“Kill you!” Mu Xi roared, her voice twisted with rage and despair.
She used all her strength to try and pull her hand free, but Ye Lan’s power far exceeded her own.
Ye Lan looked at the crazed hatred burning in her eyes and was silent for a moment.
Then, she did something Mu Xi never expected.
She let go of the wrist she was gripping.
Not only that, she took hold of Mu Xi’s knife-wielding hand and guided the cold blade even closer to her own heart.
“Since you hate me so much,” Ye Lan’s voice was terrifyingly calm, as if discussing something that had nothing to do with her, “then do it.”
Mu Xi froze.
She looked at the knife tip so close at hand, at Ye Lan’s face that was as calm as still water, at the reflection of her own crazed and twisted self in those deep eyes.
Kill her?
This thought was like a curse, screaming madly in her mind. Kill her, and everything would be over.
Her hand trembled slightly, not from fear, but from an indescribable mix of complex emotions.
Hatred still surged, but deep in her heart, something seemed to be quietly melting, only to be quickly covered by an even deeper coldness.
“What?” The corner of Ye Lan’s lips lifted in a mocking curve. “Scared?”
These words were like a needle, sharply stabbing Mu Xi’s sore spot. She gritted her teeth fiercely, a flash of resolve in her eyes.
She let out a low growl, put force into her wrist, and the blade plunged down without hesitation!
“As you wish!”
A soft thud. Ye Lan grunted, her body swaying slightly, but she made no move to resist. She just stared fixedly at her, her gaze complex and inscrutable.
The knife tip had pierced Ye Lan’s shoulder. Not deeply, but enough to draw blood.
Mu Xi watched the welling blood stain Ye Lan’s pale skin, looked at her tightly furrowed brow and pale lips, and felt as if her heart had been viciously wrenched. Why… why didn’t you dodge?
In this brief moment of hesitation, Ye Lan moved.
She struck out swiftly, once again seizing Mu Xi’s wrist. At the same time, her other hand quickly snatched the kitchen knife from Mu Xi’s grasp, flipped it, and threw it under the bed with a dull metallic clatter.
Disarmed, Mu Xi was pressed down onto the soft bedding by Ye Lan’s momentum.
“Calm down, Little Xi!” Ye Lan’s voice held a trace of urgency, suppressing pain.
The wound on her shoulder was bleeding, but she seemed to feel no pain, using all her strength to restrain the person struggling wildly in her arms.
“Let me go! You liar! Demon!” Mu Xi beat frantically against Ye Lan’s chest, her voice hoarse. “I’ll kill you! I will definitely kill you!”
“I know you want to kill me.” Ye Lan panted, her arms tightening even more, almost trying to crush Mu Xi into her very bones and blood. “But, I cannot die.”
Her voice was resolute, carrying an unquestionable determination.
“I must live.” Ye Lan lowered her head, her burning forehead pressed against Mu Xi’s icy one, her scorching breath spraying onto Mu Xi’s face. “Only by living can I protect you.”
Hearing this, Mu Xi’s struggles abruptly stopped. She raised her head, tears mixing with blood blurring her vision, her voice filled with sarcasm and hatred.
“Protect me?” She sounded as if she had heard the biggest joke. “Ye Lan, what do you think I am? That I can’t live without you?”
Ye Lan shook her head slightly. The stinging pain in her shoulder made her breath hitch, but her tone remained calm and unruffled.
“It’s not like that.” She whispered, her burning forehead still pressed against Mu Xi’s cool skin. “Protecting you is my responsibility.”
The warm smell of blood mixed with the unique cold fragrance of Ye Lan’s body drifted into Mu Xi’s nostrils.
Responsibility? What a ridiculous word.
Mu Xi struggled violently once more. It was futile, but it expressed the most complete rejection.
“I don’t need it!”
Her voice was hoarse, carrying bone-deep hatred. “Ye Lan, put away your hypocritical talk! Your protection? Your responsibility? What is that? Is it imprisoning me, tormenting me at will, or is it like now, using sweet words to cover up your desire for control?”
Ye Lan silently endured her fury, her body unmoving, only her arms tightening further.
The air seemed to solidify, leaving only the sound of their heavy breathing and the faint sound of blood slowly seeping from the wound on Ye Lan’s shoulder.
After a long while, Ye Lan finally spoke slowly, her voice low, carrying a strange calmness, as if stating an established fact.
“Nan Qiao is a good ally. Stone City is a good place.”
Her tone was flat, but it made Mu Xi’s heart skip a beat.
“It’s just a pity,” Ye Lan paused, her tone suddenly turning sharp, “she’s in the way.”
Mu Xi’s breath caught, looking up at the face so close above her with disbelief.
Ye Lan continued, “I’m going to kill her and take Stone City. With Stone City’s military strength and resources, plus my original power, it will be enough to help you take back Wu City.”
She painted a blueprint, her tone carrying a kind of natural arrogance.
“When the time comes, you’ll be the City Lord of Wu City, I’ll control Stone City, we…”
“You’re insane!” Mu Xi shrieked, interrupting her, her voice trembling with shock and anger. “You want to kill Nan Qiao? She’s your friend! Your ally!”
Nan Qiao’s hearty laughter, her healthy wheat-colored skin, and that trust she placed in Ye Lan instantly surfaced before Mu Xi’s eyes.
“You were just cooperating together before! Ye Lan, how could you…”
Mu Xi felt her throat tighten, a huge sense of absurdity and nausea welling up. She felt a chill in her teeth. What was this woman’s heart made of? Even after using someone, she had to turn around and bite them?
“Is this your so-called sisterly affection? So fake!”
The last trace of warmth on Ye Lan’s face completely vanished, replaced by a cold, condescending scrutiny.
“It seems I’ve been too good to you.”
Her voice was ice-cold, each word striking Mu Xi’s heart.
“Making you forget your place, forget how you should speak to me.”
She leaned down, her breath carrying a dangerous pressure.
“You really are in need of discipline, Little Xi. Gentleness and patience are useless on you. You only respond to force.”
Hearing this, Mu Xi instead let out a short, cold laugh.
That laugh was full of mockery and understanding.
“Hah, as expected.”
She lifted her chin, meeting Ye Lan’s gaze without fear. Her tears had long dried, leaving only cold hatred and a kind of weary, all-seeing exhaustion.
“I said it, how could you really change? When you lost the Manor, lost the Gold Mine, and fled like a stray dog, you were all nice to me, apologizing, proposing. And now? You’ve barely gotten a foothold in Stone City, haven’t even done anything yet, and your tail is already sticking up, wanting to lord it over me again, is that it?”
Mu Xi’s voice grew colder and colder, carrying a kind of desperate, burn-it-all-down resolve.
“Ye Lan, I saw through you long ago. Your love, your protection, it’s all fake! It’s all built on the foundation of you being able to completely control me!”
The corner of her lips lifted slightly, forming an extremely sarcastic curve.
“You say you love me, right? Then kill me.”
“Kill me, and it’s all over. You won’t have to worry about me anymore, and I won’t have to endure your torment.”
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