Waiting for You for a Long Time, But You Haven't Arrived - Chapter 41.2

Like a patched-up doll, the thick thread was stitched in “X” shapes. Blood continually seeped through the stitches, staining the mouth. It was truly inhumane and horrifying to behold.

No nightmare she had ever had in two lifetimes was as chilling as this. Ming Yishu met Ji Zijun’s eyes; it was like coming face-to-face with a ghost or a god. Her heart lurched, and her breath hitched.

A modern person believes that life is supreme. In the face of life, all hatred and power should yield. Regardless of the grace or grudges between her and Ji Zijun, she did not want to see a living person mutilated in such a way. She was human; she had a basic moral bottom line. At this moment, she only felt a sense of tragic sorrow for the decline of a life.

Ming Yishu felt unsteady and was supported by Jiang Qionghua at her side.

“Look at her. She is not human; she is a malevolent ghost. Ordinary people do not return from the dead, but she does. Therefore, I have brought sorcerers and Taoists. This time, she will certainly not come back as a corpse.” In front of everyone, Jiang Qionghua affectionately kissed Ming Yishu’s cheek, her tone soft to the core. She said, “The sorcerers said that such a wicked thing must be burned to ashes to be truly destroyed. Otherwise, like a vengeful spirit, she will return to disturb people’s peace. Furthermore, the Taoists said that this mouth of hers is the source of her power to bewitch people; it is only right to sew it shut…”

Ming Yishu’s shoulders tensed, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably. “No, do not torture her like this. Even if you must kill her, give her a swift end.”

She and Ji Zijun both came from the modern era; both had traveled into this book. Today, the other was being burned by these superstitious ancients—would it be Ming Yishu’s turn tomorrow?

At this moment, Jiang Qionghua still found her novel and was willing to lower herself to coax her. Perhaps in not much time… when the woman grew tired of her and lost her mind, she would subject Ming Yishu to the same torture.

Ming Yishu could not tell if it was fear or sorrow, she simply kept trembling.

She looked around. The Kang Manor courtyard was filled with many dead people and a vast amount of blood. The ground was stained red; it was no exaggeration to call this place purgatory.

“Are you afraid, Yishu?” Jiang Qionghua noticed Ming Yishu’s state and snapped out of her joy. She leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “Is your body still feeling unwell? If the scent of blood here is too heavy for you, go to a room to rest first.”

Ming Yishu looked at the crowd. Everyone was indifferent to the blood; only she was afraid. It seemed as if there were no more normal people in the world…

No, wait. There was still someone. There was still Su Qian’er.

Su Qian’er was a good girl; she must be afraid too. She could not break down; she had to protect her.

Ming Yishu seemed to find a final anchor for her sanity. She spoke, only to find her voice raspy, barely able to form a sentence. “Su… Su… Su Qian’er, where is she? Did she… also…”

Jiang Qionghua’s voice was calm. “She is still in the room. I didn’t kill her, for fear of making you unhappy.”

Ming Yishu nodded distractedly and hurried toward the room—

The scent of blood inside the room was not any lighter than it was outside. Worried that Su Qian’er was injured, Ming Yishu rushed in. Upon pushing the door open, she saw Su Qian’er with her back to the entrance, doing something.

“Qian’er.” Ming Yishu called her name softly, feeling relieved. “It’s good that you are okay.”

Su Qian’er on the floor shuddered violently and turned around in disbelief. “Miss Ming? How did you—”

She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly hiding something in a guilty and frantic manner.

Ming Yishu stepped forward, wanting to grab Su Qian’er and leave this place. However, as she drew closer, she saw what Su Qian’er was doing.

The simple girl she had always protected was actually dismembering the corpse of Kang Huaiyi.

“Miss Ming—” Su Qian’er knelt on the floor, sobbing. She grabbed Ming Yishu’s leg, terrified and at a loss. “Miss, don’t look. Please don’t look.”

“Okay, I won’t look.” Ming Yishu was so shocked she took a half-step back. she covered her forehead, repeating the same few words over and over: “Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look…”

Su Qian’er swore she had never been this afraid. Even when she was sold at the slave market, she hadn’t felt this panicked. She knew her mistress was afraid of blood and never looked at such bloody scenes. It was her fault for not finishing the task well and allowing Miss Ming to stumble upon this.

She threw the knife away forcefully and bent over, her tears falling straight to the ground. “Miss, are you alright?”

Ming Yishu was “fine.”

She was just on the verge of going mad.

She didn’t know why Su Qian’er had also become like those wicked people, why she would use such cruel methods on someone who was already dead… Her greatest fear was that this young girl had learned such evil ways; having started down the path of killing, she might never be able to return.

The malice in a person is nurtured step by step. Once the knife is held and blood is drawn for the first time, there will be no more hesitation in the future. Once that threshold in the heart is crossed, the seed of evil is planted, growing silently day by day until it consumes and annihilates one’s entire conscience.

Ming Yishu backed away, leaning against the door as she walked out.

She needed a moment.

In just that short time, the sounds of fighting broke out again outside. It seemed that Ji Zijun’s people had come to rescue their master. But how could those people be a match for Jiang Qionghua? Jiang Qionghua was the current Chancellor; whether it was her private soldiers or her secret guards, they all possessed top-tier martial arts. When the two sides met, it was no contest—it was a one-sided slaughter.

Yet Ji Zijun’s subordinates showed no fear, as if they had been given some kind of potion. They used self-destructive methods to carve out a path for the rescue, acting as shields and rushing forward one after another, like soulless corpses that felt no pain or fear of death.

Ming Yishu was terrified by this scene. She hadn’t expected the Ji Zijun who possessed a system to be able to do this, nor had she expected Jiang Qionghua’s people to kill as easily as chopping melons. Heads rolled on the ground like ripe dates being knocked from a tree with a long pole, spinning across the earth in a dizzying display.

It was too bloody; Ming Yishu felt waves of nausea.

Amidst the chaos, she suddenly saw people climbing over the walls. Perhaps those people had learned that Ji Zijun was about to die, so they were exceptionally frantic and panicked, each one going mad, losing their sanity and becoming frenzied.

These scenes reminded Ming Yishu of classic moments from zombie movies. Being personally in such an environment, the sense of pressure and horror was tangibly frightening.

“Don’t let her escape!” In the din, Ming Yishu heard Jiang Qionghua shout, “Where are the torches? Quickly, burn Ji Zijun!”

Ming Yishu looked over in a panic—Ji Zijun had somehow untied the ropes binding her hands and looked as if she were about to flee.

There were more people outside, surging in one by one, fearing nothing. Some were even on fire, having doused themselves in wine to act as human kindling, charging straight inside—

Ming Yishu didn’t know what had happened to this world, why it had suddenly turned into this. The dangers of being in this book were now fully revealed. She had known nothing; she hadn’t known that Ji Zijun could cause such a major event, bewitching so many innocent commoners into becoming her followers.

“Ming Yishu!”

In the chaos, Jiang Qionghua pulled a long sword directly from a nearby private soldier. She didn’t bother with Ji Zijun at first; instead, she pushed through the crowd toward Ming Yishu.

The more complex the situation, the more Jiang Qionghua worried someone might take advantage of the chaos to harm Ming Yishu. She dared not trust anyone and personally held her sword to protect her.

Ming Yishu saw the woman carving a path toward her, hacking down anything in her way like a malevolent spirit or a god of slaughter.

Jiang Qionghua’s long sword was stained red, blood dripping from its tip all along the way.

“Miss Ming, don’t be afraid. I will protect you.”

Su Qian’er had already killed someone; she was no longer afraid. She thought that she could now protect her Miss Ming.

In front of Ming Yishu, behind her, and not far away, were people climbing over the walls. Those people were numerous and attacked indiscriminately; they would soon be close…

Jiang Qionghua’s figure was gradually surrounded. Ming Yishu could not see her, only the flashing sword techniques and the flying blood.

Su Qian’er was also very afraid. She clung tightly to Ming Yishu, and then suddenly said something nonsensical: “Miss, this knife is too short. Had I known, I would have changed it for a longer one.”

Ming Yishu’s lips twitched; her smile was more painful than a sob.

At a time like this, this girl was truly unexpected.

Ultimately, Jiang Qionghua did not reach her. The distance between them was not small, and with so many people rushing in from outside, Jiang Qionghua had to maintain control over the situation. As she approached with her sword, she was quickly surrounded by people who acted like madmen.

The scene was one of total chaos—

Ming Yishu’s vision seemed blurred by a mist of blood. At some point, someone’s blood had splattered onto her face. She raised her sleeve to wipe it away, making it difficult to see clearly.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Su Qian’er standing in front of her, using her knife to block many of the madmen. The two of them had been pushed into a corner without realizing it. Above them was a large white moon, and before them were the frenzied commoners.

“Awoooo—”

A wolf’s howl rang out in the moonlit night. Ming Yishu heard the sound coming from the wall behind them. Immediately afterward, a wolf cub leaped down from the wall with reckless abandon, even stepping on her shoulder in the process and nearly causing her to lose her balance.

Heyi leaped gracefully from the wall, its beautiful fur looking like a streak of white light—except that it stumbled upon landing, which wasn’t very dignified and ruined the heroic aura of its entrance.

Ming Yishu: “…”

The wolf cub bared its sharp teeth, snarling at the frenzied people rushing forward. A low, threatening growl unique to wild beasts issued from its throat.

It lowered its front limbs, its fur bristling in a display of intense menace.

A madman approached, and Heyi lunged, biting into the man’s neck.

Blood sprayed—

Ming Yishu let out a breath and leaned against the wall behind her.

Her wolf cub had also finally tasted human blood.

That timid wolf cub, which hadn’t yet grown up, had revealed its wild animal nature once again after being domesticated.

In the end, no matter how many commoners there were, they could not compare to the power of the Right-hand Chancellor. Before long, more soldiers opened the gates of the Kang Manor.

The frenzied people were subdued because Jiang Qionghua’s long sword flew through the air, piercing Ji Zijun as she hung on the stake.

Ji Zijun was on the verge of death, and her followers ceased their frenzy.

Ming Yishu’s breath hitched. In a daze, she was embraced from behind by Jiang Qionghua. She was led along for a distance before Jiang Qionghua suddenly stopped, kissed her cheek, and brought her before Ji Zijun.

“Don’t be afraid anymore. She is dead.”

As Jiang Qionghua said this, she took Ming Yishu’s hand, gripped the hilt of the sword, and forced the blade deeper into Ji Zijun’s abdomen.

In that moment, Ming Yishu’s eyes flew open. She looked down at her own actions in disbelief.

Why?

Why was she being forced to participate in the killing?

Jiang Qionghua laughed softly in her ear. “I want you to be at peace. Now that you have killed her with your own hands, you can follow me with a tranquil heart.”

Ming Yishu shook her head frantically, witnessing Ji Zijun’s horrific state in terror—a large amount of blood poured from the stitches in Ji Zijun’s mouth. Ji Zijun’s eyes were bloodshot, her pupils staring fixedly at her.

It was as if she were saying—My situation today is your fate tomorrow.

It seemed that Ming Yishu had misseen it, but from those glazed pupils, she suddenly detected a hint of mockery. Ji Zijun’s sewn lips curved slightly, her neck could no longer support her head, and it slumped down. A long trail of blood stretched from her head down to the ground.

“Aaaaaah—”

Ming Yishu covered her ears and suddenly began to shriek like a madwoman.

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