It was Bi Xi who had moved her out of the Regent’s Estate at the last critical moment.
Meanwhile, back at the Regent’s Estate, facing the shattered barrier that now contained nothing, Xiao Wangye’s expression was terrifyingly grim.
He paid no mind to his blood-soaked robes, instead turning to a mage beside him and asking, “Where is she? Wasn’t she just there?”
Everyone knew who the “she” referred to.
The mage’s face was ashen. “Replying to Your Highness, this lowly one is also unclear. She was likely sent elsewhere…”
Xiao Wangye roared, “Then hurry and find her for me! If you cannot find her, or if she is already dead, then all of you shall be buried with her!”
Ye Qingcheng clutched her long sword. In this unfamiliar environment, she raised her head to gaze at the sky for a long while. When she lowered her head, her face was already wet with tears.
Just now, as the barrier shattered, she could no longer sense Bi Xi’s presence at all.
If that was the case, Bi Xi had already turned to ashes.
And the reason for his demise could not be unrelated to Xiao Wangye and the mages in the Regent’s Estate.
Ye Qingcheng tightened her grip on the sword hilt, turned, and, using her magic, hurried towards the direction of the Regent’s Estate.
The moment she stepped into the Regent’s Estate, she was surrounded by numerous guards.
Xiao Wangye, who was in the middle of having his wounds treated, heard of Ye Qingcheng’s arrival and, disregarding everything, rushed to see her. His face was completely devoid of color as he stood opposite her.
“Xiao Wangye, I’ve returned,” Ye Qingcheng said.
He frowned. Seeing her unharmed, he felt a slight sense of relief.
Gu Pan’er, who had followed him, unable to rest assured about Xiao Wangye, looked at Ye Qingcheng’s death-defying expression and sneered, “Ye Qingcheng, you still dare to return? You injured our Regent, and you can be executed for it!”
But Ye Qingcheng merely glanced at Gu Pan’er and paid her no mind.
Such a minor character did not warrant her attention.
Her sole target was Xiao Wangye.
“You were the one who ordered them to shatter the barrier, weren’t you?” Ye Qingcheng asked.
“It was I,” Xiao Wangye replied quickly.
Ye Qingcheng’s eyes reddened, her body trembling slightly.
At that moment, a familiar voice, belonging to Bi Xi, echoed in her ears: “Miss, it was him who took my golden core, and it was also him who caused me to turn to ashes.”
Even though these words differed from what Ye Qingcheng had heard within the barrier, Ye Qingcheng, as if bewitched, believed the content of this voice implicitly.
“Xiao Wangye, did you take Bi Xi’s golden core?” she questioned.
He looked at her and, after a brief silence, nodded. “It was I.”
“Then, did you also kill Bi Xi?”
“It was also me,” Xiao Wangye said.
Ye Qingcheng wiped away her tears. “Why? Xiao Wangye, tell me, why?”
Xiao Wangye frowned. “There’s no why. I did it because I wanted to.”
After a pause, he added, “If it’s a cat demon, it should be very useful.”
Gu Pan’er, standing beside Xiao Wangye, said, “Don’t think that this is all the Prince’s fault. Haven’t you done wrong yourself? Ye Qingcheng, aren’t you also connected to the cat demon?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. But you are also quite something. When my brother was still alive, he treated you so well, yet you were always clinging to the Regent. Your clinging to the Prince is understandable, but what is most detestable about you? It’s that while you were being intimate with the Prince, you were also stringing my brother along. Don’t you feel ashamed?”
Ye Qingcheng froze slightly.
Gu Pan’er continued, “Ye Qingcheng, are you even Ye Qingcheng? Are you planning to kill the Regent too? How laughable. Even if the Regent truly did something wrong, you cannot escape unscathed from this entire affair. If you ask me, the one who deserves to die the most is you yourself!”
“Shut up! Stop talking!” Ye Qingcheng roared.
“Shut up? You’re telling me to shut up?”
Gu Pan’er sneered, “Ye Qingcheng, you have no right to tell me to shut up! Ah, who is this Bi Xi you keep mentioning? If you truly cherished this Bi Xi, then you can avenge him. But at a time like this, you don’t even consider your own situation. Do you really think you can kill our Prince? Wishful thinking!”
Ye Qingcheng gritted her teeth, her expression fierce and resolute.
Gu Pan’er was still speaking eloquently. Xiao Wangye, whose gaze had been fixed on Ye Qingcheng, felt a sense of peace upon noticing her expression.
She was preparing to kill him.
If she killed him, she could leave all this suffering behind and return to the modern era.
In that case, her returning to being Ye Qingcheng would be beneficial for everyone.
Ye Qingcheng leaped from her spot, a gust of wind swirling around her, pushing the surrounding guards back a considerable distance.
Even Gu Pan’er was blown away by the whirlwind she generated.
In front of her, only Xiao Wangye remained.
She arrived like a dancing fairy, carrying the wind, her long sword in hand. It was not the grace of her dances, nor the shyness of her affection.
At this moment, she was more radiant and more deadly than ever before.
Xiao Wangye’s hair billowed in the wind, his robes fluttered, revealing the parts soaked through with blood.
Her gaze fell upon the crimson hue, and Ye Qingcheng faltered slightly.
The tip of her sword was already close to his chest, but Ye Qingcheng’s movement halted.
Thus, the sharp tip merely pierced the surface of his skin, but did not delve deeper.
Ye Qingcheng realized that in this moment of truth, she simply could not bring herself to kill the man before her.
Her eyes red, she looked up at Xiao Wangye’s face. “Why aren’t you dodging? Do you want to die so badly?”
But Xiao Wangye remained silent. He even raised his hand and grabbed the blade of her sword, letting his palm be cut. Holding the blade, he pushed the entire sword towards his own chest.
Blood gushed out, quickly spreading across his chest, a shocking expanse of red.
“Why are you…”
Ye Qingcheng stared at him in astonishment, large tears rolling down her cheeks.
She didn’t understand why he was doing this.
“If I die, I hope you will be happier,” he said calmly.
“No!” Ye Qingcheng shook her head, fiercely pulling back her long sword and carelessly discarding it behind her.
“Why won’t you kill me?”
If she killed him, wouldn’t she be able to return to the modern era?
Ye Qingcheng also asked herself why she couldn’t kill him. Killing him would be avenging Bi Xi.
She couldn’t answer her own question. A jumble of emotions overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t sort them out. In the end, all she could do was flee in disarray, escaping from Xiao Wangye, and from this fate.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!” the guards finally rushed forward.
“Stay back, watch her, and don’t let anything happen to her,” Xiao Wangye said, his face contorted in pain, yet still concerned for her safety.
“Yes, Your Highness.”