The improved female villains regained their memories.

"If you're going to let me die in your place, why are you stopping me from going?"

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Qi Pengju stood on the tree, watching Nangong Qingyang throw out the divination.

The divination revealed something he could see clearly, and his eyes lingered on that person, unwilling to leave.

He watched her back as she was almost blown over by the wind, and he longed to rush up and hug her from behind.

However, he can't.

He could only watch from afar, watching her face grow paler and paler because of the divination, watching her bewildered and helpless, watching her surrounded by layers of fear.

He clenched his fist, and blood flowed from it.

But he didn't say anything and just left silently. He needed to go back before Nangong Qingyang returned and play the role of that mentally challenged person again.

On a snowy night, the Li residence was eerily quiet. Qi Pengju stood in the shadows, on the bed in the room, but there was no sign of Nangong Qingyang.

The door to the secret passage was open, casting a reflection from it.

He held his breath and walked in. In the reflection cast by the spiritual fire, Nangong Qingyang was curled up on the ground in pain, surrounded by candles.

It's that same method of prolonging life again.

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He gently held her and put her back on the bed.

During this process, she seemed to regain a slight sense of consciousness and asked softly, "Pengju, have you regained your memory today?"

He gave a soft "hmm".

"Sorry to bother you again."

trouble?

Why did she say that?

Why did she apologize?

Nangong Qingyang, you've already decided to let me shield you from your fate, so why are you apologizing?

Didn't you treat me as a tool? Didn't you treat me as a pawn to be used in your schemes?

Then why...?

His lowered eyes concealed all his emotions.

He felt himself holding her even tighter, their breaths mingling.

"Don't apologize to me, sister."

She has nothing to apologize for.

That year, at the Xiang residence, when he was injured, she was the one who applied medicine to him; when he was hungry, she was the one who cooked for him; when he was cold, she was the one who shared warmth with him.

She really did a lot.

"So don't apologize to me, I should be thanking you."

He spoke in a low voice, but there was no response. When he looked over, Nangong Qingyang had fallen into a coma again.

He stopped talking and put her back on the bed.

He looked at her face: her fair face was now bloodless, her long eyelashes, like two small fans, lay quietly beneath her tightly closed eyes, her usually bright eyes were now replaced by a sense of powerlessness, and her lips had lost their rosy color, turning slightly pale, like a delicate flower that had been hit by frost.

He instinctively leaned down, but pulled away just as they touched.

Layers of shackles bound his heart; he dared not move, dared not speak, and could only suppress his feelings.

She was his elder sister, and he was the tool she used to shield her from death; he should have realized this long ago.

Even so, he couldn't break free from the bonds of lust.

Blood and bone, spirit and flesh, all mingled together in the instant when the crimson surged and the pale, powerless touch occurred, as if to bury the two of them together.

He took a few steps back and leaned against the wall.

Unable to control myself.

But what if he can't control himself?

The more you confront your true feelings, the more blood you bleed. Is all love in this world like this? Once you cross that line, the enemy called morality will swarm in.

The clash between emotion and reason gave birth to the monster called human.

The deeper the love, the deeper the sin. Perhaps truly wise people should stay away, after all, Nangong Qingyang wanted him dead.

But he couldn't do it.

His obsession had long been shaped by Nangong Qingyang's image. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter came and went, and everything faded with time, but she remained eternally in his heart.

Qi Pengju took a deep breath and wiped his lips.

"That's enough, elder sister."

That was enough; he died for her.

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He left the room quietly.

The people from Jixia Academy were waiting in the shadows. It was the junior sister who discovered Qi Pengju's massacre of the academy and notified Nangong Qingyang back then. Now she had long become Nangong Qingyang's confidante. Even if Nangong Qingyang was not around, Qi Pengju could still mobilize her.

"how?"

"Everything's settled, but do we really not need to control Senior Sister... Palace Master for something like this?"

"No need," Qi Pengju shook his head. "I can go."

His elder sister's heart was in turmoil. After years of playing chess with Fusu, the game of fate had become a complete mess. She had become increasingly timid and fearful, and desperately wanted to prolong her life. Now that Ye Buxin had awakened and Wang Jingxing had gone missing, her anxiety had reached its peak, and she was even willing to cooperate with Zhou Jinyu.

He knew that her older sister was afraid of dying.

But he wasn't afraid.

Death is nothing to be afraid of. If his death can put his sister at ease, he is willing to die.

Sister doesn't need to apologize, because it was all his own choice.

He was tired of the other version of himself that he played, the perverted man dressed as a woman, the useless man who hid behind his older sister and needed her to take care of him. In the past, he always helped his older sister solve all her problems and would stand in front of her when she encountered trouble. He had witnessed everything about his older sister.

His love was hidden in the deepest taboos, in a sibling relationship that was not tolerated by the world; his love was so dark, so bloody.

His love destroyed everything, including himself.

"Qi Pengju, are you really going?" the junior sister asked.

Qi Pengju did not answer.

He had long since changed back into his old clothes, his eyes filled with malice, only showing a hint of tenderness when he looked into the room.

He replied, "My name is Xiang Ju."

Love that disregards everything, once it crosses the line, burns wildly.

Her name isn't Xiang Qingyang, it's Nangong Qingyang. She's not his older sister, she's his lover.

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"Qingyang, I will put your mind at ease."

Kill what terrifies her.

Kill what frightens her.

Kill the one who makes her uneasy.

Fate or anything like that doesn't matter at all; just kill them.

That way, no one will get in his way or hers.

In this damned world, nothing is more convincing than power.

Right here at Bolangsha, they killed the First Emperor, Prince Fusu, Zhao Gao, Ye Buxin, Zhou Jinyu, and everyone else...

The Guigu Sect that worried her, the Qin State that angered her, and the calamity that led to her death.

Just leave all of this to him.

To put her mind at ease, he was willing to let the world be stained with blood.

This is his love for Nangong Qingyang—a love that has been stained black.

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That year

He covered his aching hands with his clothes and hurried into the family school.

Today, things seemed a little different in the family academy. Everyone was huddled together, whispering among themselves. He didn't know what was going on, so he could only huddle alone in a corner.

"coming."

"It doesn't look very good."

"Keep your voice down, she was brought in by the head of the family."

He quickly discovered the cause of all this—a strange young girl had appeared in the third row from the left.

He saw someone next to him glance at him and say, "He's so old, yet he still comes to school. He's not like this person, is he..."

"Shh, you can't say that."

The person next to him smacked his lips, noticed he was also looking, and punched him: "What are you looking at?"

He whispered no, then lowered his head.

The man uttered the word "bastard" and then went to talk to the others.

He sniffed, subconsciously looked up, and saw the unfamiliar girl turn her head.

The whispering classroom was the first time the two of them looked at each other.

One glance, and eternity is revealed.

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