Ye Huohuo forcefully shook the bottle, trying to dislodge the light spot, but it clung to the bottom as if glued, refusing to be shaken out.
Finally, watching the talisman light and the other light spots vanish into the night sky, Ye Huohuo could only sigh in dejection.
"What's wrong with you? Do you know what it means if you don't go back? What are you staying here for? If you can't return to your body in time, you'll dissipate into thin air after seven days, and your body will die with you!" Ye Huohuo reprimanded the small light spot in the bottle with anger.
The small light spot, which had been stuck to the bottom of the bottle refusing to come out, finally flew out. In the dimness, it instantly transformed into a translucent phantom of a woman.
The shadow was incredibly weak, almost transparent, and flickered in and out of existence as if it might disappear at any moment. The woman’s lips moved as if she were saying something.
But she was too weak to be heard.
Ye Huohuo frowned as she looked at it, formed a mudra with her hands, and pressed it into the void above the phantom. Only then did the shadow become slightly more solid.
Gradually, her words could be heard.
"Thank you, young lady, for saving me, but I truly don't want to live anymore. Rather than be endlessly humiliated in that filthy place, it's better to die like this and escape suffering." the woman said.
Though now just a phantom, Ye Huohuo could tell she was a very beautiful woman in her early twenties.
"Were you forced to entertain clients there?" Ye Huohuo's question was a bit superfluous, but having no prior experience dealing with women in such situations, she asked it casually.
The woman nodded. "It's all my fault for being blind. I fell for a scumbag. At the time, I just thought he was handsome and treated me well, always knowing what I needed.
During that period, I truly felt he loved me so much. If I was hurt, he hurt more, and if anyone bullied me, he was angrier than I was. For my birthday, he invited all his friends to celebrate with me.
My girlfriends were all envious of me for having such a good boyfriend. I thought he was the one I would love for my entire life, and he would cherish me forever."
As she spoke, the woman gazed into the distance, a faint smile playing on her lips, as if those beautiful times had returned to her.
"But then..." Ye Huohuo interrupted her pleasant reminiscence rather unceremoniously, pulling her back to reality.
The woman withdrew her gaze and gave a bitter smile.
"From meeting to falling in love took less than half a month, and then I gave myself to him. That night, he said I was his entire world.
I was a bit nervous and scared, after all, a woman's first time is always full of anticipation and tension, isn't it!" The woman's words carried a hint of questioning, and she looked at Ye Huohuo, clearly asking her.
Ye Huohuo awkwardly scratched her head. "Well... it's best not to ask me that, because I haven't... had that experience yet, so I really don't have the right to speak about how you must have felt at the time."
The woman smiled faintly. "Protect yourself, a woman must protect herself. It's a pity I only learned this too late. That night, I only had a glass of red wine.
But I soon got drunk, no, rather than drunk, I was drugged.
My body couldn't move, but my consciousness was clear. I felt everything they did to me, vividly.
It wasn't the gentle treatment I had imagined.
When he saw me collapse, he made a phone call. We were in a hotel, and soon a man in his forties walked in.
My body was immobile, but my eyes were open, and I could see them.
The man looked me up and down for a long time, then said twenty thousand.
It was then I understood. My lover had sold my first night to someone else for twenty thousand.
After that, that night I couldn't move and could only endure the man's constant demands. As he defiled me, he uttered unspeakable obscenities.
He said that for twenty thousand a night, he certainly couldn't lose money. I couldn't move, but I could feel everything. That night was a nightmare. He tormented me until I passed out, and I even wished I could just pass out and die.
But he wouldn't allow it. He threw cold water on me to wake me up, then continued to torment me. Later, the drug's effects wore off, and I could move, but I was so tormented I didn't even have the strength to put on my clothes.
When dawn broke, the man left, satisfied. He walked in.
I looked at him again. His eyes were so cold, devoid of the tenderness and affection from before.
I thought the nightmare was over, after all, he had exchanged me for twenty thousand.
But I was wrong. I could never have guessed how evil a person could be.
Not only did he show no pity towards me, but he also took many photos of me naked with his phone.
Afterward, he threatened me, saying that if I dared to report him, he would release the photos and make it impossible for me to live. He also demanded that I obey him and entertain clients for him from then on.
I begged him, begged him to spare me, but he acted like a different person, or perhaps he had always been a cold-blooded demon, merely pretending to be gentle before.
From that day on, I became a tool for him to make money. During the day, I had to pretend nothing was wrong at work, and at night, I was forced to sleep with different men.
My life was completely ruined, utterly destroyed by that scumbag! But I was powerless to resist. This time, I don't know what happened, but one night in a dark alley, I seemed to have been violated, and then I knew nothing more.
So, this is my current state. It's better to die like this, it's a form of liberation!
So please don't save me!"
The woman recounted her ordeal, each word seemingly wrung from her very soul.
Ye Huohuo's eyes blazed with anger as she listened. "A man like that, such a person can no longer be called a scumbag, he's a beast!
Why do you want to die? What did you do wrong? If anyone was wrong from the start, it was you for misjudging him. If you die like this, will you be at peace? Will you be at peace knowing that the person who ruined your life continues to harm other girls with impunity?
If it were me, I would definitely seek revenge! He's the one who deserves to die. You must live well and witness his eventual tragic downfall.
Believe me, good and evil have their own justice. Even if heaven doesn't punish him, I will get justice for you.
Our meeting is also a fated encounter, a matter of destiny. Heaven sees that you have suffered too much and sent me to help you.
Don't worry, I'm taking care of your situation.
However, you missed the opportunity to return to your body, so you can't go back for now. You are now just one soul of your three souls and seven spirits, drawn out when that malevolent spirit was absorbing essence.
Without one soul, your body will remain in a comatose state. If your soul doesn't return within seven days, you will die.
But there isn't an opportunity to return every day. That just now was a good chance, but you missed it. The next one is in seven days. I will find a way to send you back.
Until then, please stay in this soul-gathering bottle!"
Ye Huohuo said, opening the small glass bottle she held and offering it forward.
"I truly don't want to live anymore, please grant my wish!"
Ye Huohuo's attempt at consolation couldn't immediately shake the woman's resolve to die. After all, her experiences had plunged her into despair. Perhaps she had considered ending her life more than once before.
The ice is not three feet thick from a single day's frost; Ye Huohuo understood this, and she didn't press the woman.
"I understand how you feel. How about this, since you can't die immediately and have nowhere else to go, come into the bottle first. I'll show you the fate of that beast, and then you can decide whether you want to live!"