Chapter 244: N!T!R!

In this world, there is a saying that circulates:

"There is nothing more boring than watching others play an RPG."

Even a cheater who spends every day building an Inner Palace in various games knows this.

How could Ren Yidao not know it?

After arranging so much for others and doing his best to ensure everyone enjoyed their own share of the fun...

At a time when his presence no longer mattered and the plot had already begun to descend into chaos...

What reason did Ren Yidao have to continue standing by and watching?

How could he not arrange an identity for himself!?

There wasn't one!

He had to set things right!

However, time was pressing, and Ren Yidao no longer had administrator privileges, so he did not choose to carefully polish a new identity for himself.

He chose to borrow one from someone else.

Ren Yidao directly usurped the identity of Li Fengyao.

In any case, Li Fengyao was no longer here, and he and Li Qiushui were betrothed from birth, having never even met each other.

Brother, since you aren't playing anymore, lend me your identity!

Who agrees?

Who opposes?

Since the person involved didn't object, it was even less likely for anyone else to jump out and object.

Simply perfect!

Oh, wait, no.

"There is one last small problem that needs to be solved."

……

……

Xie Linghua did not know how she had managed to hold on.

She only felt that everything happening was so despairing.

Dead.

All dead.

Regardless of how those few junior brothers had treated her, they were all dead now.

It was all over, reduced to three corpses.

Xie Linghua had walked the road back to the sect countless times, but never had she felt as exhausted as she did now.

That short path from the past felt so long.

So long that it made one feel despair.

Her body began to grow heavy without her noticing, and the soles of her feet were worn until they bled.

With every step she took, she felt as if she were struggling against death.

But she was not getting further away from death; on the contrary, she was getting closer and closer to it.

She seemed to be able to smell the stench of rot emanating from her own body.

She was rotting away, bit by bit.

"I cannot die yet."

"Cannot..."

In truth, even Xie Linghua herself could not understand what kind of conviction was supporting her at this moment.

She was merely walking mechanically toward the sect that represented life.

Keep walking.

As long as she returned to the sect, she could be saved, and those three junior brothers would not have died in vain.

She had to pass the news that Li Fengyao was still alive to the sect and make them stay alert.

She had to kill him.

We must kill him to take revenge!

Otherwise, all of us will die.

Everyone!

Seeing those eyes that had walked out of the land of death, those pitch-black eyes already consumed by the flames of vengeance.

Xie Linghua knew that such a person would absolutely never let them go.

Absolutely impossible.

The sky had darkened at some point.

And after the sky darkened, she walked even more arduously, stumbling from time to time over tree branches under her feet.

Half an hour? An hour? Or even longer... Xie Linghua, walking slowly through the dark forest, saw a light.

Light.

It was light!

It was the lamps of the sect!

The moment she saw the lamplight, power surged into Xie Linghua's body, and she began to walk quickly.

"Come, someone come!"

"Someone come and save... me!?"

Just as she stumbled out of the forest, shouting for help, the smile froze on her face.

What met her eyes were not the lamps and candles lit by her fellow sect members.

It was firelight.

The mountain gate that the disciples had once been so proud of was now burning fiercely.

The raging fire burned, and from time to time, there were sounds of explosions and the crashing of buildings collapsing.

But apart from that, Xie Linghua did not hear a single person's voice.

No calls for help, no shouts while fighting the fire, and she did not even hear the agonizing wails of the wounded.

There was only deathly silence.

The air was permeated with the scent of death.

"Ah..."

She had not noticed it all this time.

She had not realized that this scent did not come from herself, and she had not felt this inescapable death.

Thud.

Collapsing powerlessly to the ground, Xie Linghua felt all the strength in her body being drained away.

"I came too late..."

Yes.

She had guessed the answer to all of this.

It was Li Fengyao who did it.

It must have been him!

The meaning of her returning was already gone, leaving nothing behind.

Her fellow disciples were all dead, and she herself was disfigured.

"Haha! It is already, completely meaningless..."

"No, there is still some."

!!!

A clear voice rang out by her ear without warning, causing Xie Linghua to reflexively dodge to the side.

It was his voice!

The voice of the gentle, noble young master, now, to Xie Linghua's ears, was more terrifying than the wailing of an evil ghost.

"It's you! It's you!!!"

"Mm, it's me."

Ren Yidao, transformed into the face of Li Fengyao, stood smiling by Xie Linghua's side, letting her scramble backward without pursuing her.

After retreating two steps, Xie Linghua stopped.

She realized that she could not escape.

And so, after a moment of silence, she spoke hoarsely:

"What are you going to do!? What else do you want to do!!!"

"They are all dead, all dead! Even I have become like this!"

Driven to a dead end, Xie Linghua cried out:

"Is it not enough yet!?"

Is your revenge not finished yet?

Ren Yidao watched her gradually collapse, watching her eyes become slowly occupied by despair.

After admiring it for a while, he seemed to finally come back to his senses and nodded with a chuckle.

"It is not enough."

He said:

"You, haven't you not died yet?"

"If I could, I would actually like to leave you a way to live; after all, we were fellow sect members."

Ren Yidao looked at this woman who looked like a fierce ghost, thought for a moment, and handed a bronze Mirror to her.

"But, look at your expression right now; do you think I can let you go? Should I let you go?"

Ren Yidao's original intention was to make her see the madness and resentment in her own eyes, but what Xie Linghua noticed was not the hatred in her eyes.

It was the crisscrossing scars.

The blood had already dried, turning into a patch of black and red, looking even more horrifying than an evil ghost.

Is this me?

The contrast with the past was too intense; she did not even feel resentment, only a sense of unreality.

Is this my face?

Yes.

The stinging pain coming from her face told her that this was indeed herself.

A woman who loved beauty had just like that turned into an evil ghost.

At this moment, a silver-white dagger was handed before her.

"Do you need help? Will you do it yourself? Or shall I send you on your way?"

Raising her head, Xie Linghua saw a pair of eyes like flowing spring water.

For some reason, Xie Linghua suddenly felt a bit tired.

The hatred of the sect's destruction, the grudge of her disfigurement... none of these mattered anymore.

Her own struggles and hatred would not stir a single ripple in the other person's eyes.

The other person would not care at all.

She was tired.

"Haha..."

She smiled bitterly, raised her hand to take the dagger, looked down at the blade, and suddenly said:

"Does this count as something you gave me?"

Ren Yidao raised an eyebrow, but he did not deny it, saying softly:

"If you think it is, it can be."

"It can be... Hehe, you really are heartless and ungrateful."

Not satisfied with this answer, Xie Linghua shook her head and pointed the tip of the blade toward herself.

Then, she said:

"Li Fengyao..."

"Even if I die, I will not let you go!"

After saying this, she did not hesitate and plunged the short sword directly into her own chest.

Ssh.

The white blade pierced through her chest, the blood-red tip protruding from her back.

"Cough... cough cough."

"It hurts so much..."

She cried out in pain, ultimately unable to endure the heart-piercing agony, and her whole body began to tremble.

Then, a pair of warm, large hands gently covered the back of her hand, making all the pain she felt vanish in an instant.

That hand grasped her palm and slowly pulled out the blade that had pierced her chest.

The movement was not fast; it could even be called gentle.

Xie Linghua stared blankly at the man before her, not understanding why he would perform such an action.

A final mercy?

She wanted to ask him if he regretted it, but a finger appeared before her lips, blocking her words.

"Does it still hurt?"

Her lips moved, but in the end, Xie Linghua shook her head and said:

"... It doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's good."

The palm left her body, and that trace of warmth was also withdrawn from her body.

That person seemed to have finished bestowing his final kindness and turned to leave without any lingering attachment.

His footsteps were firm, gradually walking far away.

After the blade was pulled out, the strength in her body was also flowing away rapidly.

But this time, what she felt was not the fear brought by death, but warmth.

At the end of her life, to feel warmth from her enemy?

"How ridiculous..."

Thump.

Falling backward, Xie Linghua looked at the sky blackened by smoke and muttered to herself:

"... I once loved you, truly loved you."

Having said this, Xie Linghua smiled and closed her eyes.

This was her final testament.

Not a curse, but a whisper from the bottom of her heart.

This was her final wish.

At the very end, even if I cannot hurt you, I will become a thorn.

To be driven fiercely into your heart.

To make you feel a prick of pain whenever you recall it.

Ren Yidao did not look back; after sensing that the other person's aura had completely vanished, he shook his head slightly.

"What a pity."

"You cannot prick my heart."

"Who would shed tears over the life or death of a two-dimensional character?"

Hmm... it's me.

But one thing is one thing, another is another!

"The heartless and ungrateful one isn't me, it's Li Fengyao!"

You all go catch Li Fengyao, what does that have to do with me, Ren Yidao?

"Besides, you didn't even notice that I'm not him, yet you dare to speak of love? Don't you dare look down on love, you wretch!"

Although he had softened his heart just a little at the end, letting her go without so much pain, it counted as a small, minor complication.

But Ren Yidao had still accomplished his goal.

The last witness who had seen Li Fengyao's true appearance was also gone.

Changing back to his original appearance, Ren Yidao adjusted his mood with a smile.

"Then, next, it is time for the real performance to begin."

Striking a pose with his back to all living beings before the mountain gate, Ren Yidao waited for the arrival of Li Qiushui and the others.

"What should I say for my first line?"

"You've come?"

"Hmm, that's not quite right, let me think again."

"You say you are Li Fengyao?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

Shi Xue squinted her eyes as she looked at Ren Yidao, feeling somewhat astonished in her heart.

She had learned during their previous conversation that Li Qiushui had come to the Zhengqi Sect specifically to find her fiancé.

And if Shi Xue remembered correctly, that person's name... was Li Fengyao!

Was he the person Li Qiushui was looking for?

But... what was this strange feeling?

Looking at the smiling face of the person opposite her, Shi Xue had an urge to punch him.

Damn it, this person's smile makes one want to punch him!

Managing to restrain her loss of composure with great difficulty, Shi Xue looked toward Li Qiushui at her side.

This was her fiancé, so it was better to leave it all to her.

Li Qiushui: "..."

Having traveled across mountains and rivers, the wealthy young lady who had run away from home had finally found her fiancé, yet she did not feel happy.

There was a strange sense of dissonance.

This person, I seem to...

Seeing that both girls remained silent, Ren Yidao raised an eyebrow and made a move to leave.

"If you have nothing else, I am going to leave."

Just as Ren Yidao was about to depart, Li Qiushui finally spoke.

"Wait a moment!"

She suppressed the dissonance in her heart, gripped her sword hilt tightly, and stared at Ren Yidao as she asked:

"Do you know what happened here?"

Yes.

Before figuring out the dissonance in her heart, there were more important things to do.

Even without walking inside, Li Qiushui could feel the deathly aura emanating from within.

The Zhengqi Sect had been wiped out.

Who had done all of this?

Who had committed such a deranged act?

The answer was ready to emerge.

Shi Xue sensed the atmosphere was wrong and also realized the severity of the problem.

Li Fengyao was also a member of the Zhengqi Sect; since the Zhengqi Sect had been wiped out, why was he completely unscathed?

Was he the one who welcomed the enemy?

Or... was it he who did it?

Hearing this interrogation, Ren Yidao pretended to be deep in thought and asked:

"Oh, are you asking who killed everyone in the Zhengqi Sect?"

"... Yes."

Under the increasingly tense gazes of Shi Xue and her companion, Ren Yidao spread his hands casually, as if to indicate that all of this had nothing to do with him.

"Then, I can tell you the answer."

He said:

"It was done by Li Fengyao."

Right.

It was indeed done by Li Fengyao!

It was her! It was her! It was her!

Genuine and authentic.

"I am merely an innocent passerby."

"Since you have finished asking, I am going to—oh?"

But faster than him was the Giant Sword swinging down.

Whoosh—

"I say, I recall we are supposed to have a marriage contract, right? Must you be so heartless?"

"Sinner, you must be executed!"

But Li Qiushui's angry sword strike hit nothing but air.

Ren Yidao did not choose to clash head-on with her; instead, he dodged the blade with a flash and arrived behind Shi Xue.

Click.

"Ah!"

With a hand-blade strike to Shi Xue's neck, Ren Yidao pulled the girl, who had fainted at the sound, into his arms.

"I will be taking her with me."

Under Li Qiushui's eyes, which were splitting at the corners from rage, Ren Yidao quickly carried Shi Xue away into the distance.

"Xiaoxue!!!"

Li Qiushui chased after them in a fury, but caught nothing at all, only able to watch their figures grow further and further away.

"I advise you not to come after us."

Ren Yidao's playful voice drifted through the surroundings:

"Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that you will still be able to see her in one piece."

Boom!!!

"Xiaoxue!!!"

Listening to Li Qiushui's unwilling cries from behind, the corners of Ren Yidao's mouth curled up wildly.

So this is...

Is this the joy of cuckolding someone else?

A brand-new door seemed to be slowly pulling open before him...