Chaрtеr 338: Тhе Еnd of Half-Fасed Ghost 4
А painеd sсrеаm саme from thе outer room. Ignoring their аdviсe, Zhu Yаn rushed оut tо sее what wаs hарреning.
Sevеral poоls оf bloоd stained the flоor. Lai Luоfu’s hands had bееn sеvеrеd, rеvеaling bloоdiеd white bоnеs. Shе writhed оn the grоund, еntangled in silk thrеаds that hаd gathered dust in hеr thrashing, making her аррeаr ashen and wriggling likе thе mаggots Zhu Yаn оftеn sаw during аutоpsiеs. Lаi Luofu’s fаcе was cоntortеd in аgоny.
Jing Lin stооd hоlding а porcеlain bottle, his gaze сold as he wаtched Lаi Luofu.
“Shе sаid she wаnted to die, so I fed her the poison again.”
Shen Du looked at Jing Lin with surprise. Meeting Shen Du’s icy gaze, Jing Lin immediately understood and bowed in apology.
“I acted without consulting you, Chief. Please punish me.”
Shen Du’s stern expression softened slightly, but he said nothing. Beside him, Pan Chi clapped in approval.
“Well done, Jing Lin! Do you have any more? Feed her a few more.”
Jing Lin shook his head. “No, I’ve used it all.”
Pan Chi gave Jing Lin a thumbs-up, his admiration evident.
Zhu Yan trembled. Sensing this, Shen Du took her hand and held it tightly, soothing her gently. “Don’t be afraid. She deserves this. Someone like her deserves to die a thousand times over.”
Compared to those she had killed, this suffering was nothing.
“Mm, I know. I’m fine.”
Zhu Yan was not someone who couldn’t distinguish right from wrong. Lai Luofu had poisoned her multiple times, as well as Shen Du and those around her. She felt no pity for Lai Luofu, but the gruesome scene had momentarily stunned her.
As for Lai Luozhi, unless he voluntarily admitted to being the mastermind behind the Fire Moth Party, how could they openly confront him?
“Save me.” A delicate voice suddenly spoke, using the language of the Great Zhou, though somewhat awkwardly.
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice, only to find it came from Lai Luofu. In the deep of the night, the situation suddenly felt eerie and strange.
“Did you all hear that?”
Zhu Yan noticed that Lai Luofu’s expression had shifted from the agonized contortions of the poison’s effects to one filled with sorrow and grief. But in an instant, it reverted to her usual demeanor, and the clear, delicate voice vanished.
Surrounded by martial artists, they had all heard it. Shen Du observed carefully before shaking his head.
“It’s likely Lai Luofu playing tricks to scare us. Don’t believe it.”
But the girl’s voice had been filled with such genuine fear. Zhu Yan focused intently, her gaze fixed on Lai Luofu.
Someone stepped forward, blocking her view. Lai Luofu looked up, meeting Shen Du’s downward gaze. She stared at him, her eyes shifting to the bottle of antidote, revealing a desperate longing for survival.
“Tell me about Lai Luozhi’s connection to the Fire Moth Party.” He opened the porcelain bottle, pouring an antidote pill into his palm, his eyes narrowing. “And their next move. This antidote is yours.”
It was a clear transaction. The choice between life and death rested entirely with Lai Luofu—a single pill separating one from the other.
Lai Luofu gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, seemingly preferring to die in agony rather than reveal anything.
“Speak.”
Shen Du’s tone was icy, his gaze terrifyingly cold, tinged with a faint hint of killing intent.
“I am immortal. No one can kill me,” she sneered. “Even if I die now, someone will find a way to bring me back to life.”
“Are you talking about Lai Luozhi?” Shen Du scoffed, a faint, mocking smile on his lips. “What a pity. He won’t have that chance.”Lai Luofu's eyes filled with fear. "What... what are you going to do?"
"Throw your corpse to the wolves," Shen Du threatened. "Let's see if the wolves care whether you can resurrect or not."
But Lai Luofu remained defiant. "My spirit is eternal. It doesn't matter whether I have a body or not—I am immortal."
The two were locked in a stalemate.
Seeing Lai Luofu so certain, Zhu Yan recalled a detail they had overlooked. "Wang Buzui also used Xiuxiu and Du Xiaowan to resurrect his sister, Wang XiuXiu."
In other words, what Lai Luofu said was true. They didn't need Lai Luofu's body to perform the resurrection ritual.
Shen Du didn't even raise an eyebrow, his voice cold. "If that's the case, then all the better. I'll grant your wish."
Shen Du withdrew the antidote, calmly waiting.
But then Lai Luofu began gasping for breath as if drowning, clutching her own throat, her head lowered as she emitted low, beast-like whimpers.
Jing Lin was about to step forward to check on her when Lai Luofu suddenly raised her head. Her eyes were bloodshot, her expression sorrowful, and she opened her mouth to cry for help:
"Save me!"
This time, however, she spoke in... the language of the Wusun Kingdom. Su Guang's expression instantly changed, her entire body trembling for a moment.
Pan Chi and Shen Du naturally heard it clearly. They exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
When they looked back at Lai Luofu, she had returned to her original state, as if someone drowning had regained their senses at the brink of collapse. She watched them warily, seemingly aware that something was wrong with her, and silently mouthed:
"She's back?"
After sleeping for so many years, why isn't she dead yet?
Zhu Yan read her lips, her delicate brows furrowing, her heart filled with even greater confusion.
The white threads on Lai Luofu's body continued to spread, sprouting like bamboo shoots after rain from the wounds on her hands and the opening in her right atrium, spreading across her entire body.
Everyone watched this scene in silence, hoping it was just an illusion.
At that moment, Su Guang was the first to step toward the dying Lai Luofu. Pan Chi grabbed her arm, but Su Guang said it was fine and shook him off, walking over to Lai Luofu's side.
Su Guang crouched down and said something to Lai Luofu, who suddenly looked up, her blood-red eyes fixed intently on Su Guang.
Seeing this, Su Guang said a few more words. The bloodshot veins in Lai Luofu's eyes faded, replaced by anger and fear that swept through her entire body. She covered her head with her broken arm, feeling a throbbing pain in her temples as if they were about to split open.
She kept muttering something, her words a chaotic mix of the Great Zhou language and the Wusun tongue, too jumbled to make out clearly.
Finally, her body convulsed a few times before she collapsed to the ground, drenched as if she had been pulled from water.
"It's me." A young girl's ethereal voice emerged from Lai Luofu's body. She spoke in the Wusun language, looking at Su Guang, the anger in her eyes fading, replaced entirely by sorrow.
The two stared at each other, the room so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Shen Du's sword-like brows were tightly furrowed, his lips pressed together, his expression grave. He, too, felt suspicious about what was happening before him.
Earlier, when he had secretly investigated the Fire Moth Party's hideout at night, he had heard a young girl's voice in Chen Huo'e's tent. Later, before Mo Qianzhi died, he had also warned him to be wary of Chen Huo'e's dual personalities.
He was well aware of Lai Luofu's multiple identities and her inherently split personalities, which was why he had never considered this possibility before. Nor had he ever witnessed a second personality splitting so vividly from a person's body.Moreover, this alternate personality appears to be from the Wusun Kingdom. How could someone from the Wusun Kingdom reside within Lai Luofu, who has never left the Central Plains?
The investigation should have cleared things up by now, yet it remains shrouded in thick fog. Just how many unsavory secrets is this Lai Luozhi hiding?
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