Chapter 189: Mouse Manager

Zhao Wuji hurriedly spoke, as if clutching the last straw of salvation.

"Oh? What secret?"

Jiangnan raised an eyebrow slightly and retorted.

"You... you first promise not to kill me, and I'll tell you."

Zhao Wuji bargained.

"You have no right to negotiate terms with me."

Jiangnan's gaze turned cold, a murderous intent instantly enveloping Zhao Wuji.

"I speak, I speak."

Zhao Wuji, terrified to the core, quickly opened his mouth.

"The Shadow Organization... they're plotting..."

Just as Zhao Wuji was about to speak, his complexion suddenly changed and a mouthful of black blood spewed out.

"Splash!"

Zhao Wuji fell straight to the ground, silent.

"Dead?"

Ye Qingcheng froze for a moment, then stepped forward to inspect.

"A seal was planted inside him; once he leaks the secret, the seal will activate."

Jiangnan spoke, his tone calm, as if he had long anticipated this outcome.

"Seal? What is that?"

Ye Qingcheng was puzzled, having never heard the term before.

"A method of controlling a person, making life worse than death."

Jiangnan explained, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"The Shadow Organization is indeed ruthless."

Ye Qingcheng gritted his teeth, his gaze full of anger.

"It seems this Shadow Organization is more complex than I imagined."

Jiangnan muttered to himself, a hint of gravity in his eyes.

"What shall we do now?"

Ye Qingcheng looked at Jiangnan, a trace of bewilderment in his eyes.

"First, ask that Mouse Manager and then decide."

Jiangnan spoke, his tone even, and walked up to the Mouse Manager.

"If you have the ability, kill me."

The Mouse Manager fell to the ground, his gaze unusually calm.

A strange smile curled at his mouth, as if everything were under his control.

Jiangnan furrowed his brows, sensing something amiss.

The Mouse Manager before him seemed fearless; could there be a hidden move?

"Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Jiangnan's voice was icy, a murderous intent radiating from him.

The surrounding air seemed to solidify, oppressive enough to choke.

"Hehe, you may as well try."

The Mouse Manager sneered, his eyes full of provocation.

Jiangnan's gaze hardened; he snapped his fingers, a blast of true qi shot out.

The true qi instantly entered the Mouse Manager's body, sealing his meridians.

"What... what have you done to me?"

The Mouse Manager's complexion changed; he felt the true qi inside him restrained by a force.

"Nothing much, just sealing your meridians."

Jiangnan's tone remained calm, as if performing a trivial act.

"You think this can stop me?"

The Mouse Manager sneered, a flash of madness in his eyes.

"The Shadow Organization will never let you go, hahahaha..."

The Mouse Manager laughed skyward, his voice sharp and shrill.

Suddenly, his complexion changed and a mouthful of black blood spewed out.

"Splash!"

The Mouse Manager fell straight to the ground, silent.

"Bad!"

Jiangnan's face changed; he sensed the Mouse Manager's meridians shatter instantly.

"He... he committed suicide?"

Ye Qingcheng's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

"Hmm."

Jiangnan nodded, his expression dreadfully grim.

The Mouse Manager's death made him realize the Shadow Organization is harder to deal with than imagined.

"What shall we do now?"

Ye Qingcheng looked at Jiangnan, a hint of bewilderment in her eyes.

"Let's leave here first."

Jiangnan spoke, his tone heavy.

At that moment, he suddenly sensed a weak aura coming from beside him.

"What's wrong with you?"

Jiangnan turned around and saw Ye Qingcheng's face pallid, a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.

"I... I'm fine."

Ye Qingcheng shook her head, a flash of panic in her eyes.

"No, you do have something wrong."

Jiangnan's gaze hardened; he seized Ye Qingcheng's wrist and a strand of true qi probed into her body.

"You..."

Ye Qingcheng tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

Jiangnan's complexion turned sour in an instant; he felt Ye Qingcheng's meridians within her body snapping inch by inch, life force completely gone.

"How could this happen?"

Jiangnan's voice trembled, tinged with disbelief.

"I... I haven't had much time left for a long while."

Ye Qingcheng forced a bitter smile, her eyes full of desolation.

"What on earth is going on?"

Jiangnan pressed on, his eyes brimming with anxiety.

"Since childhood I've been afflicted with a terminal illness; surviving to now is already a miracle."

Ye Qingcheng spoke softly, as if recounting something unrelated to herself.

"Terminal illness? What kind of terminal illness?"

Jiangnan furrowed his brows; he couldn't believe Ye Qingcheng would suddenly be stricken with a terminal illness for no reason.

"I don't know; our family has consulted renowned doctors everywhere, all to no avail."

Ye Qingcheng shook her head, a hint of gloom flashing in her eyes.

"May I have a look?"

Jiangnan spoke, his tone carrying a plea.

"It's useless; my fate is already sealed."

Ye Qingcheng forced a bitter smile, her eyes full of despair.

"Believe me, there might be a way."

Jiangnan's tone was firm, his eyes filled with hope.

Ye Qingcheng was startled; looking at Jiangnan's sincere gaze, a warm current rose in her heart.

"Alright, I trust you."

Ye Qingcheng nodded, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Jiangnan took a deep breath, helped Ye Qingcheng to sit aside, then sat cross-legged behind her.

He placed both palms on Ye Qingcheng's back, streams of true qi slowly flowing into her body.

Ye Qingcheng felt a warm current surge from her back, instantly spreading throughout her body.

Her previously icy body gradually warmed, limbs and bones relaxing.

"So comfortable."

Ye Qingcheng couldn't help but hum lightly, a trace of rapture on her face.

Jiangnan furrowed his brows; using true qi, he carefully examined Ye Qingcheng's internal condition.

He discovered that Ye Qingcheng's meridians were indeed completely severed, and her five organs and six viscera severely damaged.

"Strange, logically if the meridians are fully broken, a person should have died long ago; how does she still live?"

Jiangnan felt puzzled; within Ye Qingcheng, there seemed to be a mysterious force sustaining her life.

"What exactly is this force?"

Jiangnan's doubt deepened.

He increased the output of true qi, aiming to pinpoint the source of this mysterious force.

"Hmm..."

Ye Qingcheng let out a soft hum, brows knit tightly, seeming in some pain.

"What's wrong with you?"

Jiangnan was startled and quickly withdrew his true qi.

"I... I'm fine."

Ye Qingcheng shook her head, her complexion pale, fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead.

"This force..."

Jiangnan furrowed his brows; he sensed that this force resembled the true qi he cultivated, yet differed in some way.

"Jiangnan, am I about to die?"

Ye Qingcheng's voice was weak, trembling slightly.

"Don't talk nonsense; with me here, you won't die."

Jiangnan's tone was resolute, his eyes brimming with confidence.

He continued to increase the true qi output, trying to force this mysterious force out of Ye Qingcheng's body.

But this power seems to have merged with Ye Qingcheng, utterly inseparable.

"Useless, Jiangnan, my own body, I know it myself."

Ye Qingcheng forced a bitter smile, their eyes full of despair.

"I don't believe!"

Jiangnan gritted his teeth, he abruptly withdrew his true qi, then from his chest took out a pill.