"You dare touch someone from my Yunxiao Peak? Are you tired of living?!"
"COUGH! COUGH!"
An Ze's wound was aggravated, and he couldn't help but cough.
He clutched his chest, his heart still full of resentment for Song Wanning's cruelty.
Bai Yang's face was pale. He didn't answer, instead walking over to Ye Chuxue's side.
"Junior Sister Ye, are you feeling any better?"
Ye Chuxue looked at him gratefully. "Much better, thank you, Brother Bai!"
Ye Chuxue had no idea what had happened after she fell unconscious. She still believed it was the Elixir Pill Bai Yang had stolen that had healed her, and a warm, grateful feeling welled up in her eyes.
"You angered Uncle Song because of me... What are we going to do?"
She was worried Uncle Song would punish Bai Yang.
Bai Yang's expression stiffened. He was both awkward and vexed.
He didn't know how to explain the situation to Ye Chuxue, so he just offered a few simple words of concern before leaving again.
Lu Nanfeng and An Ze followed him out. As Ye Chuxue watched Bai Yang's departing figure, she felt a pang of disappointment.
But at the same time, she felt a touch of sweetness.
'Bai Yang was willing to defy his master's orders and even steal an Elixir Pill... all for me...'
Just then, Gu Qingyuan strode into the room, his face dark and heavy with gloom.
The Sect Master had just warned him again not to make a decision he would regret.
'Ye Chuxue is my disciple. We can never be together!'
He clenched his fists, his heart churning with resentment.
'Our statuses shouldn't be a barrier between us!'
But virtue and ethics told him he had to exercise restraint.
The two conflicting ideas warred within him, threatening to drive him mad!
On Yunxiao Peak, Bai Yang was being punished, forced to kneel at the entrance of the main hall.
His theft of the Elixir Pill had been discovered, and the disciples passing by couldn't help but stare.
Song Wanning walked out of the main hall, her eyes meeting Bai Yang's gaze, which was filled with resentment.
She turned and left indifferently, not saying a single word.
Bai Yang bit his lip in anger and lowered his head again.
Seeing Song Wanning leave, Lu Nanfeng scurried over and said anxiously, "Eldest Brother, didn't I tell you to apologize to Master?"
"If you just apologize, she'll definitely soften. You... why must you be so stubborn!"
"I did nothing wrong! I won't apologize!"
Bai Yang raised his head, a cold glint in his eyes.
"I'm not in the wrong, so why should I admit to anything?"
"SHHH!!!!"
Lu Nanfeng quickly motioned for him to be quiet. If their Master heard him, things would only get worse.
Bai Yang snorted coldly, stubbornly refusing to yield.
Lu Nanfeng was at a loss with him. "Fine, fine. Master's anger will surely fade in three days at most. Just kneel for another two days!"
"Father, Mother, I'm home!"
Song Wanning strode into the courtyard, and when she saw the two familiar figures, her eyes immediately reddened.
'Thank goodness, it hasn't happened yet!'
'Father and Mother are still here!'
'The Song Family still stands!'
"Wan Ning, what are you doing back?"
Song Qingyun was overjoyed and quickly came out, pulling his wife, Mu Yuan, by the hand.
Mu Yuan smiled faintly. "Wan Ning, why didn't you let your father and me know you were coming back? We could have come to pick you up."
Even though Song Wanning was over a hundred years old and had a Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivation, in her parents' eyes, she was still the little girl who needed to be escorted home.
A warmth filled Song Wanning's eyes, but she forced back the tears.
She walked forward with a smile and hugged her parents, remaining silent for a long time.
The smiles on Mu Yuan and Song Qingyun's faces faded. They exchanged a look, sensing that something was wrong.
When Song Wanning told them that her engagement to Gu Qingyuan had been broken, their expressions changed instantly.
"Wan Ning, what's going on?"
"Didn't you..."
Wan Ning had been in love with Gu Qingyuan for over a century. How could she suddenly break the engagement?
Song Wanning shook her head, took out the Three Lives Mirror, and revealed everything she had experienced to them.
"Outrageous! Simply outrageous!!"
Song Qingyun was so furious his vision went dark, and his entire body trembled.
His most precious daughter had been ground into dust and her ashes scattered by Bai Yang!
Their entire Song Family, thousands strong, had been slaughtered by Bai Yang and his followers!
"How dare they!!!!!! I'll go kill them right now!"
Mu Yuan was just as enraged, her eyes bloodshot and a murderous aura swirling around her. She wished she could tear those people to shreds with her own hands.
Her heart aching, she pulled Song Wanning into a hug. "Wan Ning, my sweet daughter, how could they do this to you?"
They had seen for themselves how well Song Wanning had treated those people.
What kind of cruel hearts must those people have to treat Wan Ning so viciously?
"Father, Mother, I stopped being sad a long time ago!"
Song Wanning soothed her parents' emotions, led them into the house to sit, and raised a hand to cast a privacy barrier. A grim, murderous look flashed across her face.
"Father, Mother, even though those people are protected by the Heavenly Dao, I know how things will unfold. I have plenty of ways to play them to death! From now on, they will be my personal, walking treasure troves!"
When the villainess knows the future plot, what's the difference between that and a wolf entering a flock of sheep?
'Those people have heaven-defying fortunes, which I can now snatch away for myself...'
"Wan Ning, you... don't get trapped in your own obsession and give a Heart Demon an opening to exploit!"
Song Qingyun calmed down, but he was extremely worried about his daughter, his eyes filled with anxiety.
Although his daughter had been a bit spoiled growing up, he had never seen such a sinister and ruthless expression on her face.
"Don't worry, Father, Mother. I know what I'm doing."
"They're all right under my nose now. As long as I am their Master, I can control their every move. If I want to beat them or scold them, no one else has the right to interfere."
Song Wanning smiled.
'A Heart Demon?'
'I myself am a demon.'
'What is there to fear from a Heart Demon?'
"In our last life, those people used my 'succumbing to a demon' as an excuse to besiege the Song Family. In this life, I will never give anyone an excuse to move against the Song Family!"
Song Wanning wasn't just going to deal with them; she was going to do it while keeping her own hands perfectly clean!
"I know of a place with a Top-grade Spiritual Vein. Father, Mother, listen to my plan..."
The Song Family had always been her support, the source of her confidence, and most importantly, her home.
She would lead the Song Family to soar to new heights, and then she would watch with her own eyes as those people were crushed into the mud.
As for the fortunes of those "protagonists," it all came down to who played the better game!
「The third day.」
「The fourth day.」
...
「The seventh day.」
Bai Yang knelt for seven whole days and nights. His injuries had yet to heal, he coughed constantly, and he had to endure the endless stares of others. His mood worsened until it hit rock bottom.
Lu Nanfeng stood to the side, his face etched with worry. 'Why isn't Master back yet?' he thought.
'Eldest Brother has already been kneeling for seven days!'
"This is too much! Master is doing this on purpose! She knows Eldest Brother is kneeling here, yet she's stayed away for seven whole days!"
"She's deliberately trying to punish Eldest Brother!"
The more An Ze thought about it, the angrier he became.
"Eldest Brother, you shouldn't be so honest! She told you to kneel, but if you secretly got up, she'd never know!!"
Bai Yang kept his head down, ignoring him.
An Ze continued to roar, partly to stand up for Bai Yang, and partly to vent his own anger from being injured earlier.
Finally, as evening fell, the three of them saw Song Wanning return.
But they were stunned to see a little girl by Song Wanning's side. She looked timid and was about seven or eight years old.
The three of them froze.
"Master, you're finally back!"
Lu Nanfeng was overjoyed.
But they watched as Song Wanning gently pushed the little girl beside her forward.
"Let me introduce you. This is my new Closed-door Disciple, Li Rao."