“I’m willing to climb a mountain of blades at senior’s command! I-”
Having heard enough nonsense out of Qing Ming Yang’s mouth, Long Hua says—
“Enough.”
“…Yes.”
Continuing to kneel, Qing Ming Yang performs one more kowtow.
And despite finding it awkward to ask Long Hua anything, Qing Ming Yang still can’t help but nervously ask—
“Senior, if the elders of my family…-”
Cutting Qing Ming Yang off with a cold laugh, Long Hua says—
“Your report is your issue, not mine. The terms of our contract are—you are not to speak of my existence to anyone.”
“But surnamed Xia’s wounds would…”
As Qing Ming Yang looks at the badly wounded Xia Ri’er, Long Hua asks—
“Surnamed Qing, are you stupid?”
Making a lifting gesture, Long Hua causes the jade sword to bounce off the ground—prior to tossing it over to Qing Ming Yang.
*Klang.* upon the jade sword landing near Qing Ming Yang’s knees, Long Hua continues to say—
“The dead tells no tales.”
“…”
Having said these words in the past himself, Qing Ming Yang’s expression turns incredibly awkward, as his lips twitch.
“But-”
“If you don’t want to kill her, that’s fine as well. Simply cut off her tongue, fingers, and toes, while also not forgetting to stitch her mouth as well. It wouldn’t do to leave her capable of written communication after all. As for the excuse… Just tell your elders that you found a rare opportunity in this realm—one that you’re not willing to share with another, and had decided to silence this clansman of yours. As the saying goes, fated opportunities can be met, but cannot be begged for. If a practitioner misses one of them, who knows when they might be able to encounter another? Until whatever treasure it is actually lands into your hands, and is refined, it cannot be considered your own.”
Turning to Qing Ming Yang with a venomous smile, Long Hua continues to say—
“Surnamed Qing, this is common sense in the practitioners’ circle. How did you forget it?”
“That’s…?”
Looking at the smiling Long Hua, Qing Ming Yang feels as if he is staring at the vilest existence alive.
Suddenly, Qing Ming Yang feels like this entire situation couldn’t have been a coincidence, as he thought—
(Goddammit, Xia Ri’er’s slip up must have been a setup by this monster! If…-! If I had lost control over my emotions as well…!)
Glancing at Xia Ri’er’s current state, cold sweat rolls down Qing Ming Yang’s face, as he feels like he had narrowly dodged a fatal blade strike.
Being disfigured for a man isn’t too great of a deal, but having one’s cultivation base drop by an entire realm and more—it’s simply far too cruel for any practitioner to endure.
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“Hahaha!”
Clapping his hands, while laughing, Bai Wen had to agree with these words, as he remarks—
“Surnamed Qing, if you choose to silence her, I won’t say anything either. Those flames have burnt her so well—that the moment her flesh and blood body die, her soul will cease to exist as well. As for Lao Long’s advice—whether the elders buy it or not… I guess, you can only pray that they do?”
“…Pray? I………”
“…!”
Meeting Xia Ri’er’s terror-filled eyes, the memories of the former lying about their storage pouch not working on Lin Yu Heng’s junk ship appears on Qing Ming Yang’s mind.
(…As if I’d entrust my life to a liar.)
With his decision made, Qing Ming Yang picks up the sword near his knees, and slowly rises to a stand.
“Surnamed…-!”
Unable to say anything due to the pain, Xia Ri’er can only glare hatefully at Qing Ming Yang, who has made his decision to silence her.
“Surnamed Xia… I don’t hate you. But…”
Rotating the sword, and holding it in reverse grip, while looming it over Xia Ri’er’s chest, Qing Ming Yang draws in a deep breath of air, and continues to say—
“I don’t have any other options. I want to live, and you dying raises my odds of survival greatly.”
Towards these words, Xia Ri’er thought—
(Surnamed Qing! I’ll never forgive you! I’ll haunt you as a ghost! You bastard—who deserves to die by a thousand cuts!)
“…”
With subtle footsteps, Yao Ying approaches the two, and says—
“Stop.”
“…?”
“…!”
Widening her eyes with surprise, Xia Ri’er turns her focus onto Yao Ying, while thinking—
(Does she intend to save me?)
At the thought of this, all the negative feelings in Xia Ri’er’s heart towards Yao Ying softens; however—
“I want to end her with my own hands.”
Reality is very cruel, as these words come out of Yao Ying’s mouth.
“Oh?”
Hearing this, Bai Wen raises his right eye with a hint of surprise, whereas Nuo’er warns—
“Yao Ying, killing someone means changing yourself forever. Think this through properly.”
“…I know. …Surnamed Qing, your sword.”
“…”
As Yao Ying receives the sword from Qing Ming Yang, Long Hua sits back down with a leg crossed, and refills his cup. Inwardly, he thought—
(Oh? This surnamed Qing, even at a time like this, he doesn’t forget to mark his target? Not bad, not bad at all.)
Smiling faintly, Long Hua glances at Bai Wen, who had noticed the same thing.
“…”
Getting a feel for the sword’s weight, Yao Ying looks directly into Xia Ri’er’s eyes, and—
“…”
“…!”
Upon having the sword’s tip pressed onto her chest—drawing fresh blood, Xia Ri’er’s pace of breathing turns erratic, as she glares into Yao Ying’s pale purple eyes.
“…Xia Ri’er, thank you.”
“…?”
Amidst Xia Ri’er’s confusion, Yao Ying plunges the sword into the former’s chest with her full weight.
“Hack…!”
“…”
Blood spews from Xia Ri’er’s mouth and wound, and splashes onto Yao Ying’s face and hands.
Yao Ying’s gratitude towards Xia Ri’er is genuine; had this woman not attempted to kill her, she would have never realized that—
(The life that I was leading before… It was all a lie. Since it’s all a lie… There never was any purpose in getting it back.)
“Uh…!”
As Yao Ying twists the sword, Xia Ri’er coughs out more blood.
“…”
“…”
Maintaining eye contact with one another, Yao Ying watches as Xia Ri’er’s hatred-filled eyes gradually turn dim.
In the next instance—
*Thud!* similarly to a puppet, which had its strings severed, Yao Ying collapses onto her knees.
“…”
Sensing warmth emanating from her legs, Yao Ying sees Xia Ri’er’s blood staining her white robes a bright shade of red.
“…”
Staring down at her trembling hands, which are still covered in Xia Ri’er’s warm blood, Yao Ying has a difficult time breathing.
Different from Long Hua, this is Yao Ying’s first time taking a life.
“…”
Walking over, Nuo’er presses a hand onto Yao Ying’s shoulder, and instructs—
“Breathe through your mouth. A light breath at a time.”
“…”
Amidst Yao Ying’s breathing exercise, Long Hua shrouds his divine senses around the former’s right hand, and rips off the marker that Qing Ming Yang had placed on her—when she had come into contact with the jade sword.
Invisible to Qing Ming Yang’s eyes, the marker flies towards Long Hua.
“…”
Taking a sip of wine, Long Hua uses the cup to cover his sinister smile from sight, while opening his storage pouch to receive the marker.
As Yao Ying’s breathing gradually returns to normal, Nuo’er lifts her off the ground, and carries her towards the bathroom to get her cleaned up.
In the same instance, Qing Ming Yang retrieves his weapon from the corpse, while Bai Wen says—
“Surnamed Qing, you can leave after cleaning up the corpse and blood. Also, don’t forget to fill in the gap in the floor.”
“…Understood.”
Towards Qing Ming Yang, Long Hua says—
“Surnamed Qing, the next time you come here—make sure you, and your friends have loaded storage pouches.”
“…”
Hearing this, Qing Ming Yang’s expression cramps up immediately. This is akin to being used as fishing bait, but rather quickly, he answers—
“…Understood.”
“Mm, a second needed to answer, you show some promise.”
“…Thanks for the compliment?”