Li Yue Shu had a dream, a very long nightmare.
She dreamt she was back in her childhood, trained day and night by an organization as a killing machine.
Her companions, who had once fought side by side and shared life and death, were locked in cages, forced to kill each other.
The first time, out of a hundred people, only seventy survived.
The second time, out of seventy, only fifty survived.
The third time, out of fifty, only thirty survived.
The fourth time…
In the end, only she and Xiao Yu were left.
Someone handed her a dagger, its cold tip seeming to pierce her palm.
"Go, kill her, and you can live," someone whispered in her ear.
She looked up at her friend standing not far away, thinking of how many times they had supported each other, helping each other reach this point.
No, she couldn't hurt Xiao Yu, absolutely not!
"No!"
Li Yue Shu sat up abruptly in bed, gasping for breath.
The person beside her noticed her sudden movement and hurried over, "Ah Shu, are you alright? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
Li Yue Shu turned around blankly, seeing Qin Mo Yuan's worried expression, and seemed to freeze for a long time.
Suddenly, she nervously gripped Qin Mo Yuan's arm, "Where's Ah Yi? Is Ah Yi alright?"
Qin Mo Yuan was very concerned about her condition, but he also knew her worry for Ah Yi, so he could only say, "You were both asleep for an entire night. Ah Yi is awake, but she seems to be in shock and won't let anyone near."
Upon hearing this, Li Yue Shu immediately thought of Pang Shan Du Wang's methods, her heart feeling as if it had been pricked by a needle.
"I'm going to see Ah Yi."
She tried to get out of bed, but her legs went weak, and she almost fell. Fortunately, Qin Mo Yuan caught her quickly.
Li Yue Shu instinctively grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be Qin Mo Yuan's wrist.
He shivered and instinctively tried to pull his hand away, but he held back.
Even so, Li Yue Shu noticed it.
She suddenly remembered Pang Shan Du Wang's words and looked at Qin Mo Yuan nervously, "Pang Shan Du Wang said he set a trap. Are you injured?"
"I'm fine," Qin Mo Yuan quickly changed the subject. "Ah Shu, Doctor Chen said there's still residual poison in your body, and the wound on your head hasn't healed. You should rest well."
He wanted to withdraw his hand, but Li Yue Shu grabbed his wrist and directly pushed up his sleeve, revealing the bloodied bite mark from the snake.
Li Yue Shu's expression darkened, and she quickly felt his pulse to check the wound.
Qin Mo Yuan was somewhat helpless but didn't stop her. "I'm really fine. I was just bitten by a snake, but it wasn't venomous. It didn't hurt at all."
Li Yue Shu frowned.
How could being bitten by a snake not hurt!
Li Yue Shu opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. She could only glare at Qin Mo Yuan and add fiercely, "Why didn't it bite you to death!"
She flung his hand away, took out a bottle of medicine from her space, and threw it to him.
Taking the medicine, Qin Mo Yuan felt a slight sweetness in his heart and unconsciously tightened his grip on the bottle.
Li Yue Shu, supporting herself, directly put the gun and syringe on the side into her space in front of him before walking out.
Seeing this, Qin Mo Yuan's eyes flickered, and then he followed her.
At this moment, Shen Ting Yi was in Mother Mo's room. In fact, Mother Mo had been with her since they returned.
But since waking up, she had been afraid of anyone approaching, and even Mother Mo could only pace anxiously nearby.
When Li Yue Shu entered, she immediately saw Shen Ting Yi's terrified expression.
Her heart ached, and a dense sourness spread through her.
"Ah Yi…"
Li Yue Shu softened her voice and cautiously walked over.
She sat by the bed but dared not get too close. "Ah Yi, Mother is here. Can you look at Mother?"
At her soft call, Shen Ting Yi, who had been cowering in the corner and showing no reaction, suddenly moved.
She slowly looked up at Li Yue Shu, her face ashen, completely drained of color.
"Mother…"
As the dry, hoarse voice emerged, Li Yue Shu felt as if her heart was being fiercely squeezed by a large hand, causing indescribable pain.
She opened her arms, about to say something, when Shen Ting Yi lunged into her embrace, her voice, usually soft and cute, now filled with fear.
"Mother, you're finally here! Wuwuwu… Ah Yi is in so much pain, so many bugs are biting me, Ah Yi is so scared… Mother, Ah Yi thought you didn't want me anymore…"
Li Yue Shu's heart shattered. She hugged the child in her arms tightly. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I've implicated Ah Yi. How could I not want you, Ah Yi? I promised I would never abandon you."
Pang Shan Du Wang's target had been her from the beginning, which was why he used Ah Yi as bait and proposed to meet her alone.
If it weren't for her, Ah Yi wouldn't have suffered like this.
Qin Mo Yuan stood at the doorway, watching the mother and daughter embrace. The hand hanging by his side slowly tightened.
Then, he turned and left the room, raising his hand to summon Chai Yang. "Deliver my decree: whoever brings the head of Pang Shan Du Wang shall be rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold and honored as a distinguished guest of the Regent's Mansion!"
Every word seemed to carry a sharp killing intent.
Even Chai Yang, who was usually steady, couldn't help but look up in shock.
For the master to say this was to declare to the whole world the opposition between the Regent's Mansion of Chen Nan Kingdom and Pang Shan Du Wang.
Was he this angry because of the third miss, or because of…
Chai Yang dared not ask further and quickly accepted the order. "Yes."
…
Perhaps it was because she was tired from crying, or perhaps her perpetually taut nerves had finally relaxed, Shen Ting Yi fell asleep in Li Yue Shu's arms.
Even in her sleep, her little hand still tightly clutched Li Yue Shu's clothes, showing dependence and fear.
Li Yue Shu carefully shifted the little girl in her arms, composed herself, and began to examine her physical condition.
She remembered Pang Shan Du Wang saying he had poisoned Ah Yi.
After a thorough examination, although she was mentally prepared, Li Yue Shu's expression still turned grim.
She took a small amount of Ah Yi's blood, gently released her hand, and quietly entered her space.
When the test results came out, Li Yue Shu's desire to kill Pang Shan Du Wang grew even stronger.
Upon exiting the space, Qin Mo Yuan immediately noticed her changed mood and proactively asked, "Ah Shu, what's wrong?"
Li Yue Shu's face was pale, her clasped hands trembling slightly. "Ah Yi has been poisoned."
Qin Mo Yuan's expression showed no surprise.
After rescuing her, he had asked Doctor Chen to examine her. There was no immediate danger to her life, and he believed in Li Yue Shu's abilities, so he wasn't overly worried.
But seeing Ah Shu's reaction…
Qin Mo Yuan's heart tightened. "Can you cure this poison?"
Li Yue Shu's thin lips pressed together, and she shook her head. "I'm not sure."
This world was, after all, a creation of the author's imagination, containing many things she had never heard of.
Pang Shan Du Wang knew she could detoxify, so he didn't hold back when poisoning Ah Yi.
Li Yue Shu took a deep breath. "Ah Yi's blood already contains toxins. Although there is no immediate danger to her life, if the toxins continue to circulate throughout her body with her blood, I fear…"
Suddenly remembering something, Li Yue Shu's voice abruptly stopped.