Chapter 24: Waiting for You at the Small Villa in Peach Blossom Village

The Queen lazily waved her hand toward the black-armored warriors standing on both sides of the grand hall. The lead warrior understood the gesture instantly and flicked his wrist; a familiar white table materialized, upon which lay Yu Tian, the woman Li Ziyuan longed for with every fiber of his being.

"Welcome to Hell," the Queen said with keen interest. "Welcome to the scene of a dismemberment."

Seeing Yu Tian, Li Ziyuan was torn between joy and terror. He was glad to see her, even if it were only a dream, yet he was paralyzed by the question of what they intended to do to her. The mention of dismemberment sent a wave of panic through him—was the tragedy destined to repeat itself? He would never allow such a thing to happen again. He had to save her. He had to. "Let her go!" he shouted.

Just as Li Ziyuan prepared to act, the Queen’s pressure descended from above, forming a white cage that trapped him within. Leaning against her throne, the Queen said with languid indifference, "You truly are a wretch. If you cannot even escape such a simple cage, how do you expect to save your beloved?"

Li Ziyuan exerted all his strength trying to break free, but it was futile.

On the white table, Yu Tian, bound by black iron chains, looked at him and cried, "Li Ziyuan, I have to endure this pain every single day. Even though it repeats, it hurts so much, it hurts so much. I’ve died once, and now I can’t even die if I want to. Li Ziyuan, I am in so much pain."

Hearing her words, Li Ziyuan felt as if his heart were being pierced by knives. "Yu Tian, I’m sorry. I’m useless. I’m a coward; I couldn’t even protect you. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t suggested that trip, none of this would have happened."

"It’s not your fault. It is the fault of this world, the fault of those people." As soon as she finished speaking, the ruthless thugs who had hijacked the bus appeared out of thin air in the hall.

The Queen traced a circle around her face with a finger, her eyes filled with a bewitching charm. "I really don't want to watch the rest. It’s too cruel."

Li Ziyuan recognized them all: the female assistant in the white lab coat, the sadistic man in the white coat, and that group of thugs. He watched as a thug walked toward Yu Tian, axe in hand. To Li Ziyuan, every step the man took felt agonizingly heavy.

Yu Tian turned her head toward Li Ziyuan and said softly, "Li Ziyuan, close your eyes and cover your ears. It’s going to hurt, and I won’t be able to stop myself from screaming. Even though I go through this every day, I can never get used to the pain."

The thug raised his axe and brought it down toward Yu Tian’s wrist. "No!" Li Ziyuan screamed, but the thug paid him no mind.

Then came Yu Tian’s agonizing wails. Li Ziyuan felt his heart being shredded as the thug began to hack away at her limbs, piece by piece, as if chopping through ribs. Li Ziyuan fell to his knees, bowing his head to the woman on the throne. "I beg you, I beg you, tell them to stop! I beg you, let me take her place. Let me suffer instead."

Li Ziyuan’s desperation, helplessness, and frustration forced him to cast aside his pride. He could only plead for Yu Tian’s life, while simultaneously loathing his own powerlessness. If he were only strong enough, they would never dare to do this. Under normal circumstances, he would have fought back, shouting, "You are nothing but animals," with his dying breath. But now, he dared not curse or offend them, for doing so would only bring more pain to Yu Tian.

Seeing Li Ziyuan kneeling and weeping, the Queen’s expression softened with a flicker of complexity. Though she knew the truth of these events, she found her resolve wavering. Hidden behind the throne, a graceful figure watched everything, moved and aching for him.

"Li Ziyuan... do you know that I am still alive?"

The Queen raised her hand to signal a halt. She walked down from the throne and stood beside Li Ziyuan, stroking his cheek with a look of pity. "Love makes people both suffer and crave; it makes us like moths to a flame, and it makes us reborn from the ashes. If you want revenge, you must grow stronger. Otherwise, your Yu Tian will suffer here forever, trapped in a fate worse than death, never to find peace. (Yu Tian and I will be waiting for you at a small villa in Peach Blossom Village.)"

With a gentle push, Li Ziyuan felt an invisible force dragging him out of the dark hall.

Once he was gone, the thugs, the female assistant, and the man in the white coat all shed their disguises, revealing themselves in black attire. The female assistant knelt on one knee. "Queen."

The Queen waved them away. "A fine performance. You shall be rewarded. You may go."

"Thank you, Queen," they said in unison before departing. As she left, the woman who had played Yu Tian remarked, "I performed quite well, didn't I?"

(Who is she, and why did she pretend to be Yu Tian?)

"Thanks to you, we received our reward," the others replied.

Once everyone had cleared out, a young woman stepped from behind the throne, her eyes glistening with tears. The Queen took her hand and comforted her. "He loves you very much, little sister. We will wait for him together at the villa in Peach Blossom Village."

"Yes... I will wait for him to return."

Li Ziyuan jolted awake in his bed, realizing it had been a dream—yet it had felt so real.

When he spotted the peach sapling on his windowsill, he understood it was no mere dream. "Yu Tian could never have escaped those animals; that means she is truly in Hell."

Yu Tian was suffering in Hell, and that ruthless woman in black was the cause. His obsession with revenge burned brighter than ever; he would kill that woman with his own hands.

Next to the Li family's courtyard stood a newly built cottage of the same style, a warm new home for the family of three spirit-healing beasts. In the Li family kitchen, Ling’er’s mother and Li Yue’er were busy cooking.

"Yue’er, you must add more seasoning to the braised pork to make it fragrant," Ling’er’s mother said with a smile.

"I will, I'll be sure to learn well," Li Yue’er replied, full of anticipation, thinking that Li Ziyuan would surely love it.

By the fish pond in the yard, Mother Li and Ling’er were happily feeding the sleepy fish.

"Look, Ling’er, aren't these fish adorable?" Mother Li said tenderly.

"They are, Grandma. I wonder when they’ll wake up and swim around," Ling’er replied innocently.

Nearby, Father Li and Ling’er’s father were solemnly passing judgment on the two-headed chicken.

"This chicken is far too mischievous; we can’t keep it any longer," Father Li said, frowning.

"Agreed, it needs to be taught a lesson," Ling’er’s father nodded.

The entire scene was filled with warmth and harmony, a testament to the peace and beauty of life. Li Ziyuan walked out of his room carrying the pot with the peach sapling, found a suitable spot in the yard, picked up a hoe, and dug a hole to plant it.

The sapling was proof that his dream was real. He knew that one day he would find that villa in Peach Blossom Village, and he would butcher that woman. In his eyes, anyone who dared to treat Yu Tian this way was already a dead person.