Volume One: Hidden in the Azure Abyss Chapter Fifty-Five

No, it wasn’t Nan Mo?

There was no coldness in Nan Mo’s eyes.

“Who are you?” Jin Li asked.

Nan Shuang crouched down, placed the food on the table, and then spoke to Jin Li, “My lady, you should not stand in the way of the master’s revenge.”

Jin Li braced herself against the table, her clothes stained with blood. She stared at Nan Shuang and said slowly, word by word, “The way of the world is righteous; those of the demonic path must be eradicated by my hand.”

Though her body was that of a mortal and wounded at that, she still reached out fiercely and gripped Nan Shuang’s neck. But she was too weak, a mere mortal, and despite her determination, she could not shake Nan Shuang in the least.

Nan Shuang’s gaze turned cold. “Anyone who stands in the master’s way must die.”

Then, a silver needle pierced Jin Li’s neck.

In an instant, her vision was shrouded in a red mist. It was as if her organs had fallen into an icy cellar, the frigid chill burrowing relentlessly into her body.

She felt cold, and then the icy pain rampaged within her, as if it would burst out from her very flesh.

Pain! Agonizing pain! A stabbing, indescribable torment seized every part of her, forcing her to the ground, writhing like a fish stranded on the shore.

Her heart-wrenching screams shattered the silence of the night, miserable and terrifying.

Her body gradually stiffened. Blood began to seep from her seven orifices.

The beautiful woman, once so graceful, now looked like a corpse frozen to death in a snowstorm.

This was the Soul-Chilling Needle.

One prick, whether god or mortal, would die from the excruciating pain, blood flowing from every orifice as the icy poison ravaged the heart.

Nan Shuang looked down at the struggling Jin Li, watching as her movements grew weaker and weaker.

Then she opened her palm, releasing another wave of cold air to shroud Jin Li.

This one could not be allowed to die.

Jin Li awoke again, but her world was shrouded in darkness, with not a glimmer of light.

She sensed that she was alone in the room.

She lay dazed on the cold floor for a while, then began to feel her way along the table. When her hand brushed against a candle and the hot wax scalded her fingertips, she recoiled instinctively.

Nan Shuang had left her a lit candle, but had spared her life.

So, this was how Geng Yuan intended to torment her.

She waved a hand before her eyes—there was only a vague darkness, and she could see nothing else.

Her eyes were ruined.

She slumped to the floor, and then forced herself to rise. She had barely taken a step before tripping over a fallen chair, her body weak and battered.

Humiliated and abused—she would rather die than endure this.

Her hands landed on the shards of a broken flowerpot, one that had been smashed by those who had just tormented her.

Pain, and the scent of blood.

Blood seeped from her palms, winding like worms.

She clenched her fists, searching for the bed without caring, and finally collapsed onto it, unable to hold out any longer.

Nan Shuang would surely come again, for Geng Yuan had ordered her to use the Soul-Chilling Needle on Jin Li every day.

Lying on her side, she traced her brow with trembling fingers. Her spiritual sea was silent—the spiritual contract had finally been broken.

What was happening outside?

As she expected, Nan Shuang returned the next day, tortured her as before, then administered the antidote.

But if this continued, Jin Li would die.

Yet it was not her time to die.

The barrier would eventually be broken.

On the fourth day of torment, Jin Li, despite her faintness, managed to hide Nan Shuang’s Soul-Chilling Needle, hoping she could use it to break her own spell.

But doing so would cause the needle’s poison to steadily invade her body.

She groped for her food and ate it, unafraid of poison—she was as good as dead already, who would bother?

Once bustling with life, the place was now deserted.

At night, she bit down on a scrap of cloth and stabbed herself again and again at her acupoints with the Soul-Chilling Needle.

Each stab brought pain that pierced bone and marrow, yet each had to strike precisely.

Then she tried to summon her primordial spirit’s power. Each attempt nearly made her faint from the agony.

Sweat beaded on her brow like fine rain, soaking her clothes. Gritting her teeth, she endured night after night, uncertain whether she would live or die.

She was only a step away from breaking the seal on her magic.

But the next day, no food arrived, not even water. Days passed in hunger and thirst. Nan Shuang did not return, nor did any servant. It was as if she had been forgotten by the world.

But Su Su came.

“My lady? My lady?”

Jin Li was so weak she could barely respond, but then someone entered the barrier. She could not see clearly and murmured, “Water... Water... Water.”

Cool water was brought to her lips. Jin Li opened her eyes with effort, her vision blurred, and finally recognized Su Su.

Su Su’s face was full of worry. “My lady, how did you fall to this state? Are you all right? Do you feel better?”

Jin Li grasped her sleeve and said at once, “Let me out. I want to leave this place.”

“My lady, it’s not that I won’t let you out, but the lord has given orders. You are not to leave, nor is anyone allowed to visit. I came secretly today to see you.”

Jin Li’s grip slowly loosened.

She remained silent, and Su Su continued, “My lady, you should not have become involved with the Second Prince. He and the lord are at odds; your actions have truly angered him. Perhaps I could plead your case—maybe his heart would soften, and he’d let you go.”

“You’ll plead for me? Then thank you, Fairy Su Su,” Jin Li replied with biting sarcasm.

Hearing her mocking words, Su Su’s hand clenched in her sleeve.

This woman did not know what was good for her.

“You told Geng Yuan not to kill Ruan Tu, and now you say you’ll plead for me? Do you mean for me to bow my head to him? Never!”

A faint glimmer of satisfaction flickered in Su Su’s eyes.

Jin Li looked up at her. “Go back and tell Geng Yuan that if he expects me to feel a shred of genuine affection for him, he’s deluding himself!”

In Buzhou Hall, immortal attendants came and went, carrying basins of bloody water. Over a dozen medicine immortals stood helpless, while Geng Yuan’s face was deathly pale, devoid of life.

That dagger was filled with celestial power—a part of Jin Li’s primordial spirit. Her soul was a phoenix, in conflict with Geng Yuan’s, and the Xuanling Fire had grievously wounded his spirit.

For days, Geng Yuan coughed blood intermittently, and the wound on his chest refused to heal.

The medicine immortals of the Four Seas were thrown into disarray.

At that moment, Su Su arrived with medicine. She gave it to Geng Yuan herself, and though his wound stopped bleeding and he seemed to regain some vitality, he remained unconscious, his face ashen as paper.

Jiang Ji asked, “May I ask where you obtained this medicine, Fairy Su Su?”

Su Su replied, “A sacred remedy bestowed by the Heavenly Lord. Why, do you suspect I would poison the lord?”

“I would not dare.”

Su Su had been sent to Geng Yuan by the Heavenly Lord himself; Jiang Ji dared not object.

But if Su Su were to harm Geng Yuan, Jiang Ji would not let this inscrutable woman off so easily.

Fortunately, Geng Yuan awoke.

But his first words upon awakening were, “Where is A-Jin?”

Jiang Ji noticed the flash of hatred across Su Su’s face.

Jin Li leaned against the table and chairs. Once, this place had been warm and welcoming; now it was as cold as a dungeon, a prison. It was just like the illusionary prison—Geng Yuan had abandoned her there, leaving her alone.

And this time, he had truly locked her away.

Her lips were dry, her face haggard. In the frail body of a mortal, she might not last many more days. When she died, she would have failed to protect the beings of the six realms.

Lost in thought, she heard the door creak open, followed by unsteady footsteps.

She turned her head. In the gloom, Geng Yuan entered, draped in a thick ermine cloak, his face pale, one hand pressed to his chest. He looked pained as he walked step by step toward Jin Li.

He knelt beside her, studied her from head to toe, and then with a wave of his hand, broke the window lattice. Sunlight burst into the room, making Jin Li raise her hand to shield her eyes.

“A-Jin, let’s get married.”

Jin Li could hardly believe her ears. Could these words truly come from Geng Yuan, who was always so vengeful? Shouldn’t he be trying to kill her, or at least demanding to know why she had treated him so?

A mocking smile twisted Jin Li’s lips, her expression full of contempt. “Geng Yuan, is this all you can do? Marriage? Are you mad, or am I?”

Geng Yuan lifted his eyes; the starlight had vanished from their weary depths. “Perhaps I am mad. You want me dead, but I still want to marry you. I must be mad.”

Jin Li looked at him with pity, her tone absolute. “Geng Yuan, I’m telling you—it’s impossible.”

He lowered his gaze. Words he had long kept to himself finally spilled out. “If you refuse, Yun Xiang…”

“If you so much as touch her, just try it!”

Jin Li roared in fury.

Geng Yuan stood. “A-Jin, prepare yourself well for our wedding.”

This was the Jin Li who had once left him to freeze in the icy lake, who had only ever wanted his death.

And yet, he loved her to the marrow.

He truly was a madman.