"A petty trick, and you dare to use it before this young master?"
Qi Tuojiang sneered as he watched Qingcheng Yue split into six, then closed his eyes.
"Such heavy footsteps, it must be you."
Without opening his eyes, Qi Tuojiang swept his gaze towards the southeast. Seeing Qingcheng Yue about to leap over the wall, he instantly appeared before her and delivered a swift kick to her abdomen.
"Ah—"
The heavy blow sent Qingcheng Yue crashing to the ground with a pained cry. With this scream, the other Qingcheng Yue figures instantly vanished.
Clearly, Qi Tuojiang's savage and brutal strike had shattered Qingcheng Yue's illusionary clones.
"Qi Tuojiang, how could you find my true form so quickly?"
Qingcheng Yue looked at Qi Tuojiang in disbelief. She had used this illusionary technique countless times, and no one had ever been able to discern her true body. It had saved her from certain death numerous times.
To say that Qingcheng Yue had absolute confidence in this technique would be an understatement.
Yet, at this moment, her confidence was ruthlessly crushed by Qi Tuojiang, who had dispelled the illusion in less than a second.
At this instant, Qingcheng Yue truly felt the fear of death. Qi Tuojiang's power had brought her perilously close to it.
However, as an assassin who had escaped death countless times, Qingcheng Yue was unwilling to give up as long as she was still alive. She mustered her last ounce of strength to stand up and said to Qi Tuojiang, "Young Master Qi, can you spare my life?"
"Of course not. If you live, Shen Lang will be drawn to us through you, and we are not yet ready to face Shen Lang in a life-or-death struggle. Therefore, you must die."
Qi Tuojiang looked at Qingcheng Yue, who had lost all ability to resist, and said with a smile, "It is your honor to die for me and Young Master Kong. If you are wise, you will submit and await your fate."
"Fine. Since I am destined to die, can I be granted the opportunity to end my own life? I do not wish to die at the hands of those I have served."
Qingcheng Yue drew a dagger from her waist and pointed it at her heart, saying, "Alright, I will grant you this opportunity. Consider it a reward for your years of service to Hei Bing Tai. Do it yourself."
Qi Tuojiang gestured towards Qingcheng Yue as he spoke.
"Swish—"
As Qi Tuojiang finished speaking, Qingcheng Yue swiftly plunged the dagger into her own heart, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.
Qi Tuojiang chuckled at the sight. He walked over to Qingcheng Yue, pulled the dagger from her heart, confirmed its authenticity, examined the wound, and finally checked her heartbeat and pulse. He found that Qingcheng Yue was indeed dead.
"She didn't know what was good for her. Dying like this is too good for her."
Kong Wudao's vision had now recovered. He walked step by step towards Qi Tuojiang, cast a cold glance at the deceased Qingcheng Yue, and said angrily.
"Never mind. She was just a dog. If she's dead, she's dead. No need to dwell on it."
Qi Tuojiang smiled at Kong Wudao and said, "Qingcheng Yue is dead, and this matter will not implicate us. Next, we'll see how that vicious dog Tian Yangsheng tears apart Shen Lang's women."
"Hmph. Following that clown Shen Lang, he deserves to die."
Kong Wudao remarked, "However, seeing Shen Lang in pain, I am quite interested in that."
"Let's go. I bought a villa opposite number twenty-nine in the Imperial Villa Garden, and from there, we can clearly see everything in Shen Lang's villa. Let's go watch the show."
Qi Tuojiang clapped his hands and said with a smile, "I hope tonight's grand performance will be as spectacular as we anticipate."
"Alright, let's go then," Kong Wudao replied with a smile, and the two strode out of Shan Yuan Villa.
However, not long after they left, Qingcheng Yue's eyes, which had been closed in death, suddenly snapped open. Her mouth gaped open, and she let out a pained scream.
Amidst the scream, a worm, no bigger than a little finger, crawled out of Qingcheng Yue's mouth and then obediently landed in her hand.
"Qi Tuojiang, Kong Wudao, you probably never imagined that besides being an assassin, I am also a Gu master."
Qingcheng Yue looked at the worm in her hand and said with difficulty, "I hid the 'Reverse Life Gu,' a secret inheritance from Miao Jiang, within my heart's pulse. As long as the Gu is not destroyed, I can be resurrected even after death."
Although Qingcheng Yue had been resurrected, a significant amount of her raven-black hair had turned white. Clearly, this resurrection came at a price.
"Qi Tuojiang, Kong Wudao, I will make you pay the price."
Qingcheng Yue popped a healing pill into her mouth, which somewhat alleviated her injuries. She then quickly fled.
Since Qi Tuojiang and Kong Wudao did not want Shen Lang to know about Tian Yangsheng and their involvement with the Imperial Villa Garden, Qingcheng Yue was determined to let Shen Lang know. She wanted revenge on Qi Tuojiang and Kong Wudao, and even on the Qi and Kong families.
Qingcheng Yue had been monitoring the Imperial Villa Garden these past few days and knew that Shen Lang had left the villa and headed into the primeval forest on the outskirts of Nanling.
Although Qingcheng Yue did not know what Shen Lang was doing in the primeval forest, she had to find him.
Qingcheng Yue was severely injured. Although her condition had improved, it took her three hours to travel from Shan Yuan Villa to the outskirts, and another two hours to walk into the primeval forest. By then, she was utterly exhausted.
It was already ten o'clock in the evening. Wolong was watching television in the villa, with his slender girlfriend, Xie Lingjun, nestled in his arms.
"Wolong, I haven't seen you for so long. I miss you so much."
Xie Lingjun looked at Wolong with affectionate eyes and said, "Where have you been these past few days? Why didn't you call me?"
"My phone was confiscated, so I couldn't make calls, but I miss you just the same."
Wolong pinched Xie Lingjun's chin and said with a smile, "Little vixen, while I was away, did you put a green hat on me?"
As Xie Lingjun was about to reply, Wolong covered her mouth and smiled, "It doesn't matter if you did. Even if you have an illegitimate child, I'll consider it my own."
"Wolong, you bad man."
Hearing Wolong's words, Xie Lingjun opened her mouth and bit down on Wolong's hand, causing him to yelp in pain.
However, at that moment, Wolong suddenly felt a cold draft seeping in through the crack in the door. His expression changed drastically. He quickly pulled his hand away, stood up with a burst of energy, and struck the villa's main door with a palm from five meters away.
"Bang—"
The next second, the door shattered, and a golden arrow, carrying an aura of utter destruction, shot forward.
Wolong's face contorted with shock. He quickly grabbed the Ming Hong Saber from the tea table's knife stand and swung it, cleaving the golden arrow to the ground.