The sudden voice that erupted was like it came from Hell, utterly chilling.

Upon hearing it, Song Ru and her husband shivered in unison. Only then did they notice a figure cloaked in a black robe standing in the corner of the small room. It was unclear when he had appeared.

Terrified, they screamed and clung to each other.

"Noisy," the black-robed man said coldly. In an instant, the two ordinary people before him could no longer make a sound.

It was none other than Ji Wuming!

Ji Wuming said indifferently, "I speak, you listen. Otherwise—death!"

Ruan Qingshan and Song Ru nodded incessantly, like chickens pecking at rice.

"I'll be straightforward. I want Xu Lai's life, and I need your help. If you're willing to cooperate, nod. If not…"

Before he could finish, the couple nodded their heads feverishly.

They wished for nothing more than Xu Lai's immediate death, preferably right in front of them. How could they possibly disagree?!

"Xu Lai is married to your niece. You could just go beg for forgiveness and admit your mistakes, and he might forgive you. Do you truly want to kill him?"

Beneath his hood, Ji Wuming's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He hadn't expected things to progress so smoothly.

"Sob... They don't deserve it!" Song Ru suddenly became agitated. Upon realizing she could speak again, she spewed a long torrent of words. "Our family was ruined and torn apart because of him! Why should we apologize? Scum like him should be struck dead by Heavenly Thunder and left to rot without a proper burial!"

What followed was a stream of curses, too vile to repeat.

"Very good." Ji Wuming was quite pleased. This was the exact hatred he needed.

「Elsewhere.」

Now able to speak, Ruan Qingshan asked tremblingly, "Are... are you an immortal?"

He was still terrified, yet he felt a profound reverence for this man whose face he couldn't see, who appeared and vanished like a ghost. To appear out of thin air... if he wasn't an immortal, what else could he be?!

"Ask what you're permitted to ask, and nothing more," Ji Wuming said coldly.

"Yes, yes, yes," Ruan Qingshan said hurriedly. "You mentioned we could cooperate, but how do we kill Xu Lai? I've heard he's a Martial Artist, and Martial Artists are very strong."

"The price will be quite high. I wonder if you can bear it," Ji Wuming remarked.

"How high?" Ruan Qingshan asked cautiously.

Song Ru, on the other hand, couldn't care less. She said excitedly, "As long as we can kill that bastard Xu Lai, we are willing to pay any price!"

"Willing to pay anything?" Ji Wuming laughed, his smile filled with deep cruelty. "Not much is needed. Only two lives."

"Xu Lai and Ruan Tang," Song Ru clapped her hands, exclaiming with delighted surprise, "Perfect!"

"No. I require *your* lives," Ji Wuming's emotionless words echoed.

With a soft squelch, two streaks of blood appeared on the couple's necks. Ruan Qingshan and Song Ru stared blankly, touching their throats in disbelief.

In the last moments of their lives, the two couldn't understand why the man in black had done this.

Ji Wuming's lips curled into a sneer. "Come in."

The door opened, and a red-eyed Ruan Jin walked in.

"Son…" Song Ru's pupils contracted. She suddenly understood something, but she was unable to utter another word.

Ruan Qingshan also fell to the ground, his eyes wide with fury.

Ruan Jin looked at his parents' bodies without a hint of discomfort. Instead, he found the blood surprisingly beautiful.

He cocked his head and demanded loudly, "You said that if they died, I could personally kill Xu Lai. Where's the power? The power I asked for!"

「Half an hour earlier.」

Ruan Jin had been stopped on the street by the sudden appearance of Ji Wuming, who used a single finger and one sentence to make Ruan Jin willingly sacrifice his parents' lives. With that one finger, he had caused a building over ten meters tall to collapse. And the sentence was, "Are you willing to trade your parents' deaths for Xu Lai's life?"

After seeing how happy Xu Lai and Ruan Tang looked at the seaside that afternoon, Ruan Jin's mind was consumed by jealousy and resentment. Why was his family ruined and dead, while Xu Lai and Ruan Tang were blissfully happy? All of that should have been his! The status, the position, the money, and the beautiful woman! He wanted Xu Lai dead! As long as Xu Lai was dead, everything would return to its rightful place.

At this point, Ruan Jin's mental state had clearly become unstable; revenge had become his sole obsession.

Faced with the demand, Ji Wuming sneered.

The Human Race... truly the lowest of the Zhu Lang. Willing to sacrifice their own parents for the sake of revenge.

Ji Wuming clenched his fist. The blood from the two corpses coalesced into a single fingernail-sized bead. At the same time, he produced a verdant green elixir. As soon as it appeared, a foul stench permeated the air.

"Eat these," Ji Wuming said nonchalantly. "You will get the power you desire, and then you can have your revenge."

"Mom, Dad, it was Xu Lai who killed you," Ruan Jin muttered, venom flickering in his eyes. "I will avenge you. Once I have everything, I will give you a grand and glorious funeral." He then swallowed the blood bead and the green elixir in one gulp.

It was not just the lifeblood of his parents. It also contained all the hatred Song Ru and Ruan Qingshan felt in their dying moments, as well as... a specially refined Blood Guiding Pill!

Beneath his black hood, Ji Wuming's eyes twinkled with anticipation. I can't wait to see Ruan Jin appear before Xu Lai. It won't kill Xu Lai, but it can use their shared bloodline as a conduit to kill Ruan Tang. A bloodline curse! It's a pity, though. To avoid tipping my hand, I had to use the slightly less effective Ruan family.

"The power..." Ruan Jin looked dazed. He didn't feel the slightest bit stronger.

Ji Wuming soothed him, "Don't rush. Soon. Very soon..."

"AHHHH!" Ruan Jin suddenly screamed in agony as an unimaginable force surged wildly within him, threatening to tear his body apart.

If Ruan Jin could see inside himself, he would discover that his blood vessels, blood, and even his organs had all turned a putrid, rotten black. It was a ghastly sight to behold.

...

...

「Early morning.」

Snow began to fall in East Sea City. The entire city was blanketed in white.

On Mount Haitang, the haitang flowers were in full bloom. It was as if the seasons were spinning between spring and winter, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Ruan Tang pulled back the curtains and stretched, her stunning curves completely revealed.

She urged, "Xu Lai, get up! Go clear the snow from the doorway."

"Okay," Xu Lai responded.

He grabbed a broom and went to the door to sweep a path. Afterward, he stretched out his hand, and snowflakes fell into his palm, melting instantly.

As if sensing something, Xu Lai turned around. He saw Xu Yiyi standing at the second-floor window, smiling sweetly at him. "Good morning, Daddy."

"Morning." Xu Lai's heart melted like the snow in his palm. He smiled and said, "Want some candy?"

The little girl looked up at the overcast sky. Can you eat the snow clouds, too?

While she wondered, Xu Lai snapped his fingers. A cloud candy that looked like ice cream and was speckled with ice crystals appeared in front of Xu Yiyi.

Yiyi took a tentative bite, her eyes curving into crescents. "It's so cold, but it's so delicious!"

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