Still, before she could make a move, a sudden force pressed against her lower back, pinning her against the table, rendering her unable to budge.
Mu Heng grabbed her by the collar, restraining her wrists, and kicked her onto the table. He pressed her face down, a mocking smile gracing his lips. “Oh, isn’t the eldest daughter here to apologize? Is this the sincerity of your Shao Ling?”
“Pah! Ganging up on the weaker, none of you from Jiu Ling Palace are any good! I’ll tell my father to make sure your Jiu Ling Palace can’t even survive!”
The girl struggled harder, her shrill voice echoing in the room. Ye Ziling stood up, picked up a chestnut cake, and examined it closely. “What a shame for this chestnut cake. Exquisitely made, yet mixed with something unclean.” Her gaze flickered as she flashed a smile at Shen Yueru. “If not, Miss Shen, why don’t you finish this plate of chestnut cakes before leaving?”
The girl struggled even more fiercely, her mouth still defiant. “I won’t eat it.”
Mu Heng grabbed her by the collar from behind and shoved her face into the plate. The girl was covered in chestnut cake.
“…How dare you do this to me!” Shen Yueru continued to wail.
Seeing her pathetic state, Ye Ziling frowned in annoyance. She picked up the only intact chestnut cake in her hand and offered it to the girl’s mouth, saying gently, “Miss Shen, you’re so careless? I have another one here. You can leave after eating it.”
Upon seeing Ye Ziling’s feigned sincerity, Shen Yueru, gripping her rope whip tightly, could only glare at her helplessly. Coupled with Mu Heng pinning her down, her body had already gone numb.
However.
Shen Yueru looked at the peach-shaped pastry in Ye Ziling’s hand, and several images flashed through her mind.
She had added a large dose of laxative to it. With this bite, who knew how many days she would be confined to the latrine.
Seeing her hesitation, Ye Ziling pinched Shen Yueru’s chin, ignoring her struggles, and forced the pastry into her mouth. Watching the girl’s nauseated expression, her eyes turned cold. She said leisurely, “If Miss Shen can’t swallow it, I’d be happy to serve you again.”
Her voice was clear and cold, carrying a strong sense of oppression and threat.
The girl’s gaze gradually softened as she glared and swallowed all the pastry.
Seeing this, Mu Heng snorted and released his grip.
Shen Yueru flicked her sleeves and left. Before exiting, she turned back to issue a threat, “Ye Ziling, you remember this!”
Ye Ziling watched the mess on the table and leisurely played with the folding fan in her hand. “Don’t bother to see me out.”
Meanwhile, a man in black walked down the street and entered a medical clinic. He approached the counter and placed the item in his hand down with a flourish.
He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, a tall and straight figure, and was exceptionally handsome. Especially his narrow, deep-set eyes, which carried an innate aura of dominance and nobility, making him appear like a deity.
The physician glanced at the item on the counter and furrowed his brows. “Young master, are you here to get medicine?”
The man’s thin lips were pressed together, and he remained silent.
After a moment of waiting, he spoke faintly, his voice carrying a cool tone. “I am not here to get medicine. I have come to deliver medicine.”
Upon hearing this, the physician’s eyes darted around. He looked up and assessed the man before him, finding his demeanor to be exceptional and unique. He spoke kindly, “Young master, I’ve heard of people coming to get medicine, but never to deliver it… Besides, look, what don’t I have in this pharmacy? If you are not getting medicine, then please leave…”
The man let out a soft chuckle, his thin lips parting slightly. “Oh? Do you have the antidote for the Soul Severing Gu?”
The physician’s face turned ashen with shock.
He had heard of the Soul Severing Gu. Those afflicted would perish in burning agony. Not to mention the antidote, he had only encountered this poisonous gu in Miao疆蛊 books.
It was rumored that the antidote for the Soul Severing Gu required the gall bladder of a wolf demon and hundreds of rare immortal herbs. It could only be concocted in precise proportions, but no one had yet managed to develop an antidote, leaving the poisoned with only death as their fate.
Even a divine being with extraordinary talent would need five to ten years, and the chance of success would be close to zero.
Before he could finish speaking, the man before him suddenly took out a bag of silver from his sleeve and threw it onto the counter. Heavy ingots of silver scattered out instantly.
“Is this enough?” the man’s sword-like brows arched slightly, his voice tinged with coldness.
The physician’s eyes lit up upon seeing the silver ingots. He reached out, picked one up, and weighed it. He then chuckled and asked, “My lord, what matter would you like me to handle?”
The man’s gaze narrowed slightly as he raised his eyebrows. “Help me deliver this antidote to someone.”
The physician quickly bowed and curtsied. He then put the silver back into his sleeve, took the medicine from the man, and said gleefully, “Alright… Alright, I will do as you command.”
After giving a few instructions, the man turned and left.
“Thank you for your generosity, my lord!” The physician looked at the full bag of silver, his mouth practically splitting into a grin.
Stepping outside, a voice echoed in Ling Xi’s mind.
【System: Lord Ling, why are you being soft-hearted? That was a great opportunity in the cave just now!】
Ling Xi paused, his expression softening. Several vivid images flashed through his mind, a surge of restlessness rising in his chest, his mouth feeling dry.
He took out the shattered piece of colored glaze he had obtained from the wolf demon and examined it closely, a faint gleam flashing in his eyes.
This was not the Sun Moon Divine Lamp, but an ordinary piece of shattered colored glaze, identical to the four pieces in the sect leader’s hand – all of them were high imitations.
“As long as I obtain her body, the mission is complete?” Ling Xi asked the system.
【System: Lord Ling, if it were that easy, you could have simply tied her up and forced yourself on her. Why would you need to deliberately seduce her? You must win both her body and her heart…】
Ling Xi rubbed his temples. He had thought that the ‘supreme being’ had genuinely exchanged the Sun Moon Divine Lamp with the wolf demon for him, but he hadn’t expected it to be a fake.
【System: Lord Ling, she’s only saved you a few times, and you’ve already fallen for her? You can’t bear to touch her body, but you can capture her heart first… You’re a grown man, dawdling like this!】
“What’s the next mission?” Ling Xi straightened his demeanor, forcefully suppressing the heat in his heart. He only remembered the mission when he came back to his senses.
【System: Lord Ling… you’ve already messed up the mission.】
Messed up? What mission? He didn’t know.
“When did I ever carry out a mission?” Ling Xi asked, confused.
【System: Shen Yan cannot be killed. Absolutely cannot be killed… Otherwise, the four academies will be in danger.】
Ling Xi chuckled dismissively. “You don’t actually believe what that kid said, that Miss Ye will destroy the four major academies?”
Her cultivation was profound, her demeanor pure and untainted, she had some medical knowledge, and she could pull him back from the brink of death. How could she be a demoness? She was clearly an immortal fairy.
Thinking of this, Ling Xi’s lips curved unconsciously.
【System: Lord Ling, are you deceiving yourself as well?】
With Ling Xi’s intelligence, he had long guessed the reason why the disciples were killing each other during the martial arts examination.
Ling Xi’s gaze gradually turned cold. He immediately understood the system’s meaning and sneered, “What? You also think the ‘supreme being’ is responsible? Then tell me, why would she do that?”
Ling Xi couldn’t understand. She was also from Jiu Ling Palace. What benefit would destroying the four major academies bring to herself?
【System: Lord Ling, have you ever considered that there’s a reason I chose you as my host?】
“Oh? What reason?” A hint of interest flashed in Ling Xi’s eyes as he asked meaningfully.
【System: You are here to save the world, while the ‘supreme being’…】
She is here to destroy the world.
Ling Xi’s head began to ache as soon as he saw those words. His master had also said some inexplicable things when he was alive. Who had he offended in his past three lives? He was either atoning for sins or saving the common people. Now even this wicked creature said so. Could he ever live a peaceful life in the future?
“What mistake did I make in my past life?” Ling Xi asked, raising his eyebrows dismissively.
【System: Didn’t you choose this yourself?】
Ling Xi curled his lips mockingly and teased, “Who would seek suffering for no reason?”
“Right, according to you, can you see my past lives?”
【System: Ding! Host can only investigate past lives after completing a certain number of missions!】
“Forget it.”
Since he had died so miserably in his past life, he’d rather not look. He focused on the present.