The cruelty of ancient harem politics was unimaginable. Even in death, noble women often suffered brutal fates—the most horrific being the making of "human swine."
After Emperor Liu Bang's death, Empress Lü Zhi took power and took revenge on his favorite concubine, Lady Qi. She had Lady Qi's limbs amputated, eyes gouged out, tongue poisoned to render her mute, then threw her half-alive into a cellar—a punishment known as "human swine."
Such a fate was worse than death, a cruelty without precedent.
Nova's face turned deathly pale, as if she had glimpsed the moment of flaying in her memories. To be skinned alive—that would truly be a horrific sight.
But one thing puzzled me. If this woman was dead and her skin removed, why build a tomb for her? Why fill it with burial goods? And strangest of all—why place only her skin in the coffin instead of her body? That this skin remained intact after a thousand years was deeply unnatural.
Nova said she didn't know. She had no memories of that part. The human skin's recollections in her mind were fragmented. After some discussion, we pieced together the likely truth:
Years ago, the "Mermaid Skin" (as we now called it) had controlled four dead grave robbers to transport her coffin and burial goods. She chose the Nova family, using the treasure as bait to make them sign a contract—swearing secrecy and promising to guard her.
But the beauty skin was far more sinister than they realized. She secretly took control of each successive Nova family head. When the men finally uncovered the truth and moved to destroy her, they were killed one by one—until only Zephyr remained, already possessed by her cat spirit.
The women suffered too. To prevent them from marrying or bearing children who might expose the secret, the beauty skin used some unknown dark magic to strip them of all romantic and sexual desire.
As for that cursed jade pendant—Grandma Nova had probably realized Grandpa Nova was being controlled by the skin (since he was the last family head before her). When the pendant passed to Nova, it marked her as the skin's next vessel.
Grandma Nova dared not speak openly. She could only feign madness. Yet she never suspected her own grandson was a cat spirit—or that the skin and Zephyr were conspiring to kill her. In the end, she died for nothing.
Later, Nova came to me. With no memory of her possession, she believed some external evil plagued her family. She had no idea she herself was the greatest threat—because the skin was already controlling her.
I suspect the human skin's appearances follow a strict pattern—it likely can't emerge during daylight, or if it does, the room must be completely sealed off in darkness.
This suggests it fears light—perhaps even shuns it entirely. Otherwise, it would have taken full control of Nova's body around the clock.
When Nova first invited me, the skin must have planned to kill me. But after realizing my skill with the Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts, it concocted an elaborate scheme to capture me instead. There's no denying their act was convincing—we were all fooled, especially by Zephyr, the so-called "cat spirit."
Yet it never expected I'd defeat them both. Now that the truth is revealed, one question remains: why did the skin guide me to tattoo Nova and Zephyr with Chitipati? To restrain a corpse that's pursued them for over a millennium? That implies some undead creature has been hunting them all this time.
What is that corpse? A jiangshi? Some other kind of zombie? What grudge could it hold against the skin to chase it for a thousand years?
Generally, jiangshi are considered high-level corpses—especially the ancient ones. But even the most powerful lack consciousness. Like mindless walking dead, how could one track the skin for centuries?
The idea seems absurd, but the skin had no reason to lie while I was at its mercy.
"Wait—where is the skin now?" I suddenly asked. When I collapsed, I'd pinned it to the door. It shouldn't have escaped—otherwise, I'd be dead already, not sitting safely in bed.
"Locked in a cage, guarded by my men," Nova replied.
Her tone darkened at the mention of it. After all, the thing controlled her body without her knowledge. Its evil is palpable—it slaughtered nearly the entire Nova family. Now, only Nova and Zephyr remain.
Originally, Nova had gathered everyone for me to tattoo. Instead, they became victims, their skins added to the horror on Nova's back.
I rose and asked Nova to lead me to it. I couldn't keep the skin confined long—its malice is too potent, its killing aura too dense. I needed to study it immediately.
Nova took Zephyr's hand and guided us to the family basement—a frigid ice cellar. She explained it once stored the skin, though the Novas believed it lay dormant in its coffin, unaware it had long since roamed free.
The cellar's cold bit deep. Nova distributed coats before we reached the central chamber. There, a large cage stood, its sole guard keeping a terrified distance.
For ordinary people? Even a dead man's skin would terrify them. Facing this—still seeping malice—who wouldn't recoil in dread?
The human skin had been rolled into a tight ball and bound with thick ropes. Only a small portion of its face remained visible, crumpled like discarded parchment - barely recognizable as human features.
As an extra precaution, my Copper Coin Sword remained embedded in the cage's bars. Smart thinking - without it, the skin might have escaped long ago and continued its evil deeds.
"Let me out! Release me!" The skin's muffled screams came from within its bindings, though it could barely twitch, let alone break free.
I kicked the cage sharply. "Quiet," I warned, "or I'll drag you into sunlight." The threat worked instantly - the thing feared daylight above all else.
"No, please! I'll give you anything!" The skin's voice turned pitiful, oozing false sincerity.
I snorted. "What could you possibly offer? The burial goods went to the Nova family. This coffin is all that remains."
The coffin itself appeared ordinary, though it would have been considered fine craftsmanship in ancient times - fitting for a noble consort.
"I can possess anyone! Just name your target!" The skin made extravagant promises.
As if I'd believe such obvious lies from this monstrosity.
"Enough nonsense," I said coldly. "Answer my questions truthfully, and maybe - depending on your cooperation - we'll discuss your release."
This was pure deception, of course. The skin had to be destroyed. But after its elaborate deceptions, turnabout seemed fair play.
It had slaughtered countless victims. I would never allow it to live.
"Yes, yes! Ask anything! I'll tell you everything!" The skin practically groveled in its eagerness, thoroughly cowed by its captivity.
"First question," I began, my voice hardening. "Why did you murder those thirty women from the Nova family?"