Xue Liang inside the barrier never expected anyone to come in. When he saw Chi Yu and Gu Yuan, surprise flashed across his face. He almost fell off his chair in fright when Gu Yuan's flying blade shot out.
It was not until the barrier blocked the blade that he composed himself, gradually showing a sly smile.
"Prince Yuan, you've finally come. But aren't you a bit too late?" His voice was extremely unpleasant, making one want to vomit after hearing it once.
"I'm here. If you have anything to do, come at me. Let Boss Gu go," Gu Yuan stood there glaring angrily, staring intently at Xue Liang.
"Hahaha... Alright. I'll let her go if she hands over the deed of the Never - Night Inn. Then I'll release her."
With a sly smile on his face, Xue Liang swayed to his feet from the chair, waving the whip in his hand as he walked towards Gu Qingcheng.
Previously, Xue Liang had been standing in front of her, so Chi Yu and Gu Yuan could only catch a rough glimpse from afar.
However, seeing Gu Qingcheng up close now, one could hardly find enough words to describe how miserable she looked.
At this moment, Gu Qingcheng's hands were tied behind her back. Streams of fresh blood trickled down along her hair.
Her once slender and fair swan - like neck was now gone. Instead, her neck, covered in bruises and rope marks, had a noose hanging from it, and her head swayed limply.
Even more abominable was that Xue Liang had placed two layers of Antarctic ice under her feet.
Gu Yuan had once told them that this ice was extremely cold. Shavings of it could be used as weapons. Once infused with magic power, anyone hit by such a weapon would be instantly frozen into ice, and a second strike would shatter their body.
Gu Yuan had used such a weapon before, and its power was astonishing. Even immortals would find it hard to escape.
Although the ice under Gu Qingcheng's feet was not infused with magic power, its coldness was still no joke.
Moreover, she was standing bare - footed on the ice at the moment. The cold was unbearable, making her keep shifting her feet.
The room temperature was gradually melting the ice. There was clearly a deep groove on the ice block under her feet.
As time passed, once the ice melted, the rope around her neck would tighten more and more until she was strangled to death.
That is to say, if she didn't want to freeze her feet and chose not to stand on the ice, she would be strangled by the rope around her neck.
If she chose to stand bare - footed on the ice, her feet would freeze, but the heat from her soles would melt the ice. Once the ice melted, she would still die, and in a more painful way.
Only a despicable person like Xue Liang could come up with such a cruel punishment.
Seeing this chained punishment inflicted on Gu Qingcheng, I suddenly thought of Jun He and Chi Yu.
Only a perverted person like Xue Liang could devise such a perverted punishment.
The blood from Gu Qingcheng's body dripped onto the ice block, and the ice - water mixed with the blood, forming red streams that trickled down.
Gu Qingcheng's face was deathly pale with a tinge of blue - purple. Her lips were chapped and peeling, but there was no more blood left to seep out.
She swayed unsteadily, her head drooping limply. It seemed that she was barely holding on to her last breath and could die at any moment.
Chi Yu's heart was already clenched in pain. Seeing her like this, Gu Yuan grabbed her hand with one hand and said to Xue Liang,
"Fine. Release her, and I'll give you the deed. The deed of the Never - Night Inn is with me."
At this point, there was no other choice but to give in.
Hearing that the deed was with Gu Yuan, Xue Liang walked over to the barrier with a fake smile, taking small steps.
"Prince Yuan, hand over the deed and put it on the ground," Xue Liang said, tapping the ground with his foot to indicate the spot for Gu Yuan to place it.
Gu Yuan narrowed his sharp eyes. With a flip of his palm, a deed appeared in his hand.
"Open the barrier, and I'll go with you," Gu Yuan said coldly.
Xue Liang let out a creepy laugh.
"Prince Yuan, do you think I'm stupid? If I open the barrier, can I still escape? Put the deed on the ground. I'll take it and leave. You can do whatever you want with this faded flower," he sneered.
"You're despicable! You'll never get the deed in your lifetime. Even if the Never - Night Inn collapses, it won't fall into your hands," Gu Qingcheng somehow summoned the last bit of strength and shouted angrily at Xue Liang.
Xue Liang had his back to Gu Qingcheng. Instead of getting angry at her curse, he seemed to enjoy it.
"Come back, and we'll discuss the terms," Gu Yuan said, seeing that Gu Qingcheng was about to be in more trouble and trying to divert Xue Liang's attention.
But Xue Liang didn't listen at all. He put his finger to his lips and shook his head at Gu Yuan.
"Shh! Don't make a sound." Then he showed a strange smile, looking like a great silver demon.
He hopped over to Gu Qingcheng and touched her feet, which were already frozen purple.
"You're right. I'm despicable. Let me show you something even more despicable," Xue Liang said.
After his words, the hand touching Gu Qingcheng's feet gradually moved towards the huge ice block.
"It's so cold, isn't it? I'll warm you up. Hehe..."
Xue Liang showed a sly smile as a ball of fire rose from his hand and slowly approached the ice.
The ice melted faster when it met the fire. The fire was roasting Gu Qingcheng's feet, and blood was flowing. Gu Qingcheng was standing on the ice, almost on her tiptoes.
"Xue Liang, if you have anything to do, come at me. Let her go," Gu Yuan was completely enraged by Xue Liang.
He quickly formed seals with his hands, drew a spiritual talisman, and slapped it hard on the barrier.
The barrier trembled, showing a golden light like flowing sand. The part that Gu Yuan had broken was quickly repaired in the blink of an eye.
Gu Yuan had already exhausted some of his internal energy, so he couldn't take advantage of the broken barrier to get in. No matter what he did, he couldn't break this barrier.
Xue Liang stood inside the barrier, looking at Gu Yuan's angry but helpless expression. He was really infuriating.
"Prince Yuan, put in more effort. If you don't, all you'll get is a corpse. Hahaha..."
Xue Liang's laughter grew louder and louder. The louder he laughed, the more creepy it was.
I seemed to smell the stench of a corpse on him. I felt that his death was not far away.
Thinking he was safe inside the barrier, Xue Liang became even more unscrupulous. Finally, he put out the ball of fire in his hand and kicked away the ice under Gu Qingcheng's feet.
With this kick, Gu Qingcheng's neck was suddenly pulled up, and she was hanging in mid - air.
She let out choking sounds from her throat, her chest heaving violently. Her body twitched constantly, and her feet kicked wildly in an attempt to find a support point.
"Xue Liang, you're so despicable..." Gu Yuan was still trying to break the barrier forcefully. He glanced at Chi Yu.
Chi Yu seemed to understand what Gu Yuan meant. She looked up at Gu Qingcheng and quickly looked away.
Fury filled her chest, but her mind told her that she had to stay calm at the moment.
Chi Yu stood beside him, quickly scanning the barrier with her eyes to find its weakness.
The words Xue Liang had just said to Gu Yuan flashed through Chi Yu's mind: Put the deed of the Never - Night Inn on the ground, and he even pointed to a specific spot with his toe.
It seemed that he had slipped up. Why did he specify a position on the ground? A normal person would usually put things in the most convenient place to pick up.
He asked Gu Yuan to put the deed in a specific position, which meant that he could pick it up most quickly and conveniently from below.
In other words, the bottom must be the weakest part of the barrier.