Nie Qingyi staggered two steps. Su Jinxia really didn't care about Shen Qianxue anymore, and didn't even care about life and death.

Nie Qingyi was utterly shocked. She clearly knew Su Jinxia very well, yet she didn't understand why all her guesses about Su Jinxia were wrong!

How could this be? Nie Qingyi racked her brains but couldn't figure out why.

"However, you can tell me. If it really concerns Shen Qianxue's life or death, I might be able to use it. If that happens, I might just let you go if I'm happy."

Su Jin suddenly changed the subject, giving Nie Qingyi hope again.

Nie Qingyi's eyes lit up, and she pounced on him again. "It's true, it's absolutely related to his life. I swear to God, as long as you give me a way out, I'll tell you."

Su Jin hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Well, I'm a pretty curious person. Go ahead and tell me."

Nie Qingyi's breathing quickened instantly, and she became excited, as if she had grasped a chance to live.

Do you know what a bicolor mushroom is?

Su Jin's gaze darkened. "What do you mean?"

Su Jinxia had studied medicine under Lu Ming, so how could she not know about bicolor mushrooms?

This is a plant that grows in the desert. One plant produces two mushrooms, one white and one black, both of which are poisonous.

However, this poison is quite peculiar. When the two-colored mushrooms are taken together, the toxicity is very small, at most causing hallucinations and a coma for two days.

However, if white and black mushrooms are taken alternately, the toxins will become increasingly potent over time.

According to medical records, consuming two different types of mushrooms separately, one year apart, can be fatal. Five years later, even without oral consumption, simply smelling the other mushroom can trigger a severe reaction, leading to poisoning and death!

Nie Qingyi said, "I heard it from Jifeng, Zhou Ji's most trusted subordinate. Shen Qianxue took the white mushroom that Zhou Ji prepared for him when he was very young, which is more than ten years ago!"

More than ten years! Wouldn't that mean people would die just by seeing a black mushroom?

The person who possesses the black mushroom controls Shen Qianxue's life!

Su Jin's heart sank to the bottom.

In her previous life, Su Jin had never heard of the two-colored mushroom.

That makes sense, since Shen Qianxue always trusted Zhou Ji in her past life, and Zhou Ji didn't need to reveal the matter of the two-colored mushroom. This should be Zhou Ji's last trump card!

Nie Qingyi said urgently, "I've already told you. Give me my clothes and let me leave."

Su Jinxia took a set of clothes out of the bundle next to her and threw them to Su Jinxia.

Nie Qingyi was surprised that Su Jinxia would agree so readily, so she quickly went to untie the rope binding her.

However, her limbs were stiff, and she couldn't untie them after trying for a long time.

Nie Qingyi was on the verge of tears, fearing that Su Jinxia might suddenly change her mind.

The accompanying disciple couldn't stand it any longer and drew his longsword to cut the rope.

Clutching her clothes, Nie Qingyi dragged her battered body away, tumbling and crawling.

Looking at that figure from behind, the disciple could hardly reconcile it with the glamorous, proud, and confident Nie Qingyi of the past.

Inside the carriage, Su Jin slowly closed her eyes. She thought she had finally pulled Shen Qianxue out of the mire, but she never expected that his life was still in Zhou Ji's hands.

Once Shen Qianxue becomes useless to Zhou Ji, or stands on the opposite side of Zhou Ji, Shen Qianxue's life will be in danger.

Su Jin's heart clenched again.

Jicheng.

Zhou Ji sat at his desk, covering his face with tears streaming down his cheeks. His voice trembled and was filled with sorrow.

“I didn’t want to either. I used to think that since you like Su Jinxia, ​​we could talk about cooperation. We could both conquer the world together and get married so that you two could be together forever.”

"But who would have thought that Su Jinxia would insist on raising an army and becoming my enemy? I didn't care at first, but then Nie Qingyi told me that the blood of the Lord of the Glazed Glass could cure all diseases."

"Do you know that this heart disease has accompanied me throughout my life? Every night I wake up suddenly because I can't breathe, and then I break out in a cold sweat. I'm really afraid that one day I will fall asleep and never wake up again."

“I’m not afraid of death, I’m unwilling to die like this. My father is heartless and has many children. He doesn’t care about a child like me, born from a night of passion with a lowly maid. You have no idea how much humiliation my mother and I have suffered.”

"Moreover, I wasn't born with a heart condition. One night, several princes and princesses were scolded by the Grand Tutor and were in a bad mood. They happened to run into me, and to vent their anger, they pushed me into the lake. They pulled me out when I was almost drowning, and then locked me in a haunted, abandoned palace for three days and three nights. In the end, my mother threatened to kill herself and went to my father's side to find and rescue me. But I was left with a heart condition because of this."

"What's ridiculous is that those princes and princesses were merely punished by being confined to their rooms to reflect on their mistakes, while their mothers hated my mother to death because of this incident. They secretly plotted and framed my mother for having an affair with a guard, and the Empress directly ordered my mother to be beaten to death!"

Zhou Ji burst into tears, slumped sadly on the table, "I'm not reconciled! If I die like this, how can I seek justice for my mother? How can I face all the suffering I've endured and all the hardships I've faced? All I wanted was a little blood from Su Jin. She could have saved me with a flick of her finger, but she just had to go against me!"

Su Jinxia guessed correctly; Zhou Ji's first move was to feign weakness and play the victim.

His background may be pitiful, but Su Jinxia owes him nothing, and neither does Mai Zizi. It is wrong for him to hurt others in order to live for himself!

Shen Qianxue naturally knew about Zhou Ji's background. Zhou Ji would occasionally mention it, but never in such detail as today.

In the past, when Shen Qianxue heard this, she always felt a pang of sadness, thinking that compared to Zhou Ji, she was already considered fortunate.

But today, listening to those mournful cries, he felt only peace.

“Su Jin’s blood isn’t a panacea. She spent half a year bleeding every month to save Zizi. But she’s only human. She feels pain when she bleeds, and her blood will eventually run out!”

“From the moment I met her, she was always bleeding and injured, but she never cried out in pain. However, just because she doesn’t say she’s in pain doesn’t mean we can assume she’s not in pain, and just because her blood can save lives doesn’t mean we can take it at will!”

"You watched Zizi grow up, yet you so easily hurt and sacrificed her. If one day my death could provide you with value, or if I were to get in your way, would you be able to kill me so easily?"

Zhou Ji shook his head frantically, "No, I didn't want to kill Mai Zizi. It was Nie Qingyi, it was her idea. She said that as long as I lured Mai Zizi out, she could use Mai Zizi to deal with Su Jinxia. I didn't expect her to kill Mai Zizi!"

Zhou Ji looked at Shen Qianxue with a sorrowful expression, "The bond between us brothers is the most important thing to me. How could I possibly kill you? I've schemed against everyone but never thought of scheming against you! Even if you want to avenge Su Jinxia and Mai Zizi today and want to kill me, I will never put up a fight."

Zhou Ji's body went limp, as if he had given up struggling.

But Zhou Ji knew very well that the more he said this, the more he could extinguish Shen Qianxue's murderous intent towards him.