Chapter 19 (This appears to be a fragment of a larger text, possibly a title or heading.)

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Zhizhi bent down and whispered to Ningxi, "Princess, Aying said that Young Master Xiao is missing."

Ning Qi frowned. "How could that be?"

Zhizhi also shook her head.

Ning Qi sensed that something was amiss.

She looked around the room and found that even Qin Xiao was nowhere to be seen.

Did Xiao Sui act ahead of schedule?

No, he's blind, how could he have called Qin Xiao away?

She asked Zhizhi to find out where Qin Xiao was, but after a while Zhizhi came back and shook her head, "I heard he went to relieve himself, but when I went there to call for help, I didn't find him."

Ning Xi frowned even more. She caught a glimpse of her brother's location out of the corner of her eye, and suddenly a thought flashed through her mind.

She finally realized what had been wrong all along. If Xiao Sui's enemy was Qin Xiao, he wouldn't have kept it a secret until now.

Furthermore, the vague answers he received when questioning Qin Xiao earlier clearly indicated that he was covering something up.

The person who could make these two so wary must wield even more power than Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao is Consort Qin's nephew, while Ning Xuanzhou is Consort Qin's son!

Why did she only realize this now!

With this guess, more details flooded into her mind: Xiao Sui's right eye was gouged out, and if the person who hurt him was face to face with him, then it was very likely that they were left-handed.

Ning Xuanzhou is left-handed...

Ning Qi's breathing quickened, and she hurriedly summoned the maid who was pouring wine, pressing her for details about Ning Xuanzhou's whereabouts.

——

Ning Xuanzhou walked alone, his steps unsteady, to an abandoned courtyard. He looked at Qin Xiao, who was waiting outside, and asked, "Is everything ready?"

Qin Xiao nodded and whispered, "Don't worry, with the new sleeping potion, he definitely won't wake up within three hours."

Ning Xuanzhou unconsciously touched his chest through his clothes; the knife scar there still ached faintly. He didn't know what had gone wrong with the sleeping potion last time, causing that bastard to wake up prematurely, which almost led to him being stabbed to death.

Thinking about this made his already gloomy mood even more depressed, and the anger in his heart burned even more fiercely. His eyes turned cold, and he said, "Keep a close eye on things, and call me immediately if there is any movement."

"Understood, understood," Qin Xiao replied, bowing deeply.

Ning Xuanzhou stepped into the dark room, not in a hurry to light the candles. He turned and went into the inner room, his gaze falling on the raised quilt. In the moonlight, he could see the fair arms exposed and the long hair scattered on the floor.

He was furious at being defeated by Xie Xiyue today, but luckily he had already found a woman who looked similar to him. She was from an unknown small sect, which was just what he needed to vent his anger on.

Every year during the study tours, some cultivators from smaller sects would volunteer to try and get close to people from larger sects. So usually, a few would leave without saying goodbye, and their sect leaders wouldn't bother to look for them; everyone knew the truth.

Of course, these people would not be discovered even if they died.

He smiled happily and turned to look at the various tools Qin Xiao had prepared for him.

The night is long, he'd better have some fun.

Just as he was about to hang those slender white arms from the headboard, candlelight suddenly lit up behind him.

He was immediately horrified, and goosebumps instantly rose on his back.

It couldn't be Qin Xiao, which means someone came in, but he didn't hear anything!

He immediately gripped his sword and looked back. In the main room, a tall man dressed in plain clothes was sitting on a chair.

With just one glance, he recognized the face he hated most.

"Xiao Sui? It's you!" Ning Xuanzhou's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly realized that Xiao Sui had become a cripple. He felt a sense of satisfaction and squinted at him meaningfully.

Her figure was still the way he liked, which made his heart burn even hotter.

Seeing that he was wearing an eye patch, Ning Xuanzhou curled the corners of his mouth. "What, are you having second thoughts and want to come to me willingly?"

He released the woman in his arms, turned to Xiao Sui, and revealed a lewd smile, "I asked Qin Xiao to instruct the owner of Nanfeng Pavilion to take special care of you. How are you doing in there?"

Xiao Sui stood up and tapped the table. "They really took good care of me."

Ning Xuanzhou frowned and hesitated, "Weren't your tendons severed?"

Xiao Sui walked steadily to him.

Ning Xuanzhou felt inexplicably panicked, and his body retreated faster than his brain.

What's there to be afraid of! He steadied himself, "Your new master healed you?"

The words "new master" softened a hint of gentleness on Xiao Sui's cold face, but it was fleeting.

The warm yellow candlelight did nothing to warm his face. He spoke coldly, "Prince Jing, forget about reminiscing. I'm here to take your life."

Ning Xuanzhou gripped the sword hilt and sneered, "With you, a cripple?"

Xiao Sui said expressionlessly, "First, give me back these eyes."

The cold, white moonlight shone in through the window, outlining the lower half of his face, making him look like a demon from hell, as if ruthlessly sentencing him to death.

As they got closer, Ning Xuanzhou finally realized something was wrong: the seal on Xiao Sui's neck had disappeared!

Looking at his steady steps, it was clear that the tendons in his hands and feet had been healed. The fact that he could light a candle and walk precisely to him meant that... his eyes had also been restored!

How could that be? He personally gouged out his eyeballs and crushed them; how could they possibly be restored?!

He panicked, sweat beaded on his forehead, and opened his mouth to call Qin Xiao over.

The next instant, a fist struck his throat with perfect accuracy, causing him to lose his voice instantly from the pain.

He was horrified and tried to draw his sword, but a cold wind blew, and he was struck hard on the back of the neck, instantly losing consciousness.

Too strong and too fast, he was no match for him at all!

Qin Xiao, who was peeking out the window, was so frightened that he stumbled and scrambled out of the house.

Xiao Sui actually returned alive, and even regained his former spiritual power.

He even dared to tie up Prince Jing, so he will absolutely not let me go, absolutely not!

With the courtyard gate right in front of him, he was secretly delighted and prepared to rush out, but a dark figure blocked his way.

A powerful spiritual energy emanated from the man's body. Although only the lower half of his face was visible, it made Qin Xiao feel a chill run through his body. His teeth chattered, and he knelt on the ground with a thud.

He had seen how those three men died; it was swift and clean, a single sword to the throat, but their abdomens were completely ripped open.

Qin Xiao clasped his hands together and said, "Please spare me. It was all Prince Jing who forced me to do this. He made me send you to his bed and to Nanfeng Pavilion. It was all his fault. Please don't kill me."

There seemed to be a light shimmering in his palm. Xiao Sui chuckled dismissively, raised his sword, and pointed it at his neck.

The sword rises, the head falls.

A large amount of warm blood splattered on his clothes and quickly gathered into a puddle at his feet.

He crouched down and pulled a communication talisman from the headless corpse's hands.

It turns out they secretly called for reinforcements.

He smiled nonchalantly and crumpled the talisman into a pulp.

——

When Ning Xuanzhou woke up again, he was horrified to find himself strapped to a chair with the leather tools that were to be used on women, and a gag in his mouth.

"You...!" He managed to utter a sound with great difficulty, his throat stinging with pain.

He watched helplessly as Xiao Sui slowly walked towards him, the strong stench of blood filling his nostrils.

Xiao Sui looked down at him, raised his hand, and pressed his thumb on his left eyelid.

Ning Xuanzhou struggled frantically, but the neck collar fixed around his neck prevented him from even turning his head.

You little bastard, this biting little bastard!

He opened his mouth wide, unable to utter a single word, only able to curse wildly in his mind.

The intense pain in his eyes, caused by the immense pressure, was more severe than all the pain he had ever experienced in his life, and it was only getting worse.

He couldn't even make a sound; he could only let out painful moans.

Suddenly, with a slight "plop" sound, the pain reached its peak, and my left eye suddenly turned completely black, with warm liquid flowing out of my eye socket.

He stared intently into his eye socket; it was the sound of an eyeball rupturing.

He was in so much pain that he almost lost consciousness, and his whole body was soaked in sweat. He actually dared to do it!

That reckless bastard, he's a prince!

He was breathing heavily, and snot, tears, saliva, and blood were all flowing down his face, making him look extremely disheveled.

Then the other eye was pressed down by the thumb.

This time he was truly terrified. He unleashed tremendous force, drawing blood from his wrists and making a hoarse sound. But this time, he wasn't yelling or cursing; he was desperately vibrating his vocal cords, trying to beg him to let him go.

However, Xiao Sui seemed to be enjoying his pain, letting out a soft laugh and increasing the pressure on his hand.

With a slight cracking sound, Ning Xuanzhou fainted from the pain.

Xiao Sui clicked his tongue in disgust, took out a short knife from his pocket, pointed the tip at his neck, then slowly moved it down to his abdomen, and plunged it in.

Ning Xuanzhou was jolted awake by the pain, screaming in disbelief, his eyes hollow and bloodshot.

Listening to his intermittent cries, Xiao Sui said to himself, "When you cut open his abdomen every year, it must have hurt even more than this."

As he spoke, he slid the knife downwards.

Blood kept seeping from Ning Xuanzhou's abdomen. Xiao Sui lowered his head and could vaguely see a large patch of striking blood red through the black veil.

His vision hadn't actually recovered much; he could only vaguely see a blurry shadow with his left eye.

However, after the seal was broken, his spiritual power was incredibly abundant, allowing him to perceive everything around him. Naturally, he could easily know the locations of Ning Xuanzhou and Qin Xiao.

The knife moved slowly, and the struggles of the person beneath him grew weaker and weaker. Xiao Sui couldn't help but smile.

The blood of his enemy was so pleasurable that he took a deep breath and almost became immersed in it.

Suddenly, several footsteps came from outside the door, probably the guards Qin Xiao had summoned.

He had no intention of running away; gripping the knife, he continued to cut open Ning Xuanzhou's stomach.

He had no intention of returning alive after killing a prince.

Fortunately, the princess will not be affected by his affairs.

He told the princess about a fake revenge plan so that when he killed her, she would be at a banquet, and the monks attending the banquet could all testify that she had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Xiao Sui calmly awaited his death amidst Ning Xuanzhou's overflowing blood.

Unfortunately, he went to the underworld too late, so he probably won't be able to find his mother, but he might meet Nian Nian.

The footsteps drew closer, accompanied by a familiar, sweet scent.

He realized something was wrong, turned around in shock, and saw a familiar figure in his blurry vision.

The knife in his hand clattered to the ground, and Xiao Sui's voice trembled, "Princess?"

A note from the author:

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Little Nest arrived before death. [Poor thing]

Xiao Sui's breaking of the seal was a powerful [sunglasses] breakthrough.