Chapter 549: People Change (Two-in-One)

Song Huien had never imagined such cold could exist in this world.

The dark blade felt like a block of ice.

The first sensation to register in her mind wasn't pain, but the freezing chill at her throat—a cold so deep it made her shiver.

"DD%¥#—"

She poured all her strength into her throat, forcing out a syllable that didn't even sound like language.

But it was a language.

It belonged to an ancient tongue, so old that its origins in history could no longer be traced.

She had acquired a book from a tomb robber, unexpectedly learning the pronunciation and power of this single syllable from its pages.

The syllable meant death.

Once spoken, anyone who heard it would be tainted by the aura of death.

If their strength was weak, they might die on the spot. Even if they matched her in power, they would be cursed by death, drawing the gaze of some indescribable entity in the days and nights to come.

The only price was that, as the caster, she would be the first to die.

The book explicitly stated that her death was absolute.

That was why she had never used it, preserving it as her ultimate trump card.

But—

Through her blurring vision, Weng Lingxiao stood beside her, seemingly completely unaffected.

Why—

Song Huien felt her consciousness slipping away.

She had tested this on many entities. Even if a Ninth Tier like Weng Lingxiao couldn't be killed outright, he shouldn't be completely unharmed.

Had it failed?

Yet a strange, icy cold was spreading through her heart. Something had descended just above her head.

She strained her neck, trying to look up, but she couldn't see it no matter how hard she tried, as if it were forever perched just out of sight.

No—she had to see it—

The thought suddenly surged into her mind.

She fought to lift her head.

Even with a dagger lodged in her throat, even if she had to tear her neck to shreds, she wanted to see its face. She could sense it had something to tell her.

She needed to hear its teachings.

Finally, she managed it.

Twisting her head nearly three hundred and sixty degrees, she spotted the entity clinging to the back of her neck.

It was completely different from what she had imagined. It wasn't a majestic deity, nor was it an indescribable horror covered in tentacles or rotting flesh.

Looking closely, it was nothing more than a tiny, pitch-black bean.

But looking closer still, she saw eyes on that little bean—pitch-black like two Go stones—a mouth filled with sharp black fangs, and hands resembling countless tiny tentacles.

It looked cute. So cute it was almost terrifying.

To think that something seemingly so harmless to man and beast could unleash such a terrifying incantation.

Song Huien strained to get closer. She saw its mouth opening and closing as it hopped in place anxiously, desperate to tell her something.

"Come, please tell me. Tell me the right thing to do."

Filled with hope, Song Huien leaned her ear closer.

She hoped to hear something that would let her turn the tables.

Her heart brimmed with hope.

The entity before her gave her boundless confidence.

And just like that, she finally heard the entity speak.

"Your voice was blocked, you idiot!! You stupid pig!!"

Its voice was completely at odds with its appearance, sounding like a gruff beast.

Song Huien froze, and a sudden shudder wracked her body.

Her opponent had a method to counter sound.

He just hadn't used it.

He had a method to completely suppress her.

He just hadn't needed it until now.

Why—

The black bean vanished.

Song Huien's head fell to the ground.

Her eyes stared up at the sky, filled with confusion and despair.

Her throat twitched as she croaked out the last words of her life.

"Why—"

Watching Song Huien bizarrely snap her own neck, Weng Lingxiao turned to look at Yan Jing.

"Did you do this, Commissioner Yan?"

Yan Jing was expressionless. "I don't know either."

He genuinely didn't. To prevent this deeply scheming woman from using a trump card, he had simply taken a preemptive defensive measure.

As for why Song Huien had suddenly snapped her head backward and muttered to herself...

He had no idea.

"You did well, Vice Warden Weng. You have once again proven your loyalty to the Great Prison."

Yan Jing smiled and patted Weng Lingxiao on the shoulder.

Weng Lingxiao calmly tucked the Black Codex deeper into his coat and smiled. "It was only right, Commissioner Yan."

"It is my honor."

"My honor as well." Yan Jing smiled, storing Song Huien's body away. Even though the quota for the Corpse-Sewing Garment was already filled by Sha Like and Zhan Cangtian, a Ninth Tier's body was still a treasure trove.

Even using it for a Ritual would be an excellent choice.

"Commissioner Yan, why... why didn't you accept Song... Huien just now?"

Weng Lingxiao had originally intended to say 'Vice Warden Song,' but thankfully he caught himself and forced the change at the last second.

"I don't like her."

Yan Jing's reason was simple and brutal.

But it also sent a clear signal to Weng Lingxiao:

He didn't need to justify his actions to him.

"Understood."

Weng Lingxiao caught on immediately, abruptly dropping the topic. "Then please go back and rest. I will keep an eye on things here."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Yan Jing smiled. He deactivated the Fear Stance Second Form, and his figure vanished from the spot.

A dozen minutes after Yan Jing's departure, fairly certain the man was truly gone, Weng Lingxiao finally flew up into a patch of clouds. He gasped heavily for air, his face ashen.

In truth, he had felt nauseous ever since that moment. Not out of disgust, but out of pure terror.

What in the world had he just witnessed?

Zhan Cangtian was dead. Zhou Mian was heavily injured—crippled if not dead. Bai Chen and Bai Yue were currently being hunted down. As for Song Huien, Weng Lingxiao had only stepped in to show his stance; fundamentally, Yan Jing was the one who killed her.

Five Ninth Tiers. Two dead, one crippled, two injured.

And Yan Jing hadn't even looked like he was trying.

He had bled, yes, but he hadn't used the Piano's methods from last time, nor had he used the Blink ability. He hadn't even used the physical strength he'd displayed when dealing with Weng Lingxiao himself.

Especially that form. Standing next to Yan Jing just now had truly felt like standing beside a primeval beast.

While he felt like merely an unarmed, ordinary man.

The pressure Yan Jing exerted was just that massive!

"Crazy—Weng Lingxiao—you're completely insane—"

Weng Lingxiao cursed himself under his breath.

He had been genuinely terrified that the Black Codex in his coat might fall out. His back was already drenched in cold sweat.

"Just be number two, being number two is fine—"

"Damn it, Weng Lingxiao, you just don't have the destiny to be the boss—"

"Damn it, I was better off following Mu Tian—"

Weng Lingxiao sighed deeply.

Mu Tian had at least given him sufficient autonomy. But Yan Jing?

Who could possibly guess what was going through that human lunatic's mind?

Thinking back to when he had sought him out to negotiate, a lingering dread washed over him.

Where did he get the nerve?

The guy was a total psychopath!

Inside the Great Prison Fortress.

Yan Jing hummed a tune as he walked down the corridor, but his face carried no trace of relaxation.

Only calmness.

He looked exceptionally calm.

Weng Lingxiao had just asked him why he killed Song Huien.

He had told the truth.

—

He truly didn't like Song Huien.

In Yan Jing's eyes, there were two ways to forge connections in this world.

One was as friends, family, lovers—

The bonds connecting people in these relationships were emotion, virtue, and certain indescribable, shining qualities.

The other was a purer relationship of suppression and submission.

Whether as superiors and subordinates, enemies, or partners bound by mutual interest—

The bonds in these relationships were profit, fear, and trust—

Song Huien would not make a good partner. She had no real concept of trust, and her appetite for profit was far too vast.

Nor would she make a good subordinate, because she felt no real fear and had no concept of respect.

She was accustomed to being a disruptor at all times. Even after witnessing Yan Jing's display at the Wedding, her first thought had still been to side with the majority alongside Zhan Cangtian and attack the Great Prison.

Even after seeing Yan Jing kill Zhan Cangtian, she still used her abilities at the very last moment, seeking a chance to turn the tables.

Her ambition was too great, and her fear too small.

It wasn't that she was wrong. She just happened to be Yan Jing's enemy.

Yan Jing couldn't find a suitable position for someone like that, so he simply killed her.

That was his entire train of thought.

As for the others.

Weng Lingxiao understood fear and possessed his own bottom line (disdaining cooperation with criminals).

Bai Chen and Bai Yue were bound by emotion, and they seemed to harbor some degree of affection for the residents of the Sky Domain.

Zhou Mian, at the very least, knew how to be afraid.

Thus, they survived.

The Ship needed Ninth Tiers.

More accurately, the Great Prison needed Ninth Tiers.

Though Yan Jing wasn't skilled in management, he still understood this much.

And so, whistling, Yan Jing walked into the Special Prison Cell.

He arrived at the most familiar cell among them.

"You're here!"

Wen Qiao looked up. Ignoring the fact that she was barefoot, she hopped off the bed and jogged right up to Yan Jing, wearing a somewhat silly yet gentle smile.

"What happened to you?"

Seeing the blood at the corner of Yan Jing's mouth, her expression grew flustered. She hurriedly turned to grab a tissue, reaching her hand out through the iron bars.

But Yan Jing took a step back. "Miss Wen, I stand by what I said. Please respect yourself."

"I know you're looking for someone, and I am looking for someone too. Before the two of us can confirm anything, please refrain from such intimate gestures." Yan Jing's eyes were calm. "If we have the wrong person, I think it would be very awkward for both of us."

"Ah—ah—yes—that's right—" Wen Qiao forced back her heartache and withdrew her hand. "Yes, we shouldn't do this—"

"So, are you the person I'm looking for?" Yan Jing looked at Wen Qiao.

Wen Qiao pursed her lips, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her pajamas.

As always, once the topic reached this point, she refused to say another word.

Yan Jing sighed.

He felt he had given enough hints and found enough clues.

The bento he had made for her, the questions he had asked, and the newspaper he had seen—

But Wen Qiao was unwilling to answer this question.

And he couldn't be the first to answer.

He felt his life was very happy right now, and he wouldn't gamble everything he had.

If he gambled wrong, the people around him would suffer an unprovoked disaster.

"Then let's change the question."

Yan Jing's eyes remained calm. "Do you still want to sacrifice yourself for Mu Tian?"

"I—I promised Mu Tian—and Ning Wei—" Wen Qiao said timidly.

Yan Jing's brow twitched. "You met Ning Wei again?"

He only knew that Ning Wei and Wen Qiao had made a deal previously. At that time, Wen Qiao had helped Ning Wei prophesy the future of the Great Prison: the forest frozen, the sky falling, the ocean fracturing—

Now, all of those things had come true.

But he only knew that because Xiao Xin had been following Ning Wei all along.

So he had no idea about Ning Wei and Wen Qiao's subsequent meetings.

"Yes."

Wen Qiao gripped her hem tightly and lowered her head like a child caught making a mistake. "I asked him to help you—"

"And in exchange, you sold your life to Mu Tian."

"No, no, it's a sacrifice." Wen Qiao felt that Yan Jing's phrasing wasn't very nice.

"So you are still decided on this?"

After a few seconds of silence, Wen Qiao nodded. "In my next reincarnation, I will definitely be able to find the person I'm looking for."

"But I won't be going to a next time."

Yan Jing's gaze was calm. "Everything will end this time."

"Why?" Wen Qiao panicked a little, tightly gripping the iron bars, completely failing to notice that Yan Jing had used the word "I."

"There's no why. It all ends in this life." Yan Jing's expression was calm.

"No, no—if Mu Tian steps into the Tenth Tier, you will definitely go to the next life—" Wen Qiao kept talking with her head down, completely flustered. Her hands shook constantly, curled up like chicken claws.

"So how will you confirm if the 'I' in the next life has fully awakened?"

Yan Jing's words immediately stunned Wen Qiao.

"The next life—it will definitely work in the next life—this life is already so similar—"

Wen Qiao was so anxious that tears welled in her eyes.

But Yan Jing's expression remained calm. "No, there won't be another life."

"Even if Mu Tian reaches the Tenth Tier, I will risk everything to kill him. There is no next life."

"No, it can't be—" Wen Qiao was truly panicked now. Trembling, she raised her hands, wanting to perform a divination, but the Weird Energy in her body completely refused to listen. Several attempts to gather it failed. Snot and tears streamed down her face as she shook with fear.

Right now, she didn't look like a Ninth Tier.

She was exactly as Yan Jing remembered from his very first impression of her.

A heavily sheltered woman who, despite being in her thirties, was still just like a little girl.

"I'm telling the truth." Looking at Wen Qiao sobbing uncontrollably, Yan Jing took a deep breath, yet still kept a cold face as he spoke. "Everything ends in this life."

"There will definitely be a next life!"

Wen Qiao's voice suddenly rose several pitches, tears streaming madly from the corners of her eyes. "This life was so similar—the next life will definitely be him—"

"What isn't similar about this life?" Yan Jing looked at Wen Qiao.

"He would never just watch me cry!!!"

Wen Qiao finally broke down. She squatted on the ground, crying so hard her words slurred. "My... My Xiao... would never watch me cry... nor could he ever bear to let me cry..."

"Every time, he... he always wiped my tears..."

Hearing Wen Qiao's words, Yan Jing's heart clenched violently.

But he held it back. "People change."

"He wouldn't change!!!"

Wen Qiao stood up, thrust her hands through the bars, and grabbed Yan Jing by the collar. Her eyes were bloodshot, her expression stubborn. "He will never change!!! We both promised! Never ever changing!!!"

Starting from that afternoon, starting from beneath that tree, the two of them had promised.

Yan Jing's gaze was calm as his hand gently grasped Wen Qiao's hands. "But people really do change."

"And the person I'm looking for would absolutely never grab my collar like this."

"I might have found the wrong person, sorry."

Finishing his words, Yan Jing removed Wen Qiao's hands from his collar. Secretly taking a deep breath, he didn't look at Wen Qiao—who stood frozen in place with her hands raised—and turned away.