She roared.
Despair engulfed her.
She pushed aside all the onlookers.
She shielded herself in front of Zhao Huai's corpse.
Her eyes were wide open, and her hands were quickly gathering powerful spiritual energy.
Xia Wanning stood opposite Zhao Shuning.
Looking at Zhao Shuning's desperate expression, Xia Wanning felt a strange sense of excitement.
She had thought Zhao Shuning was so proud. But look, wasn't she easily pushed to this state by herself?
Zhao Shuning stared at the crowd.
At this moment, it seemed as if everyone was a villain.
Xia Wanning said, "Shuning, you should look at it from another perspective. In a way, Zhao Huai wasn't your real brother."
Zhao Shuning's eyes blazed with anger.
The huge magical instrument in her hand transformed into a sharp sword and pointed at Xia Wanning.
"Get out of here!"
Xia Wanning didn't move. So, Zhao Shuning's sword stabbed forward without hesitation.
Strangely enough, Xia Wanning could have easily dodged it, but she didn't.
The sword pierced her bone, and a chill spread through her body.
Everyone gasped in horror.
"Your Majesty—Zhao Shuning, she—"
Yan Ruyu came behind Zhao Shuning and whispered, "Ning'er."
"Go away too. Leave now. I can't control myself. Go. I don't want to hurt you."
Tears streamed down Zhao Shuning's face.
Her right hand that held the magical instrument was still trembling.
She was in so much pain. The pain that went deep into her heart couldn't compare to this.
Feng Zhan sighed and stepped forward.
"Little girl, although I don't like this woman surnamed Xia, what she said is right. There's the soul of a supreme beast hidden in your brother's body. If he were to fully awaken without any kindness, the whole world would be in great danger."
"No, no, no. You're all wrong," Zhao Shuning stumbled.
She looked at the people around her.
"My brother wouldn't do that!"
"He wouldn't!"
"How could you know? He was so kind since childhood. No matter what happened, whether he saw a beggar on the street or an injured animal, even though his strength was limited, he would always step forward to help."
"What do you know?"
"You just judge people with prejudice.
"You all wish to get rid of anyone who poses a threat. Why? Just because he was stronger than you. You were afraid of him, afraid that he might threaten your lives at any time. So you made assumptions and took his life without a second thought."
Feng Zhan was speechless for a moment. That wasn't what he meant.
He trusted Zhao Huai and knew what kind of person he was.
Such a gentle young man would never do such a cruel thing.
Xia Wanning said, "Zhao Shuning, I'm not lying to you. You can ask His Majesty about this."
Zhao Shuning turned around and looked at Yan Ruyu.
At this moment, her eyes were full of pleading.
"I trust you, Master. Now, you're the only one I trust. Please tell me the truth, okay?"
"Ning'er, what Elder Xia said is true."
Because of this sentence, Zhao Shuning's body lost all its strength. The spiritual energy in her hands disappeared immediately.
She slumped to the ground.
She sat there blankly.
Xia Wanning looked at Old Zhao and said, "Old Master Zhao, I didn't mean to interrupt this happy occasion. But since Zhao Huai is dead and his identity is special, his body can't be left for long. Tomorrow, I'll cremate his body completely. But I think since the Zhao family raised him, you should have a chance to see him one last time before his body completely disappears from this world."
Xia Wanning was really good at talking.
She brought Zhao Huai's body here clearly to make Zhao Shuning feel bad. But now, she made it sound like she was doing this for the Zhao family to see Zhao Huai one last time.
"Thank you, Elder Xia. Shuning hurt you earlier because my grandson and Shuning have been close since childhood. She couldn't accept this fact for a while. Please be magnanimous and don't blame Shuning."
Xia Wanning said understandingly, "Of course. I like Shuning very much. It's just that she can be a bit too stubborn in some aspects."
Xia Wanning walked up to Zhao Huai's body again and squatted down.
Her hand was about to touch Zhao Huai's body when Zhao Shuning suddenly grabbed her hand and took a fierce bite.
"Ah!"
A scream echoed.
If His Majesty hadn't been there, Xia Wanning would surely have made Zhao Shuning pay with her life.
With great difficulty, Xia Wanning managed to shake off Zhao Shuning.
She took a few steps back.
Zhao Shuning slowly straightened her body again.
She didn't stand up. Her hand tightly held Zhao Huai's left hand.
Her eyes were firm.
No longer as unfocused as before.
Now, she had only one belief, which was to protect her brother.
Since childhood, her brother had protected her from so many harms. Now that Zhao Huai was dead, Zhao Shuning would never allow anyone to touch him.
She only hated that she wasn't by his side when he died.
"Your Majesty—"
Yan Ruyu gently raised his hand, signaling Xia Wanning to be quiet.
Zhao Shuning smiled.
She smiled as she slowly opened Zhao Huai's right hand and carefully picked out the broken pieces from his hand.
"Brother, look. This jade hairpin was a gift from me for you to tie up your hair. Why were you so disobedient? How could you hold something that's supposed to be on your head in your hand?"
"Brother, didn't you say you would accompany me on my sixteenth birthday?"
"Brother, you said you would bring me a gift. I don't want gifts. I don't like them. Brother, I don't want gifts. Please come back, okay?"
Zhao Huai's body was so cold.
Zhao Shuning wanted to warm him with her own body.
"Brother, are you cold?"
"I built a big courtyard for you, brother. It's all designed according to your preferences. I also made a lot of clothes for you. They're in the wardrobe in your room."
"Brother, this clothes is dirty. It doesn't look good on you at all. It's not like you at all. Let's throw this red clothes away, okay?"
Zhao Huai's body had no warmth at all. Zhao Shuning couldn't feel any sign of his life.
Ye Xingchen's heart ached as he watched this scene.
Not long ago, his sister had told him that she would introduce Zhao Huai to him and said that he was the most considerate brother in the world.
His sister regarded Zhao Huai as a kin as intimate as bones and blood.
Zhao Shuning tried to help Zhao Huai up.
She saw that there were big holes on his wrists and ankles.
But there was no blood flowing out of these huge wounds.
What kind of torture had Zhao Huai endured before he died?
Zhao Shuning hugged Zhao Huai's body.
"Brother, it doesn't hurt. Little Ning'er will blow on it for you. Open your eyes and look at your sister, okay?"