What kind of world was this?

Dark skies stretched low, so low it seemed one could reach out and touch the vast, oppressive black clouds hanging overhead!

The ground was covered everywhere with strange, mutated vegetation, all shapes and sizes, all bizarre and twisted — and most of it black, ranging from pale black to deepest black, unsettling to look at from any angle.

This was the world of poisonous beasts.

The sky stretched endlessly in every direction, never showing a hint of white cloud or sunlight — only dark, oppressive clouds, black as ink.

The land, too, stretched endlessly, rolling with mountains, forests, grasslands, and marshes, all overgrown with wild vegetation never seen anywhere else — full of vibrant life, and yet those vast swaths of black gave everything an air of deathly stillness, an eerie, sinister atmosphere.

No matter where you stood, no matter which direction you looked, the land stretched on forever, with no exit ever in sight.

A heavy rain had just passed. In the grass, Ziqing lay soaked in a pool of blood, flat on her back, still unconscious.

After the brutal battle against Nangong Cheng’s people, she had already been covered in wounds, her body left with barely an inch of unbroken skin. Add to that the struggle against the tornado, and by now there wasn’t a single spot on her that remained unharmed.

Wounds covered her entire body, though it was impossible to tell exactly where the blood was coming from. Blood and rainwater mixed together across her body, in her hands — she lay there in a pool of it, and seeing such a sight, one might finally understand: a single person truly could bleed enough to form a river.

But how could a wound of the flesh ever compare to a wound of the heart!

Even if Bai Mengmeng had stabbed her chest a hundred times over, it still couldn’t compare to the horror of watching Jun Beiyue hold that woman in his arms, smiling at her.

Even unconscious, that scene from the tornado — Jun Beiyue turning his head away — kept replaying, over and over, endlessly in Ziqing’s mind.

That single motion, playing on an endless loop!

Why?

She couldn’t understand it — why had he turned to grab that hand?

In her unconsciousness, she kept shaking her head, over and over, and with each movement, fresh blood poured from the wounds on her back, thickening the already heavy scent of blood in the air.

“Why… why… why!”

She began murmuring to herself, unsure since when — as if asking herself in despair, and yet also as if furiously demanding an answer from Jun Beiyue!

Why!

She was determined to have an answer to that one question.

Why had he turned back? Why had he gone to grab that person’s hand? Why, when he clearly had the strength, hadn’t he come to save her first?

There was no obsession quite like this one.

Even in death, she needed an answer.

But just then, that endlessly repeating scene in her mind suddenly stopped.

Ziqing’s tightly shut eyes trembled, her long lashes fluttering, as if she were about to cry.

That scene was branded into her mind, impossible to shake — and just as she was determined to demand an answer, it suddenly surged forward again!

She saw it — she saw Jun Beiyue yank that woman up out of the sand, and then wrap his arms around her neck, the woman leaning into his shoulder, smiling at her.

As if to say: the person Jun Beiyue chose to save first was her. Jun Beiyue belonged to her!

“No…”

Ziqing suddenly cried out, and even unconscious, the scream tore from her with such heartbreaking force, such a shrill, ghostly sound in that dark, oppressive world.

“No… no… don’t!”

How could this be!

Situ Haonan had said that woman was Bai Mengmeng — her name was Bai Mengmeng!

Jun Beiyue had mentioned her to her before, and she had trusted him so completely, been so magnanimous about it, hadn’t held it against him, and he had promised never to see her again!

But why was Bai Mengmeng here?

Wasn’t Bai Mengmeng supposed to be imprisoned in the White Tiger Army’s cells?

Why was she here?

She had clearly come alongside Jun Beiyue!

So that was it!

So that was why Jun Beiyue had turned back — for that woman!

He had promised — never to see her again!

And yet, this was the scene she had been left to witness — a pain sharp enough to carve flesh from bone.

Ziqing didn’t cry. Eyes shut tight, lost deep in the nightmare, she kept shaking her head, over and over.

Her hands gripped tightly around a dagger — Liuguang, the very token of love Jun Beiyue had given her!

The moment that unfamiliar force had pulled her under, she had given up all struggle. There had been only one thing she did — grip Liuguang tightly.

She didn’t know what thought had flashed through her mind in that instant.

She only knew that this dagger, Liuguang, wasn’t just the token of love Jun Beiyue had given her — it was also the very weapon that had plunged into his chest.

When Han Ziqing loved someone, it was with absolute trust, absolute devotion.

But once betrayed, that devotion turned to an equally absolute, unrelenting hatred.

For her, love and hate never lingered in tangled ambiguity — the line between them was drawn sharp and clear.

Jun Beiyue, it was you yourself who said it — if you ever betray me, let me drive Liuguang into your chest, drive it in without mercy, without holding back.

Jun Beiyue, did you truly betray me?

Was it hatred, resentment — or still, somewhere, a flicker of hope, wanting to confront him face to face and demand an answer?

Right now, Ziqing’s mind held nothing else — only that one inescapable scene, and one single resolve: don’t cry.

He isn’t worth it. Don’t cry.

Blood kept flowing, the scent growing thicker, spreading further and further outward.

This was, after all, the world of poisonous beasts — one never knew what monster might be lurking behind the next great tree.

If that scent of blood kept spreading, it would inevitably draw countless beasts to her. But of this, Ziqing knew nothing at all — she had no idea where she even was, and no capacity to think of anything beyond her own anguish.

She remained unconscious, that heart-shattering scene still tormenting her, refusing to let her rest.

Finally, from the once-silent brush, a faint rustling sound began to stir, drawing closer, growing louder.

In moments, from behind several enormous taro leaves, a massive, furry shape emerged.

What was this?

The thing was enormous — even at close range, all that could be seen was a great mass of shaggy white fur.

It had to be some massive poisonous beast!

A poisonous beast!

What did that even mean?

Poisonous beasts were creatures far more terrifying than ordinary wild animals — exceedingly rare, ferociously savage creatures found across the Longyuan continent, far larger in build than their ordinary counterparts, with venomous blood coursing through their veins. Hence their full name: beasts of medicinal poison, commonly known simply as poisonous beasts!

Medicinal poison was, to Ziqing, the deadliest poison of all — the natural nemesis of one immune to all other poisons!

In this world, Ziqing held no advantage whatsoever — she was, in fact, the single weakest creature here. The only thing she had to rely on was her own body.

The body of a yin-natured being immune to all poisons might appear delicate, but it was by no means easy to kill — it could even allow certain toxins to lie dormant within, held at bay for a very long time before ever taking effect.