Yan Shouyi incapacitated the underlings of the Zi character's puppet show troupe with a counter-move, rendering them unable to pose a threat.
Therefore, he had no intention of finishing them off, instead ignoring the now insignificant henchmen and fixing his gaze directly on Zi.
Although Qi Dongqiang was the primary culprit in the slaughter of the Emei sect, it was the Twelve Yuan Chen that had truly driven him to act.
Without the Twelve Yuan Chen's manipulation, Qi Dongqiang and the Emei sect might have had a chance for redemption, and perhaps Caiyun could have truly moved Qi Dongqiang.
Thinking about it now felt like hindsight, and Yan Shouyi had no intention of making excuses for Qi Dongqiang – Qi Dongqiang had already received his due punishment, and now it was time to settle the sins of the Twelve Yuan Chen.
Yan Shouyi walked step by step towards Zi, the invisible pressure an agony for Zi.
Hiding behind a coffin, Zi watched Yan Shouyi approach and the thought of escape began to form in his mind.
He abandoned his loyal underlings and fled without looking back. However, before he could take a few steps, Yan Shouyi was already behind him, a whip kick shattering Zi's legs!
With his legs broken, Zi still lunged forward a few more steps due to inertia, each one causing him to nearly faint from the pain. He stumbled and fell, his face scraping the ground for a meter. When he looked up, his face was a mask of blood.
"Bow your head lower!"
Yan Shouyi was ruthless, planting a foot on Zi's back. Zi felt the weight of Mount Tai pressing down on him.
While he could still breathe, movement was impossible.
For a moment, he understood what Sun Wukong must have felt being crushed under the Five Elements Mountain.
"Don't kill me!!"
Zi trembled with fear, his hands patting the ground repeatedly to show submission.
"Ask whatever you want, I'm just an unfortunate soul who worked for Li Genmiao. My hands are clean! Others did the killing!"
Zi was truly a coward. Yan Shouyi hadn't even spoken, and he was already begging for mercy.
Among the Twelve Yuan Chen Yan Shouyi had encountered so far, this one was the most pathetic.
If all the Twelve Yuan Chen were like him, Yan Shouyi wouldn't have such a headache.
Yan Shouyi offered no promises, only increasing the pressure on his foot and asking coldly:
"Who planned the extermination of Emei? Qi Dongqiang? Or Li Genmiao? Or was it someone else?"
Zi's heart immediately filled with guilt, as the plan had been his idea.
But Zi knew that if he told the truth, Yan Shouyi would never let him off easily.
So, Zi blamed the dead, thus avoiding Yan Shouyi's wrath:
"It was all 'Wei' character's idea. She was the蛊 master you killed! She controlled the Love Silk Gu; she was the mastermind!"
Though Zi still harbored some feelings for Wei, now that Wei was dead, there was no need for him to bear any unnecessary risks.
However, as Zi revealed his "truth," Yan Shouyi let out a cold laugh and took out a piece of Yin wood from his embrace.
With a slight incantation, a soul drifted out from the Yin wood – it was the soul of the Wei character, the Gu master!
At this moment, the Wei Gu master glared at Zi, gnashing her teeth, wishing she could pounce and bite this unfaithful scoundrel to death.
"You, you collected her soul?!" Zi exclaimed, his face pale with shock.
Yan Shouyi replied indifferently, "I never put all my eggs in one basket."
When he killed the Wei Gu master, Yan Shouyi had secretly collected her soul.
Upon arriving at the Flying Cloud Hall, he had asked Nun Guan Yun to forcibly gather the Gu master's three souls and seven spirits, accelerating her consciousness.
The reason for doing all this was simply that Yan Shouyi wanted to uncover the truth – the mastermind behind the Emei sect's destruction, and whether Li Genmiao truly intended to use the video of him pursuing Huang Qingcang to instigate conflict between the sects.
However, Wei's mouth was as hard as stone. Yan Shouyi spent a long time with her, but she was unwilling to confess, only revealing a small amount of information, including that the entire plan was devised by Zi.
Wei refused to divulge any more, leaving Yan Shouyi no choice but to keep her with him.
Unexpectedly, through a twist of fate, he encountered Zi in the Wuliang Hall and overheard Zi shifting all the blame onto the deceased Wei, without the slightest hint of remorse.
Yan Shouyi knew then that the show was about to begin.
He released Wei's soul, and as expected, Wei was furious. Now, all Yan Shouyi had to do was watch them tear each other apart and reap the benefits.
Seeing his former lover, Zi showed no emotion, only guilt:
"You, you're already dead..."
Wei retorted furiously, "Now that you know my soul is with Yan Shouyi, would you still say that?"
If Zi continued to shift blame, Wei was highly likely to be tormented by Yan Shouyi for revenge for the Emei massacre.
But if Zi dared to confess, he would lose his life.
Zi faced a seemingly impossible dilemma, yet in his heart, there was only one answer.
Self-preservation at all costs!
Zi gritted his teeth and said, "You were the one behind it all, masterminding everything. How to use Qi Dongqiang, how to use Yan Shouyi – these were all your plans. It has nothing to do with me!"
Wei was stunned. She couldn't believe that even now, Zi was still holding firm.
This was pushing her to a dead end!
Yan Shouyi, standing by, reminded them, "A debt must be paid to its rightful owner. I am always fair. Whoever the mastermind is, I will make them wish they were dead."
"It's him!!"
"It's her!!"
Wei and Zi spoke in unison. Their past affections were long gone.
Now, the one who truly wanted to see the other dead was not Yan Shouyi, but themselves.
Wei grew desperate. Though she was dead, her soul still existed, and the possibility of reincarnation remained. Unwilling to bear the blame and suffering, she blurted out the entire plan:
"Zi discovered Qi Dongqiang and then conceived the entire plan. After Li Genmiao agreed, he sent me to cooperate with him, which led to the extermination of Emei! And just as you suspected, someone has already taken the video of you pursuing Huang Qingcang down the mountain. While you were trapped in Emei these past three months, Li Genmiao planned to stir up a bloodbath within the Xuanmen!"
Wei was indeed more honest.
Yan Shouyi's belief in Wei's words grew stronger. After all, as a heartbroken woman, Wei was capable of anything.
In contrast, Zi, exposed and his plans revealed, was speechless, sweat beading on his forehead. His eyes darted back and forth, seemingly having given up on further denial and now contemplating how to escape.