"No need for you to ask them tomorrow, I know what's going on,"

Having heard Ye Yuqiao say this, Chen Hao, who had already risen and was leaning against the couch, first showed a surprised look, then smiled with disbelief and asked, "What do you know?"

Ye Yuqiao turned around to face Chen Hao.

Seeing the tears brimming in Ye Yuqiao's eyes, Chen Hao immediately frowned, his complexion darkened, and he was seized by an ominous premonition.

"Chen Hao, I'm sorry!" Ye Yuqiao said hoarsely.

Chen Hao's frown deepened, and his expression grew increasingly grim as he asked, "Why are you apologizing? And what exactly do you know?"

"Initially," Ye Yuqiao's body and voice were trembling, "it was I who ordered Niu Tou and Ma Mian to take your grandfather's Yin Soul to the Netherworld!"

In an instant, Chen Hao's face turned ashen, as if struck by a bolt from the blue. After a moment of daze, he glared at Ye Yuqiao with bloodshot eyes and screamed, "Ye Yuqiao, what are you talking about!"

His angry voice and his heart were both tearing apart.

Seeing Chen Hao looking at her with hostility, Ye Yuqiao's tears fell like rain. She covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head slightly, saying, "I'm sorry, Chen Hao, I did it back then only to motivate you, I didn't realize..."

"Ah!"

Before Ye Yuqiao could finish, Chen Hao suddenly extended his left hand and grabbed her throat, causing her to choke.

"Liar, liar!" Chen Hao bellowed at Ye Yuqiao, his eyes red with blood vessels and rage. He suddenly understood it all: why Ye Yuqiao cried harder than he did when his grandfather died; why she chose to leave without a word after defeating King Ning; why Ye Yuqiao had always refused to admit she liked him; why she was always sentimental and teary.

"So, all this time, it was the guilt of a thief!" Chen Hao said through violently chattering teeth. Right then, his throat, his breathing, and his thoughts were all clogged with indescribable bitterness. And deep in his heart, he was destroyed by an extreme despair; all the hope and motivation that had been built up little by little were shattered in an instant.

"You killed my grandfather!" Chen Hao continued to roar, his face twisted and terrifying, his reason completely devoured by anger and impulse.

As Ye Yuqiao gasped for air, she blinked, internally agreeing with Chen Hao's accusation. Indeed, if her grandfather had not been taken away, he would not have been killed by the drunken immortal later on.

Although she had imagined a thousand times the terrifying scene of Chen Hao choking her, when Chen Hao's hands were actually around her neck, Ye Yuqiao realized the pain was a thousand, ten thousand times more excruciating than she had imagined.

It was a pain that simply could not be anticipated.

Especially when she recalled the words Chen Hao had said after being controlled by the Shadow Demon and choking her— "The real me would never do anything to hurt you."

And now, it was the real Chen Hao who was choking her! The Chen Hao who said he would take responsibility for her, who would always take care of her, the Chen Hao who had promised just a few days ago on the rooftop that he would be with her forever!

With this thought, Ye Yuqiao's tears fell even more, feeling death was imminent, she harbored no thought of using the Nether King's Power to flee. Her heart was as utterly despaired as that of Chen Hao at this moment.

Ye Yuqiao closed her eyes, awaiting Chen Hao to strangle her to death. To her, this was perhaps a kind of release; in the months since meeting Chen Hao, she had spent almost every day in agony and struggle. Because of a promise to Ye Heng, she restrained herself every day from her affection for Chen Hao;

Later on, she finally convinced herself to let go of the promise "A man of honor never goes back on his word," and started to open up to Chen Hao. But then, Chen Hao's grandfather passed away. Because she harbored a sense of guilt over the death of Chen Hao's grandfather, she struggled every day with whether or not to confess this to Chen Hao; every time Chen Hao got closer to her, this matter pricked at her heart like an invisible needle; every time she closed her eyes or thought about a possible future with Chen Hao, this matter would emerge in her mind like a nightmare, unable to be dispelled.

"I'm leaving, Chen Hao!" At the moment when her consciousness was about to blur, Ye Yuqiao silently bid farewell to Chen Hao in her heart.

However, Chen Hao released his grip on her as she was about to lose her last breath, panting heavily. Right before falling into unconsciousness, through the blur before her eyes, Ye Yuqiao faintly saw Chen Hao walking away.

..

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

Ye Yuqiao slowly opened her eyes to see Zhao Chong's gaunt face. Feeling a throbbing pain in her throat, Ye Yuqiao's heart instantly felt as if it had been cut by a knife—the events that had just transpired were real, not a dream.

Thinking of this, Ye Yuqiao couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Your Majesty," Zhao Chong's voice was very low, "what happened? What's with the marks on your neck?"

"Zhao Chong! I have completely lost him!"

After weeping into her hands for a while, Ye Yuqiao recounted everything from when she ordered Niu Tou and Ma Mian to take away Chen Hao's grandfather's Yin Soul, to her recent falling out with Chen Hao.

After telling Zhao Chong, Ye Yuqiao took a long sigh of relief. Having borne this burden alone for so long, she could finally pour out the story without reservation. She felt an unprecedented sense of relief, yet the price she paid was losing Chen Hao.

After hearing what happened, Zhao Chong didn't take the death of Chen Hao's grandfather to heart but was instead furious about Chen Hao choking Ye Yuqiao.

"He almost took your life, I'm going to kill him!" Zhao Chong exclaimed angrily, as a terrifying force of Yin Qi Spiritual Power erupted from within him.

"No!" Ye Yuqiao hurriedly grabbed Zhao Chong by his sleeve, crying inconsolably, "Please, I beg you, don't! Don't harm him anymore, I've already hurt him deeply enough!"

Zhao Chong looked at Ye Yuqiao, his melancholic eyes filled with pain for her.

Suddenly, feeling a pain in her chest as if her heart was being twisted by a knife, Ye Yuqiao let go of Zhao Chong's sleeve, clutching her chest with both hands, her body curling up as it convulsed.

"Ah! Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Zhao Chong asked urgently.

"Chen Hao might be in trouble!" Ye Yuqiao said, enduring the sharp pain in her chest. After speaking, she closed her eyes, and through the connection with the Nether King's Heart, she saw the scene Chen Hao's left eye was seeing at that moment.

The first thing that came to her mind was the dripping blood, followed by the Nether King's World-Slaying Blade flickering with a purple glow—Chen Hao was using it to gouge out his left eye.

Seeing this, Ye Yuqiao immediately turned into a black shadow and in an instant arrived in the living room of Chen Hao's house upstairs.

After appearing in front of Chen Hao, Ye Yuqiao quickly tried to stop him, shaking her head repeatedly and saying, "Don't do it, please, I beg you! If you continue, you'll die!"

Chen Hao glared at Ye Yuqiao viciously and said, "Everything about you disgusts me! Even if it means my soul is scattered, I will dig out the Nether King's Heart from my body!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.