Tears slid down Ji Rong's chin, soaking into her white silk robe.
She raised a finger and gently wiped them away. After drying her tears, Ji Rong spoke with an emotionless face: "Kill me."
"Go ahead, kill me."
Ji Rong was deeply sad.
"One sword strike, just end me."
Damn, being a villain is so hard. Anyone who wants to play the villain can do it, but I'm done with this.
Gu Baiyi stared at Ji Rong, but didn't say anything.
After a long pause, she raised her finger and moved toward Ji Rong's face. But just as she was about to touch the tear, her hand froze awkwardly.
She furrowed her brow, looking at her finger, then at the tear on Ji Rong's face.
What was I doing just now? And what am I doing now?
Ji Rong, originally coldly staring at Gu Baiyi, had the words "life is no longer worth living" written all over her face. But then, an old, familiar electronic sound suddenly buzzed in her mind.
[Beep! Gu Baiyi's favorability +10]
Ji Rong: "?"
What the hell? This perversion increases favorability?
What made her feel even more disturbed was that this electronic sound didn't just ring once.
[Beep! Gu Baiyi's favorability +10]
[Gu Baiyi's favorability -10]
[Gu Baiyi's favorability -10]
Ji Rong: "…"
Isn't this just like adding nothing?
[Dear, the system only detects, this is the heroine's psychological activity~]
Gu Baiyi frowned deeply.
She looked at the tear, thinking in a somewhat twisted way that this tear had been shed for her by Senior Sister.
Before this, she never imagined that Ji Rong would shed tears for her, not even once.
At this moment, Gu Baiyi extended her fingertip, touching the tear at the corner of Ji Rong's eye. The sensation was warm and moist. It landed on that cold, indifferent face, a beautiful drop of tear.
She smiled, thinking, no matter if this tear is because of hatred or something else, it's still mine.
Ji Rong looked at Gu Baiyi, her brows slowly relaxing, a smile beginning to appear on her face. She almost wanted to burst into laughter.
Is she finally going to kill me!?
It's… wonderful.
However, Ji Rong didn't have long to rejoice, as Gu Baiyi, with a gaze full of expectation from Ji Rong, lifted her finger away from the tear.
Her fingertip still had blood on it, but her face wore a smile.
Ji Rong was a bit confused. What is the heroine trying to do?
Just as she was wondering, Gu Baiyi gently lowered her finger and tapped it on Ji Rong's brow.
The bright red blood, like a tear, was embedded in her brow, resembling a cinnabar mole.
Gu Baiyi raised her hand, gazing at the blood drop on Ji Rong's brow.
Her face remained as aristocratic and indifferent as always, like an immortal untouched by the world's dust. But with that drop of blood-red tear, she seemed like an exiled immortal who had fallen into a ten-mile soft red, never to escape.
Gu Baiyi smiled as if triumphant and then leaned down, kissing the cinnabar mole.
The taste of blood lingered on her tongue, and she tasted the scent of plum blossoms.
Ji Rong, lying on the soft couch, had initially thought that Gu Baiyi would reverse the hand and stab her with a sword.
But unexpectedly, she dropped the blood from her hand onto Ji Rong's face.
Ji Rong furrowed her brow, about to shout in anger, telling the heroine to either kill her or get away from her, as she had a cleanliness obsession.
However, the next moment, Gu Baiyi, seeing Ji Rong's furrowed brow, leaned down and kissed her brow.
Ji Rong was stunned.
Gu Baiyi's lips were thin and soft.
The luxurious, noble dark robe embroidered with cloud patterns was cold to the touch, but it carried a faint scent of phoenix flowers, which was quite pleasant. It made Ji Rong feel strangely familiar, as if she had smelled it somewhere before.
The distance between them was so close that Ji Rong's vision blurred, and she could barely make out Gu Baiyi's silhouette.
As Gu Baiyi stood up, her vision gradually cleared. For some reason, when Ji Rong saw the smile in her eyes, her breath stopped for a brief moment.
Ji Rong thought to herself, Beauty has deceived me.
Just for this face, I'd rather die under the peony flower, I'd still be graceful as a ghost.
…Wait, die?
No, the heroine still hasn't killed me.
Ji Rong suddenly realized that Gu Baiyi hadn't killed her.
She frowned and mechanically turned her head back and forth. Recalling the memories of the original owner, she could only make one guess:
Ji Bai, is it real?
Her expression was complicated.
For a moment, Ji Rong didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
The heroine didn't kill me, but it feels like she did.
Gu Baiyi didn't know Ji Rong's thoughts. She looked at the person beneath her, slightly furrowing her brow, but couldn't help but smile.
She had figured it out.
No matter what Ji Rong thought of her, she no longer cared. Even if she had to use despicable and underhanded means, she would keep Ji Rong by her side.
Then Gu Baiyi remembered the purpose of this trip and the task Bai Yushuang had assigned her.
She reached into her sleeve, took out a white porcelain bottle, and poured two red pills into her hand.
Ji Rong snapped back to reality and looked at the two pills in Gu Baiyi's palm.
Her brows furrowed even more.
The pills looked so familiar.
Just as she was thinking about it, Gu Baiyi opened her mouth and put one of the pills into her mouth, swallowing it.
Ji Rong was shocked by her actions.
Has the heroine gone mad? Why the rush to take medicine?
There must be something wrong.
But under Ji Rong's gaze, Gu Baiyi picked up the other pill, held it in her mouth, and then slightly bent down, prying open the lips of the person beneath her.
Their lips and teeth entangled, and Ji Rong tasted a faint taste of blood.
At this moment, she couldn't tell if the blood was Gu Baiyi's or her own, because she suddenly remembered…
Damn it, this pill is "Doubtless"!
"Doubtless" was a poison created by an ancient NPC in Sword God.
Ji Rong was so familiar with this poison because the NPC was too twisted.
The so-called "Doubtless" was named after the idea of "marriage without doubts, love without doubts." But its effects were the exact opposite of that idea.
It was said that this poison was created by a woman from the Feihao Sect. She and her husband had been in perfect harmony for over ten years, which should have been a beautiful story.
However, after her husband went to the northern border for war and was injured and unconscious, he was saved by another woman. The man and this woman spent several months together, unknowingly developing feelings for her, and made a promise to return home and stay together for life.
After the war ended, he returned home and confessed the truth to his wife, feeling guilty. The Feihao Sect woman, after hearing this, only told him to go find the northern woman.
She said, "Husband, gratitude is a good thing."
The day before the man left, the Feihao Sect woman, while he was asleep, ground the "Doubtless" poison into powder and mixed it in water, forcing it into his mouth. Then she also took the mother poison.
The next day, the man left, disappearing into the vast sea of yellow sand.
Three days later, when the man returned home again, he was carried back by that woman from the northern border, wrapped in white cloth.
Countless venomous worms writhed inside his body, gnawing at his blood vessels. Small lumps bulged under his skin, and he was now nothing but a skinless corpse.
There wasn't a single intact piece of skin or flesh on him, yet his blood and flesh remained fresh. Even in death, his body would not rot but would still be consumed by the worms.
The Feihao Sect woman saw the man's condition and let out three loud laughs before pulling out her blade and ending her own life. Blood poured from her body.
It turned out that the "Doubtless" mother and child worms, swallowing the mother worm would cause no harm, but if the child worm was consumed and the person remained separated from the mother for more than half a day, the poison would erupt.
When the poison took effect, the afflicted would first feel cold throughout their body, their blood coagulating. Then, it would be as though they were trapped between ice and fire, suffering the agony of countless ants gnawing at their hearts, with countless venomous worms devouring their blood vessels and skin, leaving them unable to end their own lives.
"Doubtless" had no antidote; only by staying close to the person who consumed the mother worm could the poison be cured. Otherwise, the worms would continue to consume the body. Even if the person descended to hell, their corpse would not decay, and the worms would still ravage it.
The reason the Feihao Sect woman took her own life was because her husband, despite the excruciating torment of the worms, still refused to return home. He endured the pain and intended to travel north to meet with the woman.
The years they spent together had all been a dream, so the poison no longer had any use.
Ji Rong recalled the story behind this poison and felt a wave of nausea in her stomach. But Gu Baiyi had already fed it to her, and now, even if she lay down to vomit, she probably wouldn't be able to expel it.
Moreover, she wasn't even sure if the pill Gu Baiyi had given her was actually "Doubtless." What if it was just a red pill that looked similar?
At that moment, Gu Baiyi smiled and said, "Senior Sister, these two pills have a beautiful name, 'Doubtless.' But since you have no interest in me, there's no need to worry about the 'Doubtless' poison."
"Senior Sister, you are so knowledgeable. You must have heard of this medicine before, right?"
Ji Rong stayed silent for a long time, not answering Gu Baiyi's question.
She was thinking, if she died now, would she still leave a whole corpse?
Gu Baiyi didn't hear an answer, but she wasn't upset.
She smiled again and continued, "Senior Sister, you're frowning because you're wondering if you can die with dignity, right?"
Ji Rong: "..."
The heroine is so overpowered.
Gu Baiyi reached out, gently caressing Ji Rong's cold cheek, then softly said, "No, you can't."
"Senior Sister, don't even think about it."
Ji Rong stared at the smile on Gu Baiyi's face and replied expressionlessly, "Crazy."
That one word wasn't enough, she wanted to curse more, not just at the crazy Gu Baiyi but also at the mad plot and the deranged planners.
Planners, I love you so much. Can you hear me?
A thousand "Damn you" wouldn't be enough to express it.
Then, Ji Rong heard a crisp electronic sound.
[Ding! Gu Baiyi's favorability +50]
Cursing the heroine increases her favorability??
Ji Rong: "..."
The heroine is a yandere, and I want to die, but I can't.
Gu Baiyi's expression didn't change. She caressed Ji Rong's face and smiled, saying, "Senior Sister, you should have known I was crazy."
She whispered, "If you hadn't given me hope from the beginning, maybe I would have let you go. But you gave me hope and then pushed me into the abyss. Now, I don't want to let you go."
"I hate you, and you hate me. That's nice."
As soon as Gu Baiyi said "I hate you," the system's electronic voice rang again.
[Ding! Gu Baiyi's favorability +50]
Ji Rong: "..."
I really want to escape. Really.
Ji Rong looked at Gu Baiyi, wanting to say: It's not that I wanted to push you into the abyss; it's that the damned system from the original owner and that stupid planner are trying to harm you!!
Grievances have a root; debts have a master. Don't come any closer.
Just as the words were on the tip of her tongue, Ji Rong couldn't think of how to explain.
After all, except for Bai Yushuang, no one knew about her strong will to survive. She thought to herself that as long as she could hang on until Bai Yushuang arrived, she might still have a chance to turn things around.
As long as she was alive, there was hope.
So, Ji Rong furrowed her brow, preparing to say something profound like "I don't hate you." But then, she saw Xie Bai clap his hands and laugh, "This performance is truly amazing! I'm in awe!"
Ji Rong: "..."
Can't you just leave without trying to be the center of attention?
Because Ji Rong had been poisoned by her, Gu Baiyi wasn't worried that she would escape. So, she let go and left the soft couch.
She walked over to the tea table, pulled out two sets of black clothes from underneath. The fabric looked ordinary, like something a servant would wear.
Then she handed one set to Xie Bai, casually saying, "We're almost at Kongshan, change into this to avoid being recognized."
Xie Bai took the black clothes, looking at his red robe with a sad expression. He touched his face and sighed, "Ah, I never thought I'd have a day like this, it's really heartbreaking."
Gu Baiyi replied indifferently, "Since it's a Buddhist sermon at Kongshan, Jiang Fei will probably be there too. If you want her to recognize you, you don't have to change."
When Xie Bai heard Jiang Fei's name, he remembered the woman who had chased him to the West Mountain border after he severely injured Wei Zhiyuan, and a chill ran down his spine.
Looking at the black clothes in his hands, he thought, if it weren't for that obsessive woman Jiang Fei, how would he have been caught by Gu Baiyi and brought here?
That day at Yanhui Pavilion, Xie Bai had agreed to Gong Yu's request but refused to let her kill Wei Zhiyuan, because he wanted to kill the man himself.
After completing everything Gong Yu had assigned to him, he left Wanjian Sect with the Tianjie transmission talisman and magical tools.
On the day he infiltrated Wei's house to assassinate Wei Zhiyuan, it was Xu's funeral, and there were many guests, but few guards at the shrine.
But even so, the Chu Wangfu was heavily guarded. However, Xie Bai had no intention of leaving, only wanting to kill Wei Zhiyuan and put an end to everything.
Everything had been within Xie Bai's control, but unexpectedly, when he struck Wei Zhiyuan's chest, Jiang Fei suddenly appeared, causing his blade to miss by a few inches, and Wei Zhiyuan survived.
Since Wei Zhiyuan was still alive, Xie Bai had to keep his own life to kill him again. So, he retracted his sword and used a Tianjie transmission talisman to escape.
Unexpectedly, when he arrived in another place and rested for half a day, Jiang Fei had followed him using a transmission talisman. She pursued him for months. No matter how many treasures and magical tools Xie Bai used, whether disguising or hiding, he couldn't escape Jiang Fei's pursuit.
Xie Bai began to suspect that even if he turned to ash, Jiang Fei would still find him.
The West Mountain border had a barrier set by the previous Demon Lord Chu Changli, and ordinary cultivators couldn't enter.
Helpless, Xie Bai had no choice but to flee to the West Mountain to escape Jiang Fei's tracking, but he didn't expect to fall into a trap at the Demon Sect and be captured by demonic cultivators, bringing him to Gu Baiyi.
Recalling all of this, Xie Bai's hatred for Jiang Fei deepened.
So, he resignedly nodded, painfully moving his injured hand, and reluctantly prepared to change clothes.
He was about to remove his red robe when he saw Gu Baiyi frown and point to the corner behind Ji Rong, saying, "Go change over there."
Xie Bai: "..."
"Alright, whatever you say."
*************
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