For Nianyang, the time that followed was undoubtedly another bout of torment.

Four or five large men abused her, who was defenseless, until there wasn’t an intact piece of flesh on her body.

She was so tired, so hungry, so thirsty, she wanted to just die and get it over with.

But it was as if they knew she was on the brink; each time they beat her until she was barely conscious, they would pour cold water on her.

The room was already cold, and they doused her with ice-cold water. Combined with Nianyang’s feverishly burning skin, the dual stimulation made it impossible for her to faint.

She didn’t know when they would finally stop, as the agonizing torture seemed to stretch on interminably. Eventually, Nianyang coughed up another mouthful of blood.

"That’s enough, don’t beat her to death!" Phoenix raised a hand, stepping in front of Nianyang, who was nearly unrecognizable from the beating.

Her face was swollen, and the rest of her body covered in fresh blood.

Anyone else would have been crying and screaming in pain by now, but not Nianyang. She hadn’t let out a whimper; even her breath through her nose and mouth was so faint it was almost inaudible.

Phoenix pinched her chin and tutted twice, "Look at yourself, so ugly now. I said, if you submitted to me, all would be well. But you insisted on getting beaten. Tell me, girl, were you born with such a fate?"

Nianyang’s eyes were unfocused, her voice barely a whisper,

"If you have the guts, just kill me..."

"Eager to die, huh? Well, I’m not going to fulfill that wish of yours!"

Phoenix no longer wanted to hit her for fear of killing her, so she took out silver needles and inserted them into Nianyang’s acupuncture points.

"Ah!" Nianyang could no longer hold back and let out a scream.

Her already mangled body convulsed with the pain, beads of sweat pouring from her skin. She thought her tortured body was so numb it couldn’t feel pain anymore.

But as the silver needles pierced her acupuncture points, the pain seemed to ooze from her very bones, breaking her self-control.

The pain shattered all her endurance, making everything turn to bubbles. She couldn’t endure it, she really couldn’t.

Phoenix almost seemed to leisurely appreciate Nianyang’s miserable state as she produced another needle, "See, you’re also trained in traditional Chinese medicine, so you should know how painful it is when these acupuncture points are pierced, and it aches enough that you want to die but can’t. Do you want to be relieved? Do you?"

At this moment, Phoenix was like the witch tempting Snow White to eat the poisoned apple. While speaking, she took out another needle and inserted it lightly into Nianyang’s body; Nianyang began to gasp for breath.

"You really have a hard mouth." Phoenix shook her head, speaking slowly in Nianyang’s ear, "Seeing how miserable you are, I’ll tell you one thing. Actually, it was me who personally sent Yin Tang."

Nianyang’s unfocused pupils slightly refocused, and Phoenix’s smile grew more smug as she revealed her secret plan entirely to Nianyang.

"From the start, this was all my scheme, to capture you. So I deliberately sent bait to seduce Li Tingyan. I didn’t expect Li Tingyan to be so weak-willed and actually fall for it. So the reason you’re in such a mess is because of the man you love. In a few days, when I get the plans, your man and your family will all be dismantled by us. Too bad you won’t get to see that glorious moment..."