Chapter 31 Yun Niang Dies

Chapter 31: Yun Niang's Death

The Jane Doe in the Southern Prefecture morgue, Xu Rujin's fiancé who drowned in the river and whose body was never recovered, Zhao Yunzhi's cabinet full of women's clothing, and the embroidery workshop workers' gossip about "Xu Rujin suddenly wearing a veil, suddenly having a hoarse voice, suddenly growing taller..." — all of this finally made sense.

After Xu Rujin's accidental death, Li Chengwei "turned" himself into her. Xu Rujin's mother, Aunt Wu, and Zhao Yunzhi were his accomplices. Step by step, they closed in on the truth, completing the "revenge."

"Li Chengwei, stop. Rujin wouldn't want you to become like this for her. You can report this to the authorities. The Prince of Lingnan is in Southern Prefecture now; you can go to him too." Qin Jiao tried to drag Li Chengwei back from the edge of hatred.

"I don't trust the cops, and I don't trust any prince. I only trust myself—I've understood that since I was a child! Report to the authorities? Ha! Do you know how much Xiao Nianzhang pocketed from the Zhu and Xue families? Do you know how rotten Southern Prefecture has been for decades?"

Li Chengwei roared in fury. "They have to die today!"

With that, he suddenly grabbed the blue-and-white plum vase from the table and flung the powder at Yun Niang's face. She couldn't dodge in time, and the whole bottle of white powder hit her square in the face, some even entering her mouth.

"Spit it out now!"

Puzhi grass was so toxic that just inhaling it could cause hallucinations, let alone swallowing it. Qin Jiao was frantic but powerless.

Qin Jiao had breathed in some of the poison too, and his vision was starting to blur. He heard Li Chengwei say to Yun Niang, "This young Master Qin is right. Killing you would just dirty my hands. Rujin wouldn't want me to become like this. So do it—kill yourself."

"Don't..." Qin Jiao tried to say something, but all he could do was weakly move his lips.

He watched Yun Niang's body convulse wildly under the hallucinogenic effects of Puzhi grass, then she started crawling frantically on all fours around the room. Blood streaming from her, she crawled to Li Chengwei, who handed her the knife.

"Go ahead. Once you're dead, the pain stops." Li Chengwei's cold voice rang out. Yun Niang's eyes showed a flicker of hesitation.

She didn't want to kill herself. She couldn't die yet. But then, a withered ghost hand appeared on her chest, with blood-red nails that slowly dug into her flesh. It hurt so bad, like someone was cutting open her chest, about to rip out her heart and guts.

"Ah, it hurts!"

Yun Niang raised the knife and stabbed hard at the ghost hand on her chest!

"Thump—"

The blade sunk into flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere.

Yun Niang's eyes went wide in shock. She'd cut off the ghost hand, so why was blood still pouring from her chest? Why did it hurt so much?

Yun Niang's body hit the floor with a thud. A sharp knife was stuck in her chest, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Qin Jiao felt warm blood hit his face. He shut his eyes in pain.

"Young Master Qin, I didn't mean to hurt you. If you're gonna blame anyone, blame Xun Xi. She dragged you into this mess."

A big shadow loomed over Qin Jiao—Li Chengwei was right next to him.

He yanked the bloody knife out of Yun Niang's body. The cold glint of the blade mixed with the hot blood, filling the room with an eerie strangeness.

In the dead quiet, Qin Jiao asked, "Why do I have to die?"

"Li Chengwei, why do you want to kill me?"

Li Chengwei didn't answer. Qin Jiao asked again, "Yun Niang and Xun Xi were the ones who bullied Rujin. Xue Lin and Zhu Qi caused Rujin's death. You killing them makes sense. But why do I have to die?"

He was just a passerby, with no grudge against Xu Rujin or Li Chengwei. Why couldn't he live?

Li Chengwei looked at Qin Jiao with a complicated expression. Qin Jiao's question made his hand holding the dagger tremble slightly.

"I'm sorry." Qin Jiao heard Li Chengwei's soft voice, and then felt him raise the dagger to strike!

Poisoned, Qin Jiao felt as if he were sinking into a swamp, completely powerless. He had no strength to dodge. As the blade fell, he closed his eyes.

A gust of wind rushed in! But the anticipated pain never came.

The sharp dagger stopped just inches from Qin Jiao's eyes—so close that if he blinked, his long eyelashes would brush against the blade.

Qin Jiao looked at Li Chengwei.

Li Chengwei's handsome face was filled with grief. Terrifying red veins covered his eyes. The young man's hand gripping the dagger bulged with veins as he struggled to control its trembling.

Qin Jiao saw the bracelet on Li Chengwei's wrist—woven intricately with flowers and leaves.

He couldn't bring himself to do it.

Qin Jiao thought.

Qin Jiao's vision was already blurry, but he couldn't bear to see Li Chengwei fall into an irredeemable abyss. Lovers shouldn't end up like this. "Li Chengwei, I can help you. I..."

"Bang—!"

Before Qin Jiao could finish, the room's half-closed door was suddenly kicked open!

"Xun Xi set a trap and escaped. Chengwei, hurry! The Prince of Lingnan is here!"

Zhao Yunzhi rushed in urgently. Seeing Li Chengwei and Qin Jiao, he was startled.

He quickly stepped forward, snatched the dagger from Li Chengwei's hand, and cursed, "Are you crazy? Why kill him? He's innocent!"

Li Chengwei was stunned by the scolding. "Yunzhi, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me! I memorized the trap Xun Xi set when she fled. Go now!" Zhao Yunzhi threw the dagger to the ground and dragged Li Chengwei out.

Left behind, Qin Jiao curled up on the floor. He felt his breathing shift from heavy gasps to a quiet stillness. All kinds of noises seemed to ring in his ears.

The lantern festival in the capital was so beautiful. He had lost his Maple Leaf Pendant and couldn't give it to his brother. The wind in Southern Prefecture was so cold. The water in the moat was so deep, so deep...

Fragments of chaotic memories crashed and collided in Qin Jiao's mind. He felt like a piece of duckweed in winter, torn and tormented by the wind and frost...

"Qin Jiao!" The door was kicked open again.

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