Chapter 153: Seeking Blood
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"First Lady…"
This room seemed to have been here for years. The canvas covering the cabinets had long since weathered, and the bloodstains forming the array had faded into indistinct smudges.
Yet the pungent scent of blood lingered stubbornly within.
Soul-binding nails were embedded around the room's perimeter, seemingly to suppress the malevolent energy emanating from the basin.
At first, Ye Qinghan didn't grasp Xu Zhanfeng's meaning. She thought, What's there to fear? It's just a basin.
But as she drew nearer, Ye Qinghan detected a familiar spiritual energy…
He whipped his head around to stare at Xu Zhanfeng, demanding fiercely:
"What's inside?!"
"Madam… Zhanfeng…"
"I'm asking you! What's inside!"
Ye Qinghan didn't know why she'd asked such a foolish question.
But the tears streaming down her cheeks betrayed her thoughts far more swiftly than her words.
She saw clearly, and she knew what it was.
She just…
wanted someone to tell her it was all a lie…
"Madam, please compose yourself…"
Xu Zhanfeng fell silent and slowly backed out…
In the basin lay nothing else but the teeth of Ye Qinghan's mother.
Teeth longer than an arm lay silently in the brass basin, denied even peace in death.
Her jade-like hand trembled as it reached forward, then recoiled as if sensing something amiss.
Her chest felt as though a boulder had crushed it, leaving her gasping for breath, unable to utter a sound.
Ye Qinghan was now a weeping figure, yet an eerie stillness hung over her. Her sobs were barely louder than her gasps.
Instead, the sound of teeth chattering echoed distinctly throughout the room.
Ye Qinghan couldn't understand what crime his mother had committed.
Even in death, she could not be spared—to be flayed alive, dismembered, and subjected to every indignity.
Her tears abruptly stopped. Even if Ye Qinghan wanted to cry, she could no longer shed tears.
Her emotions had transformed from grief into a torrent of hatred!
A piercing scream split the air, deafening enough to send Xu Zhanfeng trembling in fear even through the door.
The heart-wrenching wail sounded like someone enduring endless torment, stirring unease in anyone who heard it.
Li Shiyao, who had been building a snowman, heard the commotion and summoned her courage to rush into this sacred domain, now a sea of corpses and blood. She found Xu Zhanfeng.
"What happened to Senior Sister?"
A hint of worry crept onto Li Shiyao's small face. With her senior sister and master around, she'd never had a care in the world before.
Xu Zhanfeng remained silent. How could he presume to comment on such matters?
Still, he grabbed the Second Grandma, who was about to charge in, and shook his head.
Li Shiyu seemed to realize the situation was serious, but she refused to believe Xu Zhanfeng!
She knocked lightly on the door twice, tentatively inquiring about her senior sister's condition.
"Senior Sister? What happened?"
"…Nothing. Shiyu, be a good girl and wait outside for Sister. Once I'm done, I'll come find you to build a snowman…"
"Really? Senior Sister, is there anything I can do to help?"
"If you don't leave now, this month's allowance…"
"Shiyao is worried about you, Senior Sister. Shiyao can do without the allowance, but Senior Sister…"
"I'm fine. Go play. Senior Sister has some things to take care of."
"Okay! But if Senior Sister needs Shiyu's help, you have to call me!"
With that, Li Shiyu stamped her foot in place, pretending to leave, then hid nearby…
Inside the room, Ye Qinghan slowly opened her eyes, which had been tightly shut for a long time, and exhaled deeply.
She lifted her gaze toward the ceiling, gently stretching her stiff neck. Emerging from such an emotional state was no easy feat.
She reached into the basin and retrieved its contents—the spiritual energy within was now nearly depleted.
"Xu Zhanfeng."
"First Lady." In an instant—before she even sensed the door behind her open—Xu Zhanfeng seemed to have been standing there all along.
"Are any still alive?"
Following Xu Zhanfeng, the two approached the blood-stained altar.
On the other side, Li Shiyao saw her senior sister emerge safely. Only after slowly retreating from the main hall did she withdraw the divine power concealing her aura, returning to continue building her snowman.
Noticing Ye Qinghan seemed off, Xu Zhanfeng thoughtfully brought her a chair.
Ye Qinghan nodded, then began surveying the surroundings. The figure pinned to the altar by the God-Slaying Blade was most likely the current ruler of the Sacred Domain.
Though her enemy stood before her, Ye Qinghan's heart remained still as water.
A glance at the scattered remains of the unfortunate souls around him confirmed that Xu Zhanfeng was acting precisely as his master had instructed.
Xu Zhanfeng seemed to have done everything possible. There appeared to be nothing more he could do.
"Xu Zhanfeng, thank you."
Xu Zhanfeng paused, then replied, "Relieving the First Lady's burdens is simply my duty."
The one whose abdomen had been ripped open and whose five viscera removed by Xu Zhanfeng was none other than one of the twelve great Demon Clan beings from years past.
Ye Qinghan had never seen this being; otherwise, she would never have lived to become a disciple at Lingxian Hall.
Yet Ye Qinghan trusted her master implicitly. Her master would never have chosen the wrong person. This man was undoubtedly the one who had killed her mother.
"Feed this to him. I wish to speak with him."
Reviving him was impossible. Ye Qinghan merely wished to ask questions. Even if a method existed, she would never use the immortal medicine bestowed by her master for such a purpose.
"First Lady, I just executed all his wives, children, and closest relatives before his eyes. His state of mind…"
Ye Qinghan narrowed her fox-like eyes. She had imagined countless times the scene of slaying her enemy with her own hands.
None had resembled this pathetic state. She craved to witness those criminals' regret for their past deeds, yet in this moment, she understood it was impossible.
What she craved to know more was why her master had kept this from her. What lay behind it that she couldn't know, or that her master didn't want her to know?
She was no longer a child. She had the right to know the truth. She refused to stumble upon it in such a hazy manner—that her blood feud had been avenged by her master's hand.
She wanted to know why!
Why did her mother meet such an end? She couldn't understand!
"It matters not."
Swallowing a pill was merely borrowing a few more years of life from the King of Hell. It couldn't change the fact that death was inevitable; it only granted a few more breaths.
Whether it actually entered her system, however, Ye Qinghan couldn't say for certain. After all, her internal organs had been completely hollowed out.
But her master's immortal elixir was potent; perhaps swallowing it wasn't even necessary.
As the man slowly lifted his head to look at her, Ye Qinghan adopted a victorious posture. Though she didn't particularly relish such displays, she felt it was the proper response.
Just like the Lingxian Hall Master she remembered, she crossed her legs, leaned back in her chair, and tapped her fingers on the armrest.
It must be said, this First Disciple and Su Cheng seemed carved from the same mold—their demeanor, movements, and aura were strikingly similar.
"I suppose I needn't introduce myself."
"Hmph, you little bitch, don't get too excited just yet."
"Indeed, how could I face Mother without collecting all your heads?"
"Rest assured, little bitch, you'll all meet soon enough."
"Is that so? You seem quite confident, full of yourself?"
Ye Qinghan remained unhurried. Though he could no longer gauge this dead dog’s cultivation level, he reckoned the bastard wouldn’t die anytime soon.
"You little bitch, do you really think suppressing the Demon Emperor is something a few people can accomplish?"
"Oh? Let's see what you've got. So you're saying I've hit a brick wall?"
Ye Qinghan wasn't afraid of this one coming for her. What she feared was those scumbags all hiding and refusing to show their faces!
If they came for her, that would be perfect!
The Saint Realm Lord lunged forward like a chained hound, yet he couldn't touch the God-Slaying Great Blade in the slightest.
His menacing demeanor now carried a hint of desperation, failing to intimidate anyone.
"Had you hidden your head and claws, content to scrape by for sustenance, you might have clung to life. But now, daring to return to the North, your time is up!"
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