Sun Xiaoxiao smiled faintly, her hand sinking into her mother's chest. Her mother’s body trembled slightly before she finally breathed her last.
With the second heart extracted, Sun Xiaoxiao was now covered in blood, yet the girl continued to smile brilliantly in the pool of gore.
"Let's go, to Mirror City, like you said."
Ye Yan conjured a dressing mirror from beneath his cloak. With a wave of his hand across the mirror’s surface, it rippled like water.
"Please," he extended his hand with gentlemanly elegance.
Sun Xiaoxiao, clutching the two hearts, stepped into the mirror. On the other side, a tall priest, whose head and body were obscured by a black robe, was already waiting.
The two sea monsters, after consuming the hearts, quickly transformed into the likeness of Sun Xiaoxiao’s parents. They smiled kindly, opened their arms to embrace Sun Xiaoxiao, and led her toward a spacious villa.
Her mother smiled and prepared a feast. Her father gently served Sun Xiaoxiao food, while the monster Kong Ning sat beside her, chuckling with a clack-clacking sound. The family enjoyed dinner together harmoniously.
"My dear Xiaoxiao, to maintain a human guise, one must continuously consume human hearts."
"Leave it to me, Mother and Father. Our family will be together forever."
Sun Xiaoxiao smiled blissfully, the evil trees in her eyes growing lush and verdant.
The black-robed priest and Ye Yan exchanged a knowing glance and left the villa.
"Congratulations, Lord Ye Yan, on gaining a new powerful general under your command," the black-robed priest said obsequiously.
"She's also like a junior sister to you. Take good care of her; she’s a promising talent," Ye Yan chuckled twice with a cackle.
"As you command."
"This large-scale invasion plan has failed. Fortunately, the formation is complete. A few sea monsters dying is insignificant. Tsk, making too much noise really attracts the attention of the divine envoys. Their noses are too sharp, just like dogs."
Ye Yan recalled the scene of Wu Suowei tearing apart the dream realm and couldn't help but shudder. If he hadn't been unable to truly kill him within the dream realm, that punch would have been the end of him.
"And that agent from the Spirit Hunter Guild is also quite an eyesore."
"Should we eliminate that agent first?"
Ye Yan shook his head, a greedy smile spreading across his face. "Eliminating him would be a waste. He possesses an evil aura; he should have been one of us. We just need to tempt him a little more… Heh heh heh, a righteous guardian of the people, transformed into a fallen angel of darkness, wouldn't that be beautiful?"
The black robe paused as if deep in thought, but he quickly responded, "Lord Ye Yan is brilliant."
He lowered his head humbly, his eyes darting. "Lord Ye Yan, can I have another Star Fruit?"
"Didn't I just give you one last week?"
"My strength is your strength. Rather than painstakingly scattering seeds everywhere, why not nurture this one tree, adult?"
"Oh, you do have a point." Ye Yan produced a fruit from under his cloak and offered it to the black robe, whose eyes immediately lit up. He extended his hands to receive it, revealing the haphazardly wrapped bandages beneath.
New power nourished his entire body, and the black robe laughed heartily.
"Your strength is improving quite rapidly."
"It's all thanks to Lord Ye Yan's cultivation," the black robe said humbly, bowing his head subserviently.
"The Evil God anticipates your spectacular performance."
"Yes, everything for Paradise, everything for the resurrection of the Saintess." The black robe looked up at the giant statue of the Saintess, his eyes filled with fervent adoration, as if gazing at his beloved.
The black cloak slid slightly, revealing a pair of crescent-shaped smiling eyes that bore the totem of the dark evil tree.
He had originally intended to give this Star Fruit to Duan Chen, but since the persuasion plan was interrupted by the divine faction, it wasn't advisable to try again in the short term. Thus, this fruit went to the black robe. Well, he was his most accomplished believer, after all.
Ye Yan chuckled and, with a flick of his cloak, vanished without a trace.
...
Zhong Family, Garden Villa.
*Smack!*
A loud slap echoed through the building, startling the aunt tidying up, causing her to drop and shatter a blue-and-white porcelain vase.
"Ah—!"
Li Wei fell to the ground, clutching her face, her large eyes rolling with terror. The slap had stunned her; her mind buzzed as if filled with countless bees.
Zhong Xingwen stood menacingly in the light, his corpulent beer belly casting a shadow like a demon god, completely engulfing the slender Li Wei.
"You, you hit me?"
Li Wei's pupils trembled, and tears streamed down her face. She could never have imagined that her fiancé, who was always doting, never stingy with bags and jewelry, would actually hit her.
"You slut! Flirting with other men, you've made me lose all face!"
Zhong Xingwen's eyes bulged, as if he were about to devour her.
"No!! Xingwen, listen to me... it's not what you think..." Li Wei pleaded pitifully.
But one slap wasn't enough to vent his anger. The memory of being slammed against the wall and beaten by Duan Chen at the hospital made him furious enough to explode. He grabbed Li Wei's hair and repeatedly kicked her in the abdomen, back, and head.
"Damn it, you slut! You've gotten bold! Who do you think you are? Damn it, you dare cheat on me? You're asking for death!!"
Li Wei struggled in pain, curling into a ball, her body trembling violently.
"I didn't!! Ah! Help me!! I really didn't!! Spare me! Help me!!"
She cried out to the nanny for help, but no one dared to approach the enraged Zhong Xingwen.
His furious fists rained down. Li Wei's consciousness began to blur. She slumped to the ground like a soft, soggy lump, the entire world spinning. In a daze, she saw flashes of her university days.
One evening, she and Duan Chen were eating skewers at a barbecue stall outside the school when a burly man covered in tattoos approached, attempting to hit on her. After she refused, the man gathered dozens of his companions, intending to force her to submit. However, before any of them could lay a hand on her shoulder, Duan Chen grabbed the man's "salty pig trotter" and twisted it backward. The man yelped in pain, almost falling to his knees. Duan Chen shielded her behind him, coldly eyeing the group of men, "Get lost. Didn't you hear her say 'no'?"
The group of men, still trying to overpower them with numbers, were all taken down by Duan Chen, who then led her away by the hand. At that moment, her heart raced. The sense of security she had never felt before made her feel like the happiest woman in the world. She clung tightly to Duan Chen as he gently said, "Don't be afraid, I won't let anyone hurt you."
Duan Chen...
Save me...
Li Wei's vision blurred with tears, her heart sinking to the abyss of despair. She had lost this sense of security, lost the man who protected her.
Her vision went black, and Li Wei lost consciousness.
Zhong Xingwen suddenly stopped. As if suddenly realizing what he had done, he tightly embraced Li Wei's bruised and battered body with immense regret.
"Doctor! Quickly call a doctor!!"
"Darling! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! How did your face get so badly injured!? Oh my god!!" Zhong Xingwen cried out, tears streaming down his face, but Li Wei's eyes were tightly shut, her life hanging by a thread.