"It's all your fault for being too greedy... too greedy... You don't understand the feeling of not being able to get what you want..." Shi'er stared at the blood-stained dagger, the overflowing crimson stains turning her face pale, and fear and madness gradually appeared on her face.
"I won't allow you to hurt Young Master again, I won't allow it..."
Yin Wuxiao reached behind the desk with one hand, opened the hidden drawer, and groped for the anesthetic powder that Aunt Nan had prepared for her, but couldn't find it anywhere.
She painfully raised her eyes to look at Shi'er, and seeing that she had no intention of finishing her job, she felt slightly relieved.
Do you think he wouldn't be sad if I died?
Shi'er opened her watery eyes wide, completely bewildered.
A misty haze suddenly appeared in Yin Wuxiao's phoenix eyes: "If I die, won't you be sad...?" She couldn't believe that their two-year relationship was so fragile.
Shi'er gasped sharply and collapsed to the ground.
"Miss..." she groaned.
"I didn't mean to, I really didn't mean to..." She stared blankly at the wound, "Jiu'er didn't say there would be so much blood... so much blood..."
She reached out her hand tremblingly, as if to draw a dagger.
"Don't move!" Yin Wuxiao suddenly shouted to stop her.
"You just said... Jiu'er?" A chill ran through her heart, far surpassing the pain of the blade piercing her abdomen.
With a loud bang, the half-closed door was impatiently shaken open.
"Xiao'er!" Aunt Nan's figure appeared at the door. Seeing this, Aunt Nan could no longer remain calm.
"You wretched maid!" Aunt Nan shouted angrily, striking Shi'er with a palm before she even realized it.
"Aunt Nan, no!" Yin Wuxiao exclaimed.
It was too late. Shi'er didn't even have time to scream before she died under Aunt Nan's palm.
Yin Wuxiao struggled to straighten up slightly.
Aunt Nan hadn't killed anyone for nearly twenty years, but today, in a fit of rage, she unleashed a killing spree for her sake.
"Xiao'er, how are you?" Aunt Nan didn't even glance at the fallen body before rushing straight to Yin Wuxiao, her anxiety and heartache evident in her words.
Yin Wuxiao could only sigh helplessly, "I'm fine." How could she put it? Aunt Nan always said she was impulsive, but when something big happened, Aunt Nan was still as impulsive and easily angered as she had been when she was young. But Aunt Nan only acted so impulsively for her sake.
Then, she saw Aunt Nan float up into the air, and then—
It crashed heavily into the wall.
"Jiu'er..."
Yin Wuxiao finally collapsed, unable to hold on any longer. Due to excessive blood loss, her vision began to blur slightly. She could barely make out a pair of exquisite silk shoes specially made by the Yin family, which were placed next to Shi'er's dead face.
“Miss,” a sinister voice whispered.
"What a pity, that girl was still too soft-hearted. She didn't stab me deep enough." The voice clicked its tongue.
"It wasn't all for nothing that I spent two years disguising myself and infiltrating your side. I've finally waited for this day." There was a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
“Miss,” the voice stopped in her ear, its breath sweet as orchids, “I’ve come to take your life.”
"Are you happy that two trusted maids are trying to take your life, one after the other?"
A small, square brocade box slowly fell to the ground, landing right in front of Yin Wuxiao.
That was the anesthetic powder she had searched through the dark drawers but couldn't find.
"Yin Wuxiao, you never expected this, did you? You actually died because of a piece of jade." A fair hand gently pulled off the blood-red jade pendant from her waist.
"For a piece of jade? It was actually for a piece of jade?" Yin Wuxiao trembled as he looked at the bloodstains on the ground and at Aunt Nan's motionless body. He suddenly screamed in anguish.
Another pale hand gripped her neck, and red lips whispered in her ear, "Actually, it's not just because of that jade, but also because I hate you."
The miscarriage twenty years ago had a devastating impact on Aunt Nan's body. The once formidable Poisonous Beauty, after being struck by Jiu'er's palm, still used her last bit of strength to protect her, ultimately perishing herself.
And she, who should have died, was fed a carefully crafted Gu poison by Aunt Nan, which protected her heart meridian and allowed her to escape. She hated herself, hated herself for remembering to snatch the Blood Jade Pendant from Jiu'er when she was running away.
That night, more than twenty people in the Yin family, including Aunt Nan, all died tragically in the same way.
She didn't blame Aunt Nan, nor did she have the right to. Aunt Nan only wanted her to live. Even if she would be tormented by unfulfilled desires for countless days and nights to come, and live like a walking corpse, Aunt Nan had still paid with her life to keep her alive. So she ran away and never dared to come back. For the past three years, the only thing she had done was to live according to Aunt Nan's wishes.
The poison gradually eroded her desires, her emotions, her pride and arrogance, leaving Shui Wu'er feeling like she was walking on thin ice, living in constant fear.
Or perhaps it wasn't the poison that made her the way she is now, but rather she herself who changed herself to this point?
Countless times in the dead of night, she would recall Shi'er's words: "It's all because you were too greedy... too greedy... You don't understand the feeling of not being able to get what you want."
Is this really retribution? For three years, she has not only tasted the bitterness of unfulfilled desires, but she also has to tell herself that she should not even ask for anything.
She recalled the sudden, malicious ruthlessness and deep-seated malice that didn't belong to Jiu'er's straightforward and charming face, and how she coldly said to her, "I'm sorry, but I have to do this for him."
She screamed in her heart a thousand times: "Why you? Why?"
That woman owes her an answer.
Yin Wuxiao did not tell Qiao Fenglang the whole truth. She did not tell him that she knew who the "he" Jiu'er was talking about was.
Perhaps she couldn't see through Jiu'er's long-hidden malice, but the blush on Jiu'er's face from spending so much time together was genuine; there was only one person who could make her so devoted.
As for the reason behind that, it would never be the same as Shi'er's. Why, why did they have to kill her for "his" own good? This became a poison that had haunted her mind for the past three years.
Qiao Fenglang reached out and stroked Yin Wuxiao's flowing black hair: "It's all in the past. From now on, I will never let you suffer any harm again."
The pity in that voice seemed genuine.
Yin Wuxiao closed his eyes, and a single tear quietly slid down the corner of his eye, but it dried before it reached his cheek.
Chapter Fifteen: The Golden Knife in its Sheath Still Has Blood Dried (Part One)
Baili Qingyi meditated and regulated his breathing for half a day before finally opening his eyes. The divine physician Xuan Hegu sat opposite him, lost in thought.
Baili Qingyi inhaled and lowered her hands.
"Divine Physician, do you ever regret staying here with Qingyi?"
Xuan He looked bewildered for a long time before saying, "What is there to regret? This Hundred Questions Manor is my manor. If I don't protect it, who will?" He then looked at Baili Qingyi and said, "Besides, is there any place in this world safer than by the side of Young Master Qingyi?"
Baili Qingyi smiled and said, "In that case, I will swear to the divine physician that I will protect Baiwen Manor with my life."
Xuan He was slightly shaken: "Young Master in blue, you truly deserve to be called a great hero of our time." He took out a pill from his sleeve.
"This is a precious medicine that I have treasured for many years. Please take it, young master in blue. Although it cannot restore half of your lost internal strength, it can still be of some help."
Baili Qingyi did not refuse. He knew that at this moment, the lives of the two of them, as well as the lives of everyone in the Qiong Sect, rested on his shoulders. If he could hold out until the Qiao Gang's reinforcements arrived, everyone would have a chance to survive.
After taking the pill, he slowly circulated his qi, and sure enough, much of the stagnant qi in his body dissipated, and his dantian felt slightly warm.
With his eyes closed, Baili Qingyi thought to himself that this time, he had been outmaneuvered. Although he wasn't completely cornered, he was certainly in a sorry state. The mastermind behind the scenes wasn't after him, but he had willingly walked into the trap, and now that things had developed to this point, he couldn't just ignore it.
Since he was born into Baili Prefecture, he had to learn to accept his fate. He smiled bitterly to himself.
“Although the young man in blue is chivalrous and righteous, he is not without his flaws, being foolishly kind,” Xuan He said.
"What do you mean?"
"It's one thing for the young master in blue to let Bai Can take away the girl Yin, but why did he also take away that vixen named Cui Shenghan?"
Baili Qingyi smiled and said, "She's just a pawn being used; there's no point in keeping her around."
Xuan He shook his head: "Keeping it is useless, but letting it go would be a great problem. Besides, when it really comes to the battle, having a chess piece in hand is always better than having no chips at all. How could someone as wise as the young master in blue not understand such a simple principle?"
Baili Qingyi was taken aback, then smiled bitterly: "The divine doctor is right, it was Qingyi who made a mistake."
Come to think of it, this is the third time that Cui Shenghan has escaped from my grasp.
Or perhaps it was truly foolish kindness; he merely saw that Cui Shenghan harbored more good thoughts than evil ones, and thus hoped she would abandon evil and embrace good, unable to bear the thought of utterly destroying her. He had killed countless villains, his blade falling swiftly and decisively, yet now it seemed he still couldn't distinguish right from wrong.
Just like this trap, he could guess who was behind it.
He had only held onto the hope that the man might repent and do good. He sighed inwardly; things had progressed to this point, and he could no longer allow that man to live.
Suddenly, Yin Wuxiao's smiling face appeared before my eyes.
But who knows what she will say, or if she will smile and say to him, "Baili Qingyi, are you being foolishly kind?"
Baili Qingyi stood up.
"Divine Doctor, you should take refuge in this underground palace for a while."
Xuan He nodded: "Young Master in blue, please be careful in everything you do."
Baili Qingyi said, "Divine Physician, I have a favor to ask. If I unfortunately die here, please do your best to protect the life of Sect Leader Mu Wanfeng. If you really cannot protect her, please give a testimony in front of the martial arts world afterwards to prove that the Qiong Sect members did not die at the hands of Qiao Bang, but that someone instigated them."
Xuan He disagreed: "General Canghu, who led the troops to attack, is a member of the Qiao family. If I say this was not at the behest of the Qiao family, who would believe me?"
Baili Qingyi stared intently at Xuan Hegu: "Divine Doctor, I beg you."
Xuan He was taken aback for a moment, then sighed, "Alright, alright, I promise you."
Xuan Hegu, the divine physician, spent his life learning the art of medicine to save lives, yet he never considered doing so, for he knew that great kindness often harms oneself. He had always disliked that set of hypocritical morality and righteousness; if one doesn't look out for oneself, what's the point of living? But now, seeing Baili Qingyi like this, he felt a pang of envy.
This man was hated by the leader of the Qiao Gang, and Mu Wanfeng had also considered killing him, but he was willing to risk his life for the sake of the conflict between the two factions.
Is this what it means to be a true hero?
Five thousand elite soldiers from the Jiangnan Cavalry Camp stormed into Baiwen Valley at sunset and destroyed Baiwen Manor.
The battle was sudden and unexpected; the Qiong Sect members were exhausted from fighting and suffered heavy casualties.
Mu Wanfeng was dressed in purple, her black hair cascading down to her waist. She held a sword in her right hand and a knife in her left, her entire body stained red with the blood of her followers and soldiers.
A strong wind howled past her left shoulder, and her pale lips trembled uncontrollably. She had been fighting all night, and now the east was already showing the first light of dawn. Of the eighteen followers she had brought to the Central Plains, none had survived except for Wuguo, who was still holding fast to her side.
With thousands of soldiers, even with her profound martial arts skills, she was powerless against the overwhelming force of sheer numbers. She knew she had long since reached her limit.
The imperial court and the martial arts world have always been two separate worlds that do not interfere with each other. Although some imperial officials also hold positions in gangs, and some martial arts heroes also like to hold official posts, both sides join the other world in their own name. Why then has her Qiong Sect's entry into the Central Plains attracted the full force of the Jiangnan Cavalry Battalion?
"Why, why is the imperial court targeting my Qiong Sect?" Mu Wanfeng roared shrilly.
Thousands of soldiers surrounded her and Wuguo, but none dared to step forward. The two were covered in blood, their faces contorted in rage, like demons reborn.
The neighing of horses grew louder as they approached, as if General Zanghu were riding his horse.
Mu Wanfeng suddenly smiled bitterly and turned her head slightly, her voice low and slow: "Wu Guo, if you can escape, then go on your own, don't worry about me."
"Master!" Wu Guo's unyielding attitude said it all.