Ji Qinglin's eyes were filled with shock.
He couldn't believe it.
"Xia Wanning, don't tell me you were also involved in what happened to Sister Ling back then?"
Xia Wanning's tone was extremely cold.
"I can't be blamed. If it weren't for her back then, the one sitting on the throne of the Empress would have been me, and the one who became the disciple of the Emperor Venerable should have been me too."
Ji Qinglin felt a sweet taste in his throat. He was so angry at Xia Wanning's words that he spat out blood.
"What? How dare you? Xia Wanning, how could you do such things?"
"Bang!"
The confinement was unexpectedly broken free by the furious Ji Qinglin in one go.
The ability of an eighth - rank alchemist should not be underestimated. His speed was also extremely fast.
The next moment, Xia Wanning felt her breath catch. Looking down, she found that Ji Qinglin seemed to have gone crazy as he grabbed her neck tightly with both hands.
At this moment, Ji Qinglin was no longer the cute young master who would show his little tiger teeth when he smiled. Now his eyes were terrifyingly eerie.
"How dare you! How dare you!"
"Cough, cough, cough—"
Xia Wanning was also an eighth - rank alchemist. Moreover, she had absorbed a lot of Ji Qinglin's true energy. So after she reacted, she grabbed Ji Qinglin's arms with both hands and then suddenly spun her body in the air for seven or eight circles.
The moment Ji Qinglin was distracted, there were suddenly eighteen pear - blossom needles in her hand.
The next moment, the pear - blossom needles flew towards Ji Qinglin's eighteen acupoints respectively.
Due to the reverse flow of blood vessels all over his body and the fact that the pear - blossom needles had blocked Ji Qinglin's qi and blood, at this moment, dense blood began to seep out from those eighteen acupoints.
"Bang!"
Ji Qinglin knelt down.
His legs were broken.
His body no longer obeyed his commands. Only the consciousness in his mind still belonged to him.
Xia Wanning took a step back.
Then she said, "Ji Qinglin, is this the love you talked about? Is this the liking you mentioned?"
"Just because of Ye Ling, you would rather destroy your own bloodline and fight me to the death?"
At this time, tears of blood slowly flowed from Ji Qinglin's eyes.
He raised his head and stared at Xia Wanning menacingly.
This was the woman he had liked for more than twenty years. This was the little girl who, when they were kids, would be flustered after being called by Sister Ling.
Was she still Xia Wanning?
No, she was no longer the little girl he had known before.
That little girl would share her pastries with him.
She would silently encourage him when he was sad and disheartened.
The selfish woman in front of him, with only desire on her face, was not the former Xia Wanning, nor was she the girl in his heart anymore.
"Xia Wanning, back then, it was Sister Ling who saved you and us. It was her who gave us a second life. Is this how you repay her?"
As Ji Qinglin spoke, the blood at the corner of his mouth kept flowing down.
Maybe his heart was already dead, or maybe Ji Qinglin felt that the person in front of him was no longer the innocent little girl he used to know.
This time, there was only disgust in his eyes when he looked at Xia Wanning.
"Don't look at me with such eyes. How could you look at me like this!"
Ji Qinglin found it extremely ridiculous.
"It's really ridiculous. I, Ji Qinglin, have lived for so long and thought I could see through anyone. But I forgot to look into your heart. It's so cruel."
"Ji Qinglin—"
"Xia Wanning, have you ever liked me from the beginning to the end?"
Xia Wanning didn't say a word, but the look in her eyes when she looked at Ji Qinglin had already said it all.
She didn't like Ji Qinglin. She had never liked him.
The reason she showed weakness and made overtures to Ji Qinglin was just that she was afraid he would expose this matter. Even when she said she would marry Ji Qinglin, it was just to tie him down and then lure him to this riverside area.
Poor Ji Qinglin was so naive that he believed everything Xia Wanning said.
Overwhelmed by joy, he believed whatever Xia Wanning said.
"Xia Wanning, do you remember? When we were kids, every time you cried, it was Sister Ling who would protect you in her arms and sing songs to you over and over again."
"Xia Wanning, at that time, the four of us were really jealous of you and also really envied you. You were the only girl among the five of us. Sister Ling was much kinder to you than to us. Every time there were delicious foods, she would always give them to you first."
"Xia Wanning, it was her who taught you the mental method. It was her who opened your spiritual power. It was her who saved you."
"Xia Wanning, anyone can let Sister Ling down, but it shouldn't be you. Although we called her Sister Ling, she was our master and our family. She did many things that a mother should do, but she had nothing to do with us!"
Scenes from childhood began to emerge one by one in Xia Wanning's mind.
"Xia Wanning, turn back. If you turn back now, you can still redeem yourself and atone for all the things you've done."
"Elder Xia, are you... starting to waver? Don't you want all the things you've worked so hard for?"
The voice of the man in black slowly rang in Xia Wanning's ear.
Yes, power, status, and the Emperor Venerable. She, Xia Wanning, wanted them all!
She had finally come this far. Why should she turn back?
"Ji Qinglin, shut up. I'm not wrong! This world is a world of the jungle. If she was not capable enough, she should step down. Don't talk to me about these grand moral principles. If that woman really valued me as much as you said, then she should have given the throne of the Empress to me. She shouldn't have competed with me for the Emperor Venerable!"
Xia Wanning's voice was extremely loud.
It was as if she wanted everyone to hear it, and also as if she was trying to convince her wavering heart.
"Xia Wanning, you've changed. Now you're so strange that you're terrifying. I even feel dirty dying in your hands."
No, it shouldn't be like this. How could Ji Qinglin say these two words to her? The word "filthy" could not be used to describe her.
In Ji Qinglin's body, the eighteen small holes began to collapse because of the reverse flow of his internal blood vessels. Those holes were getting bigger and bigger.
Streams of blood spurted out.
Xia Wanning wanted to step forward.
"Ji Qinglin, promise me to stand with me. I'll save you, okay?"
Ji Qinglin took one last look at Xia Wanning.
This look was mixed with disappointment, disgust, and deep hatred.
"Don't touch me. You're filthy!"
Ji Qinglin's clothes had been completely dyed red by the blood. His body began to slowly swell.
"Ji Qinglin, what are you going to do!"
"No good, Elder Xia, get away. This kid wants to self - explode."
When Ji Qinglin was dying, he slowly smiled and showed his cute little tiger tooth again. He seemed to have returned to his childhood. The little girl opposite was handing the sweet cake to him.
He reached out with a smile. Before he could take the sweet cake, his body exploded into countless fragments in the air.