"She's not awake yet?"
It was Sheng Huai'an's voice.
"It seems not," Yao Wan reached out her hand, which landed on Qin Jiu Jiu's closed eyelids.
Suddenly, her hand changed rapidly. The originally slender and fair hand gradually grew white hair, and her fingers elongated instantly.
Qin Jiu Jiu felt her face being stroked, but inexplicably, she felt not gentleness, but danger.
"Host, the system has informed you of all the facts. Next, I hope you can complete the mission smoothly, otherwise, both Qin Yun Wan and Qin Jiu Jiu will die~"
And in the end, Qin Jiu Jiu's existence would not be remembered.
Qin Yun Wan's ending would stop at Shang Yang Town.
Finally, the system's voice disappeared.
Qin Jiu Jiu opened her eyes and saw a pair of scarlet eyes.
It was that fox demon again.
Before she could make any move, she noticed the fox demon's hand placed at the corner of her eye, ready to take her eyes in an instant if it wished.
Qin Jiu Jiu dared not act rashly and looked at Sheng Huai'an, who was standing not far away watching her.
That face, so similar to Xie Jing's, was now gradually disintegrating from Xie Jing's and overlapping with Sheng Huai Zhi's.
Where he differed from Xie Jing, he was very much like Sheng Huai Zhi.
"Fifth Prince, why is this?" She did not expose the unspoken truth.
To mend the plot, this hidden antagonist had become the main antagonist of the entire story.
Only then did Qin Jiu Jiu realize that all along their journey, Sheng Huai'an had been present.
It had all begun in Xi Liu City. In many places, she had actually seen Sheng Huai'an.
It was this man in front of her who, in league with the fox demon Yao Wan, had confused the skin-swapping ghost, poisoned her, and ordered Yao Wan to bring her to Chun Feng Du. His goal was to lure the protagonist group to Chun Feng Du, and then step by step into the illusion...
That illusion was the manifestation of Yue Nan Sang.
Because Yue Nan Sang harbored resentment, she transformed into a Yaksha and laid down an illusion in the former An Zhou territory. Everyone who entered experienced life as if it were within the illusion.
Experiencing her entire life.
...
Her consciousness returned, and Qin Jiu Jiu quickly sorted out her thoughts.
In the final analysis, it was now that Sheng Huai'an was a major villain.
And he was also the mastermind behind this series of events.
Even their arrival in this imperial city was part of his plan.
Everything was a plot orchestrated by Sheng Huai'an in every way possible, and the current situation was also arranged by him.
But what was his purpose?
"Little Jiu'er~ you're awake~"
He instantly changed his expression, but upon seeing Qin Jiu Jiu's vigilant and distant gaze, his face instantly turned cold.
Yao Wan suddenly choked her neck, "Why don't you give me this skin? I..."
Before she could finish, Sheng Huai'an interrupted, "You are not her."
Just as Qin Jiu Jiu could recognize Qin Jiu Jiu at a glance, even if Yao Wan possessed Qin Jiu Jiu and tried to seduce Xie Jing, he would certainly not give Yao Wan a chance.
"How do you know if you don't try?" Yao Wan was unconvinced.
But Sheng Huai'an lost his patience. His usual gentleness vanished, and he now had a cold face, his voice even carrying a chill. "Be quiet!"
From their exchange, Qin Jiu Jiu gained two pieces of information: Yao Wan could not harm her for the time being, and Sheng Huai'an and Yao Wan's target was Xie Jing.
Qin Jiu Jiu tentatively asked, "What are you going to do?"
Of course, she would not get an answer. She intended to glean as much information as possible.
Sheng Huai'an suddenly leaned closer, looking down at her, "You will know."
Sheng Huai'an was highly vigilant and unwilling to say more at this moment.
Qin Jiu Jiu had to give up for the time being.
"How can you recognize me and him at a glance? Do we not look alike?"
Sheng Huai'an now seemed to have returned to being the Fifth Prince, a faint smile on his face.
"You two are indeed alike. If I didn't know of your existence, I might have been momentarily confused, but now, I can distinguish the difference at a glance," Qin Jiu Jiu stated with certainty.
In Xi Liu City, she had mistaken someone because she was not yet familiar with Xie Jing and relied solely on appearance. Moreover, at that time, she didn't know that there was another person in this world who looked so much like Xie Jing.
But now, she could recognize them instantly.
Especially the way they looked at her, it was completely different.
Even with Sheng Huai'an's utmost effort to disguise himself earlier, he was not Xie Jing.
"So interesting..."
Sheng Huai'an seemed pleased, his smile deepening.
"You are truly an interesting woman..."
In an instant, Sheng Huai'an was in front of Qin Jiu Jiu.
The sudden appearance of his face startled Qin Jiu Jiu.
"However, you must die!"
He leaned close to her ear and said softly.
Qin Jiu Jiu's expression changed. His words meant that in his final plan, her end was death.
But how could that be?
If she died, what would happen to Xie Jing?
It was at this moment that Qin Jiu Jiu understood Sheng Huai'an's plan.
The Man Luo Kingdom was a mysterious land, and many ancient and absurd legends originated from Man Luo. The practice of forbidden arts on fetuses was also recorded in the ancient texts of Man Luo.
During the war between the Man Luo Kingdom and the Sheng Qi Kingdom, General Su Mu, though he returned victoriously, was imprisoned by Sheng Huai Zhi on fabricated charges. Later, the Sheng Qi Kingdom formed a marriage alliance with the Man Luo Kingdom.
All of this was simply because Yun Yao Yao had returned at that time, and she was carrying Xie Qing's child.
Sheng Huai Zhi hated Yun Yao Yao and Xie Qing intensely, and he extended his hatred to the child.
Unable to bear to harm Yun Yao Yao, he intended to harm her child.
After accidentally obtaining a secret method, he used the secret method and the sorcerer as conditions. Ostensibly, it was a marriage alliance, but in reality, it was to send the sorcerer to the Sheng Qi Kingdom's imperial palace.
Yun Yao Yao was thus subjected to forbidden arts by the sorcerer in a secret chamber.
This forbidden art would not affect the mother, but the fetus would be born with malevolent energy. In ancient texts, this secret technique was related to the nearly vanished demon race.
Xie Jing's body had been infiltrated by demonic energy since childhood. To prevent him from harming his mother, additional restrictions were imposed to temporarily suppress the demonic energy.
However, as he grew older, the demonic energy would become stronger, and the restrictions would weaken.
This would ultimately lead to the result of demonic energy invading his body.
Therefore, Xie Jing was declared inauspicious from birth.
"What exactly is your purpose? I'm just an ordinary person, useless to you..."
"Hush!" Sheng Huai'an made a shushing gesture, then said faintly, "You are very useful. You actually managed to give that devil emotions. Then you must sacrifice yourself to complete my great plan!"
Sheng Huai'an's face contorted with madness, making him even more like Sheng Huai Zhi.