【captivity】

In the courtyard of the Snake King's Palace, there is a lotus pond with boundless clear water.

From the moment Tong Wantian was trapped in the Snake King's Palace, she often sat alone by the lotus pond, looking at the pond of lotus leaves that were as densely packed as open umbrellas.

Oddly enough, it is midsummer in July, the season when the lotus ponds are full.

But Tong Wantian has been trapped in the Snake Palace for more than half a year, but she has never seen a blooming lotus, not even a bud.

The only thing filling this pool of clear water is lush green lotus leaves that are as lifelike as green butterflies and green umbrellas.

This anomaly did not attract the attention of the monsters now that the Snake King's Palace was full of singing and dancing.

Tong Wantian sat alone on the carved ink-colored stone pier beside the lotus pond, resting her elbows on the round table of the same color and carved patterns, leaning her head on the side, lazily looking at the pool of green and blue.

She was wearing a long azure skirt, which was like a masterpiece from an ancient court master. It was simple and had a bit of unearthly beauty. It lined her fair skin with a bit of warmth and delicacy. The whole person looked like

Like the cleanest buds under the morning dew.

In fact, Tong Wantian's clothes were all selected and customized by Snake King himself. With her own thoughtfulness in exploring the art of dressing?

Especially when she was in a very bad mood after being imprisoned, how could she think about what clothes to wear that would look good?

"Oh!~~~" Tong Wantian had been sitting for a long time, so she loosened her arms, sighed deeply, and rested her head on the round table with her arms.

She was irritable and confused. What was more, a feeling equivalent to despair gradually grew in her heart.

Tong Wantian was originally such a happy and unrestrained person!

But what is the difference between being trapped in the luxurious Snake King's Palace and being a bird in a birdcage?

...If it were back then...Alas!

Every time Tong Wantian thinks of the scene when she personally pierced the steel nail into Yin Wu's chest that day, and thinks of Yin Wu's sad and desperate eyes, waves of bitter, heart-wrenching undercurrents will rise in her heart.

She was wrong, she really knew she was wrong.

What a stupid thing she did!

She actually killed him, killing the person who touched her heart with her own hands.

When his body gradually lost support against her, Tong Wantian felt like he was dying.

If she was given another chance to choose, she would rather...she would rather have him restrain her edge and imprison her.

But it was too late. Tong Wantian sighed heavily, as if to remind her that her soul was still in her body and that she was still alive.

I remember when I saw the dead Yin Wu and suddenly woke up again, Tong Wantian was so surprised that he almost stopped breathing. The surprise was so exciting that he almost jumped out of his mouth.

The same appearance, the same unwillingness to give up on her...

Tong Wantian knew that the Yinwu who used to be cruel to her but was willing to die no longer existed.

Now, the person she faced... was just an impostor wearing Yinwu's body.

Alas! Just don’t mention it!

Tong Wantian felt extremely uncomfortable in her heart. Every time she thought about it, the undercurrent of sadness in her heart always stabbed her eyes, and her eyes were filled with transparent water droplets unconsciously. She hated crying.

If it were the cruel Snake King who hides his sword behind his smile, she would rather be the cold-faced Yinwu!~~~~

Tong Wantian, who was lying on the round table with his head buried, clutched the clothes around his heart tightly with his hands. It hurt, it really hurt...

But what can be done?

After more than half a year, the sharp edge in Tong Wantian's body has been almost worn away.

She once racked her brains to think of a way to escape. Thinking about how busy she was then, she felt so happy now.

Because only when she was busy, her heart would not be soaked in bitter juice and painful.

Tong Wantian thought of many ways to escape, but without exception, they all ended in failure.

The first time he escaped, he was discovered by the maid and failed.

The second time, I escaped the maid, but not the Snake King's shadow guard... As a result, the maid was thrown out of the Snake King's palace and never appeared again.

The third time, she did not choose to hide away from others at night, but in the name of visiting the palace during the day, she sent the maid to leave midway, and tried to climb out of the outermost wall of the Snake King's Palace.

As a result, as soon as I reached the top of the wall, I was startled by a small snake head that suddenly appeared, and I fell off the high wall on the spot.

The shadow guard with his head and face covered didn't know where he was hiding. When she fell to the wall, he quickly appeared and caught her easily, landing her firmly on the ground.

At that time, Tong Wantian was not angry about being caught red-handed. Instead, she looked at the black gauze covering the face of the shadow guard. It was a bit like pulling away the black gauze to look at the face under the black gauze, because there was something hidden in that cold embrace.

The familiar feeling makes Tong Wantian nostalgic.

Maybe it was to dispel Tong Wantian's idea of ​​escaping! Or maybe Tong Wantian was content in the shadow guard's arms, which made the Snake King unhappy.

After the Snake King arrived, he looked at Tong Wantian with a cloud on his face.

Tong Wantian thought that the Snake King would be angry, but she didn't expect that the Snake King just looked at her for a moment, then showed a determined smile, picked her up and jumped up to the wall, and walked around the outer wall of the Snake King's Palace, letting her

She had a clear view of the scenery outside the palace.

This method really works. Thinking of those snakes that cover the walls like ivy and block the palace doors, those eyes that are densely packed like lanterns in the dark night, like the god of death looking for prey, one can't help but think.

Hide from being seen.

Not only that, Tong Wantian also saw the maid who was sent away under her excuses, screaming miserably as she was bitten by a group of snakes and was slowly being eaten away.

It was the Snake King who deliberately let her see it. She knew it, but she still couldn't help being frightened.

Tong Wantian was so frightened that she almost jumped up and ran away.

She told herself that those were all monsters and it was nothing to be dealt with by the Snake King.

But seeing a life being dismembered and cannibalized in front of her eyes, and being implicated in death because of her delusions, Tong Wantian felt very guilty.

In addition, Tong Wantian also saw that on the periphery of the snake garrison, there were endless mountains and dense forests, as well as the howls of tigers and wolves coming from the dense forests...

Do you still want to run away? Tong Wantian is annoyed and heartbroken. Everything she sees undermines her confidence in running away.

Tong Wantian understood that even if her special physique worked and she could escape those poisonous snakes and ignore the life and death of the little demons who were dealt with by the snake king, she would probably be torn apart by the beasts in the forest to feed herself.

Just like the waitress who was eaten by snakes...

No matter how courageous Tong Wantian is, she is still just a girl of eighteen or nineteen. How can she not be afraid in the face of so many cruel realities?

Those who are not dead are the second best, but the flesh on their bodies is bitten off piece by piece, and they cannot die immediately, just like the Lingchi torture, until the bones are exposed and the internal organs are eaten...

That situation is really scary and painful!~~~

It was a scary thing to think about at first, and there were scenes of snakes eating away the maids with her own eyes. Tong Wantian was so scared just by thinking about it.

Due to these reasons, Tong Wantian was silent for a long time.

Fortunately, Tong Wantian did not feel depressed. Instead, after more than three months of mental adjustment, he persuaded himself to implement his fourth escape plan.

I guess it’s because I’ve escaped a lot and gained experience!

This time, the shadow guard didn't even notice. Tong Wantian boldly walked out of the palace gate and looked at the group of snakes retreating on both sides. Tong Wantian was ecstatic in her heart.

She could no longer care about the tigers and beasts in the dense forest. She just wanted to leave here and leave this luxurious cage.

Unfortunately, when she walked out of the palace gate, before she had taken five steps, her ankle suddenly tightened, as if something had caught her foot.

Tong Wantian fell to the ground, and her first reaction was that her ankle was entangled by a snake.

When she got up and took a look, she discovered that the lapis lazuli anklet on her ankle that the Snake King had personally put on for her was emitting a cyan light. At some point, a small bell appeared on it.

The bell swayed gently, making a crisp sound.

Tong Wantian even saw a thin golden thread on the edge of the bell. The golden thread stretched taut and extended towards the door of the Snake King's Palace.

Seeing the extra thing on her ankle, Tong Wantian panicked and felt as if she was being tied up as a plaything or a pet.

She tried to struggle, trying to cover the bell to tear off the golden wire, but the tight golden wire tightened the lapis gold anklet as if it was embedded in the flesh of her ankle, and the pain made her burst into tears.

You've already stepped out of the Snake King's Palace, but you still can't escape?

Tong Wantian is unwilling to accept it!

She looked at the large dense forest outside the Snake King's Palace, and her heart was so depressed that she almost dripped with bitter juice.

For the first time, she realized deeply that she, a mortal, could not escape from the Snake King's palace or the Snake King's palm.

Tong Wantian guessed right. The Snake King gave her maximum freedom in the palace, but he would never allow her to leave the Snake King's palace.

Although the sacrifice oath made three thousand years ago was made with the real Yinwu, the Snake King at this time was born from Yinwu's inner demons. It can be said that everything about him has been inherited from Yinwu, including his love for Tong Wan.

Heaven’s attachment and desire.

After Tong Wantian failed to escape, the Snake King kindly introduced Tong Wantian to the function of the lapis lazuli anklet.

It turns out that this anklet was cast by the Snake King for a forbidden spell. It was okay for Tong Wantian to stay in the Snake King's Palace. As long as she took less than five steps out of the Snake King's Palace, the forbidden spell of the anklet would appear.

The lapis lazuli anklet not only corrected Tong Wantian's wrong behavior of trying to escape in time, but also gradually tightened until Tong Wantian escaped again and again until it cut into her flesh.

Although Tong Wantian was shocked after hearing this, she still felt lucky in her heart.

But the snake king broke her last chance. The snake king told her that once the lapis lazuli anklet got into her flesh and tasted blood, it would become a part of her body and imprison her soul.

In that case, even if she dies, her soul will not be able to take a step out of the Snake King's Palace.
To be continued...