CHAPTER 275: CHAPTER 275: DOMAIN EXPANSION

Qingran’s punch cracked through the air like thunder.

Boran didn’t move.

He took it straight to the jaw.

The sound of her knuckles colliding with bone echoed in the room. His head snapped sideways, and blood welled at the corner of his lip but he didn’t fall down.

He didn’t even stagger. He just stood there, eyes closed, mouth tilted upward in what looked like grim satisfaction.

"You’re angry," he murmured, slowly straightening his head again. "Good."

Qingran’s fists trembled. "You don’t get to act like this was justified. Like you needed me to see some twisted truth."

"I didn’t say it was justified." He wiped the blood with his thumb. "I said it was necessary."

Ruihuang stepped forward, but Qingran raised her hand.

"No."

Her voice was cold steel.

"This is mine."

Behind her, Meng Nian carefully lifted Wei Sheng’s limp body from the chair. There was no resistance. No breath. No flicker of awareness. Only the faint warmth of recently extinguished life.

[Don’t look back,] Lingquan warned. [Not yet.]

"I know," Qingran whispered to herself.

Moli stepped into the doorway, arms folded, shoulder propped against the frame like she’d been waiting for the perfect moment to make her entrance.

"Well," she purred. "That was theatrical. You always did like to make a mess of reunions, didn’t you?"

Qingran’s face darkened.

If her hatred for Boran was ice, her hatred for Moli burned like wildfire.

"Moli."

"Oh, she remembers me," Moli said sweetly, tilting her head. "Touched, really."

Qingran’s eyes snapped to her. "I should’ve known you’d crawl out of whatever pit he’s keeping you in."

Moli laughed, leaning casually against the doorframe. "Still bitter I took everything from you, huh? Power, friends, your life.."

"Oh shut up, you didn’t take anything I won’t take back.." Qingran cut in. Her voice was calm, but underneath, it burned with hatred. "You and Boran can rot together. One’s a coward, the other’s just a dog who enjoys licking his boots."

Moli’s eyes glittered. "That so? Because last I remember, you were the one begging him to trust you. I just did what he wanted."

"Exactly." Qingran stepped forward. "You were a lapdog. A twisted, pathetic parasite who clung to his scraps and called it love. You weren’t powerful. You were convenient."

Moli’s smile slipped for a heartbeat.

"Funny..." she sneered. "For someone so sure of herself, you sure cry easily when things burn."

"Cry? Don’t mix that other life with this one" Qingran said coldly. "You can’t beat me..."

Moli chuckled. "Big words, I’m a parasite just like you said. You think you’ll be able to kill me that easily?."

"You’re damn right they’re big. And when I finally end you, it won’t be clean. I’ll make sure your death is ugly, screaming. I want you to remember my face every second your bones crack under my flames."

"You talk too much."Ruihuang stayed quiet behind her, his fingers twitching near his weapon. Even he looked unsettled.

Moli straightened, her voice low and mocking. "You know what he sees in you, right? It’s not love. It’s guilt. You’re his walking consequences. That’s all you’ve ever been."

"And you?" Qingran’s smile was venomous. "You’re a cautionary tale. A rotting lesson in what happens when garbage pretends it’s gold."

"Try me, Qingran."

"Gladly. I’ll tear your fucking throat out."

Behind her, Meng Nian didn’t even blink. He just muttered, "Wow, she’s so fierce.."

[Finally,] Lingquan breathed in her mind. [No more pretending.]

Moli looked like she was going to reply again but then Boran spoke.

"That’s enough."

His voice was quiet, but it cut through them like a blade.

Qingran turned slowly. Her glare burned a hole through him.

"You don’t get to tell me when it’s enough," she said. "You started this. You brought me here to see what? That you’re still a monster?"

Boran didn’t flinch. "I brought you here because I wanted you to see what I became."

"I already know that kind of fucking monster you are Boran and the wicked mind games you play.." she snapped.

She stepped back, glancing at Wei Sheng’s lifeless body.

Then she raised her voice again. "This place stinks. Of rot, of blood, and of your silly little delusions. And if you think for one second I came here to cry or forgive, you’re more pathetic than I thought."

"I didn’t ask for forgiveness.." Boran said.

"You couldn’t buy it with all the lives you’ve stolen."

She took one final step forward. "If you want a fight, I’ll give it to you. But know this, when I end you, I won’t feel a damn thing."

Qingran turned without hesitation.

"Take him. We’re leaving."

She didn’t look at Boran. Didn’t even glance.

But Boran’s voice followed her like a blade drawn across stone.

"They can go," he said.

A pause.

"But you can’t."

Qingran stopped.

Ruihuang shifted beside her, hand tightening on his blade. Meng Nian tensed, arms tightening under Wei Sheng’s limp weight.

She turned her head just enough to see him.

Her voice was ice.

"Then I’ll burn this fucking place to the ground."

"System trigger.." he said quietly. "Tarot: The Reversed Tower."

[Reversed Tower card activated! Chaos unleashed!]

The moment the card activated, everything changed.

Qingran’s boot hit the ground but it wasn’t the floor she’d just stepped on.

The room warped. The air shimmered.

Rusted windows and crumbling brick vanished in a breath.

They were standing in a hollow, twisted world where the sky was ash-black and fractured, and the ground beneath their feet pulsed like it was breathing.

A system-generated battlefield. One he’d customized.

His domain.

Ruihuang swore under his breath. "Fuck! Where the hell are we?!"

[It’s system-based...] Lingquan warned. [But it’s real enough to kill you.]

Qingran didn’t flinch.

Her hand tightened into a fist, azure flames licking out over her knuckles.

"You wanted me alone?"

Her voice was quiet. Firm.

"Then get ready."

Boran’s lips twitched faintly, but his eyes stayed locked on her.

"You said you’d burn this place down.." he said. "Be my guest."