Chapter 53: The Death of Xiao Jinghuai

In his view, there was no reason for her to refuse, seeing as he had promised her the position of primary wife! To her, this was an immense bestowal of favor.

Although she had repeatedly denied harboring feelings for him earlier, he had seen quite clearly just now that she was overjoyed at the moment of his appearance, which proved that she still held him in her heart.

Coupled with what Su Yunqi had said, she must still be unable to forget him, and everything she did before was merely an attempt to draw his attention.

At this thought, his confidence instantly surged. He silently waited for her response, and after a long while, he heard her voice ring out once more, "Xiao Jinghuai, the position of primary wife is quite unnecessary. What I want is your life—give it you must, and even if you refuse, give it you shall!"

Yet, to Xiao Jinghuai, this statement sounded like a peculiar declaration of affection, making him even more smug.

"This Prince understands. You are merely throwing a tantrum now. Rest assured, this Prince will not treat you unfairly. As for the Emperor, he will gladly grant a re-issued marriage decree. After all, your current abilities render you worthy of this Prince, so there is no need for you to worry about that at all." A proud expression crossed his face, a slight smile curving the corners of his lips.

Su Yunqing did not bother answering him this time; instead, she plunged a sword straight into him. Amidst his incredulous stare, she drove a second blade through him.

"Why?" He could not fathom it. Clearly, he had already promised her the position of primary wife—why on earth was she still doing this?

Su Yunqing gazed at him with a trace of impatience, a mocking expression on her face as she said, "Why? I have already made myself perfectly clear: I detest you."

At the same time, seeing Su Yunqi glaring at her with eyes widened in rage, she spoke in a leisurely tone, "So, for her sake, you were going to cast me aside?"

She had heard every word clearly just moments before. To be honest, she had felt profoundly disappointed in Xiao Jinghuai, but upon reflection, she simply could not hold it back any longer.

Because her body was truly suffering terribly, and she had been waiting for him to offer a helping hand, only to discover that not only did he fail to help, but he was actually contemplating how to abandon her.

Frowning, Xiao Jinghuai said, "Yunqi, this Prince never meant to abandon you. Once I have settled matters with her, I will demand the antidote."

With that, he cast his gaze back upon Su Yunqing. Although he was furious that she had directly attacked someone else, the thought that she would soon become an alchemist consoled him. As long as he could win her back, pill resources would never be lacking for him, and countless people would flock to curry his favor.

Envisioning such a bright and promising future, he regretted treating her the way he had before, enduring her assaults while continuing his persuasion.

Even up to this moment, deep down he was still unwilling to believe that she did not care for him; he remained convinced that she still harbored feelings for him, and thus he was overflowing with confidence.

He believed her current actions were merely petulant tantrums, and as long as he coaxed her with patience, all previous issues would cease to be problems.

"If letting you stab this Prince a few times can vent your anger, then by all means, stab away. It is true, after all, that this Prince wronged you and brought you harm," Zheng Zihan said with an impassioned expression.

"Xiao Jinghuai, do not be impatient. I will kill you, but on the road to the netherworld, I shall send your Yunqi to accompany you!" Her eyes were filled with murderous intent as she continued to thrust her sword, stroke after stroke, with increasing viciousness.

Yet none of the wounds were fatal; they would not kill him instantly, but they subjected his body to excruciating torment.

This was precisely the effect Su Yunqing desired. She was determined to thoroughly torture them both before sending them to their deaths.

Initially, Xiao Jinghuai could still deceive himself, believing she was merely throwing a childish tantrum or playing hard-to-get to draw his attention. But now, it was abundantly clear that this was not the case at all.

He could perceive genuine murderous intent in her eyes; at that very moment, she truly wanted him dead.

Stunned, he froze for a moment before recovering his composure, after which he hastily said, "This Prince knows that what happened before was my fault, but everyone makes mistakes. You cannot choose not to forgive someone just because of a single mistake. Isn't that rather heartless of you?"

"If you can give this Prince one more chance, this Prince will certainly not disappoint you again!" He resorted to playing the emotional card once more, naturally hoping to make her change her mind.

"Xiao Jinghuai, do not think I am unaware of what you truly did! The assassins sent to kill me before were dispatched by you—they simply mistook their target and took Zhu Shishi for me! Had that not been the case, I truly might have been murdered by you back then!"

"So what qualifications do you have to utter such words now? I tell you, right now I wish nothing more than to hack you into a thousand pieces. How could I possibly spare you, let alone stay with you? The very thought of it makes me sick to my stomach!"

As she spoke, she directly severed one of his arms, wringing a loud shriek from him. "Ah! My arm!"

He had attempted to resist, but her cultivation far surpassed his, and coupled with the spirit sword in her hand, he had entirely no means of defense.

The searing pain of losing an arm made his eyes turn bloodshot. When he raised his head once more, his gaze was fraught with malice. "You actually dared to ruin this Prince's arm! Very well, Su Yunqing, today this Prince shall have your life!"

"Enough. I am utterly sick of hearing those words. Rather than spouting empty threats here, you would do better to figure out how to break free!" With that, she lopped off one of his legs as well.

"Ah! Su Yunqing, this Prince is the Sixth Prince! If you kill me now, are you not afraid of being hunted down? Are you not afraid that once the Academy investigates, your admission quota will be forfeited?" Terror filled his heart at this moment, for he realized that playing the emotional card was utterly useless.

He no longer possessed his previous, misplaced confidence to use his status to pressure her into backing down.

"Xiao Jinghuai, since I made my move today, I never intended to let either of you leave alive!" Her gaze carried a warning, clearly demonstrating her absolute resolve.

"Even if we treated you poorly before, it surely does not warrant wiping us out completely, does it?" Realizing that she no longer cared about any of that, a wave of despair washed over Xiao Jinghuai.

He attempted to struggle free, but achieved nothing; he did not even notice that his entire body was trembling uncontrollably at that moment.

"I'm sorry! I beg you, please spare this Prince!" Finding himself entirely outmatched, he even resorted to pleading for mercy.

"This doesn't even come close to what you did to me. But truly, I never expected you to be so utterly worthless!" Noting his incessant trembling and reading his thoughts plainly through his body language, she spoke with utter disdain.

Su Yunqi could no longer restrain herself. She could already feel the flesh all over her body festering and rotting away, and could even catch a foul stench emanating from herself, yet her companion had turned so spineless as to beg for mercy, rendering him completely useless.

Having seen enough of his cowardly display, Su Yunqing did not hesitate for a second. With a single sword strike, she sent him on his way to the western paradise, ending his life once and for all.

Until the very moment before his death, he was still muttering, "This Prince was wrong, do not kill me! This Prince..."

Alas, the rest of his words were never uttered, and thus his life was extinguished.

Su Yunqi was panic-stricken as well. She had originally thought the one destined to die was Su Yunqing, never imagining the tables would turn upon him instead.