"Qiuqiu..."
Upon hearing Qiuqiu's voice, Ning Beichen's mind began to waver. The vajra pestle in his hand slowly retracted, and scenes of his past with Qiuqiu began to play in his mind.
"No, you're not Qiuqiu, Qiuqiu is already dead!"
Just as Ning Beichen was about to withdraw the vajra pestle, he suddenly sobered up and immediately thrust it back in.
"Ning Beichen, Ning Beichen, are you really going to be so heartless as to kill me?"
Qiuqiu's tearful voice emanated from the bloody mist.
"You're not Qiuqiu, Qiuqiu never called me Ning—Bei—Chen!"
"She called me brother!"
Ning Beichen let out a fierce roar, plunging the vajra pestle entirely into the bloody mist. It seemed a phantom of a Buddha veiled the mist.
The skull in the bloody mist roared unwillingly, struggled, and surged, churning the mist. But under the purification of Ning Beichen's vajra pestle,
gradually, the unwilling skull in the bloody mist vanished from this world, and even the bloody mist disappeared. Only transparent, glass-like fragments remained on the ground.
Whether it was annihilated by the vajra pestle or returned to where it belonged, its trace was gone.
However, after the bloody mist dissipated, the vajra pestle in Ning Beichen's hand also cracked with a bang, perishing along with the mist. This brought him immense heartache.
"Living Buddha, I am truly sorry."
Ning Beichen looked at the shattered vajra pestle, clasped his hands together, and said apologetically.
He hadn't expected that the witch could unleash such a terrifying entity. If he, Ning Beichen, didn't have a few tricks up his sleeve, he would have met his end here tonight.
The thought of that witch ignited Ning Beichen's fury.
Was releasing such a thing merely to deal with him, Ning Beichen? It was an attempt to annihilate Haizhou New City!
How dare she?
How could she do such a thing?
Ning Beichen furiously went to find the detestable witch, but she had already vanished, likely escaping amidst the chaos. This infuriated Ning Beichen to no end. He ordered his subordinates to find her, dead or alive.
This witch was far too dangerous, resorting to ultimate killing moves at the slightest provocation. Ning Beichen couldn't afford to trifle with her; she had to be eliminated quickly.
Little did Ning Beichen know that this ultimate killing move could only be used once, and the price she paid was beyond Ning Beichen's imagination.
Tara, covered in blood, was sprinting through a narrow alley, coughing up blood as she ran. She was barely recognizable as human.
If Ning Beichen saw her now, he would be utterly shocked.
Her hair had turned white, her face was lined with wrinkles, making her look like a woman in her sixties or seventies, a far cry from the beautiful woman she once was.
This was the consequence of her using the Crow Ancestor's skull and forbidden witchcraft!
Although she had escaped, it didn't mean she would survive. She desperately needed someone, someone who could save her life, and it had to be a man.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Tara stopped, bracing herself against the wall, coughing up large amounts of blood.
The aging had not ceased. If she couldn't find a man, she would die from old age.
She grew weaker and weaker, unable to even stand steady. The skin beneath her clothes was shriveled like that of a seventy-year-old.
Just as Tara was about to die of old age, a man suddenly appeared in the alley.
The man, possibly drunk, exuded a strong scent of alcohol as he stumbled into the alley, completely oblivious to Tara's presence.
He drunkenly approached Tara, unzipped his pants, and began to urinate. The sound of splashing water filled the air as the drunkard urinated all over Tara.
Perhaps it was fate that Tara's demise was not yet sealed. She, who was on the verge of death, never expected a man to appear before her, rekindling her hope of survival.
"The Crow Ancestor must have blessed her from the netherworld."
Tara struggled to her feet and lunged at the drunkard like a wild wolf.
About half an hour later, only the shriveled human skin of the drunkard remained in the alley, tossed into a trash can. Tara had long since disappeared.
...
"Ning Beichen, I'm sorry..."
When Liu Yilin saw Ning Beichen, she looked like a child who had done something wrong and caused trouble, lowering her head, afraid to meet his gaze.
If only she had believed Ning Beichen sooner, things wouldn't have ended up this way.
"Boss, you don't need to apologize to me. You should apologize to yourself."
"You are the one I am protecting. If anything happened to you, it would be my failure. But I hope you can trust me in the future and believe that I would never do anything to harm you."
"Only with your complete trust can I guarantee your safety."
Ning Beichen said to her.
"I understand. I will trust you from now on," Liu Yilin replied sheepishly.
The incident had taken a heavy toll on her, especially the fact that Tara had killed her classmate and made a human skin mask from her face. Liu Yilin had never hated anyone so much.
But her hatred was useless. If Ning Beichen hadn't protected her, she would have suffered the same fate as her classmate tonight.
"Ning Beichen, that... what about Cheng Cheng?"
The thought of that woman made Liu Yilin grind her teeth as she asked.
"She wasn't Cheng Cheng. She was a witch, and she escaped."
Ning Beichen replied.
"Ning Beichen, please avenge Cheng Cheng. She died so tragically, and it's all my fault."
Liu Yilin looked up at Ning Beichen, earnestly pleading with him.
"Don't worry, I won't let her get away with it. Such a person is too dangerous. This time it was your classmate, next time who knows. Such a person must not be allowed to live in this world."
Ning Beichen said, still feeling a lingering fear.
Unfortunately, even now, his subordinates had not found any trace of the woman. He didn't know where she was hiding. It was likely she was skilled at concealment, which was why Ning Beichen's men couldn't find her.
Time passed quickly, and several days went by.
"What! You still haven't found that woman?"
Ning Beichen held the phone, his brow furrowed. He had underestimated this woman.