"He Li... He Li... He Li..."
Zhang Qining whispered He Li's name, then began to sob.
"He Li, those rich kids ganged up to ostracize me, treating me like a disposable outsider. My mother died young, and my father remarried several times, hoping for a son to inherit the family business. If I hadn't poisoned them, preventing those bitches from having children, I don't know how many younger siblings I would have had.
Now, my father is finally dying, and I'm about to inherit the family fortune.
And then,
Xu Hui, that bitch, turned out to be my father's mistress, and she's even pregnant!
Tell me, doesn't she deserve to die?!
Don't they deserve to die!!!"
As Zhang Qining spoke, the hand on the screen had fully extended and was reaching for He Li's face.
"So you became a demon?"
"That's right. I'm just a girl, without much strength or money. I had to do it myself. I could poison those bitches myself, but killing... I couldn't do it alone."
"Do you know? I reached an agreement with Mr. Molin. At the time, I thought, this is good. I can have my own career. With a career, with confidence, I should be able to stand tall before you.
But that bastard Molin disappeared. My hope was dashed again. I was desperate, utterly desperate!"
He Li listened in silence. Molin's departure was partly his fault, and Zhang Qining's transformation was indirectly related to him.
It was all so melodramatic.
The most absurd thing was that his old classmate was a lunatic who had poisoned several stepmothers, and eventually turned into a demon to kill his father and his mistress.
And then, the most absurd thing was that this old classmate had a crush on him.
"Zhang Qining, I understand your despair, but the irrational choices made in despair will only lead you to greater despair."
As He Li finished speaking, he raised his hand and grabbed Zhang Qining's wrist. The cyan spiritual energy on He Li's hand enveloped Zhang Qining's entire forearm the moment it made contact.
Enveloped by the spiritual energy, Zhang Qining cried out in pain, her body twisting and her face contorting. Her open mouth was black, like a black mamba, emitting a terrifying, dark poison.
*Crack... crack...*
The sound of Zhang Qining's arm bones cracking echoed.
He Li narrowed his eyes. "Shedding its tail to escape? You're no gecko."
He Li yanked back sharply, eliciting another piercing scream from Zhang Qining.
He Li seized the opportunity to open the door, jump out of the car, and drag Zhang Qining completely out of the screen. With a bang, she was slammed onto the asphalt.
"Ah!!! Ah!!!"
"Ah!!!! Ah!!"
Zhang Qining continued to scream in rage, struggling. Her fingers gouged streaks into the asphalt, and her body slammed against the ground, creating small craters and sending gravel flying.
He Li's expression turned fierce. He reached for his back, drawing a short knife. The knife was imbued with cyan spiritual energy and was plunged fiercely into Zhang Qining's back, pinning her to the asphalt.
"Ah!!! He Li!!!"
"He Li ah!!! Ah!!!"
"He Li!! He Li ah!!!"
Pinned to the ground by the short knife, Zhang Qining thrashed her limbs against the road, her head repeatedly hitting the ground, as if venting her inner pain and hatred. Her screams were more like wails.
She was calling out He Li's name. She stopped struggling, lying still on the ground, weeping uncontrollably. Her tears were blood, as if recounting her unwillingness, her sorrow, and her misery.
He Li first squatted down, then sat cross-legged beside Zhang Qining. He placed his hand on her head and gently stroked it. He said nothing.
He simply watched her.
She stopped crying and looked back at him.
She had lived better than most people, yet she was unhappy.
Living well does not necessarily equate to happiness. It's a paradox. Possession doesn't always bring happiness, and loss doesn't necessarily bring unhappiness.
Zhang Qining's eyes gradually lost their blackness, returning to her clear, beautiful eyes with distinct black and white. Her face, no longer pale, regained a blush, though it was not a healthy one.
After a moment of silence,
Zhang Qining pursed her lips and smiled faintly, her brow unfurrowed, her eyes filled with a sense of release. She said softly, "A section of poplar tree root turned me into this. It's in the bottom drawer of the closet at home."
He Li nodded. A faint noise sounded in his communication earpiece; it was Sister Jiang informing the logistics department and Bai Fei to go to Zhang Qining's home.
"He Li, I really like you. I like confident men. That kind of innate pride and self-assurance mesmerizes me."
He Li looked into Zhang Qining's eyes, smiled gently, and said softly,
"Thank you for liking me."
Then,
He pulled out the short knife lodged in Zhang Qining's back, and with a swift movement, plunged it through her heart.
Before He Li's eyes, Zhang Qining slowly turned ashen, then transformed into a humanoid wooden sculpture. It then rapidly shrunk, becoming a palm-sized, grayish-brown wooden puppet with two貫穿 stab wounds.
He Li picked up the puppet from the ground. The moment his hand touched it, the puppet turned into grayish-brown ash and dissipated in the wind.
He Li stood up from the ground and sat back in the car.
"Being killed by the object of your unrequited love is also a decent outcome. At least she'll make sure you remember her forever," Yan Ping remarked with emotion.
He Li glanced at Yan Ping and said, somewhat speechlessly, "But for me, it's a trauma. My classmate turned into a demon. Who can I trust from now on?"
Yan Ping appeared indifferent. He said, "This is a world that lacks trust anyway. Who can trust whom? Speaking of which, He Li, have you ever trusted anyone?"
He Li started the car and replied, "Yan Ping, don't say things that make people uncomfortable."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... He Li, your birthday is in June, right?"
"Yes, why are you asking? Don't you know?"
"You really are a Gemini."
"What's wrong with being a Gemini?"
"You're a player."
"...Just shut up."
...
...
In the laboratory of the Spiritual Management Association building,
Bai Fei handed He Li a bottle of milk and then sat on a nearby chair, both of them watching the dazzling data on the large screen.
A moment later,
After Min Liang pressed the final key, the jumping data on the large screen finally stabilized.
Min Liang said, "This section of poplar tree root has been identified as: Beast Class, Plant Genus, Level Two Demon of the Ghostwood lineage, Poplar Ghostwood. Based on the comparative data from the headquarters database, it can be confirmed that this section of poplar root originates from the Tarim Poplar Forest."
"Sister Jiang has already sent the information to the Spiritual Management Association branch in Tarim.
Now we need to wait for their feedback before we can formulate specific actions."