CHAPTER 849: CHAPTER 849: END OF ROU LAN AND WITCH-1

Yu Lin, Ruo Lan, and the witch stood frozen in the black fog. Their bodies shivered from the cold, their minds spinning from fear. Just when they thought things couldn’t get worse...

They couldn’t breathe.

Yu Lin was the first to notice. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

No air.

Ruo Lan clutched her throat, her eyes wide. She gasped again and again, but there was nothing to breathe.

The witch floated nearby, her dark cloak trembling. Even without a face, she looked afraid.

Yu Lin dropped to his knees. Ruo Lan fell beside him, her hands scraping the ground. The witch flinched and bent over, as if something was pressing hard on her skull.

The shadowy creatures in the fog watched silently at first.

Then they began to laugh. Not loud laughter. Soft, dry chuckles.

"Look at them... wriggling..."

"Like fish pulled from the sea... gasping, gasping..."

Yu Lin’s vision blurred. Ruo Lan’s arms trembled.

They were dying.

Then, suddenly, oxygen returned.

Air rushed in, and all three of them gasped loudly.

Haa... haa... haa...

They filled their lungs, breathing like they’d been drowning. Yu Lin bent over, coughing hard. Ruo Lan dropped flat to the floor, panting. The witch didn’t speak, but if she had a mouth, she would’ve been gasping too.

But the relief didn’t last.

Again, the oxygen vanished. Yu Lin clutched his throat.

"No... no! Not again!"

They started choking once more.

Then... air returned. They breathed again, for three seconds.

Then it was gone.

Then it came back.

Then gone.

It went on and on like a cruel game. Twenty minutes. Their bodies weakened. Their eyes became bloodshot. Their lips turned pale.

The witch shivered as the invisible pressure squeezed tighter on her skull, like something trying to split it open from the inside.

Yu Lin and Ruo Lan were breaking down. They curled up, unable to even scream anymore.

And just when they thought it was over—

The heat came.

The darkness turned hot.

Very hot.

The ground beneath them began to burn. Their skin started to tingle... then sting... then melt.

Yu Lin screamed and tore off his coat, sweating like he was inside a volcano. Ruo Lan ripped her sleeves, trying to fan herself.

The witch groaned, her dark form rippling as if steam was boiling inside her.

Their skin blistered and turned red. Yu Lin looked at his arms and gasped in horror.

Parts of his skin were melting off, exposing raw, red flesh underneath.

Ruo Lan’s legs looked the same—her hands trembling as she touched her face and felt it burning.

The shadow creatures just watched... their eyes glowing like coals in the dark.

"Mmm... how they squirm..."

"Soon they’ll be ready..."

Just then, golden light flashed in the darkness.

Three long golden hands—made of glowing strands—stretched through the air like ropes of light.

They moved fast.

One grabbed Yu Lin. One wrapped around Ruo Lan. One snatched the witch.

The creatures screamed.

"Who dares?!"

"WHERE did those come from?!"

The golden hands ignored them.

In one swift motion, they pulled all three out of the darkness.

The three figures were dropped gently onto soft grass, under the wide open sky.

Ruo Lan collapsed on her side, coughing and crying.

Yu Lin rolled onto his back, staring at the clouds above with tears in his eyes. The witch floated low to the ground, her cloak torn and flickering.

For a while, no one said anything.

Then the witch spoke, in a broken, shaking voice.

"I really... thought I would die today."

Yu Lin’s arms and chest were covered in burns. His skin was red and wet, some places completely raw. Ruo Lan’s lips were cracked, her hair sticking to her sweat-soaked face. She didn’t dare look at anyone.

But the golden hands that saved them... they had come from someone.

Yu Holea.

She stood a few feet away, her body glowing faintly with power.

Her eyes were cold.

She stared down at the three people who had nearly ruined everything—her past, her family, her future.

Not a trace of pity on her face.

She didn’t speak at first.

Then, calmly, she pulled two talismans from her pocket. She raised them into the air.

FLASH!

Two golden cages appeared. One dropped over Ruo Lan. The other fell on the witch.

They hit the ground with a loud thud, trapping them instantly.

Yu Lin, who was trying to sit up, panicked.

"Holea! What are you doing?! Why are you locking Ruo Lan?! She didn’t do anything wrong!"

Yu Holea finally looked at him.

Her smile was small. But it wasn’t kind.

"Oh? You really think that?"

Yu Lin looked confused.

"She’s not at fault! She’s the one who helped me! Stayed with me! Loved me!"

Yu Holea’s voice sharpened.

"Your dear Ruo Lan... made a deal with the witch."

Yu Lin blinked. "What...?"

Holea crossed her arms.

"She helped the witch because she is the witch’s sister. Did you think she truly loved you? Let me tell you something you don’t know, Mr. Yu."

Yu Lin’s eyes widened.

"That’s not true," he said quickly, shaking his head. "You’re lying! She... she cared for me! She stayed with me! She..."

"Acted," Yu Holea said, finishing his sentence. "She acted. For years."

She turned and pointed toward Ruo Lan, who sat shivering inside the glowing golden cage. Her eyes were down, her face pale, her lips pressed together in silence.

Yu Lin followed Holea’s finger and stared at Ruo Lan.

"Lan?" he whispered.

Ruo Lan didn’t say a word.

Yu Lin stood up slowly, his body trembling. He rushed to the cage and dropped to his knees beside it.

"Tell me it’s not true," he begged. "Tell me she’s lying, Lan... tell me she’s wrong!"

Ruo Lan didn’t look at him.

She just shook her head softly, but not in denial... in regret.

Yu Lin’s heart cracked.

"No..." he whispered. "No..."

Yu Holea folded her arms. "You still don’t understand, do you? Then let me make it clearer."

She pointed at the witch.

"And this," she said, "this is the same witch you had an affair with long ago. The one you left behind when it came time to take responsibility."

Yu Lin stared at the cloaked figure. For a second, he didn’t recognize her.

But then, her head rose from the cloak.

For the first time, Yu Lin saw her face clearly.

Cold eyes full of hate. Pale lips curled in anger. Her cheeks were wet with tears, not of sadness, but of pain and fury. Her gaze burned into him like fire.

The color drained from Yu Lin’s face.

"I... I know you," he whispered. "You... You were..."

The memories hit him like a wave. Her laughter. Her voice. The secret nights. Her smile when she met him for the first time.

And his cold response. His choice to walk away.

Now she was here again, only this time, full of rage.

Yu Holea chuckled.

"Feeling dizzy, Mr. Yu? Don’t worry. There’s more."

Yu Lin blinked, his mind still spinning.

"You know your dear daughter, Yu Mei?" Holea said, her voice icy. "The one you spoiled all your life? That girl is not your daughter."

Yu Lin looked up, confused. "What do you mean?"

"She has the body of Yu Mei," Holea said, "but the soul inside belongs to the witch’s daughter, Mirai. Don’t worry, Mirai was your biological daughter too. And Ruo Lan knew. She helped make it happen."

Yu Lin looked at Ruo Lan again. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

Holea stepped closer. "So while you doted on her... Mirai, the daughter of the woman you betrayed, was living a perfect life in your home. And Yu Mei? Her soul was tossed aside like trash."

Yu Lin felt sick. He looked between the witch and Ruo Lan, his heart pounding in his ears. The pieces were finally falling into place.

Everything.

The lies. The manipulation. The strange behavior. The pain Yu Mei had suffered. The way Ruo Lan always avoided certain questions.

It was all true.

Yu Holea smiled bitterly. "You should be proud. You didn’t just ruin your own life. You helped destroy others, too."

"No..." Yu Lin whispered. "This... this can’t be real..."

"It is," Holea said. "And now it’s time to face what you’ve done."

She turned to the witch and Ruo Lan, her expression sharpening.

"You two have hurt my family. You hurt me. And now you’ll pay, just like your daughters."

The witch slammed her fists against the golden bars.

"You can’t keep me trapped forever, Yu Holea!" she shouted. "I’ll escape! You can’t stop me!"

Yu Holea didn’t flinch.

"We’ll see," she said simply.

With a wave of her hand, the golden cage glowed even brighter. Ruo Lan and the witch screamed as the light wrapped around them like chains.

Then, with a flash, they vanished.

Yu Lin stumbled to his feet. "No! Bring them back! Bring Ruo Lan back! I need her... I can’t live without her!"

Holea turned toward him slowly.

"You don’t need her," she said coldly. "You just can’t stand being unloved. That’s what scares you."