“Huh?” Su Qingwen murmured drowsily in response, but the overwhelming sense of weakness soon overtook her, and she slipped back into unconsciousness.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally woke up in the pitch - blackness. There was nothing around her, and the air was filled with a sense of desolation.
Su Qingwen managed to prop herself up and sit down. She let out a long sigh and then coughed.
[System: Honey, you're finally awake! That's great. I thought you were a goner.]
“Bah! You're the one who's a goner. Why are you jinxing me?” Su Qingwen's voice was still a bit hoarse after her illness, but at least she could talk again.
[System: You can still curse. Not bad. It seems you're okay.]
“Not at all.” Su Qingwen covered her chest and coughed twice more. “I feel dizzy, my head aches, and my reactions are slow. Can you check if there's a first - aid kit to save my life?!”
[System: Sorry, this function is not available yet. To put it another way, this function hasn't been activated.]
All this nonsense! It just meant it couldn't save her. What a useless system! Su Qingwen sighed, feeling utterly desperate. She wondered why she was so unlucky.
[System: Honey, there's still a card. Come and claim it.]
“Please! I'm in this state! Why do I still have to do the task? Are you sure you're not joking? I feel so miserable!” For Su Qingwen, this was truly a terrifying piece of news. She blinked hopelessly and then flopped onto the bed.
[System: I'm sorry. Trust me, after you complete this card, there will definitely be a surprise gift package waiting for you.]
What surprise gift package? Su Qingwen felt like she wanted to die. She reluctantly looked up and saw a sudden beam of light in the air. The words on the card gradually emerged: “Be Strong”.
Be strong my foot! Su Qingwen lay on the bed like a corpse, not moving at all.
Her body started to feel hot and cold alternately. She frowned in discomfort and hoarsely called out, “Where is everyone? Why is there no one here?”
Normally, there would be a bunch of maids and eunuchs around, but now there wasn't even a living soul.
“Yo, you're in this state and still want someone to wait on you? Don't you know your place?” A sharp and sarcastic voice rang out. Su Qingwen trembled all over and looked to the side.
She saw a black figure approaching. Su Qingwen sat up and instinctively backed away. “Who are you?” she asked.
The person had their face covered tightly, only showing a pair of eyes. They were of medium height, but judging from the voice, it should be a woman.
“Don't worry about who I am. Anyway, I'm here to take your life!” the woman said menacingly, and at the same time, she took out a dagger that glinted with cold light from her breast pocket.
Oh my god! This was an assassin!
Su Qingwen's mind raced. Suddenly, she felt the voice was a bit familiar. Combining it with the person's appearance, Su Qingwen squinted her eyes and sneered, “I wondered who it was. So it's you, Concubine Ka. Not satisfied with what you did before? Now you want to kill me?”
“Ouch, how did you know it was me?” The black - clad person took a step back helplessly, looking puzzled.
“With your limited intelligence.” Su Qingwen was sick and not in the mood to give a full - fledged sarcastic comment, but she still couldn't help but say something in disdain. If you wanted to cover your face and harm someone, you should at least disguise your voice. This was just asking for trouble!
“Bitch!” Since she had been discovered, Concubine Ka decided to go all out. She snorted and tore off the cloth covering her face. “Humph, so what if you've discovered me? I'll kill you right now. If you've got the guts, go and complain to King Yama!”
After saying that, she let out a roar and charged towards Su Qingwen.
“Aah!” Su Qingwen let out a scream, hoping to attract someone's attention.
But Concubine Ka was as sticky as a plaster. She got right up close to Su Qingwen, grabbed her clothes, and forcefully dragged her towards the ground.
Su Qingwen's already weak body from the illness hit the ground, and a sharp pain shot through her. She couldn't help but squint her eyes, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Good! You dared to compete with me for the emperor's favor? Now you're finally done for!” Concubine Ka laughed triumphantly. Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed Su Qingwen's hair, yanking it hard.
“Aah!” A lock of hair was pulled out. Su Qingwen's eyes were red - rimmed, and her body trembled uncontrollably. She pushed against the woman's shoulders with her hands, trying to make her let go.
Concubine Ka's eyes were bloodshot. She didn't care about anything and fiercely beat Su Qingwen to vent her anger. Her eyes were full of hatred.
“Little bitch, just die quickly!”
“I'll beat you to death today!”
One curse after another rang in Su Qingwen's ears. She felt her consciousness slowly fading. She barely blinked her eyes, let out a lonely and desperate sigh, and subconsciously reached out her hand, trying to grab something.
Finally, Su Qingwen felt something cold and smooth. It seemed to be a vase. Without thinking twice, she grabbed it and smashed it hard on Concubine Ka's head.
“God!” Concubine Ka was suddenly hit like this. She felt dizzy and couldn't react at all. A sharp pain came from her head, and there was also a sticky feeling, like blood!
Concubine Ka never expected that Su Qingwen, who was on the verge of death, could still fight back and beat her like this. She widened her eyes in shock and scrambled up clumsily.
Something was wrong. Why did she smell bad?
Concubine Ka lowered her head and sniffed. She smelled a foul odor on herself! Looking down, oh my god! The thing Su Qingwen had used to hit her was actually a spittoon. It was so disgusting!
“Aah!” Concubine Ka felt like her stomach was doing flips. She was almost nauseated to death. Without caring about anything else, she roared menacingly, “Su Qingwen, you bitch! You dared to hit me with a spittoon. I'll kill you!”
This time, she drew out her knife and pointed it at Su Qingwen, ready to stab.
“Don't!” A flash of cold light appeared in front of her eyes. Su Qingwen kept backing away. The game wasn't over yet. How could she die like this?
In that split - second, Su Qingwen instinctively closed her eyes, and her fingers trembled involuntarily.
The expected pain didn't come. Instead, she heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground, followed by Concubine Ka's scream.
What was going on? Did Concubine Ka self - explode? Su Qingwen was shocked and opened her eyes.