Chapter 3 Desire to Destroy

An Ge had never seen the man in front of her. By rights, she had been hiding in the Huo Mansion as a maid for a month, and she recognized the masters and young masters of each house, but she had never seen this man.

At this moment, the man bent forward menacingly, his fingers long and slender like bamboo, pinching her chin. His voice was clear and sharp, "Do you think you're worthy of knowing my identity?"

An Ge's chin hurt unbearably under his grip. She frowned in pain, but her voice remained calm and poised, "Sir, the Feudal Dynasty has been over for a hundred years. Even if you're like a King of Hell walking sideways in Jingcheng, shouldn't those feudal notions of hierarchy and rank be liberated too?"

With those words, a sharp dagger pressed against her neck, smooth as porcelain. If the man exerted even a little force, it would pierce her throat.

She heard his soft, sinister laugh, "Such a sharp tongue, it seems you think your tongue is unnecessary, hmm?"

At these words, An Ge shuddered. Her breathing became constrained, and it was only after she saw Qin Lang following behind the man that she guessed the man's identity. Qin Lang was the trusted aide of the Huo Family's newly ascendant power, Young Master Huo.

Thinking of this, she spoke with forced calm, "Young Master Huo, I'm sorry I didn't guess your identity at first. I never meant any disrespect to you. I was just speaking without thinking..."

Before she could finish, a sharp pain seared through her neck. An Ge's voice caught in her throat, "Uh..."

Huo Shaoyan tapped the blood-tipped dagger against her face, then lifted his gaze to hers. Her face turned a ghastly white from bearing the pain, and seeing this, his thin lips curled into a cruel smile, "So you're saying, not introducing myself to you right away is my fault?"

An Ge: "..."

"Today, I'm in a good mood, so I'll give you a chance to survive." He paused, then continued, "Tell me, why did you climb the wall?"

An Ge had heard more than once about this master's ruthless deeds. It was rumored he had been kidnapped and taken abroad as a child and only recently returned to his roots. It was said that due to the extraordinary suffering he endured as a youth, he was not only ruthless but extremely twisted inside.

Rumors said he skinned people alive and killed without a second thought, not sparing even his own brothers...

Now, with this demon holding a knife to her, how could An Ge possibly remain calm?

She was terrified, her face devoid of color and drenched in cold sweat. Driven by an instinct to survive, she stammered, "Don't... please don't hurt me. I climbed the wall because Second Master Huo tried to take advantage of me, and I didn't want to be a maid at the Huo Family any longer. I didn't want to pay the hefty breach of contract fee either, so I... I fled in the middle of the night."

As she spoke, a large droplet of cold sweat from her nose dropped onto Huo Shaoyan's upturned lips. He extended his tongue, swept it into his mouth, his eyes revealing a fierce desire to destroy, "You're lying, hmm?"

"I... I'm not..."

Huo Shaoyan's sharp eyes immediately saw the crisscrossed intimate marks on An Ge's neck and the handprint on her cheek. His Phoenix Eyes narrowed deeply as he continued to tap her cheek with the bloodied dagger and questioned her slowly, "Not? Isn't it because you seduced Second Master and got caught in the act by his wife, and feared retribution, that you climbed the wall in the middle of the night?"

An Ge began to tremble uncontrollably, her explanation shaky, "It's not like that. Tonight at the Huo Family's banquet, I was framed by my stepmother and drugged with tainted wine, then delivered to Second Master's bed. If I hadn't refused with all my might and escaped through the window, he would have raped me. Young Master Huo, I'm just a trivial little maid, and I feared Second Master's revenge, so I wanted to flee with my luggage and identification at midnight. I really didn't seduce Second Master..."

Clearly, Huo Shaoyan didn't believe her explanation. He lost his patience, "Didn't? Should I call someone right now to strip you and see if you have... or haven't?"