“Ye Jiuhuang!” Shen Qingshuang’s voice was shrill, nearly a howl. “Is this the answer you’re giving me? Is this how you intend to repay me for eight thousand years at your side?”
Shen Qingshuang staggered forward several steps, tears bursting from her eyes. “I’ve waited behind you for eight thousand years! Eight thousand years without a proper title, eight thousand years of waiting, eight thousand years of a marriage in name only! I thought that one day, you would truly accept me. But I never imagined that what I’d be waiting for was news that you intended to marry Ye Xuan!”
Her voice echoed throughout the great hall, every word laced with blood and tears.
The elders and disciples of the Sword God Palace stood around them, as silent as cicadas in winter. Not one of them dared even breathe too loudly.
The sight of Ye Jiuhuang being sent flying with a single slap from Ying’er was still fresh in their minds. None of them wanted to court disaster at a time like this.
Shen Qingshuang, however, no longer cared about any of that.
She stared fixedly at Ye Jiuhuang, jealousy burning wildly in her eyes. “You and I have been husband and wife for eight thousand years. Do you dare say you don’t feel anything for me? Do you dare say there’s nothing between us?”
Her voice was shrill and despairing. “I, Shen Qingshuang, have loved only one person in my entire life! Even though you’re a woman, even though we’ve never truly been husband and wife, I was willing to remain chaste for you and wait for you for eight thousand years! But you… how could you do this to me?”
“Shut up!”
Before Shen Qingshuang could finish, a cold shout exploded like thunder!
Ye Jiuhuang’s expression instantly darkened to the extreme.
The faint flush that had colored her beautiful eyes before Ye Xuan was gone. In its place, icy light shot from them, while the aura around her surged violently like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
The gentle, obedient demeanor she had displayed before Ye Xuan had vanished without a trace. In its place was a murderous intent that sent chills through everyone present.
She abruptly turned around and glared at Shen Qingshuang. Her voice was as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice. “Shen Qingshuang, what are you supposed to be? How dare you raise your voice at my husband?”
Shen Qingshuang opened her mouth. “Jiuhuang, I’m your—”
Smack!
A crisp slap rang through the hall.
Before Shen Qingshuang could finish speaking, Ye Jiuhuang had already struck like lightning, sending a vicious slap across her face!
Pfft!
The blow sent Shen Qingshuang flying through the air. She spun several times before crashing heavily onto the icy black-ice floor. Half her face swelled instantly, and blood mixed with broken teeth sprayed from the corner of her mouth.
She struggled to rise, clutching her throbbing cheek. Her eyes were filled with disbelief. “You… you hit me?”
“Consider yourself lucky it was only a slap!” Ye Jiuhuang’s voice was cold enough to pierce bone. “Shen Qingshuang, you dared to spout such nonsense in front of my husband. This is the price of seeking death!”
She advanced toward Shen Qingshuang one step at a time. Sword qi began to surge wildly around her, and the white-gold sword rays that had originally circled her body now carried a faint, maddened tinge of crimson.
“Who do you think you are? Back then, you were nothing more than a tool I casually married to conceal my identity! And you actually started thinking you were my wife?”
Shen Qingshuang trembled all over. The fiery pain in her face was nothing compared to the agony in her heart. “Our… our feelings over eight thousand years… are they really worth less than Ye Xuan?”
“Feelings over eight thousand years?”
Ye Jiuhuang let out a cold laugh, her eyes filled with contempt and disdain. “Shen Qingshuang, have you misunderstood something? There have never been any feelings between us. I married you because I needed to travel the world under a man’s identity. I needed a wife in name to conceal the truth. That’s all!”
Her voice was as sharp as a blade, every word striking straight into Shen Qingshuang’s heart.
“You stayed by my side for eight thousand years because that was your choice. It had nothing to do with me! You were the one who insisted on clinging to me and refusing to leave. When did I ever ask you to stay?”
Shen Qingshuang’s face turned as pale as paper. Her entire body swayed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Her lips trembled violently as tears slid silently down her cheeks. “Ye Jiuhuang… you’re truly heartless… So, in your eyes, my eight thousand years of waiting was nothing but a joke?”
“A joke?”
Ye Jiuhuang gave another cold laugh. “You really think too highly of yourself. In my eyes, you’re not even worth being called a joke. You’d better understand your place. If you ever dare show my husband the slightest disrespect again, next time I won’t be taking only half your face—I’ll be taking your life!”
Shen Qingshuang trembled from head to toe, tears pouring from her eyes like a broken dam. She opened her mouth, but found that she could not utter a single word.
She had lost.
Lost utterly and completely.
The godlike figure in her heart—the Peerless Sword Empress she had looked up to for eight thousand years—was now fawning at the feet of another man like a dog wagging its tail.
At that moment, Shen Qingshuang felt as if her entire life had collapsed.
The last remaining meaning in her life had been utterly crushed by Ye Jiuhuang’s merciless words.
“Ye Jiuhuang… you’re cruel…” Shen Qingshuang covered her aching cheek, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible. “You’ll regret this… The humiliation you’ve inflicted on me today will bring retribution upon you someday…”
“Retribution?”
Ye Jiuhuang let out a disdainful scoff. “When I, Ye Jiuhuang, act, I follow only my heart. I don’t concern myself with cause and effect. Anyone who dares touch my husband, I will kill. Anyone who dares insult my husband, I will wipe out their entire clan! Shen Qingshuang, if you’re smart, you’ll behave yourself. If you insist on making trouble, I don’t mind showing you what it means to wish you were dead!”
Shen Qingshuang shuddered.
As she gazed into Ye Jiuhuang’s eyes—so cold and utterly devoid of emotion—an icy chill suddenly surged from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head.
She suddenly realized that the woman before her was no longer the gentle husband who had once smiled at her and occasionally shared wine with her.
Ye Jiuhuang had changed long ago.
Or perhaps she had always been this kind of person. It was only that, throughout all those long years, she had never revealed her true fangs to Shen Qingshuang.
Just then, Ye Xuan, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, finally spoke.
His voice was not loud, yet it carried an oppressive force that no one could ignore. “Since she stayed with you for eight thousand years, let her remain here. She can serve as my bedchamber maid. That way, the two of you can be reunited as husband and wife.”
At those words, a radiant smile instantly blossomed across Ye Jiuhuang’s face.
She hurriedly turned around, walked briskly to Ye Xuan’s side, and bowed respectfully and meekly. “My husband is wise! Jiuhuang will make the arrangements immediately!”
She turned her head toward Shen Qingshuang, who was still slumped on the floor. Her gaze was cold and utterly devoid of warmth.
“Shen Qingshuang, did you hear that? This is a grace bestowed upon you by my husband! From now on, you are my husband’s bedchamber maid! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and thank him for his kindness!”
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
