That woman suddenly turned around and beckoned to those behind her. Following her gaze, Jing Hengbo saw the fake Gong Yin hurrying toward her direction, surrounded by a group of people.

At this time, the people behind Mingcheng also began their actions. They laid something on the ground, then sprinkled a layer of grass ash and leaves over it, making it look like ordinary ground. Throughout this, Mingcheng stood far away on a flight of steps.

On the other side, the fake Gong Yin rushed quickly toward Mingcheng’s direction, his movements seeming quite urgent. Mingcheng led a group of people to meet him, and a row of people perfectly blocked the actions of those behind her.

Jing Hengbo’s heart stirred, and she couldn’t help taking another look. After this glance, when she turned back to look for Xu Pingran and Yelu Qi, she could no longer find them. Below, thousands of troops and ten thousand horses created a sea of heads—how could she see clearly at once?

At this time, masters like Seven Kills and Tian Qi had already climbed the city and were about to escort her down. She pointed far in the direction Xu Pingran had left and shouted loudly: “You all go that way—rescuing Yelu is the priority.”

“You all go, I’ll accompany Bobo…” Yi Qi’s loud voice hadn’t finished shouting when Jing Hengbo’s figure flashed and disappeared. Seven Kills pointed his halberd and cursed: “Shouldn’t have let you learn martial arts—now you can flash away and be willful!”

…

Jing Hengbo landed on a rooftop.

From there, she wasn’t far from either the fake Gong Yin or Mingcheng. She could see their actions and faintly hear voices, but they couldn’t easily spot her.

She saw the fake Gong Yin rushing toward Mingcheng with an angry face.

She saw that the people behind Mingcheng had already prepared the road, and Mingcheng shrank into the crowd and quietly changed into iron boots.

Then she waited at the front, facing the fake Gong Yin. When he rushed to her, he seemed to be sternly questioning something, but his voice wasn’t loud and couldn’t be heard clearly.

Mingcheng’s expression first showed surprise, then grievance—such grievance that tears nearly fell. She said something in a low voice. The fake Gong Yin looked at her with half-belief, his expression gradually softening. After quite a while, he even reached out to pat her shoulder, and the guards immediately withdrew.

Jing Hengbo sneered coldly. This pair of adulterous lovers, even at this moment of broad daylight and enemy attack, still wanted to play their lovey-dovey games. Just as she was about to turn away in disgust, her ears caught a few intermittent words drifting over.

“…Gong Yin…underground palace…send word…be careful…”

Jing Hengbo whooshed forward several zhang and crouched on the eaves.

What she was most concerned about now was naturally Gong Yin’s whereabouts. In her thinking, Gong Yin had always appeared around her, so at this great moment, he was naturally also within Dige city, just wholeheartedly wanting to give up Dige and unwilling to appear.

Now she had a flash of inspiration—within Dige, where would be the best place to hide? Wouldn’t it be the founding Empress’s underground palace?

Looking at the couple below, the fake Gong Yin seemed to have already believed Mingcheng’s words. He nodded urgently and was about to leave. Mingcheng respectfully led her subordinates to make way, and the path she cleared was precisely the one that had been tampered with earlier.

Jing Hengbo frowned. Could Mingcheng be planning to kill someone? She didn’t want the fake Gong Yin to die right now. This fellow—how exactly had he ascended to the State Preceptor position and even the imperial throne? And where had Meng Hu and Yu Chun gone? She had to figure out the ins and outs of this matter to deduce what was really going on with Gong Yin.

In the alley, Zou Zheng stepped forward with heavy thoughts.

Mingcheng stood to one side without raising her head.

His boot sole was about to land.

Suddenly a figure flashed, sweeping past Zou Zheng, grabbing his chest clothing with one hand, and in another flash was already three zhang away.

Mingcheng suddenly raised her head and fixed her gaze on the woman in the alley: “Jing. Heng. Bo.”

Jing Hengbo glanced at her. After years of separation, that formerly delicate little white flower was now covered in pearls and jade, her silk garments dazzling. At such a time, she was still fully adorned with hairpins and ornaments—was she afraid of having no money for food while fleeing and keeping them as travel funds?

Still gritting her teeth like that, as if she were the one who had been betrayed, framed, and expelled from Dige.

She swept past with an indifferent glance, truly disdaining to waste energy on such a person.

She looked down at Zou Zheng in her hand and without a word struck him behind the ear, knocking him unconscious. She planned to interrogate him after the army entered the city.

Opposite her, Mingcheng showed no panic and made no attempt to flee, watching impassively.

Jing Hengbo stepped on Zou Zheng, her heart chaotic and anxious. Thinking that this fake was such a weakling, Gong Yin would certainly have left another backup plan. By rights, he should have personally stayed behind to guard against contingencies, but that uneasy feeling in her heart was growing stronger…

Steadying herself, she looked up at Mingcheng protected by her guards, calculating the possibility of instantly capturing her while smiling: “Hey, little white flower, your husband was snatched away by me—why don’t you save him?”

Mingcheng stared at her and slowly smiled: “He’s not my husband—he’s not worthy.”

“Oh?” Jing Hengbo kicked Zou Zheng and looked up with a smile: “I think they’re perfectly matched. A weakling with a whore—a natural pair.”

Mingcheng’s face, which had been slightly reddened by the wind, suddenly turned deathly pale, truly looking like a delicate white flower. But Jing Hengbo looked at her as if viewing a female cockroach.

After a while, Mingcheng bit her teeth and sneered coldly: “Having become queen, you’re still the same as before—crude and dissolute, base and shameless!”

“These eight words I return to you unchanged.” Jing Hengbo said with a smiling expression. “Rescued from a fire pit, you turned around to repay kindness with enmity and trap someone; knowing your husband isn’t that person, you could still sleep with him. Lying and deceiving, betraying friends and killing husbands—with your glorious deeds as precedent, how could I dare compete with you for such wonderful evaluations?”

“Long time no see—your glib tongue has become even sharper. I’ve always quite admired your glib tongue.” Mingcheng laughed with a tinkling sound. “However, I’d like to know—your sharp tongue couldn’t help you stay in Dige back then, so what can it help you with now? Help you capture Dige? Help you keep your man? Oh right, where is Gong Yin? At such a crucial time when you’ve returned, why doesn’t he show himself? Oh, speaking of which, our State Preceptor is truly deep in love—for your sake, he doesn’t even want his empire. Well, if he loves you, how can he still want an empire, how can he still live? From the beginning, didn’t you come to seize his position? You say you love and value him, but have you ever said once that you’d give up your queen’s position for him? Queen and State Preceptor cannot coexist—if you want it, he can only give it up. Heh heh, speaking of which, this isn’t glib tongue skill—this is thick skin skill. Jing Hengbo, stop righteously condemning others there and look at yourself. Though you haven’t betrayed friends, as I see it you barely qualify for killing husbands. We’re birds of a feather, walking the same path. Look, why don’t we sworn sisters again?”

She had always spoken little, rarely saying so much at once. She spoke very fluently and clearly, as if these words had lingered in her heart for a long time, chewed over again and again until thoroughly digested. Now speaking them word by word, though she seemed to be smiling, each word was like a blade tempered in blood and refined in fire, stabbing straight at vital points—only vital points.

The wind suddenly stilled. In the wind was a faint scent of gunpowder smoke and blood. The distant clamor of war could be heard faintly, also the sound of metal clashing. One could almost feel the pain of blades entering flesh. Jing Hengbo’s face also paled.

This woman was always quite sharp at crucial moments…

Pain like a sharp blade twisting in her heart—these words were knives attacking her, but during all those midnight dreams when she worried about his safety, she had asked herself the same questions.

Was it wrong from the beginning?

From beginning to now, was the path she had walked, everything she had persisted in, all wrong?

How had certain things reached this point? Looking back, she still felt confused. It seemed she had never valued power and desire, seemed she had only ever wanted to live a lifetime of peace and happiness with him. But why, in the end, had it become her seizing his empire, her driving him away?

From where had the path she wanted taken a wrong turn?

Perhaps it was from the very beginning—when she had refused his proposal for a secret marriage, she had lost her chance to choose. He had chosen such a heart-rending path for her and from then on never allowed her to refuse again.

Now, if she asked herself again—if he asked you that question once more, if you could foresee everything that happened afterward, how would you answer?

She clenched her fingers tightly, her palms ice-cold. The pain of nails digging into flesh was clear. Now was not the time to be struck and lose focus.

Opposite her, Mingcheng began her tinkling laughter again.

“I just discovered,” she said coquettishly, “words can indeed sometimes hurt more than knives. However,” she looked at her own fingers in a leisurely manner, “I still prefer to see you covered in blood, collapsed at my feet begging and crying.”

“I’ll give you a mirror so you can look at yourself—that’s what you’ll see.” Jing Hengbo sneered coldly.

“Really?” Mingcheng laughed with a puff. “You’re really struck by my words—your reactions have become so slow you can’t feel anything. Let me tell you, I think I’ll see it very soon… One, two, three!”

As the word “three” fell, Jing Hengbo swayed and her face went pale.

She suddenly looked up.

“You…”

“Haha, I endured the nausea to say all those useless words to you, and you’ve finally been poisoned.” Mingcheng laughed until her body swayed slightly. Her white, crystalline ten fingers gleamed like small daggers in the sunlight. “Jing Hengbo, do you think that having seen you, I would let you go?”

Jing Hengbo looked down at her fingers. Long sleeves concealed her hands. She slowly lowered her head again, looking toward Zou Zheng’s chest.

The man’s clothing was torn, revealing the similarly torn golden silk soft armor within. The edges of the soft armor had already turned black.

“The golden silk soft armor is real, just coated inside with poison that slowly corrodes outward—first the soft armor, then the clothing, so it tears at a touch. And wanting to take him away, you naturally could only grab his chest clothing.” Mingcheng laughed proudly. “I knew that seeing this fake, with your temperament, you’d definitely grab him for questioning. I’ve been preparing for you all along.”

She smiled and stepped forward, already walking on the tampered road section. She walked casually and naturally for several steps, saying: “What’s wrong with this road? There’s nothing wrong with this road at most—it’s just a thorn mat that only injures skin and flesh. I specially made it for you to see, to make you think I was going to kill him. I don’t dare say about others, but I still understand you, Jing Hengbo. Seeing me, how could you bear not to chase over?”

Jing Hengbo swayed again and kicked Zou Zheng’s body aside.

“Stop struggling.” Mingcheng didn’t come forward but stayed hidden among her guards with weapons drawn, arms folded, saying leisurely: “Just fall, fall down.”

With a “thud,” Jing Hengbo stumbled and half-knelt on the ground. She still wanted to struggle to get up, but her wrists weakly collapsed into the dust.

“I’ve always been very attentive to you.” Mingcheng looked down at her from above, saying lightly: “The poison I prepared for you is the same as what I gave Gong Yin years ago. Because I think you’ve always wronged him and should taste one-thousandth of what he felt. This way, it could be considered having a good relationship with him. Look, am I more caring toward him than you? Am I also very considerate toward you?”

Jing Hengbo hung her head. After a long while, she slowly raised it. There were faint black blood traces at the corners of her mouth, dust covering her face, but her eyes were still bright, fiercely staring at Mingcheng.

“This poison, when first contracted, is said to be very painful.” Mingcheng bent down slightly, smiling through the gaps between her guards as she gazed at her. “Half extremely cold, half scorching hot—the blood vessels and internal organs in your body all seem to be frozen then melted. Dissolving inch by inch into ash. This poison also has a wonderful quality—it changes according to the poisoned person’s internal energy. It clings to the victim’s true qi. Yang energy becomes more yang and fiery until it can’t be controlled and burns oneself; yin cold energy becomes more yin and cold until blood vessels freeze and wither. Moreover, the more abundant the victim’s true qi and higher their martial arts, the more fierce and clingy the poison becomes. Those with weak true qi are actually fine when poisoned. This poison is called the ‘Master Terminator.’ In Dahuang’s history, everyone who died from this poison was a supreme master. Gong Yin will be added sooner or later, and you’ll be added immediately. Look how good I am to you—I always think of connecting you with Gong Yin before you die.”

Jing Hengbo’s body began trembling slightly. She buried her face deep in the dust, rolling and grinding as if she couldn’t feel the uneven ground or rough pebbles.

When she raised her head again, her eyes were slightly red. Among the mottled dust on her face were faint trails of rubbed-raw blood streaks.

Mingcheng watched with great satisfaction and pointed to a guard beside her: “Go drag her onto this thorn mat—don’t get too close.”

The guard hesitated slightly, staring at Jing Hengbo with a hint of pity in his eyes. Which person in Dige hadn’t heard of the Black Water Queen? Who didn’t know her bloody legendary journey? For the rumored beautiful yet ill-fated woman, men naturally held sympathy and concern. Seeing her now fallen in the dust, with such painful suffering in her eyes that it broke hearts, they suddenly felt unable to move their feet.

Mingcheng’s voice turned cold: “Hmm?”

The guards shivered with a start, suddenly remembering this Empress’s cold cruelty. Though she had been unremarkable as queen, after becoming empress, the palace servants who died in Yuzhao Palace exceeded the total of the past ten years. Before such a master, having an extra thought meant extra danger of death.

The guard hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Jing Hengbo’s arm. Mingcheng stepped back, watching the guard’s actions intently. Only when she saw Jing Hengbo being dragged onto the thorn mat without resistance did she slightly relax, her eyes flowing with joyful light.

“Bang.” Jing Hengbo was thrown down heavily. Almost immediately, the pain of ten thousand small needles piercing flesh felt like ten thousand small knives violently stabbing muscles and blood vessels. She cried “Ah!” and quickly bit her lip hard.

Mingcheng listened with pleasure, waved her hand, and two more guards stepped forward and kicked viciously.

Jing Hengbo’s body rolled over, revealing scattered bloodstains on her clothing when she turned.

Another guard kicked over, inadvertently glancing at Jing Hengbo, but discovered that though she seemed to be protecting her head and face, she wasn’t looking around at all. Her gaze was cast far away, searching in all directions.

Perhaps trying to distract herself? The guard didn’t think much of it and took turns kicking and beating on the thorn mat. Men naturally pitied beautiful women, but also naturally harbored deep violent and cruel factors in their blood. Watching the woman’s bloodstained body roll past them again and again, with bright red spots on her clothing and the thorn mat gradually connecting into patches, they suddenly became excited. Their eyes gradually reddened, their breathing grew heavy, and their punches and kicks became increasingly forceful. All around, even the wind seemed to quiet, leaving only the heavy thumping sounds of fists and feet striking flesh.

Only gradually did everyone notice that when being kicked and beaten, the woman never looked at them. Her gaze drifted everywhere, only lingering on the rooftops and tall trees around them.

Mingcheng watched with shining eyes, her nostrils flaring, her face blooming with peach blossom red. Since arriving in Dige, she had imagined many times how to humiliate and kill Jing Hengbo. During midnight insomnia, she had outlined countless miserable and humiliating deaths for that woman in her mind, becoming more excited and unable to sleep. However, deep in her heart, she had always understood that given Jing Hengbo’s temperament, her magical abilities, and the masters surrounding her, it might be possible to kill her, but wanting to humiliate her would truly be very difficult.

Just like how, though she seemed to have won against Jing Hengbo all this time, she had always felt she was losing. She occupied Yuzhao Palace but could only sit in that cold position being ignored by everyone, while that woman, wandering to the ends of the earth, still possessed so many people’s love and loyalty, still… possessed him…

Truly, just thinking about it crushed her heart and corroded her bones. She wished she could burn all those lonely nights with cold lamps and candles into Jing Hengbo’s lungs.

But today, her dream had actually come true. This woman she most hated was truly prostrate at her feet, being punched and kicked by a group of lowly soldiers, powerless to fight back.

How could she not tremble with excitement?

She unconsciously slowly approached, wanting to see more clearly. Such a wonderful scene—how could she not remember every single moment clearly?

While walking, she took out a poison-coated dagger she had prepared long ago. Just watching wasn’t enough. Having the guards kick and beat was partly for humiliation, partly for testing. If Jing Hengbo were normal, she would never allow herself to be beaten like this. Now confirming she was truly poisoned, naturally she should personally end her.

Long nights brought many dreams, leaving no future troubles—she had always understood this principle clearly.

Seeing her approach, the guards immediately scattered. Mingcheng stared at Jing Hengbo—she lay on the thorn mat, covered in blood and dust, her body slightly convulsing, so wretched she was unrecognizable.

Now even a child could beat her to death.

A guard kicked her over to show her face. Mingcheng was shocked to see that Jing Hengbo was now weeping profusely.

In this moment, blood and tears flowed together, staining her face beyond recognition. Mingcheng wasn’t shocked by this bloody face—she just couldn’t imagine that Jing Hengbo would cry like this.

Was it because of pain and humiliation?

It didn’t feel like it, yet that tear-stained face was undeniable. Even though Jing Hengbo immediately lay face down again, she had still seen clearly.

Mingcheng suddenly felt the greatest satisfaction of her life.

Compared to Jing Hengbo dying, she seemed to prefer seeing her cry. Of course, crying then dying—crying couldn’t exempt her from death, and that would be even better.

She couldn’t help but appreciate this scene with delight for a while, wishing she could paint it for permanent commemoration. Of course, she would paint it later.

Then she retreated three steps, had guards block in front of her, aimed at Jing Hengbo’s back, and pressed a spring mechanism.

The dagger shot out like lightning.

The next moment it would pierce Jing Hengbo’s back.

She exhaled slightly and stepped back again. Her own life was always most important, even when the opponent was confirmed to have no threat left.

The guards unconsciously grew slightly tense, their bodies leaning slightly forward.

Suddenly a gray shadow flashed.

“Clang.”

The sharp, ear-piercing sound of stone striking sharp metal. The next moment, this stone that had knocked away the dagger struck the shin of the foremost guard.

Before that guard could cry “Ouch!” and retreat, the seemingly dying Jing Hengbo suddenly reached out through the gaps between the guards’ legs and grabbed Mingcheng’s shin.

Her hand was somehow already wrapped with a piece of torn thorn mat. This vicious grab immediately drove hundreds of thorns into Mingcheng’s shin. Mingcheng screamed in pain, and her body about to retreat suddenly went soft.

Just this momentary slowness and softness—Jing Hengbo suddenly sprang up.

Her speed in springing up no longer had any trace of her usual lazy manner. She was actually as agile as a female leopard. One spring, one bound, both hands raised high, swinging down viciously.

“Bang.” Mingcheng was actually lifted high by her and slammed down hard on the thorn mat.

She immediately tasted the intense pain of myriad thorns piercing flesh that Jing Hengbo had experienced earlier.

“Ahhh—”

As she screamed and struggled, Jing Hengbo waved her hand. The guards’ swords automatically left their sheaths and slashed down from mid-air!

Cold light flickered, blade light like snow. The guards had no time to flee and in panic rolled onto the thorn mat to dodge, screams immediately joining into one.

Taking advantage of Jing Hengbo dealing with the guards, Mingcheng bit back the pain and crawled outward to escape. Suddenly her ankle tightened. She looked back in despair to see Jing Hengbo had already grabbed her right ankle.

“Don’t—”

Before the sound emerged, Jing Hengbo yanked viciously. She was already screaming again as she fell on the thorn mat, dragged by her right foot across it by Jing Hengbo, immediately leaving trails of deep red blood marks.

Pain made her unable to struggle. She could only scream: “Save me! Save me!”

“Shut up.”

Jing Hengbo waved her hand and a stone smashed down violently.

With a crisp crack, half of Mingcheng’s cheek collapsed.

She screamed “Ah ah,” spitting out mouthfuls of blood and teeth.

Suddenly Mingcheng felt her ankle released. Struggling to look back, she saw Jing Hengbo paying her no attention but staring blankly around in all directions, suddenly screaming wildly: “Why don’t you appear! Why don’t you appear!”

Mingcheng was shocked into trembling all over, not knowing what madness had seized her. Seeing her confused expression, she was overjoyed and quickly crawled outward, enduring the pain. But she hadn’t crawled one step when her ankle tightened again. Before she could react, her body suddenly swung up, then “bang”—slammed hard on the thorn mat.

She screamed wildly, feeling all her internal organs had been displaced, but behind her, Jing Hengbo’s screams were even louder.

“Why won’t you come out! Gong Yin! Can’t even my ruse of feigning injury force you out? Ahhhhh—can’t force you out, Gong Yin!”

Intense pain made Mingcheng’s head buzz, unable to hear what Jing Hengbo was shouting or think about what was happening. She was only obsessed with survival. Feeling Jing Hengbo’s hand loosen, she desperately crawled forward, no longer feeling the pain of thorns piercing flesh—the burning agony inside her body was enough to overwhelm all physical pain.

But her ankle tightened again. Still no time for desperate screams, still seeing the scenery suddenly sway, then “bang”—the entire heaven and earth, the entire body, seemed to shatter.

She couldn’t imagine a woman having such strength, couldn’t imagine the wounded Jing Hengbo having such strength. Or perhaps this wasn’t strength—this was anger, this was enormous pain, this was all the heart’s suffering in life that one desperately wanted to avoid yet helplessly couldn’t escape. This was hot blood surging in waves because of despair, drowning reason, forgetting everything.

“Gong Yin! Why! Tell me why! Why aren’t you here, why did you leave, why do you always abandon me! Why!”

Her shouts echoed throughout Dige without response. She was already weeping profusely—when she feigned poisoning and collapse, when Mingcheng humiliated her, when enemies kicked and beat her, her tears flowed wildly not because of pain or humiliation, but because she finally confirmed he wasn’t there.

Even though she had raced madly back to Dige.

Even though she’d rather be humiliated by Mingcheng.

Even though she let a group of people who couldn’t actually harm her beat her, wanting to use these wounds to call him out.

If he were there, he would definitely come out.

But when there remained no movement from all directions, her heart slowly sank.

Without any reason, she knew that once she let go, there would be emptiness, and once they parted, it would be the ends of the earth.

Two years of preparation, constant protection all the way—his ultimate purpose was here. Using the world as a game board, when she finally reached the world, the world no longer had him!

“Bang.” Mingcheng was thrown onto the thorn mat again. She no longer had strength to escape. The thorn mat was stained with her torn flesh and blood, and also with blood she had vomited from internal injuries. She called out incoherently, not knowing herself what she was saying. Her heart sank heavily because she knew the person behind her had gone mad.

The guards around them, since being driven away, never again tried to rescue Mingcheng—not because they couldn’t, but because they didn’t dare.

The Black Water Queen, covered in blood, face full of tears, grasping a handful of thorns, stained with dust, among thorn mats and blood, frantically beating the Empress—what she beat out wasn’t flesh and screams, but desperate, collapsing cries. She was like a madwoman. Before her wild gaze, everyone couldn’t help but tremble, fearing that the next moment of standing before her, they would be burned to ash in her fury.

“Gong Yin! Why! Why why why!”

“Bang.” Flesh and blood slammed into dust.

“Why arrange this path like this!”

“Why couldn’t you listen to me one more time!”

“Gong Yin!”

“What I want is you, not the world!”