The slow, lingering voice, with its drawn-out tail, would appear in Qin Yurou’s dreams in the dead of night, turning her slumber into the most despairing and terrifying of hells.
Qin Yurou froze in place, tilting her head to gaze at the source of the sound. The golden-pink sunset fell upon Nan Shiying, accentuating the gentle, graceful smile on her face.
This smile, for Qin Yurou, was the deepest of nightmares.
"You, how could you..."
Qin Yurou’s voice caught in her throat. She looked at Nan Shiying, unharmed, and then doubtfully scanned her surroundings. If not for the warm sunlight on her skin and the warmth of the maid whose arm she clutched, she might have believed that everything before her was merely an absurd dream.
But reason told her that all of this was real.
No wonder there had been no movement from Xinyuan Pavilion. She hadn’t died. She hadn’t died.
Then who was she!
Was she the true Nan Shiying, or an imposter wearing a human skin mask!
"How could I what?"
Nan Shiying crossed her arms, observing Qin Yurou, who was lost in terror, with amusement. She smiled with radiant delight.
That voice, that tone, that face that was smiling yet brimming with malice.
It was her, it was her!
But didn’t the imposter from yesterday say she was already dead?
"Are you human or ghost?"
She suppressed the fear in her heart and demanded loudly.
Upon hearing Qin Yurou's challenge, Nan Shiying couldn’t help but laugh. She straightened up and slowly walked towards Qin Yurou. With each step she took, Qin Yurou retreated a step. If not for holding onto her maid’s shoulders, her legs would have long since gone weak and she would have collapsed to the ground.
She wasn’t afraid of Nan Shiying being a ghost; she was afraid of Nan Shiying herself!
Watching the terrified, trembling side consort Qin Yurou, the servants of Xinyuan Pavilion revealed expressions of disbelief. But thinking of the formidable appearance of the other party the last time, they couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat for Qin Yurou, while inwardly wondering why she was throwing herself into harm's way.
"Why is sister afraid?"
Nan Shiying sighed with a hint of hurt, seemingly puzzled why Qin Yurou avoided her like the plague. She lowered her eyelids, a touch of desolation clouding her eyes, like a warm-hearted elder sister trying to care for her sister, only to be shunned.
But everyone present had witnessed her methods before, and they all felt a chill, reflexively lowering their heads and backing away.
Qin Yurou soon retreated to the doorway of Xinyuan Pavilion. Her back was against the doorframe. As Nan Shiying walked step by step towards her, a terrifying urge to turn and flee surged within her. But... she controlled herself. Gazing into Nan Shiying’s eyes, a scorching flame of hatred, capable of burning everything to ashes, suddenly ignited.
She shouldn't be afraid. Why should she be afraid?
She should be happy now. Happy that Nan Shiying hadn’t died. Happy that she finally had the chance to let Nan Shiying experience the despair and terror the imposter had felt before her death last night.
With this thought, she stopped retreating. Her gaze fixed intently on Nan Shiying’s eyes, unwilling to yield an inch.
Nan Shiying, however, couldn’t help but smile.
She walked up to Qin Yurou. Qin Yurou’s maid stepped forward, intending to block Nan Shiying, but was pulled aside by Qin Yurou’s hand.
Qin Yurou pulled her lips apart and flashed Nan Shiying a smile filled with malice.
Nan Shiying slightly lowered her head, brought her lips close to Qin Yurou’s ear, and whispered with a smile, "Good. It would be boring if you were scared out of your wits. More than seeing you scared, I prefer the way you were last night, wild and furious."
"So, how did it feel, inserting the hairpin into flesh and skin? And stepping on bones, crushing them with all your might, how relieving was that? Also, what I admire most is your innovation. I never would have thought of using a candlestick to stab into someone's eyes like a sword. What did that feel like? Describe it? I am truly curious!"
Her voice was like a devil’s whisper. Qin Yurou pushed her away fiercely. Looking at the smile in Nan Shiying’s eyes, she felt that every muscle in her face harbored a greed and craving for flesh and blood.
She had seen it. She had seen it all.
Qin Yurou’s eyes widened in panic and terror. The courage she had just mustered instantly crumbled and retreated.
"You, you..."
She couldn't speak. Only her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by a large hand.
Nan Shiying brushed off her dress where Qin Yurou’s hand had touched it, the smile on her lips becoming even more dazzling. She stood against the light, the golden-pink glow enveloping her back, concealing her face in a shadow.
She took another step forward and whispered with a laugh in Qin Yurou’s ear, "Then guess, am I human or ghost!"
The drugged tea from last night had not yet dissipated within Qin Yurou. That kind of medicine would invisibly amplify the sense of fear, cause hallucinations, and cloud the nerves. When a person’s tolerance exceeded its limit, this medicine was enough to drive someone mad.
Nan Shiying’s face slowly began to rot in Qin Yurou’s eyes. A candlestick grew in her eye, piercing directly through her left eye. The candle on the candlestick flickered, still emitting light.
White unknown liquid mixed with blood, sliding down the corner of her eye. She raised her hand, wiping away the foul-smelling, disgusting liquid with her finger, and then put her finger into her mouth.
She smiled, and countless insects and ants crawled out of her mouth.
"Ah..."
This terrifying scene made Qin Yurou shriek in terror. She could no longer distinguish whether the Nan Shiying before her was the real one or the imposter she had killed last night.
"Get away, get away! Who are you, who!!!"
Nan Shiying tilted her head, looking at Qin Yurou with feigned confusion, and said with a smile, "Is sister suffering from madness? Who am I? I am the legitimate wife, married with the king’s decree, the mistress of this manor, the daughter of Nan Chaoyin, the Prime Minister of Lin Yuan Country."
"I am Nan Shiying!"
"Don't come any closer!"
As Nan Shiying approached, Qin Yurou retreated until she could retreat no further, shrinking into a corner. Her hands tightly gripped her maid’s shoulders, as if gripping something so forcefully could bring her a shred of courage.
"No, you're not!"
"You're not!"
"Not!"
Qin Yurou shook her head vigorously. Her voice was so low it was more like a murmur, one after another. The extreme suppressed fear made her feel suffocated, despairing. The human strength of struggling for survival, clashing with fear, made her feel anger, stirring a madness within her, a desire to destroy both parties together.
"You're not! You are not Nan Shiying. The real Nan Shiying died long ago. You are a maid from the Nan household, you are an imposter!"
Qin Yurou’s eyes were wide open, bulging, and bloodshot. The madness welling up in her eyes filled the onlookers with dread.
She shouted loudly, the smile pulled at the corners of her mouth appearing eerily terrifying due to the distortion of her facial muscles.