'She really wanted to ask, in what way had she, Song Wanning, ever wronged Gu Qingyuan?'
'He didn't love her anymore. It was heartbreaking, but given time, she could have slowly come to accept it.'
What she could never accept, however, was that Gu Qingyuan had ended up helping the hero and heroine of the story to utterly destroy the entire Song Family!
Gu Qingyuan had come from a small village. He'd entered the Heavenly Inquiry Sect due to his excellent aptitude, but with no background and no connections, he had also suffered greatly.
It was her parents, Song Wanning's parents, who had taken pity on him for being so far from his own family at such a young age. Every time they prepared resources for her, they would always prepare an extra portion for him.
Later, when they learned of her feelings for him, they treated him as if he were their own son.
'In what way had their Song Family ever wronged him?'
'How could he treat them like that in the end?'
Song Wanning was filled with hatred.
She wanted nothing more than to tear Gu Qingyuan limb from limb.
But she knew perfectly well that death was the easy way out. What she wanted was for every last one of them to experience her suffering, to be driven mad by it until they died!
"Shut up!"
Gu Qingyuan tightened his grip on his Longsword, his hand, which he was trying so hard to control, already beginning to tremble uncontrollably.
"Chuxue is the kindest, purest woman in the world. She's nothing like you—selfish, malicious, and jealous!"
"She would never harm a fellow disciple!"
"And she never came between us!"
"If you insult her again, don't blame me for what happens next!"
His every accusation was laced with fury; even the strands of his hair seemed to radiate his anger.
The corners of Song Wanning's lips curled up. 'How could my former self have been so blind?'
'Gu Qingyuan had never been this defensive of her.'
'Perhaps it wasn't that his heart had changed, but that he had never held any affection for her in the first place!'
"Never? So you approached me from the very beginning just for my Song Family's background?"
Her eyes dripping with scorn, Song Wanning strode forward, her gaze fixed on Gu Qingyuan. The sharp glint within them was so intense he didn't dare to meet her eyes.
"You painstakingly orchestrated everything, led me to fall for you, and even proposed our marriage contract—all for the sake of the Song Family behind me, wasn't it?"
"I never thought the revered and righteous Lord Gu could be capable of something so despicable!"
"I didn't!"
Gu Qingyuan's brows furrowed, but he couldn't stop himself from trying to explain.
"I didn't understand love back then. I mistook my familial affection for you as romantic love, which is why I sincerely asked for your hand in marriage!"
'He had never coveted anything from the Song Family!'
"Oh? So you met Ye Chuxue, and suddenly you understood love?"
Song Wanning found it even more laughable.
'When Ye Chuxue first joined the Sect, she was only five years old!'
'To Gu Qingyuan, she was practically a daughter he had watched grow up!'
'Developing romantic feelings for his own disciple... it was horrifying and disgusting.'
"Sect Master, elders, you've all heard it, haven't you? I, Song Wanning, have never wronged Gu Qingyuan in the slightest. It is he, Gu Qingyuan, whose affections have strayed! It is he who has wronged me!"
"Today, I ask you all to bear witness."
"I, Song Wanning, hereby formally break my engagement to Gu Qingyuan!"
"From now on, he can walk his single-plank bridge, and I'll walk my sunny road!"
With that, she drew her Longsword and decisively sliced off the end of her hair.
A lock of hair drifted slowly down, landing in the dust.
Like all the days past, never to be revisited.
Song Wanning had cut her hair to sever her feelings, taking the initiative to dissolve the marriage contract with Gu Qingyuan.
"Junior Sister Song, don't be rash!"
The Sect Master was alarmed and quickly tried to dissuade her.
In just a short time, they had been dealt one shock after another.
Song Wanning loved Gu Qingyuan to the bone. How could she possibly be the one to break the engagement?
The other disciples were also staring wide-eyed in shock.
Those disciples who had made bets were still waiting for the outcome. How had things suddenly escalated to this point?
At that moment, Gu Qingyuan's eyes narrowed sharply, and the knuckles of the hand gripping his sword turned white.
Song Wanning... she...
"Have you thought this through?"
He pressed his lips into a thin line, thinking he could give Song Wanning one last chance.
"If you regret this now, it's not too late!"
'As long as Song Wanning bowed her head, admitted her mistake, and healed Chuxue, he could accept this engagement. He could even marry Song Wanning.'
He stood ramrod straight, as if making a great sacrifice. The sight of it made Song Wanning nauseous.
"I have thought it through. Gu Qingyuan, our engagement is over!"
'This 'love' was all a lie. She didn't want any part of it anymore!'
"You—"
Gu Qingyuan froze.
'Was Song Wanning really going to break off the engagement?'
The onlookers were also flabbergasted. It seemed Song Wanning was truly furious this time!
"Um... Junior Sister Song, we can still talk this over. You two have been together for so many years, there's no need to take things this far."
The Sect Master still wanted to play the peacemaker, not wanting to see the two of them fall out over a single disciple.
"Yes, yes, Junior Brother Gu was just confused before. Besides, there's no way he and Ye Chuxue could ever be together, you don't need to..."
"No need?"
Song Wanning laughed at that, a sneer on her face. "Oh, really? In that case, I hope that for the next eighteen generations, your descendants all run into this kind of 'unnecessary' situation!"
"Junior Sister Song, you— We're just trying to help you both! Why can't you recognize good intentions!"
"You're making a scene and demanding to break the engagement now, but later you'll just be making another scene, crying and begging to get back together..."
"How could you curse us?"
The elders were furious, feeling that Song Wanning was taking her anger out on them.
Song Wanning shot them a sidelong glance. "Then shut your mouths!"
"My affairs are not for others to meddle in!"
"You—"
The elders were about to explode with anger, but ultimately, they didn't interject again.
This matter was no longer something they had a say in.
"Song Wanning, you'd better not regret this!"
Gu Qingyuan witnessed the entire "farce" and swore an oath in his heart.
'No matter what tricks Song Wanning was playing, he would never give her a chance to reconcile in the future!'
"Only a bastard would have regrets!"
Song Wanning gave a cold smile and turned to leave.
In a panic, Gu Qingyuan swung his sword at her.
"Leave the antidote!"
The flash of the blade, thick with killing intent, shot toward her, instantly locking down the space around them.
Song Wanning lifted her head, a flash of murderous intent in her cold eyes as she drew her own Longsword to meet the attack.
The two faced each other in mid-air, their swords drawn, the killing intent chilling.
A fierce wind howled, swirling around them as if it could sense the impending, deadly confrontation.
"This is bad!" the Sect Master cried in alarm, hastily ordering the disciples to retreat.
Hearing this, the crowd scattered like a swarm of bees, not daring to linger for a second.
"Junior Sister Song, Junior Brother Gu, stop this nonsense and come down at once!"
"Good heavens, what do you two think you're doing?!"
The group of elders was frantic. This was turning into an internal conflict!
They didn't want to see either of them come to harm.
Song Wanning's gaze was like a glint of Cold Ice, devoid of any human warmth.
"Gu Qingyuan, your beloved is about to die."
"If I don't intervene, her death is certain!"
She curled her lips into a wicked, unrestrained smile, crushing the last shred of hesitation in Gu Qingyuan's heart.
His gaze was like ten-thousand-year-old ice on a mountaintop as he launched the first attack.
His hands rapidly formed a series of seals. His bonded Flying Sword, "Chitu," instantly flew from its sheath. The blade hummed, transforming into a streak of light that shot straight for Song Wanning.