"Auntie, how can you be so foolish? Of course, I want your life. Only by causing Su Wan immense pain can I feel even the slightest bit of joy." Lin Xinmei coldly sneered, her face still appearing pure and innocent.
Zhang Che drew out the Peach Wood Sword and shouted coldly, "Lin Xinmei, you're courting death! Let her go!"
Lin Xinmei had unexpectedly taken my mother hostage, her fingers tightly gripping my mother's neck, "Uncle Zhang Che, you've got it wrong. I'm already dead, merely residing in my sister's body. How can the dead seek death?"
My heart leaped to my throat, and I quickly stepped up to Zhang Che's side, whispering, "Uncle Zhang, Lin Xinmei has a Forbidden Woman's sorcery carved into her palm. No matter how fast you strike, she can instantly kill my mother."
"I see, I never expected the Lin Family to nourish a tiger to their own detriment, keeping a treacherous disaster by their side." Ice-cold frost filled Zhang Che's eyes, his tightly clenched knuckles turning ashen, reflecting his deep concerns.
I took a deep breath and said to Zhang Che, "Uncle Zhang, if you can trust me, let me handle this matter."
"Okay," Zhang Che nodded slightly.
My icy gaze fell on Lin Xinmei, "Lin Xinmei, you persistently claim to seek revenge for Lin Gang. Holding my mother hostage does you no good. Your target is me; let me switch places with her."
"Wrong, Su Wan, if my target was you, I wouldn't have waited until now to make a move." Lin Xinmei's face was full of mockery, "Over these days at the Lin Family, I had numerous chances to kill you, a weakling who knows nothing."
I struggled to suppress the tearing and anxiety in my heart, maintaining a calm demeanor, "So it is directed at Yu Longting. Since you did not harm me but were waiting in hiding for an opportunity. You were actually waiting for Yu Longting to come to the Lin Family, waiting for him to be gravely injured. That would be the perfect time for you to strike. Am I right?"
"I didn't want to reveal myself, but Xuanjing, Lin Gang, Su Qiang—those useless ones—couldn't even handle a dead snake with dispersed cultivation, forcing me to take action myself." Lin Xinmei seemed confident of her victory, her crimson lips curving into a seductive smirk, her laughter ringing out like sleigh bells, "Su Wan, I want to see you kill Yu Longting with your own hands, causing his soul to scatter and never find peace!"
I couldn't comprehend Lin Xinmei's approach. "What... what are you saying?"
"Crush Yu Longting's Life Token, obliterate him, and I will let your mother go. Do you really want to watch your own birth mother die for a Demon Snake?" Lin Xinmei's fingertips lightly traced my mother's face, her lips curling upwards.
I bit my lip hard, "I can't, I can't bear to see my mother die—not even at the cost of my own life." I lowered my eyes towards Yu Longting, gazing at his pale face, "Didn't you disdain me before, never considering me one of your own, wishing deeply for a death you couldn't meet? Let your wish be fulfilled this time."
"Yu Longting, perhaps this is fate, time and again letting you die at the hands of a Su family member."
Seeing this, Lin Xinmei's excitement grew, but she gradually tightened her grip, completely suffocating my mother, her eyes bulging out in pain.
Unable to utter a sound, tears continuously streamed down her face.
"To die at the hands of my wife, I am willing; you want to die at the hands of your beloved, but have no partner." Yu Longting's eyes overflowed with a mischievously gentle smile, his fingertips delicately brushing the ring finger of my hand, the hidden Snake-shaped Ring barely visible, "My wife, I am willing to die for you."
"I am about to kill you, yet you boast endlessly, not hating me at all. Is there a more foolish snake than you?"
I lifted my other hand to gently touch Xiao Honghong's little head peeking from my sleeve, my eyes steadfastly focused on my mother stepping towards the Ghost Gate, my voice trembling, "One last question, Lin Xinmei, how did you know the Life Token of Yu Longting was with me?"
Yu Longting had placed something so critical in my care.
This was supposed to be a deep secret, unknown to anyone else!
"I overheard your mother convincing Lin Huan to accept Yu Longting, mentioning Yu Longting had even given you his Life Token," Lin Xinmei sneered coldly, starting to count down, "I give you three seconds, one, two..."