The Deception of an Accomplice

These words, like an invisible, heavy hammer, struck Li Xin’s eardrums with devastating force, leaving her brain buzzing and the world before her eyes shrouded in a scarlet, blood-tinged haze.

Lu Ping’an’s voice still carried a smile, light and familiar, yet the venom it held was like the biting wind of deep winter, instantly extinguishing every flicker of false warmth in Li Xin’s heart.

‘Lu Ping’an…’

A bone-chilling coldness erupted from her fingertips, where they clutched the incense burner, spreading like countless icy needles up her spine, piercing directly to the crown of her head, leaving her scalp prickling with dread.

“Qiu… Senior Sister Qiu didn’t forbid us from killing, did she? Didn’t she say we were only to drug Lin Wan’er, to make him embarrass himself during the drill, and that would be—”

Lu Ping’an took a step forward, pressing her face unnervingly close, their four eyes mirroring each other’s countenances and expressions.

“As subordinates, it’s only natural for us to shoulder the burdens of those above us, isn’t it?”

Lu Ping’an’s face held a smile, yet her eyes were brimming with a terrifying madness. “Isn’t killing merely to better assist Senior Sister Qiu?”

Lu Ping’an’s gaze drifted to Li Xin’s short hair, and she chuckled softly. “Our bodies, hair, and skin are gifts from our parents. To damage them is to betray the very essence of filial piety. I’ve acknowledged your resolve, Li Xin. But severed hair always grows back; with enough time, it will be as if nothing happened. When you return home, no one will ever know what you’ve done, will they?”

“Nothing will be affected. There’s no sense of burning bridges, no desperate, life-or-death struggle. Li Xin, do you understand what I’m saying?”

The sheer entitlement in those words, the chilling calculation behind that smile, created a horrifying chasm between Lu Ping’an’s current demeanor and the image Li Xin held in her memory.

Li Xin felt her breath catch in her throat. ‘When… when did Lu Ping’an… vanish?’

Lu Ping’an was actually demanding that Li Xin commit murder, forcing a child from a family of healers, whose very purpose was to save lives and mend injuries, to defile the principles and legacy passed down through generations.

‘Lu Ping’an had forgotten.’

‘She had forgotten.’

‘Now, she only cared for herself.’

‘Just like Wei Qing.’

‘But now, could she refuse?’

‘No, for this was a test, a probing.’

‘To Lu Ping’an, it was nothing.’

‘Only by holding a life in one’s hands, by having a damning secret, could one be trusted, could one truly be considered one of them.’

‘She was even scheming against her.’

As a young mistress of the Li family, bound to serve the imperial court, and with a grandmother who had navigated the treacherous waters of palace intrigue, Li Xin had witnessed countless power struggles and understood the inherent depravity of the human heart.

Her grandmother always said that feigning ignorance was the most effective solution.

Li Xin had always believed the same.

Yet now she understood that feigning ignorance was merely a means of self-preservation, utterly useless for saving a friend.

Lu Ping’an had changed; the darkness within her, coupled with the immense benefits promised by Qiu Yue, had irrevocably warped her true nature, leading her to even scheme against her own friends.

‘No…’

‘She had changed long ago.’

‘She had changed the moment she turned on Wei Qing.’

‘Feigning ignorance, in the end, could only save herself.’

‘It could not save her friend, nor could it wash away the grime that had settled upon her own heart.’

Lin Wan’er had been right: if she truly wanted her dear Ping’an back, she had to dismantle Qiu Yue’s scheme and sever Lu Ping’an’s ties with her.

‘It was just a game of schemes. Very well, let it begin.’

“I… I…” Li Xin’s voice emerged, laced with a faint tremor that spoke of lingering fear.

Her resolve had solidified in an instant, yet she knew she could not betray it on the surface.

She needed a gradual progression, a visible transformation from fear and bewilderment.

Moreover, throughout this process, Lu Ping’an herself had to be the one to explicitly coax and manipulate her.

Only then would Lu Ping’an truly believe, truly be convinced, that Li Xin genuinely wished to help.

“Lu Ping’an… this, this might be a little too…” She deliberately let the latter half of her sentence trail off, making her sound profoundly hesitant.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Ping’an’s smile remained perfectly intact, her voice deliberately soft and gentle, as if inquiring about the most mundane trifle. Yet, in the depths of her eyes, fixed intently on Li Xin, lay an undeniable pressure and a hint of twisted excitement. She leaned forward, whispering almost against Li Xin’s ear, “Are you saying you no longer wish to help me?”

“Help me kill him.” Before Li Xin could fully digest this chilling inquiry, Lu Ping’an continued, her tone so gentle it was as if she were bestowing a magnificent gift, even as she delivered the most heinous command. “That would be the greatest help of all.”

“But… but…” Li Xin’s voice was instantly choked by an overwhelming fear, lodging in her throat. Her body instinctively recoiled, yearning to flee, yet her legs remained rooted to the spot, unmoving save for an uncontrollable, subtle twitching that betrayed the fierce struggle raging within her.

She swallowed convulsively, then drew a deep, ragged breath, like someone drowning desperately gasping for air. “This… this is murder… I… I…”

“This isn’t murder; you’re simply helping me.”

“Helping… you…?”

“Lin Wan’er is hardly a good person. He injured Wei Qing, causing her severe harm, didn’t he?”

“By killing him, you’ll not only be helping Wei Qing, but you’ll be helping me too.”

“Thank you, Li Xin.”

“Rea… really? Is it… really like that?”

Her confusion and struggle, finally, began to yield, slowly transforming into a resolute determination under the weight of Lu Ping’an’s “thank you.”

“Indeed. Have you forgotten what Senior Sister Qiu told us? Lin Wan’er is nothing more than a despicable wretch. Killing him would merely be eliminating a menace for the people, eradicating a blight upon the Xuan Nv Sect. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. You’ll not only be helping me, but also avenging Wei Qing, and furthering her ideals… and mine…”

Lu Ping’an’s unrestrained and unparalleled oppressive presence forced Li Xin to stumble backward repeatedly, until she collapsed onto the edge of the bed, her hand inadvertently pressing near Lin Mo’s neck.

Her breathing grew ragged, and her eyes widened with fear, yet as Lu Ping’an’s gentle smile persisted, that frantic terror… slowly began to melt away.

“If… if that’s truly the case, then…” Li Xin paused deliberately, her words slow and laced with cautious probing. “This medicine… will it leave behind any difficult-to-trace evidence?”

She stared intently at Lu Ping’an, her heart hammering wildly in her chest, threatening to leap from her throat.

Uttering that question was tantamount to confirming her true intent to step into this irreversible quagmire.

This was the genesis of her plan: to leverage the mindset of an “accomplice”—precisely what Lu Ping’an longed to hear—and thereby dismantle her guard.

The madness in Lu Ping’an’s eyes momentarily froze, only to be swiftly replaced by a more overt smugness, a look that seemed to declare, ‘A teachable student indeed.’

Li Xin’s inquiry about “traces” signaled that she was already contemplating the aftermath, precisely the response Lu Ping’an had anticipated.

She leaned in closer still, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, an intimacy of shared wickedness. “This medicine dissolves instantly upon consumption, leaving no tangible evidence. It will simply appear as if the internal injuries were too severe, causing a sudden collapse of inner vital energy that severed the heart’s meridian. They won’t trace it back to us, nor will they trace it to Senior Sister Qiu.”

Lu Ping’an took Li Xin’s hand, placing the small bottle of medicine into her palm. “Rest assured,” she murmured, “just kill him.”

Clutching the porcelain bottle, Li Xin trembled as she tipped out the medicine. Then, she turned, pried open Lin Mo’s mouth, and forced the contents inside.

She then covered his mouth and nose with her hand, waiting for the tell-tale swallow. Only once it came did she release her grip, her body instantly losing all strength, collapsing utterly onto the ground. She stared at her trembling hands, as if they were stained with indelible blood.

Lu Ping’an gazed at Li Xin with deep satisfaction. In that moment, the familiar Li Xin had returned.

The Li Xin who, before she had even met Wei Qing, had always, unfailingly, looked out for Lu Ping’an herself—she was back.