Chapter 169: Chapter 169

Li Tianyao’s fingers trembled faintly, his handsome face heavily clouded. He was visibly struggling to suppress something.

"If you don’t dare to kill me, then scram! Coward! Useless trash!" Gu Shifang yelled.

Li Tianyao raised his hand and broke Gu Shifang’s arm.

Strangely, Gu Shifang didn’t even flinch, still laughing. "Li Tianyao, do you really think I came unprepared? Let me tell you, to deal with you, I severed my pain nerves long ago! Hahaha..."

Veins bulged on Li Tianyao’s forehead, and Gu Shifang laughed even more heartily.

Just then, An Yan suddenly spoke. "Are you actually a eunuch? Incapable of tolerating others’ completeness because you yourself are incomplete?"

An Yan recalled the androgynous voice from Li Tianyao’s dreams. It was just a wild guess on her part.

Unexpectedly, Gu Shifang’s expression changed dramatically. His laughter cut off abruptly, and he glared at An Yan with a fierce, murderous look, as if he wanted to pounce and devour her.

An Yan chuckled. "Gu Shifang, as a eunuch, how dare you comment on whether other men are capable or not?

"Honestly, being a eunuch isn’t the end of the world. After all, some eunuchs, even without *that*, can find companionship, someone willing to spend their entire life with them.

"But you! Clearly, no one wants to be with you, so you became twisted, didn’t you?

"You thought that by creating the Living Dead, you could dominate the world? But the world doesn’t recognize a broken, useless thing like you!"

Gu Shifang was provoked again, gasping heavily for breath. "Shut up! Just shut up!" ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ NoveI★Fire.net

Now it was An Yan’s turn to laugh, her tone light and teasing. "Ah, did I hit a sore spot? You poor thing. And you still think you can compete with Li Tianyao?

"Across the entire world, not a single woman would fancy you!

"Even if you created the Living Dead, you’re still just a tool for those in power!

"From the tips of your hair to the soles of your feet, not a single cell in your body can compare to Li Tianyao!

"You probably can’t even guess this, but in my heart, even if I can’t have a more intimate relationship with Li Tianyao, I still see him as my husband—the partner I’m willing to spend my entire life with!"

Li Tianyao turned sharply to look at her, a torrent of intense emotions swirling in his eyes, his eyelashes trembling uncontrollably.

He didn’t know if she was just saying it for effect or if she genuinely meant it. But he desperately hoped it was all true.

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!" Gu Shifang was nearly driven mad by her provocations. "You’ve never liked this man! You were forced to marry him, forced to be with him! He’s domineering, tyrannical, bloodthirsty, and dangerous! You could die by his side at any moment. How could you possibly like him?"

An Yan smiled. "Who says he’s domineering? With me, he’s incredibly gentle. He helps me achieve anything I want! For my safety, he’d take a knife for me without a second thought!"

As she spoke, An Yan sighed. "Why am I even telling you this? You’re a perpetual bachelor; how could you possibly understand these kinds of feelings?"

He felt as if a knife had been brutally twisted in his heart.

Gu Shifang spat out another mouthful of blood. He’d suffered internal injuries!

An Yan was extremely pleased, her tone unconsciously becoming lighter. "Did you think that by severing your pain nerves, we’d have no way to deal with you? Oh no, that’s not it at all. There are plenty of ways to torment someone besides physical pain. For example..."

An Yan kicked out, striking Gu Shifang squarely in his vital area. It didn’t hurt him, but the humiliation was absolute.

"A eunuch should always remain a eunuch, don’t you agree?"

"You..." Gu Shifang glared at An Yan, his eyes practically bursting with rage. "You, a woman, how dare you... how dare you treat me ?"

"Who said I’m *just* a woman? I’m clearly a doctor! I’m all too familiar with human anatomy, you know."

"Shameless!" Gu Shifang never imagined he would utter those words one day.

An Yan took his pulse, the corners of her mouth slowly curling up. "Oh dear," she said, "you’re not doing so well. It seems whoever severed your pain nerves didn’t do a clean job!"

Gu Shifang’s eyes widened in horror. "What... what do you want to do?"

"Treat your ailment, of course!" As An Yan spoke, she produced silver needles. Slowly, very slowly, like a scene in slow motion, she began to prick his acupoints one by one.

The neck Li Tianyao had choked and the spot An Yan had kicked began to throb with a faint, tingling pain. The sensation grew clearer, then sharper, then more severe!

"ARGH! AAAAAH!" Gu Shifang suddenly doubled over, the agony making him instinctively try to curl into a ball. But with his hands cuffed to the table and his legs shackled to the stool, even that small movement was impossible.

"You vicious girl! If you act , Li Tianyao will despise you!" Gu Shifang yelled. "He’ll never like you again!"

An Yan chuckled. Perfect, she thought. If he dislikes me, I can break up with him peacefully without causing offense!

Just as she was thinking this, Li Tianyao lifted her arm, took a wet wipe from Lu Feng’s hand, and meticulously began to clean her hand. "Touching such filthy things?"

An Yan smiled. "You were willing to shed blood for me; why wouldn’t I be willing to touch something filthy for you? It’s fine, I’ll wipe it myself. You go ahead and ask what you want. If he dares not answer..."

Gu Shifang registered An Yan’s threat, and a shiver ran down his spine.

"You first," Li Tianyao gestured.

"Fine by me." An Yan turned to look at Gu Shifang.

Memories surfaced: the pain she had endured since childhood trying to counteract the poison, the bewildered grief of her mother’s early death. And the man before her was to blame for it all.

An Yan reached for Li Tianyao’s knife and pointed it at Gu Shifang’s hand. "As long as I don’t kill him, it’s fine, right?"

The color drained from Gu Shifang’s face. He finally understood: this girl, An Yan, and Li Tianyao were cut from the same cloth!

"What do you want to know? Just ask!" His voice trembled. He was willing to confess anything he knew. He didn’t want to be tormented by pain anymore! The fear of pain, conditioned into him by Li Tianyao over what felt like lifetimes, was overwhelming.

An Yan stared into his eyes. "Gu Shifang, you caused my mother to leave this world far too young! This stab is for my mother!"

The knife pressed down, piercing straight through one of Gu Shifang’s fingers. An agonized scream ripped through the interrogation room.

"You made my father lose his beloved wife!" An Yan declared, as she stabbed another finger. "This stab is for my father!"

"ARGH!" Gu Shifang howled.

"You robbed us siblings of our mother!" She stabbed a third finger. "This stab is for the three of us!"

"You also poisoned me, condemning me to years of pain, sickness, and a frail body!" A fourth finger was pierced.

"And you unleashed the Living Dead at the Li Family villa, injuring my second brother!" She impaled his last finger on that hand. "This stab is for him!"

"AAARGH! DON’T STAB ANYMORE!" Gu Shifang shrieked.

All five fingers on one hand were now pierced through. Each finger is connected to the heart—the pain was excruciating!

"Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you! Just ask! Please, just ask!"