“Yin and yang are the way of heaven and earth. The separation of yin and yang and the disorder of essence and qi are signs of calamity in the heavenly way.”
Seventh Miss Liu said in a deep tone, slowly stepping over the threshold, entering the room, and casually closing the door behind her.
“Every extra look at you makes me sick.”
Wang Sandong faced Seventh Miss Liu’s scorching gaze, his heart sinking to the bottom.
She took a step back, her voice trembling, “Cousin, if you find me repulsive, you can just stay away from me. Surely… you don’t need to kill me?”
Hearing this, Seventh Miss Liu was taken aback.
The killing intent in her eyes dimmed slightly for a moment before she spat out, “Kill you? I’d dirty my hands.”
Wang Sandong took another step back and said, “I’ve heard Demonic Cultivators have a particularly sinister method called ‘Soul-Seizing.’ Have you heard of it, cousin?”
“Don’t change the subject!”
Seventh Miss Liu snapped angrily.
“What’s this about Demonic Cultivators? I’m talking about you! Can’t you be a bit more manly?! It’s bad enough you’re prettier than a girl, but you also act all frail and delicate all day long! Who are you trying to seduce?! Isn’t it disgusting?!”
She grew angrier as she spoke, and the killing intent in her eyes surged once more.
These weren’t the first such words Seventh Miss Liu had spoken.
Six months ago, a year ago, two years ago…
On many public occasions, Seventh Miss Liu had said similar things, each time making Wang Sandong wish the ground would swallow him.
In truth, it wasn’t just Seventh Miss Liu who harbored such thoughts.
But she was the only one who would say them to his face.
In the past, Wang Sandong would choose to endure, pretend he hadn’t heard, find an excuse, and slink away shamefacedly.
He’d even comfort himself internally: Seventh Liu is just a self-righteous brat, not worth paying attention to.
However, some people are like that—they always mistake your tolerance and forbearance for cowardice and then bully you even more brazenly.
“What does any of this have to do with you, cousin?”
Wang Sandong’s voice wasn’t loud, and one couldn’t even hear much anger in his tone.
He was trying hard to suppress his emotions, afraid that losing control might literally cause him to die from rage.
“Is it wrong that I’m pretty? Without a Spiritual Root, isn’t it natural to appear weak? I’d also like to be imposing and heroic, but I can’t.”
Even though he knew he shouldn’t provoke Seventh Miss Liu or let himself get worked up, once the words started, the pent-up emotions deep in Wang Sandong’s heart surged forth like a tidal wave, unstoppable.
Her voice trembled as she spoke rapidly, “Taking ten thousand steps back, even if I’m neither man nor woman, even if I’m particularly disgusting, how does that affect you? I haven’t eaten your family’s rice, nor have I slept with your family members. What right do you have to attack me with such venomous words? How I choose to live is my freedom and my right. What does it have to do with you?”
Furious, Wang Sandong let out a derisive laugh, staring coldly into Seventh Miss Liu’s clearly astonished eyes.
“If I’ve done wrong, let heavenly lightning strike me dead! It’s not anyone else’s place to judge me!”
After finishing this speech, her cheeks flushed crimson, her heart raced, and she was left panting heavily.
Seventh Miss Liu was clearly shaken by Wang Sandong’s intensity.
In her memory, Wang Sandong was an effeminate man who would never raise his voice.
She had never seen Wang Sandong angry, nor had she ever heard Wang Sandong speak so many words in one breath.
In her perception, no matter how harsh her words or how embarrassing her actions were for Wang Sandong, he would only whimper “cousin” pitifully and then pretend to have something to do and leave.
For a moment, Seventh Miss Liu thought she was dreaming.
Had she hallucinated those words just now?
Were they spoken by this frail, woman-like man before her?
By this guy with flushed cheeks and labored breathing who looked like he was about to die?
Really…
Seventh Miss Liu also laughed, still looking at Wang Sandong with utter disdain.
“Is this the anger of shame?”
Wang Sandong felt a buzzing in his head and nearly fainted.
I’m already furious enough to die, and she’s still mocking me like this…
In an instant, the qi and blood within Wang Sandong churned, and the Demonic Qi actually surged out of control.
This was an accident!
Wang Sandong wasn’t prepared to strike yet.
So, she didn’t realize her internal Demonic Qi had leaked.
She was still too angry to think straight.
Seventh Miss Liu, however, suddenly grew stern.
Spiritual power surged throughout her body, causing her sleeves to flutter as if stirred by wind.
Her eyes blazed as she shouted sharply, “Wretched creature! You are actually a Demonic Cultivator!”
Wang Sandong was stunned by this shout.
She suddenly snapped back to her senses and detected the Demonic Qi seeping from her fingernails.
This…
Damn it!
No more delays!
Wang Sandong made a decisive move, immediately using her only lethal technique: Soul Snatching!
A shadowy figure materialized from the Demonic Qi, instantly separating from her main body and pouncing toward Seventh Miss Liu.
This was the first time Seventh Miss Liu had encountered such a Demonic Cultivator technique.
However, she was at the fourth-grade cultivation level and had never dared to slack off in her daily training, practicing diligently, so her reaction was extremely swift.
She directly enveloped her palm with spiritual power and slapped toward the shadowy figure.
The moment she made contact, she suddenly realized the shadow’s strength.
Yet, without panicking, she sidestepped to evade it, then lunged forward in a swift step, aiming directly for Wang Sandong’s main body.
The shadowy figure, surprised, reached back to grab Seventh Miss Liu, but its movement was a step too slow.
Thump!
Wang Sandong was struck in the chest by Seventh Miss Liu’s palm and was sent flying backward, crashing hard against the wall.
The shadowy figure’s face contorted, suddenly dispersed, and returned to Wang Sandong’s body.
Wang Sandong’s body slid limply down the wall, blood gurgling from her mouth.
“Hmph!”
Seventh Miss Liu looked coldly at Wang Sandong.
“Speak! Who taught you Demon Cultivation?”
For a scion of a prominent family to be lured into Demon Cultivation was a matter that certainly needed thorough investigation.
Wang Sandong weakly struggled to hold herself up, refusing to collapse completely.
Leaning against the wall, she glanced at the blood on her chest, her heart filled with desolation.
She realized that even though she was at the third grade, she was so utterly powerless before the fourth-grade Seventh Miss Liu.
How could this be?
“Confess truthfully, and I can give you a quick death!”
Seventh Miss Liu demanded coldly.
Hearing this, Wang Sandong let out a bitter laugh, but it was interrupted by a few coughs choked with blood.
After catching her breath, Wang Sandong looked at Seventh Miss Liu and said, “I just didn’t want to die. I just wanted to live. Even though I’m a Demonic Cultivator, I… I… haven’t harmed anyone!”
This was a lie, but to survive, she had to brazen it out.
“Cousin, for my mother’s sake, you… let me go, okay?”
Seventh Miss Liu’s expression remained stern.
Gritting her teeth, she asked, “Speak! Who taught you Demon Cultivation?”
Tears streamed down Wang Sandong’s face.
Enduring the pain in her chest, she struggled to rise slightly, then knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
“Cousin, I beg you! I don’t want to die! I’m not a bad person! I’m good! Really! Wuwuwu… I don’t want to die…”
As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer, as if she had reached the limits of her weakness.
Seventh Miss Liu remained silent, watching Wang Sandong kowtow and beg for mercy without showing any reaction.
Everyone in the world agreed on one principle: one must never show mercy to a Demonic Cultivator!
Finally, Wang Sandong couldn’t hold on any longer.
Her head thudded against the floor, and her body slumped limply to the side.
Seeing this, Seventh Miss Liu frowned.
Looking at Wang Sandong lying motionless on the floor with closed eyes, Seventh Miss Liu couldn’t sense the slightest trace of life force from her.
Just like that…
Dead?
At this thought, Seventh Miss Liu’s heart suddenly felt an inexplicable emptiness.
It was like…
Like the feeling of being at a loss after achieving some small wish.
Letting out a breath, Seventh Miss Liu crouched down and reached out to check Wang Sandong’s pulse.
If he wasn’t completely dead yet, she needed to save him.
To force out the answer of who was teaching him Demon Cultivation.
Just as Seventh Miss Liu’s hand was about to grasp Wang Sandong’s wrist, a black hand materialized from Demonic Qi suddenly appeared from Wang Sandong’s wrist, turning around and “grabbing” Seventh Miss Liu’s hand.
Seventh Miss Liu was shocked and tried to yank her hand back.
But it was too late.
After all, they were too close, mere inches apart, and it was completely unexpected after she had let her guard down.
She wanted to shake off the shadowy arm but found it useless.
In her panic, she simply flew backward, putting distance between them.
However, the shadow gripping her wrist was pulled along, flying with her.
Simultaneously, the shadow’s other hand swiftly “grabbed” toward Seventh Miss Liu’s chest, penetrating right through her body.
Seventh Miss Liu hurriedly circulated the spiritual power within her body, attempting to use her strongest attack to blast the shadow.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Once touched by the shadow, the “soul” would be seized.
A strange substance flowed out from within Seventh Miss Liu’s body along the shadow’s arm, rapidly spreading throughout the entire shadow.
In just a moment, the shadow, like an addict satisfied, showed an expression of intoxication before swiftly returning to Wang Sandong’s body.
Wang Sandong’s eyes snapped open, the whites of her eyes nowhere to be seen within the pitch-black orbs.
Her body shuddered.
She lay flat, arched her back, then fell heavily back down.
Her chest, which had been still, began to rise and fall rapidly once more.
Wang Sandong gasped for air in large breaths, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes.
Phew…
That was close.
Although her body was injured, it felt manageable.
She probably wouldn’t die for now.
Clap!
Clap!
Clap!
Someone was clapping outside the room door.
Then, the door was pushed open by a strand of Demonic Qi.
Yuan Di walked in with a smile, looking at Wang Sandong still lying on the floor.
Yuan Di laughed, “Impressive, impressive. Kneeling and begging for mercy, feigning death to ambush… such despicable methods, yet you wield them with great skill. I always knew you were extraordinary, but I still underestimated you.”
Listening to Yuan Di’s praise, Wang Sandong’s face turned as red as a persimmon, burning with shame and humiliation.
Furious from embarrassment, she yelled, “You were here all along? Why didn’t you help me?”
“You could handle it yourself. Why should I intervene?”
Yuan Di walked over to Wang Sandong’s side, looking down at her pretty face.
“Your unscrupulousness is admirable.”
This…
What the hell kind of talk is that!
Is there nothing else worthy of your admiration?
So annoying!
Wang Sandong, mortified, retorted, “I just didn’t want to die!”
“Heh.”
Yuan Di chuckled, crouched down, glanced at the blood on Wang Sandong’s chest, wrinkled her nose in distaste, then directly slipped her hand inside Wang Sandong’s robe through the collar, pressing against the Danzhong acupoint in the center of Wang Sandong’s chest.
A strand of Demonic Qi probed inward, checking Wang Sandong’s injuries.
Wang Sandong gritted her teeth and didn’t make a sound.
She secretly felt relieved.
Relieved that her cultivation wasn’t high enough yet for certain “developments.”
Otherwise, with such a press, wouldn’t Yuan Di have discovered her transformation secret?
After a moment, Yuan Di said, “Internal organs are injured, breath is as faint as a wisp. If you daringly stopped the flow of Demonic Qi at such a time, it would indeed seem like you were truly dead. No wonder you fooled that girl.”
She then looked into Wang Sandong’s eyes.
“Stopping the flow of Demonic Qi at such a moment could easily lead to actual death. Weren’t you afraid it might become real?”
Afraid?
Of course she was, but not overwhelmingly so.
Wang Sandong, possessing Mr. Yi’s memories, was essentially a disciple of the world’s top physician, Spring-Returning Hand.
She understood her own physical condition well and knew exactly how long she could stop the Demonic Qi flow before it became fatal.
Naturally, the specifics weren’t for outsiders.
Letting out a bitter laugh, Wang Sandong said, “Someone was watching the show. If I didn’t risk my life, what else could I do?”
She sighed and added, “Often, if you don’t want to die, you have to not fear death.”
Yuan Di was taken aback for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
“That makes sense.”
She withdrew her hand, helped Wang Sandong up, and sat her in a soft chair, instructing, “Slowly try to regulate your breathing and circulate your qi.”
Then she added, “For healing injuries, any external aid can only be supplementary. Relying on your own power to heal is the safest and most effective method.”
This point didn’t need Yuan Di’s elaboration.
As a “renowned physician,” Wang Sandong had her own “experience” with healing.
First, slowly regulate breathing to stabilize qi and blood; then try to accelerate qi circulation to nourish the internal organs; finally, let the Demonic Qi within repair the damaged meridians.
Once her condition stabilized, Wang Sandong exhaled a turbid breath and ended her meditation.
Yuan Di asked, “Why not continue?”
“Tired. Need a rest.”
Wang Sandong gave an evasive answer.
In fact, healing was also a gradual process.
Some injuries, even if they could be completely cured in one go, shouldn’t be treated that way.
Forcing healing with power was far inferior to letting the body recover naturally.
This advanced medical knowledge, Wang Sandong didn’t plan to “enlighten” Yuan Di about.
Besides Yuan Di, Wang Tong was also in the room.
Seeing Wang Sandong was alright, Wang Tong’s hanging heart finally settled.
His voice choked with emotion, he said, “Young Master, are you okay now? It’s all my fault for running too slowly.”
Tears streamed down his face.
Wang Sandong smiled reassuringly.
“Alright, it’s fine now.”
Then she looked at Yuan Di, giving her a once-over.
“Why are you dressed in men’s clothes? If someone saw, they might think I, your young master, have some peculiar tastes.”
Yuan Di shot Wang Sandong an icy glare.
She obviously knew coming in women’s clothing would have been more discreet.
“The situation was urgent. Was I supposed to change clothes first before coming?”
Yuan Di asked coldly.
“So, for safety’s sake, you should wear women’s clothes regularly,” Wang Sandong said.
“To be prepared for unexpected needs.”
Her expression was cheeky, and her words carried an ulterior meaning.
But in principle, she wasn’t wrong.
Yuan Di neither agreed nor disagreed.
“You’ve learned ‘Corpse Driving,’ right? Deal with the body.”
She then glanced at the wall Wang Sandong had damaged.
“The wall needs fixing too.”
Turning to leave, she said, “I’m going to sleep.”
Wang Sandong wanted to tease her a few more times, but her body was still weak, so she couldn’t be bothered to speak.
Looking again at Seventh Miss Liu’s corpse on the floor, Wang Sandong frowned slightly, closed her eyes, and delved into Seventh Miss Liu’s memories.
She wanted to know if Seventh Miss Liu had indeed been subjected to “Soul-Seizing” by the Disciple of the Demon Emperor.
If so, had Seventh Miss Liu had any contact with the Disciple of the Demon Emperor?
Perhaps she could find answers from Seventh Miss Liu’s memories.
Having been schemed against by the Disciple of the Demon Emperor several times already, Wang Sandong would feel very insecure until she rooted him out.