"Daughter!! My daughter!!"
The scene of her daughter dying at Shi Jing's hands replayed over and over in Tao Hua Ying's eyes.
The soul-wrenching pain that would push an ordinary person to the brink of collapse.
Yet Tao Hua Ying had experienced it countless times.
She saw Shi Jing's ferocious face, the carefree laughter of the underworld emissaries, her daughter's helplessness.
Her daughter’s eyes were fixed on her, impossibly pure, as if asking: Mother, why didn't you save me?
Tao Hua Ying had become numb.
She lay in the ruins, watching her daughter's soul scatter again and again, murmuring incessantly:
"It's mother's fault... it's mother's incompetence, mother failed to protect you... it's all mother's fault..."
"Yin Yin, mother is sorry for you!!"
Tao Hua Ying closed her eyes in pain, unable to bear watching the scene of her daughter's soul dissipating any longer.
Suddenly.
Lu Xin appeared beside Tao Hua Ying.
She reached out and forcibly pried Tao Hua Ying's eyes open!
"Keep watching," Lu Xin's voice, devoid of emotion, rang out.
"No... no!!"
Tao Hua Ying struggled frantically, wanting to close her eyes, but Lu Xin's strength made it impossible!
She tried to turn her head away, but Lu Xin held her head firmly, forcing her gaze back to her daughter!
"Watch carefully," Lu Xin said cruelly, "this scene will accompany you for eternity. Every time you close your eyes, it will reappear. Life is like this; wounds do not heal with time. Time only continues to rub salt into your wounds, deepening your pain and regret!"
"No... no..."
Tao Hua Ying's tears flowed, and she pleaded, "Please, spare me, don't make me watch anymore!!"
As a Ghost King and the mistress of Feng Lai Lou, she now humbled herself before Lu Xin, just to end the torment and agony.
"You want to end the pain?"
Lu Xin's tone suddenly softened. She lowered her head and whispered in Tao Hua Ying's ear, "Then surrender your consciousness. I will erase your consciousness, and the memories will disappear with it. The pain... will also vanish."
Tao Hua Ying was utterly exhausted, like a fish pulled ashore, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"What do you say? Give up. There's nothing to struggle for. It has already happened, and you cannot change the past. Why not end yourself, complete yourself, and let yourself go."
Lu Xin continued to whisper seductively in Tao Hua Ying's ear, slowly loosening her grip.
Tao Hua Ying slowly closed her eyes.
The image of her daughter flashed through her mind.
Not the scene after death, but from life.
Under a mulberry tree, her daughter stood on tiptoe, trying to pick mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms her father had gifted her a few days prior.
"Mom! I can't reach it!" Yin Yin turned her head back with a wronged expression, her small face smeared with dirt, like a little calico cat.
Tao Hua Ying smiled enchantingly, walked over, picked a mulberry leaf for Yin Yin, placed it in her palm, and then gently wiped her daughter's dirty face with her sleeve.
"You rascal, how many times have I told you to be careful..."
Suddenly, Tao Hua Ying's words caught in her throat.
Rascal?
These three words seemed to trigger something in Tao Hua Ying.
She remembered her and her daughter dying in war, the days of hiding and fleeing, the peaceful life in the ghost market, and finally, the scene of her daughter's soul scattering.
She recalled becoming the mistress of Feng Lai Lou, the appearance of Yan Shou Yi and Lin Zi Tong, and what happened in the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang in Chang'an.
She remembered that she was currently in a contest with Lu Xin!
"Rascal," this was her affectionate term for her daughter.
It was also Yan Shou Yi's affectionate term for Lin Zi Tong.
The main reason Tao Hua Ying submitted to Lin Zi Tong was simply because Yan Shou Yi called Lin Zi Tong "rascal."
She didn't truly want to be Lin Zi Tong's maidservant, but her meticulous care for Lin Zi Tong was genuine.
This was because Tao Hua Ying subtly regarded Lin Zi Tong as her own daughter.
If her own daughter had grown up, perhaps she would have been like Lin Zi Tong, in the prime of her youth, full of infinite beauty.
As if sensing something, Tao Hua Ying reached up and touched her face.
Warm tears were there.
How could a female ghost shed warm tears?
Everything before her was merely an illusion.
She opened her eyes. She was still on the ruins of the ghost market, and Lu Xin was beside her.
Lu Xin looked astonished, not understanding why Tao Hua Ying, who was about to give up, had suddenly persevered.
Tao Hua Ying's eyes were clear, filled with anger, and she stared fixedly at Lu Xin.
"I will not give up."
Lu Xin's face contorted into a sinister grimace: "I have plenty of ways to make you give up!"
Saying this, Lu Xin suddenly vanished, and the scene before Tao Hua Ying began to move again.
Shi Jing, once again, crushed her daughter to death in front of Tao Hua Ying!
But this time, Tao Hua Ying's emotions were not as agitated as before.
She watched her daughter's soul reassemble, and Shi Jing stepped forward again.
This time, she stepped forward and blocked Shi Jing. The scene froze in an instant.
Tao Hua Ying walked up to her daughter and gently cupped her face.
"Yin Yin, Shi Jing is dead now. Mother has avenged you," Tao Hua Ying said softly. "It was mother's fault, but it's all in the past. You would want mother to be strong, wouldn't you?"
Her daughter's face was stiff, like a robot, devoid of emotion.
Even though she knew everything before her was an illusion, Tao Hua Ying was overcome with tears of joy, as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart.
Her greatest regret was not being able to say another word to her daughter.
Even after her great revenge was achieved, a heavy stone still weighed on her heart.
Instead, it was the situation Lu Xin had created this time that allowed her to face her inner self and see her daughter so clearly once more.
Now, she had no attachments, no fears!
Tao Hua Ying slowly rose and sat quietly on the ruins.
Watching the scene replay again and again, her heart stirred little.
Her daughter was gone, she knew this clearly, so she, the one present, held on desperately to help Lin Zi Tong win this competition!!
This was Tao Hua Ying's current obsession!!!
In reality, Lu Xin looked at Tao Hua Ying with utter bewilderment.
Tao Hua Ying, sitting on the ground, had stopped crying. On the contrary, she wore a smile, happy and content.
What was happening?!
Lu Xin began to panic slightly and quickly returned to her original position, intending to add some more potent material to Tao Hua Ying's illusion!
And precisely at this moment, Lin Zi Tong, who had been crying with her head bowed, also stopped crying!
Instead, the red-clothed ghost sitting opposite Lin Zi Tong trembled slightly, as if struggling against restraint!
For Lu Xin, this undoubtedly represented a significant sense of crisis!