Chapter Fifty-Three: To Tear You to Pieces

Hearing the commotion, the agent hurried over. When she saw Xie Jinchuan’s darkened expression, she was even more startled.

“President Xie, what happened? Did our Qiao Yi offend you? If you have something to say, let’s talk it out calmly. Please, President Xie, let go of her first,” the agent said cautiously.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the man finally release his grip.

“President Xie, I truly don’t know where Qingli went, but I’ll help you look for her…” Rong Qiao Yi said nervously, but before she could finish, the man snapped coldly, “No need!”

With that, he turned and left.

Watching his retreating figure, Rong Qiao Yi gently touched her reddened wrist. She had clearly sensed just now that Xie Jinchuan had been on the verge of wanting to kill her.

Thankfully, to avoid arousing suspicion, she had stored away plenty of demon power she’d harvested from the Demon Lock Tower. Even if Xie Jinchuan were to investigate endlessly, it would have nothing whatsoever to do with her.

“What exactly happened?” The agent, unsettled after the man had left, asked the woman beside her.

“It’s nothing. I’m just a bit tired today. Let’s go back,” Rong Qiao Yi replied calmly. As she turned away, a trace of grievance and helplessness appeared on her face.

Naturally, there were reporters at the banquet, and they captured Rong Qiao Yi’s expression in perfect clarity. Tomorrow’s headlines were bound to be explosive.

Meanwhile, shut away in the storage room, Shen Qingli’s forehead was beaded with fine sweat, and the glow between her brows grew brighter and brighter.

In her illusion, Shen Qingli sat on the steps, exhausted. She looked at the endless flights below and wiped the sweat from her brow.

“So tired,” she panted, unsure if it was fatigue or something else, only feeling her consciousness grow ever more blurred.

“Xie Jinchuan…” she murmured instinctively, calling his name just before she fainted into darkness.

In reality, the glow at Shen Qingli’s brow grew more intense, flickering with an eerie light.

Just as the radiance was about to completely consume Shen Qingli’s consciousness, Lvlv Parsley suddenly sensed a surge of spiritual energy flow into her, shattering the barrier at once.

[Get out!] she roared, gathering her spiritual power and striking fiercely at the glow.

Caught off guard, the glow scattered, but clearly it refused to give up its grip on Shen Qingli’s consciousness, gathering itself once more—this time, heading straight for the woman’s chest!

Bang! There was a loud crash at the storage room door. The glow, as if sensing something, fled in panic.

[Don’t even think about escaping!] Lvlv Parsley would not let go of the thing that had caused Shen Qingli’s state. Instantly, she formed a shield of spiritual power, trapping the thing within it.

Finding itself unable to escape, the glow hissed angrily, a sound like a serpent.

Bang! The door was flung open. Xie Jinchuan strode in, his face as black as ink, and seized the glow in his palm.

“Soul-Devouring Powder… Gained sentience from absorbing a portion of Shen Qingli’s spirit?” Xie Jinchuan sneered, capturing the glow in his hand. Then, glancing at Shen Qingli’s pale face, he immediately bent down and scooped her up.

“Qingli, Qingli?” he called, but the woman in his arms remained unresponsive.

“Shen Qingli!” Xie Jinchuan’s voice was urgent, his grip tightening on her hand, while the faint light in his palm quietly transmitted spiritual energy into her.

Still, the woman did not wake, though her complexion improved considerably, allowing Xie Jinchuan to breathe a little easier.

Cradling her, he rushed from the event. Outside, the reporters did not miss a single detail, their flashes illuminating the scene until the car whisked them away.

Xie Jinchuan nearly drove the car off the road in his haste. Once they reached the villa, he immediately fetched the warming jade he’d recently acquired and placed it against Shen Qingli’s chest.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. Never,” he murmured, pressing his palm to the jade. As he poured spiritual energy in, the warming jade dissolved into a beam of light and entered Shen Qingli’s chest.

As the jade entered her body, elsewhere, Rong Qiao Yi had just returned home when her face changed.

Why was the aura of the warming jade gone…?

Suddenly, a possibility struck her, and the malice in her eyes deepened.

“It’s her! He actually gave the warming jade to Shen Qingli! Damn it! How could he! How could he give it to her!!”

The warming jade was formed from the essence of heaven and earth, appearing only once in a millennium.

She had always known that Xie Jinchuan had gone to great lengths to obtain a piece, and she had once asked him for it.

But Xie Jinchuan had clearly said he would only give it to the one he loved most in his life!

“Why? Why! That person should have been me—it should have been me!”

Watching Rong Qiao Yi’s frenzy, the agent quietly stepped back and withdrew her foot.

“Qiao Yi, if there’s anything else, just contact me later, alright? I’ll be going now,” the agent managed a forced laugh, quickly turning to leave, only to feel a sudden pull at her back.

To her shock, the front door closed on its own!

“What’s happening!” The agent stared in terror at the strange energy filling the room, fear seizing her whole being.

She turned to look at the woman behind her, and when she saw the red light flashing in Rong Qiao Yi’s eyes, her own eyes widened in horror.

“What… What are you…?”

Rong Qiao Yi narrowed her eyes, binding the agent with vines, her every move exuding a demonic aura.

Between her brows, the faint imprint of a fallen deity appeared, though not clearly.

“Bring these people to me. The rest—I’ll make sure you get what you deserve,” Rong Qiao Yi said, lifting the agent’s chin, a flash of red passing through her eyes. The agent became a puppet, completely under her control.

She couldn’t harm humans, nor could she go after Shen Qingli openly—but demons were fair game!

The warming jade could only belong to her—no one else could take it!

If that was the case, she would have to carve out Shen Qingli’s heart herself!

“Yes,” the agent replied dully, leaving the room with the photograph in hand.

Meanwhile, trapped in her illusion, Shen Qingli suddenly saw a vision.

In it, she wore luxurious ancient robes, petals swirling around her as she fought a figure akin to a demon king.

But she was betrayed by a woman, and just as her soul was about to be scattered, a figure—so familiar it could not be mistaken—rushed to her side, holding her tightly and shielding her from the fatal blow.

“Xie Jinchuan!” she cried out, abruptly waking and sitting bolt upright in bed.

The man at her bedside awoke instantly at the sound of her voice.

Seeing her awake at last, Xie Jinchuan’s heart finally calmed.

“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”