The Path of Hell
The question was far too direct. The entire banquet hall froze over in an instant, as cold as a sheet of ice.
“Ah, my lady…” Someone drew in a sharp breath.
“She’s lost her mind…” Another person pressed a hand to their forehead and shook their head.
But I did not turn away. I stared straight at Liu Bang, waiting for his answer. Once again, our gazes tangled in the air between us. His dark eyes widened at first in surprise, then narrowed, and finally…
“……Kuhahaha!”
A burst of laughter exploded from him. Liu Bang was laughing—openly, from the depths of his belly, without a trace of pretense. While everyone else had frozen solid, this man alone was clutching his stomach, howling with mirth.
“That’s entertaining. Truly entertaining!” Liu Bang said, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes. “Asking a man what he wants from his wife… In all my life, you’re the first woman to throw that question right in my face.”
“Will you answer me?”
“Sure, if that’s what you want.”
Liu Bang wiped the laughter from his face. In those dark eyes, now free of mischief, a cool, heavy light rose.
“There’s only one thing I want from my woman.”
His rough fist thumped hard against his own chest.
“Do you have the guts to walk with me all the way to the end of hell? That’s it. Nothing more.”
Hell. At that word, my breath caught. The fist I had clenched on my knee trembled faintly.
“Hell… you say.”
“That’s right. My life has always been a tangled mess of a thread. Never once comfortable. No money, no status. There are a few fools who believe in me and follow me, but there are many times more enemies who despise me.”
Liu Bang took one threatening step closer.
“A woman who can roll with me in the mud. A woman who will grab me by the collar and drag me back to my feet when I fall. A woman who will slap me awake if I lose my way… That’s all I ask of a wife. Someone who can guard my back no matter what happens.”
His voice pierced straight through my eardrums and into my mind. The murmurs around us no longer reached me. The only thing filling my world now was the man before my eyes. A man who unknowingly dreamed of a colossal destiny, and who had already resolved himself to bear its weight.
“My lady.”
Liu Bang looked down at me.
“Then I have one question for you as well.”
“……What is it?”
“Are you prepared for it?”
“Prepared…?”
“The resolve to walk through that pit of hellfire with me.”
Silence. A suffocating quiet gripped the banquet hall.
This was unmistakably… a proposal. A confession in Liu Bang’s own raw style. I had shown my hand. Now it was his turn to show his resolve.
Resolve, huh…
I swallowed dryly without realizing it. The resolve to walk through hell. And the hell this man spoke of was…
History.
I already knew. The blood-soaked storms that lay ahead. The rebellion of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, the brutal war with Xiang Yu, the founding of the Han Empire, the tragedy of tosagupang and the sorrow of Empress Lü. Every step of that path would be a journey through hell.
That must be the future he senses instinctively.
I looked up at Liu Bang. His tall frame. The eyes of a beast. And… his absolute certainty in himself. This man did not yet know his own destiny. He did not know what he would accomplish. Yet he felt it in his bones—that he would not rot away his entire life in Peixian. That he would gladly throw himself into the waves of history.
With Liu Bang…
My heart wavered. Honestly, I wanted to run. I wanted to live out my days in the shade of Lord Lü, rolling in money, growing old and dying as a privileged spinster. But…
If that were possible, I wouldn’t be going through all this trouble.
There was nowhere to run. In this era, there was no place for a woman to stand alone—especially not one with this level of beauty. If that was the case…
I have no choice but to climb aboard.
Since I was being sold off anyway, I would seize the reins. I would not become a puppet who simply obeyed the fate given to her. I would choose this man of my own will. That would be the first strike I delivered into this world.
“Lord Liu of the Constabulary.”
I forced the words out. My heart was pounding hard enough to shatter my ribs, yet I refused to look away.
“I….”
The words caught in my throat. My heart thundered. Sweat broke out across my palms. But—
“I am prepared.”
The decision flowed from my lips.
“Whether what awaits me is hell or a battlefield of asuras, I will not run.”
I lifted my head. Staring directly into Liu Bang’s eyes without flinching, I declared:
“However, that does not mean I will simply submit to the role given to me. I am choosing this path for myself, by my own will.”
I returned the very words he had thrown at me. At those words, Liu Bang’s pupils dilated slightly.
“……My lady.”
“Do not look at me as nothing more than a modest woman who will simply guard the household.”
I spoke quietly, yet with the force of a nail driven deep.
“I will carve out both my own fate and yours—together.”
Silence. An eternity compressed into a single moment. And then—
“Uhahaha… Uhahahahaha!”
Liu Bang burst into laughter once more. This time it was bright, genuine, as if he were beside himself with delight.
“I like it! Yes, if you want to become the wife of Liu Ji, you need at least that much spirit!”
Liu Bang clapped me on the shoulder. The blow was so rough my bones rattled, yet it carried a strange sense of recognition.
“Lord Lü! No—Father-in-law!”
Liu Bang turned toward Lord Lü. The bear-like giant thudded to his knees on the floor.
“Give me your daughter! I will take this woman and show her the world like no one else ever has!”
The bold marriage proposal from the greatest rascal in Peixian—the man who would one day become a hero of the chaotic age. The banquet hall erupted in a thunderous cheer.
The wedding ceremony passed like a dream. Or perhaps I should say like a nightmare.
Lord Lü accepted with a broad smile, my mother nearly fainted on the spot, and Su-ah sat there in a daze, completely out of her mind. As for the ceremony itself—astonishingly, it took place that very evening. The logic was simple: Lord Lü’s residence was already prepared for the banquet, so all that remained was to add the spoon.
We proceeded deep into the Lü family estate and held the rites before every notable figure in Peixian who had gathered for the feast. We shared the nuptial wine, bound our hands with red silk, bowed to Heaven and Earth, bowed to our parents, and bowed to each other as husband and wife. The ancient rituals flickered past like scenes from a film with broken frames.
Emotion? There was none. My body, trained for six months through rote education as “Lü Zhi,” simply moved on its own. Like a puppet, I lowered my head, knelt, and emptied the cup.
And now—
……This is insane.
I had been left alone inside the bridal chamber. The phrase dongfang huazhu—the decorated bridal room—kept buzzing inside my head.
“Hoo…”
The bridal chamber, that is, the honeymoon room, was entirely red. Red gauze curtains. Red candles. Red bedding. Red pillows. The color of marriage. The color of good fortune. And… the color of blood.
My mother’s meticulous preparations felt bitterly resentful today. I sat at the edge of the bed, clenching my trembling hands tightly on my lap. The bridal veil still covered my head. That stifling red cloth that hid the bride’s face until the groom removed it. Through the fabric, I could see the flickering candlelight. The sharp scent of musk rising from the incense burner stabbed into my lungs.
From outside the window came the noisy laughter of the guests, faint as if from another world.
And then, after some time—
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps sounded beyond the door. Heavy, unhesitating footsteps. They felt as if they were trampling directly over my heart.
Fuck…
My heart began to leap wildly. My palms grew slick with sweat. My throat burned. Goosebumps raced down my spine.
Calm down… Calm down…!
I desperately tried to soothe myself, but the primal terror refused to be controlled. I was a man. Or rather, I had been a man. But now I was a woman. And the person about to open that door was a notorious lecher famous in history for possessing the greatest sexual appetite of all time.
Could I… really manage to muddle through this? Could I survive the night safely with a muscle-bound, lust-driven old man beside me?
Creak—
The door opened.
“Oh.”
A low, rumbling voice. The thick stench of alcohol rushed in. A massive shadow filled the narrow bridal chamber. It was Liu Bang.
I held my breath beneath the veil.
“I kept you waiting, wife.”
Without hesitation, Liu Bang stepped inside and strode straight toward me. I could see his old leather shoes, stained with mud and wine. As expected, he had thrown all formality to the dogs—appearing exactly as he was, raw and unrefined.
Creak.
The bed screamed in protest as he dropped heavily onto the spot right beside me.
C-close.
His body heat washed over me. The smell of alcohol and sweat stung my nose. A colossal mass of muscle was breathing right next to me. The overwhelming difference in physique left no room for escape.
“Now then, let me have a proper look at your face.”
With those words, a rough hand reached for my head.
“Ugh…”
I reflexively shrank back. But there was no avoiding it. The groom removing the bride’s veil was the beginning of the wedding night.
Swish—
The red cloth was lifted away without ceremony. My vision was instantly filled with Liu Bang.
“Hmm.”
Liu Bang stared down at me intently. The playful glint from the banquet hall was gone. The haze of drink had cleared, replaced by a gleaming desire and a sharp, observant gaze.
“You’re beautiful.”
His low, gravelly voice tickled my eardrums. “You’d be beautiful even without the makeup. No—perhaps even more so without it.”
Liu Bang wiped my lips with his finger without the slightest hesitation. My mind went completely blank at the action.
W-what do I do?
No sound would come out. Liu Bang reached for my shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He intended to “complete” this marriage tonight. Because that was his rightful privilege.
But—
Like hell I can!
My soul screamed. Six months had passed since I had become a woman. I thought I had grown somewhat accustomed, but lying with a man was an entirely different dimension. The physiological revulsion, the terror, and the instinctive dread that my masculinity might be completely destroyed.
Yet I could not show any of that outwardly. If I cried out in refusal here, this marriage would end. The Lü family’s honor would collapse, and I would be driven out as a madwoman. Both my survival and my ambitions would turn to dust.
I need a way out!
My brain went into overdrive. I desperately searched for a solution. Only when Liu Bang’s hand was about to touch the tie of my robe did I finally manage to squeeze out words.
“Lord Liu… of the Constabulary.”
My voice trembled. Liu Bang’s hand paused.
“I have one request.”
“A request?”
Liu Bang’s thick eyebrows twitched. “What is it? Shall I put out the lights?”
“Tonight…”
I moistened my dry lips. My mouth was so parched it felt rough. “Could we simply talk?”
Silence. The air in the room sank at once. Liu Bang’s eyes narrowed.
“Just talk?”
“Yes.”
I bowed my head deeply, desperately acting the part of a “bashful bride who doesn’t know what to do with herself.” “It is just… this girl is not yet mentally prepared.”
“……Hah.”
A snort. I continued nonetheless.
“Everything has happened so suddenly… Eep?!”
Liu Bang’s large hand seized my chin roughly. My head was forced upward. His face once again filled my entire field of vision.
“The woman who discussed the fate of the world in the banquet hall is suddenly not mentally prepared on the wedding bed?”
Cold sweat ran down my spine at those words. His eyes were not smiling.
“My lady… No, Zhi’er.”
Liu Bang’s face drew so close it seemed he might devour me. “Don’t tease your husband too much. Do you think I’m a eunuch?”
“Ugh…”
I swallowed hard. As expected, Liu Bang was no romantic hero. He was a crude thug who lived by instinct. Half-hearted acting or excuses would never work on him.
Another approach…!
If I resisted with force here, I would be overpowered. I needed something that would interest Liu Bang. I had to stimulate a desire greater than his lust.
“Lord Liu… No, Lord Liu.”
Fortunately, the next move came to me immediately. I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them again.
“This girl will speak honestly.”
“Ha… Fine. Go on. I’ll listen.”
Liu Bang did not loosen his grip on my chin. It was a silent threat that he would take me at any moment. I clutched my wildly beating heart and looked straight into his eyes.
“This girl still knows nothing about you.”
“……What?”
“We only saw each other briefly at the banquet. We exchanged only a few words. You do not know me either, my lord. And yet you desire my body?”
“We are husband and wife. Isn’t that only natural?”
“Before we are husband and wife, we are human beings.”
I held my head high, stubborn. “This girl obeyed my father’s decision. I swore to become your wife. However, that does not mean I will offer my body without any feelings whatsoever.”
Liu Bang’s expression twisted slightly. Anger. Or perhaps disbelief.
“So? What exactly are you trying to say?”
Liu Bang released my chin and folded his arms. His attitude said he would hear me out to the end. I took a deep breath. This was it. A gamble staking my life and my chastity.
I placed a hand over my heart and spoke in the most resolute, clearest voice I could muster.
“I do not wish to become a relationship that merely shares bodies with you.”
“Then?”
“What I truly desire from my husband is…”
I paused for a moment, then stared directly at Liu Bang.
“An equal relationship.”