Song Wanníng glanced at the faint redness still lingering at the corners of his eyes and nodded.
"That wisp of soul is an intruder from another world. Dealing with it may get messy. I can lend you a hand."
If she did not step in, Jiang Wentian might not be able to end Jiang Cen, and he could even fall into danger. So she reminded him.
At her words, Jiang Wentian's fists clenched again. "I must avenge my daughter with my own hands."
Right now, all he wanted was vengeance. His own safety did not matter. Only if Jiang Cen died by his hand would the hatred in his heart fade. With that, he turned and strode off, vanishing quickly into the night.
Song Wanníng watched his back for a moment, then followed. She could not allow the slightest accident. Only by seeing the intruder fall with her own eyes could she rest easy.
The little ones were unusually quiet tonight. None of them spoke, as if they all sensed how serious this was.
…
Elsewhere, Jiang Cen was still smug about her escape. To avoid Jiang Wentian discovering her trail, she had left many things behind and even took pains to blur others' perceptions.
So she was exhilarated. She felt she was about to start a brand new life. After all, she held the script in her hands. She could definitely become the master of this world. Just then, a chill crawled up her spine. Cold surged from her soles straight to her crown.
In the next instant, she realized in terror that she was fixed in place, utterly unable to move.
"What was happening?"
Fear flashed across Jiang Cen's face. Her eyes darted around, searching for whoever hid behind her. But everything around was silent. Apart from the force pressing down on her, there was nothing unusual.
Panic rose all at once. She shouted into the empty air, "Who is it? Who is lurking in the dark? If you have the ability, come out. Hiding in the shadows is no act of a hero."
She blustered while her body hair stood on end. When her nerves were about to snap, a figure streaked through the sky and stopped a few hundred meters away.
Jiang Cen's heart sank. She thought she was finished.
Then the moonlight revealed the newcomer's face. It was Jiang Wentian. Her fear flipped to joy and vanished without a trace.
Jiang Wentian was a Unity cultivator. With him here, nothing would happen to her. She instantly pursed her lips and put on a pitiful look. "Father, I was coming out to find you, but as soon as I reached this place, some force pinned me down. I do not know who did it. You must avenge me."
Jiang Cen looked at Jiang Wentian with tearful eyes, waiting for him to shield her as always.
But Jiang Wentian only watched her in silence.
That look made Jiang Cen's scalp crawl. Unease crept into her heart. "Father, why are you not speaking? Are you angry?
I am sorry. I should not have disobeyed you, but when you left, I felt scared.
I will never do it again." Jiang Cen's voice grew smaller and smaller until it faded away.
Jiang Wentian was far too strange today.
Already guilty, Jiang Cen's face changed. She wanted to run immediately.
But Song Wanníng's figure appeared not far away.
Jiang Cen's pupils contracted. A glint of killing intent flashed in her eyes. "Why are you here?"
Jiang Cen shoved fear aside and shouted at Song Wanníng.
Song Wanníng stepped out of the darkness and glanced at Jiang Wentian.
Jiang Wentian still had not acted. He only wanted to look at his daughter's body a few more times. Once Jiang Cen was killed, this body would sink into an eternal sleep and never awaken again.
Song Wanníng lowered her gaze, then looked at Jiang Cen with a cold expression, the corner of her lips lifting in mockery. "I am here to collect your corpse."
"What did you say?" Jiang Cen exploded. "Father, did you hear that? She said she wants to collect my corpse."
Her first reaction was to seek Jiang Wentian's judgment. "Song Wanníng, how dare you. My father is here, and you still want to kill me?"
Jiang Cen loathed Song Wanníng, utterly and completely. She even wished Jiang Wentian would kill Song Wanníng right now so she would not be an eyesore. The next words out of Song Wanníng's mouth dropped her into an ice cave.
"Are you certain you are his daughter?"
All color drained from Jiang Cen's face. Her eyes filled with stark terror. "You, what nonsense are you spouting. If I am not my father's daughter, who am I?
Song Wanníng, stop sowing discord. I am telling you, if you do not apologize to me, my father will kill you."
Before she could finish, Jiang Wentian moved. He shot forward and closed in on Jiang Cen.
In the next instant, his palm covered the crown of Jiang Cen's head. He reached into her divine sense and seized Jiang Cen's soul. This was his daughter's body. He would not allow the slightest harm to it.
A scream tore from Jiang Cen. She realized things had gone wrong and cried out, but a heartbeat later Jiang Wentian held her soul firmly in his grasp.
Because she had devoured the original soul, her Primordial Soul still carried traces of the original's aura. That was why Jiang Wentian had hesitated at first.
Normally, a successful body seizure would erase the host's aura. Otherwise, one could not fully occupy the body.
So even after a takeover, others could usually sense something was off. But Jiang Cen's case was different. Even Jiang Wentian could not detect it, much less anyone else. Now, staring at the face identical to his daughter's, Jiang Wentian hated until his heart bled.
"It was you. You killed Cen'er." Jiang Wentian's eyes were red as he glared at Jiang Cen. His voice was calm, yet madness edged it.
"No, it was not." Jiang Cen trembled and burst into tears.
In truth, she was just an ordinary girl. She had crossed into the book and achieved nothing. She had barely even slain any beasts. Facing a Unity cultivator's pressure head-on shattered her courage.
"I really did not. Father, you misunderstood." She sobbed and shook her head. "You are mistaken. She died first, and then I accidentally… I do not even know how I took this body. Truly, Father, believe me.
I did not harm her. I did not."
Jiang Cen nearly dropped to her knees.
She was too afraid.
She did not want to die.
But Jiang Wentian's face remained blank as he stared at her coldly. "You must pay the price."
A flame suddenly sprang to life in his palm.
He drew Jiang Cen's soul into the fire. "No. Please, no."
Agonizing pain crashed over her. Darkness swept her vision, and she nearly fainted. Her scream ripped through the night, then the pain swallowed her whole.