Three days later.
In the middle of the night.
Ji Qinglin arrived at Xia Wanning's courtyard. Xia Wanning had her back to him, apparently having waited for him for a long time.
"Wanning, I'm late."
"It's okay. Let's go now."
"Wait a minute."
Ji Qinglin called out to Xia Wanning. Without turning back, Xia Wanning suddenly felt a chill on her neck.
Xia Wanning looked alert and grabbed Ji Qinglin's hand.
"What are you doing?"
"Me? I didn't do anything. I just wanted to give you something."
Only then did Xia Wanning notice that Ji Qinglin was holding a pendant in his hand, with a ruby inlaid on it.
"What is this?"
Ji Qinglin smiled slightly. After putting the necklace on Xia Wanning, he naturally took her hand.
The two walked out together.
"This gem can be directly connected to my true qi."
"Ji Qinglin, you—"
"Let me finish, Wanning. I'm already extremely overjoyed that you can accept my feelings. I don't have anything good to give you now. Three days ago, when I felt your pulse, I found that there was an inexplicable evil qi surging in your body. If you rely on your own strength alone, you definitely won't be able to suppress it. I'm giving this gem to you. From now on, what's mine is yours. If you can't suppress the evil spirits in your body, you can obtain my true qi from this gem."
Xia Wanning didn't say a word. She felt mixed emotions.
Ji Qinglin didn't know that the evil qi in her body was deliberately arranged by the black - clothed man to deceive him into transferring his true qi to her.
Unexpectedly, this fool Ji Qinglin not only didn't suspect her but also infused his true qi into the gem for her to use at any time.
"Let's go. Why aren't you moving?"
Ji Qinglin walked in front. Holding Xia Wanning's hand, he found that she was standing still behind him, seemingly lost in thought.
"Ji Qinglin."
Xia Wanning let go of his hand.
It was too dark at night, and Ji Qinglin couldn't see Xia Wanning's expression clearly.
"What's wrong?"
"Thank you."
"We don't need to say thank you to each other. In the future—"
"Okay, let's go."
Xia Wanning quickened her pace and walked in front of Ji Qinglin. Didn't this fool understand that there was no future for them?
Ji Qinglin, thank you, and I'm sorry.
When they reached the riverside.
Xia Wanning let go of Ji Qinglin's hand. Although Ji Qinglin was puzzled, he still looked at Xia Wanning with a smile.
Xia Wanning stepped back about five meters.
Suddenly, the same black - clothed man who had appeared before showed up five meters behind Ji Qinglin.
"Wanning, you—"
Ji Qinglin sensed something was wrong and wanted to stand in front of Xia Wanning.
But at this moment, he found that he couldn't move his body.
"What's going on?"
When he looked back at Xia Wanning, there was no panic on her face.
A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.
In Xia Wanning's hand was the pendant gem that Ji Qinglin had given her, and at this moment, she was continuously extracting Ji Qinglin's true qi from the gem.
Ji Qinglin couldn't move because his true qi was being quickly drained, and with the restraint of the black - clothed man, he was now like a trapped beast in a cage.
"Wanning, you—"
"Ji Qinglin, you're too stupid. You've always been this stupid."
"Wanning, you go quickly."
Ji Qinglin looked at the black - clothed man and tried to stretch out his hands to stand in front of Xia Wanning.
"You're not allowed to hurt Wanning."
The black - clothed man sneered coldly and said, "Elder Ji, your mind is really not working well. Haven't you seen that the elder Xia and I are on the same side?"
Ji Qinglin couldn't move.
Xia Wanning slowly walked beside the black - clothed man.
"Wanning, how could you?"
"I'm sorry, Ji Qinglin. I lied to you."
"What are you going to do?"
"You shouldn't know these things, Ji Qinglin. I don't want to kill you either. After all, we grew up together. But you shouldn't know these things."
Know what?
Was it about that book?
Ji Qinglin seemed to think of something, and his pupils suddenly widened.
He couldn't believe that that matter was actually related to Xia Wanning.
Before, he had only suspected and found it strange. He thought that no matter how much Xia Wanning had changed, she wouldn't become such a bloody person.
"It can't be."
"Ji Qinglin, if you want to blame someone, blame your own integrity. You can't lie. If you reported my matter to the Emperor, I would be finished."
Ji Qinglin shook his head.
"Wanning, you're confused. I know you've just been bewitched by the person behind you. If we reported it to the Emperor, he would handle it. At most, he would confine you and deprive you of your cultivation. Why do you keep making mistakes?"
"Hahaha—"
Just then, the black - clothed man let out a wild laugh.
Ji Qinglin roared angrily, "What are you laughing at?"
The black - clothed man stopped, his voice eerie. He said, "Do you think the elder Xia only provided us with a list?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Today, I'll make you completely give up hope and let you be a well - informed ghost after you die."
"Wanning, what does he mean?"
Xia Wanning didn't say a word. At this moment, she even didn't dare to look Ji Qinglin in the eye.
"Elder Ji, the elder Xia didn't just provide the list. The alchemist disciples that your sect has tried so hard to protect were all lured into a trap by her personally and then transported through the Cannibal Lake to be eaten by the ancient fierce beasts in our Divine Sect."
"What did you say?"
"Elder Ji, do you really think those alchemist disciples just disappeared? You're wrong. Those missing disciples of your sect are no longer in the world. Their bones cover the entire ancient desolate land. If you had time, you should go and take a look. No, the place you're going to next is the ancient desolate land. That will be your burial place."
Ji Qinglin wanted to use his spiritual power, but his true qi was being continuously sucked into Xia Wanning's body.
He couldn't use his spiritual power at all now.
Ji Qinglin gave up. He gave up struggling.
At this moment, he stared at Xia Wanning and said,
"Wanning, what he said is false, right?"
Xia Wanning could only say, "Ji Qinglin, don't blame me."
Two lines of clear tears rolled down Ji Qinglin's face. Now, he couldn't tell what he was feeling.
His heart ached so much that it was about to stop beating.
Now, Ji Qinglin felt as if he was about to suffocate.
"Elder Ji, do you still remember Ye Ling?"
Ji Qinglin's eyes suddenly became extremely dangerous.
He propped himself up and stood up.
"What do you mean?"
The man let out a strange laugh.
"What do I mean? You can just ask the elder Xia."