A soft white light.
Before it could reach Gu Zhiruo,
it was forcefully torn into countless fragments by him.
Zhao Shuning shook her head.
With a slight change of her index finger,
the scattered white light actually gathered again and rushed towards Gu Zhiruo.
Among the on - lookers,
a royal doctor who knew about Gu Zhiruo's illness quickly said, "Senior, His Majesty thinks you're attacking him. It's useless. None of us can escape. Once his inner demon erupts, he won't stop until he kills everyone within a ten - mile radius."
"His Majesty right now is a devil."
"He's even more terrifying than a demon."
Zhao Shuning only uttered two words.
"Annoying."
Gu Zhiruo was the child she had raised single - handedly. She knew that after all the persecution he had suffered over the years, his state of mind must have changed greatly. But Zhao Shuning firmly believed that no matter how much he changed, deep down in his heart, Gu Zhiruo was still kind. She had never doubted this.
"Senior, it's no use. You might as well let us go. Maybe we still have a chance to escape."
Zhao Shuning smiled slightly.
"His Majesty has fallen into the demonic path. Senior, for the safety of the people of Cangwu Country, you are highly respected. Please help us get rid of this scourge."
Scourge?
Zhao Shuning's smile turned extremely cold.
Human hearts.
Were just so unreliable.
Gu Zhiruo had sacrificed so much for the people of Cangwu Country. But at this moment, when their own lives were threatened, their thoughts were extremely selfish.
"Ridiculous."
Zhao Shuning only said two words each time,
but no one dared to refute.
The white light.
Gradually engulfed Gu Zhiruo.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
When the white light dispersed again, Gu Zhiruo still stood intact in mid - air. Everyone was shocked and quickly looked at Zhao Shuning.
The woman's voice was cold.
"What does it matter to me even if all the people of Cangwu Country were to die?"
"In my eyes, none of you can compare to Gu Zhiruo."
The Gu Zhiruo in front of them.
His eyes.
Showed a glimmer of clarity.
He only felt that Zhao Shuning was somewhat familiar,
but he couldn't recognize her.
Moreover.
The aura in Gu Zhiruo's body was only temporarily suppressed. No one could be sure if it would backfire later.
At least for now.
He still hadn't given up the idea of killing everyone in the city.
"Those who want to kill me. I'll make all of you heartless people accompany me to hell."
As soon as the words fell,
a silver - white rope quickly wrapped around Gu Zhiruo's body.
"Gu Zhiruo, you shouldn't be like this."
Zhao Shuning's tone and expression were both calm.
Facing this inner demon,
others might be helpless, but for her, there was still a glimmer of hope.
Gu Zhiruo's body had been taken care of by Ye Ling since childhood. Zhao Shuning knew how to deal with it.
Moreover.
Now, Zhao Shuning's spiritual power was already approaching the ninth rank. She was about to ascend soon, but was stuck in the bottleneck period of the peak of the eighth rank.
She carefully guided,
and would find a way out.
Of course.
All these had a prerequisite, that was, Gu Zhiruo could obediently listen to her and stop forcibly using his spiritual power to break through the obstacles she had set.
Obviously.
For now, Gu Zhiruo couldn't do this.
Zhao Shuning's hands constantly changed gestures.
Gu Zhiruo's face began to turn red again.
Going on like this.
It was never a good solution.
"You dare to stop me."
"I'll kill all these ungrateful people. If Cangwu Country is to perish, then let it perish."
Gu Zhiruo laughed.
In his laughter,
there was a lot of desolation.
Zhao Shuning felt heart - ache.
She didn't want to blame Gu Zhiruo. But if because of a momentary mistake of Gu Zhiruo, countless innocent people were harmed, when he regained his senses, even if he managed to avoid the fatal danger of sudden death, he would still suffer for the rest of his life.
"Gu Zhiruo, I've carefully taught you for so many years, not for you to become like this."
Zhao Shuning's eyes were clear.
Her hands never stopped moving.
Gu Zhiruo's resistance became more and more intense.
But after Zhao Shuning said this, he hesitated for a rare moment, and his movements slowed down a lot.
"Gu Zhiruo, I'm Ye Ling."
Zhao Shuning's voice was cold and hollow.
Every word reached Gu Zhiruo's ears.
The body that had been struggling violently stopped instantly.
His long black hair scattered around him.
Gu Zhiruo's eyes were bloodshot. His body seemed to suddenly lose all gravity and began to fall rapidly downward.
Seeing this,
Zhao Shuning quickly used her spiritual power to hold up Gu Zhiruo's lower body, allowing him to land safely.
Gu Zhiruo's eyes were a bit dazed.
He said blankly, "Ling—Sister Ling—"
"It's me."
Gu Zhiruo shook his head.
As if he didn't believe it.
His whole body was bound by the silver - white rope. Now his head ached terribly, and his body curled up on the ground, constantly rolling.
Even though the inner demon had invaded.
Even though he had lost his mind.
But Ye Ling.
Was someone he regarded as a family member. She was the only light that shone on him during the dark times. Ye Ling was the real "mother" in Gu Zhiruo's heart.
He respected her, loved her, and regarded her as his closest person.
So.
Even though he had lost his sanity.
The name Ye Ling.
Could still give Gu Zhiruo, who was struggling in the chaos, a glimmer of clarity.
"Your Majesty—"
"What's wrong with Your Majesty?"
Zhao Shuning didn't answer.
She knew.
At this moment, the only person Gu Zhiruo could rely on was himself.
"The Gu Zhiruo I know is humble and polite."
"The Gu Zhiruo I taught has benevolence in his heart."
"Gu Zhiruo, you're not weak. Your heart is stronger than anyone else's. You shouldn't yield to a mere inner demon."
Gu Zhiruo's body.
Was a bit distorted.
His whole body was slightly purple.
His eyes were bloodshot.
The veins on his limbs bulged.
It could be seen that he was in extreme pain at this moment.
Zhao Shuning took a deep breath.
In full view of everyone, she took back the silver - white rope.
Seeing this,
everyone quickly took a few steps back.
But they couldn't escape because Zhao Shuning hadn't removed the protective shield around them.
But Gu Zhiruo, who was no longer bound by the rope, didn't pounce on them as everyone had expected. He just lay on the ground, constantly rolling.
His hands pressed hard against his extremely painful head.
Even though his eyes were bloodshot,
he still didn't get up.
"Senior is truly a merciful person."
Someone in the crowd flattered like this.
Zhao Shuning gave a charming smile. With this smile, all things in the world seemed to lose their luster.
"Really?"
"Yes—Yes—"
Zhao Shuning looked at the person on the ground. He was the child she had raised since childhood. At this moment, he was suffering in order to fight against the inner demon, in order to protect these "ministers" who were heartless beasts.
But what had they done?
On their faces at this moment, there was only smugness and relief, without the slightest concern for Gu Zhiruo.
"Ah!"
The person in the doctor's uniform was suddenly pulled out of the protective shield by a powerful suction force.
He stumbled and stood beside Zhao Shuning.
His eyes were flustered.
Had she discovered something?