The waiter tremblingly brought an empty jar and placed it beside Nan Shiying before quickly fleeing.
Nan Shiying ignored him, swiftly cut out the Chizhu's heart and threw it into the jar. Then, holding the jar, she peered inside through the opening.
Anya's eyes twitched. She suddenly worried for her master. Did her master know how perverse the Princess Consort was? She recalled Jia Huan's admiration and Xuan Yi's reverence for the Princess Consort. In a flash, she felt she shouldn't worry.
Master... might just like the Princess Consort's perversity!
After observing for nearly a minute, Nan Shiying watched the worms spread and divide. Seeing the heart diminish visibly, she pondered for two seconds, quickly cut a piece of flesh from the heart, and dropped the dagger-pierced piece onto the ground.
After the meat on the ground was mostly consumed, the worms' reproduction rate slowed, entering a relatively static state. The worms in the jar continued to multiply rapidly until the heart was reduced to the size of a apricot. They then stopped, forming a layer of armor about a finger thick around the remaining heart.
Nan Shiying stared at the piece of meat on the ground for a few seconds. The meat spontaneously ignited, a skill upgrade for the fire starter. The worms, unable to withstand the heat, turned to ash under the flames.
Nan Shiying crouched on the ground, holding the jar, looking from the Chizhu to Gongzi Xun.
If these worms drank blood and ate flesh, how did Gongzi Xun survive? She found her curiosity unbearable and finally decided to dissect Gongzi Xun's corpse.
The expressions of everyone present could no longer be described as pale; they looked swollen and ghastly white, as if their heads had been held underwater.
The dagger pierced Gongzi Xun's abdominal cavity as if it were a drumhead. Nan Shiying paused slightly. After completely disemboweling him, she looked at his empty internal organs, her expression changing.
Dense worms clung to Gongzi Xun's bones, glistening like crystal.
Suddenly, Nan Shiying's vision blurred, and her body began to fall uncontrollably.
Dense butterflies surged towards her from all directions. They flapped their wings, and with each beat of their wings adorned with alluring blue patterns, fragments of memory were ripped from her mind. More and more butterflies gathered around her, and then suddenly exploded, releasing a silent, unending shriek.
It felt as if an iron rod had pierced Nan Shiying's brain, with a hand turning the rod, crushing her brain to pulp.
"Your Majesty!"
"Bastard!"
"Luan'er!"
"Nan Shiying!"
"Nan Fengluan, there has never been an empress in this world. Your perversion will surely enrage heaven. I will wait for you, wait for you to fall into hell, wait for your eternal damnation!"
"Nan Shiying, you jinx who brings misfortune to your parents, die!"
"Nan Fengluan, may you die a horrible death!"
"Nan Shiying, why don't you just die!"
"Nan Fengluan, Nan Fengluan, Nan Fengluan..."
"Nan Shiying, Nan Shiying, Nan Shiying..."
Curses, condemnations, accusations – all the voices converged, coming from the front, from the sides, from every corner, from the outside world, from within her heart.
They shrieked in her ears, they shrieked in her mind.
Her body continued to fall, plummeting rapidly. The abyss below grew closer. She saw the gaping bloody mouths on the ground, anxiously and excitedly waiting for their prey to walk into the trap.
Suddenly, a call reached her ears: "Ying'er!"
The voice seemed distant, yet also close. She looked up and saw a pair of hands, with distinct bones, slender fingers, and calluses on the webbing between the thumb and forefinger, and on the knuckles.
She then heard a soft laugh. His voice was deep and resonant, yet held a tenderness that could melt all things. "Come, take my hand, I'll take you home!"
Light streamed down from above. Nan Shiying saw the owner of those hands. Her clouded eyes gradually cleared. She smiled at him and nodded emphatically, "Yes, home!"
...
Seeing Nan Shiying remain motionless for several breaths, Ying Yi flashed to her side.
"Young Master!"
He called out softly.
Nan Shiying did not respond.
Ying Yi called out again, "Young Master?"
Nan Shiying remained silent. Ying Yi's heart sank. Just as he was about to crouch down to check on her, Nan Shiying suddenly looked up, breathing rapidly, like a drowning person finally reaching shore.
"Young Master?"
"Fire starter, diesel!" Nan Shiying looked up, her face filled with murderous intent.
Ying Yi stiffened, flashed to the inn, retrieved diesel, and took out the fire starter. Just as he was about to ask for the next step, Nan Shiying took the diesel, poured it all over Gongzi Xun's body, then lit the fire starter, released it, and the fire starter fell onto Gongzi Xun's body. With a boom, Gongzi Xun's corpse ignited.
Nan Shiying then kicked the jar and the Chizhu's corpse into the flames.
The scorching flames distorted the surrounding light, and her face as well.
The air in the inn was hot and dry, yet everyone felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, a chilling sensation pervading their bodies.
She stood there, watching, until the flames died down. After the fire was out, she had them crush and smash the unburnt bones.
Everyone stood in place, not daring to move a step. They did not know if she was trying to intimidate them or if she was simply that meticulous, insisting on reducing Gongzi Xun and Chizhu to ashes to quench her hatred.
Only when she confirmed that not a single worm had survived did Nan Shiying breathe a long sigh of relief. The events of the past moments were perilous. Had her heart not held the image of Jin Mo, had Jin Mo not served as an anchor, she feared she would have lost her soul, becoming either a walking corpse or being forced to become a host for these worms. Either outcome was unacceptable to her.
She would have to be more cautious in the future!