The room was pitch black.
All worries and unease vanished, leaving him no reason to refuse.
He touched the hand beside him, placed her hand on his mask, and answered softly, "Okay."
Zhu Fen felt both happy and relieved, as well as heartbroken.
Relieved that he had agreed, heartbroken by how cautious he was.
She gently removed the mask from his face.
The darkness did not affect her sight.
Although she had already seen scenes of his torment when she touched him.
Yet seeing it with her own eyes, seeing the once proud and handsome youth transform into this ghastly appearance, her heart was still filled with anger.
And heartache for him.
Anger at what those people had done to him, heartache for all he had endured, but not a trace of disgust.
She reached out and caressed the scars, the images replaying in her mind.
Barbaric torture, his brothers who once shared brotherhood with him, now holding daggers, cutting him again and again...
Blood gushing, his face disfigured!
Zhu Fen's heart ached beyond measure.
This feeling was different from the one she felt ten thousand years ago when she saw her own sword pierce that person's body and watched him vanish into dust, a feeling of a piece of her heart being gouged out, yet it was somewhat similar.
Heartache.
Clearly, it was others who endured the calamity and pain, yet she could empathize.
"Does it still hurt?"
Bai Li Chongyan's voice was low, "No, it doesn't."
It had hurt before, so much that he wished he could end all his pain with death.
But now, he no longer felt the pain.
Zhu Fen removed her hand from his face and hugged him instead.
The atmosphere between them was quiet and warm.
As if after a tribulation, they had both found salvation.
She moved her hand to the back of his head, pulling him closer, and leaned in herself, as if blessed by the gods, kissing his forehead once again.
She had done this action twice before, but both times through the cold mask.
This time, she finally touched his scarred skin.
The images were still fragmented and painful.
At this moment, she no longer wanted to perceive, but it seemed she couldn't stop.
"What's happening?"
The system appeared in a timely manner: "This is an auxiliary function. To allow the host to empathize better and clear the task target's Blackening Value. Before the task target's Blackening Value drops to fifty percent, as long as the host touches him, you will see his past experiences."
Blackening Value?
Zhu Fen remembered her "task."
He had mentioned before that Blackening Value was the degree to which a person turned bad.
He had been betrayed and suffered so much torment; it was only natural that he had become like this.
If it were her, and someone had done those things to her, she would make everyone related to that person pay with their lives!
"Why clear his Blackening Value?"
"Host, the higher his Blackening Value, the more likely he is to do heinous things. His Merit Value is so low; if he doesn't change, he can only live like this in every life, suffering torment and dying a terrible death..."
"Shut up!"
She stopped listening to the little thing, finding it infuriating.
To make him a good person?
The prerequisite for that was for all those who had harmed him to suffer the same torment and die, to be whipped after death, their souls annihilated!
Only then could her hatred be appeased.
Zhu Fen released him, picked up the mask herself, and put it on him.
Bai Li Chongyan seemed somewhat astonished.
As she put on the mask for him, Zhu Fen said, "I said I would cure you. If you don't want me to see now, I won't. When you're well, you can show me then."
The system just wanted to call her a big liar!
She had seen everything, and was so angry she thought about so many ways to avenge the task target, scaring him to trembling.
And now she spoke with a straight face, saying she wouldn't look, how hypocritical.
"Don't make noise in my head."
The system immediately "shut up."
The mask was back in place. Zhu Fen waved her hand and lit the candle. Looking at the suddenly illuminated room, Bai Li Chongyan was somewhat confused.
He had seen candles extinguished remotely; someone with decent inner strength could do that. But to light a candle remotely, how was that done?
Could it be that this person was truly a demon...
"Whoosh!"
An arrow broke through the air. A white barrier immediately rose around Zhu Fen, who was holding someone. The arrowhead struck it with a "clang" and was repelled.
"Assassins!"
Chaos erupted outside, with flashes of swords and the clanging of steel.
Zhu Fen carried him to the couch and set him down, asking, "Can they handle it?"
Bai Li Chongyan's face was grave.
Too many people wanted him dead. If the attackers were prepared, the hidden guards outside might not be able to stop them.
At that point, he would have to...
"Where is the feather I gave you?"
Bai Li Chongyan looked up, a little bewildered.
"Never mind."
Zhu Fen took out another feather and threw it to the ground. The moment the feather landed, it transformed into a little girl in colorful clothes.
"Protect him."
The girl bore some resemblance to her, but her expression was stiff, and her voice was rigid: "Yes."
Bai Li Chongyan was still in shock when Zhu Fen had already left.
She had seen too many scenes of Bai Li Chongyan being tormented tonight, and her heart was filled with a rage that had nowhere to vent. These people had run into her at the worst possible moment; their fate was predictable.
Outside in the courtyard, the prince's guards were entangled with assassins.
Two of the four candle stands in the courtyard had fallen, and one had ignited something, burning fiercely, illuminating the courtyard brightly.
Swordplay, flashes of steel, flesh and blood flying. They used orthodox sword techniques, with a certain cruel beauty.
Zhu Fen's participation immediately turned this "beautiful" assassination into a massacre.
She was like an Asura from hell. With just a long sword picked up at random, and a flick of her wrist, assassins were dismembered. Some were even cut into countless pieces.
Everyone was greatly shocked by her methods.
By the time they reacted, there were limbs and severed arms on the ground, and the remaining assassins also perished. Seeing her throw her sword to kill an assassin climbing over the wall, a guard shouted, "Leave a live one!"
However, it was too late. The sword was thrown with unstoppable force, piercing the man's spine instantly. He fell from the wall, completely dead.
The captain of the guards was stunned for a moment, but ultimately said nothing, only stating, "Thank you for your help, Miss Song."
But in reality, the number of assassins today was not large, and their martial arts were not superior. They could have handled it.
"No need to interrogate," Zhu Fen said calmly, showing no sign of panic or fatigue from just killing, but rather a hint of disgust, "They are from the Second Prince's household."
That person had been outmaneuvered by them today and, harboring resentment, deliberately sent people to deal with Bai Li Chongyan.
If what happened today was merely to teach him a lesson for his deception of the original body and his disgust towards her, Zhu Fen had wanted to teach him a lesson.
But sending assassins to carry out a murder had truly crossed Zhu Fen's red line.
The Second Prince was not the one who had betrayed and tormented Bai Li Chongyan, but he was not entirely blameless either. Zhu Fen had initially intended to let him die comfortably, but now it seemed unnecessary.
The guards were skeptical of Zhu Fen's words.
However, after examining the gold medals and the weapons carried by the assassins, they confirmed that these people were indeed sent by the Second Prince.
He had tried to humiliate others but was instead tricked, and now he had sent people to assassinate them. The Second Prince was becoming increasingly shameless!
He was thinking of having his people in court impeach the Second Prince tomorrow to keep him in line. He hadn't expected that before he could act, the Second Prince would have an incident.
This matter would be set aside for now.
After dealing with the assassins, Zhu Fen returned to the room.
The little girl transformed from the feather was still standing there blankly. Seeing her return, she said in a robotic voice, "Master."
"Change back."
The little girl tried hard but found she couldn't change back, looking at Zhu Fen with a hint of grievance.
Zhu Fen suddenly had a headache.
She had forgotten that she was not a true demon, but a deity born of heaven and earth. A part of her had taken form on earth, and unless she became an immortal, she would never be able to change back.
"Never mind, you can just be like this."
The little girl responded with a dazed nod.
"Retire."
The little girl, unable to transform now, could only walk out upon hearing this.
The guard who was about to enter stared at the little girl who had appeared out of nowhere, suspecting he was seeing a ghost.
"Who are you?"
The little girl looked up, her colorful clothes making her look bright and lovely, but her expression was like that of a newborn infant, dazed and bewildered.
"Master."
Zhu Fen said from inside, "She is my person, let her out."
The guard moved aside, but remained bewildered and ignorant.
Only Miss Song and the Prince had entered before, so how could a woman suddenly appear?
He then recalled the rumors of Zhu Fen being a demoness, her resurrection, her incredible martial arts, her merciless killing, and her ability to conjure little demons out of thin air. This was indeed a demon!
This demoness was so good to their Prince, could it be that, as he suspected, this demoness had a three-life, three-world relationship with their Prince, and was repaying a debt of gratitude in this life?
"Enter."
Bai Li Chongyan's voice was still difficult, speaking only one word.
The guard stopped his thoughts and walked in.
In the inner chamber, Bai Li Chongyan sat on the bed, dressed neatly, with Zhu Fen by his side. Nothing unusual could be discerned.
The guard bowed, "Your Highness, all those from the Second Prince's manor have been apprehended."
"I, know, have, heard," he said with difficulty, but still insisted on continuing, "Dispose, of, the bodies, cleanly, go down..."
"Yes!"
The guard turned, his heart filled with sadness and joy, almost moved to tears.
Their Prince had once been wrongly accused, imprisoned under false charges. For the border soldiers, he had endured inhuman torture, unable to speak or walk, tormented to the point of being less than human. Su Dan Novel Network
Although they had also been searching for divine doctors everywhere, and half of the guards and experts in the manor had been sent out to search for medicinal herbs, there had been no progress.
Now, the Prince could speak!
How could he not be moved?
Even if Miss Song was truly a demoness, as long as she could cure the Prince, he would accept it.
Even if she needed virgin boys and girls for cultivation in the future, he would be willing to help her capture them!
Unaware of the guard's thoughts, Zhu Fen would have felt wronged if she heard them.
During her ten thousand years in the demon realm, she had killed many... many people, but they were all people who deserved to die.
And she was a god; how could she use virgin boys and girls for cultivation?
Seeing the person leave, Bai Li Chongyan spoke again, "A'Fen, thank, you."
"You're thanking me again?"
Bai Li Chongyan's earlobes under his dark hair flushed slightly.
Zhu Fen had touched him in person tonight and naturally felt no lingering feelings for the cold mask. She didn't tease him further.
"It's getting late, time to rest."