Chapter 339

Chapter 339

Su Yi, who had meticulously examined Wang Shi's face, had an uncanny shimmer in her eyes, faintly flashing with a strange red light before quickly returning to normal. With an expression that seemed to pierce through everything, she muttered darkly, "Bone shifting."

It was a method of altering one's appearance by rearranging facial bones.

Knowing this face couldn't last, they didn’t even bother wasting energy or elixirs to maintain it—why waste resources?

Wang Shi shuddered under Su Yi’s unfathomable gaze, genuinely sensing murderous intent. Though the killing intent had lessened slightly, Wang Shi found no relief in those shadowy eyes. When the words "bone shifting" were uttered, Wang Shi’s eyes widened in unconcealed shock.

This face wasn’t her original one, yet after the transformation, no one noticed anything amiss. To them, she had always looked this way—even her parents thought so. Though the process had been painful, Wang Shi didn’t mind. Only with this exquisite beauty's face could she be recommended to the Cao family and have the fortune to stand before the Emperor!

But what did Rong Noble Consort mean? Why was her attitude so terrifyingly aberrant?

"It’ll hurt a little, but it’ll be over soon." The next moment, Wang Shi’s vision went dark as Su Yi’s hand covered her eyes. Just as confusion set in, white-hot agony tore through her face, forcing a choked, animalistic noise from her throat—the kind that came when pain was so intense that screams couldn’t escape. Wang Shi’s body convulsed violently, but Su Yi held her firmly in place, allowing no escape.

Su Yi’s customary composure remained unshaken, as if she weren’t committing cruelty. Her gaze seemed pitying, yet held no trace of kindness. "Blame yourself for using *her* face. You gave me quite a scare—I almost thought..." She chuckled softly, her tone laced with scorn, "...she had reincarnated."

Su Yi’s current state was far more unsettling than ever before. Though she maintained a serene lunatic facade, she now resembled a composed madwoman—seemingly rational, yet her actions spoke otherwise. The palace maids recoiled in shock, too terrified to even think of intervening.

Listening to the Noble Consort’s strange words, they wondered—what was wrong with Wang Shi’s face? How could it provoke such brutality? Watching Wang Shi struggle and hearing her muffled screams, they couldn’t help but feel pity and fear.

When Su Yi finally released her, Wang Shi collapsed like a limp rag, coughing violently as air flooded back into her lungs. Trembling hands reached for her face. "My—*cough*—my face! *coughing fit* What’s wrong with my face? It hurts! *coughing fit*!" Her voice was thick with terror.

She wasn’t wrong. That counterfeit face had reverted to its original form.

But due to the bone shifting, the reversal happened too soon. The effort spent altering her appearance hadn’t even matched the energy used to warp others’ perceptions.

With her bones forcibly shifted back before fully settling, though her face returned to its original shape, the skin and flesh had slackened grotesquely, aging her appearance. The palace maids gasped—how could someone’s face change so drastically in mere moments?!

Kangxi remained the calmest among them. After an initial flicker of surprise, he simply watched with his hands behind his back. When Su Yi finally let go, he extended his imperial hand and said evenly, "Come here."

But Liang Jiugong and the others were terrified. The Noble Consort seemed... supernatural. "Y-Your Majesty!"

Fearing she might harm even the Son of Heaven, they nearly called for guards—had Kangxi not sternly stopped them, they would’ve already formed a protective circle around him.

Su Yi ignored their reactions. Tilting her head slightly, she seemed to sense something before flicking her wrist and grasping—

A ligneous core, appearing almost instantaneously in her hand.

To everyone present, it looked like nothing more than a piece of wood. But in another world, it would’ve been recognized as the hilt of Su Yi’s soul-bound sword—the very thing capable of severely wounding or even killing her.

The reason everyone knew this was because Su Yi had never hidden her weakness. While others would guard their vulnerabilities fiercely, she had openly embedded hers into her sword’s hilt, taunting, *Come and try to take it if you dare.*

A flagrant provocation. Those who tried to seize it met gruesome demises, leaving survivors questioning whether the "weakness" was even real—or just bait to lure them to their doom.

Su Yi couldn’t have missed the hilt’s disappearance. Nor could it be replaced—unless it was another Divine Wood Core, one from the same source, capable of deceiving her senses.

Witnessing this act of summoning objects from thin air, Liang Jiugong and the others recoiled in shock. As chaos threatened to erupt, Su Yi flicked her wrist, and they collapsed into unconsciousness.

Finally, the masquerade ends here.

Su Yi turned to the only one still standing—the Son of Heaven shielded by heavenly mandate. Ordinary spells couldn’t affect him—not just because he bore this world’s greatest fortune, but because he was the embodiment of imperial qi.

But Su Yi wasn’t here to knock him out. She knew his composure meant he had already pieced together the puzzle—whether through Wang Shi’s words or his own deductions.

Having wrenched that counterfeit face back to its original state, Su Yi returned to her usual demeanor, smiling softly. "You already know." There was no point hiding now.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept *this*. "Su Yi." Kangxi called her birth name.

Su Yi smiled. Earlier, Kangxi had not addressed her by the name of her current body, perhaps because he lacked that awareness. Later, he had once called her "Minmin," but he must have quickly realized and stopped, reverting to addressing her as "Consort" as usual—knowing it wasn’t her true name.

"Did you think I’d come so soon?" Su Yi knew her timing was uncanny. The other party had grown cautious, not even lingering within Wang Shi’s body, instead hiding in a place where they could advance or retreat freely. Extending her spiritual awareness might tip them off, so the fastest way to detect them without doing so was—"My name, like yours, isn’t one to be spoken carelessly. If someone calls it, I can sense it."

Of course, this could be avoided.

But Kangxi would surely ask.

"If you must discuss matters about me, it’s best to use a codename." At the last second, Su Yi couldn’t help a dash of her signature humor.

But clearly, Su Yi’s humor was wasted on him.

Kangxi’s tightly controlled emotions finally cracked beneath Su Yi’s words. His expression darkened, the carefully maintained calm in his gaze giving way to unveiled complexity. His heart sank further—logically, she should’ve been the one panicking, yet she remained utterly unruffled, as if she had been waiting for this moment. That was what unsettled him most.

Under what circumstances would someone react with such indifference upon having their secrets exposed? "This thing cannot fall into others' hands," Kangxi said, stepping forward as if to explain why he had taken and concealed it.

Regardless of how much truth lay in her words, if what she said was real, then it could no longer remain with Wang Shi or the mastermind behind her, lest they directly target the Consort. Keeping Wang Shi alive had been to observe the enemy’s intentions and methods, to eradicate them entirely.

Consort Ping had initially been observed the same way. Once it was confirmed she was merely a useless pawn who would only cause trouble, she was promptly eliminated.

This time, Wang Shi seemed tied to the same mastermind—or rather, not even human. That was why Kangxi had felt a lingering unease, despite having her thoroughly burned under supervision.

"I know," Su Yi replied gently, not resisting Kangxi’s approach.

Maybe Kangxi didn’t mean her harm now—but what about later? Even the truest feelings could flip in a heartbeat, let alone the heart of an Emperor. After probing into her, would he truly feel at ease keeping her by his side?

Before, it had been vague speculation. Now, there was evidence.

Strike first, or get struck.

Besides, she had grown tired of the palace setting. The palace was the same endless cycle—so were the people. Returning to the imperial palace would only weaken her further.

This body had held her captive long enough. It was time to end it.

As Kangxi drew near, his pupils shrank abruptly. At such close distance, he could not hear the Consort’s thoughts. At this moment, her mind should’ve been calm—not this eerily quiet.

When Su Yi smiled faintly at him, for an instant, she seemed impossibly distant, slipping through his fingers. His panic only deepened as he clenched her hand tighter, as if trying to hold onto sand that only slipped away faster.

The terrible premonition made Kangxi’s brow furrow deeply, his expression grim. He moved to pull her into his arms, needing the tangible closeness to steady himself—but then, the premonition came true.

His movement froze mid-reach. His face twisted with disbelief, shock, fury—his gaze locked onto Su Yi, eyes blazing with a storm of emotions: confusion, panic, and beneath the fury, unmistakable grief. What are you doing?!

Su Yi’s face drained of color in an instant, blood seeping from her lips. Even without intent to kill, merely attempting control had triggered a vicious backlash. She would wait no longer.

Kangxi’s movements turned stiff as he took the object from Su Yi’s hand—then raised it, poised to strike down. "No!" His face twisted with resistance, as if his own will fought against what was about to happen. "Don’t...!"