Chapter 60 She Wants to Make Him Give Up
"Princess! Princess!" With two exclamations, Ning Qi felt a rush of air to her head, closed her eyes, and fainted.
It must be said that her health was indeed deteriorating.
She was already very used to entering the Spiritual Chamber, but today was different. She summoned the system and asked, "What is the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons?"
A jellyfish-shaped system floated in front of her, projecting the scene inside the Ten Thousand Demon Cave onto the wall. "This is a closed area full of demonic beasts, an absolute forbidden zone for cultivators. It is said that there are even level nine demonic beasts in it, which would be very troublesome for even people from the Immortal Realm to deal with."
The image shows an enormous snake, its body thicker than the trunk of an ancient tree, opening its mouth wide to devour its prey—a porcupine covered in sharp quills.
The porcupine raised its quills, but the python did not stop eating, writhing as it swallowed it whole.
Ning Qi gasped, touching her throat. "And what is that five-petaled Netherworld Flower?"
"The Netherworld Flower is an aquatic plant unique to the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons. Its flowers usually have three petals or multiples of three. Five petals are a product of genetic mutation and have an extremely low probability of appearing. They may not even exist."
Ning Qi became anxious, "So you mean Xiao Sui went in and out of such a terrible place repeatedly for a flower that may not even exist?"
The system didn't speak, but they all knew the answer.
"Could you search the entire Demon Cave to see if such a thing exists?" Ning Qi asked.
The system shook its glowing body, "I don't have that function."
Ning Xi hadn't expected anything from it anyway, and fell silent as she tried to unify everything. Fortunately, her coma didn't last long, and she quickly returned to the real world.
When she opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar, extravagant bed curtain above her head, and heard sobbing beside her. She turned her head and saw Zhizhi wiping away tears.
"How old are you, still crying like that?" Ning Xi teased her.
Zhizhi immediately wiped her eyes dry. "Princess, you're awake."
"Where is Xiao Sui? Has he woken up?" Ning Xi asked.
Zhizhi shook her head and asked cautiously, "You know everything?"
Ning Qi immediately realized, "Oh, so you were hiding it from me too."
“I…” Zhizhi opened her mouth, “I can’t stop him from finding you life-saving medicine.”
"So you just watched him get himself all bruised and battered?"
“But Master Han said this is the only way to save you…” Zhizhi said softly, her head bowed.
Ning Xi still heard it: "Those hundred demon cores were just to distract me; they didn't actually serve any purpose?"
Zhizhi nodded and tentatively asked, "You won't blame us, will you?"
Ning Qi simply gave a cold laugh.
Zhizhi immediately adopted a look of being ready to die and hurriedly said, "If you want to blame someone, blame me, not Young Master Xiao. He risked his life to enter the Ten Thousand Demon Cave dozens of times for your health. I was afraid that you would stop him, so I deliberately made up a lie to cover it up."
"I deserve to punish all of you," Ning Qi said through gritted teeth. "Do you think I can accept trading Xiao Sui's life for mine?"
Zhizhi didn't dare to speak.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Qianyu said, "Princess, Young Master Xiao has woken up."
Ningxi immediately stood up, and Zhizhi quickly draped her coat over her shoulders.
The two rooms were only about ten steps apart, but Ning Qi started coughing again as soon as she inhaled the cold air.
Upon entering Xiao Sui's room, the smell of herbs was still strong. Xiao Sui was getting out of bed when Qian Yu held him back.
Ning Xi's expression was not good. She turned her head and said, "You all go out first. I have something to say to him alone."
"Please don't blame Young Master Xiao," Zhizhi whispered, before Qianyu pulled her out, and the two closed the door behind them.
"Princess." Xiao Sui still wanted to get out of bed, but because of the pain in his body, he had to stop and catch his breath.
Ning Qi watched him quietly without stopping him.
"Xiao Sui, do you think you're saving me like this?"
Xiao Sui raised his head, paused for a moment, but still got out of bed. Without even putting on shoes, he knelt down in front of her barefoot, wearing only a thin undergarment.
Ning Qi continued, "Why didn't you tell me the real prescription? Do you think you could find such rare medicinal herbs all by yourself?"
Xiao Sui's face was deathly pale, and his body, wrapped in bandages, swayed slightly, as if a gust of wind could blow him over. In fact, if you looked closely, you would find that he had lost a lot of weight recently. How come I didn't notice?
She felt somewhat guilty.
Xiao Sui accepted all her accusations and apologized to her, "I'm sorry, Princess, it was my presumption."
She resisted the urge to help him up, clenched her unruly fingers, and hardened her heart, saying, "Princess? You still know I'm a princess! There's nothing I can't get if I want it. If you had told me about that Five-Petaled Netherworld Flower earlier, I could have asked my father to send people to find it, and maybe I would have already gotten it. Your self-serving actions have only delayed me, you know?"
Xiao Sui opened his cracked lips, nearly losing his footing on his knees, his body swaying precariously, "That place is treacherous; any ordinary cultivator would surely die if they went in. I just..."
Ning Qi smirked, "With just one order from Father, plenty of people will be willing to die for me. Do you think you're that important?"
Xiao Sui gripped the fabric of his trousers tightly, repeatedly apologizing, "Princess, it's my fault."
Ningxi's heart felt like it was being squeezed and crumpled.
“Don’t do such self-indulgent things in the future. If you encounter any problems, tell me. I have my own solutions.” She stood up and walked to the door. “Considering that you are injured right now, I will not punish you for the time being.”
She closed the door, instructed Zhizhi to help Xiaosui up and take good care of her, then took Qianyu and got into the carriage to go to the palace to find her father, telling him the truth about her health and the Netherworld Flower.
The emperor seemed to take it very seriously, and urgently summoned all the imperial physicians to examine her pulse. They spent a full half day trying, but all of them were at a loss.
The emperor sighed, "It seems we have no choice but to try the method of the Valley Master of Divine Healer Valley."
He placed his hand on Ning Qi's shoulder. "Little Qi, don't worry, your father will definitely find the five-petaled Netherworld Flower for you."
"Thank you, Father Emperor," Ning Qi said.
The emperor smiled kindly and tapped her nose. "Child, why are you being so polite with your father?"
After saying that, he immediately sent someone to invite Xie Jingyan to discuss sending cultivators into the Ten Thousand Demon Cave.
On the way back, Qianyu breathed a sigh of relief, her emotions unusually excited. "That's wonderful, Princess. With the Five-Petaled Netherworld Flower, your illness will be cured soon."
She muttered again, "Zhizhi and the others are so ignorant. They foolishly listened to Xiao Sui and wasted so much time."
“Yes.” Ning Qi lifted the curtain and glanced at the palace receding into the distance behind her, saying meaningfully.
The system's voice came through his ear: "The emperor would never find the Netherworld Flower for you. He was already going to sacrifice you to save his own daughter, how could he possibly sacrifice more cultivators for someone like you who is about to die?"
“I know,” Ning Qi said calmly.
The system paused for a moment, then said, "You know it's a waste of time, why did you do it? Xiao Sui is the only one who can save you, why did you push him away?"
“I don’t want to see him get hurt because of me,” Ning Qi said.
"The villain isn't going to die for now." The system paused after saying that, as if it had thought of something, "But given how desperate he is, you never know... So you're preparing to die?"
The system's voice carried a hint of surprise.
“Of course not,” Ning Qi said. “I would never willingly give up my own life.”
"So what are you going to do?" the system asked, puzzled.
Ning Qi smiled and said, "I still have you."
"Don't expect me to do anything you want..."
"System, I need to continue with the mission," Ning Qi interrupted it.
The system immediately responded with a surprised voice, "Really? You finally pulled back from the brink, abandoned your romantic obsession, and continued the mission?"
“Yes,” Ning Qi said sincerely.
"Great, I don't have to be scrapped!" the system couldn't help but exclaim, then added, "No, you're fickle. We need to renegotiate the contract. You can't cancel the mission again."
“Okay,” Ning Qi readily agreed. “Right now, I think staying alive is the most important thing.”
The system immediately pulled her into the mental room with a smug look on her face and watched her press her fingerprint on the paper that read "The mission cannot be canceled".
"We'd better work harder now. Because of your performance recently, your points have plummeted to a record low of only 3..."
Ning Qi didn't listen to the end and left the mental room directly. When she opened her eyes, the carriage had already returned to the small courtyard of Hua Guang Sect.
Qianyu helped her into the house, and she immediately saw Xiaosui kneeling in the room. His head was slumped over, and he was obviously in great pain.
She clenched her fingers and asked coldly, "Why are you still kneeling?"
“You did not allow me to get up,” Xiao Sui replied, but his voice was hoarse and barely audible.
Zhizhi followed him in and pleaded for him, "Princess, Young Master Xiao still has a high fever. Kneeling like this will cause trouble. He is only thinking of you. Please spare him his punishment."
"Get up," Ning Qi said smoothly. "I've already asked my father to find medicine for me, so I won't need him anymore."
Xiao Sui was helped up by Zhizhi, who exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you so hot!"
Ning Qi took a step forward, wanting to support him, but stopped.
Xiao Sui pushed Zhizhi aside, barely managing to stand, his face as white as paper. "Princess, I can go with them."
Even in this state, he was still thinking about finding medicine for her. Ning Qi was furious. She grabbed his collar and easily threw him onto the bed.
She lay on top of him, pressing her hand against his forehead; the burning heat came from her palm.
He's almost delirious from the fever!
Ning Qi, furious, said, "Xiao Sui, you are merely my servant. You only need to please me in bed. You have no need to interfere in anything else, understand?"
Zhizhi couldn't help but say, "Princess, why do you have to say it like that..."
Before she could finish speaking, Qianyu pulled her out the door again.
Ning Qi looked at the man's face beneath her, stung by the stab, and felt a pang of pain in her heart.
She could have left at any time, but Xiao Sui had no way out. In fact, because of her, he suffered even more hardships than in the original book.
She couldn't just stand by and watch him ruin his body like this.
She wanted to make him give up.
Yes, she knew his feelings; she had to make him give up on her.
A warmth on her neck pulled her back to reality. Looking down, she saw Xiao Sui struggling to lift his upper body and kiss her.
Ning Qi pushed him back down, "What are you doing?"
"To please you," Xiao Sui said obediently.
Ning Qi took a couple of breaths, enduring the stinging pain in her heart, "I don't need a sickly person to take care of me. Let's talk about it when you're better."
Xiao Sui looked dejected, and Ning Qi turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
We must not be soft-hearted.
The next day, Yan Chongyan stormed into her room again, "Princess, I've already heard from my master that what you need is a five-petaled Netherworld Flower, not a hundred demon cores! Are you playing me for a fool?"
"Host, quickly say something to change the male lead's impression! His infatuation level has dropped again!" the system said in her mind.
“You all go out, Xiao Sui too,” Ning Xi said.
Xiao Sui paused for a moment, but ultimately obeyed her command.
Only Ning Qi and Yan Chongyan remained in the room.
Ning Xi slowly opened her mouth: "I was also deceived, which is why I asked for a hundred demon cores."
Yan Chongyan snorted coldly, "I've said it before, your men are poorly disciplined, especially Xiao Sui!"
Ning Qi took a sip of tea and didn't respond to his words. "Yan Chongyan, I will pretend to like you from now on. I hope you will cooperate and put on an act for Xiao Sui."
Yan Chongyan hadn't reacted yet.
The system has issued an alert: "Host, is this what you meant by continuing the mission?"
Ning Xi ignored it. She said she wanted to continue the mission, but she didn't say she wanted to complete it. Failing the mission would only result in a deduction of points, which she could accept.
She never intended to complete the mission properly from the moment she decided to continue.
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Author's Note: Xiaoqi is planning to abandon the puppy [poor thing]
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