Bing Shi spoke loudly enough for Fei Lan's departing soul to hear, "This subject accused Miss Fei Lan of being the culprit behind the stoled good. She demanded proof, and now, with her absence, I expect my merchandise to remain intact—unharmed and untouched."
Bing Shi's words turned Zhao Rong into an unwitting accomplice in her scheme. Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, mixing with the droplets of blood that trickled down her battered knuckles. Feeling his guilt, her lips curved up as she eased up his feelings.
"She didn't want to wait for too long," Bing Shi remarked, her voice laced with a twisted sense of satisfaction. "I hope I fulfilled her last wish."
In her ghostly form, Fei Lan felt as if there was a massive foot above her head, trampling on her composure and pride. After hearing Bing Shi's words, she wanted to be resurrected so she could claw out Bing Shi's tongue, gauge her eyes, and feed them to dogs! Her death was too sudden! She died too fast, there was no time to react, no time to feel any pain.
{Wuwuwu, Host, what have you done?! I told you to forget about revenge and focus on your mission instead. Why did you refuse to listen?}
{"Shut up!"}
Before Fei Lan could disappear, she punched and kicked Bing Shi's body in a spit of rage, only for her hands and legs to pass through. Did Bing Shi find this situation amusing?! Laughing at her misfortune? Like hell, she would ever allow it!
{Wuwuwu, my Host has gone crazy.}
Fei Lan ceased her futile attempts, her gaze fixating on Bing Shi for the final moments. In an ironic twist, she found herself bursting into laughter at her own foolishness.
{"XiaoPu, I really should have listened to you."}
{Wuwu, Host, you failed your mission. It doesn't matter anymore. }
{"Scram!"}
After uttering her final words, Fei Lan's soul gradually dissolved into nothingness. Her soul held a unique quality, and the lingering negative energy it emitted made Bing Shi clench her teeth uncomfortably.
"This subject wonders why Your Highness is granting this subject such freedom," Bing Shi pondered aloud, but received no response. She concealed her face with her cloak, stumbling back to her carriage.
"Where do you think you're going?" Zhao Rong declared as he picked up Fei Lan in a princess carry. He cast an unimpressed glance at Tian Shi's watchmen, signaling his shadow guards without a word.
Bing Shi ordered, "Don't allow anyone to get near my carriage," without looking back. She continued on her way, leaving a trail of blood in her wake. "Your Highness should preserve your men for the upcoming war. There has been enough bloodshed today. This subject needs some peace."
"Watch her closely," Zhao Rong ordered, and with Fei Lan's lifeless body in his arms, he headed toward the forest. His mind raced, wondering where he could find another person with such medical skills. The medicines he had at his disposal would last him for two years at most.
'To keep a man, does a woman need to be the most outstanding beauty? To be the best at cooking, sex, or whatever?'
'No, she doesn't.'
'It will still count as nothing if the man himself doesn't want to be kept.'
For Zhao Rong, everyone else was just a tool to be used. He should have known that Tian Shi was a danger to Fei Lan, so why would he allow them to be together? Did he trust her that much? To an extent.
He allowed Tian Shi to have her freedom because she could sustain Rania's economy, enabling him to indulge in his insatiable appetite for war. Even if Fei Lan and Mao An offered him a world on a silver platter, he would still overturn it in a fit of rage if it interfered with his one true love—war.
· · ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·
When Gu Min saw Tian Shi's condition, her breath hitched as she cried out in scare, "W-what happened?!"
Unable to hold it in any longer, Bing Shi covered her mouth as she coughed up blood. The invisible impact Fei Lan inflicted on her was more than she could withstand. Not only did the crimson liquid seep from her nose, but it also trickled down from her eyes.
[Host, what if your Darling asks about what happened?]
["Wait until he gets out of the battlefield."]
"Help... me take care of... of my hand and arm," continuing to cough, Bing Shi rested her head against the cushion, tilting it up. As her mouth and nose clogged up, she swallowed some rejuvenating pills with the disgusting taste of water mixed with blood.
Gu Min grabbed her medical bag and carefully slid up Tian Shi's sleeves, cleaning and bandaging her wounds. Tears welled up in her gray eyes as she wiped away the bloodstains from her twin's face. She didn't want anyone to harm her sister ever again. "Why did you have to do it in front of His Highness?"
"Afraid?" asked Bing Shi with closed eyes.
"You said you'd manage," said Gu Min, her tone turning resolute.
"Did I?" Opening her eyes, blinking a few times, Bing Shi's eyes cleared up as the bleeding slowly stopped.
"Stop joking, please," Gu Min pleaded.
· · ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·
After Ru Quan got to see what happened, Bing Shi already had time to become pretty. With her spotlessly clean clothes and face, she was ready to calm down the madman at the other side, but to her surprise, he was eerily calm, scarely even, as if afraid to cause any difficulties for her.
(Mr. Jelly): How does it feel like? To kill someone personally?
|"I don't like it. Everything hurts so much."|
(Mr. Jelly): Next time, leave such a thing to me. I'll make sure to enjoy every bit of it.
|"Alright."|
The only person capable of taking Fei Lan down was Bing Shi. With such otherworldly martial skills, no human would be able to kill her, unless Fei Lan wanted it. Under the impression that Bing Shi followed the HQ's rules, Fei Lan let herself get hit.
Ru Quan was well aware of these facts, and he made a great effort to swallow his anger and the pain that consumed him. He adopted a passive demeanor, putting on a tentative smile as he acted meek in front of the one he loved. His accumulating wrath served as nothing more than a shield to conceal the immense damage he felt inside.
The result of this facade was clear: Zhao Rong suffered a brutal defeat in the war against the Gwala kingdom.
He was forced to flee back to Rania kingdom as a lone man with Tian Shi's support. It would take a while before he would be able to march into war again.