"Master!" Anlu cried out in surprise when she saw Yanming being held by the neck by Xue Qing. Liuying took the opportunity to get behind her and press her pressure points.
"You've killed so many people, are you... afraid of dying?" Xue Qing pressed the tip of her sword deeper into Yan Ming's flesh by another inch.
Yan Ming's expression remained wicked: "If you were afraid of death, why would you enter the Underworld? But I'm not willing to die by your hand! You're nothing but a foolish and ignorant woman!"
"Who's more foolish? Just look at the result now. I'm only alive today, and I'm even able to sneak into the Underworld, all thanks to your stubbornness," Xue Qing said, pinching Yan Ming's handsome face.
Yan Ming opened his mouth to speak, but Xue Qing had no intention of listening any longer, and her sword was about to stab Yan Ming's throat.
"Miss Xue! Please wait!" A clear, melodious female voice stopped Xue Qing.
Ling Shu's sword left a long, bloody gash on Yan Ming's neck. Xue Qing placed the sword against Yan Ming's neck again and looked back to see Nangong Luoluo leaning against the door frame, panting heavily.
"Is there something you need, Miss Nangong?" Xue Qing asked. She and Nangong Luoluo weren't particularly close, but since Nangong Luoluo was from a family of loyal officials, she was still polite to her.
Nangong Luoluo's lips trembled as she said, "Miss Xue, could you... let him go?"
Since she had no real relationship with Nangong Luoluo, there was no need to give her face. Xue Qing shook her head: "When he pushed me into the fire, did he ever think about letting me go?"
"...I know he has done many things that have wronged you, I, I still beg you to let him go!" Nangong Luoluo let go of the door frame and knelt down in front of Xue Qing with a thud.
Xue Qing looked down at Nangong Luoluo: "You don't need to kneel before me. If you're willing to kneel for a man like that, I won't stop you. I'll still kill him."
Nangong Luoluo panicked. Seeing Xue Qing's sword move again, she hurriedly said, "Miss Xue, you will regret killing him! I will exchange a secret for his life!"
Xue Qing lowered her sword again: "What secret? Tell me, or I'll stab you if it doesn't please me."
Yan Ming was completely at Xue Qing's mercy. Nangong Luoluo looked at Yan Ming with concern and said, "I know the true face of that force that is assassinating people all over the Central Plains."
In the Central Plains, the elusive assassin team has already assassinated several sect leaders, causing widespread panic. No one knows where they came from; they appear and disappear suddenly, their martial arts are unpredictable and unlike any other sect, and they leave no clues. The Martial Alliance has not yet appointed a leader, and this attack has plunged it into a state of leaderlessness. The leaders of other sects are either seriously injured or overwhelmed by the situation. Only Kunlun Palace remains the strongest in the Central Plains. Although it has also been attacked several times, it still retains its strength. The Martial Alliance is now dominated by Kunlun Palace.
“I found some letters in a secret room in my old home, and the contents of the correspondence happen to be related to this. I don’t want to cause trouble, so I haven’t even told Yan Ming…” Nangong Luoluo said, “Miss Xue, if you’re willing to let Yan Ming go, I’ll take you to find those letters!”
Xue Qing weighed the options in her mind. Yan Ming's martial arts had already revealed a weakness, and he could be killed at any time. However, this secret was not known to just anyone. She had promised Dong Chou and Jian Die to fulfill their last wishes, and she had to prioritize the greater good. She replied, "Alright, I accept this deal. Ah Chou, go find Doctor Bai. I will give Yan Ming a dose of a unique poison. As long as the information you bring me is true, I will give you the antidote and let you go. Otherwise, I will let Yan Ming's blood lie in your Nangong family. The ancestors of the Nangong family should be very happy." As Xue Qing spoke, she glanced at Nangong Luoluo. Nangong Luoluo's body trembled slightly. Yes, Yan Ming was her blood enemy, and now she had to use the Nangong family's secret to save his life. How would the hundred tombstones behind the house look at her? Nangong Luoluo dared not think about it. She had already lost all her relatives, and Yan Ming was the only pillar in her life. She really, really could not lose Yan Ming.
Anluo and Qi were separated and imprisoned in the dungeon of the Underworld. Ordinary ropes could not withstand Yan Ming's profound internal strength, so Xue Qing had to keep her sword pressed against his vital point on his neck. Bai Xichen followed Xi Huan over and, seeing this scene, simply said, "You really succeeded."
Yan Ming saw Bai Xichen and coldly snorted, "I should have killed you sooner."
Bai Xichen said, "We've been using each other, but you're unlucky; you've lost your usefulness first."
Bai Xichen fed Yan Ming poison, a poison that would weaken the body and cause the poison to attack the heart if there was no antidote within seven days. Xue Qing asked curiously, "Do you have all kinds of poisons? Does that mean you can torture people at will?"
"Sure, blood vessels burst, tendons melt, you'll experience excruciating pain all over your body and intense itching in your internal organs. Do you want to try it?" Bai Xichen asked Xue Qing.
Just hearing Xue Qing's voice made him feel uncomfortable all over, and he shook his head repeatedly: "No need to trouble yourself!"
Bai Xichen smiled slightly: "It's hard to imagine that the Underworld would have a domain lord with a personality like yours."
"What? Me? Domain Lord?" Xue Qing asked in surprise, pointing at herself.
Frost Prince
Xue Qing and Liu Ying forced Nangong Luoluo and Yan Ming to go to the old site of the Nangong family. The house on the ground was in a state of disrepair. Who would have thought that there would be a large secret room underground? Fortunately, the Nangong family still had an orphan girl, otherwise this secret would have been buried underground forever and never seen the light of day.
Xue Qing lit a lantern and had Liu Ying watch over Yan Ming in the carriage. She followed Nangong Luoluo to the secret room. Nangong Luoluo took out a stack of letters from a box in the secret room and gave them to Xue Qing. Xue Qing opened and read each one. These letters were all written by the same person, and they were roughly about a discussion with the head of the Nangong family about a certain matter. This matter was the origin of the mysterious organization in the Central Plains. Xue Qing folded the letters and put them in her bosom. She said to Nangong Luoluo, "I keep my word. I will do what I promised you. This time, I will let him go."
Nangong Luoluo's eyes were red and swollen, and she was about to cry. She said in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, "Thank you."
Although Yan Ming was an untrustworthy person, Xue Qing didn't want to be like him. She was determined to keep her promises. She gave the antidote to Nangong Luoluo and left the bound Yan Ming and the carriage with her. Xue Qing couldn't help but ask Nangong Luoluo, "Yan Ming was also involved in the massacre of the Nangong family ten years ago. Is it worth it for you to do all this for him?"
Nangong Luoluo suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with determination, and said, "There is no such thing as worth it or not, only willingness or unwillingness."
Xue Qing shoved the horse's reins into Nangong Luoluo's hand: "Go far away from him and don't show up in front of me. I don't know what you'll have to trade with me next time."
Nangong Luoluo lowered her head and gripped the reins. Her thoughts were simple: she just wanted to live a secluded life with Yan Ming, where they would farm and weave. But would Yan Ming agree? He was such a proud and arrogant man; how could he accept that she had been forced into such a predicament?
Xue Qing clenched her fist and pounded it hard on the wooden planks of the carriage several times. Yan Ming was tied up inside the carriage, and the force must have made his eardrums hurt. Xue Qing said to Yan Ming from outside the carriage, "In the secret room of the Lingyu Sect, when you went into qi deviation and 'I' helped you transfer qi, if 'I' had died at that time... wouldn't you have been a little sad?"
“You were a good dog before that, but you started to turn into a wolf after that,” Yan Ming’s voice was flat, clearly indicating that he was lying in the carriage unable to move. “I was careless and thought you were deeply in love with me.”
Xue Qing said indifferently, "You deserve it."
The original Xue Qing was more than just deeply in love; she valued him more than her own life, whether it was her own or someone else's. He never knew how to cherish the woman who loved him wholeheartedly because he had too much to gain. He never knew the taste of loss, and he simply destroyed what he couldn't have. His charm and arrogance would have been a smooth and prosperous life had Xue Qing not appeared.
"I don't believe it! I don't believe I'll be defeated by you!" Yan Ming roared in the carriage.
"The cat-and-mouse game continues, and now it's your turn to be the mouse. Watch out," Xue Qing said to Yan Ming with a smirk.
Xue Qing and Liu Ying rode in another carriage back to the Underworld. Xue Qing looked at the driver's seat in front of the carriage and said to Liu Ying, "Your reserved seat."
"Yes, I've been prepared for a long time." Liu Ying said, sitting down in that spot: "Please take a seat, sir."
Xue Qing jumped onto the carriage and patted Liu Ying's head: "Good girl, your master loves you the most."
Liu Ying smiled helplessly and drove the carriage back to the Underworld. This place was once the origin of Xue Qing's nightmares and a symbol of danger. Now, however, it bore Xue Qing's name, making her wonder how long a person's glory could last, and whether the heavens would always be on that person's side. Today he seemed to be in charge, but tomorrow he would be overthrown. Now the heavens were on her side, but who knew when the winds would change direction? It didn't matter. It didn't matter anymore. She had done everything with a clear conscience. As long as she had Liu Ying by her side in the martial world, she would have no regrets in this life.
To have someone who cares for you is a lifelong honor; to have someone who understands you is a lifelong blessing; to have someone who cares for you and understands you is a great honor, and what is there to fear?
The corporate culture of the Underworld is similar to that of a lion. A lion king must govern its territory and remain strong enough, otherwise a new lion will defeat it and take its place. Yan Ming ascended to the position of domain lord by killing his own master. Although Xue Qing did not kill him, banishing him from the Underworld had the same effect.
Liu Ying asked Xue Qing, "Are you willing to let him go?"
Xue Qing said, "I only said I'd let him go this once. With his arrogant and conceited personality, would he really go into seclusion with Nangong Luoluo? When he comes to me on his own, I'll show him what it means to humiliate yourself."
For Liu Yingmo, the greatest test of a relationship is not the hardship of sharing joys and sorrows due to weakness, but strength. When everything is within reach and wealth and glory are in one's hands, how many people can still retain their original mind and emotions? But he will always follow behind her, protect her, and uphold all her decisions. She made him realize that love is the sweetness of mutual giving. If she doesn't leave, he won't abandon her; if she leaves, he won't abandon her either. What more could he ask for in this life than to share wine with her and have a passionate relationship? He was destined to follow her for life.
The Underworld is supposed to have six realms, but in reality, there are only five people. The Lord of the Animal Realm hasn't returned for several years, and there's no description of it in the original story. Xue Qing has never seen it in person either. This is a classic example of someone who sits in the toilet without using it. Lei Ji outwardly showed no reaction to Xue Qing's ascension to the position of realm lord, but her wicked eyes betrayed her. She had been watching the drama unfold, having seen Yan Ming's downfall, and now she wanted to see Xue Qing's. Xue Qing was truly curious how Mo Qingshan could fall in love with this woman and even betray his sect, Wudang, for her. It can only be said that love is the most perplexing mystery in the world.