Wang Cheng was dead.
All the guards and servants of the Wang family knelt down.
They knew that if even the family head couldn't fight against that person, they had even less ability to resist.
So they chose to submit.
Zhao Shuning wasn't a person who killed innocent people indiscriminately. Otherwise, she would be no different from Wang Cheng.
However, she wasn't as kind - hearted as before either. She would always be cautious and leave a way out for herself when doing things.
After implanting her spiritual power into the hundreds of people in the Wang family, Zhao Shuning took Mrs. Wang and left the Wang residence.
She knew there was a place suitable for Mrs. Wang to stay.
There, she might find the long - lost peace.
Zhao Shuning also took a few loyal maids of the Wang family with her. She led these people out through the main gate of the Wang residence.
Outside, Xie An was quietly waiting for her.
"Senior."
"Xiao An, you're here."
Xie An nodded, looking at the woman beside Zhao Shuning, and said, "Senior, why did you bring her out?"
"Xiao An, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, tell me."
"In the trial area of the Misty Rain Tower, there's a place called the Dark Swamp Land. You should know about it."
"Yeah."
"Beyond the undercurrent there, there's an islet. I'll draw a map for you. I hope you can send them there. Is that okay?"
"Okay."
Xie An took Mrs. Wang from Zhao Shuning.
Looking at Zhao Shuning, he said, "I'll set off now. Will you still be in Yanjing City? Or do you have somewhere new to go?"
"I won't leave Yanjing City for a short time."
"That's good."
Xie An lowered his head, then he said, "I'll definitely come back soon."
"What?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering if you'd still be in Yanjing City when I come back."
"I should be. Thank you, Xiao An."
Xie An nodded, took a deep look at Zhao Shuning, and then left.
Zhao Shuning let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a black shadow flashed before her eyes. Just as she was about to chase after it, a voice came from behind her.
"You can't catch up with him."
It was Bai Fan.
Why was he here?
Bai Fan stepped forward and said bitterly, "You can't catch up with him. His speed is faster than anyone in our Wang family. Even the family head couldn't catch up with him."
"Why are you here?"
"I came to pay my last respects to the family head. Miss, can I bury the family head myself?"
"You don't resent me?"
"Resent? What's the use? I've always been a coward."
Bai Fan had known since childhood that in Wang Cheng's eyes, he was just a pawn to please the eldest miss.
As long as the miss was happy, his wishes were never considered.
However, Wang Cheng still had the grace of nurturing him, so he should pay his last respects to Wang Cheng.
"I know I'm not qualified to make this request of you now. I should be grateful that you spared my life. Moreover, I promised you that I'd have nothing to do with the Wang family anymore. But I just want to bury Wang Cheng. That's all. Is that okay?"
"Okay."
Bai Fan was stunned.
Then he lowered his head.
He stared at Zhao Shuning's feet and smiled foolishly.
Can you believe it? Such a young girl was so powerful. As soon as she appeared, she disrupted his state of mind that had been calm for over twenty years.
Bai Fan didn't even have the courage to look up at Zhao Shuning, because he knew that looking at her face more often or for a longer time was just a luxury.
To Zhao Shuning, he was like Wang Xiling had been to him before, a disgusting being.
Suddenly, Zhao Shuning said, "I don't hate you."
"Miss, why...?"
"Maybe it's because I absorbed Wang Xiling's spiritual power. Wang Cheng taught you different cultivation methods. Maybe even you don't know that Wang Xiling knew all your thoughts."
In Wang Cheng's eyes, Bai Fan was just a tool for Wang Xiling.
So Wang Cheng had tampered with the cultivation method. Wang Xiling could clearly know what Bai Fan was thinking.
"She... knew everything?"
Since Wang Xiling knew that he hated her, why did she keep getting closer to him?
And why had she never shown impatience towards him?
Bai Fan suddenly felt at a loss. This sudden information completely messed up his mind.
So, was the tear that Wang Xiling shed before she died really a sign of disappointment in him?
"Am I... such a jerk?"
"In this matter, you are."
Zhao Shuning walked past Bai Fan and continued, "What do you specifically know about that black shadow just now?"
Bai Fan sighed.
Slowly, he said, "I've only seen him once. His body was hidden under a black robe. I don't know what he really looks like. But I saw that there were some strange animals tattooed on their bodies, and those animals could even turn into real entities."
For some reason, when the black shadow flashed by just now, the bronze medal that Mo Bai had given to Zhao Shuning was slightly warming up.
When Mo Bai left, he took off the red string of the bronze medal and replaced it with another thread. Then he strung the bronze medal up and put it around Zhao Shuning's neck.
And Mo Bai casually conjured up an identical bronze medal and wore it on himself.
When the black shadow appeared just now, the bronze medal reacted.
Could there be some connection between them?
Before Zhao Shuning could figure it out, Bai Fan bid her farewell.
"Miss, after I bury the family head, I'll take his spiritual tablet with me. Then I'll go to the islet in the Dark Swamp Land and serve the madam for the rest of my life. I'm sorry to the family head and even sorrier to their daughter."
This might be the most compromising and the best way.
"You can go if you want. You don't need to tell me specifically."
Bai Fan smiled.
He didn't know why he was telling Zhao Shuning all this.
Maybe he just hoped to let Zhao Shuning know where he was going. Or perhaps he had a deeper wish, which was that Zhao Shuning would come to see him.
But Zhao Shuning didn't care about such small thoughts at all. To Zhao Shuning, Bai Fan was just a passing figure in her life, an insignificant one.
The poisonous snake was gone, and Bai Fan was gone too.
Zhao Shuning looked at the dim light in the distance.
She held the bronze medal in her hand.
She felt a bit flustered.
Suddenly, Mo Bai's image appeared in her mind. The way he bit the neck of the spiritual pharmacist, the way he stupidly called her Ningning, and the cute way he had two little dimples on his face when he smiled gently.
But all of a sudden, Zhao Shuning remembered the terrifying look in Mo Bai's eyes that she had accidentally seen before their parting.
The difference before and after was so great, yet they were actually the same person.
Zhao Shuning tightened her grip on the bronze medal and murmured, "After so many years, Mo Bai, are you still the Mo Bai I used to know?"
Mo Bai in the Ghost Domain suddenly opened his eyes. The tiger on his glabella hovered and didn't disperse.
His heart suddenly ached, and he tightly propped up his body with both hands.
Is it Ningning?