Chapter 178: Get up! Get up right now!
The patter of rain fell, drumming against the ground illuminated by the dim yellow light, sending splashes of water large and small flying.
The vast villa complex lay in utter silence.
Ye Zhen chased after the fleeing figure, gasping for breath. Suddenly, something sharp pierced her foot, sending agonizing pain shooting through her leg.
She simply couldn't run any further!
How could Ye Fuli, that sickly weakling, run so fast?
Bending over, gasping for breath, Ye Zhen shouted, "Run! Who could possibly outrun you! Ye Fuli, you've made me look down on you. I thought… I thought you were at least a person of strong will, but in the end…"
Not far away, Ye Fuli halted her steps.
She covered her mouth, coughing heavily twice before spitting out another mouthful of blood.
Even the best physical constitution couldn't withstand the abuse she'd inflicted on herself!
Of course, with the herbal soup Ye Zhen had brewed and her extraordinary female lead aura, death was out of the question. At worst, her recovery period would lengthen, prolonging her suffering.
Ye Fuli steadied herself against the wet edge of the flowerbed and slowly sank to the ground.
"I no longer have the right to pursue you."
Her voice was weak.
Yet, in the stillness of the night, it carried clearly.
"Ye Zhen, go. Walk boldly forward. Don't look back."
When she had just been reborn, Ye Fuli had wanted to drag everyone down to hell with her.
But after meeting Ye Zhen, she realized what she truly craved was sunlight and warmth.
She had intended to drag Ye Zhen into the cold, dark depths of hell with her, but Ye Zhen was destined to be a flower blooming under the sun—unable to survive in hell.
So she chose to walk forward, relentlessly chasing Ye Zhen's footsteps, hoping that one day she could stand shoulder to shoulder with her under the sunlight.
But she seemed to have forgotten.
For the demons of hell, embracing the sunlight was nothing but courting death.
This longing for warmth had already dragged her into hell in her past life. And in this life… ending up like this was her, Ye Fuli's, retribution.
She should never have dared to dream so big.
Ye Fuli's tears slid slowly down her cheeks. She felt not only her skin rotting away, but her heart beginning to decay as well.
She tilted her head back, gazing at the murky night sky.
Raindrops fell upon her, stinging her festering wounds. The strength she had painstakingly gathered was finally spent.
She felt herself standing once more at the edge of hell, poised to fall.
This time, she had no strength left to struggle…
Smack—
A slap, neither light nor heavy, landed on Ye Fuli's face.
Ye Fuli's vacant gaze was forced to focus once more.
Ye Zhen glared at her viciously: "If you want to die, go ahead! But you're not allowed to die until you've paid back everything you owe me!"
Ye Fuli forced a wry smile. "You're getting bolder and bolder."
"What nonsense! I've always been bold!"
Ye Zhen grabbed her collar and shook her violently, trying to pull her back to her feet.
"Get up! Get the hell up! Now, come with me to the hospital. Get yourself treated properly! Once you're better, I'll settle accounts with you. You'll pay me back every last cent. Only after you've paid everything off can you die. Got it?"
Ye Fuli truly had no strength left.
This time, it wasn't an act. She had truly reached the end of her rope.
Yet, when she saw the bloodstain at Ye Zhen's feet, her eyes flashed with panic.
Ye Fuli forced herself to stand, then pulled Ye Zhen into her arms.
The pungent smell of antiseptic, mingled with a faint scent of blood, filled Ye Zhen's nostrils, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Put… put me down! I can walk on my own!"
Ye Fuli said nothing, refusing to let go. With every ounce of strength left in her, she carried Ye Zhen toward the Ye family residence.
Her pace was slow but steady.
Ye Zhen dared not get too close to her, nor did she dare struggle further. After all, her wound had reopened, oozing a considerable amount of blood—the sight alone was painful.
Silence hung heavy for a long moment.
Exhausted, Ye Zhen gritted her teeth and snapped, "Ye Fuli, I've come to realize you're seriously messed up."
Ye Fuli, the target of the insult, wore an expression of utter indifference.
Yet, deep inside, ripples spread through her heart.
She had longed for this embrace for so very long.
…
Back at the Ye residence.
Only then did Ye Fuli release her.
Seeing her pitiful state, the bodyguards in the room couldn't bear to watch.
Ye Zhen hurriedly called Ye Dad, instructing him to bring a doctor to re-treat Ye Fuli's wounds and rush her back to the hospital.
"Go bring Bai Ruoting down."
Lying on the sofa, Ye Fuli fixed her gaze on the room where Bai Ruoting was confined.
"It's time to settle the score between us."
Soon, Bai Ruoting was dragged downstairs like a dead dog.
When he was thrown in front of Ye Fuli, he glared at her for a long moment.
A few seconds later.
Bai Ruoting burst into a hideous, maniacal laugh.
"Ha! Ye Fuli, you've become so ugly? Heaven has eyes, ha ha!"
But his triumph lasted barely three seconds before the guard overseeing him raised his foot and kicked him squarely in the face.
Ye Fuli's gaze was cold as she stared at him. "Bai Ruoting, do you think your plan is flawless? That I can't touch you?"
At that moment, Bai Ruoting's face was being ground into the carpet by the bodyguard's heavy boot.
He sneered coldly. "Ye Fuli, what are you talking about? What flawless plan? What are you referring to?"
Ye Fuli couldn't possibly have any leverage over him.
The killer had already lost his mind. He was nothing but a worthless piece of trash—no one would care where he ended up.
His life was worthless!
What was valuable was Ye Fuli's life.
Bai Ruoting had seen the effects of that poison firsthand—it caused the body to rot from the inside out, leading to a painful, agonizing death with no cure!
Yefuli won't last much longer, will she?
How many more days could she possibly survive?
The more Bai Ruoting thought about it, the more excited he became, his smile turning sinister once more.
"You deserve to be a hideous monster. Stop blaming others for your misfortune, okay?"
Before he could finish, Ye Zhen crouched before him, waving a handful of pills in her hand.
Bai Ruoting's smile froze.
He didn't bother to examine Ye Zhen's face, only instinctively dodging backward, trying to avoid the pills in her hand.
Ye Zhen smiled faintly. "Young Master Bai, these are special. Not just anyone gets to taste them. I saved them just for you."
"You dared to poison me! You filthy…"
SMACK—
Ye Zhen delivered a sharp slap across his face, silencing his curses. She ordered her bodyguards to pry his mouth open and force-feed him the entire handful of pills.
System-made, even the weakest ones are top-notch.
Besides, they weren't exactly poison. They could trigger secondary growth, promote hair growth, and even increase height—definitely a good medicine!
So what if there were side effects? He was the male lead—he could handle it. Ye Zhen believed in him.
After feeding him the pills, Ye Zhen turned to face Ye Fuli with a serious expression.
"No matter how despicable he is, he remains the only grandson of the Bai family patriarch. Right now, you have no evidence he hired someone to injure others. Even if you did, you'd have to follow legal procedures… Killing him here would cause major trouble."
After all, he was the male lead in the original storyline.
He still carried a certain aura of importance.
Ye Zhen couldn't predict what calamity killing him outright might unleash.
Therefore, Ye Zhen remained convinced that the best punishment for him was to make him suffer while living, not to kill him in agony.
Ye Fuli sighed softly and closed her eyes.
Hearing Ye Zhen's words now, she knew those pills wouldn't be lethal.
"You're too kind."
When dealing with such a venomous snake, excessive kindness only harms oneself.
However, neither Ye Zhen nor her system dared to agree with that assessment.
Kind?
Thinking of Bai Ruoting's future form, Ye Zhen cleared her throat nervously…
At that moment.
Ye Dad had already rushed over with the doctor.
Seeing Ye Fuli still alive, tears welled up in Ye Dad's eyes.
He had no time for blame, urgently directing the doctors and nurses to help Ye Fuli onto a stretcher and rush her to the hospital.
Ye Fuli avoided Ye Zhen's gaze.
She pulled the blanket over her face.
"I'll go with you."
Ye Zhen pulled the blanket from her hands.
Meeting Ye Fuli's slightly evasive gaze, Ye Zhen said with deadpan seriousness, "If you run away again, who am I supposed to collect from? I don't care about other people's debts, but what you owe me—you're paying it back."