Jian Wuying ultimately did not kill Chu Qianli.
Though he had taken countless lives, he found himself unable to kill a woman who was unconscious, completely defenseless, and in his eyes, utterly powerless.
Later, the pain in his abdomen became unbearable, and Jian Wuying sat down beside Chu Qianli.
He sat there, drifting in and out of consciousness, for an unknown duration.
At one point, he seemed to have fallen asleep.
He fully awoke only when he sensed someone approaching him.
"Jian Wuying, are you awake? Do you still want to kill me?"
The woman's voice was peculiar, sounding familiar yet somehow slightly off.
Jian Wuying opened his still-hazy eyes and, upon seeing the woman before him, his palm tightened, his defenses instantly raised.
"Chu Qianli? You..."
No, that wasn't right. She wasn't Chu Qianli!
She was wearing the clothes Yu Linglong had worn earlier.
But this face...
"How is it? You think so too, don't you? That we look exactly alike?" The girl standing before him straightened up, looked down at him, and burst into laughter.
"Ha, ha, ha, I succeeded! Even you couldn't tell! I succeeded!"
"You... you are Yu Linglong." As she spoke, her voice returned to normal, and Jian Wuying immediately recognized her.
The woman before him was Yu Linglong.
Then, Chu Qianli...
Jian Wuying looked down and saw Chu Qianli still lying beside him. Though her face bore no wounds, it was completely devoid of color and luster.
Like a withered flower...
He felt a pang of inexplicable pain.
She should have been a vibrant young woman...
Yu Linglong suddenly crouched down, took out a bottle of liquid, and poured it into Chu Qianli's mouth.
"What else do you intend to do?" Jian Wuying reached out to stop her.
Yu Linglong grabbed his wrist, impatient. "It's come to this, and you're still trying to be benevolent? Jian Wuying, you played a part in her becoming like this!"
"Don't forget, it was you who knocked her out and handed her over to me!"
Yu Linglong sneered, "Jian Wuying, you are just an assassin, not some great philanthropist. Stop misusing your sympathy!"
The entire bottle of medicine was eventually forced down Chu Qianli's throat.
Not long after, Chu Qianli frowned, her long eyelashes began to tremble, indicating she was about to wake up.
Jian Wuying didn't know what Yu Linglong was planning, but at this moment, he was incapable of stopping her.
The wound in his abdomen seemed to be growing more painful.
Yu Linglong roughly pulled Chu Qianli up, propping her against the stone wall.
Chu Qianli finally opened her eyes, but they were dim, utterly lacking any sparkle.
Jian Wuying could only watch them silently, unsure of what he himself wanted to do.
After handing Chu Qianli over to Yu Linglong, his mission should have been complete, yet he hadn't left.
Whether it was due to his injury preventing him from moving, or some other reason, he didn't know.
All he knew was that he remained there!
Yu Linglong looked at Chu Qianli's extremely unsightly face and curled her lips into a smile. "From now on, tell me everything you know, bit by bit."
"Let's start with how you met Feng Yexuan, shall we?"
... Jian Wuying drifted in and out of sleep several times.
In his daze, he seemed to hear two women talking, Yu Linglong asking detailed questions, and Chu Qianli answering them thoroughly.
Finally, after an indeterminate amount of time, Yu Linglong stripped Chu Qianli's clothes off.
He felt embarrassed to watch and immediately closed his eyes.
When he closed his eyes and woke again, it was another night.
Chu Qianli had fainted again, and Yu Linglong discarded her as if she were a broken doll.
It seemed she had learned everything she wanted to know.
Finally, Yu Linglong's gaze fell upon the bracelet on Chu Qianli's wrist.
"This damned girl, always wearing this bracelet..."
She had forgotten to ask about the bracelet's origin, but it was just a bracelet, seemingly worthless, and certainly not something Feng Yexuan would have given her.
Since it wasn't from Feng Yexuan, asking about it wouldn't make much difference.
As long as it was worn on her hand.
Yu Linglong crouched down again, intending to remove the Qiankun Chain from Chu Qianli's wrist.
But she couldn't find the clasp, no way to unlock it.
How could this be?
Yet this chain, this slut had always worn it. If she didn't wear it, she would reveal her flaws.
But still, she couldn't remove it no matter what...
Finally, Yu Linglong's expression darkened, and with a swift motion, she drew out a knife.
"What are you doing?" Jian Wuying felt that this woman had truly gone mad.
She was not the Yu Linglong he knew!
How could she be so heartless!
"You've already injured her this badly? Now you want to chop off her hand!"
"When you cut off people's heads, were you ever hesitant?" Yu Linglong scoffed.
Jian Wuying said angrily, "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. You might as well kill her with one sword!"
"Fine, I'll kill her right now, shall I?"
Yu Linglong curled her lips, smiling sweetly.
Jian Wuying thought she was just speaking casually, but unexpectedly, when he was completely caught off guard, the knife in Yu Linglong's hand suddenly plunged into Chu Qianli's chest.
Jian Wuying's breath hitched. He watched as the knife, stained with blood, was casually pulled out by Yu Linglong after piercing Chu Qianli's heart, and he was utterly stunned.
"Her life is worthless now, so can I chop off this hand?"
Yu Linglong coldly snorted, not even glancing at Chu Qianli again, and raised the knife, about to sever Chu Qianli's hand.
But before the knife could descend, with a "kā" sound, the chain on Chu Qianli's wrist suddenly fell off.
"How can this be?" Yu Linglong dropped the knife and picked up the Qiankun Chain.
But she could never figure out what was so special about this chain.
Wasn't it just an ordinary chain?
Finally, she casually put it on her own wrist.
She looked down at Chu Qianli, covered in blood. "This woman is dead. Jian Wuying, help me throw her out to the wolves. I have important matters to attend to now."
Jian Wuying remained silent, his expressionless.
Yu Linglong became somewhat displeased. "Jian Wuying, don't forget that I saved your life. You promised to repay me with your entire life!"
She walked over and felt for Chu Qianli's breath.
Indeed, she was no longer breathing!
Only then did Yu Linglong withdraw her hand with satisfaction and turn to look at Jian Wuying, who was sitting there, lost in thought.
She said indifferently, "From now on, there is no Yu Linglong in this world. I am Chu Qianli. Jian Wuying, you are the only one in this world who knows this secret. I trust you this much, and I hope you won't disappoint me!"