Xin Jiuwei's eyes remained completely unmoved. Qi Huaiyu's pleas for mercy sounded to her nothing more than the dying hiss of a viper, only adding to her disgust. Secrets? She no longer cared. Those demons and monsters were for Xiao Xun to deal with. She had come today only to avenge her blood debt!
She gave Qi Huaiyu no further chance to speak. Gripping the dagger tightly, feeling its familiar, cold, and solid touch, she felt as if she could draw strength from it to complete her final step. Her movements were devoid of any flourishes or deliberate delays or torment. She simply took a sudden step forward, her wrist as steady as a rock, carrying the hatred and resolve accumulated over two lifetimes, and plunged the sharp dagger precisely and brutally into Qi Huaiyu's heart!
"Pfft—"
The dull thud of a sharp blade piercing flesh, bone, and heart was exceptionally clear and jarring in the deathly silent cell.
All of Qi Huaiyu's voice, all his expressions, all his resentment and fear, froze in that instant. His eyes widened in disbelief, staring intently at Xin Jiuwei, who was so close to him, a gurgling sound escaping his throat like a broken bellows. He could clearly feel the cold metal piercing his heart, the despair of life slipping away like sand through an hourglass. He wanted to curse, to scream, but no sound came out; only large gushes of dark red, foamy blood uncontrollably gushed from the corner of his mouth.
Xin Jiuwei's gaze was as cold as ice, fixed on Qi Huaiyu's eyes, which were rapidly losing their luster and being completely swallowed by the shadow of death. She watched the light in his eyes completely extinguish, watched his face freeze into a狰狞 expression of extreme pain, resentment, and disbelief. She could even feel his body's final convulsions, and the warm, pungent blood flowing down the dagger's groove onto her fingers gripping the hilt, bringing a sticky, icy touch.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment.
There was no ecstatic joy of revenge, no relief of liberation. Only a bone-chilling cold, a weariness as if even the soul had been emptied, and a deathly stillness, like dust settling. She remained motionless in the stabbing position, like a stone statue.
Qi Huaiyu's head drooped limply, his body, pulled by chains, hung in a twisted position on the cold stone wall, utterly lifeless. Only the dagger deeply embedded in his heart gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the dim light, announcing the end of an era.
She didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps just a moment, perhaps a long time. Xin Jiuwei slowly, extremely slowly, released her grip on the dagger. Her fingertips were icy cold, trembling slightly, and stained with dark red blood. She didn't look at Qi Huaiyu's corpse again, as if it were nothing more than a pile of disgusting garbage. She turned away.
Xiao Xun remained standing in the same spot, his dark figure appearing deep and indistinct in the flickering torchlight. His gaze fell on Xin Jiuwei's blood-stained hands, then slowly moved to her pale, bloodless face. Her eyes were vacant, as if all her emotions had been exhausted by that last stab, leaving only a cold shell.
You Ye and the guards lowered their heads silently, not daring to look directly at each other.
Xin Jiuwei walked step by step toward the prison gate. Her steps were unsteady, and sharp pains throbbed from the old wound in her chest, making her vision blur. As she passed Xiao Xun, she swayed slightly.
A steady, strong hand caught her arm just in time. It was Xiao Xun. His palm was still slightly cool, but its strength was undeniable, firmly supporting her swaying body.
Xin Jiuwei neither refused nor looked at him. She simply let him support her, like a puppet whose strength had been drained, step by step, silently and laboriously walking out of this death cell filled with the stench of blood and death, out of the abyss that had swallowed her nightmares of two lifetimes.
Behind him, the heavy iron gate slowly closed again, forever sealing Qi Huaiyu's gradually cooling corpse and all his sordid past in that eternal darkness.
Stepping out of the dungeon, a biting wind instantly enveloped me, dispelling the suffocating stench of blood and bringing with it a near-exhausting chill. The winter sun hung pale and lifeless in the sky, offering no warmth.
Xiao Xun supported Xin Jiuwei as they walked silently up the stone steps leading to the ground. Xin Jiuwei's steps were still unsteady, with almost half of her weight resting on his strong arm. Her profile was as pale as paper, her long eyelashes drooping, concealing all the emotions in her eyes, only her tightly pursed lips revealing a stubborn vulnerability.
Xiao Xun could clearly feel her body trembling slightly and the coldness of her fingertips. He didn't speak, but simply tightened his grip on her arm, slowing his pace and making it more steady.
Back on the ground, the cold wind was even more biting. You Ye had already prepared a warm sedan chair. Xiao Xun personally helped Xin Jiuwei into the sedan chair. The moment the curtain was lowered, his gaze fell once again on her hands, stained with dark red blood and trembling slightly.
“Youye,” Xiao Xun’s voice was low.
"Your subordinate is here."
"Bring me clean water and a handkerchief," Xiao Xun instructed, then bent down and sat in the sedan chair.
The sedan chair was cramped, but the charcoal brazier emitted a warm glow, dispelling the chill of the dungeon. Xin Jiuwei leaned against the soft sedan chair wall, her eyes closed, as if she had exhausted all her strength.
Xiao Xun sat down beside her. He took the copper basin and snow-white cotton handkerchief that You Ye handed in through the gap in the sedan curtain. The basin contained warm water with wisps of steam rising from it. He didn't ask anyone else to do it, but personally soaked the cotton handkerchief in the warm water, wrung it out, and then very naturally and carefully took Xin Jiuwei's blood-stained right hand.
Xin Jiuwei's body trembled almost imperceptibly, but she did not open her eyes or pull her hand away.
A warm, damp cloth gently wiped her icy fingers, bit by bit, removing the congealed, dark red bloodstains belonging to Qi Huaiyu. His movements were light and slow, with an almost clumsy focus, as if he were polishing a rare treasure. His slightly cool fingertips occasionally brushed against the delicate skin on the back of her hand, bringing a subtle, feather-like shiver.
Xin Jiuwei kept her eyes closed, but her long eyelashes trembled slightly like the wings of a startled butterfly. The warm touch and gentle wiping from her fingertips, like a gentle stream, quietly seeped into her cold and numb heart, dispelling the chill that had seeped into her bones. It was a silent comfort, a support that transcended words. Her stiff body gradually relaxed in this silent tenderness.
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