And with that, she was gone, swallowed into the sand!

Gone!

Situ Haonan spared no thought for Jun Beiyue, no thought for Bai Mengmeng still smiling in his direction. He dug like a madman, clawing with his bare hands at the spot where Ziqing had vanished, digging desperately, screaming, “Han Ziqing, come out, come out! Han Ziqing! Come out!”

“Han Ziqing, come out!”

“Han Ziqing, you’re lying, aren’t you — you’re just trying to scare me, aren’t you? Come out!”

“Han Ziqing, come out, don’t you want Jun Beiyue anymore?”

“Come out!”

…

Situ Haonan wasn’t crying, but the sound coming from him was unmistakably that of sobbing. He lay flat against the sand, digging frantically with his bare hands, digging like a man possessed, until his fingers were covered in blood, staining even the sand red!

Still, he kept going, digging layer after layer, hollowing out a deep, deep pit!

But there was nothing there but sand, endless sand — no trace of Ziqing anywhere.

What could he do?

Situ Haonan was consumed with despair, feeling as though his entire world had collapsed. All of it — all of it was because of him. If it weren’t for him, Ziqing would never have come here at all. If it weren’t for him, Ziqing would already be by Jun Beiyue’s side, would have avoided this disaster entirely!

All because of him!

The wind gradually, gradually died down at last, and the whole world settled into stillness after the storm’s fury.

An eerie calm settled over everything. Mingsha Mountain had vanished completely, flattened to level ground, as if that towering peak had never existed at all.

The once-dark sky slowly brightened, like clear skies after rain, clouds parting to reveal the sun.

But Situ Haonan paid none of it any mind. He kept digging frantically, hollowing out an enormous pit, piling up mound after mound of sand — and finding nothing at all.

Gone!

A living person, just like that, gone entirely!

Finally, he stopped, collapsing limply to the ground, staring at his blood-covered hands, his eyes utterly hollow.

Why did this happen!

Could anyone tell him what had actually happened?

Could someone tell him that none of this was real, that it was all just a nightmare, that everyone would wake up soon, that Ziqing would come back soon!

But he waited and waited, and nothing changed at all.

Finally, he slowly raised his head to look at Jun Beiyue — and it was only then, as the wind stopped and the sky brightened, that he finally saw clearly!

Blood!

Deep crimson blood, seeping steadily from somewhere on Jun Beiyue’s body, had already soaked through his robes, even soaking into the ground beneath him where he sat!

“Jun Beiyue!”

Situ Haonan cried out in alarm, and as if suddenly jolted back to life, he scrambled up and rushed over. “Jun Beiyue!”

At last, he saw it clearly — completely, unmistakably clearly!

He murmured in disbelief, “Jun Beiyue… Jun Beiyue… you…”

There, between Bai Mengmeng and Jun Beiyue, lay a dagger, its blade buried in Jun Beiyue’s chest. The blood soaking his entire body, pooling on the ground, was flowing steadily from that very wound!

He hadn’t been embracing Bai Mengmeng at all — he had already lost consciousness. It was Bai Mengmeng who had draped his hands around her own neck!

And Bai Mengmeng, blood streaming from her seven orifices, had only appeared to be smiling — in truth, her breath was already fading, hovering at death’s door.

“Jun Beiyue!”

Situ Haonan let out an anguished cry and violently kicked Bai Mengmeng away. In that instant, Jun Beiyue’s body collapsed completely, crumpling to the ground.

Situ Haonan rushed to catch him, but he couldn’t even lift him — he himself could barely hold himself together.

What should he do?

Who would tell him what to do?

In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to plunge a blade into himself. All of it, all of it was because of him, all because of him!

“Someone, help!”

“Someone, please, help!”

…

All he could do was scream for help — he had no idea what he would do if he couldn’t save Jun Beiyue!

Was there anyone nearby to hear him?

There was!

Baili Weisheng, dressed in his usual white scholar’s robes, looked nothing like his usual clean, handsome self — he was travel-worn, hair disheveled, utterly bedraggled!

He showed no reaction at all to Situ Haonan’s grief, none to whether Jun Beiyue lived or died. He had run into the tornado on his way here, and had barely managed, through tremendous effort, to avoid it. The moment the wind eased, he’d rushed over as fast as he could.

But he’d arrived too late to save Ziqing — just as he was about to act, she had vanished.

At this moment, he simply lay flat against the sand, his once-clear eyes now cold and sharp as a wolf’s, staring fixedly at the spot where Ziqing had disappeared. No one could tell what was going through his mind.

And it wasn’t only Baili Weisheng who was there — the Gu Nanny was there too, not far away!

If anyone in the entire world understood this tornado, understood exactly what it was, it was probably the Gu Nanny alone.

She had, of course, avoided it entirely unharmed. At this moment, she too gazed coldly at the spot where Ziqing had vanished, a triumphant smile curling at the corners of her lips.

She had succeeded — she had actually succeeded!

That girl was a yin-natured being immune to all poisons — and when the tornado arrived, when the gateway to the poisonous-beast world opened, the poisonous energy of that world would only be drawn to her!

Only a yin-natured being immune to all poisons could be pulled into it!

And in the very moment Han Ziqing was drawn in, the Gu Nanny had successfully implanted a Gu worm into her chest.

“Heh heh!”

The Gu Nanny couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. At the very fastest, a hundred days — at the very slowest, a year — and Han Ziqing would be fully cultivated into a human Gu within that poisonous-beast world!

And as for nurturing her heart — so long as she controlled that Gu worm, she could nurture Han Ziqing’s heart from afar, even without ever seeing her again!

All that remained now, the only thing the Gu Nanny had left to do, was wait!

While Situ Haonan wailed and screamed, neither Baili Weisheng nor the Gu Nanny paid him the slightest attention. Situ Haonan himself was utterly spent, on the verge of collapse.

It wasn’t just his body that was exhausted — his very heart felt as though it might give out from the strain.

And yet, he told himself to hold on, not to fall — even if he had to collapse, he would first save Jun Beiyue.

Otherwise, he, Situ Haonan, would never rest easy even in death!

He gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain in his chest, the pain in his hands, and wrapped his arms around Jun Beiyue’s shoulders, trying to carry him away.

But just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

“Haonan!”

In his entire life, aside from facing death itself on the battlefield, there had never been a moment when he longed to hear this voice more than right now!

Qianqian! It was Yelu Qianqian’s voice!

“Haonan, what — what happened to you two!”

“Haonan, don’t scare me, what happened to you both!”

…

In truth, before the wind had even fully passed, Yelu Qianqian had secretly slipped away, running the whole way toward Mingsha Mountain. Not until the tornado had swept across the entire mountain, across the whole of Akbachu, did she finally fall to the ground, watching from a distance, screaming Jun Beiyue and Ziqing’s names.

She had watched with her own eyes as everything was swept away, driven to the depths of despair — and yet she refused to give up. Her mind held only one thought: she had to find Jun Beiyue and Ziqing, or Situ Haonan would carry the guilt for the rest of his life!

She fell again and again, and each time she got back up, running with everything she had. Mingsha Mountain was gone, so she could only keep running northwest!

Finally, she saw them!

But where was Ziqing…