Jing Hengbo had no time to think. She threw herself forward with such force that she knocked Gong Yin to the ground with a thud.

The airflow generated by their movements forcefully knocked one insect away, brushing past both their lips. But the other insect – Jing Hengbo could only watch helplessly as that thing entered Gong Yin’s mouth.

In great panic, she grabbed Gong Yin’s throat and shouted, “Spit it out! Spit it out!”

After strangling him once and finding it useless, she desperately pressed her mouth to his and sucked outward with all her might. But even when her lips went numb from sucking, she couldn’t get that thing out.

She refused to give up, desperately sucking in that awkward position. But her heart sank bit by bit. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face, falling onto his lips and cheeks along her own.

What kind of situation was this!

What kind of situation was this!

Why did heaven always give her so many trials!

Since being separated at Luoyun, she hadn’t had a single peaceful day. First she had to worry about her own illness and child, then after Heart Lake Island she had to worry about Gong Yin’s health. All the way pursuing him from Heart Lake Island, she had nightmares every night – always dreaming that something was wrong with her and she had harmed the child, dreaming that Gong Yin suddenly died before her eyes, dreaming that the colorful world suddenly turned completely white with endless snow falling everywhere, leaving only her standing alone in despair. After finally using all her wits to track him here, removing layer after layer of deception, trickery and conspiracy, at this moment of great success, she had to encounter this scene again.

Thinking of what the cloaked figure had said, the fear in her heart surged like a tide. She could distinguish truth from lies. Having stayed in the Blackwater Marsh for so long, she knew the creatures born from those strange swamps of Dahuang were extremely bizarre and terrifying. With such things entering the human body, how could there be any chance of survival?

At this moment, with all hope lost, unable and unwilling to see him in any miserable state, she closed her eyes and held him tightly. Her tongue desperately stirred within his lips and teeth – she didn’t know if she wanted to suck out that insect, or wanted to seize the time to properly feel him, or wanted to be incinerated to ash together with him by that insect… If life had entered a countdown, every moment was worth its weight in gold, every moment was eternal, and she didn’t want to waste any of it. All those things never done, all those embraces, caresses and kisses she had always yearned for, all those words never had the chance to speak – all were in this moment between lips and tongue, in their entanglement, in their exchanged breath and sucking…

Time seemed to stand still, all people disappeared. The remnants of the explosion and continuous tremors seemed to be in another world far away. She was only immersed in her own sorrow and fear, holding him tightly like someone about to fall off a cliff grasping a protruding rock. Her body and heart hung in the void, seeing only the pitch-black abyss and the vast empty sky.

She kissed his face mixed with tears. His skin was smooth, cold and cool like ice and jade, yet gradually warmed up. She pressed against him passionately, soft murmurs escaping her throat involuntarily. Suddenly her mind became confused… It seemed quite some time had passed, right? If something had really happened, his face should have gotten colder, so why was it gradually warming instead…

With this thought she couldn’t help but open her eyes. The moment she opened them, her heart held both longing and fear, so much that she wanted to open them but dared not, her eyelashes trembling incessantly. Suddenly she felt breath approaching – his fresh, cool fragrance. Then her eyelashes tickled slightly, the fragrance grew stronger, as if he had kissed her eyelashes.

She immediately opened her eyes and saw his lips retreating – thin, soft, with a hint of red.

Then she crashed into his gaze – clear and bright like black obsidian in snow, profound as a universe that had swept up the starry sky. Heaven, earth and stars all turned and floated within it. Each star seemed to reflect a tiny shadow – that was her, only her…

Jing Hengbo was somewhat dazed. She touched his face – it was moist, though of course not from his tears, but from the water she had just released.

His temperature was also there. She pressed the back of her hand against his neck – beneath the slightly cool skin she could feel the pulse of his meridians. She simply reached into his robes, following his neck all the way down, wanting to truly feel his heartbeat.

But her hand was pressed down by his. A sigh sounded beside her ear, seeming both reproachful and reluctant, “This action doesn’t seem appropriate right now.”

Jing Hengbo was stunned. Only then did she think to look up. As soon as she raised her head, she saw Yelu Qi turning his head to look at the undispersed smoke cloud over there, as if that smoke cloud was extremely beautiful. Pei Shu had his arms crossed, leaning against the half-collapsed palace door, looking up at the sky. His chest rose and fell, his face flushed red – clearly suppressing his anger. As for the others, they were all there, each busy running around as if very occupied, except every time they passed by, their eyes would sweep toward this side. And she herself was lying on top of Gong Yin under everyone’s gaze, her hand lewdly inserted into his robes…

Jing Hengbo sighed.

It really wasn’t the right time.

Her dragon claw hand lingingly kneaded Gong Yin’s chest, kneaded again, then reluctantly withdrew. She really loved the scent on Gong Yin’s body, loved his ethereally fragrant skin, loved that smooth, slightly cool texture – it was cold jade that could be warmed, secretly fragrant in darkness.

Unfortunately, they weren’t in darkness now, and now wasn’t the time to take advantage.

Gong Yin sat up unhurriedly, calmly adjusting his robes. His cheeks seemed slightly flushed, but his eyes and expression were slightly pleased, especially after seeing Yelu Qi and Pei Shu’s expressions.

Jing Hengbo looked him over from top to bottom, confirming he was really alright. Only then did she let out a long breath, though still somewhat puzzled, “What exactly happened? That insect…”

“A Youming insect from Blazing Fire Swamp?” Gong Yin said, “I’ve been looking for one for a long time. Finally got to eat one.”

“What?” Jing Hengbo’s eyes widened.

Qiu Jinfeng emerged from behind a clump of low trees, covered in dust and dirt. He had just suffered quite a bit – the explosion had caused bricks, tiles and wood to fly everywhere, hitting him on the head. At this moment he looked at Gong Yin with annoyance and said jealously, “Even this you managed to encounter.”

After thinking, he shook his head, “Using blazing fire to drive out cold – these are all extreme methods. Always using such extreme methods for treatment ultimately damages one’s fundamental essence…”

Gong Yin quickly cut off his words, taking Jing Hengbo’s hand, “Let’s go see how the cloaked figure is doing.”

But Jing Hengbo refused to go, staring at Qiu Jinfeng, “What do you mean by that? And what’s the deal with this insect? Why didn’t it affect him? What’s his internal condition now?”

Qiu Jinfeng glanced at Gong Yin’s frosty expression and raised his eyebrows, “You know what kind of true qi he cultivates – ice and snow true qi, and the coldest, most fierce kind at that. Over time, this naturally tends to block meridians. Having been harmed by severe poison and suffered confinement injuries, the stiffening, brittleness and blockage of his meridians would naturally be more serious. Over time, even in the best case scenario, difficulty walking and bodily paralysis would be unavoidable. So using intensely hot substances to attack and dispel the cold qi is also a method of treatment. For someone with his constitution that has reached the extreme of cold, ordinary hot substances are useless – they would only create conflict between hot and cold, worsening his condition. As they say, ‘place in a desperate situation and then live’ – naturally the hottest, most fierce medicines are needed. The Youming insect, which would immediately incinerate the five organs to ash upon entering the body, is one of them.”

He said with some regret, “Too bad only one entered. If another had entered as well, perhaps it could have been completely eradicated…”

Jing Hengbo exclaimed “Ah!” The regret in her heart flowed endlessly like the Yellow River – why had she interfered and knocked one insect away! She immediately turned around searching everywhere – where was the other one? Where was the other one?

“But it’s also possible the medicine was excessive and he would still have been instantly incinerated.” Just as she was kneeling on the ground feeling around, Qiu Jinfeng suddenly added coolly from behind, “No one has seen his type of condition before. No one can guarantee exactly how many Youming insects would be the right amount for him.”

Jing Hengbo shot up, glaring angrily at Qiu Jinfeng. This wretch – if she didn’t need to rely on his medical skills, she would definitely sew his mouth shut.

Qiu Jinfeng shrugged and sneered coldly. There were some things that if he really spoke them, Gong Yin would probably be the first to sew up his mouth.

Using extreme heat to attack extreme cold – how could it be so simple? Any extreme method must have aftereffects. Just because they couldn’t be seen now didn’t mean there wouldn’t be any later.

“So what’s his internal condition now? Is it basically normal? What’s the situation?” Jing Hengbo looked at him intently, imagining Gong Yin’s frozen, congealed blood vessels now like wildfire burning through spring grass, blood flowing smoothly and gurgling…

Qiu Jinfeng glanced at Gong Yin again, mumbled “Mm” vaguely, said “So tired…” and swayed away.

Jing Hengbo really wanted to dig out his pair of tricks and install them on her own eyes.

Gong Yin seemed unwilling to let her continue dwelling on his physical problems. He dragged her toward the already exploded tall building. Jing Hengbo watched his movements – they were indeed much more fluid now, but his lightness skill seemed to be declining. The speed at which he flew while dragging her was not as fast as before.

She sighed inwardly. His body had suffered too much damage. The Youming insect had dispelled the cold poison but couldn’t repair the losses already caused. The true power he had lost ultimately couldn’t be quickly recovered.

Under the tall building was already a field of ruins. A group of people continuously searched among the broken wood and remaining walls, finally finding several pieces of torso that when pieced together formed a rough human shape.

Jing Hengbo suppressed her urge to vomit and crouched down, picking up a piece of unburned silk from a severed limb. The black silk had slightly curled edges – it seemed to be fabric from the cloaked figure’s cloak.

Jing Hengbo felt slightly bewildered. The cloaked figure was dead?

Just like that?

There seemed nothing questionable about it. The cloaked figure had faced the combined forces of Gong Yin and Yelu Qi, dying in the explosion under the gaze of more than one pair of eyes. It was absolutely true and beyond doubt.

Jing Hengbo covered her nose and continuously poked at those body fragments with a stick. Yelu Qi came forward to pull her away, saying, “Stop looking. It’s too disgusting.”

“I’m not at ease…” Jing Hengbo murmured, “This person was too good at causing trouble. I must confirm he’s really dead…”

She suddenly stopped. Before her was a piece of torso from the back. On the lower abdomen was a faint circular scar.

Jing Hengbo stared at that scar. After a long moment, she dropped the stick as if exhausted and let out a long breath.

That scar was a memento she had left for the cloaked figure. That time at the border between Yi Kingdom and the Jade Tribe, when she and Gong Yin were being pursued by the cloaked figure in their carriage, before the carriage fell off the cliff, she had manipulated a wooden stick to wound the cloaked figure. She had always firmly remembered the location of that wound, using it as future evidence to identify the cloaked figure.

Now, she had seen this scar.

She always felt strange inside – partly relieved, partly bewildered. This persistent threat, always a shadow over her heart – the inexplicable hatred, then the sudden death, everything came too quickly, making her feel it was unreal.

After a long while she finally relaxed and smiled, “Finally killed this demon.”

Everyone remained silent, their expressions complex.

What Jing Hengbo didn’t know was that at this very moment, Meng Potian, who was waiting far outside the royal city for backup, was staring up in a daze, then saw several strange figures sweeping across the high sky.

…

Acrid smoke rushed over. Jing Hengbo coughed several times and looked back at Pei Shu and the others, discovering Noble Consort Yun was missing.

It was very chaotic outside. Soldiers ran frantically back and forth, but strangely none came this way. Some ran toward the palace gates, others toward the great king’s sleeping palace. Jing Hengbo seemed to understand, pointing there, “Dead?”

Pei Shu nodded. Jing Hengbo sighed – the Royal Family Terminator would have another record to add.

She took advantage of the chaos to return to the great king’s sleeping palace and examine the mechanism under that throne. Whether due to the ground tremors or not, the green vitriol oil pool that had caused the deaths of the Floating Water Great King, his queen, and Noble Consort Yun had cracked. All that green vitriol oil capable of corroding people to white bones had leaked completely. The dried pool revealed the design underneath – it was actually a movable double-layer design. One side held green vitriol oil, the other stored many boxes. Jing Hengbo opened an exquisite box and found it filled with small white jade bottles. The contents were clearly very precious, and the bottom of each small bottle bore special secret imperial manufacturing marks. Jing Hengbo caught a familiar scent. Opening one bottle, she found it full of pills with blackish coloring. After smelling them, her expression immediately became strange.

Looking at the bottom of the box, there were some receipt records – shipments to Luoyun, Yi Kingdom, Ji Kingdom, even Di Ge, with Luoyun having the most records. She weighed the small bottle, suddenly understanding.

She had always felt the relationship between Floating Water and Luoyun was unusually good, and Luoyun seemed somewhat constrained by Floating Water. Two neighboring tribes with similar national strength and territory, with no history of defeat requiring submission and tribute – why would one bow to the other? It turned out Floating Water relied on this.

This was an upgraded version of the Longevity Pills and Golden Thread – the true culprit that had originally caused Ming Yan’an’s downfall. In modern terms, this stuff was called drugs.

What Jing Hengbo now held was more refined and pure than Pugan’s Longevity Pills and Golden Thread, presumably much more valuable. Seeing how Wu Xian carefully hid it under the throne in his sleeping palace, this stuff must only be specially supplied to royal families of various countries.

Using this to harm royal families of various countries was actually more vicious than sending out a million-strong army – a soft knife cutting slowly, each cut dripping with blood. No wonder the Luoyun royal family couldn’t refuse many of the Floating Water royal family’s demands.

Thinking of Wu Xian hiding these things here, counting bottles in the dark night and calculating how many to use to conquer a country, Jing Hengbo felt chilled to the bone.

Especially since those receipts also included purchase records from Di Ge – fortunately, due to the great distance, the quantities weren’t large.

Jing Hengbo took those receipts, took several bottles, then lit a fire.

After leaving the sleeping palace, she made another trip to the Clan Affairs Office that specifically stored royal records, taking all materials on the Floating Water royal family. Then she and Gong Yin, Pei Shu and others took advantage of the palace chaos to leave the royal city.

That night, shadows flitted about, blade light flashed like lightning. The Floating Water royal city, which had just erupted in chaos, welcomed an unprecedented collective assassination.

The Floating Water crown prince was ambushed by assassins while leading troops to the royal city, fell from his horse and died.

The third prince was crushed to death by a giant stone that smashed through his roof from the sky before he could get up.

The fourth prince, living in a suburban villa, rode through the night toward the royal city but lost control while passing through a narrow turn, fell into a roadside ditch, and actually drowned in the shallow water.

The fifth prince was killed by venomous insects in his own back garden.

The sixth prince, far away inspecting border troops at Floating Water’s frontier, received the news and wanted to return for succession, but was shot dead by crossbow bolts the moment he stepped out of his tent. He was the last to die among the male heirs of the Floating Water royal family who held any power – by then, half a month had passed since Wu Xian’s death.

…

After more than half a month, all those in the Floating Water royal family who could inherit the throne had died violently.

Dahuang was shaken. Royal families of all countries lived in fear.

This death warrant was issued by Jing Hengbo.

If she hadn’t discovered those small bottles, she had no intention of causing such devastating consequences to any royal family. After all, the killings might trigger more riots and greater chaos in Dahuang. As long as a royal family was willing to submit to Di Ge and maintain good rule within their territory, it was better to remain still than to act.

However, drugs were something that absolutely could not be allowed to spread on Dahuang’s land. Coming from modern times, she knew the power this stuff possessed to destroy everything.

When crisis breeds, it can only be quickly eradicated by the most cruel means. She didn’t know if all the Floating Water royal family had participated in making these pills, but she believed everyone liked shortcuts. Once they had a good method to control others, no one would give it up.

Only by cutting off the existence of this evil family and making this matter a permanent secret could she feel somewhat at ease.

Though cruel, she felt no regret.

With the Floating Water royal family completely slaughtered, neighboring Luoyun was too preoccupied to care for itself. Yi Kingdom and Shen Tie, whose territories were close, naturally couldn’t avoid taking a share. Jing Hengbo had already sent people to notify Yi Shan and Tie Xingze.

As for Floating Water’s future fate, let nature take its course.

The queen who emerged from Floating Water’s blood and fire was now the most unwelcome guest among all Dahuang royalty. The royal families didn’t welcome her coming but dared not refuse her arrival. It was said countless royals locked themselves in palaces, desperately kowtowing to various deity statues, hoping Her Majesty the Queen would have a moment of confusion during her inspection tour and suddenly forget their existence.

After hearing this, Jing Hengbo deeply regretted being honored as Dahuang’s number one “refuse to associate with” household.

She had always been a good-tempered, good child and planned to simply end her inspection of various countries. She had time to find Ziwei the old immortal and Yelu Xunru, kill Xu Pingran, then return to Di Ge.

However, at this moment, she received an invitation for the first time in her life.