Chapter 0: Bitter Suffering
Amidst his surprise, Lin Jincheng abruptly pulled back the sharp blade in his hand, his vision momentarily blurring.
In the next second, to her astonishment, she discovered that Qin Gou, who had been lying on the ground covered in blood, was now tightly held in the arms of a pure and beautiful young girl dressed in a pleated flower skirt.
The young girl embraced Qin Gou from behind, her eyes, as she looked at Lin Jincheng, were like those of a cat demon, narrowed to pinpricks, evoking a sense of dread.
A third person had indeed appeared in this space, and Lin Jincheng, who believed she understood this ceramic jar quite well, was plunged into deep fear and disbelief.
Yi Chengying lowered her little head slightly, her eyes reddening with concern.
Qin Gou’s injuries were not as severe as they appeared on the surface; the main issue lay with the rules of this ceramic jar space. He opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but found that not only was his movement power immobilized, but he couldn’t even make a sound. Only his fingers could still move.
Xie Yu’s voice echoed in Qin Gou’s mind, requesting a fight, offering to strike down that hateful enemy.
However, it seemed unnecessary at this moment. Qin Gou merely moved his fingers, and with almost no communication, Yi Chengying helped him lift his wrist. With a slight movement of his fingertips, Qin Gou used his own blood to draw three horizontal lines on Yi Chengying’s pretty little face. Combined with her pair of fluffy cat ears, she looked remarkably like a calico cat with whiskers.
The next second, Yi Chengying’s needle-sharp cat eyes rippled with warmth, softening like two round, dark pearls. She naturally understood Qin Gou’s intentions.
Lord Qin still had the energy to fool around, Little Chair really didn’t need to worry so much.
This moment of peace was shattered by Lin Jincheng’s blade.
With a whistling sound, the long saber flew through the air, slashing down towards Yi Chengying’s head.
“Bang!”
An astonishingly fast phantom ripped the treasure saber, which was almost at the level of an Emperor Weapon, away.
It was a cat tail, like a steel whip, its soft fur all bristling, making the originally slender cat tail appear extremely thick visually, stirring a desire to reach out and pet it.
Allowing Qin Gou to lean comfortably against a nearby stone pillar, Yi Chengying stood up to face Lin Jincheng. Her flexible cat tail, materialized from the spirit tool Shadow Cat, gently tapped the ground, carrying a hint of the playful predatory nature of felines, like a menacing death knell.
In Chenglu City, when she was starving, she had sworn with tears that she would never fail her destined benefactor.
She had also taken a solemn spirit oath: if she ever harbored the slightest thought of rebellion against Ye Qishuang and Qin Gou, she invoked the Heavenly Dao to flay her alive, disembowel her, and shatter her bones.
And at this very moment, everything before her made her… mad with hatred.
She even wished she could transfer all of Qin Gou’s pain onto herself; at least that would be better than heartbreak.
Lin Jincheng acutely sensed an extremely ominous feeling of crisis. The Desperate Palm spirit tool secretly brewed its greatest killing move, sparing no effort to condense all its spiritual power for a fatal strike.
Suddenly, the Yi Chengying before her vanished. By the time Lin Jincheng realized it was just an afterimage, it was already too late.
“Crack!”
A bone-chilling sound of cracking bone echoed.
Yi Chengying, who had appeared behind Lin Jincheng at some unknown time, twisted her right arm into a serpentine shape.
“Ah!”
Lin Jincheng let out a pained scream. The moment she turned her head, Yi Chengying had already changed direction again, appearing in front of Lin Jincheng and delivering a fierce knee strike into her lower abdomen, mirroring her previous sneak attack on Qin Gou.
As the third person in the ceramic jar space, Yi Chengying’s appearance had thrown the local laws into chaos. Not only did it not diminish her strength in the slightest, but it also made Lin Jincheng’s absorption of Qin Gou’s spiritual power extremely slow.
Darting like lightning, swift as a gust of wind, fast to the point of blinding.
The speed that the Shadow Cat spirit tool was most adept at was pushed to its limit by Yi Chengying. Her trajectory and dazzling afterimages formed a vast maze around Lin Jincheng. Each strike hit vital points, yet Lin Jincheng couldn’t even touch her clothes.
This was not just the suppression from Yi Chengying’s late-stage Dao Comprehension Realm cultivation, but also the result of countless tears and blood shed from tempering a sharp sword. Although the Shadow Cat spirit tool excelled at speed, she was unwilling to only be useful to Lord Qin when desperately fleeing.
“Boom!”
The protective spiritual energy guarding Lin Jincheng’s most vital point as a cultivator was finally completely dispersed by Yi Chengying. A heavy palm strike tore a deep crack in her Dantian.
In that instant, Lin Jincheng felt as if her strength had completely drained away, and she retreated rapidly.
Yi Chengying immediately grabbed her by the neck and slammed her entire body forcefully onto the ground.
“Pfft…” Lin Jincheng coughed up a mist of blood, her body twitching uncontrollably. The cat demon looming above her made her liver tremble and her gall burst with terror.
“You, who exactly are you?” Lin Jincheng’s voice trembled with fear as she asked with difficulty.
“Yi Chengying.”
“So it’s you!” Lin Jincheng’s eyes were filled with despair, her hatred so intense she could almost grind her teeth. She said in a low voice, “Lone Shadow Saint Lord! To be defeated by a big shot like you, I can only consider myself unlucky.”
“You are mistaken.”
Yi Chengying turned away, her back to Lin Jincheng, and said softly, “I am just Lord Qin’s little follower, always.”
Lin Jincheng couldn’t see Yi Chengying’s expression, but she could detect a hint of genuine joy in her tone, as if this simple sentence was something she took pride in for a lifetime.
Lord Qin?
The man who had once spared her life…
Lin Jincheng didn’t press further. Feeling her spiritual power constantly draining, almost completely depleted, she didn’t even have time to regret. All that remained was a deep unwillingness and resentment. With the last bit of her strength, she aimed at Yi Chengying, who was facing away with visible weak points, and forcefully activated the dim but still potent Desperate Palm spirit tool!
“Crack!”
The whip-like cat tail suddenly coiled around Lin Jincheng’s slender neck. In an instant, it snapped her neck completely, lifting her limp body into the air before forcefully flinging her away. She crashed into something, emitting a loud crash.
Little Chair hurried back to Qin Gou’s side, kneeling on the ground.
But she said nothing. She merely caressed Qin Gou’s face, her long-held tears finally unable to be held back. She gazed at Qin Gou with tear-filled eyes, sobbing softly to herself.
After Lin Jincheng’s death, Qin Gou, freed from all restraints, reached out and brushed Little Chair’s long hair, gently comforting her, “I’m really fine, I just look pretty pathetic.”
“But, but, when has Lord Qin ever suffered such hardship? If not for this scoundrel’s rules, how could anyone take advantage of the situation like this!” Little Chair said indignantly.
Qin Gou suddenly stood up and gently kissed her tender little lips.
“Lord Qin…” Little Chair’s face flushed with shyness. If she could dodge, she wouldn’t have dodged…
“Then I’m tasting sweetness now.”
Qin Gou smiled slightly, “Especially sweet!”
