chapter 3

I smuggled Jiang Tingxue into the Demon Realm and hid him in my private residence.

I soon made peace with the money I had spent.

Only a century after scorning me, that untouchable beauty had fallen so far that I could buy him as a plaything.

That alone was revenge.

I was the Demon Sovereign. What was wrong with spending a few stones to avenge myself?

My decision was flawless!

Of course, my revenge could not end there. This was merely the beginning.

Next, I would train Jiang Tingxue properly and turn him into the perfect plaything.

That was the price he would pay for once looking down on the Demon Sovereign. Heh heh heh.

I even dug out the old manuscript of my *Plan to Tame an Untouchable Beauty*.

Lines, rules of conduct, props, locations – I had written an enormous stack of meticulous instructions.

Then I strode into Jiang Tingxue’s room with a little leather whip, laughing villainously as I prepared to begin his training.

The moment I saw the bedding beneath him soaked with blood, my laughter choked off.

“Y-you-you – why are you bleeding?”

Jiang Tingxue lay motionless on the bed. I could not tell whether he was asleep or simply refusing to acknowledge me.

Only when I began tugging at his clothes did he weakly lift a hand to stop me.

“Old wounds,” he said. “They opened again just now.”

I did not stop to wonder what he had done while lying quietly in bed to tear them open.

The thick smell of blood made my mind go blank. Humiliation, whips, and every other wicked scheme fled my thoughts as I rummaged frantically for the medicine kept in the residence.

“Can you apply it yourself?” I shoved the jar into his hands. “I don’t like blood. Hurry up and put it on.”

Obviously, I was not concerned about him. I merely wanted to protect my investment.

If he died in my house from something as ridiculous as reopened wounds, would that not make me the greatest fool alive?

So first, I had to stop the bleeding and heal those surface wounds.

To my surprise, Jiang Tingxue took the jar but did not move.

Me: “?”

What was this? Did he actually expect the Demon Sovereign to apply his medicine?

I glared at him until my eyes began to ache. Only then did I remember that he could no longer see.

Annoyed, I snatched the jar back.

“Sit up! Fine, I’ll do it!”

Naturally, I had to remove his clothes before treating him.

There seemed to be a switch hidden in the front of Jiang Tingxue’s robes. He never spoke until I tried to undress him, and then he finally reacted.

“You needn’t waste your time on me.” His voice was calm, but a heavy weariness with life lay beneath it. “Every meridian in my body is shattered, and ghostly energy is steadily devouring what remains of my vitality. I will not live much longer.”

I disliked his tone, and I disliked his words even more.

“Enough nonsense. I paid for you, and now you expect me to sit here and watch you die?”

Jiang Tingxue fell silent, then said, “You must have heard the rumors. Aren’t you afraid I might repay your kindness with betrayal one day?”

Me: “…”

I coughed and raised my voice to hide my unease.

“Who cares what anyone else says? I know perfectly well what kind of man you are!”

Of course I knew.

No one understood the innocence of the falsely accused better than the person who had made up the accusations.

Viewed that way, perhaps I bore some responsibility for the fact that everyone now hated him.

Why did I suddenly feel so guilty?

“Well, don’t be so pessimistic,” I said, racking my brains for something comforting. “The truth behind those rumors will come out eventually, and your injuries aren’t completely beyond treatment.”

“You’re Jiang Tingxue. Your life won’t end here.”

He said nothing, but his fist slowly loosened from the front of his robe.

I tried prying his fingers away.

There was no resistance.

Emboldened, I stripped off his upper robe and exposed the torn, bloody flesh beneath.

My fingers trembled. It took me a long while to steady them enough to scoop out the salve and spread it gently over his wounds.

“Does it hurt terribly? Believe me, I will heal you.”

After what felt like an eternity, Jiang Tingxue’s pale lips moved.

His voice was so faint I thought I had imagined it.

Only much later did I understand what he had said.

“I believe you.”