Phoenix

At the end of the secret passage, a sliver of faint light shone through.

She fumbled her way to the secret room. That light came from a luminous pearl inside, its glow weak, barely illuminating the room clearly, but enough for Chang Wan to see a soft bed in the corner.

Without hesitation, Chang Wan placed Chu Changqing onto the bed, took out the antidote, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to feed him the medicine, when the young man, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them!

His amorous peach blossom eyes held a coolness. Before Chang Wan could react, the medicine in her hand was snatched away—

The young man held the medicine, looking at her, with a hint of arrogance flickering at the corner of his eye, “You want me to eat this?”

“It’s the antidote.” Chang Wan: “Are you afraid I poisoned you?”

Chu Changqing held the medicine, a cold, thin smile pulling at his lips.

Chang Wan suddenly remembered that the poison on his body was administered by her.

Chang Wan: “…Fine then.”

Chang Wan rummaged through her storage bracelet and pulled out a silver hairpin belonging to the original owner, handing it to him, “Test the poison yourself.”

Chu Changqing looked at her, his dark eyes swirling with emotion, “No need to test, it’s poisonous.”

Chang Wan didn’t believe him, “If you won’t believe me, fine, but it’s really not…”

Before she could finish speaking, Chu Changqing casually picked up her silver hairpin and poked the antidote pill.

The silver hairpin instantly turned pitch black.

Chang Wan: “…”

Chang Wan: “!!!???”

Damn it all, that old man actually gave her poison!!

System: [Male Lead Blackening Value +30%, Reward: 40 points.]

The light of the luminous pearl reflected the sharpness of a bayonet in the snow on the young man’s face. He held the blackened silver hairpin, facing the somewhat stunned young woman.

Stunned…

She was definitely the most beautiful actress in this world.

At least in his eyes.

People are flesh and blood that moves.

Only she made him curious.

What kind of spirit resided within this shell?

Chu Changqing thought.

How could she act out the innocence and beauty of being poisoned so flawlessly?

“…” Chang Wan felt she needed to explain something—No, if she truly wanted to kill him, there was no need to use such a method. “I…”

“I know what you’re going to say.”

He looked up and smiled at her. The tear mole in his peach blossom eyes looked gentle; a charming smile could be nothing more than this.

But there was no emotion in his eyes.

“You’re going to say that if you truly wanted to kill me, there was no need for this method.”

Chang Wan: “…” Mom, you took the words right out of my mouth. What am I supposed to say now?

His eyes were as beautiful as a spring dream, but his voice was as cold as the ice and snow of the deepest night, “But I remember you said.”

“Dying in an instant was too easy for me.”

Chang Wan was speechless.

Chu Changqing curved his eyes, “An ugly soul brings potent poison.”

He looked at the “antidote pill” in his hand, seemingly unconcerned, the smile at his lips cold and alluring, “What kind of poison is it?”

Yes, she had said those words… but that was to prevent him from going to the Bone-Dissolving Pool!!!

…

Forget it, redemption is impossible.

Chang Wan said with some weariness, “Since you found out, don’t eat it. I’ll switch it for another one.”

She reached out to take the pill back.

Chu Changqing tried to dodge, but he was severely injured and lacked strength. The medicine was quickly snatched back by Chang Wan.

Chang Wan looked at his evasive movement in surprise, “You wanted it?”

Chu Changqing’s eyes were cold, and his voice was gentle, “I want to one day feed you the same thing.”

Chang Wan: “…”

If these words were said to the original owner, he would probably die very quickly.

But her words were…

Never mind.

The priority was finding the real antidote.

Chang Wan looked at the pill pierced by the silver hairpin in her hand, her heart growing cold.

Why would Elder Xia give her poison at that time?

Was he suspicious from the beginning that she had hidden the person? Or were all the antidotes poisons, and he never intended for the male lead to live? Or perhaps… the most terrifying speculation.

Chang Wan looked at the pill in her hand, cold sweat breaking out all over her body.

The most terrifying guess was that her possession had been discovered, or they suspected she was someone else.

Therefore, Elder Xia gave her a green pill, claiming it was the antidote, but the real antidote was in a different form. He was just testing her—

And everything that happened afterward was also a test!!?

…Stop it!

Chang Wan glanced at Chu Changqing on the bed. The young man seemed tired but was only squinting at her. In the faint light of the luminous pearl, his eyes were as deep and silent as an abyss, and the smile on his lips made one’s hair stand on end.

Chang Wan dared not look at him anymore. She turned back to worry about the poison in her hand.

Never mind why Old Man Xia gave her poison—but he had said he gave her all the antidotes before…

If she found an antidote that looked exactly like the green pill, it would basically negate the third possibility. If she couldn’t find one… it would be very dangerous.

But where would the original owner hide the antidote?

Chang Wan looked around. Although the secret room was small, it was fully equipped: two shelves, a small table with drawers and a chair, and a soft cushion.

One shelf held various books, the shelf leaning against the wall held bottles and jars, and the small table held brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone.

She decided to start by searching the bottles and jars in her bracelet.

Following the method taught by the system, Chang Wan sent her consciousness into the bracelet. The space inside the bracelet was quite large, about an acre, filled with many messy things—talismans, unfamiliar magic treasures, and all sorts of bottles and jars piled up in a corner, leaving a lot of empty space.

Chang Wan took out all the bottles and jars and, borrowing the light of the luminous pearl, examined them one by one.

Chu Changqing watched Chang Wan sitting at the small table, inspecting the bottles and jars.

The light of the luminous pearl was dim and gentle, making her light chestnut eyes shine brightly.

Her profile was also soft.

She ignored him, her focused expression as if she were truly searching for an antidote for him.

Antidote or not, Chu Changqing actually didn’t care much.

He wasn’t entirely immune to all poisons.

But he couldn’t die either.

It was just that being poisoned caused pain, but even if he were subjected to a thousand cuts and ten thousand slices, he wouldn’t die.

He had heard that he possessed a trace of the bloodline of the ancient divine beast, the Immortal Bird, but through generations of inheritance, this trace of blood had long since faded for other descendants, who were like ordinary people.

Only he, after experiencing the torment of wishing for life but being unable to live and wishing for death but unable to die, activated that trace of bloodline.

He wouldn’t die, but he would suffer as much as a mortal nearing death, feel pain, struggle like a true human, and then be reborn from the ashes.

Peaceful death, returning dust to dust and earth to earth, was forever a luxury.

Xia Changqing’s gaze slowly turned cold.

Among the many who wished him dead, including himself.

How ironic.

Chang Wan didn’t find the antidote.

Her heart felt a little cold. She put the bottles and jars back and got up to check the medicine on the cabinet.

Chu Changqing’s voice was slow, as if chatting idly, “What are you looking for?”

Chang Wan stood on her tiptoes to take down the medicine jar from the top shelf, ignoring him.

However, before Chang Wan could open the jar, the youth behind her suddenly let out a muffled groan.

She immediately turned around; the youth’s fair face had turned blue, and his whole body was convulsing and trembling from the pain.

He seemed to be trying to endure it.

But it was too painful.

His entire body ached, as if being scraped by a blade-like wind, peeling away his flesh layer by layer.

Chang Wan was so frightened by his appearance that she lost her composure. Just as she was about to rush over, she was deterred by his gaze.

He was staring at her fixedly.

As if needing to remember who brought him this pain.

Chang Wan also disregarded breaking her persona, but she still didn’t dare to approach. “…Are you alright?”

Even though he was in such pain.

A faint, mocking smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips, without showing emotion.

Chang Wan bit her lower lip. Right… in his eyes, she was a pervert tormenting him for the sake of a good reputation.

No matter what she did now, in his eyes, it would only be hypocritical posturing to torture him.

Thinking of that fake antidote, Chang Wan felt even more exhausted, and at the same time, she felt that letting that vile old man kowtow ten times to his useless disciple was too lenient. She should have made him kowtow a hundred times, smashing that malicious head until it was pulp—that would be satisfying.

“…Whether you believe it or not.” Chang Wan felt aggrieved in her heart. She looked at the sweat seeping from his forehead due to the pain and decisively declared, “In this world, no one wants you to live more than I do.”

The youth looked at her, his peach blossom eyes reflecting the light of the luminous pearl.

—Wants him to live?

So many people wanted him dead, including himself.

But she—wanted him to live?

When spoken from her mouth, it should sound utterly sarcastic.

Yet—

Struggling, unspoken difficulties, and firmness.

She said firmly, I want you to live.

It was just a sentence.

When she said it, it made him feel no trace of sarcasm, but rather, it sounded like flowing clear spring water, so calming to the heart, pleasant and moving.

…

The youth opposite her just looked at her without answering for a long time. Chang Wan could understand his unspoken meaning without even thinking.

—Live on to be your object of torment?

“…Just assume I want to torment you,” Chang Wan gave up and said, “You must live, no matter what.”

—Does his condition matter to her?

His life and death, if it wasn’t for the mission, what did it have to do with her?

His suffering was the original owner’s doing, and it had nothing to do with her, right?

She didn’t care what he thought of her; she just needed to complete the mission and go home.

He was just a character in a book.

Thinking of the mission, Chang Wan steadied her mind and returned to the small table carrying the medicine jar.

The youth looked at her back, his eyelids drooping slightly.

Just as Chang Wan was searching for the antidote, a low voice sounded from behind her.

“Mm.”

He said softly, enduring the pain, in a voice only he could hear.

“Remember what you said.”

You want me to live.

Don’t regret it.

Chang Wan only heard him give a soft “Mm,” not hearing the youth’s murmur, because this time, there was a pleasant surprise.

In a round, large jar, she found a whole jar full of green pills, identical to the fake antidote Elder Xia had given her!

This time, she didn’t dare to touch the male lead’s bad luck head-on. She first found a silver hairpin and poked one of the pills. This time, the silver hairpin did not turn black.

Chang Wan let out a sigh of relief.

Regardless of what pill this was, at least it wasn’t poison.

To prevent making a mistake, she picked up a green pill and bit a small piece herself. It was soft and sweet when it entered her mouth, slightly Q-bouncy.

She felt no change in her body, so she turned to look at Chu Changqing. She couldn’t be bothered to explain anything anymore, “I found the antidote, you can eat it if you…” Don’t eat it.

She misspoke in her haste.

The young man had already closed his eyes. The bluish tint on his cheeks faded, replaced by sweat covering his forehead. When she reached out to touch him, oh, he had a fever!

Chang Wan: “…”

Solve the poison first then.

Chang Wan looked at the antidote, steeled her heart, forced his mouth open, and tried to push it in.

The young man’s eyes were tightly closed. His long, slender eyelashes cast a shadow beneath them. He clenched his teeth tightly, instinctively resisting Chang Wan.

Chang Wan: “…”

Trying every method didn’t work. Chang Wan looked at the pill in her hand with some melancholy.

Chu Changqing had a difficult early life and was extremely wary of others. It was understandable that he behaved this way.

But…

Chang Wan let out a gentle breath and leaned down to whisper by his ear, “You promised me.”

“Coward.”

In his hazy state, the youth seemed to return to that time, the dark world, countless poisons entwined around him, about to swallow him whole. When he was in extreme agony, when he thought he couldn’t hold on anymore…

A gentle, peaceful aura washed over him, and the girl’s voice sounded like flowing clear spring water.

“Don’t die, promise me, live well.”

…

It was like the magic spell of Sesame Opens, or perhaps a childish oath.

The young man seemed to dream of something; his expression was no longer as painful, and his tightly clenched jaw loosened slightly.

Chang Wan rejoiced and quickly crushed the medicine, feeding it to him.

[Ding! Mission Complete! Reward: 30 points! System Store officially opened!]