CHAPTER 232: CHAPTER 230 POISON OUTBREAK

A terrifying killing intent radiated from Shen Jingzhe’s eyes.

This woman is a true freak, Lin Xiao thought as his heart sank. The glint in her eyes suggested she wasn’t very old, probably only around twenty-four or twenty-five at most. Yet at such a young age, she possessed such an astonishing level of cultivation. He really wondered what she had eaten growing up.

"Shen Jingzhe, do you really have to kill me?"

Shen Jingzhe’s gaze was cold and indifferent.

"Yes!"

"Can’t we just call this off?"

"You’re dreaming!"

"Damn it, why?!" Lin Xiao grumbled. "We don’t have any grudges against each other. Why are you so insistent on killing me?"

"Enough nonsense," Shen Jingzhe asked icily. "What are your last words?"

Lin Xiao was about to speak but suddenly noticed the black line between her brows had extended a bit further down. It was nearly touching the snowy-white bridge of her nose. Once it reached her philtrum, Shen Jingzhe would undoubtedly die.

Although this woman had come to kill him, and he couldn’t wait for her to drop dead, the problem was that it would take at least two or three months for that black line to travel from between her brows to her philtrum. That meant she would have already killed him long before she succumbed to the poison.

No, I can’t just sit here and wait to die! I still haven’t reclaimed my cultivation. I don’t know who killed my parents. I haven’t found the Mountain-River Diagram. I haven’t even fulfilled my dream of becoming the king of the world!

With this in mind, Lin Xiao prepared to thoroughly hoodwink the woman, hoping to make her temporarily abandon the idea of killing him.

But just then, Shen Jingzhe, who had seemed perfectly fine a moment ago, suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Lin Xiao was shocked to see a stream of black blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. As a doctor, he immediately recognized that the poison was acting up.

This is great! Heaven itself must be on my side!

He was about to clap his hands in glee, but then he saw her complexion turn ashen and her breath grow as faint as a thread. Lin Xiao knew this was a golden opportunity sent from the heavens to kill her. She was at her absolute weakest right now. If he made a move, it would be laughably easy to end her life.

But he hesitated. It wasn’t that he felt any pity for her. Rather, her cultivation was so freakishly high that if he could somehow make her serve him, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. Besides, if her cultivation was this monstrous, how terrifyingly powerful must her master be? If he killed her now and her master later came seeking revenge, he definitely wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Yes, this woman cannot die. At least, not yet.

With that thought, Lin Xiao quickly summoned his Xuantian Needle.

When Shen Jingzhe saw the Xuantian Needle in Lin Xiao’s hand, she shuddered, and a flicker of fear finally appeared in her ice-cold eyes.

Lin Xiao saw this and asked with a grin, "What, are you scared?"

Shen Jingzhe snorted disdainfully. "Afraid? Sorry, the word ’fear’ does not exist in Shen Jingzhe’s dictionary!"

"Is that so? Well, in that case, my apologies in advance!" Lin Xiao said, forcing a vicious smile. As he spoke, he walked over to Shen Jingzhe, raising the Xuantian Needle and feigning a strike at her.

Panic flooded Shen Jingzhe’s heart. Yes, she was truly terrified. After all, she had come to kill this man, and now she had fallen into his hands. There was no way he would let her off easily.

Lin Xiao squatted in front of her, speaking with a deliberately sinister smile. "Tell me, what do you think it would feel like if this silver needle pierced your eye?"

"Bastard, you... you dare!" Shen Jingzhe glared at Lin Xiao, her eyes filled with fury.

Seeing his smug grin, she inexplicably recalled the humiliation she had suffered at his hands the previous night. New hatred piled on top of old. If her body didn’t become limp and powerless every time the poison flared, she would have fought this bastard to the death.

Looking at her eyes burning with shame and fury, Lin Xiao spoke viciously, "Shen Jingzhe, you dare threaten me? Good. Very good. In that case, let me first see your true face under that veil. Then, I’ll use this needle to blind you. Finally, I’ll string you up and torture you properly, making sure you die in the most extreme agony imaginable."

As he spoke, Lin Xiao pretended to reach for her veil.

BOOM!

The threat made Shen Jingzhe shudder uncontrollably. She panicked—utterly and completely panicked. The terror in her beautiful eyes was impossible to hide. She desperately tried to move, but it was as if her mind had lost all control over her limbs. No matter how much she struggled, her body wouldn’t respond in the slightest.

Soon, Lin Xiao’s hand touched her veil. With a single tug, her true face would be revealed.

Shen Jingzhe felt the warmth of his fingers through the fabric of her veil, and her entire body jerked violently. Then, crystal-clear tears began to spill from her eyes. At first, they came one by one, but within moments, they became a raging, unstoppable flood, as if a dam had burst.

Shen Jingzhe was crying. The immense humiliation was too much to bear, and she could no longer hold back her emotions.

"Bastard! If you dare lift my veil, I... I... I’ll haunt you as a ghost!" she shrieked. Her voice was thick with sobs, as if she were suffering the greatest injustice in the world.

A flicker of pity sparked in Lin Xiao’s heart, but he suppressed it and said with a wicked grin, "Shen Jingzhe, how about this? Beg me. If I’m in a good mood, maybe I won’t remove your veil."

"You... you wish!" Shen Jingzhe choked out.

Girls really are made of water, Lin Xiao mused. Just ten minutes ago, she was glaring at me with murderous intent, ready to kill me at any moment. Now that the poison is acting up, she’s a sobbing mess. She looks so weak and fragile right now, without a single trace of that peerless expert from before.

"Fine, you said it. I’ll tear off your veil right now, then I’ll destroy your eyes! We’ll see how you try to assassinate me then!" Lin Xiao threatened menacingly.

Perhaps it was the horrifying nature of his words, the flaring of the poison, or the sheer, overwhelming indignation of it all that caused her anger to boil over. Whatever the reason, no sooner had the words left Lin Xiao’s mouth than Shen Jingzhe abruptly passed out.

Startled, Lin Xiao quickly felt for her pulse. After a thorough examination, he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed she had simply fainted from a rush of extreme anger.

However, the poison in her body had reached a critical point. If she wasn’t treated soon, she wouldn’t have more than a few days to live.

Looking at the unconscious woman on the ground, Lin Xiao found himself in a dilemma.