Killing Daily Life
Su Qing instantly understood. No wonder the maid was avoiding eye contact; she was using the guise of delivering medicine to send a message.
She pretended to be angry and scolded, "You can't even hold a bowl of medicine properly, hurry up and get another bowl!" The maid understood and quickly replied "Yes," and as she got up, she secretly put a brown pill into Su Qing's palm, and then hurriedly left the room.
Su Qing clutched the pill, and after confirming there was no movement outside the door, quickly swallowed it. The pill melted instantly in her mouth, and a refreshing spiritual energy slid down her throat into her lower abdomen, instantly calming the restless Gu worms.
She breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the iron chain on her wrist again—with the antidote, she no longer had to worry about the Gu worms causing trouble. Next, she needed to find a way to escape, go to the Qinglang Mountain dungeon to rescue her master, and then go to the Prince's mansion to rescue her father!
She placed her fingertips against the gaps in the chains again. This time, without the interference of the Gu worms, her spiritual energy flowed exceptionally smoothly. The chain links creaked under the impact of the spiritual energy, and the gaps widened.
Just as the chains were about to be pried open, Jing Cong's voice suddenly came from outside the window: "Miss Yin Li, it's time to head to the sacrificial cave." Su Qing's heart tightened, and she quickened her pace. Just before Jing Cong pushed the door open, a crisp "click" rang out, and the chains were finally pried open enough for a wrist to pass through.
She quickly hid the chains behind her back, pretending to still be locked up, but her eyes already showed a readiness to act at any moment. Jing Cong walked to the bedside, looked at her calm face, and a cold smile appeared on his lips: "It seems you've thought it through. Let's go, don't keep your grandmaster waiting."
Su Qing slowly stood up, the hem of her bright red wedding dress sweeping across the ground, concealing her hands hidden behind her back.
She looked up at Jing Cong, her eyes no longer filled with the panic of before, only a cold determination: "Alright, I'll go with you. But first, you have to tell me where Master Mu Han is." Jing Cong assumed she was already controlled by the Gu worms, so he didn't think much of it and casually said, "What's the rush? You'll naturally see him when we get to the sacrificial cave—but by then, he should already be an obedient blood puppet."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Su Qing suddenly attacked, gathering spiritual energy at her fingertips and striking Jing Cong hard in the chest. Caught off guard, Jing Cong was forced back, crashing into the doorframe and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"You...how are you alright?" Jing Cong stared at her in shock, unable to believe his eyes. Su Qing sneered, raised her hand, ripped off the iron chain from her wrist, and threw it on the ground: "You think you can control me with your 'Mind-Controlling Gu'? Jing Cong, we should settle this score today!"
Su Qing followed Jing Cong toward the sacrificial cave, the elder's token in her palm damp with cold sweat. With each step, her unease grew, until the heavy stone door was pushed open with a "rumble." Inside the cave, there was only a cold stone platform and scattered black blood talismans; there wasn't even a trace of Mu Han.
"Master Mu Han!" She rushed into the cave, her voice echoing hollowly through the stone walls. Beneath the stone platform, a shattered black jade buckle lay quietly—it was the ornament her master always wore at his waist, now its jade surface stained with dried black blood, stinging her eyes.
"Stop looking." Jing Cong leaned against the door, clutching the wound on his chest. His tone, however, was no longer sarcastic, but rather complicated. "He refused to submit, and our master turned him into a blood puppet yesterday."
"You're lying!" Su Qing turned around abruptly, her spiritual energy surging uncontrollably, causing the candlelight on the cave wall to flicker violently. "I clearly remember that in my past life you never took the initiative to participate in these things, so why in this life..." Before she could finish speaking, Jing Cong suddenly stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.
His palms were burning hot, a stark contrast to his previous coldness, and his eyes churned with emotions she couldn't decipher: "Do you think I wanted this? If it weren't for you, why would I have colluded with my master?"
Su Qing's pupils contracted sharply, and she abruptly pulled her hand back: "For me? You tricked me into coming here, harmed my master, and you still say it's for me?" "Ten years ago, outside the sacrificial cave, I saw you." Jing Cong's voice lowered, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor, "You were huddled under the stone platform crying, clutching half a piece of sugar cake in your hand. I wanted to hand you a handkerchief, but my master pulled me away."
Later, when you joined Qinglang Mountain, every time I saw you learning talismans and practicing magic with Mu Han, I would…” He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing, as if he had finally made up his mind: “I like you, Yin Li.”
"I liked you from the first moment I saw you ten years ago. My master said that if I helped him break the seal on the Silver King's Mansion, he would allow me to marry you—I thought that as long as I controlled you, I could protect you and prevent you from suffering any more after it was all over." Su Qing felt a chill run down her spine, finding it absurd and laughable: "So you used sleeping potion to deceive me, locked me up, and even killed my master? Jing Cong, your so-called 'liking' is just turning me into a bargaining chip in your deal with my master, destroying everyone I care about one by one?"
"I didn't mean to kill Mu Han!" Jing Cong rushed forward anxiously, but Su Qing blocked him in place with her spiritual power. "I told my master to spare Mu Han's life, but he wouldn't listen... I just wanted you to stay by my side, and I didn't want to see you revolving around other people anymore." "Your affection is too selfish and too cruel."
The disappointment in Su Qing's eyes was almost overflowing. She picked up the black jade buckle from the ground, her fingertips gently tracing the cracked lines. Her voice was as cold as ice, "You have never asked me what I want, and you have never cared about my feelings."
"You saved me, lied to me, and trapped me, all for your own obsession, not for me." Jing Cong looked at the coldness in her eyes, his face instantly turning pale. He reached out to touch her, but she dodged him.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that all explanations seemed pale and powerless—he had indeed done things to hurt her for the sake of his so-called "love," killing the person she cared about most. "I will not forget Master Mu Han's death. I will never forget everything you and my grandmaster did to me."
Su Qing carefully put the black jade buckle away from her body, her spiritual power gathering at her fingertips, gleaming with a chilling light. "Jing Cong, from now on, there will only be hatred between us, no affection."
Before she finished speaking, she unleashed a burst of spiritual energy from her fingertips, sending a water blade hurtling straight towards Jing Cong's face. Jing Cong didn't dodge, letting the water blade slice across his cheek, blood trickling down his chin. Looking into Su Qing's resolute eyes, the last glimmer of light in them extinguished, his voice hoarse like a broken gong: "If you want revenge, I won't stop you."
But I still want to tell you, I never intended to hurt you..." Su Qing didn't listen anymore and turned to walk out of the cave. She was afraid that if she stayed for even a second longer, she would be swayed by that ridiculous "confession"—her master's revenge, her father's safety, the seal of the Silver King's Mansion, and the grievances of her past and present lives did not allow her to be weak in the slightest.
The sunlight outside the cave was blinding, yet she felt icy cold all over. Only the black jade clasp in her palm retained a trace of Mu Han's faint spiritual power. This time, she would not be deceived by anyone's sweet words again; she would take back everything owed to her.
The Silver Prince's Mansion, Qinglang Mountain—after all the twists and turns, it all amounts to nothing. From this day forward, Yin Li will resolve everything one by one. In truth, she has never asked for much: only the peace and happiness of her loved ones. How many years has she waited for?
When Su Qing helped Yin Yi back to the mansion, the air inside was so still it felt like it was frozen – the lanterns under the eaves were crooked, the guards' eyes were darting around, and even the usually bustling flower hall was so quiet that only the sound of the wind blowing through the windowpanes could be heard.
She settled her father in the bedroom, then turned and summoned the commander of the Prince's Palace's secret guards. Her fingertips tapped on the secret letter on the table, her voice as cold as ice: "First, clear out the traitors in the palace, especially those in Aunt Mo's courtyard. Don't let any of them go."
As the guards left to carry out their orders, Su Qing gazed at the crabapple tree her mother had planted outside the window, a chill churning in her eyes—in her previous life, after her mother passed away, Yin Mo moved into the Prince's mansion under the guise of "taking care of her niece." On the surface, she was all smiles and concern for her, but behind her back, she did all sorts of insidious things: withholding her winter clothes, leaving her shivering in the cold winter; and telling Yin Yi that she was "mischievous and impulsive," causing her father to gradually misunderstand her.
Even after she escaped from the sacrificial cave, rumors spread that she was "possessed by evil spirits," causing the servants in the mansion to avoid her and making it difficult for them to even get a hot meal.
In this life, she will make Yinmo experience firsthand what it feels like to be isolated, helpless, and trampled underfoot.
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