He swallowed hard, and for some reason, his stomach suddenly churned violently. Unable to control it, he bent over and dry-heaved.
Qi Yuan clicked her tongue expressionlessly. “What’s wrong, Lord Jiang? Disgusted by your own deeds from back then?”
She leaned lazily against the back of the chair. Beside her lay a corpse, but it seemed to have no effect on her at all.
Terrifying—this woman was terrifying.
Jiang Yanzhen glanced at her in horror, and tried to crawl away in a panic.
“Lord Jiang, my sleeve darts aren’t exactly known for their aim,” Qi Yuan said with a faint smile. She had already released a dart from her sleeve—a sharp arrow zipped past Jiang Yanzhen’s ear and embedded into the window frame with a thunk, still humming faintly.
Jiang Yanzhen nearly lost his soul in fear.
He had seen Qi Yuan kill before. He had seen her decisiveness.
When she said she would kill, she meant it. No negotiation, no hesitation.
Just thinking about it made cold sweat break out all over him. He shivered violently, sitting on the floor, frantically wiping his forehead. “Miss Qi, what do you want from me?”
“What do you think I came here for?” Qi Yuan sneered. She stood and walked up to him, giving his cheek a few light slaps. “Jiang Yanzhen, did you really think I came here out of the kindness of my heart to save your life?”
…
Once again, Jiang Yanzhen didn’t know how to answer her.
Qi Yuan crouched down, her hand aiming directly at his heart. “You’ve committed more crimes than you can count. You let Qiu Chuying go with your own hands back then—and all these years you’ve been in league with him. Did you think I didn’t know?”
The small crossbow-like weapon in her hand was aimed right at his heart. With just the flick of a finger, Jiang Yanzhen knew he’d be dead—silent and lifeless, just like the woman on the floor.
At that moment, his fear of Qi Yuan reached its peak.
He finally began trembling uncontrollably. “No—no! Miss Qi, please, spare me! I was forced! I was forced into it!”
“Oh yes,” Qi Yuan said with a soft smile. “Forced by money and power, right?”
Jiang Yanzhen didn’t know how to answer that.
Qi Yuan, however, suddenly kicked him hard in the head, sending him flying toward the door. He slammed into it so hard his bones felt like they shattered.
Agony spread across his back as he curled up like a quail, paralyzed by fear.
“Did you think offending me was better than offending Li Changqing?” Qi Yuan stepped forward and stomped on his chest, her expression ice-cold. “Then you’ve really miscalculated…”
She yanked him up by the collar, nearly lifting him off the ground. Then, drawing a dagger with her right hand, she slowly ran the blade from his chest down to his abdomen. Her smile was chilling. “Lord Jiang, if the blade is sharp enough, I could gut you while you’re still alive. Want to give it a try?”
Oh heavens!
How did the Qi family raise such a slaughter demon?!
Jiang Yanzhen nearly peed himself. He completely broke down and began sobbing. “No! No! Miss Qi, I admit it! I was the one who released Qiu Chuying. I knew he was hiding in the Huang Daxin Temple—I knew all of it!”
With a thud, Qi Yuan tossed him to the ground and calmly wiped her dagger clean. “See? If Lord Jiang had been this cooperative from the start, all of this could’ve been avoided.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Lord Jiang, you really are shameless. You sold your own sister, helped Qiu Chuying and Li Changqing frame others, causing over a thousand deaths in Mount Mao…”
Jiang Yanzhen stopped struggling. He more or less understood what Qi Yuan wanted now, and looked up at her pitifully. “Miss Qi, I swear I won’t do it again! I truly won’t!”
“Just saying you ‘won’t dare’ isn’t enough.” Qi Yuan sighed, lowering her gaze as she picked up an apple and began peeling it with her dagger.
In her hands, the knife moved like it was alive. In just a few moments, a long, unbroken strand of apple peel spiraled to the floor.
She placed the apple on the table and stabbed the dagger into it. The blade stood upright, perfectly balanced.
Then she rose to her feet. “Lord Jiang, if you don’t want to end up peeled like that apple, I suggest you follow my instructions to the letter. Otherwise, I guarantee—your entire family will die cleanly. Do you believe me?”
Jiang Yanzhen didn’t dare not believe her.
He knew that apple was peeled just for his benefit. His scalp went numb, his back ran cold, and he gave up any thought of bargaining. He nodded frantically.
Only then did Qi Yuan smile faintly. “Good. Then get ready, Lord Jiang—do exactly as I say.”
Jiang Yanzhen closed his eyes in resignation.
But Qi Yuan wasn’t the only one looking for him.
When Zhu Bin’s men went to search Jiang Yanzhen’s private residence, they didn’t find him—or the assassin they’d planted by his side.
Zhu Bin couldn’t help but panic and immediately sent word to Li Changqing.
Li Changqing was in a foul mood—not only because of Qiu Chuying’s death, but because he’d been struck down by lightning!
If it had been illness, or even murder, it wouldn’t have caused such a stir.
But it had to be a lightning strike—causing massive uproar.
He didn’t even have to say anything—within days, many people had come secretly to ask him whether doing too many evil deeds really would lead to being struck by lightning, and whether he could craft talismans for protection or disaster-avoidance.
How could he be in the mood for that right now?!
With Qiu Chuying dead, and the authorities digging up piles of corpses and gold from beneath the idol at Huang Daxin Temple, there was no way to keep it all hidden.
At this point, his top priority was to keep the scandal from spreading further—and from implicating him.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He slammed the table in frustration.
When he heard that Jiang Yanzhen was missing, his fury exploded. “What the h*ll is Zhu Bin doing?! Jiang Yanzhen should’ve been eliminated ages ago—what’s he been waiting for?!”
Jiang Yanzhen had handled the Mount Mao case back then—and had personally let Qiu Chuying go.
He knew far too much.
If this case was reopened, Jiang Yanzhen would inevitably be questioned.
And that conniving coward would definitely sell them all out. He was a walking disaster waiting to happen.
Li Changqing’s young disciple shook his head miserably. “Master, Lord Zhu said his men searched everywhere, but they can’t find Lord Jiang!”
“Then keep looking!” Li Changqing’s right eyelid twitched violently, and he could no longer control his temper. “And tell Zhu Bin—if we can’t suppress this Qiu Chuying mess, we’ll all be going to h*ll together!”
