Chapter 400: I didn

"Qilin, what use is this poison bug of yours?" Pei Shangling asked Qilin.

Such a good thing—why not use it? Just let Xiao Yichen have a try; it also adds an extra layer of protection.

Who knows what nasty trick this thing in the gutter will use against A Zhi?

Qilin picked up the poison bugs crawling on the ground and said, "It's nothing much—just that after being bitten, the five viscera and six bowels instantly feel like they're burning, each bout lasting half an hour, occurring several times a day at irregular intervals, until the meridians are ruined; once the poison spreads throughout the body, one will die of a ruptured intestine and rotting belly."

He said lightly.

"How vicious." Pei Shangling laughed and praised, "Especially suitable for Young Master Xiao."

Upon hearing how terrifying the poison bugs were, the two little ones glanced at each other, then looked at their uncle and their master, and in unison swallowed their saliva.

……I couldn't tell the master was so ferocious……

But after thinking it over, they felt using evil to counter evil was fine, and it didn't harm any good people.

"Qilin! You dare!" Xiao Yichen still tried to intimidate with the authority of his Senior Grand Secretary post.

However, no one cares about a mere prisoner.

"What do you mean, dare or not? Who do you think you are?" Qilin pinched the poison bug, walked up to Xiao Yichen and squatted down, saying, "An escaped convict, a murderer—what are you pretending here? Just become food for my poison bugs."

By then, Gu Rongjin had already gone to comfort his son, leaving Qilin and the others to deal with Xiao Yichen.

Xiao Yichen widened his eyes as the poison bug drew nearer; he wanted to struggle but couldn't, so he could only watch helplessly as Qilin shoved the bug into his mouth.

"Eat up, eat up!" Qilin shoved the poison bug in, sealed Xiao Yichen's mouth, and watched maliciously as the bug crawled around his oral cavity for a moment before slipping down his throat with a gulp, forcing Xiao Yichen to swallow it.

Xiao Yichen's expression instantly turned ferocious as he felt the poison bug wriggling in his intestines.

Just as Qilin had said, his five viscera and six bowels instantly felt like they were burning, excruciatingly hot; he suffered greatly but, due to bodily numbness, could not move at all, so his face twisted to the extreme from unrelenting pain.

Mu Yuanzhi coldly gazed at Xiao Yichen's state, feeling only immense satisfaction.

"You can also feel this worse-than-death sensation, Xiao Yichen."

I don't know which is more painful—this or her being flayed and having her bones pulled out.

Her words carried hidden meaning; aside from the two little ones, everyone sensed something off, each harboring their own thoughts, yet none failed to feel extreme heartache.

They recalled her past ordeal, yet it seemed to be more than just that.

Pei Shangling recalled that nightmare which was not like a nightmare, while Gu Rongjin remembered what the National Teacher had once told him.

A Zhi / Xiao Yuanzhi had endured pain they could not imagine.

Xiao Yichen naturally also recalled the nightmare he had seen, which was more real than reality.

His physical pain seemed to have lessened, but the pain in his heart had worsened.

"A Zhi……" Xiao Yichen spoke with difficulty, his ashen, bloodless face full of incomprehension and resentment: "Even if it was a past life… that wasn't me! What does it have to do with me?!"

He said this, and because of his unwillingness and anger, he became much more spirited, fixing his gaze on Mu Yuanzhi's eyes, feeling resentful yet helpless: "I'm sorry to you, I've already tried my best to make amends! But I didn't do those things! Do I still have to bear the blame?! Is this fair to me?!"

"Fair?" Mu Yuanzhi sneered, "What a fine word—fair. You've never treated me fairly, so why should I be fair to you?"

She released the two children and walked up to Xiao Yichen.

To keep the children from hearing, she suppressed her nausea and leaned close to Xiao Yichen's ear, saying: "You killed me, yet you want me to act as if nothing happened—you're just as arrogant as ever."

Even then, Mu Yuanzhi's proximity still made Xiao Yichen's heart race, but her words immediately made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, confirming what he had long half-believed, half-doubted.

It's true, that nightmare was real, he really had done irreparable things to her.

But that wasn't him!

He simply had no memory!

Since everything has been reset, why should he bear the blame?!

Xiao Yichen could never let go of this!

"Xiao Yichen, I will forever only hate you—I wish I could kill you with my own hands! But I don't want to dirty my hands; can't you just go die yourself?" Mu Yuanzhi said softly.

Her words floated lightly into Xiao Yichen's ears, completely tearing apart the last shred of hope in his heart.

No matter what, she would never forgive him.

He should have known long ago……

Yes, he had known all along, which is why he chose this dead‑end path.

Yet even this road is a dead end, and he has reached its end.

"Senior Sister, don't get so close to him." Qilin had always watched Mu Yuanzhi carefully, fearing Xiao Yichen might have some nasty trick and suddenly lash out, hurting the senior sister.

Having said what she needed to say, Mu Yuanzhi rose and left, her eyes full of disgust.

"A Zhi……"

Xiao Yichen murmured Mu Yuanzhi's name, lost and despondent.

Pei Shangling stood nearby; hearing what Mu Yuanzhi had said to Xiao Yichen, goosebumps rose all over his body.

Mu Yuanzhi's words struck him like a thunderbolt.

He instantly understood that the so‑called nightmare had indeed really happened!

No matter how unbelievable, he still accepted it.

It turned out his world, his life, had truly been reset……

So… so he had once stood by, indifferent, watching her die without lifting a finger, and might even have been one of the chief culprits?

He actually, for Pei Yunxi's sake, indirectly caused the death of the sister he had lived with day and night, grown up with, his most precious younger sister……

Pei Shangling could not forgive himself for that.

No wonder A Zhi refuses to forgive him—this is all his own doing!

Yet he had a bit of relief, for he hadn't been the executioner; there was still hope for him!

However, when Pei Shangling's gaze fell on Qilin, that hope flickered like a candle in the wind.

He had killed Qilin!

Just thinking of that made Pei Shangling shudder.

He turned the Qilin into a human swine!

Oh my god, how could he be so heinously insane!

How can he possibly make amends?!

Pei Shangling instantly fell into great panic, cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

If it were said that previously there was still a glimmer of hope that was false, now even that glimmer has been wiped out.

The so-called nightmare is truly the past that has been erased, which they do not know.

But these memories, deep in A Zhi's heart, can never be erased.

No one present paid attention to him; Gu Rongjin personally escorted Xiao Yichen away, while the Qilin closely followed Mu Yuanzhi and the other two. The two little kids were not at all familiar with Pei Shangling, whom they considered their uncle, and had been taught from childhood to stay away from these Pei clan relatives.