If anyone else had asked this question, Peng Ying would not only have refused to answer but might have killed them, for the question directly pierced Peng Ying's most tender spot, recalling her most painful memories.
However, precisely because Lu Ming sat opposite her, Peng Ying felt no hostility, only warmth.
It had been a long time.
It had been a long time since she had been able to speak to someone so normally.
Peng Ying took a sip of wine, long and slow, to calm her emotions. Without rushing to answer, she released her Seven-Colored Centipede from her sleeve.
She asked, "Do you know how I raised this centipede?"
Lu Ming nodded, "Gu raising."
"That's right, Gu raising. I put all the most poisonous creatures in the world together and made them fight each other, finally raising this extremely venomous Seven-Colored Centipede." At this point, Peng Ying suddenly paused, looked up at Lu Ming, and said something that made Lu Ming's heart skip a beat: "I, I was raised by Xiang Chong through Gu raising!"
What?
Even Lu Ming, who had seen much of the world, was greatly startled by Peng Ying's words, for Lu Ming knew the weight of them.
Gu raising was not the same as ordinary training.
Even the most rigorous training methods were vastly different from Gu raising.
Then, Peng Ying looked out the window, parted her red lips, and recounted her tragic past one by one. After listening to this past, Lu Ming's heart grew even heavier.
Ten years ago, when Peng Ying was just a little girl, her parents had died early, and her relatives had not cared for her, so she was sent to an orphanage. Later, she was adopted by Xiang Chong.
Xiang Chong used various means to adopt children from all over the country who were around Peng Ying's age, all of whom were very intelligent.
Initially, Xiang Chong treated them very well.
Not only did he provide a high-quality living environment, but he also hired the best teachers to educate them, covering culture, martial arts, and medicine.
At that time, Peng Ying naively treated Xiang Chong like her own father and got along very well with the children around her. They had a lot of fun.
But!
Three years later.
When all the children had grown up, and a deep friendship had formed between them, Xiang Chong did something inhuman to them – he forced them to kill each other!
Xiang Chong took them to a small island and locked them in a villa. Machine guns were set up outside, preventing them from running out.
There was nothing inside the villa.
No food, no water, no clothes, effectively holding these children captive.
There was only one way to get out: kill all their companions!
Xiang Chong only allowed the last surviving child to leave the villa; everyone else had to die! If anyone tried to escape before that, they would be riddled with bullets like a hornet's nest.
At first, some children did not believe that the benevolent 'father' Xiang Chong would actually do such an inhuman thing. They thought it might be a reality show, and one of them actually walked out of the villa. The result was predictable; within a second, he was shot into a hornet's nest, his body full of holes.
Bleeding profusely, he died on the spot.
With that child as a lesson, the other children dared not go out.
Because everyone had a good relationship, and they had received a high level of education and were of good character, they were reluctant to make the first move.
This situation dragged on for two days. On the third day, someone finally couldn't hold on.
Without food or water, their stomachs growled, and some felt they were starving to death.
At that moment, Peng Ying witnessed the darkness deep within the human heart and what true horror was!
One child directly picked up a dagger and pierced another child's throat. The scene was incredibly brutal, causing an indelible psychological trauma to Peng Ying at the time.
If one child made a move, another would follow. Finally, the dominoes fell, and the children inside the villa went on a killing spree.
A human purgatory, a Shura hell.
Peng Ying's combat skills were no better than others, nor was her mind the sharpest. Coupled with being a girl, she quickly became a target for others.
Weak girls like her were the easiest to deal with first.
At that time, two children rushed at her with daggers. Peng Ying was terrified, completely defenseless, and prepared to die.
Fortunately, someone saved her.
It was a boy with whom Peng Ying had a very good relationship. For three years, he had treated Peng Ying like his own sister.
That boy took two blows for Peng Ying and then killed those two children in retaliation.
Under the boy's protection, Peng Ying survived.
After that, Peng Ying's heart also hardened. She teamed up with the boy to deal with others, killing from day to night. Finally, the boy used his own body to block an opponent's blade, giving Peng Ying a chance to kill the attacker.
The boy died.
The opponent was killed by Peng Ying.
Finally, after three days and two nights of brutal fighting, only Peng Ying survived and finally walked out of the villa that had caused her so much pain and despair.
Xiang Chong was very happy.
Because he knew that from this moment on, Peng Ying would no longer be the naive little girl she once was. After being baptized by blood, this girl would undergo a transformation.
As expected.
From then on, Peng Ying became cruel and bloodthirsty, showing no emotion towards anyone, and her studies became even more diligent.
She had ultimately become Xiang Chong's sharp weapon!
This was Peng Ying's tragic past.
After hearing this, Lu Ming could understand all of this woman's behavior. It was no wonder Peng Ying's personality was so strange. Anyone who had experienced such a 'Gu raising' event would not be normal.
It was already remarkable that Peng Ying could appear to be a normal person on most occasions.
At this moment.
Peng Ying looked at Lu Ming seriously and said, "Lu Ming, do you know why I like you?"
"Hmm?" Lu Ming shook his head.
Peng Ying said, "Because you are so much like the boy who protected me back then. Not in looks, but in personality. I see his shadow in you."
As expected.
There was no love in the world without reason.
Lu Ming chuckled and retorted, "So, do you love me, or do you love that boy from back then?"
Uh…
Peng Ying pouted and said, "I don't know. I love both."
Such a simple answer.
At this moment, Peng Ying seemed to have returned to her innocent and carefree days. Only in front of Lu Ming could she relax so much.
However…
Lu Ming's doubts arose again. "Now I understand why you hate your 'master' so much. Xiang Chong is indeed not human. But if you hate him so much, why do you still stay in the White Lotus Sect and work for him?"
Peng Ying took another sip of wine. "That's another story."