“Remember now, my dear Tong?” The Holy Leader smiled in satisfaction, patting his shoulder lovingly, whispering in his ear, “Tong, you were the real killer that night... Even those two young lovers died because of you.”
“You called her your sister, didn’t you? I brought you back, but you still wanted to chase after her—didn’t you realize what you looked like back then? You were chasing her with a sword in hand, your face covered in blood, looking like a vengeful ghost... She couldn’t even hear you calling her; she was only desperately trying to escape you.”
“In the end, that foolish girl and her little lover fell into the icy river together—frozen alive.”
The demon’s whispers were like invisible blades, cutting him apart piece by piece.
Twelve years later, the wind and snow from that night rushed back with a heavy scent of blood, breaking the last remnants of his courage.
So that’s how it was… So, that’s the truth! It was real… those memories that surfaced in the Apothecary Valley, those clear eyes he saw, and that dead boy beneath the ice—everything had been real! She really was Xiao Ye... She hadn’t lied to him.
Her eyes had been so familiar, like the white mountains and black waters of the North, striking the deepest part of his soul the moment he saw her.
That was his sister… that was Xiao Ye-jie!
He had been imprisoned in darkness for seven years, abandoned by everyone, cut off from the world, with nothing but her eyes to see. Those eyes, filled with care and tenderness, had been the only thing keeping him from giving in to hunger and despair—they had been his only source of strength. How… how had he forgotten all of it?
Tong clutched his head, screaming, collapsing to his knees in the snow, unable to stop his agonized cries.
She had risked her life trying to stop him, just to keep him from returning to this dark and twisted palace—yet he had mercilessly knocked her down and left her behind.
Twelve years later, fate had given him another chance to find her, to lead him back to that warm snow valley, showing him the way home. All he had to do was choose to “trust,” and he could have reclaimed the happiness he had lost long ago. But by then, he had already grown cold and numb, unwilling to believe anyone anymore, seduced by the lust for power and freedom, and once again, he had ruthlessly pushed her away, walking this path of no return alone.
That was the choice he had made... deceiving her, hurting her, all because he couldn’t give up his desire for freedom and power.
And so, he had ended up like this.
It was his own fault!
Suddenly, he burst into laughter: So, his entire life had been a desperate struggle between escape and surrender? And yet, despite all his efforts, he had never managed to break free.
All the killing intent drained from him, leaving only an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. He slowly closed his eyes, a bitter smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Miao Shui, watching from the side, felt a chill run down her spine—he had been defeated. Tong no longer resisted, no longer even showed anger. The weariness on his face was something she had never seen on this killer from the Asura battlefield before!
“Stop!” In the midst of his laughter, the Holy Leader’s hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Tong by the chin and delivering a fierce blow to his stomach.
A mouthful of blood spurted from Tong’s lips, mixed with a small black pill. Severed Throat?
The blow was enough to make him lose consciousness.
“Trying to end your life?” The Holy Leader smiled in satisfaction—it seemed Tong’s will had finally been broken. He twirled his golden staff, “But that would be too easy... You should at least enjoy the effects of the Seven-Star Begonia before you go.”
Around them, the corpses of the gray mastiffs lay scattered, only one remaining vigilant in the distance. The Holy Leader furrowed his thick white eyebrows and used his golden staff to prod the unconscious Tong, muttering, “Tong, you killed so many of my precious mastiffs and even cost me Ming Li’s life… Well then, before the poison takes you, you’ll have to serve as my dog for a while!”
He lifted Tong’s chin with the golden staff, “Though, without those eyes, you’re hardly even fit to be a dog anymore.”
“Shall we imprison him in the Snow Prison?” Miao Shui asked coquettishly.
“The Snow Prison? That would be too lenient...” The Holy Leader’s eyes gleamed with malice as he struck Tong’s crown sharply with the golden staff, “You’ve left me with only one of my precious mastiffs alive—since the cage is empty, he can take its place!”
“Yes… yes, of course.” Miao Shui trembled slightly, quickly bowing with respect, offering the Holy Leader a seductive smile before turning to leave. Her waist swayed like a willow in the wind as she effortlessly picked up the unconscious Tong and disappeared down the glacier in an instant.
“That little witch…” The Holy Leader muttered, watching her retreating figure as a sudden heat flared in his eyes. “She really knows how to tempt a man.”
But before he could even think about summoning her back to practice the tantric secret techniques of his sect, the surge of heat reaching his abdomen triggered a sharp pain. The elderly figure, usually composed, suddenly bent over, clutching his golden staff as he coughed violently, unable to maintain his earlier facade.
A mouthful of blood spurted from his lips, staining the already blood-covered ice.
“Miao Feng…” the Holy Leader gasped, his eyes dimming as he muttered, “Why… why haven’t you returned yet?”
In the distance, the snow fell softly, and a pair of eyes buried beneath the snow suddenly vanished.
Miao Kong, one of the Five Mingzi, had remained hidden all along, silently observing the gripping rebellion. He neither revealed himself nor intervened, as if he were an outsider.
It seemed... things had progressed far faster than he had initially anticipated. He hoped that the people from Dingjian Pavilion in the Central Plains would act swiftly—otherwise, if the Holy Leader managed to stabilize the situation, things could become much more troublesome.
* * *
The dark prison, located on the northern slopes of Kunlun Mountain, never saw sunlight. It was cold and damp throughout the year. Chains made of black iron hung down, binding the limbs of the unconscious young man in black, pinning him securely inside the cage. Miao Shui lowered her head and carefully fastened the final collar around the pale and slender neck of the captive—"click"—the sound of it locking in place echoed in the darkness. Though still unconscious, the young man seemed to instinctively sense the deep humiliation and gave a slight, involuntary struggle.
“Heh,” the seductive woman leaned down, caressing the collar fastened around his neck, “Tong, you’ve lost after all.”
Her breath softly grazed his bloodied skin, and slowly, the unconscious man began to stir. However, when his eyes opened, they were devoid of any light, filled instead with a blood-red haze that had completely consumed his pupils. The moment he regained consciousness, he understood his current predicament, and with a fierce expression, he scanned the dark surroundings, his voice hoarse: “Miao Shui?”
He tried to stand, but the chains binding his limbs immediately tightened, forcing him back into a crawling position, immobilizing him on the ground.
“Tsk, Tong, what a pity. I was thinking of siding with you, you know… After all, you're so much younger and more handsome than that old man.” Miao Shui laughed coquettishly, her voice sweet as she caressed his head. “But then, how could you and Miao Huo begin your final move without informing me? You kept me out of the loop.”
Suddenly, her hand gripped his hair tightly, pulling his head back as she glared at him with venomous eyes. “Since you didn’t trust me, why should I have stood on your side?”
The iron collar around Tong’s neck strained under her pull, nearly snapping his throat, but he didn’t make a sound.
“What a waste… I was planning to take down the Holy Leader with you and then turn on you afterward,” Miao Shui’s seductive gaze softened as she stroked his now dull eyes, giggling, “After all, I was the one who spent that first night in the Heavenly Paradise with you, back when you first entered the Asura Battlefield of the Grand Light Palace… I can’t bear to see you die like this.”
“Humph,” Tong closed his eyes with a cold smile, “Whore.”
“A whore is still better than a dog,” Miao Shui sneered back, releasing his hair with a cruel laugh.
Tong did not react, his pale face showing an expression of indifference as he kept his eyes closed. In an instant, all of his anger and killing intent disappeared, like the ashes of a fire burned out. He no longer cared about the torture and humiliation inflicted on him, merely awaiting the slow drain of his life as the deadly poison claimed him.
Seven-Star Begonia was a poison with no antidote.
It was an exceedingly cruel poison, one that would slowly eat away at the brain. Each day, the victim would lose part of their memory, and after seven days, they would become as helpless as a newborn. But the suffering did not end there—the poison would continue to corrode the body, causing the muscles to rot away piece by piece.
Only when the victim became a skeleton would their final breath be drawn.
“You want to die? Not so easily,” Miao Shui chuckled coldly, her fingers trailing over his trembling back, which spasmed from the effects of the poison. “It’s only the first day. The Holy Leader said that before the Seven-Star Begonia fully takes effect, you’ll live out your days as a dog, one that can never lift its head until the day you die.”
After a brief pause, the woman giggled again, her voice oozing with seduction as she whispered in his ear:
“However, after I kill the Holy Leader… I might be kind enough to let you die sooner.”
“So, you should actually help me, don’t you think?”
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