Chapter Sixty-Five: The Hounds in the Secret Chamber

Yingyue followed the maid down the stairs, anxiety swarming in her heart, her slender brows knitted tightly. They passed through the long staircase and the opulent rooms she had lingered in yesterday, but did not stop. In a nondescript corner of one of the rooms, there was a small wooden door. The maid led Yingyue to it and opened the door.

"Go in," the maid said coldly, standing at the threshold. She shoved Yingyue inside.

Yingyue staggered, nearly falling. She glanced back at the maid, only to see her face twisted with malicious glee. Before Yingyue could speak, with a sharp slam, the maid closed the wooden door tightly, as though terrified she might escape.

Baffled, Yingyue turned around—then drew in a sharp breath.

Before her was a pack of hungry dogs. No, not just dogs—frenzied hunting hounds, driven mad by starvation. Every one of them bared their teeth at Yingyue, saliva dripping from their sharp fangs, each droplet betraying their ravenous longing for her, their desire for a feast. The heavy, panting breaths filled the air with urgency. The rattling chains shook violently, and Yingyue’s terror mounted; at any moment, these starving hounds might break free from their restraints and lunge at her, their delectable supper.

Snapping out of her shock, Yingyue pressed herself against the door, pounding on it desperately.

"Open the door! Let me out! Hurry, I want to leave—I can't stay here!"

"I suggest you not shout so loudly," the maid outside replied coldly. "You’d best stay quietly where you are and not make any sudden moves. If you excite the dogs, things will get very unpleasant." She paused, her tone laced with undisguised dread. "Besides, you’d better survive long enough to finish your task. The mistress has only just begun to assign you work—don’t end things so quickly, or she'll grow bored. When she’s bored, life becomes difficult for us all."

Yingyue’s frantic banging halted abruptly. She slowly turned around. The hounds, which had been relatively "calm," now clawed at the floor with sharpened paws, their huge bloodshot eyes glowering at her, savage and wild. Their gaze promised, given any chance, they would tear her to pieces and devour her with relish.

"Don’t just stand there. There’s food by the door—give it to them, before they riot."

Before they riot? They already look rabid—what would it take for them to truly riot? Would they have to eat her?

With trembling steps, Yingyue pressed her back against the wall, inching to the right. The length of the chains left only an arm’s distance between her and the hounds—a perilous gap.

"Throw the food to them. Do not let them drag you over, or—" The maid hesitated, her voice unable to hide its terror, about to say more when another maid interrupted, "Don’t talk so much. If the mistress finds out, you’ll suffer for it."

Yingyue, already moving slowly, quivered at the maids’ words, involuntarily leaning forward. The hounds, poised to attack, suddenly lunged at her.

A ripping sound.

A scream pierced the air.

Outside, the maid flinched, her body stiffening as she turned to peer through the door. She saw that the hound directly opposite the entrance had a strip of cloth caught on its fangs—a piece unmistakably torn from a maid’s apron! Fortunately, there was no blood, so no one was hurt. The maid exhaled heavily, but her expression remained tense, for the hounds looked even more excited. Their terrifying eyes now gleamed with bloodlust. This meant their interest in Yingyue had only intensified. If she didn’t get out soon, she might never leave.

"Throw the food to them, quickly—otherwise you won’t get out! Hurry!"

Yingyue’s scream faded in the midst of the maid’s urgent shouts, her heart chilled to the core. She lifted her head from her knees. When she saw the hounds, now many times more excited than before, she felt her heartbeat falter for an instant. Realizing the maid’s warning, she quickly moved to the right, snatching whatever she could reach and tossing it to the dogs. The hounds tore into the food with wild fury, fighting and mauling for every scrap. When one hound triumphed and chewed contentedly, the others fixed their predatory gazes on Yingyue once more.

She retched violently, for she saw that the victorious hound was chewing on a human leg.

Again, she retched.

The hounds cared nothing for Yingyue’s fear; to them, only food mattered. As she struggled against nausea, they continued to snort hot breath, ever poised to leap up and snap her neck.

"Quickly! If you don’t want to become their dinner, hurry!" the maid outside shouted, her urgency rising. Every time she watched the hounds devour their meal, she couldn’t help but imagine it might be her own arm, leg, or—her head. The thought sent shivers down her spine, made her shriek, and left the floor beneath her apron damp.

Yingyue heard the maid’s words, and her trembling body grew startlingly calm. She stopped looking at the hounds, stopped caring what she held in her hands. Anything she could grab, she hurled at them, eyes squeezed shut, repeating the motion again and again until nothing remained to throw. Only then did she halt her frantic efforts.

The room echoed with the cacophony of chewing, the sound of meat being torn, bones crushed, and frantic panting amid the struggle. Yingyue fought to suppress her nausea and opened her eyes. The hounds before her, their mouths stained with blood, fangs draped in flesh, fought each other for scraps. Some, weaker than their companions, were devoured themselves, their skeletons discarded on the floor, bits of meat still clinging to bone. The floor around her was splattered with blood and flecks of meat.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, the nauseating sounds intensifying the horror.

Weakly, Yingyue braced herself against the wall and rose, knocking on the door.

"Open the door, I’ve…fed them all the food…"

The maid outside heard Yingyue’s knocking. She glanced back, saw the hounds engrossed in their meal, and breathed a sigh of relief. She unfastened the chains and let Yingyue out.

Yingyue, supporting herself against the wall, slowly shuffled out. The maid turned to look at her—and her mouth fell open in astonishment.