Outside the door, Liu Man lay in wait patiently, like a venomous spider waiting for its prey.
Only after confirming that the dangerous auras of Xiao Jin, Chu Yuan, and Zhan Wenchen had disappeared did she quietly approach Wang Yuqing's door.
She had just followed Wen Qiubai, but halfway there she had some second thoughts.
Liu Man wasn't unaware of her own limitations; she had absolutely no chance of winning against the 'Magician'.
After thinking it over, she decided to find an ally.
Liu Man tapped her knuckles lightly on the door, her voice deliberately soft, carrying a perfectly measured, sympathetic weariness.
"Yuqing, my dear sister? It's me, Liu Man. Are you... alright?" Her voice was full of feigned concern.
There was no response from inside the door, only suppressed sobs.
A barely perceptible chill flashed in Liu Man's eyes, and her voice became even softer, carrying a seductive charm: "Good sister, I know you're in pain."
Being alone is scarier. It's better for your sister to talk to you than to keep it all bottled up inside..."
There was silence for a few seconds inside the door, then the sound of the latch being pulled open could be heard.
The door opened a crack, revealing Wang Yuqing's pale, swollen face, streaked with tears and filled with despair, her eyes as empty as a dead fish.
Liu Man slipped inside, gently closing the door behind her to block out the dim light from outside.
She didn't approach immediately, but stood in the shadows by the door, looking at Wang Yuqing with eyes full of pity and sorrow.
"Yiming... what a pity!" Liu Man sighed softly, her voice choked with sobs.
"How could such a good young man..." She paused at just the right moment, observing Wang Yuqing's reaction.
Sure enough, upon hearing the name "Yiming," Wang Yuqing's empty eyes instantly erupted with excruciating pain, and her body trembled even more violently.
Liu Man sneered inwardly, her venomous fangs subtly revealed: "Sigh...actually...if I had reacted a little faster back then, perhaps..."
She hesitated, a hint of uncertainty and struggle subtly appearing on her face.
"What?!" Wang Yuqing suddenly raised her head, her bloodshot eyes fixed on Liu Man as if grasping at a last straw: "Sister Liu, what do you mean by that? What do you know?"
Liu Man seemed startled by her agitation, took a half step back, and her expression of struggle deepened.
Finally, she gritted her teeth, lowered her voice, and said with a heavy tone, "I can't bear to say this, but seeing you in so much pain, I really..."
"When Yiming opened the door and something happened, the commotion was so loud, right under our noses!" She glanced meaningfully toward Wen Baiqiu's tightly closed door across the room.
“That Wen Baiqiu… ‘The Magician’! He was in his room at the time.”
With his abilities, he's a top-tier expert on the list. What's a little backlash from the rules compared to him? If he really wanted to save someone... it would be a piece of cake!
Liu Man's voice was full of inflammatory seduction and indignation: "But what about him? The door was locked tight, he didn't even show his face, and just watched helplessly as Yiming was dragged away."
To stand by and watch someone die is utterly cold-blooded and heartless!
"boom--!"
Liu Man's words were like igniting a string in Wang Yuqing's mind that had been stretched to its limit!
All the pain, despair, and fear in her heart seemed to find an outlet in an instant, transforming into a monstrous, twisted hatred.
"Wen! Bai! Qiu!" Wang Yuqing squeezed out these three words from deep in her throat, like the howl of a wild beast.
She stood up abruptly, her body swaying from extreme anger, her eyes flashing with a crazed light.
"It was him! He stood by and watched me die! He killed A-Ming! It was him!!" Reason was completely burned to ashes by the flames of revenge.
Liu Man's manipulation perfectly matched her darkest fantasy—she needed a more reasonable excuse to bear this unbearable pain, which also masked her cowardice!
And Wen Baiqiu was the perfect target!
Liu Man was overjoyed, but her face showed an even more pitying and "worried" expression. She stepped forward and "urgently" grabbed Wang Yuqing's cold hand: "Yuqing, don't be impulsive!"
He's a magician ranked in the top ten of the combat power list, we can't afford to mess with him! Listen to your sister, bear with it, getting out of here alive is the most important thing…”
"Endure? I can't endure it!" Wang Yuqing abruptly shook off Liu Man's hand, her voice shrill and piercing, her eyes frantically scanning Wen Baiqiu's room!
She then grabbed a pistol, gripped it tightly in her palm, her sharp nails piercing her skin and drawing blood, but she didn't even notice.
"I want him dead, to pay for Ah Ming's life!" As if possessed by a vengeful spirit, she suddenly rushed out of the room!
"Yuqing! Don't do anything foolish!" Liu Man cried out in a low voice, "panicked," but did not actually stop her. She simply retreated quickly to the shadows by the door, her eyes flashing with the cunning light of someone who had succeeded in their scheme.
Fool! Go! Use your life to test the depths of Wen Baiqiu's power!
It would be best to keep him occupied, so that I would have a chance to make a move.
…………
Deep within the ancient house, silence reigned like ink.
Wen Baiqiu wandered alone through the maze-like corridors and abandoned courtyards. The hem of his white suit drew an elegant arc under the dim red lantern light, standing out against the decay and gloom of the surroundings.
He unconsciously toyed with an exquisite silver pocket watch between his fingertips. As the watch case opened and closed, faint, imperceptible ripples spread through the space, dispelling the pervasive, cold resentment that permeated him.
He avoided the central area of the ancestral hall, which was heavily guarded by the steward during the day, and followed a faint but distinctive sandalwood scent to push open a heavy wooden door in a secluded corner, covered with cobwebs.
Inside the door was a study filled with dust.
The bookshelf had collapsed, scattering books all over the floor, most of them rotten to dust. Only under a half-collapsed bookshelf in the corner lay an inconspicuous sandalwood box wrapped in oilcloth.
Wen Baiqiu's gaze sharpened slightly.
He didn't step forward directly, but instead gracefully raised his hand.
With a flash of light at his fingertips, several invisible spatial threads, like the most nimble fingers, precisely parted the scattered rotten wood and rubble, perfectly "lifting" the sandalwood box out, which then floated before him.
The tarpaulin was lifted, revealing several relatively well-preserved thread-bound ancient books inside the box.
The paper was yellowed and brittle, emitting a strong, stale ink smell and a slightly unpleasant, fishy odor, similar to dried blood.
The cover had no title, only some twisted and strange runes.
Wen Baiqiu carefully turned the pages of the book with her slender fingers.
The text above is not the usual Taoist scripture, but is written in an extremely rare and sinister talisman script, interspersed with a large number of complex array diagrams drawn with cinnabar, which are dazzling and mesmerizing.
He stared intently, his gaze sharp as a scalpel, quickly analyzing the distorted images and text.
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