Chaрtеr 343: The Еnd of the Наlf-Fасеd Ghоst 9
Severаl months of such peaсеful yеt pесuliаr dаys wеrе brоkеn bу a рiece оf "gоod nеws."
It started with Daisу’s poоr apреtitе.
Тhinking shе wаs ill, thе man seеmеd somеwhаt аnxiоus and quiсklу had the sеrvаnts cаll for a doсtor.
After thе ехaminаtion, the doсtоr bеamеd with jоу аnd bоwеd to thе mаn. "Cоngratulаtions, yоur wife is with сhild."
Вut nо joу аррeared оn the man’s face—оnly a stunned, sоmewhat surрrised ехprеssion. He dismissed the doctor and turned to look at Daisy with a complicated gaze.
Daisy was overjoyed, gently touching her belly, her smile unable to fade. Yet when she looked up at the man, she saw his gloomy expression, and a sense of foreboding washed over her.
"Husband, can we get married now?"
Daisy asked cautiously, but the man grew impatient and strode out of the room.
That day was the hardest for Daisy.
Gently stroking her belly, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Why? Why did he look so troubled when he was about to become a father?
That night, the man did not return. She tossed and turned in bed, finally forcing back her tears and falling into a shallow sleep, so light that she woke at the sound of the door opening.
The room was unlit, and a faint figure entered.
Just as she was about to rise to greet him, she heard him muttering a string of words she couldn’t understand or make out clearly. Then, her consciousness grew hazy, and she fell into a deep, unending sleep.
It felt as though she slept for a very long time, until one day, she finally woke up.
Her first instinct was to touch her belly, but it was flat—her child was gone. Daisy lowered her head to confirm, tears hanging at the corners of her eyes, before sinking back into slumber once more.
She thought she had been sleeping all along, but soon realized that wasn’t the case.
Sometimes she would suddenly jolt awake from a dream, only to find herself in an unfamiliar place, her hands covered in blood, surrounded by corpses. She realized she had been killing, but before she could think further, her consciousness was taken away again.
Another long sleep followed.
This cycle repeated until one day, upon waking, she saw many people who looked exactly like her, dressed in the same clothes, training under the guidance of a figure whose face she couldn’t see.
As for herself, she stood to the side, watching it all.
After so many repetitions, she finally realized that another soul had been forcibly inserted into her body.
She walked toward the man and demanded to know what he had done to her.
She hadn’t killed anyone; those strange deeds were done by someone else using her body.
The man reached out and gently stroked her face, causing a moment of relaxation in her guard.
In that brief moment of vulnerability, her consciousness suddenly blurred, and she fell into another long coma. The next time she woke up was only recently.
Perhaps it was because she was far away from that man that her body began to lose control.
"This Lai Luozhi has caused immense harm," Zhu Yan shook her head. She had thought Lai Luozhi, with his gloomy demeanor, aversion to women, and obsession with power, would have no interest in matters of love. She never imagined he had committed such romantic indiscretions in his youth—it was truly hard to believe.
Shen Du reached out to adjust the jade hairpin in Zhu Yan’s bun, his eyes dark and inscrutable, as black as a cold night:
"Lai Luozhi is unprincipled, practices dark arts, uses witchcraft to manipulate others into serving him, and is guilty of heinous crimes. He deserves death a thousand times over."Previously, they had only thought Lai Luozhi was ruthless and cruel, inventing countless shocking torture devices to deal with officials, but now they realized the terrifying extent of Lai Luozhi's nature far exceeded their understanding.
Pan Chi recounted some scenes Daisy had glimpsed during her few moments of wakefulness, while Jing Lin recorded them nearby. Zhu Yan listened with a heavy heart, and Shen Du, his eyes darkening, tightened his grip on her hand to offer comfort.
After Pan Chi finished his account, his shoulders trembled, his expression filled with indignation, and flames seemed to blaze in his eyes. Zhu Yan, puzzled, asked:
"Pan Chi, what's wrong?"
Pan Chi had always been the most carefree and relaxed, but now his emotions spilled out, his anger completely unconcealed, as he lamented bitterly:
"She said she doesn't remember the man's name. No matter how hard she tries to recall, it's as if someone deliberately erased that part. The more she tries to see it clearly, the blurrier it becomes."
Zhu Yan looked at Shen Du, who pursed his lips and said, "Naturally, it's unclear. That's Lai Luozhi's style," pausing briefly, "leaving no trace of a flaw in his actions."
Zhu Yan moved closer to Shen Du, feeling that Lai Luozhi was too cold-blooded. How could he erase the memories of a woman who loved him so deeply for his own hidden purposes? It was terrifying.
After all, Daisy was once the Holy Maiden of the Wusun Kingdom, revered and admired by thousands. How could Lai Luozhi bear to do this?
Suddenly, Su Guang screamed. Everyone looked over and saw Daisy clutching her head, groaning softly in pain, her endurance evident.
Judging by her appearance, it seemed the consciousness of Lai Luofu within her was trying to emerge and reclaim control of the body.
But Daisy had no intention of giving in so easily. That person, whoever she was, was guilty of heinous crimes.
She had used Daisy's body to harm so many people.
Daisy resorted to stabbing her broken arm into the ground to inflict pain and regain control of her body, but the pain gradually spread throughout her. She knew she was about to fall unconscious again.
Lifting her head to look at Su Guang, the last trace of kindness in her eyes faded, replaced by anger.
Lai Luofu's consciousness had returned.
Everyone present was filled with rage. Su Guang, seeing the change in her eyes, stood frozen in place, unable to react. She couldn't believe that the Holy Maiden of the Wusun Kingdom had endured such things.
"Lai Luofu!" Pan Chi drew Jing Lin's sword, intending to end her life with a single strike, but Shen Du stopped him.
"Damn you, Shen Du, don't stand in my way."
Shen Du suppressed his anger: "If she dies, we won't be able to get any answers."
Su Guang also came to her senses and hurriedly said, "Don't act impulsively. If she dies, Daisy dies too. She is innocent."
There was truth to this. Pan Chi realized his earlier behavior had been too rash and didn't argue further. He tossed the sword back to Jing Lin and stood aside, waiting for Shen Du to finish interrogating her before ending her life with a single strike.
Daisy?
The name sounded vaguely familiar to Lai Luofu, but the two consciousnesses couldn't connect. Before she could figure out the connection, her thoughts were interrupted by pain. The agony of the poison was unbearable, especially since it was "Cocoon to Butterfly." As Lai Luozhi's sister, she had lived in luxury for years and had never endured such suffering and humiliation before.
Now, she was living a fate worse than death. Without the antidote, Lai Luofu would truly die here.
She didn't want to die.
In her dazed state, she looked at Shen Du, who still held the antidote in his hand. Seeing her gaze, he curled his lips in disdain. Lai Luofu was on the verge of madness: "Please, give me the antidote."
Her tone was stiff, whether from pain or pride, it was hard to tell.If the poison isn't neutralized soon, she could foresee her own death—cocooning in agony and suffocating alive.
All these ways to die were too wretched; she couldn't bear to imagine them.
Staring at Lai Luofu, Shen Du said slowly, "Are you really Lai Luofu?"
A strange question.
"Of course I am."
"How can you prove it?" Shen Du glanced at her with amusement, lightly tapping the porcelain bottle with his thumb ring, carrying a threatening undertone.
Lai Luofu was on the verge of breaking down, cursing everyone in the room fiercely in her heart: "I even know where his birthmark is and what it looks like. What more proof do you need?"
Shen Du showed no reaction. "If you don't give me the antidote, Lai Luozhi will target the Zhu family first."
Her threat had little effect.
Shen Du seemed uninterested in the answer, rubbing the jade thumb ring on his hand, his dark eyes like deep pools. "If you want the antidote, you can have it—but I ask, you answer."
"Fine." As long as she could return alive, it didn't matter what Shen Du knew. She was already facing certain death anyway.
Shen Du casually tossed the porcelain bottle behind him, and Jing Lin caught it. He then led Zhu Yan to sit down, standing himself beside her chair. Only when he saw Lai Luofu growing impatient from the torment of her illness did he speak:
"How much do you know about the massacre of the Shen family back then?"
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