Chapter 196 Retaliation "Forget it, people always have to grow up."...

After being kicked out by Jiang Yuhuo that night, Li Mengbai did not leave.

He wasn't a very patient person, but he found himself incredibly patient with this woman. Before leaving, he even cast a sensing spell on her door so that he would immediately detect anyone who stepped out.

It's not his fault; after all, she's his fiancée. People bound by a contract always have an extra layer of bond compared to others, so it's only natural that she receives more of his patience. He can even forgive some of her mistakes if she repents.

But then she followed the merman and was locked in a secret room.

He laughed in anger, yet was also incredibly annoyed. What else could a lone man and woman be doing in secret? She had just apologized to him, and now she was having another tryst!

He wanted to see what was so special about that cheap fish that made her so infatuated.

There is no barrier in the world that he cannot break; the barrier blocking the secret chamber only made him spend a little more time on it.

But Li Mengbai never expected to see such a scene.

It was more terrifying than any scenario he had ever imagined.

She may covet someone's looks and body, but she should never cry in another man's arms. That is pure trust and surrender, something he has never received from her.

Only at this moment did Li Mengbai truly realize that she had completely severed ties with him. It turned out that what had been bothering him for so long was the fact that she didn't want him anymore.

She obediently accepted the other's tenderness, even taking the initiative to kiss the merman. In her heart, their contract had long since vanished. She agreed to switch bodies, and then what? They were going to be together, right?

She had already erased the people from his memory, and now she was going to erase the people in his reality as well, leaving him completely alone in a world without her. And they were about to clear away all obstacles, with that wretched fish even planning their future together.

He hated her so much, he was in pain and unwilling to accept it.

A pale white pearly light shone upwards, illuminating half of Li Mengbai's face. He chuckled, his voice chilling, "Does Madam despise her current body? Yes, how can a mortal's body compare to the beauty of a winged being? But once it's used, it's discarded... Madam, how cruel you are!" He was talking about others, yet also about himself.

That beautiful body was in his hands, a young winged being, a beauty rarely seen in the world. But Li Mengbai felt no pleasure looking at her, only resentment, the resentment of being utterly betrayed and abandoned! He knew nothing of the past this body carried, only that Jiang Yuhuo had made a promise to the merman.

Li Mengbai raised the body's hand, on which was a dimly colored contract line. He pinched the contract line with his fingertips and suddenly laughed sharply, "So you had already formed a contract with someone else... Heh, no wonder you were in such a hurry to break my contract. Now that you're back in this body, you can renew your contract, right?"

Seeing his actions, Jia Yue's gaze turned even colder. "If you dare to lay a finger on her, you will never leave this temple today."

Li Mengbai's smile deepened. "Master Zongzi, your cultivation is truly extraordinary. What a boastful tone." His other hand remained firmly on the emerald bead in the girl's mouth, the movement gentle yet threatening. "Want to try and see if you can kill me faster, or if I can crush this Ice Soul Bead faster?"

Jia Yue looked at the purple-clad figure in front of the ice platform with the same gaze she would give a dead object.

Li Mengbai looked persistently at Jiang Yuhuo, who only asked him one question, "Li Mengbai, what exactly do you want to do?"

Seemingly finding the question laughable, Li Mengbai let out a drawn-out laugh, "Don't you know what I want to do? I'll get my revenge on you..."

Sensing the chilling aura rising from the soles of his feet, Li Mengbai's gaze suddenly changed, shooting towards Jia Yue, "If you dare utter another word, I'll immediately extinguish the bead!"

The chilling aura indeed stopped, causing the entire atmosphere in the secret chamber to freeze for a moment. The merman's brows furrowed with hidden anger. "What will it take for you to release her?"

Li Mengbai scoffed coldly and completely ignored him.

Jiang Yuhuo put down her sword, removed all her protective barriers, and slowly walked towards him. "If you want revenge, come at me. That body has never done anything to wrong you. She is innocent."

Looking at that cold and composed face, Li Mengbai unconsciously softened his gaze and looked at her tenderly. "If I let her go, will Madam agree to reinstate our marriage contract?" he said, but the strength in his hand did not lessen.

Li Mengbai discovered that even now, knowing the answer, he still felt a faint sense of anticipation.

She indeed fell silent.

Li Mengbai gave a short laugh, then gritted his teeth angrily, "Jiang Yuhuo," someone who didn't love him and even betrayed him, "how could I possibly let you get away with this!"

With a sudden exertion of force, the bead cracked instantly.

Why would anyone think they could get away unscathed after provoking him? He would never allow it, and he believed that he would have made the same choice before he lost his memory.

If he can't have it, no one else can!

But then she saw the color drain from the person's face instantly, their thin red lips trembling as they cried out in terror, "No!"

The slight cracking sound almost shattered the mermaid's mind. Almost simultaneously, he pierced Li Mengbai's heart with an arrow and injected his spiritual power into the girl on the ice platform. He even used the power of the mermaid pearl within Jiang Yuhuo's body.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The bead shattered like ice, and the body began to dissipate the instant it cracked...

The injected spiritual energy and shark breath were of no use; the physical body dissipated into dust, dissolving, rising, and vanishing... Seven years after its death, this riddled body finally came to an end.

Jia Yue frantically tried to protect the white-haired girl's body, but ultimately couldn't protect anything. Once the body began to dissipate, it couldn't be reversed. "No! How could this happen..."

Everything was arranged perfectly. He even used the Four Divine Statues to create an array that altered the pain sensations in both of their bodies. In just two hours, Jiang Yuhuo would be able to return to her original body without any pain.

"Don't go..." He tried to hold onto the remaining body, but only made the dust that hadn't yet dispersed disappear faster...

Jiang Yuhu stared blankly at the dust particles in mid-air, which were illuminated by the pearly light and turned into a soft white, shimmering like starlight in the dimly lit room.

The white-haired girl, along with her past, vanished completely.

As evidence of Xiao Jiang's existence in Liyue Village, there is truly nothing left...

She suddenly remembered her last night in Liyue Village. Before he died, Jiang Liuyun said that he had cast a divination for her, and the divination said that she was destined to die. She originally thought that after the body was replaced, her body had fallen into the dark abyss of evil, and her soul had wandered in the world for so many years, which was already deceiving fate. But in fact, destiny had always been there, and she had never escaped it.

Two lines of clear tears slid down her cheeks in a daze.

The body on the ice platform completely dissipated, and the last hope was destroyed. An overwhelming sense of despair and murderous intent surged uncontrollably in Jia Yue's heart.

His gaze shifted to the person who had suddenly burst in and shattered everything.

Li Mengbai was pinned to the ground by the ice arrow, her heart pierced, blood flowing everywhere, yet her eyes remained open, gazing blankly at the person standing not far away. She stared helplessly at the dust motes in mid-air, tears falling silently. His heart ached so much he felt like he was dying; it was being torn apart, and he couldn't tell whether the pain came from the wound or from somewhere else.

He just felt that this retaliation did not bring him the satisfaction he had imagined, and it even took away his resentment.

But once the resentment subsided, a hidden fear began to surface. He was actually afraid when he saw those things. If he switched back, he would completely lose the woman who was supposed to be his wife, and his decision to break the bond would be an irreparable mistake.

He used anger to suppress his fear and revenge to maintain his inner order, but he never considered that this might lead to an even more irreparable mistake.

A chilling aura descended, and a figure in white blocked Li Mengbai's view. He could only see the merman who had stolen his fiancée, his face now lifeless like a statue. Only now, recalling how he had personally shattered the bonds they had formed in the past, did Li Mengbai truly feel a sense of satisfaction.

But the next moment, countless needles of spiritual energy pierced his body, and the cold air invaded his soul, as if to freeze his soul solid, causing him unbearable pain.

This merman really wanted to kill him.

But how could he die so easily?

Li Mengbai laughed with satisfaction, blood choking him and causing him to cough up more. He stubbornly mocked, "You...can't go back to the past...anytime...it's impossible..."

Jia Yue's cold, sharp eyes seemed to want to pierce his heart. He had never in his life wanted someone to die so much. He transformed into a bow in the void, vowing to make this person die and disappear at this moment.

Taking advantage of this moment, Li Mengbai mustered his last bit of spiritual power and cast the wound talisman he had secretly drawn onto Jia Yue's body. Several wounds immediately appeared out of thin air on his chest, but then he heard a muffled groan from not far away.

A hint of doubt flashed in Li Mengbai's eyes, but she quickly understood. "Heh, you actually... transferred your pain sensation to her. It was for a body swap, wasn't it? Too bad, it's useless now..."

The merman's ice arrow was aimed at his forehead; its surging spiritual power and killing intent were enough to make him disappear completely.

The final blow didn't land. Li Mengbai opened his eyes and saw a pair of empty, blank eyes. It was the owner of those eyes who held down the merman's hand.

Jiang Yuhuo looked at the person on the ground covered in blood. The large bloodstains made it seem as if he had almost bled to death, yet there was still a very faint strange fragrance, just like the person who had bled himself to the point of exhaustion and then came to her in the dead of night begging her not to break the contract.

She glanced at him calmly, then looked up at his body, which had turned to dust in mid-air, and sighed softly. It was as if she were speaking to the merman, or perhaps to herself.

"Forget it, people always have to grow up."

...

The snow has stopped.

In the palace, a candle was still burning in a secluded bedroom, as if it had been left on specially for someone.

Xiao Jing didn't know how many times she had fallen asleep. She was lying in her aunt's bedroom, on her bed. Although all the bedding was the most comfortable, she kept waking up because she had something on her mind. When she opened her eyes, she vaguely saw another figure in the bedroom, a slender black figure that only showed her its back.

"Auntie?" Xiao Jing's eyes widened suddenly. Who else could this be but the person she was waiting for?

She jumped off the couch, forgetting even to put on her shoes and socks, and rushed over, bursting into the person's arms with a beaming smile. "Auntie, you really came! You didn't leave, did you?"

The female cultivator in black patted her head and smiled faintly, "Yes. Auntie is back, I'm not leaving anymore."