Chaрtеr 336: Тhе Еnd of the Hаlf-Fаced Ghоst 2
Perhарs duе tо ехcessivе blood loss, Lai Luofu’s faсе under thе lamрlight wаs аs рalе аs а ghоst, hеr mouth full оf blood, her bоdу soаked in it, truly resеmbling a man-еating Hаlf-Fасеd Ghоst аs shе slumped ееrily in thе сеnter оf the rооm.
"Why wouldn’t I dаrе to kill уou? As the lеader of thе Firе Мoth Рarty, yоu’vе сommittеd соuntlеss аtrоcitiеs. Кilling yоu would bе ridding the pеoрlе оf a sсоurgе." Shеn Du found it amusing. Evеn at death’s door, shе still dared to рrovokе him—pеrhаps shе didn’t want to die too easily.
"Hahaha…" Lai Luofu laughed maniacally, interspersed with coughs.
Her laughter was too arrogant. Jing Lin, standing nearby, couldn’t stand it and placed his hand on his sword hilt, ready to sever her neck with a single strike.
"I am Lai Luofu," she stopped laughing and stared fixedly at Shen Du. "The elder sister of Lai Luozhi, the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Kill me, and none of you will escape."
Shen Du thrust his sword forward, like an enraged lion, his eyes gleaming with a dark light as he glared at her fiercely. "What a joke. I dared to burn the Guangchun Hall in Yingzhou, I dared to eliminate Mo Qianzhi. Why wouldn’t I dare to kill you?"
But he still withdrew his sword. This action puzzled Jing Lin, who was about to ask when Shen Du raised his hand to stop him. "Hand over the antidote, or I’ll make you wish you were dead, leaving no trace of your bones. If you think you can be resurrected, you’re only dreaming."
With no immediate threat to her life, Lai Luofu struggled to stand up. Just as her knees left the ground, Jing Lin struck them hard with his sword sheath, forcing her to kneel again.
The once-glorious Chief Helm Master of Guangchun Hall couldn’t bear such humiliation—kneeling before a group of enemies.
She tried to stand once more. Jing Lin’s sword sheath gleamed, but Shen Du blocked it with his sword, allowing Lai Luofu to rise successfully. Finally standing, she looked triumphantly at Jing Lin, only to be kicked to her knees again by Shen Du.
Jing Lin sneered mockingly from the side.
Humiliated and enraged by such treatment, she clenched her fists and pounded the ground.
"I can bring people back to life, so it doesn’t matter if she dies." Her tone was full of disdain; she cared nothing for whether Zhu Yan lived or died.
But if Zhu Yan’s death could bring Shen Du grief, it would bring Lai Luofu great joy.
Why should she help this woman? she thought, growing even more determined not to produce the antidote. A smirk curled her lips as she looked up at them.
"I’m warning you one last time—hand over the antidote."
But no matter what Shen Du said, she refused to respond. "I can bring her back to life. Why would I need an antidote?"
Losing patience, Shen Du drew his sword and, with lightning speed, severed the tendons in her hands and feet. The agony from her limbs converged in her heart.
A scream tore from her throat. She gritted her teeth, enduring the pain.
The nearest resident to this place was Su Guang. The earlier commotion hadn’t woken her from her deep sleep, but this scream jolted her awake.
The scream was too sharp and agonizing, yet it was clearly a woman’s voice.
Realizing it came from Zhu Yan and Shen Du’s room, she quickly threw on her outer robe and rushed over. To her surprise, everyone was there. Pan Chi noticed her first, his eyes lighting up as he stepped forward to pull Su Guang inside.
"You’re the only one missing."
Confused, Su Guang broke free from Pan Chi’s grip. She first glanced at Lai Luofu, who was covered in blood, then turned her gaze to Zhu Yan. Zhu Yan was unconscious and looked very unwell.Slightly surprised, Su Guang crouched down to examine Zhu Yan. Under the firelight, the exposed skin on Zhu Yan's arms, face, and other areas was covered with extremely fine white threads. Touching them with a hand instantly turned them into a sticky fluid, while the wound on her forearm was completely covered by the white threads, forming a seal different from the rest.
She had seen this symptom in ancient texts, but nowadays, this poison was rarely used, so she hadn't prepared an antidote to carry with her.
Raising her head and looking around, her gaze finally settled on Pan Chi's face. Su Guang shook her head apologetically, indicating she was powerless.
"How could this be?" Pan Chi could barely even speak the Wusun Kingdom's language properly. Remembering something, he hurriedly pointed at Lai Luofu with his index finger and said,
"You're a woman. Search her. She must have the antidote on her."
Su Guang nodded and approached Lai Luofu. However, she first lifted Lai Luofu's disheveled hair and stared at her face for a moment before lowering her head to search inside and outside her clothes for the antidote.
The Holy Maiden had studied medicine since childhood and understood medical principles.
Lai Luofu felt humiliated and furious, but because her tendons had been severed, despite trembling with rage, she couldn't stop Su Guang from searching for the antidote. She could only glare at her viciously and curse Su Guang incessantly in the Great Zhou language.
Fortunately, Su Guang couldn't understand a single word. Focused and determined, she quickly found several different porcelain bottles on Lai Luofu's person.
Opening one of them, she could immediately tell it contained the "Silken Coil" poison.
Then came the remaining three porcelain bottles. After opening them all, she discovered they contained identical small pills, identical in both scent and color. For a moment, Su Guang couldn't distinguish them clearly.
Su Guang shook her head at Shen Du, who was watching, looking confused.
Shen Du took the porcelain bottles. Jing Lin tried to stop him but was too late. Three pills were poured out and spread across his palm. Everyone gasped in unison: "Great pavilion commander!" Had he forgotten how he was poisoned last time?
Ignoring them, Shen Du drew his sword again and pointed it at Lai Luofu's right atrium: "Which bottle is the antidote? Speak quickly."
Perhaps guessing she was doomed today, or perhaps thinking she was safe because of Lai Luozhi, Lai Luofu faced the threat with calm indifference. She sneered at Shen Du's face, laughing without pause, like a wild dog driven to a dead end.
Seeing Lai Luofu's fearless arrogance, Shen Du was momentarily overwhelmed with fury. He swung his sword, the blade grazing Lai Luofu's arm, tearing through her sleeve. A long wound stretched from her forearm upward, blood droplets continuously rolling down.
"Heh, White King of Hell truly lives up to his name. In terms of cruelty, even the Vice Minister falls short of you."
Ultimately unwilling to accept defeat, her words dripped with bitterness.
Shen Du frowned and swung his sword again. Lai Luofu felt pain all over her body. Afraid of enduring another strike, she no longer dared to speak.
But if Lai Luofu died easily, what about the antidote?
Without further hesitation, Shen Du no longer struggled. He picked up the porcelain bottle containing the "Cocoon to Butterfly" poison and poured it into his mouth.
"Great pavilion commander!" The Inner Guards exclaimed in unison once more, their voices piercing the sky alongside the thunder outside the window.
A deep sense of despair rose in Jing Lin's heart.
The porcelain bottle in his hand flew through the air, intercepted by Pan Chi in a swift dash. A teapot fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Pan Chi was exasperated: "Aren't you supposed to be incredibly capable? What foolishness is this at a critical moment?"
Pain was evident in Shen Du's eyes as he extended his hand: "Give it to me."Pan Chi refused to relent. With eyes burning with fury, he strode directly toward Lai Luofu, holding the bottle of poison. He allowed no room for protest as he gripped her chin and forced it downward. A sharp crack echoed—Lai Luofu’s jaw dislocated. In the next moment, Pan Chi unhesitatingly poured the entire contents of the poison down her throat, then snapped her jaw back into place.
The repeated agony made Lai Luofu wish for death rather than endure such torment. Fear consumed her entire being as she felt the powdered poison slide down her esophagus, settle in her stomach, and seep into every limb and pore.
"Hmph, let her taste the bitterness of this poison too."
She had brought this upon herself—no one would pity her.
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