Sept nuits de neige

Chapitre 84

She wanted this man in front of her to never leave her again.

Shen Yuntan suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze deep and melancholic as he stared into hers. Tang Chongli's hand froze in mid-air, stunned. Even knowing that he was now delirious and might suddenly become violent and grab her, she still felt a chill run down her spine when faced with those eyes.

"Ah... Brother Yin." Tang Chongli called his name tentatively.

Shen Yuntan's eyes were vacant, as if he was completely unaware of what was going on, and he only grabbed the hand that was holding the silver needle.

The warmth from her fingertips traveled from her wrist to her heart, and Tang Chongli felt a surge of happiness. Tears streamed down her face, making her appear even more pitiful.

"Brother A-Yin...don't...don't do this." She said this, but pressed her body against him, looking at him with innocent and naive eyes—she had heard from the women trained by the Tang Clan that this kind of look was most likely to arouse a man's desire to conquer.

Sure enough, Shen Yuntan's eyes narrowed, revealing an unknown undercurrent of emotion.

Tang Chongli leaned against him, murmuring softly. Her delicate and clear voice carried a hint of expectation, as well as some timidity and naivety: "Brother Ayin, Chongli doesn't understand... You... you mustn't hurt me."

A deep laugh emanated from his chest. Tang Chongli stiffened, suddenly realizing something was wrong, but it was too late. The man, who had just been listless and seemingly mentally unstable, suddenly twisted her delicate wrist and inserted a poisoned silver needle into her Baihui acupoint on the top of her head. His movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Tang Chongli felt a "boom" in her head, her vision went black, and her blood seemed to stop flowing. Even her teeth started chattering: "You... what did you do to me!"

Shen Yun calmly sat down at the table: "Do what you were thinking of doing to me. Oh, no, one of the things you were thinking of doing to me."

Tang Chongli's hands and feet began to feel numb and she couldn't move: "You, it's impossible! You've been poisoned with such a potent love potion."

Shen Yun chuckled, "Who told you I was poisoned?" His smiling face was extremely handsome. If Tang Chongli had seen him smile at her like that before, her heart would have raced and she would have been so happy she would have fainted. But now, she just wanted to punch that damned smile away. "I just want to see how far this pampered, charming, and pampered Miss Tang Chongli, who has been treated like a princess since childhood, can go."

"I learned to crack this trick more than ten years ago. Unfortunately, you failed and died. Now that you're paralyzed, you probably won't have a chance to use it on me a second time." He lowered his head and gently patted her pretty face, then changed the subject, "I heard that because people from the Tang Clan are exposed to more poisons, the effects of poisons often take an hour longer than for ordinary people, is that right?"

Tang Chongli's heart trembled: "What...what do you want to do?"

Shen Yun smiled good-naturedly, and for some reason, his mood improved greatly: "You really are a stupid girl. There were three bowls of porridge, and you put one of them poisoned. It's a pity I didn't eat it. That bowl of porridge couldn't have just evaporated into thin air, could it?" Satisfied with the increasingly pale face of Tang Chongli, he continued slowly, "Such precious poison cannot be wasted. That servant who follows you probably won't even earn half the price of this love poison in his entire life. It's rare that he got to drink a bowl, so he hasn't lived in vain."

Sunlight streamed into the room, illuminating his handsome, almost superhuman features. A bloodthirsty, gloating smile played on his lips, as if he were preparing to watch a good show. At that moment, Tang Chongli finally understood why people in the martial arts world said that Shenyin was a demon.

Tang Chongli's voice suddenly became clear and crisp, and her eyes welled up with tears, making her look pitiful: "Brother A-Yin... why did you do this to me? Waaah... I know I was wrong. I know I was wrong, please forgive me this time, okay?"

Unable to move her limbs, tears streamed down her fair face. She didn't cry in a repulsive way, nor did she look weak and frail like a pear blossom in the rain. Instead, she looked rather cute and innocent, like a little sister who had really done something wrong, crying and begging her brother to punish her lightly.

Shen Yuntan shook his head, seemingly moved by pity: "How pitiful." Seeing his expression soften, Tang Chongli appeared even more helpless and sincere: "Brother Yin, I...I just wanted to see you more, I just wanted you to notice me... Waaah, I've never liked a boy before, I've only ever liked you all my life, I don't know how to make you understand my feelings. I did something so stupid... Waaah, Brother Yin, I didn't mean to break you and Sister Nineteen up, I...I really didn't understand..."

She sniffled, feigning innocence and naivety, desperately trying to gain Shen Yuntan's sympathy in the little time she had left. She seemed truly to be an innocent child, and everything she had done was simply out of pure and straightforward guile; in fact, she wasn't the one who had tried to strip the man of his clothes at all!

Shen Yun sighed, "I'm starting to doubt whether the person who just threw themselves at me was you."

Tang Chongli's cheeks flushed slightly, her innocent eyes blinked, and a few more tears fell: "Brother Ayin, I just wanted you to hug me. Just one hug would be enough, Chongli absolutely didn't mean anything else. Chongli and Sister Nineteen have always been good friends, but... but just now I really couldn't help myself, I wanted to hug you... Waaah, brother... brother, do you think I'm that kind of shameless woman? I, I really didn't."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a loud knocking sounded at the door, so loud it sounded like someone banging on it. The room shook violently, and dust fell from the beams.

Shen Yun looked towards the door and nodded: "That servant probably didn't have much poison on him, so it won't take more than an hour for the effects to take hold."

Tang Chongli's tears stopped flowing immediately; she knew all too well how terrifying the love poison could be when it took effect.

“Although your servant isn’t very good at using poison, he’s quite strong. I’m afraid this door won’t hold for long.” Shen Yun stood up and dusted off his clothes. “I should probably be leaving now, so as not to disturb Miss Tang’s beautiful time.”

Tang Chongli was covered in cold sweat and cried out in panic, "Brother A-Yin, Brother A-Yin, please, please take me away. Even if you kill me with one blow, I'll be fine with it!"

Shen Yun raised an eyebrow: "Oh, what's in it for me?"

The banging on the door grew louder and louder, and even the heavy breathing of the man outside could be heard close to her ear. Tang Chongli couldn't move her limbs, and the veins on her neck bulged with anxiety. She shouted, "I! I'll tell you! After you left, the Tang Clan ambushed Nineteen! I'll tell you their methods!"

Shen Yun shook his head: "If we were going to take action, we would have done it long ago. This kind of outdated information is worthless."

The door was finally kicked open with a "crack." The man who had been disguised as a farmer was covered in sweat, his eyes bloodshot, staring at the woman lying on the bed like a wolf.

Tang Chongli burst into tears, her pretty face contorted in terror: "Save me!! Please!!"

Shen Yun moved swiftly, his fingers flashing like lightning, striking the man's pressure points: "Alright, I'll give you one more chance. See what you can offer to bribe me. Think it over carefully. Don't offer anything worthless. My time is very limited, and every inch of it is money."

Tang Chongli's face was covered in tears and snot, her expression extremely ferocious. After a long while, she finally said, "I...I'll tell you the real cause of Tang Weiqi's death!"

Shen Yun didn't respond, not even raising his eyes.

She gritted her teeth: "Absolutely true, it was me...it was me who poisoned it! I..."

“These are worthless,” Shen Yun interrupted her. “You’ve already wasted enough of my time.”

"Worthless! You're talking nonsense! You like her!" Tang Chongli's eyes were about to bleed, her voice shrill and sharp as a blade scraping across the floor. Driven by rage, her body rolled on the bed, making a creaking sound like a wriggling worm.

"Beg me, beg me and I'll tell you every detail. I'll tell you everything about how that bitch Tang Weiqi died, bit by bit." A fawning smile suddenly appeared on her face. "Just hug me, just once, and I'll tell you everything."

Shen Yuntan looked at the ugly woman and frowned in disgust: "So you're saying that you killed her?"

"Haha, without me, it wouldn't have been so easy to succeed." A strange look appeared on Tang Chongli's face. "If you beg me, I'll tell you everything, including everyone else."

She watched Shen Yuntan walk in step by step, with a triumphant yet somewhat forlorn expression.

From beginning to end, she had to rely on other women to get close to him, even if it was just a hug.

Tang Chongli closed her eyes and waited with satisfaction.

Instead of the embrace she longed for, she received a heavy slap.

“Miss Tang, are you deaf? I mean, your information is worthless.” Shen Yuntan’s lips curled into a captivating smile. “Sorry, the only person I care about right now is Tang Shijiu.”

He swayed out of the house as if riding the wind, and of course, he didn't forget to release the pressure points on the thirsty man.

He turned away gracefully, ignoring the sound of his clothes tearing and the man's beastly roar, but he didn't miss Tang Chongli's cries for him to kill her.

He mounted a horse, turned around, and rode towards Xiaoyao Manor, towards where Tang Shijiu was. Behind him, Tang Chongli's voice grew fainter and fainter, finally drifting away in the wind, torn into fragments, and disappearing completely.