Returned to their lodgings, everyone went to rest.
Shee Weizhu said, "Junior Brother, I have something to tell you."
Lin Feng nodded, and Shee Weizhu entered Lin Feng’s room, her complexion changing unpredictably.
Lin Feng naturally knew she probably wanted to talk about something that had happened years ago.
But evidently, those events, for Shee Weizhu, were memories she wished not to recount.
And those memories seemed to involve Jin Zhengkai.
Lin Feng, feeling heartbroken, gently touched Shee Weizhu’s exquisitely beautiful face and said, "Whatever it is, you can tell me. As long as I’m here, no one can hurt you."
Shee Weizhu nodded slightly before she finally spoke, "I was once sold as a slave."
"Slave?" Lin Feng frowned slightly.
Shee Weizhu covered her face, tears streaming down involuntarily.
Lin Feng, his heart aching, pulled Shee Weizhu into his arms as she trembled and said, "Junior Brother, will you look down on me?"
Slavery, in many Mortal Kingdoms, is quite common, and many regard slaves as the lowest of people.
Lin Feng whispered softly, "How could I? In my opinion, whatever our past identities were, it’s not something we could decide. The only thing we can decide is what kind of people we will become in the future."
Shee Weizhu then stood up and faced Lin Feng, saying, "When I was ten, I was sold into the Azure Cloud Sect as a menial worker. There are many others with a lowly status like mine."
The Azure Cloud Sect, with disciples, elders, administrators, and others adding up to hundreds of thousands of people, obviously required many servants—actually, many powers did this, buying a large number of slaves to serve as menials.
Lin Feng did not interrupt but listened quietly.
"I was initially working at Spirit Array Peak when, at the age of thirteen, Jin Zhengkai noticed me and took me away."
As she said this, tears started streaming down Shee Weizhu’s face.
"That was something I never wanted to recall in my life. At the time, there were five sisters, all taken by Jin Zhengkai, who had slave brands burned onto our backs."
As she spoke, Shee Weizhu began to undress, turning around to expose her back.
Lin Feng saw a blood-red mark a foot below her neckline, clearly branded with a red-hot iron."
Lin Feng gently touched the slave mark with his hand.
Shee Weizhu’s delicate body trembled slightly.
"Then, Jin Zhengkai had someone teach the five of us how to serve men," Shee Weizhu said, her face pale.
"When I was fourteen, the sisters began to be called by Jin Zhengkai one by one, then ravaged by him. He wasn’t human at all but rather tormented those sisters. They returned covered in bruises. Finally, it was my turn to serve him."
Shee Weizhu’s expression was one of utter pain.
Lin Feng held Shee Weizhu tightly in his arms, this memory probably being the most painful for her.
If possible, she probably never wanted to remember it.
"Once, a Little Sister found a dry well behind a rockery. I hid inside the well, and the four Little Sisters covered the well with stones, making it look seamless from the outside."
Shee Weizhu, her face both pale and pained, continued, "When Jin Zhengkai couldn’t find me, he came looking personally. No one ever defied him, but I did. Jin Zhengkai almost went mad. He asked the four sisters where I was hidden. They all said they didn’t know, so Jin Zhengkai began crushing their bones one inch at a time. I heard their agonizing screams from inside the well. I wanted to climb out and save them, but I was trapped. After breaking all their bones, Jin Zhengkai used the Debone Knife to cut their flesh off piece by piece. Their deaths were truly gruesome, but they never revealed where I was hiding. To cover up his crimes, Jin Zhengkai set the house on fire."
"I thought I would die there but never expected that a senior sister of the sect heard my cries and saved me," Shee Weizhu murmured.
"I hid in that senior sister’s residence. If not for her, perhaps I would already be a cold corpse. And my four Little Sisters died because of me. Their cries before their death, I will never forget. Despite it all, news of the confinement, abuse, and murder of female slaves spread in the sect, yet who would speak up for a few female slaves? Jin Zhengkai still roams free."
A hateful look appeared in Shee Weizhu’s eyes.
Lin Feng frowned slightly, "Even though you joined the sect and were once slaves, once part of the sect, you became menials, and later, you could even train. If you have exceptional talent, you could even become Disciples. Who gave Jin Zhengkai the audacity to take you away and brand you with a slave mark?"
"Because of his esteemed status, he could do so," Shee Weizhu said, her voice trembling.
The past torments still haunted her.
Thinking of the cruel deaths of the four Little Sisters, Shee Weizhu was plagued by nightmares daily and, despite the years passing, she was still unable to escape that tragic fate.
She wished to avenge the death of her four Little Sisters but felt powerless.
"Later, by a stroke of luck, I was taken by Elder Qiao Yunqiu to Heavenly Repair Peak, while Jin Zhengkai also left the sect. I thought I would never see him again, yet unexpectedly, I encountered that beast here."
Shee Weizhu’s voice was filled with resentment.
"Senior Sister, I’ll help you, whatever you do, I’ll support you," Lin Feng whispered.
He truly pitied Shee Weizhu, unable to imagine how unbearable those past experiences must have been for her, who was still so young at the time.
"Really?" Shee Weizhu lifted her head, looking excitedly at Lin Feng.
"Of course, whoever bullies you, I’ll take his life, whether it was in the past, now, or in the future, I’ll make sure he pays," Lin Feng said solemnly, gently stroking Shee Weizhu’s face.
"Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo..." Shee Weizhu started crying, tears streaming like rain, yet soon she was smiling, crying and laughing at the same time.