi, who had been standing silently aside, immediately took the order and left.

“And you two wastes, hurry up and get out to search for me!”

Xing Wu and Xing Liu scurried away as if granted a great pardon, suppressing the excitement of having narrowly escaped death, trying hard not to show it too obviously.

So, as they forced themselves to remain calm and were about to leave, Xing Wu gave Luo Yu a glance of gratitude, while Xing Liu offered Luo Yu a bitter smile that meant “fend for yourself.”

It seems their lives have been saved. Luo Yu sighed in relief. Immediately after, another whip swung over, hitting her arm. Luo Yu let out a muffled groan and smiled bitterly to herself. They’re fine, but I’m probably facing terrible luck!

“Everyone’s gone. Old rules. Take off your clothes and get over there and lie face down!” Luo Han suddenly roared, whipping the ground next to Luo Yu, making her violently shudder again.

The three words “Take off your clothes” instantly made Luo Yu’s face turn ugly. It wasn’t just fear of the beating; more importantly, her waist and shoulder were still seeping bl00d. If she took off her top, her identity would be instantly exposed, which would likely lead to much more severe consequences.

So, despite the inner turmoil, Luo Yu pretended to be calm and slowly stood up, taking off her pants but not her top, hoping to slip through.

Luo Yu reluctantly walked over, braced her hands against the mottled wall, lowered her body, and exposed her buttocks to the cold air.

The whip, accompanied by a fierce wind, struck the snowy white curve of her buttocks. Luo Yu gasped in pain but felt relieved that Luo Han started hitting her directly without questioning her about the top.

However, Luo Yu no longer had the capacity to think about other things. The whip rained down on her buttocks relentlessly. The pain was piercing; even breathing felt painful.

Luo Yu clenched her teeth and desperately endured the pain, not making a sound. Her small face was deathly pale, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Her buttocks were already covered in raised welts, swollen high and filled with bruises. In the air, the only sound was the crack-crack-crack of the whip hitting flesh.

Luo Yu’s fingernails dug fiercely into the cracks in the wall. A little bl00d even seeped from beneath her nails, as if this action could slightly alleviate the intense pain behind her.

Luo Han delivered another cruel lash, hitting precisely on the previously swollen welts. The two whip marks overlapped, and the injury swelled even higher.

“Hmm—” Luo Yu finally couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan, and her body began to tremble involuntarily.

Luo Han had already struck her consecutively over twenty times.

“Shut up and endure it! I think you haven’t been beaten enough, which is why you dare to be so lawless!”

Luo Han was furious, so the force in her hand was naturally not light.

Another dozen or so lashes followed continuously, and every single one landed exactly on the previously raised welts.

“Ah—” Even though Luo Han forbade her to make a sound, the pain was unbearable, and Luo Yu screamed wretchedly.

All ten fingertips were bloody from pressing too hard, and Luo Yu nearly broke her nails. Luo Yu endured the pain in an almost self-mutilating way, yet she still couldn’t control the overwhelming, severe pain in her buttocks.

The thin whip striking her body was indeed very, very painful. Although the skin hadn’t been broken or bled yet, the bruises were all contained within the raised welts, which were now swollen as high as two inches.

The whistling sound of the long whip swung behind Luo Yu. With every strike, Luo Yu screamed, and her thighs trembled non-stop from the pain. When Luo Han delivered the fortieth lash, Luo Yu’s legs finally gave way, and she knelt on the ground, no longer having the strength to hold herself against the wall.

“Get up!” Luo Han commanded with icy ruthlessness.

Luo Yu attempted to stand up but pulled the wounds on her buttocks, gasping in pain, and fell back to the ground again.

“I’m telling you one more time, get over there and lie face down.” Luo Han’s patience was truly thin. Seeing Luo Yu remain motionless, the whip immediately struck Luo Yu’s shoulder.

Her injured shoulder was brutalized again. Luo Yu saw stars from the pain and had no choice but to follow the Queen’s instruction, obediently crawling up from the ground and returning to lean against the wall. However, this time, her thighs were trembling even more violently.

Luo Han struck three more times. Luo Yu stumbled, accompanied by a repressed groan, and fell back to the ground again. At this point, simply supporting her body and standing up was an incredibly difficult feat for Luo Yu.

This time, Luo Han did not speak; she just glared at her with cold, authoritative eyes and swung the whip toward the wall.

Luo Yu gave a bitter, helpless smile and had to grit her teeth, struggling to stand up straight. But this time, Luo Yu tried several times without success. It was simply too painful—the pain made her feel as if all the strength had been drained from her body.

Luo Yu looked pitifully at Luo Han, crawling on her knees to Luo Han’s side like a puppy begging its owner. She looked up, gazing innocently at Luo Han.

It’s not that I’m disobeying your orders; it’s just that the will is there, but the body can’t keep up. I’m so close to throwing up from the pain.

“Don’t try that routine on me!” Luo Han cracked the long whip, circling it in the air. Luo Yu flinched slightly, ready to receive the lash coming straight for her head. To her surprise, the whip only landed on the ground beside her.

Luo Yu sighed in relief, quickly forcing a fawning smile, almost to the point of bowing and wagging her tail. In the Luo Family, the Queen was the absolute truth. Although Luo Yu was the Young Master, incurring the Queen’s wrath still led to a terrible outcome.

Perhaps the Queen was tired of hitting, or perhaps Luo Yu’s attempt at acting cute had a tiny bit of effect. In any case, the Queen paused for a while, and the long whip did not continue to strike Luo Yu’s body.

Peace, tranquility, like the unruffled surface of a lake reflecting the willows on the bank.

Unfortunately, the calm was destined not to last. A greater storm was waiting ahead.

The peaceful atmosphere was completely shattered by a phone call. The call was from Luo Yi.

Luo Han left, leaving Luo Yu alone in her spot. Because of the rain, the weather was colder. The coldness invaded her body, mixing with her burning wounds, creating an effect of ice and fire—cold and hot, unbearably miserable.

Due to the recent crying and begging, Luo Yu’s eye sockets were pink and slightly swollen, and a few clear tears still clung to her pale face, which was “pear blossoms bathed in rain.” Her lips were also white, drained of any color.

It was cold outside, but Luo Yu’s heart was colder. After the punishment, there was no delicious hot soup, no meticulous care, no soft bed, and certainly no expensive wound medicine. She was beaten so badly this time, and Luo Han didn’t worry about her getting infected or running a fever. Instead, she was told to get out of the Luo Family, on such a cold and rainy night.

Luo Yu felt wronged, so wronged that she wanted to cry, but she managed to hold back her tears. When a child falls down, if they see their mother nearby, they will cry and make a fuss because they know someone cares and someone will comfort them. But if their mother is not around, they will just climb up indifferently and dust themselves off, knowing that no matter how hard they cry, no one will pay attention.

Luo Yu’s mood was much the same now. Knowing that no one would feel heartache or pity, the tears refused to fall easily. Who was she crying for? Luo Yu smiled self-mockingly. Only a smile could conceal the fragility and grievance in her heart.

Luo Han had always been very strict with her since she was a child, rarely indulging her. When other children fell down, crying and being spoiled, their parents were terribly distressed, comforting them, blowing on the scrape, and finally buying a lollipop to cheer them up. Little Luo Yu was full of expectation when she saw this as a child, thinking how happy she would be if her mother could show that kind of gentle expression.

So, one time, she deliberately fell down, scraped her knee, and it bled. Then, she pretended she couldn’t get up. What happened? Luo Yu finds it a little funny even now, recalling it. Luo Han ignored her and walked away, sending Luo Yi a message that if she was still lying on the ground in three minutes, she would be punished when she got home. Little Luo Yu was also stubborn. Angry that her mother left without even glancing at her, she deliberately lay there in a huff until the evening.

Actually, little Luo Yu had a small expectation that since she hadn’t come home so late, perhaps her mother would worry, backtrack to find her, or at least send Luo Yi to carry her home. Unfortunately, the facts proved little Luo Yu was overthinking it. She waited and waited, enduring the time. The moon was already in the sky, and no one came to get her. In the cold wind and rain, cold and hungry, little Luo Yu finally couldn’t take it anymore. She crawled up herself and limped home.

When she got home, little Luo Yu was fuming, ready to “demand an explanation,” but upon seeing Luo Han’s ice-cold face, her momentum instantly dropped by more than half. That night, little Luo Yu was severely beaten by her mother, then punished to kneel in the corner. Luo Yu was incredibly wronged at the time. Tears streamed down her face like broken strings of pearls, and her eyes were swollen like peaches. She was hungry, cold, exhausted, and her buttocks hurt terribly. But all night, Luo Han tended to her official duties nearby, never glancing at her, and never saying a single word of comfort.

From that moment, Luo Yu understood that tears had no effect on Luo Han; they would only make her annoyed and impatient. In the Luo Family, tears were synonymous with weakness and incompetence. Luo Han’s heart was also cold and would not soften or show compassion because of her pain. If you made a mistake, you had to be punished—that was the Luo Family rule.

Luo Yu snapped out of her memories, thinking with a bitter smile that the current situation was similar to that year—tired, hungry, cold, and in pain. But this time was even worse than before. She had been thrown out of the house and was left to the mercy of the wind and rain.

Luo Yu sighed. It is indeed my own doing. I brought this disaster upon myself and can’t blame anyone else.

Luo Yu rested on the ground for a while, her strength slightly recovered. Denim pants were absolutely out of the question. That rough fabric would chafe her wounds. Every step would be like walking on the tips of knives—pure torment.

Before Luo Han left, she threw her black hooded cloak near the door. Luo Yu crawled to the door, picked up the cloak, and put it on. The black cloak was very thick and warm, lined with soft rabbit fur inside and out. Even when it touched the whip marks on her buttocks, it wouldn’t rub and hurt the swollen welts. Moreover, and most importantly, the cloak still retained Luo Han’s warm body temperature. Luo Yu greedily inhaled the lingering scent on the cloak. This might be the only bit of warmth Luo Han has ever shown.

The wind and rain outside were heavy. In a short while, the cloak was soaked through by the rain, clinging to her body, chilling her to the bone. Luo Yu’s teeth chattered, and her face was covered in mud. She had already fallen down three times.

Luo Yu wanted to cry helplessly. This was the middle of nowhere; there was no one around. She was so severely injured that even taking one step was difficult. Luo Yu stood alone in the rain. The world was so vast, yet her silhouette looked so fragile. Humans were always insignificantly small in the face of nature. The downpour made the mud soft. Luo Yu slipped again, tumbling down the small slope. Branches scratched her palm. As soon as the bl00d oozed out, it was washed away by the rain.

She finally stopped rolling near the bridge at the bottom of the slope. Her hands were covered in mud and filthy bl00d. Her feigned bravery finally crumbled. Luo Yu sobbed quietly. Tears mixed with the heavy rain. It was impossible to distinguish the rain from the tears, but when the water flowed into her mouth, it was salty and intensely bitter.

Like an abandoned puppy, confused and helpless, scared and fearful. Even God seemed to be mocking and playing with her, mercilessly dousing her with cold rain, wantonly lashing her battered body.

On such a lonely, helpless, stormy night, there was only one person Luo Yu could think of.

The one person who would quietly stay by her side, even if the whole world abandoned her.

Luo Yu dialed the number and choked out one sentence,

“I can’t move anymore.”

“Where are you? I’m coming to find you immediately,” Xi Qi’s voice held restrained urgency. Luo Yu’s low sobs could be heard through the phone. What exactly happened?

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here,” the cold yet slightly soft voice was like a warm sun in the deep winter. To the helpless and desperate Luo Yu, it was the only light beam in the darkness, the last remaining warmth in the harsh winter.

With her there, the sky wouldn’t fall, and all pain would pass. Even with the cold wind and rain surrounding them, her single sentence made Luo Yu feel safe and calm.

“Can you come a little faster?” Can you hurry and get to me? I am truly so scared, so helpless, and I want to see you so badly.

The more helpless she felt, the more desperately she wanted to hear her voice, the more she wanted to see her cold yet beautiful face, and the more she craved her cold yet comforting scent.

“Don’t go anywhere. Wait for me,” Xi Qi’s hurried and chaotic footsteps could be heard through the phone.

When Xi Qi arrived at the bridge, this was the scene she saw. The pouring rain was crashing down on Luo Yu’s head. Water droplets slid down her paper-white face. She was squatting on the ground, leaning against the bridge railing. If not for the railing supporting her, she would probably collapse instantly. The slightly oversized cloak covered her entire body, making her appear even frailer. The bl00d from her wounds was diluted by the heavy rain, and the water around her showed a faint crimson tint.

Luo Yu hugged herself tightly, shivering, her lips trembling with cold. Seeing Xi Qi’s figure from afar, she managed to force a not-so-pretty smile. “I’m soaked like a drowned chicken.”

“More like a drowned puppy,” Xi Qi’s warm hand stroked Luo Yu’s head. She leaned forward, shielding Luo Yu from most of the wind and rain. Xi Qi hadn’t brought an umbrella or worn a raincoat. The heavy rain poured mercilessly onto her.

“I really am a puppy abandoned by its owner,” Luo Yu smiled bitterly. “So, are you willing to take me in, Master?”

“Okay,” Xi Qi said nothing more. She just took off her own jacket, draped it over Luo Yu’s head, and then squatted down to carry Luo Yu on her back. Luo Yu’s icy hands wrapped around her warm neck, bringing with them a bone-chilling coldness.

“My hands are very cold, aren’t they?” Luo Yu said with a hint of apology. Xi Qi was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt. With the wind and rain so heavy tonight, she must be cold too, right?

“It’s nothing,” Xi Qi was usually a woman of few words, but some things simply don’t need to be expressed verbally.

Xi Qi was very gentle tonight. Even though her face still held a cold expression and her words still had an icy tone, Luo Yu somehow felt very warm and secure.

Behind her, Luo Yu’s suppressed, low sobs could be heard. In the torrential storm, the weeping sound was very faint, almost buried by the howling and dripping of the wind and rain, yet Xi Qi heard it clearly. Xi Qi had been with Luo Yu for over a year and knew she was not a fragile, emotional woman. On the contrary, she was enduring and strong. Even with those severe injuries before, she always endured alone, never uttering a word, and even seemed uncaring. Yet tonight, she was crying.

What exactly happened? Xi Qi wanted to know, but she didn’t ask. If Luo Yu wanted to talk, she would naturally tell her. If it was a nightmare too painful to recall, why should she reopen her wound?

Luo Yu also didn’t understand why her tears wouldn’t stop tonight. Perhaps she had pretended to be strong for too long and finally couldn’t maintain the facade. Perhaps she had endured and carried too much and needed a good release. Or perhaps it was because someone cared, so she felt safe enough to cry recklessly.

“Good girl, don’t cry,” Xi Qi could kill people, disguise herself, assemble firearms and ammunition, and had many, many skills, but she felt utterly helpless when faced with Luo Yu’s tears. So, when she spoke those cold and slightly awkward words, Luo Yu broke into a smile amidst her tears.

“It’s so good to have you here,” Luo Yu rested her fuzzy head on Xi Qi’s shoulder, feeling more and more like a puppy being taken home by its new owner.

The rain was still heavy, the wind was still blowing, but Luo Yu felt the weather no longer seemed so cold. Her body, pressed tightly against Xi Qi’s, felt so hot, so warm. On the silent, deserted path, Xi Qi carried Luo Yu and slowly walked forward. The whole world seemed to be left with just the two of them.