To save a life, he had to sacrifice himself and marry someone he didn't love.
But even if they married, he would never touch Song Wanning!
His heart and his body could only belong to one person, and that was Chuxue.
"Heh..."
Song Wanning stood high at the entrance of the grand hall, gazing indifferently at Gu Qingyuan.
In her past life, she had used the Elixir Pills as leverage to make Gu Qingyuan agree to marry her.
It was as if she were some villain, forcing an honest man into a compromising position.
But that marriage agreement... he, Gu Qingyuan, had been the one to willingly consent to it back then.
Those vows were still ringing in her ears!
Yet his heart had long since changed.
And for his own disciple, no less! It was utterly preposterous!
'True Monarch Qingyuan, as aloof and otherworldly as a fallen immortal, is nothing but a sanctimonious hypocrite!'
'Once I took off my rose-tinted glasses of love, the man before me was nothing special!'
Song Wanning's gaze was profound. Before she could speak, Bai Yang, standing at the side, couldn't help but roar in anger, "Master, how can you use Junior Sister Ye's life to threaten Senior Uncle Gu? What you're doing is despicable!"
The disgust in his eyes was almost impossible to hide, glinting from every angle.
'How did I never notice before?'
'So this is how much my disciples hate me!'
Song Wanning narrowed her eyes, the corner of her lip curling up, and sent a slap flying through the air.
"SLAP—"
With a crisp crack, Bai Yang's head was knocked to the side. Four of his front teeth flew out of his mouth.
"His name is Bai Yang. What a waste to have raised him."
She withdrew her hand, glanced at it, and smiled with satisfaction.
'This is how it should be. I'm the villainess, after all. Why bother with reason? Why argue about right and wrong?'
'Just hit them first and talk later!'
Bai Yang clapped a hand to his face, feeling both shocked and humiliated.
'Master actually hit me?'
'How dare she?'
Resentment began to grow wildly in his heart. He bit his lip so hard that veins bulged on his other hand.
'One day, I will surpass Song Wanning!'
'One day, I will pay her back a hundred times over!'
"Song Wanning, just how long are you going to keep this up?"
Gu Qingyuan was growing impatient. He didn't care who got hit; he just wanted to save someone right now.
"I've already agreed to marry you. What more do you want?"
"What more do I want?"
Song Wanning raised an eyebrow, an unrestrained Evil Qi flaring around her.
"Kneel."
"And beg me."
"Song Wanning!"
Gu Qingyuan was stunned, staring at her in disbelief. "Have you forgotten that I am your Senior Brother?!"
'Senior Brother?'
Song Wanning felt as if a rasp had been plunged into her heart.
'Gu Qingyuan still remembers he's my Senior Brother?'
'When he helped trample the Song Family, when he helped bind and restrain me, why didn't he remember he was my Senior Brother then?'
A shadow ravaged the depths of Song Wanning's eyes. Like a malevolent ghost crawling out of hell, she stared grimly at Gu Qingyuan.
The deeper the love, the deeper the hate.
She would make Gu Qingyuan pay back what he owed her, and then some!
"Kneel or don't. It's not me who's dying, anyway."
She nonchalantly picked at her fingernails, her expression mocking. She wanted to see just how desperately Gu Qingyuan loved Ye Chuxue.
"You can't kneel, Senior Uncle Gu!"
A disciple at the side shouted. Gu Qingyuan was a Nascent Soul Cultivator; how could he kneel to someone so casually!
Bai Yang and the others also watched him with hesitant, conflicted expressions, worried for Ye Chuxue but also indignant on Gu Qingyuan's behalf.
Everyone's gaze toward Song Wanning was filled with loathing.
"I'll kneel!"
Gu Qingyuan's expression was uglier than it had ever been.
He looked at Song Wanning coldly. "Song Wanning, with this kneel, all the affection between us over the years will be utterly gone!"
With that, he lifted the hem of his robes and actually knelt.
The Senior Brother of old, as noble and pure as the bright moon, was now kneeling humbly before her for another woman.
Song Wanning suddenly threw her head back and laughed.
"HAHAHA—"
"How ironic! How utterly ironic!"
As she laughed, her eyes began to turn red, but the color was masked by her savage gaze.
'Gu Qingyuan really is desperately in love with Ye Chuxue!'
Decades ago, Gu Qingyuan's life had hung by a thread.
To beg the Ghost Axe Great Pharmacist to save him, she had knelt outside the pharmacist's door for three days and three nights before he finally agreed to help, bringing Gu Qingyuan back from the brink of death.
'And now?'
'He's probably forgotten all about it.'
'He even wants to sever all ties with the past and cut off any future between us.'
"HAHAHA—"
Song Wanning abruptly stopped laughing and walked over to Gu Qingyuan.
She leaned down, getting close to his face, and gave him a mischievous smile.
"But what to do? I already ate the Heavenly Yuan Nourishing Heart Pill."
Gu Qingyuan's expression changed in an instant. He shot his hand up and seized Song Wanning by the throat.
"What did you say?"
A bloodthirsty light seeped into his eyes. His hand on her neck tightened swiftly, choking her.
Instead of fear, Song Wanning laughed. A dagger appeared in her palm, aimed straight at Gu Qingyuan's chest.
"Go on! Kill me!"
"Crack open my skull, rip out my Nascent Soul. Maybe the effects of the Heavenly Yuan Nourishing Heart Pill haven't completely dissipated yet,"
she said with a curl of her lips. Her unblinking stare was so inhuman it made one's skin crawl.
"You're insane!"
Gu Qingyuan's pupils constricted at the sight of the dagger. He abruptly released his grip and shoved Song Wanning aside.
'For some reason, just now, I actually felt fear!'
"Heheh—"
Song Wanning straightened up and calmly put away the dagger.
"I gave you a chance and you didn't cherish it. So from now on, it's my turn~"
She gave Gu Qingyuan a playful wink, and his entire body stiffened for a moment.
'Song Wanning has definitely gone mad!'
'Since I can't get the Elixir Pill, I can't afford to waste any more time!'
Gu Qingyuan gave Song Wanning one last deep look, committing today's humiliation to memory, then turned and left with a flick of his sleeve.
The other disciples at the side, frightened, bowed to Song Wanning before quickly scurrying away after him.
Lu Nanfeng and Bai Yang, worried about Ye Chuxue, had just gotten up to follow when Song Wanning's cold gaze swept over them, freezing them in place.
Looking at her three "dear, dear disciples," killing intent radiated from Song Wanning.
But the Three Lives Mirror had already warned her. The male and female leads, along with their handful of lackeys, were protected by the Heavenly Dao. Their karmic fortune was strong, and trying to kill them by force would not only fail but also bring harm upon herself and the Song Family.
The only way was to weaken their fortune bit by bit, then find an opportunity to strike them down.
Song Wanning withdrew her icy gaze and flew off. She would let them live a little longer for now. Sooner or later, she would settle all accounts!
After their master left, Lu Nanfeng wiped the cold sweat from his brow and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Quick, let's go check on Junior Sister Ye!"
He was holding An Ze, his heart filled with worry for Ye Chuxue.
But Bai Yang's brow twitched, and he shook his head.
"No."
His gaze shifted toward the grand hall. "I know where Master keeps her Elixir Pills."
He had once seen his master putting away a medicine vial and remembered its location.
And now, their master was gone again...
An irrepressible restlessness stirred in Bai Yang's heart.
"Are you crazy?!"
Lu Nanfeng quickly grabbed Bai Yang's arm. "Didn't Master already take the Elixir Pill?"
"Besides, even if she didn't take it, if she finds out we stole the pill, she'll—she'll beat us to death for sure!"
'Just for talking back a little, our third junior brother was beaten unconscious. If we were caught stealing something...'
"Why would Master take an Elixir Pill when she's perfectly fine? She just wasn't willing to give it to Junior Sister Ye!"
Bai Yang sneered, a cruel smirk playing on his lips.
"She's always been jealous of Junior Sister Ye. How could she possibly be willing to save her!"