"I can't die, I absolutely can't die. When the people from the Alchemy Sect arrive, I will torture you to death, leaving you with no complete corpse." Liu Ruyan gritted her teeth, her hairpins falling to the ground. When the pain became unbearable, she used a silver hairpin to pierce her body to keep her mind clear, but this also left her covered in wounds.

"Jun Liuyue, Sikong Xi...you're dead. The Alchemy Sect will not let you get away with this..."

"Oh, really?"

Just then, the door creaked open, and the girl strolled in.

Sunlight streamed in, illuminating Liu Ruyan, who appeared neither human nor ghost. She suddenly thrust the hairpin she was holding towards Jun Liuyue, who was approaching.

But as soon as she got up, she fell to the ground, looking neither human nor ghost. Who could connect her with the young lady of the Alchemy Sect?

"Jun Liuyue, you'll die a horrible death. The people from the Alchemy Sect are coming, aren't they? Hahaha, you're doomed."

"The Alchemy Sect has indeed sent a message." Liu Yue bent down to pick up the hairpin from the ground.

Liu Ruyan laughed loudly, "You're dead."

"I don't know if I'll live or die, but the Alchemy Sect and Tianyan are still quite a distance apart. It will take at least one night to get there. One night is enough for me to torture you to death."

Liu Yue smiled radiantly, "What do you say?"

"If I die, my father will kill you!"

"If you don't die, will the people of the Alchemy Sect let me go? If you return to the Alchemy Sect alive, will they let me go?"

Liu Yue half-squatted in front of Liu Ruyan, raised her hand, and inserted the hairpin into Liu Ruyan's messy hair bun.

"What...what do you want to do?"

A chill ran through my body.

Liu Ruyan curled up and backed away, "You can't kill me. If I die... you, including your entire Jun family, will be buried with me."

"My lowly life, Jun Liuyue, can drag the young lady of the Alchemy Sect down with me. Well, it's not a bad deal."

"You're a madman, you're a madman!" Liu Ruyan murmured, "You...you can't kill me."

Looking up, Liu Ruyan saw Liu Yue's hand holding a dagger reflected in her pupils, as if it would sever her neck in the next second.

"Jun, Jun Liuyue, please spare me! I shouldn't have given the Xuanwu Army the Soul-Stealing Powder. You...you poisoned me too."

Liu Ruyan stammered, "We're even now. I won't hold it against you. I promise... I won't tell my father anything. You, the Jun family, and Tianyan will all be fine. Please, please forgive me."

She didn't want to die. She was the eldest daughter of the Alchemy Sect, born with honor. How could she die in this place?

"Jun, Jun Liuyue, I... I was just blinded by lust and took a fancy to your guard, but don't worry, I promise I won't look at him again."

Liu Ruyan hugged her knees, the poison making her speech incoherent.

Blinded by lust?

Liu Yue had always been puzzled as to why Liu Ruyan was so hostile towards her. It turned out it was because of Yin Ming.

Indeed, beauty can be a curse.

"Please, I really don't want to die. I promise, I swear, once I return to the Alchemy Sect... I will never mention a single word about it!"

Tears welled up in Liu Ruyan's eyes; she was terrified.

She had witnessed Jun Liuyue's ruthlessness firsthand, so she was completely convinced that Jun Liuyue would kill her.

She's a crazy woman.

The next second, Jun Liuyue grabbed Liu Ruyan's chin and stuffed a pill into her mouth.

"Ah!" Liu Ruyan let out a shrill scream, curling up on the ground, "Jun, Jun Liuyue, what did you feed me? I've already sworn and promised you..."

"Heartbreak Pill".

Liu Yue released Liu Ruyan, saying, "You need to take the antidote once a month. If you don't take the antidote, you will die from your intestines rotting."

"you!"

Liu Ruyan covered her mouth and glared angrily at Jun Liuyue.

"What if you don't give me the antidote?" Liu Ruyan gritted her teeth. This bitch wanted to control her for the rest of her life.

"As long as you behave." Jun Liuyue smiled slightly. "Someone, take Miss Ruyan downstairs to wash up, she's too dirty."

"Jun Liuyue!"

Liu Ruyan clenched her fists, her eyes filled with venom.

"When you meet your senior uncles and sisters, you should know what to say."

Don't worry!

Jun Liuyue said no more and turned to leave the palace.

The next morning.

Then the people from the Alchemy Sect arrived: an elder, and a man and a woman.

Liu Ruyan had already washed and cleaned herself; all her wounds were hidden under her clothes.

As long as she doesn't take off her clothes, you can't tell she's injured.

"Senior Sister Zhou, sob sob sob..." Liu Ruyan threw herself into Zhou Yanran's arms.

"What's wrong? Did someone bully Junior Sister?" Zhou Yanran looked at Sikong Xi with an unfriendly expression. "You are the new Emperor of Tianyan."

"Yanran".

The old man spoke up, "Don't be rude."

Zhou Yanran arrogantly raised her chin. "He's just the emperor of a small country. What's there to care about?"

"Senior sister, when are we going back?"

Liu Ruyan didn't want to stay in this awful place any longer.

Moreover, once she returns to the Alchemy Sect, her father will surely be able to develop an antidote to cure the poison in her body.

"No rush," the old man said, stepping forward.

He looked at Sikong Xi and said, "The late emperor probably didn't tell you that back then, he borrowed a fifth-grade pill from the Alchemy Sect, but he never gave you what he was promised."

"I truly knew nothing about this matter."

Sikong Xi frowned: "I wonder what the elder is referring to?"

"This item is called the Azure Dragon Jade Pendant. It is a jade pendant," the old man said. "I have come here today specifically for this item."

Azure Dragon Jade Pendant?

Sikong Xi frowned. He had indeed heard of such a thing, but he had never seen it.

“I truly knew nothing of this matter,” Sikong Xi said.

"Does Your Majesty intend to go back on your word?" the old man scoffed. "Can Your Majesty bear the wrath of the Alchemy Sect? Back then, the late Emperor used this to exchange for a fifth-grade pill from the Alchemy Sect."

In Tianyan, second-grade pills are already top-grade! Even those reclusive families cannot remain indifferent to fifth-grade pills.

"That's not what I meant. However, I haven't been on the throne for long, so it's best to investigate these matters thoroughly. If it's true, I will definitely keep my promise and give the elder a satisfactory answer."

"Oh."

The old man sneered and gave Sikong Xi a deep look. "You're still too young. You're far inferior to your father."

Upon hearing this, Sikong Xi was taken aback at first, then laughed and said, "I had no idea that the Alchemy Sect was so powerful that even a mere elder could criticize me?"

Although Sikong Xi was thin, his aura was by no means weak.

The cold gaze made the old man pause slightly, then he smiled and said, "I was just joking. I will stay in Tianyan for three days. After three days, I hope to see the Azure Dragon Jade Pendant."

"I'll take my leave."

The old man cupped his hands in greeting, and the group left the palace in a grand procession.

Sikong Xi let out a long sigh, sat down on the dragon throne, and touched his forehead, finding his hands covered in cold sweat.

...