He laid on the ice-cold floor, NAKED.
.
..
Slowly opening his eyes, Zhao Yao couldn't figure out where he was.
'Did I sleep on the floor yesterday?' He tried to lift himself from the floor while musing.
His entire body felt like it's frozen, especially his chest. If it was not for the slow heartbeats that echoed in his ear, he would have thought himself as dead.
His stiff body didn't move as he wished, which made it hard for him to get up. Touching his chest, he became aware of something that terrified him.
'I am naked.'
It's not just his upper body, there wasn't any shred of clothes on his body. Looking around, he didn't see any clothes in the room he was in.
His slow heartbeats quickened, and as fear took over him, Zhao Yao started yelling.
"Where...Where am I?"
"Someone Help me."
"HELP."
His voice was rigid from the cold, and he wasn't able to muster enough sound that he wanted.
"Muaahhhh"
He was replied by something that sounded like an animal cry, making Zhao Yao crawl back in fear.
It was a demon beast that his Zhao clan domesticated in large numbers.
Merp, a low-level demon beast, was raised for its meat, fur, and it's demonic core. Three to four feet tall, it wasn't an aggressive beast unless attacked, and it was easy to rear them in large numbers.
"Why is there one with me?"
'Is this a cattle house? Where the hell did I sleep?'
He tried to remember. Last night.
Last night, he and Zhao Ping had some wine. It was more accurate to say that Zhao Ping forced him to drink. Zhao Yao tried to remember, but he wasn't able to remember how he ended up here. He did not remember drinking too much.
'Aaaaaahhh'
Each passing second made him more panicked and frustrated. He couldn't remember anything about how he ended up here or where he was.
"Muaahhhh"
The Merp cried again. Zhao Yao could sense that it was in pain.
After the cold gradually subsided, his body started to feel a lot of pain as well. Especially in his private part, in which he noticed some swelling.
"What the hell happened to me? Did someone kidnap me?"
He wanted to cry, but he can't. His father taught him that letting out tears doesn't solve anything.
'I have to escape.'
Zhao Yao made up his mind. He may be weak, but he can't fall without trying. To escape, he started observing.
The room, it's more accurate to call it a shed, had no windows and had only one door which had no lock from inside. It had clay laced floor, and its walls were made of stones.
He was familiar with this kind of sheds. His Zhao clan had multiple sheds like this used as storage rooms.
Even though this shed type was common in the town, the possibility that he may be within his clan grounds gave him great hope and relief.
"Muaahhh"
Also, there was a Merp with him, as this Demon Beast was mainly domesticated by his clan, he was most likely in the Zhao clan. Looking again at the Merp, he saw some of its furs were ripped off, which spread over the floor.
Why would he end up here?
Mustering all his strength, he stood up. The wooden door was large and was gap-free for safe storage. His body trembled with his every step, and he swayed as he moved, struggling to find balance. With the pain assaulting him all over his body, he inched closer to the door.
"Bang. BANG."
He was lacking in strength, but he was able to create some noise with his fist. Either due to the cold numbing his hands or him feeling a lot of pain elsewhere, his fist's didn't hurt much.
"Help. Open the door."
"Bang. Bang."
He hated the situation he was in, more than that he hated himself. For being ignorant, for being weak, for being a cripple with no cultivation, for being a useless butt of jokes. Otherwise, how could he end up in a situation like this?
If he wasn't a cripple and had some cultivation, he could break this door open.
"Bang."
"Help me."
Zhao Yao's voice died down eventually as he lost his energy. He didn't know how long it will take or whether this will work, but it was the only thing he could do.
Time lost it's meaning to him as every second felt like a minute to him. He didn't know how much time he spent banging the door.
"He is awake."
Zhao Yao heard a voice from the other side. He, who felt weak, rejuvenated with hope.
"BANG."
"Please, open the Door.."
He didn't get an answer.
But, he didn't have to wait long for more voices, this time more than one, and he felt them familiar.
"Boss. I think he is here."
"Are you sure?"
Zhao Yao knew the owner of the voice very well as it was his own cousin, Zhao Ping. He was the son of the current Patriarch of the Zhao clan, Zhao Yao's uncle. And, he was with Zhao Ping the last time he remembered.
"Zhao Ping, is that you? Help Me. Open the door." He yelled with all the strength he could muster.
"BANG. BANG. BANG."
The door was slammed from the other side. The strength of the person not only sank Zhao Yao's words but also made the door vibrate for a long time.
"Zhao Yao. Open the door," Zhao Ping yelled.
"I can't. It's locked from outside."
"What are you doing? Zhao Yao, why are you hiding inside?" Zhao Ping talked as if he didn't hear anything.
Zhao Yao stood behind the door without knowing what to do. His brain froze in utter confusion.
"Miss Ruo. Zhao Bo heard Yao's voice from inside. But he is not opening the door. Just wait for a second, I will make him open the door."
"What?" Zhao Yao's heart stopped.
Miss Ruo. Su Ruo, his fiance was here?
"Open the door. Miss Ruo is here to see you." Zhao Ping's words were accompanied by a loud explosion. The wooden door blasted to smithereens, and Zhao Yao was blown back by it.
"Aaaah." The pain he felt rose tenfold after the fall. Some wood chips penetrated his skin and made him bleed.
"There you are." Zhao Ping and Zhao Bo stood in the doorway, but they had a cynical smile when looking at him.
"What? Why are you like this?" Zhao Bo pointed his finger at him.
"Muuaaahh." The Merp cried, startled by Zhao Ping blasting the door.
Zhao Ping's smile widened, and then abruptly changed to disgust.
"YOU VILE BEAST." Zhao Ping shouted as he walked closer. "To think you are this disgusting and perverted."
"Brother Zhao Ping. What happened?" Su Ruo's sweet voice came from outside.
"It's a shameful thing, Miss Ruo. Something not pleasant for you to see." Zhao Ping kicked him, and he was sent flying towards the Merp in the corner.
"What happened to Big Brother Zhao Yao?" Su Ruo asked as she walked closer to the doorway.
Zhao Yao wasn't the cleverest, but he wasn't a complete fool. He had realized that he was in a trap.
When Little Sister Ruo, his lovely fiance, walked closer, he was terrorized about being seen by her in his current state. How could he let the lady he loves, see him in such a pathetic condition.
"Sis Ruo. Don't come." His weak cry was disrupted by Zhao Ping's foot on his face. He tried to resist. He didn't have any hope of overcoming a cultivation genius like his cousin.
Grinding his teeth, with his eyes wet with tears, he tried to bite Zhao Ping's foot only to get kicked away.
Lying on the clay floor wet with his own tears and saliva, Zhao Yao saw Su Ruo at the doorway behind Zhao Bo.
'Don't come. Don't move Zhao Bo.'
Despite his prayers, Zhao Bo moved aside with a mocking smile on his face.
Su Ruo looked at the naked him, and the Merp in shock and turned away quickly.
"This vile, despicable beast. He was using this beast Merp for his perverse needs. He is the shame of the Zhao clan. Miss Ruo, you deserve better." Zhao Ping spat on him.
With her back facing him, Su Ruo cried with her hands on her face.
"Lady Su Ruo. What's wrong." Su Rou's servant arrived.
"What's going on?" Zhao clan's elder also appeared.
"Muaaahh." Unaware of the situation, the Merp beast cried.
Zhao Yao laid on the floor unmoving. He didn't see anything, nor he heard anything.
His heart died the moment he saw Su Ruo's eyes.
Zhao clan's infamous Zhao Yao was dead from that moment.